Sparring Partners

Chapter One

Lily Parker was going to be sick. Not the sort of sick that comes from being ill or having a regretful one-night stand six weeks prior. More the type that follows living off iced coffee and Ativan for the last twenty-four hours.

Blowing out a long breath, she took one more glance at her reflection in the barber shop window.

She’d filled out a bit since the last time she’d donned her only dress clothes—a charcoal pencil skirt and lavender blouse.

Now her hips held a curve. Actual flesh, not just skin, stretched over her ribs.

Was this unprofessional? Showing off her body online or at the club was one thing.

An interview was something else entirely.

She smoothed her hands over the outline of her thighs, willing her brain to shut up.

Be confident, her friend Alex would say if he was there. Fake it till you make it.

Well, she’d faked it for years. Nothing had ever come to fruition.

Although maybe a successful job interview was more attainable than an orgasm.

Gripping the strap of her purse with both hands, Lily turned and faced South Side MMA.

The old brick building loomed across the street.

She’d walked past the gym once before applying and twice since getting a call for an interview.

Nothing unnerved her more than feeling unprepared, both for an event and for her surroundings.

If she let it, Chicago would swallow her whole.

A year ago, she wouldn’t have minded—she’d come to Chicago to disappear. In a city of nearly three million people, it’d been easy. Not anymore. A faceless girl was who she’d been, not who she was becoming.

Steeling her nerves, Lily strode across the street and through the frosted doors.

A hollow lobby greeted her, framed by the echo of weights slamming into place as lifters lowered their loads.

Behind a desk sat a petite Asian woman. Straight black hair cut in close below her ears.

She perked up as Lily approached, a warm smile lighting her brown eyes.

“Good morning! How may I help you?”

“Good morning—” Lily scanned the woman’s name tag and smiled “—Rachel. I’m Lily. I have an interview this morning with Neal.”

“Oh, right this way.” She stood and tapped her laptop—pausing what looked like a K-drama.

Rachel led her away from the drone of the gym and down a yellowed hallway, passing by a squealing childcare room, until they arrived at a closed office door.

Lily scrubbed her palms against her skirt, cursing her nerves as Rachel rapped against the wood.

“Neal? I have your ten o’clock here.”

“Come on in!”

The door swung in, and Lily followed Rachel into a small office.

Dark green walls swallowed up the light streaming through the only window over a back alley.

A desk lamp illuminated a cluttered workspace filled with framed photos and paperwork.

More frames adorned the walls, not just featuring fighter teams and championship certificates—that was to be expected—but family pictures and church events, too. Weddings and baptisms.

Even if South Side MMA hadn’t advertised as a small business, the office gave it away in a heartbeat.

Having cataloged her surroundings in as little time as it took to enter the room, Lily let her gaze settle on the two men behind the desk.

Dark eyes caught Lily’s, and she froze.

Leaning one hip against the desk, arms crossed over his chest like the world had fucked him over twice before lunchtime, was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.

Short brown hair adorned his head and a deep scar split his eyebrow on the left side.

He had a heart-shaped face. Stiff jaw, strong chin, full lips and rounded brows.

Covering most of the white skin of his arms were sweeping, vibrant tattoos—they did nothing to hide his lean, well-defined muscles.

Well, fuck.

The older of the two, a Black gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair cropped in a fade and a kind smile, stood and offered her his hand. “Miss Parker, thanks for coming in. I’m Neal.”

His deep voice broke whatever spell the first man had placed her under. She painted a smile on her face and took his hand. It was rough and calloused, just like she’d expect from an old fighter. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Please, call me Lily.”

“Welcome. Sit.” He gestured toward two worn leather chairs on her side of the desk. “Thank you, Rachel.” Rachel exited with a wave, and Neal’s gaze turned to his companion. “Staying for the interview, Sullivan?”

Sullivan—that has to be his last name, right?—straightened and shook his head. “You’re gonna do whatever you’re gonna do. I’m taking my fifteen with Saoirse.” He turned, slinging his hands into the pockets of his gray sweatpants and giving Lily a cursory sneer before slipping out the door.

So much for introductions.

Neal settled into his chair and sorted his papers, producing from a file what Lily recognized as her résumé. “Well, Lily. Let’s begin.”

While her nerves had never settled after months of interviews, at least the questions came naturally. Why are you a good fit? Why this job? Tell me about a time when a client used up every last ounce of patience you possessed in your body, and how did you avoid murdering them?

But despite the voices whispering in her head that this would be another disappointment, deep down, Lily knew she was the perfect fit. This job was meant for her.

In seeking to stay relevant with the times as well as advertise upcoming events, the gym needed a social media manager. Lily’s degree was in business and marketing.

They wanted someone who knew their way around a gym. She’d played softball for all four years of undergrad on her university’s team. She knew all about conditioning and weight training.

They wanted someone relatable, someone who knew the trends and could command attention.

With dark hair, pouty lips and blue eyes, she’d been given attention her whole life—sometimes too much.

And with over fifty thousand followers on her personal account, it was safe to say she knew her way around social media.

When the required questions were finished, Neal reclined in his seat and set her résumé atop his pile of papers.

“I won’t lie, Miss Parker. You look great on paper.

But I do wonder how you’ll fit in here. We’re like family.

I’ve got kids on the MMA team now whose parents I coached when they were teens.

Everyone who lives here, their parents and grandparents and so on lived here.

Most folks wanna be in the suburbs or up past the river.

” He shrugged and folded his hands over his abdomen.

“It costs a small business a lot in hiring and training. I have to wonder if you’re planning to stick around. ”

Now, wasn’t that the question of the hour? “I have six months left on my apartment lease, if that makes you feel any better.”

When Neal didn’t crack a smile, Lily swallowed and dug her heels against the floor—halting the jitter in her knees.

Wetting her lips, she tried again. “I’ve been looking for community ever since I graduated and lost that connection I had with my team.

I’ve enjoyed my time in Chicago so far, and I don’t have any intentions of leaving. I mean to make a home here.”

More home than she’d ever had in Joliet or Custer Park.

“As for the gym, I’ve always seen myself ending up in fitness.

When I was a kid playing sports, even up through college, it felt right.

The thing that draws kids into team sports, that makes their teammates and coaches like family, is the encouragement and community.

That’s what I would put at the heart of promoting your gym.

We need to show them South Side MMA is a place where they can find inspiration and camaraderie.

This isn’t just another cold, posh gym rooted in silence and rugged individualism.

If they’re looking to train, or learn MMA, or take self-defense, they won’t be alone. ”

Neal leaned forward in his office chair and crossed his arms on the desk with an easy smile. “Well, when you put it like that, when can you start?”

With waves and promises to return with everything she needed for I-9 paperwork, Lily slipped from the office and into the hall. She gripped the doorknob, only letting the handle silently click into place once the door was firmly shut.

Some habits were harder to break than others.

With one hand covering her erratic heart and the other clutching the strap of her purse, Lily strode down the hall.

As soon as she got to the L, she’d call Natalia and tell her the good news.

A full-time job! A full-time job with benefits.

This called for drinks. No, better than drinks—this called for a bed frame. No more mattress on the floor.

Maybe Nat or Alex will be free for some shopping tomorrow.

She walked in a daze, her mind a million miles ahead of her feet.

Nothing broke through her reverie, until something very real, and very small, crashed into her knees.

Lily stumbled back a step and caught herself against the wall before she and the tiny human wrapping itself around her legs could stumble to the floor.

Her hearing tuned back in with the toddler’s giggles still echoing along the hallway. And behind it—

“I’m gonna catch you, Saoirse!” Sullivan skidded around the corner, mischief in his eyes and a wild smile on his face.

Was this the same man who’d given Lily the cold shoulder in Neal’s office?

The little girl shrieked with joy and hid behind Lily’s legs, as if her giggles wouldn’t give her away.

Sullivan straightened and slowed, his half jog turning to half steps when his gaze landed on Lily. His attention flicked down toward the child, and he winced. “Shit.”

What? Lily frowned. She didn’t mind kids, and it wasn’t like she had any germs to pass on. Her gaze followed his and—

Oh, no. Peanut butter. There was peanut butter everywhere. Smeared from Saoirse’s hands and face right onto Lily’s dark skirt. Her only skirt.

“Shoot.” Lily forced a smile on her lips for the little girl’s sake. “Excuse me, sweetie.” She extricated herself from the toddler’s grasp and twisted, searching for a finish line to the destruction. There was no end in sight. It circled all around her skirt, just as the child had.

“It’s ruined.” Dismay colored her voice. At least she’d already secured the job, but dammit, it was a nice skirt.

“Here.” Sullivan swooped in and grabbed the little girl by one wrist, guiding her away from Lily. “I have wet wipes.”

“How is that supposed to help?” Embarrassment flamed her cheeks, but she snatched the package of wipes, anyway. Taking a handful, she scrubbed at the largest of the smears. “Why do you have your kid with you at work, anyway?”

The man shot her a glare and wiped the little girl’s sticky fingers clear of the tan goo. “She’s my niece, and we have a day care on-site for employees and members. If you’re gonna work here, forget the stupid suit and get used to kids.”

What the hell was his problem? “Lots of jobs occasionally require business attire. I’m sure this is no different.”

“This is an MMA gym. You could have shown up in a tank top and bike shorts—the job was yours either way.”

Lily’s brows furrowed, and she balled the soiled wipes into her fist. “Excuse me?”

“Neal knew before you ever walked through the door he was going to offer you the job.” He stood and hefted up his niece, balancing her on one hip with practiced ease. “The interview was a waste of time and money. So’s this made-up position.”

Lily narrowed her eyes at the man as her blood boiled. So much for being gorgeous—his personality was on par with a sewer rat’s. And despite Neal’s offer for Sullivan to join the interview, this man wasn’t wearing a company-branded shirt or a name tag, so what the hell was his problem?

“You seem to have a lot of opinions for someone I’ve never met.”

“Neal researched you since he loved your résumé. We even watched your live stream yesterday, and all you were doing was dancing around your apartment.”

Oh God, they saw that? Lily’s heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she swallowed a breath. “I was not just dancing around my apartment. Think of it as community engagement. One of my followers was teaching me the proper way to Wobble since everyone on Hit It does it the weird Gen Z way.”

He blinked slowly, his jaw working up into an even tighter clench.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest. “You have no idea what any of that means, do you?”

“I know ‘Wobbling’ won’t revitalize this gym.”

“I somehow doubt your sparkling personality is winning anyone over, either.” She shoved the sticky wet wipes into his hand and marched past him, her chin tilted up in the air. “Feel free to wear some ballet slippers to work on Monday. I don’t want to dance in my first promo video all alone.”

She didn’t wait for his reply. Once she turned the corner of the hall, Lily all but ran to the front doors and out to the street.

What a fucking douche canoe.

And here she’d thought staying single for almost a year would have helped her internal compass point toward nice men. Nope! Despite all the therapy, her jerk magnet was fully functional.

And to top it all off, she had to take public transit back to her apartment while covered in peanut butter.

Stopped at a red beacon from crossing the street, Lily retrieved her phone from her purse and shot off a text to her group chat with Alex and Natalia.

Got the job but need a drink, maybe three. Anyone free tonight?

If there was anyone in this world who wouldn’t let her down, it would be her best friends. Family, lovers, jobs—they all came and went. Friendship was forever.