Hopeless (8 page)

“Yeah, hirin’ instructors wasn’t the
problem. It was findin’ a qualified manager that was tough.”

“But you found someone?” Derek asked.

“Yeah, she’s great.”

Ashley raised an eyebrow and smiled. “She?
Does
she
have a name?”

He knew where this was going. His mother
was always on him and his brother about finding a nice girl and settling down.
“Her name is Victoria.” Fortunately, he knew how to throw his mother off. “Hey,
guess who I ran into at Jimmy’s last night?” He winked at Derek. “Lily. She
sends her love.”

Ashley pressed her forefingers to her
temples and grimaced. “Please tell me you’re not thinking about getting back
together with her.”

Jay laughed. “You’re always tellin’ me to
find a nice girl, settle down, and have a couple of kids before you get too old
to enjoy your grandbabies.”

“Yeah,
nice
being the operative
word.” Ashley wiped her lips with her paper napkin. “Tell me about this new
manager of yours… Victoria. Is she single?”

Jay clenched his teeth. “You know I don’t
date my employees.”

“Good policy if you ask me,” Derek said.
“Workplace romances can get awfully messy when things go south.”

Ashley frowned at her husband. “How would
you know?”

Derek chuckled. “I’ve heard.”

Jay smiled at his mother and step-father.
For all their playful banter, he knew how much they loved each other. He wanted
what they had someday, but he wasn’t in a rush to take that leap of faith
anytime soon; maybe someday, when he’d accomplished his professional goals, but
it seemed like a long way off.

His mother turned her attention back to
him. “All you ever do is work. How do you expect to meet someone if you refuse
to consider the women you meet at your studios?”

“Ma, I do go out sometimes, ya know. In
spite of what you might think, I have a life.”

“You have a life? When you’re not working,
you’re at Jimmy’s. How do you expect to meet a nice girl in a bar?”

“Geez, Ash, will ya give the kid a break?”
Derek said.

Ashley’s eyes softened when she looked at
her son. “I’m sorry, honey. I don’t mean to be critical, but I love you so
much. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy. I love what I do. I’m meetin’
all of my objectives for the studios. I’ve got lots of great friends; life is
good. You don’t need to worry about me. Now Mike, he’s another story.”

Derek laughed. “Way to deflect, kid.”

Ashley sat up straighter. “What’s wrong
with Mike?” She looked at her husband. “Why didn’t you tell me something was
wrong with Mike?”

Derek nudged Jay in the shoulder. “Thanks a
lot, now you got me in trouble.”

“Sorry, buddy.”

“No, you’re not.”

“You’re right. I’m not.”

“Tell me what’s goin’ on with your
brother,” Ashley said, glaring at her son.

“He’s the one takin’ Victoria out tonight.”
The words tasted like bile on his tongue; just saying them aloud made him feel
sick.

Ashley smiled. “Really? When did they
meet?”

He tried to wash the bitter taste away with
iced tea, to no avail. “Last night at Jimmy’s.” 

Ashley sat back in her chair, obviously
processing this new information. “Was Victoria there with you?”

“Yeah, she was there with me, Brad, and
Karen. She and Brad went to high school together, so he suggested we all head
over to Jimmy’s so they could catch up.” He didn’t think Victoria spent much
time catching up with her old friend once Mike set his sights on her.

“Wonderful,” Ashley said, smiling. “Tell
me, what’s she like?”

Jay didn’t think it was wonderful, quite
the opposite, in fact, but if he said as much, his mother would assume he was
jealous. He was, but the whole world didn’t need to know. “She’s great.” He
tried to keep his tone neutral when he said, “Too damn good for Mike.”

“Don’t say that about your brother. He’s a
wonderful man. Any woman would be lucky to have him.”

Jay turned to Derek and rolled his eyes.
“Would you please tell my mother she’s delusional?”

Derek laughed as he held his hands up. “I
decided a long time ago to let your mother hold on to her illusions where you
boys are concerned.”

“Quit trying to change the subject, Jay. I
want to know more about this new girl my son is dating.”

Thinking of Victoria as Mike’s potential
girlfriend was a bitter pill for Jay to swallow. He didn’t know how he’d handle
seeing them as a couple, if it came to that. “Like I said, Vic’s great. She’s a
second degree black belt, majored in business with a minor in marketing. She
volunteers in her spare time. She’s sweet, beautiful…” The more time he spent
listing her attributes, the more pissed off he got thinking about her spending
the night with his brother. “Like I said, she’s too damn good for Mike.”

Ashley was practically bouncing up and down
in her seat when she said, “Are you kidding? She sounds perfect for him.”

No, she sounded perfect for Jay, not Mike.
They shared a passion for martial arts Mike would never appreciate, but since
she was off limits to him, he couldn’t very well point it out. “You’re gettin’
ahead of yourself. They haven’t even been out on one date. How do you know she
won’t hate his guts once she gets to know him?”
He could only hope.

Ashley frowned. “Why wouldn’t she like
him?”

“Hell, I don’t know. He’s selfish,
arrogant, opinionated…” He knew he was being hard on his twin. Mike wasn’t
that
bad, but jealousy did strange things to a normally sane and logical man.

“You know that’s not true,” Ashley said,
pushing her chair back and folding her arms. “Michael is just misunderstood.”

Jay laughed. “Trust me, no one understands him
better than I do.” He pushed his chair back and stood up. “Thanks for lunch,
guys, but I gotta get back to the studio now.”

Derek and Ashley stood to walk him to the
door.

“Don’t forget, Lexi and Josh are having a
birthday party for Brianna on Friday night.”

The night before his grand opening was
bound to be hectic, but he wouldn’t disappoint his little sister for anything.
“I’ll be there.”

Ashley pulled her son into her arms and
stood on her toes to press a kiss to his bristly cheek. “I’m sorry if I gave
you a hard time, sweetheart. I just want you to be happy…” She glanced out at
the motorcycle parked in the driveway. “And safe. Safe and happy, in that
order.”

Jay laughed before kissing her cheek.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” He shook Derek’s hand. “Thanks again for lunch,
guys. See ya on Friday night.”

Ashley leaned into her husband’s arms as
she watched her son walk down the driveway to his ride. “Don’t forget to wear
your helmet.”

Jay grinned as he picked the black helmet
up and strapped it on. He gave her a thumbs up sign as he straddled the bike.

He hoped like hell his mother never met
Victoria. She’d be ordering the wedding invitations before Mike could utter a
protest.

Victoria drew a deep breath before stepping
into the mixed martial arts studio that had been her second home for the past
ten years. When Carl owned the studio, it felt like home. Now it served as a bitter
reminder she’d never really had a home or family she could call her own and
probably never would. Once again, it was time for her to move on and forge a
new path.

The new owner, Rob, looked up from his
newspaper and smiled at her. “There you are. I was wonderin’ when you were
gonna get here, gorgeous.”

She tried to push aside the feeling of
uneasiness that gripped her whenever he looked at her. Fortunately, she’d never
have to face his lecherous sneer again after today. She looked around the empty
studio and frowned. “Where is everyone?” She knew the afternoon instructors
were usually there by lunch time to prepare for their classes. 

“I sent them all out for lunch on me when
Barb said you were stoppin’ by to talk to me.” He walked around the counter,
stopping only a few feet from her. “I thought we might need a little privacy.”

She forced herself to swallow the familiar
feeling of dread. She was a strong, independent woman. She could handle
herself. Unfortunately, Rob was also a second degree black belt, and he had few
inches and thirty pounds on her, so she knew she didn’t stand a chance of coming
out on top in a physical altercation.

“Did Barb tell you what I wanted to talk to
you about?” She’d called her friend, Barb, that morning to tell her about the
new job and the fact she’d need her to cover her remaining shifts.
Unfortunately, she never thought to ask her friend to keep it between them. She
assumed that was a given.

“No, she just said you’d be stoppin’ by
around lunch time.” He set his hands on either side of the counter, effectively
caging her in. “But I bet I can guess what this is about.”

He was close enough she could smell the
stale nicotine on his breath. Unlike most martial artists she knew, he didn’t
seem to have any qualms about consuming copious quantities of alcohol, take-out
food, and nicotine. “I’ve decided—”

Before she knew what was happening, he
grabbed the back of her head and forced his mouth down on hers. Rob was fierce,
his teeth piercing the skin of her lower lip. He was trying to force his tongue
into her mouth at the same time she was trying to push him away. She tried
turning her head and pushing against his shoulders, but he was too strong.

Everything in her was screaming out to stop
him the only way she knew how. Evidently, he was going to fight dirty, and she
was determined to do the same. She brought her knee up as hard as she could and
watched with pleasure as he reeled back in agony. “You ever put your hands on
me again and I’ll call the cops, you filthy bastard.”

“You want me, you little bitch,” he
whispered, holding his hands over his crotch as he tried to get to his knees.
“You know you do, and one day…”  

Victoria sprinted to her car and didn’t
stop shaking until she was sitting in front of Jay’s karate studio at the other
end of town. It had been so long since she’d felt so helpless. She realized
with stunning clarity that martial arts had given her a false sense of
security. Against a man who was bigger, heavier, and equally as skilled, she
was still the underdog. She dropped her head on the steering wheel and closed
her eyes.

Seconds later, a sharp tap on the window
startled her and she brought her head up.
Jay.
Thank God. For a brief
moment, she thought maybe Rob had followed her. When she reached for the door
handle, her hand was still trembling. “Hi.” The single word sounded shaky, even
to her.

She cleared her throat and forced a smile.
Her new boss didn’t need to know about her problems with her former employer.
“Perfect timing.”

He scowled as he stepped back to let her
step out of the car.

She jumped back when he brushed his thumb
across her bottom lip.

He showed her the trace of blood on the pad
of this thumb. “What the hell happened to you?”

Victoria shook her head furiously.
“Nothing. I just, uh, bit my lip.”

Jay crossed his arms and shook his head,
looking every bit the fierce warrior she knew him to be when he engaged in a
sparring match with a formidable opponent. “You wanna try again? Tell me
something I’ll believe this time, and Victoria, I’m warning you, I don’t take
too kindly to liars.”

She pushed past him, trying to put some
distance between them, but his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before she
could escape. “Don’t touch me!” she screamed.

She knew she was projecting her fear and helplessness
on the wrong target, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. It came bubbling up
from out of nowhere. She was usually able to keep all of those negative
feelings safely tucked away, but being manhandled by first one, then another,
strong man seemed to bring her frustration to the surface.

“Don’t ever put your hands on me again!”

Jay released her wrist and stepped back,
holding his hands out in front of him. “I’m sorry, relax.” He looked at her
like he would a wounded puppy that might strike out and sink his sharp little
teeth into tender flesh at the slightest provocation.

She was mortified when she felt the hot
burn of tears slide down her cheeks. She didn’t cry, ever. In her mind, tears
were a sign of weakness. Not to mention a waste of time. How many nights had
she cried herself to sleep, wishing her parents would come back for her, and it
hadn’t done a damn bit of good. By the time she’d faced her next big obstacle,
the fight for her life, she was all cried out. “I’m sorry, I just need a minute.”
She turned her back to him and swiped away the tears, but as quickly as she was
able to wipe them away, they came back.

Jay moved in closer, and she could feel the
brush of cotton against her bare shoulders. “You can talk to me, Vic. Whatever
it is, you can tell me.”