Page 16 of The Billionaire's One-Night Baby

Micah turned to see what had caught his attention. ‘Dodi looks like she’s in a strop,’ he said. ‘Thadie must’ve told her about losing the venue.’

That didn’t explain why she was at Le Roux International, and not with their sister.

Dodi turned to look at him through the glass panes and their eyes clashed and held, hers turbulent. She looked paler than normal and had dark stripes under her eyes. He stood up, pushing his chair back so hard that it crashed against the credenza. He skirted his desk and yanked open his office door.

‘Let her in,’ he told his assistant.

‘Your investors will be here in five minutes, Mr Le Roux.’

‘I know,’ he replied, his eyes not leaving Dodi’s face. Yep, she looked as if she’d been handed a bag of Cape cobras or a pipe bomb. ‘Come, Elodie Kate.’

The last time he’d said those two words aloud had been when he’d been painting her skin with his words and his kisses. She’d exploded on his mouth seconds later.

Not helpful, Le Roux.

Dodi nodded briefly and walked into his office, stopping in front of Micah to plant a kiss on one cheek, then another. He didn’t get as much as a ‘hello, Jago’, never mind a kiss.

‘I presume you are here to talk about the venue disaster,’ Micah said, gesturing for her to take one of the two Wegner swivel chairs.

Dodi frowned, looked from Micah to him and back again. ‘I’m sorry...what are you talking about?’

‘Someone, a very cruel, malicious someone, cancelled the wedding venue and now Thadie and Clyde have nowhere to hold their wedding reception,’ Micah explained.

‘What?’ Dodi’s eyes widened and her freckles stood out against her white skin. She raised her fingers to her mouth, genuinely horrified.

‘Didn’t Thadie tell you?’ Jago asked, puzzled. Didn’t they share everything?

Dodi pulled a face. ‘Uh...my phone has been off.’ She bit her bottom lip. ‘What are we going to do? How are we going to find another venue?’

Okay, it was obvious that she had no idea of the cancellation, so that begged the question...why was she here, in his building, demanding to see him? He thought they had an agreement that they’d only see each other when they both had to attend wedding-related events.

It was bad enough having her invade his thoughts and dreams at inopportune moments—or all the damn time—but seeing her in the flesh just made him want to strip her of that black sheath dress and wedge shoes, pull out the pins securing her messy hair to her head and lower her to his office sofa.

Again, not helping yourself, Le Roux.

‘I’m on it,’ Micah told her. ‘I’m going to make some calls and get some help from another event planner.’

‘I can ask some of my wedding contacts whether they have any ideas for a venue, if that will help,’ Dodi suggested.

Micah nodded. ‘Good idea, thanks.’

‘But who would do this?’ Dodi demanded, turning her clear gaze back to him. ‘Whywould they do this? Thadie is the sweetest, nicest person around. She doesn’t have enemies!’

It was a good question. Someone disliked his sister enough to cause her a lot of stress and anxiety and to spoil what was supposed to be the wedding of the year. Who? And why? And how the hell did they unmask someone working in the shadows?

They were burning questions, good questions, but another question was also burning a hole in his soul.

‘If you didn’t come here to discuss Thadie’s wedding dramas, why are you here, Elodie Kate?’ Jago asked as he resumed his seat behind his streamlined, modern desk, also a Hans Wegner design, linking his fingers across his stomach.

Every drop of colour disappeared from her face and anguish dropped into her smoky blue eyes. Jago, reading her body language, abruptly sat up and frowned. ‘What is it, Dodi?’

Dodi looked at Micah and bit down on her bottom lip. ‘Micah, would you mind giving us a minute?’

Micah’s expression turned stubborn, a look Jago knew well. ‘If this has anything to do with Thadie, then I have a right to know.’

Dodi shook her head, the fingers gripping the arm of her chair turning white. ‘I promise you, it doesn’t. I just need a private word with Jago and then I’ll be on my way.’

Micah shot her a disbelieving look, but he did, thank God, walk to the door and yank it open. He shut it behind him and Dodi closed her eyes. Her lips moved silently, and Jago felt his heart sink to his toes.

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