by Teagan Kade
I was wrong.
“During downtime and off-season, Hammer says I don’t need to hit it as hard. As long as I’m not filling my body up with fat and booze, and I’m getting enough sleep, the training I’m doing now is more than enough. It’s ramping up now because I’ve got a fight on the books in a few weeks.”
Victoria put up her hands. “It was just a question. I’m not judging. As I organize different events, I want to be conscious of your training schedule, and don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with your coach. Nobody should mess with a guy named Hammer.” She gave me a sly smile, and I realized I was overreacting.
Of course. That made sense why she’d need to know details like that. Why had I gotten so defensive? It was an innocent question, but I immediately put my hackles up.
“Okay.” It seemed when I strung more than a few words together I got myself in trouble. Best to keep it simple.
She smiled at me again. I felt the muscles in my shoulders relax. She pulled a couple sheets of paper out of her briefcase and handed them over, standing up and putting her tablet away. “The top sheet is a list of clothing and apparel you’ll need. I know you’re a grown man and can dress yourself, but I’d recommend you at least give my suggestions a consideration. If you don’t have all of them, buy them today. The second sheet is the address and time for your first appearance.”
I stared at her. “You’ve already got my first appearance scheduled? This is it? You just got here. We haven’t even gone into the details of those other run-ins. I want to make sure we’re setting the story straight.”
She slung her briefcase over her shoulder and looked at her phone. A moment later, she was tapping something on the screen. “The past is the past. I’m focused on the go-forward story. We’re going on the offensive here. You are the blank canvas, Shaun, and I am the artist. Show up where I tell you when I tell you, do what I tell you, and I guarantee you’ll be fine.”
I felt another rise of annoyance. “So I’m some kind of puppet now and you’re pulling the strings? I’m just supposed to put up and shut up?”
She glanced up at me with a look of chagrin. “You called us, remember? Let me do my job. Be at that address Monday morning at 9am. Wear outfit number three on the list of attire. It really is that simple for you because I’m doing all the heavy lifting on the back end. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
She started back toward the front door with a casual toss of her long hair over her shoulder. I was caught thinking about her back end. I followed in her wake dumbfounded. I shuffled the papers to look at the address for the appearance. My forward momentum stopped.
“This is my old gym,” I mumbled, recognizing the address.
She opened the door and turned back toward me. “There’s a kid’s boxing class every Monday morning at 9am during the summer. You’re going to make a surprise appearance and do a short meet and greet with the kids. It’ll show you have a soft spot for where you came from. It’s a start to the new story we’re going to be telling about you.”
I stared at her. Was letting this whirlwind into my life the right call? She must have sensed my hesitation, because I saw the expression on her face soften.
“Shaun, people are afraid of you. If we feed a story to a few carefully chosen press outlets about you hanging out with a bunch of kids who obviously aren’t scared of you, it’s a step in the right direction. You have to trust me.”
I nodded but didn’t say anything else. I felt off-balance. I didn’t always do well with new situations and new people.
“See you on Monday,” she said with another smile. Then she was gone, leaving me to wonder what in the hell I had gotten myself into by dialing the number for Kommen and Russell to begin with.
*
Monday morning, my nerves were still frazzled as I walked through the door of Halston’s Gym. I told myself it was because I wasn’t wearing typical gym attire. I always felt far more comfortable in a pair of gym shorts than anything else. The slacks and white polo shirt seemed out of place. I was going to call and ask Victoria about it, but even in our brief encounter I had a feeling she’d just tell me she knew what she was doing. I was supposed to trust her judgement. Yeah, the judgement of a fucking stranger.
I entered the main room of the gym, two small rings on either side of the regulation-sized ring, and spotted her before anything else. She was over in the weights area, talking with the short, balding owner, Pete Halston. Pete stared up at Victoria as if he was looking at a fine painting. I understood and appreciated the sentiment.
Victoria wore a simple navy blue wraparound dress and a pair of kitten heels, but they did nothing to disguise her height. She should have looked out of place in the middle of a sweaty, dirty gym, but she didn’t. She seemed perfectly at home.
She caught sight of me and her eyes widened for a split second. It made me wonder if she liked what she saw as much as I did. She waved at me to join them, and I made my way over to where they stood.
“Pete,” I said, as I stuck out my hand. “It’s been awhile.”
“Glad to see you haven’t forgotten about us, Shaun,” Pete said, gruff. “I’ve been wondering when you’d come around again.”
When was the last time I’d been at Halston’s? Two years ago? Three? Suddenly I felt a twinge of guilt. Pete was my first coach back when I was just a punk kid whose mother sent him to the gym to keep him out of trouble.
“How could I forget? I got my first black eye and broken rib here,” I joked. Once upon a time, I sucked royally at dodging punches. It only took so many blows to the head before I figured it out, though still not fast enough for my mother’s liking. There were times I was sure she’s have a heart attack in the gym. Once I caught the boxing bug, though, it hadn’t let go. Not once in fifteen years.
“You left yourself open a lot,” Pete said with a shrug. Pete had always been a tough-love kind of coach. That was probably the reason I worked so well with Hammer.
Victoria looked back and forth between us with a satisfied smirk. “Well, I know Shaun hasn’t stopped talking about everything he learned here at your gym all those years ago, so we had to come over and take a look. You don’t mind if Shaun gives me a tour of the place, do you, Pete?”
Considering my one and only conversation with Victoria had lasted less than half an hour and was primarily focused on my shitty public image, I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her. But it was clear she’d done her homework. That was impressive.
“Not at all,” Pete said. I shook my head at his quick acceptance of her suggestion. The grizzled old coach seemed to be eating right out of her hand. He hated having any kind of fuss around his gym, and I realized that Victoria had neatly found a way to insert us without it appearing as if we were trying to interrupt anything.
“Thanks, Pete,” Victoria said. She pointed at a wall behind me. I turned and saw a guy standing there with a camera.
My face immediately turned into a scowl. I’d had enough of cameras over the years.
“I hope you don’t mind if we take a few shots of Shaun around the gym,” Victoria continued. “They’ll be great for using in his upcoming memoir.”
Memoir? I was pretty sure anyone who knew me was aware I had a hard enough time stringing a couple of sentences together verbally much less writing any of them down.
Pete nodded and moved toward his office. Victoria shifted to my side with a shit-eating grin on her face. “So, take me around.”
I was a boxer, not a tour guide, but I found over the next few minutes I enjoyed showing Victoria the modest gym. There were a couple of guys I’d practiced with when I was a kid working out. We stopped to have a few words. All of them told me how proud they were, how hard they knew I worked to win the gold. These were guys I admired when I was a kid. Honestly, it was humbling to hear their praise. It felt… good.
I hadn’t realized how disconnected I felt from all of this. The swarms of fans too often felt disingenuous, but I saw the open admirat
ion and respect on these men’s faces. The best part of all of it was that the feeling was entirely mutual.
It was after the third introduction Victoria tapped me lightly on the shoulder and leaned in close. I could smell the scent of her hair. It reminded me of the ocean, endless and open… fresh. “Tori,” she said to me quietly.
“Sorry?”
“You can introduce me as Tori. It sounds a hell of lot less formal than Victoria. Besides, all my friends call me Tori.”
“Are we friends?” I asked boldly. Shit. Was I flirting with my PR agent? I wasn’t sure. The only thing I knew was how acutely aware of her every movement I was, the same awareness I felt when tracking my opponents in the ring.
She laughed, a sound I found I enjoyed immensely. Her whole face lit up when she laughed. “I work for you, Shaun. We’re not going to be friends, but that’s no reason we can’t be friendly.”
I let that thought settle, my mind wandering, starting to figure how far I could push the boundaries of ‘friendly’. I wasn’t left with much time to ponder on it, though, before we arrived back at the center ring.
There was a group of kids from roughly ten to fifteen in the ring—five boys and a couple of girls. Pete stood in the center of their group going over a couple of basic punches while letting them practice each one.
As we arrived ringside, I heard the familiar buzz begin around me. There were scattered groups of people not dressed in gym gear around the edges of the ring, clearly the parents of the kids taking the class. One of them recognized me. I could feel the weight of their stares and heard the whispered exchanges.
“You’ve been spotted,” Tori said under her breath.
“Now what?” I asked.
She cocked her head toward me. “Now you turn on the charm. Go over and introduce yourself to them. Stick with the mothers. Ask questions about their kids. Show some interest in them.”
“And after that?”
“Go with the flow. Smile. Smile until it feels like your face is going to fall off, and then smile some more. Frowning and scowling is not allowed,” she said with a cluck of her tongue. When I didn’t immediately start moving, she gave me a hard nudge to the shoulder. “Go.”
I had no idea what I was going to say to these parents. I didn’t have the same way with words Jake or my other friends did. I communicated best with my fists, but that wasn’t going to get me anywhere outside of the ring.
The first group was made up entirely of women. I saw them starting to gather themselves as they noted my approach, straightening their clothes and smoothing hands over their hair. I might not communicate well verbally, but I was a fucking master at reading body language. These women found me attractive. I could work with that.
“Hi,” I said, at the last minute remembering to smile. “I’m Shaun Nichols.”
Ten minutes later I was the center of attention. We spoke in hushed tones to keep from disturbing the kids in the ring, but I learned the class was an intervention dictated by one of the local schools for kids with behavioral issues. The school worked with the parents to identify activities that would bolster confidence and focus, while also taking the edge off through physical activity. It was the third week. All of the parents were amazed at the benefits so far.
I realized with a bit of chagrin the kids in the class and I had more than boxing in common. Then one of the women, Katie, suggested I show the kids some of my moves.
“Go on. They’ll love it,” she pushed.
“Oh, Pete’s got it under control,” I said, trying to wave off the suggestion.
“You’re being too modest!” Katie exclaimed. “Billy watched every one of your fights during the Olympics. He’d be so thrilled to actually meet you.” Several of the other parents joined in the chorus before Katie moved to ring.
“Pete?” She motioned him over. Pete gave me a look that told me I was being disruptive and he didn’t like it. But Pete was too old school to argue with a woman. “Pete, do you mind if Shaun joins you for a few minutes?”
“He’s not dressed for the ring,” Pete said with a scowl. I caught a line of sight to Tori, who had moved to the opposite side of the ring. The photographer stood next to her. She motioned for me to get up in the ring.
“Just a few minutes,” I finally agreed. “Then I’ll get out of your hair.” I pulled myself up to slide onto the mat and swung under the ropes into the ring. The kids swarmed me immediately. I couldn’t help but laugh as they all started talking and asking me questions at once.
I forgot I wasn’t wearing the right clothes for boxing. I forgot I had so much bottled-up inside me I felt like punching holes in walls twenty-four seven. I forgot I felt like my life was no longer my own. For those fifteen minutes, the only thing I knew was how happy I was showing the kids little tips and tricks I’d learned when I was their age.
They punched forms in the air, Pete and I walking between them giving feedback. I never thought of myself as a teacher before, but when I was high-fiving the kids and watching them scrunch up their faces in concentration, I saw a glimmer of how satisfying it could be. I had no plans for the future once boxing was out of the picture. Perhaps I could look into coaching. Would it be so bad?
Pete gave me a firm handshake after I said goodbye to the kids. “Thanks for coming in, Shaun. I think the kids got a kick out of it.”
“No more so than I did,” I said honestly. He nodded before I made my way back to the floor ringside. Tori was waiting there for me. She looked satisfied. The photographer was nowhere to be seen.
I waved to the parents as we started toward the door. As soon as we were outside, I took a deep breath and released it. “How’d I do, Coach?”
She nodded. “For the first time out, better than I expected.” She started tapping on her phone screen. “Jerry’s already on his way back to the office to get those pictures cleaned up. I need access to all of your social media profiles and accounts. I’m assuming I can get that from your business manager?”
“Nigel is pretty particular about that stuff,” I said.
“Well, Nigel is going to have to get over it. Leave this stuff to the experts,” she said. “I heard those parents talking in there. They couldn’t get over how friendly and polite you were, how patient and warm you were with the kids. We’ve still got a ways to go, but this was a solid first step.”
“What’s next?”
“I’ll be in touch soon,” she said, looking at her watch with a grimace. “I’m late. You did good today, Shaun. You should be pleased.”
“Dinner?” I blurted. I realized she was getting ready to leave. I didn’t want her to. Simple as that. There was something about her that dug at me. I wanted to get to know her better.
She looked at me in surprise. “Are you asking me out?” Her tone made it sound as if that might well be the worst thing in the world.
“Dinner,” I repeated, less of a question. My mind raced to put together the right words. “I’m a little rusty on all this stuff. I could use some advice. I’d also like to hear more about your strategy. You know, since I’m paying for it and all.” The corners of her mouth tightened, but that was the only indication that my words had any effect. Hearing it out loud, I sounded like an asshole, but I wanted to unravel the enigma that was Tori Ellis.
“As long as you understand this isn’t a date or anything that could be construed as anything less than business. Just to be clear, I don’t date clients. Not only is it against the firm’s ethical policy, but it’s my own rule of thumb as well.”
“I wasn’t asking you out on a date,” I said quickly. What the fuck? Would it be the worst thing in the world to get asked out by an Olympic gold medalist? It had been a long time since I’d run across a woman who appeared so thoroughly disinterested in me. It made me wonder what kind of guy she would date, assuming her ethical code wasn’t being called into question. Probably some asshole in a suit who worked in ‘investments’ or some Wall Street shit like that.
“Fine,” she said. Sh
e started tapping on her phone screen again. “I’ll have the office make a reservation.”
“I am perfectly capable of making a dinner reservation,” I said. “Lys Blanc at 7:30pm.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Lys Blanc has a minimum eight-week waiting list for reservations.”
“The owner’s a buddy of mine. So, 7:30pm.” The look of surprise on her face was perfect.
“Fine.” Her heated flush told me she was surprised. Perhaps even impressed. “I’ll see you then.” She opened the door to a sedan I hadn’t even realized was parked there at the curb. “Goodbye, Shaun.”
Once again, I was left standing there staring after her with my mouth hanging open and my pants just a little too tight around the crotch area.
Far from your greatest performance, my friend.
Chapter Four
Tori
God only knew why I agreed to go out to dinner with Shaun. It was totally against protocol. There was nothing we would discuss that we couldn’t go through before any of the appearances I already started lining up for him.
If I was honest with myself, though, it was because he intrigued me. That was the reason I had agreed when every other client who had made the same request over the years got the big ol’ shutdown speech. I didn’t mix business and pleasure. That rule served me well over the years as I saw other colleagues get burned.
Watching him with those kids had made me feel warm inside. It was as if all of the tension and anger I sensed inside of him was stripped away. He didn’t have to act like he was having a good time because he was having a good time. Seeing him straighten their forms and navigate their punches while moving their feet the right way brought back memories of when I had done the same thing with my father.
Truth be told, being inside a gym ring was one of my favorite places to be. I felt at home there, and I loved watching Shaun in his element. As uncomfortable as he first appeared to be, he settled in quickly. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to see him interact with people in a comfortable, safe environment so I could start to understand his ticks and nuances. It would make it much easier for me to coach him when we started entering spaces that weren’t so warm and welcoming.
