Ty was walking by at that moment. “Your key is at the front desk. Ask Linc.”
Ty was a smart kid; he was quick to realize that Ria was off limits from now on. Nick had wanted to break his arms when he’d seen them around Ria. Then he had become angry at himself. Since when had he ever felt possessive about a woman?
“Okay, let’s go,” Nick said to her, taking her arm as they walked to the front of the gym.
“Hey, Linc, got the key?” Nick asked the man sitting at the front desk.
“Sure thing.” Linc handed over the key and then turned to Ria. “Looks like you’re feeling better. Glad you’re up and about.”
“Thank you,” Ria replied with a smile.
Nick was looking down at her, thinking her smile was beautiful; it brightened her whole face. Right then, he wanted to see more of it.
They walked outside where Nick led her to his car, opening the door for her to get in. As he slid into the driver’s seat, he couldn’t help noticing her long legs as she tugged that damn short skirt down. He was going to find a way to get her to leave the bar. He didn’t want her dressing like that unless she was with him.
“Where’s your car?”
“Do you know where Good Times is?”
“What the hell are you doing there?” Nick was pissed, thinking about how sleazy that place was known to be.
“It’s a job!” Ria snapped back.
“I refuse to believe that’s the only job you could find. You went from an EMT to a waitress in that shithole?”
“I needed something fast. I couldn’t afford to spend a lot of time on interviews. I need money to live. Not everyone has millions in the bank like you do!” Ria retorted.
Nick watched her cross her arms and stare out the window. She was right; he hadn’t needed to worry about money for as long as he could remember. With prize money and all the endorsement deals, he had more money than he could have possibly imagined. He had to admit to himself that he didn’t know what it felt like to be tight for cash.
“I can get you a better job than that,” Nick stated.
“I take the paramedic test at the end of next week. I’ll quit as soon as I get a job,” Ria replied. “But it would be a big help if you called the administrator at the hospital. I probably won’t be able to get my job back, but at least I’ll have references.”
Nick recalled her saying she was going to look for a job in another city. That wasn’t going to work for him. He had to get her out of his system first.
“Are you going to apply for jobs in town?” Nick asked casually.
“I will, but I doubt I’ll get any offers. There’s just not that many jobs available and they’ve already filled my position.” He could hear the frustration in her voice.
“I was an ass that night, sorry. I’m not used to losing; I guess I was trying to get the attention of a beautiful woman to make up for it.”
“You got my attention when you got me fired,” she stated while still staring out the window.
“What?” He had no idea what she was talking about.
She turned to glare at him. “What in the hell do you think I’ve been talking about? When you complained to the administrator at the hospital about my behavior, he called my boss. I was fired the next morning.”
“Are you kidding me? I didn’t complain about you being rude. I thought you were a smartass, and I was pissed you weren’t interested, but I didn’t say shit to the administrator.” Nick frowned, remembering back to that night.
He had called his father to come pick him up. Shit! His father. He had told his father what had happened, laughing it off. Apparently, his father hadn’t thought it had been so amusing.
He should have known his father would complain. He wanted to keep Nick’s life smooth—hell, he still managed his money for him. He didn’t want any distractions in Nick’s life. The only reason his dad kept his nose out of Nick’s dating life was because the women never lasted long.
“Ria, I’ve been training and fighting my whole life. It’s my world, and I’ve only been around people that appreciate and enjoy the sport. You’re the first person that I’ve encountered that didn’t like it. I was surprised. I also thought it was interesting, that it made you different.” He quickly followed up with, “Different in a good way. But I didn’t open my mouth to that administrator.
“I told my dad, and he must have been the one to complain. I’m sorry. He sometimes goes too far while looking out for me,” he said softly.
He looked down her body, catching a glimpse of her breasts at the V of her shirt, before he admired her sexy, long legs that would feel good wrapped around his waist.