On the Ropes 1:
LEAP OF FAITH
Michelle Cary
www.loose-id.com
On the Ropes 1: Leap of Faith
Copyright © September 2013 by Michelle Cary
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eISBN 9781623005016
Editor: Jana Armstrong
Cover Artist: Mina Carter
Published in the United States of America
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Chapter One
Lexi checked the schedule sheet a second time, then glanced at her watch. Six hours until the show went live, and she still didn’t know what this notation on the sheet marked THE TRIBUNAL ENTERS meant. When she agreed to take on the temporary tasks of the backstage coordinator, the one stipulation she’d made was no surprises. Guess she shouldn’t be shocked that the agreement hadn’t lasted. Gene and Mark would have promised her the moon to get her to say yes.
Of course, no one, especially Lexi, expected Emma, the current backstage coordinator, to suffer acute appendicitis and be out for at least six weeks. Emma’s absence left management scrambling to cover one of the most important positions in the company. Jackie, the assistant coordinator, had taken on only as much work as she’d wanted, and it far from covered everything that needed done.
With Emma facing a slow and painful recovery, the last thing Lexi wanted was her friend worrying about work and letting management down. When Emma recommended Lexi to step up and take over, Lexi had said yes out of loyalty, both to her friend and the company.
Growing up in a wrestling family and spending nearly all her life immersed in the business, Lexi knew not only the ins and outs of the business, but how difficult Gene could be to work for. Still, Gene and the entire France-Lane family had done nothing but treat her with the utmost respect since she signed on seven years ago.
She’d come to love this company, and there was little she wouldn’t do for it or the France family, including setting aside her wrestling career to take on the task of coordinator. In return, Mark had the writers provide Lexi with a personal storyline and some onstage time by creating an up-and-coming team for her to manage. Still, she’d rather go back to wrestling full-time beside her cousin Aubrey and representing their family in the ring.
“Would you stop looking at your watch? Jackie snapped. “You’re not going to slow time, you know.”
Lexi let out a sigh. Too bad she couldn’t really figure out how to slow time, because right now she needed at least an extra hour to get everything on their list completed before showtime. “I know, but this ‘Tribunal’ notation is making me nervous. Why hasn’t anyone told us what this is about?”
Jackie shook her head. “I have no clue, but I figure if they wanted us to know, they would have told us by now. Why worry about it?”
Lexi barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the younger girl’s statement. Sometimes she wondered how Emma worked with Jackie on a daily basis. That girl had a lazy streak a mile wide and an attitude to match. “I think as the people in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly, we should be privy to even the most secret of storylines.”
Jackie shrugged. “Obviously upper management doesn’t agree. Why sweat it? If something goes wrong, you can simply say you were following orders. You can’t be blamed for what you weren’t told, right?”
“Wrong,” Lexi argued. Why did Jackie always take the path of least resistance, then use the “but I was just following orders” excuse when something went wrong? Didn’t the girl have any pride in her work? “It’s just possible that the writers and management didn’t realize or think about us needing to know this info. How can we make the show better if we don’t know what we need to know? Maybe somebody should have a sit-down with management and explain what it is we do and don’t need to know.”
Jackie leveled an annoyed look in her direction. “Well, why don’t you go tell the writers that?”
“Why me?” Lexi asked.
“Because you’re Lexi Blackwell,” Jackie argued. “Daughter of the great Nick ‘The Bruiser’ Blackwell. You carry weight here while I’m just a hired no-name who is supposed to shut up and do my job.”
“Fine.” While she was in Mark’s office, she’d also talk to him about replacing Jackie with someone more driven to give their best to this company and actually do her job. Jackie’s shut-up-and-do-only-my-job-and-nothing-more attitude would eventually cause huge problems. If Jackie wasn’t going to do anything, then Lexi would. “I’ll be back.” She turned and ran smack into a hard wall of muscle. Shock infused her body, and a gasp slipped from her lips as her forward motion suddenly reversed with the impact.
She took a step back, trying to regain her balance, but it was the two hands that grabbed her by the arms that in the end kept Lexi from falling on her ass.
“Easy, sweetheart.” A low, sexy, and totally unfamiliar voice rumbled above her, causing a reactionary shiver to ripple through her system. Heat gathered deep in her belly, and her skin tingled with awareness. For a moment she froze, too stunned by her body’s response to move. As reality began to return, she shifted her gaze to the man who’d kept her from falling. Well-defined muscles hidden beneath a tight-fitting black T-shirt held up a set of broad, strong shoulders and bulging biceps. Impressed, she allowed her gaze to travel higher and noted the squared, chiseled jaw beneath a dark goatee. Full, supple lips appeared to tip up around the edges, as if he found the situation slightly amusing, though his piercing blue eyes staring down at her revealed something other than amusement.
The intensity in his gaze held Lexi in place. Caught in the crosshairs of his dark blue eyes, she barely remembered to breathe as she stared up at the fine specimen of man before her. Who was this buff, handsome stranger with the sexy gaze and an aura about him that stirred her long-dormant libido?
“Lexi.” Mark’s words broke the spell, and she slowly turned to look at her friend and boss. “You okay?”
“Um.” She raked a now shaky hand through her hair and glanced back at the tanned, sexy man still standing way too close for comfort. “Yeah, I think.” Refocusing, she turned her attention back to Mark.
“Good.” Mark gave a nod. “Then I’d like to introduce you to three new wrestlers who will be joining our roster.” He motioned to a thin
ner man with light brown hair. “This is Cole Collins.” He turned to another man standing next to Cole. “Jason Rivers.” Then he motioned to the man standing behind her and smirked. “And you’ve already met Logan Lanier. Gentlemen, I’m sure you all know of Lexi Blackwell. Lexi is not only one of our more prominent Vixens, but she’s our jack-of-all-trades.”
Lexi’s gaze darted from man to man. “Gentlemen,” she replied, slowly regaining her composure. “Welcome to the Extreme Ultimate Wrestling.”
“They will be working together under the name The Tribunal,” Mark continued. “Their angle is that they’re here to erase the corruption plaguing EUW.”
Wide-eyed, she shifted her attention back to Mark. “So the mystery is finally revealed.”
Mark chuckled. “I suppose you could say that. I meant to get over here sooner and explain, but things have been crazy today. Anyway, they’ve already been briefed about the show tonight and know what they’re doing, so just go along with whatever happens. After tonight, you’ll need to get with them and bring them up to speed on procedures and such.” He turned to face the men. “If you guys have any questions, Lexi is also the go-to person.”
“Good to know.” Logan’s sexy voice carried over her shoulder, and awareness skittered up her spine as she glanced back at him. For the second time in nearly as many minutes, he pinned her with a piercing look. Desire flared through her system, heating her body from the inside out. Her mind scrambled to regain control. What was it about this man that caused such a reaction deep within her? More important, how in the hell was she going to control it?
Chapter Two
Lexi picked at the fruit on her plate while she contemplated a second cup of coffee. Last night’s show went off without problems, but something still nagged at her. Her concern caused a restless night of sleep, and this morning, she felt the effects. She forked up another piece of honeydew as she tried to analyze her feelings. Logan’s arrival had managed to awaken her long-dormant need and desire. Why? He looked nothing like Aaron. No, he was sexier than Aaron, and that voice… She shuddered just remembering the way he’d called her sweetheart.
Hell! This obsessing over a new coworker wasn’t healthy. She had a career to think about that didn’t include romance. Besides, after her last relationship ended so badly, she’d sworn off men.
But none of the men she’d worked with ever looked or sounded like Logan Lanier.
Frustrated, she dropped her fork and picked up her coffee. She’d spent her life around half-naked men, some with excellently chiseled bodies, and not once felt as she had last night.”
“You’re in deep thought.”
She glanced up to find Brooklyn Sheerer, EUW’s current Vixen Champion, standing next to her, breakfast tray in hand. “Just replaying last night’s show.”
“Mind if I join you?”
Lexi pointed to the chair opposite her. “Please.”
Brooklyn slid into the empty seat and set her tray on the table. “So how do you like being the backstage coordinator?”
Lexi didn’t bother hiding her groan. “It’s stressful. Emma makes it look so damn easy. Honestly, I don’t know how she does it.”
Brooklyn grinned as she picked up her fork. “I had a feeling you’d regret saying yes.”
“I don’t regret saying yes, and it wouldn’t be so bad if Jackie actually pulled her weight.” Lexi shook her head. “I’m telling you, Brook, the girl is a huge waste of space.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Brooklyn replied. “Everybody knows she’s been riding Emma’s coattails for years.”
Yeah, everybody but management. Lexi opened her mouth to reply. Before she said a word, her skin began to tingle with awareness, derailing her thoughts.
“Lexi?” Brooklyn’s eyes widened. “What is it?”
Instead of answering, Lexi glanced over her shoulder in time to see Cole, Jason, and Logan walk into the dining area. Without missing a step, Logan turned his head and looked directly at her. His expression went from neutral to smoldering as he held her gaze. Heat blossomed deep in her belly and dispersed through her system at the speed of light. Her breathing hitched, and more than just her palms dampened in response.
She wanted to look away, to feign indifference, but some unidentifiable force prevented her from moving. As if he somehow knew her plight, his lips turned ever so slightly up at the ends before he finally broke their connection and shifted his attention back to his teammates.
“Holy hell. Who is that?” Brooklyn asked, the tone in her voice betraying her shock.
Lexi turned back to look at her friend and took a deep breath, attempting to steady her suddenly jumbled nerves. “Those are three new stars up from the progressive ranks. They started last night.”
Brooklyn glanced from her to the men and back. “You met them already?”
Lexi wanted to pick up her coffee cup but feared Brooklyn would see her shaking hands. Instead, she nodded and left her hands in her lap. “Mark introduced them last night. They came on after your match, so you probably didn’t get a chance to see them.”
“I definitely didn’t see them.” Brooklyn eyed the men. “Who’s the one with the long dark hair?”
Finally feeling a little calmer, Lexi again reached for her coffee. “That’s Logan Lanier.”
“He’s totally got a thing for you.” Brooklyn glanced from the men back to Lexi.
Lexi had just managed to take a drink of coffee when Brooklyn’s statement registered. She gasped in response and immediately began to choke and cough on the hot liquid. Her hands began to shake again, causing her to nearly drop her cup on the table.
“Crap, Lexi. Are you okay?”
Lexi nodded and took several gasping breaths. “Jeez, Brook, don’t do that.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you choke, but the way he looked at you when he came in…” She leaned back in her chair and fanned herself with her napkin. “Damn!”
“Aren’t you being a bit dramatic?” Lexi asked, hoping to dispel some of Brooklyn’s observations.
“Dramatic is exactly what that look was he gave you. He looked as if he was starving and you were about to become lunch.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she replied, though she’d felt that gnawing hunger too.
Brooklyn tossed her napkin on the table and folded her arms. “Is it? If there’s nothing between you two, then how did you know he was coming in when your back was to him?”
Lexi frowned. “What?”
“Don’t play stupid with me, Lexi. You stopped midsentence and looked directly at him as he walked into the room. No way could you have known he was coming in at that very moment. I’m telling you there’s something between you two. Now spill it. What’s going on?”
Lexi knew her friend well enough to realize there wasn’t any way to deflect Brooklyn’s interest. With a resigned sigh, she shook her head. “I don’t know, Brook. I can’t even begin to explain it. There’s just something about him.”
“Yeah, he’s gorgeous.”
Lexi grinned at the obviousness of Brooklyn’s statement. “Well, there definitely is that, but it’s more. It’s intangible, undefinable, but as real as you are to me right now.” And it scared the hell out of her.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
Wasn’t that the same question she’d been asking herself since their first encounter last night? “Nothing,” she said after a long moment of contemplation.
“Nothing?” Brooklyn’s eyes widened in shock. “You can’t be serious?”
Feeling just a bit stronger in her resolve, Lexi gave a solid nod. “Completely. I’m not going down that road again only to end up having my heart crushed into dust.” She lifted her chin as defiance took a stronghold against desire. “Been there, done that, and it’s not worth the price.”
“Now wait just a minute.” Brooklyn rested her elbows on the table. “You can’t condemn all men based on the actions of one.”
“Can’t I?”
Lexi mumbled as an unexpected wave of sadness threatened to swamp her. Damn it! Nearly two years later, and the bastard still had the ability to inflict pain.
“Oh, honey, don’t do that.” Brooklyn grabbed Lexi’s hand and squeezed. “I know he hurt you, but it’s been long enough. You need to put this behind you and move on.”
Lexi wiped at an errant tear with her free hand. Of course, Brooklyn was right, but saying it was easy—doing it…not so much. Letting go and stopping the pain required a level of strength she didn’t seem to possess. “You’re right, but we were together for five years. I gave him everything I had, and he betrayed me. He not only broke my heart, but he publicly embarrassed me.”
“I know,” Brooklyn soothed. “I was new here, but I remember. And you need to remember that in the end, he’s gone, and you’re still here, thriving. So who really got the better deal?”
Brooklyn’s logic pulled a watery smile from her. “So are you telling me that his career-ending injury was karma biting him in the ass for treating me so badly?”
“Absolutely.” Brooklyn slid a sideways glance toward the far wall where the three new stars sat. “And that man over there is karma’s way of paying you back for what you endured. Don’t you dare miss this opportunity to find love again, or I’m going to kick your ass.”
* * * *
At seven in the morning, the last place Lexi really wanted to be was in the gym. Knowing she needed to keep in shape for her eventual return to the ring, she allowed Aubrey and Brooklyn to haul her out of her nice warm bed. Though right now, she wanted nothing more than to put her earbuds in, turn up the music, and run until she hit that endorphin high that would carry her through the rest of her workout.
Unfortunately, Aubrey seemed to have other ideas. “So Fernando seems to think that we’d work well together in the ring as a mixed tag team.” Aubrey pressed the button on the treadmill, upping the speed until she shifted into a jog that matched Lexi’s. “I told him I’d be happy to just remain as his valet, but you know how he can be.”
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