Page 10 of Sangre
Chapter Three
Sangre stood atthe back of the room and watched his brothers leave the meeting. Steel and Paco had asked him to stay behind after church to go over some things. As he waited, he thought about the upcoming meeting with the hot little singer later that afternoon. He knew he should’ve told her who he was the night before, but he was having a bit too much fun with her. When the band had come into Leroy’s, he’d been more disappointed than he’d liked when he didn’t see her among the other musicians. There was something about her that piqued his curiosity, and there was something familiar about her that he just couldn’t put his finger on.
“Why don’t you come up here?” Steel said. The president sat at the head of a long table with Paco, the vice president, beside him.
He took a seat next to Paco then looked at Steel. “I got the figures for how much we’d need to lease a place for a restaurant. I looked at a ton of properties, but there’s a lot of building going on in East Alina, and a slew of families and young couples are moving there. I think getting in on ground zero would be ideal, especially if we open a barbecue place or a steakhouse.
“Brianna thinks we should open a health food restaurant that would also have a lot of vegetarian and vegan items on the menu.” Steel folded his hands on the table.
“Why the fuck would we do that?” Paco said at the same time Sangre said, “What the hell?”
Steel chuckled. “That’s the reaction I had. She thinks there’s a need for that here. There’s so much going on about eating clean and healthy. She may have a point.”
“No fucking way,” Paco said, shaking his head.
“We could have some items on the menu that are health conscious and even vegetarian, but the whole damn restaurant? If we did that, most of the brothers wouldn’t step a foot inside.” Sangre leaned back and grabbed a beer from the mini fridge. “Want one?” he asked Steel and Paco. They nodded, and he took two more cans out. “This type of restaurant Brianna suggested may fly in Denver or Colorado Springs, but in a small town?” He took a large gulp then shook his head. “It’s not gonna make it. We’d be wasting our money.”
“When I told Chelsea the club’s thinking about opening a restaurant, she immediately said it should either be Mexican or barbecue,” Paco said as he popped the tab on the can.
“We got plenty of Mexican restaurants in town. I think we should do a home-style barbecue place and offer fried chicken too. Lena makes the best in town, and Rooster and Shotgun know how to fuckin’ barbecue. The only other barbecue places around can’t hold a candle to what we eat at the club,” Sangre said.
“I agree. I think barbecue is the way to go. We make it simple with just a few kickass dishes, and I’m pretty sure we’ll have a success on our hands.” Steel lifted his beer to his mouth.
“We should think about building our own strip mall in East Alina. We’d have our restaurant there, and the other tenants would bring in a good stream of revenue. If we vote for that, then we could use Axe’s woman, Baylee, to design it. He said she’d give us a good deal on her fees,” Sangre said.
“That’s a thought. How’re Axe and the other Insurgents doing? I only talk to Hawk, Banger, and Throttle regularly,” Paco replied.
“They’re good. A lot of them are going to Sturgis. That’ll be a kickass time. You dudes going?”
Steel nodded. “I’m going for about five days. I can’t stay the whole time because Brianna’s not going. She doesn’t want to bring Aidan.”
“Chelsea’s been dying to go to Sturgis, so we’ll be out there for the two weeks. Do some camping around the Black Hills before the main event starts. We could use some time together without any distractions. She’s been so busy with school and work, so it’ll do her good to have the time off. I’m also looking forward to seeing Hawk’s new Harley. He’s customized the whole damn thing.”
“I can’t wait to see that baby. I’ve been itching to get one of the new ones when they come out in the fall,” Sangre said.
“Getting back to the strip mall, crunch some numbers and let’s see if this can work for the club. You can present it to the membership at church when you have it ready.” Steel stood up. “I’ve got to meet Brianna and Aidan. I promised I’d take them to the zoo in Durango.”
“I should head out too. I told Chelsea we’d go for a ride,” Paco said.
“And a fuck,” Sangre added, a smile in his voice.
“What the hell’s the point taking your woman on a ride if you’re not gonna show her a good time?” Paco replied. The trio laughed as they left the meeting room.
“Sangre! Over here.” Army waved his hand.
Sangre walked over to the bar and motioned the prospect to bring him a beer. “What do you got going on?”
“Skull, Chains, Jigger, and me are going for a ride. Wanna join us?”
“I wish I could. I gotta meet with this singer chick to go over some shit. My company begins the job tonight.”
“You meanyoubegin the job tonight.” Army threw back his shot of whiskey.
“I’ll start it, but Eagle and I will figure out the schedule.” Irritation pricked at his skin—he knew where Army was going with this.
“I saw the way you were checking that chick out last night. I don’t blame you. She’s fuckin’ hot, and there’s no damn way you’re not gonna take advantage of this. I would.”
“It doesn’t matter what she looks like. This is strictly business.” Sangre took a long pull on his beer.
