Page 2 of The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession)

It had been subtle at first. The interview had been full of half-truths and barely recognizable innuendo about the role of a “significant ex” in her current predicament. She didn’t name him, but Gio had read between the lines, as had many others. She twisted things around, making her drug use his fault. She didn’t come right out and say it, but the implication had been clear. He’d been not only the catalyst for her current drug use but the enabler—the one who’d introduced her to thatmerdain the first place.

He’d been so caught off guard by the ridiculous accusation, he’d said nothing. Not that he’d been asked to comment by the press. His name was nowhere in the article. In fact, there were no solid details in the story to identify him, thwarting his ability to bring a libel suit, which he hadn’t even considered at first.

He was definitely considering it now.

In the last few weeks, the whispers had continued. And they were becoming more pernicious. The words “physical and emotionalabuse” had made their way into the rag. Not from Maria Gianna herself, but a supposedly trusted friend, who also went unnamed. Not that he needed the culprit's name spelled out in black and white. Vincenzo’s father owned the damn paper.

Gio had done his best to ignore the gossip before, but this new smear campaign was something else entirely. Even his father knew that. His retired parent had dropped in unexpectedly this morning, coming to Rome from their Venetian villa where he spent most of his time. Tobias, Maria Gianna’s father, had sent him. They were both worried about what Gio would do.

He was still deciding what that should be. His grounds for a libel suit were getting clearer, although the gossip rags still hadn’t printed his name. But Salvatore and Tobias were frantic to avoid an escalation of hostility between their children. His father had even gone so far to suggest that Maria Gianna was simply trying to get his attention, and if they sat down to dinner together, they could work everything out.

Gio’s blood was still running hot from his father’s rosy colored view of his goddaughter.

I should have told him the truth.

Maybe if he’d been honest, his father and Tobias would stop their foolish fantasies. But Gio hadn’t been able to do it. He couldn’t bring himself to destroy his ex in their eyes. It would have broken both their hearts. Of course, now he had to. He couldn’t allow Maria Gianna’s lies to harm his position as head of the Morgese Bank.

Gio stared at his hands, wondering how he’d gotten to this place. A libel lawsuit was sordid. He had always prided himself on his integrity, in his business and personal life. He had never stolen, lied, or cheated anyone in his life.

Which may have been why he’d taken his divorce so hard. When it was finally over, he no longer loved his wife. In fact, he hadn’t ever really known her. But it was as if Maria Gianna’s actions had tainted him somehow. Betrayal wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how he’d felt. He wasaffronted. His personal sense of honor had been tainted by proxy.

Well, honor would only get him so far. He grabbed the news sheet and tossed it to the floor with enough force to make him glad the privacy partition was up.

His phone buzzed, signaling a text. It was from Charles, his VP of public relations.

Where are you??? -C

Three question marks meant Charles was crawling up the walls right now. Gio was supposed to meet him before the event to strategize about the latest tabloid rumors.

Stuck in traffic,he typed back.

The ceremony is about to start. Do you want me to delay? -C

Gio glanced at his watch.Damn. It was already past eight. The annual Morgese Foundation Charity dinner had already begun.

The bank’s charity arm was very active. It was a point of pride with Gio. Since he’d taken over, he’d expanded their directive, trying to make it an efficient and lean organization that still managed to fund more programs than in years past. In addition to the usual social improvement endeavors, the foundation now backed ecological and biomedical research. He was eager to meet the two scientists awarded major research grants this year.

Lifting his head, he scanned the traffic. The car hadn’t budged in the last five minutes. He was going to have to catch up with Kamal Patel and Sophia Márquez after the ceremony.

He texted back.No.You’re going to have to give out the awards.There must be an accident up ahead.

Gio put down his phone, simultaneously guilty and relieved that he wouldn’t be the focus of all those eyes turned to the stage this evening. Instead, he could slip in afterward, meet with key people, and then duck out after an hour or so.

How convenient for me, he mocked himself. Even though the traffic was out of his control, not showing up in time felt like a cop out. He had been looking forward to this event all week. But now he was letting Maria Gianna’s drama get to him.

It was almost nine by the time Gio ran up the steps to the hotel ballroom where the foundation dinner was taking place. He stopped in the lobby restroom to straighten his tie unnecessarily, still reluctant to be the cynosure of so much attention. Taking a deep breath, he left the bathroom and headed for the double doors leading to the ballroom. Briefly, he paused and braced himself before running the gauntlet.

Okay,enough procrastination. He opened the doors and walked inside.

Despite the unsavory rumors swirling around him, he was surrounded almost immediately. Hands were shaken, polite small talk was made. People determined to speak to him came and went steadily for the next hour. One or two women even hit on him, which was strange under the circumstances—unless they hadn't heard the rumors. This was an international crowd, and his name had been carefully left out of today’s latest gutter story.

Smiling politely, he extricated himself from a conversation with one of the foundation’s smaller grant winners from the previous year. They had been lobbying steadily for more funds, but as far as Gio was concerned they hadn’t produced sufficient results to justify an increase yet. After making that clear as politely as he could, he escaped to find Charles.

Luck was with him. Charles was with the Kamal Patel. Patel was a water ecologist, specializing in risk resource management. His work assessed drought patterns and made recommendations about the most efficient water conservation methods tailored to local conditions. It was research that areas like California sorely needed, although it was doubtful Patel’s recommendations would make much headway in the bureaucracy of local government. Despite that, Gio believed the effort had to be made. Perhaps there was more he could do to get Patel heard.

He’d gotten so caught up in the conversation, that he hadn’t looked for the other principal grant winner, Sophia Márquez. Dr. Márquez was a neurologist specializing in Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative disorders. The project the Morgese foundation had funded was for exploratory research on the tie between pathogens and the diseases she studied. One of the pathogens,Toxoplasma gondii, was a compelling suspect.

Dr. Márquez’s research proposal described how mice infected with the parasite would become reckless. They exposed themselves to cats, effectively courting death so the parasite could pass to a feline host. Pregnant women were already rigorously tested for exposure to the parasite, but it was only in the last few years that a tie had been made between the parasite and altered behavior in humans. Men, in particular, became more careless with exposure, almost as if they too were courting death so the parasite could be passed on. Gio found the idea chilling.

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