Even still, she’d given in a few days prior and texted him to ask how New York was. His single response, hours later, was “good.” She hadn’t bothered texting him back, and he hadn’t bothered to ask her how she was doing, so it was the only word she’d heard from him since then.

Nellie had heard from Noah and Gio about her coordinating some of the 5th Street events leading up to the fight like Abel had mentioned. Even Hector had called to give her more info on exactly what she’d be in charge of in Vegas the day before and of the fight. It made more sense that Abel would’ve called her with that info, but again she shouldn’t expect anything more from Abel than she had from the beginning.

Maybe this was his way of toning things down after they’d gotten a bit heavy in San Francisco. After hearing from Roni about some speculation about them since they’d been seen traveling together, Nellie thought maybe Abel was trying to save face now with other employees from 5th Street who might’ve heard about it. Though he never actually asked her to keep it on the down low, he was so private she just naturally assumed that’s how he’d prefer it.

There was a knock at her office door, and Nellie looked up in time to see Emily poke her head in the door. “Come in.”

Nellie could use the break. Besides, for the last twenty minutes or so she’d done more theorizing about Abel than concentrating on her work.

“Your room is booked for Vegas.” Emily handed Nellie the paperwork. “I went ahead and printed out your confirmation for you.”

Nellie thanked her, taking the paperwork, slipping her reading glasses back on, and skimming through it. MGM Grand. She hadn’t been to Vegas in a while. The last time she’d gone, she was still married. She wondered after the stories that had risen because of their San Francisco trip and now his sudden disappearance if this trip would be different. With the hype of the fight and the influx of paparazzi, would Abel would keep things far more professional this time and keep his distance? Certainly he’d have little time to socialize.

“Did you hear what they’re saying about Abel’s dad?”

Nellie glanced up at her over her glasses then back at the paperwork, feeling a little annoyed. “What now?”

“Well, they’re all rumors, and I only noticed because Abel was trending on twitter.”

“He was?”

Nellie put the papers down, took her glasses off, and gave Emily her undivided attention. Trending on Twitter was huge. She knew the fight for the heavyweight title was big, and she’d gotten an idea of the kind of excitement his presence alone could garner from the reporters both in San Francisco and LAX, but she had no idea it was this big. She’d heard bits and pieces of the hype here and there, but she’d been so busy with this mixer she hadn’t had time to pay attention too closely to the details. And if she had to be honest, she was trying to keep her mind off him, so she was purposely avoiding the stories.

“Yeah, isn’t that crazy?”

With a nod, Nellie motioned for Emily to take a seat. Emily quickly made herself comfortable in one of the seats in front of Nellie’s desk. “According to the rumors,” she began anxiously, “his dad was killed by the Mexican mob. That part of the story seems to be the only part that’s fact or at least the part of him being murdered in Mexico when Abel was just a kid. But they’re saying he wasn’t just involved in the mafia but he was a key player as in one of the leaders of a big time cartel. They’re also saying he was a big-time womanizer and well . . .” Emily sat back in her seat, waving her hand in front of her. “If Abel and his brother got their looks from their daddy, I can only imagine the man had it going on too. Supposedly, he had another family in Mexico.” Her eyes brightened. “Can you imagine? More yummy Ayala brothers, only these most likely speak the language of love.”

Emily made a purring sound before breaking out into laughter.

“You’re silly.” Nellie put her reading glasses back on, immediately dismissing the rumors. “I can personally vouch for how inaccurate the media can get their stories, and Gio’s wife used to date the current welterweight champ, Felix Sanchez. She’s also told me all about the tabloids and overzealous reporters. The media were like vultures trying to catch his every move. Every single girl the poor guy’s ever been photographed with turns into some made-up story, and the more scandalous, the better. It’s ridiculous. I can almost guarantee you that the only truth to Abel’s dad’s story is that he died on a trip to Mexico. That much I’ve heard directly from Roni. If there really was so much more to the story, I’m sure she would’ve mentioned it.”

Nellie wasn’t sharing yet about her relationship if she could still call it that since he’d seemed to suddenly fall off the planet where she was concerned anyway. So she left out that Abel had told her himself in San Francisco that the stories about his dad were completely false.

Exhaling and sounding more than a little deflated, Emily frowned. “Well, unlike Felix, Abel’s managed to stay very private. He’s yet to even acknowledge the rumors about his dad, and his private life has been much of a mystery. It is pretty obvious the tabloids are digging. I read what they started to wag their tongues about you and him just because of your trip, but I guess after digging enough, they realized you really are just his personal assistant/coordinator. So they moved on to the next girl.” That got Nellie’s attention instantly, but she refused to even look up as she waited for Emily to continue. “First they took plenty of photos of him and Felix in New York each with one girl after another hanging all over them at some party. They were linking him already with Tammi what’s-her-face from that movie Bloody Hearts because apparently they left together. But I guess they got some pictures of him having lunch the other day with a local girl who works at 5th Street, who he’s actually been linked to before. They’re already making him out to be in a,” she held up her fingers, air quoting, “very serious relationship with her.”