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For Evie’s sake, I almost wished he’d stand up and be the man she needed. But I didn’t think he was capable of that. I wouldn’t allow him to hurt them anymore. Harper might not have wanted me to get involved, but it was too late. I was all in with her and Evie.
That night, we were so busy I couldn’t break away to see Harper and Evie. The rest of the week, I worked long hours too. I didn’t call Harper into work, even when a server quit without notice.
On Thursday, I called Carlo and asked him to help. That night, we were in the office, putting the cash away and getting the deposit ready, when I said, “I think we need to talk about hiring more help.”
“How about gettingreliablehelp?” Carlo grumbled. He’d always hated dealing with the customers, preferring to hide out in the office or work remotely.
“Maybe if we raised their hourly wages, we’d attract better servers,” I said, voicing the thoughts that had been swirling in my head for months.
“Servers rely on tips,” Carlo pointed out.
“I understand that, but we’re not selling high-priced items on the menu, or even alcohol. If we raised the wages, maybe we’d attract more single parents and fewer high school kids.” In my mind, single parents were more reliable, even when their kids were sick.
“Some of the high school kids are good,” Matteo said.
I ran a hand through my hair. “But this isn’t a long-term commitment for them. They leave for college or whatever, and then we need to hire again.”
Carlo raised a brow. “So, the plan is to hire people who aren’t going to leave for school?”
“Not all of them. We still need high school kids to work a few hours a day. But we need a few long-haulers too.”
“You know Papà has to be on board,” Matteo pointed out.
The problem was, Papà didn’t like spending more money than necessary on the business. He prided himself on keeping expenses low. The only thing he didn’t skimp on was ingredients. “I think it’s time we sit down with Mamma and Papà and talk about a plan for us to take over.”
Matteo shook his head. “I hate to think of them not running this place.”
“We need to have more leeway to manage the restaurant, especially with them traveling for weeks and months at a time.”
Matteo’s expression was grim. “I’m just not sure how they’ll take it.”
“They won’t like it, but it’s the right thing to do. We need more autonomy.” We needed to take this step before I pushed the second location idea again. I needed my dad to concede something to us. “They’re not getting any younger.”
Carlo nodded. “They should enjoy retirement, and maybe that’s our angle.”
“It will certainly work with Mamma.” She’d been after Papà to retire for ages.
“It’s time for the next generation of Giovannis to make their impression.” Matteo slapped his hand on my shoulder.
I needed to tell someone about Harper, so I said, “I need to talk to you about something else.”
“Are you getting engaged and giving Mamma a grandbaby so I can relax?” Matteo asked good-naturedly.
When I hesitated, his eyes widened. “I was joking.”
“I’m not saying it’s serious yet. But I met someone. Someone they probably wouldn’t approve of.”
“Why wouldn’t they approve of her?” Carlo asked.
“She’s not Italian or Catholic.” And she’s a de facto member of this family.
Matteo frowned. “I don’t think they really care if we marry the perfect Italian girl.”
“Are you sure about that? They adored Bianca.”
Carlo waved a hand in my direction. “Bianca wasn’t right for you.”
“She was cheating on me for most of our relationship.”
