“Yes.” He showed Antonello how he had updated the specifications.
Antonello read them over and nodded.
“Perfetto,” he said with a smile, and Chase sent them to Dewey and Dave for review and approval. It wasn’t a minutebefore Dewey was on the phone. Chase excused himself, returning to the office to take his call.
“What is this?” Dewey asked snappily. “We had very specific specifications, and they’re already changing them?”
“In a way. Their manufacturing method is something we don’t do in the States, but it’s better, with more built-in quality checks, and they can do it at the price they already quoted. I just updated the documentation so it reflects the method that will be used. I asked Dave to review it as well.” He swallowed hard, expecting more pushback, because that was how Dewey was.
“You can’t let yourself go native. You work for us, and we need these parts to be as exact as possible.”
Chase was glad he wasn’t on video as he flipped Dewey the bird. A familiar chuckle from his doorway told him that Antonello had seen him. “You sent me here to work with Glorioso, and that’s what I’m doing.” He kept calm. “If you read the document, you’ll see that there are a number of quality assurance and testing steps built into the process—more than we originally asked for.”
“Oh.” That caught him off guard. “Well, then, if Dave agrees, we’ll approve it, but this had better work, or you’ll be the one whose head is on the line.” He hung up, and Chase flipped him the bird once more. In fact, he used both hands.
“You could have just read what I sent you. But then that would mean that you actually had the ability to read beyond a first-grade level. Jackass.” He took a deep breath and settled back in the chair. “Sorry. Did you need something?”
“One hell of a first day, isn’t it?”
Chase nodded and checked the time. It was already two, and he had no doubt that he was going to get a number of additional phone calls that day.
“We could go get some lunch,” Antonello offered. Chase tried to find a way to demur but couldn’t think of anything offthe top of his head. Besides, Ricky wasn’t here, and what could a lunch hurt?
Chapter 6
“WHERE DOyou usually eat?” Chase asked.
“There’s a lot around. In the center of the city, most of the restaurants there are designed around tourism. The ones here are for businesspeople.” He led Chase to a small restaurant with four tables. He loved this place and walked past the line of half a dozen people outside.
“Are we going to be able to get back in time?”
Antonello held the door and went back to one of the small tables against the side wall. “Sure. This is my table at lunch. I pay so it’s always available.” He sat down and motioned Chase to the other seat. Maria hurried over and greeted him with a kiss on each cheek.
“Ciao,” she said happily before greeting Chase the same way. Antonello smiled as Chase tensed a little, not quite sure what was happening.
“This is Chase, a friend of mine from college. He is working with us on a project.”
“Good. I bring you something excellent,” she said, switching to English when he did. Then she patted his cheek and hurried off.
“Does she kiss all her customers on the cheeks?” Chase asked.
Antonello smiled. “Of course not. Maria was my second nanny. She looked after me from the time I was eight until I was twelve and ready to go away to school. She met Luigi right afterthat. He was a chef in the city, and they opened this restaurant eight years ago. I keep a table here to support them and make sure I can get their cooking whenever I want it.”
“What are we getting?” Chase asked, looking around the cozy space.
“Whatever is good,” Antonello answered. “Whatever it is will be amazing. Maria was always really good in the kitchen. She used to sneak down and make me her specialgnudi di spinaciwhenever the cook was busy.” She returned with a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass and then hurried away before returning with two bowls of dumplings with spinach in a butter sauce. Instantly Antonello was transported back to a time when he always knew he was cared for.
“Your favorite,” she said happily to Antonello, and Chase took a bite and moaned softly. “You like?” she asked, and Chase nodded, his eyes wide. Maria beamed. “I always make to get you to tell me your secrets.”
Antonello always felt like he belonged whenever he was here. This place and this woman exuded comfort and care to him.
“So what secrets did you tell her?” Chase asked, raising his eyebrows.
“The kind of things that were so important when you’re ten, like the fact that Pietro Brundo was bullying me at school. I was so ashamed. But as soon as I told Maria, I felt better, and she told me how to stand up to him.”
Chase turned to Maria. “What was your advice?”
She leaned over the table. “I told him to get friends together and give him taste of own medicine.” She smiled. “And it work.” She straightened up, standing tall. “You eat. I come back later.” She went to help other tables as Chase groaned once more.
