Page 75 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
She listened and turned to me.“Vinnie wants to know if we remember anything else he should know about.”
I let out a long sigh.“I think you should tell him about our encounter with Brock.I think he may know something about the graffiti.”
“I agree,” Rhonda said and told Vinnie our suspicions.“Really?”she said.“Okay, if we think of anything else, we’ll call you at this number.Thanks again.I meant it when I said come visit us.”
Rhonda ended the call and turned to me.“Vinnie said they’re looking into tax problems with Brock.”
I lifted my shoulders and let them drop.“He never learns.”
“Brock may be off our backs for a while.Sounds like he’s in more trouble than we thought,” said Rhonda.“After we finish our coffee, let’s walk over to Chet’s apartment and talk to him about tomorrow.We’ll want our two couples there.”
###
As Rhonda and I stood outside the apartment, we could hear voices inside.We knocked and Harper came to the door.“Hello.Come on in.The four of us are discussing the latest news.”
“My mother called to tell me that my grandfather and Luciano’s are here visiting,” said Philippa.“She told me about Rhonda’s plan to have us all come for dinner tomorrow night.”
“And for me to help you create an Italian dinner at your home,” said Chet.
“Yes,” said Rhonda.“It will be more informal, more comfortable at my house.I have a professional kitchen with enough space so we can work together on the meal.”
“It’s important for all of you to be there,” I said.“You’ll need to request time off from your jobs.Luciano, I understand you’re going to be working in the dining room as a wine steward.”
He nodded and smiled.“I did a trial service last night.”
“Okay,” said Rhonda.“Chet will be working with me tomorrow and all of you will come to dinner.I’ll ask you to arrive a few minutes early for a six o’clock dinner.”
“Make it an excellent dinner.We want our grandfathers to be in a jovial mood,” said Philippa.
“Absolutely,” I said, and then Rhonda and I left.
###
Rhonda and I reported the latest to Bernie and returned to our office to work on finances and marketing for Thanksgiving and Christmas.Thankfully, the private dinner that had been scheduled was moved to the following week, and I wouldn’t have to worry about that.
As a way to include them, Rhonda asked Liz to come up with individually designed and printed menu cards for tomorrow’s dinner guests.Angela agreed to make the dessert—Rhonda’s special tiramisu.
Vaughn had already delayed his trip, so he could attend the dinner.It was important to Rhonda and me to have him there.We hadn’t discussed it, but this dinner affected all of us and the pleasant outcome we hoped to achieve.We’d just have to wait to see how it worked out.
###
The next morning while I worked in the office I was surprised by a visit from Enrico.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said.
“Not at all.I’m just doing my usual work,” I said.“Won’t you sit down?Can I help you with something?”
He took a seat in a chair in front of my desk.“I’m here because I want you and Rhonda to know that I’m one of the people who invested in Osteria Arno as a favor to a friend.I and others are very sorry for the way Jonny tried to engage in unhealthy competition.With his death, I’m not sure what will happen to the restaurant, but I wanted you to be aware of my connection to it.”
“Thank you for telling me.Rhonda and I have no hard feelings at all toward the restaurant and the people behind it.We simply never wanted to be lured into Jonny’s idea of competition.We are pleased to have Jean-Luc at the hotel.”
“And now you have Chet Waring,” said Enrico.
“For the moment,” I said.“He’s been training with Jean-Luc, and we like him a lot.How do you like the house Catarina has chosen?”
Enrico smiled his approval.“I think it’s perfect for us.I might never have thought of moving to Sabal if I hadn’t been approached to invest in a restaurant here.But having visited and done some research, I became happy with the idea.”
“It’s nice that your father and his friend can visit.Catarina was pleased they could see for themselves that it’s a wise decision.”
