RUNNING GAME (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE)

by Nikki Wild

  Fighters tend to get desperate when they get hurt. They throw sloppy, looping punches that are easy to duck and counter.

  I tagged him with a straight right hand, sending him staggering. I was on autopilot. Years upon years of sparring had given me the insight to destroy amateur fighters. I knew what he was going to do before he did.

  Since my phone call with Bria this morning, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her Ex. Who the fuck was he to bother her at work?

  My sparring partner made a haphazard grab to take me to the ground. I shut him down with my superior upper body strength then hit him with a knee to the belly that drove all of the air out of him.

  She had said he was a lawyer, but he worked for a different firm. I could imagine that stuffed-shirt asshole thinking he could waltz back into her life and get whatever he wanted. It made the muscles in my neck stiffen just thinking about it. I bit down on my mouth piece and charged forward to relieve a little stress.

  I threw a combination to the body that only reinforced the damage I had done with the knee seconds earlier. He was having trouble catching his wind. When he dropped his hands to protect from another blow to the ribs, I unloaded with a barrage of head shots.

  The first was a right cross that almost took him off his feet. I love the way a fighter’s eyes go vacant when they get hit with a clean punch to the temple. It doesn’t matter how big or strong you are, if you get hit in the right spot, with just the right amount of precision, you’re going to be on wobbly legs.

  He threw his hands up and tried to feign that he was okay. It was a tactic fighters had used since the dawn of time to slow their opponents. In the octagon if you showed any weakness at all, you were done for. I was never fooled. I always smelled the blood in the water.

  I swung another right, this time an uppercut, and it went right through his compromised guard like a hot knife through butter. The force of the punch lifted his heels off the ground. He fell back into the cage. It was the only thing keeping him upright.

  I finished him off with a left hook. It was the punch I’d been known for. Nobody in the world of mixed martial arts had a left hook as devastating as mine.

  When it landed, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed on the floor, a broken man.

  “Oh, shit! What the hell, Luke?” yelled one of the other guys who was watching, cage side.

  “Yeah,” said another one. “What are you doing? This is sparring dude.”

  I spit out my mouthpiece.

  “He’s the one who started throwing full force… I think this might be a good little lesson in humility.”

  The cage door burst open and a handful of people scurried inside. They ran to the downed fighter and started fussing over him. His face was already swollen and turning black and blue.

  I made my way out of the cage. The rest of the guys were looking at me in stunned silence. You weren’t supposed to go that hard during a sparring session. Especially with a guy who was so clearly outmatched. I didn’t care, though. Fighting was a dangerous sport. I could spar with someone all day without leaving so much as a damn bruise, but if someone was going to step into that cage and try to make a name off me I was going to make him pay for it.

  “What the fuck is everyone looking at?” I barked. “Go back to work.”

  This girl had been on my mind way too much lately. It was time I do something about it. I was scheduled to go out on a two-week press tour and the thought of being away from her again didn’t sit well. I didn’t want to blow the good thing we had started. It was against all of my rules, but I was considering asking her to come with me.

  When it comes to my fights, I’m all business. She was different, though. I thought she could do it without being a problem. Plus, she would be a great distraction at the hotel room each night. That girl knew how to fuck the stress right out of me.

  I stood in front of my locker and made the call.

  “Hello?”

  “What are you up to, cutie?”

  “You wouldn’t believe the day I had. It felt like it was never going to end.”

  “Sounds like you made it, though,” I chuckled.

  “Barely. I picked up a bottle of wine on the way home. If I had a corkscrew with me I would have considered popping it open on the interstate.”

  “Bad girl. You know, if you needed to relax you could have just called me.”

  “I know. I would have, too, if I had the energy to get off my couch.”

  “I make house calls, you know. I could be there in fifteen minutes.”

  She hesitated. I could tell she was struggling with it.

  “Okay, okay,” I said. “Not tonight. But I did have something I want to ask you.”

  “Really? What is it?”

  “You know I have this press thing I have to do, right? It’s this tour we go on to drum up excitement for the fight. We hit the big cities and hold a press conference in each. New York, Los Angeles, Miami, you know, the big ones.”

  “Wow, that sounds crazy,” she said.

  “Yeah, well, it’s a whirlwind. This guy I’m fighting isn’t too bright so I’ll have to sell the fight pretty hard. I mean, there’s already a ton of interest. The people have been wanting us to fight for years… But I think I can’t put it over the top by talking a lot of shit. Make it a grudge match, you know?”

  “I guess so. But won’t that make people hate you? Won’t they think you’re a jerk?”

  “The fans eat that stuff up. They’ll love having a fighter they can get behind. The more polarizing you can be, the better. Some people will hate me but a lot more will love me. This is how you play the game…”

  “Oh…”

  “You don’t really know what to think of all this do you?”

  “I guess not,” she said. “I’ve been reading a lot about it though. MMA is blowing up. There are a ton of articles about you online.”

  “That’s the point. The more people we can get talking, the better. We’re aiming to set a record for the number of pay-per-views this time. And that equals more money in my pocket.”

  “So, you get paid by the number of people who watch?”

  “Something like that. Anyway, about that press tour… I was wondering if you could make the time to go with me.”

  “What? Travel with you while you do your interviews?”

  “That’s what I’m asking.”

  “Are you messing with me?”

  “Nope. You could hang out in the room during the day, go to the spa or whatever, and then at night we could hit the town. Go to all the best night spots in each city. What do you say?”

  “Luke, I don’t… I couldn’t possibly get away from work. Not on such short notice.”

  “Last I checked nobody has you shackled to a desk. You can do anything you want in life. You just have to make the decision to do it.”

  “But my boss… he didn’t even want to let me off for my birthday last year. And that was after I asked him about it a month in advance. What do you think he’s going to say when I tell him I want to take off to go party across the country for two weeks?”

  “He’ll have to deal with it,” I said.

  “He’ll shit a brick is what he’ll do. Then he’ll tell me to start looking for a new job.”

  “Then that’s what you do. If it goes down that way, then fine. You’re too valuable to be stagnating in that building anyway. You just have to be confident about it when you talk to him. Let him know what’s up, and if he’s not willing to compromise then you walk.”

  “Easy for you to say. I don’t have millions sitting in my bank account to fall back on.”

  “But you do have all the brains in the world. You can get a job anywhere you want. Why not take a chance?”

  “I…”

  “Let this be the thing that gives you a kick in the ass. Come with me and have a great time for a couple of weeks, then get back here and get serious about taking that bar exam. And you never know, maybe your boss will surprise you and say yes
. I’d bet my paycheck that he does. He’s not going to want to lose you.”

  “You’re really persuasive when you want to be,” she said.

  “I didn’t always get paid to fight. I used to sell real estate.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Yep. I did it for almost a year. Got pretty good at it, too.”

  “I can’t imagine you driving around neighborhoods with picky couples trying to be all happy and positive.”

  “You do what you have to do when you’re trying to eat. Sling houses all day, train all night. That was my motto.”

  She giggled into the phone. I let her go. I didn’t mind owning my past.

  “Okay,” she sighed. “I’ll ask. It couldn’t hurt to ask.”

  “No. I want you to tell him you going. If he’s not good with it, then you leave. You decide your future, not him.”

  “Right now it sounds like you are deciding my future.”

  “Hey, I know what’s good for you and don’t you forget it.”

  “Yeah,” she said sarcastically. “I should follow the career advice of a superstar martial artist. What could go wrong with that?

  “You live in my world, now,” I said. “And if you fall, I’ll catch you.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Okay. Screw it,” she said. “I’ll tell him tomorrow morning. When do we leave?”

  18

  Bria

  My hands were shaking as I walked into Jones’ office. I can’t believe I let Luke talking me into risking my job. He had a strange spell over me.

  “Good morning, Bria. What can I do for you?”

  He was a very direct man. I liked that he didn’t beat around the bush like Schreiber.

  I watched him shuffle the documents he was working on. Younger than his partner by a good fifteen years, David Jones was another in the long line of lawyers his family produced. He had neatly cropped, short blond hair and a solid jaw. His suit probably cost more than my car.

  When he finally looked up I considered abandoning the whole plan and running back down to the records room.

  “Bria… what is it? I have a busy morning.”

  “Mr. Jones, I uh…”

  Be confident. Like Luke said.

  “I need two weeks off,” I blurted.

  He sat back in his chair. The springs made an audible creak.

  “Time off?”

  “Yes.”

  I had to push through. It was like ripping a Band-Aid off.

  “I hope there isn’t a family emergency,” he said.

  “No, nothing like that. It’s to go on a… vacation. With my… friend.”

  He cocked and eyebrow and the expression on his face was almost comical.

  “And when do you plan on taking this vacation? Because the last time we spoke you went on and on about how committed you were to the firm. You said that you would do anything for a spot on the team once you passed the bar.”

  “I’m leaving the day after tomorrow,” I said, meekly.

  “The day after tomorrow.”

  His laugh was incredulous.

  “You mean to tell me that you are going to take off for two weeks to go gallivanting around and you’re only planning on giving me forty-eight hours’ notice?”

  “I was just hoping-.”

  “Hoping? There’s nothing to hope for. It’s sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

  “I don’t want this to seem disrespectful, Mr. Jones, but I’ve been working hard here for a long time. I put in long days, I come in almost every weekend, and I do really good work.”

  It was like Luke’s words were coming out of my mouth.

  “And the bottom line is I’m starting to burn out. I’d love the opportunity to work for you in the future and I still plan on giving you the same effort when I get back, but I’m not going to be any good to anybody if I work myself into the dirt. A once in a lifetime opportunity popped up. If I didn’t really need this, I wouldn’t ask. And I think you know that.”

  Jones closed the laptop that was perched on the corner of the desk.

  “Have you been studying?”

  “For the bar,” I asked. “Yeah. Every night when I get home.”

  “Then why haven’t you taken it?”

  “I want to make sure I’m ready.”

  “You’ve been ready for months. But you’re putting it off because you’re afraid.”

  “I…”

  “You’re afraid of failing. You know you’re ready, but you’re scared.”

  “Sir, again, with all due respect I didn’t come here to talk about the bar. I just really need some time.”

  He paused and seemed to be thinking to himself. It was a common trait among lawyers. Take your time formulating your words carefully so you don’t commit too much one way or the other.

  Finally, he spoke. And when he did, he said what I never would have imagined.

  “Take your vacation.”

  My jaw almost hit the floor. When it did, the usually stoic professional couldn’t even help himself from cracking a smile.

  “In fact, don’t wait for the weekend. I want you to leave now.”

  “Is… is it a permanent vacation?”

  “Bria, you’re right. You have been working incredibly hard and I don’t want you to think we haven’t noticed. I’ve been waiting to see a little life out of you.

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “So no, this isn’t a permanent vacation. We value your effort. I value your effort. If you need to get away to blow off a little steam, then so be it. I don’t mind being short-handed around here for a while if it means I keep one of my top employees happy.”

  “Oh, Mr. Jones! Thank you!”

  “No need to thank me, you earned it. Just try to give me a little more of a heads up next time so I can get my ducks in a row. I suppose that while you’re gone I can have Jamie manage your workload.”

  That was the icing on the cake. I wanted to be a fly on the wall when Jamie found out he would be picking up my slack.

  “There is one condition, however.”

  My smile dropped away.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “When you get back, you’re taking that exam. In fact, that’s the last thing I want you to do before you leave. Set it up with the association so you can take it upon your return.”

  “I… Uh…”

  “Don’t make me regret this decision,” he said with a warm smile.

  “Of course. I’ll make the arrangements right now. Thank you again Mr. Jones.”

  He gave a polite nod and jumped right back into his work.

  I felt like my head was in a cloud. I couldn’t wait to tell Luke.

  19

  Bria

  I pulled into the parking lot a Luke’s gym feeling like a new woman. Part of me still couldn’t believe that it actually worked. Was I really about to take off from work and spend a wild two weeks with one of the sexiest and most famous athletes in the world?

  Yep.

  Was I going to take the bar when I got back and finally get my ass out of the basement?

  Double yep!

  I walked by the girls at the front entrance, this time without giving them as much as a second thought.

  “Do you even work out here?” One of the asked as I passed.

  “This gym’s about to close ladies. Have a good night.”

  I said it without looking back and didn’t care when I heard one of them call me a cunt under her breath.

  Luke was stepping out of his office just as I rounded the corner. I planted an open hand in the middle of his chest, shoving him back inside. The door swung closed behind me.

  “Whoa. What’s gotten into you?”

  I walked him back toward his office chair. He sat down, intrigued.

  I straddled him and planted a long, passionate kiss on his full lips. His rock hard erection was barely concealed beneath his mesh gym shorts.

  “I’m guessing things went well?”
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  “Unbelievable,” I said.

  “Jones let me take off early AND said he didn’t have a problem with me leaving for so long.”

  “I told you. You just needed a little push.”

  “I’m so excited. I can’t wait. I have to go shopping, get my hair done, tell Kaitlyn. Oh my God, it’s gonna be so fun.”

  “Calm down, kitten, you’ll have plenty of time to do all that. First things first, though. You look amazing in that getup. I never knew it but I think I might have a thing for the professionally-dressed woman. Your ass is amazing, but those heels take it to another level.”

  He grabbed two handfuls of my butt and massaged.

  “I want to thank you for bringing me with you. I know it’s not something you would normally do.”

  “Don’t worry about what I would normally do. All that matters is that you’re coming with me. I’m gonna make sure you have plenty of time to relax. You’ll experience more on this trip than you have in your entire life.”

  I let my hands slip under his shirt. His skin was taut over his rippling muscles.

  “Is this office… private?”

  “Yeah, it’s private. But let me go make the rest of the gym private because I don’t want you to feel self-conscious about your screaming.”

  He lifted me off of him and set me down on the desk. His shorts poked out in a tent and I wondered if he was going to do anything about it before going out front.

  It didn’t seem to bother him.

  Less than a minute later he was back with the good news.

  “All clear,” he said. “Everybody’s out and the door is locked.”

  “Even the girls who hang around by the front entrance?”

  “They were the first to go. I made sure to slam the door extra hard when they started to complain.”

  I tugged his shirt over his head to reveal his incredible form.

  “You’re in a hurry today, aren’t you?”

  “I need to feel you inside of me.”

  “Kick your shoes off and come here.”

  I did as I was told, letting him catch me in an embrace at the edge of the desk.

  “I think I’m starting to get attached,” I whispered.