Verb. To do something with soul, creativity, or love; to leave a piece of one's self in their work.

Luna James

With Thursday came anxiety. Anxiety to have to see Amon and his brother.  Anxiety that he'd try to be an asshole to me and embarrass me in front of my colleagues.  Anxiety that I'd have to reject him and potentially ruin any business we had together and anger my parents.

The only bright side I could think of was that Callum wouldn't be there.  I wouldn't have minded to see the Irish bad boy again, but I didn't have the energy to keep the two parties from killing each other.

I sat down in the raised chair in front of the group of girls.  I chose a casual outfit for the meeting, if it could be called that.  A pair of dark blue high waisted skinny jeans with a short sleeve gray crop top fit comfortably on me.  I finished it off with my usual black stilettos to give my height a boost.

"They just pulled in." Denise informed me.  We were inside the octagon ring that Remy and Callum would fight in come Saturday night.  The girls were lined up neatly, thirty of them to give the men some options.  I felt bad for them.  They were all beautiful, but soon twenty of them would go home feeling like less than when they walked in.

I took a second to brush my fingers through my long hair and comb it to how I wanted it to lay.  I was glad when Kit didn't walk in, that meant no Emily.  Instead Amon, John, and Remy walked in with their chests puffed out and sunglasses on.

I took the initiative to stand up and walk to them to be hospitable.  "Nice to see you guys again." I greeted John and Amon.  "I don't believe we've had the pleasure yet, I'm Luna James." I held out my hand for the ruggedly handsome man in front of me.  The Percevals had amazing genes in their family.

He took it gently and shook.  "Nice to meet you, Miss James." There was a shared look between the brothers that had me ill at ease.  "I'm Remy Perceval.  I hear you have something for me to look at today." He let go and smirked knowingly while clapping his hands together.  I wanted nothing more than to roll my eyes or cringe but I fought the temptation.

"I do.  If you want to come this way I have thirty girls that I think will suffice." I showed him the way.

"You look lovely today, Luna." John's voice carried behind me. 

"Thank you." I replied with genuine gratitude.  So far he was the only one of the three that I could stand.

"Ladies," Remy swaggered into the ring cocksure. 

They all were giddy to be on display for the young athlete.  They were scantily clad in bikinis and underwear to give a glimpse of how they would look in the outfits Remy would choose for them.  My pity disappeared when I saw how ditzy and eager they were to please this stranger based off his celebrity status.

Squeals of excitement went up the closer he got to them.  "I wish I could keep all of you." He held his arms out to them all and they jumped up and down like children. 

I couldn't stand to watch him any longer.  Amon was watching me closely out of the corner of my eye to see my next move.  I walked over and took my seat by Denise who was holding a clipboard with a list of the women's names and basic information.

As I expected, Amon took a seat beside me uncomfortably close.  I chose to ignore our new proximity to one another and looked stoicly ahead.  "Denise will call the girls up, give you their name and age, and then you can mark down which ones you'd like called back to the stage afterwards.  After that the ball is in your court." I wasn't the slightest bit upset that I wasn't going to have to show the girls how to walk to the ring behind an egotistical fighter.

"Fair enough." Remy licked his lips and sat forward.

Denise cleared her throat.  "Amber Walker." She announced.  A girl around my age stepped forward and spun around in her heels barely clothed.  "Age twenty-three."

Remy looked like he was about to drool.  "Danielle Rodriguez.  Age thirty."

"Luna," I sighed upon hearing his voice in my ear.  "I wanted to apologise for Monday."

I pursed my lips together.  "For pretending not to know who I was or for sexually harassing me?"

He grimaced at the response I gave him.  "Both."

I nodded and continued to listen to Denise announce names.  "Fiona Slask.  Age twenty-five."

Amon leaned in his arm rest.  "I'm serious.  I acted like an ass in front of my father and I shouldn't have.  And as for the, that," he nodded his head to my legs that I promptly crossed under his gaze, "I don't know what I was thinking.  I guess I just was trying to flirt with you, but I went about it the wrong way."

"You think?" I scoffed as another few girls were walking back to the locker room to await the news.

"Look I'm trying to apologise.  I was an ass." He tried again, but my attention was no longer in him.

"What the fuck!" Remy had jumped up from his seat and glared at the entrance. My eyes followed his until they landed on what he'd seen.

"Dia duit my friend!" I put a hand on my eyes and dropped in my seat.  Callum strolled in alone without his assistant or manager.  He let himself into the ring and immediately walked over to my side.  Before he could reach the spare chair beside me, Remy had his hands twisted into the fabric of his shirt. I jumped up with Denise, wondering what we'd even be able to do if a fight broke out.

"Hey!" I yelled.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Remy growled into his face.  The two were level with one another in height and weight it appeared.  Even with a man as rough as Remy, Callum was smiling and cocky.  Amon and John slowly rose from their seats to be ready in case they were needed.

"Relax mate, I'm not here for you." He ripped his hands away and tossed him back like he was nothing.  Remy went to tackle him, but John wrapped his arms around his torso and held him back.  Denise gave me a frightened look.  If a fight broke out here before Saturday, it was ultimately our responsibility.

"Enough!" He bellowed in a deep voice.  Remy struggled to get free but I'd seen enough.  Just before John's grip began to slip I stalked over and stood firmly between the two with my hands on my hips.  Remy wrenched out of his brother's hold and flew across the ring with his fist raised.  His eyes widened when he realized I had blocked his way.  Amon reached out and grabbed him just in time to swing his body back so he wouldn't collide with mine.

"That's quite enough!" I sternly shouted.  "I'm too young to be your mother and I'm too tired to be your referee." I dropped my hands to my side and swiveled around.  "I get it.  You two are born and bred fighters.  But there are other things in life than beating the shit out of someone.  I don't know the history between you two, but I do know a little something about business.  I can tell you right now that I'm about to call off this deal.  You come into my building and start a fight on my floor." I pointed at Callum and saw the wounded look hidden behind his smug features.  "You show up drooling over these women like they're meals and instigate a fight right in front of me!" I took a step towards Remy and looked him right in his piercing blue eyes.

John moved closer and gave Amon a nervous glance. Remy, however, didn't show the same sense of regret as Callum.  "You can't talk to me like that." He sneered and Amon let him go.

I felt Callum get closer behind me when Remy took another step forward.  "I can and I did.  I'm not going to deal with you two fighting anytime we have to be around each other." My hands found their way back to my hips.

He laughed at me.  His eyes looked me up and down with an indescribable intent.  "You're no bigger around than my right leg.  I could snap you in half."

Callum's calloused hand protectively rested on my shoulder and I could only imagine the glare he was sending his opponent.  Amon and John both reached out to put their hands on his back, reminding him of what he was doing.  "Is that a threat?" I didn't care how big he was, I stepped up until we were inches apart and looked up into his eyes without fear.

"That's enough Remington." John tugged lightly on his shirt but he didn't budge.

"Trust me princess," he craned his neck down so his hot breath blew into my face, "you'll know when I threaten you."

I narrowed my eyes.  I felt a rush of heat overtake my body and before I knew it my hand was in the air flying towards his face.  He saw it coming and his eyes lit up with anticipation.  I felt Callum's hand grip my arm and stop it midswing.  "Whoa let's settle down there darlin'."

I huffed and turned away in disgust.  "You're all excused to the locker room.  Denise will give you a call back tonight." The girls shuffled out with disappointment written clearly on their faces.  Denise was gaping at us from across the ring.

I stomped over to my things and snatched them up.  "I'll see you Saturday, Dee." She nodded with her mouth still open.

"Wait, Luna," John calmly put a hand up to slow me.  "Tensions are high, but I think if we all just take a breath we can finish this."

I felt bad for him.  He was obviously the only one with common sense.  "John, you seem like such a sweet guy, but I'm sorry.  I think it's best if  this all gets handled through phone conferences. I came here as a favor to my parents, not to be a babysitter."

Amon put both hands on my arms to still me and the anger flurried within my very core.  "Luna, I'm sorry for my brother.  He gets a little hot headed before a fight.  Please, let's just-"

"Get your hands off me.  Now." I seethed.

"Luna," his hands stayed in place.

"She said to leave her be." I recognized the accent behind me.  For once I was glad to have the Irishman at my back.

Remy stood with his arms folded and a smirk resting on his bearded face.  "I wasn't talking to you." Amon shot him a warning glance.

Callum laughed at his flustered state.  "Move." I shoved past him, ignoring all of them behind me.  I prayed that I wouldn't trip over my heels in my haste, not with all of them watching.  I sped up and pushed open the heavy metal doors to the parking lot.

I made it halfway across until I heard the door open again.  Despite my better judgement I turned to see who was following me.  Callum was walking fast to me.  His sunglasses covered his eyes but I could see his jaw set in determination as he drew nearer.  "Before you leave and yell at me to go away just let me say one thing." He put his hands up and stepped carefully up to me.

I folded my arms.  "What?" Impatience seared my question.

"I had a plan." He stated simply and began to lower his hands.

"And was that to barge inside the arena and into a fist fight with three men?  Because if so then I think you almost nailed it." I made to leave again but he took a hasty step and grabbed my arm.  He must have seen the resentment in my eyes because he let go and held his hands up again.

"I'm sorry." He apologized quickly.  "My plan was to show up and prove to you that I could be around him without fighting.  I know that got a little out of hand, but can you honestly say that I did any fighting?" He queried and I took a breath.

"Well, no, not really." I answered honestly.

He looked relieved to hear me say that.  "Honestly I was just trying to have a redo at a first impression.  I know those don't exist, but I just wanted to show you that I can function as a normal human being." I noticed for the first time that he wasn't wearing his casual attire like he had before.  He was wearing an expensive light blue suit with white pinstripes.  His brown leather shoes were polished to perfection along with his hair.  I caught a glimpse of a thick gold watch on his left wrist.  He had put in the effort to look nice and make a point and I felt the need to see it. 

The door opened behind us and Amon stood in the distance, watching our interaction.  "And what was in your plans after you managed to control your temper?" I raised one brow.

He smiled.  "Easy." His body relaxed some.  "After Remy named the girls he wanted I was going to jump in and announce that you were the most beautiful of them all and ask you out tomorrow night."

I tried to stifle my laughter but it didn't work. I brought my hands up to cup around my mouth as the sound of my cackling echoed through the parking lot.  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I tried to catch my breath, "that's just so corny!" I held my stomach.

He was laughing with me and scratched the back of his head.  "Yeah, I'm not too disappointed it didn't happen that way.  In my defense I thought that on the drive over and didn't have anyone to bounce the idea off of." My gaze shifted to Amon.  He couldn't possibly hear what we were saying from across the parking lot but he stood there with a distasteful appearance.

"Maybe next time you can call Jack." I suggested cheekily.

"Hopefully there won't be a need for that." He spoke lowly.

I bit the inside of my cheek.  "Tell me something.  When you see a pretty girl that you want, what do you do to get to her?" I was curious to hear his answer.  A man like him could get anyone he wanted. 

"I tell them I'm Callum MacBrady."

"That's it?" I couldn't believe him.

"That's it." He shrugged.  "But," I was hoping he'd fix it up, "you aren't just some pretty girl I met in a pub.  I knew the first day I saw you that you needed more than the average woman." He moved closer.   "You are anything but average aren't you?" It was impossible for me to hide the way my chest rose and fell with his closeness.

I had an undeniable attraction to him.  He was gruff and abrasive, but he was a man's man.  The way he carried himself, his mannerisms, his confidence, he was just my type but I couldn't let him know so easily.

"What do you mean by that?" I played along. 

He reached out and toyed with a strand of my hair.  "Go out with me tomorrow night and find out."

"Man, you're good." I reitterated from before. He said nothing, just smiled and continued to play with my hair.  For the first time I was close enough to see every little imperfection.  His eyes were a deep dark chocolate brown and held tiny wrinkles around the corners from laughing throughout his life.  There were small scars around his cheekbones presumably from being hit so many times. His beard was neatly trimmed over his pink lips and shaved on his neck to give him a rugged yet clean cut look.  I could smell his cologne and let my eyes close for just a second to take in the feel of his fingers in my hair and the scent of him.

"My father once told me that if a woman was amazing, that she would be hard to get.  But life is short, and I know a good woman when I see one.  I don't want to waste time pretending we both aren't attracted to each other just to build up the chase.  I want to dive in headfirst without testing the water." He let my hair fall and stepped back to see my reaction. 

I had to forcibly open my eyes before he could notice the effect he gave me.  "Seven?" It was all my mind could think to say.

"Seven." He confirmed happily.  "I'll pick you up."

Amon was crossing the parking lot with a new vigor that was frightening to see.  "I, uh-"

"That's my queue to leave.  See you tomorrow night." I wasn't given a chance to say goodbye.  He slipped around me and slid inside of his charcoal gray Mercedes.  He made sure to look directly at Amon with his glasses lifted up before speeding away.

"Hey!" Amon caught up to me, but I spun around on my heel and took long strides to my car.  "Luna!" He shouted.

I reached the little blue Mitsubishi and opened the door.  I almost had it wide enough to fit inside when Amon nearly slammed my hand in it.  "What the fuck!" I shoved his hand away and reopened the door.  "Who do you think you are?" I screamed. 

"You can't go out with him." He commanded like a father.

"Excuse you?  Back up." I threw my things inside the front seat.  His arm barred the way.  "I said back up!" He didn't move.

"That guy is an asshole.  You don't want to date him.  Trust me." He warned and received a scoff from me.

"Listen." I slammed my door shut and pushed forward.  "I met you last Saturday at a club.  We danced one time, and if I'm being honest, I don't even know why or how that happened.  You show up here with your dick of a brother and bitch of a stepmom and expect me to be okay with your arrogant self entitled attitude.  Well fuck you and the rest of your family!" I shoved him with both hands.  His body was solid and didn't move an inch, but his hands shot up and grabbed my wrists.

I gasped at the sudden contact.  "I wouldn't advise talking about my family like that." He pushed my hands down and away from him.

I covered my shock at his change in behavior.  "You don't scare me." I lied and pushed a finger at his rock hard chest.  "I'll be damned if I sit with your backwards disrespectful family on Saturday night.  You can all go to hell." I turned to leave and was yanked back.  His hand clamped down on my left wrist and whirled me around but I was fast.  I spun with my right hand open and landed a loud slap across his face.

He let go of me and reached for his face in surprise.  The look in his eyes told me he hadn't expected that.  I refused to stay around him any longer.  With that I got into my car, locked the doors, and shoved my key in the engine.  It roared to life and I didn't hesitate to throw it into gear and race out of there.  The image of him in the rearview was all that was left.

My phone ringing brought me out of my stupor and forced me to slow down.  Denise's name flashed across the screen.  "Denise." I answered.

"Where did you go?" She shrieked into the phone.

"I had to get out of there, I'm sorry.  Did it get awakward when I left?" I felt bad for rushing out so fast and leaving her alone with the brutish men.

"Kind of.  I'm actually hiding in the bathroom right now." She sighed.

"Oh no, what happened?" I slowed down more and turned left towards my house.

"Well after you left, Callum and Amon left.  Then John and Remy got into a fight and John ended up with a bloody nose."

"Jesus," I groaned with guilt for ditching her.

"I ran out and hid in here while they were fighting, but the gist of it was that I think they were fighting about you."

"Me?" I asked perplexed.  I could see Amon and Callum maybe doing that but not John and Remy.  "Why do you say that?"

I could hear the sound of her coming closer to the phone and cupping her hand around the microphone.  "John was screaming at Remy about leaving you alone and letting Amon handle it.  Whatever it was.  And then they started pushing each other and John threw Remy across the ring.  Like all the way across the ring.  It was crazy!" She whispered in a rush.

"What the hell?" I pulled into the driveway and shut the car off.  "I'm going to call my parents in the morning and tell them I can't do this.  There shouldn't be any drama and that's all there's been ever since those two started doing business with us." I decided and slammed the car door shut.  I kicked my heels off and gathered them in my hand.  My barefeet padded inside the enormous manor house.

No one was home for the night.  I dismissed the help at six unless told otherwise so that nights like these I could relax in peace.

"Oh shit." Denise's muffled voice on the line caught my attention.

"What?"

I heard the creaking of the old metal door opening on her end.  "Someone's coming. I thought I sent all the girls home.  I've got to go." The line went dead before I could tell her to call me if she needed anything.

I stuffed the phone into my purse and sighed.  Suddenly all I wanted to do was take a long bubble bath and have a bottle of vodka.  I wasn't much of a drinker but tonight I felt the need to unwind a little.

I made my way through my home and into the kitchen.  The bar in the back was always stocked in case of guests or bad days.  I grabbed a small bottle of grey goose and some ice out of the freezer.  Decanters and glasses littered a China hutch near the pantry.  I chose a crystal glass and dropped three cubes of ice inside, setting my shoes on the counter to do so.  I poured two ounces of the vodka in and finished it off with some orange juice in the fridge.  The first sip was the worst.  I hated the burn, but I took the rest of the drink in three big gulps and made another. 

This time I carried the drink with the bottle upstairs to my room, in case I needed more.  The thought crossed my mind to call Alex, but I settled on being alone for the night to calm my mind.

My room had been cleaned while I was away and everything organized.  I walked into the bathroom and set the drinks down on the counter while I started a bath in the jacuzzi.  A long soak under the bubbles with the jets massaging my body was just what I needed.

As soon as the steam rose from the faucet I began to discard all of my clothing.  I flicked the pile with my foot to the corner of the bathroom and grabbed my drink.  I sunk into the bath as it filled and took a sip.  I wouldn't be in bed for hours from now and with everything I had seen in decided it was the perfect time to do a little research of my own.