“Excuse me but I believe you’re my date for the evening.” I heard Bianca’s shrill voice from behind me—there went that eardrum.
“What’s the matter? The guy you just fucked in the bathroom not enough for you?” I barely spared her a glance. Her eyes were burning with rage. Delia snickered beside me. “C’mon beautiful, let’s dance.” I grabbed Delia’s hand and pulled her with me back out to the dance floor again. “You owe me big time for that disaster.”
“Well if you hadn’t been so stubborn about me being your date....” She trailed off probably thinking the same thing I did. She had pretty much become my date anyway. “Oh, you’re a sneaky one, Kyle Walker.” She blushed. I knew right then that I would do whatever it took to get her. There was something about this woman that drew me in. I couldn’t stay away from her, even if I wanted to.
DELIA
I did my best to stay away from Kyle after that night, which much to my dismay didn’t seem to be working. It appeared after the fundraiser he was even more determined to break all my rules. “So who am I taking to this thing tonight?” he asked over the phone.
“Melody Micheals.” I hated sending him to an event with someone he might actually like. She was a curvy blonde and based on the conversation I’d had with her the day before, she was super sweet. She wouldn’t get too clingy and understood the nature of the arrangement.
“Nice,” he said, but his tone said it was anything but nice. “Tell me again why you won’t go with me. I thought we had a great time at the last one.”
“It’s not about having a nice time. It’s about gaining some attention, remember?” I scolded him.
“Ugh, if this girl is like the last one we’re gonna have a problem, gorgeous. I just may have to veto all future events.”
“Suck it up, buttercup. This isn’t just about you. It’s about everyone.”
“Why can’t you go with me?” He knew the answer; we’d been over it a million times in the last week and a half.
“Because,” I groaned, “I’m not famous. You are. Famous people need to be seen spending time with other famous people.”
“That’s the stupidest damn thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Yes it is, but it’s also true,” I pointed out.
“Delia, I’m begging you, go with me, please?” The pleading in his voice almost had me changing my mind.
“No, I gotta go.” There was call waiting on the other line. “Be nice and even if you don’t like her, try to pretend, please? She’s a nice girl.”
“Fine.” He huffed hanging up the phone. I grabbed the other call before it went to voicemail.
“Hello, Delia Campbell.”
“This is Melody Michaels’ publicist. She has food poisoning and will be unable to make it to the event tonight with Mr. Walker,” she said formally.
“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. Thank you for calling be sure to send her my well wishes,” I said politely, all the while thinking karma, you bitch. Was this just the universe’s way of screwing with me? And who was I going to get to go with him on short notice?
Two hours of phone calls later, I was no closer to finding him a suitable date. I realized then that the whole thing was a waste of time. With a resigned sigh, I got up from my desk and made my way home to get ready for what was truly to be an exercise in restraint.
KYLE
At seven p.m. on the dot, the limo pulled up. I was dreading this. I hated that Delia wouldn’t come with me; it was driving me mad trying to figure out what I could do to get her to go out with me, instead of her continually forcing me to go with these women I had no interest in. She’d been fun and carefree at the last fundraiser we’d went to, which just made me want her more. It seemed that it had caused her to avoid me like the plague.
So, when I stepped out of the house and the driver held the door open for me I was shocked by what I saw. There was no Hollywood star or super model… it was much better. Delia looked unbelievably gorgeous in her cream-colored gown. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant twist on the back of her head, and a beaming smile lit up my face. “What are you doing here, gorgeous?” My night just got so much better.
“Melody has food poisoning, and I couldn’t find anyone else to come.” She didn’t seem too happy about it. I was ecstatic.
“Don’t look so unhappy about it,” I said as I got in the car, still grinning.
“Don’t look so happy about it,” she countered.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy? I’m out with a gorgeous woman.” I shrugged. Delia rolled her eyes.
It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the venue. The entire time Delia was spouting off instructions on how to deal with the press. She was rambling and I could tell she was nervous. Reaching over, I grabbed her hand squeezing it softly. “Hey, calm down. It will be all right. I don’t talk to them anyway.”
“You can’t steamroll them like you did last time. You need to stop and answer some questions and take some pictures,” she scolded me.
“Fine,” I groaned. “If it will make you happy I will talk to the press.”
“It will make me insanely happy.” She giggled. I fucking loved that sound. “You ready to do this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I sighed before stepping out of the car smiling and waving before turning and helping Delia out. The crowd was going insane with questions.
“Kyle! What will you do now that Sin City has been banned from competing?” a reporter yelled. I looked over at Delia with a wry smile. She winked at me.
“I’m staying at Sin City, but don’t count us out. We have big things happening.” My fake plastic smile was on my face.
“Kyle, where is Bianca this evening?” That took me a little off-guard.
“Why would I know that?”
“On Twitter she posted that you two were an item.” The reporter was obviously confused.
“First, I don’t go on Twitter. I went to one event with her, and quite frankly we didn’t spend any time together. I’m most certainly not in any kind of relationship with her.” Looking over at Delia, she was on her phone looking for the tweet in question. “I’m done answering questions.” I threaded Delia’s arm through mine and led her inside the museum. Once inside we headed directly to the bar.
“Smile,” Delia told me holding her phone up in front of us. Just as she was taking the picture. I turned my head and kissed her cheek. “Ugh, Kyle, real cute. Can you please take a picture that won’t get me fired? One I can post to your Twitter feed?”
“Sorry not sorry?” My dimpled grin had her shaking her head but she was still smiling.
“Do it again, but keep your lips to yourself this time.”
“I make no promises.” She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Just take it. I’ll behave, I promise.”
She took another picture and this time I just smiled like she asked. It gave me hope that she didn’t immediately delete the other one. Baby steps….
We got our drinks and found our table, though we never actually made it to the table because Delia stopped like a deer in the headlights before turning and pulling me in a different direction. “What’s wrong?”
“We can’t sit there,” she whispered as if whoever it was she was hiding from would be able to hear.
“Why?” I had no idea why she was so spooked but it had my hackles up.
“An ex that I don’t particularly want to see,” she mumbled.
“How long do we have to stay at this thing?” I wondered, not wanting her to be uncomfortable.
“We can’t just leave. We need to make appearances,” she hissed.
“Well then, I don’t see much of a choice in the matter. It will be okay. If he has any kind of sophistication, he won’t want to be an ass in front of these people we’re at the head table, Delia.” I squeezed her hand in reassurance. “The first time he makes you uncomfortable we’re leaving.” She nodded and seemed to harden herself.
“Fine, I’m a bi
g girl I can handle myself,” she said it but the tone didn’t match the words. Taking her hand, I gave it a squeeze before leading her to the table.
Brandon fucking Sullivan of the Gamblers was sitting there. His face lit up in a smile when he saw Delia, but as soon as he looked to her side and saw me his face hardened into a scowl. I lifted an eyebrow at her but she just shrugged uncomfortably.
“Delia, how nice to see you again.” An older lady smiled taking her hand to lead her to a seat next to her. “I didn’t think you were coming.”
“It was last minute. Have you met Kyle Walker? He’s a client of mine.” She emphasized the word client. Sullivan’s eyebrow raised at that information. A cocky smirk was painted across his face.
“Walker.” Sullivan nodded curtly.
“Sullivan,” I responded in turn. His eyes never met mine as he stared at Delia’s hand tucked into my arm.
“How are things with the ban?” I could tell he was trying to bait me.
“They’re good. We have some big things in the works in response to it.” I grinned looking adoringly at Delia who turned a pretty shade of pink. “I’m still trying to figure out how everyone knows about the ban. It wasn’t made public.”
“Guilty.” Delia smiled.
“I figured as much.” I smirked, then heard a growl as I placed a stray hair behind her ear. I raised an eyebrow at the quarterback but he didn’t comment. He was trying to be on his best behavior yet it was abundantly clear he wanted Delia back. Conversation was light for the majority of the evening. It seemed that the charity sold the seats at our table to the highest bidder by saying they would get the opportunity to have dinner with the top AMMA fighter, as well as one of the best quarterbacks in the league. It was a smart fundraising tactic. So most of the conversation was Sullivan and me answering questions about the job. When the dancing portion of the evening started (after the longest most boring speeches known to mankind) I asked Delia to dance. “No, I’m not feeling too great. I think I’d like to go home.”
“Anything you want, gorgeous.” I smiled as I stood pulling her chair out for her. “It was nice meeting you all.”
I put my hand on the small of her back as I led her from the room. “Well, that went well.”
“Yeah, he was definitely on his best behavior.”
“That was his best behavior? You heard him growl at me right?” She giggled at my serious question. “If you ask me, that guy wants you back.”
Delia sucked in a sharp breath. “He doesn’t want me back, he’s just territorial. He doesn’t like seeing me with another athlete. He didn’t like it at all when we were dating….”
“That sentence didn’t sound finished. You wanna tell me more?”
“Not tonight, I feel completely drained from the whole thing.”
“All right, beautiful. I won’t push... for now.” I was extremely interested in what went down between the two of them, but I was nothing if not patient.
DELIA
“Someone went to the media about the ban. Would you know anything about that?” Darren asked as he walked into my office the next morning.
“Why would I know anything?” I feigned innocence. Darren grinned and sat down in the chair across from me. “It’s good that they know, now we can move forward.”
“Yeah, but I have press outside my gym again and my fighters are starting to get worried.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked more tired than I’d ever seen him in the last few days.
“You need to do this press conference,” I said for the thousandth time. “Darren, the world needs to know that you’re a contender and that you’re not going to let those UMA man-children push you around.”
“I told you each time we’ve spoken since this started that I am not doing a press conference.” He glared at me but there was no heat behind it.
“Okaaay, how about a compromise? You give ESPN an exclusive interview and tour of the gym. They’re willing to pay to be the first station to get the information first hand. If you don’t get in front of this, then they’ll spin it so the UMA look like the good guys. They’re slimy bastards like that.” He seemed to be mulling over my words until he finally agreed. I could tell the moment Darren realized that I was right.
“Fine, I’ll do the interview.” He grumbled shifting in his seat uncomfortably.
“They might want to talk to some of your fighters. I’ll make sure Kyle is there practicing when they get there. It’s scheduled for tomorrow at three.”
“You scheduled without even talking to me?” He shook his head but a small smile crossed his face.
“I knew you would eventually see it my way. So, I may as well have scheduled the interview.” I shrugged.
“You’re something else you know that? No wonder Kyle has a hard-on for you. You are ruthless when you need to be.”
“Oh, Jesus. Please change the subject.” I sounded annoyed but my whole body lit like a match at his words. “He’s a client, Darren. I don’t fuck clients.”
“Good, because I need you both for this. I can’t do this if you two are at odds with each other. The best way to keep that from happening is to keep your relationship a professional one.” He eyed me warily. I’d known Darren a long time and he liked being right but what he liked more was doling out orders. This conversation felt more like an order than anything.
“I don’t need you to remind me, Darren. I’m a big girl and my sex life is none of your concern,” I bristled.
“Touché.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I think I made my point, so I’ll get out of your hair.”
“See you tomorrow,” I said dismissing him. Picking up my phone, I dialed Kyle.
“Sweet Delia, to what do I owe this pleasure.” He enunciated the last word and I could feel the need pooling in my belly.
“Kyle,” I groaned. “I need you to be at the gym at two thirty ready to practice.”
“I’m sorry? I lost you at I need you.” His silky voice came through the phone. I was glad we weren’t face to face because my cheeks heated.
“Stop it.” I nearly giggled, but stopped myself right in time. Clearing my throat, I attempted to use my professional tone. “You need to stop. Just be at the gym tomorrow at two thirty ready to practice. ESPN is going to be there so maybe you should get one of your teammates to spar with for the cameras.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be there.” He chuckled before continuing. “Now when are you gonna let me take you out. We can call it whatever you want.”
“Goodbye, Kyle.”
I smiled shaking my head. This guy was gonna be the death of me I just knew it.
“Bye, beautiful.”
I flopped back in my chair as I huffed out an aggravated breath. I had no idea how much longer I’d be able to resist him.
KYLE
Later that afternoon I was at the local pet food store picking up my weekly shipment. They all knew me by now, so it was usually just a matter of swiping my credit card. Not that day. They had a new employee and left the poor girl to man the register… alone. It was taking longer than usual and I had three people in line ahead of me when I noticed Delia walking up with a box of expensive organic cat food.
“You call the cat, demon spawn, and then feed it better than most Americans.”
“You lose enough pairs of Jimmy Choo’s and you buy the damn devil-cat whatever the hell it wants to eat. It’s cheaper than replacing a thousand-dollar pair of shoes every other day,” she grumbled. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a weekly delivery.” I shrugged.
“You make fun of me for feeding the devil-cat expensive food, but you have food delivered?” She looked at me with a wry smile. “I didn’t think you had any pets.”
“I never said it was food, and I never said it was for me.”
“Okay, Mr. Cryptic. If it’s not for you, then who?” she asked skeptically.
“Come with me and I’ll show you.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” She looked uncomfortable. One of the other checkers waved us over.
“Hey, Kyle, your order is ready to be loaded up. Is your truck back by the loading doc?” he asked looking between me and Delia.
“It is. I just need to settle the bill.” I wrenched the box of cat food from Delia’s hands. “Put this on there too.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll get it.” She tried to take it back but he’d already rung it up.
“The usual twenty, fifty pound bags of both dog and cat food right?” I nodded. I could feel Delia’s eyes burning into the side of my head with curiosity. Maybe it would be enough to get her to come with me to the shelter.
“Yup, you got the toys too?” I asked with a grin. I handed him my card as Delia sputtered next to me. “I know you’re dying of curiosity. Come with me,” I prodded.
“Fine,” she said. “I just hope curiosity in this instance doesn’t kill the cat,” she groaned. “Sorry, bad choice of words.”
Chuckling, I led her through the store to the back room. The guys didn’t mind me back there because I was a regular. We walked out the backdoor to my truck—they’d already gotten all the bags loaded in the bed of it.
“You wanna follow me?” I called over my shoulder.
“Cool, you gonna give me a ride to my car.” I grinned lasciviously, but Delia rolled her eyes.
***
I was a little worried about Delia’s reaction to what I got up to once a week. I tried to keep it as quiet as possible because I didn’t want people in the MMA world thinking I was soft because I loved animals, yet it didn’t stop me from being curious if it would change her opinion of me.
My baby sister came running out of the shelter. She threw her arms around me and I spun her around just as I always did. I was lucky to get out of childhood with my man card fully intact, since I had three older sisters who loved to torture me with makeup, and a baby sister who would rather play dress-up with me than anything else. Me and my poor dad were sorely outnumbered. “Hey, Bethy, how’s it going?” I asked knowing the answer by the way her eyes fell. “Do I need to start bringing more? I don’t know if I can.”
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