1 -Losing Pieces 

Kara enters through the backdoor of her boyfriend Liam's family restaurant. She notices several uncomfortable stares from the kitchen staff.  She tried calling and texting but he hasn't responded to her.        

"Kara....what are you doing here?"  Casey Amador drops a pot of greens he's carrying.  Water from the pan spreads across the floor walking over to him she bends down to help him clean it up.   

He's nervous his eyes dart to the restaurant office door then back to her.  “You don’t need to do this.  You…you aren’t supposed to be here right now.   Why aren’t you at your own restaurant?  Please go back to Santino's."  He pleads anxiously with her holding her wrist. 

“Is there something wrong Casey?  I know I’m not usually here but I’m so burned out.  I came over to tell Liam I don’t think I’m coming in tonight he's not answering his phone.” 

Casey swings her around leading her away from the office door.   "Look, I'll tell Liam you stopped by, why don't you go home and lay down." The greens are still sitting on the floor, water is  running to the office door seeping through.     

“Casey, why are you rushing me away?”  Kara grabs his arm holding on to it.  She can see the apology in his eyes as the office door swings open. 

“Casey why is there water running at my……”   Liam’s hand is on the open door blocking her view.  His belt is in his other hand, his hair is mussed and lipstick is smeared across his face.   His chest is bare, his pants sit unzipped around his waist.  

Casey grabs Kara’s arm pulling her away from the door, she slaps it away now able to see inside the room.  Liam tries to close it quickly to hide the half naked woman in his office but it’s too late.   She’s sitting on his desk dressed in her bra and panties putting on her shoe.     

Kara is beyond angered there's more a feeling of disappointment that what she thought would actually happen came true exactly the way she thought it would.  The scene before her validates everything she’s been feeling about her relationship with Liam.   

She met Liam Sheffield when he brought an offer to her about a year ago to merge their two restaurants together.  She refused his offers for a date but he kept coming around and she eventually gave in.  He asked her to work in his family's restuarant to make extra money she needed to support herself.  As soon as she started working there the pressure was on to marry him from his family.  She doesn’t remember saying yes when he asked but she does remember words like I need you, I love you never left his lips.   

She twist the ring on her finger back and forth.  She always felt good that he put so much effort into picking out something so beautiful for her.  She now realizes she was fooling herself  thinking she could marry him.  She thought she didn't have to give up much to keep her father's legacy.  She doesn’t need to fall in love.   Watching her parent's marriage fall apart  left her with a lifetime of bitter memories.   Love broke her father’s heart, Kara is determined not to let it capture hers.

Casey drives her back to Santino's while trying to console her.  All she can think is she should have broken it off with Liam a long time ago as the tears of anger role down her cheeks. 

She operates Santino’s in a busy area of Manhattan.  The first morning she came into Sheffield’s, Liam’s father snuck up on her and tried to kiss her while she was gathering vegetables in the pantry to make some sauces. 

She kneed him between the legs then slapped him hard across his face.  He doubled over in pain  begging her not to tell his wife.   He told her he was shocked when his son brought her to meet them.  Mr. Sheffield not only knew her mother but had a fling with her fifteen years ago. He said he got carried away with old memories he swore never to touch her again. 

Kara remained calm as he spoke it wasn’t unusual for her to hear this about her mother.  She always reqrets coming into contact with her mother's love sick conquests.  How they continue to have feelings for her after the way she treats them Kara will never know.  

Enzo Santino first started his business as a grocery store and delicatessen.  He wanted to give it a true Italian name like Santino’s and Sons but Kara’s mother wasn’t interested in becoming a baby factory so they just had Kara twenty-six years ago and called it Santino’s. 

Amelia Santino had no interest in managing a grocery store or working in a deli.   She didn’t like living above the building she worked in or carrying for a child. She did like the attention they got when customers came into the deli side to buy the specially made sandwiches and sauces Enzo made.  She convinced him to shut down the grocery side of the store and turn it into a seating area for their growing customers when Kara was nine. 

They made enough money to move into a big house.  Kara’s father showered her mother with new cars, lots of nice clothes and jewelry.  But it wasn’t enough for her, neither was Kara and her father. 

Enzo knew some of the men hanging around the restaurant came to flirt and try to steal away the Italian beauty that couldn’t convince her husband to sell his prime location or his famous sauces. 

Kara’s parents argued alot. Her mother wanted her father to sell everything so she could live a much wealthier lifestyle. She knew they were sitting on an expensive piece of real estate with all of the construction going on around them.  

Kara watched her father work harder trying to please her mother.  She would only come into the restaurant during the dinner hours because Santino’s dinner clientele often consisted of wealthy business men working late or having business meetings. 

One of those business men finally succeeded in taking her mother away.  Kara was thirteen at the time.  For Christmas that year she got her first training bra while her mother got an eight carat engagement ring from the business man that worked in one of the skyscrapers nearby.  Amelia Santino left her daughter and husband on New Year’s Day. 

Kara’s mother got her divorce, her father kept his restaurant and her.  He said he didn’t need anything else, but he needed her mother.  Enzo suffered his first heart attack when Kara went off to college.  He had suffered two more by the time she graduated.  She didn’t know about any of them until she came home. 

Enzo died three years ago. Kara used the money from his insurance policy to pay off the loans owed on the restaurant except now she doesn’t have the money to fully operate it.  She had to reduce her operating hours so Santino’s is only open for lunch hours. 

Casey drops her off at her own restaurant and apologizes to her again.  Her tears have dried.  She feels numb yet she doesn't dwell on her breakup.  She liked Liam in the beginning but that thing between them was missing that makes a couple connect.  She didn't get excited about seeing him.  His kisses didn't make her tingle she never felt desire for him.  He wasn't romantic toward her and they didn't talk much.  She realizes now that she simply tolerated him because they connected around the restaurants. The anger burried within her is more with herself for settling for something she knew wasn't going to last.

At Santino's Kara pitches in to help out with a late order that comes in from one of Santino’s regulars.   They have fourteen sandwiches to make.  One of those sandwiches has to be special made.  

Kara’s been making this sandwich her way for almost a year now but the customer always request the order in the same way.  A roast beef on seedless rye with horseradish and pickles.  The first time she gave them exactly what they ordered then she started to play around with the sandwich making subtle changes to it.  She changed the horseradish to a sauce then incorporated it into a coleslaw.  She received no complaints so she took her ideas further.  She changed the bread to a sourdough and lightly toasted it.  Instead of plain kosher pickles she fried them up in a special batter she created and put them on the side.   The next time the sandwich was requested, the customer wanted two of them.  She’s been serving it this way since then. 

Just as she is putting the last of the sandwich orders in their brown paper bags she looks up to find she has an unwanted visitor. 

“Kara, can we go somewhere and talk?”  Liam reaches out to touch her arm she shrugs away.  She lifts up the tray to move it behind her.  He takes it out of her hands tossing it on the counter. 

Kara glares at him while taking a step back.  “What is there to say Liam?  I saw our future if I stay with you.”   She starts wiping the counter down fearing if she stops moving around she’s going to punch him or throw something at him embarrassing herself. 

He looks like he’s trying to figure out what words to use.  His blue eyes dart around the restaurant noticing they are now alone.  Mica the restaurant manager returns to the kitchen to do the cleanup.  

“Kara, I do care about you.”  He is saying when she cuts him off. 

“You don’t have to keep lying to me Liam.  You wanted something from me obviously there were no limits on how far you would go to get it.” 

“I still want to marry you.   Baby, we can start over we don’t have to stay in Manhattan.   We’ll sell Santino’s to the developers and use that money to get us started somewhere else.  We can…..” 

“Stop…stop…stop it.”  Kara tries to keep the anger boiling in her stomach from erupting.  Her fist are clenched at her sides.    “What exactly are you bringing to this marriage you want us to have Liam?” 

“What!”  He says looking at her perplexed. 

“I said…..what do you bring to this marriage you want us to have.  So far everything you’ve said is about me.  What do I need you for?  I had all of this before I met you?”   She’s losing her composure and raising her voice.  

“Kara…. Yeah…. you did have all of this but you didn’t have me to help you manage it.  That girl…she didn’t mean anything.  Kara, please…..”  He slides his arms around her waist kissing her on her neck.  His hands slide to her hips he pulls her closer to him.  “Stay with me.” 

“Get out Liam.”  Kara yanks away from him to walk behind the counter keeping the space between them. 

“Kara, don’t do this.”  He bangs his hand on the counter near the sandwiches as he glares at her. 

“Why?  You don’t care about me I don’t want this Liam I don’t want you.  Get out of my restaurant or I’m calling the police to escort you out.”  She raises her voice at him again. 

She backs away from the counter when she sees how tense he is.  Picking up one of the brown paper bags containing a sandwich he throws it behind her head she ducks.  The bag bust open and the sandwich falls apart landing on top of one of the credit card machines.  Kara gets so mad at him she takes his ring off throwing it back at him. 

“Get out now.”  She’s shaking and can’t stop.  Mica hears her yelling he comes running into the main dining area of the restaurant. 

“You’re going to regret this, remember you threw me out Kara.”  He yells rolling his eyes at Mica he walks out of the restaurant. 

Mica picks up the destroyed sandwich off the floor.  Kara stands there shaking and staring at the wall.  Mica pulls her into his arms patting her on her back telling her everything is going to be alright. 

“I’m glad you finally got rid of him.”  He finally tells her how he really feels about Liam. 

“You never liked him.”  Kara responds. 

“True, I never did.  You deserve better.”  Mica hugs her again she lets herself relax in his arms for awhile.  Mica has been her rock for the last three years.  He's in his early forties.  When her father became ill he needed help running the restaurant, Mica was managing it when she came home from college.  

Kara gets another sandwich made and back on the tray just as the delivery person shows up to pick up the order. 

Braylin Hurst loosens his tie when he gets to his office after going through a round of intense negotiations against another developer for some property in Las Vegas.  He and his team are taking a late lunch before he returns to discuss the rest of the deal.   Grabbing his cell phone he checks his messages when there’s a knock at his door. 

“I’ve got your sandwich.”  His personal assistant Jennifer walks in with a brown paper bag, some napkins and a bottle of unsweetened tea.   He nods his head acknowledging her as he listens to his latest message from last night’s date.  Of course she wants to see him later.  If he sees her tonight they will have been dating for a straight month. 

“Jennifer, send Elise Neal my apologies for tonight with a bouquet of flowers and get my brother Aaron to stop by my office before he leaves today.” 

Jennifer knows the routine when it comes to women.  She has three floral shops on speed dial and two jewelry stores waiting in the wings ready with a catalog of parting gifts for the desperate women that manage to make it through a couple of weeks.  She understands why they keep trying but he doesn’t go out with any of them for long.  He’s upfront with his intentions but they all seem to think they will be that one that changes him.  

Elise Neal has probably come closer than any of the others.  The woman is like a stalker, she pops up wherever she thinks he’s going to be then stays in his line of vision until he gives her some attention.  

“Would you like Ms. Neal to receive roses or a mixed bouquet sir?”  He usually sends roses when he doesn’t want to see someone again.  He’s the only man she knows that sends them to say goodbye instead of I love you. 

“Ah….send her a mix.”  He absently says. 

“A mixture sir?”  Jennifer tries her best not to show her surprise.  She doesn’t especially care for Elise.  The woman is a pain in the ass.  He has no idea how many times a day the woman calls his office or how she talks down to his staff. 

After Jennifer leaves and Braylin checks all of his messages he finally sits down to eat his sandwich.  Opening the bag he pulls the sandwich out first.  He loves the smell of it.  The roast beef is always cooked the way he likes it.  He smiles when he sees the sourdough bread he lifts it up to check for his specially made horseradish slaw and his fried pickles are wrapped separately.  The sandwich is always neatly made and full of roast beef stacked just the way he likes it.   That first bite is heaven he finishes his sandwich in no time.  He pulls the potato chips out of the bag and throws them in a drawer.  He never eats them.  

Balling the brown paper bag up to throw it away he feels something is still in it.  He shakes the bag then opens it up.  A diamond ring falls out and wobbles on his desk.  He stares at it as if it’s a foreign object he’s afraid to touch.  The ring glistens and sparkles as the light hits it.  The setting is a round four caret beautifully cut white diamond surrounded by another circle of smaller diamonds with an inlay of smaller diamonds lining each side. 

It’s not a unique design but some thought did go into designing it.  Braylin picks the ring up it really sparkles.  At closer glance it’s a more expensive ring than he thought.  There’s nothing written on the wide band.  How odd he thinks that someone would spend this much money on a ring like this and not have it inscribed with something meaningful. 

The person that makes his sandwich must have gotten engaged.  It’s been almost a year now that he’s been eating this sandwich and he never once thought about who the person was that went through the trouble of making it for him.  He knows he’s the only one that gets his sandwich made this way.  Jennifer told him that she’s eaten inside the restaurant the sandwiches come from his special roast beef sandwich isn’t on the menu.  She was told by one of the waiters that the slaw that’s on his sandwich is the owner’s creation and she doesn’t allow it to be put on any other sandwich. 

Opening his desk drawer he looks for something to wrap the ring in but he can’t find anything.  He takes a napkin folds the ring inside it then sets it in his desk drawer for safe keeping.  He doesn’t have time today, but he will find some time to visit the restaurant and return it.  It’s the least he can do for the person that’s made the best sandwich he’s ever had.  

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Thank you to everyone for your support on Tiptoe Kisses. 

This is my second story for Wattpad and I hope you come on the reading journey of Kara Santino. The story starts out traditional but will take several twist and turns.