Chapter 11
I finally hired a head chef and a sous chef. The waiters are all set, the bartender too. The restaurant is in its final stages, and the furniture is perfect. I think we’ll have the grand opening within two weeks.
Right now I’m working with the chef on the menus—after all, the menu is crucial and has to be impeccable—so we’re deciding what to serve, from the dishes to the wines and sparkling wines.
The cuisine here really is very different, and with so many tourists, we decided to diversify to please everyone.
The kitchen turned out to be very well-designed, which I really liked—everything in its proper place and easy to handle, everything separated by station.
That makes plating much easier and speeds things up too, because my motto is speed and efficiency in serving the customer. They always come first.
Now that everything is settled with my staff, I’m going to spend all day at the restaurant, helping Emma.
It’s going to be hard being close to her because I still can’t get her out of my head.
I’ve done everything to try to forget her, and honestly, I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I just can’t.
I arrived early today, a little before her, and take a walk around the place.
I can’t wait to have it up and running. The invitations for the grand opening are all ready.
Of course Emma is invited—she was part of all this, and she deserves to be here.
I really hope she comes. I’m heading up to the private area when I hear the door opening.
I look over to see who’s coming in, and there she is, beautiful as always.
“Good morning, sir. You arrived early.”
“Yes, I woke up earlier than usual and decided to come straight to the restaurant. Since we’re in the final stages, I want to keep a closer eye on things.”
“Not much left. Well, I have a question about something upstairs—could you give me your opinion?”
“Of course, let’s go.”
We climb the stairs and finally reach the private area—my office is here, the manager’s office on one side, and the private rooms on the opposite side. She stops in front of a door, opens it, and we enter. I see two sofas, each a different color. I’m confused, and then she speaks.
“I’m not sure if we should go with a lighter color for contrast or something more neutral. Think about these two tones: white and blue.”
“But why these colors?”
“White brings a classic feel to the space—calm and serene—while blue creates a relaxing environment, which I think is the purpose of this room.”
“The blue stands out more. I like it better. And will this be the model?”
“So, the blue upholstery—you didn’t like the model? We can change it.”
“I don’t find it very comfortable,” I said, sitting down. “Sit down and feel it. If this room is going to be used by couples too, we need more relaxing furniture, don’t you think?”
“It’s fine for me,” she says, sitting down a bit too far away, so I move closer.
“I’ll show you it’s not comfortable.”
I grab her waist and pull her to me. She looks at me with wide eyes—she didn’t expect me to do that—but she doesn’t say anything.
I lay her down slowly and position myself on top of her without putting all my weight on her as my cock stirs to life.
I take her arms and place them above her head, holding them with just one hand, and with the other I caress her face. God, she’s beautiful.
The whole time, she stays focused on my every movement, her face and body giving nothing away, just looking into my eyes. I want to fuck her right there on that cramped sofa, but I need to stay calm. So I move closer to her mouth, as if I’m going to kiss her, and say:
“See how uncomfortable it is? Too small. We have to think about our customers, make them feel as comfortable as possible.” I’m still close to her mouth, and my desire to devour her only grows.
“I’m totally comfortable here, Mr. Matteo,” the little devil says, provoking me. “I’m so comfortable I could stay here for a good while.”
“Don’t play with fire, ragazza.” My cock is getting harder by the second.
“What if I told you I love getting burned?”
She says that and simply lunges at me. Fuck, she shouldn’t have done that.
She starts with a gentle kiss, but I take the reins and deepen it, devouring her delicious mouth.
She tastes like strawberries. Our tongues meet and she moans beneath me.
My hand slides from her face down to her breast, and I squeeze it while she moans again.
I stop kissing her and move down to her neck.
Her skin smells like roses. I keep going, finding her breast. I unbutton her shirt, lower her bra, and suck her pink nipple. God, it feels so good.
She calls my name, grabs my hair, and begs for more, and it’s driving me crazy.
If I don’t stop, I’ll take her right here.
It’s going to be hard to pull away, but we can’t have sex—not here, not now—so with great effort, I stop sucking her breast, give it one last lick to savor the taste, bite her lip, and sit up on the sofa.
She keeps looking at me, confused, and I say:
“This isn’t the place, ragazza. When I fuck you,” I say, running my hand over her face, “I want it to be special.”
“I understand.” She gets up and fixes her clothes. I can tell I’ve disappointed her, so I pull her onto my lap and say:
“You deserve more than this, Emma,” I say, pointing to the sofa.
“So when the time comes, I want it to be special.
You're wonderful—don't think I'm not turned on by you.” I take her hand and press it against my cock, throbbing inside my boxers.
“Feel that? I'm going crazy for you, but when it happens, it'll be the way you deserve.”
Just then, we hear noise downstairs and decide to get up, but I'm in no condition to go anywhere, so I say:
“Go ahead, I need to wait for my friend here to calm down a bit,” I say, pointing downward. Her eyes follow my hand, and the little devil moves close, wraps her hand around my cock, gives it a squeeze, and says:
“I could definitely help you out with that, but we really do need to get back to work.”
Maledetta diavola[21]. She walks out, leaving me there alone.
The rest of the day flew by, and being in the same room as her was torture. We exchanged glances several times, and I think Carter noticed, because at one point he came up to me and said:
“I want to know everything that's going on between you two.”
“There's nothing to tell.”
“Don't give me that, because I know something happened.”
“We just kissed. Happy now?”
“That's just the beginning. With the looks you two have been exchanging all day, a lot more is going to happen.”
“Get back to work, Carter, and leave me alone.”
He walks off with a grin. Yeah, something's definitely got to happen, because I'm crazy about her, and it seems like the feeling's mutual.
All I can do now is wait and see. The first step's been taken—now I want her in my bed, and I'll have her, even if I have to wait.
Giving up isn't my style. I take one last look at her and head out.
Another day ends, and we're getting closer to the end, but I don't want it to come.