Tapout (The Submission Fighter Book 3) by Sophia Hampton Read Free Book Online Page A

And I’m sorry we're just bringing this back up for you. But I think we’re close. What you said in there and the call that came in, it’s gonna put us a step closer. I cannot make promises or tell you much more, but I think you should save my number. I’m gonna be calling you soon.”
     
    She turned her head to look up at him. His dim brown eyes were worse for wear. But he smiled, as he took her hand once more to shake it. He hastily said his goodbyes and then left her sitting alone on the bench outside the interview room.
     
    Alice took out her cell phone once more and placed her first call to Jeffrey to instruct him that she was ready to be picked up. Then, she searched her messages from Micah. Nothing.
     
    When he had left her that morning to head off for his twelve hours of grueling gym time, he had seemed concerned for her, almost upset that she would put herself through impossible leads and a revisiting of her attack. He had urged her not to go, to let the case grow cold, at least for her emotional sake. But she had promised that she would be alright, that this would be routine and would only take a small amount of time. She swore to call when she was done.
     
    Alice had hoped that when she had not called him in over three hours that he would show some concern, but her phone was blank. Nothing from Micah whatsoever. She called him instead, figuring that the message would go straight to voicemail, considering he was supposed to be at the lap pool. When she heard his voice, cool as ice, answer, she stumbled, “It’s me.”
     
    “What’s wrong?” He whispered into the receiver, yet she could hear the soft, elevator style music in the background. It was a far cry from the booming bass she was used to hearing whenever she caught him at the gym. A woman’s voice laughed heartily near to wherever he was.
     
    Alice began to get goose pimples. Something was not right. “Where are you?” she asked, not bothering to be polite about it.
     
    “I’m out to brunch with a business associate.” The sound of the woman laughed again, muddling the end of Micah’s explanation. “ C an I call you back in a couple of hours or later this afternoon? I’m really busy.”
     
    He didn’t wait for Alice to give consent. Instead, she heard the click of her phone call as it ended and the complete silence from the other side.
     

Chapter 6: Commitment to Your Craft
     
    Lucy Hamlin sat across the table from Micah. Her boisterous, confident laugh floated throughout the nearly empty restaurant, as she playfully touched Chris’s leg. He had just finished praising her for all the good things she had done for his friend during his career. Frankly, she couldn’t remember a thing about the client he was speaking of, but she still wanted to come off as humble as she was confident. Plus, it never hurt to flirt a bit with a potential client’s head coach. She knew that they pulled all the strings.
     
    From the corner of her eye, she watched Micah, studying him as he turned his back to answer his cell phone. He was as handsome as she had thought—the perfect fighting specimen. If she wasn’t so interested in her commission and fees, she would not mind pursuing something with him herself.
     
    But she knew better. Her own beauty had gotten her in trouble before. Long-lined, curvy figure, with perky breasts, in her earlier days as a rookie agent, she had allowed herself to get wrapped up in men like Micah. It only backfired, leaving her with less money and some broken hearts. Instead, she turned cold. While she still used her figure to get what she wanted, she was there for one thing, and one thing only: business—the business of Micah Anderson.
     
    Lucy had made her fortune and her reputation on managing the careers of athletes just like Micah: young, rebellious, and headstrong to a fault. What she saw in the man listening quietly to the woman on the other end of his phone call was not the impassable, off putting man that he