“Medicinal my ass.”
“Quit talking back to me, you ungrateful little shit. If it weren’t for me, you and Red would never have made it this far.” Bob produced another fat roll from the inside of his pocket. It was clear that any attempt I made to dissuade his habit —medicinal or otherwise— wasn’t going to work. “They said I was crazy for taking you on. That both of you are too old. Already peaked and on the decline. I’d be careful how you talk to me, Cash.”
“Just tell me where the hell you’ve been,” I snapped. “We deserve answers.”
“I told you. I was taking care of business. The details aren’t your concern.”
“We need you in our corner, Bob. Not missing for weeks on end without so much as a phone call. We were genuinely worried that you weren’t going to show at all.”
“I’m here now, aren’t I?” He lit up right in front of me, the smoke stifling. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to get high off his fumes.
If the officials from the UFC decided they wanted a drug test from me prior to my fight, I’d be screwed.
“Put that out,” I demanded. “I can’t breathe that shit in.”
“Why do you think I told you to take a few laps?”
Irritation gnawed at the base of my neck. This man was infuriating. If he was anyone else, I would have stopped him from smoking by force if I had to.
It was disrespectful. To me, to the gym’s owner, to the one or two other folks here trying to get their own workout in. For a moment, I briefly considered calling the cops on him. Possession of weed in the state of Utah was classified as a misdemeanor, but I couldn’t risk burning bridges. Not now. N ot when Red and I were so damn close.
I was caught between a rock and a hard place. All I had to do was win my debut. Once we got our names out there, I was sure the offers would come rolling in.
A better team, more contracts. Once victory was ours, Red and I could finally kick Bob to the curb and move on to bigger and better things.
I headed out the door and into the rain, running laps at Bob’s insistence.
At least the air was nice and fresh out here.
I bit my tongue and fought through the throbbing pain in my knee.