Follow Me (Caged Hearts Book 3) (2 page)

Chapter 4

“We need to talk,” Carl’s expression was stern as he stood in Jasper’s kitchen, leaning against the pristine counter top.

“Okay,” Jasper shrugged, his skin still damp from the shower he’d just taken. “Then let’s talk.”

“It’s about your finances.”

Jasper grimaced. He’d never been good with numbers. He’d always relied on Carl for that side of things. His job was to win in the ring; it was up to Carl to make the numbers balance at the end of the day.

“What about them?” Jasper wished he was back in bed lying bedside Kait as her eyelashes gently fluttered as she dreamed. But Kait had left early for work, leaving only the sweet scent of her perfume behind.

“It’s not looking good.” Carl told him flatly.

“How so?” Even though Jasper had been losing fights, he still got paid for competing; he was just missing out on bonuses given to the victor. But surely those losses weren’t enough to affect his financial situation?

“I had Event Sports on the phone this morning.”

“Okay.”

Event Sports were Jasper’s biggest sponsor. They’d supported both him and his career ever since his first big win. The money from the sponsorship deal had bought him his apartment and two of his fancy cars.

“Jasper,” Carl smoothed a hand nervously across his temple.

“What? Just spit it out.”

“They’re not looking to renew your contract.”

Jasper slumped down on to a nearby stool feeling as though he’d just been shot in the chest.

“Are you…are you serious?” Jasper clung to the counter top beside him to prevent him from crashing to the ground with shock. Jasper Duboix was the face of Event Sports. How could they not renew his contract?

“I’m afraid so,” Carl sighed. “They said they’re looking to go in a new direction with the brand this year.”

“That’s bullshit!” Jasper raged.

“I know,” Carl sympathized, nodding. “The problem is that now we’ve lost Event Sports, others will follow, like a domino effect. You risk losing Power Quench and Protake.”

“I can’t lose my sponsors,” Jasper was holding his head in his hands. The money from competing alone wasn’t enough to even cover his mortgage. He replied on the income from his numerous sponsorship deals. To lose them now wasn’t even worth thinking about.

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Carl’s gaze had drifted to the tiled floor.

“It’s because I’ve been losing, isn’t it?” Betrayal burned through Jasper as he asked the question. How could these companies be so fickle? To stand by him while he was on top but the second he takes a tumble to cut him loose, it was so cruel!

“Probably.” Carl didn’t sugar coat his response.

“Shit,” Jasper groaned. “I just…I don’t even get why I’m losing. I’m killing myself at the gym every day.”

“I know.”

“Carl, what do I do?” Jasper felt like the naïve teenager he’d once been, feeling lost in the world of professional sports. This was supposed to be his arena, where he was champion, but all too quickly he was losing his grip on everything. His success was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand.

“We prove them wrong,” Carl told Jasper confidently.

“How do we do that?”

“By winning.”

Jasper’s shoulders sank. He’d been desperately trying to win, but for some reason he just wasn’t up to it anymore.

“If you win, you show Event Sports how wrong they were to replace you,” Carl insisted, his voice rising as he started to get fired up by his own words. “We have to reclaim your champion status!” “And you can do this, Jasper! You’re the guy who came up from nothing; you’re definitely capable of being able to win back what was once yours.”

“Yeah!” Jasper clapped his hands together, Carl’s enthusiasm was contagious. And he was right – Jasper had built himself up from nothing, and he could do the same again. He was a born fighter; it was in his blood. He was just going through a tough patch, everyone did. He’d come out the other side of it, of course he would, he was Jasper Duboix championship fighter.

“And in the meantime,” Carl’s tone became more serious, “I suggest easing off on your spending for a while. At least until things are more balanced and we can be certain that we won’t lose any more sponsors.”

Jasper nodded. He was still reeling from the news about Event Sports, but he knew better than to dwell on it. Negative thoughts would only bring him down which was the last thing he needed when training. Before a fight mental preparation was equally important as all the physical input.

“A week from Friday I’ve booked you in for another fight. That gives you almost two weeks to train. You’ve got this, Jasper. You can do it.”

Jasper was almost humbled by his agent’s confidence in him.

“Thanks, Carl.”

“You’re Jasper Duboix,” Carl came over and slapped him on the back. “You’re a born champion – don’t you forget that.”

Chapter 5

Jasper bounced on his feet as he moved around the ring, pausing only to deliver strong punches in quick succession.

“Good, good!” His trainer complimented encouragingly.

Jasper smacked the pads the American was holding up with such force that the trainer stumbled back.

“Woah,” he smiled, revealing his perfect teeth. “Take it easy there, champ. I’d hate to be whoever you’re imaging when you’re throwing these shots out.”

Jasper gritted his teeth and punched again. He was imagining Event Sports, taking out his anger towards them on the punching pads. With each blow, he came closer to feeling over their decision to drop him.

A hard jab right, followed by a swift upper cut from the left. Jasper was on fire. His entire body tingled with adrenaline. If he fought like this a week from Friday there was no question as to whether or not he’d win. He’d floor his opponent in just a few rounds.

“Whatever you’re doing, keep at it!” His trainer enthused. “You’re on fire today, Duboix!”

Jasper grinned and then delivered more punches.

“Okay, okay,” his trainer stepped back and dropped the pads he’d been holding. “Let’s take ten, okay?”

Jasper nodded, too breathless to talk.

The two men sat on a bench beside the ring as Jasper drank greedily from his bottle of energy drink.

“You’re certainly back on form,” his trainer told him with a smile.

“Thanks,” Jasper gasped. “I’ve been pushing myself to get back to my best.”

His trainer looked down at Jasper’s knee which was covered in a supportive bandage.

“How’s the leg?”

“Getting stronger,” Jasper lied. The moment his pain relief wore off, his knee burned with a fiery agony. Jasper was becoming increasingly convinced that it wouldn’t be long until he had to have surgery on it. It was liable to give way at any moment, but he had to ignore that. He had to ignore everything and just focus on winning. It was all that mattered. He needed to save his career before all that remained were tatters and faded memories.

“Good,” his trainer nodded. “Listen, Jasper, I’ve loved training with you, and it’s great to see you back on form, but sadly this is our last day together.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, man,” his trainer reached over and patted him on the back. “I wish I could stay longer but your agent, Carl, said that you can’t extend my contract anymore. So this is where we part ways.”

Jasper’s heart started to beat in a mad panic in his chest. He knew finances were bad, but he didn’t think that Carl would start cutting such vital corners as getting rid of his trainer. The same trainer who had been specially flown in to England to train him just over a month ago.

“Carl didn’t mention anything to me,” Jasper said through gritted teeth.

“He probably didn’t want to worry you,” his trainer suggested breezily. “You’ve got enough on your plate with your next big fight coming up.”

“Yeah,” Jasper sighed in agreement. The fight had become so big it looked set to decide his fate in the world of professional fighting.

“Hey, look, come next Friday, win or lose, you’re a champion, Duboix. I’ve seen first-hand what a powerhouse you are.”

“Thanks, man.”

They shook hands. Jasper didn’t want to see his trainer go. He needed him now more than ever.

“How about we throw out some more punches before I leave?” His trainer glanced up towards the vacant boxing ring in front of them.

“Sure.” Jasper eagerly climbed back in to the ring; he was keen to throw more angry punches whilst thinking of Event Sports who had now just cost him his trainer.

Chapter 6

“I am beat,” Kait rested her head against the back of Jasper’s plush sofa. Her entire body ached as it sank against the soft leather. She could easily remain on the sofa for the rest of her life it was so comfortable. She wasn’t sure how Jasper ever managed to leave it. If it was in her apartment, she’d just spend all her time sprawled across it, savoring its softness.

“Busy day?” Jasper asked from the other side of the sofa.

“The busiest,” Kait sighed. “I was literally in back to back meetings.”

“Here,” Jasper patted the space on the sofa beside him, and Kait scooted over. He maneuvered her so that her back was to him and then began massaging her sore shoulders.

“Ooh,” Kait uttered in glee, “that feels amazing.”

“Whenever I ache, a massage can work wonders.”

“Ooh, yeah,” Kait agreed, currently feeling the benefits first hand. As she relaxed, her stomach growled, reminding her that it had been hours since she’d last eaten.

“Urgh, I’m starving,” she moaned. “Shall we order in a pizza?”

Most evenings when they were both too exhausted to cook, they’d order something in.

“It’s okay, I’ll cook something,” Jasper was still massaging her shoulders.

“But you’ve been at the gym all day. Aren’t you tired?”

“Yeah, but, I like to cook.”

“No, you don’t,” Kait laughed. “You always say you’d rather just order something in.”

“Well, let’s be different.”

“Is everything okay?” Jasper squeezed her shoulders a little too tightly. “Oww!”

“Sorry,” Jasper released her from his grip. “I’ll go and see what I’ve got.”

Kait followed him through to the kitchen. When she’d looked through his cupboards, she’d struggled to find much food she could cook. There were eggs and bread, and that was pretty much it. She kept meaning to go shopping and stock up his cupboards for him, but each time she was with Jasper, she ended up getting distracted from such tasks.

“I could whip us up an omelet,” Jasper suggested as he stuck his head inside the cool of the fridge.

“Eggs.” Kait said flatly as she sat down on a stool.

“Huh?” Jasper leaned back to peer at her.

“I said, good,” Kait smiled at him. He never normally wanted to cook, and it was hard to get excited about an omelet when her taste buds were craving pizza.

“You sure you don’t want to just order a pizza?” She asked hopefully. “It can be my treat.”

“No,” Jasper snapped as he slammed the refrigerator door shut. “I just want to do something different; it’s not about money or anything.”

“I never said it was,” Kait told him coolly, surprised by his outburst.

“Okay, well then, good.” He was turning on the stove and reaching for a frying pan. He had to search through four different cupboards before he eventually found one. Kait thoughtfully chewed her lip as she watched him. His shoulders were tense, and his brow was permanently furrowed. Something was clearly bothering him. Perhaps he’d had a bad day at the gym, but she didn’t want to press him for answers. She was well aware that his current string of losses made any talk about training a sore subject, and she wanted them to have a pleasant evening together.

“So what will you put in the omelet?” She asked with a friendly smile.

“You want something in it?” Jasper looked at her in confusion.

“Yeah,” Kait laughed, “most people want more than just eggs upon eggs. Like maybe some ham or cheese.”

“I’ve only got eggs,” Jasper told her bluntly.

“Just eggs it is then,” Kait rolled her eyes. “We seriously need to go food shopping, Duboix. Your cupboards are startlingly bare.”

“There’s nothing wrong with bare cupboards!” Jasper told her defensively.

“Okay, Mother Hubbard,” Kait teased with a smile. Jasper laughed at her and commenced making them both a pure egg omelet.