Page 49 of Royally Roma
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, sir.”
“I don’t understand. Did I or did I not give you explicit instructions to meet me here with twenty thousand euros in cash?” The lovely Julia Costa might have been immune from following his orders, but Niccolo’s secretary sure as hell wasn’t.
“I was unable to make a withdrawal, sir. Today is Sunday. The banks are closed.”
“Closed,” Niccolo echoed.
How could it be this difficult to get his hands on a large sum of cash? His family was worth billions, for crying out loud.
You’re not in Lazaretto, remember? You’re in Rome.
Rome...as if he could forget.
A series of images passed through his consciousness like a slow-motion picture show. Julia smiling at him over her shoulder, her generous lips painted bright red. Her dark hair blowing in the wind with the crumbling pillars of the Roman Forum towering behind her. Her damp polka-dot blouse clinging to her curves as the sun dipped below the Palatine Hill in fiery splendor.
His chest tightened a bit.
“Yes. Closed.” Piero nodded. “The hotel can accommodate your request today, however that will require your signature.”
Niccolo released a tense exhale. A signature. He could do that. He’d just sign the necessary paperwork, and in an hour or two, this would all be over.
For a panicked moment, he’d thought Piero wouldn’t have the money today. He couldn’t leave Rome without making things right. He’d couldn’t do that to Julia.Wouldn’tdo it.
He let his gaze wander to the corner table where she sat watching him. She looked so pretty in her cherry red dress with her upswept hair, all dressed up for her search for employment. He felt almost sick to his stomach thinking about her going on job interviews and trying to talk her way into a position without the benefit of a good reference from the touring company. All because of him.
He directed his attention back to Piero.
“Give me the papers. I presume you’ve also brought a pen?” He needed to get this over with as quickly as possible.
Piero shifted in his chair. “What papers, sir?”
What the hell was going on? “The papers you just mentioned. The ones from the hotel.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have them with me, sir. If you’d just accompany me back to the hotel, I’m sure they’ll be able to accommodate your request.” Piero was all but begging now.
Niccolo looked at him sitting across the table. Really looked. Now that he’d focused all his attention on his employee rather than stealing glances at Julia, Niccolo realized Piero had a rather panicked air about him. There was a fine layer of perspiration on his upper lip, and his complexion was a good deal paler than usual. Niccolo’s disappearance had obviously taken a toll.
“Relax, I’m not going to fire you.” The last thing he wanted right now was to be responsible for another firing. “I just need to get my hands on the cash.”
Piero cleared his throat. “As I said, once you’re back at the hotel, we can get the money quite easily.”
“Impossible.” Niccolo shook his head.
Last night had taken an interesting turn back at Julia’s apartment, but she was still taking her role as his captor with the utmost seriousness. She’d barely allowed him to sit at a separate café table. If he left for the Hotel de Russie right now, with or without Piero, she’d surely insist on accompanying him. That couldn’t happen under any circumstances.
He’d lasted this long without botching things and revealing his identity. Surely he could hold out a bit longer.
“But, sir...” Piero pleaded, his gaze shifting once again toward the table near the corner of Café Rocha’s patio. He gave his collar a gentle tug as if he couldn’t breathe.
The tug was all it took for Niccolo to finally figure out what was going on.
How could he be so foolish? Piero hadn’t been watching Julia during their conversation. He’d been keeping an eye on the two men who were seated at the table behind her. They were dressed nearly identically in nondescript suits and dark sunglasses. To anyone else, everything about the two men probably seemed perfectly ordinary.
But Niccolo knew better.
Beneath the café table, his hands clenched into fists. “Were you planning on telling me about the security officers sitting over there? Or were you biding your time until they made their move and physically dragged me back to Lazaretto?”
One of Piero’s eyes twitched. “You’re the future king. They would never do such a thing, Your Highness.”
