Page 6 of His Obsession
“I swear to God, I didn’t steal anything!” Vince shouts. His face is probably red by now, but I don’t bother looking at him.
“Matteo is going to escort you out,” I say, still without looking. “Consider yourself terminated.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Matteo rise. Vince tries to fight him. He knows what happens next, and it won’t be pretty. I’d handle it myself, but I have more important things to worry about this morning.
Once Matteo’s escorted him out, I turn my full attention back to Darren. He’s pale and looks absolutely terrified. Probably thinking about what’s happening to his coworker right now.
“Tell me about Saturday,” I say, moving on to my second problem.
Darren licks his lips. “A few guys came through around midnight. Ordered bottle service, got loud, acted like they owned the place. One of the floor men recognized their leader as a Marchetti.”
That tracks. The Marchetti crew has spent the last six months trying to bait me. No outright violence yet, but they’re likegnats. Annoying enough that I’m constantly swatting them away without any real results.
“And?”
“They started bothering one of the hostesses. Security intervened. It got physical outside.”
“How physical?”
“One broken nose. One dislocated shoulder. Our guys handled it.”
“That’s not the first time we’ve had to handle a rowdy patron. What happened that’s got you looking so worried?”
Darren glances down at his hands. “One of them said Bellissimo wasn’t going to be ours much longer.”
I nod once, then pick up my phone and text Matteo.
Put pressure on Vince.See if he’s working with the Marchettis.
He texts back almost immediately.
Don’t worry, I’ll make him talk.
I’ll have an answer by the end of the day, if not sooner. Matteo is nothing if not persuasive.
“I’m not sure this arrangement is working out, Darren,” I say. “You’re missing too many details, and I can’t have that at any of my properties. See HR on your way out. They’ll start your exit paperwork.”
“Mr.DeLuca, please,” he begs. “I have a family.”
“You should be happy I’m only firing you,” I tell him darkly.
He nods slowly and stands like he’s in a daze. There’s no fight left in him, which suits me fine. I’m not in the mood to pick up his pieces. I text Nico, my Chief Operating Officer.
Double security at Bellissimo and Dolce for the next two weekends. Dress it up however you want. Guest experience initiative, staff protection, I don’t care. And we need new management staff there ASAP.
He’s up in my office ten minutes later.
“We can pull one of the assistant managers from Prime Vidaandassign one of our staff accountants until we can find permanent replacements,” he says, staring at his iPad. “That should cause minimal disruption.”
“That’s why I pay you the big bucks,” I say, rubbing my forehead. “Christ, it’s not even nine a.m. and I’m ready for a drink.”
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” he quips without looking up. “Speaking of, you’re still coming to dinner tonight, right? I already told Val you’re going to be there.”
Right. I didn’t forget about the dinner, but I did forget about Nico’s little sister. I saw her once, at their parents’ funeral. A horrible day for both of them, so it was no surprise she was cold and distant. Then again, I don’t know her well enough to know if that’s just how she is.
Matteo appears in the doorway just then. I look up. “Shouldn’t you still be with Vince?”
“Oh, that guy folded like an accordion.” He grins. “Barely pulled out my tools before he told me everything I needed to know.”
