Takedown (8 page)

“So you’re telling me you gave Josh that job to make him stronger, is that it?”

He smiled and nodded. “That’s quite obvious, I think. It will also improve his stamina. Did he tell you that I am now his trainer?”

“Yes, he told me. But isn’t that an odd way to train?”

He chuckled. “That’s exactly how my uncle trained me. He made me work on his farm, under the sun. Everyday, I carried countless bales of hay. I chopped wood. I built a barn. I milked cows. I plowed the land. I ran twenty kilometers a day doing errands.”

“That sounds cruel.”

“I’d say it’s practical. If I trained in a gym, I’d be wasting my energy for the sole reason of shaping up, but by doing farm jobs, it serves a double purpose.”

“I’ve seen you working out in the gym. Bryan told me you have your own gym in your house.”

“I had to, especially when I turned pro. There are some things that can’t be done on the farm. But really, hard labor really toughened me up at a very young age. And I expect the same thing from Josh after a couple of months. I guarantee you, it will be worth it.”

She was silent for a few moments, trying to convince herself that he had a point. Indeed, he was correct. Rather that Josh spent his money in the gym, this way, he’d be earning instead while getting the benefits of a workout. Two birds with one stone.

“I understand your concern,” he said as if he had read her mind. “I felt the same for my brother years ago.”

She raised her brows. How could he liken her situation with his? She loved her brother, while he hated his. “Really?” she asked so as not to offend him in any ways, but no matter how she tried, the sarcasm in her tone was still evident.

He grinned. He knew again what was in her mind. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

She shook her head. “No offense, but your rift with your brother is not a secret.”

“So how much do you know?”

“You hate him. He hates you. And it’s also not a secret that you and your father have disowned him.”

“Everything you said is true, except the first one.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t hate him,” he replied promptly. “I loved him, and I still do. That’s why I retired early, so he could be the champion.”

“He said you quit because you did not want to lose from him.”

He snickered. “He can say whatever he wants. I don’t really give a damn.”

“Why not? In the eyes of the public, you’re a coward.”

“Is that what you think, as well?”

“I don’t know, but it does sound like a highly convincing explanation to your sudden retirement.”

He sighed and did not say more about the subject. She was curious to hear his side, but it seemed he had no intention of confiding with her. Instead, he fixed his eyes to her chest.

“So how was the surgery?” he asked. “I’m not seeing any difference right now.”

She pulled the collar of her blouse up to her neck. She wasn’t showing any cleavage, but the way he stared at her chest made her feel uncomfortable. “I cancelled my appointment,” she admitted.

He frowned. “How come?”

She forced out a smile. “Let’s just say… someone managed to convince me out of it.”

He smiled. “Who?”

She cleared her throat. She did not want to say anything that will add up to his inflated ego.

He grinned, certain that she was talking about him. “Now, you believe you have nice tits?”

She flushed and nodded. “That’s coming from a womanizer.”

“I thought you said I’ve no taste.”

“Did I say that?”

He laughed at her. “But I’m glad you changed your mind. I adore a woman who can be confident with how she looks like regardless of her imperfection. I’m usually drawn to that trait.”

He met her gaze and smiled.

She flushed. She was almost certain he was trying to convey a message to her. Her heartbeat raced.

He kept his eyes on hers. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. His were the sexiest smoky gray eyes she had ever seen. If his famous piercing stare, which he’d always worn in the octagon, had always left her in awe, this softer side of him made her sigh dreamily.

“I like your eyes,” he said, his pupils dilating brighter. “They stand out.”

She really didn’t care much about what he just said. She could not afford to break away from his enticing gaze. She felt hypnotized.

He smiled and slowly leaned forward. She was almost sure that he was going to kiss her, but suddenly, he stopped and turned to look at the door.

That snapped her out of her trance. She followed the direction of his gaze and found a tall, blonde woman.

Leslie Adams.

The pleasant atmosphere suddenly turned sour.

This bitch. Her being selected over her as the octagon girl three years ago was not the only grudge she held over this five-foot nine inches blonde. It started all the way back in High School, when she caught this bitch necking with her star quarterback boyfriend in the music room.

“Hi, Blaze,” she greeted, fluttering her eyes at Blaze and completely ignoring Megan’s presence.

Blaze rose to his feet. “Hey, baby,” he said and kissed Leslie’s lips.

Megan was paralyzed on her seat. Did he just kiss Leslie on the lips?
Does that mean…

Fuck!

She stood up and grabbed her purse. “I’d better go,” she said and went straight to the door. She heard Blaze calling her back, but she ignored him.

She never looked back. If she did, she might punch him in the face and scalp off that bitch’s head and make a fine rug out of her hair.

Chapter 10

“Quit wimping out and hit me,” Blaze roared. “Harder.”

Megan was stunned at the door as she stared at Blaze who was sparring with her brother on the mat. Did he just call Josh a wimp?

She never called Josh in such a way, even if he was acting stupid often times. When Josh was younger, he’d cry whenever some kids called him
nut head
or
idiot
. He had always been very vulnerable with name calling.

Part of her wanted to get angry, but seeing a legendary champion spend his precious time training her brother for free was a huge favor, a chance that no other fighter ever had the privilege to get, even with their money. She should not complain.

She heard a throaty sound behind her. Quickly, she stepped aside to let Ryder in. She had almost forgotten that her boss was following behind her.

She had no business coming here, in a private gym co-owned by Blaze’s circle of MMA fighter friends, but when Ryder learned that Blaze had recently been spending a lot of time here, he had decided to give the former champ a visit. She could not refuse when he had insisted that she come along.

There was only one reason for this visit. For the
n
th time, Ryder wanted to try to convince Blaze to make his grand comeback. He even carried with him a check worth twenty million dollars as advance payment.

She followed her boss to the two men sparring. Ryder clapped his hands to get Blaze’s attention.

Blaze, who was demonstrating to Josh how to avoid and counter an oncoming fist punch, suddenly stopped and turned around. He frowned at the sight of Ryder. “What are you doing here, prick?” he asked. “Didn’t I tell you I hate being bothered when I’m in the middle of something?”

Ryder laughed, unoffended by Blaze’s disrespectful remark. She knew they’d been friends before. In fact, Ryder had once been Blaze’s manager, when Ryder’s father was still the CEO of the Battledome. “I did warn you I’ll keep bothering you until I get my much-awaited yes.”

Blaze sighed and happened to glance at her. She quickly lowered her eyes to the floor. He was topless and clad only in a pair of fightshorts that outlined the bulge in his crotch.

With the nature of her job, this was a usual sight, but not if Blaze was concerned. Seeing him half-naked reminded her of the time they spent together in his house in Boulder City—the way his solid muscles and burning skin felt against her palms and fingers.

“I give you a resounding no,” Blaze replied.

She stole a glance at him and found him reaching for a towel. He was sweating all over, something that she had always found disgusting being around with men. But not with this man. His scent, wafting in the air, intoxicated her senses.

“We’ll see about that,” Ryder said in a positive tone.

Blaze narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “It seems you’ve come prepared.” He threw her a glance. “And you brought my favorite octagon girl with you.”

Grinning, Ryder shifted his glances between her and Blaze. “I figured if I brought her along, you wouldn’t shoo me out.”

She frowned at her boss. Did he really think there was something between her and Blaze?

“Well, shoo,” Blaze told Ryder. “Leave me alone with my octagon girl.”

Ryder’s smile widened, while Megan felt her cheeks burning. “She wouldn’t be here if I didn’t take her along.”

“Then, thank you. Now, you’ve done your part. You may go.”

“Hey, you could at least reward me for that.”

“I could buy you a drink.”

“Then let’s go.”

Megan left the two argue and approached her brother who was fixing his stuff in his bag. “You alright?” she asked.

Josh glanced at her. “Yes.”

She did not believe him. She knew that look in his face. “Josh, you wanted this. As early as now, you have to grow a really thick skin to be able to absorb a lot of insults. Your trainer will call you names more than any critics or haters out there.”

“I know,” he replied. “I don’t mind the names. I just feel bad I couldn’t grasp what he’s trying to teach me.”

“It takes time.”

“He seems to be running out of patience with me.”

“That’s not true. I’ve seen the worst kind of trainers in the Battledome. They yell and swear at their student, but they rarely give up.”

Josh sighed. “I’ll work harder.”

She forced out a smile. When she turned her head over her shoulders, Ryder and Blaze were no longer there.

“Where’d they go?” she asked.

“To the shower,” Josh replied.

“Both of them?”

Josh shrugged and lifted up his bag. “Gotta go.”

“You’re not going to shower?”

“I’ll do a few more rounds around the park,” he replied and headed for the door. “See ya.”

She was left with an open mouth. That kid never seemed to get tired. She wondered where he’s getting all his energy.

She sat on the stool and waited for her boss. It was past five in the afternoon. She should be going home now, but she had Ryder’s things with her, including the check worth twenty million dollars.

She counted the seconds, tapping the front of her shoes on the floor.

Fuck. This boredom was killing her.

Finally, Ryder walked out of the shower room, alone. She kept looking behind him, hoping that Blaze would emerge, but he did not.

Why should she care anyway?

“Let’s go,” Ryder said.

She immediately stood up and followed him out of the door.

“How did it go?” she asked.

He sighed and shook his head. “That prick’s difficult, but I’m not giving up on him.”

“What’s your next plan?”

He stopped and peered at her face. “You have to help me on this, okay?”

She raised her left eyebrow. “What can I do?”

“Miss Riley, you are special to him. He might consider it if you try to convince him.”

She chuckled. “He never talked about MMA with me.”

“If you can get him back to fight, I’ll give you a bonus. How does fifty thousand sound to you?”

She sucked in a breath. The amount stupefied her. A thousand would have been fine with her, but fifty thousand… Wow.

“Well, thank you, Sir,” she replied. “But we’re not really close.”

“Then be close to him. Invite him for dinner. I don’t think he’ll refuse. He likes you.”

She rolled her eyes. “He liked all women, as long as they’ve got pussies. Sorry for the word, but that’s just it.”

He laughed loudly. “You know what? I think I know now why he likes you.”

She frowned. “Why?”

He shook his head. “Listen, I’ll go ahead. You wait for him right here and invite him to dinner. Just try. Give it a week or two. If you can’t get to convince him after two weeks, fine with me. I’ll still give you a reward just for trying.”

She was tempted to roll her eyes. She knew what he’d give her—a pack of candies. He’d told her the same thing before when she agreed to temporarily replace Travis’ PA, and when her job was finished, he had given her a big bar of Tobleron and a stuffed toy that she suspected have been gifted to him by someone else.

“Cool,” she replied anyway, just out of respect.

He smiled and took his stuff from her. “Wait for him, okay?” he winked and left.

Leaning on the wall, she sighed. So what should she tell Blaze?

Before she could concoct a script in her mind, Blaze stepped out of the door. He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was still wet.

He seemed surprised to find her there. “Hey,” he said and stood before her. “You’re waiting for me, I guess.”

She nodded, and suddenly, an idea popped out of her mind. “I just want to talk to you about Josh.”

“What about him?”

She took a deep breath. “I honestly feel bad whenever I hear someone yelling at him. He’s not used to being yelled at, and he’s very sensitive.”

“Here we go again, Miss Riley. I thought I told you that you have to give your brother some space. He’s not a kid anymore.”

“I know, but you have to be more patient with him. You know he’s trying really hard. He’s just a bit slow, but he is working harder than any athlete you might know.”

“There’s no question about that, and that is exactly the reason why I agreed to train him. You just have to trust your brother, okay. He’ll be fine.”

She sighed and nodded. “Thank you.”

He smiled. “D’you have any plans for tonight?”

She shook her head. It looked like she didn’t have to invite him out herself, because he was about to do it instead.

“My dad’s celebrating his birthday tonight. Want to escort me?”

Her jaw dropped. She glanced at the Chinese style blouse and the pants she was wearing. “With this?”

He gave her a once over. “So what’s wrong with that?”

She laughed. “Your father’s a billionaire. His guests are probably elites. I can’t go there like this.”

“Then let’s buy some clothes. It saves me time rather than going back home to change. What do you think?”

She pursed her lips. “You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

She followed him along the corridor, walking briskly to catch up with his giant steps. “Why me?” she asked.

He frowned. “Why not?”

“There might be someone else you’d rather go with.”

He stopped and peered at her face. “Are you sure you want to come? I can call someone else if you don’t want to.”

“Who do you have in mind? Leslie?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Do you like her for me?”

She rolled her eyes. She was really fuming inside. She didn’t want to say something, because surely, she had nothing nice to say about that… err… bitch.

“Honestly? No,” she said and walked ahead. “And I’m coming with you, so don’t call her.”

“I wasn’t about to,” he replied, following close behind her.

She smiled. She felt like calling Leslie just to tell her that Blaze had asked her to escort him tonight. Surely, Leslie would scream bloody murder.

*****

“Dad, didn’t you hear what the doctor said?” Blaze confronted his father. “If you don’t have an operation, you won’t have a year to live.”

“For God’s sake, Blaze, I’m sixty,” Walter replied and leaned back against the pillows at the headboard. Today was his sixtieth birthday. Dozens of his friends, relatives, and business associates had gathered in his house to celebrate the occasion, but the celebrant was not feeling well and had to retire to bed early. “I’ve lived long enough.”

Nobody else knew, but Blaze, that Walter had just been diagnosed with liver cancer and the doctor recommended transplant surgery as soon as possible. The problem was, it could take weeks, or months, before they could find a donor.

“You can live longer,” Blaze argued. He loved his father. He was willing to give a part of his life for Walter, despite the doctor’s warning of some possible long-term risks that he might have to deal with afterwards.

But Walter loved him too, and would rather die than have any of his sons risked his life for him.

“What for? You’re all grown up now. You can take care of yourself. Unless you have any plans of giving me a grandchild.”

Blaze almost cringed, but he did not want to give his father any hint that the idea was a nightmare to him. He couldn’t even commit himself to a woman, let alone having a child.

“Who knows?” he replied. If he had to lie to give his father a reason to live, he would. Maybe he would consider having a baby, but minus the wife.

“That woman you brought with you,” Walter said. “Is she the one, or just another fling?”

He raised an eyebrow. Was he talking about Megan? He did not even introduce them, but his father could have noticed her. “She’s a friend.”

Walter chuckled, pulling the sheet to his waist. “Since when did you have a woman friend?”

“I have plenty.”

“Oh, come on, son. I know you. You don’t waste time with a woman unless you want her pussy.”

Blaze stroked his neck. This was one of the very rare occasions that he heard his father utter such word.

“Go back downstairs,” Walter said. “I want to rest.”

With a deep sigh, Blaze rose to his feet. “Night, Dad,” he said and left the room.

“Baby, huh?” he uttered as he descended the stairs. So who could give him a baby?

Janey? Lucy? Cynthia?

Unlikely. Those women would never want their bodies deformed, unless for a good price.

What about Penelope? That woman was a perfect combination of beauty and intelligence. The problem was… she was his lawyer’s daughter, so it probably would not be a good idea.

Megan’s name suddenly popped out of his mind. He immediately shook his head.