Page 16 of The Baby Behind Their Marriage Merger

Addi lifted her chin and told herself to get a grip. They were here to talk business...why else would he have asked her to meet at his office in the city?

Addi heard the door open behind her and she turned to see a handsome man enter, a tiny espresso cup in one hand and a clear mug holding what she thought might be tea.

The man flashed a grin at her and placed the mug in front of her. ‘It’s ginger-flavoured tea—I hope that’s okay?’

‘That’s great, thank you,’ she said, returning his smile. ‘I’m Addi, by the way.’

‘Thabo,’ the man replied, handing Jude his cup. ‘I’m Jude’s right hand. And his left. He pretty much can’t function without me.’

Jude rolled his eyes. ‘That’s pretty accurate, actually. But don’t be fooled—I make his coffee more often than he makes mine and, having a doctorate in business science, he’s the guy I listen to. He’s more a partner than an employee, and my closest confidant,’ he told Addi. He leaned back, picked up his cup and sipped before looking at Thabo again. ‘All organised?’

‘Pretty much. I just need your go-ahead,’ Thabo answered, sounding enigmatic. ‘While you’re away, our assistants can sort out your office and mine.’

Was Jude going away? When? Where to? And why did the thought of him leaving make her feel as though she had a boulder in her stomach and it was about to crash to the floor?

Thabo picked up a folder from Jude’s desk and tapped it to his forehead in a salute. ‘I’ll leave you two to talk.’

Addi waited for him to leave the room before asking Jude whether Thabo knew she was pregnant. ‘No, not yet. I’m still coming to terms with it myself.’

She gestured to the mug of hot tea.

‘Uh, no. I saw your reaction to the smell of coffee when I made myself a cup the other day, and I assumed you might be feeling a bit off-colour with morning sickness. According to Dr Internet, ginger tea helps, supposedly, so I asked my assistant to get some in. Thabo probably just picked up the cups I asked her to make to save her a trip.’

He was not only observant but thoughtful. Addi felt his eyes on her, a little quizzical, a lot hot, and dragged her eyes off his gorgeous face to look past his shoulder to the wet and wild day happening outside. Storms were battering the Cape and nobody, least of all the meteorologists, knew when they’d see the sun again. It was predicted that the Cape would soon experience the wettest and coldest winter in decades, and she was not looking forward to it. She hated winter.

Addi picked up her mug, sipped and knew she was delaying the inevitable. She needed to know why Jude had asked her for this meeting.

‘Am I here to talk you through Thorpe assets or are we going to talk about the baby?’ she asked, thinking that being forthright was the best way to go. There was no point in tiptoeing around the subject; they needed to pull it out into the light.

And then pull it apart.

Jude nodded and linked his hands across his flat stomach. ‘Either...both.’

Okay, then.‘Where do you want to start?’ she asked.

‘When are you due?’ he asked, picking up a fountain pen and twisting it between his fingers.

‘I’ve worked it out to be the end of the year,’ she replied. ‘They’ll be able to give me more accurate due dates when I go for my first scan.’

‘And when is that?’ Jude asked.

Ah, she hadn’t thought that far. She supposed she should, as soon as possible. ‘I don’t know. I need to find a doctor and make an appointment.’

‘Do that,’ Jude told her, and she felt steel slide into her spine. But she wouldn’t call him out on his bossiness; she didn’t want to start fighting with him ten minutes into their meeting.

‘Yes, sir,’ she muttered, unable to keep the sarcastic comment behind her teeth.

Jude smiled. ‘You don’t like being told what to do, do you?’

‘Not even a little bit,’ she admitted. ‘Old Man Thorpe hired me out of university, I reported to him and he left me to my own devices. I only checked in with him when I had a problem. And, at home, in most ways I’ve been in charge for most of my life and I’m the one who gets things done, who paves the way, who makes the calls. I’m the oldest, so I took responsibility.’

‘How old were you when you first started feeling like that?’ Jude asked, looking interested.

Addi had to think back. ‘Seven? Eight? I remember taking Joelle’s bank card out of her purse and going to the cash machine. I went straight to the store and bought food—hot dogs, I think it was.’

‘And what did your mother say about that?’ Jude demanded, looking shocked.

‘Joelle has a very fluid grasp on money, even less of what went into and out of her account,’ she told him, before waving her hand. ‘Why are we discussing my spacy mother?’

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