Gina

I glanced at my watch for the fourth time this evening and wondered if my brother Josh was planning to show up tonight. He had asked me to meet him outside the club at nine o’clock. It was already ten, and it looked like I’d been stood up. I’d tried calling him a few times, but his phone went straight to voicemail. Josh knew I’d be mad at him. This was my only evening off and I hated wasting time.

Josh was twenty-one and he worked at the local garage as a mechanic. We both liked boxing and agreed to come here tonight, hoping that maybe Adler McDougall would be here, too. The man was a very rich sports investor who could help me expand my pole dancing business. I worked a boring day job in marketing with a horrible boss, and my dream was to turn my pole dancing classes and competitions into my main career.

There was someone important in the ring tonight, a popular fighter called, Mr. H. The fight had already started and there were still people outside trying to get tickets. I glanced back and forth, considering going in alone. After all, I had already paid full price for the tickets, and they weren’t cheap. I would deal with Josh later at home.

I unzipped my leather jacket, revealing a bit of cleavage, and walked up to the entrance. A large bouncer stood by the door checking ID’s. It was Benny. I recognised him from one of my pole dancing events. Benny used to cover those kinds of events quite a lot, probably because he could always earn extra cash in only a few hours. Years ago, when my parents were still alive, I took part in many of them throughout the year. It was a good place to network with other dancers and sponsors.

“Hey, Benny, how are you doing? Do you think you could slip me in without queuing?” I asked, aware that a bunch of men were shooting me annoyed glares. Benny glanced at me and deep hazel eyes flickered at the corners.

“Gina Martinez, what a treat. I had no idea you were into boxing,” he said, smiling widely. “By all means, you can go in, but you missed part of the fight already. Apparently, Mr. H is wiping the ring with Connor Fox. It’s pretty brutal.”

“My brother stood me up. I might as well see the ending,” I said, still pissed that Josh hadn’t shown. Benny winked at me and lifted the rope, so I could get inside.

It was one of the private sports clubs with a large boxing ring situated in the centre. Humid air, sweat, and thriving excitement greeted me. The place was packed. People were cheering for the boxers in the ring as I started pushing myself toward the front, hoping to at least see the end of the fight.

Josh had begged me to get the tickets. He was a huge fan of Mr. H, and I needed some time out this evening. My job had been stressful lately and I didn’t want to stay at home. Nina, my younger sister, was sleeping over at her girlfriend’s. Patrick had his basketball training, so he was going to be home late, too. I wasn’t worried about Josh. He most likely picked up some girl and forgot about our little arrangement.

The lights were bright, and the crowd was loud. Some women were screaming, standing up in the front row, and dancing with their naked boobs hanging out.

I finally managed to see two boxers bouncing around the ring. They were both muscular, but I could see that the taller guy must have been the one with the advantage. Josh had bragged about Mr. H for weeks, but this was the first time I was actually seeing him in action. His tangled white-blond hair was plastered to his skull, and his chest had a slight sheen of sweat, displaying perfectly ripped abs.

He flexed his strong body forward and then he threw an unexpected punch at his opponent. The other guy stumbled on his feet. I stopped, admiring the way Mr. H moved. Such power and grace. This was probably stupid, but I thought he was very good looking, waiving his gloves around, challenging the crowd to cheer his name louder. The other boxer looked exhausted. He swung his right arm, trying to throw a fast punch, but missed a few times. Mr. H threw a couple of quick jabs all at once. Benny was right. I had missed a hell of a lot, but the ending was always more exciting.

Moments later, the shorter boxer went down on the mat, and the crowd went wild, shouting loudly.

“Mr. H… Mr. H!”

I was just crossing over toward the other side of the ring, when the referee announced Mr. H as the winner. A jolt of electricity ran through me as I looked at him, standing there all overjoyed and proud. He grinned and shouted something to the topless girls up front, and they started shaking their boobs, screaming. The noise was almost unbearable. Meanwhile, my body was betraying me. I was getting aroused just staring at some sweaty boxer. Hell, I really needed to get laid soon. It’d been too long. Shaking my head, I started to make my way to the benches. I was hoping that Josh might show up eventually.

Some obese guy walked into me and I lost my balance. Somehow, I didn’t manage to fall on my arse and embarrass myself further, holding on to a stranger in a suit.

“Umm, sorry,” I mumbled.

“Don’t worry, love,” the stranger answered and carried on walking toward the exit.

There was another match scheduled, but I had gotten an email earlier on, saying that there was some glitch in the schedule, and the order of the matches had been switched. Apparently, the other boxer had some trouble getting to the arena, so the undercard match would be second. I was glad that, overall, my trip wasn’t a complete waste of time.

A split-second later, I glanced back at the ring and saw Mr. H staring directly at me. He stood by the edge of the ring and his eyes locked with mine. Then he winked at me.

Heat pooled inside my stomach, and I looked away, thinking that he was probably staring at some hottie standing directly behind me. It took me a few seconds to realise there wasn’t anyone else there, just a group of men who were heading toward the exit—no other women.

By the time I looked back at him, Mr. H had disappeared. My heart began pounding away when I thought about his muscular body covered with sweat. I liked what I saw.

Ten minutes later I was sitting down, fanning myself with the programme that someone had left on the chair. My skin felt like it was on fire. Luckily the ring was empty, but my mind locked that intimate stare deep inside my memory. Heat skittered over the nape of my neck.

I needed to pull myself together quickly and forget about Mr. H. I reminded myself of the main reason I was here tonight—I needed to speak to Adler McDougall about my ideas.

The man invested his fortune in many sports ventures around Scotland. It was a hell of a gamble, but I wanted him to take a look at my business plan.

Apart from the money issue, I could barely find time to run my classes. Andrew Davies was an arsehole, and unfortunately, he was also my boss.

I had been working at Digital Box for over six years; it was a digital marketing company. Davies had taken over the management two years ago. Ariela Stavros was the original owner. She had been a great boss and friend. She took me on when I had no experience in marketing and while I was still studying. She gave me a chance and, a year later, I was climbing the ladder.