Page 98 of Fighting Fate
“I told you not to mention it again. We’re not selling our relationship to the highest bidder.”
“Have you asked her?”
“No, because the notion is so damn ridiculous that I’m not wasting her time with it.”
“Rory…” Jan stops to look at me. “If you’re serious about retiring after Vegas, we need to find other ways of getting your name and Roar out there.”
“The discussion is over, Janet. I am not pimping my girlfriend or our child out for the sake of the business.”
“You haven’t even asked Willow.”
“Not happening. Get over it. Find another way.” I move forward, ending the conversation before I lose it with her insistence. I know she’s doing the best for the business, but it’s not the best thing for my family.
“God, Rory, you might not like it or see where Marcus and I are coming from…”
“Marcus and I?” When I spin to look at her, she takes a step back. A deer-in-headlights expression tells me everything I need to know. “You’re my assistant, not his lackey. If you can’t distinguish between the two, you need to get the fuck out of his bed.”
At least she knows not to argue back on that point as we make a move again. “I’m sorry,” she mutters as we’re reaching the editor. “I was trying to look out for you and everything you’ve worked for.”
“I know, and I appreciate it, but when I say no to something…I mean the conversation stops, and we go back to the drawing board. I’ll never use the people I love to sell the business to the masses.”
“All right.” Jan nods.
It’s a hot minute before I’m done and we’re heading back to our table in the VIP section. The evening has dragged on, and I’m ready to focus on my girl. I can hear her laughing with Orla as I approach, and the instant I set eyes on her, she looks up at me. Her eyes are crinkled at the edges, and her nose is scrunched while her lips are pressed together. The girl is so fucking beautiful that my heart doesn’t know what to do with itself at the sight of her.
With a haughty lick of her lips, she gets up and nods towards the corridor leading to the restrooms upstairs. I watch as she saunters ahead of me with a purposeful sashay of her hips. I’m about to follow when I’m cornered by a sponsor. Everyone seems eager to know what my plan is after Vegas even though I haven’t announced that it’ll be my last fight. It seems like we’re talking for hours when Marcus steps in to set up a meeting soon.
“Good turnout,” Marcus says cautiously when we’re alone.
“Pretty decent.”
The short reply sinks in quickly. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know. Is something up?” I glance to the side where Jan and Taylor are talking. “You got something you need to tell me?”
“Fuck…”
“Yeah, fuck…”
“We were going to tell you, but there’s enough going on, so we chose to wait until the chaos had settled.” With a sideways glance at Jan, he smiles fondly. “Don’t be mad at her.”
“You know better than to fuck my staff.”
When I try to walk around him, he steps back in front of me. “It’s not like that.”
“No?”
“Jan and I…” He pauses, letting out a long breath. “We’ve been together for a while. I love her, and things are good.”
“I’m happy for you, but the next time she does your bidding for you, someone is getting fired.”
It may sound harsh, and maybe it is. I’m guessing that when Jan talks to Mom, I’m going to hear about it for a while. However, they’re two separate parts of my career. Two cogs that are vital to making everything work. If their relationship gets in the way of that, we’re all fucked.
“There’s no need to be an—”
“I’m not being an asshole. I’m being smart,” I tell him before heading after Willow, except there’s one more thing he needs to know. “Oh, and Marcus,” I call after him. “Screw her over and you’re a dead man. Got it?”
“Loud and clear,” he replies with a salute.
And before anything else gets in the way, I disappear away from the party.