Something about being part of a team, his team, even if it was just metaphorically, excited her and she smiled—probably a little too much.
“This is just a temp,” he added. “I’m having your name embroidered on one. Is Gracie okay?”
As silly and as trite as that was, that excited her even further. “Yeah, Gracie is fine.” She turned to the mirror and tried it on, pulling her ponytail out of the back opening. She turned back to Sal with a giddy smile. “How’s that?”
He stared at her for a moment before saying, “Looks good.”
Just like that, the moment they were having was lost. She’d finally felt at ease with him, even if it was on for a instant over a silly cap, when that hardened look she was so familiar with now washed over him.
He glanced over her shoulder. “Melanie, you still have your cap from last year?”
“I think so. It’s somewhere at home.”
“Let me know if I have to order you another one.”
Sal’s eyes met hers one last time as she removed the cap before he excused himself saying he had to make some calls. Grace sighed. She’d never figure him out.
She slipped the cap under the bar, but after spilling something that almost dripped down there, she decided to take it back and put it in her cabinet. She slowed as she reached the open office door. Sal was on the phone.
“Melissa, you have a way of always turning my words around.”
Grace held her breath, glancing around to see if anyone was watching her. No one was.
“Sweetheaook “Swert, I think I’d remember if I said that.”
Someone walked out of the kitchen forcing Grace to keep walking.
“No, I’m not calling you a liar I’m just saying—” he stopped talking when Grace walked in.
Grace motioned that she was just putting the cap away.
He nodded and continued. “I’m just saying you obviously misinterpreted what I said.”
She could not get out of there fast enough. Sal laughed as she walked back to the bar, rolling her eyes. Chick magnet. The man had them coming at him from every angle.
~*~
Melissa’s phone calls were starting up again. Sal knew he should have never agreed to see her again. After a hair-splitting phone call with her, where she conveniently mistook him saying I’ll see you around, to mean I want to see you again, he finally got her off the phone without having to promise to get together with her.
He checked his e-mail to see if the investors he’d met with today had sent him the proposal they promised to have for him by the end of the day. It was still a little early, but he was anxious. This was the first time since he started looking into teaming up with others to expand the restaurants, that they were more interested in being silent partners than having a hand in everything. But they did say they had a few stipulations of their own. Stipulations that would be outlined in the proposal.
Sal almost went home first to change, but he’d hardly been in the restaurant this week. He was anxious to get there already. He told himself it was because Alex was waiting for him so he could go home to Valerie, but there was more to his anxiety about getting to the restaurant. Something he wasn’t even ready to admit to himself yet. He pushed it to the back of his head until he saw Grace when he walked in. Even then, he reasoned the thrill that he felt was nothing more than the comfort of being back in a familiar place with familiar faces. But after a few doses of her wide-eyed excitement, topped with how sweet she looked in the ball cap on he had to get it together—had to snap out of it.
One look at his inundated email inbox and Sal’s head nearly hit his keyboard. He kept saying he would go through it soon. Now was as good a time as any. He spent about an hour clearing it out and still, no proposal.
With his head swimming from all the emails he had to go through, he left the office to grab something to drink. He ran into Grace who hurried into the back.
“Sorry,” she said, smiling, her hand on his chest.
Her touch sent a bolt through him as if it were the first time he felt a woman’s touch. “Where’s the fire?” He managed to keep his voice steady.
“I’m off now and my ride is here.” She looked up at him.
This was the closest he’d been to her and Sal had to fight the incredible urge to get even closer. He moved out of the way, letting her by and walked into the dining room. It was still a few hours before closing time. Grace usually getace usuworked the closing shift but she must’ve come in earlier today.
Julie was manning the hostess desk at the front of the restaurant. He walked over to check if they had any late reservations or if tonight would be all walk-ins. There was a scruffy guy at the door in dreadlocks, as Sal walked up to the hostess desk. Sal didn’t miss the way the guy checked him out thoroughly. So much so, he made it a point to address him. “Have you been helped?”
The guy’s smirk was a bit too smug. “No, I’m good.”
What the hell did that mean? Sal looked him over for a second, before deciding he was probably meeting someone and turned to Julie.
He glanced at the night’s reservation list when he heard the guy purr, “Hey beautiful.” Sal looked up just in time to catch the guy wrap his arm around Grace’s neck and kiss her temple.
She turned to Sal and Julie and waved as she walked out with the grunge freak. Sal stood there stunned—or something. He wasn’t sure what it was feeling, but somehow the scene had left him rattled. Another boyfriend?
Forgetting about the reservation list, he stalked back toward the office. He didn’t even realize he was pissed until he slammed the door shut. He sat back in his chair, breathing hard and stared at the ceiling. What the hell was wrong with him?
~*~
“All right, I’ll give Joey this one. Your boss is smokin’ hot.”
Grace was getting tired of hearing this now. First from the girls in class, then Joey, then the girls at work, and now Taylor. It wasn’t like she needed to be reminded of the obvious. She only wished it didn’t bother her. Why should it? She nodded but said nothing to further that topic.
Taylor pulled up to the front of her apartment building where there were two homeless men arguing outside. “You want me to walk you in?”
“No, I’m okay. Those two are always going at it.” She smiled as she watched Randy and The Snake shake their fists at each other. “They’re harmless.”
Taylor stared at them, taken aback. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
She turned back, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek. He turned his head and she stopped just before their lips met. She frowned—same old trick—Taylor smiled. “One of these days you’ll fall for it.”
Grace nudged him before opening the door. “I’ll make sure it happens when Joey’s around. You’ll be walking crooked for a week.”
Taylor squeezed his legs together and winced. “Why do you always have to go there?”
Gracie laughed then thanked him for the ride. Taylor always did things like that. Even in front of Joey. Joey played the part of being jealous, but if anyone was the jealous one, it was Taylor. She’d seen it once and it hadn’t been pretty.
Yet, for as much as Taylor flirted, she’d never seen so much as a spark of real jealousy from Joey. He knew Taylor would never actually do anything.
As was the norm at her place, Ruben layhome, Rube sprawled out on the sofa—beer cans and a bag of chips on the floor. Her mom peeked in from the hallway. “Pssst!”
Grace lifted her hand in the air and mouthed, “What?”
Her mom motioned for her to come over and put her finger over her lips.
Grace closed the door as quietly as possible. Ruben continued to snore like a bear. She held her keys tight in her hands so they wouldn’t jingle. They made it to her room and her mom closed the door behind her. “Frank wants to see you again.”
“What?” Grace felt sick to her stomach.
Rose was on her bed with the laptop on her legs. She glanced at Grace g
iving her that ‘I feel for you’ look.
“He called earlier today and said he really enjoyed the time he spent with you and he’d like to do it again. I was just thinking—”
“No!” Grace was done doing these things for her mom.
“If Ruben gets the job he’ll be gone most of the week.”
Grace and Rose’s eyes locked. One of the things that gnawed at her most of the day was wondering how much time Rose had to spent locked in her room for fear of walking out into the kitchen or living room and being harassed by Ruben.
“What does me seeing Frank again have to do with Ruben getting the job?”
Her mother frowned. “It’s not a done deal yet. Spending another evening with him just might seal the deal.” A calculating smile spread across her face and she turned to Rose. “Won’t it be nice when Ruben starts working and he’s only home late in the evening and gone before we’re all up?”
Another glance at her sister and she knew what Rose was thinking. If guilt was a facial expression, Rose wore it on her lips like a tight rope wire. As much as she hated it the idea of going on a fixed date with this man, it was totally worth it, if it meant getting Ruben out of the house. She turned back to her mother who didn’t even try to hide her anticipation and sighed. “When?”
Her mother nearly jumped. “Sometime next week.”
“Remember I have work and school.”
“Yes, yes.” Her mom reached out and held her by the shoulders. “We’ll work something out.” She crushed Grace into a hug. “Ay, mija, thank you so much. You won’t regret this!”
Grace closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She already did.
CHAPTER 7
Saturday morning Sal went through the online applications for employment at Angel’s restaurant. Angel had given him the go-ahead to take over the hiring. Like Alex, he didn’t care much for scheduling or conducting interviews. Sal called back the few he’d consider. To his surprise they were all available for an interview that very afternoon. He scheduled the interviews at Angel’s location and was out before Grace’s shift started.
The menu at Angel’s restaurant was aln amost identical to Alex’s but the one difference was that they were on the marina competing with a bunch of seafood restaurants. Therefore they boasted a lot more seafood specials. And no restaurant on the marina was complete without the lobster-filled aquarium at the entrance.
Sal stopped as he walked in to assess the lobsters in the aquarium.
“Hey, Sal.” Sarah, his sister-in-law walked over and hugged him. “You look all spiffy.” She tugged his tie, smiling.
Sal kissed her forehead. “Interviewing today—how’s everything here? Where’s Angel?”
Sarah gave him a look. “You didn’t see him out there?”
“No.” Sal turned back to the door.
“Some of the other restaurants are offering dinner cruises. There are a lot of sight-seeing and touring reps that have been coming around leaving their brochures. But it sounds complicated to me. Angel thinks it’s a good idea for the summer.”
Sal thought about it. In theory, it was a good idea, but getting one of those boats to meet code regulations with the health department would be a bitch. “Maybe appetizers and drinks. I don’t know about a full blown dinner.”
“The Surf Club is already doing it. Angel went over to talk to them about it the other day, but he said they didn’t offer too much information.”
Sal walked toward their back office with Sarah. This was where he spent most of his time, when he was here. “Yeah, they’re not going to. Angel’s better off asking the cruise services.”
“Well, that’s where he is now. It makes me nervous. Anything goes wrong, and we’ll be responsible.”
Sarah was right. Maybe he could get Carlos, his godfather and the family’s longtime attorney, to look into the details. “I’ll look into it.”
“Good,” Sarah smiled. “So how many people are you interviewing today?”
“Three, a cook, a waiter, and a bartender.” He took the seat at the desk.
“I heard about your new bartender. Oscar was over here yesterday. He said she’s really good,” Sarah smiled. “The way he went on and on about her, I think he may have crush.”
Sal pretended to be into what was on the computer screen, but he had to ease up on the mouse in his hand when he heard a cracking noise.
“Hey, dude.” Angel walked in. He kissed Sarah as she walked out.
Sal glanced at him in time to see Angel pat her behind.
“I hope you’re not gonna do what you’ve been doing at Alex’s place.”
Sal turned to him with a frown. “What’s that?”
“Be all picky and shit, about the hiring. I just need help. We keep getting swamped, especially on Sundays.”
“You have to be picky, Angel. You can’t just hire anyone.”
“Yeah, but,” Angel said, taking the seat next to the desk. “you don’t understand, Sal. People start getting pissed when the service is so damn slow and we’re moving as fast as we can. The last thing I need is for the word to get out that the service sucks.”
Sal stared at him and scratched his forehead. “That bad, huh?”
“Yeah, I had a few people walk out last week.”
“Shit. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m telling you now!”
Sal turned back to the computer and clicked on a different screen. “I’ll see if I can get a few more people in today to interview. I didn’t realize how bad it was.”
Angel sat back, pulling the pencil out from behind his ear. He tossed it in the air in front of him. “Oscar told me about the new bartender over there,” he grinned. “Said she’s real good—in more ways than one.”
“How the fuck would he know?”
Angel stopped tossing the pencil. “Easy!”
Sal gulped hard but refused to look at Angel.
“He said she knows what she’s doing and she fast. He didn’t say anything bad.” He tossed the pencil up again. “But he did say her cute accent goes with her personality.”
What did that even mean? Sal wouldn’t ask. He clenched his teeth and continued scanning through some of the other applications he’d dismissed that morning. “What’s more crucial right now? Waiters or cooks?”
“Both,” Angel said. “But I’m short on waiters. I have one on maternity leave and Sofie’s going back to Alex’s today.”
“I can have her stay and help if you need her.”
“Nah, we should be okay today. I have one back from vacation and Debbie who was out sick most of the week came back yesterday. I just need some new hires now, so they’ll be good and trained for the summer when things really start kicking up.”
“I’m on it.”
“Did Sarah tell you about the dinner cruises?”
“Yeah, I’ll have Carlos look into it first. I’m sure there’s a lot of red tape involved.”
Angel stood up and put the pencil behind his ear. “Some of the restaurants are thinking maybe booze cruises, just on the weekends.”
Sal laughed. “I’ll tell you right now. You’re probably looking at a small fortune on the insurance alone for something like that.”
“Well, ask Carlos anyway.”
“I will.”
Sal spent the rest of the day interviewing. In light of what Angel had told him about customers Salt custowalking out, he found himself lowering his standards a bit. At least when it came to the amount of experience he normally was comfortable with. If he had to be there to train the less experienced himself, he would.
In spite of staying busy most of the day, his mind kept wandering back to Grace and her two boyfriends. What the hell was that about? He reminded himself, that her personal life was none of his business yet the annoying thoughts continued to plague him through out the day.
~*~
Another day of showing up to work and finding out Sal wouldn’t be there. Nearly colliding with him last night, being that close—to
uching him, had Grace feeling things she knew she shouldn’t. She’d nearly forgotten all about it when she got home and her mother dropped the news about Frank on her. But as soon as her head hit her pillow those thoughts were in high gear again. So much, she actually dreamed of him—talking to him and staring in his eyes, like she was never quite able to do in real life, without looking away.
As disappointing as it was that he wasn’t there, it was better that way. This infatuation, if that’s what she was going to call it, was beginning to get out of hand. The man didn’t even care for her, much less see her in that way. Even if by some miracle he ever would, Melanie had told her about his love-em and leave-em tendencies. He seemed perfectly content with his bachelor status. In the short time she’d worked there, she’d witnessed his action with the ladies first hand. She knew better than to get caught up in that web.
Grace had just finished putting on her apron on when a girl she’d never met walked in the back room.
“Hey.” She smiled big.
Grace knew Sal was still working on hiring more people. This girl had long, thick, beautiful hair and was drop dead gorgeous. Great.
“Hey,” Grace smiled but not nearly as big as the girl had. “You new?”
“No, actually I’ve been helping out at the other restaurant for the past week. They had a few people call in sick. But I’m back now.” She pulled an apron out of one of the drawers in the cabinet. “I’m Sofia.” The big perfect smile was still draped across her face. She tied the apron behind her. “You must be the new bartender I heard about.”