Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Lily

Ibarely slept last night thinking about Jax. Wondering if he’s alright, how he’s feeling after the fiasco in the ring. He walked away, but he’s bound to be in pain today. The insanity of what Caden did yesterday still leaves me unsettled. Surely he’ll be barred from ever competing again in the octagon. No organization accepts multiple intentional fouls.

Sitting at our table at the Sponsors’ luncheon I know I should be networking, but I feel empty. Everything seems hollow and meaningless. Like there’s a gaping hole in my heart that I’ll walk around with for the rest of my life unable to be filled.

“You okay, dear?” An older women sitting at the table with white hair and deeply set wrinkles asks. Her smile is soft and her face warm and concerned.

“Yes, thank you.” I smile politely.

“Man trouble?” she asks, leaning in.

I smile at her persistence. “Is it that obvious?”

She nods. “I was married for forty-one years. Lost my Gerald last year.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Want some advice?”

I haven’t even told her the problem, so I’m not so sure how she could advise me to fix it. But I’m polite nonetheless because she seems sweet.

“Sure.” I smile.

“There’s only two choices with a man. Forgive him or forget him. If you can’t do the latter, then you need to forgive him because he’s already stolen your heart.”

I have no idea what I expected her to say, but it certainly wasn’t that. So simple. So poignant. So clear. Yet it takes a woman I’ve never met to point out the obvious. I stand and kiss her on the check. “Thank you.”

She nods knowingly.

***

“Can you tell me what room Jackson Knight is in, please?” I ask the clerk at the front desk.

“I’m sorry, we can’t give out that information.”

I show her my sponsor badge, as if it carries some sort of authority. “I’m a sponsor here, I’m supposed to meet him this evening, but I’m going to be a little late and I just want to let him know,” I lie. “Do you think maybe you could help me? My boss will kill me if I blow this deal.”

The woman hesitates, assessing me briefly, but then punches a few keystrokes on her computer and looks up at me confused. “I’m sorry. Mr. Knight has already checked out.”

“Do you know when?”

She punches a few more keys. “Last night. Looks like he checked out early.” She shrugs. “Oh wait a minute. I remember Mr. Knight. I checked him out last night. He was the one that was injured during the fight, right?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

“Right. He didn’t leave actually. His girlfriend brought back his key. She said he was going to be staying in her room so he didn’t need the room anymore.” The woman whispers, “I’m not supposed to give out room information, but they’re in the Penthouse if you want to reach them.”

The sudden image of Jax and another woman makes my heart ache and my stomach revolt. Why hadn’t it dawned on me that he would move on so quickly? I think deep down inside I believed he really cared about me. The realization I was so easily replaced rips open the wound created the day I found out he was planning on forcing Ralley’s into bankruptcy. It stings with fresh pain.

A sinking feeling of despair hits me and I want nothing more than to go home. Get the hell out of the craziness that is Vegas, even though the fights aren’t over yet. I walk to the elevator bank in a daze, feeling sad, the old woman’s words coming back to haunt me. You either forgive or you forget. I guess I was easy to forget.

***

I pack up my things and call Joe to let him know I’m leaving a day ahead of schedule, but he doesn’t respond. We have dinner planned with some potential vendors interested in stocking their lines in the gyms, I’m sure they’d rather talk to Joe than me anyway. But I don’t want to leave without letting Joe know, so I go down to look for him.

Vince Stone is at the security desk. I smile politely and show my badge to the guard. “Lily,” Vince calls from down the hall as I start to walk away.

“Everything okay?” Vince questions.

“I’m looking for Joe Ralley, have you seen him?”

He shakes his head. “Haven’t seen him.”

“Thanks.” I take a step away and then something stops me. He may not be mine, but I can’t help myself. I need to know he’s okay. “Have you seen Jax? Is he okay?”

“Broken rib, pretty bruised. But he’ll live,” he says. “Liv said he woke up a little while ago, doc gave him pain killers so he was out like a light for half the day.”

Liv. A lot has happened in the last few weeks. Jax is apparently close with a brother he despised only a few weeks ago and his new girlfriend has a name. Liv. Wonderful, how cheery, perhaps he’s working his way through the alphabet, L-i-l, L-i-v.

I nod, wishing I’d never asked, and begin to walk away. Vince yells over his shoulder, “He’s in the Penthouse if you want to visit.”

Sure, I’d like nothing more than to spend some quality time with Jax and Liv.