Chapter 18

Felix

It’d been two days, two days since he’d last seen Ella, and already Felix didn’t think he was going to last a whole week. Noah was nuts if he thought he’d be here longer than that. Unless he could convince Ella to come up and be with him a few days, he’d be here just until she got back from her cruise at the end of the week. But that’s as long as he’d hang.

During the days, he concentrated on the grueling workouts and long runs he’d take with the guys. For the most part, it did help, but Noah had still called him out a few times when he said he wasn’t focusing like he should.

The press conference announcing the rematch took place Saturday. In lieu of the meeting Adelina had been so flustered about not being able to get scheduled, she’d managed to get the press conference together at the last minute.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hook ever since the day the contract was finalized and Grecco’s website posted they had a huge announcement coming soon,” Rene explained on Saturday when Felix had gotten the conference call from Rene and Adelina. Felix had never done a press conference on such short notice. Not since his first title bout had he been the opponent and not the defending champ at one of these things. He would’ve liked to have been better prepared.

Not surprisingly, Ella had calmed him easily. “Just show up, let them take all the photos they want, and promise your fans you’re getting your title back. You know you are.”

He would’ve liked for the press conference to have been at 5th Street so Ella could’ve been there with him, but Grecco’s people insisted they do it on neutral ground, so it’d been held downtown.

They called it a night and Felix was spent. He’d warned both Adelina and Rene he’d be in training all week and didn’t have time for anything. The only person he was making time for was Ella, of course. If he had to be away from her, he at least wanted her to be the last person he spoke to every night and first person he said good morning to every day. So seeing that he had another text from Adelina again was annoying to say the least.

It seemed after the announcement that Felix was going after the title again had been made the endorsement offers had picked up overnight. Mercedes-Benz now thought that the reason why Felix had held out meeting with them was because he knew once the announcement was made there’d be more offers, maybe even better ones from a competitor. They were even more anxious to meet with him, but he’d already told Adelina this week was out of the question.

He picked up his phone with a frown and read the text.

I told them you couldn’t meet with them this week and why. They said they’d come to you. They’re willing to meet with you in Big Bear somewhere and talk.

“What part of ‘I’m training’ does this chick not understand?” Felix muttered.

“Huh?” Noah asked.

Felix shook his head as he plopped down across from Noah in the great room. “My publicist,” he said as he texted back. “She wants to set up business meetings this week.”

As expected Noah’s face went hard. “She’s nuts. I’m already having a hard enough time getting you to focus.”

Felix sent the text.

Can’t do it. I’m training all week. I can’t take a single day off.

“Yeah,” Gio, who sat in the oversized recliner agreed quickly. “How does she figure you’ll have time for that?”

Felix’s phone rang and he saw it was her. He let his head fall back onto the sofa in frustration. Letting out an exasperated laugh, he answered the call.

“Okay, just hear me out,” she said quickly. “I’ve read the offer. It’s already an excellent offer, and you know how this works. They’re expecting us to counter. I’d go over it with you when I get there. We could meet once you’re finished with your workout any night this week, the sooner the better. They know you’ll be tired, so I said it wouldn’t even be dinner we’d be having with you. Just coffee or a drink. It’s real cut and dry. They just wanna be sure you understand what you’re agreeing to before you sign. But they want this done ASAP. They’re getting antsy.”

“You have any idea how damn tired I am after my workouts?” Felix said, shaking his head. “At the end of the day, I don’t wanna get dressed to go meet—”

“We could meet with you at the complex. We’d be in and out. I promise. I’m telling you Felix this is huge.”

He let his head fall back again and closed his eyes. “When?”

“Thursday,” she said quickly and, before he could change his mind, added, “I’ll call them now and text you the details. K?”

“Bye,” he said with a smirk.

Well, Rene was right about one thing. Adelina did have her mother’s resolve. That instantly brought thoughts of the other determined girl in his life, the one who owned his heart now. He looked down at his phone to check the time. She’d be home soon and ready for their nightly call, so he stood up, already looking forward to hearing her voice.

“What happened?” Noah asked. “You gave in?”

“She’s bringing them here Thursday night, and I’ll just sign some papers.” He started to walk away. “But I’m not even getting dressed for these people. She can kiss my ass if she thinks I’ll be all businesslike when I’m training.”

“Ooh, guess you told her.” Gio chuckled.