“We’re already running a waitlist.”Her voice didn’t rise.“Demand exists.We scale to match it.”
McAllister’s mouth edged toward a smile.“Kitchen losses.”
“My capital covers startup and loss thresholds.”She didn’t glance back.“The ranch isn’t collateral.If this fails, I absorb it.”
That drew his attention.He picked up the first sheet, scanned it, then flipped to the next.“Labor split.”
“I run the club and staff.Titus runs cattle operations.Marketing is shared when needed.”She let her gaze settle.“He’s not here to perform.”
Behind her, Titus’s posture tightened, then locked.
McAllister tapped the paper once.“Exit plan.”
“Clean division by investment.No preference clauses.No carryover liability.”She kept her hands still against the table.“We walk away even if it breaks.”
He flipped another page.“Your names are tied together here.”
“They stay that way.”No hesitation.“Equal partners.”
Silence stretched between them.
McAllister clicked the pen open at last.“Say I take this to the board.How do I know you don’t leave?Head back east.Leave the land sitting empty.”
“I left New York on purpose.”Her voice stayed even.“This isn’t temporary.”
Titus straightened behind her, blocking part of the window light.His jaw tightened, but he kept quiet.McAllister’s gaze dropped briefly to the edge of her wrist where ink disappeared beneath her sleeve, then returned to her face.“You’re asking for trust.”
“We’re offering numbers.”Kyla slid another sheet forward.“You want apologies or results?”
His smile flattened, then reset into something more neutral.“We’ll see.”
She placed the final set of menu cards on the desk and drew her hand back.Her spine stayed straight.Her breathing counted out in steady intervals.McAllister read.Paper shifted under his fingers.
He paused at the cost projections, moved to insurance, returned to projected revenue.Each page left a faint bend at the corner.Kyla kept her attention fixed on the grain of the desk, not on his face, not on Titus behind her.
Under the table, Titus’s fingers brushed hers once.She pressed back for half a second, then let go.
McAllister set the stack down and aligned it with two firm taps.The pause that followed stretched long enough to test her control.Kyla kept her breathing steady, shoulders relaxed, gaze level.
He leaned back again.“Well.”His tone shifted, less resistance at the edges.“I can’t say I like every piece of it.But the numbers stand.”
Titus’s arms lowered a fraction.
“Loan extension’s approved.”McAllister slid two documents across the desk.“New terms.Sign here.Both of you.”
The words settled through Kyla’s body in stages.Not relief.Something tighter, contained.
The pen followed.She took it first.The line blurred for a fraction of a second, then sharpened.She wrote her name, clean and steady.Titus stepped forward.His signature followed, letters firm, no hesitation.
McAllister gathered the papers, slid them into a blue folder, stamped the corner, and set it aside.“You’ve got work ahead of you.”
Kyla allowed a small nod.“We expected that.”
He rose this time and extended his hand.Formal, controlled.She shook it.His grip pressed harder than necessary.She didn’t pull away.
Titus gave a short nod, voice low.“Appreciate it.”
McAllister returned to his seat before they reached the door.Kyla gathered the remaining documents, slid them back into the portfolio, and closed the zipper.Titus’s presence stayed close at her shoulder.
