Italian Ego

Chapter 2

Alfonso Santangelli slowly took in his surroundings as he walked into the restaurant. As soon as the door closed shut behind him, every head turned in his direction. His dark brooding form, his very presence commanded respect. He walked with a little smirk on his face that hid what he was truly thinking and made him look unflappable. Everyone thought he reveled in the attention they all paid him, but in truth he was bored by it. He found no pleasure in total strangers admiring him because he reeked of power and money. At this point in his life, however, he'd experienced so much of it that it was just one of the many burdens he had to bear. Yet what a light load it was. The opinions of people meant nothing to him. He had bigger things to worry about. 

The grand opening to his brand new hotel had taken place only three days earlier and Alfonso was now surveying one of his many properties. He strode purposefully down the middle aisle towards the kitchen of the brand new Luigi's restaurant.

It was beautiful. An absolutely magnificent addition to his already majestic family.

An amazing mix of different colours, all vibrant yet earthy perfectly blended into one another. Splashes of red, brown and yellow filled the entire restaurant. The rich aroma of expressive cheese and freshly made pasta was everywhere, but that isn't what brought all these people here in the first place. At first glance this may have appeared like just another outrageously expensive restaurant, but it was totally worth the price.

As Alfonso walked into the kitchen he was greeted by a slap on his back. Only one person in the whole world would dare to do that. His best friend, Luigi. An amazing chef, he was. Give the man a fully stocked spice rack, some greens and a frying pan and he could make a culinary masterpiece. He was the reason the restaurant his best friend had named after him was such a success. He was also the reason his newest hotel had just been awarded its fifth star just that morning. Such hard work needed to be commended in person, in Alfonso’s book. 

"Five stars, my friend," he grinned at Luigi. "You excited?"

"Nah, not really. After the eleventh one it just got boring," Luigi chuckled.

Al shook his head. "You're too full of yourself."

"Something I fear I may have learnt from you."

The two men went on discussing trivial matters while Alfonso gobbled up a plate of Luigi's famous lasagna. The minute he'd finished his meal the door swung open behind him. In stalked his younger sister, Sandy. They looked nothing alike due to the fact that they only shared a mother.

She looked excited. He mentally sighed and rubbed a hand down his face in advance of the exaltation That was sure to come his way. It was never a good thing for him when his little sister was excited.

She threw herself into the seat next to his at the massive marbled kitchen island. Al frankly thought it was too much for a professional kitchen, but Luigi had insisted he wanted nothing more than for his latest restaurant to have a ‘homey feel.’ Whatever the hell that meant. He sometimes wondered if his best friend was just teasing him or if he was genuinely that absurd. 

“What do you want, Sandy?” he asked abruptly. He'd learned over the long, long years of dealing with her that it was best to be direct. Otherwise she found the most roundabout way of asking for the simplest thing.

She pouted. "Is that any way to greet your super adorable little sister?"

"Yeah, Al. Lighten up. Hi Sandy," Luigi teased. He was never one to resist teasing joining in teasing his best friend when she was involved.

"Hey, Lui. Long time. We should catch up later," she smiled back. "Al I have great news. Seychelles broke up with her boyfriend two days ago. So now that she's single I can fix you two up."

"Haven't we been through this before? I don't need your help to find female attention." Nor did he want to have such a conversion with her of all people.

"Yeah," Luigi interrupted. "He might need it to get rid of some though. They're drawn to him like bees to honey."

"Yeah, but he likes it," Sandy said. “I personally don't get it.”

"Don't I know it!"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here, you two," Al frowned, as if he weren't used to their antics by now.

"Al please!" Sandy pouted once more. "Just one date, I promise."

"Fine, I'll do it," Al agreed grudgingly. If he gave in this once maybe she could find something a little less uncomfortable to bother him with. "But I'm never doing this again."

She grinned and jumped up to hug him.

"I don't get it," Luigi mused out loud. "Why would you set up your friend with him? He's like the definition of a womaniser."

"As if you're any better," Al said smugly. "Wasn't it just last weekend you had a threesome with-"

Luigi cleared his throat awkwardly. "She really doesn't need to know any of that."

"Why not?" Sandy asked innocently. "I'm almost twenty-three!"

"Big deal, we're both ten years older than you," Luigi said as he pinched her cheek then ruffled her hair. Sandy looked decidedly annoyed with that.

"So when is this date going to be?" Al asked distractedly.

"I'll let you know when she agrees. It's going to take much more effort with her than it did you. She's going to kill me when she finds out you're thirty-two, though."

"Well at least I finally get to meet this Seychelles person. You're always talking about her," Luigi said.

"You better stay away from her," she warned wagging a finger at Lui. "You're far too charming for your own good. Oh, and Al, please try to be nice?"

"Ha! He can't be nice to save his own life!" Lui said as he got up from an island seat and started whipping some eggs as he shouted out a couple of orders in Italian to some of the kitchen staff.

Al nodded in agreement. "I'm not going to change myself to please your best friend."

"Now that's just f****d up," Sandy said as she forked some lasagna off her brother’s plate and into her mouth.

"What did I tell you about cursing in front of me?" Alfonso demanded in a low serious voice. He got a little scary when he talked like that.

Sandy flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Al. It was a slip of the tongue, won't happen again." He was too serious for his own good. She glanced at his best friend. "You're right, Lui. I'll just have to warn her."

***

Alfonso watched as his little sister slammed the door to his Mercedes Benz S-Class. She smiled at him and waved goodbye. He watched as she opened the door to her apartment and went in. As soon as she was inside he started his car and was on his way.

As he was driving he found himself wondering what Sandy's friend would look like. Obviously if she was friends with Sandy she had to be a decent person, but he really didn't care about that. If he was going to be forced to go out with someone he hoped his sister at least had the decency to choose someone pretty.

He knew most people deemed him as heartless, cruel and conceited, and for the most part it was true. But he had learned from a young age that what people thought of him truly didn't matter. Only three people in his life actually mattered to him. Sandy, Luigi and his mother.

He lost his father at the age of five to heart disease; he was an Italian, obviously. His mother was American, though. When he was seven they relocated to Seattle where his mother met his step-father, David. They got married a year later and his baby sister, Sandy came bundling along when he was ten.

When he was in his senior year of high school, he lost his step-father to a car accident. It was a hard blow. Losing a father for the second time, and he took it harder than anyone else. His mother always speculated that that was the reason he was so 'cold-hearted'.

He had always wanted to be an accountant, and he was extremely good at it. By the time he was in his mid-twenties he was one of the most renowned accountants in Seattle. Since he was making, what everyone thought was, too much money he decided to build his first hotel. In the past seven years he had managed to build and takeover a total of fourteen international five-star hotels. In short, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Luigi had been his best friend ever since their freshmen days in college. They both studied accounting and worked together, but Luigi had never loved the job as much as he. What he loved to do... was cook, and he was pretty damn good at it. When he built his first hotel, it was only natural for him to hire Lui as the head chef. He also named the restaurant after him, much to his undisguised gratitude, and it remained the same in all his future establishments.

Alfonso's relationship with women was simple. Of course he'd dated in the past, but the more time went on the more he realised that he much preferred the no strings approach. Sure there were a few hangers on here and there, but it worked perfectly for all those involved, as far as he was concerned. His family didn't agree, of course. Which is why Sandy had gotten into her head that her best friend was perfect for him. It was ridiculous! They'd have dinner, engage in stilted conversation and then go their separate ways. Then hopefully he'd never have to hear the name Seychelles ever again.