Roman Encounter

by Lily Zante

  “Next month. Nesta negotiated a quick transfer.”

  Like a catherine wheel, his thoughts spiraled out of control. Hissing and spitting. Round and round, faster and faster.

  “You understand what this means, don’t you?” Emilio asked him.

  “What does it mean?” In his mind he was going over all the conversations he’d had with Emilio, when he’d believed his friend was supporting him in the endeavor to change jobs.

  “They’ll need someone to take over my position. You could take over a lot of my responsibility. You know, get involved in putting courses together. Be responsible for training our European partners and work closely with the sales teams, closer than before. Everything I did, you can do, Christian.”

  “Yeah?” The idea couldn’t be further from his thoughts. Nothing could be further from his thoughts right now. He wished Emilio would leave because he needed time alone.

  He switched off his PC and picked up his briefcase.

  “You leaving?” Emilio asked. “I was hoping we could go for a drink, not just to celebrate this, but you heard the sales team signed off another big order.”

  “I’m happy for you,” Christian said. “But I’ve got things to do. Sorry. Have a drink for me.”

  Chapter 29

  Luckily for her, Demetrio had caught the early train back to Verona. Gina wasn’t planning to leave until later on. There was no need for her to rush home.

  She had enjoyed this week in Rome more than she had expected to—apart from that blip on Monday when Christian and his friend had suddenly appeared. That had been jarring.

  She hadn’t done any sightseeing this week because the working day was long and left her more tired than usual. Matteo often had a million questions to ask her and by the time she got back to her hotel room, she didn’t feel like going back out. As a result, she often ended up filling out job applications.

  She was working quietly in the back office when one of the desk receptionists came over. “There’s someone to see you,” she announced.

  Gina followed the girl to the front desk and her heart leapt. Christian stood with his back turned to her, the sight of him throwing her for a moment. It was the shock of facing him again, she told herself. She was feeling anxious because she had nothing to say to him. He turned around, and she could immediately tell that he didn’t look happy.

  “Ciao,” she said, trying to second guess his visit.

  “Ciao.”

  “Is there something I can do for you?”

  “Can we go somewhere?” His voice sounded strained. “Please?” It was plain to see that he was ticked off about something, and yet the possibility that he had sought her out comforted her.

  “I won’t be long,” she told the receptionist. Without asking him why he wanted to see her alone, or why he wanted to go someplace else, she’d simply done as he had asked. So much for not buckling in front of him.

  They stepped out into the late spring sun. For the briefest of seconds she imagined she was stepping out with him. That the two of them were spending an evening in Rome, doing the things that young lovers would do in a city as romantic as this.

  “I didn’t get the job.”

  Her romantic notions vanished. This visit wasn’t so much about him needing to see her as it was about him needing a sympathetic ear. “I’m sorry,” she said, stiffly.

  “Yeah. It sucks.”

  “Which job?”

  “The one in the sales department, here.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said again. “When did you find out?”

  “About twenty minutes ago.”

  “And you came to tell me?” Maybe she shouldn’t have said this out aloud, but the shock that he had, that he’d sought comfort in her, made her feel something. Made her forget the trauma of hearing his conversation with Emilio that day.

  “Emilio got it.”

  “Emilio?”

  “The guy who—”

  “I know who he is.”

  Christian stared down at the ground. “I can’t believe he would do that to me.”

  “You mean get the job?”

  “I mean not tell me he was going for it.”

  “Are you blaming him for you not getting it?”

  “What?” He turned to her, his face dark. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Maybe he felt he couldn’t tell you, because you were so confident about getting it.”

  He considered the idea. Maybe. “He could have told me early on. We’re both grown men. He didn’t need to sneak around and hide it from me.”

  “You shouldn’t be mad that he got it and you didn’t, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “He never told me he was going for the same job, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “Maybe you weren’t meant to stay here. You didn’t want to either, remember? You said it was a backup option. If he’s got the job, you should wish him well and forget about it.”

  “Are you on his side?”

  “What? I’m not on anyone’s side. I barely know him, just like I barely know you.”

  That seemed to touch a nerve. “Barely know me?” His gaze pierced through her like a screwdriver through paper. “We spent a night together,” he growled, rough and low. “I watched you come. Don’t say you barely know me.”

  She looked around, mortified in case anyone had heard his words. Heat tinged her cheeks and she backed away, not understanding the angry tone of his voice. Not understanding why he was pissed off with her. If anyone had a right to be angry, it was her, still, she found her composure in his chaos. “We didn’t spend the night together. I went back to my hotel.”

  “You didn’t have to, but for some reason you got out fast enough.”

  “What we had was a one-time thing. A mistake.”

  “A mistake?” he thundered.

  She caught something in his voice. Something soft, not surprise, more like a touch of disappointment. She wondered if she’d bruised his alpha male pride. When he didn’t say anything, she knew for sure she’d bruised something.

  “I’m not saying it was all a mistake,” she said, trying to soften the blow.

  “It wasn’t a mistake for me.”

  The words made her heart stop. And shudder. And start up again. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say to that. She dare not interpret it wrong. Dare not raise her hopes. Dare not grow too comfortable with the idea that he cared for her.

  He already had a girlfriend, she knew. He could say what he wanted, and he would, because he had no idea what she knew. Her mother always warned her that men were good liars.

  She threw it out there, her curiosity in a question armed at him like a missile. “What about Rachele?” His face darkened. She was giving him a final chance to be honest. This was make or break.

  “What about her?”

  “What would she say if she knew what you did?”

  “It’s none of her business.”

  “None of her business?” He was lying to her again, and the ease with which he did so only proved that it was second nature to him.

  “That’s right. It’s nothing to do with her. She’s a…friend.” He sniffed. A dead giveaway, she thought. As if he was hiding something.

  “A friend?” She knew what she’d heard that day, and seeing the two of them together had only confirmed it. He was going to let her down. Her heart sank because she knew that this was a man who couldn’t be trusted. Staying away from him had been the right thing and it was a pity that he’d turned up at the Cazale Roma now. It was difficult to hate a man, even a lying, cheating man, when he looked so good, even when he was angry.

  “She’s not my girlfriend. But what about that… that …that guy you were with?” His nostrils flared, so enraged was he that he could barely get the words out.

  “Demetrio?” If only he knew.

  “Looked like an intimate little dinner, the two of you.”

  She laughed at his suggestion. Her and Demetrio. She’d rather make a pact with the
devil.

  “It’s not funny,” Christian snarled.

  “Demetrio?” she said again, his suggestion was so preposterous that it ignited a roar of laughter. “I can’t stand him.”

  “That’s not what it looked like to me.”

  She folded her arms, enjoying his discomfort while at the same time amused by his interpretation of events.

  “I work with that guy back at the hotel.”

  “He’s from Verona?”

  “You know that pain-in-the-ass guy I told you about? That’s him. He’s doing some IT upgrades.”

  “That’s him?” He blinked a few times. “And why are you here then?”

  “Helping them to prepare for the audit.”

  “And I suppose you’ve been hanging around with him in the evenings?”

  She wasn’t sure if she detected a hint of jealousy. “He’s not here. He caught the earlier train back to Verona. And no, he’s the last man on earth I would want to spend my evenings with.”

  Christian had blatantly denied that there was anything going on between him and Rachele and she wanted to believe him. He was so convincing the way he stood there adamantly insisting there was nothing going on, but she could only go by what she had heard, not by what he was telling her.

  “I’m sorry about the job,” she said. “There’s probably a better one waiting for you somewhere.”

  “I’m sure there is.”

  Cocky as ever, she thought. He scratched the back of his head and stood around as if he was unsure of what to do next. “’Bye, Gina.”

  She was unprepared for his sudden departure. “Where are you going?”

  “To get drunk.”

  “As if that ever solved any problem.”

  “As if you’d know.”

  “I would know, as a matter of fact.” Two glasses of wine usually went straight to her head.

  “I can’t imagine. You’re too scared to give up your control. Too scared to take a chance and do something reckless.” Funny how a man could say such hurtful words and not care about the pain he inflicted. Funny how he could twist the knife deeper and still breathe easily.

  “I took a chance with you, didn’t I?” She shot back, determined not to let him have the last word. “And that’s as reckless as it gets.”

  “You loved it.”

  “I wasn’t prepared for the baggage that came with it.”

  “Maybe if you let others in, you’d realize that the only baggage was what you carried.”

  These were rich words coming from a man who thought he was god’s gift to women. She didn’t need another level of complication on top of what had already been a long day.

  “If that’s what you think, why did you come looking for me anyway?”

  “Because I thought you might cheer me up.”

  She considered mentioning Rachele, seeing if he would own up to her, to ‘doing all flavors’ but decided against it. “I can’t do anything for you.”

  “I can see that,” he said, “I don’t know why I wasted my time coming here.”

  Chapter 30

  What was wrong with the woman? She was behaving as if he’d done something wrong. Did she think he was the one who had forced her into his bed? He didn’t understand her behavior one bit and couldn’t work out if she was angry or ashamed. If it was the latter, then that much shame was out of proportion to what had happened between them. They were consenting adults for goodness sake.

  The day was fast turning from bad to worse. He walked away from the Cazale Roma and stopped to make a call. Rachele’s number was still on speed-dial. Wiping his hand across his forehead, he contemplated what he was about to do. This was insane. It hadn’t even been a week since he’d told her he wanted out.

  “Are you free tonight?”

  “Why? What’s happened? You sound angry.”

  “Are you free?”

  “For you?” she giggled. “Anytime. But wait, free for what?”

  “For me.”

  “But I thought you said—”

  “Forget what I said,” he growled. “Can I come over?” A night with Rachele was just the tonic he needed and maybe it would help dislodge Gina from his brain.

  Rachele offered a throaty laugh which only fed his irascibility. “You want to see me again, do you?”

  She was going to make him sweat for it. He clenched his jaw. “Yes.”

  She let out a giggle. “You can come over any time but I’m still finishing up at work. I should be home by 8.30.”

  “I’ll be at yours at 8.31.”

  “You’re missing me,” she crooned, as he was about to hang up.

  “Maybe I am.” Or maybe he missed the sex. Maybe at times like this all he needed was to feel something physical, something raw, and to hell with the emotional connection.

  “I’ll be ready, willing and waiting.”

  He hung up and thought he heard someone shout out his name. Spinning around, he saw Gina rushing towards him with a leather satchel over her shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed by the time she reached him. “Didn’t you hear me?” she asked. “I shouted out twice.”

  “I didn’t hear.” The sight of her immediately melted away some of his anger. “Sorry.”

  She shoved a piece of paper towards him.

  “What’s this?”

  “The money you lent me. I’m sorry, I should have paid you back as soon as I got to Verona but the truth is, I completely forgot.”

  “You did pay me. I gave you my bank details over the phone.”

  She made a face. “I forgot to do it. I’m sorry. Things have been so hectic these last few weeks, with the new–”

  “The new hotel, I know,” he said, cutting her off. He hadn’t even bothered to check his account and see, but he was now even more pissed off by the idea that she’d only come after him to pay him back.

  “It’s good that you came by, otherwise I would have completely forgotten. I feel bad that I did.”

  He wished she would stop going on about it. “It’s no big deal,” he said, still not taking it. “It’s not like it’s a thousand euros.”

  “Two hundred euros is a lot of money. You’ll need to watch your spending until you get your next high-paying job.”

  He looked at her only to find she had the faintest outline of a smile on her face. He couldn’t help but ease into a smile himself. “Thanks,” he said, finally taking the check and slipping it into his jacket pocket.

  “Well,” she shrugged. “I’d better get going.”

  “Don’t go. Please.” He had missed her, but he hadn’t known until now, how much. The anger from a few moments ago suddenly faded when he saw that despite her words, she hadn’t stepped away from him. He dared to think that a part of her wanted to stay.

  “Can we talk? Just talk. I—” He wanted to tell her that he missed her, that he hated the way things were between them now, that he wanted to get to the bottom of whatever it was that was bothering her, but sensed that this wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

  She stared at him in the silent void between them.

  “Please, Gina.”

  “You want to talk?” He inclined his head, startled by her reply.

  “Yes.”

  A line formed between her brows, as if she were struggling to make a decision.

  “Then let’s talk.”

  “Now?”

  “Isn’t that what you meant?”

  He did, but… “You said you were rushing to catch the next train back.”

  “I can get a later one.”

  He didn’t want her to be traveling late on his account. “Just an hour,” he said.

  “I might even go tomorrow.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “There are a few hotels I wanted to go and see, before I apply for the positions they’re recruiting for.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes.” Interesting. He couldn’t figure her out, this sudden turnaround in her demeanor, and he couldn’t understand what this news mea
nt, the fact that she had told him. Was there a chance that she had missed him? Did it mean something? It was still misaligned, with her looking for jobs in Rome and him looking to leave the city.

  “So why don’t you tell me all about these new jobs you’re applying for?”

  “There’s nothing much to tell.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what it’s been like for you this week working with that obnoxious colleague of yours?”

  She smiled. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “Start at the beginning,” he suggested, and was looking forward to finding out more about her world.

  “And why don’t you tell me all about your week?”

  “Deal.”

  “But one thing,” she said, lifting her chin higher. “We’re just meeting as friends.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “If that’s what you want.” He was used to women wanting more, but this one, this one wasn’t cut from the same cloth as the others. He hadn’t had any ulterior motives in mind when he had decided to seek her out earlier, but something told him she had already made up her mind about him. He didn’t have a clue what it was but he sure as hell intended to find out.

  A short while later the two of them were sitting around a small outdoor table. Him with his bottle of Moretti, her with a glass of lemonade, and they spent a good while talking about vague and general things—his course, and their respective applications. Nothing too heavy. They continued to dance around the huge white elephant that neither of them seemed eager to broach.

  “I’m glad you forgot to make the deposit into my account.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t think you would have come after me, otherwise.”

  She didn’t answer straightaway. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. It’s not the kind of thing a girl would tell someone, but I’m not good at lying, or being manipulative, and I can’t believe I actually did this.”

  What was she talking about? Intrigued, and hopeful, he leaned towards her. “What did you do?”