Down to Business (Business Series)

by Alexander, J. C.

  “Bullshit. No one makes things more complicated than her. You have nothing to do with the complications in my life. You make them easier to deal with.”

  I drew a breath. “You’re not making this easy, Vinny.”

  “What do you mean? Do you want to forget what happened and be friends?”

  “No…but I don’t want to repeat what happened today.”

  “You want to stop having sex?”

  “Of course not, but I also don’t want to get so emotionally wrapped up in it that I freak out again. The last thing I want to do is become a jealous, annoying bitch like her.”

  He smirked. “You never could be like her, it takes skill to be that self-centered…but you could win an award for your acting. That screaming scene on the lawn and chase in the rain today were Oscar material.”

  I laughed a little and elbowed him. “Shut up.”

  He grinned and pulled me against him, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Look, I won’t pressure you, and you have a right to be pissed. So I’ll let you decide where to draw the line with us, you let me know. Until then I have to get back to work.”

  “Okay,” I whispered watching him stand up and head back inside. I touched my forehead where he kissed me and felt my heart ache all over again. I was torn. I didn’t want to push him away, but I was afraid of what might happen if I didn’t…

  The next two days passed without any incident due to Vinny and Vivian both being off. I spent most of my time on schoolwork to keep my mind off Vinny and right where it should be. We exchanged a few small texts about our day, but the relationship status never came up. The only one who was overly concerned about it was Lindy, who kept pushing me to tell him that we should break it off until he gets his shit together.

  The night before I had to see him at work, I was feeling especially hesitant about everything between us and I was tired of feeling so unstable. He was distracting me from every other aspect of my life and if it was for nothing, I wanted to know. After much contemplation, I finally texted him my decision that we should just be friends, mainly to see what he would say. I expected him to argue with me, but instead his reply was a one-word answer:

  FINE.

  Fine?

  After all we had been through, all he could say was fine? I scoffed in disbelief and waited for another text, but nothing happened. I realized that not only did I not get the result I wanted, I also dumped him over text message. I felt like such an asshole and I spent the rest of the night laying in bed and chastising myself until I was so frustrated that I regretted the whole thing and ended up crying myself to sleep.

  I showed up for work on Friday night to find Suz alone at the hostess stand. I greeted her with an optimistic smile and I barely got a hello out before Vivian came around the corner and stepped up beside me.

  “He just got here,” She announced to Suz, completely ignoring me. “She pulled him into her office and he thinks he’s in deep shit.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Vinny,” Suz said smiling. “Tonight’s his surprise birthday party, remember?”

  My jaw went slack. “It’s his birthday?”

  “You didn’t know that?” Vivian scoffed and let out one of her bitchy laughs. “Some great friend you turned out to be.”

  I glared at her as she grabbed a handful of menus.

  “Well it’s technically not until tomorrow,” Suz corrected sympathetically. “He didn’t tell you?”

  “No.” I frowned, still in disbelief. “He never even mentioned it.”

  Vivian shrugged. “Guess it just slipped his mind. Come on Suz, we need to get back there before he comes out.”

  Suz turned to me with a frown. “Are you okay up here alone Autumn? I don’t have to go, I can stay.”

  “Suz,” Vivian glared. “She’s fine.”

  I felt like the last kid picked for Red Rover. I shook my head. “No, you go, he’s your cousin.”

  “Okay,” Suz said squeezing my shoulder. “I’ll save you some cake.”

  I forced a smile. “Thanks.”

  I watched with a lump in my throat as they both skittered off to the private table in the back. I could see at least ten to fifteen more friends and family waiting for the big surprise. I was seating guests when he finally came out of the office with his mother and the crowd waiting for him burst out with ‘Surprise!’

  The whole restaurant turned to see what the surprise was, and the look on Vinny’s face was priceless. I couldn’t help but smile. His mother even looked happy as she ushered him forward toward his awaiting guests. I lost view of him for a moment behind the sectioned wall, so I joined a few of the bus boys who were also watching. Vivian and Suz held a three layer chocolate cake covered with candles up to him while they all sang happy birthday. After he blew out the candles and everyone applauded, some old Italian song suddenly started playing and a couple of the guests, including his Uncle Tommy started clapping along and singing.

  Vinny’s face turned as red as the maroon tablecloth and he covered his eyes, grinning from ear to ear. I covered my mouth and laughed along with everyone else, enjoying his humiliation.

  After the cake was done being passed around, they started on the gifts. I made sure to check on him after every seating, and I managed to catch a glimpse just as Vivian announced she wanted him to open her present. I hung along the back wall and pretended to fill some water glasses for guests while I watched over my shoulder as he unwrapped her gift. He pulled a New York Rangers hat out of a box and smirked, looking unimpressed. She instructed him to turn it over. My eyes narrowed as I watched his face go from unimpressed to surprise when he pulled a ticket stub out of the hat. “Holy shit, is this really a center ice ticket to the Rangers game?”

  “Yes!” Vivian burst, plucking another ticket out from inside her bra and giggling as if she won the lottery. “I’m going with you!”

  “Wow, this is too much! Thanks Viv.” He said, smiling up at her.

  “You deserve it, Vinny.” She leaned down to kiss him right on the lips. Bitter jealousy stung me, followed by sudden shock as he pulled away, and looked right at me. We stared at one another and I almost thought he might say something, until his mother interrupted us by dropping another wrapped gift in front of him.

  That annoying lump returned to my throat and I set the glass of water in my hand aside, turning away from the serving stand. Tears stung my eyes and instead of embarrassing myself, I hurried into the bathroom and grabbed some tissue. I blotted the corners of my eyes and sighed at myself. I couldn’t believe I was crying over him again, especially at work! I hated myself for letting my emotions get the best of me. What hurt the most was that I spent the whole weekend with him and he didn’t mention his birthday. I felt like an asshole being the only one who didn’t know or have a gift.

  I turned my back to the door and pretended to dry my hands with some paper towels when Suz came bursting into the bathroom.

  She reapplied her lipstick and then paused to look at me. “Hey, Autumn. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” I said, forcing the roughness from my voice. “I’m great, just needed a bathroom break.”

  “You sure?” Her warm palm moved across my back. “You wanna talk about it?”

  I released a deep sigh, swallowing. “Not really.”

  “How about I drive you home tonight? Vinny is in there taking shots so I don’t think he’s going to be the best designated driver.”

  “Sure. Thanks.” I said, nodding and glancing up at her with a forced smile.

  She gave me another sympathetic look. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Well if you ever want to talk, I’m here.”

  “Thanks Suz.”

  “Sure…” she said petting my arm before heading into the nearest stall.

  I quickly escaped the bathroom.

  The next hour crawled by at a snail’s pace. Saying Vinny was getting hammered was an understatement. He was way over the legal limit by n
ine and his other cousins that were our age and Vivian were trying to get him to go out clubbing. Suz came out front to help me, and I tried to ignore the party going on in the back corner. Around nine-thirty two unexpected guests arrived. I recognized the older man as Vinny’s father and with him was his brother. They came through the door dressed to the nines in suits and ties. They didn’t ask me to seat them, they just marched back to the private table where the party was still carrying on.

  “Shit,” Suz mumbled beside me. “What are they doing here?”

  My heart started to pound as I watched them approach the table. Vinny’s smile faded immediately when he saw his father. I hoped he wasn’t there for any other reason than to wish him a happy birthday. Tina obviously was as shocked as everyone else was. She quickly moved over to intercept his father and asked what he was doing there.

  “I’ll be right back,” Suz said moving past me with a pet to my shoulder.

  I crossed my arms and watched her approach the table and stand next to Vinny’s mother.

  The phone started ringing and I had to answer a take-out order. I wasn’t sure what happened in the mean time, but as soon as I hung up, I heard Vinny yell, “Get out!”

  I turned to see Vinny and his father facing off. Vinny was pointing to the door and his father’s shoulders were rigid.

  His father leaned in, put his finger in Vinny’s face, and called him a “little ungrateful bastard”.

  Vinny’s lips curled into a sneer and he repeated. “Get out!”

  I swallowed as customers started turning their heads. His father mumbled something I couldn’t understand and marched toward me. I quickly turned away and waited for him to pass. Just as I caught a view of his father’s back heading for the door, I heard everyone calling to Vinny, and suddenly he was rushing past the hostess stand.

  “You know what, Dad? Fuck you!” Vinny shouted, meeting his father at the front door and pointing in his face again. “You can’t talk to me like that, you fat lazy fuck! I don’t owe you anything! You never did anything for me! You are a worthless piece of shit and everyone knows it. Why don’t you go back to prison where you belong!”

  I covered my lips and my heart leapt as his father lunged forward grabbing Vinny by his dress shirt. “You little son of a bitch!”

  Suddenly the family members swarmed them, but it was Vinny’s brother that yanked their father off first. It took Tina and Vivian and another guy I didn’t know to hold Vinny’s raised fist back. Vinny fought to get loose, his eyes wide in alcohol infused rage. I couldn’t believe this was happening. The guests waiting stood up and started fleeing to the exit. Other’s stood and watched in wide-eyed amusement.

  “Get the fuck out of my restaurant!” Vinny shouted.

  “It’s my restaurant and it always will be mine!” His father yelled back, motioning to himself with a sharp gesture.

  “Go back to prison where you belong!” Vinny yelled. “We don’t need you!”

  “I’ll shove my fist right down your arrogant throat, you son a whore!” his father shouted back as his Vinny’s brother dragged him toward the doors. “I’ll own you, your whore mother, and this whole fuckin’ restaurant! Do you hear me?! You don’t own shit! Neither of you will own shit when I get done with you!”

  The door swung closed behind his father and I looked at Vinny. His face held such anguish and his eyes were red with tears. My heart broke for him as his mother leaned over to press a tissue to his eyes and comfort him, but he pushed her away and stormed to the office in the back. His mother released a curse and instructed Vivian and Suz to stay out of it before she followed in Vinny’s footsteps, closing the office door behind her. A few minutes later, Vinny left her office and stormed out of the restaurant by the backdoor, followed by a few of his family members and Vivian.

  I touched my forehead and watched as some guests from the dining room walked up to the counter, demanding a refund for their disrupted meal. A few of the other guests got up from their tables and left without asking for anything other than being happy to not get involved. I wondered if I should call the police and when I asked Suz, she said not to. After settling bills and a slew of complaints, the mess Vinny and his father left was settled, and everything calmed down. When eleven finally rolled around, I was never so happy to be done with Mazzolas for the weekend.

  After I got my things, Suz walked me out to her car, which was a pearly Mercedes two-seater. The inside was perfect and smelled like cherries. She rubbed her hands together and turned on the heat. “Damn it’s cold tonight.”

  “You know, you didn’t have to drive me. I could take the last train if you wanted to go out with all of them.”

  “No, I’m not much for partying and besides my boyfriend is at home waiting for me.”

  “Oh,” I said, looking out the front window.

  She pulled away from Mazzolas just as the seat warmer started working its magic through the leather cushions. “What a crazy night.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed, turning on the radio. “It’s going to cost us... I can’t believe they would make a scene like that. My uncle knows better and Vinny....”

  “Vinny was drunk...sometimes when you’re drunk you do stupid things.” I said in his defense.

  She gave me a sympathetic smile and reached over, rubbing the back of my hand tenderly. “Autumn, I know you really care about Vinny. What happened tonight wasn’t fair. You should have been there to celebrate his birthday with him.”

  “It’s fine, he obviously didn’t want me to know,” I said, fighting to keep the emotion out of my voice.

  “I should have told you but I thought you knew. I figured Vivian would have said something. She’s really jealous of you hanging out with him so much. She bitched about you all last weekend.”

  “I can’t stand her.”

  “Not very many people can,” she laughed. “I think she is so upset because she knows.”

  I glanced over at her. “She knows what?”

  “That you and Vinny are hot for each other.”

  I blushed and looked away. “It’s not what you think. It’s complicated.”

  “Trust me, I know.”

  “You do?”

  “Well, yeah, Vinny and I talk sometimes…and when he talks about you, you can tell there’s more than friendship going on. But Autumn, our family is grade-A fucked up, as you saw tonight. I don’t want to see you get in the middle of it. You really should find a guy with less drama.”

  “That’s easier said than done.”

  “Sometimes the hardest thing to do is the right thing.”

  I frowned. “But how do I stop caring about him? I think I love him, Suz.”

  The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them and I held my breath as I waited for her response.

  She sighed. “I don’t know, it won’t be easy if you keep seeing him. But every day it gets easier. I have dealt with some hard breakups…but I think the worse loss I ever felt was when my mother died of breast cancer when I was fifteen. I swore I’d never stop missing her, but over time, you heal. I still miss her but the pain dulls and you get on with your life. You just need some time to let go. Maybe you could find a rebound to keep your mind off him for a while, that’s the easiest way.”

  Maybe Suz was right. But how was I supposed to forget Vinny when I was forced to see him all the time at school and work? I could quit working at Mazzolas, but I couldn’t give up my class now, I’d lose my scholarship. I appreciated Suz’s wisdom, but the last thing I wanted was another guy and more disappointment.

  Before I got out of the car, I asked her to keep what we talked about between us and she promised she would. That night, I fell asleep in discontent, wondering what I should do about Vinny and wondering what Vinny was doing. I suspected he was having a much better time than I was and I was probably the furthest thing from his mind.

  The next morning I woke up to the sound of Lindy yelling. I rolled over and checked the clock. It was a little past nine. I rolled out of
bed, pulled my hair back into a ponytail, and shuffled out to the kitchen to see what was happening.

  “You are over reacting,” Tyler said, crossing his arms as they faced off in the kitchen.

  “You lied to me, Tyler.”

  “I didn’t lie, Lindy.”

  “Okay so telling me that you were studying with your friends and then I find out you were at a party with some slut isn’t a lie?”

  “Hey guys.” I called out, hoping to distract them enough to get to the fridge.

  They both looked over but said nothing. I crossed my arms self-consciously over my over-sized t-shirt. “What’s happening?”

  “Let’s get another opinion, shall we?” Lindy said, motioning to me.

  Why did I even come out of my room?

  “Autumn, if your boyfriend told you he was going to go study with his friends and instead he suddenly shows up at a party with a girl, a girl who happens to be that slut Becky from The Soup Bowl restaurant, does that justify as being a liar?”

  “Umm…”

  “Becky is not a slut!” he snapped.

  “Oh now you defend her innocence too? Nice Tyler.”

  I looked between the two of them and frowned. “I just want some orange juice.”

  “Who cares what Autumn says. She is going to agree with you no matter what, she’s your best friend! I told you, I was studying and then we all went to a party afterwards.”

  “My friend said it was just you and her that arrived, alone.”

  “It was a BYOB party. We had to stop for drinks.”

  “You’re so full of shit!” Lindy glared at him. “Why don’t you go pack your shit already and move out so I don’t have to stare at your lying face.”

  “Whatever.”

  I hid a smile as I remembered that Tyler got into Alpha Tau and it was moving day.

  “Have fun moving all of your shit out of my apartment, because I don’t help liars.” Lindy snapped and marched into her bedroom. She slammed the door and I winced, watching Tyler.

  “She is PMSing today,” Tyler grumbled. I watched him curiously, wondering if he was really cheating on her with Becky. I remembered how she was looking at him that day. There was definitely some chemistry.