by Emilia Finn
“What?” she exclaims. “I’m a married woman now. You can’t get mad at me.”
“I do not need to hear about your s—” He shakes his head. “Ugh! No.”
“My sex life?”
Ben snorts around his hand and turns away before he takes a fist to the jaw.
“See?” Kit winks and sits back to nestle under Bobby’s arm. “It was fun, and the pictures will last a lifetime.”
I shake my head with disbelief. “My family singlehandedly trashed a Kincaid wedding, and you think it’s funny?”
Smirking, Evie shakes her head. “Your family singlehandedly created memories that will last forever. We’ll speak of last night a billion times, and we’ll laugh about it a billion more. I’m still married.” She shrugs. “Who cares about the cake?”
“I care about the cake,” Bry drawls. “I was excited to get some of that in my belly.”
“Probably should have asked Maddi to wear a booby dress, then.” She shrugs again and picks up a stringy piece of cheese. “Next time, you’ll know.”
Bry pulls me into his side and nods. “Mac and Bean’s wedding, Turdsky. Wear the booby dress.”
Mac shoots silent daggers at Bry.
They’ve discussed this, and though Lucy only snickers and eats her food, Mac is ready to kill his friend.
“Um…” I draw the attention away from the dueling friends and back to me as brand new tears want to choke me.
I shrivel under the family’s heavy stare.
I’m tempted to tell Bry yes to the pizza-swiping plan, and hide away another day. But I can’t, because I know loyalty, even if my family does not.
“Uh… so I kind of have something I need to tell you all. A business development, and it’s not going to be fun to hear.”
“Aw shit,” Evie groans. “We’re a month out from the tournament. What is it?”
“I lost my job last night.”
“What?” Kit jumps to her feet. That’s actually not the bad news, and yet, she’s ready to go to battle for me. “You lost your fucking job?”
“Swearing, Momma.”
“You were employed by your own damn family, Madilyn, and you’re telling me they booted you? Get the fuck out of here.”
“Swearing,” Bry chuckles. “Momma, stop it.”
“I will not stop it! Why would they fire you, Maddi? What possible reason could they have to put their own flesh and blood out of work?”
“It’s about pride.” I draw in a long breath, and will my tears to stay away. “It’s about tantrums and getting their own way. They made me choose; stay there, or leave for good. There was no middle ground.”
“They kicked you out?” Evie exclaims. “Of your family? What kind of jacked-up fuckery is that?”
I only shrug, but their outrage on my behalf feels kind of nice. “I chose to leave. I chose Bryan and you guys over their horrible pettiness, and now I have no home, no family, and no job. But that’s not—”
“You will always have a home,” Bobby declares in his low, dangerous timbre. “You will always have a family here. Even if you dump my son for being obnoxious and weird, you will still have a home here.”
“We could probably find you a job too,” Ben adds. “We know a shitload of people.”
“Benjamin,” Kit scolds. “Swearing.”
“What?” He throws his hands up and laughs. “You say ‘fuck,’ she says ‘fuckery,’ but I say ‘shit’ and I’m in trouble?”
“Sorry, honey. I’m wound up.” Kit turns back to me. “Your family made you choose between them and a boy?”
I shrug. “That’s the gist of it. But I chose wrong in their eyes. I’m not looking for a job from you guys. Or a home, or sympathy, really.”
“She’s gonna live with me,” Bry says.
“That’s best,” Kit agrees. “We have more fun anyway.”
“No, you’re not—”
Bry cuts off my words with a noisy kiss to my temple.
“You guys need to let me finish!”
“The gym could do with a PR person,” Evie’s mom ponders. “Especially now that we have Stacked Deck.”
“Exactly!” Evie agrees. “Like with the dinner we’re doing next month. She’s doing a great job on that.” She looks to me. “You’re doing a great job on that. That could become your job permanently, if you want.”
Oh god. Just do it, Maddi! Do it!
“Monaco has rescinded their endorsement deal,” I blurt out.
Silence overtakes the rowdy crowd.
“If I lose my job, my home, and my family, then it’s logical I lose the deal too.”
“But we have a contract,” Evie murmurs. Gone is the rage, and in its place is shock. “We’ve already plastered Monaco’s name everywhere. We’ve plugged your fucking company to millions of fans, Maddi!”
Nope. There’s the rage.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to– I didn’t mean for this…” I draw in a long breath. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, Evie. I swear to you, when I approached your gym, I never meant for this to happen.”
“We have a contract,” she pushes. Quieter now, gentler. “Maddi, contracts are more than a temper tantrum.”
“I know.” I swallow. “I suspect you’ll be paid a small sum to cover the damages from the broken contracts.”
“How small?” she growls. “We were promised four and a half million fucking dollars. We’ve already announced that money to our fighters. We’ve already spent it, Tosky!”
“I don’t know how much.” I hate how my voice quivers. I hate how my heart breaks.
Instead of feeling like one of them, instead of feeling like I’m in their boat, I feel other. I feel like the bad guy.
“I’m so sorry, Evie. You might get half a mil, perhaps one million if we present a good enough argument and make their lives hell. But there’s no way they’re going to hand over the full amount that was promised. And whatever fight we do put up, it’ll take months to resolve.”
“But we’ve already given them ad space,” she argues on a pained murmur. “We’ve already fulfilled our side of the deal.”
“You need to pull all Monaco logos from your website and promotional material,” I croak past the emotion in my throat. “I’m so sorry.”
“The money has been promised to the fighters,” Iowa murmurs. “We’ve made plans with that money.”
“Uh, yeah!” Mac snaps. “I made plans. Now you’re saying too bad?”
“I kind of have a plan.” I meet Bobby’s eyes. Then Aiden’s. I meet every Kincaid’s eyes.
Some are distrusting glares, and some are just downright exhausted.
“I know you have no reason to trust me, but maybe I can try to make this better? I lost my job, but they can’t take my brain or experience. They can’t take my contacts, either. If you’d just… please, let me try?”
“How can you make it better?” Bry asks. I’d expect him to be mad at me, bitter and accusatory. But he’s none of those. “You have less than a month to raise four and a half million dollars.”
“And, shit,” Mac exclaims, “if you make that look easy, we’re gonna have to talk about my financial situation and how you might be able to help.”
“I just…” I hesitate. “Don’t tell the fighters yet. Give me time to make it better.”
“And if we get to fight night?” Evie pushes. “What if we get there, and these fighters have traveled across the country, only for us to tell them we were joking about the new purses?”
“I…” I draw in a long breath. “I’m going to do my best to make this right. I swear, I’m so truly sorry this happened. But I’m going to work myself to death to make it better.”
“I believe you,” a different voice assures me.
My eyes snap to Lucy’s.
She sits beside Mac, and smiles. “I trust that you didn’t do this on purpose, and I trust that you will try to make it better.” She nods. “I trust you.”
“Me too,” Ben murmurs. “If
it all goes to shit, any Roller who fights and wins will forfeit our prize money to prop up the other winner purses.”
“Easy for you to say,” Mac groans. He drops his face into his hands and sighs. “I swear, it’s a curse. Every time shit is looking good for me, the universe smites.”
“Pfft,” Iowa scoffs. “You make it sound like you stood a chance of beating me.”
And that’s how I end up with food on my outfit for a second night in a row.
Maddi
Stacked Deck Gala Night
I hold Bry’s hand in mine, and drag him and Evie through the ballroom doorway to reveal a scene straight out of a James Bond movie. Silver drapes, white tablecloths, white napkins and plates. Waitstaff rush around in black, setting out silverware just an hour before guests are set to arrive, and Megan – a party planner Bryan introduced me to – bustles around like a drill sergeant readying to execute anyone who stops to breathe.
“Card games.” I lead Bry toward a felt table, and pick up a plastic chip. Pressing it to his palm, I take another and pass it to Evie. “It’s a bit like a night in Vegas, but also, ‘Stacked Deck,’ right? The theme matches.”
“Card games?” Evie turns the plastic over and frowns.
She’s already dressed, already in a gown that was made just for her. Her boobs are just right, her hair is big enough to create a halo around her head. Her makeup is perfect, and her mood tonight compared to a week ago, or hell, even this morning, is getting better.
Bry is in a suit, the same suit from last month, and I’m in a dress I scrounged from Bry’s sister’s closet. I’ve lost all of my gowns, my shoes, my entire connection to my old life.
The day after that dinner with the Kincaids, I tried to go to my office to collect whatever I might have left behind at my desk, but I guess security was under orders to not let me in. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my staff. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my assistant. I didn’t get to collect the candy bar I left in my top drawer, nor did I get to cast my eyes over the screensaver I left on my desktop monitor.
I’m just… out. Like I never existed. And no matter how cold my upbringing, no matter how unloved I already felt, I guess there was a whole new level of loneliness I could feel.
Fuck them.
“I’ve invited people who have deep pockets,” I tell Evie. “I put feelers out as soon as you guys gave me the go-ahead, plus the people I’d already contacted when it was simply a dinner to raise funds for the most spirited fighter award.”
“Goddddd,” Evie groans. “I forgot about that. So now we need the four and a half million for the purses, plus a little extra for the best fight of the night. This is impossible, Maddi!”
“It’s not impossible.” I lead Bry toward the stage where instruments are set up. “We have a band, we have food that was donated.”
Evie stops and frowns. “Donated food? Why the hell would anyone donate?”
I shrug. “The caterer mentioned she started her business in the ‘boom’ – her words – after Stacked Deck started in town. She said you created such demand in a week-long period that she was able to dive in and make her dreams come true – again, her words. You warned residents that all of these fighters were coming to town, and she went out on a limb and started cooking, and here we are today. She’s been in business for four years, and it’s all thanks to Stacked Deck. She’d like to thank you.”
“Well…” Evie’s brows come up. “Alright then.”
Bry chuckles.
“The band is donating their time, but you already know who they are. The waitstaff is being paid, but most of them threw themselves on me because of who’s here.”
Evie frowns. “Who’s here?”
“You, dummy. And Ben, Bean, Mac, Iowa. Then add the original Rollers – your dad, your uncles. I think you forget your family is somewhat famous.”
“Oh… okay. Yeah.” She totally forgets. “Okay.”
“That’s food, music, waiters.” I slow by the stage at the top of the room. “I’ll have a little presentation in an hour or two where we announce our auction, and then—”
“Our auction?” Evie’s eyes come back to mine. “We don’t have art to sell, Maddi. What are we auctioning that will raise millions of dollars?”
I smile. Taking Bry’s hand, I bring it up to my smiling lips, and try to hide my grin. “It will work better if you don’t know until it’s time.”
“Oh god.” Evie groans. “Bean’s gonna have to dance for men. Wait.” Her eyes sparkle. “That’s not a bad idea. Bean could dance for men!”
“No!” Laughing, I lead them back through the room toward the doors. “We have deep pockets coming. Those deep pockets buy their chips. The money we raise from chips is ours, free and clear.”
“So, at the end of the night…?”
“Those who can play poker will have a lovely stack of useless plastic. They’re here for the fun, for the competition. And for that pleasure, they pay up and donate to our cause.”
“And you expect to sell four and a half million dollars’ worth of plastic? Maddi.” She turns to me with a frown. She’s not mad, just dubious. “Valiant effort, but I’m just not sure this is going to work.”
“You’ve trusted me this far. Let me finish out the night.”
“We have to tell our fighters,” she presses. “They’re starting to get in their cars, they’re starting to travel for this. Not everyone can afford to drive a whole day for nothing.”
“Let me finish out the night,” I plead. “I promise, I’m doing the best I can.”
“Welcome!”
I stand right beside Evie on the main stage in front of hundreds of people in suits and gowns. Evie is the face of Stacked Deck, so she speaks first, she addresses her crowd.
“Wow.” Giggling, she looks around at everyone’s faces. “You all look smart as hell.”
Her family is here in their entirety. Her dad and mom, her uncles and aunts, all of her cousins who are over the age of eighteen. Those who aren’t are back home on the estate, eating bad food and watching movies way past their bedtime.
“Well, I suppose I should officially open the first ever, but hopefully annual, Stacked Deck Gala,” she announces. “Tomorrow, we’ll be weighing in and praying we’ve stayed on track with our diets, and in less than a week, we’ll be fighting. The idea for tonight is to raise money for our fighters. The more we raise, the more they take home in their pockets when they win. The more we raise, the bigger Stacked Deck becomes, and the bigger Stacked Deck becomes, the more we’ll be able to help women and children in need of the shelter my mom and aunts founded when I was just a child. Not everyone has somewhere safe to sleep and eat.”
She lowers her eyes, and loses her smile. “Safety should be a basic human right, not something some people have to battle for. So we do our bit, and in the process, we have a little fun with it.”
Applause rings out through the dimly lit room. The tables are illuminated, the dealers stand in white. The food has been served, eaten, and cleared. The guests have had time to mingle and laugh. Now it’s time to work.
I accept the microphone when she passes it, but I don’t let her leave my side. Maybe I was born into a life of privilege, and maybe I enjoy my position as a PR spokesperson, but that doesn’t mean I want to stand on this stage in front of fighters all alone.
“My name is Madilyn,” I don’t mention Tosky or Monaco, they don’t deserve the recognition – “and I’m your official host for tonight. If you have questions, come see me. I will have all of your answers.” I point toward some of Bry’s younger cousins as they slide through the room with discreet folders. “If you feel the urge to give, please speak with anyone with an official Rollin On Gym lanyard around their neck. They will help you through the process. If you’d like to speak to any of the fighters, then you know who they are. You recognize their faces. Tap them on the shoulder and say hey. Any one of them will be happy to spend a little time with you.”
An older woman sit
s at the poker table beside her disgustingly rich husband. I know her from Monaco parties, and I know she likes to spend her husband’s money like it’s confetti. “Even the original fighters, Miss?”
“Yep!” I point toward the uncles in the back. “Any one of them. They’re here for your pleasure tonight.”
“Er…” If Evie was wearing a tie, she’d be tugging it loose. “Maddi…?”
“And since you mentioned it, I’d like to introduce you all to tonight’s main feature.” I step down from the stage, but take my microphone with me.
This is it. I’ve been studying stats for a month, I’ve been staring at men I really shouldn’t. And I’ve been caught by Bry, and had to come up with bullshit excuses for why I’ve been checking out the dads.
Since Evie walks with me, I head toward Aiden first.
“Ladies and gentlemen, standing at six feet, five inches tall, two hundred and…” I tilt my hand. “Eleven?” I look into his terrified eyes and nod. “Yeah, two-ten, two-eleven or so pounds, and with an arm reach that I have no clue how to measure without it being weird, I present to you, Aiden Kincaid! He’s an original Roller, had a direct hand in training past and present champions, and his daughter is the very fighter you’ve all come out to support.”
I take his hand and drag him back through the room. Past the band, onto the stage. I turn and force the poor man to face his admirers. “Aiden Kincaid holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and…” I flick my hand. “I forget. Other things. Maybe Karate?”
Gritted teeth, grinding jaw. He sets me on fire with his eyes.
But he nods.
“Yeah.” I turn back to my captivated crowd. “Karate. Aiden can be a little shy, but he’s loyal, and likes walks on the beach at sunset.”
“Is he a dog?” Evie cackles.
I firm my quivering lips and try not to laugh. “Please, ladies and gentlemen, start your bidding. The reserve is set at five hundred thousand dollars, and may go up in fifty-thousand-dollar increments. For your trouble and much appreciated donations toward Stacked Deck’s coffers, you will receive one night – a date, a meal, a gentleman who will pick you up at your door. He’ll wear the suit he’s wearing tonight, he’ll use lovely manners, unless, of course, you prefer your men with a little less tact, and after he buys you a meal and spoils you with a night of wonderful discussion and wit, he’ll drive you home again, and maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll get a farewell kiss on the cheek.”