Read temptation in florence 05 - seaside in death Online
Authors: beate boeker
temptation in florence 05 - seaside in death (30 page)
Henry nodded and cut the salad into rectangular pieces. "So it's Garibaldi?"
Peter clenched his teeth.
"Lo stronzo."
He hissed out the word.
Henry threw a look at Marco who had moved to the other end of the counter to greet a new customer. "Be careful."
"Oh, you can trust Marco." Peter bit off another piece of his
pannini
as if he wanted to tear it apart.
Henry nodded. "Yeah. But still, I wouldn't run around and call my employer an asshole. Particularly not if it's someone like Garibaldi."
"But he is one." Peter narrowed his eyes.
"I know. What did he do this time to put you in such a fury?"
Peter took a deep breath. "You remember Angela? My secretary who worked half time?"
"I thought she'd left?"
"Yeah." Peter finished his
pannini
and wiped his fingers on the white paper napkin. "She left a month ago, and I've been badgering Garibaldi ever since to allow me to employ a full-time secretary."
Henry winced. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you've been going without a secretary for a full month?"
Peter grinned. "It's pandemonium."
"I can imagine. Why don't you find a half-time secretary until Garibaldi agrees?"
"Because as soon as I have one, he'll think it's fine and will stop doing what little he might have done. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to her, would it?"
Henry took a sip of his coffee and grinned. "And now he said since you seem to manage nicely, you can do without one altogether?"
"No. Worse."
"Worse? What can be worse?"
"He's sending me his niece."
The hiss of the
espresso
machine almost drowned his last words.
Henry stared. "Did you say his niece?"
"Yeah."
"Jesus." Henry arranged his knife and fork in perfect parallels on his empty plate and pushed it away.
Peter looked up. "That all you say?"
Henry blinked. "You'll have to be darn careful. First of all, you have to stop calling him Stronzo all the time."
Peter shrugged. "If that was all, I'd be fine."
Henry waved at Marco.
"Un Grappa, per favore, Marco."
Then he turned back to Peter. "What do you mean, that's not all?"
"He doesn't have a niece."
"What's that?"
Marco arrived and placed the tiny glass with Grappa in front of Henry who pushed it to Peter.
Peter eyed it for an instant, then tossed it off. "Thanks."
Henry frowned. "Now let's start again, please; you've lost me completely. You say Garibaldi foists a niece upon you, a niece he doesn't have?"
Peter shrugged. "
Lo stro
... Garibaldi called this morning, said he had wonderful news; he has found a secretary for me. She'll work full time. What's more, she's already on her way and will arrive tonight." He drew his hand through his hair. "And while I'm still collecting my thoughts to ask if she has ever worked in a hotel, if she has any references, not to mention that I would like to have a say in the matter as well, he says she's his niece!" He spat out the word. "When I know perfectly well he has neither brothers nor sisters, so he can't have a niece, not in a million years!"
"So who do you think she is?" Henry opened his eyes wide.
"She's one of his floozies, of course. Tall, blond, and so stupid you start to eat your desk in desperation if you have to talk to them for five minutes on end. They're all like that." He shrugged. "I guess he got bored with her, for once finds it difficult to shake her off, so he offers her a job in Florence." He changed his voice to a high-pitched sing-song, "Wonderful city, my dear, you'll work in a fabulous four star hotel, oh, so exclusive, a gorgeous historical Palazzo," Peter drew his hand through his hair again and returned to his normal voice. "And I don't even know if she speaks Italian, for God's sake!" He beat the top of the bar with his fist.
Henry shook his head. "He wouldn't send you a secretary who doesn't speak Italian, Peter. Even Garibaldi can't do that."
Peter lifted his eyebrows. "Oh, wouldn't he?" He grabbed a toothpick from a white porcelain holder next to his elbow and started to turn it around in his fingers. "Those bimbos are barely able to speak their mother language, let alone any other!"
"Maybe she's Italian," Henry said.
Peter shook his head. "No way." He twiddled the tooth pick in his fingers. "Not with a name like that." He stared at the glossy table top in front of him.
"Come on, don't keep me in suspense." Henry nudged his arm. "What's her name?"
Peter looked at his friend and drew a grimace. "Elizabeth Tiffany Mary Anne Smith." He drew out each word. "Doesn't sound Italian to me." The tooth pick snapped in two between his fingers. "And she's never worked in a hotel in all her life."
End of Excerpt
A New Life by Beate Boeker
also available as paperback
About the author
Beate Boeker is a USA Today bestselling author with a passion for books that brim over with mischief & humor. She writes sweet sophisticated romantic fiction and mysteries, many of them set in beautiful Italy. Her novels were shortlisted for several awards (Golden Quill Contest, the National Readers' Choice Award, 'Best Indie Books of 2012').
She's a global marketing manager with a degree in International Business Administration, and her daily experience in marketing provides her with a wide range of fodder for her novels, be it hilarious or cynical.
Widely traveled, she speaks German, English, French, and Italian and lives in the North of Germany together with her husband and daughter.
While 'Boeker' means 'books' in a German dialect, her first name Beate can be translated as ‘Happy’ . . . and with a name that reads ‘Happy Books’, what else could she do but write novels with happy endings?
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Cozy mysteries by Beate Boeker
Delayed Death – Temptation in Florence #1
What do you do when you find your grandfather dead half an hour before your cousin’s wedding? You hide him in his bed and tell everyone he didn’t feel like coming.
Charmer's Death – Temptation in Florence #2
What do you do when your best customer seduces your beautiful cousin? You try to save the situation, but it becomes a little harder than planned when he’s found strangled.
Banker's Death – Temptation in Florence #3
When Carlina’s attractive cousin Valentino returns from Dubai to Florence, he quickly becomes the most unpopular member of the wide-spread Mantoni family. When he is murdered, only Commissario Garini is sorry because he has to investigate the Mantoni family once again.
Expected Death – Temptation in Florence #4
The family patriarch Uncle Teo has fallen in love, and the whole family hates her with good reason. Nobody is surprised when she's killed, but this time, the Mantonis are in for it, and one of them ends up in prison.
Seaside Death – Temptation in Florence #5
The Mantoni family is going on vacation, but this year, the holidays at the shores of the Ligurian Sea are anything but relaxing. When the hotel manager is shot during the night, Carlina's young cousin Ernesto has to explain more than he wants to reveal.
Contemporary romances by Beate Boeker
Venetian Tangle
Lorena doesn't believe in ghosts, but this Christmas, she's forced to face her past and her feelings while traveling to the beautiful city of Venice.
Mischief in Italy
In this hilarious romantic comedy a father-son conversation leads to unexpected results and manages to turn both their lives upside down.
A New Life
How often have you wondered if A New Life wouldn’t be fun? Circumstances force Anne to start again in Florence, Italy – with totally unexpected results . . .
It's Raining Men
Four cousins inherit one bedraggled umbrella to share and slowly learn about its magic (co-written with Gwen Ellery!)
Rent a Thief
Tina tries hard not to fall in love with the charming thief who knows way too much about her.
Stormy Times
Joanna is lost in a blizzard on her way home from a difficult foaling. Just one man can save her – but he’s strangely reluctant to come to her help. A Christmas romance!
A Little Bit of Passion
How much independence do you have to give up when falling in love?
Take My Place
A single mother sets up her own company and tries not to fall in love
Wings to Fly
Cathy tries to land the job of her life, but an accident changes all her plans
Table of Contents
A New Life (excerpt)An Italian Romance