Making You Mine

Chapter 5 - Part 1

Sunday morning they were doing their weekly inventory. Somehow for years, his parents had managed everything on paper. Incredibly, they were very accurate, but now that there was software for everything, it should've made things easier. Though, at times like today, things could get really screwed up.

He was already in a bad mood before he even got to the restaurant. The night before with Melissa had gone well. Her behavior was very impressive, but he'd been fooled by that before. She apologized while Jason and Kat played pool. They even had a somewhat intriguing conversation. She was the epitome of the perfect girl he once thought her to be. That is until that morning when he got a call from Jason.

"You're gonna be mad."

"What?"

"She has your sunglasses."

Sal knew what that meant. "Tell her she can have them."

"That's the first thing I said when Kat heard the message she left, but she already said she's going to drop them off today at the restaurant. Kat tried calling her, but she's not answering. So I'm just giving you a heads up."

Here we go again. Melissa was notorious for leaving things in Sal's car or his house—her way of forcing another meeting. He should've known. He hadn't even noticed his sunglasses were missing. All he could hope now is that she'd drop them off, and he'd be done with her. But Melissa didn't work that way.

Grace arrived at noon, adding to his already growing aggravated mood. He didn't understand why he felt the way he did around her. He was over her lying about her age, and she'd passed the drug screening and background with flying colors. Yet, being around her made him feel anxious.

Tired of going over numbers, Sal decided to walk out and check on things in the dining room. He saw Grace peeking into the kitchen. He smiled when he realized she appeared to be trying to be sneaky. He took slow, quiet footsteps so she wouldn't hear him. She turned and saw him when he was only a few feet away and flinched. Sal had to stifle a laugh.

"I was just uh ..."

"Checking out the kitchen?

"Well, yeah, I wanted to ..."

"C'mon I'll show you." He settled for a big smile instead of laughing. She was already blushing. "You haven't had a chance to acquaint yourself with the restaurant. There's a lot you haven't seen."

She followed him through the busy kitchen. Her caught-with-a-hand-in-the-cookie-jar expression was now replaced with a look of pure awe. Her eyes opened wider with everything he showed her. Seeing how excited she got over something as simple as a kitchen was more than amusing. Sal couldn't wipe the smile off his own face.

The new stockroom had been added the previous year when they bought the place next door and expanded the restaurant. When they got to it, he stopped and his eyes met hers. "You ready for this?"

She nodded, reminding him of his younger brothers when they were kids and he showed them a new card trick or new stunt on his bike. They were always so easily impressed. He slid the door open and motioned for her to go in first.

Sal had a lot to do with the design. The old stock room was all over the place. To Sal, organization was key, but it also had to look good. Like the rest of the restaurant, it was designed to feel old like the Mexican homes in the old country. The wood used for the shelves was new but painted so that it gave them a weathered look, as were the containers of spices. They had every spice in there needed for Mexican cuisine. Even the floors had been painted with a texture that made if feel as if they were standing on dirt.