Page 29 of The Arrogant One

“Shit,” I moaned.

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Eden added.

The Gordon family, our biggest competitor. Like us, they had started with steak houses, and where we had branched out into seafood, they had gone with Italian. Wherever we built a restaurant in a new territory, a Gordon restaurant wasn’t far behind and normally within a few miles.

“They’re financially backing the place,” Walker explained. “They somehow met the chef, liked her ideas, and decided to bankroll the build-out. If it goes well and the Gordons want to move forward, the chef has the option to partner with them, or they can buy her out. But the chef owns the recipes and the concept, so the Gordons can’t move forward unless she wants to.”

Colson put his hands behind his head, rocking in his chair. “What you’re saying is, Horned is up for grabs.”

“And it’s ours if we want it.” I licked my lips.

“Why the hell would we want it?” Walker asked. “We’re in the midst of building out Toro Beverly Hills and scaling it the same way we did with Charred. We’re growing Musik at thesame time, adding more locations to Cole and Spade Hotels. We have our fucking hands full.”

“This hand isn’t full.” I held it up in the air. “Walker, just hear me out. The Gordons know the restaurant business as well as we do. If they’re bankrolling Horned, they believe in the model. It’s nothing like what either of us has. It’s more boutique in a sense. Where Charred only goes into major metro markets across the world, this could hit small, hip markets that are in need of something eclectic. Think Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Sarasota, Florida; Santa Fe, New Mexico—you get the drift.” I lowered my hand to the table. “Just think, we could give them something good, reliable … and wickedly satisfying.”

“Don’t ever say those words to me again,” Walker warned.

I laughed. “Just think about it.”

He got up from his chair, leaving the publication where it had dropped. “Let’s get Dear Foodie into Toro. Let’s get a glowing fucking review. And if I’m still alive at that point and I haven’t died from a goddamn heart attack, we can discuss the future of Horned.” He walked out.

I turned to Eden and Colson. “What the hell are we going to do with him?”

“Take him out. Get him to relax. Get him laid,” Colson said.

“Speaking of going out,” I began, “I talked to Brady. He’ll be back in town in a couple of weeks, and he wants us all to hang. The night he picked, Beck has a game, so I’m going to reach out to the other Spades and Coles and get them on board. We’ll take over our suite at the arena and have dinner and drinks there, and then we’ll go out.” I looked at Eden. “You’re coming. Don’t even tell me you’re not.”

Her brows rose. “It’s not a guys’ night?”

“Brady’s married now,” I told her. “Where he goes, Lily usually goes, which means it’s an everybody night.”

She nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

With the door still open and our employees in the hallway outside, I kept my voice down and said, “I want you to give it to me raw—really, how was Horned?” I tapped my foot, the suspense creating a buzz inside me. “I didn’t even know you had gone. You didn’t say anything in the family group chat about going.”

She twirled a long, dark lock around her finger. “You mean because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants, so your baby sister had to come to your rescue.”

I laughed.

“I ended up eating at the bar,” she continued. “It was the only seat I could get since I couldn’t get a reservation. But it was as good as Dear Foodie described. I was blown away—and you know I’m fussy.” Her hand stilled. “I want to know something.”

With her eyes still locked on mine, I knew the question was directed at me. “Okay.”

“Now that you’ll never talk to her again, like all the others from your past, was it worth missing out on that meal? Or if you were going to do it all over, would you make the same decision?”

“Oooh.” Colson chuckled. “Little sis is coming in hot.”

I smiled as I stood, leaning the top of my thighs into the edge of the table and pressing my palms against the wood. “I’d do it over and over and over.” My head dropped as the image of Sadie’s naked body came into my mind. “She was the best fuck I’ve ever had.”

“Then that’s a phone number you should have gotten, big brother,” she said. “You really fucked up that one.”

SIX

Sadie

Ilifted the lychee martini up to my mouth and breathed in the aroma. The scent was so yummy that my eyes closed as I took a sip. The sweet, almost-floral taste circled my tongue while the vodka and vermouth burned—a combination I craved at the end of a long day.

Or a week that felt as if it had lasted an entire year.