Romance: Her Fighter (3 page)

“Oh.”

Well, that explained the chuckle.

“How about you and I get a cup of coffee—” He paused as he waited for a name.

“Claire,” I told him, holding out my hand, which he took in his own, rubbing his thumb in a slow circle across the back of my hand before he released it.

“Claire. How about you and I get a cup of coffee, and then I’ll take you there myself.”

A calming cup of coffee before the interview did sound like a good idea.

“Sure.”

He gave me a firm nod and then took a hold of my arm, leading me across the street and into the café there.

“Don’t think I just picked this place because it was closest,” he told me as we stood in line. “It is actually one of the best places in this area. Their coffee is decent and their muffins are to die for.”

“So, you know the muffin man?” I teased, grinning.

He glanced down at me, his eyes shining again. “Of course. She’s married to the muffin man.”

Oh! A man who could take a joke and respond in kind. I liked that. This was getting better and better.

Maybe Kate had been right.

Maybe coming to live with Mom had been the best decision I’d ever made. As we stood in line, we chatted about random things that came to mind. He was definitely someone who thought he knew everything, and I caught him a time or two, proving he certainly wasn’t the Internet.

He was right about the muffins though. As I sank my teeth into a blueberry cheesecake muffin, I felt my mouth water in delight. It was as if the angels shone down from heaven and sang.

“Oh wow!” I said, and took a sip of coffee. “This is great.”

“Told you.”

I chose to ignore the arrogance in his voice.

I had him pegged well, I believed.

He was the kind of guy who always got his way in every aspect of his life.

No one told him he was wrong.

No one told him no.

Usually, he was the kind of guy I’d avoid, but he was also fun to be around, so I stayed, telling myself I’d disappear if he ever showed signs of demanding things of me I couldn’t accept.

“Here we are,” he said as we rounded a corner and ended up in front of Black Dragon Mixed Martial Arts Gym.

For a moment, I stared up at the sign, trying to place why it sounded familiar, but then I shook my head and turned to Ryan. “Thank you for the directions, the company, and best of all, the muffins.”

“My pleasure,” he replied with a cocky smile.

Wiping the few remaining muffin crumbs off myself, I held my arms out. “How do I look? Interview-worthy?”

His eyes traveled along the length of my body before returning to mine. “You look beautiful. Go get ‘em tiger.”

With a ferocious grin, I turned away and walked inside the gym, praying that I get the job.

My life is starting to look up…

Chapter 3

“Hello, my name’s Claire Williams, and I’m here about a job interview,” I said to the woman standing behind the counter when I first walked in.

I could only assume it was Jill, the woman I’d spoken to on the phone.

She smiled at me. “Ah, yes, Miss Williams. Give me just a moment.”

She looked up as the door opened again.

“Hello, there Mr. Coulson. How are you today?”

“It’s been an interesting day so far.”

I turned at the sound of the voice, surprised to see Ryan standing so close behind me. His eyes met mine, and there was a gleam to them that was caught between amusement and some other emotion I couldn’t put my finger on.

Jill interrupted any thoughts I might have spoken out loud.

“That’s good. You might want to hurry though. You know how Derrick is.”

“Yeah, I know. Slave driver.” Ryan shrugged out of his coat and hung it on a coat rack behind Jill, kissing her cheek as he passed.

“Lovely as always, dear,” he said, but his eyes were on me, as if he knew I was watching him.

My cheeks flooded with embarrassment, but then I pulled my attention away from him and smiled at Jill, trying to seem unperturbed by his behavior.

My action brought another chuckle from his mouth.

At least I knew now where that had come from. He worked here. Great.

For all I knew, he was the one who would be interviewing me. Double great.

“If you’ll follow me, Miss Williams,” Jill said, breaking my troubled thoughts and leading me towards the back, past the ever-smirking Ryan.

If I wasn’t so scared that he might end up being my boss, I would have stuck my tongue out at him like a child.

As it was, I just concentrated on breathing and followed Jill to an office near the back of the gym where I saw across from a large man looking over a few papers.

“Mr. Taylor?”

The man looked up at Jill’s voice, a frown on his face.

“How many times have I told you to call me Mitch, Jill?” There was no reprimand in his voice, only a hint of amusement.

She smiled at him. “At least once a day. You’re my boss. Get used to it.”

He huffed at her and then grinned when he saw me. “Ah, you must be Claire. Come in. Have a seat. We have much to discuss.”

I complied with his request, letting out my breath when it became apparent that I wouldn’t have to face Ryan for my interview.

That would have been completely embarrassing.

The man across from me gave me a quick once-over, as if trying to decide what to make of me. After a minute, he smiled.

“Claire, when could you start?” he asked.

“As soon as you need me to,” I replied.

“Good.” He nodded. “The truth is, not very many people have applied here. Most of those who have either want more than we can afford to pay them at this time or are too green to handle what we’ll be asking of them. I’m hoping you’re in the middle.”

I waited, not understanding exactly where the conversation was going.

“This gym is old and getting older every day. It still garners some respect since it’s been around these parts the longest, but we don’t get the kind of business we used to, don’t draw as many fighters as we used to. Because of that, we seriously need to figure out what assets we need, and what needs to be cut. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

He waved his hand before him. “None of that ‘sir’ stuff around here, Claire. Call me Mitch. It is my name, after all.”

I decided I liked Mitch.

He was a no-nonsense kind of guy—straight to the point.

“Is this looking at being a temporary job or a permanent job?”

His chair creaked as he leaned back, sizing me up again, as if he was trying to decide if I could handle the truth.

After a few minutes, he spoke again.

I guessed I’d passed his test.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I will have to lean on the side of caution and say temporary. The truth is, while I would like it to be a permanent job, this place may end up going belly up in the next few months if we can’t get back on our feet and draw in some new blood. I can’t guarantee anyone a permanent job anymore, not even the staff already here.”

That was understandable, and something I could work with for now.

“When do you want me to start?” I asked in reply.

He pointed at me. “I like you, Claire. I think we’ll get along just fine. Start whenever you like.” He gestured to the mountain of paperwork behind his desk. “This is some of what we’ve got, but what we really need is an updated list of all our assets and a general idea of what money is going where and how we can better adjust such to bring in more people.”

I nodded.

Finances were what I was good at, what I was born to do.

“Who would be the best person to talk to about figuring out what counts as an asset around here? I won’t pretend and tell you I know much about gyms. The truth is, I know squat. Numbers, I’m good with. Gyms? Not so much.”

Mitch laughed and pointed towards the door. “We have three fighters currently, and they’re the best ones to answer that question, Claire. Ryan should be here, although I’d wait until after Derrick finishes tearing into his hide to speak with him. On top of him, there’s also Boris and Tyres.”

That was more information than I’d been hoping for from the get-go.

It was definitely enough to work with at the moment.

“Thank you, Mitch. I look forward to working with you.” I stood and leaned over the desk to reach for his hand.

He took it and gave it a firm shake. “As I you, Claire.”

I decided now was as good as time as any to start – sightseeing could wait.

I spent the rest of my first day delving through the mountain of paperwork behind Mitch’s desk.

He allowed me the use of his office for the day, telling me he’d clean out one of the other rooms in order to set up an office for me.

Taking off my coat and throwing it over the back of the chair, I sorted through page upon page of numbers: money going out and coming in.

How in the world did they ever file taxes at the end of the year was a mystery, but somehow they did.

They didn’t have anything that would have caused an audit to hit them.

However, I noted that the money going out was becoming larger and larger while the money coming in was getting smaller.

That must have been what Mitch had been talking about.

Still, I needed to learn more from the staff that worked here. I shook my head and continued sorting the paperwork before me.

The truth was that I was avoiding Ryan.

Even though I was glad he hadn’t been the one to interview me, I still felt awkward for not realizing he worked here. I sighed as I rubbed at my eyes for the hundredth time.

All the numbers on the page were starting to run together in my mind, signaling that it was time for a break. Yeah, definitely time for a break.

My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since devouring a muffin with Ryan. A knock at the door made me look up to see who required my attention.

A groan erupted from my throat as I saw it was the one man I’d been avoiding all day.

Oh, he looked delicious though.

He grinned as soon as he saw me look up at him, as if he knew the effect he had on me. Maybe he did.

“Hungry?” he asked.

I pursed my lips and gathered some papers in an attempt to prolong speaking to him.

There was only so much I could do before he realized I was ignoring him though.

“Yeah, kind of.”

“How about you and I go get some lunch then? I can show you the best little café on this side of New York.”

Upon hearing that, my stomach growled loud enough for us both to hear. I flushed in embarrassment, but he just laughed, the sound a rich baritone in my ear.

“I guess that’s a yes. Grab your coat and we’ll go.”

I couldn’t say no.

Not when my body had already betrayed me.

I sighed and pulled on my coat.

Now was as good a time as any to talk with him more about this place and learn just what was going on here.

Still, I didn’t want Ryan to think this was a date or something. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye as we walked out of Mitch’s office and I closed the door behind me.

He seemed confident and at ease, the way he had from the moment I’d met him.

Following him to the front door, I pulled out my phone and saw I had a couple of text messages. One was from Mom, one from Kate, and one from Michael.

A growl emitted from my throat as I read the happy birthday text Michael had sent.

He’d dumped me on my birthday, but he still had the nerve to contact me a couple of weeks later and say it? He must have not realized it was my birthday. What a prick.

“Who the hell does he think he is?”

“Who?” A glance up at Ryan told me I’d said the words I’d meant to keep in my head aloud. There was no mirth in his dark eyes as he looked at me, replaced with the starting blaze of anger.

“My ex.”

It was answer enough and seemed to satisfy him.

He turned away, his jaw hard.

Confusion flooded through me.

What did it matter anyway?

Who was I to Ryan except another co-worker?

I shook my head and kept close to his side.

Near the front door, I saw Jill smiling at us, waiting with her coat already on.

“Going to the café?” she asked, a knowing grin on her face.

Ryan opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, I said, “Yes. Want to join?”

My reply startled both of them into silence. Jill recovered first.

“I don’t think that was the plan.”

Figures. “Which is exactly why I insist. Sorry you two, but I’m here to work, not find romance. I just got out of a relationship with a guy who broke up with me on my birthday. Thanks, but no thanks.”

Jill laughed and linked her arm with mine, her eyes twinkling. “Girl, I like you.” She winked at Ryan. “Looks like you can’t win ‘em all, Ryan.”

He shook his head, but there was a smile on his face and he chuckled at Jill’s voice. I was glad he was in good humor about everything because what I had said was really how I felt. I was attracted to Ryan, but I really wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with anyone—especially someone I worked with.

Lunch was as good as breakfast, better really.

I had never been a big fan of breakfast.

I’d rather eat a cheeseburger any day.

I was glad to see that such was on the café’s menu because I was starving. Jill ordered a salad, and I wasn’t surprised to see Ryan order a large cheeseburger with everything on it.

“How can you eat that?” Jill asked, but her sparkling eyes told me she was teasing him.

He grinned and rolled up his shirt, revealing a well-toned body without an ounce of fat. He patted his stomach with affection.

“Got to get carbs somehow. I burn them off too fast at the gym to eat that rabbit food you ordered.”

Jill’s salad showed up, a small plate piled high with lettuce, red onions, cut-up pieces of chicken, grated cheese, croutons, and cucumbers. There was a small container of dressing on the side.

Watching Jill pour the small amount of dressing on her salad and use her fork to take a small bite, I had to agree with Ryan.

My mouth curved in a frown as I shook my head.

“Rabbit food,” I heard Jill mutter with a scoff, and I bent my head towards the table to hide my grin.

Ryan didn’t even bother to hide his mirth. As he tugged his shirt back into place, he laughed outright. “Come on, Jill, you know I love you.”

She grinned at him, her humor back in place. “Yeah, me and every other woman who walks through the door. I think the only reason you haven’t tried asking me out is because I’m more interested in Claire here then you.”

When she spoke, I’d been drinking soda, and I coughed as I realized what she was saying. “You’re a lesbian?” I asked.

Jill grinned. “Got it in one, Claire.” She winked at me. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to paw after you. My girlfriend and I have been together for four years, and we’ll probably get married. Someday.”

Her chasing after me hadn’t been what worried me.

It just shocked me, as I hadn’t realized she was interested in women.

I shook my head as the waitress placed a plate before me with a burger on it, a circle of fries surrounding it like a moat. Ryan’s burger was twice the size of my own with the same amount of fries. Ugh.

“So, Claire. What brings you here to New York? I know that you aren’t from around here. The truth is in your eyes every time you glance up. One would think you’ve never been here before.” Jill picked at her salad before choosing a red onion and eating it by itself.