by Carly White
“Aren’t we a little old for that Mike?”
He chuckled and saw right through me. “The day I am too old to chase tail, will be the day I die.”
***
I walked into Wesley’s office, waiting for him to get off of the phone. The man was always stuck with it to his ear, so I was used to waiting for him to get off of the phone. When he wasn’t in his office, he was walking around with it stuck to his ear. While I could say I was there for numerous reasons, the truth was I was there to ask about Denise.
“Hey Antony. What are you doing in here?”
“Not much, was just seeing how tonight’s fight is going to go for Mike.”
Wesley nodded. “Yeah, I would be worried too. Dante is huge and though he is new to MMA, he has been fighting for a long time. I think he is into his forties now, but don’t let that fool you.”
I acted like I cared, pretended that what he said mattered. I knew I couldn’t just go in there and start asking about Denise. It would be her on his radar. He was just like Mike when it came to a challenge. Those two were like a dog with a bone and since I wanted the bone for myself, I tried to bring it up casually, though I knew that I was not being as casual as I would have liked.
“So I saw a new girl watching the sparing. Is she a new girlfriend?”
He looked around like someone was going to hear. The man was married, but he got more ass than most of us. I wondered sometimes what he said he would do for them. He wasn’t a particularly handsome guy and he was a little loose in the gut, but he got action, I have to give it to him.
“Now you know I am married Antony.”
I nodded my head, “but…”
“But that is definitely one I would like to try out. She is Ray’s niece, can you believe that?”
“Yeah that is what I heard. I think I seen her at his last match the other night.”
He was losing focus. “So what is she doing here? Ray wasn’t here was he?”
“What are you wanting to know Antony?”
“I want to know what she was doing here. She doesn’t look like a fighter. The females in her weight class would kill her. She looks too nice to be a ring girl, so I was just wondering what she was here for.”
“Do you and Mike have another bet going?”
Everyone knew us too well and our love for a good gamble. “Just a little one on why she is here. Mike is eying her for other reasons and I guess he just wants to know if she is off-limits.”
“To you two, yes. She is going to be the new production intern and I don’t want any lawsuits over it.” He seemed to have such a serious face, but all I could think about was what he planned to do. Wesley had never been that suave and he was planning to do the very thing he didn’t want us to do. Seemed hypocritical, but at least now I had more information about who she was and why she was there. It seemed that Denise was going to become a fixture at the place and I couldn’t say that I was upset about it at all. There was just something about her.
Wesley must have caught the look in my eyes, because he called me back to him. “I mean it Antony. We don’t want an incident like Alicia happening again. Our PR department will not stand for another controversy.”
I was sick of hearing her name and talking about her. She had been a groupie and I had tapped it, my brother too, but then she cried foul when it was time for us to leave for a fight. She expected us to take her with us and got mad when we didn’t. So instead of waiting for us to come back, she got it in her mind that she would ruin us and our reputation. “It is nothing like Alicia and I told you before, that woman was crazy.”
“That she might have been, but she cost us several hundred thousand that we had to chip out.”
I sighed and turned back towards him. “I paid those fees and then some. Don’t act like I am the only one dipping my wick in the company’s women pool. Wesley you are worse than all of us.”
Regretting it as soon as it came out of my mouth, I wished I could take it back. I don’t know what had gotten into me, but I had to admit that it felt good to tell the man off. There was something about him that had always rubbed me the wrong way and I hated to think of his hands anywhere near Denise. He didn’t deserve a woman like her, not even once.
“Sorry Wesley. I don’t know why I said that, but I hear you loud and clear. “Say no to the hot blonde.”
Walking back out, I saw Mike waiting by our cars. “So what did you and the boss have to talk about?”
I shrugged, “Not much. Trying to get the run down on that chick Denise. She is going to be the newest intern and I was told under no uncertain terms that she is off-limits.”
He laughed and it was why I loved him so much. It was the same reaction that I had. He could say whatever he wanted, but if I wanted her, I would have her and that was the end of it. Now, I just had to convince her that she wanted it as bad as I did.
Chapter 4: Denise
As happy as I was to get the job, there had been something in the way that Wesley had looked at me, that had me questioning all of my wardrobe pieces. I didn’t want to seem like I was putting it all out there, but there was a small part of me that wanted to be noticed by the two brothers. I had always had a thing for them and though I knew they were both bad news. There was nothing else I wanted more than to see that look in their eyes some more. They had a way of looking into me.
I decided on a business suit, the skirt a little tight, but almost to my knees. I wore a blouse that I made sure was buttoned all the way up so that there would be no cleavage. It was slightly see-through beige silk though and I knew it would give a hint, even if it wasn’t everything. I knew that Mike had fought the night before and that his brother had a couple interviews that needed to be taped. It was going to be my first real job since I started and I was hoping to impress Wesley. If he liked my work, there was a good chance that I would get better assignments in the future. As much as I enjoyed hearing the interviews, it was the fights that I wanted to be a part of.
Setting off to work, my uncle called to see if I had gotten the job. He was happy that I had, but he had warned me about my new boss. Apparently there were several people that had seen him for what he was, a womanizer. I tried to assure him that I would be okay, but he was more than insistent.
“I’m serious Denise. Watch out for him. He is no good and even though he is married, he is not going to care.”
“But I am your niece. No one is going to mess with me Uncle Ray. You worry too much.”
“Well you know what your mother will do if anything happens to you. She still hates the fact that you like fighting to begin with. When you told her your major, I got a call almost immediately after. You know how she can get.”
I laughed a little and shook my head. He couldn’t see me, but we both knew that my mom was a bit of a terror when she was unleashed. She had never cared for Ray or any of my dad’s brothers, but that Ray would take me with him, dragging him into ‘his world’ as she put it, she hated him the worst.
“She will be fine. You know she is all bark and no bite.”
“Speak for yourself. I have taken a couple right hooks from her in the past.”
“I am sure you deserved it Uncle Ray.” Matter of fact, I know he deserved it. She didn’t hate him for no reason. Him and my dad always got into some hair-brained scheme and all I could do was laugh about it. Ray was a bad influence on his brother, but for me, Uncle Ray had always been the one that was there for me when I had something I couldn’t tell my parents. There was never any judgment and that was what I liked about him the best. No matter what I told him, I knew that he was going to accept it and give me the best advice he could. I had at one point thought seriously about getting into kick boxing myself. I trained for a while, but it was Ray that had made me see it for what it was. I wasn’t cut out for fighting. He always told me to fight with my words. And he was right, it was much more effective.
“She is not that bad and if you didn’t get dad in trouble all the time, I am sure she wo
uld like you a lot better.”
“That may be true, but with Wesley, I am not wrong. Stay away from him Denise.”
“It’s going to be kind of hard Ray. He is my boss now.”
“I know, but never be alone with him. Don’t stay late if there is no one else there.”
“Okay, geez. You know you are really not helping my jitters with this being my first day.”
“You will do fine, this I am sure of. But just be careful and keep your pepper spray with you.”
I made a noise that he didn’t like. “I mean it Denise. He is the type of guy that won’t take no for an answer. I really wish you had gone somewhere else to work.”
“But I know everyone there. I have grown up watching the. I wanted to work there because of you Ray.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. I love you Denise, I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Sometimes I think that you are too nice and innocent for your own good.”
I sighed and told him I would call him later. I was sick of everyone telling me how I was. It was not the first time that I had been told I was too nice. I didn’t see it. My temper was short and half the time I wish I had a filter on my mouth.
Pulling up to the building with Wesley’s last name across the side, I had more trepidation that anything else. I shouldn’t have taken the call from Ray. I knew that he was not going to give me good news. “Well Uncle Ray, you know that isn’t really true. I am not that good.”
He kind of laughed and then told me that he had to go. “Love you Uncle Ray. I will talk to you later.”
I was parked and starting up at the huge three story building. It was like most of L.A., but there was my future in there and I knew that even though I had been warned, I was going to make the best of it. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t handle myself. And it wouldn’t be the first time that I had overzealous admirers.
Walking in, it felt like I had arrived, like I was supposed to be there. There were already several men on the ground floor sparring and I had to stop and watch for a minute. Antony was there, as well as his stepbrother Mike and they looked really good. I pulled my mind from the gutter and moved to Wesley’s office to find out where I would be working. I was not expecting him to be there yet because I was early and certainly not with a female.
“Hi. I was just wondering where you would like me to work at.”
He looked up at me with a shocked look on his face, sweat on his brow. “What are you doing here so early?”
“I thought I would make sure to be on time. On time is late as far as I am concerned.”
There was movement at the desk where he was sitting and then I saw a streak of blonde hair. It occurred to me suddenly what he was doing and I backed up. “Well just let me know when you are ready to talk Sir.”
I almost ran out of there, unable to believe what he was doing in his office. I didn’t know who was down there or what they were doing, but it didn’t take much to figure out that whoever it was, was pleasing him with their mouth. I was shocked, more than that. I couldn’t believe that my boss was getting head under his desk. It was highly unlikely, but I had been warned.
I left out of there as fast as I could, looking back once. What had I gotten myself into?
“Hey sweet cheeks. What are you doing here so early? You here to take care of Wesley?”
I turned to look at Antony and grimaced. “God no.”
He laughed at my face and how quickly I said it. The very idea of doing anything with the old man made my stomach curl. Why would anyone in their right mind want to be with him, when there were hot bodies everywhere else? Not that I was worried about hot bodies, but it seemed like it wouldn’t even be an option.
“What you don’t like the old man?”
I shook my head. “No I think someone is already helping him out.”
“Ah, Candy. Yeah she is one of his favorite interns.”
I knew what he was implying. I was only there because the man fancied me. “Well just because I am an intern, doesn’t mean that I will be doing anything on my knees.”
“That’s too bad.”
I made an aggravated sound. “Why are all the men around here jerks? I mean really, is it in the water or something?”
Antony moved closer to me, close enough that I started to tremble slightly in front of him. His dark eyes looked down at me and I held my breath. It felt like he was going to kiss me and I couldn’t help that I wanted him to. Maybe I was just as bad as Candy.
“I have learned that women like a strong hand. Around here, the women aren’t looking for nice guys. They want to be taken. Kind of like you do right now.”
I opened my eyes, realizing that they were closed and waiting for his kiss. I shook my head, berating myself for acting so needy. When I was warned about this place, I didn’t consider that they would be right. I didn’t consider that I would want to be dragged into it further. There was something about the way that he looked at me.
“I don’t know what you are talking about Antony. But I assure you that your assumptions are wrong. Women like men that are sweet and kind.”
He chuckled and moved away. I was sad to see him go if I was honest with myself. I wanted him to kiss me, but then I realized there were other people watching us. “See you soon Denise.”
Chapter 5: Antony
“What were you two talking about bro?”
I looked back at the young blonde and even though she was not looking my way, I knew that she wanted to. Mike had been eying her as much as I had, even getting thrown to the mats twice because he was more worried about what I was doing, instead of what his sparring partner was doing.
“Why are you so worried about it?”
I knew why. He wanted her all to himself and there hadn’t been a verbal wager, but there didn’t have to be. We both knew what we wanted from her and it was not the first time we had eyed the same woman. It would be a battle of wills and since I started it, I knew that Mike would try his best to be the one that got in her pants.
“I am not worried about it dear brother. I can’t think of one time that you have actually won these games.”
“Amy?”
His face turned dark and I tried to hold back my smile. “I can’t believe you even said her name. She was not a conquest Antony, I loved her and you just couldn’t leave it be.”
I sighed and knew that I shouldn’t have brought it up. It never turned out well when we started talking about her. He had loved her, but I had seen her first. It was the one time that we had actually gotten mad at each other. I had honestly thought that he would never speak to me again. But he had. We both got over her and though I knew he was still bitter about it, he hadn’t let it get in the way of our careers. We had moved on as brothers, promising to never do it again. Was Denise going to be the one that changed all that and broke the truce?
“Sorry Mike. I know I shouldn’t have brought her up.”
He gave me another dirty look. We had promised not to talk about her again. It was one thing to remember her, but another to talk about it. She had left us both after we gave her an ultimatum. While it hadn’t changed that we still wanted the same women half the time, it did change the way we went about it. Once one of us got her, then the other one had to back off. As I looked back over at Denise, I knew that it had to be me.
“So how did it go? I see that she didn’t fall to her knees in front of you, so not so well?”
I nodded. “It went fine, just priming her.”
“You didn’t use the women like a strong man to take control line, did you?”
I was becoming a broken record it seemed. “Yeah I did. You know me too well brother.”
“But it didn’t work out I see?”
“No, she said that she likes kind and gentle.”
He grinned. “Never met one that actually did like that. The kind ones get friend-zoned and the ones that take what they want get the girl.”
I didn’t agree or disagree, but I had a feeling that the theory ma
y not work on Denise. She had a fire in her eyes that most women didn’t and since she had been around these places her whole life, I would imagine that she knew how to deal with men like Wesley and fighters like us.
“I don’t know Mike. Something about her is different.”
“We’ll see about that.”
***
It was a while until our boss came out, Candy a few steps behind with her makeup smeared and a guilty look on her face. The very idea that he would somehow get Denise made me angry. I couldn’t imagine such a beautiful girl, pleasuring a man like him.
“Morning Wesley. I see that you were here early.”
“Yes, well lots of work to do.”
“I bet.”
He gave me a cross look, his dark green eyes assessing me as he had before. I didn’t like him any better than he liked me, but I made him money, so there was nothing else that could be done. He wanted nothing more than to fire me, I could see it in his eyes, but he couldn’t.
“Well are you ready for the interview with Star Magazine?”
I shook my head that I was. There was supposed to be a photo shoot beforehand, that was why I was there sparring. They wanted me ripped and sweaty. I saw the photographers coming in and though I hated that side of the business, I knew it was necessary. It was for the people that wanted to be in the MMA, someone to look up to, as well as to all the gamblers that made the matches worth-while.
“Yeah, where are we doing the photo shoot?”
“I was thinking on the mats.”
“Yes Sir.”
“I will have the intern come over and help you get ready.”
I almost asked which one. I certainly didn’t want to see Candy. I, like others, had fancied her for a time, almost took her to bed, but after everyone found out that she was with Wesley, she was off-limits. Which was fine because I didn’t want to go after my boss anyways, the idea wasn’t very palatable.