Falling for the Lawyer - By Anna Clifton Page 0,22

hear his steady, self-assured voice on the other end.

She felt back on track again and that was how she was supposed to feel: calm and together and not as though she was on an emotional precipice. Why on earth would she be feeling on a precipice anyway when she had everything a girl could want or need: a devoted fiancé, a loving family and a job she enjoyed, at least in the short term. And with that thought lingering as she headed back to work, Alex felt ashamed of having wondered whether what she had might never feel like enough again.

Chapter Five

Alex had a lovely afternoon.

Vera stayed out of her way and she had plenty to be going on with. JP had left a stack of files on her desk adorned with countless yellow post-it notes containing cryptic instructions in his scrawling handwriting.

One thing that did strike Alex as a little strange was that the work he’d left for her involved more drafting and research than she’d ever done before. It was not really work which a PA would ordinarily do. She could only guess that Vera had been left to type JP’s letters, manage his diary and take his telephone calls but Alex wasn’t about to go in search of her to find out.

The afternoon disappeared in a flash. Before long, other PAs were turning off computers and organising their desks for the following day. There was still no sign of JP but Alex didn’t mind. It gave her more time to steel herself for their next meeting. And she’d resolved that once that was over she would find a way to do her job and keep her distance from him at the same time. Some brief exchanges at her desk or in his office were all that were necessary. If she could stick to that then their conversations could be kept short and business like.

With those thoughts churning in her mind she worked into the early evening. By that time she was confident she’d scaled and conquered her fears about the effect he was having upon her, so it was with dismay that she found her pulse leapt out of the barrier as soon as she heard his voice across the office.

He was talking to two lawyers about their working arrangements and current matters. Alex tried to focus on her work but it was useless; she couldn’t help but follow every part of his conversation.

He seemed to be able to walk the treacherous line between authority and equality. She could tell the lawyers were hanging on his every word yet they shared jokes and he listened to their suggestions. If he didn’t agree with them he had a way of putting his views back to them without criticism. Alex was transfixed.

Finally their conversation wound up. She could sense he was moving towards her and got to her feet to meet him in an effort to keep things formal.

“Would we be able to have that conversation about work allocation now?” she asked as he approached.

“No problem.”

Alex nodded and followed him into his office. He closed the door behind them.

“Take a seat.” He moved to sit behind his desk, locking his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair. “I want you to change jobs,” he announced in a business-like fashion before she could say anything.

Alex knew her expression was dissolving into a running palette of shock and dismay. Studying the change in her in curious fascination, JP withdrew his hands slowly from behind his head and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

“Alex.”

“What?”

“I don’t mean leave the firm … or my office. I’m not sacking you.”

Her baffled dark-eyed gaze met his across the desk. “You’re not?”

“No. I want you to change roles,” he explained, smiling at the way she always assumed the worst possible outcome, waiting for the axe to fall on her life. “I don’t want you to work with me as a PA any longer.”

Alex was still looking at him in bewilderment.

“I’m going to offer you a role as a paralegal so that you can start studying law. I’ve looked up your leaving results and quite frankly, with those marks it’s a crime you’re not already through a law degree and working as one of my solicitors. Anyway, we can’t turn back time but we can sort things out now. You’ll have no trouble getting into one of the part-time courses so that you can keep working here.”

Alex gaped at him. She seemed incapable