Page 19 of False Comeback

“Alright,” he barked. “Burke, Crossbody, in the ring. Let’s go.”

A stab of vicious satisfaction shot through me when I saw Vince stiffen and go a little pale. I made sure to keep my gait calm and measured as I headed for the ring without a word of protest.

If anyone caused a scene here, it would not be me. It never was.

“I haven’t warmed up yet,” Vince said stiffly, fidgeting with his water bottle by the counter.

Hogbody snorted. “Then get in the ring and do some fucking stretches. You should be ready to go, Burke. Hurry the fuck up.”

I couldn’t stop myself from flashing him a tiny smirk as he gritted his teeth and stalked over. When I saw Corey watching me, I quickly smoothed out my expression.

Hogbody gestured to the orc. “Corey is going to stay and watch the rehearsal, seeing as apparently my wrestlers are a bunch of unruly fucking schoolchildren who can’t control themselves in the ring.” He looked up and glared at us with his beady eyes as Vince reluctantly climbed into the ring and stood as far away from me as possible. “If this turns into another goddamn screaming match like before, I’m taking you both out of the line-up.”

“It won’t, Boris,” Corey said as he strolled closer and crossed his arms, eyeing us both sternly. “Will it, you two?”

“Of course it won’t,” I said smoothly. “I would never scream at any of my colleagues. And at no point in the past have I.”

Vince shot me a seething look as he pulled his arm across his chest to stretch it, then shook out his hands.

Hogbody snorted and looked down at his clipboard. “Let’s get on with it, then. Rolling Rimmer wins the match, so I thought we could finish with a—”

“What?” I snarled before I could stop myself, my hands clenching into fists.

Vince huffed in amusement. I could hear the smirk in his voice when he muttered, “Nice.”

“What do you mean he wins?” I snapped at Hogbody. That wasn’t what Holt and I had agreed. This was utter horseshit.

Hogbody shrugged, eyeing me oddly. “That’s what Holt wants.”

I was vibrating with fury. Holt was such a sneaky little fuck. I’d already signed the paperwork for that ridiculous brand deal with FAE BOYZ.

“Is there a problem, High Lord?” Corey asked me pointedly.

I exhaled a hissing breath and forced my hands to unclench.

“No,” I gritted out. “Of course not.”

Hogbody snorted and barked, “So shut the fuck up and let me finish.”

A muscle ticked in my jaw as I crossed my arms, and I couldn’t stop myself from shooting Vince a scowl. He smirked back at me.

“As I was goddamn saying, I thought we could finish with Burke’s Rim Jab, which makes Crossbody stumble—”

“No,” I blurted again, heat crawling up my neck. “No. He’s not doing that move on me.”

Maybe I hadn’t thought this all the way through.

I refused to allow Vince’s hideously long tongue anywhere near my… near me there. Absolutely not.

“It’s his signature move,” Hogbody snapped impatiently. “The crowd expects it.”

“No.” I shook my head jerkily. “It’s so undignified. It’s not happening.”

“Aw, come on, Crossbody,” Vince drawled, clearly loving this. The prick. “You’re being a little difficult.”

“The crowd can handle one match without it,” I told Hogbody, ignoring him.

The pig shifter yanked his cigar out of his mouth and pointed at me with it. “You’re the wrestler, I’m the fucking coach. If I say it’s going to happen, it’s going to fucking happen. Pull that stick out of your ass, Crossbody. Do your fucking job.”