Page 13 of Dirty Little Sins

"There you are," she said, smiling as she came in. "I've been trying to reach you since this morning, but you haven't been picking up your phone. So I contacted Julie and she said I'd find you down here likely without your cell and ignoring the world."

I nodded. "It's true. The day has been a madhouse. This last minute catering event is proving to be quite the challenge. But I guess that's how these things go and as the new girl on the restaurant block I've got to prove myself capable. Although if you really needed me, Julie should have contacted me."

Nina cringed. "No, no. I didn't want to interrupt you if I didn't have to. I know how it is. It's not uncommon for any hotel casino to operate under total chaos some days. But—" she hesitated, a strange look I couldn't decipher crossing her face. "Well, I couldn't ignore the fact that you are walking into that party blind tonight. There's more to it than a simple catering job."

I took a deep breath and turned back to the stove to check one of the dishes I particularly couldn't afford to let burn. I had more interest in focusing on my cooking than whatever hotel drama may be brewing.

"That's always the case, isn't it?" At least we weren't having to rehash my inappropriate bout of talkativeness while inebriated the night before. I was embarrassed enough about my reaction to seeing Vincent earlier without rehashing my idiocy last night.

"Yeah. About the party though..."

The hesitation in Nina's voice set me on edge. Maybe I was paranoid, but maybe not.

"Yeah?" I turned back to her. "Please don't tell me they don't like Italian food. That is my specialty and all I have planned."

"No. No." She shook her head. "It's nothing like that. But there is something you need to know about the host."

I breathed a sigh of relief. There simply wasn't time for me to change the menu and cooking something else this late in the day, was also out of the question. I only had a couple of hours before I was expected in the party suite with my brand new waitstaff that I'd yet to brief. "Well, then go ahead and lay it on me. It can't be that bad."

"Famous last words," she mumbled under her breath, but I heard it anyway.

Before she could continue though, there was a loud commotion followed by a lot of shouting in the direction of the front of the house. The area of the restaurant that would basically comprise the dining area.

"What the hell?" I questioned looking back and forth between my sauce and Nina, who looked as alarmed as I felt.

"Don't worry. You stay here and keep doing what you're doing. Whatever it is I am sure I can handle it."

I didn't respond right away, but it would have been pointless anyways. Nina was already half-way out the door by the time words hit my lips.

"I don't have time to deal with whatever this is," I shouted anyways. "If you need something for the restaurant, call Julie! This is the kind of shit she gets paid for."

I should have been ashamed of my too colorful language as I shouted after the equivalent of one of my bosses. Of which there were too many of by the way. I could already feel the toll of juggling them all and it wasn't much of a stretch to describe it all as a full on circus at this point.

Between the network, the restaurant I was trying to get opened here and the one I'd left behind in New York, I could feel the stress pressing down on me. Then there were all the little, but equally important details that I couldn't forget.

Pesky things like ratings for the show, seasonal menus for both restaurants with signature original dishes I'd yet to come up with, and the time all of it would consume.

Not that I had anything more pressing to take up my time. Since before my divorce had become final, I'd buried myself in work. My marriage to Dante had turned into a nightmare long before I found out about his mistress. As soon as the thought popped into my mind, I shut it down. There was no time for self pity and this was a special space I could thrive in. The fact it usually kept many of the demons that plagued me at bay was more important today than ever. Particularly one that I couldn't quite shake.

My brief and disastrous affair with Vincent.

As much as I tried not to think about it, it was if the world conspired against me to keep reminding me. First, in New York while my best friend Harper had been falling in love and I'd been bitten with the green envy bug. Until the whole blackmail thing of course.

The pictures had arrived before I'd even left Italy and I'd been on pins and needles as to how and when they would explode in my face. I'd blamed Vincent for obvious reasons, despite his proclamations of innocence.

I doubted that man knew the first thing about being innocent. Callum hated him and while I didn't care much for my stepbrother's behavior, there had to be some kind of backstory to their sudden rivalry.

Vincent had a presence though, that even I couldn't deny. Take today's disastrous episode in the hotel elevator for example.

One little touch and I'd melted all over again. As if I was some stupid girl with a crush on a man who was way out of my league. He was out of something all right. More like my worst nightmare. Something I shouldn't have to keep reminding myself of.

I grabbed a mallet from my tools and began pounding the chicken I needed for my dish. As far as I was concerned, spending time in the kitchen worked better than any kind of therapy when it came to working out what bugged me. And right now I had an image of Vincent in my mind as I pummeled away.

He may use his fists to work through his issues, which in my mind got him exactly nowhere. Me, however, I used my anger to create something beautiful and delicious that would bring joy to many people.

At least that's what I kept telling myself as I took out my aggression on an innocent piece of chicken and a cutting board.

I was beginning to think that tonight's last minute catering event might have been a Godsend after all. It had been quite some time since I'd been able to get in a kitchen and just create. Something long overdue.

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