Down to Business (Business Series) (13 page)

My
bedroom was a disaster by the time I had decided what to wear to the interview. Clothing was strewn everywhere and four pairs of shoes littered the floor. Keeping in mind Vinny’s mother’s no-cleavage policy, I settled for a black fitted sweater with grey slacks and black, open toe, two inch heels.

As I was strapping on my shoes, I realized I needed to paint my toenails. I wished I had taken Lindy up on that pedicure. I decided to borrow a bottle of nail polish from her room. All she had were bright colors, so I picked a nice plum-pink shade and swiped it onto my toenails. While I was waiting for my toes to dry, I figured my fingernails needed to match. In the process of trying to paint my left hand perfectly, I spilled the bottle of polish on the bedside table. Cursing, I hobbled into the kitchen, waving my hands, hoping to have them dry enough to pick up paper towels to sop up the polish.

By the time that crisis was over, my nails were smudged and my hair was frizzing from not being treated right out of the shower. I took up my straightener and began swiping it through my unruly hair, begging God to let things work for me just this once. By the time I had it as straight as it was going to get, my room reeked of singed hair and hair spray. Next, I did my make-up, going a little heavier than usual for the occasion. After a few spritzes of Lindy’s perfume and putting on a pretty rhinestone necklace from Lindy’s jewelry stash, I was ready to go.

I dumped all of my needed belongings into the only nice black purse I owned and headed out the door just in time to meet Vinny. I Once I made it to the sidewalk he was there waiting.

I climbed into the car and yanked on my seat belt. “Just to let you know, this was the longest it’s ever taken me to get ready for anything. I even painted my toenails,” I released a nervous sigh. “I better get this job.” 

When I looked over, I found him staring at me with a look of surprise. “Wow. Just…wow.”

“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious.

“You look great,” he said with a smile, “I’ve never seen a girl transform like you do.”

I scoffed, unsure how I should take that comment. “Transform? As in you think I look like shit most of the time?”

He laughed. “No, I didn’t mean it like that…earlier your hair wasn’t done, you weren’t wearing make-up, and you looked casual with a hoodie on…now you look like you work in some city high rise…it’s a complete transformation. You take me off guard, that’s all. Like last night, when I saw you at the party, I had to keep asking myself if you’re the same girl that I saw when I got out of the shower.”

“Like a caterpillar to a butterfly,” I said with a laugh.

“Right,” he nodded enthusiastically.

“I guess you
can
transform ugly.” I teased.

He frowned at me. “Don’t even say that. You’re not ugly. And just because you don’t spend two hours doing your make-up doesn’t make you less attractive. You’re comfortable in your own skin, that’s a great thing. It says a lot about you, Autumn. It makes you attractive. Most of the girls I know can’t leave the house without ten pounds of makeup and hairspray. Like my ex for instance…she couldn’t even go to the gas station or a drive through without make-up and a shower. It annoyed the shit out of me.”

I smiled at him. “Well you won’t have to worry about that with me. I’ve done a gas station run in mismatched pajamas without a bra.”

He smiled. “I bet you still looked good.”

“Yeah, if your into bums.” I giggled.

“I never thought I was, but you might have changed my mind,” he said with a grin.

My heart did a flip-flop in my chest and I laughed off the stress and self-doubt I felt moments before. Every second of the suffering I went through the last hour was worth it just to hear he thought I looked good. I noticed him steal a glance at me at least six times as we sped towards New York City.

Since it was mid-day, there was less traffic going into to city. I had only been to New York City twice my whole life. Once was for a school field trip to the Natural History Museum, and the other time was with my parents to see
The Nutcracker
. 

The moment we reached the heart of the inner city streets, the sidewalks came alive with people walking to their destinations. Horns blaring and the hum of traffic bled through the quiet sanctuary of the car. I wondered what it would be like to live in the city. It was always so loud and energetic, I wondered how anyone could sleep. Vinny didn’t seem bothered by the atmosphere, he just calmly drove along with the pace of traffic.

When we finally reached Mazzolas in downtown Manhattan, I was amazed at the nice location it was in. Situated in the theater district, on a corner lot, it even had an outdoor dining area. The name
Mazzolas
was embossed in gold capital letters in a Roman font above the dark wood front doors, and on all of the dark green overhangs in the outdoor seating area. Big plate glass windows gave passerby’s a glimpse at the perfect white tablecloth swathed seating, each with a small vase of flowers and tea light candle.

We parked in the rear of the restaurant. Vinny led me around the building toward those menacing dark double doors, where once inside, I would make or break my opportunity. My palms were sweating as he swept open the door and held it for me. The moment I stepped inside the wonderful smells of Italy greeted me: homemade sauce, garlic, and fresh spices.

The interior of the restaurant was even more impressive than the street view. The Greco-Roman theme gave it an elegant old world look. The entry way had a beautiful stone mosaic floor that led to a cozy waiting area with plush seating. A six-foot natural stone accent wall stood behind the dark wood hostess counter and separated the front of the restaurant from the dining area.

A tall pretty woman with long straight brown hair stood front and center at the hostess counter. She greeted us with a smile when she saw Vinny.

“Hey Vinny,” she said. “What are you doing here? Isn’t it your day off?”

“I’m just here to get my friend Autumn an interview. Autumn, this is my cousin, Suzanna. Suz, this is Autumn, we have a business class together at Adelphi.”

She stepped out from behind the counter and gave me a perfect white smile, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you Autumn. You can call me Suz. Everyone else does.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, shaking her slender hand and noting she smelled as pretty as she looked. She was dressed in a fitted white blouse and black pencil skirt that seemed tailored to fit her perfectly. The jealous girl inside of me automatically wanted to hate her, but her soft smile and sweet disposition won me over.

“Don’t worry. My Aunt Tina is nice once you get to know her. I’m sure she will love you.”

“Yeah I hope so.”

“We’re going to head on back, she’s waiting for us,” Vinny said, placing his palm on my backside.

“Oh, right! Good luck with your interview Autumn,” Suzanna called before Vinny led me away.

We entered the dining area where tables were situated in unison along the walls and center of the room, with their perfect white tablecloths and tea lights. The soft crooning of an old Italian singer played in the background as servers dressed in black came in and out of the swinging kitchen doors, carrying trays of old world Italian perfection to each table. I spotted a bowl of ravioli that made my stomach growl, and two tables down from that, a slab of lasagna taunted me with its perfect layers of cheese and pasta, blanketed in marinara and sprinkled parmesan.

Paintings hung along the walls portraying scenes of sunflower fields, wine, and old Italian villas. There was a section near the back, partitioned off from the rest, with a large antique dark wood table made for larger parties. The walls above it were decorated with old portraits that possibly dated several generations back.

We ended up at a door with a sign on it that read,
Personnel Only
.

Vinny knocked and a woman’s voice called, “Come in!”

He stepped in first, holding the door open for me. I held my breath as I entered the small office that held little more than a dark wood desk, bookshelf lined with binders, and two lonely filing cabinets.  As small as it was, it was perfectly organized and it made my mother’s back office at Malones look like a storage closet.

A slender middle-aged woman rose to her feet behind the desk. She stood about a half foot taller than me with a head of bone straight ebony hair pulled back into a perfect bun. Her light brown eyes, that matched Vinny’s, met mine with an air of disregard. Her pale thin lips were unsmiling as she asked, “Is this the girl?”

“Yep. This is Autumn,” Vinny said, closing the door. I felt like I was trapped in the Coliseum with a lion.

She moved a pair of reading glasses aside and smoothed down her grey pantsuit before she extended  her hand over the desk. “I’m Tina Mazzola.”

Her voice was nothing like I expected. It was deep and cold. When Vinny described her, I pictured her to be overweight with puffy hair, and have a New York accent. This woman presented herself more like a lawyer than a restaurant owner. She looked younger than I imagined too.

“Autumn Malone,” I said, placing my hand in her cold palm, watching her nails that looked more like claws curl against my skin in a cold limp fish handshake.

“Right,” she said, pulling her hand back almost immediately. “Vinny told me you have experience in food service?”

“Yes,” I said glancing over my shoulder to make sure he was still there. “My mother owns a restaurant up in Hamilton, I’ve served tables and hosted there since I was in high school.”

“Mmhmm…” she said, tapping her bottom lip with her finger. “And how old are you now?”

“I just turned twenty.”

“Have a seat, Autumn. Vinny, would you mind waiting outside?”

“Okay, I’ll be right out front.” Vinny gave me a pat on my shoulder before leaving.

Once the door closed, I settled into the chair before her desk. Her heels clicked on the stone floor as she made her way over to the filing cabinet. She pulled out a few papers and passed them to me along with a black pen. “I need you to fill out an application. Just because you’re Vinny’s friend doesn’t mean you don’t have to follow suit like everyone else.”

A burst of heat washed over my face as I looked down at the job application. “I didn’t mean for it to look that way, I actually told him—”

“Just make sure you fill it out completely,” she said, uncaring, and sat back down behind the desk.

I swallowed and picked up the pen, beginning to fill out my credentials. The sound of her nails tapping her laptop keys broke up the uncomfortable silence.

When I was finished, I slid it forward with the pen. She took it up and looked it over without amusement.

“Were you born in Hamilton, New York?” she asked abruptly.

“Yes.” I answered, thinking it was best to keep my answers straightforward from now on.

“I take it Malones is a family owned establishment?”

“Yes,” I repeated.

“You’re not Italian are you?”

If she was nice, I’d crack a joke and ask if that was a requirement to be hired, but I decided against it.

“My mother’s half Italian.”

“What’s the other half?”

“Welsh.”

“And your father?”

“Full Irish.”

“That would explain your hair. Reminds me of an old tarnished penny,” the corner of her lip twitched in what I assumed was her version of a smile.

Was that a compliment?

I forced a smile and watched her scan over the rest of my application.

“Do you have an updated health card?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“Cancer,” she said, not looking up from my paper.

I blinked and frowned. “I’m sorry?”

She looked up at me and her perfect brows rose. “You’re astrological sign is cancer?”

“Oh…” I flushed again and nodded. “Yeah, I am a cancer.”

“So am I.”

“Oh.” I never would have guessed. We seemed to be total opposites.

“Have you known Vince long?”

“No, we just met yesterday.” I explained. “We have Business 101 together.”

“Are you majoring business management too?”

“Yes.”

She set the paper down on the desk, casually folded her hands over it, and looked me in the eye. “Okay, Autumn, here’s the deal. I am hiring part-time, twenty hours a week. Starting wage for a server is twelve fifty and it will be an evening shift from 6PM to 11PM, Tuesday through Friday.  I do not put up with tardiness. I expect you to be here ten minutes before your shift and ready by six. You get one fifteen minute break. I do not do free meals so if I catch you in the kitchen picking, slacking off, or flirting with the staff, that is immediate termination. Are we clear?”

“Yes.”

“So, I take it you want the position?”

I nodded. “I do.”

“Good. Welcome then.” she said with a smile that actually looked genuine and extended her hand.

“Thank you,” I said taking her hand and feeling like I just passed the SAT’s again.

She stood up and I followed her over to the door. “When can you start?”

“As soon as you need me to.”

“Tomorrow is good. I’ll see you at six?”

“Sure.” I answered.

She held open the door for me and I stepped past her feeling giddy. We walked side by side, our heels clicking in unison as we approached the hostess stand where Vinny was talking with Suz and another girl I didn’t recognize. All eyes turned on us as we approached.

“So, did she pass?” Vinny asked with a smile, looking to us both.

“She starts tomorrow,” Tina said, giving me a tight-lipped smile.

I smiled back, barely able to contain my excitement. I didn’t care if Tina was a bitch. I was happy to be a part of Vinny’s so-called family.

“Vivian, have you met Autumn?” Tina asked, glancing to the girl standing beside Suz at the hostess stand.

My breath caught.

Vivian? Wasn’t that his ex-girlfriend’s name?

Vivian looked me over with her dark almond shaped eyes that were shaded with smoky black liner. She was more compact than Suz and a little shorter than me, but she had curves in all the right places and was what my dad called a bombshell. Her skin was olive and deeply tanned, making it blend perfectly with her thick black hair that fell in layers to her elbows and framed her flawless face.