“To unveil the mascot. Let’s make the final decision on the name and tell them they can come meet him in person and get swag,” Jas says.
“Let’s get online and start hyping them up.” People think cooking well is enough to make a food truck successful, but it’s so much more?marketing, hustle, and a bit of luck are all involved in making it work. There’s a lot of waiting involved in filming. After you get things together, you’re waiting for the camera crew to film and set up the stage. I hadn’t thought about staging since I did a semester in the drama club in high school. There were no challenges so far, just a matter of who made more money. For the past couple of days, Saucer Sandwiches has been in a firm lead with Sunny Side Eggery not far behind. We’re running on fumes as far as money goes, and my pride is taking a beating. I think all three of us need a victory.
“You think this will turn a tide?” Shayne questions.
“What can it hurt?” I ask, irritated by his tone.
“Nothing. Touchy.”
I snap my teeth. My anger is more at myself. How easily I’m swayed by his kindness and attention. I can feel Jas staring at me. I can’t meet her gaze. She has questions I won’t answer. Let her think it’s the usual lover’s quarrel.
The morning rush hits, and I throw myself into my work. We’re nearing lunch when the rumble of motorcycles makes me tense. My jaw drops when a group of bikers come toward us in black vests. Cuts. The K.O.C. patch makes my jaw drop.
I turn to face him. “Did you invite them here?”
“We need sales, right?” he asks with a shrug.
“From them?” I jerk my head toward the window.
“Are we picky about who’s money we take now? I didn’t think you’d be a snob.”
“I’m not,” I say, flabbergasted.
“Then what’s the problem?”
You are killing any chance I have of remaining objective about our relationship. “They are a part of your old life.”
“And my current.”
I clench my jaw, unable to articulate why the sight of them is sending me into a slow panic. Am I an oddity? A show to watch and be amused by? I want to ask Shayne, but Jas is there listening to every word.
“What’s going on?”
“My family makes her nervous.”
Jas glances out the window and back at him. “This is your family?”
“A chunk of them. You know it takes more than blood to make a family, right?” he asks.
“Oh, I get it. You just … never struck me as the biker type.” She squints, and I know she’s putting two and two together. We haven’t been ourselves recently.
“Yeah, me either,” I say.
“Are you going to let this stand in the way of the contest? You needed help, and they’re here to provide it,” he continues like I’m not throwing him shade.
“Oh, lucky me.”
“Xia.” His voice is terse, and his eyes burn into mine.
“Shayne ... or should I say Charm?”
“Now isn’t the time.”
“I thought I made that c
lear, but here we are.”
He grips my forearms. “I’m doing this for you. Don’t throw away the advantage because it came from me.”