Page 10 of Unrelenting (Ruthless Temptations #1)

NINE

Lucia

Ever since Damiano Volante opened La Stanza Rosso, I’ve wondered whether the club can live up to the hype. It’s been featured in every lifestyle magazine in Italy and a few from beyond our borders.

In fact, it was named as one of Europe’s ten hottest clubs by a famous New York newspaper. I can’t help wondering how much of the buzz around it is to do with the owner and not the club itself.

An image of glamor and sophistication surrounds the Mafia that belies the brutal truth of how men like Damiano maintain their position in society.

Until now, my interactions with Lorenzo have taken place at the restaurant or at my apartment, so I’m excited to get my first glimpse into his world.

I quickly strip off my chef’s uniform and wash my face at the sink in the staff bathroom. Ideally, I’d want to go home and shower before going out, but I’d rather not waste time.

It’s already late, and although I’m not yet ready for bed, I know it won’t be long before the usual weariness I feel after a long day kicks in.

I put on the cropped trousers and silk halter top I wore this morning. I feel sexy in the outfit, so hopefully it will be suitable for the club.

Once I’m dressed, I do what I can with my hair. I leave it down, hanging over my shoulders in loose waves.

Then I apply some lipstick, which is the only makeup I have with me.

When I step into the kitchen, Nicolo lets out a whistle and all eyes turn to me. “Looking good there, boss.”

“Thanks, Nicolo.” I try not to preen at his compliment. “Can you close up for me tonight?”

A look of mild surprise crosses his face. Although he often arrives before me so he can work on his latest creations, I always insist on being the one to lock up after everyone leaves. I guess I do have an issue with wanting to be in control.

That urge doesn’t cross over into my personal life. Where Lorenzo is concerned, I’m happy for him to take the lead.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Nicolo agrees. “You going somewhere nice?”

“La Stanza Rosso.”

A cacophony of jealous murmurs goes around the room, but it’s all good-natured grumbling. I hold a hand up to silence everyone.

“Your turn will come next Saturday.”

“What are you talking about?” Suki, my sous chef, asks. Blonde with green eyes, she’s the member of my staff who’s most into partying.

“I may have organized for you all to be put on the guest list.” Perhaps I shouldn’t announce this to them before Lorenzo has confirmed it, but I have a feeling he’ll come through for me.

The kitchen erupts with gasps, squeals and a whoop that I think comes from Carina.

“Not your boyfriend, my ass,” Stefan says, coming over to give me a hug.

Flicking my hair over my shoulder, I turn and walk away. “Make sure to lock everything up tight,” I call out as I exit the kitchen.

As I approach Lorenzo, he gets up from his stool at the bar to greet me. He makes a spinning motion with his finger, and I oblige by doing a twirl for him.

“Well?” I ask. “Will I do?”

“Absolutely. You look incredible, gattina. ”

I could be wearing a brown paper bag and Lorenzo would make me feel as if I was the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Nicolo’s going to lock up for me tonight.”

Lorenzo nods approvingly. “Good. It’s time your staff pulled their weight around here.”

“Lorenzo,” I scold. “My staff work hard. It’s not their fault I find it hard to delegate.”

“Ah, you admit it.” He takes my hand and leads me to the door. “It’s something I’m working on. I told Stefan he can choose some new wine for the restaurant.”

“I know. He called the winery. I’m going to show him around next week.”

I suck a breath in over my teeth.

“What?” Lorenzo asks.

“Can’t you ask someone else to show him around? I think he’s a little……” I don’t want to tell Lorenzo my sommelier is frightened of him. “He’s overawed by you.”

Lorenzo squeezes my hand as he leads me out through the front door. “I know, gattina , but I like to show prospective clients around personally.”

I slap his arm lightly. “Now who has trouble delegating?”

Chuckling, he opens the passenger door of a BMW SUV for me. He helps me settle into my seat, closes the door and gets into the driver’s side. He switches on the engine, but before he moves off, he waves behind us toward the building next door to the restaurant.

“What’s happening there?”

“Oh, it’s going to be a restaurant.” I keep my tone light, afraid that if Lorenzo knows I’m worried about the competition, he’ll try to eliminate it for me.

As tempting as it is to ask him to fight this battle for me, I just can’t bring myself to do it.

“Apparently Marco Agostini’s going to be running it. ”

Lorenzo fixes me with a concerned stare. “That doesn’t worry you.”

“Of course it does, but he’s all about modern, flashy techniques, and Gianetta’s focuses on tradition. We’re catering to different customers.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“So do I. Bet you’re glad you didn’t buy Gianetta’s now.”

“I am, but not because I’m afraid of a little competition. I wouldn’t have got to know you if you’d simply signed on the dotted line like you were supposed to.”

As he releases the parking brake and takes off down the street, Lorenzo purses his lips as if he’s deep in contemplation. “You know, I could just get rid of Agostini for you.”

My heart sinks. This is what I was afraid of. “How?”

“I could speak to the mayor. Have their permits rescinded.”

If he has that sort of influence, I’m impressed, but I can’t ask him to intervene like that. “No, I’d rather you used your powers for good rather than evil.”

Lorenzo shoots me a look. “You know what I do for a living, right?”

When I think about it, I really don’t know what he does on a daily basis. Apart from the winery, I know he has many other businesses, but that’s all above board.

What his Mafia life entails, I have no idea. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know. Like he already told me, it’s best I remain in the dark about some things.

“Yes, but I don’t want to get involved in anything like that, so let me run my business my way.”

“If that’s what you want,” Lorenzo says tersely. I get the feeling I’ve hurt him by not accepting his help.

“But if I find I can’t handle it, perhaps you can step in then,” I offer.

Lorenzo nods. “Anything you need, Lucia, just ask.”

What I need right now is for him to ease his foot off the gas a little, but I don’t want to insult his driving so soon after denting his ego.

It’s not that he’s a terrible driver. He weaves effortlessly through traffic, handling the corners like a pro. He’s just going way too fast for my liking. It’s as if he’s involved in a car chase, trying to evade his pursuers.

Considering that a viable possibility, I glance back over my shoulder, but there’s nobody following us. I guess this is just how Lorenzo drives.

When we get to La Stanza Rosso, he slams on the brakes, screeching to a halt and startling the patrons lined up outside the club.

“Is it always this busy?” I ask, looking down the street and trying to work out how many people are waiting to get inside. It has to be at least two hundred.

“This is nothing.” Lorenzo unclips the seatbelt I’m surprised he bothered wearing since he broke every other driving law.

“On theme nights, there’s double this number.

Most of them won’t get in. Damiano’s manager fills the club from a list. There’s usually only a couple of dozen spaces left for walk-ups. ”

“Wow, I wish Gianetta’s had that much demand.”

“You’re busy every night.”

“Yes, but people aren’t trying to bribe my staff to get a reservation.” I nod toward the young guy who’s waving a handful of euros at the doorman. The burly security guard shakes his head and shoves the younger man away. “He didn’t take the money.”

Lorenzo chuckles and shakes his head. “Only because I’m sitting here. If I wasn’t, Mario would have pocketed the money and let him in.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Yeah. Mario’s got a family to feed. Damiano knows his staff take bribes, but he turns a blind eye to it.”

“What if someone they take a bribe from causes trouble in the club? What if they bring in a weapon?”

“They can’t. There’s a set of stairs to go up. You have to pass through a security scanner at the bottom. If it goes off, you won’t make it into the club.”

“So you aren’t armed?”

I haven’t seen Lorenzo with a gun yet, but I’m pretty sure he carries one most of the time.

He swivels around just enough for me to see that he does in fact have a gun tucked into the back of his jeans. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I

t’s scary that he’s armed like this but also strangely arousing. I take a breath to steady my racing heart as Lorenzo gets out of the car.

He comes around to open my door and help me out onto the sidewalk.

“Hey, Lorenzo,” Mario greets him with a handshake as we walk up to the door. “Miss Lazaro.”

I frown, unsure how he knows my name.

“I proposed to my wife at your restaurant,” Mario explains when he sees the look of confusion on my face. “Best night of my life. The steak was to die for, and then she said yes.”

I can’t help laughing. “Glad my steak sealed the deal for you.”

Mario shakes his head. “I think it was the panna cotta that did that.”

“Ah, then credit has to go to my pastry chef, Nicolo.”

“You came out of the kitchen and congratulated us personally,” Mario says. “Gave us a bottle of Prosecco.”

That’s not something I do for every guest who proposes in my restaurant. If I did, I’d go bankrupt in a week. I look at the doorman closely. His gray eyes are familiar. I try to place him, and it comes to me. “You’re Elena Mancini’s husband.”

“Elena Lombardi now, but yes.”

I turn to Lorenzo. “His wife and I were at Oxford at the same time. We were both so surprised to meet someone else from Florence, we became friends for a while. We lost touch once she came back here until I saw her that night at the restaurant.”

As I give Lorenzo the details of our acquaintance, I feel bad I haven’t kept in touch with Elena.