Inside, Eboni went straight to the business office where she knew Drew would be. Drew had been the manager there since Eboni had gone to the center as a teenager. No one had more passion about the place than him. He worked day and night to keep the place going.
"Hey, Captain. What's shaking?" Eboni smiled, hoping he would match the expression.
The older white man pursed his lips and exhaled. He shook his head and Eboni got her answer.
"No donations?" She clasped her hands together and hoped for a miracle.
"None," he answered.
Damn.
"I thought for sure that local dairy would come through for us. The donations they promised would have been enough to fix the pool." Eboni rubbed her forehead.
"I know." Drew glanced up at Gunnar. "Can I help you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Drew, this is, um, my friend, Gunnar Wells." Finding a tame way to introduce him became complicated considering what they'd done. "Gunnar, this is Drew Pausini. He's the manager here, but I like calling him Captain."
"She's the only one I let get away with that." Drew smiled and shook Gunnar's hand. "Nice to meet you. Any friend of Eboni's is a friend of mine."
"Ditto." Gunnar stared at Eboni. "She's pretty special."
"Yes, she is." Drew stared at Gunnar for a moment. "You look so familiar."
Eboni watched Gunnar draw his shoulders back.
"I used to come here back in the day along with Eboni." Gunnar clenched his jaw as though expecting a confrontation.
"Hell, I barely remember what Eboni looked like when she first came here. No, I've seen you elsewhere."
"He's a fighter," Eboni quickly supplied.
"Like boxing?" Drew held up his fists.
"Mixed martial arts," Gunnar said.
Drew's dull brown eyes widened. "Oh yeah. I heard the kids talking about you around here. Guns, that's what they call you, right?"
Gunnar nodded. "I'm home to help my mom."
"I'm trying to convince him to help promote the place." Eboni nudged Gunnar on his side.
From the glare he gave her, he didn't find anything amusing in her admission.
"That would be awesome. The kids would love seeing a local celebrity talking up this place." Drew rubbed his hands together. "And we could certainly use the publicity."
"I'm sorry. I don't do commercials or promotions." Gunnar held out his hand. "Nice to meet you." He glared at Eboni. "I guess I'll see you at the house." He left the office.
"Did I say something wrong?" Drew asked and shrugged.
"No. I think I did. I'll talk to you later." Eboni rushed out to the parking lot in time to see Gunnar stomping to his truck. "Gunnar! Gunny!"
He stopped at the driver-side door and turned to her. As soon as she got close enough to him he unloaded on her. "Why did you do that? Why did you try to make me feel guilty about not doing some promotion for this place? I told you I don't do commercials."
"I didn't mean to make you feel trapped." Eboni tried making eye contact when she found Gunnar looking elsewhere. "Hey, will you at least tell me why?"
"What I do. The fighting. I see it as a job. I find it ridiculous when guys get on TV and talk about how they're going to beat me up and hurt me. Show me. You don't go around to other salons and tell them you do the best hair and that Press 'N Curl is going to run them out of business."
"No. But I have done radio spots and promotions at local hair shows. Unlike you, we don't have a built-in audience. We also have way more competition. We need to shout from the rooftops how good we are, like this place needs someone to be a voice for them and talk about how great this center is. The news has covered us a couple of times, and we'll get some donations, but it isn't enough."
Gunnar balled his hand into a fist but kept his gaze away from Eboni. After a beat, he finally looked at her. "My mom used to have this husband who used to brag all the time what a big man he was. When she would have dinner parties, he would tell their friends what a great provider he was. To his boys, he talked about how much my mom couldn't keep her hands off him. Truth of the matter is he didn't work and he had a problem keeping his hands off her."
With Gunnar's somber expression, Eboni knew what he meant regarding Queen's ex-husband. Eboni moved in closer to him.
"I can't stand people who go on and on about themselves and what they can do, because the majority of the time they're lying. If I feel that way, I'm sure other people do. So, no, I'm not going to do any promotions. If people want to know what I can do, they can come see me."
Eboni regarded him for a moment, digesting his statement. Then it hit her. "You don't think people will believe you, right?"
Gunnar glanced at her. "No, it's what I said. Drop it."
"Gunny, you are not that shady little kid who used to steal and lie all the time. You're a fine man. A good man." She gravitated closer to him. "An honest man."
He shook his head. "When I tried being honest when I was a kid, people didn't believe me. Why bother now? If I say I can beat someone in a fight and I lose, I look stupid." He stared at Eboni. "If I promote this place as a safe haven for the community and something happens, no one will trust my word. It's taken me a long time to build it back up. I need to protect it."
"The difference between then and now is intention. Because you are selective with what you say, your word will go a long way. People will know that you care about something." Eboni held Gunnar's hand. "I didn't know about Queen and how you really felt. I shouldn't have gotten Drew's hopes up and obligated you."
"Apology--" Gunnar stopped and looked at something over her shoulder.
She turned and saw a man with a shaved head coming toward them.
"I had to get a coat to come out to this place. No snow in Vegas." He stared at Gunnar. "We need to talk."
"Who are you?" Eboni kept herself between Gunnar and this stranger.
Gunnar put his hands on her shoulders. "This is my manager, Chuck. He's about to tell me why he came all the way out here from Vegas when I told him I was taking care of my mother."
Chapter 13.
First Eboni had tried to obligate Gunnar to promote the center, and now Chuck had showed up to make demands of his own. Gunnar couldn't wait to hear this.
"Eboni, go on to the house. I'll see you there." Gunnar kissed her temple and nudged her toward her car, all the while keeping a careful eye on his manager.
He tried keeping his temper in check by smiling, but inside, he had to count to one hundred in the hope of dousing the fire in him.
"I don't want to leave you." Eboni held on to his arm even though he continued moving her toward her car. "I haven't seen you fight recently, but back in the day, you had that same look in your eyes when you were about to get into it with someone." She peered down. "Your hands are in fists." She glanced at Chuck. "So are his. I thought you said he was your manager."
"He is." He shook out his hands to calm her fears. "My hands are cold."
"Okay, can you explain why you look like you want to knock his block off?"
He couldn't verbalize it. Too bad she'd picked up on his displeasure to see his business associate here and now. "I'll be fine." Gunnar raised his hand to Chuck. "He's my manager. I'm sure he only has my best interest in mind, right?" He gave her a quick peck. "Go see my mom. I'll be right behind you."
"Are you sure?" Eboni split her attention between Gunnar and Chuck. "He looks, I don't know, angry."
"He's passionate. We all are, right?" He nodded. "I wouldn't lie to you."
"I suppose if you're introducing me to him, it means he's your friend."
He blinked at her statement. She remembered the situation when Queen had followed him when he'd met up with his gang. He glanced at Chuck again and realized why she worried.
In his stance, he looked ready to rumble. His trainer kept his hands tightly balled into fists. He had a wide stance to maintain his balance. At one time, Gunnar thought he heard the man snort like a bull. He felt his gut tightening, but he had to remain cool for Eboni.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. In his ear, she said, "If you're not at the house five minutes after me, I'm coming right back."
Gunnar chuckled. "There's my tough girl." He patted her back. "Go. I'll be home shortly."
Eboni shot a glare to Chuck before she got into her car. She sat in it for a couple of minutes, probably warming it up again. The entire time, she kept her stare on Chuck.
Gunnar couldn't remember Eboni being this staunchly loyal before. He liked it. He really liked it. Had Chuck not been there, he would have shown her how much he liked her strong stance. Right now, he had another problem on his hands.
After Eboni pulled away from parking lot, Gunnar addressed Chuck. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Chuck leaned back with his arms outstretched. "You don't seem happy to see me."
"I'm not." Gunnar crossed his arms over his chest to prevent Chuck from seeing his fists.
"I'm thrilled to see you. I thought you had fallen off the face of the earth. I call and you don't answer. I tell you that you have an upcoming match and"-Chuck scanned him-"it doesn't look like you've been keeping up with your training."
Gunnar shook his head.
"And now I see you hanging out with some woman who--"
"Don't go there. You don't want to do that." Gunnar wouldn't take to him or anyone else talking about Eboni.
Chuck cocked his head and smiled. "Oh, I didn't know you were in love so quickly. I mean, are you going to ask her to marry you? Is she knocked up with your kid already?"
Gunnar stormed toward Chuck, who stumbled backward. "I told you I needed some time away to take care of my mother."
"Really? I checked with the hospital. She was discharged today."
Gunnar stalked his manager. "You have some big brass ones. She still has to have surgery. I'm staying here until she has it. If it takes her six months or a year to recover, I'll be with her."
"You can't do that, Guns. You've got upcoming matches. Hell, you're the titleholder. You're obligated to defend it."
"My only obligation is to my family." Gunnar jutted his finger in front of Chuck's face. "Before you, before the training, before the fights, my mother and brothers had my back." He turned to his rental. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go be with my family."
"Don't walk away from me, Guns. If you do--"
"What? What's going to happen? You're going to have my title stripped from me? You'll talk shit about me to the association? I'll never fight again? I don't care. You do what you have to do, and I'll do what I have to do. When I'm ready to get into the ring again, I'll call you."
Chuck studied Gunnar for a moment before he spoke. "I can't figure it out. Are you scared or tired? Which is it, Guns? Are you afraid Seamus is going to beat you, or are you tired of fighting?"
Gunnar wouldn't answer that question even though he'd thought about it a lot lately. He enjoyed being able to sleep when he wanted and not have to train every minute of the day. The idea of quitting had crossed his mind. He wouldn't be sharing that information with Chuck until he needed to reveal it. Right now, he would take advantage of this break.
Gunnar pointed down the street. "Get your ass on a plane and take yourself back to Vegas. There's nothing for you here."
Chuck tsked and lowered his head. "I wished you hadn't said that. You leave me no options."
Uninterested in hearing what else Chuck had to say, Gunnar got into his truck and sped out of the parking lot. He pounded his fist against the steering wheel to work out some of his aggression.
Gunnar still couldn't believe his manager had come all the way to Virginia to convince him to fight again. How could Chuck think that he could leave his mother now?
When Gunnar thought about the fear in Eboni's eyes when Chuck had showed up, he had to grip the steering wheel again. He never wanted her to worry about him. He had to show her and his mother he could be a changed man. No one defined him but him. No one.
"Darling, will you sit down, please." Elizabeth spoke from her seated position on the couch.
Since arriving at her house, Eboni had planted herself at the living room window, waiting for Gunnar to come home. She glanced at her watch again, counting down the seconds until it reached that critical five-minute mark.
"I want to make sure Gunnar gets back okay." Eboni chewed on her lower lip.
"He'll be fine. I thought you said you came over to visit with me."
Eboni turned to her friend. "If you saw this guy and how Gunnar looked at him, you would be concerned."
"Chuck? That's Gunnar's manager. He's harmless, well, except for the need for the man to make a buck. But that's all managers, right? They'll squeeze every dollar they can out of you."
Eboni turned to Queen. "You don't. You're a great boss."
"I'd like to think I motivate you all in different ways." Elizabeth patted the seat next to her on the couch. "Come sit with me."
Eboni turned back to the window. "Aren't you worried about Gunnar?"
"Every day of my life. I worry about all of my children. I consider all of you at the salon my kids too. Come sit down."
Queen Elizabeth's soothing voice lulled Eboni to the couch next to her.
"Take a deep breath." To show Eboni what she meant, Elizabeth took a deep breath first. When she exhaled, she smiled. "You'll feel better."
"I'll feel better when Gunnar comes home."