Chapter 6

Mafia Kings: Valentino: Chapter 6 I stopped by the kitchen later, hoping Caterina would be there.

She wasn’t – but the delicious smell of her cooking still lingered in the air.

I didn’t see anything, though. The kitchen staff was beginning to prepare lunch, and they must have put Caterina’s food away.

“Would you like me to fix you something, sir?” Nuncio asked. He was the 40-something head chef on the breakfast and lunch shift.

“There was a girl in here earlier cooking something. What happened to the food?”

“We packed it up and put it in the refrigerator. But she was just an interviewee – I’m sure it wasn’t that good. I can cook you a steak if you like – ”

“No, I want to try her food. Fix me a plate, will you?”

Nuncio looked annoyed, but then he gave me a fake smile. “Certainly, sir.”

He had one of the other workers spoon some pasta and sauce out into a bowl and heat it in the microwave, then cut me some bread and put out a plate with a slice of zuccotto.

I tried the pasta.

Holy shit it was good.

Then I tried the bread, dipping it in some olive oil.

Fuck – it was even better.

And last I tried the cake.

I’d never had a dessert give me an orgasm before, but that slice of zuccotto almost did.

“Holy shit – this is incredible!” I exclaimed, then asked the kitchen staff, “Did any of you try it?”

“As I said, sir, she was an interviewee,” Nuncio said contemptuously. “And with no formal training, I might add. I’m glad you liked her food, but I doubt it would meet my standards.”

I wanted to say, Maybe you should pull that stick out of your ass and try this instead –

But I ignored him and immediately went up to Roberto’s office on the second floor. He was plinking away at his keyboard, staring at his screen like always.

I swear to God, if Roberto could fuck spreadsheets, he’d be the happiest man on the planet.

“Hey – are you the one who’s deciding who to hire for the kitchen?” I asked.

Roberto glanced over at me, then went back to his computer. “I’m not handling any of that. I just gave the salary info to Niccolo.”

“So Niccolo interviewed them?”

“Yes.”

Great.

Niccolo was a fuckin’ hardass – the worst of my brothers if you wanted to get something out of him.

Dario was really cool. It sucked that I hadn’t seen him in nearly four years – not since he’d gone to San Vittore, the shithole prison where he got sent after taking a fall for Papa and Uncle Fausto.

To be honest, I was in awe of Dario. He was a total badass. And he was going to be Don someday, after Papa – everybody knew it.

But the awesome thing was that he was going to get out in six months.

I was literally counting down the days until we had him back home.

Adriano had a crazy temper, but you just had to know how to handle him. If I just waited out the shouting, he usually calmed down and was like, Fine. Whatever. Do whatever the fuck you want.

Roberto? Roberto didn’t give a shit about anything but finances and stocks and bank accounts. As long as what you wanted wasn’t too expensive, he was cool with it.

Massimo was the most laidback of all. He reminded me of a surfer, just chillin’ and waiting for the next wave. He never, ever gave me a problem. In fact, I probably enjoyed shooting the shit and bantering with him most of all.

But Niccolo...

Niccolo was a prick.

Yeah, okay, he wasn’t a prick all the time. He was actually really funny.

And super smart. Way too fuckin’ smart for his own good, if you asked me.

But if you wanted something from him, and it didn’t match up with what he wanted... god damn he could be a dick about it.

So now I had to go charm the asshole to make sure Caterina got hired.

And I knew just how to do it.

I went into the kitchen and told Nuncio, “Fix me another plate with what that girl cooked earlier. I want Niccolo to try it.”

Nuncio looked like the stick went even further up his rectum, but he forced a smile. “If you insist, sir.”

“I insist.”

He did it, but he definitely wasn’t happy about it.

I went looking for Niccolo and found him in the parlor, looking over some papers.

I caught a hint of perfume in the air as I entered –

And immediately knew Caterina had been in there with him.

I swear to God, just thinking about her turned me on.

Niccolo glanced up at me and made a face. “Oh, look, it’s Casanova, sniffing around for his next conquest.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, right,” he said sarcastically, then noticed I was carrying a plate of food. “What do you have there?”

“There was this girl cooking in the kitchen earlier – ”

“‘I have no IDEA what you’re talking about,’” he said, obviously mimicking me. Then he went back to his normal voice. “Do me a favor and cut the bullshit, will you?”

“What?! She was a really good cook! I want you to try some of her food.”

“Signora Lombardi already told me she was excellent – ”

“Yeah, but you gotta taste this for yourself.”

“I’m not hungry – ”

“Just TASTE it, will you?”

Nic grumbled as I set down the plate in front of him. “Not on the paperwork – Jesus.”

After he’d cleared away his things, he took the fork on the plate and took a bite of the pasta.

His grumpy look immediately turned to surprise.

“Well?” I asked.

“Not bad,” he conceded.

“‘Not bad,’” I said, mocking him back. “Try the bread.”

He bit into the bread –

“Damn,” he said.

“Right? Now try the cake.”

He took a bite –

And went “MMPH!” in ecstasy.

“See?!” I said triumphantly.

He wiped his mouth on the napkin I’d brought him. “You didn’t need to go through this entire act. I already hired her.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised. “Well – good. Now you know you made the right decision.”

Niccolo gave me some side-eye. “And your interest in her has nothing to do with the fact that she’s an attractive girl with certain... ahem... prominent physical attributes.”

“You really shouldn’t talk that way about a new hire,” I deadpanned. “It could get you sued.”

“I appreciate your concern,” he said drily. “Valentino, I’m serious: do not mess with her. It really could result in a sexual harassment lawsuit, which means Uncle Fausto would rain down hell on your head, to say nothing of Papa.”

“I’m not going to touch her,” I lied. “Really – I just think she’s an amazing cook.”

“With large breasts and a pretty face,” he said dourly.

“You forgot her amazing ass,” I joked.

“Valentino – ” he warned.

“I won’t lay a finger on her. When does she start work?”

“Next week – which means we won’t get sued for at least a week and a half.” Niccolo scrunched up his face. “If you’re not going to touch her, then I want you to swear to it.”

I started backing my way out of the room. “So, I gotta go do this thing – ”

“Valentino,” he snapped.

“There’s more of her food in the fridge if you want it,” I said as I opened the door. “But you’ll have to hurry ‘cause I think I might go eat the rest of it.”

“Valentino – ”

“See ya!” I said as I exited the room.

“VALENTINO!” he yelled as I closed the door. “Do NOT make me regret hiring her!”

Whether Niccolo would ever regret hiring her...

I was damn sure I wouldn’t.