Chapter 10 - The Reign of the Boss and the Waitress
Three years later, the autumn rain in Chicago fell with the same relentless, freezing rhythm against the glass windows of Giardino’s newly expanded private dining room.
Inside, the restaurant was alive with the soft murmur of laughter, clinking crystal, and the rich, comforting scent of roasted garlic and aged truffles.
At the center table sat a handful of Chicago’s most powerful city officials, real estate moguls, and financial leaders. They sat in deferential silence, nodding respectfully as the man at the head of the table spoke in a low, calm voice.
Luca Moretti no longer wore the heavy, suffocating armor of a solitary syndicate boss. He wore a tailored charcoal suit, his dark hair touched faintly at the temples with silver, and on his left ring band sat a simple, elegant platinum ring.
Beside him, dressed in an emerald silk dress that caught the warm amber light, sat Maya Moretti.
She wasn't carrying a notepad. She wasn't balancing a tray of appetizers or dodging hostile kitchen staff. She held a glass of Barolo wine, her eyes sharp, confident, and completely in command of the room as she discussed the final architectural plans for the new chain of community culinary schools the Moretti Foundation was funding across the Midwest.
When the meeting adjourned and the last of the city officials filed out with polite, nervous handshakes, the heavy oak doors clicked shut behind them, leaving the private dining room blessedly quiet.
Luca leaned back in his leather chair, a slow, deeply content smile curving his lips as he reached across the table and took Maya’s hand, tracing the smooth gold band on her finger.
“You know,” Luca murmured, his dark eyes dancing with quiet amusement, “the city council still talks about the day a twenty-two-year-old waitress told me I was expensive trash in the middle of Lakeview.”
Maya laughed, leaning back against her chair and taking a sip of her wine, her eyes sparkling with that same fierce, unbreakable spirit that had stopped a mafia boss in his tracks three years ago.
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“Well,” Maya smiled, squeezing his hand across the table, “someone had to remind you how to be human. And honestly? I think I deserve a raise for it.”
Luca laughed, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles. “Consider yourself promoted for life, Mrs. Moretti. For life.”
