Chapter Eleven
ROME
“It’s working,” Melissa declared as she waltzed into Bec’s office. “It’s working better than I had expected.”
She dropped a stack of newspapers and magazines on Bec’s desk.
Each was plastered with photos from the gala last weekend.
Most highlighted the photo of us on the carpet, where Bec was smiling ear to ear as she laughed.
I picked up one of the magazines and flipped to the article.
It had a few photos from the venue, but the one that made me smile was taken during our late-night burger adventure.
Bec had a napkin tucked into the neckline of her dress, and my jacket was off with my sleeves rolled up. The ‘R’ necklace and my tags were dangling out. We were both smiling and laughing. We looked completely caught up in each other.
I hadn’t expected the night to end that way… the two of us snarfing down greasy burgers, ignoring the rest of the world. I was grateful that someone had managed to snap the photo through the restaurant window. I tucked the magazine into my pocket, wanting to save the memory.
It was a wonderful evening, but it had led to yet another night with little sleep, and the few hours I did get were interrupted by the nightmares of my past. I was noticeably on edge and was counting down the minutes until the day was finally over.
Bec flipped through her own magazine, her eyes scanning the pages, “Is it showing results with the board?”
Melissa nodded eagerly, “I reached out to their assistants to throw out some feelers, and things are looking optimistic. It seems you two are a hit.”
Bec sighed a breath of relief. I felt the same, knowing this was working.
“What now?” I asked.
“Now,” Melissa began, “we keep doing this. I have a double-date set up with you two, and Alexandra and Maverick for this weekend. I’ll tip off the press that you’ll be there, so be sure to sit by the window for better photos. After that, we have another gala. This one’s at a library.”
“How long will we have to keep this up?” Bec asked eagerly.
I raised a brow, “Ready to get rid of me already?”
She rolled her eyes, “I’m ready to get back to normalcy, not this play pretend world we are living in right now.”
I tried my best not to let the comment hurt. I had thought we were growing closer, even becoming friends. The logical part of my brain knew the comment only bothered me because I was tired; the less-than-logical part was hurt.
Melissa glanced between the two of us, bewildered. It was obvious something in our dynamic had changed… I couldn’t put a finger on what it was, though. Bec still despised me,and I still pushed all of her buttons… but something had changed.
Melissa cleared her throat, trying to break the tension, “I’ll keep working my magic; you two keep working yours.”
I nodded in acceptance, and Bec chuckled as she flipped through a magazine, “I think you’re about to have even more fan girls.”
“What do you mean?”
She handed me the magazine that she had been reading, and I skimmed the contents. There was an entire section dedicated to me.
“An in-depth look at New York’s newest heart-throb, Sergeant Rome Cipriani,” I read the title aloud. “At least they got my rank correct.”
Melissa smiled, “I made sure of that. I may have leaked some details about you two.”
“Good job, Melissa,” Bec praised and leaned back into her chair. “It seems your crazy plan may just save the day.”
Melissa glowed under her praise. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, “You didn’t just hire me for my good looks. I’ll keep this going.” She stood and left, probably already game planning the next part of this scheme.
I skimmed through the article. They had photos of my family, childhood photos of myself, and even a few from my time in the service. I slammed the magazine shut at the photos of me and Malachi, not ready to open that wound.
Bec looked at me, perplexed. I shook my head, hoping she understood I didn’t want to talk about it.
“What’s running through that mind of yours?” I asked, hoping to keep the conversation off of myself.
She sighed and leaned back in her desk chair.
It was interesting to see Bec in her office.
She was dressed in a black top and black slacks that somehow made her look taller.
Her hair was straight today, flowing down her back, but her usual red lipstick remained.
It was her armor in this world that was constantly criticizing her.
Bec had an aura that followed her everywhere, but in this office, she truly looked larger than life, sitting behind the massive oak desk, surrounded by law books on the shelves and her degrees framed on the wall.
“This feels too easy,” Bec finally declared.
“Too easy?”
She nodded, “I have been fighting with the board's view of me for years. They were against it when I became CFO, and before that, when I was the VP of Finance. Not once have they supported my position within the company… so why are they changing their mind so easily now?”
“Why do you want to work here if you’re constantly fighting against the company itself?
” The words basically fell past my lips.
I shouldn’t have asked, but I needed to know.
If I had to spend years fighting against the company I worked for, I would have gone out in a blaze of glory…
not continue to put up with the bullshit.
Bec tapped her red nails against the wood of her desk, the sound aggravating my exhausted brain, putting me further on edge. “Would you judge me if I said it was to prove a point?”
I shook my head, “I’ve done plenty of stupid things for stupid reasons. What point are you trying to prove?”
“That I can do it, and that I can do it better than anyone expected.”
“Who are you trying to prove this to?”
She chuckled without any humor, “I don’t even know anymore. The board? My dad? My brother? Maybe myself. All I heard growing up was that I wasn’t as good as Will. That he could do it all and I couldn’t… that I shouldn’t. At some point, I must have internalized it.”
“Did this just come from your dad? Or your brother and mom too?” I asked.
“Just my dad,” Bec explained as she began to play with her nails again.
She did it whenever we broached too close to topics she preferred to avoid.
“Will has only ever encouraged me. From afar, however. My mom thinks I can do anything. But it almost makes it worse, because I need to prove her right, too.” Bec laughed humorlessly, “Look at me, trying to live up to my mom’s expectations and prove my dad’s wrong. And if I fail? I let everyone down.”
I sighed, understanding that feeling well. “I promise you are far from failing. Trust me. I would know.”
Her head tilted in question, “What have you ever failed? I’ve looked into your background, and it’s beyond stellar.”
“I failed a lot of people,” I mumbled. “Let’s just leave it at that.”
“You can talk to me,” she insisted.
“I don’t want to talk about it with anyone, okay?” I snapped, my voice defensive. It wasn’t fair to take it out on her, but I couldn’t voice the nightmares that haunted me. It would make them even more real… even more painful.
Bec raised her hands in surrender, her blue eyes wide, “I’m sorry. I won’t pry.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face and groaned, “No… no, I’m sorry.” I slumped into my chair. “PTSD is no joke,” I mumbled.
I hated that I had these moments. I wanted to always be the fun-loving Rome everyone knew and preferred. But the years in the Army and the years afterward… all I had done, all I had failed…it stuck with me in ways that I didn’t expect.
I was usually a master at stuffing it all down and not letting those around me see it. I never wanted to add to their worries. The more time went on, though, the more often I found myself snapping.
“Were you officially diagnosed?”
I nodded, “I was while on active duty. My best friend needed therapy… desperately. But he would only go if I did too, which worked out, I guess. I was officially diagnosed with PTSD, and unfortunately it only got worse until retirement.”
“Why didn't you retire earlier?”
I sighed and held back the urge to snap again. I didn’t want to talk about this, but I knew Bec didn’t deserve my anger. “I didn’t want to leave my team.”
She nodded while contemplating. “Are you still close to the rest of the team? There are two who are still alive, right?”
“Do we really need to dive into this right now?” I snapped… again.
Bec eyed me cautiously. I assumed she was unsure of how to deal with me when I was in this state. I stood quickly to leave, wanting to get out of here before I snapped again, but Andi came rushing in before I could leave.
Her head was down, focused on a stack of papers in her hands. “Ms. Bly, you got another one of those notes. I still think you need to inform…” Her words were cut off as she ran directly into my body, the papers scattering around us, “Mr. Cipriani.”
“Shit,” Bec groaned from her seat.
“It’s fine.” I waved it off and began gathering the scattered papers around us. “What do I need to be informed of?” I asked Andi.
She stared at me with wide eyes and simply pointed to one of the notes in the pile. This particular note was in a crisp white envelope, showing no signs it had gone through the typical postal system. There was also no return address.
“What is this?” I asked as I carefully peeled open the envelope.
Neither Andi nor Bec spoke, but Bec did glare daggers at Andi… which was strange, since that look was usually reserved for me.
My heart dropped as I pulled a paper out from inside the envelope. It was a letter, the contents of which were complete gibberish.
“Bec?” I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous tone.
She took a steadying breath and pulled open one of the drawers on her desk. I stepped around the back and saw that it was filled with dozens more of these notes.
Immediately enraged, I demanded, “What the fuck is going on here?”
Andi jumped at my harsh words and scurried out of the office.