Page 15 of The Arrangement (Executive Suite Secrets #3)

That was an understatement. After college, I’d returned to Providence and brought the woman who would become my wife with me.

While the marriage hadn’t lasted long, I’d tried to stay and build a new life, but it had felt impossible with the constant reminders of what I’d had all around me.

It had seemed smarter to begin again in a city where I had zero memories.

And now, I was building new memories in a new city…with an old enemy. I couldn’t fucking win.

“At the time, I was casually searching for a new job,” I forced myself to admit.

If Rome was going to make pleasant conversation, I could at least play along.

I pulled the paper wrapper off my straw and placed the straw in my drink, then twisted the paper into a knot.

“Wasn’t even all that serious about the idea of moving.

But I ran across a new job posting for the Cincinnati Natural History and Science Museum.

The pay was okay, and I knew nothing about Cincinnati, but I remembered I had a friend teaching archaeology at the University of Cincinnati.

Before applying for the museum, I called her and asked if there was any chance that UC could use a guest lecturer in geology.

I figured that if I got the museum job and added in a few classes at the university, it would be enough to live comfortably. ”

“You have an archaeologist for a friend? Is she anything like?—”

“Please, don’t. That joke is so old,” I stopped him to keep him from mentioning that famous Harrison Ford character.

“And yes, every archaeologist has a friend who’s a geologist. If you’re going to find a civilization that buried in the earth, you need to be close friends with someone who understands the rocks. ”

“Yeah, but I thought you said you were a paleontologist.”

“I am. There isn’t a bachelor’s degree in paleontology.

You start with a degree in the earth sciences, usually geology, and move on to pursue your postgraduate degree.

I actually got my masters in geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, then continued my studies for my PhD.

It allowed me to study my two loves of evolutionary paleobiology and geomorphology.

It might have also been a deciding factor in moving to the area, since Cincinnati has provided a wealth of fossil evidence from the Upper Ordovician era, which was the age…

” I trailed off when I finally realized that my mouth had run away with me.

Fiona had put up with it during those early dating years, but the moment I’d slipped the engagement ring onto her finger, my cute rambles had become tedious.

“That was when oceans covered the vast majority of the world,” Rome finished for me.

My eyes snapped up to his face to find him looking perfectly serious.

“If you have enough consistent data in the form of fossils, it must raise the chances of being able to follow evolutionary changes in the life during that time period.”

“I…yeah…” I murmured while my brain struggled to keep up with what was happening.

Rome’s face broke into a broad grin. “What? You thought I wasn’t paying attention while you were talking at the museum.”

“No. I didn’t.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. Thankfully, Rome tossed his head and laughed. “You might not know this, but I can torment people and pay attention at the same time.”

The asshole pulled me out of my wordless shock and put me back in the land of annoyance. “Yeah. I noticed.”

The young woman working the restaurant register brought over our pizza, two small white plates, and a stack of napkins. Cooked cheese, oregano, and garlic danced through the air, and my stomach let out a war cry. I hadn’t thought I was that hungry, but that delicious smell was proving me wrong.

We fell into the greasy, hot goodness for several minutes, conversation completely forgotten as we inhaled two slices apiece.

“This is better than I expected. I didn’t eat the first couple of times I came here,” I murmured as I debated a third slice.

“It’s not bad. Probably helps that we’re starved. Have you tried any of the local pizzerias?”

“Some. Obviously Larosa’s since it’s freaking everywhere. Good sauce.”

Rome grunted and grabbed a third slice. “Very good sauce.”

I figured why not and selected another piece and put it on my plate. “So, are you actually a librarian, or do you just volunteer at that library?”

My companion gave me a closed-mouth smile as he chewed his pizza. After washing it down with a swig from his beer, he put his pizza on his plate and wiped his fingers off with a napkin. “You don’t think I could be a librarian?”

“I don’t know. Until I ran into you at the museum after the concert, I didn’t think about you at all,” I admitted, maybe a little more snidely than I should have.

I cleared my throat and tried again, aiming for at least impersonal.

“I thought after college you’d go run your parents’ company.

It never once crossed my mind that I’d see you reading a book to kids in a public library in Kentucky. ”

Rome snorted and tipped his beer bottle at me before taking another drink. “Okay, you got me. My cousin Sydney is now running the family business—thank fucking God—and my father is retired. He’s mostly doing charity work with my mom and building curio cabinets.”

The tea I’d been drinking got sucked down the wrong pipe, and I choked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Curio cabinets. You know, wooden hutches with shelves and doors where you put?—”

“I know what a curio cabinet is,” I snapped at him. “Your dad is making them?”

Rome groaned and slumped in his seat. “Yes. He wanted a new hobby after he retired. Mom said it was the only way to keep him out of the office and out of Sydney’s hair.

He got into woodworking and making furniture.

He started small with jewelry boxes and birdhouses, but it got bigger.

The man is obsessed with fancy curio cabinets. ”

Seconds ticked by, and I stared at him. I remembered Rome’s dad, Atlas Ashbridge, well.

He was a tall, stocky man with a broad grin and always dressed in an expensive suit.

But I had zero memory of the man making anything by hand, let alone woodworking.

He had to be worth a few billion dollars, and he was making curio cabinets now instead of lounging on the French Riviera. Weird.

“If it helps, he’s offered to make my coffin more than once in recent years because of my mouth.”

“I believe it.” With a shake of my head, I shoved aside the warring images of Rome’s dad and focused on what we’d been talking about prior to this strange detour. “But the library? You’re a librarian?”

“Yep, even got my master’s in library sciences and information from the University of Kentucky. But that was a few years ago. I got my bachelor’s in psychology from Harvard.”

“You? At Harvard? For psychology?”

Rome looked less than amused as he scowled at me. “I’m not a dumbass.”

“No, I guess not. You just…hated studying, and I don’t remember you liking books.”

The annoyed expression fell away with Rome’s shrug.

“I hated studying. Books are fine. When I went to college the first time, I was there to socialize and have fun. I chose psychology because nothing else was interesting, and I had to get a degree to make my parents happy. After I graduated, I knew I was getting my trust fund. My plan was to hand that over to a good financial advisor, let them make it grow, and I’d live off the interest.”

Not surprising. Incredibly annoying. And yeah, maybe I was a little jealous of the very easy life Rome had paved out in front of him.

Stupidly jealous.

“But Sebastian convinced me and Pierce to move here after we finished college. I started volunteering at the Cincinnati Public Library out of boredom and discovered that I enjoyed it. Not because I love reading, but I loved helping people find the information they were searching for. I got addicted to having all the answers.”

“And there’s no place in the world with more answers than the library,” I added with a chuckle.

“Exactly,” Rome said, snapping his fingers at me.

“There’s no book in existence that I can’t find.

And I love getting the kids interested in books.

” His joyful expression sobered in a flash, and he pointed at me.

“Before you ask, yes, the library has to pay me a salary because I’m an employee, but everything they pay me gets donated right back to the library. ”

Oh. That was really nice.

We polished off the rest of the pizza, talking about the books he’d read to the kids lately, and headed into the gaming area.

I kicked his ass some more at pinball, only to have him utterly decimate me at Skee-ball.

The asshole found the sweet spot and kept hitting the five-hundred-point hole while my balls bounced off the barrier.

The entire time, we laid the trash talk on thick, calling each other every name in the book, and it felt like when we were kids. There was no malice meant by any of it. Just good-natured teasing.

We didn’t get downtown until after ten. Most of the nervous energy that had pulled the muscles tight in my body had dissipated, and I was able to relax at last. We didn’t talk much on the drive, but it was a comfortable silence.

With one date in the books, the other four were looking far more manageable.

I might actually keep my job and help the museum.

I pulled into a parking spot and put the car into park. Rome hadn’t told me the exact location of his place, but I was sure he had some flashy penthouse in one of these buildings. All he would admit to was that he was within walking distance of Fountain Square.

“You know, I had a pretty good night. I’ll have to check out that pinball joint again,” Rome admitted as he unbuckled his seat belt.

A soft grunt of agreement rumbled up my throat.

“You should take your friends.” I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and did some quick math.

I still had time to get home and review my class notes before bed.

“Well, I’ll need to check my calendar, but I’ll text you for our next—ahhh!

” I screamed as I looked at Rome to find that his left arm was resting on the driver’s seat and he’d leaned in ridiculously close.

“What are you doing?” I shouted as I slammed against my door, trying to put as much space between us as possible.

Rome reached out and put his hand on the steering wheel as if he meant to get even closer. “What? Don’t you end every date with a kiss?”

“What? No! Fuck, No! I’m not kissing you!”

Rome’s crazed laughter filled the car, and he flopped back into his door. “Holy shit! The fucking panic! You’re hilarious!”

“It’s not funny, you twisted fuck! Why would you do that?”

Rome grinned and pointed at me. “To see that expression right there. I’ll be waiting for your text.”

He didn’t give me the chance to shout or sputter anything else. Rome opened the door and rolled out of my car. I watched him in the rearview mirror as he strolled down the block, his hands in the pockets of his coat and a spring in his goddamn step.

Oh my God, I hate this man. Four dates are still too many.