“I’ll walk you out,” Royce said, sounding angry, but Jessy ignored his grumpy attitude and watched the officers walk away.
She looked at the card and grinned at her dad, waving it around. “Well, Daddy, maybe we should call them if we hear any noises.”
Her dad laughed and rolled his eyes. “Great. I have a possible war with Los Diablos and my daughter finds romance in the midst of it all.”
She walked with him down the corridor that led to the offices. He gave her a fatherly look like she was just about to receive a lecture. Did he have one on how to treat a one-night stand? Royce was her first and last one-night stand.
“What happened? I thought you had feelings for Royce?” he asked gruffly. He hated having what he called girly talks with her but he suffered through them anyway.
“I did,” she admitted, and opened her office door. She set her briefcase down on her desk and sat down in her cushiony office chair. Her dad leaned against the office door waiting for an answer. “He says he only wants friendship from me. I can’t force him to return my feelings, so I have to move on, Dad. Life is too short to sit around hoping he’ll open his eyes one day. Plus, he made sense. If we get involved and it doesn’t work out it will be difficult to continue to work together.”
She didn’t mention to her dad that she knew her feelings for Royce were real and wouldn’t go away anytime soon. She didn’t want her dad to worry, and he would. She would hide her feelings deep inside.
Her dad walked around the desk and pulled her out of the chair. He gave her a big bear hug and she leaned in to him. She loved her dad’s hugs. They always made her appreciate that she had such a strong man in her life. He had been a rock when her mom died. Now that she was an adult she knew it had been hard to hide his deep grief and raise her and make the gym a success for their financial well-being. He had always been there for her even through her emotional teenage years when she had missed her mom so bad. “He’s a kick-ass fighter but a dumb man. You are beautiful and strong and Mr. Right will come along soon, honey. Just don’t give me anymore gray hairs by dating creeps like that Kyle.”
“Never, Dad. Haven’t you met the new delivery guy? He’s in his fifties.” She smiled, hooking her arm through his and leaning on him.
Jared snorted. “I knew we had seen the last of that wimp. He was too snobby for you, sweetheart. Is everything okay between you and Royce now?”
Jessy heard the worry in his voice and she felt guilty for her part in it. She should have stayed far away from Royce from the very beginning. This was all her fault. She injected the right amount of happiness in her voice. Happiness that she did not feel. “Yeah, we talked it out and we are just friends. It’s all good.”
“Are you okay with that, Jessy? He is a good manager and I like Royce, but you are my baby girl and you will always come first with me.”
Jessy smiled and gave her dad a huge, tight hug. “I know, Dad, and thank you. You are the best, but I am fine with us being friends. It’s better this way.”
If she said it enough times she might start believing it.
Chapter 12
Jessy was on her way to the vending machine to get a drink. She spotted Gabe sitting on the bleachers, watching Sam spar with the new member, Jackson.
The gym was quiet during the afternoon. He looked sad and she wondered why he wasn’t in school. Deciding to see if she could help, she walked over to him and sat down.
She bumped him playfully with her shoulder as she sat next to him. He wasn’t dressed in his workout clothes yet. “Hey, kid. You look better. What’s up?”
Most of the bruises ha
d faded. He looked over at her with a glum expression. “Got kicked out of school and my mom is mad at me.”
“Oh man.” She sympathized. “I remember those days, but they’ll be over before you know it. You’re a junior this year right?”
He nodded. “I hate school. You can’t talk, you can’t breathe the wrong way, and adults never understand anything.”
“I’m an adult but I understand, Gabe. I understand it’s hard out there,” she said softly.
He looked at her briefly, then back at the ring. “You’re cool for a girl, Jessy, but you got it all. This is your family business here. I got nothing but troubles everywhere I turn. My dad didn’t care enough to keep in touch. My mom and teachers are never happy, even when I try. Now I got Los Diablos after me because I don’t wanna be in the gang.”
Jessy took a drink of her water and watched Sam in the ring. “I don’t have it all, Gabe. Life is not fair. I won’t argue with you there. If life was fair my mom wouldn’t have got sick and died when I was eight. My dad had to grieve for the loss of his wife, run a business, and put up with an emotionally messed-up daughter.”
“Damn, Jessy. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I would do without my mom. She is always yelling at me but I love her,” he confessed.
She looked over at him and patted his arm gently. She wanted to wrap her arms around him until he stopped looking so sad, but she didn’t think he would let her. “I don’t know your mom but I do know she yells because she worries. So does my dad. She worries because she does care. She works hard all day just to make sure your needs are taken care of.”
Gabe sighed. “I know. It pisses me off that she has to kill herself working because my dad is a deadbeat asshole.”
Jessy nodded. “Give yourself some credit, Gabe. You could take the easy way out and join the gang, make some easy money, but you didn’t. See all these fighters here, Gabe? Not one of them has had a perfect life. I don’t think anyone ever does, but you know what? Those problems and how we deal with them are what makes us who we are. It’s what makes us determined to follow our dream and be successful.”
“How did you deal with it, Jessy? My dad didn’t die, but I think that’s worse. If he was dead I would know I don’t see him because he can’t. Right now I know it’s because he just doesn’t give a damn and that makes me feel like shit.”