She was in trouble. Deep trouble.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NOT TOO BAD.
Lizzie stifled a yawn as she poured herself a cup of coffee. Thankfully it was late Friday night and the restaurant was at last closed. She was relieved that there was no filming in the morning. Those early wake-up calls were wearing her down. The next morning the crew was off to shoot some footage of Rome to pad their spotlights. And she couldn’t be happier.
Lizzie pressed a cup of stale coffee to her lips.
“You might not want to drink that.”
She turned at the sound of Dante’s voice. “Why not?”
“That stuff is strong enough to strip paint off Red. You’ll never get to sleep if you drink it.”
She held back a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
Dante raised a questioning brow before he turned back to finish cleaning the grill. He really was a hands-on kinda guy. She didn’t know why that should surprise her. He’d never once sloughed off his work onto his staff. Everyone had their assigned duties and they all seemed to work in harmony.
Dante had been remarkable when it came to the filming, too. He may grump and growl like an old bear about things like makeup, but when the cameras started to roll, he really came through for her—for them. Maybe he hadn’t nailed every scene but he’d been trying and that was what counted. And if she didn’t know better, she’d swear he’d been enjoying himself in front of the cameras.
It was amazing how long it took to shoot a short segment to splice into the station’s number-one-rated cooking show. But it was so worth it. What a plum spot they’d been given. It’d definitely make her credentials stand out from the competition when she returned to New York and searched for a chef position at one of the upscale restaurants in Manhattan.
She took the cup of coffee to the office and cleared off a spot at the end of the couch. No sooner had she gotten comfortable than Dante sauntered into the room.
“See, you should have taken me up on my offer to take the afternoon off.” He sent her an I told you so look.
She shrugged. “I wanted to get a feel for how everything works around here.”
“And now you’re exhausted.”
“Listen to who’s talking. You worked just as many hours as I did.”
“But I’m used to it.”
Now, that did surprise her. What was a young, incredibly sexy man doing spending all of his time at the restaurant? Surely he must have an active social life away from this place. The image of him dressed in a sharp suit filled her mind. And then a beautiful slip of a woman infiltrated her thoughts. The mystery woman sauntered over and draped herself on his arm. Lizzie’s body tensed.
“Is something the matter?”
She glanced up at Dante. “What?”
“You were frowning. Is it the caffé? I told you not to drink it.”
Not about to tell him her true thoughts, she said, “Yes, it’s cold. I’ll just dump it out and head upstairs. Are you coming?”
He glanced around at the messy office. “I should probably do a little work in here.”
She stifled a laugh. This place needed a lot more than a “little” help. “Have you ever thought of hiring someone to sort through all of these old papers?”
“I don’t think there’s a person alive that would willingly take on this challenge. My grandfather was not much of a businessman. He did the bare minimum. And I’m afraid that I’m not much better. I’d rather be in the kitchen or talking with the patrons.”
She could easily believe that of him and his grandfather. They were both very social people, unlike her. She could hold her own in social scenes but her preference was the anonymity of a kitchen or office.
“Well, don’t stay up too late.” She headed for the door. “We wouldn’t want you having bags under your eyes for the camera.”
“Is there an in-between with you?”
She turned. “What do you mean?”