Jesse looked at Shaya. “You shared it with people outside the pack already?”
“Harley told me to pass it on,” the redhead pointed out. “Taryn likes her. They share something in common: they both have fathers who are assholes.” Shaya turned to Ally. “Speaking of Taryn’s father, apparently Lance bought an Italian restaurant.” Lance was not only Taryn’s father but her old Alpha. Shaya and Caleb had also once been part of his pack.
Ally sat on one of the dining chairs. “Another restaurant? How many does he own now?”
“Six, I think,” replied Shaya. “It’s no secret that I don’t like Lance, but he’s right to buy properties and businesses.”
“Yeah,” said Roni. “Extremists can’t force us to stick to our own territories if we own properties and businesses smack dab in the middle of their communities.”
Harley pursed her lips, wondering if the females were about to inform Nick of her attention to buy the club.
“And it’s good for humans to see us, to see that we’re relatable and can coexist with them just fine.” Ally leaned back in her seat. “Not all of them are against us. The majority of the human population accepts us. They’re just not very vocal about it.”
“I agree that Lance is wise,” said Roni. “If shifters stick to their territories, it means they’re segregating themselves. By buying restaurants, stores, diners, and other properties, they’re always visible. And it means they can have businesses exclusive to shifters too. Places they can shop and eat without worrying about being harassed.”
“I have my fingers in pies,” said Nick, his posture defensive. Evidently, he didn’t like hearing other Alphas be praised.
Shaya blinked at him. “Oh, I know that. You . . . invest.” She said the word like it was insignificant. “Investing is good too.”
“Yeah?” Nick folded his arms. “You don’t seem convinced.”
Roni sighed at him. “Be honest, investing is the lazy way.”
“Lazy?” he repeated.
“You’re taking risks, but only behind the safety of your computer.” Roni shrugged. “You don’t own anything outright.”
“I—we—own this territory,” he corrected.
“We’re talking about properties within the human community,” Shaya pointed out.
Nick waved a dismissive hand. “There are too many responsibilities roped up in that.”
“Hmm,” said Shaya, pursing her lips.
He narrowed his eyes. “Hmm? What does ‘hmm’ mean?”
Harley had to smile. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who found that irritating.
“Just that, you know, some people see it as a challenge,” replied Shaya. “It’s okay that challenges aren’t your thing.”
His spine snapped straight. “Hey, I like a challenge as much as the next Alpha.”
“But not enough to listen to my business idea,” said Shaya.
He tensed. “Business idea?”
“After we’ve dealt with Hector, we can buy the land neighboring ours. That’s a lot of space to—”
“And it will remain just space,” Nick insisted.
“Wait, hear me out. We could open a salon there, a little motel exclusive to shifters, a bakery—”
“Ooh yeah,” said Ally. “I’m getting tingles here. Actual tingles.”
Nick slashed a hand through the air. “No. No. No. No. No.”
Shaya sighed, impatient, and put her hands on her hips. “Look, this Hector crap has taught us one thing: a plot of land like that will attract buyers. We need to ensure we’re the buyers.”
“And we will,” said Nick. “That doesn’t mean we need to do anything with the land.”
Roni shook her head. “That’s not good business sense.”
He arched a brow at his sister. “It’s not?”
“I agree with Roni,” said Shaya. “All that land could pay for itself if there were businesses there providing us with income.”
Nick scowled. “It would be too complicated, too many businesses, too much to think about. We don’t know anything about running businesses anyway.”
Kent shyly raised a hand. “I do. I mean, I owned a salon in Arizona. I’d just love to open another one.”
Nick spluttered. “Well, the rest of us haven’t. We haven’t even worked among humans.”
“I have. I worked in Kent’s salon,” Shaya reminded him.
“Not for long,” Nick ground out. “The only real person here who has worked among humans is Harley. She worked at clubs. Anyway, owning lots of businesses . . . it would be too much hassle.”
Ally tapped her fingers on the table. “What you’re saying is that it would be simpler to just run one business.”
“Yes,” replied Nick. “If we branch out, it would be best to start with one business. Something that wouldn’t need my supervision. Something small.”
“Like a salon,” suggested Kent.
Ally shook her head. “It would take time to build a client base. And you would have to hire people outside the pack, since you and Shaya are the only ones here who are qualified to work at a salon.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” said Shaya. “I’d love to be out in public—”