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He smiled. “Grazie.”
“What’s your name?” I asked, only just realizing I hadn’t earlier.
“Mario,” he said, then looked over my head and through the small window in the swinging door. “And the girl who just walked in forty minutes late is my daughter, Victoria.” He placed both hands on his hips and shook his head.
I laughed at his expression. Despite being angry, he still had a twinkle in his eye as he stared at her.
Finishing the pizza, I said, “I’m sure you guys are going to be a big hit in town. This is really good.”
He started kneading a new dough. “Thank you.” He tossed some flour onto the dough and punched his fists into it. “We’ve been open for eight months and it’s been, uh, quiet.”
“I’m sure business will pick up soon. The first year is the hardest, they say.” I looked down at my half-eaten pizza, already full. “I’m going to take the rest of this home.” I grabbed a takeout box from the counter and placed my pizza inside. “I’ll definitely be back, though.” I pulled out my wallet. “What do I owe you for the pizza?”
“Oh, uh, fifteen dollars. You can pay Victoria at the cash register. Come by anytime.”
“Will do. Thank you.”
I walked back through the swinging door and met with Victoria.
“Who are you?” she asked, her bubble gum bursting over her lips.
I smiled and skimmed through my wallet. “One of your dad’s biggest fans.” I pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and passed it to Victoria. “Don’t be late next time,” I said and walked out the door.
Before I reached the third step up toward the street, Victoria called. “Hey, sir, you forgot your change.”
“No, I didn’t,” I said. “That pizza was worth every cent.”
As I drove home, I thought about Mario’s pizza and how there were probably other restaurants that deserved more attention than they were getting. I wished there was some way I could help them. But when I closed my eyes in bed that night, all I could think about were ways to avoid that heart-shaped face the next day.
6
Grace
The next day, Tuesday, I had stopped by my accounting firm in the morning to help a colleague with one of her client’s files, so it was nearly noon when I reached Crawford Corporation.
Stepping off the elevator on the twelfth floor, I didn’t think much of it when I noticed the front desk receptionist was missing. I got a little concerned when the boardroom sat empty, even though James had messaged me he would be at the office early today to make up for yesterday’s lunch. I hadn’t gotten to sleep until nearly midnight, catching up with the lost hours after Omar and Richard had left.
I knew something was up when applause sounded from the staff room at the back. Figuring I would probably find James there, I followed the voices down the hallway.
When I turned the corner, I smelled it. I couldn’t put my finger on the flavor, but my stomach growled in anticipation. Behind a crowd of people stood Luke, wearing a white apron over his blue jeans and white-button shirt. “Move back, this is hot, people,” he called out, laughing.
He held a large aluminum tray with several pieces of thinly sliced steak steaming inside. Gently placing the tray on one of the staff room tables, he turned to the counter behind him and grabbed two bowls, one filled with grated mozzarella and the other with fresh buns.
“Okay, who’s first?” he chuckled.
“Me!” shouted James, and shoved his way to the front. A few others raised their arms as well.
Luke laughed, his palms facing the crowd. “No problem. There’s plenty to go around.”
“James,” I hissed. But my colleague’s face was glued to the cheese steak sandwich in front of him. I rolled my eyes. A little louder this time, I called, “James!”
Everyone in the staff room turned around, including Luke. He smiled, obviously pleased to be surrounded by an adoring audience, as usual. When James made eye contact with me, I tilted my head toward the hallway. He followed me.
“Hey! You’re back. How did it go?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. My stomach protested that it wanted a bite, too, but I ignored it. I would not ask Luke for anything other than documents for this audit.
“It went fine. How about you? Did you reconcile the bank statements?”
“Yes. All done.”
