by Riley Ashby
Tori: Work on your self-control, Kemp. Know when to go in for the kill.
Jamie: Shut up and send me another one.
I waited ten minutes to reply, partly to piss him off and partly to make sure he got home safe. Then I sent a video of my shorts falling to the floor, my pussy the only thing visible in the frame, stopping the recording as I slid my fingers into my slit. His reply was words only.
Jamie: I just came all over my shorts like a kid.
I laughed and rolled my eyes.
Tori: Too easy. Maybe it’s your stamina we need to work on.
Jamie: My stamina is just fine, thank you. I made it home first, didn’t I?
The man was ridiculous, but I had to admit it made me feel good to know I could make him lose control like that. He wasn’t one to cut his workouts short, so he could have turned off his phone if he needed to focus. I hoped he wasn’t letting his training fall to the wayside for some sexy pictures, though.
Tori: Go get yourself fed and rest up. I’m going to work you hard tomorrow.
There. Let him interpret that how he wanted.
Off in search of food, I passed Ellery’s office as he stepped out with another man who looked like he belonged in a gladiator pit. The arms of his suit jacket barely contained his shoulders as he shook hands with Ellery before being handed off to another staff member to be shown out. Ellery turned to go back in his office, but he stopped short, and his face fell when he saw me.
“You’re here.”
“Of course, I’m here.” I stepped closer to him slowly, sensing he was hiding something. “I live here.”
“Not so much lately. Not that I have a problem with that.” He held up his hands in a placating gesture, raising his voice unnaturally high.
“Okay, your body language definitely says you do, indeed, have a problem with that.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who the hell was that?”
He ruffled his hair and gestured into his office. “Why don’t you come in here so we can talk.”
“Are you hiring new security?”
“Well, you’ve been away so much …”
What the fuck was he doing? “When were you going to tell me? When you handed me my pink slip?”
“Come sit down with me. We need to talk about this.”
I shook my head. “You can’t bring a stranger in here like this, Ellery. I’ve been working too hard to keep you guys safe to let some random show up and take my place.” How fucking dare he do this to me? And without even mentioning it before he started the process? We knew each other better than this, or so I thought.
“No one is taking your place.” Far from trying to soothe me, his voice betrayed how irritated he was. He was my boss, not the other way around, but I couldn’t believe he had done this without talking to me. “If you’re going to be at his place several nights a week, someone else needs to be here. I can’t rely on Castel when he’s in a separate building.”
“You went behind my back.” This felt like being fired. Shit, I never should have invited myself over to Jamie’s. I was going to lose everything over this.
“I wanted to make sure I had the pack narrowed down before I brought you in. If I let you help me, we’ll never hire anyone.”
Well, that was true. But that was because no one else was competent enough to do what I did. I’d been with this family for years. No one knew their personalities or quirks like I did. And it wasn’t like Ellery was the easiest guy to deal with when he got stressed out. I was able to give his own bad attitude back to him without pushing too far, and it kept him in line when he was being unreasonable.
“There’s no reason to hire anyone else. This is working fine.”
“But it might not always. You’re going to want to spend more time with Jamie, and that’s fine. I don’t want to keep you from living your life.” He cocked his head at me. “You deserve it after—”
“Shut up. Shut the fuck up.” I walked away so I wouldn’t hit him. How dare he try to leverage me with my past? “I can do both. I can protect you while I have an outside life.”
“I don’t want you to,” Ellery said. I stared at him in shock. “I want you to have a normal existence, Tori. This job isn’t your true calling. Wouldn’t it be a relief to just be our friend instead of also our security?”
“I have to have a job, Ellery.”
“I’m not saying you would join the unemployment line. I can keep paying you while you transition off and find something new to do.”
I considered this as I dropped into a chair by the window. I had no idea what I would do besides this job, but the idea was a little freeing. I had fallen into personal security by accident when I came out here and was basically looking to assert my independence and strength as a woman freed from domestic violence.
He sat across from me and folded his hands across his knees. I could feel the effort rolling off him to keep his tone light instead of snapping at me even more. “The dynamic here has been changing for a while, Tori. There are more people living here than before. And we have actual security concerns beyond just me having a lot of money. When the baby comes, I’m going to be even more of an asshole about protection and surveillance. You can’t do that all on your own, not that I would want you to. You’ve been spending more time at the gym, and I don’t think it’s just because of Jamie.”
I winced. Hearing him repeatedly say out loud how close I had grown to Jamie romantically was grating on me. I’d tried to keep it under wraps as long as possible, but that was clearly not going to fly for much longer. People were going to know. And did I want to be distracted with whatever was going on in my personal life when I was trying to look out for Vail or Sophie or a baby?
I gnawed on my thumbnail. “I’m not agreeing to leave yet.”
“Okay.”
“And I’m talking to each of them.”
He rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets. “That was always the plan. I wasn’t going to hire just anyone without your input.”
I nodded but didn’t look at him. I didn’t like how easily I’d flown off the handle at him. I owed him more trust than that. Ellery and his sister had been my family, and my only friends, since I moved to LA. I liked it that way, or so I thought, until Jamie waltzed in with his split lip and bruised ribs.
Seems I had been letting things with Ellery slip as well.
“Do you want to get drunk this weekend? I can stay here.”
He looked at the ceiling as he flipped through his mental calendar. Thank God he didn’t expect me to act as his assistant anymore. The weeks I had been doing that, incognito at his office while he tracked down Vail, had been a nightmare. The man’s schedule was unmanageable.
“I’m going to dinner with some competitors on Saturday night. Do you want to come along and play dumb until one of them makes a move on you and then you can break his wrist?”
How did everyone in this family get me so well?
“It sounds like a plan.” I tried to smile at him, and he returned the gesture with a bit of strain on his own end. He was too busy with his work and Sophie to be going through all this on his own. He didn’t deserve for me to slack off. I sighed and rose to my feet, blowing past him to his desk. “And give me the info on the people you’ve talked to so far. I’ll narrow it down from there and take care of final interviews.”
“Oh thank God,” he said, following me and collapsing into his chair. “I’ve been so pissed at you, but Vail said I should let you be.”
“Well, consider myself chastised.” I took the pile of folders he gave me, grunting a little under their weight. How many people had he interviewed? “No more slacking off until someone new is brought on.”
I had to refocus for a little longer. Once everyone was safe, I could figure out what I was going to do about Jamie long term.
Tori did her workout early on Friday and had one of Ellery’s drivers come pick her up. He was still refusing to give her a new car to drive, some sort of game between the two of them where he intentional
ly tried to make her life harder. I had to work in the evening, so I saved my workout for the afternoon. When I got to the gym, Alonso was working with one of the younger kids. He should have been training harder, but he liked to work with the kids every once in a while. Most of them were here because they didn’t have anyone to watch them after school and their parents were friends with Coach. He let them hang around as long as they didn’t touch any of the weights or make a mess.
I started with ten minutes of speed rope, building up a good sweat before I finally let myself take a break and get some water. My calves barely noticed the bouncing anymore. The routine was helping me make real inroads on my agility. My feet moved faster every day that I sparred with Alonso.
Glad that it wasn’t a body hardening day, I moved to the speed bag next. May as well make the most out of an agility workout. Just as I started to fall into the regular rhythm of hitting the bag, I heard a crash—and then a scream.
I sprinted across the gym to where Alonso lay on the floor, holding his ankle and wincing. He wasn’t making any more noise, but tears leaked out from his closed eyelids.
“What the fuck happened?”
One of the younger kids was standing there shaking. “I-I don’t know. He was showing me a takedown, and I tried to reverse it on him, but—”
Alonso struggled to his feet, one hand on my shoulder, but the moment he put weight on his ankle, he went down to his knee. “He knocked me over.” I could hear him biting back the anger in his voice, trying not to take it out on this kid.
“Go get ice,” I barked, and the kid took off. “It’s gonna be fine, buddy. Just a sprain. You’ll rest for a few days and be back to normal by the weekend.”
“Jesus, Jamie, look at it.” He struggled to sit on the bench and extended his leg out. His ankle was already so swollen it was pushing at the seams of his socks, and bright red and purple stood out against his skin. I pulled at his laces and eased his shoe off as lightly as I could, finally teasing another scream from him.
“We’ll have to cut off the sock,” I said grimly and sent another bystander running for scissors. “I can’t get that off without hurting you.”
“Fuck it. It doesn’t matter. I blew my shot.”
I shook my head in denial. This couldn’t be happening. Alonso didn’t deserve this. “Everything will be all right. Let’s get some ice on it and go from there.”
The kid who had knocked him over came running back with a bag of ice with Coach hot on his heels.
“Justin here told me what happened,” he said grimly. “That doesn’t look good.”
“It’s fine,” I repeated, hoping if I said it enough times, it would be true. But once we got the sock cut away, it was obvious beyond a doubt that Alonso wouldn’t be walking, let along fighting, anytime soon. His foot was already turning purple, either from its own bruise or draining blood I couldn’t tell, and his toes looked like mini sausages. I choked back a hysterical laugh.
“You think this is fucking funny, Kemp?” Alonso whirled on me, snatching the ice from where I held it against his foot. “You got your chance now. I’m out of the way, and you get to be the best guy in the gym. Congratu-fucking-lations.”
The blood drained from my face. “Alonso, no, that’s not what I’m thinking.”
“Whatever. You were always obsessed with riding my coattails.” He shifted a little, putting as much of his back to me as he could. I opened my mouth to protest once more but then shut it when I caught Coach’s eye over Alonso’s shoulder. He shook his head and shooed me away. I slunk to the corner with the sweaty exercise mats—I’d be wiping them down later once I clocked in—and put my head in my hands while the rest of the gym huddled around Alonso. Eventually someone dug up a pair of crutches that were hiding in the back of Coach’s office, and he hobbled out the door, so someone could drive him to urgent care.
“Back to work, everyone.” Coach clapped his hands and sent the fighters scurrying back to their places. “That means you, Kemp.” He tilted his head at me before heading back to his office.
All I really wanted to do was talk to Tori.
I shot her a quick text to let her know what had happened, and she replied immediately.
Tori: Does that mean you’re taking his place on the card?
Of course, she would think of that first. She had empathy, but she was focused on the people closest to her first. I tried to take that as a sign of her affection.
Jamie: I don’t know yet. I’ll have to talk to Coach.
Tori: Get back to work, then, and keep up appearances.
The phone buzzed against just as I moved to set it down.
Tori: Tell him I’m sorry for what happened. That sucks. He doesn’t deserve it.
I returned to the speedbag. The image of Alonso’s face when he accused me of being glad for his injury stared back at me, replacing the red leather. I hit it harder and faster than ever, dripping even more sweat onto the floor. It stung my eyes like fire.
After I finished my workout, I took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes before I went about my cleaning duties. I went ahead and took care of the mats first since I’d been lying on them earlier and smelled how gross they were. Then I went about righting the equipment. Coach was pretty hard on the members about keeping the place clean, but things got put out of place anyway. Five-pound dumbbells in the ten pound slots; benches not lined up quite straight. As the last night owls headed to their cars, I grabbed the broom and started sweeping the floor. The bell over the door jingled, announcing someone’s entrance despite the fact that it was near closing.
“We’ll be locking up in ten minutes,” I said before I raised my head to see Alonso standing in the doorway. His ankle was encased in a large gray boot, and he stood on one leg supported by crutches. “Oh. Hey.”
“Hi,” he said and shifted uncomfortably. “Is Coach still here?”
I nodded without moving any other part of my body. “In his office.”
“Glad to see you standing, Alonso.” Coach came out of his office as Alonso started across the room, beckoning him closer. “You too, Kemp. I need to talk to both to you.”
Alonso shot me a sheepish look before looking down at the floor, his face red. I followed at a distance and sat in one of the chairs in front of Coach’s desk.
“First, I think you owe something to Jamie.” Coach looked at Alonso as he settled into his chair. The exact opposite of the gym space, his office looked like a hurricane had swept through, and no one had bothered to come clean. Papers were strewn everywhere, tacked onto the walls pell-mell and falling off every available surface. I’d offered to clean in here as well and try to give some sort of order to the madness, but he steadfastly refused, saying he had his own system. As I crossed my legs, my toes brushed a stack of papers resting precariously on the edge of his desk and sent them falling to the ground. Coach didn’t even notice.
Alonso looked at me. “I’m sorry I snapped at you, bro. I know you wanted this for me almost as badly as I did.”
“It’s all right,” I muttered. “You were in pain—”
“Now that that’s out of the way,” Coach interrupted. He was never good with any kind of emotional display. “I think it’s safe to say you won’t be putting any weight on that ankle for a while. Am I right?”
Alonso nodded somberly. “Six weeks at least.”
“And the fight is in four. The circumstances being what they are, I think we’ve only got one option.”
They both looked at me in unison.
I went brain dead. “What?”
“You’ll fight in my place, you dumbass.” Alonso tried to smile at me, but there was no mirth in his eyes. This was going to hurt him for a long time.
“You’re kidding.” I looked at Coach. “You said I wasn’t ready.”
“You’re not, but you’re our second best, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up the publicity for the gym. I’ll be honest with you, Kemp. You’ll probably get your ass kicked. We’l
l have to work you harder than you ever have in your life if you want to have even a chance of coming out of this on top. But if you’re up for the challenge of a lifetime, I’ll get you as close as I can. And we’ll give those drunkards in Vegas a fucking good show.”
I wanted to put my head between my knees and try to get some of my blood back to my head. My stomach was actively trying to empty itself right there on my lap, but I fought it back with a thick swallow. “I … I don’t know what to say.” I raised my head again, only slightly less light-headed than before.
“Say yes, asshole. The one good thing that might come out of this clusterfuck is that you’ll get some more attention from sponsors and promoters.” Alonso shifted awkwardly in the chair, knocking over another stack of file folders. “This was supposed to be my shot, Jamie, but it’s yours now. If you don’t grab it by the balls, I’ll never fucking forgive you.”
I took another deep breath to steady myself. This was it. I was going to fight in Vegas. On TV. Against a better ranked fighter who would almost certainly destroy me. But Alonso and Coach were right. This was my shot. The silver lining of the thunderstorm of Alonso’s injury.
And Tori … Tori would be so fucking proud.
“Of course, I’ll do it.” I gathered every ounce of courage I had to beam at the two men in the room with me who believed in me in this fragile moment.
“Good. Clock out. For the next month, you’re fired. If you’re not working out, you’re sleeping. Let’s get back out there and pump out a few more reps. I’ll send the nutritionist over tomorrow to re-evaluate your diet and throw out all the junk in your house.”
I thought to the beers I’d bought to have around for Tori; I needed to get rid of those for sure. Coach would kill me if he knew I’d been indulging.
“Coach … thank you for this. I’m sorry that my chance is coming at Alonso’s expense …” We nodded at each other. “But I promise I’m going to make the most of this opportunity. I won’t let you down, either of you.”
When I walked back into the gym, Tori was perched on one of the benches near the power racks. Of course, she must have come as soon as she was free. She sat up straighter when she saw me, a faint smile growing on her face.
