Fighter

Thirty

Your POV

I answer some emails and decide to send flowers to Scarlett. I know she and Robert are leaving today or tomorrow for Vegas with the fighters, so I use the information to send her something to wish her luck. The thought of her being close to Colin makes my blood boil. I'm feeling so frustrated it's driving me crazy, but I maintain apparent control by reminding myself that I have no right to feel this way. It's my fault I don't have that right anymore. I had it once and I have no one to blame but myself for losing it.

My phone rings and I click REJECT when I see my dad's name on the screen. He thinks now that I'm back in Washington things are going to go back to the way they used to be. But things will never go back to the way they used to be. I hate to live in hotels but I'd rather live here than on his property.

I take a shower and toss a few things into my gym bag without bothering to save a suit for after training. It's Saturday and the office will be empty anyway. I'm about to walk out the door when my cell phone rings again. My finger hovers as I decide whether to send the call to voicemail thinking it's my dad again. But it's City Bank name appears on the screen.

- Hello, Ms. Y/N?

- Yes.

- This is Gertrude Waters.

- Hi Gertrude, how are you?

- I am fine. But I would like to discuss something with you. Do you have a minute?

- Yes. What's wrong?

- I had to finish my report on the funding of Johansson's Academies....- Gertrude is off course. I never withdrew my funding request even though the sale didn't happen. I was afraid the bank would use this as one more reason to withdraw Scarlett's line of credit. I hope Gertrude tells me that she knows what I did but that's not what she says.

- I spent a little more time looking at the reports I brought with me, hoping to find some redundancy among all the academies that I could suggest to Ms. Johansson to consolidate in order to economize considering their cash flow is a little tight.

- That's great Gertrude, thank you.

- The problem is that I found some things. But not the kind I was expecting.

- What do you mean?

- I downloaded supplier payments from all sixty-two gyms and put them in a single file, organizing them by name. I thought maybe I would find duplicate insurance or memberships that could be eliminated. Since academies have their own ledgers it would be hard to find redundant expenses unless they were all put together.

- Right.

- I found an expense that seemed to occur in all branches. It's not big on its own, a thousand dollars per unit but when you add it up... and sixty-one of the sixty-two affiliates have paid this supplier at least in the last year, and that's almost seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars!

- And what was that expense?

- That's what I'm not sure about. So I called one of the branches and they told me it was a management fee they were instructed to pay monthly by the main office.

- And to whom is it?

- Downey Training, Inc.

- Maybe it's a loan that Robert took out for the business once?

- I thought that too at first. But there was no loan on Johansson's balance sheet. So I took a look at Downey training and found out that the owner is not Robert.

- And who owns it?

- Colin Jost.

Rage traveled through my veins like electricity, a two-hundred-and-twenty-volt wire.

- Are you sure?

- Yes Y/N.

- Have you told Scarlett?

- Not yet.

- Then don't tell.

- But....

- I'll take care of it.

- Are you sure?

- I am.

=====================

- Anyone can enter the MMA Open right? - I asked Sebastian, my trainer at the Johansson's Academies branch here in Washington without further explanation as I put on my training gloves.

- Yup.

- How are the combinations made?

- According to the rankings of each academy. Coaches rate the competitors they enter and they match them according to weight class based on ranking.

- And how would you rate a fighter who has never had a professional fight before?

- Are you thinking of competing? - Sebastian smiled.

- I'm not thinking of competing. I will compete.

- Damn, finally, it was time!

- Can you rate me so that I fight a specific competitor?

- Has the guy fought an approved fight before?

- Yea.

- Then no.

- Why not?

- The maximum one can give to an inexperienced fighter is level five. Most fighters who have ever won a fight would be level six or higher.

Shit.

I finish off both sparring partners in ten minutes feeling angrier than when I started. Fighting usually helps relieve me. But this morning the more I fight, the angrier I get. The third fighter gives me a little more work, catching me off guard with a strike that is more powerful than a sparring partner normally does, and we fight at full strength.

I hit him with a series of quick strikes and he stumbles backwards. His back curves against the ropes. He smiles at me, looking amused at having taken on a worthy opponent. If this was a real fight I wouldn't let him pull himself together. I would have followed him and hit his leg. Hoping to make him bend over and knee him in the back.

Sebastian reminds us that we're training and we take turns pulling each other down until we're both drenched in sweat. A small crowd forms around the ring and some of the regular students stop to watch the show.

- Hey you! - Sebastian shouts calling our attention. - You will have one minute to train with full force. I'll go in and be the judge.- We nodded in agreement.

Sebastian orders the fight to begin and I waste no time. Instead of dancing around the ring showing off some fancy legwork but to no purpose and just wasting my energy I attack him with all my power. A strong right swing makes my opponent sway but he quickly regains his balance. So I do a roundhouse kick that lands right on his chest and catches him off guard, knocking him out of breath. I use the element of surprise to my advantage and easily knock him down. Sebastian gave us a minute but I had him on the floor in less than thirty seconds.

I take a shower and go to Sebastian's before I leave.

- You were very good in the ring. Do you know who that guy you just embarrassed?

I shake my head.

- He is in your weight category and has won six out of eight fights. He's level nine.- He shakes his head and laughs. - Do you think I was bothering you for nothing every day saying that you were good enough to compete?

I force a smile feeling still defeated even though I've just won.

- Yeah but I need a fight against a guy who is probably rated at the same level as him.

- I can't help you with that.- He stops.- But you have a contact inside.

I frown.

- The guy who is leading the fight.- He reminds me.- Henry Cavill. I think I remember seeing a little mention in the paper once saying you were related to him. - He adds sarcastically considering that this was the headline in the newspapers for a long time.