Dirty Brawler: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (with bonus novel!) (4 page)

“Oh, Pete’s got it under control,” I said, trying to wave off the suggestion.

“You’re being too modest!” Katie exclaimed. “Billy watched every one of your fights during the Olympics. He’d be so thrilled to actually meet you.” Several of the other parents joined in the chorus before Katie moved to ring.

“Pete?” She motioned him over. Pete gave me a look that told me I was being disruptive and he didn’t like it. But Pete was too old school to argue with a woman. “Pete, do you mind if Shaun joins you for a few minutes?”

“He’s not dressed for the ring,” Pete said with a scowl. I caught a line of sight to Tori, who had moved to the opposite side of the ring. The photographer stood next to her. She motioned for me to get up in the ring.

“Just a few minutes,” I finally agreed. “Then I’ll get out of your hair.” I pulled myself up to slide onto the mat and swung under the ropes into the ring. The kids swarmed me immediately. I couldn’t help but laugh as they all started talking and asking me questions at once.

I forgot I wasn’t wearing the right clothes for boxing. I forgot I had so much bottled-up inside me I felt like punching holes in walls twenty-four seven. I forgot I felt like my life was no longer my own. For those fifteen minutes, the only thing I knew was how happy I was showing the kids little tips and tricks I’d learned when I was their age.

They punched forms in the air, Pete and I walking between them giving feedback. I never thought of myself as a teacher before, but when I was high-fiving the kids and watching them scrunch up their faces in concentration, I saw a glimmer of how satisfying it could be. I had no plans for the future once boxing was out of the picture. Perhaps I could look into coaching. Would it be so bad?

Pete gave me a firm handshake after I said goodbye to the kids. “Thanks for coming in, Shaun. I think the kids got a kick out of it.”

“No more so than I did,” I said honestly. He nodded before I made my way back to the floor ringside. Tori was waiting there for me. She looked satisfied. The photographer was nowhere to be seen.

I waved to the parents as we started toward the door. As soon as we were outside, I took a deep breath and released it. “How’d I do, Coach?”

She nodded. “For the first time out, better than I expected.” She started tapping on her phone screen. “Jerry’s already on his way back to the office to get those pictures cleaned up. I need access to all of your social media profiles and accounts. I’m assuming I can get that from your business manager?”

“Nigel is pretty particular about that stuff,” I said.

“Well, Nigel is going to have to get over it. Leave this stuff to the experts,” she said. “I heard those parents talking in there. They couldn’t get over how friendly and polite you were, how patient and warm you were with the kids. We’ve still got a ways to go, but this was a solid first step.”

“What’s next?”

“I’ll be in touch soon,” she said, looking at her watch with a grimace. “I’m late. You did good today, Shaun. You should be pleased.”

“Dinner?” I blurted. I realized she was getting ready to leave. I didn’t want her to. Simple as that. There was something about her that dug at me. I wanted to get to know her better.

She looked at me in surprise. “Are you asking me out?” Her tone made it sound as if that might well be the worst thing in the world.

“Dinner,” I repeated, less of a question. My mind raced to put together the right words. “I’m a little rusty on all this stuff. I could use some advice. I’d also like to hear more about your strategy. You know, since I’m paying for it and all.”  The corners of her mouth tightened, but that was the only indication that my words had any effect. Hearing it out loud, I sounded like an asshole, but I wanted to unravel the enigma that was Tori Ellis.

“As long as you understand this isn’t a date or anything that could be construed as anything less than business. Just to be clear, I don’t date clients. Not only is it against the firm’s ethical policy, but it’s my own rule of thumb as well.”

“I wasn’t asking you out on a date,” I said quickly.
What the fuck? Would it be the worst thing in the world to get asked out by an Olympic gold medalist?
It had been a long time since I’d run across a woman who appeared so thoroughly disinterested in me. It made me wonder what kind of guy she
would
date, assuming her ethical code wasn’t being called into question. Probably some asshole in a suit who worked in ‘investments’ or some Wall Street shit like that.

“Fine,” she said. She started tapping on her phone screen again. “I’ll have the office make a reservation.”

“I am perfectly capable of making a dinner reservation,” I said. “Lys Blanc at 7:30pm.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Lys Blanc has a minimum eight-week waiting list for reservations.”

“The owner’s a buddy of mine.  So, 7:30pm.” The look of surprise on her face was perfect.

“Fine.” Her heated flush told me she was surprised. Perhaps even impressed. “I’ll see you then.” She opened the door to a sedan I hadn’t even realized was parked there at the curb. “Goodbye, Shaun.”

Once again, I was left standing there staring after her with my mouth hanging open and my pants just a little too tight around the crotch area.

Far from your greatest performance, my friend.

Tori

God only knew why I agreed to go out to dinner with Shaun. It was totally against protocol. There was nothing we would discuss that we couldn’t go through before any of the appearances I already started lining up for him.

If I was honest with myself, though, it was because he intrigued me.
That
was the reason I had agreed when every other client who had made the same request over the years got the big ol’ shutdown speech. I didn’t mix business and pleasure. That rule served me well over the years as I saw other colleagues get burned.

Watching him with those kids
had
made me feel warm inside. It was as if all of the tension and anger I sensed inside of him was stripped away. He didn’t have to act like he was having a good time because he
was
having a good time. Seeing him straighten their forms and navigate their punches while moving their feet the right way brought back memories of when I had done the same thing with my father.

Truth be told, being inside a gym ring was one of my favorite places to be. I felt at home there, and I loved watching Shaun in his element. As uncomfortable as he first appeared to be, he settled in quickly. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to see him interact with people in a comfortable, safe environment so I could start to understand his ticks and nuances. It would make it much easier for me to coach him when we started entering spaces that weren’t so warm and welcoming.

It hadn’t just been Shaun’s demeanor that sparked murmurs amongst the mothers at the gym, either. I let Jerry do his thing moving unassumingly around the ring, snap a few strategic photographs. It was best I stayed out of his way. I blended into the background, which was the reason I caught random drifts of the conversations happening here and there.

Does he have a girlfriend?

Is he seeing anyone?

I’d gladly go one-on-one with him all night long.

I bet the real knockout is hiding in those pants.

God, he’s fucking sexy. Look at the way those biceps bulge. Speaking of bulges...

It was hard for me to take my eyes off of his arms. I couldn’t disagree with the women’s assessment, and I studiously avoided looking any lower. The sleeves of Shaun’s fitted polo seemed to stretch over his hard biceps and accentuated every inch of his muscles. As much as I wanted to remain neutral, I couldn’t help but notice the heat pooling between my thighs as I watched Shaun throw one fast punch into the air after another.

The man was beautiful and I was acting far too irrational for my own good. I had to watch. Agreeing to have dinner with him was probably the stupidest thing I could have done. But I couldn’t resist. Plus, I’d been trying to get reservations at Lys Blanc for months. A little food wouldn’t hurt, right? A girl had to eat.

That’s what I continued to tell myself right up until I walked through the doors of Lys Blanc and approached the host stand. A tall man looked at me and then back down at his desk. I hadn’t even opened my mouth before he gave me a short nod. “Ms. Ellis?”

I was surprised. “Yes.”

“Mr. Nichols is waiting for you at your table. Let me show you in.” He turned. I moved to follow. I had to admit I thought Shaun might have been pulling my leg about getting a reservation for the same night, but no. It looked like he really did know the owner.

I saw him in a cozy booth at the back. I couldn’t stop the flutter in my stomach as he stood when he spotted me. He watched me warily as if he wasn’t sure how I was going to react. I had to remind myself this wasn’t a date.

It’s just business
, I told myself.
Nothing more.

I pasted on my most professional smile even though I couldn’t help but notice the cut of his sport coat across his broad shoulders. He cleaned up good, which was another reason I had him dress more preppy than sporty for appearances. People needed to see Shaun had more sides to him than the scary, sweaty guy in the ring—not that there was anything wrong with that side of him.

I stuck out my hand when I reached him. “Good to see you again.” It sounded lame as soon as it left my mouth. I’d seen him earlier in the morning, after all.

“Thanks for coming.”

I was struck again by the gravely tone of his voice. He motioned for me to join him in the booth. I made sure to keep an appropriate amount of space between us despite the close quarters. I took the menu from the maître d’ and started to study it. I needed to focus on something benign, anything other than the panty-melting muscle mountain across from me.

“Talking strategy is always a good plan,” I said, settling in. My eyes didn’t leave the menu. “Part of our debriefing after every event, including your fights, will be hearing what you thought and felt about how things went. I can tweak here and there based on your feedback.”

“Today was good,” he said simply. “I had fun.”

“Even better.”

There was silence as the waiter came by and rattled off the specials. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to eat at all the way my stomach flip-flopped every time I caught Shaun’s eye. He looked hungry, and given way he was undressing me with his eyes, I sensed it wasn’t for anything on the menu.

I certainly wasn’t unaccustomed to attention from good-looking men. But my career took almost all of my time and attention. I didn’t have time for anything even closely resembling a relationship. In fact, my longest relationship to date was with my rabbit vibrator. A girl needed a tool she could count on.

“What is it?” I finally asked when I couldn’t stand the weight of his stare any longer.

“I like your hair down.”

Consciously, I moved my hand to smooth the waves around my shoulders. For work, I always wore my hair up in a simple chignon because I thought it made me look older. It also kept wayward strands out of my face. But for some reason tonight, I had broken my rule and left it down to cascade around my shoulders.

Shaun picked up the glass of red wine that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t plan on having a drink tonight, but it didn’t seem as if I was being offered the option to decline. I picked up my glass. “What are we drinking to?”

“To new, friendly partnerships,” he said. His eyes never left mine even as he took a sip of the wine.

Shaun

I couldn’t read Tori’s body language to save my life. I had no idea what she was thinking. I was flying blind. It was a wholly uncomfortable feeling, one I was starting to get used to when I was around her. I knew I forced dinner on her and I sensed that she wasn’t happy about it.

She barely acknowledged my toast and its thinly concealed innuendo. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting or even what I wanted, but something inside of me was hankering for something more than just a ‘friendly’ business dinner.

It felt as if my heart was going to pound right out of my chest when I spotted her across the room. With her cascading mahogany curls and skin-tight black slip dress, she made herself the object of attention for every man in a three-mile radius. Immune I was not. Tori in her business get-up was a fucking fox. Dressed up for an evening on the town, she was a fox I wanted strewn across my bed, twisted up with me in my sheets begging for more.

Christ. I was rock hard and couldn’t help but continue to shift in my seat like a schoolboy. I hoped she didn’t notice. I felt unsure of myself and off-balance again. How did I play this situation? Tori had made it abundantly clear she didn’t date the clients she worked with, so why did I care? I wasn’t hurting for pussy when I needed to scratch that itch, but I was drawn to Tori. Simple.

“Why athletes?” I asked, attempting to break the silence between us.

She gave a mirthless laugh. “You mean why would a girl want to work with a bunch of sweaty meatheads if I wasn’t planning on screwing any of them?”

I frowned. I had clearly struck a nerve. “No, I didn’t mean—”

She pointed at my face. “Like I said, you have to start smiling more. Have you ever looked the pictures of you that get posted in the media and online? You always have a serious, slight scowl on your face.”

I blinked. This wasn’t the response I was expecting. “I never really thought about it.”

“You come across as a bit of a grump, too, so give me something to work with, Shaun. Baby steps, remember? Step one is ‘smile more often.’”

I took another sip of wine and resisted the urge to loosen the ring of my tie. I didn’t like feeling encumbered by so many clothes, but this kind of place required digging out a sport coat. “Okay, I’ll work on it. It would help if you’d say something that made me smile, though.”

I could see a visible struggle on her face when she realized how she’d stepped right into that one. Tori was trying to keep things entirely professional, and I wasn’t playing her game.

“My father was an athlete, and he encouraged me to play a lot of sports growing up. It’s always been an area I was interested in. So, when I started doing PR work, I gravitated in that direction.”

“What sport did your father play?”

There was a brief pause while her eyes flickered to mine and then back to her wine glass. “He was a boxer.”

“No kidding,” I laughed. I knew my face had broken out into a wide smile. We had something in common. “Anybody I’d know?”

She shook her head and traced the lip of her glass with her fingertip. I could just imagine that soft, deft touch trailing around the head of my cock. It twitched in my pants as if it was actually happening. I barely kept the groan from escaping my lips.

“My dad was small-time. He quit when I was a baby. He loved it, though. Taught me everything I know.”

I rested my arms across the back of the booth. Talking shop was an easy topic. I was delighted to hear Tori had an interest in my chosen profession that extended beyond the average person’s knowledge of the sport. “You’ll have to show me your moves sometime.”

Although it hadn’t been my intention to slide more innuendo into the conversation, I couldn’t help but grin when I heard the words in the air and saw her widened eyes.

“My moves are irrelevant,” she said tersely, gulping down a large sip of wine.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” I said. I noticed a slight flush across her cheeks. Perhaps my icy PR agent wasn’t as immune to me as she wanted me to believe.

When the waiter appeared next to my elbow to take our order, I thought Tori looked relieved. After he left, I was eager to turn the conversation back to Tori’s moves, but she had other plans as she turned the conversation.

“I have an appointment with Nigel in the morning to review your upcoming schedule,” she said, all business again. “Normally I’ll tee up different options and run them through him. The two of you can decide which ones make the most sense given your other commitments. I’ll handle all the bookings and subsequent press inquiries. You can stay focused on your training. Once we get a few months of positive PR under our belts, the rest of the stories from the past should fade away.”

“Sounds too good to be true. I wish you had been around during Rio.”

Tori’s expression was unreadable. “I think you handled Rio as best you could considering the circumstances. The trick is making sure Rio doesn’t happen for real all over again. I’m assuming you plan on making boxing your career for the foreseeable future?”

“I do,” I wanted to kick myself. Why had I decided to bring that up? I wanted everyone to forget what happened so badly, but it felt like the elephant in the room. “I don’t have any underlying issues, if that’s what you’re asking. I can control my temper. All of those other things have been blown way out of proportion.”

“I understand.” She looked away from me. Her gaze took in the entire restaurant. “But
they
don’t, so we have to make them see you aren’t who they have perceived you to be since that happened. So smile. Keep your nose clean. It will be easy. I promise.”

This time, the smile on my face felt fake and wrong, but I lodged it in place. Tori deftly moved the conversation to more benign questions about my past. She said it was information she needed to make sure she could pull the right emotional strings.

By the end of the meal I realized Tori probably knew more about me than Nigel
or
Hammer, yet I still knew next to nothing about her. I insisted on picking up the check using the excuse it was a business expense. She could hardly argue that.

I couldn’t help but put my hand on the small of her back to guide her out of the restaurant. I thought I felt her shiver beneath my touch. She was close enough I could smell the sea-breeze smell of her hair again. I wanted to bury my nose in it and find the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck, perhaps turn that shiver into a full-blown tidal wave.

Tori moved away from me as soon as we stepped onto the sidewalk. “My car’s here,” she said pointing to the same sedan I’d seen earlier that day.

“How about a night cap back at my place?” I offered.

She shook her head with a soft smile. “We’ve gotten as friendly as we’re going to get, Shaun. This is it.”

“What good is a rule if it can’t be broken on occasion?” I asked. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew what she was thinking. I was thinking the same thing. The inadvertent memory of Rio shot up between us. Everything might have gone down in my favor, but I had broken a pretty big rule that almost cost me everything.