Page 30 of A Good Girl's Guide to Dominance
Rome nods and smirks. “Thank you. It has been a while since I've been here. It’s good to come back and see it still going strong.”
“How'd you find this place?” I ask. “It’s the little hole-in-the-wall establishments like this one that always have the best food.”
He nods again, his eyes dropping to the table briefly before climbing back up to me.
“It was my father's,” he replies. “He definitely always made sure the food was incredible and truly Italian.”
“Really?” I say with raised brows. “I guess that explains the name. So your father is a business owner, too.”
“Was,” he retorts quickly. “He passed away fairly recently.”
A sudden wave of guilt washes over me. “Oh. I’m so sorry.”
Emotion and pain settle into Rome’s body, sinking his shoulders and quickly erasing the aura of invincibility he’s usually covered in. I watch it all fall away and be replaced by a melancholy gloom that darkens the room.
After a moment, he shakes his head. “Don't be. So, tell me about yourself.”
My brows raise, and I may have whiplash from how fast he changed the subject from his father to me. With agony hanging from his face, it’s clear that the topic of his father is still with him, but it’s a wound he’d rather ignore than discuss.
I clear my throat, trying to move away from the topic instead of asking the morbid, obvious questions everyone thinks of when hearing a loved one has passed. How did he die? Were you two close? How are you coping? Are you okay?
“You want to know about me?” I inquire instead of uttering the questions Ireallywant to ask. “Shouldn't we be talking about Nix and the pitch?”
“We will,” Rome answers. “But I just took over as CMO and I haven't had the chance to sit down with each employee and get to know them. I’m not some heartless asshole who only wants to get work out of the people at Sandcastle and nothing more. I'd like to know a little about everyone, but with work going on it gets hard to have a private meeting with the entire company. Since I've got you here, I figured I may as well learn who you are. How'd you end up at Sandcastle?”
So he wants to get to know me, but only because he's a boss trying to learn about his employees. As I told Jaz, Michael, and Jeremiah, every sign points to Rome not being interested in me. I'm sitting across from him in the sexiest dress in my closet, but his demeanor is still the same as when our paths cross at the office. Strictly professional.
“Well,” I start, “Marketing was the career path I chose in college, so it only made sense when I graduated to find a job in the field in which I’d just obtained a degree. There's no special story linked to a parent or how I fell in love with marketing at a certain time. It’s just the thing I chose to do.”
“So, you don't love it?”
I shrug. “I enjoy what I do and I love being creative, but I still think of it as work. It’s not like I enjoy it so much that I’m doing it in my spare time at home. Trust me, this will be the only time I talk about my job outside of the walls of Sandcastle.”
He chuckles with a barely-there smirk. “I can respect that.”
“How about you?” I ask.
“Fairly similiar,” he replies. “I got my degree for a couple of different reasons, including helping my father advertise this place, but I ultimately wanted to do my own thing. I ended up at Bell Liberty and worked my way up, but disagreementswith management slowed my progress. I’m ambitious, and sometimes it rubs people the wrong way when it looks like you're going to bite off more than you can chew.”
“Wait a minute. Hold on. You'reambitious? You? No way,” I quip.
I giggle at my own joke, but then something else happens. As I laugh and ignore my own cringiness, both sides of Rome’s mouth lift up, his lips part slightly, his perfectly white teeth show, and he finally unleashes a full smile as he looks directly at me. I’m so taken aback by how gorgeous it is that I stop laughing. My own smile fades away and I just look at him. As if I needed another reason to find him attractive. This is the icing on a cake that was already perfect, and butterflies explode in my stomach as I realize just how drawn to this man I really am. I know he's not in the lifestyle, but I want him anyway. I don't know what that says about me, but I don't even care. Rome Giovanni may be the most gorgeous man I have ever seen in my thirty years on this Earth.
“Funny,” he says, still beaming. “I know it’s obvious, but I’m not ashamed of it. My father was always on me about being an entrepreneur and having my own businesses. He wanted me to take over the two that he owned, but I wanted more. I saw a chance to fulfill a dream when Larry Thomas got indicted, so I took my shot and hit the mark. I wouldn't be sitting across from you right now if I wasn't ambitious.”
I nod along, still stunned by his smile even as it dissipates. “I hear you. Well, you're certainly shaking things up at Sandcastle.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It’s too early to tell. Trying to bring in a Nix Malone account is definitely … something. If it all works out, you're a genius. If not … well, I guess you will have bitten off more than you could chew, and Sandcastle will suffer because of it. Time will tell.”
Rome smirks as he nods, but I can't tell if it’s because he's agreeing or another reason.
“You're a straight shooter aren't you?” he asks.
I shrug. “When I don't have to worry about it getting me in trouble.”
Rome keeps nodding, active thoughts keeping his body in motion. “You're interesting, Nia, I must admit. You're honest, which is refreshing, and you have smarts to go along with your passion. When you put it all together it’s quite formidable. I can see why you've done so well at Sandcastle. I can also see why Sierra would be threatened by you.”
