Page 47 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
“Rhonda, Bernie, and I have talked about it.We’re not in competition with Jonny.We have our own style, our own success to maintain,” I said.“But we don’t want to irritate him.Rhonda and I want to keep as far away from him as possible.”
Vaughn entered the kitchen.“More wine for the ladies?”
Stephanie and I held out our glasses.
“We’ll join you men soon.We’re just about done here,” I said.“I’ll ask Robbie to set the table.”Vaughn and I thought it was important for Robbie to participate in entertaining by doing such things.We were a family.
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Later, lying in bed with Vaughn, I snuggled up against him and listened as he shared his concerns about Jonny.“Randolph said he’s known men like him and doesn’t like the idea of him opening a restaurant here.He thinks the mafia is part of the operation, either in the supply chain or with the real estate.”
“You know that can happen in the hospitality industry and others,” I said.“Until now, I’ve never had any worrisome thoughts about it.But Jonny is a vindictive kind of person and he’s under a lot of pressure.”
Vaughn studied me.“Ann, you promise me you’ll speak to someone outside your hotel security team about your concerns.”
“I will.Let me talk to Roberto Gonzales in our security team about who’d be best to approach.It will make me feel better, too.”I lifted my face to kiss him, and all talk of security disappeared.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The next morning, as I often did when Vaughn was home and able to see Robbie off to school, I drove to the hotel to walk along the shore.The calmness I found there gave me a few moments to catch my breath and see things more clearly.
It looked as if it was going to be a stormy day, as the weather reports indicated.Quieter than usual on the beach, I headed off, walking briskly.After several minutes, I stopped to take in the scenery.As usual, the waves with their predictable rhythm soothed my troubled thoughts.Today, when the edge of the wave met the sand, it was with a bit of a slap rather than a caress.
I looked up at the gray sky, seeing the fast moving clouds and knew it would be a difficult day at the hotel, with guests milling around, complaining.Luckily, Lauren, in the events department, would post a list of suggestions for hotel guests to do in town.This might be another way Harper could fit into that department.
Checking my watch, I headed back to the hotel.
As I approached, I noticed Philippa and Luciano talking.
Philippa called, “ ‘Morning, Ann.”
I waved and walked over to them.“ ’Morning.How are you?”
Luciano gave me a little bow.“Nice to see you.”
“We were just talking about Luciano’s stay,” said Philippa.“We’re not sure how long he’ll be visiting, and we want to make it as comfortable for him as possible.”
“It depends on so many things.”Luciano turned as Harper arrived.“Harper is doing a great job of showing me around.I really appreciate it.”The smile he gave Harper made it clear he was interested in more than tours with her.
Harper beamed at him.“We had fun last night after I got off work.”
“I’ll see you all later,” said Philippa.“I promised Chet that I’d wake him this morning.We stayed up late last night talking.”
“Before you go, tell me about the special dinner.Were the guests pleased with it?”I asked her.
“It was a huge success.Guests wondered if they could sign up for a prix fixe meal next week,” said Philippa.“We explained this was something special, but they could check with you and Rhonda for future possibilities.”
“Great answer.We have to be careful how to handle the situation with Jean-Luc,” I said.“And we would want to offer different international choices.”
“Speaking of Jean-Luc,” said Philippa.“Lindsay brought him to the hotel in a wheelchair to see for himself how things are going.As soon as he’s fitted to a walking apparatus, he’s going to come back to work.”
“You can’t keep a chef like him away from his kitchen,” I said.“Thank you for being such a help.We still need to fill out papers for your work, and we want to talk to you about another opportunity.”
“That’s what I was telling Luc,” Philippa said.“I like it here and have no intention of going back to Italy anytime soon.”
I quickly glanced at Luciano.
“Philippa is right,” he said.“There’s no romance between us no matter what our families want.We have other interests.”
