Page 23 of Coming Out at Crofton Hall

“I’ll be back late morning from baby crooners, so then?”

Another kiss sealed the deal before Ashley returned his attention to Davy. Ben headed to his office, ringing for Karl who arrived moments after him. “Could you hunt down Alex and send him along?”

“He’s just having breakfast. Can I get you something?”

“Coffee, please. You’re a lifesaver. And if there’s any crumpets going, I’ll have a couple.”

He supposed he should at least turn on his laptop, he’d not been the best at keeping on top of his official estate emails of late. To be fair, his private emails weren’t in a much better state, but he had managed to purge several hundred during the flight to the US before he’d given up and watched a movie so uninspiring he’d already forgotten the title.

Opening his email, he girded himself for the tsunami of unread messages, red exclamation marks and titles in angry capital letters, instead there were only twenty unread emails and a new little army of folders. He wondered if he was still asleep and was having a dream, not the sort of dream he usually had because he was still dressed and there wasn’t a margarita in sight.

He clicked on his calendar and it was now colour-coded, what the colours meant he wasn’t sure, but they appeared to be in order. Karl reappeared with his coffee and crumpets but was quick to excuse himself as Alex entered dressed in a very nice suit, made to measure, if Ben wasn’t mistaken.

“Good morning, good flight back I hope. I’ve cancelled your original return leg.”

Ben hadn’t even given that a second thought. “Oh, thanks. I hope you’ve settled in all right. Back a little earlier than I was expecting but it’s probably for the best.”

“I have made a start on organising your estate emails and appointments calendar. The emails marked as unread are new and need your agreement or reply.”

The penny dropped. Alex had been the saviour of his inbox and calendar. “Did you go through all my emails?”

“Only the last twelve months. I’ve archived anything earlier, once we’re up and running I’ll go back a couple of years for anything pertinent. Nothing’s been deleted,” he added quickly.

Alex must have done all this over the weekend and this morning, and Ben wasn’t sure if Alex was an evil genius or someone who loved things to be organised. Either way, he’d accept it, but if he could manage that in such a short time Ben would have a future where no meeting was missed, no deadline skirted and arguments over scheduling—especially with Ashley—would be a thing of the past.

“Gosh.”

“I hope everything’s all right. I mean, when we spoke you said you’d like me to get you organised…”

“Oh, it’s perfectly wonderful. I’m just a bit gobsmacked by it all,” Ben admitted.

Alex smiled. He was an attractive man, near enough Ashley’s age if he remembered right, and had artfully tousled blond hair and piercing blue eyes. “I’m relieved to hear it. Now I couldn’t recall if you said you had your agenda on your phone or not.”

“I don’t use my phone calendar.” He felt as if he was admitting some terrible secret. “I’ve been known to write things on the back of my hand if it’s time-sensitive.

Alex winced. “Not an ideal option. I’m sure we can come up with a solution that won’t get smears on your shirt sleeves.”

“I’m not sure I’d like to be permanently plugged into the business side of things. Apps pinging all the time, emails demanding attention.”

“You do know you can put apps into sleep mode, right?” Alex asked, sounding bemused.

“I do now.”

Twenty minutes later, he’d learnt Alex had the patience of a saint, and he now had his phone set up with a number of apps that would help manage his time, but not drive him to distraction.

“You have several meetings later in the week that you tentatively accepted so I can confirm those with you, and I think we should start looking a little ahead so we don’t get caught out.”

He loved that Alex was sayingwewhen it was clearly Ben. “Fair enough. Actually, I’m hoping to spirit Ashley away for a night. Dinner, nice hotel… I’m sure you get the idea.”

“I imagine it can be difficult getting time alone when there’s a new baby on the scene. Let me look at a couple of options, you’re thinking luxury and pampering I take it?”

“The works. A swanky bar, good food… Michelin star if possible. Although I think Ashley might just be happy to have a pint in a pub and a full night’s sleep.”

Alex laughed. “I think we can do a bit better than that.”

Ben suspected Alex would see it as a challenge and he was already looking forward to his suggestions. They spent the next hour or so getting Ben’s life back in order, it was amazing what an upheaval a small child could make. Alex was beyond competent, and Ben thought he’d have no trouble seeing to his needs as a secretary, Alex might get bored if he wasn’t careful.

Alex snapped shut his notebook. He had a proficiency for organising things and a love of stationery Ben thought Ashley would appreciate. “Right, I’m going to prepare the letters you wanted and have a look at some of the contracts you said might be up for negotiation and contact your solicitors.”

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