Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
S eptember 2 nd
I don’t know which is worse, being called a prostitute or a loser virgin. Either way, it was done and now it is time to get to work. Today is the first day of the conference. I have meetings set up with various Italian publishers and books ready to sell to them, including Mimi’s.
I have learned from messing around with my billionaire boss, Jack Griffin, and even Mimi’s agent, Timothy, in a brief moment of life or death make-out sesh, that mixing business and pleasure isn’t always a good call. Today all anyone is going to see is badass boss-bitch Paige Turner. Now, once this conference is through, that’s another story.
Paige felt invigorated in a way only orgasms from Mr. Paris made her feel. The multiday conference was a huge success. She’d found a new publishing partner Jack had listed as his top choice. She’d met wonderful industry people, talked about books, publishing, and the importance of bringing romance more mainstream.
She had been invited to dinners with other publishing companies’ executives. She’d been taken out by others to wine and dine her . It was so surreal that she had to video call her friends back home and tell them. Leah, Amelia, and Eli, her book club besties, had clapped, screamed, and pumped her up even more. Then, like any best friends, they also laughed their asses off when she told them about Dario.
It was now two in the morning as she talked to her friends back in New York. The conference was over and she had two days of free time starting tomorrow—well, later today since it was already morning. Tonight, she’d partied with the friends she’d made at the conference and staggered back to the hotel to tell her friends everything that had happened at the conference.
“Time to get back on that horse. You’re in Rome!” Leah reminded her. Leah lived in the apartment directly below Paige’s and they’d become instant friends over their shared love of romance books. Now they got to work together because Leah and her should be, almost, maybe-boyfriend and co-worker , Noah, did PR work for Griffin Publishing. “Cut loose. See all the things, including their police. I’ve been on social media and hello! I think Rome might have the sexiest cops ever.”
Paige’s thoughts strayed to Max Caldwell. He was an NYPD detective and had originally busted Paige for prostitution when she’d set up a fake sale of her virginity. Well, she intended to have sex but not charge for it. Since then, Max had rescued her too many times to count when things had gone wrong on her adventures of living out the lives of her favorite heroines. Unfortunately, Max was taken by a very sexy, very cold socialite named Sierra.
“Have you seen the Trevi Fountain?” Amelia asked. Leah and Paige had met Amelia at Felix’s Café, their favorite coffee and hot chocolate place in town. Amelia was trying to be invisible, but she was also reading one of their favorite books. Maybe against her will, but quiet banker Amelia joined their book club and went from being a shy reader to dating Felix, the owner of the café. “Is it as romantic as it appears in the movies?”
“I’m going there tomorrow tonight.” Paige looked at the clock and then yawned. “I mean, I’m going tonight. I thought it would be nice to see with the lights on,” Paige told them.
“Same with naked men,” Eli said, and she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Eli was the last member of their book club. Paige had met the Broadway dancer, now an up-and-coming leading man, in the grocery store when the romance audiobook he was listening to accidentally went from his ear pods to the phone and everyone heard about how hung the hero was.
“Speaking of naked men,” Paige said with a conspiratorial tone, “how did your date with Kenneth go?” She asked about the violinist who played in the pit orchestra at Eli’s current show. Eli had had a crush on him since rehearsals began and it was starting to look as if the two might get together.
“It was amazing! We talked until four in the morning. I think I’m in love.”
Paige clapped and smiled. She was so happy for her friends. They’d all found love, even if Leah was trying to deny it. “I’m so happy for you, Eli. Tell us everything.”
“We went out after the last performance and had a coffee date at Felix’s before walking around the city, eating from food carts, and talking all night. Then he walked me home and kissed me goodnight. We have another date set up for next weekend,” Eli told her. “He asked about my books and I gave him a tamer romance. I’m not ready to throw him into the deep end yet. I figured it would be like foreplay.”
“Oh, I like that!” Leah said. “Start with a little sweet and build up to some down and dirty, sweaty sex.”
“You should do that with Noah since he insists on reading whatever books we are reading for book club,” Paige told Leah. Leah had fought her feelings for Noah for so long, but she was finally starting to admit she had them.
“He’s already jumped in the deep end. While you’re gone, we decided to reread Sale ,” Leah said of the erotica bestseller that had gotten Paige arrested by Max for trying to “sell” her virginity.
“How’s that going?” Paige asked.
“He takes a lot of trips to the bathroom when he reads it during lunch hour,” Leah said with a grin. “And he’s mentioned more than once that if I ever want to go to the Red Door, he can get me a pass.”
The Red Door was a private BDSM club in the city. Paige’s first experience there had ended up with her in the ER meeting sexy doctor, Fraser Robertson. The second visit ended with multiple orgasms by the mysterious Mr. Paris, a VIP with the sexiest hint of a French accent.
“You better take him up on that offer or I will,” Eli told Leah.
“I think I might. Noah is kinda amazing, right?” Leah asked.
“Yes!” was the resounding reply.
“Well, I’ll think about it.” That was the most Leah had ever said about dating Noah. It must be getting serious. “Now, back to Paige. Get out in Rome tomorrow and do all the things. And by things, I mean men. Or women. Whatever. Then tell us everything.”
Paige laughed and shook her head. She loved her friends.
“Yeah, we want all the details,” Eli said as his screen went blank for a second. “Max is in for tonight,” Eli said a moment later.
“Good. Noah won’t be alone in his embarrassment when we start discussing the book,” Leah said with a smile that meant she couldn’t wait to purposefully try to embarrass him.
“Max? What? What are you talking about?” Paige asked.
“Max is joining our book club while you’re gone so Noah won’t be the only guy.”
“Yeah, Felix heard about it and is also joining this week. Although, I’m a little nervous for him to jump into erotica instead of something sweet,” Amelia said with a blush.
Leah rolled her eyes. “As if you two haven’t been having crazy sex. Well, we’ll tell you about book club when you tell us about your Roman adventures.”
Paige nodded but was at a loss for what to say as they said their goodbyes. Max had given her a signed copy of Sale when she’d gotten her promotion the other day. Now he was at book club?
Paige flopped onto her hotel bed and screamed into her pillow. Why? Why was the one guy she wanted taken? Sure, they were friends. But the hot dreams she’d had at night were not friendly.
“At least I have Paris,” Paige muttered. Mr. Paris and her night with him at the Red Door was now taking over some of those sexy dreams. Paige got up and looked out her window. “And now I have Rome.”
Paige was hit with renewed determination. She’d get a couple of hours of sleep, then she’d have the entire day free, and she was going to live it. Starting with all the touristy things then ending late tonight at the Trevi Fountain.
Paige made a list of all the things she wanted to see and do before she went to bed. She also scanned her clothes. Paige had thought about being cute. Full make-up, trendy clothes, adorable shoes . . . but she’d been in Rome long enough to know those adorable shoes were going to the death of her on the cobbled streets. Yes, she saw locals navigating them in designer shoes, but she wasn’t willing to risk an ankle for that.
So, she did the best she could. Paige laid out a cute dress and white sneakers. If she were going to walk her ass off, at least her feet would survive and she’d look cute doing it. No athleisure for her, no matter how much she wanted to grab those leggings. Nope, tomorrow she was embracing when in Rome to the fullest extent she could.