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)
The only thing still fully intact was the front desk and the Smiley’s nameplate attached to the front. Ironic.
The others were dead silent, surveying the damage to the place we call home. I already knew it would cost an insane amount of money to rebuild the gym. Numbers began running through my head. We’d need to call a surveyor, then the insurance agent to see how bad it really was. A construction company for new walls, windows, and flooring. A plumber, too, probably. The list kept growing the longer I stared at the damage.
Ari sniffed, sucked in a large breath, and said, “What the fuck.”
I huffed an agreement. There was really nothing else to say.
I couldn’t imagine how she felt. Ari poured her blood, sweat, and tears into bringing this place to life. She even encouraged me to scout out some new fighters when we had enough money. All those dreams had gone up in flames.
Or down with a fucking tree, I guess.
“What are we supposed to do?” She was rubbing her forehead so hard I worried she might burn herself. “This cannot be happening.”
“Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks,” Bones offered.
“Not as bad as it looks? There’s a fucking tree in the middle of our ring, Bones!”
“I’ll call the city and see if they can come check it out.” Frankie fished around in his pocket for his phone. “Then we’ll know how bad the damage is.”
“And the insurance policy?” I asked.
“Minimum,” Ari sighed. “I had to cut it back before signing Bones. It was too expensive to maintain. I guess that was fucking stupid.”
A headache was already forming at the thought of dealing with insurance claims and assholes who kept Smiley’s from money for some idiotic reason or another.
“You’re not stupid, Ari. Who could have predicted a fucking tree would fall on the building?” Frankie clicked a few times on his phone. “I found the city’s number.”
“What do we need the city for?” Bones complained. “I can call some guys from the fights. I’m sure some of them have chainsaws and trucks to get that tree out of here.”
“While you two do that, we’ll look into the insurance policy.” I reached out to grab Ari’s arm before she could freak out more. I could tell by her expression, she was about to explode. I needed to distract her before the weight of the situation truly sank in. “Meet us inside when you’re done.”
“If there is an inside to meet them in.” Ari’s little sigh was laced with shaky tears. “If the office is ruined, I might not be able to find the papers.”
“We’ll get through this together, angel,” I murmured. The smoothness of my tone relaxed her tense body slightly. “Let’s go.”
Frankie and Bones headed off to make some calls, while Ari and I stepped into the building. On closer look, it wasn’t too bad. The tree had fallen clean into the middle of the room so the front was fucked, along with some of the shower. But half the shower room and the changing room still stood, and the back office was untouched. As we stepped over broken glass and large splintered pieces of wood, Ari let out a mirthless chuckle.
“Dad made it out okay.”
I looked up to where she was pointing. On the wall above the front desk was a framed picture of her dad with a huge smile, arms crossed over his chest. Maybe he was watching over his place and had at least kept half of it from ruin.
Ari opened the office door and stepped inside. As soon as we were both locked in the room, her strong facade dropped and she slumped forward, holding onto a chair for support.
“All of our hard work was for nothing.” She slammed her hand into the back of the chair with a grunt of frustration. “After repairs, we’re going to have nothing left.”
“We won’t know that until we call the insurance company and the city.”
“Lotto, this place is a fucking disaster!” Ari threw her hands up and turned to me, a wild look in her red-rimmed eyes. “I dealt with insurance after my parents passed away. They’re fucking assholes. They will fight you for every single thing!” She kicked the chair in anger, tugging her hair out of its clip so it fell over her shoulders in a mess of silvery white that made her look even more crazed. “As if they’re going to pay up. And the city? They’ll probably offer some removal and get all pissy that we did it ourselves. I don’t trust them.”
“Angel,” I tried, but she ignored me, glaring at the filing cabinet behind her desk.
“It’s only liability insurance because they increased our premiums out of nowhere. Fucking vultures.”
“Angel.”
“How are we supposed to afford this shit and hold tryouts? Not to mention our pay and Bones’ pay—”