FIGHTER: An MMA Romance Novel (14 page)

E
very time
there was an unexpected development in the UFL, there was more paperwork to deal with than Kade had a stomach for. Two weeks left them with precious little time. It was the perfect opportunity to test Nicole's skills as a social media manager. Either she’d crumble under the pressure, or she'd rise to the occasion. Either way, Kade was ready to take advantage of her success or failure to win the little harlot back.

"Ms. Washington," Kade announced from the doorway of the social media office. The sting of her rejection was still fresh, and his tone reflected his discomfort, "something has come up. I need to speak with you immediately out in the hall."

Nicole was seated at her work station, the screen of her desktop open to a full inbox of fan mail. "Of course, Mr. Holland," she answered, words as angry as they’d been back in the kitchen. The work day was almost done, close to seven hours had passed since their talk, and yet she was still seeing red. Typical woman. For now, he'd let her stew in her own negativity. One day, it would come back to bite her.

The rest of the social media team gave him strange looks, but none of them were particularly hateful. It seemed Nicole hadn't shared what had happened in the kitchen with her team, and it was just as well. Kade didn't want the world to know he was rejected, and he bet Nicole didn't want to spread her loose reputation as freely as she did her thighs.

"What is it now?" Nicole asked.

"Chris 'The Striker' Sicton can’t fight in the upcoming match," Kade announced casually. Nicole furrowed her brow, not catching on as quickly as she needed to. Time was money, after all. Kade wondered if she’d ever realize how much her stupidity was costing her, professionally and otherwise.

"What do you mean, he can’t fight? We've been promoting this fight forever."

"I guess it's just like you," Kade announced, delighted to tie in a jab with his delivery. "If he doesn't want to attend the best night of his otherwise pathetic life, I suppose he doesn't have to."

To his delight, irritation throbbed in Nicole's temple. She raised a hand to try to quell it, massaging the spot with her fingers.

"You're a child, Kade. When you decide to be an adult you can come back and talk to me then. I already told you that I'm not taking any more disrespect." She turned to leave. Before she could step away, Kade caught her arm and held her in place. Nicole snapped her head to the side and glared at him over her shoulder. There was something so erotic about a black woman's face when she was angry. Despite the contempt he felt towards her, Kade began to harden. How he’d love to just push her up against the wall and pull her skirt up...

"Don’t walk away from me," he warned her. "Sicton broke his ankle and needs surgery and bed rest before he can consider walking again. There’s no way I’m canceling a fight this profitable for the UFL, so I offered his spot to someone else."

"Are you sending Grant in there?" Nicole asked, she turned to face him again. No longer forced to hold her in place, Kade released her arm and stuffed his hand into his pocket. As he ate up the curves of her body and the aggressive glint in her eyes.

"No. I've turned this into something better than just any old, tired title fight. I've turned it into an event the UFL has never seen before."

Anger disappeared from Nicole's face, replaced instead by curiosity. How easy it was to win them over. Kade couldn't help but smirk.

"What kind of event are we talking about?"

"I'm toying with labeling it 'Shoot for the Stars'. We take the current star, Kidwell, and we give our biggest rising star a shot at the belt."

Nicole pressed her lips together, alarmed.

"Who are you sending in?" she asked, but the concern that edged her voice told Kade that she already knew.

"The UFL's biggest viral sensation and rising star, of course. Jax 'The Ax' McCarthy. The audience is going to eat it up."

"It's... Are you serious?" Still concerned, Nicole's frown grew. The unease she felt added to Kade's enjoyment. "Jax is just breaking in. I don't think he's ready to square off against the champ just yet."

"That's not what McCarthy said." Delirious pleasure ran through Kade's gut. "He agreed already. The fight is on in two weeks. Our rising star will come head to head against his biggest competition yet. Whether McCarthy is ready or not doesn't matter. Your job is to make sure the world is hyped for this fight, and that we get those pay-per-view rates up and through the roof. Is that understood?"

"I..." Every second of hesitation and internal struggle on Nicole's part was a balm for his soul. Kade watched her closely as she tried to come to terms with what was happening. "Yes. I understand."

"Good. You're putting in overtime tonight. We're doing a press release to announce the news on the fighting and sports television networks. You’ve got half an hour to fix your hair and makeup, then we're on the road and heading to the release."

Nicole's eyes widened as he dropped the bomb. Kade bit down on his bottom lip in glee as the corners of his lips twisted upwards.

"Half an hour?"

"Mmhm. Half an hour from now, you meet me in the lobby and we head out. May I suggest you run?"

Before the upward inflection of his question was spoken, Nicole was already on the move. The sharp click of her heels echoed off the walls as she ran for the door to her office. Kade leaned against the wall and waited, enjoying the show as she burst from the office and broke down the hall at top speed, purse clutched in her hand.

There would be no TV bingeing on the couch in sweatpants. Not tonight.
Feeling satisfied with the tight spot he'd wedged her into, Kade wandered down the hallway and to the woman's washroom. Opening the swinging door just a little, he leaned in to speak through the crack.

"Remember that we're appearing on national television," Kade announced, chipper. "Hell, people from around the world might be tuning in. Make sure you look presentable. You don’t want to look like a fool in front of hundreds of thousands of people, now do you?"

There was no reply from inside, but he knew the message had done its job. Kade's smirk grew, and he let the door swing closed as he headed down the hall towards the elevator. Half an hour would be over before he knew it, and before it was through he’d have Nicole eating out of the palm of his hand.

"
W
e regret
to announce that Mr. Chris Sicton won’t be able to fight in the upcoming title fight. We ask for your support and understanding as Mr. Sicton takes the time he needs to recover from his injury."

The podium was made of cheap wood. Kade's fingers curled under the ledges and felt the rough pulp beneath as he leaned in to speak into the microphone. The front of the structure was painted to look elegant and high class, but Kade knew the truth.
What a sham.

"This is a sold out show, so we’re aware of how many people have bought tickets to see this fight. But, don’t worry, the match hasn’t been canceled! We’ve found a replacement who is going to put on a real show for you guys. He’s already impressed a lot of you with his last fight in Brazil that took all of ten seconds. I invite you to welcome our rising star, the only rookie with the right stuff to take on someone as big as ‘The Killer’ himself: Jax 'The Ax' McCarthy!"

Without a doubt, Kade's least favorite part of the work he did for the UFL was the public announcements. The audience loved to be titillated and strung along with so much corny drama, it was barely tolerable. Whenever he had to address fans of the UFL, he always felt like he had to dumb himself down by at least 50 IQ points. Obviously they were too stupid to notice or care because he was rewarded with hoots and cheers of approval.

On cue, Nicole led Jax from the wings and up to the podium. In half an hour she'd worked a miracle and pulled together a polished look worthy of live television. Kade was impressed.

"The match will be subtitled "Shoot for the Stars". We hope to continue having events like this as future rookies prove their stuff in the years to come. We invite any questions you might have at this point in time."

It was likely that ninety percent of views had switched off the announcement by now, and Kade allowed himself to relax. Most viewers were interested in learning the breaking news and shunned the details. Kade didn’t bother passing that little tidbit on to Nicole or Jax. Both of them would be on their best behavior until the end of the night.

"Mr. Holland, a question, if you would." Sports reporters gathered at the front of the venue, chomping at the bit to get their sound bites for their shows.

"Please, ask away."

"How does the champ feel about being matched with a rookie? No offense to Mr. McCarthy, but he hasn’t really earned this fight, has he?"

At his side, Jax clenched his fists. Kade watched from the corner of his eye as he grit his teeth.

"A fine question," Kade replied before Jax could jump in. "Mr. Kidwell regrets that he is unavailable to attend tonight's press conference in person, he’s at his training camp right now. He gave me a statement though: he is thrilled to have the opportunity to go head to head against a rookie and show him what true fighters are made of, and he welcomes McCarthy to bring his best — because it still won't be enough."

Savage hoots of laughter and sharp cheers rose from the fans further back in the crowd. How these men managed to show up on such short notice boggled his mind.

"Next question?"

"Can we hear what Mr. McCarthy thinks about the match?" another reporter asked. Kade bowed his head and replied.

"I'll let the man himself answer your question. Mr. McCarthy, the mic is all yours." If he fucked this up, Kidwell wouldn't get a chance to pulverize him — Kade would do it himself.

Dressed like the cretin he was, in sweatpants and a skin tight hoodie, Jax took his place as Kade stepped away from the podium. All muscle and no brains, he leaned in towards the mic and managed to string a few words together.

"I'm ready," he announced. "I know a lot of you don't believe that someone as new to the UFL as me is gonna be able to pull this off, but I know that Kidwell is going down. I'm training hard, harder than ever before. I'm eating right. I've got my eye on the prize and nothing else. I may be fresh blood, I may not be as well-known as Kidwell or Sicton or any of the others, but I'm gonna impress all of you in two weeks’ time when I knock Kidwell the fu—... When I knock Kidwell out."

Almost perfect, except for nearly swearing on live television. At least the moron had the sense to cut himself off.

"Does that uh, does that answer your question?"

He needed to get Jax out of there before he made a fool of himself. With a hand on his shoulder, Kade pushed the man away from the podium and took his place at the microphone once more.

"Next question, please."

"Can you tell us about what kind of training regimen you're subscribed to?"

The interest had shifted to Jax, and Kade stepped away from the podium to let him take the spotlight. The unsophisticated oaf stumbled over his words from time to time. At other times was so inarticulate that Kade had to clench his fists to keep from shoving Jax away from the mic and ending the conference then and there. Question after question, some invasive, others casual, were asked, and Jax navigated through them all.

As the half hour finally came to an end, Kade motioned for Jax to get out of his way and closed the floor with a gentle parting.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. The UFL invites you to follow Jax's progress and stay up to date on details of our Shoot for the Stars event on our social media pages. Thank you for your attention and interest, and we look forward to seeing you ringside."

Nicole led Jax away with a hand on his elbow. Kade followed, taking the opportunity to ogle Nicole's ass. Even in drab office attire, her bubble butt was to die for.

"That wasn't so bad," he heard Jax whisper as they crossed the small stage and entered the side wing. "I'm thirsty as hell, though. I'll catch up with you a bit later, okay?"

The fighter jogged down the hall to a water fountain while Nicole slowed and considered waiting for him. Kade passed her and kept walking, determined not to let her think that she held any power over him. Instead, he went for the back doors where his limo was parked.
If Nicole wanted a ride back, she'd have to ask him for it.
Confident that she'd come crawling back to him, Kade loitered outside the back door. Sure enough, the slut popped out the door and started looking around for him. She walked right by him to gaze up and down the street as though trying to get her bearings.

Waiting for her to take the bait was time well spent. Kade hooked his thumbs over the pockets of his pants and watched her. What a curious creature she was. When a look up and down the street didn't satisfy her, Nicole moved to the driver's side window of his limo to speak to his chauffeur. Kade knew his driver wouldn’t let her in the car without his permission.
If Nicole was trying to set herself up with a ride without asking him, she was shit out of luck.

His driver must have told her where he was, because Nicole looked back in his direction. Even at a distance Kade could see the thin line of her mouth ease into a smile as she approached him. Just like a woman to stop being a bitch as soon as you have something they need.
Just like a woman to think they could smile to get whatever they wanted. Soon, just like a woman, he’d have her spreading her legs for him.
Kade couldn't wait to ride her tight ass again and hear her squeal.

A little sway in her hips, her smile grew as Nicole walked back to the back exit. Kade's smirk grew with his pride.
That bitch had taken no time at all to come crawling back to him. No woman could stay away from Kade Holland for long.

But Nicole walked right by him.

Kade's mouth fell open as she passed, and he turned his head to follow her as she walked straight for the back door. Jax stood in the doorway, waiting for her.

"I thought you were great out there," Nicole told Jax in a soft voice fit for Kade's bedroom. The flirtation in her tone was obvious. "But I guess it's not your first time appearing on television. How do you keep your cool in situations like that? My heart was racing the entire time."

If Kade was any less of a man, his cheeks would have reddened with anger. This one was going to be a slow burn, slower than most.
Let her have her fun with McCarthy. By the time Kidwell was done with him, he’d be broken. His bones, his mind, and his spirit would all be shattered.
Jax wasn't going to walk out of this with his head held high, nor was he going to walk out of this with Kade's slut. The man had overstepped his boundaries, and when he fell, Nicole would come crawling back.