The Scent of Rome

by Lise Gold

  “I know. It’s not that I don’t like it. I love it, and I’m so grateful that you found it for me, but I think I just prefer your place.” Rome bit her lip and winced. “But I should really start sleeping there again, I’m constantly in your space and…”

  “No, please don’t,” Nadine interrupted her. “I love having you around. My apartment feels empty without you and I hate waking up alone these days.” She hesitated, picking on a fingernail. “But I was thinking that you might as well give up that expensive apartment. I mean, if you like my place, then…”

  “Then what?” Rome asked, a smile playing around her mouth as she knew what was coming.

  “Well, you might want to reconsider your official living arrangements.” Nadine sounded clumsy and the blush on her cheeks was adorable.

  “Are you asking me to move in with you?” Rome teased, wanting to hear her say it.

  “Yes.” Nadine chuckled. “Yes, God damn it. Just put me out of my misery and tell me you’ll move in with me.”

  Rome laughed, stood up and walked around the table to kiss her on the cheek while she wrapped her arms around Nadine from behind. “Of course I want to move in with you, silly. I want to be with you all the time.”

  “And you don’t think you’ll get sick of me?” Nadine asked, squeezing her arms.

  “Never. How could I?” Rome sat down again when a family of five arrived and she felt their eyes move over them. “Perhaps you’ll get sick of me? My stuff taking up space in your palatial apartment?”

  “No, you can put your stuff anywhere you want.” Nadine held up a hand with an amused smile. “Apart from in my perfume room; I’d rather not have clothes in there.”

  “I know you don’t like clothes in there.” Rome kicked off one of her heels under the table and ran her foot along Nadine’s calf. “I’ve seen you going in there a lot in the mornings lately, naked under your lab coat, and you have no idea what that does to me.” She really needed to stop looking at Nadine like that because anyone could sense the sexual tension between them. “So, we’re going to make it official? My lease runs out at the end of October.”

  “Yeah.” Nadine caught her foot and placed it onto her lap. “What? You want me to present you with a key in a jewelry box or something?” she joked, stroking Rome’s foot. “You already have one.”

  “No, I just wanted to hear you say it one more time.” Rome was unable to stop grinning. The urge to jump up and do a little victory dance was strong but she managed to compose herself when their shared platter of bruschetta arrived. “I’m excited,” she said, holding up her glass again as she pulled back her foot. “Here’s to us.”

  58

  “Sorry guys, I have to take this.” Rome walked out of the meeting space, went into her office and closed the door. “Anton?” Her heart was pounding in her chest as she answered the phone call from her lawyer. Although he called her regularly with updates, it always made her nervous, and she was worried that something had gone wrong.

  “Hi, Rome. Good news.” Anton paused for a moment, and Rome let out a sigh of relief as she heard him flick through paperwork. “Matteo wants to settle.”

  “Already?”

  “Yes, the judge has taken statements from all the victims, and he’s been called in too. He’s clearly getting jittery. Frankly, I think he knows he’s fucked and wants this to be over as fast as you do.”

  “That’s great news. What’s happening now?”

  “We’re going to put the settlement offer we discussed before him. Hopefully he’ll accept it, but if his lawyer comes in with a counteroffer, we’ll have to decide if that’s good enough.” Anton cleared his throat. “He probably didn’t expect so many victims to come forward. He might even have forgotten about some of them, so this process is a painful reminder to him of how many more could be out there. The longer this drags on, the more women could decide to take action, so I expect him to be keen to handle this fast and quietly.”

  “Good.” Rome smiled. “I’m still going to alert the press of course, but he doesn’t need to know that.” She’d taken the difficult decision to inform the media if they didn’t get a whiff of it themselves, purely because the world needed to know what type of person Matteo Romano was. Yes, the company might suffer, but if she couldn’t send him to prison, she wanted him named and shamed and this was the only way. “I don’t think he should come off lightly,” she said. “But as you know, there’s only one thing we all feel really strongly about and that’s having him removed from the building. Whatever his shareholders decide to do with him is up to them, but the office is a no-go. If that’s a problem, I don’t care how long this drags on for. That man shouldn’t be allowed back in the workplace.”

  “I know. And I’ll tell them that’s non-negotiable.” Anton paused. “How are you doing through all of this?”

  The question seemed strange, coming from him, since they didn’t really have a personal relationship. “I’m okay.” Rome took a deep breath. “I’m more stressed than I expected to be, but other than that, I’m coping.”

  “I’m sure Nadine is taking good care of you.”

  “She is.” Rome smiled. “But she’s been a little stressed herself, now that her new business is taking off, so I’ve arranged a nice surprise for her next week.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you. Please give her my best wishes.”

  “I will.” Rome paused. “And if I haven’t said it yet, I really appreciate your hard work and how invested you are in this case. It means everything to me.”

  “Hey, it’s my job,” Anton said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll have this settled soon, but let’s see how it plays out.”

  “Whatever it takes. Keep me posted.” Rome looked over at the meeting space, where her team was gathered. There was no way she was going to let the ten women there, nor any of the other women in the building, be subjected to Matteo’s advances.

  “I will.”

  Rome walked back to her meeting and gave Eliza a quick reassuring thumbs up, letting her know everything was fine. “Right”, she said, settling back into leader-mode. “Where were we?”

  “The launch party,” Eliza reminded her.

  “Of course.” Rome grabbed her notepad and sat down on one of the recliners, pulling her legs up underneath her as she chewed her pen. “The party of the century,” she added with a chuckle. “We have to be conscious of what is served. Everything we offer has to have the lowest carbon footprint possible, within reasonable limits of course, and the venue needs to match that. So think organic wine makers, vegan chefs, and a suitable location with public transport nearby. I know you guys are creators and not necessarily the users but still, you represent the Carbon app, so think about what you’ll be wearing, too. No fur, of course, preferably sustainable brands, and make sure the wait staff is dressed sustainably, too.”

  “There are a lot of abandoned warehouses in Rome,” a girl from the marketing team suggested. “They have great acoustics because of their height, and we might get permission to use one of them. I’ve also looked into a couple of hotels with Green Key certification.”

  “Great thinking.” Rome pointed her pen at her. “Check their availability and let me know what our options are. It needs to be smart enough for the celebrities on our guest list, though, so make sure it’s either weirdly spectacular or super smart. The board will only sign off if they think it will lift the company’s image; we’re doing something good here and that needs to be reflected in the media.”

  “You keep mentioning the media,” Jonathan said. “I don’t understand why you’re so worried about that; we’re launching a fantastic product, so I don’t get why you think they’ll be desperate to criticize what we’re doing.” He looked genuinely confused as he leaned in and stared at her. “We’re not doing anything wrong here.”

  Rome took a moment and sighed as she realized it was time to tell her team what was going on. They needed to be prepared for the inevitable media coverage that would
surround Matteo just as much as she did, and now was as good a time as any. “There’s something I have to tell you,” she said, looking around the room. “It might impact our launch, but then again, it might not.” All eyes were focused on her now, and she was pretty sure she’d be able to hear a pin drop the room was so quiet. “It’s about Matteo.”

  59

  “Good morning.”

  “Hey.” Nadine smiled as she turned to Rome and inhaled the smell of coffee. “Thank you, honey. That’s just what I needed.” She sat up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand as she took a sip, wondering why Rome was still here. “Why haven’t you left for work yet?”

  “I thought I’d take a day off.” Rome hiked up the cream-colored negligée she was wearing and straddled Nadine. “We’ve both been working so hard lately, so I thought it might be nice to spend a day in bed together.”

  Nadine grinned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then ran her hands under the satin fabric and slipped them around Rome’s hips to pull her closer. “I like your thinking.” She licked her lips as she eyed the sexy little number Rome was wearing, the outline of her hard nipples telling her she had nothing underneath. “Is that new?”

  “Uh-huh.” Rome leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips while she ran her hands through Nadine’s hair. “Do you like it?”

  “Very much.” Nadine pushed Rome into the mattress and rolled on top of her. “Can I take it off now?”

  Rome chuckled as Nadine grabbed her wrists and brushed her mouth with her lips. “Wait, not yet. I have a surprise for you.” She sighed in delight at the feeling of Nadine’s weight on top of her. “As much as I like that you’re naked right now, there’s something next to the bed that I want you to wear for me. I’d give it to you in person if I wasn’t pinned down.”

  Nadine laughed too, let go of her and shifted to look over the edge of the bed. She raised a brow as she picked up the beautifully wrapped present. “Is this going to be some kind of role-play? I didn’t know you were into that.”

  “Just open it.”

  Nadine carefully unwrapped the present and felt her heart swell as she took out a crisp, white lab coat with the Stars Aligned logo embroidered on the chest. “Oh, Rome, this is beautiful.” She tried not to cry, because it was by far the sweetest and most thoughtful present anyone had ever given her.

  “Do you like it? I had it made out of a highly durable anti-bacterial fabric with some kind of softener, so it will be more comfortable.”

  “I love it. But why did you do that?”

  “Just because I love you. And you needed a new one.”

  Nadine stood up and put it on. “How do I look?”

  “You look hot.” Rome winked. “I prefer it unbuttoned, though.” She pointed to the hallway. “I hope you can forgive me, but I sneaked into your lab and put some stuff in there too.”

  “You did not.” Nadine narrowed her eyes in mock anger. “I might have to punish you for that.”

  “Go and have a look first. Then, if you still want to punish me, I’m all yours,” Rome said as color rose to her cheeks. She followed Nadine into the living room and through the opening in the bookcase.

  “My God…” Nadine switched off the ventilator and walked over to her desk, where a pile of branded notebooks were laid out next to a branded pot with beautiful silver pens that matched the color of the logo. On the wall hung an illuminated white neon sign of her logo and next to it a large monthly planner. “This is incredible. When did you do this?” She ran her fingers along the new white sideboard situated underneath the neon sign that now held enough space for her test-tubes, scales, pipets and other lab paraphernalia.

  “I had some guys come in yesterday, while you were out getting groceries. That’s why I didn’t want you going in there last night. Don’t worry; they didn’t touch anything.” Rome smiled. “Now that your business is off the ground and you can afford to stay at the apartment, I thought it would be nice to give your workspace a makeover. I did some research into what you might need, but if I missed anything, let me know and I’ll order it for you.”

  Nadine wiped at her eyes as she looked around again, taking it all in. “That must have been so much work.” She couldn’t begin to describe how touched she was, so she simply closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Rome. “I love you.”

  “Mmm…” Rome closed her eyes against Nadine’s shoulder and held her tight. “I love you too.” She looked up and kissed Nadine’s cheek that was wet from her tears. Knowing Nadine was uncomfortable with being emotional, she unbuttoned her lab coat and pointed to the desk. “Go and sit in that chair.”

  Nadine felt a twitch at seeing the fire in Rome’s eyes. “Why?”

  “Because I have one last surprise for you.”

  Nadine sat back, a flash of heat shooting between her legs when Rome got down on her knees and crawled over to the desk. She moved slow and seductively, cat-like, her hips swaying each time she put one knee in front of the other. The negligée crept up, baring her thighs, and one of the straps slipped off her shoulder.

  “You have no idea how sexy you look,” Nadine whispered. A gasp slipped from her mouth when Rome crawled underneath the large desk and spread her legs apart.

  “You look pretty sexy from this angle too,” she said in a sultry voice.

  Rome’s warm breath on her sex made Nadine buck her hips, and her hands clamped around the armrests of her chair, her knuckles turning white as Rome ran her tongue along her lips. It felt incredible, and despite being more turned on than ever, she fought to keep her eyes open, the sight of Rome under her desk and between her legs too arousing to miss.

  Rome pulled her forward until she was sitting at the edge of her chair and twirled her tongue around her clit, then sucked it into her mouth so hard that Nadine shot up. She felt the need to wriggle, but Rome held her still, and as she dug her nails into her hips, Nadine’s body tensed up.

  “Please don’t stop,” she begged when Rome pulled away and looked up at her with a teasing smile.

  “Open your top drawer,” Rome whispered, and waited for Nadine to do so.

  Nadine’s lips parted as she picked up the small, egg-shaped purple device. “I didn’t know you were a toy girl.” Her voice was shaky, as she was so close already and desperate for Rome to continue.

  “I’m about to find out if I am.” Rome held out her hand. “Give it to me.” She smiled when Nadine shifted in her chair while she handed it over, eager for her to use it. Leaning in again, she ran her tongue down along Nadine’s lips until she found a pool of wetness. She darted her tongue inside her and switched on the vibrator, then placed it where Nadine needed it most.

  “Fuck!” Nadine jerked her hips as a climax of enormous proportions washed over her. She closed her eyes and gave in to the deliciously warm feeling, her mind vaguely registering her own moans and Rome’s mouth on her that didn’t stop pleasing, even though she could barely take any more. When she came down, she realized her hand was in Rome’s hair, pushing her face hard against her as she shuddered. “You make me crazy,” she said through ragged breaths.

  “And you make me wild.” Rome pulled herself up and sat down on her lap, her hair a mess as she licked her lips. She put an arm around Nadine’s neck and kissed her so passionately that Nadine thought she might drown in the kiss. When Rome pulled back, her eyes were dark and hazy and her chest heaving, giving away her own arousal. Grinning, she studied Nadine, who was staring at her, open-mouthed, for once, entirely lost for words. “Did you like that?”

  60

  “Rome, there’s someone from the press here. She wants to speak to you.” Nadine came out onto the balcony, where Rome was catching up on her emails on Saturday morning.

  Rome looked up and frowned. “What? How did she know I was here? I don’t even live here, technically.”

  “No idea. Do you want me to let her in, or shall I say you’re busy? She’s from La Repubblica, so it’s a big one.”

  �
��Perfect, that’s the one I wanted.” Rome closed her laptop and stood up. “No, I’ll go down and have a coffee with her somewhere public, I don’t want to let strangers in here.”

  “Want me to come with you?” Nadine took Rome’s hand as she walked past.

  “Sure. Unless you’re busy?” Rome squeezed her hand. “I’m glad I told the team last week; I wouldn’t want them to find out on the news.” She bit her lip and winced. “Although Anton briefed me, I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’ve never dealt with press before.”

  “That’s okay, you just need to tell her the truth,” Nadine assured her. “But it might be nice to have someone with you.” She pressed the intercom button and told the woman that Rome would come down, then stepped into her sandals. “Don’t you need to get dressed?”

  Rome laughed as she looked down at the kimono dressing gown she was wearing. “God, I’m all over the place this week. Waiting for the settlement to be finalized is so stressful; I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached.” She rushed into the bedroom and quickly put on a pair of black slacks and a T-shirt. Her hair was still wet from her shower, and her eyes looked sleepy, so she covered them with a pair of Nadine’s big, dark shades. “No pictures today, that’s for sure. But I have permission from the others to get everyone together for a picture at some point this week, so she’ll be able to use that. Most of them are happy to be interviewed, too.”

  “I bet she won’t believe her luck. They usually have to scramble for stories like this one, and women rarely speak up about sexual harassment,” Nadine said.

  “Exactly. And after the settlement she’ll have another story, to keep the momentum going. Hopefully by then, everyone will know what a piece of shit Matteo is.”

  They both chuckled quietly when they came down and found Luca and the journalist sitting on the edge of a wall in front of the building, engaged in a heated discussion about the mayor. Rome expected Luca to sneer at the journalist as she broke up the conversation, but instead, he gave the woman a sweet semi-toothless smile and wished her a good day.