Her Roman Holiday (16 page)

“But what’s the use of preliminary findings, anyway?”

Sorvignac made an impatient noise.
 
“People don’t take notice of things like ‘preliminary’ when studies are released.
 
They just want the bottom line: good or bad.
 
If later evidence emerges to contradict it, they’ll jump on that bandwagon when the time comes.
 
As long as the conclusions are spelled out by some group of scientists, and the public is shown what to think, they go along with it.”

Marron didn’t sound happy.
 
“I’ll do what I can.”

“No.
 
You will get that report released.
 
I have given you the means, now see that it is done.
 
And as incentive, let me just say, your continued employment with me depends upon it.”

Calia wondered what to make of the exchange as the two men discussed the details of how to couch the offer of funding from this mysterious Foundation that Sorvignac had mentioned.
 

Out of context, the discussion didn’t make too much sense.
 
She had the impression that, like Gio, Sorvignac seemed to have holdings in multiple sectors.
 
If that were the case, this could have to do with any number of them.
 
Given that the talk centered around scientific tests, findings and the costs associated with funding, it seemed entirely possible that this was some new emergency that Sorvignac was having to deal with that was unrelated to the negotiations with Gio.
 
As she listened, she began to wonder why the man had someone like Marron working for him if the latter really were as incompetent as he seemed.

After a few more moments, Calia set down the annual report and stood.
 
Really, she shouldn’t have been eavesdropping like this in the first place.
 
She followed their voices and found the two men deeply immersed in conversation as they stood in an adjacent corridor.

They broke off when they saw her.
 
Marron nodded, his expression tense and his thoughts clearly elsewhere.
 
Sorvignac, by contrast, broke into a wide smile as he came forward, switching to English without hesitation.
 
“Ah, Mademoiselle Ryan!
 
What a delight to see you again
—
and looking charming as always.”
 
He took her hand, kissing it with a flourish.

“I was just waiting for Gio when I heard voices I thought I recognized,” she said, pasting on a smile.
 
She didn’t feel altogether comfortable with what the overheard conversation implied about Sorvignac’s ethics
—
but then that was also the reason she preferred economic analysis over actual business dealings.

“I am so glad that you did!
 
After a morning of arduous negotiations, seeing you looking so bright-eyed and lovely is like a nectar from the gods.”

Calia managed to refrain from rolling her eyes.
 
Her mother had always told her to accept compliments graciously, but Sorvignac made it difficult, since she couldn’t take such fulsome praises seriously.
 
Nonetheless, she smiled and nodded.
 
“You’re too kind, Mr. Sorvignac.”
 
If the two men assumed she hadn’t understood any of their previous discussion, she wasn’t about to disabuse them of the notion.
 
“Has it been a difficult morning, then?”

He gave a gallic shrug.
 
“Your man, he is a tough one.
 
He drives a
—
how do you say it?
—
difficult bargain?”

“A ‘hard bargain’,” Calia supplied.

Sorvignac nodded.
 
“
C’est ça.
”

Marron had come forward, and was glancing between the two of them, his expression still tight.
 
“You will both excuse me, please?”

“Of course,” Calia said.
 

Sorvignac just nodded, his expression hardening as he looked at the other man.
 
His next words were delivered in French, his tone harsh, “You’d best make sure they release that damned report, Marron.
 
Otherwise, I promise to make you regret ever asking my wife for this job.”

After Marron had taken his leave, Sorvignac shook his head, turning his attention back to Calia.
 

“I must ask you to excuse Marron’s abrupt departure.
 
I have sent him off to put out a little brush fire of his own making.”
 
He gave her a self-deprecating smile, but Calia saw a lingering hardness in his eyes as he continued, “Nepotism at its worst, you understand
—
he is my wife’s brother, and he recently lost his job elsewhere.”
 
He gestured philosophically.
 
“The things we do to keep the peace on the domestic front, eh?
 
But, he will find himself demoted to a quiet little
cul-de-sac
in one of my companies if he messes this one up, so I am not worried.
 
He is paid, I am happy, my wife is happy.”

He tilted his head at her, his expression becoming a leer, though Calia imagined that he probably just meant it to be admiring.
 
“But, I am certain,
ma chère
, that you know all about that kind of bargaining.
 
How long have you been with Diamanti?”

Calia hesitated, unsure of how to answer such a question diplomatically.
 
Finally, she settled on a neutral, “Not long.”

Sorvignac’s eyes gleamed.
 
“If you would like to be with someone a little
longer
, I will tell you that we Frenchman are known both for our endowments and our stamina.
 
I should love to see how your skin looks by candlelight,
ma belle
.
 
I could make it worth your while.”

Between the insinuation in his expression and the slight implied by his crack about length, Calia inferred he was not talking about an expensive restaurant when he mentioned candlelight.
 
The assumption that she was somehow available to the highest bidder irritated her.
 
She smiled at him through gritted teeth.
 
He was making it increasingly difficult to be tactful.
 

“Your wife must be a very lucky woman,” she said pleasantly.
 
After all, if Calia were stuck with such a sleazeball, she’d certainly be glad if he strayed
—
often and for as long as possible.

“I have not heard her complaining.”
 
He gave her a smug look.

Because you’re probably not around long enough.
 
Or maybe she one of those sorts who goes in for private “tennis” lessons.
 

“But as I say,” he continued, “I am a man of extraordinary stamina.
 
The offer is open, if ever you tire of your current situation.
 
Paris is a beautiful city, and I would be delighted to show you the best of it.”

“She is more than happy in Rome at the moment,” came the clipped reply from just behind her, as a firm hand clamped around her upper arm, the grip on the verge of being painful.

Calia turned to find Gio watching Sorvignac, his eyes as cold and hard as ever she had seen them.
 
She gave him a wide smile of relief, before returning her attention to Sorvignac.
 
“It’s true.
 
Rome is a fascinating and complex city.
 
I’ve only just scratched the surface of all it has to offer.
 
I don’t see myself tiring of it anytime soon.”

“Now if you will excuse us,” Gio added, his lip curling.
 
“I promised Calia that I would take her sightseeing this afternoon.”
 
The slight emphasis he put on the word “sightseeing” was lost on neither Calia nor Sorvignac, who was watching the two of them with an air of rueful speculation.
 

Gio had already begun to walk away and Calia followed him with alacrity.
 
Without slowing her pace, she glanced behind her to give the other man a brief wave.
 
“Nice seeing you again.”
 
She tried not to sound too patently insincere.

“
À la prochaine, ma belle,
” he called after her.

“Not if I have anything to do with it,” she muttered once she was certain they were out of earshot.

Gio glanced at her, his expression softening and taking on a tinge of amusement.
 
“You were not enjoying yourself?”

“I was actually going to ask if you have a shower on the premises because I was starting to feel soiled just talking with that man.”

He scowled, and though they were not touching, Calia could practically feel the return of tension to his body.
 
“He was offensive to you?
 
This is unacceptable behaviour.
 
I will speak to him.”

He led her into his office and closed the double doors behind them.
 
Calia had the impression of understated wealth and discreet elegance, vaguely noting a dauntingly vast desk, plush office chairs and a suite of leather furniture arranged into a more casual seating area to her left.
 
But, she didn’t bother to take detailed note of her surroundings.
 
She turned to face Gio.

“What he says to me is nothing to you
—
particularly since I probably won’t be seeing him again.
 
So there’s no point in jeopardizing your business relationship over this.”

His expression did not relent.
 
“What did he say to you?”

“What he said was between us.
 
And I dealt with it as I saw fit.”

Her words precipitated the return of his anger.
 
But even though she saw it in the sudden darkness in his face and the hard tension of his body, she was unprepared for his next words.
 
“I see.
 
So you are keeping your options open.
 
How prudent of you.”

Fury swamped her, obliterating rational thought.
 
Before she even realized it, she had swung around and given him a hard slap.
 
“You bastard!
 
How dare you!
 
I remained diplomatic with that man in order to keep the peace between you two
—
so that your precious business deal wouldn’t be jeopardized.
 
So don’t you start with the nasty insinuations!
 
You’re as bad as he is!”

She had swung away and was stalking towards the door, when she felt his hand close on her arm once again.

“Calia.”

It was the measured gravity of his tone that stilled her, more than his restraining hand.
 
“What?”
 
She didn’t care if she sounded rude.
 
If he could say such things to her, then he didn’t deserve her courtesy.

“I am sorry.
 
I was jealous and I spoke without thinking.”

Why did her heart leap at the admission?
 
A foolish reaction.
 
A man didn’t have to care in order to be jealous.
 
He only had to be possessive.
 
She raised her head, but did not turn to face him.
 
She wasn’t going to let him get away with it that easily.
 
“You’re always so ready with your apologies.
 
One begins to suspect that you’re only making them to placate me.”
 
She glanced at him, trying to gauge his response to her accusation.

He shrugged.
 
“You are the one who is upset by what I say.
 
So, it is you whom I seek to appease by apologizing for any aspect of it that you find offensive.”

Calia was surprised by the admission.
 
“But don’t you feel any genuine regret over what you’ve said?”

“I feel regret that you are offended.
 
It was wrong of me to make that comment.
 
I spoke without thinking.”

“But you don’t actually think you misjudged me when you made the accusation in the first place.”

He seemed about to agree with her.
 
He had opened his mouth to say something, then suddenly frowned and closed it again.
 
After a few moments of thoughtful silence, he finally did speak.
 
“I do,” he said, sounding surprised at himself.
 
“I was wrong to say what I did
—
it was my jealousy speaking.
 
And I apologize for making the wrong assumptions about you as well as for causing you offense.”

Funny how such simple words could completely dissipate her sense of grievance.
 
In its place, she felt a swell of excitement
—
he actually felt he had misjudged her!
 
Even the realist in her had difficulty denying that this seemed to be progress.
 
When they first met, he probably would have stuck to his guns and made some insufferable comment about how women were inherently calculating and in it for all they could get.

Now, he was actually acknowledging that she might in fact have some integrity
—
despite the fact that she was female.

She smiled at him.
 
“Apology accepted.
 
Thank you, Gio.”

He frowned.
 
“I am being honest.
 
That is all.
 
You have nothing to thank me for.”
 
With his olive complexion, it was difficult to tell for certain, but Calia thought she noticed a slight flush staining his cheeks.

“I will say this though
—
I suspect Sorvignac’s brother-in-law won’t be involved with too much of the key decision-making or negotiations soon enough.”