“Goodbye Miss Cooper.” The door opens with a creek, and he ushers me through it.
It's only when I hear the click of the lock behind me that I can at long last experience the air rushing back to my lungs and as my heartbeat returns to normal, I take a few moments to compose myself.
How can one person terrify and excite me all at the same time?
“Thank you for your time. That will be all.” I tell her, watching her brow furrow as she continues to stare at me. For some reason I can't take my eyes off her.
It's been an exhausting day interviewing old women who I wouldn't trust to take care of a cactus let alone a seven-year-old girl, and she is a breath of fresh air.
Her emerald eyes are wide, most likely a result of the anxiety that caused me to bring the interview to a premature end.
She's a beautiful mess.
She rises from her chair and walks into the hallway. I follow, taking a step towards her as she reaches the front door. She gasps as I reach around to open the door, her rigid body pressed against the wall.
“Goodbye Miss Cooper.” I say, closing the door behind her and striding back to my study.
I pick up the pile of notes and head to the lounge, collapsing onto the worn leather sofa that Samantha convinced me to buy when Madison was younger — I hate it, the way the cold fabric clings to my skin drives me insane but I haven't really had a chance to replace it yet.
Dropping the notes next to me, I check my watch. It's six thirty-five and I've been interviewing for almost eight hours. No wonder I'm knackered.
I lay my head back, close my eyes and take a deep breath, letting my thoughts drift to the cute little blonde that I plan to offer the role to.
An absolute car crash with a kind, nurturing presence and the feminine influence missing in Maddie's life. Besides, having her around the house wouldn't be such a bad thing.
"Tough day?" Sarah interrupts my thoughts as she pours two glasses of whiskey from the crystal decanter by the window and sits beside me, “Here, looks like you need it.”
Fuck! Why does she always insist on sneaking up on me and catching me by surprise?
She passes me a glass and takes a sip of her drink.
“Maddie's been fed, bathed and is playing in her room. I told her that you go read her a story before bed.” She shuffles through my notes, my words making her face contort involuntarily. “Any luck? Only... the sooner you find someone, the quicker I can get those contracts sent over.”
As well as being my older sister, Sarah is my manager and like all good manager's she is a pit bull that only cares about one thing.
Money.
She's not the warm and fuzzy type, but she's been a great help with Madison over the last couple of years and now she's desperate for me to step back in that octagon and do what I do best.
Before Samantha, I had recently won the interim title, was earning close to six figures for each fight and was training to go head-to-head with my ex-team-mate Lucas once he was ready to return following an injury. As good as the other guys on the roster are, she's not making half that with them.
To be honest, I need to throw myself back in to it and luckily, she's managed to pull some strings to get me an immediate title match. The Light Heavyweight division is in a bit of a slump which I'm so grateful for.
I just need to make sure I have someone I can trust to take care of my girl before I start training.
“I was planning on offering it to Amelia Cooper.” She screws her face up as the words leave my mouth, “What?”
“The scraggy little blonde?” She blurts, clearly not happy with my choice. “What about the older lady... Mrs Davenport?”
“They were all older ladies! What's wrong with Amelia?” I'm really not in the mood to argue with her about this, and she's as stubborn as a mule. Once, she held one of my fights to ransom until she got what she wanted, but she wants the money too much to do that this time.
“She barely looked like she could take care of herself, never mind a firecracker like Madison.” She scoffs, “You have no idea what it's taken to get you this fight and I certainly don't want to have to put my reputation on the line by pulling out part way through because she can't handle it.”
“Don't be so dramatic.” She can be so childish at times. You wouldn't think she was in her early forties sometimes.
“It's okay, I mean what would I know about raising a child anyway?”
Okay, here comes the guilt trip.
“It's not like I raised you or have three boys of my own.”
I gulp down my whiskey, savouring the warmth as it flows down my throat, then I place the glass down on the coffee in front of me with a thud.
Our parents passed away in a devastating car accident when we were younger and because we didn't have anyone else, we ended up in care for two years. As soon as she turned eighteen, she claimed legal guardianship of me and gave up her life to take care of an eleven-year-old, and she never lets me forget it.
I guess that's one of the reasons I gave her the opportunity to manage me once my fighting career took off. I wanted to give her a good life. To make up for the shit I put her through all those years ago.
“Look Sarah, I really do appreciate everything you've done for me, but this is not your decision to make.” I smile, “Amelia is my first choice and I'm offering her the job whether you like it
