Sonny. With that bitch-face whore hanging on his arm.
He glanced at her, began to look away, then did a wide-eyed double take. The whore leaned into him and whispered something in his ear. Felix closed the door just as Gio placed his hand on Lila’s shoulder. Her eyes were fixated on the slutty outfit bitch-face wore, but more infuriating was the way she continued to paw Sonny and giggle. Sonny appeared as stunned as she did, only her insides were already doing what they did best, turning the incredible hurt and utter jealousy she was feeling into seething rage.
“Gentlemen,” Gio began. “I’d like you to meet Lila Rico, women’s boxing’s up-and-coming sensation.”
Lila did her best to concentrate on what Gio was saying, but it felt impossible, with every hair on her body standing at attention. Was this the big-name athlete boyfriend that bitch had been talking about in the employee bathroom? Lila had felt many types of anger throughout her life. But this was different. She felt fucking played. He’d been so damn good at lying to her all this time, even last night and just this morning when he emailed her to tell her he’d thought of her all night and first thing when he woke. She didn’t even want to look at Sonny and the bitch, but it couldn’t be helped. Her eyes inevitably traveled down to their hands where the bitch nearly slipped hers into his until Sonny fisted his shut. Really? You’re going to try and save face now, you fucking bastard?
Noah took over the talking. “We’ll save the introductions until after we give you a little taste of what we’re all in for when this badass makes her debut later this year.” He turned and pointed in the direction of Sonny, but Lila refused to even look his way again. “Tatiana, no photos just yet, okay? You’ll have the exclusive when we’re ready to make an official public announcement, but for now . . .”
Whatever he said after that was drowned out by the shrilling sound of fury in Lila’s ear. Lila had turned the moment she heard the name, only because she had to confirm who he was talking to, and of course, Tatiana was the bitch all over Sonny. The shrill got even louder. It was the one she only ever heard after she’d lost control, so this was new to her, and she managed to take in a deep breath and not lose it.
This was his business associate who he’d turned his phone off because of last night? From the looks of it, as cozied up and not upset about Sonny blowing her off last night as she was, maybe he’d made up for it. Maybe he’d gone and picked the whore up after he dropped Lila off last night. It’d make sense he might want to relieve the massive hard-on Lila knew he’d driven away with. Maybe he’d spent the night and been with this bitch all morning.
“You okay?” Noah asked Lila, snapping her out of the stupor she hadn’t even realized she’d fallen into.
She nodded, unable to even speak, afraid she might snap, taking an even deeper breath because she felt like a complete idiot who’d been taken in by the smooth-talking asshole with his beautiful kisses and flowers. His twenty-nine-year-old ass had probably perfected the act over the years. He’d probably been using all his cunning to take advantage of stupid girls, other stupid girls who’d fallen for his bullshit “I have no game” act. If Tatiana wasn’t his girlfriend and just another girl he was playing, infuriatingly now, Lila had something in common with the cunt.
Feeling like the girl in the movie The Exorcist, it took great effort not to spin her head around and spew every filthy word she had in her at him. But somehow, she managed to stay in control. She’d like to think the room full of big names, not to mention all her bosses being present, was her reason for not exploding. Only she knew there was an even bigger reason.
In all the years she’d completely lost her shit, it was nothing more than fury she’d felt. This time there was also pain and humiliation; although, the pain outweighed the humiliation by a ton. It was, however, neck and neck with the fury she was feeling. While she’d never felt so close to exploding, she’d also never felt so close to completely falling apart either.
Climbing into the ring, she cursed herself inwardly. Why hadn’t she gone with her gut? This just proved her theory that all guys were horny dicks after just one thing. Sonny wasn’t special as she’d begun to truly believe. Five weeks. Five weeks she’d known this asshole, and already she’d fallen so hard she couldn’t even explode on his ass for fear of letting him see the tears. She doubted she’d be able to refrain from unleashing her wrath on him the moment she got the chance, but she fucking refused to let him see her cry for him.
“Remember to focus,” Gio said as he placed her headgear on her. “Don’t lose your cool. She lands anything that pisses you off, let the anger work for you, not against you. Then do your thing. You got this.”
Focus. Don’t lose your cool. What a joke. Lila was having a hard-enough time trying to steady her breathing, let alone focus. And not losing her cool would be harder than ever now. She was so close to it already.
The giggling made the hair on the back of her neck stand. Tatiana wasn’t the only other female who’d walked in the room with the group of athletes, but Lila already knew that fucking giggle. Turning very slowly, she watched as Tatiana leaned into Sonny, still giggling, and whispered something in his ear, even as he attempted once again to save face and pull away. Then her eyes went from Tatiana to Sonny’s as she stared him down.
The asshole actually looked unnerved—remorseful even. But Lila knew damn well that, just like Marcelo, he was only sorry he’d been caught. If she hadn’t been wearing her mouthpiece, Lila would’ve mouthed the words she wanted to scream at him so bad. Fuck you! She already knew it was exactly what she’d be saying to him the moment he attempted to lie his way out of this. Fuck him and his little whore. Lila was only glad she’d found out about this now and not later, because after last night, she’d seriously considered moving the relationship along a lot faster than she’d first intended. It was the only thing keeping her from jumping out of the ring and telling him the hell off right there in front of everyone, because if he hadn’t told her last night that he had a special day planned for them today, which she was certain included him officially claiming her, she might’ve encouraged him do it last night. There’d have been no way she would’ve kept her cool even this long.
Chapter 11
Sonny
Clearly, but understandably so, Lila was livid. Disgusted might be a better word to describe the way she’d stared Sonny down. He couldn’t even blame her. What wasn’t clear was if she knew who he was yet. Had she been told or was she mostly pissed about Tatiana and her utterly unprofessional behavior? Never in his life had Sonny been more annoyed with anyone as he was right then.
Gio introduced Lila’s opponent, Odessa Cantor. Even though Sonny had been witness to the power behind Lila’s lethal fists, it still made him nervous to hear Odessa’s impressive record. Lila might be good at defending herself on the streets, but fighting in the ring against a trained fighter was different. And Gio said she’d only been in the ring for the first time that past week?
“I get that they wanna look tough in the ring,” Tatiana whispered, not so quietly in his ear. “But do they have to be so butch?”
Just as he had from the moment he realized it was Lila they’d be watching fight today, he ignored Tatiana and stared straight ahead. Lila was at the corner of the ring while Gio and Noah gave her some last-minute tips.
For a moment, Sonny considered walking over and saying something to her, but he couldn’t think of a single thing he could say without having to give her a full explanation. There was no time for that now. He watched as Gio jumped out of the ring and then rang a bell cueing the girls to start the sparring.
Sonny observed the girls jumping around the ring, not making any contact yet, with his insides still in knots. The more he thought of it, the more his stomach balled up because he could only imagine what she must be thinking. Just last night he’d promised her she could trust him. As aroused as Lila had been, her uncertainty about allowing things to move forward was just as palpable. This was bad. All he could hope for
now was that she’d give him the opportunity to explain himself. He knew better than to try and throw in the argument that she also had kept a few things from him. Like the fact that she was an up-and-coming boxer.
No surprise Lila landed a few good left hooks; then her opponent landed one that seemed to rock Lila a little. The moment she recovered, she was all over Odessa. Sonny had to wonder how much of the sudden fury he saw in her expression had to do with Tatiana still hanging on him, despite his shoving her hands off him now, more rudely than earlier. If it weren’t for how close others were standing to them, he might tell her to get the fuck off him, in those very words, too, because judging from what he knew about Lila, nothing short of his telling off any woman who came on as strong as Tatiana would be satisfying enough.
At this point he knew his not making it clear to Tatiana that he was in a relationship already and that her behavior was inappropriate, could be grounds for getting dumped. If Lila hadn’t already mentally done so, which could very well be the case if he had to go by the deadly glare he’d been assaulted with.
He was distracted momentarily from his worrisome thoughts when Gio had to jump in the ring and pull a rabid Lila off Odessa. There were people whooping, hollering, and clapping their hands, as impressed by Lila’s speed and power as Sonny had been that first night. He’d been excited for her. Without a doubt, she had more skills in the ring than he’d given her credit for, but this only made the knot in his stomach tighten further. She walked away from Odessa when Gio pulled her off, and the first thing she did was turn and glare at Sonny. She continued to stalk around the ring in what looked like a struggling attempt to calm herself. Yeah, she was furious with him, and he hadn’t been off in his observation that she might be taking out on Odessa what she was feeling about seeing him with Tatiana—the girl who’d called so much on a Saturday night Lila had finally questioned it. And now she knew Sonny hadn’t been entirely forthcoming about that either.
“She’s an animal.” Tatiana hissed outright since there was so much noise going on in the training room now there was no need to keep her voice down. “Figures. She has the manners of one too. No wonder I can’t stand her.”
Sonny’s head jerked to look at Tatiana the second he heard that last part, and for the first time since he laid eyes on Lila today, he responded to one of her comments. “You know her?”
“We’ve run into each other a few times here at 5th Street, and each time she’s been a total bitch to me.”
Feeling his insides sink impossibly lower than they’d already had, Sonny nearly groaned. Lila already hated Tatiana before today? He needed to get the hell away from Tatiana now.
“And there you have it folks,” Gio said, lifting Lila’s arm. “That’s as much as we’re gonna get today because we don’t want anyone hurt. But all this power and skill come from someone who’s only been in the ring a handful of times.”
Noah hopped in the ring with them, smiling big as Gio pulled Lila’s mouthpiece out. “And, Lila, just so you know who came here to see you today, we have Leroy Deck, the Clippers starting center, Tony Nixon, right wing for the LA Kings . . .” He named a few of the others and then he got to Sonny. “. . . the exciting and newest member of the LA Dodgers, shortstop and living legend, Sylvester ‘Double S’ Sabian.”
An added dose of distaste or disgust filled Lila’s expression when she turned to meet Sonny’s eyes again. He shook his head discreetly, hoping to somehow convey that he hadn’t completely lied. His middle name was Sonny. He’d had every intention of telling her everything today, damn it.
As Noah finished his little speech, he let everyone know Lila hadn’t been prepared to take questions today and that technically it was her day off. “Both Lila and Odessa were gracious enough to come in on their days off. So, if we can just get a round of applause for them, we can let them go and I can do a quick Q & A.”
The group clapped, and Sonny walked away from Tatiana before she could make any more comments. He was in no mood for her ass anymore. He worked himself closer to the area of the ring where Lila now stood as Gio helped get her gloves and headgear off. He waited until she was out of the ring and walking toward the door to the ladies’ locker room.
“Lila,” he called out softly to not interrupt the Q & A Noah was now doing about their newly discovered badass.
As expected, she ignored him and even started walking a little faster, so he sped up too. “Lila, please, I can explain.”
He made the mistake of reaching out to touch her arm, and she immediately flinched, jerking her arm away just as she reached the door. “Don’t you ever touch me or talk to me again,” she said loudly but thankfully not loud enough to stop the Q & A.
“I was gonna tell you today,” he said, holding up his hands.
“About what?” she shot back even louder, and this time Noah did pause.
Without looking around, because Sonny couldn’t take his eyes off Lila, he knew everyone’s eyes and ears were on them now.
“That you lied to me this whole time or about Tatiana? Is that why you’ve only taken me to parks at night and places no one can see us together because you don’t wanna be seen with the hood rat you’re trying to bag?”
“No!”
“Go fuck yourself, Sylvester! Or better yet, go fuck Tatiana. That nasty bitch certainly looks to be in heat. I don’t give a fuck what you think of me, asshole! I know I deserve better, so just stay the hell away from me!”
With that, she stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her and leaving Sonny there in a completely silenced room. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the gawking crowd. Even Noah and Gio, who were still in the ring, seemed to be at a loss for words. “Just a little miscommunication,” he said, trying to make light of what just happened with a shrug and a forced smile. “Carry on.”
Noah cleared his throat and a took a few moments, but he finally went back to what he’d been saying before Lila’s outburst. Felix and Hector were at his side almost immediately. “The fuck was that about?” Hector asked in a lowered voice.
Sonny shook his head, knowing he had no choice but to just tell them. “Long story short, I met her last month at a concert nearby here. She had no idea who I was, and I didn’t tell her. I even introduced myself with my middle name, not my first. But we really hit it off. We’ve talked day and night ever since.” He shrugged, feeling like the biggest idiot ever. “It was just nice having a chick interested in me for me and not for who I am, you know? For years, it’s been impossible to find one who doesn’t. But I wanted to make sure she wasn’t just putting on an act. Anyway, let’s just say, in the past few weeks, things started to get a little heavier and promises were made. Then I walked in here with Tatiana all over me.” He shook his head then let it fall back. “Fuck! I had no idea she even worked here. She told me she does youth training.”
“Yeah, here,” Abel confirmed with a nod as he walked up and joined them. “She assists Gio’s wife with the youth program we have here.”
“So, what?” Hector asked with a slight glare. “Were you not planning on telling her about Tatiana?”
“Did I hear my name?” Tatiana moseyed on up to their group. “Wow, but that girl has a mouth on her. Please tell me you’re not seriously—”
“Not now, Tatiana,” Sonny said nearly through his teeth. “This doesn’t concern you. Give us a minute, will you, please?”
“This doesn’t concern me, yet my name—”
“I’ll explain that later,” Sonny said even more dismissively, trying not to snap.
She stared at him for a second before lifting her brow and thankfully walking away. Sonny turned to Hector, who was still eyeing him questionably. “This all happened so fast I hadn’t even had a chance to let anyone in on it. I was gonna see Lila later today, take her down to my place.”
He explained how there’d be no hiding who he was after that. Then he suddenly had a thought. “You guys know her well? Can you talk to her? Help me explain?”
&
nbsp; Hector shook his head with a smirk. “Fuck that. I’m not getting my head bit off. That girl’s a walking time bomb.”
Gio suddenly joined them. “What the hell was that about, Sabian? You and Lila?” he asked, and Sonny turned to him now with the tiniest bit of hope.
“Your wife works with her?”
Gio nodded but still looked lost.
“It’s a long story.” Sonny explained quickly what he’d just told the guys then shook his head, completely exasperated. “You think Bianca could get her to just hear me out?”
Gio shook his head. “Lila’s not working today. You heard Noah. It was her day off. She came in just for this. She’s probably gone already.”
Fuck! “I gotta go then. Fill me in on anything else I need to know about the charity stuff later. I need to go find Lila.”
Before they could say anything more, he rushed out the same door Lila had stormed out of. Sonny pulled his phone out, immediately, wondering if maybe she hadn’t already sent him any colorful messages. At this point, he’d take anything, even that, but there were no such messages. He hit speed dial, even though he knew how dismal the chances of her answering his call were. It rang once then went to voicemail, which meant one thing: she wouldn’t be taking his calls. With no other choice, he tried to rush out but was stopped a few dozen times. One of those times was by Roni, Noah’s wife, so he had no choice but to stop and chat with her about a surprise party she and Felix’s wife were planning for Felix’s birthday. Almost forty fucking minutes later, he was finally out of there.
He’d just begun to put an email together on his tablet when his phone rang with a call from Tony Banks, his publicist. Grudgingly, he answered it. “Hey, Banks. What’s up?”
“A lot. I got you booked on Ellen tomorrow, Live with Kelly on Tuesday, and then Conan on Thursday, but keep Wednesday and Friday open because there are a few local radio shows I’m trying to get you in before spring training starts.