Takedown Page 4

  Kiki was standing over Lawson, training him on the computer system, when the bell from the entrance rang, quite loudly as the door opened with force. Kiki straightened up quickly as a tall, blonde woman walked with a determined confidence to the desk.

  “Hi. Can I help you?” Kiki asked cheerfully.

  “Yes. I need to speak to the person in charge.”

  “That would be me. I’m the manager. How can I help you?”

  “No, not you.” The woman tilted her head, giving Kiki the once-over. “The owner.”

  “I’m sure I can help you. But if you’re interested in the receptionist position, I apologize but it’s been filled.”

  “You don’t know who I am?” the blonde asked, resting an elbow on the high desk. “I’m going to start training here.”

  “I know who you are,” Lawson said with a big grin as he promptly stood up from his chair.

  Kiki forced a smile, looking at him questioningly, waiting for him to give her more details.

  “You’re Jessica ‘Jackpot’ Michaels! You were the women’s bantamweight champion. I saw that last fight you had. Man, that was hard to watch, what a loss. No one saw that coming,” Lawson said with a shake of his head.

  “Yeah, it must have been devastating for you to watch,” Jessica said, narrowing her eyes at him.

  Kiki cleared her throat. “I wasn’t made aware that we had a new fighter joining the gym. Let me call Rex up here,” Kiki said, trying to keep her composure. It was hard to keep the heat from creeping up on her cheeks. Everything about this woman was intimidating, from her body language and the way she spoke to the authority in her eyes.

  “Lawson, this is how you do an overhead page,” Kiki said, pushing buttons on the phone, trying to keep her voice level and calm while she called for Rex, the gym’s head trainer and recruiter.

  Just as she set the phone down Vi’s office door swung wildly open, causing a commotion.

  “Get the fuck out of here, Jessica!” Vivette’s voice echoed through the large gym as she walked unwaveringly toward Jessica, stopping only inches away from her.

  “Vi, is that any way to talk to an old friend?” Jessica said, putting a hand on her hip.

  Kiki knew that Vi was known to have a temper, but never having witnessed it for herself, this was a lot to take in. Both women postured up, shoulders squared, eyes leveled at one another dramatically, waiting for someone to make a move.

  “I want you out of my gym right now, and I fucking mean it!” Vi ordered.

  “Don’t you even want to know why I’m here?” Jessica asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Nope.”

  “Where is Rex? He’s much more level-headed than you. He’ll listen to me.”

  “You better talk fast then, I don’t have time for this shit,” the old man said from behind Kiki, startling everyone.

  Lawson, now standing, leaned over to Kiki. “Is there always this much drama?”

  Kiki gave a half-smile. She wanted to say no, that this was unusual, that although fighters talked a lot of trash on television the gym stayed a calm, relaxing place. But if she was going to lose an employee she decided it was better to do it now before she wasted time training him. Taking a deep breath before she answered, she said, “Sometimes. Is that going to be a problem?”

  “No way. It’s like watching free fights!” Lawson answered enthusiastically.

  Poor guy didn’t realize it was more like a soap opera around these parts, but he would learn. Kiki shrugged off the comments as she watched Rex step between the women who were squaring off in the middle of the gym entrance.

  “Rex, I want to come back. I want you to train me again. I was always at my best when I was training here.”

  “No,” Vi interrupted.

  “Wait a second, Vi,” Rex said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on his heels.

  Kiki was trying to pay attention to the conversation to see if she could make out why Vi had such disdain for this woman that she’d never heard of.

  “Is this because Wade is back in town?” Vi asked.

  “What? No. I had no idea he was back in town.” Jessica shrugged.

  Wade? Now Kiki was really intrigued. What did Wade have to do with this?

  “I want to come back because… I lost. It was humiliating, and I need to figure my shit out.”

  “Vi, this could be just what the gym needs. Two major champions, in a men’s and women’s division.”

  Rex was talking about Vi’s fiancé, Colin, who was the most talked about name that the gym currently trained. His next fight was for a title and it was sure to be a war, at least that’s what everyone said. Kiki was still getting a handle on all the MMA jargon.

  “Sure, Uncle, if that’s what’s important to you. You just better make sure you clear it with Wade,” Vi said, shaking her head with a look of disgust on her face before turning and marching off.

  Kiki was now very curious as to what this Jessica girl had to do with Wade. Kiki shifted from foot to foot during the awkward silence after Vi had gone.

  “Rex, would you like me to get Jessica the forms and get her in the system?” Kiki asked.

  “Yeah.” Rex nodded to Jessica. “We’re going to go talk in my office, and I’ll have her pick up the forms when she comes out. See if you can pull up her information from the archives. It might save you some time.”

  “Of course.” Kiki smiled as she watched Rex lead Jessica away.

  Kiki was most definitely going to search the archives, google, and maybe see if Lawson could give her any insight on the female fighter. The ache in the pit of her stomach and the way her heart thumped in her chest told her that Wade and Jessica had been together. Maybe that was why Vi had been worried about Kiki dating Wade. Or it could have been the reason Vi had imposed the rule about no fraternization at the gym. Kiki’s mind was working in overdrive, and insecurities were sneaking up on her. She was no competition for the beautiful Jessica who stood at least half a foot taller than her five foot one. Her natural dishwater blonde hair hung beautifully at her shoulders with a slight wave, and her dark blue eyes were small, but powerful. The air of confidence was enough to suck the oxygen out of the room, leaving Kiki gasping with anxiety.

  “Wow. I can’t believe I just met Jessica ‘Jackpot’ Michaels!” Lawson’s deep voice pulled Kiki from her thoughts.

  “Yeah.” Kiki winced, but recovered with a smile as she pointed toward the computer on the desk. “I showed you how to use the system, see if you can pull her up in there.”

  Lawson settled in at the desk and began clicking away before Kiki took a half-step back and pulled her cellphone out, texting the only person who might give her a straight answer.

  Kiki: Do you know Jessica Michaels?

  Leena’s immediate reply was concerning.

  Leena: Why?

  Kiki: Rex just took her on as a new fighter, or a returning fighter from what I can gather? Vi doesn’t seem happy.

  Leena: Fucking son of a bitch. Don’t leave. I’ll be right there.

  If Kiki’s anxiety level wasn’t already through the roof, it was now. If this woman was concerning to both Leena and Vi, it couldn’t be good. Even if she had nothing to do with Wade, if Kiki’s best friends detested this woman then so did she!

  “Hey! I found her. See, I told you I was a quick learner.” The pride in Lawson’s voice was a nice distraction. He was a good kid with a positive outlook. He was going to be a great addition to the gym.

  “What does it say?” Kiki asked, peeking over her shoulder at the monitor.

  “Just the basics. Age, height, weight class, and record. Although her fight record is way outdated.”

  “Great,” Kiki said, trying to cover the disappointment that there weren’t any other details. “Here are the papers she needs to fill out and return before she can train at the gym.” Kiki handed him the packet she’d pulled from the filing cabinet. “Will you go give them to her please? I think it’s best we keep her
as far away from Vi as possible. Then come back up here and man the desk. I’ll be in Vi’s office if you need me.”

  “Good luck.” Lawson snickered, heading off.

  Kiki paced the entryway, waiting for Leena to arrive before she dared going anywhere near Vi’s office. Leena made it to the gym in record time, not saying much as she waved for Kiki to follow her to Vi’s office. Leena barged in, while Kiki quietly followed, shutting the door behind them.

  “What the fuck!” Leena shouted.

  “I know, right!” Vi agreed as she stood up from her desk. Kiki watched the best friends who were so in tuned that one already knew what the other was talking about.

  “I got the basics from Kiki. Is Rex really going to let her train here?”

  “Looks like it,” Vi said, exhaling loudly.

  “After everything? Does Wade know yet?” Leena asked with a softer tone.

  When Vi’s eyes met Kiki’s she felt a blush hit her cheeks. It was out in the open now that Kiki and Wade were seeing each other, and she wasn’t sure if Vi would want to discuss this in front of her.

  “Tell her,” Leena said, looking back and forth from Kiki to Vi.

  Kiki watched as Vi swallowed hard and she knew whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good. For a split second she didn’t want to know. She was happy in the little bubble she had with Wade, and she wasn’t ready for more drama. Having to tell Vi was enough of a challenge for such a new relationship.

  “I’m really overreacting.” Vi smiled and twisted a strand of her hair, clearly uncomfortable.

  “Vi, are we still friends?” Kiki asked.

  “Of course we are!”

  “Then please don’t treat me differently now that I’m seeing Wade. You would have told me what your beef is with this woman before,” Kiki said, trying to reason with her friend.

  “You’re right.” Vi let out a sigh as she walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Kiki.

  “They dated for a long time, and it didn’t end well. I don’t know the details, but I do know she didn’t treat my brother the way he deserves to be treated. Then she got too big for her britches and decided that our gym wasn’t good enough for her, and she left. We practically made her who she is. She put in the work, but Rex molded her all the way.”

  “Wow, it was that bad? How long ago was this?”

  “They broke up just after Dad died, so a couple of years ago, and she left the gym not long after that.”

  “Do you think she left because of the break-up?” Kiki asked. Hearing about the break-up had her thinking about what she would do if that happened. If she and Wade dated for a long time and he broke up with her, would she still be able to work so closely with him?

  “No, she’s just a cun–”

  “Leena!” Kiki choked out her name. Leena’s dirty mouth always made Kiki blush, but it always seemed to lighten the mood.

  Vi laughed. “I don’t think she left because of him. I think he might have left because of her. He said he always planned to go to Oregon after Mom got better, but I don’t believe that.”

  Kiki felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. She knew Wade had a past, but this new revelation was hard to take. And now it seemed that she would be working closely with this ex-girlfriend, which didn’t make matters better. Kiki wanted to ask so many more questions: how long were they together, did he love her, why did it end? But these weren’t questions for Vi, and she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to ask Wade. For now it was going to have to wait.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Leena interjected. “I think we all deserve a drink!”

  “Yes!” Vi said swiftly, standing up.

  “I’d love to, but I have to be around to help the new guy, he’s still in training. You guys go ahead and have fun.”

  “You sure?” Vi asked.

  “Totes! Have fun. But promise we will go out soon!”

  “Yes! We still have lots of wedding prep to do!” Vi said with a genuine smile. The women walked Kiki back to the desk where Lawson was sitting.

  “Oh Leena, this is the new receptionist, Lawson,” Kiki introduced as Lawson stood.

  “Hmm. A male receptionist. That might work,” Leena said casually. “But he’s still too pretty.” Leena gave Kiki a playful wink.

  “Oh, come on,” Vi said, tugging at Leena’s arm, ushering them to the door. “Leave the boy alone, he’s nice.”

  Kiki giggled and waved as they exited.

  Lawson cleared his throat. “Should I be worried?”

  “Not anymore.” Kiki shook her head.

  It was odd how much had changed and yet was still the same. Leena still the endless flirt, Vi still a hard ass with nurturing instincts, and Kiki… Yes, what about me? She rolled her eyes at the thought. She didn’t have time for this now, it was almost time for her to meet up with Joshua for her sparring lesson. Each week they worked on something different while he helped her increase her strength. She had caught the MMA bug, it was fascinating, and while she had no plans to fight, ever, it was good to know and fun to learn. And she was tired of being so ignorant of the sport.

  “All right, Lawson, I have to go meet up for a training session now. You going to be okay?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Great. You can page me if needed,” Kiki said before heading to the locker room.

  Chapter 6

  After some minor searching, Kiki found Joshua on the treadmill, running hard with earbuds in. It was odd, because she usually met him by the ring in the center of the large warehouse turned gym before they went over the sessions game plan, and traditional cardio had never been on that list.

  Kiki walked around so he could see her, giving him a smile and wave. Only to get a hard look before he pulled out an earbud. Kiki was taken aback by the action that seemed so off-putting. She hadn’t seen him this morning, but they had a standing schedule for Saturdays. She had run a bit late today because of the fiasco with Jessica and training Lawson, but she’d been late before.

  “Hey,” Kiki said, trying to sound upbeat. “You still have time to train me today?”

  “I guess…if you still want to?” Joshua pulled out the other earbud, stopped the machine, and wiped his brow with a towel before turning his back to her.

  Kiki wasn’t sure where his attitude had come from. It was beginning to hurt her feelings. She thought they had a good relationship, a nice friendship. Maybe he was just having a bad day, she reasoned. Everyone had bad days.

  “Yeah, I’d really like to. You’re a great trainer.” Kiki hoped the compliment would ease the tension. Flattery will get you everywhere.

  Turning to face her, he nodded toward the back of the gym. “All right.” His eyes softened a bit, and a half-smile made an appearance on his face.

  Kiki followed as he led the way to the punching mats. She loved being in the ring, but the punching mats were equally invigorating. She felt strong with every punch she threw. Every smack that echoed off the pad added a piece of confidence to her soul. The outer strength was adding to her inner strength, and the pleasure of that was so overwhelming that when she thought about it, she was overcome with emotion. Pride.

  “Hey,” Joshua said sternly, getting her attention. “Do you remember the combo we did last week?”

  “The jab-jab-cross, right?”

  “Yep. The one-one-two combo. Now we’re going to do the one-two-three.”

  Kiki furrowed her brow in question as she waited for Joshua to dumb down the technical terms for her.

  “What?” he asked, his tone harsh. “Get your hands up,” he ordered.

  “Are you okay?” Kiki finally came out and asked. She was excited to train, but his sour attitude was taking the fun out of it.

  Joshua paused, letting out a heavy sigh. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He shrugged, his tone much lighter now. “Are you okay?”

  Kiki nodded with a smile.

  “So, a three is a left hook. The right cross, two, sets this left hook up perfectly.” Joshua nodded
. “Here, let me show you.”

  Kiki was startled when Joshua came behind her, putting his hands on her waist. Usually he just demonstrated and she mimicked his movements. His face was close to her ear as he gave his instructions. Kiki would have felt uncomfortable with anyone else, but because he was her friend she brushed it off.

  “So, put your hands up, like I showed you.”

  Kiki raised her hands up, widening her stance to allow better pivoting when throwing the punches, just as they had practiced.

  “Now in slow motion let’s do a one-two.”

  Kiki used her left hand to throw a short, straight punch, followed with her right hand crossing her body with another punch.

  “Okay, hold it here.”

  Joshua’s hands took firm hold of her hips, his fingers reaching around her hip bone. It wasn’t a place she was used to being touched, especially by a man, and it seemed so intimate. But from a man of this sport, who literally rolled around on a mat with other men, this probably seemed like nothing, and Kiki tried to keep that in mind. There were so many situations that had taken her out of her comfort zone already; sitting on top of Joshua and vice versa when they trained wrestling. This was just another part of training. Right?

  “All right, with your left hand you’re going to throw a hook, which is just like it sounds, a rounded punch. When you do it, shift your hips,” he said, pushing her hips in the direction that he wanted them to go. “Give it a try, from the top at half speed.”

  Kiki threw the punches into the air as he had instructed. The hook was fun to throw, it was flashy, like a knockout you see in a fighting movie.