Chapter Nine #5
He grimaces. “Marcello, there are far more qualified people than me out there.”
“Maybe, but I’d like to give you the opportunity. Not some stranger.”
He looks less angry and more curious now. “I don’t know…”
I feel him weakening, so I press on. “This isn’t just for you.
It’s for me too. I need someone on my team who understands hospitality from the inside.
Not someone who went to college and learned design theory.
Not glossy magazine nonsense. Someone who knows what happens when the room is full, everyone is impatient, and one badly placed service station turns the entire evening into a war zone. ”
He mutters, “That’s a little dramatic.”
I arch one brow. “Is it? I’ve seen servers and customers almost come to blows when the dinner service starts to unravel.”
He smiles but it fades quickly. “You can’t just give me a job as a restaurant consultant.”
“I can do whatever I want.”
He wrinkles his brow, leaning closer. “Why do you want to do this for me? I don’t get it. I’m already going to sleep with you when you tell me to. What’s in it for you?”
“I told you, I need your help. But it’s not just that. You’re my husband. My omega. Yes, we have a contract, but I still want you to be happy. And I can see you’re not. I mean, hell, a blind man could see you’re bored out of your mind, Elio.”
He shrugs wordlessly.
“You’re used to working yourself to death and worrying about Fabio constantly. But now you have nothing to do. Nothing to focus on.” I reach out and touch his hand that rests on the table, pleased when he doesn’t pull away. “Let me give you something to do that you’d actually be really good at.”
There’s the tiniest spark of excitement in his eyes, but he’s doing his best to hide it. “I don’t know, Marcello.”
“I do.”
“What business do I have getting involved?” He asks quietly. “Without a degree, it feels wrong. I don’t know CAD.”
“I don’t need you to know CAD or codes. You wouldn’t be replacing the professionals I already use. You’d be consulting for me on the practical side of things. The service side. The management side.”
He’s quiet for a long moment.
Around us, the club hums with voices and the soft clink of glass. Elio looks young and worried. It’s almost like he’s terrified at the thought that a dream he buried long ago might still have a pulse.
“Twenty-eight isn’t too old to start chasing your dreams,” I say.
“What… what about when I get pregnant?” he asks warily. “Would you make me stop? Would I have to give it all up? Because if so, I don’t want to do it. Giving it up would be worse than never doing it at all.”
I scowl. “You think I’m encouraging you to follow your dreams just so I can rip them away from you?”
“No, I don’t mean that exactly.” His face flushes. “But practically speaking, if I’m pregnant, or I have a kid to watch over, that will be something that interferes with my work.”
“You’re my omega not some temp I hired. We’d work around your needs.”
He shakes his head, looking bewildered. “Who are you and what have you done with Marcello Foschini?”
I narrow my eyes. “I keep telling you, I’m a good guy to those I care about.”
He drops his gaze. “You don’t care about me.”
“Bullshit,” I say harshly. “You’re my omega. Of course I care.”
He looks up, shocked at my angry tone.
I sigh. “Look, Elio, it’s true when we first met, I was cold and detached about the whole situation.
It truly was just business to me. I know now that I was naive to think I could claim you, and nothing would change.
The minute I gave you my bite, everything changed.
Your happiness is as important to me. I know that working will make you happy, so I want to give you that. ”
His throat works. “You really think I can do this?”
“I know you can.” I huff. “Do you seriously think I’m the sort of man who would offer you this job if I didn’t think you could do it? It’s important to me that you succeed. If you fail, I fail. And I can’t fail.”
He winces. “That’s a lot of pressure.”
“Is it?” I smirk. “Just don’t fail.”
“Gee, why didn’t I think of that?” he grumbles.
“So what do you say? Are you going to go after what you want?” I ask.
He looks down at the pale yellow martini in front of him and then up at me. “It’s true I’m bored to tears. But I won’t be available much once Fabio has his surgery. I’ll want to be with him as much as possible to help him during his rehabilitation. Once he’s healthy again, I’ll be all yours.”
I like the sound of that.
“Of course,” I say agreeably. “We can start doing some things now if you want, but then you take a break when he has his surgery. I have a few restaurants that are already open that have a very high staff turnover. I’d love to take you to them and get your feel for the layouts and the management’s vibe.
I’ll bet you know an asshole manager a mile away. ”
“Absolutely. I’ve worked for plenty of them. I’m happy to give you my opinion.”
I smile, relieved he is going along with things now. “If nothing else, it’ll get you out of the house, right?”
“True.”
“So you’ll do it?”
His eyes flicker. “I… I guess so.”
“Excellent.” I beam. “Now that we have that ironed out, how about we grab some dinner before we head home? Let’s go enjoy lobster and some good wine.”
“Sure, Marcello, that sounds nice.” The smile he gives me is warmer and more sincere than anything he’s given me all day.
Dinner at the club is delicious. Elio devours his lobster, looking contented.
I can’t stop watching him. I’m half-hard the entire meal, hoping when we get home he’ll want sex.
I’m craving him, but we had such a nice day, I don’t want to do anything to ruin it.
If he’s tired or not in the mood, I won’t push it. I’ll leave it up to him to make a move.
When we leave the club, the coast road takes us home along the cliffs. The water on our left has gone molten where the evening sun touches it. Elio sits in his seat, his sunglasses pushed up on his head, his leg bouncing along to the music playing on the stereo. Now and then he glances over.