~*~
Three days had gone by since her interview at Moreno’s and still no call. Grace could kick herself for not jumping at the offer of the bartending position. She was too wound up to appreciate the opportunity Sal had offered. This was the closest she’d been to possibly getting her feet into a kitchen at a restaurant of that caliber.
She thought about calling but decided it was best if she spoke with him face to face. Maybe even apologize for her attitude that day. She’d been so frustrated from all the rejections everywhere else that she let it out on him.
The restaurant was not surprisingly busy when she arrived. She’d heard so much about it over the years but she’d never had the pleasure of eating there herself. The hostess, who obviously didn’t recognize her from the day of the interview motioned for her to give her a second. She was busy getting a large group to their table.
Grace glanced around, looking for Sal. The restaurant was amazing. She was so riled up the day of the interview, she’d hardly had time to take it all in. The dramatic arches and all the artwork that adorned the walls reminded her so Thinded h much of Mexico. It was genuinely true to the culture, unlike some of the cheesier restaurants she’d been to. The decoration was tasteful and not overdone.
As she wandered through one of the archways into the main dining area, she was drawn to one of the painted murals on the brick wall—an older Mexican woman making handmade tortillas. Immediately it brought a lump to her throat. She missed her grandmother terribly. Grace tried to shake off the overwhelming emotion. She hadn’t allowed herself to become emotional over her grandmother or her father’s deaths in years, and this was definitely not the time or place.
The sudden dread of not being able to hold it together, made her spin around and head back to the door. In her haste, she didn’t even see the waiter behind her and collided with him.
“Whoa, sorry are you okay?” He pulled the tray he was holding away from her, so he wouldn’t spill anything on her.
“I’m so sorry.” She felt like a fool. “I didn’t—”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” The waiter looked over her shoulder and smirked. “You just had to be watching didn’t you?”
Grace turned to see who he was talking to. A guy who looked just like Sal, only with twice the brawn, was trying not to smile. The undeniable Moreno dimples she’d heard so much about gave him away. He had to be one of the other brothers. Well, the girls had certainly been right about the looks running in this family. So far, the first two brothers she’d met had fit the gushing descriptions right on.
Maybe she’d have better luck with this brother. As big and daunting as he looked, seeing him have a good time with the waiter, already gave her hope that he wouldn’t be as uptight as Sal.
“You sure you’re okay, sweetheart?” he asked as he approached her.
“I’m fine,” she smiled, even though she wasn’t sure she liked the term of endearment. “It was my fault actually.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “Here at Moreno’s, the customer is always right. I apologize for my klutzy waiter.”
The waiter rolled his eyes. “I already apologized.”
“It’s okay, really. I’m not even a customer.”
With an eyebrow raised, he held out his hand. “Okay, I’m Alex.” She shook his hand. “I run the restaurant. What can I do for you?”
The waiter she’d nearly knocked over nodded at her before walking away in a hurry. She glanced at him, then back at Alex. “I uh, was here the other day for an interview.” Her stomach churned. “Sal, I believe he’s your brother?”
Alex nodded but said nothing.
“He said there were immediate openings for bartenders. I’m certified and have a few years experience. He said he’d call me after he talked to you. I was just wondering if… ”
Alex’s lips curved into a slow smile. “Yeah, he mentioned something like that. Is it okay if we talk over here?” He motioned toward the bar area.
She nodded andhere nodde followed him through the busy restaurant. Alex turned back as he walked. “What was your name again?”
“Graciela,” she said quickly then added, “Zendejas. Graciela Zendejas.”
He smiled even bigger. “Yeah, you’re the one.”
“What does that mean?” She tried not to sound as defensive as she felt.
“You’re the one he mentioned,” he said taking a seat at the bar.
Humor danced in Alex’s eyes, making Grace wonder just what the hell Sal had mentioned. She crossed her arms in front of her, feeling her cheeks warm.
Alex didn’t seem fazed at all by her glaring eyes. Instead he smirked leaning an elbow on the bar. “Tell me something. How does someone who just turned twenty-one, have any experience in bartending?”
Grace didn’t flinch. With her arms still tightly wound in front of her, she shifted her weight and responded. “I used to live in El Paso. The bartending age in Texas is eighteen.” She lifted her chin, trying not to think about the fact that they caught the age difference. “I’ve also done a lot of bartending over the border in Mexico.”
For once, he stopped smirking and she seemed to have his attention. “So you really know how to bartend?”
“Yes.” Grace felt an ounce of hope creep in.
“Can you make Mojitos?”
She almost laughed. “I’ve been making them since I was a kid.”
He stood up off the stool. “You’re kidding?”
“No.” Her eyes followed him as he walked around the bar. “I can make anything you want me to.”
“C’mere.” He pulled out a few glasses out from the cabinet.
She did as he asked and walked around the bar.
Alex reached into the small fridge under the counter and pulled out a peach. “Make me a peach Mojito, a Cadillac Margarita, and a Piña Colada.” He stepped back eyeing her. This time he crossed his big arms.
Grace glanced at the large tray at the bar with everything else she’d need for garnish and smiled. “Coming right up.”
Within a few minutes, the drinks were ready and she waved her hands over them. “There you go.”
Alex tasted them one by one without a change in his unreadable expression. When he finished tasting the last and most important one—the Mojito—he smiled. She’d heard about the peach Mojitos from Moreno’s. They were supposedly the best in town.
“When can you start?”
Her mouth fell open, but she regained her composure as quickly as she could. She couldn’t however help the silly smile. “Are you serious?”
hert="0">< “Hell, yeah.” He took another sip of the Mojito. “This is damn good.” After another sip of the margarita, he eyed her. “But first you have to explain why you lied about your age on your application or my brother is gonna have a cow.”
She took a deep breath. “Mr. Moreno—”
“What?” He scoffed. “Call me Alex will you?”
He must’ve seen the apprehension in her eyes because he added with a smile, revealing those deep dimples again. “It is my name.”
“Okay, Alex… if you’re impressed by the drinks I just made, I promise you my cooking will impress you even more.” She leaned against the counter. “The problem is no one ever takes me seriously because of my age.” She glanced down at her feet not wanting to make eye contact. “I was going to come clean about my age. I swear. I just wanted to have the chance to prove myself first.” She crossed her arms again. “Since I wasn’t applying for the bartending position, I totally forgot about my birthday on the bartending certificate.”
When she glanced up at Alex, she was expecting to see disapproval. Instead, he smiled. “Well, if your cooking is anywhere near as good as your bartending skills, I’d be willing to give you a chance.”
Her hands flew to her face and she stood up straight. “Really?”
“I can’t hire you as a cook, sweetheart,” he added quickly. “My brother’s gonna have a hard enough time with me hiring you as
a bartender. But once you’re in, I’ll give you a shot in the kitchen. I’m actually curious now.”
Grace fought the inappropriate urge to hug him. “Thank you so much!”
“Any chance you can start today?”
“Yes!” She didn’t even know what the pay was, but she felt ecstatic. “I can start now.”
After giving her a shirt with the restaurant’s logo and an apron Alex excused himself to call his wife. He handed her off to Melanie, one of the other bartenders, to show her around. This was completely unexpected, but Grace was determined to make him proud. She had to. Finally, she had a chance to get in the kitchen of a worthwhile restaurant and her only hope of ever getting her own restaurant someday.
CHAPTER 3
The meeting didn’t go at all as Sal hoped. It seemed the investors were interested in only one thing—using the Moreno name—and the reputation that came with it, to open up more restaurants. The second restaurant which was run by his youngest brother Angel had been an instant hit. There was no doubt in the investors’ minds that all other restaurants with the name would follow suit; as long as they picked out the perfect locations.
However, they weren’t interested at all in talking about the management of the restaurants or staying true to the menu. There were already talks of changing food suppliers to cut down on some of the costs in the food. Sal had nearly called the meeting to an end right there. As far as he was concerned, the food and the service were the main ingredients in running a successful restaurant. Anything else was a distant third. This was one of the reasons why he’d decided against going with a big franchising deal. The investors wanted to change a lot of things, including the menu, mostly to cut corners. They called it good business. Sal called it selling out.
He rushed to get back to the restaurant as soon as the meeting was over. He was feeling a little irritated about how the meeting had gone and wondered if maybe he was thinking too big. Maybe instead of opening up several restaurants all at once, like the investors wanted, one at a time would be best. Getting Angel’s restaurant going had been quite a challenge. In the end, things worked out fine, but they never would’ve been able to give it the attention they had, if there were several other restaurants opening at the same time.
The back door to the restaurant swung open just as Sal pulled up and parked. Oscar waved at him as he threw a bag of trash in the back bin. Sal got out in a hurry.
“How’d it go?”
“Eh.” Sal said loosening his tie. “Not too good.” He hurried into the restaurant behind Oscar. “How’s it going in here? Real busy?”
“Yeah, as usual, but the new bartender is really kicking ass.”
“New bartender?”
Oscar turned back to look at him. “Yeah, Alex hired her today. The girl knows her drinks.” Then he added with a grin, “not to mention, she’s got a real nice rack.”
As soon as they came around the corner and into view of the bar, Sal saw her. Ms. Zendejas was handling herself just fine behind the bar. A long, thick ponytail replaced the tight bun in her hair and the glasses were gone. Unlike the day of the interview, she smiled brightly as she made several drinks at one time. Alex said something to her as he walked behind her and she laughed.
Sal’s irritation hit another level, as he stood glued to the spot. As soon as her ehim yes met his, the smile disappeared. Finally, he took a few steps toward the bar. Alex smirked when he saw him.
“Can I see you in the office?” Sal said, as he walked by them.
Graciela seemed ready to address him when he glanced at her, but Sal turned his attention back to Alex without so much as a nod. The last thing he wanted was for her to notice that her presence alone had somehow affected him. The worst part was it had nothing to do with her lying on her application. Seeing the way she’d carried on with Alex, then her obvious distaste when she saw him, annoyed him in a way he couldn’t even begin to understand.
As soon as Alex walked in the back office, Sal closed the door. “Do you wanna explain that?” He pointed in the direction of the bar.
“Relax.” Alex sat down on the chair in front of the desk. “Yeah, she lied about her age but only because she wanted a chance to prove herself before we dismissed her based on her age alone. “Which,” Alex raised an eyebrow. “you have to admit, you did.”
Sal couldn’t believe this. Alex had always been too damn nonchalant when it came to this stuff. “Alex, what kind of experience can she have if she just turned twenty-one?”
Alex raised his palm up in an attempt to calm Sal. “She lived in Texas. You only have to be eighteen over there.”
Unbelievable. “And you confirmed this with…?”
“I did better. I had her make me some drinks and she made one of the best Mojitos I’ve ever had. She’s a natural, Sal. And she’s fast.”
“Alex you can’t hire someone just like that. We gotta do a background check, a drug screen—”
“Dude.” Alex chuckled. “Can you chill for a second? I can almost guarantee you that little girl has no criminal record; she’s a sweetheart. We can still get all that stuff done later. But I needed someone tonight and Gracie was nice enough to start right away.”
Sal felt every hair on his body stand at once. “Gracie?”
“Yeah.” Alex stood up. “Listen, now that you’re here, and with Gracie on duty I think I’m gonna head out. Valerie wasn’t feeling too hot this morning when I left. I wanna make sure she’s okay.”
For a second Sal stopped thinking about Graciela and was immediately concerned. Alex and his wife were expecting twins. She was in her eighth month. The doctors had warned that as petite as she was the babies could come early. They’d already had one scare a few weeks ago. “Something wrong?”
“I don’t know. She was just feeling extra tired in the morning. I made her stay in bed but you know how she is.” Alex frowned. “Her dad and step-mom are over at the house now. I’d just feel better if I was there with her.”
“Go ahead. I can handle things for the rest of the night. Take care of her and those babies.”
After Alex left, Sal kept himself busy in the office for a while. A half hour later, he forced himself to do the inevitable: go out into the restaurant and face Graciela.
He walked out just in time to catch Oscar laughing it up with her. She finished a drink and set it on the tray Oscar held. “I’m serious!” Oscar said, as Graciela shook her head. He glanced at Sal. “Uh oh, here’s the’here’ boss. Back to work.”
Graciela turned to Sal and again, just like earlier, the smile dissolved. She wiped her hand on her apron. “Mr. Moreno.” She nodded.
“Look,” he said more annoyed than ever. “If you’re gonna work here I’m gonna have to insist that you call me Sal. Is that alright?”
She nodded again then looked away. “Okay.”
“Okay what?” He felt like a jerk acting so bossy but damnit he wanted to hear her say it.
She glanced at him and lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Okay… Sal.”
Julie was already at the bar. Graciela turned her attention to her and listened for the next order. Sal stood there for a moment and watched her work. She was fast. And she certainly knew what she was doing. While Melanie, one of the other bartenders on duty seemed to take a little more time measuring her drinks and making sure of accuracy, Graciela flipped bottles over without hesitation and put drinks together like a pro. It reminded him of some of the older cooks they had who never used any measurements or read any of the recipes Sal printed up for them. They just put everything together by memory and it was always perfect.
When she was done with that round of drinks, she glanced at Sal. Her eyes were bigger than he remembered, and that dress she’d worn the day of the interview had done the curves she now revealed absolutely no justice.
“I’ll need a few minutes with you when you get a chance,” he said.
“Alex gave me the paperwork I need to fill out. I can fill it out for you on my lunch.”
She shrugged. “Alex said I could take a half hour whenever I felt like it. I’m not really hungry yet.”
Sal took a deep breath. Alex and his managerial leniency would be the end of him. He glanced over at Melanie and Luis the other bartender. “You two think you can handle it out here for a few minutes while I have a word with Graciela?”
They both nodded and continued working. He turned to Graciela. “Follow me.”
He didn’t wait for a response. He simply turned and headed for the office. She may’ve impressed Alex with her drinks and that damn smile, but the fact remained she lied on her application. They hadn’t had very many incidents with employees getting out of line, or being irresponsible, but from experience he knew the younger ones usually were more trouble than not. She had been late to the interview and at twenty-one, Graciela was now their youngest employee. He highly doubted Alex had explained any of the rules to her. As usual, he probably welcomed her on like family, just like he treated the rest of the staff.
He waited until she was in the office before closing the door behind her. “Have a seat.”
She sat on the edge of the seat by the door as he sat back on the office chair. “I understand my brother was so impressed he hired you on the spot.”
Her posture was perfectly erect and tense like he remembered the day of the interview. So unlike how she’d been behind the bar when he first walked in. “Yes, and I explained to him about my age. I only wanted to get a chance to prove myself and I rviyself awas going to tell you the truth after.”
“Yeah, well whatever the reason, lying on your application is pretty bad.” He crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back. “First impressions go a long way. Not the smartest thing to do is start off lying.”
Making You Mine (The Moreno Brothers 5) Page 3
