Solutions

Walking away from his wife when she clearly wanted to talk to him wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but Rome knew it was more important for Juliet to speak to Henry at the moment. She could talk to him later--at home. Besides, he wasn’t sure he wanted to speak to her considering what he’d done. The bottom line was, they’d gotten what they wanted. Or, they would, as soon as Sinders sent him the finalized contract.
He stood in the back of the gallery, speaking to actress Chrissy Indiana, not hearing a damn word she was saying, despite the fact that if she moved much closer, she’d be behind him. She had a sparkle in her eye, the scent of wine on her breath, and intent in her touch. He hated to lead her on, but he wouldn’t be leaving there with her that night.
It didn’t take as long for Juliet to free herself from Henry as he expected. She was coming toward him again. Henry looked baffled as he turned and headed the other direction, his hands in the air for a moment before he dropped them. Rome hoped she hadn’t done anything too hasty. While it was true he had a plan in place to fix everything so that neither of them ever had to speak to Henry Caron again, nothing had been signed yet.
The click of her heels on the marble floor spoke of her determination as Juliet approached. Chrissy paused in the middle of a word, looking at her. “Hi, Juliet!” the tipsy actress gushed. “The show was such a huge success!”
“Hi.” Juliet smiled at her, but it was clear she had no idea what the other woman’s name was. Rome smirked, deciding not to bother to introduce her. He knew that his wife didn’t care who she was. “Can I speak to you for a moment, Rome?”
“Sure,” he said, raising his eyebrows as if her request was a surprise to him, which it was not.
“Don’t be too long,” Chrissy said, running her fingers down his tie and pulling on it gently with a giggle.
Rome chuckled, but he had no plans of spending more time with her--that day or any day. He followed Juliet as she walked away from Chrissy--far away from her. She went down a hall off the back of the room and didn’t stop until they were almost at the end of the dimly lit hallway. When she finally whirled on him, it was clear she hadn’t figured out exactly what was going on but knew he’d done something. “Well?” Juliet asked.
“Well… what?” He knew it wasn’t nice to torture her like this, but she was so beautiful when she was annoyed.
“Well… what did you do?” she demanded, tipping her head to look at him. “I know you bought the Vinune, and I know Henry sold your contract to my father. Does that mean you’re trading the artwork for the contract?”
He grinned at her slyly. “I guess there’s nothing for me to explain. You’ve already got it all sorted out.”
Juliet inhaled deeply, her face softening slightly. “Do you think this is going to work?” she asked him.
“God, I hope so,” he replied. “I am sure there are still things that could go wrong, especially if you just pissed Henry off.”
“Hey, that asshole just demanded I go home with him,” she explained, her hands shifting to her hips.
Rome’s eyes widened. “Do I need to go have a little talk with him?” No longer worrying about the contract, he thought of all of the ways he could rearrange Henry’s face.
Quickly, Juliet shook her head. “I took care of it. But he’s pissy.”
“Hopefully, he’ll process the contract quickly. I gave Sinders a week to get me the signed contract or else I told him the Vinune is going back on the market.”
“And it’s a straight across deal?”
Rome nodded. “Essentially, we just paid about thirteen million for my freedom.”
He knew the wave of sadness that rushed across her face wasn’t at the loss of money. Rather, it was his choice of words. She’d been a prisoner herself and knew what it was like not to have the liberty to do as she pleased. “All right,” Juliet said quietly. “I hope… this is the end of it all, then.”
“Me, too,” he agreed. If that was the case, he’d no longer have to make horrible movies for Henry Caron, and his wife would no longer have to pretend to be interested in him. The idea that he could soon have Henry out of his life forever was too good to be true, but he’d do whatever he could to make sure that this was the end of the entire situation.
Then, Juliet would have to figure out if she wanted to tell her dad the truth. Even though she seemed to want to make sure that he didn’t see her earlier that night so that he wouldn’t recognize her, he knew she was still considering the possibility of letting her family know she wasn’t dead after all. He’d let her sort that out for herself.
“I’ve got a few more things I need to take care of before I can head home,” she said with a sigh, relaxing her arms.
“All right.” Rome smiled at her, wishing he could kiss her but knowing there was a chance someone might see, even if he didn’t think there was anyone around. There’d be time for that later. “I love you, El,” he whispered.
“I love you, too.” She did little more than move her lips, but he knew what she said was true as surely as if he had shouted it from the hilltops.
He patted her arm and then turned to go, hoping he could avoid Chrissy. He might have a reputation among the gossip rags, but that wasn’t who he was, and he didn’t like the fact that he was going to have to disappoint the actress--as well as several others who’d gotten the impression lately that he might be interested in them.
Walking back out to the gallery, he glanced around and saw Chrissy standing by herself, checking the time on an expensive watch, waiting for him. It would be easier to just leave without saying anything to her, but he didn’t. Instead, he rushed over to her, his phone in his hand.
She spun to see him coming, and he clasped her wrist. “Sorry, Chrissy. I’m going to have to catch up with you later,” he said. “Something’s come up. Do you have a ride home?”
“What?” she asked, her face falling in disappointment. “Where are you going?”
He sighed. “My work never ends. I can call you a cab if you need one.”
“No, that’s okay,” she said, looking around again. Maybe she needed a backup guy. “I’ll be all right.”
“Do you know Henry Caron?” Rome asked, gesturing toward the Frenchman who was still there, standing with a few other well-dressed men about his age that Rome didn’t recognize.
“No, I haven’t met him,” Chrissy replied.
“You should go introduce yourself.” He gave her a small smile. Perhaps sending Chrissy off with Henry wasn’t the nicest thing he could’ve done to her, but they were both looking to spend the night with someone. May as well see what he could arrange. “See you later, Chrissy.”
“Call me!” she said as Rome rushed off. He smiled over his shoulder but didn’t stop walking.
Outside, his car was waiting for him. He slid into the back seat, wishing his wife was beside him. Maybe once the situation with his contract was taken care of they could figure out if there was a way they could actually be a couple in public. He figured the only way that could happen would be if Ella decided to reveal herself to her dad, but they might be able to pull it off anyway. Juliet had established herself in the community now, and no one seemed to be suspicious that she wasn’t who she said she was. If it could stay that way, then he could just move on from Ella to Juliet publicly. Then, he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else trying to sink his claws into his wife, and he’d be able to share experiences with her, like Montage’s shows and future award ceremonies. The idea of getting to be with her all the time was enough to make him smile, despite himself.
“You have a good night, boss?” The Tank asked from behind the driver’s seat.
“I think so,” Rome replied. “Time will tell.”
The Tank raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t ask for clarification, and Rome didn’t offer any. The city flew by out the window, and for the first time in a long time, Rome felt as if there was a chance his most recent nightmare was coming to an end.