“I don’t want to have too many companies getting a piece of me and dictating my life. I already can’t wear Nike. I don’t want to give up drinking Gatorade. It has less sugars than MaxPower,” I pointed out.
Rupert nodded. “All good things to consider… I get you. Listen, we can turn down the MP endorsement. That’s not the one offering the most money anyway. What is your stance on Jackson’s Jock products?”
I sighed. “They’re good.”
“Okay, we can go with them and that’s a million-dollar endorsement deal.”
I nodded. “Fine. Make sure there’s no funny bullshit going on in the fine print. Then I’ll sign it,” I said, giving him my trust, as he hadn’t let me down yet.
Rupert smiled. “You know I’m going to look out for you, kid…” he leaned in, “Even when you don’t want me to, because I love ya and only want the best for you.”
I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I know. The feeling is mutual.”
The waiter returned with our drinks, bread, and Rupert’s salad. I downed the water to kill my thirst, then set the glass down.
“Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Rupert asked, taking a bite of his salad.
I shook my head. “I’m good. So, is there anything else—business related—that you wanted to discuss?” I asked.
He smirked. “The other thing I want to discuss is also business related, but it can wait.”
“It will wait and be damned,” I said, knowing he meant Aiden. I stood up, stretching my legs. “Catch you later.”
I didn’t wait for him to say anything else to me before I walked off. I went back to the hotel, grabbed my bag, then tossed it over my shoulder and walked to the parking lot. I groaned when I saw that fucking photographer again. What was his bitch ass name? Ahhh, right, Troy-I’m-Going-To-Get-My-Ass-Kicked-For-Being-A-Snooping-Bastard-Danvers. He was taking pictures of me as I walked up to my motorcycle.
“Hey Macio,” he said, grinning as he snapped some more photos.
“Isn’t there someone else you can fucking annoy, bitch?” I growled.
“Oooh, I love when you talk dirty to me,” he said. I snarled at him. “What, you gonna hit me? Go on, I’d love to get paid.”
I laughed. “I hit you hard enough, you won’t remember who to sue, bitch,” I snapped, then started my hog and pulled off, leaving him smirking that arrogant smirk of his that made me want to knock his fucking teeth into the next century.
I really had to be careful around that asshole. He was stalking me more and more these days. I wished he’d leave me the hell alone and find another athlete to obsess over, but I guessed I was it for now. Hopefully, he’d grow bored and move on. Maybe I needed to make him move on. I had an event coming up in a few days for Michaelson’s Sports. The big charity party they wanted their new manwhore to attend. I’d go to that and be social and do a few mini interviews… that should help. God, I hated this part of fame, I really did. People should be allowed to have a private life. Well, for now, I was going to focus on training and of course, Aiden. The thought made me smile.
“Hey, Macio, come here for a minute, we need to talk,” Barry said, stopping me from entering the ring with my sparring partner. Ahhh, shit… I could only imagine what this was going to be about. I walked over to him. “What’s up, Barry?”
“Follow me, Champ,” he said as he led me to his office.
Yeah, this wasn’t going to be good at all.
“Have a seat.” Barry motioned to the chair and I sat down. He opted to lean against the desk. “I’ve spoken to Rupert and he told me about this thing you have going with that reporter.”
I slouched in the chair and sighed. “His name is Aiden and it isn’t just some ‘thing’, Barry.”
“It’s dangerous, Macio. He could out you.”
“Aiden would never do that. If he wanted to, he could have done it after the first time we were together. He didn’t.”
“Okay, let’s say that he really wants to be with you… how are you going to even make this happen? Have you thought about that? You have paparazzi surrounding you at any given moment. All it takes is one mistake for you to be exposed by someone else.”
“We’ve talked about it, we’ll just have to be careful,” I said.
Barry sighed and shook his head. “Macio, buddy, I know you think you feel something for this guy—”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m some kid that doesn’t know his own feelings, Barry.”
“You may know your own feelings, but I don’t think you’re fully respecting the delicacy of your situation. You’re the champion inthemost brutal sport in the world. A real man’s man blood sport. They aren’t going to take kindly to a gay MMA fighter. You’ll lose your fan base, sponsors, and the support of the promotion. Have you ever heard of a gay MMA fighter being successful?” he asked me.
