“Young in years but old in spirit,” I said, grinning and wiggling my eyebrows.
“You talk a lot of shit,” he said. “What’re your top five fights of all time?”
“What?”
“Top five fights. List ‘em. Off the top of your head.”
“Uh,” I stuttered, caught off my game. “I never stopped to think to rank them.”
He sucked his teeth. “Exactly. Full of it. You came in here with a few one-liners you read off the internet about my fighting and thought you could pull some slick shit over on me.”
“Sugar Ray Leonard versus Thomas Hearns in ’81; Ali versus Frazier in ’75 is a classic; Diaz versus McGregor back in 2016; Definitely can’t leave out Royce Gracie versus Gerard Gordeau in ’93, the fight that utterly changed the sport of MMA. Lastly, my own personal favorite is Chael Sonnen versus Anderson Silva back in 2010. That one was a thing of beauty. I still can’t believe Silva was able to pull that one out. I go back to it—”
“Enough,” he said, cutting me off. “You’ve watched some fights. Cute. Doesn’t mean jack shit where training comes into play.”
“It does mean I know fighting styles.”
“Fine.” He shrugged and then pushed past me.
“Great, I think we—” I stopped when the front door of the gym opened. A younger man wearing a pair of black gi pants and a black T-shirt that read ‘Peak Performance Martial Arts’ entered.
“Morning, Luke, ma’am.” He waved at both Luke and me.
Luke nodded and I smiled at him before turning back to Luke. “We’ll have to start by coming up with a schedule.”
“Hang on, I never said you had the job.”
“But you just said fine. I assumed that meant I was hired.”
“Never assume, sweetheart. You want to be my head trainer?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m here for.”
“Cool. Greyson,” Luke called and waved over the guy who’d just walked in. He placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Greyson here is one of Peak Performance’s newest instructors. Well versed in self-defense and is a black belt in karate. Any good trainer should know how to fight themselves. You want to be my trainer. Last two rounds on the mat with Greyson.”
My eyes bulged. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack, sugar.”
I frowned. “We’re really going to have to do something about you and these pet names.”
“Last two rounds and you might get the opportunity to try… sugar.” He winked at me condescendingly. The glint in his eyes told me he knew he had me with this proposition. He obviously expected me to back down. Clearly, he had no idea who I was.
Right then, I kicked off my heels and strolled across the gym to the area where the large blue mats were set up.
“Greyson, was it? Let’s get this over with since I’ve got a fighter to start training,” I called across the room, noticing both men looking somewhat stunned. Greyson more so than Luke.
“Ma’am, I don’t think is a good idea.”
“Please call me, Syd. You’ll get used to seeing my face around here soon enough.”
Greyson narrowed his eyes for a brief moment. “Luke, what the hell?” He questioned, looking bewildered.
“You heard the lady. She wants to be my trainer. And since she won’t go the hell away, I’ve decided to see if she’s worthy of the position.”
Greyson turned back to me. “You’re serious?”
