CHAPTER 1 - hostess!reader series
the sounds of continuous buzzing, bubbling of sauces, and the hot sizzle of oil filled your ears. you heard a door slam open, and you figured it was carmen. you walked away from your station and leaned out to try and eavesdrop.
" yo" you heard carmen's voice echo as you furrowed your eyebrows.
"yo. twenty-five pounds?" you hummed softly now realizing it was the delivery guy.
"twenty-five? no, no, i ordered 200." carmy answered quickly, you could hear in his voice the slight panic and confusion at the amount.
"paid for 25. take it up with lu." the delivery guy shot back and you heard the door close. you went back and waited in the office, and leaned against the wall.
carmen walked in and jumped slightly, "jesus-fuck! cub say somethin' don't just stand there like that.." he said exasperated as he held a hand above his heart, your eyes found the tattoo that was there; a hand with a knife going straight through it. you were about to open your mouth to say something, all of sudden his phone began to buzz.
"hold up" he held up his hand and answered the call. you rolled your eyes and proceeded to walk out the office and into the hell that was the kitchen.
you walked though the kitchen, and said soft hellos to tina, and marcus. suddenly a loud 'fuck' resounded though the establishment. you could hear the loud sounds of one of the select few arcade games placed at 'The Beef'. the door slammed open aggressively and you tipped your head back. 'god he could be such a child' you thought.
"shut up!" carmy shouted as he made his way to where said video arcade game was going off and you saw tina make her way to stop him. and in typical fashion. where tina goes, you go.
"no, no, no. puta!" tina chastised and you cocked your head and realized what carmen was trying to do. unplug the game.
"don't unplug it, carm" you added, and you saw him sigh heavily and rub at the middle of his forehead in frustration.
"i know what that means, tina."
"you unplug it, it won't work again." you continued as you looked at him like he was the world's biggest dumbass.
"when was the last time you guys emptied these?" he asked as he pointed at the section of the games that housed the coins from those who decided to test their luck.
you and tina both shrugged simultaneously and said soft "i don't know" as you looked at carmy with wide bug eyes. and as soon as you blinked the sounds of coins being emptied filled your ears.
"holy shit"
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carmen was on the phone with chi-chi who had history with the berzattos which included mikey.
then carmen was out the door in a flash. your eyes followed as he darted out 'the beef' in a hurry.
"where the fuck is he going?" you questioned; to yourself...out loud. no one answered your rhetorical question.
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you watched as carmy cut the beef with practiced expertise, like he knew what fat to keep and which to trim. and after he had done that he moved on to the vegetables, you were still leaned up on the counter just watching him work.
his muscles flexed and rippled underneath his stark white t-shirt that stood out against his navy blue apron. his curls in his eyes.
"you cut vegetables like a bitch" tina teased as she eyed carmy's cutting technique. you huffed out a laugh but felt carmen's sharp gaze and covered it as a cough. "nope wasn't funny at all carm."
"well don't wipe your hands on your apron chef" he answered back cooly, his attention not wavering from his job.
"jeff?"
"chef" you and carmy corrected her simultaneously. your eyes shot over towards him and you cocked an eyebrow.
tina walked off, and then you heard the melodious sizzle of the beef in the pan as it cooked.
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carmy continued to cook and add the rest of the ingredients needed, he then placed the tray in the oven to cook. the soft thud of the oven door closing sounded through the kitchen and he leaned back with a soft sigh. his eyes met the clock and the soft ticking filled his ears.
"hey, sugar. yeah, yeah, yeah. look, i-i need your help." carmen asked gently into his phone, the tip of his finger settled on his lip. "no. no, no, no. it's not like that. yeah, I need that, uh, jacket that mike gave me....yeah. look, can you, uh, bring it here?" carmy questioned.
out near the front of house you were leaned up on the counter but wandered your way where tina was.
"yo, t?" you called out to her while her back was turned.
"yes osezno?" she shot back, her head turning in your direction.
"do you really think carmen can fix this place?" you were hopped up on the counter; your feet kicking back and forth gently. you watched as she shrugged and looked up at you as she cooked, "I don't know..guess we'll see."
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you were helping tina stack up styrofoam cups, ebra was frying something up behind you. the door slammed open gently, and you could see carmy from your peripheral. he was like a walking time bomb.
"tina!" carmy signaled but ebraheim got to it first.
"carmen! where is beef?" ebra questioned, his thick accent shining through in his words.
"it's in the oven. tina, can you start a new giardiniera for me please, chef?" carmy requested and you peeked out over tina's shoulder. his eyes darted to yours briefly before he turned to leave.
"she needs the fennel first, carmy." you hissed at him with your eyes narrowed. carmy said nothing and just walked back through the door into the kitchen.
you saw tina walk into the kitchen you followed like a dog on a leash. tina reached for the pot that was on the stove and carmy jumped into to stop her.
"chef, no! please, please do not touch that." he pleaded with urgency, "this is the one time you listen to me, please do not touch that. that's been going for 12 hours, okay?" his bright blue eyes were wide with slight worry.
"carmen, that's tina's pot...everyone knows that." you said, staring at carmy with wide eyes like he'd lost his mind. tina's sharp tone hit your ears as she snapped at carmen, and ebra instigated.
"use another pot, please, chef. alright? corner!" carmy said; his voice laced with urgency as he hurried away.
you heard the buzzer go off, "carmy! the buzzer!" you called out for him as you stood by tina, watching her saute the vegetables.
"corner! smaller fry scoops today, chef! behind!" carmen shouted and you saw marcus following behind him. you were absolutely confused on all the words that carmen was using...and why? but you smiled at marcus nonetheless.
you rolled your eyes at what carmy was saying to do with the fries, he had no idea what kind of system was set up before he got here. and tina obviously read your mind, "not system!" annoyance dripping in her tone.
"what is this system?" he questioned.
"micheal's system." you shot back with a soft glare in your eyes. your hands were placed on your hips, and then your eyes met another unfamilar pair.
"carmen, there is girl."
"yeah, that's sydney. she's helping us out today." he said pointing back at said girl as she tied on her apron, a brightly colored bandanna adorning her forehead. you cocked your head with curiosity. sydney smiled awkwardly.
"micheal's system makes no sense--i'm saying something!" carmen said moving quickly; pots clattering around. your eyes narrowed slightly at the statement.
you heard ebra say something and everyone bursted out laughing. and then you saw sweeps. "hey sweeps!" you shouted to him as he passed by.
"hey, kid." he gave you a gentle fist bump.
the small narrow area where the stoves were, began to get slightly crowded. you saw the look on carmen's face as sweeps told him that he had other stuff to get through. then you felt a soft touch grace your back and you turned quickly.
"behind. behind" it was the new girl, she moved with fluidity. like she belonged in the chaos already. she was reaching for tina with a question about "family" which was the dish she would be making for everyone.
you decided to tend to what was cooking on the stove, and then you felt the heat rush out as the door to oven opened up. the smell of cooked beef and whatever the hell else was in there was piping hot. soft tendrils of smoke coming off.
you looked over at marcus and carmen as he unfurled the foil. "yo, this shit looks different." marcus said surprised.
"corner!...yo, you." you knew that voice from anywhere. your head shot up like a meerkat peeping out of its burrow. it was richie. he was like you're big brother, you both fought like siblings.
he gave marcus a hug, and squeezed your shoulder gently. "hey, cub"
"you're fuckin, with my program here cousin." richie said bluntly as he shot carmen a look. carmen didn't look back at richie as he continued to tend to the meat that just came out, "program started four hours ago."
"I had the kid all morning, excuse me...listen, what is going on with ballbreaker?" richie said the topic going from one thing to the next in a matter of seconds.
"yo, rich. how is she doing? haven't seen her inna bit." your eyes shined as you looked at richie but he wasn't paying attention to you. richie continued to pester carmen about ballbreaker and how it was blowing up on Instagram or whatever.
"rich, you only got like what..36 followers or something?" you added as you were leaned up against the counter with a shit eating grin.
"yeah, bro- you only have 36 followers" marcus said with a laugh.
"yeah, I got- what is that, a diss?" richie yelled out and you and marcus laughed together.
"we need the business! nerds come in from rockford to play." carmy said his cerulean eyes focused on the clock. the buzzer going off as the kitchen became crowded.
"yeah, like in 1987. you know when you were still in that deadbeat's balls. how are you?" richie spoke with a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he walked past you and gave tina a soft hug and kiss on the cheek. tina began to ask him questions about eva; his daughter.
you continued to just observe and you watched as richie told carmy to start running shit by him, which in turn as expected carmen said that he doesn't have to do shit. you decided to follow both of the men.
"hold on. listen, let's just have a conversation for a second!" richie's voice echoing through the chaos that was the kitchen.
as both men came into the walk-in and stopped haphazardly you bumped your head into richie's back with a slight 'oof'. "oh, shit. hey cub. how ya' doin kid?" he asked as he turned around his eyes sparkling with childish mischief.
you gave richie a look," i've been tryin' to talk to ya the whole time, you jagoff."
"oh, yo. whoa, fuck is this?"
"rich, that's sydney she's staging today." you nudged richie's side with your elbow.
"you're what-ing today?" richie said skeptically.
"that's sydney. she's helping us out today." carmen replied, his voice clipped with frustration. you saw the muscles in his back ripple slightly as he was grabbing things.
and of course, Richie switched subjects, "cousin, you ordering different mayonnaise bro?" you giggled softly as you were also looking at ingredients.
"-bananas?" sydney inquired as she looked back at carmy, her eyes flitting to yours briefly. you cocked your head to the side, and smiled at her gently.
"no, all you, chef." carmen confirmed.
"yeah, "all you, chef." this biff, he was usin' them to make a giant nut muffin!" richie quipped from the side and you nudged him in the ribs again to which he shot you a look. his fingers found the skin on your bicep and he pinched lightly and you yelped. "ow! you dick head." you grumbled as you smacked him back. carmy turned to look at you with a raised eyebrow and you gave him an awkward smile.
"it was a play on a panettone. it woulda been beautiful if you'd let me finish it." carmy's eyes returned to his previous task at hand, but his voice was slightly harsh. richie's hand then met carmen's back with slight force "fuck! cousin!"
"fuck you." richie said nonchalantly. you nudged carmy gently to ask if he was okay to which he obviously didn't reply. richie introduced himself to sydney, and all you heard from the exchange was "sweetheart" your face morphed into slight disgust.
"ew, rich. don't say sweetheart." you grimaced.
"yeah, cousin what the fuck. don't say sweetheart, you fucking weirdo." carmen snapped at richie.
'oh, sorry. carm, you're so woke. I meant nothing by it, sydney. saying sweetheart is just part of our italian heritage." you rolled your eyes at richie's reply. shaking your head in embarrassment. you followed Sydney as she left out the walk-in, your eyes shooting in between both carmen and richie briefly. you knew as soon as you walked out there would be words thrown.
you left with a soft sigh, again being met with the sizzling of oil, and the smell of food.
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you were out near tina once again. you heard them through the walls, and mikey's name was brought up. you stopped and blinked, it was like everytime you heard his name the world slowed.
"ay, mija. everything okay?" tina searched your eyes and then it was like everything came rushing back.
"yeah, i-i'm fine. just zoned out."
all tina did was nod in response.
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"where's my knife?!" carmy shouted, you watched as his hands searched for it briefly. your eyes flitted towards tina's and she shrugged. "chef's we gotta sharpen our knives when we get a sec!"
"gotta sharpen your brain when you get a sec." richie taunted. tina laughed and you smiled as she did. richie was a total dickhead sometimes.
"carm, you been here two weeks, we've been having money problems for two weeks." you snapped. you sidled up next to richie as you climbed onto the counter and sat down and watched as carmen cut the vegetables.
"one plus one equals you're an asshole, bobby flay." richie added as he probed carmy.
"don't call me bobby flay! sydney, stir that pot for me, please, chef." carmen acknowledged the both of you as he chopped the vegetables with sharp precision. sydney answered with a "yes, chef." you watched as she moved past, her side brushing briefly against your leg as she walked past.
she asked if he wanted a cartouche, whatever the hell that was. and of course you just had to ask.
“what the fuck is a cartouche?” you questioned your eyebrows furrowed as you leaned against richie. and richie of course echoed the question just more harshly.
to be continued....
HI GUYS!! I know it's been such a long time. I am almost done with my senior year, and it's been really hectic and crazy! But I am so glad to be back and writing! I am so sorry that this is as long as it is, but I sure do hope that you guys enjoy it!