Page 22 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

Isettled into my new life pretty quickly.

I got my own room for the first time ever! As Niccolo had said, it was tiny – a twin bed in the servants’ quarters, with little more than a dresser and a wardrobe – but it was mine.

I told Niccolo about my clothes in Florence, and he arranged for a guy to go pick up my things. I called my roommates to warn them and to say goodbye. They were happy for me, but they all told me to come back as soon as I could so we could all go clubbing.

That was the hardest part: giving up my friends in Florence. I didn’t mind not seeing my family at all… but my friends were another matter entirely.

The first week on the job was easy but tough at the same time.

Easy because it didn’t require me to learn anything new or do anything crazy. I knew how to chop fruits and vegetables, which was 90% of my job.

But it was hard because the other kitchen staff were kind of assholes to me.

There were both men and women, and they were all much older than me – most of them in their 40s or 50s – and had a very set way of doing things.

I was the new kid, the intruder, and they treated me brusquely and kept me at arm’s length. Theydefinitelydidn’t let me cook anything.

Signora Lombardi was pleasant towards me, but I rarely saw her. She ran things behind the scenes – ordering food, scheduling people, and making sure everything ran smoothly.

Also, I had to get up at 5AM every morning to do kitchen prep for breakfast and lunch. So it was just me in the huge, dark kitchen for an hour and a half. All alone… peeling potatoes, cutting up onions, and slicing fruit.

I was very lonely. Not just in the mornings, but all the time.

And bored. SO bored.

Even worse, I never saw Valentino. I looked for him constantly, but I never saw him anywhere in the house.

Which sucked. Seeing him again was one of the things I was most looking forward to… and one of the reasons I was so excited about the job.

I know that’s crazy. Some hot guy I didn’t have a shot with had flirted with me, and I took a job partly just so I could see him again.

But it was still how I felt.

I began to wonder if I’d made a terrible mistake.

No roommates, no going out, no partying, no hot guy, no sex.

I felt like I was going crazy.

In fact, I began to wonder if I should quit and just go back to Florence.

Then something happened that completely changed my mind.

It was 5:30 AM and I was yawning my way through food prep, trying to wake myself up with a double shot of espresso.

That was at leastonegreat thing. They had a super-expensive coffee maker that made the best cappuccinos and espressos I’d ever tasted.

Then the door banged open andhewalked in.

Valentino.

I looked up and stared at him in shock.

He was wearing club clothes: a tight, black silk shirt open at the neck… black pants… and expensive leather shoes. He’d obviously been out all night and was coming back just now.

As soon as he saw me, he stopped in his tracks, stunned.

Then a big grin appeared on his face. “Well,hello.”

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