Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Name
I stared at the message on my phone for almost a full minute.
"Luca Moretti wants to speak with you alone."
No explanation.
No apology.
No details.
Just a sentence that made my stomach tighten.
I looked through the glass doors of Bellissimo.
Luca stood near the entrance, speaking quietly with Daniel.
Everyone around him moved differently.
Carefully.
Respectfully.
Like one wrong step could have consequences.
And suddenly, the argument from ten minutes earlier replayed inside my head.
You think because you drive a car like that, everyone else is just something standing in your way.
I had actually said that.
To him.
To Luca Moretti.
I didn't know what kind of man he was before.
Now I knew enough to understand I had made a mistake.
But I still didn't regret being angry.
Getting splashed with dirty street water wasn't something money could fix.
I just didn't know if telling the truth to a powerful man was brave...
Or stupid.
"Maya."
I turned.
Daniel stood behind me.
His expression was completely different from the one I was used to seeing at work.
Usually, Daniel was confident.
Strict.
The kind of manager who could handle an angry customer without blinking.
But right now?
He looked nervous.
"You need to be careful," he said.
I crossed my arms.
"Careful about what?"
His eyes moved toward Luca.
"About him."
I looked back at the man standing inside my restaurant.
"He apologized."
Daniel stared at me.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
He hesitated.
That hesitation bothered me more than anything.
Because people who had nothing to hide didn't look away before answering.
"Why is everyone acting like he's some kind of monster?"
Daniel lowered his voice.
"Because people who know him understand what happens when someone crosses him."
A cold feeling moved through my chest.
"Are you saying he hurts people?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
I looked away.
The strange thing was, Luca hadn't acted like the monster everyone described.
He hadn't raised his voice.
He hadn't threatened me.
He hadn't even insulted me.
He had just stood there while I attacked him.
That almost made it worse.
Because it meant he had the power to react.
And chose not to.
The restaurant door opened.
One of the employees stepped outside.
"Maya."
I looked over.
"He wants you inside."
I swallowed.
Daniel immediately stepped closer.
"You don't have to go."
I looked at him.
"You said I needed to be careful."
"Yes."
"But if I don't go, won't that make things worse?"
Daniel didn't respond.
Because he knew I was right.
I took a breath.
Then I walked inside.
The atmosphere inside Bellissimo had changed.
Five minutes ago, this had been my workplace.
A place where I carried plates, cleaned tables, and listened to customers complain about everything from cold coffee to slow service.
Now it felt like a completely different building.
Everyone was silent.
Everyone was watching.
And Luca Moretti was standing near the private dining room entrance.
Waiting for me.
He removed his jacket and placed it over a chair.
Without the sunglasses, he looked less distant.
Still intimidating.
But human.
"Maya."
The way he said my name surprised me.
Not like a stranger.
Like he had already decided to remember it.
"You wanted to speak with me?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
I waited.
He didn't immediately speak.
That confused me.
Powerful people usually didn't hesitate.
They gave orders.
They expected answers.
But Luca seemed to choose every word carefully.
"First, I owe you an apology."
I blinked.
"For the water?"
"For what happened."
I looked at him.
"You didn't control the puddle."
"No."
A pause.
"But my driver should have been more careful."
That was not the response I expected.
"You fired him?"
"No."
I relaxed slightly.
"Then?"
"I told him to slow down."
I looked at him.
"That's it?"
His expression changed slightly.
"Should it be more?"
I didn't know how to answer.
Because honestly?
I expected something dramatic.
A threat.
An insult.
A reminder of his status.
Instead, he was just standing there.
Talking.
"Maya."
I looked up.
"You were angry because you felt invisible."
The sentence caught me off guard.
"What?"
"When the car passed you, you didn't just react to the water."
I stayed quiet.
He continued.
"You reacted to the feeling that someone with money could ruin your day and never think about you again."
My fingers tightened around the broken name tag in my hand.
Because he was right.
And I hated that.
"I don't need you to analyze me."
"I'm not analyzing you."
"Then what are you doing?"
He looked at me.
"Trying to understand."
The answer was too simple.
Almost impossible.
I looked away.
"My life isn't complicated."
A quiet smile almost appeared on his face.
"Everyone says that until someone looks closer."
I didn't like how calm he was.
I didn't like how easily he noticed things.
"So what now?"
He glanced at my damaged uniform.
"You go home."
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was ridiculous.
"I can't go home."
"Why?"
"Because I need this job."
The words came out before I could stop them.
Something changed in his expression.
A small shift.
Almost invisible.
"How long have you worked here?"
"Almost three years."
"And you still can't take one afternoon off?"
I didn't answer.
He already knew.
"You have bills."
My eyes narrowed.
"How do you know that?"
He didn't answer.
That bothered me.
A lot.
"Mr. Moretti..."
"Luca."
I paused.
"I don't think we're at the point where I call you Luca."
For the first time, I saw something close to amusement in his eyes.
"Fair enough."
A strange silence followed.
Then he reached into his wallet.
I immediately stepped back.
"No."
His eyebrows lifted.
"No?"
"If you're about to give me money, don't."
The room became silent.
Even the employees nearby stopped moving.
I continued.
"I don't need someone throwing cash at a problem."
Luca looked at me for several seconds.
Then he slowly put the wallet away.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"Most people ask for something."
I frowned.
"Most people aren't me."
"No."
His voice became softer.
"They aren't."
I didn't know why that sounded like a compliment.
Before I could answer, the restaurant manager approached.
"Mr. Moretti, the meeting room is ready."
Luca nodded.
Then he looked back at me.
"There is something you should know."
I waited.
"The reason I came here today was not because of lunch."
My eyebrows tightened.
"Then why?"
He looked toward the private room.
"I came because I needed to speak with the owner."
"The owner?"
"Yes."
I glanced around.
Bellissimo had always been a family-owned restaurant.
At least, that's what everyone told me.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Luca didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at my broken name tag again.
"Maybe nothing."
A pause.
"Maybe everything."
Before I could ask what he meant, Daniel suddenly appeared.
His face was pale.
"Maya."
I turned.
"What?"
He looked between me and Luca.
Then he held out his phone.
"There is something you need to see."
I frowned.
"What is it?"
Daniel didn't answer.
He just showed me the screen.
An old photograph.
A woman standing outside Bellissimo years ago.
And beside her...
A younger Luca Moretti.
My heart stopped.
Because I recognized the woman.
I had seen her every day.
She was the reason I worked there.
She was the person whose name was written on the restaurant's original license.
My mother.
I looked at Luca.
He wasn't surprised.
He wasn't confused.
He looked like he had been waiting for this moment.
"Maya," he said quietly.
I couldn't move.
Because there was one thing I suddenly understood.
Luca Moretti hadn't come to Bellissimo because a waitress embarrassed him.
He had come because of me.
And then Luca reached into his coat pocket and placed something on the table.
Something old.
Something I had never seen before.
May you like
My mother's handwritten letter.
With my name on it.
