So Irresistible by Lisa Plumley Read Free Book Online

split from Campania, they’d been a close-knit house. Now, everything was different.
    She wished she had someone to trust. Someone to share the burden of her responsibilities with. Someone to laugh with. But as long as her staff was determined to make her pay for her recent mistakes, she was out of luck. She’d just have to muddle through until she found a way to set things right again.
    So, with that in mind, Gabriella gathered her strength and marched back into the kitchen, ready to take on any challenge....
    Only to learn that everyone else had sneaked out early, leaving her to finish the cleanup and closure alone. Again.
     
     
    Gabriella was stowing her things in her metal employee locker when she heard the walk-in refrigerator door bang shut.
    As far as she knew, everyone else was gone. She’d shut down Campania on her own. Although the delicious aromas of basil and tomatoes still lingered in the air, everything was quiet.
    Except for that slamming walk-in door.
    Instantly alert, Gabriella wheeled around. Her heart leaped to her throat as she surveyed the shadowy walkway between the employee break room and the rear of the pizzeria’s kitchen, where the storage areas and her office were. Footsteps sounded.
    In the shadows, something moved. It came closer.
    It was Adam, the hapless new guy. Grimy with spilled mop water, splashes of tomato sauce, and debris from the rubberized floor mats he’d sprayed clean, he headed for his locker.
    He glimpsed Gabriella and shrieked like a scared monkey.
    She couldn’t help laughing. “It’s only me.” She touched his arm to calm him down. “Sorry to scare you. Are you okay?”
    “Uh, yeah.” Adam looked behind him. “I was just putting away some stuff in the walk-in. It’s been a long day.”
    “Tell me about it.” At least the new guy didn’t appear to resent her. Gabriella found that bolstering. Despite her invitation to talk, though, Adam remained politely silent.
    She was dying for some friendly interaction.
    Sometimes she intimidated people. Maybe this was one of those times. “No, seriously.” She nudged him. “Tell me about it.”
    Adam laughed. “Actually, I was just cooling off in there.” He ducked his head. “It’s hot work hosing off the floor mats.”
    “You’ve got that right. Ugh! You feel so gross afterward, too. I’m not even sure what half the stuff stuck in there is.”
    His gaze sharpened. “ You’ve hosed off the floor mats?”
    “I’ve done everything in this place, from mopping to emptying the grease traps. Nepotism didn’t get me this gig.”
    “Really? That’s not what Bowser says.”
    “Yeah, well . . . Bowser says a lot of things.” Gabriella watched Adam adjust the sweaty bandanna on his head. The poor guy needed more time in the refrigerated walk-in. During the heat of service, pizzeria kitchens were infernos. She took pity on him. “You can’t believe everything you hear, Frosty.”
    “I guess not. I’m not usually so gullible, but—” He broke off, seeming not so secretly thrilled. “Was that . . . a nickname?”
    “Damn straight, it was. You’ve officially been christened.” Gabriella retrieved her purse from her locker. She caught a glimpse of her after-hours black cocktail dress hanging there—practically growing cobwebs, it was so disused—and had an idea. The time for waiting around was over with. She was seizing control. “Aren’t you going out for after-work drinks?”
    “Yeah. I’m just running late.” Frosty hooked a thumb toward the door. “I told everyone I’d meet them at the brewpub.”
    He named the place, a frequent hangout of restaurant industry types. It was just down the street. It was perfect .
    Until now, it had also been a secret. At least from her.
    Gabriella had tried showing up at a few industry haunts after hours, hoping to serendipitously “run into” everyone. She needed to mend fences with her staff and neglected friends. So far, they’d eluded her. This was just the