Page 32 of Tour Wars
“I’ll be done at one o’clock.Sharp.You can collect your group at Palatine Hill by the Museo Palatino. Angelo sent me your contact information in case of emergency. If I text you, I expect you to answer immediately. Is this understood?”
Like he was going to argue? This stern woman wasn’t someone he wanted to mess with. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you. Would you prefer it if one of us joined you on the tour? To help out?”
“Definitely not. I don’t need an amateur tour guide mucking things up. Just keep your phones on.” She addressed the group. “Everyone! Tune your receiver to channel 14. We are marching. If you lose sight of me, follow the red flag. Andiamo!”
Around them, similar groups were assembling. Some guides held up flags, while others carried umbrellas or signs, every one of them hoping to get their charges through the gates of the Colosseum when it opened at nine. Groups upon groups, speaking English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. A hop-on/hop-off bus pulled up, and a glut of people emerged, all hastening to reach the entrance. Even if TJ could appreciate the majesty of the Colosseum, he was grateful the cranky tour guide hadn’t wanted his assistance. With the site this crowded, he preferred to observe it from a distance.
As the group marched away, Emilia let out an audible shudder. “Holy crap. I thought I was grumpy, but that guide is next-level. She’s positively terrifying.”
Nico stepped off the bus and lit a cigarette. “You mean Sandra? She’s only like that at first because it’s so chaotic out here. Once she has the group together, she does a masterful job of leading them. She has a PhD in classical history and knows everything about the Colosseum.”
“She has a PhD?” TJ asked. “Why isn’t she teaching somewhere? Or working in a museum?”
“Eh.” Nico shrugged. “There are a lot of archaeologists and historians in Rome and only so many university jobs available.”
Ouch. Was that what TJ had to look forward to? Leading tours for the next two decades? “Does she do the same tour every day? It must get old.”
“I think she mixes it up,” Nico said. “But the Colosseum is so popular that she’s always in demand.”
A petite woman with olive-toned skin and a pink pixie cut approached them and addressed Nico in Italian. “Ciao, Nico. Do you have the scoop on Mateo? Did he get fired for misconduct? I’m pretty sure he was banging two women on his last tour.”
Nico waved his hand in dismissal. “Eh, he wouldn’t get fired for that. He was in a hiking accident, but he’s coming back next month. We’ve got two Americans leading the tour right now—TJ and Emilia.”
“Nice to meet you,” the woman said, switching to English. She eyeballed TJ. “You’re a cutie, though a little young for the women here. That Mateo, he was a silver fox. The ladies loved him.”
Emilia burst out laughing, but TJ was thrown off-kilter. Was this woman the Roman equivalent of Giada? “I’m sorry, but whoareyou? Do you work for Buon Viaggio?”
“Nope. I’m Francesca Scioretti, but everyone calls me Cesca.” She pointed to a coach bus parked behind theirs. “I’m with Roman Pathways Tours. Same shit, different bus. We’re one of your direct competitors, so we follow the same route as you. Get used to seeing a lot of us.”
“Wait,” TJ said. “I thought this was a ‘uniquely curated, one-of-a-kind experience.’ You mean to tell me there are other tours following the same itinerary?”
Cesca snorted. “Believe it. First of all, there are only so many places you can visit on a so-called ‘archaeological treasures of southern Italy’ tour, so we hit up the same sites. And second, it’s not always easy finding restaurants and hotels that want to accommodate large groups.” She cocked her head to the side. “How’d you two get roped into this gig? You’re obviously not Italian.”
TJ answered. “We were hired because we’re archaeologists, and—”
“Ha. That’s what they tell all the guests,” Cesca said. “A tour led by a ‘real archaeologist,’ when it’s usually someone who’s taken a few ancient history classes. Like me—one semester of Latin and two of Roman history, and that’s it.”
“No, wearearchaeologists,” Emilia said. “With PhDs and everything. We came to Italy to work at Pompeii. Giving tours is our side hustle. We’re only doing this excursion as a onetime thing.”
“So you say, but don’t be surprised if you get sucked into the dark side. That’s what happened to me.” Cesca pulled out her phone and peeked at it. “We’ve got a few hours to kill, so let’s grab a caffè. I know a place nearby where we can sit for a while. You up for it?”
Maybe Cesca was used to taking off, but TJ didn’t want to risk leaving his post. On the chance Sandra contacted them with an emergency, she’d be mad if they were off having coffee. He’d hoped to use the break to talk with Emilia, but volunteering to stay with the bus might earn her forgiveness. “Em, you can go if you want. I’ll hang out by the bus in case there’s a crisis.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but the bus isn’t staying,” Cesca said. “None of them are.”
Nico finished his cigarette and ground out the butt with his boot. “She’s right. We can’t linger after drop-off. Too much air pollution. As a matter of fact, there were a few years when we weren’t allowed to drive around the historic district of Rome at all. I’ll be back after lunch to take all of you to the museum. Grab anything you need before I leave.”
“I’ll get the binder,” TJ said. “That way, I can brush up on my Roman facts while I’m waiting. If something comes up, I’ll handle it.”
Emilia brightened. “You sure?” When he nodded, she grinned at Cesca. “Lead on. I can always use more coffee.”
As she walked away, TJ fought off a pang of longing. He wanted to be the one sharing coffee with her. Maybe this afternoon, once they were done with the day’s excursion, he could seek her out alone and apologize again.
* * *
Emilia was temptedto stay behind with TJ. After their argument this morning, she wanted to smooth things over. True, he’d grossly overstepped when he made that comment about her hooking up with Luca, but he’d only said it out of frustration. Last night, he’d reached out to her three times, and she’d left him hanging. To be fair, she’d been exhausted, but a simple message like “I’m okay, thanks” would have gone a long way in reassuring him.
As it was, she wasn’t operating at full capacity. Falling asleep fully clothed had been a terrible idea. She’d woken at two, feeling out of sorts. After changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth, she’d gone back to bed, only to toss and turn for hours. All because Luca had left her so unsettled. Even if he hadn’t made a move on her, he hadn’t kept things professional, either. He’d made too many comments about her appearance. And before bidding her good night, he’d kissed her on the cheek. She let it go without a word of protest, but she didn’t want him getting into the habit of it.
