Fire and Sweets (Book 3 of Wolves of Milano)

1. Chocolate

A tray full of chocolate flowers is sitting next to her on the table. Right in front of her is a stand with a few dozen one-person cakes that she is garnishing with strips of white chocolate and the premade flowers. She decorates when she’s stressed, which is very often lately. This gives her assistants in the restaurant a chance to show their worth, because she can’t be bothered with baking and sending suffles out by the hundreds. 

She smiles secretly, she knows that her state of mind is a chance for the girls to be noticed. They are good, she taught them everything. She can afford to not show up at Rialto for a few days and nobody would notice. The perks of a pastry chef with a great team. Andrea and Lotte have been her assistants for years now. The girls do odd jobs around the kitchen, but mostly she has them at her disposal in the pastry section. In her own little kingdom of sugar and chocolate.

“Andrea? Is the white chocolate ready?” Kara asks without looking up from her work.

“Yes. Where do you want it?” Her assistant answers.

“Anywhere you find a spot. And you can take the finished desserts away. Do you know how we stand on the selection in the dessert case?” Kara responds.

“The case is full. I was just out there to add a few new creations and tags.” Andrea answers. She picks up the tray off of the stand and turns back to her: “Are these for the restaurant or for the catering?”

“For the restaurant. There is a group that will come for dinner. They have a preselected menu. You’ll see the list in the walk in fridge.” Kara tells the girl. “Double check if we have enough desserts.”

“Sure, boss.” Andrea smiles before she walks away, careful with the tray of delicate cakes.

Kara smiles, so the girl doesn’t see and takes the freshly melted white chocolate. Her baking paper is ready and she takes a silicone brush of the finest quality to draw thin lines with the chocolate. She will create a fine net with a flower design. Each will be different and in the end adorned with a dark chocolate butterfly. The little sculptures she’s making will be toppers for souffles. She likes to surprise their guests with unique designs. The usual cacao powder and fruit decoration of a souffle is boring and she would never stoop so low as to send one out so... lacking. 

Playing with chocolate is her favorite escape. She can create these small decorations and be miles away in her head. Right now she is thinking about her cousins. Vittorio is back, but he said he’s being spied on all that time. His own father messed up everything for him. He was lucky to have good friends and great support at work. And for what? Her Uncle is crazy if he thinks he can keep fated mates apart. Besides, Vannessa is a gem. She is an amazing young girl. She wishes them all the best in life, they deserve it. For everything he’s put them through.

And then there is Alessio. The casanova of their pack finally found one woman that he likes enough to date and she is not good enough? Yes, she’s human, but she is Grazia “fricking” Pietro. One of the richest and most influential people she knows. The one with connections to all in this city. Uncle really outdid himself there. Banishing another pack member looks bad to the other packs. And he wants to form alliances? With what? His personal vendetta against all that dare to live a normal life?

“Andrea? I need a new tray. Take this one to the freezer.” Kara calls her assistant.

“Sure, boss. These look amazing as ever.” Andrea smiles at her. 

“Thanks. What do you say, we make them with dark chocolate as well?” She asks. She already has the design in mind for it.

“If you’re not tired of drawing, I’ll melt you some dark chocolate in a few minutes.” Andrea calls from the fridge.

“Perfect. I’m in no hurry for anything.” She answers. 

She’s got nowhere to be. It seems sometimes that the restaurant is her home. She is always here, working on new creations or filling orders for catering. She has been teased about her non existent personal life. She does have it, they just don’t need to know about it. Her paintings are her escape from everyday life. She doesn’t need a man to make things complicated. Not after everything her cousins had to go through for the right to have a relationship at all. They can say what they want, she will not marry and she knows her mother will support her in this.

A bowl of dark chocolate later, she is finally satisfied with her work for today. Her inner artist doesn’t mind if she draws with chocolate or with paint, as long as she draws. She goes to check her messages and gapes at her phone. Damn! Six missed calls. Maybe she should just carry her phone in the apron pocket? Vittorio texted her; she is apparently next on the list for a personal stalker. She calls him back and hopes he’ll pick up.

“Hey kiddo. Working late?” Vittorio greets her. He is the only one to call her kiddo, nobody else dares. She is neither small or a teen anymore. He’s just a few years older than her.

“Yeah, you know me. Always here.” She answers. “What is this thing with a stalker?”

“Elio let me know that he’s got someone watching you all the time. There is something big going on, but we can’t find out what it is. Did your mom say something?” Vittorio asks her.

“Haven’t seen mom all day.” She says. “Why would I need to be watched? I have nothing to do with the pack. What is your father up to?”

“I don’t know. It worries me.” He tells her.

“Be careful.” Kara tells him. “Can you even trust this Elio person? He’s new to the pack.”

“He might be new, but he’s our inside man. He helped Alessio, but keep that to yourself.” Vittorio tells her.

“I won’t say a word. Thanks for the warning.” Kara ends the call.

She needs to go check on her mother. It’s not like her to not even look inside the kitchen all day. Her mother is always in control of everything that has to do with her restaurant. Rialto is Marra, first and foremost. Everyone else just works here. She knocks on her mothers office and the door swings in. There is no light on and nobody inside. This is weird. Mother might not be here all day, but she is for the evening crowd. It’s her ritual for as long as this restaurant is hers. 

She walks out to the bar area and leans on the wall. She hates to be seen by the guests, she wants her peace. She is the behind the scenes kind of chef. Her mother does the front floor and guest greetings. Even their main chef Fernando will show his face in the restaurant to be celebrated for his great food, but not her. She is a private person and she likes it that way. 

Kara beckons one of the waiters to come to her. “Has anyone seen my mother?”

“Not me. I’ll ask around.” The guy answers.

“I’ll be in her office.” Kara tells him. She knows it’s bad if her mother doesn’t show up, but as long as she’s here, things will keep going. She is her mothers second, she is authorized to run the Rialto in her mother’s absence. She only hopes this is temporary, because her mother didn’t say a word to her about anything.

She turns around and walks back to the office. The pile of incoming mail and papers is huge. This probably means her mother wasn’t here at all. She takes one good look around and starts to make order of the mess. Letters go on a separate pile and the bills on the one in front of her. The bills are always fist. Her mother takes pride in paying everything as it comes in. She never waits around for the last day for anything. Her suppliers are used to it by now and she knows that a few rely on the money from them to even keep on working. She can’t let that go now.

Kara sends a quick text to her mother to let her know that she’ll take care of the office stuff at Rialto and that means she will be home late. Not that they see each other all the time, but with her mother’s busy life, it’s usually Kara who checks that her little brother did his homework and ate something normal. Maybe she should call him and tell him she’ll be late?

“Yes, I did my homework. I had math and history today.” Teo answers on the first ring. That means he is doing something important and not playing games.

“Hello to you, too.” Kara laughs. “Thank you for checking in. Did you eat? Shall I bring you something later?”

“If you have some leftover sweets? Mom left a stew on the stove.” Teo answers. She knows he is a sucker for her sweet creations and she makes a stick it note for later.

“Wonderful. Is there any left? I’m stuck doing office work.” She asks him.

“Plenty. Mom’s not here, she didn’t leave a note this time.” Teo tells her. “I’m doing your social media and you have a ton of email. Do you have any new pictures? What did you work on today?”

“I’ll snap a few for you. I made new toppers for souffles. You’ll love them.” She chuckles. “I’ll try to be fast.”

“No worries. As long as I have electricity and internet, I’m fine.” Teo laughs and hangs up on her.

She better go take a few pictures for him. Maybe she can select a few cakes for him as well? She is so lucky her little brother is her PR agent and she can pay him in sweets. She has no patience for Twitter, i********:, and f*******:. She is much better at baking or painting, but she understands the benefits of free advertising. That is why she made a deal with her sixteen year old brother. He gets pocket change and unlimited sweets, she gets social media exposure without actually doing it herself.

A few pictures sent to Teo and a box of various cakes for him in hand, she goes back to the office and finishes the bills. She has her own password for the company accounts, for transparency. Their accountant insisted on it, she wants to know who does what in case there is ever a mix-up or a bill that went unpaid. Kara is in on the count of their suppliers and she knows how many bills there are supposed to be on any given day. She never missed any and she’s been doing this since she turned eighteen.