RUNNING GAME (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE) (88 page)

I was numb.

Christine held her hand out as I passed by her desk. I tossed the badge and keycard on the floor as I walked by. I’d seen all of this before. A suspension was just a fancy way for the law firm to lay you off without paying unemployment. Their “investigation” would end in my termination without pay or severance. I knew that after today, I’d never set foot in this building again.

T
hey put
us up in the hotel where the fight was being held. I was less than twenty-four hours away from the biggest fight of my life and I couldn’t get her off my mind. Everything about this was fucked.

I took a bite out of the chicken breast my trainer had prepared. We had returned to the room after the weigh-ins to get some rest. It marked the end of a torturous week.

That was they typical schedule when you did one of these Vegas events. Arrive at the location on Wednesday and do your open workouts, Thursday was all about photo ops and meet and greets with the fans, and Friday was a few final interviews before the weigh-in. It was a hell of a lot to ask of a guy who was about to get in the cage and fight for his life. It’s not like we didn’t have more important things to focus on.

Some of the reporters even took notice that I couldn’t seem to get my head right.

“You don’t seem your usual self, Luke. Everything go okay in your training camp?”

“Yep. All good, just can’t wait for the fight.”

“You sure? You didn’t suffer any injuries or anything during your training, did you?”

“I’m as strong as an ox. Faster than I’ve ever been, too. I guess you could say I’m taking on a bit of a Zen approach for this one guys.”

They had laughed. But if they only knew where my head was really at, they might be writing their stories with a different tilt.

One guy asked me if I was worried about the fight. He noted that it was the first time in my career that I would be the underdog going into it.

“No,” I’d said. “Simmons has the belt right now so the odds makers have to list him as the favorite. It doesn’t mean shit though.”

Then I’d looked right into the lens of his camera.

“So if you all want to make your money, hit up the sports book and put everything you have on me. I’m the guy that makes millionaires. Don’t forget it.”

I took another bite of the chicken and greens. It was all I’d be allowed to eat up until the fight, save for some good clean carbohydrates on fight day.

“You feelin’ good, killer?”

It was my old trainer, Jimmy. He always got a kick out of coming along for the big fights. I liked to run my own program for the most part but he’d taken me under his wing when I was a kid. It was good to bring him into the fold the last two weeks or so leading up to a fight to help me fine tune a few things. He had a good eye for footwork and he was low key enough that I didn’t mind his company. He and Nick were the only ones I allowed into my suite during fight week.

“Feeling strong,” I said. “But I think I might go for a run or something, you know, get some fresh air.”

“No problem, kid,” he said. “I’ll make sure the hotel treadmills are open and I’ll get the room cleared out.”

“No,” I said. “I’m headed outside. Gonna jog the strip.”

“Whoa, Luke. I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Yeah man, you’ll get fuckin’ mobbed out there,” added Nick.

“On a normal weekend you wouldn’t be able to make it two blocks without the whole world tracking you down. On fight weekend you probably won’t get out of the lobby.”

“Don’t worry about it fellas. I’ll make do.”

“Okay, kid. But stay hydrated. It’s hotter than hell out there.”

I had no intention of going for a run. I was at my breaking point. It was time to call her.

My luck turned for the better when I found the elevator empty. There was a spot down by the conference room that I remembered from last time. There wouldn’t be anyone around.

My hat was tugged down low over my eyes. Normally, I wore jeans and maybe a band t-shirt, but because of the sponsorship deal, they had us dressed up in company gear for the weekend. It was worked into every contract.

Still, I thought I’d be able to get by without too much fanfare.

My good fortune continued when I hit the lobby. The area just outside the elevators was empty. That was unheard of for a hotel on the strip. Especially during the weekend.

I slipped around the corner hopped over a restricted access rope, and slipped through the unlocked door into the dark conference room. I was home free. As far as I could tell no one saw me, and if anyone did they had the good sense not to scream my name.

I took a deep breath and hit send before I could talk myself out of calling.

By the third ring my enthusiasm deflated. She was going to let me go to voicemail.

But then…

“Hello?”

“Uh, hey Bria. It’s me.”

“I know.”

“Yeah, right, so… how have you been?”

“Really? You disappear for almost two weeks and that’s all you have for me?”

“No. You know what I mean. I thought you were done with me.”

The phone was muffled for a second as she adjusted it in her hand. Then there was silence.

“Bria?”

“Do you know what happened after you left? Do you know how bad that made me look in front of my boss?”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant for you to get in trouble. But that asshole… he-”

“I know.” She sounded defeated. “Thank you for stopping him…”

“So what happened?”

“Nothing happed right then. I mean, I took off just like you did, but I heard they had to take Kevin to the hospital.”

“Are you upset about that?”

“No. He deserved it. I think he is trying to press charges, but there were witnesses that saw him come at me first...”

“Fuck ‘em,” I said. “They might
be
lawyers, but I can hire one that will run circles around them. I’m not worried about that at all.”

“Yeah,” she said, uncomfortably.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, though. What happened with your boss? Was he mad?”

“You could say that.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, he and Kevin’s dad go way back. I’m surprised he let me stick around as long as he did before…”

“He fired you?!”

“Suspended, but yeah, it’s only a matter of time.”

“That’s bullshit! They can’t do that. Don’t worry Bri, we’ll sue them for unfair termination. I’ll make sure they give you back pay and everything. Places like that think they can fuck with people, but they don’t have any clue what I can do to them. Forget about them pressing charges. I’ll get a whole team of lawyers to tear that place apart. They won’t know what hit them.”

“Luke, calm down. It’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry Bria. If that piece of shit wouldn’t have been there, then none of this would have happened. I should have waited to deal with him later. It’s just… when he tried to hit you… I saw red.”

“I know. I said it’s okay. At first I was devastated, but I’ve had the last couple of days to think it over and it might actually turn out to be a good thing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ll have to sell my car to pay the bills and that’s gonna suck. But this might be what I needed to get myself going. I already scheduled a day next month to take the bar exam.”

“That’s great. You’ll pass it. I know you will.”

“Thanks, Luke.”

There was another awkward pause.

“Hey, Bria?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something else I needed to ask you.”

“I’m listening.”

“I want you to fly out here for the fight. Will you do it?”

“It’s tomorrow night, Luke. It’s too late. Besides, I told you, you don’t have to make anything up to me. I’m doing fine.”

“I’m not trying to make anything up to you. I
need
you here. I haven’t been able to get my head straight since that day at your office. I thought I fucked everything up for good.”

“That’s… Luke, this is last minute. I can’t afford a flight out there on such short notice...”

“I’ll have the promoter send a jet to pick you up. Please, Bria. I can’t win without you.”

“I don’t know…”

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. If I go in there tomorrow night feeling like this I’ll get my ass kicked.”

“I have a hard time believing that.”

“C’mon. It’s not like you have a job to be at tomorrow.”

I could tell she was smiling now.

“That’s a low blow.”

“Does that mean yes?”

“Yes,” she said. “If you really want me.”

“I don’t just want you. I
need
you. We can make this work. After we get through tomorrow night it will be like a fresh start for both of us. We can still do everything we talked about. Are you in?

“I’m in.”

I spent the next half hour threatening the promoter.

“Don, if you don’t send that jet to pick her up, I won’t fight. It’s as easy as that.”

“Listen god damn it,” he said, “I can’t send the company jet half way across the county just so you can have your little girlfriend here. Your demands are getting out of control and I have to draw the line somewhere.”

“You know you can make this happen. And you will, because it’s not going to be easy to find a replacement challenger for a title fight on less than twenty-four hours’ notice.”

The stress of his job was doing a number on his face. Despite the thousands he no doubt spent on Botox injections, you could still see the deep lines in his forehead.

“You’re a real asshole, you know that Greer? Okay, I’ll take care of it. My assistant will get you the information.”

“I’ll make it up to you.”

“You damn well better.”

Bria was ecstatic when I called her with the details. The fastest the jet could make it there was in the afternoon. It would be close, but she would make it in time for the fight.

It felt like a million pounds had been lifted off my shoulders. Knowing that my girl would be in my corner meant I could focus all of my attention on the task at hand.

I made it back to the room a little before midnight.

“What the fuck, kid? There you are. We’ve been going crazy looking for you,” said Jimmy.

“Had a little business to take care of coach, that’s all.” I threw a playful jab at his stomach.

“Business? Jesus you could have given us a little warning. Or at least answered you phone. We thought you bailed on the whole thing.”

“Naw, I never thought that, Luke,” yelled Nick from his spot on the couch. “Never doubted you once.”

With a running start, I jumped over the back of the couch and got him in a headlock.

“Nothing to worry about boys,” I yelled as I wrestled with Nick. “We’re good to go!”

“What the hell has gotten into you?” asked Jimmy. “Now you’re starting to look like the fighter we used to know.”

“Like I said, just had to take care of a little business.”

“Well, whatever it was I’m glad you did it. You had us a little concerned with how you were acting this week.”

I looked down at Nick and cocked an eyebrow. He was still struggling to get out of the headlock.

“Not me, Luke. I never worry about you.”

“Good because the only one who has anything to worry about is Simmons. He has no idea what’s about to hit him.”

I
checked my phone obsessively
. Luke said it would be close but I didn’t know
how
close. The fight was scheduled to start in less than an hour and we hadn’t even landed yet.

I had to be driving the poor woman who the M.M.A.C.S. sent to get me insane.

“Are we close yet?” I asked for the thousandth time.

“Almost, dear. The pilot is just waiting for clearance to land. He promised that the second a runway opens up he’ll get us on the ground.”

She was sweet. From the moment the car service picked me up she was helping me. She told me what to expect when we got to the arena, the fastest way to get through security to the locker rooms, and a host of other details.

I didn’t have time to do anything before I left. The freedom I felt was similar to what I had when we took the vacation. It was a sensation I didn’t plan on losing this time.

While I was waiting at the airport for the jet to finish refueling I decided to call the office. Christine tried to screen me out but I told her if she didn’t put me through to Jones I’d keep calling all day until I got him.

When he answered there was a lot of trepidation in his voice. He asked how I was doing.

I’d told him that wasn’t his concern anymore. I also told him HR could stop their stupid investigation because there was no way I was going back to work at that place even if they didn’t find me at fault. He was taken aback.

He started in with a bunch of lawyer-speak about how he didn’t want to lose me but because of the liability… and on and on.

I told him I didn’t care about that and then let him know what I thought of him for not seeing my side of the situation. Then I told him what a psychotic bitch his assistant was and how she made all of the employees miserable. He seemed genuinely surprised by that but I couldn’t be bothered to stick around for his response. I hung up on him mid-sentence. It was one of the more satisfying phone calls of my life.

I didn’t even dwell on it either. I had a better path in life now. My thoughts were focused on the here and now. And that meant that the future would take care of itself, whatever it may hold.

Today that meant going to Luke.

The plan was for me to get to the locker room so that I could see him before the fight. They had a VIP section in the front row where the friends and family of the fighters were allowed to sit. I would be allowed in there after seeing him.

“Okay, honey. The captain just told me we are cleared to land. It should only be a few more minutes now.”

“Oh thank you so much.”

I felt a little ashamed that I couldn’t remember her name.”

It was ten after eight now. I prayed I would make it in time.

During the flight I busied myself by reading articles about the fight. A lot of the publications picked Luke to win but most thought it would be a really close fight. It was more real to me now than it had been before.

I’d never been to any live sporting event, let alone a prize fight where the man I loved was one of the competitors. It’s funny, in all the time I’d spent with him I never thought about what it would be like when it came time for him to actually fight. He seemed indestructible to me. Now all I could think about was his humanity...

My stomach turned just thinking about him getting hit.

What if he got hurt?

What if he lost?

I was jostled in my seat as the jet touched down.

“And just like that, we’re here,” said the nameless woman with the soft eyes.

We taxied to a stop after a few minutes of maneuvering around the tarmac by the pilot.

It was eight-nineteen.

“Okay, Bria. The stairway is down. We can exit the jet.”

I took a deep breath and unfastened my seat belt.

Here we go.

There was a long black car waiting for me.

“This way, ma’am,” said an older gentleman in a blue suit. “I’ll be escorting you to the event.”

“Thank you. I think we’re running out of time.”

“I’ll tell the driver to step on it,” he said, with a wink.

Las Vegas Boulevard was packed. I don’t know why I would have expected anything different. I craned my neck to see around the front seat. The driver was doing his best but there wasn’t much room to get around anyone.

“Take a deep breath, young lady. We’ll get you there. If I know anything about Mr. Greer, he won’t let the show start until he’s damn well ready for it to start.”

“Thanks,” I said, meekly. It didn’t alleviate any of my concern.

I decided to call Kaitlyn to help with the anxiety.

She answered the phone in a huff.

“I can’t believe you bailed on me tonight. You were supposed to watch the fights with me, remember? And then you didn’t even answer when I tried texting you.”

“I’m really sorry, I was in the air. I couldn’t get any messages.”

“Wait, you were on a plane again? What is that, like the millionth time this month? Where are you headed to now?”

“I just landed in Vegas.”

“You’re going to see Luke! Did you talk to him?”

“We fixed things. Like you said.”

“I knew it! You should listen to me more often. So you called him?”

“Actually, he called me.”

“That’s even better.”

“But I just wanted to tell you where I was. I’m sorry I forgot to let you know earlier.”

“No, that’s totally fine. Wait… are you there with him now?”

“No. I’m trying to get there but the traffic on the strip is a total nightmare. I’m kind of using you as a diversion so I don’t go crazy with anxiety. I’m afraid I’m not going to make it before the fight. He said he really needed me to be there for him before he went out.”

“Hang in there, Bri. You’ll make it. You have fate on your side.”

“I hope so.”

The phone clicked, then beeped three times. The call dropped. Great.

It felt like an eternity before we finally pulled up in front of the venue.

“This is it,” said the man sitting next to me. “When we get out I’ll take you right to him. I may be old but I can move fast so stay close.”

My phone told me it was eight fifty-one. Nine minutes to get there.

The old guy wasn’t lying when he said he was fast. I never moved so quickly while wearing heels in my entire life. I held on to the tail of his jacket as we went.

The casino was filled with people. Everyone was dressed in their best dress or suit. There was a real sense of excitement in the air.

I could hear the occasional roar go up from inside the arena as we made our way around to the side entrance. The preliminary fights had long been underway. Only the main event was left.

“Right through here,” he directed.

We ducked down a hallway and went through a small kitchen. Before I knew it, we were in the bowels of the building.

“Almost there.”

This was a restricted area. There were people milling about but they all seemed to have jobs to do. I imagine it was a mixture of tv people and event staff.

“That’s it,” said the old man. “Go on in, darlin’.”

He pointed toward the first in a row of doors that went down a long hallway.

It was just after nine.

I walked up to the door, then looked back over my shoulder to confirm with him that I was at the right one. He was already gone.

I held my breath, turned the knob, and pushed.

Luke’s was the first face I saw. He was sitting on a training table while someone massaged his shoulders. He was looking me deep into my eyes before I even entered the room.

People were bustling about in every direction. It was a mad house.

“Everybody out!” His voice boomed across the room.

There confused glances all around.

“C’mon, I said everybody out. Now!”

“You heard him folks, he said everybody out,” yelled a younger guy who I recognized from the gym back home.

“But we’re almost ready to go out. They want us to start-”

Luke shot him a glare that stopped him dead in his tracks.

The music from the arena speakers beat in dull thuds against the locker room walls.

One by one members of Luke’s team filtered out. I stood patiently to the side as they passed. When the door closed after the last one I ran to him.

“You made it,” he said, throwing his big arms around me.

“It was close. I didn’t think it was going to happen for a second.”

He planted a strong kiss firmly on my mouth.

“I’m sorry all of this happened. I should have called you sooner.”

“No. I overreacted. Don’t think about that anymore. It’s in the past.”

Luke was wearing dark red shorts with white trim. There were sponsor’s patches adorning each leg. His shoulders were covered by a heavy hooded robe. It was satin like the ones Rocky wore in the movies.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Now I am.”

I climbed into his lap on top of the table.

“You can do this. Go win the fight. There’ll be all the time in the world for us after. I’ll be in the front row.”

“You better be.”

He picked me up and walked me to the door. I could hear his people nervously chatting on the other side. Someone called out.

“Luke, it’s time!”

He exhaled through his nose and set me down.

“When this is over, you’re all mine.”

“Be careful.”

I planted another quick kiss on the corner of his mouth and slipped out through the door without looking back. I didn’t want him to see how nervous I was.

The woman from the jet was waiting outside the locker room to lead the way. We got to our seats just as Luke started to make his way toward the cage. A heavy rock song played over the audio system. The place absolutely erupted when he appeared from behind the curtain.

There were so many people around him as he walked down the aisle. There were security guards and Luke’s trainers and members of the medical staff. It looked like a small army taking their warrior into battle.

He stopped just in front of the cage for his final preparations. One of the guys helped him pull the robe off of his shoulders and over his gloves. Another one rubbed him down with what looked like Vaseline; first on his brow, and then over his chest.

His cut musculature glistened under the spotlight. His hair was wet and slicked back from his warm-up.

The other fighter was on his way to the ring now, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of Luke. He bounced around the inside of the cage on his toes while shadow boxing. It seemed as if he thought he was the only one in the entire building. He was in the zone.

His opponent was a monster of a man. He cut across my view of Luke as he entered the cage. I’d seen pictures of him online but they didn’t do justice to his true size. He stood a brutish six and a half feet tall. His frame carried the bulk that only
dangerous
amount of steroids could provide.

They looked like two completely different animals in that cage. Luke was calm and fluid while his opponent made hasty movements and was clearly nervous.

Every one of the thirty thousand plus in attendance was on their feet. The public address system crackled and the walls of the building seemed to tremble at the crowd’s response.

“Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaidies and gentlemen, welcome to our main event!” The announcer’s voice blasted out of the speakers. The fans hit another level of excitement which I didn’t even think possible.

“This is a scheduled five round fight for the M.M.A.C.S. light heavyweight championship of the world!”

The lights dimmed and a hush fell over the crowd.

“In the blue corner is the challenger. Weighing in at two hundred and five pounds, fighting out of the Greer Mixed Martial Arts Fight Club, he’s a two-time national kick boxing champion and a freestyle fighter, Luuuuuuuuuuuke Greeeeeeeer!”

The crowd responded with a chorus of baritone “Luuuuuuuuuuuke’s” back at the cage. The people were clearly in his corner.

He stayed light on his feet, bouncing from side-to-side. Every now and then he shake his head to each side and roll his shoulders. His tan body almost glowed beneath the fluorescent lighting. The determination and focus he maintained was hard for anyone to match.

“And fighting out of the red corner is our champion. Also weighing in at two hundred and five pounds, a mixed martial artist fighting out of the great city of Chicago, Illinois, he’s our reigning, defending, light heavyweight champion of the world… Eric “Super” Simmons!”

Simmons raised both hands in the air. The cacophony of boos from the crowd drowned out any applause he received.

The referee brought both fighters to the center of the cage to read the rules of the bout. And that was it. Without any further pomp or circumstance, they were each directed toward their corners and everyone else aside from the ref exited.

It was time.

Luke crouched down like a Lion preparing to take down its prey.

“Blue corner, are you ready?” shouted the referee.

“Red corner, are you ready?”

“Let’s fight!”

Luke sprung forward out of his stance, covering the distance between the two fighters in an incredibly short amount of time. Simmons squared up to him tentatively.

Luke let go with a barrage of strikes that sent his stunned opponent back against the cage. He landed a kick to the body and then a series of upper cuts.

The crowd reached a fever pitch as the action built.

Another right hand to the body and a left over the top had Simmons on wobbly legs. My heart was in my stomach. If this thing ended in the first round, I would be the happiest girl in the world.

But Simmons grabbed on to Luke, tying up his arms. They wrestled with each other against the cage and the crowd’s energy dropped a level as it was apparent that the champion had regained his bearings.

I was so close to the ringside commentators; I could hear what they were saying.

“Greer came out of the gate with a vengeance,” said one.

“Let’s hope he didn’t just blow out all of his energy trying to get an early stoppage,” said the other.

That didn’t scare me. I knew Luke had energy for days. Simmons landed a heavy right hand that sent Luke’s head snapping backward. I cringed.