Page 78 of Mean Machine

“Yes, I saw the press conference.” His reserved tone jarred Brooklyn. “Are you all right?”

“Didn’t I look all right?”

“No, you looked stunning. Hold a moment.” Then, to somebody else, the phone slightly muffled because he must have placed a hand on it: “Home, please.”

Brooklyn waited until the sound had changed enough that he was reasonably sure Nathaniel had settled in the car. “Isn’t it, like, almost midnight?”

“We’re about to go to court with this case…. I’ve had, I think, three hours of sleep last night, and I don’t expect much more tonight, to be honest.”

“How do they expect such high performance from you guys when you’re not looking after yourselves properly?”

“The opposition will be the same. It’s a different kind of blood sport, I guess.” Nathaniel chuckled.

“Somebody bloodies your nose and I’ll rip them apart.”

Nathaniel laughed softly. “Oh, a few of the colleagues know I’m dating a heavyweight boxer, so that’s helpful. Though the judge is unlikely to be impressed by any of that. I don’t think she follows sports much.”

“Even she’ll know you’re dating the unified world title holder. From tomorrow.”

“My fingers are crossed. Eric has sorted out the boxing channel subscription. I’ll have to record it—but he’ll call me if anything dramatic happens.”

“How’s Hazel?”

“Doing really well. My mother took her to a petting zoo, and now she’s obsessed with rabbits and pigs. I think we’ll soon have the nanny look after some rabbits too. I do draw the line at pigs, I think.”

“Wise choice.” Brooklyn grinned. “You know I miss you, don’t you?”

“God, yes.” Nathaniel lowered his voice. “I’m sorry I can’t be there. I’m not sure what good I’d be, because I’d likely be much more nervous than you are, but I’d try to be there for you if you need me.”

If you need me.That could be read sexually, emotionally, and maybe in the “growing old together” way. Hearing Nathaniel say it warmed him and put a grin on his face.

“I do need you, but this is fine. I mean, I’d show you Madison Square Garden, where so much boxing history got written. Rocky Marciano finished Joe Louis’s career here, before he became champion, and two of Ali’s three fights against Frazier.”

“Maybe we can go on vacation in New York when all of this is over. I’ve never been to New York.”

“Well, you’ve been in Brooklyn.”

Nathaniel nearly choked on the next breath. “Well played.”

Brooklyn grinned and reached over to stop the running water. “Good luck with the case.”

“I take single-minded focus and preparation over luck any day, but I covered those angles.” Nathaniel moved again—the sound around him was now more contained, so he had to be indoors. “What about you? How are you going to spend the last evening before the fight?”

“A bath now, a massage after that. I have to rehydrate, get some water weight back on. Order something to the room, watch telly. Look out over the city. The view from here is quite something.”

“I guess you can’t easily go out and catch a show on Broadway or similar?”

“Joseph wants me to stay focused. But tomorrow, all bets are off.”

“I think you deserve a break.” Nathaniel chuckled. “Will you come back right after?”

“First plane out, I promise.”

“Great. I’ll have the victory party ready.”

“We can have one together?”

“Oh, my thing will drag out a while longer. Right, I really need to go to bed; very early start tomorrow again. Thanks for the call, Brooklyn. You be safe, enjoy the city, and finish that big Yankee in the first round, ideally.”