Page 70 of King of Temptation

Killian smirked. “I am not so arrogant as to turn down advice from someone who clearly knows what she’s talking about. So please, by all means, continue.”

Pink bloomed on her cheeks, and Brody couldn’t help but smile when she sat up a bit straighter. “You need young blood in there. You mentioned a remodel, which means whatever nostalgic factor there was when you originally bought the place is likely gone. I’m assuming the name is new, as well?”

Killian inclined his head. “Aye.”

“Right. So, yeah, no nostalgia there whatsoever. Which means you can’t rely on the previous establishment’s existing customer base. You might get some people through the door on sheer curiosity, but you need more.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

Goldie’s gaze flicked toward Brody, a clear question in her eyes. Letting his lips curve in encouragement, he gave the back of her neck a gentle squeeze. “Go on, menace.”

Her throat moved as she swallowed hard, her nerves shining through as she wiped her palms on her thighs. “Like I said, you need young blood and that young blood is on social media. And you need events to help create buzz. Limited-time drinks for certain holidays, especially really obscure days that make people laugh. Talk Like a Pirate Day, that kind of thing. I have someone I can put you in contact with. Zoe runs all my socials and she’s a fucking genius at this stuff. She’s local too, so she’ll be able to be more hands-on with you than she is with her other clients.”

Pride welled in Brody’s chest. Fucking hell, his girl was smart.

And yet, he could still see doubt in her eyes every time she glanced over at him for reassurance. Something for them to work on, it seemed.

“Hmm.” Tapping his fingers against the table, Killian nodded slowly as if he were considering Goldie’s suggestion. “Has she ever worked with a restaurant before?”

“I’m not sure, but she’s brilliant. And she’s honest. If she doesn’t think she can help you, she’ll point you in the direction of someone who can.”

Another slow nod from his cousin. “All right. Yes, I’d like to talk to her. And if you and Brody don’t mind sticking around for a bit after dinner, I have some questions for you.”

Goldie blinked, as if she hadn’t been expecting that answer. “Oh. Um, yeah, sure. Okay. I mean, I’m not really an expert or anything, just another small business owner trying to do her best. There are way smarter people than me you could talk to about this stuff.”

Brow raised, Killian let out an indelicate snort, his gaze sliding to Brody’s. “Are you going to let her get away with that?”

Looking over, Brody met Goldie’s wide-eyed gaze, his blood heating at the thought of having her beneath him again, sobbing for Daddy as he tormented her in the most delicious ways until she learned once and for all not to think such negative things about his girl.

“No. No, I am not.”

Goldie

* * *

A delicious sort of fear pounded through her veins at Brody’s words. She wanted to ask them exactly what he wasn’t letting her get away with, to be as bold and brash as one of her feisty heroines, but the words stuck in her chest.

And then Killian cleared his throat, his expression sobering as he sat up straighter in his chair, and the moment was lost. Every person at the table, including the man with his hand still clamped to her neck, reacted to the change. They all seemed to snap to attention, as effectively as if he’d banged a gavel on the table.

“Now that we’ve gotten the small talk out of the way… We have a problem.”

Oh, god. Was it her? Were they just being nice, lulling her into a false sense of complacency before taking her somewhere to ‘silence’ her?

Luckily, Killian continued before the panic dug its claws too deep into Goldie’s chest. “Our personal hacker has been hard at work unraveling our financials. He’s unfrozen the majority of our accounts, but as of yet he has not been able to track down anything about the person who froze them in the first place. Whoever they are, they hid their tracks well.”

“Wait.” Shifting in her chair to face Brody, Goldie frowned. “Is that why your card didn’t work at Rev and Roll the other day? Someone froze your accounts?”

“Yes.” The single word was clipped, accompanied by a jumping muscle in his cheek that spoke to the silent anger he was all but vibrating with.

“But why?”

Killian’s shoulders tensed, and for a moment she worried she’d overstepped. “I assume to try and weaken us. Money is power, and there are quite a few factions right now who want to see us weakened.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Her author brain was fully engaged now, working through the problem as if it were a particularly knotty plot point. “If they wanted to weaken you, they would have drained your accounts. Forged the paperwork to move assets around. Dismantled your empire.”

When she paused, she noticed every eye in the room was locked on her, and she had to fight the urge to crawl under the table. “At least, that’s how I would write it. Which is probably stupid, but⁠—”

“Brody,” Killian drawled in a lazy tone as if he were discussing some boring business and not a literal war between criminal factions. “Be sure to give her an extra few strokes for me when you paddle her ass later.”