by Lise Gold
“Of course.” Eliza’s intense eyes widened with curiosity.
“There’s this woman I met.” Rome wondered for a moment if it would be unprofessional to discuss it, but she didn’t consider herself to be their boss. She was simply the person who pulled everything together and working with such talented people, she didn’t want them to feel like there was hierarchy.
Eliza gasped. “A woman? I would never have guessed you were gay, although that’s a pretty lame statement to make in this day and age, I suppose.”
“Well, that’s the thing… I’m not.”
Eliza laughed out loud. “Well in that case, this city has already rubbed off on you. Is she local?”
“Kind of. She’s half Italian, half American and she’s lived here for a while. It’s over though. At least the physical part; we’re still friends…. I hope,” Rome added. “I behaved weird on Saturday night.” She let out a deep sigh. When she woke up this morning, the whole thing had felt like an overreaction. Maybe she really had been jet lagged, or hormonal, or just a little emotional over starting a new chapter in her life. “But thinking of her still makes me a little crazy.”
“Then I take it you’re not happy being just friends?”
Rome pursed her lips and thought about it. “Let’s just say I’m not the only person in her life, and I’ve discovered I get really jealous. It’s something I didn’t know about myself and I don’t like it, especially as it wasn’t serious in the first place. So, it’s better if I keep a distance, at least emotionally.”
“Hmm… Yeah, I get the jealousy thing. It’s a horrible disease of the mind.” Eliza waved at one of their colleagues who came out with a tray of beers and took two off for herself and Rome before thanking him in Italian. “And is there any chance she’ll get rid of the third party anytime soon? Have you considered a threesome?”
Rome almost choked on her beer and chuckled. “No, and no. I may be going through a phase of exploring my sexuality, but I’m not that open-minded. Besides, it’s way more complicated than that. I…” Their conversation was interrupted by flirtatious whistling, and one of their colleagues yelled something in Italian at a woman who was passing through the alleyway.
“Fuck…” Rome’s heart started racing as she saw it was Nadine, dressed in a navy blue sequined dress and high heels. Her hair danced loosely around her shoulders as she walked with a sway in her hips, her small, black purse dangling from a gold chain on her arm. She gave the boys a dazzling smile and yelled something back that made them laugh. Rome would have given anything to speak Italian in that moment, and she also would have given anything to change the way she looked. As her team members had gone straight to the bar, she hadn’t bothered getting dressed up either, but seeing Nadine now, she wished she had.
Nadine’s eyes narrowed as she spotted her, and Rome could tell she was shocked to see her here. “Rome?” Her eyes darted from Rome to Eliza and back, a hint of something Rome hadn’t seen before flashing over her features.
“Hey,” Rome said, trying to look confident and relaxed, while all she wanted to do was run to the bathroom to check her hair and makeup. Whatever she’d said on Saturday night flew straight out of the window, and she shivered when Nadine walked up to her and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be out enjoying your evening by now.”
“No, my meeting isn’t until eight, and my limo is picking me up on the bridge. Apparently is was too long to make the turns around here.” Nadine rolled her eyes. “Fucking show-off.” Again, her curious eyes met Eliza’s before she turned back to Rome. “But on the upside, I’m looking forward to Wednesday.”
“Yeah, me too.” Rome thought about introducing Nadine to Eliza, but she seemed to be in a hurry and something about the way Nadine looked at Eliza made her think that maybe now wasn’t a good time. “Let me know where to meet you.”
“No need, I’ll pick you up.” Nadine shot her a dazzling smile before she walked off. “Have a great night, Rome.”
“Thanks, you too.” Rome’s eyes lowered to her behind, then realized that it had gone quiet around her. When she snapped back and looked at her colleagues, conversations picked up again as if they had never been interrupted. Even Eliza seemed a little impressed by Nadine, as she was still staring at her until she disappeared around the corner.
“Okay… That woman is smoking hot. Angry, but still smoking hot.” Eliza flipped her lilac hair to one side, her mouth opening, then closing again as if she was lost for words. “Was that her?” She finally asked in a whisper.
“Yeah.” Rome bit her lip and winced, worried Eliza might think she was way out of Nadine’s league.
“And you were saying you were jealous?” Eliza laughed and fanned a hand in front of her face. “Mama Mia. Did you see how she glared at me? And what’s the limo for? Is she dating a celebrity, or some movie mogul?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, whoever it is, you’re clearly her number one, so I wouldn’t worry too much. She’ll come around.”
24
“Hi Louise, it’s good to see you again.” Nadine scanned the hotel bar where she was meeting her client, Louise Spencer-Ayre, an in-the-closet English heiress, married to a wealthy investment banker. Running her own exclusive shoe emporium, Louise was a businesswoman herself, and was always jetting around to meet with manufacturers and retailers. “Where’s the rest of the party?”
“Nadine.” Louise batted her long eyelashes and chuckled. “No one else will be joining us, it’s just you and me tonight. I hope that’s not a problem?” She gave Nadine a kiss on her cheek and took her hand.
“Of course not.” Nadine gave her a sweet smile and followed the older lady to their table where a bottle of Barolo was waiting for them. The lavish hotel was out of town, which was an unusual choice for Louise, who tended to stay central for her meetings. Nadine didn’t feel entirely at ease tonight, and perhaps that was because it was just the two of them. The problem wasn’t that they were short of things to talk about; they both loved Italian opera, traveling and art among many other things, but the absence of others made it feel very intimate all of a sudden.
Then there was also the run-in with Rome, of course. Although Nadine was happy that Rome was making new friends, the woman she’d been talking to had been stunning, and she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that something might be brewing between them. Perhaps she’d awoken something in Rome that she now wanted to explore, and that thought made her feel even worse. It was crazy to get worked up over it; she knew that. Fake or not; she was on a date herself tonight, and even if she wasn’t, she still wouldn’t be able to give all of herself to someone and sustain any form of intimate relationship. It had just always been that way.
“You’re looking beautiful as always.” Louise looked as if she was about to jump Nadine any minute as her eyes raked over her cleavage in the tight dress. “I’m glad I got your size right. Do you like it?”
“I do. Thank you.” Nadine cleared her throat and tried to relax. “Why are you here by yourself?” she asked, keen to get to the bottom of Louise’s motives, although she had a pretty good idea. “And why are we so far out of town?”
“No specific reason, I just felt like a change.” Louise waited for the waiter to pour their wine and clinked her glass against Nadine’s. “I checked up on my samples in Rome last week and the head of production there told me this was a nice place to stay, so I moved hotels and booked an extra couple of nights.” She shrugged. “My husband is in Cape Town until next month, so he won’t care that I’m away, and I’m getting to an age where I deserve some time off.”
Her hand landed on Nadine’s thigh, and although that wasn’t allowed, Nadine hadn’t exactly followed the rules with Louise on their previous dates, as she found her attractive. She’d slept with her twice but for some reason she wasn’t feeling it anymore. “Well, good for you,” she said, trying to sound casual. Then she stood up again and grabbed her purse.
“Please excuse me for a moment. I need the restroom; I’ll be right back.”
She headed for the other end of the room and disappeared around the corner. In the toilet, she steadied herself against the sink and looked at her reflection. The sequined dress she was wearing tonight was by an expensive brand, and the fact that Louise had bought it for her to wear made her think that she might have come to expect certain things in return by now. Nadine had always been the one to suggest they’d take it further, and although she’d told herself she wanted to earlier, now she felt like she was being bought like never before. She’d taken advantage of Louise twice, but now Louise was taking advantage of her, and it would be hard to explain why she wasn’t interested in sex as she didn’t really understand it herself. The dress felt too tight, as if it was squeezing the life out of her, and a couple of broken sequins were poking into her skin. “Get a grip,” she mumbled to her reflection, and topped up her lipstick. Her job was the only stable thing she had, and she was going to use the remainder of her time as an escort to build up a buffer, no matter what.
“Why do I get the feeling something is bothering you tonight?” Louise asked as she sat back down. She trailed a finger over Nadine’s shoulder and arched an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” Nadine put a hand on Louise’s in an attempt to put her at ease. “Just feeling a little light-headed tonight, that’s all.”
“Then maybe we should eat before you have more wine.” Louise beckoned the waiter over and told him they were ready to be seated. When she reached out to take the glass from her, Nadine pulled back her hand and held onto it. It was a harsh realization that Louise was no different from the men she dated. She was convinced she had the right to make her do whatever she wanted, just because she was paying her, and taking the drink from her was simply rude and disrespectful.
“I’m okay finishing my drink, thank you.” The words sounded harsh and she quickly painted on a smile to hide her annoyance.
“As you wish.” Louise stood up and put an arm around her as they followed the host to their table. “I’ve been told they serve excellent orzo here.”
“Orzo sounds good.” Nadine tried to sound upbeat as she took a seat opposite Louise, but it was like a spell had been broken. Faking it had always been her thing; she was very, very good at it. She’d sat through thousands of hours of mind-numbing conversation, pretending to be interested and engaged, and she’d convinced every single one of her dates that she was charmed by them, no matter how much she disliked them. One place where she’d never faked it though, was in the bedroom, and she wasn’t going to start tonight. Just as she tried to think of a way to subtly break it to Louise that nothing was going to happen between them, Louise’s heeled foot caressed her calf under the table.
“I have the suite booked,” she said in a sultry voice, lifting her foot a little higher, until Nadine took a hold of it and stopped her.
“I’m sorry, Louise, I can’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“You know what I mean. I can’t sleep with you tonight. Things have changed in my personal life. I… I have a girlfriend now,” she lied, thinking of Rome. It was the first thing that sprung to mind, and even though they weren’t in any kind of relationship, Rome was the main reason why she didn’t feel like sleeping with Louise.
“Right… You have a girlfriend.” Louise looked irritated as she let her words sink in. “And what does your girlfriend think of your job?” Sarcasm was dripping through her voice as she uttered the word ‘girlfriend’, like it was a dirty thing. “Does she even know?”
“She knows.” Nadine met Louise’s eyes and tried to remain calm. “And I’m faithful to her, so I don’t sleep with any of my clients anymore.” She swallowed hard and hesitated before she continued. “I apologize if I gave you the wrong idea the last times we met up. As per our contract, this will be nothing more than dinner tonight.”
Louise stared at her as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. The silence between them was palpable, but Nadine refused to explain herself further. She didn’t have to, and she wouldn’t. She was an escort, not a prostitute, and she’d do what she was hired to do, which was look pretty, sit through dinner and be polite, nothing more.
“Do you have any idea what that dress cost me?” Louise asked in a cold tone. Her smile was gone.
Nadine winced at the stab she felt, when Louise’s words confirmed exactly what was happening here. “I’ll bring the dress back to the agency; you can have it picked up there.” She shrugged. “I never asked for it, and you shouldn’t have made assumptions and lured me all the way out here. It’s put me in a very uncomfortable position.”
“Oh, you’re uncomfortable, are you? What about me?” The graceful and composed woman was showing her true colors. Louise was not used to hearing no, and it clearly brought out the worst in her as her face pulled into a disgusted grimace. “You’re the biggest disappointment since my daughter brought her last boyfriend home. I thought you were better than this.”
“I am better than this.” Nadine stood up and looked over her shoulder before she walked off, making sure to raise her voice enough so the diners around her could hear her. “That’s why I’m leaving. Don’t worry, they’ll give you a refund if my services weren’t satisfactory.”
Louise slammed her fist on the table. “Good luck with making your own way back.”
Nadine shot her another glare before she stormed out. She felt awful and disrespected. Here she was, an hour out of town, and she could only hope there would be a cab waiting outside the hotel. Angelo wasn’t here to drive her back, because stupidly, she’d trusted that everything would go smoothly with Louise. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw a cab waiting. The driver would undoubtedly see the desperation in her eyes and charge her a fortune, but she didn’t care because she really, really wanted to go home.
25
Rome rubbed her temples as she ventured outside on Tuesday morning. The five beers she’d drank last night hadn’t seemed like much, but now she was paying the price. She walked up a steep hill toward the nearest Metro stop, and despite the headache, she couldn’t help but smile at the bustle around her. It was a beautiful spring day and May was coming to an end. Cafés were already open, and there were long queues outside the most popular ones. She stopped and lined up too because the smell was amazing, and she wanted to do what the locals did. If she was going to be here for a while, she might as well embrace the morning rituals of the city and become a part of it. It was heaving with people when she finally squeezed her way toward the counter and ordered a cappuccino to take away. The small yellow cup looked so precious that it made her smile, and she sipped it while she continued up the hill, fueled by the seriously strong brew and the sun shining down on her. She passed the neighborhood’s main square where the local dog walkers congregated in the morning. They were sitting on benches, catching up over coffee while the well-behaved dogs played, and the naughty ones chased cyclists, resulting in a lot of back-and-forth shouting. There was a bakery selling artisan flatbreads, an antique jewelry store and an assortment of vintage boutiques dotted among the restaurants that were just opening up for the day.
She was delighted with her new neighborhood and the apartment Nadine had found, and her second morning went a lot smoother, now that she knew how the ticket machines worked, and which metro line she needed to take. As she sat down on the train, she tried to concentrate on the emails on her phone, but it was hard after seeing Nadine last night. She’d looked so beautiful on her way to meet her dinner date, and despite Eliza assuring her Nadine was more than interested in her, she couldn’t help but picture Nadine and her no-doubt beautiful and elegant date together. Maybe they were still in bed. Maybe they’d ordered room service. Maybe Nadine was doing that amazing thing to her… Stop it, she told herself. This was all her own doing, and if she was going to stand by her word, they could be nothing more than friends. Even if Nadine wanted more, Rome didn’t
think she could commit, simply because she’d never been able to.
Rome never crushed on people. Not like she had with Nadine, but occasionally, she’d met men she liked, and sometimes they liked her back. She knew that technically these men would make excellent life partners as they shared the same values and interests. Sometimes she even found them a little attractive, although that usually had more to do with their character than with their looks. But never once had she committed to a relationship. Rome was predictable that way; as soon as they told her they wanted more, she’d apologize, walk off without explanation and break off all contact. It was a terrible thing to do, but time after time, she’d been unable to fight the urge to do so. Why would this be any different?
She was pulled out of her thoughts when her stop was called, and she looked down at her first email that she hadn’t even read yet. Walking out of the station and up another hill toward the office, she replied to Matteo’s assistant, confirming their dinner plans for tonight, before scrolling through the rest of the messages.
Nero’s headquarters comprised of a large, modern cube-like building on the outskirts of town, its glass exterior a stark contrast to the old buildings that surrounded it. A straight concrete path leading to the entrance divided the pristine lawn upfront into two sections; an outside lunch area to the left, with picnic tables and benches, and an outdoor gym to the right, where some of the employees were getting their morning exercise in before starting their day. So far, it seemed like a friendly company that looked after its staff, and Rome was happy with her new workplace. Downstairs was a reception area, the mail room, the canteen and a recreational area, and the first floor was taken up by experts who handled short-term investments, consisting mainly of start-ups. The second floor was taken by the finance department and HR, and the temporary teams were housed on the third floor, which was used for the occasional big project, such as hers. The board’s offices were on the fourth floor, but apart from their assistants, she was told it was rarely occupied unless a meeting was planned.