Page 6 of The Baby Behind Their Marriage Merger

He couldn’t dispute her words. After that brief conversation on the balcony, he’d kissed her, she’d kissed him back and then they’d both been eager to find the nearest bed. His suite happened to be closest, and they’d spent the rest of the night, and half of the next morning, making love. He’d only left the room because he’d had a brunch meeting and when he returned two hours later she had gone.

He’d been disappointed but, when that faded, also grateful. Thanks to the call he’d received from Cole just before his presentation, enquiring if he would be interested in purchasing the hospitality division of Thorpe Industries Africa, he hadn’t had the time for an affair, however brief. Cole’s newly acquired company owned some amazing hotels, a few of which he’d be happy to add to Fisher International’s portfolio. There were also a couple he wanted for his personal chain of eco-friendly accommodation. It would be a next-level deal and he had been working sixteen-hour days for the last two months.

That was what it had taken to persuade the Council of Three to agree to him even investigating the potential deal.

Addi turned at the sound of a knock on her door and asked him to excuse her for a minute. On his computer screen he watched her walking away. She had a spectacular butt and incredible legs, and he rubbed his hands up and down his face. He didn’t need to be distracted by a woman—not now.

Acquiring the hotels and lodges for Fisher International would be tricky. It would be the first major acquisition he’d done since he’d taken over from his grandfather and, he estimated, would cost over two hundred million pounds. That sort of expenditure—anyunexpected expenditure—needed his three-person board of trustees’ approval.

Jude felt the familiar swell of frustration and annoyance. He owned Fisher International outright but, because his grandfather hadn’t trusted his judgement, for ten years following inheriting the company Jude had to seek approval from three men his grandfather had appointed. He clenched his fist and leaned back in his chair, looking over the vines and out onto the mountains. Nine years had passed and he just had to deal with them for one more year. Then he’d have full control of Fisher International. He could take it public, sell it, even run it into the ground, and nobody could say or do a thing.

He. Could. Not. Wait.

Addi slid back into her seat and lifted her eyes to the camera. ‘I’m sorry about that, I needed to take an urgent call from the hotel in Zanzibar.’

He had an idea of her role but asked her to clarify what she did for Thorpe Industries.

‘I see myself as a back-up system for all the managers. I help with budgets and staffing issues. I source people and commodities. I authorise bulk-buying orders for all the hotels, like linen and toiletries. I don’t do any direct marketing, but I keep an eye on marketing to make sure they are not going off-brand.’

It sounded like a lot for one person to do. No wonder she looked exhausted. Jude tapped his pen against the side of his desk. They needed to meet, as soon as possible. Partly because he needed to get a better, more personal handle on what he was looking at in terms of Cole’s assets, and partly because he wanted to see her again.

She’d been on the edge of his mind for the last eight weeks, images of her—long legs, pale skin, him running his hands through her short hair, her elegant feet and the sexy moan she made when he’d slid inside her—ambushing him at entirely inappropriate moments. She’d burrowed under his skin, but he knew that working with her, the long hours spent poring over spreadsheets and figures, would cure him of any lingering sentiment. There was nothing that killed attraction quicker than spending long hours in front of a computer screen and arguing figures.

‘When can we meet?’ he demanded. ‘This afternoon?’

‘Where are your offices?’

‘We are in the process of moving the company headquarters to a new building on the Waterfront, and while that happens I am working out of my home office in Franschhoek.’

Addi wrinkled her pretty nose. ‘And when are you coming into the city again?’ she asked, looking off-screen. He heard the tap of her fingers against her keyboard and assumed she was looking at her diary, trying to work out when she could fit him in.

Maybe she needed reminding that he was her first priority. ‘I want to meet this afternoon,’ he stated, his voice taking on an edge that suggested she not argue. He was being demanding but he needed to see her again, to look into those blue eyes, to inhale her sexy scent. Why? Why her?

Why hadn’t he been able to get her off his mind?

Once he saw her again, he’d be able to move on, stop thinking about her and concentrate fully on his business and his career. That was what was important. His brief flings? Not so much.

‘I’m free from two. I want an overview of the offerings, their unique selling points and their turnover and profit margins,’ Jude stated.

Addi raised her eyebrows and, even though they were meeting in cyberspace, he felt the impact of her hard, blue-eyed stare. ‘You’re joking, right?’

When it came to business, he was always deadly serious. ‘Do I look like I’m joking?’

‘You want me to pull all that information together in, what...?’ She glanced at the functional watch on her left arm, and Jude couldn’t help thinking that something delicate and pretty would suit her better. ‘In five hours? And that’s including the hour travelling time to Franschhoek? Are you mad?’

‘Are you telling me you can’t?’ Jude suspected that, while she might not be able to give him nuts and bolts figures, she had most of what he needed in that big brain of hers.

Her eyes narrowed and her mouth flattened. ‘I could give you an overview by this afternoon—’

‘Good. Give me your phone number and I will send you a GPS pin.’

Addi held up her hand. ‘Will you let me finish, please?’

He leaned back in his chair, impressed that he didn’t intimidate her. That could be because he’d been charming Jude when they’d met, or it could be because she’d seen him naked, but he suspected that Addi wasn’t a pushover in general. He liked that. He far preferred people who pushed back than suck-ups and sycophants. He lifted his head in a gesture for her to continue.

‘I can’t meet you at two; I have a lawyer’s appointment.’

Why was she meeting with a lawyer? Was there a lawsuit against one of the hotels he wasn’t aware of? If he was going to be pulled into a legal fight, he’d pull out right now. ‘What’s the problem?’ he demanded.

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