Falling for the Lawyer - By Anna Clifton Page 0,7
voice as she perched on the edge of Alex’s desk. “You’re flustered and flushed and fidgeting with your hair in that way you do when you’re really on edge. Something’s happened to upset you this morning hasn’t it?”
Alex bit her bottom lip as she lowered herself onto her chair, her handbag still hanging uselessly from her shoulder. She was wondering whether she could give Sophie a boring potted version of what had happened on her way to work that morning which would not bring on too many questions. But Alex wasn’t sure how to condense her morning into that format. And Sophie’s eyes were huge and expectant and Alex didn’t have the heart to mislead her.
“So let me get this straight,” Sophie began quizzically as Alex wrapped up the account of her morning. Her friend had been listening quietly with a knowing look but listening was at an end. “You get covered in mud. Some perfect stranger whisks you off to the most expensive designer boutique in the city, organises you into a new outfit and then says ‘have a nice life’.”
“Exactly!”
“No, no. You don’t fool me. You’re not telling me something.”
“I promise I’ve told you everything.”
“So he goes by the mysterious name of JP and you don’t know where he works.”
“No idea.”
“And he doesn’t know your second name or anything about you.”
“He knows where I work but …”
“Ah huh!” Sophie declared victoriously and pointed a long, fire engine red fingernail at her friend. “He’ll phone you.”
“No Sophie, it wasn’t like that. He has no intention of phoning me. And please don’t suggest it anyway, it makes me feel more uncomfortable about all this than I already do.”
“Alex Farrer,” Sophie grabbed Alex’s hand, resting it in her own and patting the top of it patronisingly, a wicked glint dancing in her eyes. Alex was desperately trying to think of something she could say to stop Sophie from blowing her meeting with JP out of all proportion, but her friend was already half way out of the barrier and was never one to be reined in once she’d made up her mind to sprint towards the finishing line.
“It’s time we had another one of our little talks. You know, about life and the way it really is—not the way you think it is. Okay. Here I go,” Sophie began in a singsong voice as though she was recounting a fairy story for a small child. “A red-blooded, I’m guessing quite attractive male, meets attractive young woman on side of road in distress. He rescues her from job loss by buying her four-figure outfit to wear to work. Then says ‘have a nice life’ and lets her walk away because he has done all of it out of the goodness of his heart.”
Sophie finished her account breathlessly, raising her eyebrows at Alex expectantly as though waiting for an answer before shaking her head slowly. Alex couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s exaggerated school prefect expression.
“Okay. Now I’ll give you life as it really is. Attractive man meets wet and bedraggled but nevertheless alluring young woman on side of street in distress. Talks to her for a few minutes and then discovers he actually finds her extremely attractive and wants to get her into bed as soon as possible. Has more money than he knows what to do with so buys her an expensive outfit to woo her because he’s already found out where she works and will be calling her later that day to ask her out on a ‘pre-getting her into bed’ date.”
“Sophie, stop! It wasn’t like that at all. Anyway, you’re forgetting one show-stopping detail in this fairy story.”
“Oh really? What’s that?”
“Wet and bedraggled girl is engaged.”
“Yes I know that but Sir Lancelot doesn’t,” Sophie retorted. “What’s more, he has no idea he’s just gone to all that trouble and expense over you for nothing. Poor guy!” Sophie declared, her eyes shining bright with incredulity. “I can’t believe this has happened to you of all people. You’re the last person who would go looking for it.”
“Do you mean people go looking to be covered in mud on their way to work?” Alex replied, deliberately obtuse.
“You know what I mean. You’re not exactly forward when it comes to winning attention from the opposite sex yet here you are, fresh out of the clutches of the original knight in shining armour.”
“Have you ever thought that perhaps I’m not interested in that kind of attention from the opposite sex because I’m engaged?”