I hated that it meant Rhys would still have to fight, but he seemed content with the idea since it would be on his terms. They required my help so I went into full battle-plan mode.
Rhys had already held a meeting with Fiona at Street Warriors; this was their second meeting to finalize details. Since we didn’t have a lot of time, I’d called in Easton to help, as well as my mother. With both my sister and my mom’s knowledge of society, we picked a date in the social calendar that we knew most people would be able to attend. The event would be held at Rhys’s gym. The idea had been to bring the gym the exposure it needed in the hopes of gaining sponsorship from some of the more exalted guests, but to our delight a few of my parents’ friends involved in community development programs had already visited the gym with my mom to offer sponsorship.
The fight hadn’t even occurred and already a lot of the pressure was off for Rhys.
To lure people to the event, Rhys had called in a favor and had gotten ex-heavyweight world champion Jarrod “The Thunder” Johnson to fight him. Jarrod was a little older than Rhys, and although they were friends, they’d never fought each other. Which meant this exhibition fight was a huge draw for sports fans amongst the elite. We’d already secured ticket sales from Diana Crichton Jones—the billionaire I’d met at Fairchild’s garden party—and her fiancé, as well as Adriana Bellington, the owner of Sportsbox.
She wanted to air the charity fight on her network, and we were donating the rights payment to Street Warriors. The free promotion would only help us out by gaining more of those sponsorships.
Easton and my mother were the best at organizing receptions, so I’d put them in charge of organizing catering for an after-fight party on the gym’s second level. My quick-talking mom had convinced a caterer and party planner to donate their time and work with us as a tax write-off, so we didn’t have to pay for that either.
Fiona was in charge of ticket sales, so she was meeting with Rhys today to give him an update on where we were at with those. The fight was in three weeks. Although Rhys and I spent time with one another the past few weekends, I hadn’t seen him as much as I’d like because he was in training mode.
“This place is sad,” Zoe murmured as we walked across the glass-fronted atrium and through the double doors to the public gym. There were only a few people working out. “A redecoration overhaul is definitely needed.”
“Hence the charity fight,” I reminded her. “This way.”
Since dating Rhys for real, I’d visited the gym a few times and knew my way around. I led Zoe to the back stairwell that would take us directly to the second-floor corridor that housed Rhys’s office.
At my knock, Rhys called, “Come in.”
His voice sent a thrill through me, and I reached to push open the door.
Zoe’s groan halted my action.
“What?” I frowned.
“You are sickeningly in love,” she whispered, smirking.
My heart lurched at the word. “Take that back.”
“Nah.” She shook her head, pushing Rhys’s door open. “I only speak the truth.”
Attempting to squash the heat her words caused in my cheeks, my eyes darted to Rhys who was standing by his desk with Fiona at his side. Dean and Carlos were also in the room. My gaze flickered from them back to Rhys whose face split into a wide grin.
“Hey, Tink.”
Ignoring Zoe’s disturbing last words, I crossed the room with a small smile and went up on my tiptoes as Rhys bent down to kiss me. Everything about him—his smile, the contented expression in his eyes when he looked at me, his cologne, the feel of him under my hands—caused a score of pleasure pain across my chest. His arm moved around my waist, drawing me to his side.
“Hey.”
He grinned at me for a long moment and then looked up. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Oh, dammit.
I looked over at my best friend and blushed at the expression on her face.
It clearly said, “You just made my point for me.”
“Right. Rhys, this is my best friend and roommate, Zoe. Zoe, this is Rhys. You already know Fiona, of course.” I smiled at the blond grad student who had more energy than anyone had a right to. My gaze moved past her to Carlos and Dean who were both staring way too intently at my best friend. “This is Dean, Rhys’s brother, and Carlos, Rhys’s friend. He also works here.”
“Hey.” Rhys gave her a chin lift. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, you too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I’m gonna go ahead and assume it was all good.”
“You do that.”
I kept my gaze on Rhys during this exchange. It took me a moment to realize I was studying his reaction to Zoe. My friend was a knockout, but I didn’t want Rhys to notice.