Roman Encounter

by Lily Zante

  “She told me the truth.”

  Demetrio blinked a few times but said nothing.

  “What about your upgrade project,” Nico asked. “I trust you’ve completed all your work at the Cazale Roma?”

  “It’s all done,” Demetrio replied with a smug smile on his face. “And it went very well.”

  “Very well?”

  Demetrio nodded his head.

  “How do you think you did?”

  “I think I did a good job.”

  Nico sighed as he rested his hands on his stomach, and realized that he had adopted one of his father’s mannerisms. Edmondo used to sit back in his chair, like this, contemplating matters, often.

  “You think you did a good job?” asked Nico, repeating Demetrio’s words. “You think?”

  “Yes.” Demetrio looked back at him as if he didn’t understand the question.

  “Matteo said that the printer in the office isn’t working properly.”

  Demetrio looked puzzled. “I’m sure I checked it.”

  “It’s not working, and Matteo said it was working before.”

  “I’ll take a look,” Demetrio replied, confidently. “It won’t take long to fix. I can access their machines remotely.”

  “And the two machines in the back office aren’t connecting to the network.”

  “They’re not?”

  “They’re not. Did you carry out proper testing before you left?”

  Demetrio shifted in his chair. “Yes.”

  “But you left early.”

  “Ye-eeeeeesss.” Demetrio said slowly.

  “Could it be that you left early because you were anxious to get back, it being Friday and all?”

  “I’d been there a week, and I’m certain I checked everything.”

  “And yet we have a printer and two machines out of order.”

  Demetrio cleared his throat.

  “Do you know what I hate most in people?” Nico asked him. The young man shook his head. “I hate it when people are so busy keeping an eye on business which doesn’t concern them, that they forget to take care of the business which should concern them. I want you to fix the problems in the Rome office by close of business today. And if you can’t do it remotely, I expect you to take the train to Rome, fix everything, and come back today.”

  “Today?”

  “Today,” Nico stated, firmly. “I suggest you get to it.” Demetrio rose to his feet and rushed out.

  Nico waited for Demetrio to close the door behind him and wished he could clone Gina ten times. If he could do that, he’d be able to run the Cazale hotels without a problem.

  Dealing with people was a nightmare, and having a nightmare in his management team was the last thing he wanted. At least Ines was hard working and a keeper. And as for Gina…

  Nico sighed and didn’t want to dwell on the huge problem her departure was going to leave him with. She was due to leave a few months before his and Ava’s first wedding anniversary. He’d been hoping to take Ava back to Venice, to the place where their romance had truly begun, but he would have to postpone these plans.

  With Gina gone, he couldn’t leave the hotel because there was nobody he trusted enough to take care of things in his absence. In the past, he had taken off without thinking, without worrying, because he had relied on Gina to take care of things. He wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.

  He opened his leather folder and flicked through the résumés once more but his heart wasn’t in it. Not one single candidate stood out. There was nobody in this pile who could replace Gina. He was lost in this dilemma when a quick, soft knock on the door made him look up.

  “Come in,” he ordered.

  Gina’s head popped around the corner. “Do you have a moment?”

  “For you, I have two. Come in.” He grinned, though he was dreading the news he feared she might have. God help him if this was it. He couldn’t face bad news on a Monday morning. Gina telling him she had found a job was the worst possible news.

  “Sit down,” he said, when she hovered around his desk, setting his nerves on edge. “How was your weekend?” He awaited her usual cryptic answer.

  “It wasn’t too bad.”

  He nodded, knowing that this was as good as he would get from her.

  “Elisabetta’s in the garden with Elsa,” she remarked. “Your little girl is growing up so fast, Nico. I can’t tell who she looks like more, you or Ava.”

  He pointed to his face. “You don’t see the resemblance?”

  “She has Ava’s eyes.”

  “Yes, but everything else is mine.” He couldn’t help but be happy thinking about his daughter and the deep fulfillment that becoming a father had given him.

  “I tried to hold her, but she didn’t want to leave her grandma.”

  “No,” said Nico. “She’s very attached to Elsa, and you won’t stand a chance when she’s around, but when you come next week, Elisabetta will be all yours. You can share her with Andrea, and the pair of you will be able to because Elsa has other plans.”

  “Next week?” Gina looked puzzled.

  “The Monday after Easter, Ava and I are having a small get together. I’m sure you said you’d be able to come?”

  She gasped and made a face that told him she had completely forgotten. “I’m sorry, Nico, but I can’t make it. I’ve got a course in Rome, and I’m going there a few days early.”

  “You’re celebrating Easter in Rome?”

  “Something like that.”

  What was he supposed to make of that? “That’s a shame. We were looking forward to seeing you. We’ve also invited Andrea and Leo.”

  “I’m sorry. I would have liked to have seen everyone but I’ve already made plans.”

  “Don’t worry. Another time. You’re always welcome to visit us, wherever you move to.”

  She smiled. “How did it go? Interviewing the candidates you had shortlisted?”

  They were good, almost as good as Gina. They had the paperwork, degrees, and qualifications, and other worthless things, but he’d already had a taste of Demetrio, and he preferred not to have more of that type of person on his team. Qualifications were all well and good but it was the character of a person that he considered to be most important, and that was what he looked for first.

  “They weren’t too bad. But I’m not looking to hire people who aren’t ‘too bad.’ I want people who are extraordinary. What about you? Have you found something?”

  “Not yet.”

  “That’s good, for me,” he said. “But not so good for you.”

  “It’s not so bad, either,” she countered, then seemed to hesitate a while. “I wanted your thoughts on something.”

  “What is it?” he asked, his chest tightening. He expected her to ask him for a reference.

  “What if I realized that I like things the way they are? That I had made a mistake, and that I only needed to change the things I didn’t like.”

  “You like things the way they are and…” He placed his hands on his stomach and considered the riddle.

  “I’m sorry to sound so vague but I’m still working it out.”

  He looked at her with amusement. “You don’t know the answer either?”

  “I think I know what I need to do, I’m just not sure of it.”

  He wondered what his father would have said. “Why don’t you let things unfold and come back to me when they have? Sometimes you need to lean into things in order to get a feel for them.”

  “I may need some time to resolve things.”

  “You can have as long as you want.” His hopes were starting to rise. She wasn’t asking for a reference.

  “I might have made a hasty decision.”

  “To leave?” he asked.

  “To stay.”

  He studied her face. She was beaming from ear to ear as she got up. “Thanks, Nico.”

  “I’m not sure I’ve done anything to deserve the thanks,” he replied. “But I’ll take it. Enjoy your course.”
/>
  “I will.”

  He could be mistaken, but he was sure she sounded exuberant. Even after she had left his office, he had no clear idea of what it was that Gina had been talking about, but like most things to do with her, he trusted that she had the Cazale empire’s best interests at heart.

  He knew she would tell him when she had come to a decision, and he was happy enough to wait it out. He picked up the leather folder and put it away in a side drawer, and hoped that he didn’t need to refer to it again.

  Chapter 40

  “Relax, Gina,” Christian had told her.

  “I am relaxed.” She was as relaxed as it was possible to be standing upright on a two-wheeled self-balancing scooter. She had never been on one, and would never have tried one, but with Christian the taste for new things was becoming the norm.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “It’s the best way to see Trastavere.” She didn’t doubt that but the streets were so narrow and winding, she was terrified of taking a corner too fast, of hitting someone walking in the opposite direction, of hitting anyone or anything. “What if I fall off?”

  “I'll be here to catch you.”

  She relaxed, because he was her safety net.

  And so, within two hours of arriving in Rome, with Christian picking her up at the station and taking her to his apartment, she was now rolling around Trastavere on a Segway.

  She had often watched in awe when tourists scooted by on these super-glidey contraptions, never thinking the day would come when she would find herself on one. As it turned out, it hadn't taken that long to get her sense of balance and soon enough, aboard their Segways, they rolled through the heart of Trastavere, through the quaint labyrinth of carless streets, sometimes stopping to admire, and sometimes just passing by the ancient monuments that made up this district with layers of history. He had been right. This was a perfect way to see it. They whizzed through the picture-postcard pretty streets, him leading the way with her following close behind, the wind blowing in her hair and against her face.

  It was exhilarating.

  “Stop for a rest?” he shouted out.

  “Not yet.” Not when adrenaline coursed around her veins, and the blood pumped furiously around her body. The sense of freedom was impossible to give up.

  After passing through a tangle of streets decorated by bars, restaurants and artisan shops, and through piazzas centered by ornate fountains, she followed him up a hill. To her surprise, it was easy enough to scale it to the top and when they got off and admired the panoramic views of the city below, she was amazed at how easy it had been to go up.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, and they were silent, just looking ahead, admiring the view, and being content.

  She sighed, feeling joyous. This could be her new future, putting herself first for a change. Doing the things that made her happy. And Christian did make her happy.

  “You’re not thinking about your mother are you?”

  She stifled a smile. He knew her well. Too well.

  “Your mother will be fine,” he told her when she didn’t answer.

  “It's not her I'm worried about.” She had been late leaving home this morning, waiting for Mimi to come and pick up her mother who would be staying with her for the week. When Mimi still hadn’t turned up by 9AM, Gina had started to panic, assuming the worst, that her sister had backed out, thinking that her plans had been ruined again, and her visions of spending the weekend with Christian had started to disintegrate.

  But Mimi had come through, arriving late but arriving. With their mother still on crutches, it would be a while before she was able to get around unaided. She still needed someone to cook and care for her. Only, Gina didn’t have to do this alone anymore. She didn’t have to give up her chance at having a life, because for once, the responsibility would be shared. She wasn't sure how long it would be before her mother drove Mimi crazy, but for once, it wasn't her problem. She didn't need to take it to heart, and suffer for it. They were grown women, her sister and her mother, and they would have to sort it out.

  It had felt strange being the one to walk away, leaving the responsibility to someone else, and not having to worry, but it was something that she could get used to quickly.

  Something had changed in their dynamics; her, Mimi and their mother. It had changed the moment Gina had made a stand and had decided to stop fixing things; to stop pleasing people, and to stop putting herself last. At least, it seemed that way to her.

  “You’re going to see that man again?” her mother had asked, when Gina had first told her that she would be spending the Easter weekend in Rome.

  “Christian Russo, Mama. Yes, I’m going to see him again, but my course doesn’t start until Tuesday.” She let that sink in, so that her mother would know she was going not just for the course, but going to spend time with the man she was starting to fall for.

  “Another course?” Mimi had asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll be in Rome for Easter.”

  “Yes.”

  “Have fun,” her sister had said.

  “Be careful,” were her mother’s parting words.

  The smile on her face watching Mimi’s car disappear up the street had remained on her face the entire time. There had been a fleeting moment when she rushed towards the entrance of the Porta Nuova train station and remembered the exact moment Davide had told her he didn’t want to go to Venice, that he didn’t want to be with her anymore.

  One door closing had opened another.

  Never in her wildest dreams could she have foreseen this happening, that a man like Christian Russo would be the man for her. They had spoken every day, sometimes many times during the day, making plans for her week in Rome.

  “So, I want to tell you something,” he said, taking her hand and rubbing her fingers.

  She looked up at him.

  “I got the job in Milan.”

  A burst of sunshine exploded inside her. Milan was closer to Verona than Rome.

  “Congratulations!” She turned on tip-toe and kissed him. “Why didn't you tell me before?” Like when she had arrived, when they had stood at his balcony gazing out at the city and recounted the days since that humiliating introduction at her mother's house.

  “Because,” he said, nuzzling her neck and dropping a chaste kiss on it, “I wanted to show you how much I missed you first.”

  And he had shown her. By the time they had finished making love, she was in no doubt as to how much he had missed her. It had taken a gargantuan shift of willpower for them to leave his apartment and spend the day outside. The night was long, he’d told her, but for now, he wanted to show her other things.

  She moved from his side and stood facing him, chest to chest. “Well done. I’m so happy for you.” He had been so desperate for a change of job, for something more challenging, and she was so pleased that he’d found what he was looking for. She kissed his chest but when she again looked into his eyes, he didn't look as ecstatic as she expected him to be.

  “It will be further away,” he said, “but I don't mind traveling up and down the length of the country. You here in Rome, and me in Milan, we’ve swapped locations.”

  She had news for him too. It was early, this new seed of a relationship, and she had been worried when she had made her decision. A hasty decision, she'd told Nico, and one she needed to think about.

  “It won't be as long as you think.” Her lips curved out into a smile. “Not from Verona.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Verona isn’t that far from Milan.” She watched surprise flicker across his face.

  “You're not leaving?” His hands on her back hugged her closer. “But you said you were looking for work in Rome.”

  “I love the Casa Adriana too much. I love what I do too much to give it up.”

  He nodded, his eyes shiny as he listened. “But your resignation?”

  “I spoke to Nico before I le
ft.”

  “You told him you weren’t leaving?”

  “I didn’t say it quite like that.” She winced, recalling the conversation. “But he understands me as well as you do. He knew what I meant. I told him I needed time to resolve things.”

  “What things?”

  “I told him I might have made a hasty decision. A decision to stay put, after all. I wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons, for me, and not because it made sense for my mother, or for Nico or for anyone else.”

  “And?”

  “And I know I’m staying there for me.” She could have the best of both worlds, and with Christian, they could make it work, or at least try. She had plans to move out and rent a small apartment on the outskirts of Verona. Something not too fancy, but affordable, something that was hers.

  His big, soft hand reached out and cupped her face and she tilted her head, as if resting her cheek further into his palm. She let out a soft contended sigh.

  “I’m proud of you, Gina Morosini. It sounds as if you made the right decision.”

  She nodded in agreement.

  “I also think I’m losing my heart to you.”

  She jerked her head back up again and blinked because she could feel her eyes turning shiny. He made a face, as if he needed to think before he spoke, and she almost forgot to breathe while she waited.

  “I never had with Rachele, or anyone before, what I have with you. I never thought I would feel like that about someone.”

  “Like what?” she asked, curious.

  “Like I can’t breathe when things aren’t good between us. Everything seems harder when we’re not talking; getting through the day is like walking through a field of glue. It just feels so much better when things are good. Like now. Right now, I think it’s the happiest I’ve been for a long time. I’m falling for you, Gina, and I’m not afraid to tell you.”

  She let his declaration soak into her soul, and held it there a while, letting it fill up all those untouched places. He was special, this man, and he made her feel like nobody else ever had. She took his hands and held them gently. “I’m crazy about you, too.”

  They kissed, soft and gentle.