“Did you cancel that check yet?” Jonathan was planted on a kitchen barstool with one of Bailey’s scones in hand.
“No, not yet. I haven’t been able to get ahold of my accountant. I’ll try later today, though.” Leo barely registered the question. His mind was focused on the tea party Lily was throwing for him and her new dolls.
“I need you to take this seriously, man. That’s a crap ton of money for her to run off with if she catches on to us.” Jonathan could see his client’s bank account dwindling before his eyes. He raised his voice louder, attempting to get Leo to pay attention, “You heard what the lawyer said. She could still publish the pictures once this comes out. You need to be prepared—you, Bailey, everyone. Have you talked to Layana yet? Is she on board with keeping this hush hush?”
Bailey walked in the room, placing a few paper bags full of groceries on the table. Ms. Penny followed silently behind her. “Talk to Layana? Why do you need to do that? I thought you emailed her?” Just saying her name made Bailey’s blood boil. She wasn’t immune to Leo’s lovers. In fact, she had come to terms with him always having that past, but, for some reason, Layana in particular upset her more than any of the others.
Leo excused himself from Lily’s party and walked towards the kitchen’s marble island. He lowered his voice as he explained, “I called her. She said she wouldn’t talk. But that was a few weeks ago, and now that that damn lawyer brought her up in court, I can’t imagine what is going on in her head. Knowing her, she’ll want to jump on this for press.”
Jonathan dropped the scone on the china plate, causing it to rattle. “Are you serious? You need to meet with her. You need to silence this now. If you want her to stay on your side, she's gonna have to work this out with the commissioner.”
“Yeah, I know…I know…” Leo’s mind raced. He had no desire to see her, but Jonathan was right. If he were to ever fight again, he needed Layana on his side. He needed her to keep up the good graces with her husband.
“I’m gonna arrange a meeting with her today at the Grand Hotel’s restaurant. Okay? Play nice with her. We need her. In the meantime,” he looked down at his phone, “Timothy just arrived. Can we let him in the gate and show him to the gym? I’ll introduce you to him.”
Bailey punched in the code as she walked over to where Lily still played with her few dolls. “Hey there, sweetheart. I've got an idea for us. How about you and me head out to grandma’s house today? Sound like a good idea?”
“I wanna watch Leo box, Mommy!” Lily looked at the empty room where the two men once were, her face full of dejection.
Bailey’s heart hurt. She never cared to see her child feel abandoned, especially after being placed in the group home. If she wanted to bond with Leo, she had to give in. Still the thought of what would happen if they were to breakup or if he should fall off the wagon raced through her head. She couldn’t let herself or her daughter become so close to feel such a pain again. Both of them shared two broken hearts that were not easily mended.
Bailey bent down and picked up Lily by the waist. The two walked through the garage down to the underground gym. Already Jonathan and Timothy were chatting about strategies while Leo pulled off his shirt. Bailey called out to them, “I hope you don’t mind, but Lily’s been real interested in boxing lately. Would it be a bother if we sat here and watched you guys practice?”
The new man walked towards her, his long skinny arm outstretched her way. “No problem, ma’am. I’m Timothy Jordan.” Bailey reciprocated the introduction while noting just how much he didn’t look like a boxer. Unlike Leo, he was tall, lean, and almost gaunt in his face. He looked like he could be blown over and snapped in the wind.
Timothy removed his jacket while Bailey, Lily, and Jonathan took a seat on the benches. Jonathan leaned in to her to whisper, “I know he doesn’t look it, but this guy is the best trainer and coach money could buy. He trained Copperstone, Randies, and Miguel to their titles. If Leo wants to compete, he can’t just rely on his strength. He needs speed. Timothy’s gonna teach him that.”
Bailey stopped Jonathan as he continued to ramble on about agility and tactile moves, “Compete? Who said anything about competing? I thought he was just considering getting back into shape.”
“A guy like that, Bailey, needs to be in the ring. He can’t be cooped up in the home playing tea parties. He needs the press, the attention, the stardom. He wasn’t meant for this.”
“You mean, meant to be a domesticated Leo,” Bailey spat out.
Jonathan knew he had hit a nerve. “Look, it’s not that he isn’t improving with you around. He really is. He’s a different guy. But I knew him before everything, even before all the drinking. He needs that spark, that fire. I haven’t seen that in a long time. Getting back in the ring for a couple matches, defending that title, it’s gonna do that for him.”
Bailey stood up, grabbing Lily by the hand, “We gotta go now if we wanna see that home, okay?”
“Wait—Bailey! I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t!” Jonathan called out to her as Leo noticed the commotion.
Leo jumped from the platform down to meet her at the door. The wrinkle above his eyes furrowed as he asked, “What’s going on? What did Jonathan do?”
“It’s—It’s nothing, Leo. We’re just going to head out and do an errand before lunch.”
“You’re taking a security guy, okay? And then you’re going down to the police station and reporting that message you got. I don’t wanna hear you argue about it.” Leo walked over to where he left his cellphone and began texting his guard team the instructions.
“Come on, it’s not that big of deal. Let’s just let it rest.” Bailey’s stomach churned. She wanted nothing to do with going to the police, especially now that the texts were coming more and more. She had to turn her phone off just to ignore them all.
“No! Bailey, this is important. You need to do this. Do your errand and then run down to the station of Whipple Street. Dan is gonna go with you. He can watch Lily while you get it done. Okay?” He looked at her blank face and knew this would be a harder fight, “Bailey! Tell me you'll do it.”
She scurried her shoulders out of his firm grasp as she nodded in reply. “I’ll do it. In the meantime, meet with Layana and get your training done. I’ll be home for dinner.”
He kissed her forehead and watched as her and Lily headed up the stairs. Leo then texted Dan, the head of security, her intended itinerary: “Be sure she goes to the police station. I don’t want her to come home until she does.”
Leo returned his attention back to the workout at hand. Timothy appeared weak but was one of the most aggressive trainers he had ever had. Between the wind sprints and the interval training, Leo’s body grew weak and tired. He knew he had been out of practice since his last fight, but Timothy had made his body seem like it had aged at least twenty years.
“Rule number one of training with me: I don’t work with you if you’ve been drinking. Do you understand me?” the trainer shouted at Leo as he jumped rope on one foot. Leo breathlessly answered an agreement back. “Rule number two: You learn some control. I hear about you wasting energy on street fights or knocking out a paparazzi, I’m done with you.”
Leo stopped jumping, the rope falling to his heels with a click. He bent over, catching the weight of his band with the palm of his hands balancing on his knees. “I can’t do that, man. I’m not gonna make that promise.”
Timothy crouched to his level, coming in eye contact with him. He raged, “And why the fuck not?”
“My girl, she’s got a stalker or something. Someone’s sending death threats. When I find out who that person is, I’m gonna kill him with my bare hands.” Leo looked at him earnestly. He meant every single word. This person was not going to go unpunished, he would see to that.
Timothy paused as he stared into the fighter’s beating, blazing eyes. He liked what he saw. “Get back to work, then.” Leo obeyed, grabbing the rope off of the ground and switching his foot. This time, he jumped higher, faster, stronger. If this is what it took, he was going to give it everything he had.
Once Leo was in the ring, the lion in him returned. He had spent the last month sparring with himself or with his girls, but having a real partner, someone who knew the combinations and tactics, brought him back to his former glory. He had missed the feel of the mat under his feet, the way a connected punch felt on the flesh of his competitor, the sting of a returned jab. Leo found his rhythm once more.
Timothy instructed as Leo worked on his combinations, “You’re gonna need to get faster. You’ve got the strength still, but it’s not enough. These new fighters know how to duck and cover. They’re cunning little fuckers. You can’t just beat them with fists.”
Suddenly, Jonathan stood, running to the mat with his phone raised above his head, “It’s her, Leo. Layana. She can meet with you in an hour. We got to end this.”
“This is more important, Jon. Tell her I can do another day instead.” Leo placed the mouth guard back in his mouth and waited for Timothy to raise his mat to his chest.
“Layana Richards?” Timothy removed his gear, tossing them onto the floor. “No, man. I don’t think you get it. It’s all everyone’s talking about around the rings. Whatever you need to do to cut that shit, you've gotta get it done. If you don’t solve it, you don’t have a chance in hell of ever competing again.” He jumped out of the ring and grabbed his gym bag from the benches. “I’ll be back when you’ve made this right.”
Leo called out to him, “Come on, man! It’s gonna be fine. I can get this worked out tomorrow.”
Timothy turned back towards the lone man in the ring, “You get it done today and remember my rules: No booze. No fighting. Get faster.” He turned his attention to Jonathan, “You’ve got my number. Give me a call when this is worked out.”
He disappeared up the stairs, leaving the boxer and his agent alone. Leo shouted in frustration, “What the hell, man! You saw me in there. I had it. Again. Why did you have to ruin it?” He kicked his glove across the room as he hopped out of the ring on to the gym’s floor.
The two men did not speak at all on their way to the Grand Hotel. The car pulled up to the back entrance where Leo exited swiftly. Seeing his agent following behind him, he quietly said, “What are you doing? Are you heading to this meeting?”
“No, you know I can’t do that. I’m gonna wait in the lobby wing for you to watch out for the press.” Leo began to walk again before Jonathan could catch his arm, “Leo, I know you don’t wanna hear this piece of advice, but I’m gonna give it to you anyway: give Layana what she wants. Whatever it is. Whatever the price. Just give it to her.”
Leo lowered his head and looked around for any eavesdroppers. His low voice growled, “Are you fucking telling me to sleep with her?”
Jonathan stood firm, “I’m telling you to do what you need to do to get rid of her.”
Leo walked away, his fists clenching into balls with Timothy’s rules replaying in his head. Control. This situation would require control, especially if his agent’s wishes came true. Nothing was worth the price of betraying Bailey like that—at least he thought so.
That was until he saw her. She sat alone in a back party room, her silky tan legs crossed over one another, catching the light of the chandelier. Her bleach blonde hair curled just at the place her neckline curved around her bursting breasts. She was leaned forward, busy texting someone on her phone, but Leo watched her with a familiar tinge of longing as she bit down on her red painted lips.
She looked up at him as he walked in the room, closing the door behind him. “Did you order anything?” he asked as he walked in brusquely
“Just a bottle of wine.” She placed a soft, manicured hand upon his tattooed arm. “I can get you something stronger if you want, though.”
“No, I’m not gonna have anything.” Leo’s mouth watered at her suggestion, but he would get through this without a taste of alcohol. “We need to talk.”
“So I hear. I hear your lawyers, that guy’s lawyer, and your new woman have been doing a lot of talking upon my behalf. Photographers have been swarming. I’ve had at least ten requests for tv interviews. I think I shall thank her for that next time I see her.” She raised her wine glass in the air, the liquid sloshing around from the motion, “To doing the help!”
Leo refused to play along, “I’m not here to talk about her.”
“Oh, Leo, have some fun with me. You’ve been with me so many times you know I love to tease.” She watched as his face remained stony and unmoving. Annoyed, she leaned forward towards him, “So what I’m guessing you want to talk about is my husband and what he knows.”
Leo leaned back, angling his body away from hers, “Yeah. I wanna know that I’m gonna be able to fight if I make a comeback.”
“A comeback? My dear Lionheart…surely you must be joking.” Again, she looked to how his face remained unchanged. “Well, my husband will believe anything I say to him. If I say we’re just friends, we’re just friends. He’s just that dumb and in love with me...But I’m not sure why I would want to do something like that.”
“Because you have to move on with your life. Because you don’t want the press or anyone smarter than a rock to know what kind of whore you are.”
“A ‘whore?’” She was done playing games. “The only one I slept with besides that ‘rock’ of my husband is you. Don’t act like you didn’t want it—that you didn’t call me in the middle of the night shitfaced and desperate. Don’t tell me you didn’t initiate every single moment of it!”
Layana stood up and walked slowly to the other side of the table where Leo sat. His eyes remained front, not daring to glance at her, even as she planted herself on his lap and draped a thin arm around his neck. With two fingers to his chin, she guided his head towards her bosom and whispered sweetly into his ear, “The only one who is a ‘whore’ in this equation is you.”
Leo pounded his fist into the tablecloth, “Screw you, Layana. Just tell me what you want from me. You want money? You want a car? What?”
Layana crossed her arms over her chest as she thought. Finally, she leaned back down to his ear and whispered, “You.” Her sweet, honey breath tickled the hairs on the back of his neck.
“What?” He stood, forcing her to stand with him.
She pressed her hands to the crease of her turquoise blue dress, and then returned her hands to Leo’s t-shirt. As she softened the wrinkles, she calmly said, “You heard me. I want you. I want you one last time. I don’t care when. I don’t care how. I want you. If you think that gold digging skank of yours is better than me, compare it. But I think you’ll find that what I can offer you is much more interesting than the maid’s.”
“You’re fucking nuts.” Leo again pounded his hand into the table, causing the plates and silverware to shake. “I’m not gonna do it.”
Her eyebrows shot up as she commanded the rest of her body to remain calm and to follow her script, “Then I’m not going to deny it. More so, I’ll make sure that every person knows about it. I’ll give them whatever juicy detail I can remember…and some that I can’t. And when I talk, I’ll be sure to go to my husband first. He’ll forgive me. He always does. But he certainly won’t let this slide.”
Leo bit down on his lip considering his options. Bailey would never know what really happened. The room was empty, clear of anyone that could talk. Jonathan wouldn’t even have to be aware of what he did. This was between him and Layana.
Doors had to be shut so that he could open another. If he wanted to box again, he was going to have to sacrifice himself first.