Passionate Chef, Ice Queen Boss / Rescued in a Wedding Dress

Scarlett realised her presence would be noted very soon if she didn’t move. It was too late to disappear so her best bet was to pretend she was just arriving. She gave the door a push behind her and allowed it to bump against her back.

A couple of noisy steps forward and both their heads turned. Chirpiness was beyond her. Lorenzo’s hurtful words still echoed inside her, as did concern for Dante. Scarlett felt sick, too. If Dante was being abused, that was a terrible thing.

‘Lorenzo.’ She nodded towards Dante, too, but for his sake didn’t make any attempt at eye contact before she turned back to the head chef.

‘I just thought I’d let you know my plans for today. I want to observe, speak with employees as I see fit, and start my study of the account books.’ There would be times they would have to liaise, but Scarlett had made the decision in the past few minutes to ensure those times were kept to the absolute minimum.

Let Lorenzo think she was cold and emotionless and say ‘just like her mother’. Scarlett knew her heart. She wasn’t about to let Lorenzo stomp all over it, though! ‘Please ensure any receipts, requisitions forms and any other money-related paperwork you might have lying around is delivered to my office. Can you do that before noon?’

She’d intended to apologise for yesterday’s assumptions about his work commitments. A concession to his need for time was the closest he would now get.

Lorenzo’s gaze locked on her face and searched her eyes, her expression. Scarlett knew what he would see. She’d seen it enough times herself in a mirror. A somewhat different version of Lisa’s facial features in full chill-mode. How else could she protect herself?

Scarlett heaved a deep breath and slowly released it.

‘I’ll bring you everything I have.’ Lorenzo handed the written note to Dante, but his gaze didn’t leave Scarlett’s face. ‘Did you hear—?’

‘Thank you. I’ve only just arrived but I really need to get to work so I hope you’ll understand if I don’t hang about right now. Excuse me.’ She walked away before Lorenzo could do a thing about it. Not that she wanted to speak to the man now.

He might have helped Dante, and Scarlett was genuinely glad this had happened. By the sounds of it the boy needed all the help he could get.

But Lorenzo had also said some cutting things about Scarlett’s personality in the process.

She didn’t feel like dwelling on that, or discussing it, or anything else other than getting on with the job here and ignoring the existence of one Lorenzo Nesta and his capacity to upset her.

He shouldn’t even possess that capacity.

Not at all any more!

Chapter Three

‘THANK you all for staying back for this meeting.’ Scarlett uttered the words and let her gaze travel over each of the employees present. It was the end of her second day at Rosa’s restaurant. The dinner hour was over, tables and chairs stacked, the kitchen clean and tidy. For the next few minutes it would be the site of their meeting.

Scarlett’s office was not tidy. It was covered with bookwork, sheaves of account invoices and receipts. Amongst it were Lorenzo’s records of kitchen expenditure. He was very thorough, and in fact so far his bookkeeping was the easiest to understand of all of this.

When Lorenzo had delivered his bookkeeping records to the office, he’d apologised for his words about her that morning. He’d clearly figured out she’d been standing there, had heard it all. He’d explained he’d wanted to scare the boy into behaving better but not make him feel as if he didn’t have a friend in Lorenzo if he needed one.

Scarlett had…admired him for that and realised he hadn’t been out to hurt her feelings with his words. She’d suggested the police needed to be called in to try to make sure the mother was safe. Lorenzo had surprised her with his wisdom in the matter.

Let Dante get out of there first. Once he’s safe, I will make the call to the police myself. I’ll ask them to check on Dante’s mother when they’re certain the boyfriend won’t be around, though it’s quite possible he isn’t harming her.

He had seemed extremely uncomfortable with the topic.

Well, this understanding man was part of the Lorenzo Scarlett had known and…

Scarlett reached behind her and twisted her hair ribbon through her ponytail before she forced her hand back to her side. What she’d felt or hadn’t felt about Lorenzo in the past was irrelevant now.

‘I know it’s late and I’m sure you’d all rather be at home now so I’ll keep this as brief as possible.’ When she felt certain she had the absolute attention of everyone there, she went on. ‘I’ll repeat this meeting with the remaining staff tomorrow.’

Scarlett reached for a small sheaf of papers on the bench and handed it to the nearest person. ‘If you’d take one of those and pass the rest down the line?’

While her printouts circulated, Scarlett drew a breath and squared her shoulders. Her gaze, whether she wanted it to or not, shifted to Lorenzo. He stood right at the end of the group and was the last to receive his copy of her printout.

Why did he get to look not even slightly dishevelled after a long shift at work? And why was she noticing how Lorenzo looked anyway?

‘Everyone, what you have in your hands is a new streamlined roster, and two pages outlining expectations of you as a staff member of Rosa.’ From her discussions today with Isabella, Scarlett suspected much of the necessity for change in these areas came down to Luca being too lenient in certain respects.

In the end, the how of it didn’t really matter. Scarlett had Luca’s agreement that she was to set things straight here, and she would.

Her gaze fell briefly on Dante. She wished the boy had got his bruises falling off his bicycle, as Lorenzo had done taking spills from his motorcycle years ago. At least Lorenzo had worked out Dante’s problem. He’d done his best to give Dante a lifeline without harming the boy’s pride. That had been kind.

You mustn’t soften towards Lorenzo just because of that act of kindness. He’s still a love rat.

‘Work conditions, pay conditions, holidays and negotiation of time off in this establishment have all been extremely generous to this point.’ Scarlett made a concerted effort to keep her thoughts on the task at hand. ‘The conditions have been far more generous than the accepted norm in restaurants in this country.’

If there’d ever been written employment contracts Scarlett hadn’t been able to find them. She suspected Luca would have made verbal arrangements and felt those were enough. Only by studying the rosters and what people were getting paid for hours of work, what paid holidays they received and so on, had Scarlett pieced together that her uncle had indeed been giving away too much too easily around here in his commitment to ‘treating his staff well’.

Lorenzo seemed to be the only one who worked properly for his entitlements, and, in his case, he kept meticulous time sheets and never asked for overtime despite working longer hours than his weekly wage suggested he should. Since starting here four months ago he’d yet to take any extra day off that he wasn’t fully entitled to.

Muttering started from a few people as they looked at the rosters.

Scarlett had expected that, but it was best to make these changes now rather than later. They wouldn’t salvage Rosa in and of themselves, but they were one step in the right direction at least. ‘I’d encourage you to take your handouts home and examine them. I’m certain when you do that, you’ll see that the conditions are on a par—’

‘This roster means I have to start an hour earlier.’ The woman who made the comment spoke over Scarlett’s words. She was a waitress who worked lunch shifts only. Late thirties, with high-school-aged children and a husband who ran a small farming concern not far out of Monta Correnti.

The woman turned to Lorenzo. ‘It doesn’t suit me to be here earlier. I have to do my housework after the family leaves for school and work each day. When you tried to change this, Luca said—’

‘Excuse me.’ Scarlett said the words firmly and waited for the woman to glance her way. ‘I recall speaking with you earlier today. In fact, I’ve spoken with each and every staff member, explained my presence here and let you all know that, for the extent of my stay, Luca has handed the reins of control of Rosa to me.’

Did this woman think she could turn to Lorenzo and usurp Scarlett’s authority? It sounded as though she’d already used Luca’s generous outlook to undermine Lorenzo’s authority, too.

That can’t have been easy on the head chef, Scarlett admitted silently. She held the woman’s gaze. ‘I am your boss now and, while you are always welcome to discuss any concerns with our head chef in his role as Assistant Manager, it’s not appropriate to do so as you’ve just done, ignoring my authority in the process.’

‘Well, I merely wanted—’

‘Miss Gibson is quite right.’ Lorenzo seemed to be having his own battle. His fingers were clenched about the copy of the paperwork he’d received as his gaze took in the small group of faces. ‘If changes need to be made here, perhaps it’s best to be grateful that you still have a job. I’ve only been made aware of these changes now, as you all have, but, at first glance at least, they still seem fair and equitable to me.’

His eyes gentled as he looked at the other woman. ‘Perhaps you can rearrange your schedule so you clean your home after your shift instead of before it.’

When the woman looked ready to argue again, Scarlett spoke. What was her name? ‘Maria, I’m sorry, but it doesn’t suit Rosa to have one of the wait staff arriving to start a lunch shift when everyone else is run off their feet already and your presence was needed an hour earlier. Are there special circumstances for why you absolutely can’t make it earlier?’

The woman dropped her gaze and muttered beneath her breath, but eventually shook her head.

‘All right.’ Scarlett let her gaze travel over the group. ‘Across the board I’ve streamlined the rosters to maximise staff availability at the busiest times of the day. As staff are paid on a Thursday, this new roster will start straight after pay day, this Friday.’

She drew a breath. ‘Within the next week we’ll be getting ourselves up to date with written employment contracts for all staff members. It’s in your best interests, as well as Rosa’s, to have these in place so you know things will have to go through due process if there are ever problems.

‘You’ll all see that I’ve made it part of your conditions here that you don’t try to swap rosters at the last minute unless there’s a case of genuine emergency. Those will be assessed if and when they arise. Rosa will function best if we run a tight show.’

That about covered the roster side of it. ‘Please read the written conditions. You’ll be expected to adhere to those from now on. Cuts in the number of paid holidays et cetera simply bring Rosa into line with industry standards.’

Scarlett wound the meeting up. ‘If any of you wish to discuss any aspect of the new conditions after you’ve read them, you are most welcome to book a meeting with me to do so. Thank you, and goodnight.’

They filed out. Good staff, many of them, and possibly a few less than great ones. Let them go to their homes, read the conditions, take the time to absorb them and hopefully realise they were, indeed, quite reasonable.

Lorenzo was the one person who didn’t file out with the others. ‘That was unexpected.’

Scarlett drew a breath. ‘These steps have to be taken. I thought you understood that.’

‘Of course.’ He spread his hands. ‘As your assistant manager, I could have supported your cause better if I’d known your plans. That’s all.’

Scarlett had forged ahead without consulting him or asking for his support. She admitted this. Emotionally, she didn’t trust him and yet, when it came to Rosa, Isabella trusted Lorenzo. Luca trusted Lorenzo. The other staff seemed to trust Lorenzo. Could he be a wonderfully supportive assistant manager to Scarlett? Could they work together like that, despite their past history?

‘I will try to keep that in mind in future.’ In this moment, that was the best she could come up with.

Tomorrow. She would force herself to totally assess all of this tomorrow. Scarlett cast a longing glance at the door. ‘It’s, um, it’s getting late. We should be going.’

Scarlett needed to go, so she could stop being aware of the fact that they were here alone. Alone, together, for the first time in five years. She was pushing that knowledge down as hard as she could, but it was still there.

Why couldn’t she simply respond to him in the same way she responded to anyone? Only treat him as a co-worker. Her tummy was suddenly in knots and…

‘I’ll walk you to your bedsit.’

He already knew of this? ‘How do you know—?’

‘This is Monta Correnti.’ He gestured to the restaurant. ‘And this is Rosa, which is owned by Luca, who is a member of your family, which makes your presence here the topic of a great deal of interest amongst staff and patrons alike. Did you think the news that you’d moved out of Lisa’s villa and into your bedsit wouldn’t travel all through the restaurant in minutes?’

He shook his head. ‘All the family gets talked about here, Scarlett. A week ago, it might have been “The Angel of New York’s” baseball career, but your presence gets its degree of attention, too.’

Scarlett had not as yet met Luca’s sons, Alex and Angelo, born to an American woman. Her Italian family certainly knew how to keep life complicated, though Scarlett wasn’t at all sure that she wanted any time under the Rosa staff’s microscope!

‘Actually, I hadn’t thought that news would travel through the restaurant at all.’ She tugged so hard on her ribbon that it came out in her hand. Scarlett compulsively threaded it through her fingers and decided it wasn’t fair that she had dressed for success and got through a big day, only to be startled by the strength of the gossip mill right at the end of it.

‘Your nose is scrunching,’ he said softly. This observation was followed by a frown that seemed self-repressive before he quickly turned his gaze away and headed for the door. ‘It’s less than five minutes’ walk to your bedsit. I’m sure you can deal with my company for that long, despite your efforts to avoid me today.’

‘I did not.’ She had, though, and why did a tingle go over Scarlett’s skin and her breath catch in her throat at the thought of him walking her home, for goodness’ sake? ‘As for moving to the bedsit, it’s not that I wasn’t happy at Mamma’s villa.’

‘Happy to the degree that you chose to move yourself into a bedsit after just two days there? And that was with your mother not even in residence in her home at the time.’ He shook his head. ‘You left her at age twelve, preferring to move to the other side of the world and live with your father, Scarlett. I haven’t forgotten that you told me that, or of your inability to feel close to her.’

He hesitated. ‘I also hear plenty about Lisa in terms of her ownership of Sorella. Your mother’s restaurant is our key rival for business here.’

‘Well, at least this way I avoid any conflict of interest.’ Scarlett dropped her guard a little. ‘I’m sure Mum would understand. Working for Luca, I couldn’t allow that. Really, I should have thought of it before I came over here.’

‘Certainly. I’m sure your mother should understand this.’ A twinkle in his eyes showed that he could see the strategy in Scarlett’s outlook. A moment later his smile faded to a more serious expression. ‘Scarlett, this morning I said things about you—’

‘It’s all right. You explained why you made me the ogre of the piece.’

He shook his head. ‘I could have thought of a better way to handle that. Realising Dante’s situation…threw me off. Enough that it took all my attention to not let him know what I’d worked out.’

‘You allowed him to keep his pride.’

‘Sometimes pride is all a man has left.’ The moment the words emerged, he clamped his lips together.

There were shadows in the backs of Lorenzo’s eyes as Scarlett searched them. But he quickly shielded those eyes with long silky lashes.

‘Will Dante be able to move into that boarding accommodation?’ She needed to focus on that, not on her rising consciousness of Lorenzo.

Anyway, it had to be a ‘workers co-operating for the better good’ kind of affinity that Scarlett was feeling. Anything else would be quite insane.

Lorenzo nodded. ‘He did so this morning.’

‘That’s good.’ Scarlett glanced behind her to make absolutely sure they truly were alone. ‘I can get alongside him; watch him for a while to make sure he’s okay. That that horrid man, whoever he is, isn’t still—’

‘You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll keep a close watch on Dante.’ Oh, his voice was so deep, so soft.

As was the expression in his eyes as he looked at her. Out of nowhere a sense of affinity rose between them. Scarlett opened her mouth and spoke straight out of that fellow feeling. ‘I trust you to do that.’

She realised that she did. Without any hesitation, she knew she could trust Lorenzo with that. He might have hurt her, let her down five years ago, but she just knew this.

He’s a good head chef, Scarlett. Isabella had said this.

When Luca discussed Lorenzo, he’d gone even further. I have great faith in him.

Maybe it was the faith of Isabella and Luca that gave Scarlett this belief in Lorenzo. Or maybe it was what she had seen of his work practices and ethics in the past two days. But they didn’t seem to compute with the ‘love rat’ image Scarlett had carried of him for the past five years.

As Scarlett really didn’t know how to address these thoughts, she turned her attention elsewhere. ‘You said this morning that Dante had taken a key that Luca kept as a spare? That Dante used that to let himself into the restaurant?’

‘Yes. Luca had a secret hiding place where he kept a spare key in case he ever lost his.’ Lorenzo drew a key chain from the pocket of his chef’s pants. There were two matching keys on it. ‘I knew about it, but I thought Isabella and I were the only ones aside from Luca who did. I should have thought better of that assumption.’

He shook his head. ‘In any case, that hiding place is no more. Would you like the second key?’

‘No, I have one from my uncle.’ Luca had run Rosa with a naive degree of trust in some respects. This became more and more clear to Scarlett the more she learned about the restaurant.

‘Then perhaps we should go.’ Lorenzo uttered the words quietly.

‘Yes.’ Scarlett glanced up. The expression in Lorenzo’s eyes made her breath catch in her throat.

Awareness, consciousness, memory. They were all there and for one brief moment they were all inside her, too. The feelings were so unexpected, and so opposite to what Scarlett had believed she felt towards him for five years, that she froze.

He drew a breath and stilled for a moment too before he blinked and got his feet moving and led the way to the kitchen doors. He pushed one open and stood back for her to precede him.

Somehow they made it outside and somehow she managed to say something about work as they headed across the square towards her bedsit. Her landlady had told her she travelled a lot, which suited Scarlett just fine. ‘I hope the staff will realise they’re not being given unreasonable conditions with the changes I’ve handed to them tonight.’

‘If you continue to make and implement all your decisions without informing me before you put them into action, you’ll make your job here harder than it needs to be.’ His words were a soft murmur as his gaze travelled once again over her face, her eyes, and dropped…to her mouth before he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Scarlett forced herself to breathe carefully and evenly and not allow herself the same examination he had just taken. ‘You feel that, as Head Chef and Manager, we should join our forces more?’

She had wished she could avoid him as much as she possibly could for the duration, but even Scarlett could admit that wasn’t very practical when he was her assistant, and the most pivotal employee of Rosa.

‘I don’t want to usurp your authority here, but, yes, I do feel we need to work together.’ His expression told her he wanted co-operation between them. ‘I believe your likelihood of success will be better if we combine our efforts.’

He held out one hand, palm up. ‘We would present a united front to the rest of the staff, if nothing else.’

‘It would make for smoother sailing, provided you can accept my—’ Authority? Her being further up the employment ladder than him? Scarlett didn’t quite know how to put it, and she’d never worried about that kind of thing before!

‘Provided I can accept your leadership in this workplace.’ He turned, just a little turn towards her, but it made the difference between two people talking from their safe distances as they faced forwards and walked, and something just that little bit more intimate.

Scarlett doubted he was even aware he’d done it, and she could have taken one step away from him in any direction to put an end to that feeling, but instead she continued to walk exactly as close as she was to him.

Scarlett shoved her ribbon into the pocket of her dress and told herself to get over it.

Whatever it was, exactly.

Well, she supposed ‘it’ was this strange feeling she had that felt like a combination of history and remembering and becoming conscious of Lorenzo all over again in ways she hadn’t anticipated and didn’t welcome.

Except that no matter how much you tell yourself you’re not, there’s a part of you that is aware of him.

‘I’m prepared to discuss things with you, but my decisions about the finances here are still final, no matter whether you agree with them or not.’ Even so saying, she felt the need to temper her statement. ‘I can see that two heads might be better than one with some of this. I suppose we can at least try.’

She had to do what was best for Rosa. If she felt this was best, such a decision didn’t have to feel dangerous to Scarlett, dangerous to her emotional well-being. She wasn’t about to fall in love with Lorenzo again, for crying out loud. They could work side by side for the betterment of Rosa. In fact, doing so would be really good for her because it would prove to her that she could remain completely emotionally distanced from him.

And physical attraction, Scarlett?

These few moments this evening of feeling a little too conscious of him, well, they were probably just a couple of old memories surfacing. They didn’t mean anything and would be long gone and forgotten by tomorrow morning when she met him again at work.

Scarlett drew a breath that filled her lungs with the blunted scent of his aftershave lotion and realised they were somehow walking even closer than they had been. Their shoulders were leaning towards each other. He smelled familiar and…she was far too tired for this right now. Her defences were not as strong as they should be.

‘Thank you. I want to help you, Scarlett, not get in the way of what you’re trying to do here.’ Lorenzo drew a deep breath.

They arrived at her bedsit and stepped into the lee of the door lintel.

‘Goodnight—’

‘Thank you for seeing me—’

He reached for her hand, perhaps to shake it.

Scarlett took a step towards the door as he did so, and they each stepped into the other’s path. Lorenzo’s hands came up to cup her elbows, perhaps to hold her still while he stepped around her.

Instead she glanced up. He glanced down into her eyes and a moment later, their lips met.

Chapter Four

‘GOODNIGHT. I—thank you for seeing me home.’ Scarlett uttered the words through lips that wanted to deny what had just happened.