CHAPTER 26
No sooner had Jackie made it to Mo’s table than a large bodyguard stood in front of her, blocking the way.
She tried her best not to let her irritation show, but Jackie was an Aries.
She displayed her emotions on her face. Why a man who punched folks in the face for a living needed a bodyguard, she’d never know.
Then again, people were nuts and probably thought it was fun to antagonize a professional bruiser.
Jackie strained her neck to look up at the bodyguard, who was dressed all in black and was even taller than Antonio.
“I need to speak to Mo,” her app blared.
Mo was currently stuffing his face, plates of food and empty bottles of beer littering the table.
Seemed like Cecelia was trying to stuff Mo to the brink too.
“I ain’t trying to be disturbed,” Mo called out from behind his human screen protector.
“Mr. Williams doesn’t want to be disturbed,” the man parroted back to Jackie as if she was hard of hearing.
Jackie increased the volume on her app, shoving it in the bodyguard’s face. “I guess I’ll stand here until he wants to be disturbed. I have nothing but time.”
There was a pause, then a grunt, before Jackie heard Mo slam a glass on the table. He peered around his massive guard.
“If it ain’t used-to-be-Motor-Mouth Miles.
So much for peace and tranquility in paradise.
What you doing here? I know I’m a pretty muthafucker, but stalking me is kind sad, babydoll.
” He took a bite out of his massive plate of carnitas, oily goodness running all down his chin.
He didn’t even bother to wipe it up. “Still can’t talk, huh? Can’t say I feel bad about that.”
“I’m here for the same reason you are, apparently,” Jackie typed. “We got tired of eating grass at the resort, and Cecelia’s tacos definitely hit the spot.”
“True,” Mo said through a mouthful of food. “These joints are banging. But I ain’t trying to bond with you over a love of good eats. I still ain’t signing with you.”
Jackie locked eyes with Mo and breathed a few times, in through the nose and out through the mouth. She typed her response slowly and calmly, watching Mo watch her out the corner of her eye. “Even if I can get you a title fight in AC?”
At the mention of Atlantic City, Mo held his taco midair. He looked up at the bodyguard and nodded his head, letting him know to leave them alone. The man stepped off to the side, into the shadows. Jackie sat.
“Where’s your bodyguard?” Mo asked as he finally picked up a napkin to wipe his chin.
Jackie looked over at Antonio, who was now seated at the bar with Hector.
When she caught his eye, he gave her a wink.
She tried not to smile back. Focus, Jackie.
She typed quickly. “He’s around. But this is between you and me, Mo.
I got something you want. And I can get it for you.
” Jackie was totally bluffing. She had set nothing in motion.
But she was confident that if she could get Mo to say yes to her, she could make it happen.
Mo grabbed a toothpick from his shirt pocket, twirling it in his mouth. “A title fight with Ramón Rodriguez? In AC? For real?”
Jackie’s nails were flying across her phone screen. “Yep. All I need is one meeting with Manny Guzman. I think he’ll be game.”
Manny Guzman was a former-boxer-turned-promoter who’d basically discovered Ramón in his gym as a kid back in Miami.
He’d been in Ramón’s life ever since, guiding every step of his career, including promotion and management.
Jackie wasn’t too keen on Manny taking percentages as both a promoter and manager, but boxing was dirty like that.
Mo raised a brow. “And why would Manny go for this? That dude keeps Ramón on a tight leash.”
Jackie typed out her message and leaned forward.
“Let’s be honest: Since you took your so-called hiatus, Ramón has had no real competition in the ring.
That last fight he had with the Irish dude, O’Sullivan?
Ended after five rounds because Ramón was using his face as a dishrag across the ring.
He’s been coasting, Mo. And you can give him a challenge. ”
“You talking a good game, Miles.”
“And I back up what I say, Mo. Always.” As good as this app was—thanks to Honey’s brilliant customizations—Jackie wished it knew how to communicate snark.
Mo ran his hand down his full, Freeway-style beard. “You persistent ain’t you, Lil’ Bit. Tiny and annoying like a mosquito.”
Jackie shrugged. “I’ve been told that a time or two. But I’m only this way when I’m confident of my client’s potential.”
“Ain’t had nobody said that about me in a minute. Not since….” Mo trailed off.
Jackie paused a bit, thinking carefully about how she’d phrase her response.
Finally, she pressed SPEAK on the app. “We all make mistakes, Mo. Trust me, I know. Some mistakes haunt you for a lifetime.” Her mind flashed to an image of Katrice, quickly replaced by one of Antonio.
“It seems like you’re trying to put the past behind you.
Like you said, getting all Zen and stuff.
” The app autocorrected “shit” to “stuff.” Whatever.
“Yeah, but folks out here ain’t believing me when I say I done changed.”
Jackie typed swiftly. “That’s why you’d have me and a really good PR team on deck, with a revamped strategy. We can lean into your new, holistic lifestyle.”
“Hold on, Tiny,” Mo held up his hand. “We gonna need something stronger than beer to talk about this business shit. You drink tequila, Miles? Or are you a fruity cocktail kind of girl?”
Jackie tilted her head with attitude. Okay, so maybe Jackie and all her big boss chick energy did love a fruity cocktail.
Preferred it, actually. Hell, she hadn’t been able to handle the scotch on the plane with Antonio, and the tequila shots they did the other night had left her falling asleep all over him.
Mo laughed, his platinum grill gleaming. “You right. I bet you just drink straight gas out here. If you can step to me over the years, clearly your heart don’t pump no Kool-Aid.”
Jackie smiled. From Mo, that was definitely a compliment.
Mo signaled to his bodyguard. He whispered something, and the guy headed off toward the bar. After a few minutes, the bodyguard brought over a very expensive bottle of Reposado with a setup of limes and salt. Mo poured two shots, sliding one over to Jackie.
“To new beginnings,” Mo said.
Jackie nodded, clinking her shot glass against his.
“A BASEBALL BAT, JACKIE?” MO CHUCKLED AS HE THREW BACK another shot. “And I thought I was bad when I punched that bouncer. And that photographer. Or was it a reporter?”
Apparently, Reposado was a truth serum, because Jackie had been spilling her guts to Mo for a half hour. The music was getting pretty loud, so Mo had graciously hooked up his earbuds to her phone via Bluetooth, so that he could hear her via the app.
From her time at her agency to her dad, she’d opened up to Mo. Unless Jackie was with her girls, she wasn’t typically this open. Yeah, she was definitely blaming the tequila. Funny, the tequila hadn’t really done that the other night when she and Antonio… She pushed the thought out of her head.
Jackie sucked on a lime, taking the edge off. The screen was getting a little blurry as she typed, but she pressed on. “Trust me, that was a long time ago. I’m not that Jackie anymore.”
“You sure? ’Cause you sure came at me with some fire. I respect it, though. I need someone passionate about me, about the sport. Not someone trying to hustle me.” Mo rubbed his hands. “I’m sorry I ain’t listen to you earlier.”
“I tried to tell you Donovan was a snake. One day, you men will learn to listen to Black women,” Jackie typed, a slight smile on her face.
“Well, I’m listening,” Mo said, tapping the earbuds. “I am. And if you can pull this fight off, then you got me for life, Lil’ Bit. For real. I know you’re in my corner.”
Jackie played it cool, but she was doing a victory dance inside. “Good. You’re a once-in-a-generation fighter. We’re talking Ali-level greatness, dude. I’d hate to see you squander it by hiding out from the world.”
Mo’s face became solemn as the band struck up the last tune of the evening.
“I ain’t fought in a title fight almost two years.
I still train like a beast. Have a minor fight here and there.
No real money, though. All the cash I had, Clyde took.
But…to step foot in the big ring again? I won’t lie and tell you I ain’t scared shitless. ”
Jackie nodded. “Sometimes we’ve got to do things that scare us,” she typed. “I mean, look at me. I took a chance coming here to Mexico. Though, not without some coaxing.”
Jackie eyed Antonio, who was now taking Cecelia for a spin on the dance floor, a cigar in hand. The older woman was in a fit of giggles as he twirled her with his hand. The giggling was contagious; one escaped Jackie’s lips before she could stop herself. Yeah, she was drunk.
Mo looked at Antonio, then back at Jackie, his thick brow raised. “So, it was Steele who convinced you to come down here? What’s up with y’all anyway? You two…you know?”
“Oh no! No!” Jackie shook her head as she typed, a little too quickly because it was making her dizzy.
“We’re just cool. Nothing is going with us, especially now.
” Jackie swallowed. Shit. She had almost let it slip about PJ.
That wasn’t her business to tell, especially not to another client.
Though she doubted Mo would be a gossip, as he was intensely private.
“You know, since AMW and Elite are merging.”
“What that got to do with him being your man?”
Jackie nearly choked. She cleared her throat and turned the volume up on the app to ensure Mo could hear her response. “We are friends.”
“Does he know that? ’Cause he looking over here every ten seconds like he wanna knock my head off. But I know he ain’t that dumb.”
Really? Jackie hadn’t paid much attention to Antonio or how he was looking, minus the occasional stare.
Was he really upset that she was talking to Mo?
It was about the deal, right? Wasn’t that what this entire trip had been about?
Jackie looked down at her watch. She typed, “Maybe he’s just ready to go. It’s getting late.”
Jackie stood but felt a bit unsteady on her feet. Before she could lose her balance, she felt the familiar hands of Antonio on her back.
“Easy. You know you can’t hang with the big dogs, Lucky,” Antonio said.
Jackie pushed him off her, attempting to show that she was just fine. To prove it, she grabbed another shot, taking it to the head. She coughed a little as the heat of the liquor hit her chest. She felt nauseated. That…had been incredibly stupid.
“Whoa, easy.” Antonio took the glass out of her hand. “Yeah, you’re done, ma.”
“She might be a lightweight,” chuckled Mo, taking the earbuds out of his ears. “But she got heart.”
“That she does,” Antonio agreed.
“So, we gonna see what you can do, Miles,” Mo said. “Get me that fight.”
Jackie gave a wobbly thumbs-up. Yeah, she was definitely “tore up from the floor up,” as her Uncle Roydell would say.
“Let’s see if Cecelia has a little cafecito to sober you up before we head back to the resort.” Antonio got Cecelia’s attention while he steered Jackie toward the bar.
Jackie reached for a bar napkin and pulled a pen from her purse, too drunk to type.
You aren’t my daddy, she wrote.
Antonio leaned closer to Jackie, who was using him to stand upright. She felt his warm breath on her neck, making her shudder. He whispered, “I could be your daddy. If you let me…”
Jackie groaned, slumping down in a chair. Surely he didn’t think that tired line would work.
Just as Cecelia delivered a strong cup of black coffee, Antonio said, “Woman, just do as I say and sip this coffee.”
There was something about the way he said “woman” that made Jackie’s nipples stiffen. That definitely worked on her. Under Antonio’s watchful eye, Jackie sipped.
“Not your man, huh?” Mo called from his table in the corner, shaking his head.
Jackie could hear Mo chuckling as Antonio watched her polish off every drop of coffee.