The Fight Club (7 page)

Julie

I saw Tony sitting at a corner table when I entered the restaurant he’d messaged me about earlier. Tony pulled out the chair for me. He was a gentleman, but if he was trying to impress me, then he was dreaming. No matter what, I wouldn't budge. Love and dating was a distant thing for me, at least for now."I thought you wouldn't be coming." He gave me a sweet smile.

"And why is that?"

"Because..." He paused for a moment. "Nothing comes to mind. Just a gut feeling."

I giggled. "I see. So, what are we ordering? Anything special?"

"It's my favorite restaurant. I used to live across the street. I could never afford it before I worked with Gavin. So when I got my first pay, I came here to celebrate." A happy memory flashed in his eyes..

"It's costly." I looked at the menu. It was more expensive than many places I visited while in New York.

"Welcome to Hollywood. And wait until you visit some really nice ones. This place would look cheap.”

"I have no cravings for such costly restaurants. I'm happy where I am." I was a satisfied person. I never looked too deep in my future. May be that's why I was ready to get married and have kids at twenty-two.

"I'll take you to one of them. Once I win the championship, I’ll be rich.”

"Thanks, but no thanks." I smiled. I wasn't sure how to take his hint. Did he really want to take me to dinner as a good-hearted person, or did he want more from me?

"Have you met Rose?" he asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Yes, I met her on the first day of my job. What about her?"

"She’s here with your client."

"My client? Noah?" I looked around and saw Noah talking with Rose. They were laughing at some joke. I felt a jealous clench in my gut.

Why would I feel this way about Noah?
What was she doing with him? Did they know each other?

"Do you think they’re friends?" I looked at Tony.

"I doubt that. Rose would’ve said something. I heard her moaning about your client the other day. If she had known him, she would’ve talked with him, right?"

He
was
right. But they behaved like they knew each other for a long time. But why was I feeling jealous? Did I have feelings for that man?

No way. I hated him for insulting me.

Suddenly I saw Noah walking out on Rose. She called his name so loud that all the people in the restaurant looked at her. But Noah didn't come back.

"She’s alone now." Tony stared at Rose. "I should ask her to join us. Do you mind?"

I did mind, but I didn’t want to tell him no. "It's okay. Go ahead and ask her to join us."

Tony thanked me with a smile and walked to her. They talked for a few minutes, but then she stood and left the restaurant.

"She didn't want to disturb us." Tony came back glumly.

"Do you think she’ll listen if I talk to her?"

"I doubt that. Leave her alone."

Tony ordered continental dishes for us. The food tasted awesome, and for the first time, I enjoyed being in L.A.

"I'm extremely happy with the food. Thanks for the dinner, Tony,” I said in appreciation.

"Would you go out with me tomorrow evening?" Tony asked, looking worried.

"What place?"

"I will tell you once we get there."

He was putting me in a tight place now. He expected too much from me already. If he was thinking about a relationship, then he was going to fall on his face. I wasn't ready. I thought it would be better to tell him the truth rather than break his heart later.

"Tony, I'm sorry to bring this up after such delicious food, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now,” I said.

"Oh.” His face became confused. "Wait, what did you say? What sort of relationship are you talking about?"

"I can understand your hints, Tony. Please, don't try to show me that you are naïve." He was irritating me now.

His expression became shocked. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry if you felt that way. But I wasn’t trying to hit on you. I actually need a help. I'm not looking for a relationship either. My complete focus is on the league next year." He took a deep breath.

"Are you sure about that?" I was still skeptical.

"Please believe me, Julie. It's not what you think.” He made his puppy face again.

I sighed. “Okay. So what do you need my help with?”

Julie

Noah was already there when I entered the club the next day, practicing in the ring. For a moment, I froze. I didn't remember seeing him that determined before. He had the technique, but he lacked the practice. If I focused on his weak spots, he would be good. He could even fight in a league. I would’ve loved to work with him, if only he wasn't mean.

You are a professional, Julie. And you can't let your personal issues cloud your judgment.
Professional me was debating with the emotional me, because I had almost made up my mind to ditch Noah.

What should I do?
Maybe I would find the answer if I did some yoga. I skipped Noah's ring and went to the third floor. I needed some alone time.

"What are you doing here?" Noah walked into the workout room when I was starting my fifth round of yoga meditation.

I put a finger on my mouth to shut him up. I then got up, and walked outside so we could talk.

"It's a meditation room. You’re not supposed to talk inside there,” I told him, irritated.

"Why did you avoid me?" He cocked his brow. His jaw was firm, and his eyes focused on mine.

"Because you’re a jerk."

"You aren’t acting professional, Julie. You’re my trainer." He grabbed my hand, eyes full of possessiveness.

"I'm not yours, Noah." I pulled my arm out of his grasp. I didn't like the way he talked with me. He behaved like he fucking owned me.

"I meant you’re my exclusive trainer."

He scared me by the raw emotions I saw in his eyes. I didn’t say anything.

"Are you coming to spar, or do you need some more time?" he asked.

"I'll be down in a couple of minutes."

"Great." He left cockily.

***

He was in the ring when I came downstairs. Today, I could see he wore a locket. That locket was a unique one. I felt like I’d seen it somewhere before. In some movie, maybe.

"You can't wear that in here," I said, pointing it out.

"I don't care what you think about it. I will not remove it just because you say so."

"They won't let you wear anything like that in actual matches," I said.

"This isn’t a real match. I can’t hurt you with it." He pushed it inside his shirt and charged at me. I wasn't ready when he pulled back his hand and bumped his fist on my shoulder.

A sharp pain passed through my shoulder. For a moment, I felt like something broke. I pushed him away and walked to the other side of the ring. What the hell was he thinking when he charged like that? "What are you doing, Noah? You could’ve injured me.”

"Are you focused, Julie? If you don’t pay attention, you could die in an actual match,” he taunted.

"I’m not here to fight in one. I'm here to attend to your injuries and train you, not play a match with you " Now he was pushing my nerves.

"Come on." He invited me to attack him with his stance.

I stepped back. "I'm leaving, Noah. You don't deserve to work with me."

"Wrong! You’re backing out because you’re afraid of me. You don't have the guts to hit me. Rose is ten times better than you, and she has a great body too. At least she can distract me with her full grown boobs." He chuckled.

He’d challenged me. Now I would show him what a girl could do to an asshole like him. Pure anger flew through my veins.

I turned back and charged on him. He was ready, but I knew his moves. I didn't let him catch my flying fist, but instead, hit him with a swing kick.

"Now that's what I call force.” He laughed again. "But you lack the performance."

What the fuck.
Who was he, to determine my performance? I ran at him again. I was going to hit him with the same technique, and then put him in a dead lock. But this time, he got the better of me. When I hit him with my kick, he caught it with his hands and pushed me backwards. I stumbled on one leg and fell back on the ground.

He quickly moved and pressed his knees onto both of my arms. "You don't deserve to be my trainer, Julie. And that's the truth."

I didn’t get this guy. Did he hate me for some reason? I wanted to push him away, but I couldn't do it. "Let me go, Noah. You’re hurting me.”

His eyes changed, and he got off of me. In a whisper, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hurt you. You aren’t her."

He walked out of the ring. I sat there, wondering what had gotten into him. I was sure that I didn't want to work with him anymore.. I ought to meet up with Gavin and tell him about Noah’s craziness. He hurt me today. Tomorrow, he could kill me. He was a psychopath. I needed to stay away.

But then he said he was sorry. Did he mean it?

No. Jerks like him never mean what they say. Yesterday, he left Rose alone. If he was a gentleman, he would’ve taken care of his lady.

I don't care if Gavin downgrades my pay. I just can't work with this man anymore.
It was done. I was ready to fire him as my client. I didn't care what story he’d tell to Gavin. I just wanted him gone from my life.

"Julie? Are you all right?" Tony called.

I realized I was still lying down in the ring, looking at the ceiling. He jumped in the ring and gave me his hand to help me up.

"Thanks for that." I stood on shaky legs. My arms still hurt from Noah’s weight. I should ask Gavin to ban him from the club.

"So are we going to the place I told you about?" he asked.

"Yup. Whatever."

"If you don't want to go that's fine,” Tony said cautiously.

"No. We will definitely go. Just call me, and I’ll join you." I had no reason to be angry at him. He did nothing.

"Fine. See ya.” Tony walked out of there, but my mind still wondered about Noah and his behavior recently. He seemed to be little shaky around me.

***

We took a cab to Tony’s location, and it wasn’t what I thought it would be. We were standing in front of a large building, named
Peter’s Orphanage.
The building looked very old, but the big door it had was decorated in various colors.

"What are we doing here?” I asked.

"Let's go in, and you’ll get the answer." Tony smiled and walked in front of me.

"I thought there are no more orphanages in our state."

"It's a one off. You won't find another one in the state." Tony added.

I followed him, wondering what he wanted to show me. When we entered the orphanage, many small kids gathered around Tony.

"Hello, Tony!” they called in a chorus.

"Hello kids,” he said, grinning. “Are we ready for today's lesson?"

Lesson? I couldn't guess what he would teach to young kids.

"Let me get changed, then." He walked into a room, and five minutes later walked back in his gym clothes.

"What are you going to teach them?" I asked.

"Martial Arts. I was an orphan, so I had no one to teach me how to fight. I was forced into street fighting by goons,” he told me. “But I don't want these kids to suffer the same. So I'm teaching them self-defense in advance."

He smiled. He was such a great person. I wish Noah was like him.

"And why did you bring me here?"

"I'll be going on tour soon, so I want you to continue teaching these kids in my absence. This job fetches no money, but you’ll feel good after.”

"I know that. You don't have to give me reasons to do it." I felt good for the first time that day. Black shadows cast by Noah were disappearing by Tony’s good intentions. "I'll do it."

"Thanks a lot, Julie. I knew you would help me. Now, let me introduce you to the kids."

We walked inside the play room, where kids were already doing some stretching. Tony introduced me to the crowd, and then we enjoyed teaching them some techniques. I realized that kids have the power to cheer you up, even in your darkest moments.

Later, my cell rang. My mom's hospital had called me. I picked it up suspiciously. because they never called me without a reason.

"Hello. Julie here."

"Miss Julie, we are calling you for your overdue payment. You will need to pay us by this month’s end, or you have to take your mother somewhere else." She cut the phone as soon as she was done.

My heart sank. How could I forget that I’m obligated to pay for my mother's hospital care? How could I even think of asking Gavin to fire Noah? What if Gavin got angry, and he fires me instead? What would I do then?

No. I can't go to Gavin. I need to face Noah myself. I can't lose my job.

My fate bound me to Noah. I had no choice but to continue training him.