20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Enzo

T hree tables of less than four people on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a busy city, spaced out over a few hours. It's unbelievable.

Something isn't working, and I don't think it's the food. Empty plates tell me what I need to know about that, even when the customers don't mention it explicitly to Jack.

He steps back into the kitchen with the rest of the cleared plates and glasses from our last couple of customers and sets them down by the sink.

"I can do the dishes, if you want," he offers, already rolling up his sleeves.

"What are we doing wrong here?" I ask.

I've been avoiding talking about it too much, but we're getting to the point where something needs to happen, and I haven't been able to figure out exactly what that something is on my own. It's beyond time to start brainstorming.

He shrugs. "People are coming back once they try the food. Maybe this stuff just takes time?"

"No. Something is preventing them from coming here in the first place."

"Maybe they think the building is haunted."

I'd laugh, but at this point, I'm willing to consider any explanation.

"I haven't noticed any ghostly behavior," I tell him. "Have you?"

He laughs. "No, I guess not."

His hand goes into his pocket, and he takes out his phone.

"I'll check if there are any news stories about this place," he says. "Maybe that'll tell us something."

I'm sure Gio would have checked on that himself, but who knows if he would have told us?

He got this building for a good price. Not so low that I would have thought about questioning it, but decent enough that it makes me wonder now.

Was there a reason it was going for such a good price?

"Hm," Jack murmurs. "Not much coming up. It seems like the place was built a couple decades back and the owner never got around to renting it out like he'd planned."

"I guess that could explain why no one's noticing something's here now."

That probably means we need to pump more money into ads.

The flyers seemed like a cheap way to get the word out after we spent so much on the essentials to get this place up and running, but if they're not pulling in enough customers to cover their cost, we probably need to try something bigger.

It'll run through a heavy chunk of our savings, more than likely, but if no one knows we exist we're not going to get any business anyway, and that feels like a slower, more painful death.

"You think a local newspaper ad would help?" I ask.

"Who reads newspapers anymore?" Jack asks.

"I'm pretty sure people still buy newspapers."

"Yeah, sure, older people do. Most younger people get their news online. That's probably where we're going wrong. We don't have any social media stuff set up."

"What do you think we need?"

"A website, first off. Accounts on a couple of the bigger sites, probably, too."

"Why didn't Gio think of that?"

"He probably did. He wrote a list of stuff he was working on at some point."

"Right." I remember that, and I should have asked him about it. I was too busy working on perfecting recipes for the menu.

"He shouldn't be out for too much longer."

"If he's distributing flyers," I add, knowing it's doubtful that he's out doing what he told Jack he would. The second I took his phone away I should have known he'd be heading straight out to the nearest casino.

If Gio wants to gamble, he finds a way to do it.

Handing out flyers is just his cover.

He's been out for a few hours now.

There's no way he's been walking around all that time, trying to look happy about advertising our business in person, face to face.

"If?" Jack asks. "You think he's doing something else."

"Forget I said anything. He'll probably be back soon."

"Sure. Do you want me to clean those dishes, or …"

"Go hang around up front with Arrow. He's probably getting lonely out there."

"Are you coming to The Terrace later?" he asks, making me frown.

"The Terrace?" I ask, trying to remember what he told me about it.

We've been into that bar a handful of times since we moved out here, enough to claim a favorite spot in a secluded booth, but I'm not sure what tonight's occasion is, and I can tell by the look on Jack's face that it's important.

"I might have forgotten to remind you. I have a gig. It's just a short one. They're letting local bands use their stage for forty-five-minute slots and they might book us for a regular weekly slot if they like us more than the other bands. It's kind of like an audition, I guess."

Of course. Now that I've been reminded, I know he already told us.

It slipped my mind because I've been so preoccupied, and that makes me feel like an ass.

Jack's music is important to him. This gig is a big deal.

How could I forget something like that?

I smile at him. "Sounds great. What time are we leaving?"

"It's at ten, but I'll be over there a little bit early to get set up."

"Perfect," I murmur.

I lean in and kiss him, realizing it's been days since we connected physically.

I've been too caught up in other things, and he's been busy looking after our Omega.

He lets out a soft moan when I move back.

I can tell from the look in his vibrant blue eyes that he's missed my touch.

Tonight , I promise myself.

"I should … check on Arrow," Jack says, pressing his lips together and giving me one last needy glance before he leaves the kitchen.

I lean back against the front of the counter as he goes.

Bad, bad Alpha. Your mates have been missing you as if you're not around.

It's worse than if I'd been gone somewhere.

At least then I'd have an excuse for not giving them what they need.

I'll make sure I'm fully present for them tonight.

That'll be a good start.

Fixing the problem to keep from neglecting my mates longer term might not be so easy, but I know now I have to resolve the issues with the restaurant, and the sooner I can manage that, the better.

Once everything is running smoothly, and we have a regular stream of customers coming through the doors, we'll be in a position to hire extra staff and I won't need to worry about how we're going to manage to keep on top of the rent.

Jack and Arrow won't need to be here all the time once we have other employees.

They'll probably still hang around when they're not busy with other things, but I'd much rather have them back here with me, than out front where the only eye I have on them is via the small security camera feed at the front desk.

I glance at it now as I start to fill the sink to do the dishes.

Arrow's slouched forward, leaning over the desk and staring out the window.

He's bored and daydreaming, most likely. It's not the most stimulating job, especially when there are no customers to interact with.

My Omega mate straightens slowly as Jack arrives at his side.

They stand close to each other as they start to talk.

The image is too small to see their expressions, but I know Arrow's happier than he was before Jack went out there, and that's all that really matters.

I tear my gaze away from the feed to start washing up the dishes.

I'm done in moments, and I'm left with not much else to occupy myself.

Checking the time, I find out it's almost five p.m.

I know we could close right now if I made the decision.

We've been closed by eight or nine every night since we opened.

The original plan was to open at noon and officially close at eleven at night, with final bookings at ten p.m. and the flexibility to stay open until midnight whenever it's busy enough to warrant it.

It's hard to keep regular hours when the custom just isn't there.

It's much easier to throw in the towel when nothing's happening.

That can't go on, but tonight it doesn't matter.

Today's been a little busier, so I need to give it a bit longer.

I take out my phone and call Arrow.

He answers quickly. "Tell me it's dinner time?"

I smile. "Tell me what you want, and I'll start making it now. We're closing up at eight so we can all go watch Jack's band play at The Terrace later."

Arrow orders dinner for himself, and then for Jack, and I make something for myself and Giovanni while I'm prepping our mate's meals.

We can eat together in the dining area as a pack.

I find myself whistling as I fire up the ovens.

It'll be nice to get away from the restaurant in a few hours and do something relaxing together for the rest of the night. It's been much too long since we went on a real date.