Fight for This

Chapter Two

AINSLEY

"Alright, I'm back, with minutes to spare. You done being pissy?"

I turned around, unsurprised to find Lloyd leaning against the bar right behind me. He'd snuck up on me, probably hoping to spook me—the guy was scary silent, and took a lot of pleasure in sneaking around. He never managed to startle me as much as he wanted to, though. He might've been quiet, but I heard everything.

"No," I replied curtly, but my blooming smile ruined it.

Lloyd smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, what did you need me so urgently for?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. I was just fucking with you."

He sighed loudly, but didn't seem too upset by that. "Figures."

I shot him a look. "What? Were you enjoying having your ass handed to you?"

"Not particularly." He snorted. "Fine, I'm not too upset you pulled me outta there. Hart was about five seconds away from stomping my face in."

I doubted kicking a man when he was down was Tristan's style, but didn't comment on that. Just like I never commented on Tristan.

Even though I didn't say anything, Lloyd wasn't dumb. He must've caught the look on my face.

"So? Are you still playing hard to get?"

"Hard to get?" I frowned at Lloyd.

I wasn't playing anything because I didn't have time for games—or for relationships, for that matter. And that was why I avoided Tristan Hart like the plague. I barely knew the guy, but I'd seen enough to know that he was the real deal. The kind of guy that once you were in, you couldn't just walk away from. And I couldn't put myself in that type of situation. Toby and I needed to be ready to pick up and leave at a moment notice; there was no room for connection of any kind.

He held up his hands defensively, reminding me of the stance he'd taken in the ring with Tristan. "Sorry. Don't get all butt-hurt. I was just fucking with you, too."

I relaxed. I deserved that. Lloyd might've worked for Toby and me, but he was the closest thing to a friend that I had. And we'd spent the past four years relentlessly messing with each other. It was a game we played hard and a game we played well.

"Maybe you're not playing with him," Lloyd went on when she didn't say anything. "But he's certainly interested in going a few rounds with you."

"Oh?" I forced the burst of excitement down. "Well, hopefully he gets used to playing with himself."

Lloyd sputtered, my comment taking him by surprise.

I couldn't help but smile. "That was good, right?"

"You usually are." He was still laughing quietly when he peeled himself away from the bar. "Alright, I'm going to start setting up tables. You wouldn't, by chance, be interested in helping me, would you?"

"No chance of that," I said, picking up a dish rag so I could wipe down the perpetually sticky counter.

"Figures. Let me do all the grunt work." He rolled his eyes at me as he hopped over the bar.

I tossed the rag at him, catching him square in the face. "I hate to be the one to tell you, Lloyd, but you are the grunt."

"That's low," he said, but he was smiling as he threw the towel back.

I caught it in the air and dropped it onto the counter.

"I've got some paperwork to fill out. I'll be in Toby's office if anyone needs me," I said as he started pulling the tables out from against the walls.