In His Corner

by Alexandra Warren

  “Bella doesn’t know a damn thing besides the fact that she wants her daughter to be taken seriously when her resume slides across someone’s desk,” she replied with enough snark to make me giggle.

  Still, I tried to plead my case, looking over at her as I reasoned, “The world will be different by the time she’s that age, B. Hell, the world is already different now. I mean, there’s some mighty fine Princess’s out there.”

  “You would know, wouldn’t you?” she asked with a roll of her eyes; something I knew better than to take the bait on.

  There was no way in hell I was getting into a petty argument on such a special day. So I played it cool, squeezing her shoulder a little tighter as I answered, “I’ve lived a life, sure. But you’re my world now. Everything I need is right here and… here.”

  With my hand on her belly, there wasn’t much she could say. But of course, being the determined individual that she was, she still found a way to get back at me when she covered her hand with mine and said, “Oh yeah? Well we’ll see if you still feel that way in a few months when “here” is crying bloody murder at three in the morning.”

  &

  “This really is a cute picture of me, Princeton. You have a good eye. Maybe you can be a photographer when you’re done boxing.”

  While I couldn’t have agreed more with Bella who was looking at the picture I had taken of her for Instagram for what had to have been the thousandth time, I also couldn’t ignore her shady little remark, shaking my head with a chuckle as I replied, “Damn, B. The end of my career can’t come soon enough for you, huh?”

  She had made her feelings about me boxing known on plenty of occasions, especially since finding out about the baby. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to act as if this was her first time saying anything, shrugging as she answered, “I’m just sayin’. Giving you options. No harm in that, right?”

  “Besides the fact that I’ll probably have another fight before the baby is born… nah, no harm at all,” I replied with a shrug of my own, cringing once I saw my response register on Bella’s face.

  “Another fight before the baby is born? You do realize we’re already halfway through this thing, right?” she asked with a hand on her belly for emphasis; the belly that seemed to be growing by the day even though Bella had only gained a few extra pounds.

  In fact, I was sure I had already gained more than her just trying to keep up with her appetite, all the reason more for me to answer, “Of course, B. But the reality is, my work doesn’t stop for pregnancies. If they have a fight for me, I have to take it.”

  “Or you could say no because you’re a grown ass man who makes his own decisions,” she said without looking at me, knowing good and well her suggestion wasn’t really a viable option.

  But even if she didn’t, I had no problem breaking it down for her when I added, “I’m also a grown ass man who has a family to take care of which means I need an income. And how do I get that income? I fight.”

  “But you also have plenty of endorsements. Why can’t you just live off those checks until baby girl is like… eighteen?”

  Since we both knew my boxing career would be well over by the time our baby got that age, I couldn’t help but laugh, snuggling up next to her in the bed as I explained, “Endorsements only stay active as long as I stay active, Bella.”

  Still, my girl wasn’t backing down, blocking my hold as she held up a hand to reply, “Not true. Shaq has tons of endorsements and he hasn’t seen a court in years. Then there’s Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, George Foreman...”

  “You’ve been doing research or somethin’?” I asked, my eyebrow piqued at how quickly she’d been able to rattle off names regardless of how famous they were.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised when she peeked over to fire back, “Is that really a question?”

  Sitting up straight, I pulled her into my chest, a move she resisted but eventually settled into so that I could tell her, “Look, B. I love the way you look out for me, I swear I do. But I need you to chill on this, aight?”

  It was already enough for me to be contemplating my next move, ready to give up boxing just a few days ago after dealing with my father’s situation while also itching to get back in the gym right this second. The last thing I needed was Bella on my back about it too, though that didn’t mean she was completely ready to give up, groaning through clenched teeth, “I. Can’t. Chill.”

  “Bella, please?” I asked just as her phone began to ring in her hand, the unfamiliar number enough to get her out of bed though I didn’t particularly want to let her go.

  But with her freelance career taking off like a rocket, she had been fielding phone calls left and right, something I didn’t want to get in the way of, even when she turned back to whisper, “We’re not done talking about this…”

  “Oh yes we are,” I said more to myself than her as she left the room, her signature sweet and peppy response in the distance as she accepted the call enough to make me smile as I thought about being on the other end of one of those calls not too long ago. But so much had changed since then. I had gone from using an interview as bait just to see what she was about to having my world turned completely upside down with a baby to show for it. And while that might’ve freaked anyone else out, the truth was, I had never been happier.

  My smile was full as hell by the time Bella made it back into the room wearing the exact opposite, her eyes blank as I teased, “Damn. Must’ve been one hell of a bill collector that’s got you frowning so tough.”

  My words were enough to snap her out of the daze as she brushed me off to reply, “Just someone… for work. Now what were we talking about?”

  “We were talking about how you’re gonna keep your little nose out of my career until I figure out my next move,” I reminded her, trying to make it clear that this was something I had to do for myself.

  To my surprise, she actually went with it, plopping back onto the bed as she agreed, “Fine. Whatever. But this isn’t the last you’ll hear about it. Just wait until I get some real facts. You’re getting a full blown PowerPoint presentation, boxing brain simulation, all that.”

  Even though I had a feeling she was serious, I still managed to tease, “Nah. You’ll be too famous by then to really worry about me. I mean, who you got up next anyway? The Super bowl Champ, right?”

  Bella’s face instantly lit up when she gushed, “The Super bowl Champ and his former Olympic Gold Medalist Track bae.”

  “See what I mean. That’s way bigger than dealing with little ol’ me.”

  She quickly brushed me off, reaching over to the nightstand to grab the serum she used religiously as she said, “Boy, please. There is nothing little about you. Like… absolutely nothing. And I know you got some crazy genes from your father, but your mother must not be too far behind.”

  I shrugged, taking the bottle from her hand when I said, “Actually, she wasn’t the biggest lady. Maybe a little taller than you.”

  “What was her name again?” she asked just as I squirted a little into my hands, rubbing it together between my palms as a lump grew in my throat from just thinking about my mom.

  Naturally, I wondered where she was, if she knew about my career or had avoided boxing all together, if she was safe, if she was… alive. I swallowed hard so that I could push out, “Lucinda. Lucinda Lattimore. I don’t know if she still goes by that though.”

  I honestly couldn’t have blamed her for dropping the Lattimore name knowing firsthand what came with it. But while I was caught up on the last name, Bella was caught up on the first, turning towards me to ask, “Wait… Princeton, you really named your dog after your mom?”

  “Kinda. Not really. Coincidence, I guess,” I answered with a shrug as I slipped my hands beneath the t-shirt I had given her to sleep in to apply the serum.

  Still, my focus being on that didn’t stop Bella’s from being elsewhere when she said, “Bullshit. You did that on purpose.”

  My hands went stiff
, for whatever reason feeling embarrassed - or just a little too seen - as I told her, “So maybe I did. What’s the big deal?”

  “It’s not a big deal, Princeton. Just a... surprise, that’s all,” she replied, though the giddy smile on her face said otherwise as if she really wanted to tease me.

  I gave her an opportunity to get it out of her system when I asked, “Now you probably think I’m soft or somethin’, huh?”

  But to my surprise, her face only scrunched as she suggested, “Soft and Princeton Lattimore don’t even belong in the same sentence. Sweet, maybe. But soft? Nah, I know better. My man is as tough as they come in more ways than one with plenty of accolades to show for it.”

  “Damn. Rubbing on you while you’re stroking my ego like that definitely got me hard as hell now,” I told her with a nod towards the tent in my shorts she had created with just a few words.

  The way she pulled her lip between her teeth in response only seemed to make it worse. And while I wasn’t necessarily expecting it, I shouldn’t have been surprised when Bella knew how to give me exactly what I needed, pulling my shorts back far enough to relieve it and palming my dick in her other hand as she groaned, “Well in that case, why are we still talking?”

  -Round Eight-

  Bella

  My leg wouldn’t stop shaking, my hand against my belly the only thing to bring me any relief, though even she managed to catch me off-guard with a kick right against my bladder. But maybe she could sense that I needed a distraction, anything to take my mind off the woman who’d be showing up to meet me for the coffee I couldn’t drink any minute now.

  It took everything in my being to keep this meeting from Princeton, though he wasn’t quite immune from being affected if things were to go haywire. But being the middleman was a role I was more than willing to take on to protect him from getting his feelings hurt even if she hadn’t seemed too concerned about him in her phone call.

  This was all about her grandbaby.

  There was a shift in the air that told me she had arrived, though I was slow to peek over my shoulder to check. And once I did, she was a lot closer than I thought she’d be as if she had recognized me right away while I found myself trying to take her all in with this being my first time seeing her outside of the few pictures Princeton kept around his house.

  But there was no mistaking those piercing, hazel brown eyes. Eyes my baby would more than likely inherit since they were so prominent on both her and her son. But considering he hadn’t seen her in person in so long, I wondered if her son even knew that to be true as I stood up to greet her, extending my hand that she blew past for a hug as if we were already familiar.

  I accepted the hug without truly giving one back. And when she pulled away, I could already see the tears forming in her eyes as she finally acknowledged me by name. “You are even prettier in person, Bella.”

  While I wasn’t one to usually take compliments from anyone without blushing, I was way too uneasy to feel any true warmth about it, instead putting my hand to my stomach as I replied, “Thank you. It’s uh… nice to meet you, Lucinda.”

  “Call me Lucy. Please,” she insisted, making me smirk as I thought about connecting the dots between her and Princeton’s dog just a week ago. Though back then, I had no idea I’d be meeting the inspiration in the flesh.

  It all started with a phone call from Chris; a number I no longer had saved in my phone since he had become completely irrelevant. He gave his usual small talk, which really only annoyed me even more since he had no reason to be contacting me. But just when I was on the verge of cursing him out, he told me some lady had been calling the office all afternoon and evening desperate to find me after she discovered I was once associated with the blog through Google.

  She claimed to have important information for me, a story I’d want to hear, and since I had never been one to turn down a lead, I took her name and number along with the surprising apology from Chris that followed. Then the next day, I gave L. Patterson a call, only to discover she was really the Lucinda Lattimore Princeton had spoken about, choosing to go by her first initial and maiden name to keep things discreet until she got in touch with me.

  I could appreciate her staying mostly private since I could only imagine how quick Chris would’ve been to jump on a story about her for Fullest Disclosure. But now that I was here, face-to-face with the woman who I honestly had mixed feelings about, I really didn’t know what to say.

  Still, that didn’t stop her from trying to kick up a conversation, her smile pleasant as she said, “You’ve grown since that picture Princeton shared on the internet.”

  “I have,” I replied with a nod, using my water as an escape to not have to say more.

  “And you look so healthy. When I was pregnant with Princeton, I couldn’t stay out of the hospital,” she said with a strained look as if the painful memories were coming back to her.

  While I knew more than she probably realized, I decided to keep it short when I replied, “I can imagine.”

  “Have you been…”

  The small talk was killing me enough to cut her off, holding my hand up as I said, “I’m sorry. I really don’t mean to be rude, but… why did you go looking for me? Why did you want to meet with me and not Princeton?”

  It seemed strange for her to have made such an effort to find me without first reaching out to the one she actually shared blood with. And even though I felt bad for asking once I saw the somber reaction on her face, I did my best to keep mine neutral as I listened to her explain, “It’s been… painful, to watch my son grow up from a distance. But I’ve done it with my head held high because it was much better than not being able to do it at all with the both of us six feet under if I would’ve tried to take him with me. And while even that decision was beyond difficult to make since it meant leaving my baby with that… monster, I refuse to let him keep me away from my grandchild as well.”

  “He had a stroke,” I blurted from nowhere, almost positive that was the last thing she cared to hear about the person she had just described as a monster.

  But I was surprised to see her express even an ounce of empathy when she replied, “That’s… very unfortunate. I wish him a speedy recovery.”

  We both fell quiet, Lucy staring out into the distance as I sipped my water watching her, noticing the similarities between her and her son. But just the thought of him had me blurting out yet another thing I probably should’ve kept to myself once I saw the way she tensed up in response.

  “Is what Princeton said about him true? That he… hurt you?”

  Her eyes were tight with tears as she leaned into the table to answer, “Sir Kingfield didn’t just “hurt” me, Bella. He scarred me. For life. Completely destroyed the only thing I had in my pride and took away the best thing that ever happened to me in my baby boy. But you know what? I still have my life and Princeton still has his. I can still see my son doing well from afar, following in the good parts of his father’s footsteps with his boxing career, starting what is sure to be a beautiful family with you…”

  “All these years, Lucy. How’d you stay away from him for all these years?” I asked, the tears in her eyes turning into the tears in our eyes as I expressed the hurt I knew Princeton carried with him every day even when he tried to keep it under wraps.

  But when Lucy dropped her head, I could tell Princeton wasn’t the only one carrying that pain as she replied, “It was a lot harder in the beginning, especially when I was trying to rebuild my life on my own. But eventually I grew numb, started using the internet and social media to get my fix just like everyone else. Then I saw the picture of you, carrying my grandchild, and I couldn’t… I couldn’t stay away anymore. I had to know her, had to know you, had to… thank you in person, for giving him the love I haven’t been there to give.”

  I nodded in understanding, my apprehension dissipating the longer I stared at her and recognized that her message was coming from such a genuine place. It wasn’t right that Sir Kingfield h
ad put her in such an unfair predicament, wasn’t fair that she couldn’t have more of a relationship with the person she was responsible for bringing into the world. And while I couldn’t even imagine being placed in the same situation, I had a feeling she would appreciate hearing, “He still thinks about you, you know. Still… wonders about you. And I never understood how he could be raised by someone so cold and still find it in his heart to give me love; give us love. But now I do. He gets that from you.”

  With her lip pulled between her teeth, obviously fighting back more tears, I watched as she dug through her purse before pushing a slip of paper my way.

  “What’s this?” I asked as I picked it up, immediately noticing how old it was according to the faded print and ruffled edges.

  “That… is the check Sir Kingfield wrote me all those years ago to stay away from him and Princeton; to keep me quiet. It came with a threat on my life that I knew he would back up since he had already come close enough on plenty occasions. But I never cashed it, Bella. I couldn’t.”

  Having the check in my hand only made me angrier, knowing the depths King had went to to keep her at bay. But such tangible information also had me curious enough to ask, “Why didn’t you take him to court? Or press charges against him?”

  “You’re a journalist, correct?” she asked, waiting for me to nod before she continued, “So you know exactly what happens to women like me. We rarely get justice, we never truly “win”. We get ridiculed, picked apart, our reputations destroyed, treated like we’ve done something wrong by taking on one of America’s beloved heroes even though we’re the victim, treated like we somehow deserved it. And while there may not have been all the social media and such that you have now back then, people were just as nasty, just as accusatory.”

  The truth to her words had my chest heavy, especially since I had plenty of colleagues who truly got a high off of doing exactly what she had described. And I suppose I was so in my own head about it that Lucy decided to make it crystal clear for me when she said, “I was given a choice, Bella. My life and that check, or… a fight I knew I wouldn’t win. So I chose.”