After several hours of combing through all the data, she couldn’t put Dubois and La Roux together, at least not financially. It was a relief. She enjoyed her future brother-in-law too much to think of him as a criminal.
Her temp palm vibrated. You were right. I found a mild sedative in the wine.
Her lab director’s words turned her stomach.
The asshole had drugged her.
A knock sounded upon the door.
“Come in.”
Alex, in her great house maid uniform, had dressed better for the evening. She took one look at Lila and her mouth hung open. “You can’t meet the senator like that for dinner! What are you thinking? He’s downstairs right now. I didn’t intend for you to actually wear those clothes I rescued, not at a time like this.”
“Now is the best time for it,” Lila said, powering down her laptop. “Bring him up. I’ll be in my room.”
Alex stamped her foot, her heel loud against the wooden floor. “Do you want this man for the season or not?”
Lila shrugged and slid her laptop into her satchel. “I told you that no man is going to fuck me because of the clothes I’m wearing. Perhaps we shall skip dinner tonight. Why bother getting into clothes that I’ll take off again ten minutes later?”
Alex faltered. She rushed into Lila’s room and returned a second later with the silken red robe, the same robe Lila had taunted La Roux with that morning. “Put this on then when you meet him, then. It’s beautiful.”
Lila merely shook her head and hitched the satchel’s strap onto her shoulder.
“You look like you’re ready for battle,” her friend said as she followed Lila into the bedroom.
“Please, Ms. Wilson, go fetch Senator La Roux.”
Alex hung the robe on a peg in the bathroom, then slipped from the room.
Moments later, Alex returned with wine glasses and Senator La Roux, who clutched a bottle of Sangre in a silk burgundy bag, tied with a golden ribbon. His hair cascaded down his back. His suit coat and rose-pink shirt were effortlessly formal, as though he had put them on five minutes before leaving Bullstow and they just happened to suit their plans. Now that it was between sessions, he no longer had to wear the colors of his city senate.
If he wished to censure Lila about her casual attire, he did not show it.
Her stomach turned at the thought of him drugging her, fucking her, and planning to use her for his own ends.
Tristan never would have done that.
“Would you like dinner brought up, madam?”
“We’ll let you know.”
Alex bowed and turned away, the uncertain frown still upon her face.
The door closed softly behind her.
“Senator La Roux,” Lila began. She kissed his cheek as he bent over the desk to greet her, avoiding his lips. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise.” He grinned warmly, uncorking the wine with a loud pop. “Thanks for sending a car for me, by the way. It was a nice surprise.”
“I merely assumed. Many senators don’t have their own.”
“Don’t think too highly of us. Most senators drive a lover’s car whenever they can.” La Roux poured wine into the two glasses. “My cousin enjoys riding your sister’s Firefly immensely.”
“That he does.”
He put a glass before Lila and leaned against her desk. “I hope you don’t think this is too forward, but I must admit that I’ve been thinking about you all day. I never should have left you this morning.”
“I spent most of my day thinking about you as well.”