The Arrangement

Chapter Eight

Taylor's POV

Nicolas parks his car and gets out, coming over to my side and opening the door for me. I smile at him and step outside, putting my purse on across my chest.

"So, as you already know the gala is tomorrow night at six. The colors expected for us to wear is white or black. I prefer black. You think you could find a dress or something in any of those colors?" Nicolas asks me as we reach the restaurant door.

"Yeah, I think so."

The hostess of the restaurant looks up, her eyes landing on Nicolas.

"Hi boss," she smiles, her pearly whites on display.

"Hey Anna," he responds.

"Wait, boss? You mean to tell me that you own this restaurant?" I ask.

"Yes, I do Thomas," he looks down at me, amusement in his eyes.

"What can I do for you today?" Anna asks, grabbing a pen from the cup beside her and a notepad, ready to write down whatever Nicolas requests.

"A secluded booth for two please."

"No problem boss," she smiles, handing him two adult menus. "Enjoy your stay," she looks at me and smiles.

"Thanks," I smile back.

"Of course."

"Thank you Anna," Nicolas says and walks off.

We reach the booth and sit down, grabbing the menus and flipping through them.

"What are you thinking of getting?" He suddenly asks, still looking down at the menu.

"I'm not sure yet. Maybe a pasta?" I say, eyeing the spaghetti pasta with meatballs. "What about you?"

"I always come here, so I'm getting the same order I always get. 'The Original Lasagna'," he says.

"Oh alright," I nod my head slowly. "What else do I need to know about the gala?"

"We're going to be going as a couple since it's a couple ceremony. As I said before, it's a masquerade gala, so wear a mask Taylor. We're only going because we'll be looking for someone by the name of Ivan Ricci, but him and his brother sometimes like to change their last name to Peters, to sound American. So we need to be on the lookout for that. Him and his brother has been on the run for years since they've been caught stealing money and other products from other mafia's and raping women," he explains.

"So this Ivan guy, he also runs a Mafia?" I ask.

"Yes, but his Mafia isn't like mine. He abuses his power by taking advantage of women and many other mafias. That's why we need to find him and stop him from ever doing this again," he explains as a waiter comes to our table.

"Ehi capo. Posso farti iniziare con qualche drink?" he asks, pulling out a note pad.
{ italian translation : Hey boss. Can I get you started with some drinks }

"What do you want to drink Thomas?" Nicolas asks me.

"Just a water please," I answer, still looking at the menu.

"Due acque per favore," he says.
{ italian translation : two waters please }

"Nessun problema capo. Quelle acque usciranno a breve," he smiles and walks off.
{ italian translation : No problem boss. Those waters will be out shortly }

"Nice restaurant," I look around, still in disbelief that he actually owns this place.

"Thank you, me and my best friend built this from the ground up. We both own it," The side of his lips lift, a small smile tugging at his lips before it quicky disappears.