Page 14 of King of Hearts

“The rig’s not the problem. I have an interview today with a journalist.” I complained and Seb barked a laugh.

“Unlucky, bro. That’s why you get paid the big bucks.” He bantered and I ran my hand down my face in frustration.

“Absolute bullshit. Going to need to let off steam after for sure.”

“Come to boxing with Cooper and I tonight? Although word of the wise, he won’t go easy on you.”

“Howisthat crazy bastard? He hasn’t replied in the chat for a bit. Tied up with a new woman?” I asked. Cooper was a good mate but I didn’t speak to him as often as I did Seb. Most of our text thread consisted of me asking when I could grab more of his whiskey – which was bloody good and him piling shit on me about a press release or a loss.

“Work is keeping him busy too, I think.” He answered. “But a woman would probably be good for him.” He muttered before sighing. Cooper owned and operated Golden Spades Whiskey Distillery and it was one of the biggest in the country. Like Seb, he built his business off his own back and was a one man show, which meant our monthly night was often the only time we got to catch up properly.

“We will both be there on Monday though.” He added quickly. “Let me chase him later today. He has been off grid the last couple of weeks.” Both he and Seb were solid blokes, but like the rest of us, I knew they had their demons and off-grid was never a good sign for Cooper especially if his past was anything to go off.

“Anything I can do to help?” I asked. There was an underlying ruthlessness to Coop and when Seb’s groan came through the phone, I paused. “You sure it’s work, or…” I waited for his reply, knowing he wouldn’t speak if he didn’t want to say too much. The last time Cooper had gone missing in action was a couple of years back and the people he was involved with were questionable at best. If his silence was any indication of this, it was taking its toll on Sebastian too. Seb was a man of his word and his devotion to his family was unwavering. To him, Cooper was family, so it was no surprise he kept his cards close to his chest when he thought something wasn’t right.

“Not sure. Will keep you posted if I need anything, yeah?” The farewell in his tone was enough to know he had it handled for now.

“I’ll shoot a text once we get off the phone. You know where I am.” I said before ending the call and opening the group chat where we usually organised our catch ups.

Andy:7:00 pm Monday – no excuses, boys.

Sebastian:See you then.

Jack:Looking forward to taking all your money.

Andy:Whatever, dickhead.

Cooper:I’ll be there.

I nodded satisfactorily when Cooper replied, knowing Sebastian would be relieved too. Most of the time you saw him he had a larger-than-life smile on his face and was the first to whip you into line with a cocky joke or banter. But the rumours of his younger days were enough of a reminder that he was once involved in some pretty dark shit in the underground fighting world. The more concerning part was his success rate, especially given who some of his alleged opponents were. It was safe to say, I was glad we were mates and while the distillery meant he was busy and focused, it never stopped Seb worrying something would pull him back.

Sebastian:Cheers, bro.

I acknowledged his message with a thumbs up and grabbed the rest of my things before heading to the clubhouse for training. I would call to check-in later and drop through the distillery if Seb thought it would help. For now, it was business as usual which meant a heavy day of training and another meeting with my interviewer.

“Why the hell won’t this sit straight?” Aggressively adjusting his tie, Kieran watched himself in the mirror of the change rooms. It didn’t matter where he was going, he always wore a suit and tie. He said you never knew who you would meet and it was always better to be overdressed than under. I thought he looked like a bag of dicks, given it was 33° and he was sweating as much as I was, although I had just spent two hours out on the field training.

“How’s the interview coming along, Andy? Derek has called me twice this week to ask when it will go live?”

I shook my head. With the way Pup dragged me away as soon as training ended, I thought it would be for something important.

“Tell Derek to fuck off. It’ll be done when it’s done.” I replied, wiping my face with a towel.

Sighing, Kieran turned to face me. “You know they just want publicity and do I need to remind you that it’s part of your contract.” He looked at me condescendingly.

Speaking through clenched teeth I refrained from telling him to shove the contract up his arse.

“I realise this. That’s why I’m doing my best to get it sorted. She couldn’t do much last time because she was sick or something. And Derek only cares about his pay cheque.” The prick was head of marketing and the biggest arsehat I’d ever met. He didn’t care about the players or their families, only about how much money the club made and how fat his wallet was as a result. Everyone had a role, but you could easily see who had the Hearts at the forefront and who only cared for themselves. Derek was the latter.

“Good session, Cap,” Jack said, walking towards the showers with Jay and one of the forwards, Smitty, and I raised my chin in thanks.

“Jay, I need to speak with you before you leave.” Pup said, addressing one of his other clients. He managed four of us from the team, but Jay made up a decent portion of his workload because of his inability to think before he spoke and hisI don’t give a fuckattitude.

Speaking of the cheery dickhead, Jay winked and started stripping off his clothes.

“Do you have to do that right here?” I said, turning back to face Pup before Jay could windmill me, which was his new favourite party trick.

“Of course. How else would I prove I’m top dog around here?”

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