Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“What?” Ari sat forward, her eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”
“Maybe you should thank Perk’s Gym. They gave me the idea in the first place.”
Troy threw the wad of papers at Ari, and they landed perfectly in her lap. I leaned over to get a good look.
HEADLINER AGREEMENT
This agreement is entered between and by Troy Godwin, CEO of Godwin Industries (“Party A”), and Misty and Jace Perk, co-owners of Perk’s Gym (“Party B”), for—
“What the fuck is this?” I tried to snatch the contract from Ari’s lap, but she moved it out of my reach so she could keep reading.
“You went to them?” Lotto’s eyes were locked on the papers Ari held. “To set this whole thing up?”
“They came to me, actually.” Troy sat on the edge of his desk. “I think you pissed them off with your antics, Bones.”
“What the fuck did I do?” Bones growled. His grip on the arms of the chair was so tight I thought he might rip them off. “All I did was fight at your damn club.”
“And wiped the floor with the competition. Jace Perk isn’t exactly a fan of you. Big ego on that guy.”
“Look in the mirror,” I spat and tried to grab the papers. Ari ripped them away, her expression darkening as she flipped to the next page. “Hand them over, Ari.”
“I’d let her keep reading if I were you.” Troy’s smug ass smile was so punchable, I had to dig my shoes into the ground to keep from standing up. “Since the agreement hinges on her.”
“What?” Lotto, Bones, and I said at the same time. We all turned to Ari as she kept reading.
Eventually she let out a shaky breath and closed the contract. “It’s a three-on-three matchup between Smiley’s Gym and Perk’s Gym.”
Three-on-three? We didn’t have three. We had Bones and Teo. That was about it. And even that was pushing it. Teo was a nice enough guy but a shit fighter. He would need a lot more polishing to get to Heathens Hollow caliber, if he was even interested in the underground shit in the first place. Then where could we find a third?
“And?” Troy pressed like a teacher waiting for some fucking quiz answer.
“And,” Ari said slowly, her eyes locked on Troy’s, “Misty and I have to be one of the matches.”
“No,” I immediately answered. “Fuck no. We’re not doing it. Bones, give the money back. We’re leaving.”
“Are you?” Troy asked and nodded to the contract. “You should read it yourself. It’s pretty lucrative.”
“I don’t give a fuck—”
“What are you offering?” Lotto asked.
I almost saw red and pushed from my chair, turning to the rest of the group. “It doesn’t matter what he’s offering. Ari isn’t stepping foot in the ring. We’re fucking leaving.”
“A ten percent cut of whatever I make from the fight plus a chance for an exclusive contract as headliners at Heathens Hollow.” Troy tapped his knuckles on his desk. “I’d sit your ass down and really consider it, Frankie. I’m nice enough to even offer you that.”
Troy? Nice? Two words that didn’t belong in the same fucking sentence. He was a fucking bastard who knew we were backed into a corner and was using it to his advantage.
“Frankie,” Ari murmured and set her hand on my elbow. “Sit down.”
She couldn’t be serious. I stared at her with fire burning in my eyes, and she didn’t even flinch. She patted my seat and firmly ordered, “Sit.”
I slowly slid down into my chair while Troy barked a laugh. “What a good boy you are.”
“Insult him again and I’ll let him shove this contract up your ass.” Ari held up the papers with a glare. “Or I’ll do it myself, though you’d probably like that seeing as how you’ve had a hard-on since I walked in.”
Bones cleared his throat to hide a laugh, and Lotto’s expression relaxed slightly. I didn’t find it funny. I felt like I could beat the shit out of Troy, nurse him back to health, and do it again.
Anything for a good show.
Troy’s lips thinned but he didn’t respond to Ari’s comment. Instead he said, “Even if you lose, ten percent is still a huge cut.” His gaze slid between the four of us. “Between the drinks, the bets, the pay-ins, and the after club, this a hundred K will be pocket change.”
To him. Even if he made half-a-mil, we’d only get fifty K of it. That wasn’t enough to cover Ari’s safety. And no matter what this asshole offered, it would never be enough.
Ari wasn’t stepping in the ring.
“You won’t find a better deal anywhere else.” Troy’s eyes blazed as he stared Ari down. “Take it or leave it.”
I huffed. “Then we’ll—”
“Take it,” Ari murmured. No matter how much I stared at the side of her head, she didn’t look at me. What the fuck was she thinking?