by Jayne Blue
She gasped as her pretty Aunt Susan walked into the foyer.
“My goodness Valerie, you’re stunning.”
“I was thinking the same about you, Aunt Susan. Am I dressed okay?” Her aunt wore a long red sheath and a shiny gold choker and bracelets to match.
“Are you kidding? Perfection. Meyer, we’re going to need bodyguards for this one once the fighters look at her.” She smiled as she called out. She heard him before she saw him, but there was no mistaking her Uncle Meyer Thompson. He was six-four, but you noticed his broad shoulders more than his height.
“I’ll kick their asses myself.” His voice was low and strong, and Valerie watched her aunt light up as he walked into the room. Meyer Thompson’s head was shaved bald, he wore the whitest dress shirt she’d ever seen, and she supposed his back suit was more expensive than her college education.
“Meyer this is my niece.” Aunt Susan introduced Valerie to her uncle. Meyer Thompson, who she’d only heard whispers of growing up, who her dad seemed to be trying to hide from, was in front of her. She had no idea how to greet the billionaire.
“This your niece? This is our niece. We’re a family young lady, and it’s been way too long.” Thompson hugged her lightly, and he had a smile on his face that lit up his eyes. She was prepared to be scared, but instead, she felt welcomed by this bear of a man.
“Nice to meet you, Uncle Meyer. I am so grateful to you and Aunt Susan.” She hadn’t planned it, but she felt tears well up again.
“Honey, the minute we heard about what happened to your parents no one could stop us from scooping you up!” Meyer Thompson kept a protective arm around her shoulder, and she tried to stifle her emotions. She feared she could easily lose it after all she’d been through the last few days.
“Your daddy and I had our differences, and it is going to haunt me for the rest of my life that we didn’t end on better terms but you’re a second chance for us to be close.” Aunt Susan alluded to the fact that her daddy did have something against her aunt and uncle. Valerie knew it was jealousy, plain and simple, but she wasn’t going to bring it up. She didn’t like feeling that uncharitable toward her dad, but she’d seen the evidence of his weaknesses the last few days.
Her parents were gone, and she had to move forward.
“I’ll warn you now. We have all sons, your cousins, and they’re all off having their own adventures. Your aunt has been waiting years to buy girl stuff. Don’t be surprised if pink shit keeps showing up at the door.”
“Meyer.” Aunt Susan scolded her husband, but she did it with a smile. Valerie got a distinct feeling that these two people loved and respected each other.
“What do you know about MMA?” Aunt Susan asked her.
“It’s in a cage, right?” She wasn’t going to pretend she knew more than she did.
Aunt Susan and Uncle Meyer explained the basics about the sport during the limo ride over to the Grand City Convention Center Arena. She wished she had a cell phone so she could look up how it was Meyer Thompson came to be the boss of the 21C League. But with no phone, she’d have to do it the old-fashioned way: ask.
“Did you found the 21C?” She asked her uncle.
“I did, back in the day it was a melee of fighting styles. You could brawl how you wanted. A few of us worked to make it a sport with rules, standards, and a league like the NFL.”
“Meyer and I met during that melee,” Susan chimed in.
“I bet that’s a quite a story.” Valerie wondered about it. And it gave her hope. Her own parents always seemed disappointed in each other, in the world. The Thompsons had the opposite vibe. Maybe being a billionaire put you in a better mood. Valerie shooed away her cynicism.
“Tonight, we’ll be watching about six fights. Undercards and main events.” Valerie was actually amazed that her uncle had the patience to answer her novice questions, but he did until the call came in.
“Ooh, gotta take this, dolls,” he said, and Aunt Susan took over describing what they were about to watch. Her uncle switched his attention to the call and handled whatever it was billionaires had to handle. There was something old-fashioned about him, like a tycoon from a movie she’d seen. But he was all too real. Her aunt handled him the way she appeared to handle most things, smoothly, and with a kind demeanor. Her uncle’s toughness and her aunt’s sweetness were a perfect balance.
“I’ll talk you through the matches if you need. There are things I’m still learning after all these years.” She must have been to a million events during their marriage.
Once they got into the arena conversation was impossible. In the NFL if you were a big deal you sat up in the boxes, away from the action, but in MMA the boss was ringside. She and Aunt Susan held hands as they made their way down close to the cage that would be the center of the action.
Valerie took it all in. The music, the lights, and then the blood. She watched two undercards with female fighters first. They were fast, muscular, and brutal. Then came the first match for the men.
“This guy, I’m watching him closely.” Her Uncle said to them, and Valerie’s eyes moved to where the fighters entered.
“Hailing from Holland, Michigan, weighing in at 170 pounds, challenger at middle-weight, ZANE DIGGS!”
Valerie followed the spotlight as it landed on Zane Diggs. The crowd noise fell away, the hype song muted, and all her senses keyed into this person, Zane, entering the ring.
He was muscle and sinew, motion and reflex, power and intensity. Valerie was riveted. She thought for a second maybe she was star struck or naïve. Maybe being so close to the action had rattled her common sense. But it was more than that.
She sat in the seats behind her aunt and uncle. They chatted, made observations, and helped her understand. As Zane Diggs climbed into the octagon, they didn’t appear completely floored, as she was. She felt something powerful and confusing as hell.
A cord of invisible energy connected her to him. She had no explanation. Valerie’s eyes were fixed on Zane’s, and then he found her. They were connected in the seconds before the fight. And then it was over.
Zane Diggs focused on his opponent. Valerie didn’t even remember the other guy’s name or what he looked like. She had no doubt she could describe every rippled muscle, the green compression shorts, the sandy hair pulled away from his face. And his face.
His jaw looked sharp as a knife. His lips were a determined line. She could have drawn him now, she had no doubt, in full detail, even if she never saw him again.
“Shit, he’s fast.” She was shaken from her focus and from whatever spell she’d been under by the sound of Uncle Meyer and Aunt Susan. They were assessing which fighters, if any, to offer contracts to for his league, the 21C.
“He is fast. Good looking too. He’s got star quality.” Aunt Susan turned back to Valerie and winked at her when she said it. Did her aunt understand what had happened? Was she teasing?
Valerie’s focus stayed on the center ring, and everything dimmed around her but the fighter. She watched and remembered the things she’d learned about the rules from her aunt and uncle. She was pretty sure Zane Diggs was winning on all levels. And then he removed any doubt.
The fight ended with a brutal and definitive punch, a hook, from Zane Diggs to his opponent’s jaw. She glanced over at Meyer Thompson. Was this as impressive to a seasoned expert at the sport, or just her? She was sure her uncle’s eyes lit up.
“Oh yeah, he’s got something.” Her uncle said to her aunt. Zane Diggs stepped into the center of the octagon while people attended to the damage he’d caused the other fighter.
He found her again. In the arena with so many people, lights, screens, and things to dazzle your attention, the fighter who’d just overcome another human with the force of his fist locked eyes with her.
They announced him as the winner and raised his hand and the invisible connection of light and heat was gone. Zane Diggs was swept up into the trappings of his sweet victory just as Valerie had been swept into
a world of boxers and billionaires.
One she didn’t know existed even this morning.
Chapter Four
Zane
* * *
Part of Zane’s deal included Knox. He’d be on staff as a sparring partner for Zane and other fighters. He’d also get a chance to be seen and train just like Zane.
They were both amazed at the 21C Training Facility. It was brand new and state-of-the-art. They walked in, and Thompson greeted them on the first day.
“You’ll have locker space, access to my doctors, you’ll be able to train each other, but you’ll also be able to sign up for all my specialized coaches and clinics.”
“Shit,” Zane said.
“Yeah, pretty great if you use it right. This place is just getting started. It’s even bigger than my place in Vegas, and it’s just phase one.” Meyer Thompson was clearly proud of the training facility. And he should be. It was huge, filled with the stuff Zane had only dreamed of using, and if you couldn’t learn here, you were an idiot.
“We appreciate the opportunity.” Zane was smart enough to know this was once in a lifetime.
“Ignore the construction as you come in and out. We’re renovating the entire block, and it’s going to be a mess for a while.”
“Is that why I don’t see Craddock Flynn or Zeke Powell on the schedule?” Knox was a true fan and fighter. He was itching to see the big names. Zane was itching to become a big name.
“Yeah, in part. Those guys come from a smaller gym. You know Great Wolves?”
“Who doesn’t?” Knox said.
“There’s a place for the small neighborhood place, and there’s a place for 21C. I plan to dominate every level of this market.”
“Yes sir,” Zane said and filed it all away. He didn’t know anything about business, but he would keep the information. All info was good info when it came to learning the corporate side of the sport he loved.
“Look around, get the lay of the land, all that shit. Then get to work. Diggs, you’re going to be back in the ring in a few weeks as soon as I make the offer to Sam. I like big punches, and you got that for sure.” At that point, their new boss walked off with a phone to one ear and pointing at something else. Zane was surprised he’d gotten a chance to talk to Meyer Thompson at all. He flew in and out of the place every other day to manage his business.
He also kept his eyes open for that woman he saw at the fight. Who was she? He’d looked up Thompson a million times on the internet and knew he didn’t have a daughter. He knew his wife was the pretty lady next to him at the fight.
He didn’t see her at the gym, which was probably good. It was time to get working anyway. Zane wondered if he’d ever see her again. He didn’t even have her name.
He and Knox changed. And his focus shifted. Becoming the best in the 21C didn’t just happen. It was a full-time job. It was your life. And Zane had no illusions about what that meant.
They lifted in the free weight area, spent time grappling with the wrestling coach on staff that day, and then split off to spar.
Zane tested the waters while sparring with Knox. He tried to land a few light shots with his left side, but it hurt like hell. A sharp pain kept his left arm close to his body. He would have to baby it. Fuck. The first time he even tried it he felt the pain again.
They finished their workout and hit the showers. Zane knew Vinnie meant well. When he got to his locker, it was there. Waiting. He’d not wanted to use it, but it was this or get bounced before he even started. If he managed his pain no one would know he had a weakness. He never locked his locker; it was how Vinnie got him what he needed with no one seeing.
Zane took a beat and remembered the real fight of his life.
It started as a tear in his muscle two years ago.
The doctor prescribed medicine. That’s what they called it medicine.
It wasn’t some out of control partying that started him, or a need to take risks. He took enough of those in the ring, no. It was a prescription from a legit doctor that turned him into an addict.
He was going to stay away from the doctors. Even around here.
Pain was a part of his life. He could manage it. He was managing it. He ignored the bottle in his bag, procured by Vinnie. Vinnie was still helping Zane the way he thought he should.
Zane looked down at the beaded bracelet on his wrist. Four months. Four beads. Pretty soon he’d add another. One month at a time man. That’s how he’d put it together.
Fuck it. No one at the 21C had to know. Knox didn’t even have to know.
He was going to gut through this shoulder shit and this oxy shit. He was tougher, dammit.
Fuck one month at a time. It was one moment at a time today. Zane finished getting dressed and directed his thoughts away from pain, away from oxy, and toward his real goals.
Vinnie and Knox were walking out of the locker room ahead of him, and he knew she was there now before ever he saw her. He felt it. Just like he zoned in on her in the crowded arena he found her in the giant training center.
She was in jeans and a t-shirt. Her blonde hair was up, just like it was the other night, and her face, almost glowed, no goop on it. Jesus was she pretty.
Zane hadn’t realized he’d started walking toward her, but he did.
“Where the hell are you going?” He heard Knox’s question float away.
In a few short strides, he was there, a foot away from her.
She was looking away, for someone, or something. But then she turned around.
“Oh. Hello.” She smiled at him. This girl was more than pretty. She was sexy and something else, confident, like she was out of her element but it wasn’t a problem.
“I saw you last night.”
“What?” She was little, almost a foot shorter than he was but she didn’t back away or look intimidated by him. Instead, she squared her shoulders.
“During my fight, you were looking right at me.”
“Oh, yeah? Wait? Were you the one in the center of the ring with a spotlight on?” She was saucy, damn, he liked that too.
“That’d be me.”
“Uh, Dane Ziggs? Is that right?”
“Close. Zane Diggs.”
“Ah, congratulations. You won with that left hook.”
“See? We did connect.”
“Sure, we did Zane Diggs, you’re my first.”
Zane felt himself nearly choke on that one. Whoa. What?
“I can be.” Zane wasn’t used to this brand of female, but damned if he wasn’t going to try to match her fast mouth.
“My first MMA fight.” She said, and her eyes were locked on his. Stunning. He could forget his own name too looking at them.
“Right. Sure. So you know my name, what’s your name?”
“Valerie.”
“I like you, Valerie.”
“You met me twelve seconds ago.”
“It’s all I need. You’re beautiful, and you know what a left hook is. I’m sold.”
“Well, isn’t that charming. Kind of a low bar.”
“Valerie. You’re going to go somewhere with me. Like this weekend. Maybe tonight.”
“Zane, I’m late for a meeting with my Uncle Meyer.”
“Uncle Meyer is it?”
“Yes, so if you’ll excuse me. It’s been great meeting you and your enormous ego.” She took a step back and then a look around. She was unsure.
Zane decided this time he had the upper hand, where she’d had it the entire conversation by virtue of how instantly crazy she made him. She was clearly whip smart too. She kept him on his toes.
“Your uncle’s office is that way.” He put a light hand on her elbow and turned her in the direction he’d seen Meyer Thompson go.
“Thanks, Diggs.” She smiled again, and it gave him some hope. She wasn’t as annoyed as she let on. She also looked at him with those same eyes she’d laid on him during the fight.
“You’re welcome, Valerie.” She turned away from him and headed in the
direction of her uncle’s office. Her ponytail flounced in the air. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he watched her walk. He liked the view from the back, maybe even more than the one from the front.
Knox caught up with him.
“Nice,” he said as he appreciated the view as well. Zane punched Knox with his left arm, which was a little better. Hormone therapy maybe? Things were looking up on all fronts.
“Hey.”
“She’s mine.”
“Please, you just met her.”
“She is mine.” He wasn’t kidding. He was going to convince Valerie to go out with him. And more. So much more.
The two headed out to check out a new apartment down the block. Sam and Meyer had thought of everything, and they were set to move in next week if they liked it. They had a training facility, a new place to live, and thanks to little Miss Valerie, he had a sweet dream to have in his bed tonight.
As soon as his arm was back to full strength, everything would be perfect.
Chapter Five
Valerie
* * *
She had to take a few breaths before she found her Uncle. What that Zane Diggs to her hormones had to be illegal. The gym seemed warmer. Her face had to be red. She could feel his eyes on her ass as she walked. Don’t trip. That was all she could say to herself.
She’d given her best attitude, but it was work. Valerie was tongue tied as hell, but she didn’t let it show.
He was cocky, invaded her personal space, and his eyes went wherever they wanted when they talked. Zane Diggs was trouble of the kind she had zero experience with.
She’d controlled all her prior boyfriends, from high school through college. She controlled Trent. She’d never felt giddy or head over heels or any of the things her college friends would go on and on about. She knew she’d had her other boyfriends on a string and that was just fine. Letting them control her emotions, her future, her life… not a chance. She’d seen too many of her friends make having a boyfriend the be all and end all. They would stop going out for fun, wait for the next text, and then analyze the hell out of every interaction. Valerie considered herself too mature for that giddy girl stuff.