She took a sip of her wine before replying. “Delicious as usual. I see you’re still a master at what you do. Alejandro was worried you wanted to give it up for good.”
I shrugged. “Stella makes me look good these days. She runs the kitchen and I run the chaos.”
“The lack of space is killing you, isn’t it?”.
I nodded. “Every single minute. But I’ve been thinking about expansion. Maybe I’ll even buy a bigger place and renovate.”
Before I could elaborate any further, one of my servers approached the table. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but the private party would likeMacallanafter dinner. I thought we had it, but evidently we didn’t. What should I tell them?”
I sighed and nodded. “Okay, let me see if I can…” but Eliana finished my thought.
“You know he’ll have that, right?” That was true. He had everything.
“I know. I’ve got to find a new supplier. This is happening way too often and I don’t want customers to think they can’t get the items on the menu. It’s bad for business.”
I leaned to the side to pull out my phone. Alejandro’s number had been at the top of my favorites since we roomed together in college.
Even though the bar was probably hopping, I knew he’d still answer. He’d kept his phone on him 24/7 since Anna had been a baby.
After the third ring, he finally answered. “Hey, what are you out of now?”
I laughed humorously. “What makes you think I’m out of something?”
Alejandro said something to Ben, and immediately it made me wonder if Nick was working tonight.
I sighed and lowered my voice. “My fucking supplier didn’t deliver theMacallan. Can you send me a bottle? Every other place I could get it is closed, except for you.”
Alejandro laughed. “It’ll cost you, but sure. Happy to help you out, buddy.”
I released a pent up breath. “Thanks, I appreciate it. Just have them hurry.”
I heard him mumble, then he came back. “Yeah, okay. I’ll have it there in a few minutes.”
I released a weighted breath. “Thanks. Just drop it at the bar. I’ll get you two bottles tomorrow.”
“No problem. You coming by tonight?”
Nick’s face came to mind, and I knew the answer. “Sure. See you later.”
“Later.”
When I hung up and pocketed my phone, I turned to Eliana. “I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t leave. I have some questions.”
She laughed but didn’t reply.
I made it back to the table ten minutes later after talking to the bartender and checking on the kitchen. Stella had the kitchen staff doing some pre-cleaning, so I grabbed two pieces of tiramisu from the cooler and headed back to the table.
On the way, I asked Mark to bring us two cups of coffee.
Eliana groaned when I placed the dessert in front of her. “Coffee’s on the way.”
“Boy, you do want answers. You remembered your tiramisu is my weakness.”
I smirked and dug in for a bite of the coffee flavored dessert. “The recipe is my brother’s. He gave it to me when he found out I was opening this place.”
“Where is he now?” She moaned at the flavor.
Mark brought our coffee and placed it on the table, then headed back to the kitchen.
