Still mulling through the bothersome thoughts of Nellie having breakfast with another guy, even if it was only business, Abel was grateful for the much-needed interruption to his thoughts. It was all he'd thought about all the way home and even as he showered then had breakfast with his mom and brother. Now Andy, his publicist, was talking his ear off as Abel drove to the gym. Abel had an idea of what it would be like going into this fight as far as the appearances and interviews he'd be required to do to make it big out of 5th Street. Felix had filled him in on some of it. In fact, Felix had even hooked him up with his publicist. He said if anyone could get the buzz going, Andy could because he was the best. Abel just hadn't realized how overwhelming this would be. Felix seemed to thrive in the spotlight. Abel hated it, especially when the media aired stories that had little to do with the fight itself and were nothing more than what Andy called sensationalized journalism.
This was what Andy was going on about again today. The press had gotten wind that his opponent, who was now the heavyweight champ, had once trained at 5th Street. This wasn't news to Abel. 5th Street had always been the place to train in East L.A. even back before the gym had become what it was now. Boxers from out of town like this guy were known to come in and not only check out 5th Street but work out there. While Abel had heard about "Hammerhead" McKinley having trained at 5th Street once upon a time, the guy was ten years older than he was. The media was trying to turn this into some kind of grudge match between one of the owners of 5th Street and a former patron of the gym who'd had a falling out. Abel had never even met the dude. It was so stupid.
The problem was that Andy loved the sensationalism. It made the fight a bigger draw for advertisers wanting to sponsor the fight. The bigger the draw, the bigger the sponsors that would come calling for Abel to represent their products. So Andy said no publicity was bad publicity, except for when they crossed the line and could possibly tarnish his image; then sponsors might drop him.
"The media does it for obvious reasons—ratings," Andy explained. "The juicier the story, the more viewers, listeners, and traffic they get to their shows, magazines, and websites. It's all good. Let them make up as much harmless crap as they want, and you neither confirm nor deny that any of it is true, so you don't kill the momentum. But you also have to be mindful of one thing: the other side is watching, listening, and taking notes too. They wanna see what gets to you, and the moment they do, they'll run with it, telling their side of the story, truth or not. They're doing it for other reasons: to get in your head and anything to throw you off your game. So whatever you do, don't give them anything to feed on. If you're cornered into making a statement, keep it vague. This close to the big day, the media starts grasping for anything. They know everyone's watching, and their story has to be better and juicier than their competition's."
"All right, I got it," Abel said as he drove into the gym's driveway.
They'd been through this before. Abel hardly even watched TV, nor did he ever get caught up in the tabloids. Felix had been the first to tell him that it was better if he just didn't read them, especially when he was in training. This, by far, was the biggest fight Abel had ever trained for.
"I'm very serious about this, Ayala. Prepare yourself for not only the media to stop at nothing as the big day approaches but McKinley's camp to pull some kind of stunt just to rattle you. They're getting nervous, and they know this is all new to you. McKinley's been through the whole thing with his alcoholic dad and his younger brother's domestic abuse allegations, but you . . . You haven't had to deal with any of that, and even though you may think it's no big deal now, it is once you start hearing the bullshit over and over. Let me tell you this is why I was calling. It's already starting."
Abel turned off his car but didn't get out. Suddenly Andy had his undivided attention. "What do you mean? What's starting?"
Andy sighed heavily. "I got the call this morning. It could go nowhere, but apparently some bloggers based in Mexico have started some noise about your dad's connection to the Mexican mafia."
"What!" Abel gripped the phone, feeling the very anger Andy had tried to warn him about. "He had no connection to the mafia, and my dad's been dead for over ten years. Who the fuck is digging that far back?"
"It's all bullshit." Andy reminded him urgently. "This is what I've been trying to warn you about. It's all for ratings—viewers—in this case, traffic to their blog. Apparently these bloggers are trying to start something, and if it takes off, it'll be all over, true or not. But you cannot react to any of it and give McKinley's camp something to try and bait you with and trip you up. I'm telling you they'd love nothing more than to get into that head of yours. You already have the media dubbing you Aweless Ayala for your indifference to all the hype and your continued ability to stay out of the limelight. Most newcomers eat up the attention. This, I'm sure, is making them nervous. They're wondering why you're so sure of yourself and maybe even wondering if you're hiding something—a secret weapon perhaps. At this stage of the game, paranoia is rampant. So I can guarantee you they're trying figure out just how to get to you and push your buttons."
Abel took a deep breath. Fucking sensationalism. He'd always known, even way before he thought he'd have a chance at the title, that he'd hate this part of the process. He'd seen it play out firsthand with his friends, Felix and Gio. "No one's getting in my head," he said with conviction and he meant it.
"Atta boy," Andy said the relief coming through loud and clear. "I'll keep you updated on what you need to know, but in the meantime, you concentrate on training and fuck all this other shit. Avoid making any statements or answering any questions without checking with me first."
"You got it."
Still wearing his earpiece, Abel got out of the car. He had no intention whatsoever of following up on this bullshit story. His conversation with Andy though frustrating had served at least one purpose. It had gotten his mind off his thoughts of Nellie and her breakfast date. That is until Andy mentioned one more thing.
"Listen, I'm not gonna make that 5k run you're doing in San Francisco this week after all. The folks over at the Today Show found out I'll be in New York on Monday and wanted to set up something while I'm out there to see about getting you and Felix on the show together." Abel could already hear the excitement in Andy's voice. He lived for this shit. "I almost said no, but then I got a call from the Letterman show too. I can kill two birds with one stone, and this is huge compared to the run in Frisco. So I'll have to stay in New York a few days longer than I planned. You should be okay. Still, I don't want you out there alone. You'll have security, of course, but I've got some calls out to a few people who might be able to meet you out there. This way you don't have to worry about coordinating any of the last-minute requests for interviews or signings."
Abel slowed just before entering the gym. "Coordinating?" He couldn't help smiling. "I think I may know someone who'd be perfect for the job."
"You do?"
"Yeah, and I'd feel better because I know this person. I wouldn't be out there with someone I've never met."
"Cool, give me a number and name and I'll get on it."
"Nah," Abel opened the door to gym and started in. "I got this. I'll call you when I know for sure and give you whatever details you need."
***
After Abel had worked two hours on his speed, rhythm, and timing on the speed bag, Gio forced him to take a break. "Take fifteen, and then I'll meet you in the ring for some sparring." Gio said, already pulling out his phone.
Abel headed for his locker with one thing in on his mind. Nellie's breakfast date should be over by now. If it wasn't, he was interrupting it. This Logan guy had had her long enough. "Time's up," he muttered as he pulled his own phone out of his locker.
When he asked for her number on the cruise, he played it down, saying he just wanted to be able to give her a heads up before dropping by her place if he ever did. He even threw in a mention of "in case you're not alone" as if that would be a non-issue. At the time, it was the truth. He hadn't wanted her to get the idea that he was anticipating this turning into anything more than what it was—a convenient and uncomplicated arrangement between two consenting adults. Even after feeling what he had that morning, he still wasn't sure.
He was, however, beginning to understand why Noah had so easily overlooked the age difference with Roni. From the very first time he'd been with Nellie on the cruise—in that vending machine room where he'd taken her against the door—she'd felt just as young as any girl he'd ever been with. And ironically, even though she'd been the only divorcee he'd ever been with, judging by her reaction to some of the things he'd done to her so far, she was far less experienced than most. Sure she was more mature and classier than just about any girl he'd been with, but that was a positive, not a negative.
There was also something about the way she clung to him when he held her. It made her feel so vulnerable; although, her personality and demeanor were just the opposite. Most notably, Abel was surprised that it didn't scare him. He didn't quite understand it, but there was something about it he actually liked. After hearing her reiterate how great she was with their arrangement then feeling what he'd felt this morning while she was on the phone, it was almost comforting to know that maybe she was feeling more than she was admitting.
One thing he was sure of was the phone call he was about to make. This was business, and as much as having Nellie to himself for a few days was the biggest motivator here, he also had another reason. This morning was a wakeup call. Noah might've actually been right to worry. If he'd felt what he had from the mere possibility that she was having breakfast with another man, he couldn't imagine how he'd react if he knew she was sleeping with someone else. Shaking his head in frustration, he had to admit that this could pull the plug on what he hoped would last much longer. The last thing he needed was for what Noah was afraid of to happen. He'd snap and everything would change.
This was almost as motivating as being with Nellie for a few days. Almost. He wanted to establish their working relationship. So if he did have to pull the plug on their extracurricular activities, this part of their relationship was set and would remain as it was, regardless.
She answered on the first ring. Abel got right to what he really wanted to know. "Hey, you busy?"
"Uh . . . no, not really. Give me a sec," she said to someone then . . . was that a giggle? And most notably why did it have him clenching his teeth and instantly heating his insides. "I was just hanging out. What's going on?"
Hanging out? Abel took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, hating to admit now that Noah was absolutely right. "Not sure how busy you are this week but I'm in need of some coordinating for an event I'll be doing in San Francisco."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it's a charity run I'm doing. It's just a 5k, but Andy was supposed to be there with me to make sure everything goes smoothly with the reporters and all that. It's gotten so crazy lately. He'll be stuck in New York for a few days, so he was trying to come up with someone who might take his place, and I figured since you're good at that stuff maybe you could come with me."
She was quiet for a moment then infuriatingly burst into laughter. "I know, honey, just give me a sec."
Honey? "Who are you with?" he asked his tone far more demanding than he'd intended, and the worst part was that, at that moment, he didn't even give a shit.
Next came what sounded like her kissing someone and Abel's frozen insides were completely on fire now. "I met with Roni and Little Jack after breakfast at the mall. We're doing some shopping, and Roni's in the dressing room right now. Jack is a handful, let me tell you." She laughed. "But he's also hilarious and adorable." There were more kissing sounds, and then he heard Jack laughing. "And he's just so lovable I wanna squeeze him to death." There were a few more exaggerated kissing sounds until Jack squealed and Nellie laughed again. "I'm sorry, Abel. I was just keeping him busy until Roni was out, but she's done now. So San Francisco, huh? Which days?"
The tension literally draining from his body as Abel's heart still pounded wildly was yet another wake-up call. This was so much worse than he'd thought. He explained about San Francisco and his itinerary, and to his relief, she said it sounded doable but that she'd have to double check and get back to him.
Once off the phone, Abel leaned against the lockers with his hand over his chest. His overworked heart was still beating hard. Closing his eyes, he thought about how he'd nearly slipped off the tightrope again. He didn't even want to think about how he might've reacted or what he might've said to her if she'd confirmed it was Logan she was still with while giggling and making those noises.
He squeezed his hand into a tight fist just as Gio walked into the locker room. "You ready?"
Abel nodded, placing his phone back in the locker. This was a little too alarming. He was either going to have to get a grip or end this arrangement before stuff like today got the best of him and he snapped with no right to whatsoever. The question now begged to be asked. Was it too late to pull back? As much as he hated to admit it, he had no choice now. The answer to the other alternative was getting pretty obvious. Would he be able to get a grip if he heard about or saw Nellie with someone else?
Not a chance in hell.