Chapter Five
ROME
It was almost my twin sisters’ birthday.
The first birthday I had been around for since I was eighteen years old.
That was sixteen years ago. They had just turned six, and we had a princess-themed party.
My mom had somehow convinced me to dress up as a prince for the event, and my sisters still teased me over the costume I was forced to wear.
The twins, Luna and Livia, barely remembered me living at home, but they did remember that party.
They were now twenty-two, living here in New York City, in our childhood home with the rest of the family—our sisters, our mom, and their dad.
And now me.
They were the reason I had asked Will, my former boss, to transfer me from the security detail of his wife in Oregon to the security detail of his sister here in the city.
I wanted to spend more time with my family.
I had five younger sisters who were now adults to keep an eye on, and I truly wanted to be a part of their lives.
While we always remained close during my various deployments and stations, I wasn’t able to show up for their important moments.
I missed every single high school graduation, a cooking school graduation for one of them, and all of their proms. While they understood why I wasn’t there and that the Army kept me away, I wanted to be there now.
They were thrilled when I told them I was coming home…
my mom more than anyone. According to her husband, Mateo, she had cried tears of joy for almost a week.
I had enlisted in the Army at eighteen years old and was shipped to a base in Texas immediately.
I hadn’t lived in the same state as her since.
I have only been here for a few months, but she has told me every day that it’s the greatest time in her life, because all six of her kids are under one roof again.
I had missed life with my family. There was never a quiet moment in our house, and most meals were spent together. They brought joy to my life that was incomprehensible. I was happy to be home, even if that meant working with Bec and dealing with her countless eye rolls each day.
After last night, I was starting to see her in a different light.
I was glad she had forgotten about our conversation, but only because she would have been horrendously embarrassed.
For selfish reasons, I did wish she had remembered, because I wanted to get to know that Bec, the real Bec…
not the facade she put on for the rest of the world.
When I asked Will to transfer me here and he had explained the job would be his sister's security detail—essentially her full-time bodyguard—I had assumed that it would be a rather stress-free job. From what I knew, she was a workaholic with little to no social life.
I had assumed she was a lot like her brother: grumpy toward everyone, but with a soft spot.
I had assumed wrong. She was instead a walking ball of stress, ready to snap at any moment.
The issue was that I was always a step behind her, meaning when she did snap, it was usually at me.
She also seemed to have a bit of an issue understanding why she needed security.
As acting CEO of a major conglomerate, she received multiple death threats a week, had at least one stalker at any given time, and was always the target of her competitors.
She was damned good at her job, which meant countless people would benefit from removing her from the competition.
There was also the entire reason I was hired to keep her safe.
Will had taken over her security in the past year, a job previously handled by their father.
When he did, he noticed a concerning lack of security for Bec.
There were countless times when she was sent to events with no backup, and was harassed and bombarded by the press, fans, and crazed individuals.
She seemed to think it was normal, having dealt with it like this for years.
Neither Will nor I could understand why her father had allocated so few security reinforcements to Bec… but I was here now.
Luckily for Bec, I was damned good at my job, too, and she remained safe. It also meant I had turned into a glorified babysitter.
Last night, I had called her penthouse to go over the details of today, but no one had answered.
I had hoped she’d simply gone to bed after I had left, but my gut told me differently.
My gut just so happened to be right when I showed up at her penthouse to find it empty.
I had made her promise me on three separate occasions that she wasn’t going anywhere.
Yet the moment I left, it seemed she had done exactly that.
It was easy to find her as she was with her friend, Alexandra, who had a horde of paparazzi following her wherever she went. It only took a few phone calls to track the two of them down.
When I found her drunk off her ass in the middle of the club’s dance floor, I was seconds away from blowing a gasket. She was vulnerable in that position. The idea of her getting hurt felt… unimaginable. I couldn’t let another person be hurt under my watch; I couldn’t fail… again.
I could admit I was taking great pleasure in her suffering this morning, though. She was as hungover as they come and still had a full workday ahead. I was mad, but working a full day with the headache she obviously had, and her complete exhaustion, was punishment enough.
I was exhausted too from the late night.
Not that I usually got much more sleep than that.
Since retiring from the Army, sleep hadn’t come easily.
There was something about the late nights, alone with the thoughts that I did my best to ignore, that kept me up.
It was easier than delving into all that had happened… all that I had failed.
A small knock sounded on my office door, and Andi popped her head in.
She was a cute little thing with her red hair and huge green eyes hidden behind her glasses.
I could see her blush every time I so much as looked at her.
I almost felt guilty for making her so uncomfortable around me.
The issue was that the nicer I was to her, the more she blushed.
It made the few times we needed to work together extremely difficult.
“Mr. Cipriani, do you have a moment?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Sure, what’s up, Andi?” I asked as I leaned back in my chair. It seemed even that was off limits around her as her cheeks flamed.
Her eyes grew curious, and she pointed to my desk, “What’s that?”
I looked down and wanted to groan, but held it back. I moved the sticky note in question into my desk drawer. “It’s nothing. What can I help you with?”
It was, in fact, my credit card PIN, but I wasn’t about to admit to that.
I couldn’t admit to my lack of personal security when it came to my finances, especially when I was the head of security for the company.
That would just be embarrassing. I also wanted to end this conversation with Andi as quickly as possible.
Something about her crush made me uncomfortable.
She cleared her throat before answering. “Our head of public relations needs you in this meeting with Ms. Bly.”
I nodded and stood, racking my brain on why she would need me.
Melissa, the head of PR, was the definition of a blonde bombshell—but she would kick me in the balls if I ever said it aloud.
I had interacted with her a total of three times, all of which ended in searing glares on her end.
I had a feeling she learned the move from Bec.
As Andi and I were entering Bec’s office, she shot me a surprised look while I took the seat across from her.
“What are you doing?” Bec asked, already annoyed with my presence.
I shrugged, just as confused as her.
“I invited him,” Melissa answered as she made her way into the office and took the seat next to me. Andi closed the door behind her as she quietly snuck out of the office.
“Care to explain why?” Bec asked.
Melissa didn’t say anything, but handed the two of us copies of a newspaper. I looked down at the front page and had to hold back the laugh that threatened to escape.
In big bold letters, the main news for the day was about us.
“Has CEO Rebecca Bly finally found a beau? Will he be able to melt her frozen heart? All the details on the notorious Ice Princess’s new lover below. ”
The headline was accompanied by a photo of me escorting Bec out of the club last night.
I could understand how they drew the conclusion that we were together.
She was tipsy enough that her usual murderous gaze, which was reserved for me, was nowhere to be seen.
My arms were also wrapped around her in what could be misconstrued as a loving embrace.
The large photo was accompanied by smaller photos of us over the last few months.
They were all captured at rather convenient times.
Our hands clasped as I helped her out of a car, or my hand on her lower back as I escorted her out of a building.
I could admit that we looked like a couple based on these photos alone.
“Where do they even come up with these ideas?” Bec complained as she flipped to the article.
“Bec, you’re what’s hot right now. You come blazing into your father’s role despite board disapproval, and then you produce two of the most profitable quarters in company history.
You’re also younger than any other prolific CEO on the scene right now,” Melissa explained.
“Any news about you, even as mundane as leaving a club, is bound to make a few front pages.”
Bec groaned as she sat back into her chair, “We need to kill the story. This is going to ruin my image. I can’t be associated with… that,” she explained as she motioned my way.
“I am so framing this,” I mumbled under my breath, amused. I weighed the likelihood of whether Bec would fire me if I gave her a framed copy of the article for Christmas, though it would be worth it.
Bec shot me a glare, but ignored the comment. She turned back to Melissa, “Contact the publisher and have them print a retraction. Make an official statement debunking the whole story.”
Melissa sighed, “That’s why I wanted to meet with you. I think we need to run with this.”
“Excuse me?” Bec asked, mortified. “Rome is not my new beau, or lover, or whatever they want to call him.”
“You would be lucky to land a dynamite piece of ass like me,” I joked. My favorite pastime was making Bec mad… it was also her least favorite pastime.
“See? He’s proving my point on how ridiculous this all is!” Bec protested to Melissa, ignoring me completely.
“I know it seems ridiculous that you two would be together, but this could be good for you.” I wasn’t sure if I should have been offended by Melissa’s statement or not.
"The biggest issue we’re running into regarding our reception with the public and the board is that you seem cold.
They want someone that they feel is trustworthy running this company…
and right now, that’s not you. This,” Melissa pointed to the paper in my lap, “is our way to do that.”
“Our company has had its two best quarters in history, back to back. Why in the world would they not trust me?” Bec asked, exasperated.
Melissa’s face shone with empathy. “You know why. It’s the same reason why I am the first woman in a VP-level position here, besides you. We are women. They automatically don’t trust us. It sucks, but this is how we ensure the board stays on your side.”
Bec sighed in defeat and turned to me, “You’re being awfully quiet over there.”
“I have learned that it’s the best tactic when with you. You seem annoyed whenever I open my mouth,” I remarked with a smirk, earning me an eyeroll.
“You really expect me to pretend to date this idiot?” She motioned to me in exasperation. “How would that even work?”
Melissa perked up, seeing she was gaining traction with Bec.
“It’s easy, really. You maintain your current involvement with one another.
Keep Rome glued to your side.” She turned to me, “Rome, you’ll keep a hand on her at all times when paparazzi are present.
Nothing showy, just a palm on the small of her back or holding her hand when walking in and out of buildings.
” She turned back to Bec, “You’ll bring him as your date to your usual societal events.
That’s it. I’ll do the rest, pushing the story in the background to my different contacts. ”
Bec’s head seemed on the verge of exploding at just the idea of having to spend any more time with me. “This seems ridiculous. I’m a CEO, not a socialite. Why does my relationship status even matter?”
“It’s because you’re a woman, like Melissa said,” I interrupted. “You are the best at what you do, and it’s obvious. But the old men who sit on the board don’t understand how someone can run a business without a dick.”
Melissa stifled a chuckle as Bec looked at me with shock.
“You think I am the best at what I do?” she asked in an oddly timid voice.
I nodded, “You may drive me insane, but yeah. You’re damn good at your job.”
“So, Rome,” Melissa asked, breaking mine and Bec’s stare, “you would be willing to do this?”
I shrugged, “Sure.” I paused before turning to Rebecca. “Under one condition.”
She eyed me cautiously, but urged me to continue.
“You tell your brother this was not my idea. Because if he thinks we’re actually dating after he hired me to keep you safe, I’ll end up murdered in a ditch by next week.”
Bec barked out a laugh, breaking her usual perfect composure, but her face was the lightest I had ever seen. Even lighter than her impromptu karaoke last night. “You know what? You have a deal.”