The Elevator

by Morphme

Both have successful careers. Both having seemingly moved on for one another. Both, however, can't seem to run from their past. Especially when they are trapped with it inside of an elevator. Tommy and Kim are forced to face their past and their fears, opening old wounds that neither want to explore. But maybe, the past can heal the future both have been hoping for for so long.

2. Chapter 2

The Tape

Tommy

"C'mon, man. Give me a few more reps." Jason Scott said as I fought to catch my breath. I shot him a glare as I jogged a small circle in the ring. He was out to kill me today I think. We've been doing drills and practice hits for the last three hours. I literally felt like I had run a mile and my lungs were burning with each breath.

"Jase, it's a match. Not the end of the world." I panted. He smirked.

"Hey, you're the one who asked me to become your trainer. Now, let's go. Ten more." Groaning, I squared myself up with the punching bag he was holding and started to assault it, landing kick after kick in the small boxes taped on each side of it. I moved to the higher ones, stretching my legs out as far as they would go to bring my toes to the canvas. He counted out as I did, making them feel like an eternity. When he called out the number ten, I put everything into it that I had and fell back on the mat. I didn't move to get up either, closing my eyes and enjoying the moment to take a breather. "Good work, Tommy. I think that was a good warm up." My eyes popped open and I looked up at him.

"Warm up?" I asked, a slight crack in my voice. He laughed, holding out a hand to me.

"Just kidding. You're good for the day." I let out an unamused laugh before taking his hand. He helped me to my head where I shredded off my gloves. "You're in good form. I think you've got nothing to worry about in your match."

"Thanks, man. I still can't believe that they are thinking of giving me a shot at the title match." I shook my head, looking over at the rest of the guys who were practicing in the MMA gym. "There's a lot of talent here they could go with."

"Exactly but there's a lot of talent here too." He slapped me on the back. "You're the right choice. We're gonna keep working to prove to them you deserve this chance. Okay?" He asked. I nodded. "Good. Now go shower. You smell like a gym sock."

"I wonder why. My asshole trainer is a Nazi in disguise." I smirked at him before bending down to grab my water bottle on the edge of the ring. We had been lucky enough to get the full sized practice ring today. It was the same size of the actual octagon used in the televised events, ropes replacing the plexiglass barriers. It gave it more of a WWE feel than it did MMA but it allowed me to know just how much room I had to work with. In some cases, that can make or break a match. Around us, there were guys training in the smaller rings with their trainers. I could hear the yells coming from the women's section of the gym, telling me that some of them were here as well. It has been very busy here this past week with the upcoming pay-per-view event coming up this weekend. I know most of the people here were hoping to hone in on some of their skills, just like I was.

"I'm going to go check in with the rest of the team while you shower. I'll meet you up front." Jason said as I drained the bottle. He collected our training equipment and dragged it from the mat, putting it along the wall where it was supposed to be kept. Grabbing the disinfectant spray, he gave me a wave. I grabbed my towel that was hanging over one of the ropes and draped it over my neck before walking off towards the door that led to the locker room. My feet sank into the foam flooring that covered the gym, hoping to protect and preserve the equipment. It changed from that over to black tile as I went up the hallway. Music from the training rooms carried up towards me as I pushed the door of the locker room open. When the door shut behind me, the music was cut off instantly. The quiet room was welcomed, the large locker room emptied of other people. It was decorated in yellows, whites and blacks. On the right side of the room, there were black and gold floor to ceiling lockers. Wooden benches were set up in front of them, providing a place to sit. The black tile continued here, heading into the left side of the room. This was where the showers, sinks and toilets were. The stalls were black but the walls were white, tile going half way up them.

Walking over to my locker, I opened it. My reflection looked back at me from the little mirror that was on the door. Sweat was dripping from my hairline, my short locks soaked in sweat. My hair had grown a bit in the last couple of months, the pieces draping down in front of my eyes. I was going for a haircut tomorrow, wanting to look sharp for the event. Beads of sweat dripped down my bare chest and I wiped them away with the towel. I felt exhausted physically, thanks to Jason, but inside, I was charged up. Excitement mixed with nervousness as I thought about my fight. I would be facing off against Antonio Sapanaro, a nice guy from Italy that has been climbing up the MMA ranks the last year or so. I've met him before at some past events and here at the gym. He was around my age and seemed like he rather enjoyed the sport more than the fame that came with it. When my agent told me that I was going to be facing him for a chance at a title match at the next event, I was surprised. My agent said they were impressed with the changes I had made in the last two months. They weren't sure what it was but they told him that I should keep it up. That made a smirk cross my lips as I closed my locker and grabbed another towel from the towel rack on the wall. I headed towards the shower stalls, turning the first one on.

Two months ago, I came in and decided that a change was needed. I told my other trainer, Jon Jones, that he just wasn't cutting it for me any more. Maybe it was his style. Maybe it was our friendship. Majority of it was the fact he was plowing my wife. He didn't know that though. He just took it with stride and moved on to the next guy looking to train with the retired fighter. I called up my high school best friend, Jason, and asked if he was interested in a chance at becoming my trainer. He jumped at the chance and we've been training hard ever since. It hasn't been easy but it was the best move I could have made for my career. Jason's too. They've really liked the tactics he brings to the table and have been asked to help train the newer kids when he has the time. We've also been able to work on our friendship that we both let slip to the sidelines over the years. With him here training me, I've gotten to know not only him but also the rest of our circle again. It's been great reconnecting with my roots back home and being able to say I have real friends for a change.

Stepping under the water, I let out a sigh of content when the heat hit my sore muscles. The version of me from two months ago was nowhere near the amount of ready as I was. I was leaner, more in shape, and more agile in all sense of the word. I was also more aware of my career and the importance of taking it by the horns. Sure, I had done alright before but I didn't have any kind of caring in me for it. I just went through the motions with each fight, not worrying about what it would mean going forward. Now, I was making sure that each step I made was going to benefit me in the long run. It was working out great and I was well prepared to take a stab at winning that title.

The evening I had spent in the elevator with Kimberly had caused me to change a great deal of things in my life, not just my career. Afterwards, I started working with my agent to locate a divorce attorney. I knew that I couldn't just continue trying to ignore my marriage with Kat. It wasn't working for me and she was spending all of my money while banging anyone she could in the process. I knew she was clueless to my knowledge on the subject and thought I was just blissfully unaware of what was happening each time I turned around. That wasn't the case and I knew that if I was going to make things right in my life, she was going to have to go. Unfortunately, it wasn't just as simple as telling the bitch to kick bricks. Since we had married young and before I had made my money, we didn't have any kind of prenup or agreement. I didn't want to have to pay her money out of my ass for the rest of my life or chance her ending up with half of all of my stuff. So, it's been slow business getting everything in order to serve Kat the papers. If you asked her right now how she thought our relationship was going, she would tell you everything was fine and we were perfect. She has no clue that as soon as I can, I was going to be serving her with divorce papers and shipping her out of my house. I was looking forward to that day, my lawyers telling me it could be happening very soon. I hoped so.

There was still the threat of her trying to ruin my career with lies about abusing her or any kind of mistreatment that you could think of. Luckily for me, I have one of the best agents a guy could ask for and he's been working with me to ensure that there's evidence that nothing like that could stick. I'm not sure how he did it but I'm glad he's on my side. I would never think about hurting anyone, especially a woman. Kat knows that too but I wouldn't put it past her with an attempt to ruin me in exchange of revenge. My legal team has a good plan in case that happens, letting me rest easy. It was good to know that I wasn't going to be a part of cancel culture based on lies.

My mind wandered back to Kimberly, a smile pulling at the corner of my lips. Our talks that night had made me realize how much I was letting those around me dictate my life. I managed to change things around and take charge. She had been the one to help me see that without knowing she could. Since that night, we've kept in contact. We text frequently and sometimes chat on the phone when we have free time. Though I was enjoying this, I wished there was more. But, she never talks about that being a possibility and I'm afraid of the idea of scaring her away if I bring it up. I would hate to see our second chance ruined because of my impatience. Especially since everything still feels so new. I was just glad to have her in my life again.

Kimberly

The phone rang loudly, the device vibrating across the surface of the wooden desk as it did. Rolling my eyes, I turned my head away from it and turned my attention back to the stack of papers in front of me. It vibrated again but I didn't turn to look. I focused on the papers, trying to read the words on it. I've been struggling with this for three days now and it wasn't getting any easier. When I sat down here this morning, I thought maybe I could put some thought into my new contract negotiations but it didn't seem to be the case.

Sighing, I leaned back into my computer chair. When the label and I met last week, I didn't think it was going to be this difficult to decide what I wanted listed in my contract. I had a plan in mind on what I wanted to ask for and my manager had helped me put it into words. However, when I said something about it out loud, they advised me to review the contract and highly consider what choices I wanted to make going forward. There was apparently a section where I could make changes but I hadn't gotten that far. Every time I sit down to read through it, I get a couple words or paragraphs in and my mind goes blank. It didn't help that it was all in business lingo that I only half understood. I couldn't keep calling my manager each time I had a question or didn't understand something about it. I needed to figure all of this out for myself.

Drumming my fingers on the top of the desk, I bit my lip. What did I want to ask for? I knew I wanted more control over my songs. I wanted to write most of them and decide which ones we picked that I didn't write. I also wanted to make sure that I would have more say in my touring venues and how much time I was on the road. I wanted to have breaks for not only me but also the crew who helped make the shows happen. I just overall wanted the record label to hear me more than they were currently willing to listen to. I was tired of them talking over me and telling me how things were going to be.

It hadn't been easier coming to the decision to ask for so many changes. The first major one I had in mind was telling them that they couldn't force me to be in a make believe relationship with Jeff. Granted, I had a great friendship with Jeff. He was a good guy and I considered him one of my closest friends in the business. However, I knew how much it hurt not only him but also his boyfriend, Evan, when we had to make appearances together or when we were questioned about our relationship. It wasn't fair to them that they couldn't be honest about who they were because of the image the record label was so worried about. So, I knew I had to make sure they knew exactly how I felt about that. I wasn't going to play to that charade anymore and I was hoping that Jeff would feel more inclined to coming out with that being out in the open.

Pushing the chair away from the desk, I stood up and walked over to the window on the other side of the room. It overlooked the backyard where I saw my gardener, George, working on the row of rose bushes I had back there. The water of the pool was glistening in the sunlight and I wished for a moment I was out there instead of dealing with this bull shit. I could invite everyone over and make it a fun afternoon. It would be short notice but I knew that Jeff and Evan would be willing to come over as well as my friends I had made from my last tour. Sighing, I knew that it would just be a distraction for me. I had a meeting with the label in the morning and I couldn't afford to slack off right now. I needed to get down to business and make sure that everything was in place before then.

There was a short vibration from my phone this time, telling me I had just received a text message. Walking over to my phone, I saw that I had a missed call from my manager, Sandra. I knew she was checking in to see how the contract was going. She had said she would be calling. It was no surprise. As I slid my finger over the screen, I saw that I had a text message from Tommy. A smile slid across my lips as I opened it. Morning, Beautiful, was written in the blue box under his name. Picking up my phone, I typed Morning, handsome with my thumbs. Hitting send, it made a noise telling me it had made it. All of the dread I had been feeling before was gone now as I walked back over to the desk with my phone in hand.

T: Heading to the gym. What are you doing?

K: Working on this contract. Still on for tonight?

T: Of course. Can't wait to see your face. :-*

Setting the phone down, I flipped over the first page of the contract again. If it hadn't been for Tommy, I wouldn't even have the nerve to do this right now. Being trapped in that elevator with him taught me a lot about myself, including the fact that I had let the brave version of me slip through the cracks to make sure that I could reach my goals. Only, I wasn't reaching for my dreams by doing that. I was letting everyone else control the shots and I couldn't let that happen. I wasn't like that when I was younger and I had to find that person again. This was a step in the right direction. The record executives had been surprised for sure when I told them I wouldn't be signing right away at our meeting and that I had some things I wanted to be added. That wouldn't have even been a thought to me if luck hadn't landed me in that elevator with Tommy. It was the best thing that could have happened to me that night.

And the sex was great too.

The thought brought a wide grin to my face as I remembered back to it. I was glad that things between Tommy and I had been repairable. It was instantly either, something I was grateful for. I was more than happy to move things slowly, especially since he still had the messiness of a divorce to deal with between him and Kat. I knew that was going to be a nightmare and half after everything she put him through and everything he put up with. I was happy to see him working towards being happier as well. I couldn't imagine living with someone for as long as he did after knowing the things she did to him that she thought were secret. He had the patience of a saint I suppose but I knew that already since he had to deal with me for so long. It was funny to think of the fact that Tommy and I had been basically strangers just two months ago. Only, we weren't at the same time as well. True, we didn't know the people we had become but the people we did know were still inside of us all along. It was like they needed to see each other again to be able to come out of hiding.

Given the current situation of him being married still and us still working on getting to know each other again, we both agreed to take things at nearly a snail pace. Granted, we had gotten a bit out of hand in that elevator but it's the only time we've gone that far since then. Mostly due to the fact our relationship exists through our cell phones. Tommy was still living in Las Vegas because of his UFC obligations and the fact he owned a house there with Kat. It was a few hours from my house here in Nashville by plane but both of our schedules make it hard to make the trip to see one another. Luckily, Nasir Ahmed invited the computer engineering and science that made it possible for us to see each other over facetime every night. I've never been more happy about technology in my entire life. Sometimes it was only for a few minutes but on some nights like tonight, Tommy has the house to himself with Kat going out. That gave us limitless time to pretend we were face to face with each other rather than a screen.

"Kimberly?" A voice said a short time later as I flipped through the middle of the contract. I had made a good dent into it now, finding the portion where I could negotiate my terms finally. Lifting my head, I saw that it was my housekeeper Katarenna standing in the doorway. The young girl gave me a small smile, her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Hey, Katarenna. What's up?" I asked.

"Your mother is on the phone." She replied, holding up the house phone.

"Oh! Thank you." I stood up and walked around the desk. She met me halfway, holding out the phone. I took it and brought it to my ear. "Hey, Mom."

"Hi, honey! How are you?" My mother's voice asked.

"I'm fine. Why are you calling the house phone instead of my cell?" I questioned, leaning against the corner of the desk. I heard Katarenna leave the room, closing the door slightly as she left.

"I tried calling but you didn't answer. I figured you might not be near it."

"That's weird. I didn't hear it go off. Maybe I have it on silent. What's up?" I stood up and walked around the desk. Picking up my phone, I saw that I had accidentally put it on silent when I finished texting with Tommy. I also saw that I had 14 missed calls from Sandra and a couple from Trini and Jeff.

"I just wanted to see how things were going. I know the big meeting is tomorrow."

"Yeah. I've been looking through the contract now. I think everything will go smoothly." I said, unlocking my phone. It vibrated in my hand as text messages started to appear on the screen.

Trini: KIM! Why aren't you answering? Are you OK?!

Sandra: Call me. Now. ASAP. 911.

Jeff: This isn't good.

"That's terrific, Kim. I can't wait until you feel like you are on top of things again. I knew you could do this all along if you tried."

"Thanks, Mom." I said. Confusion set in as I tried to see what they were all panicking about. I went to type back to Trini when a news alert popped up on the top of my screen. My eyes widened as I saw the headline and I let out a loud gasp.

"Kim? Kimberly? What's the matter?"

"Mom, I gotta go." I said, quickly hanging up the house phone.

Tommy

"Hey, Tommy?" Jason's voice called from inside of the locker room. I stuck my head out of the shower stream and wiped my eyes clear of the water. I saw him standing back by the sinks.

"What's up?" I asked, calling over the sound of running water.

"Mr. Parker wants to speak to you in his office." He replied. I looked at him confused before I nodded.

"Alright. I'll be done in two seconds."

"I'd hurry. He didn't sound too happy." He nodded at me before disappearing. I was confused as to why the president of UFC would want to speak to me. Mr. Parker was more of a silent type when it came to running this business. I've spoken to him a few times at meetings and other events but mostly, he sits quietly and watches. I don't even think I could recall a time where I heard him speak for more than a few minutes. He doesn't usually come to our training gym either, choosing to run things from his office in Las Vegas. I wondered why he was here and what he needed to talk to me about. Could it be about our match on Saturday? Was he cancelling it? Was there something wrong with Antonio? I turned off the water and wrapped the towel around me before walking back towards the lockers. I saw Jason sitting there.

"Did he say what it was about?" I asked, pulling on a clean t-shirt. He shook his head.

"No. It was that guy he has working for him. Bill? I think. He came out looking for you and said that Mr. Parker was here to talk to you. They are in the conference room waiting for us."

"For us?" I asked, pulling shorts on quickly. Jason nodded.

"Yeah. We were both requested. I'm not sure what's going on but it seems like there's something going on people aren't telling us. It got real quiet out in that gym after that."

"Oh, terrific." I muttered, shutting my locker. "We should go before it gets any worse."

"Good idea." I shoved my feet into my sneakers and we walked out of the locker room. As I was coming around the corner, I spotted Bill Pearson in the gym. He was looking around, concern on his features. He was a rather built guy, an ex-fighter from his own time. He was just hitting sixty and the grey hair on his head was thinning faster than he cared for. When his eyes swept the room in my direction, they landed on me.

"Tommy." He said, walking towards me. When he saw Jason standing behind me, he nodded. "Did Jason come find you?"

"Yeah. He said you were looking for me. What's up?" I asked. He scratched the back of his head.

"Mr. Parker wants to see you in his office. Mike's there too."

"Why is my agent here?" I asked, fear now beginning to grow in my chest. As I looked at Bill, I noticed that a number of people in the gym had stopped what they were doing to look over at us. One of the younger guys was looking down at his phone and then up at me as he joked with the guy he was working with.

"C'mon. Let's just get to the conference room and we'll talk about everything in there." Bill said, clapping me on the back and leading me out of the gym and back up the hallway. I heard Jason behind us as we walked, my hands feeling clammy as I tried to not picture Mr. Parker telling me I was fired. I couldn't even think of what I could have done for this kind of meeting. I keep my nose clean and to myself. Had Kat figured out I was planning on divorcing her? Had she said something to the press about me abusing her or something? They had to understand it wasn't true. My legal team would be able to handle this with no issue.

Bill walked up to the frosted glass door of the conference room and opened it for Jason and I. We walked in, seeing the large room with the long oak table in the middle. Black leather computer chairs lined all four sides of it, enough to seat 15 people. I saw my agent, Mike Shepard, sitting in a chair on the right side of the room. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, an unusual outfit for him. He typically stuck to expensive suits and looked as sharp as possible. Apparently, whatever this was about, had caught him by surprise. At the other end of the room as me, Mr. Parker stood. He was a taller guy with a slender build, thick blonde hair on the top of his head. It was gelled and combed back, his dark blue blazer mixing well with the blue jeans he wore. Both turned and looked up as we entered.

"Tommy, good to see you." Mr. Parker said, giving me a small smile. I watched as Bill shut the door behind us before walking over to stand near the front of the room. I saw that there was a stack of papers in front of Mike that he had been looking over. Terrific. I could almost guarantee it was my contract with UFC.

"You too. What's going on?" I asked.

"Take a seat, okay?" Mr. Parker said, gesturing to the end of the table. I hesitated for a moment before pulling one of the chairs out. I sat down, sweat forming on my brow and neck regardless of the cool air the air conditioner was pumping out. Mr. Parker leaned his hands down on the table as he looked at me. "Tommy, you have been doing some amazing work these last couple of months. I've never seen you more focused and more driven. Bringing on Jason to train you was a great idea and I think you're only going to get better as time goes on. But there is a reputation that we try to keep when it comes to our fighters. Due to some of our past experiences, we do our best to make sure our guys stay out of the spotlight and that they don't bring any kind of drama into our business."

"Mr. Parker, if this is about something my wife has done, I can promise you that my legal team will be able to repair this. We've seen it coming for a while now and they have a plan to stop it before it goes too big." I said, a tight feeling building in my chest.

"This has nothing to do with your wife. Though, I feel like she may be involved now. You might want your legal team to get to work as soon as possible." He said.

"I don't understand." I replied, shaking my head. Sighing, he stood up straight. Walking over to the television that was mounted on the wall behind him, he flipped it on with the remote. The screen lit up, showing the TMZ logo.

"Things get real hot and heavy for two celebs who find themselves trapped in some tight quarters." The voice over said. I felt my heart sink as the logo transitioned out of frame and dissolved into a video. It was grainy but I could tell that it was shot with some kind of night vision security camera. To my horror, I saw that it was the inside of the elevator that Kimberly and I had been trapped in. I had her pressed up against the wall, my head between her breasts as I fucked her with all the pent up energy I had that day.

"What the fuck." I heard Jason mutter. I couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes away from the screen.

"UFC fighter Tommy Oliver and country music sensation Kimberly Hart wasted no time getting down and dirty while they were stuck in a disabled elevator back in July." The voice over said. "The two were trapped in there for several hours, waiting for rescue. The hotel security camera managed to catch these two in the act, thinking no one could see them in their private moments. We can only show you parts of the clip due to our ratings but head on over to our website to see the whole action go down. I wonder how Mrs. Oliver, Tommy's wife of almost a decade, will feel after seeing this. We can all agree that he picked a good choice though." The video went back to the TMZ logo before Mr. Parker paused it. I balled my fists on the table.

"How the hell did they get this?" I asked, anger bubbling in my chest. "The power was off."

"Seems like they had their cameras on a backup power source in case the power goes out." Mike said, rubbing his forehead. "Tommy, this isn't good."

"You think?" I asked, standing up. "This is going to ruin Kim's career! There's no way her label is going to keep her after they see this."

"Um, I think you might want to worry about yourself for a minute there, kid." Bill said. I flashed him a look before glancing over at Mr. Parker who was leaning against the table now.

Fuck.

Kimberly

"No. No. Nope. No." I said, shaking my head as I looked down at the screen of my phone. No matter how hard I tried, it didn't change the fact I was looking at a video of myself riding Tommy in a poorly lit elevator. TMZ was reporting it, the alert making my phone go off as I watched in absolute horror. I paced the office, unable to break my eyes away from the screen of my phone. This couldn't be happening. How could this even be happening? How did they even get footage of that? There was no power in the elevator at the time! I should know. We had been trapped in it for hours. It couldn't even be remotely possible that this footage existed. And if it did, who even provided it to the sleazy ball website TMZ to begin with? I felt nausea wash over me as I closed my eyes. My phone vibrated in my hand and I saw it was Sandra. I answered it and brought it to my ears.

"Where the hell have you been?" She asked, a franticness in her voice.

"This is bad, Sandra. Really bad. Right? Tell me this isn't as bad as I'm thinking it is right now? The world is looking at me right now." I said, trying to not hyperventilate.

"Well, it's not very good, Kimberly." She said, a snarkiness to her tone. "I mean did you have to pick a married UFC fighter? That doesn't shine the best light on you at all. And it is technically sex in a public place. Not to mention the fact that people are seeing more of you than I'm sure the record label would like."

"It's not like I planned for this to happen!" I exclaimed.

"I know. I know. Look, I'm on my way to your house right now. Just sit tight, okay? Stay off the internet and for the love of God, do not answer your phone unless you know the number." The phone clicked and I knew she was probably doing ninety on the freeway in my direction. I groaned, burying my face in my hands. My phone vibrated again, causing me to look at it. This time, it was Trini's face looking up at me. I answered it.

"Oh, God. Trini, what am I going to do?" I said, almost wailing.

"Relax. Take a big deep breath." She said, her voice sounding more soothing than Sandra's had. "I know this looks bad right now but it's not the end of the world."

"Trini, my tits are trending on the internet right now!" I exclaimed, feeling my heart rate climb up. I felt like I was falling into a deep dark pit. "This is going to ruin our careers."

"You don't know that. Celebrities accidentally leak nudes and sex tapes all the time. Look at Kim Kardashian! Her whole career and her family are based off the fact she made a sex tape. I'm sure that you and Tommy will survive this just fine."

"I don't have the reputation of my father getting OJ off for murder on my side though." I muttered.

"Well, I mean OJ should have been found guilty." She offered, a tone of joking in her voice. It didn't work though.

"The label is going to drop me. I know they are. Why couldn't this wait until after tomorrow? We would have been locked in and fine. Now, they can just decide to boot me to the curb."

"You need to stay positive, alright? I know that this is all really shocking but you can't just assume the worst."

"Okay. Okay." I said, sighing and closing my eyes.

"So...you and Tommy?" She asked. "Now I know why it took so long to get the two of you out of there."

"I'll give you all the fun details later once my life is finished derailing." I said. I heard a beep in my ear, telling me I had another phone call. Pulling it from my ear, I saw it was Jeff. "Shit. I gotta go."

"Call me when everything cools down, okay?"

"Yeah. I will." I hung up and accepted the other phone call. "Jeff?" I said, bringing the phone back to my ear.

"Well, this is interesting." He said, an amusing tone to his voice.

"You could say that." I replied. "Jeff, I had no clue how this is even happening."

"Sure, you do. When a mommy likes a daddy, they go at it like two horny cats while locked in an elevator." I buried my face in my free hand. "I think it's safe to say that this might change some things."

"You're telling me. Sandra is about to give me the riot act."

"Please tell me that you at least signed the contract before this happened."

"No. I'm still going over it." I replied.

"Does anyone else know you haven't signed it yet?" He asked.

"No. Why?"

"If I were you, I'd sign it right now and seal it in an envelope. If you do that before they catch on, there's nothing they can do about it. It's not like they have a clause for something like this."

"If I sign it now though, I can't make any changes to it. Everything I wanted to ask for doesn't make it in there."

"If you don't sign it, they can decide to take back the offer. Don't risk your entire career on this, especially one that is so successful." Biting my lip, I looked over at the contract. "Kim, this is the only way to make sure they can't screw you over."

"Right. I'd just be screwing myself over." I said softly. Jeff sighed on the other end of the phone.

"I know it seems like you are selling your soul to the devil. You have to do some damage control right now though. Protect what you can so that the radiation from this doesn't end up killing everything else around the impact zone." The office door behind me opened and Sandra walked in, her short red hair pinned back on the top of her head. She wore a dark green tracksuit, her cheeks tinted red.

"Yeah. Okay. I gotta go. Sandra just walked in. I'll call you in a bit." I said, nodding at her to acknowledge I had seen her. She shut the door behind her.

"Everything is going to work out. I promise."

"Thanks." I hung up and set my phone on the table behind me. I turned to face her.

"Did you forget to tell me something about your time in Vegas?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"If it makes you feel better, we are sorta dating." I said, wringing my hands.

"Kimberly, he's married. Happily in the media's eye right now. All they see is that the two of you had a steamy affair while you were trapped together. They are going to think you've been having this scandal for a while now." She walked over to the table, sitting in one of the chairs. She grabbed some paper from the briefcase she had carried in along with a pen, setting these on the table. Clicking the pen, she scribbled something on the paper. "You're gonna have to tell me everything that happened between the two of you. This is the first time you guys met, right?"

"Um...not exactly." I replied. She raised her head to look at me.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"We dated in high school. I was the one he dated before he met Kat, his wife." Sandra let out a low groan, hanging her head.

"You don't pay me enough for this." Huffing, she leaned back in the chair. "They are going to spin this as you two sneaking around behind her back, you know that right? The media loves this type of story and scandal sells. Especially when they have video of two famous people like that. We're going to have to be 100% honest with your label. They are going to want to know everything that happened and what's going to happen moving forward. Right now, I think it will be best to just agree to the contract they gave you and lay low."

"If I do that, I'm giving up all my chances to have some control of my music." I said.

"Your hands are tied now, Kimberly. This type of thing makes executives think that you aren't serious about your career and that you are a risk. If you ask for anything right now, they are going to laugh you right out of Nashville." I slid into one of the chairs across from her.

"I can't." I said, shaking my head. "I know this is awful and it could end my career but I can't just give up everything I've been working towards." Sandra's phone let out a little noise. Sighing, she pulled it from her pocket. Her brows knitted together as she read the screen.

"The label just requested your presence. They want us there in a couple hours." She tossed her phone down on the tape. "Seems like you're about to have your day in court."

Tommy

"Thanks, Andy." Mike said into his cell phone before hanging up the call. "Well, I spoke to one of my guys. Apparently, TMZ bought the video footage from someone on the security team at the hotel. They are trying to figure out who it was exactly. The hotel is trying to do their own damage control over there. Even they are smart enough to know what a lawsuit looks like coming a mile away."

"I don't think the hotel is the one at fault here." Mr. Parker said, shooting a glance in my direction. I didn't say anything as I continued to pace the room. "Tommy, what is going on with you? You have a wife. Do you make it a habit of yours to sleep with random people?" He asked.

"No." I shot back. "Kimberly isn't just a random person. It's not like that at all."

"Well, please enlighten me then." He said, sitting. "Because right now, it looks like I have a douchebag working for me." I looked over at Jason who raised his hands up in front of him.

"This is your tale to tell, dude." He said. I sighed, rubbing a hand on the back of my neck.

"Kimberly and I have history. We dated in high school for a while. We broke up though and I ended up getting with Kat. When we ended up stuck in the elevator together, we got to talking about things and we realized that we were both unhappy where our lives were at the time. One thing led to another and that's how that happened. But it's not like we had a little thing and that was it. We've been talking since then. She's been helping me get ready for my divorce to Kat. Once everything was settled with that, we were going to go public with our relationship. We wanted to make sure everyone was protected though. We both knew how much of an impact our relationship would have on our careers."

"Clearly." Mr. Parker said. "Tommy, I'm happy that you were able to connect with an old flame again but maybe you could have stuck to cheating in the actual hotel rooms instead of the public elevator." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't even know what to do about this. If I let you fight this weekend, everyone is going to laugh. If I don't let you fight, I give up one of the main events on my title card."

"Mr. Parker, if I may say something on Tommy's behalf." Mike said, leaning forward. "Granted, what he did wasn't the greatest thing and will reflect poorly on himself in the public eye, he didn't cause any type of physical harm to anyone and wasn't arrested for some run of the mill crime that usually comes with your fighters. It could have been a lot worse. Until now, Tommy has kept a clean nose and has done everything and more that's been asked of him."

"That's true." Mr. Parker said, nodding. "I will admit to that."

"I think I speak for Tommy as well when I say that he doesn't plan on causing you or UFC any type of issues like this. It was a moment of weakness with a lapse of judgement. Everything was already in place to begin his divorce prior to this as he stated. We've seen this type of thing happen before with a number of celebrities. In my line of work, I've seen it blow over much quicker than it would in the past."

"I hope you're right." Mr. Parker stood up. "I'm going to keep you on the card for the fight, Tommy. This was your one chance to mess up. I mean it. I don't want to hear about you in any kind of news or tabloids unless it's about you winning the title. Got it?" He asked, pointing at me. I nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Parker." I said. He walked over and held his hand out to me.

"Keep your head low and your face clean. You know how these things like to cast a bad light on people. Don't make any public statements and avoid going out if you can until the fight." I took his hand and shook it.

"I will."

"And make sure your legal team is prepared. I feel as if your wife isn't going to be happy to hear about this news. There isn't going to be some kind of nasty surprise she's going to reveal after this, is there?" I shook my head, letting his hand go.

"No. I promise."

"Good. Get this taken care of." He nodded at Jason and Mike before walking out of the room with Bill in tow. Once the door was closed, Mike let out a loud sigh.

"That was a close one." He said, standing up. "I've got to get going. I'm going to try to see what I can find out from the hotel and to make sure there isn't any more footage that could be leaked out."

"There shouldn't be." I said, pulling my phone from my pocket.

"You say that but I'm still skeptical." Mike said, clapping me on the back. "I would listen to Mr. Parker. Head on home and keep a low profile until after the fight. Then we can figure out how to handle this when it comes to social media. By then, it might very well have blown over. What we need is for a celebrity to die. That always takes the top tier of the cake in the media."

"You're such an optimist, Mike." Jason said.

"I try. I'll call you in a while, Tommy." He gave me a smile before leaving the room. Jason let out a deep sigh, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I'm so happy to not be you right now." He said. I snorted.

"Thanks for that." I muttered, looking at my phone. I was hoping to have either a text or a call from Kim. There was nothing though except a couple text messages from Mike who had been trying to get a hold of me before.

"Are you and Kim really getting back together?" He asked.

"Well, we were. I'm not sure how she'll feel about this now though." He shrugged his shoulders.

"I think you'll be okay. Misery loves company and I think the two of you are gonna have plenty of that during the next couple of days. I just hope I can get the image of you and Kimberly burned out of my brains."

"Yeah. Sorry about that." My phone vibrated and I looked at the screen. Text messages began to fill the screen from Kat. "Fuck." I muttered.

"What now?" Jason asked.

"Seems like Kat knows. I gotta get home before she burns my house down."

"Good luck." He called as I walked out of the room.

It only took me a minute to get my things from the locker room before heading out to the parking lot where my jeep was parked. As I climbed inside, I tried to call Kimberly. It went to voicemail though without ringing. Either she had her phone off or she was avoiding me. Dread was filling the pit of my stomach. I could care less about what the video did to me or my career. I would be fine not fighting anymore. I was more worried about what it was going to do to her. She was in the negotiation stage of her new contract with the label and this would no doubt cause some kind of hiccup in that. I wanted to drive over to the hotel where the incident occurred and demand some answers but I figured that it wouldn't be the smartest move. Especially since I had just promised to stay out of the spotlight for now.

"Hey, Kim. I know you probably know by now. I just wanted to see how you are. Call me, okay? I understand if you hate me right now. I just need to hear your voice though. I love you." I said before hanging up. I didn't know what I was going to do if this just cost me my second chance with Kimberly. I wouldn't let my mind think about that.

I was relieved to see that my house was going up in flames as I pulled up to the gate. I entered the code in the little keypad in front of it but it didn't open. Confused, I entered it again. Again, the gate didn't open. I hit the call button on the pad and listened as it rang. A few seconds later, I heard static on the intercom.

"Hello?" Kat's voice said.

"Kat, the gate won't open." I said.

"I know. I changed the code. Why don't you go stay with Kimberly?" She asked, a dangerous tone in her voice.

"Kat, just open the gate. I'm not in the mood to deal with this right now."

"No. You're not coming into my house." Annoyance radiated off of me. Her house? The bitch hadn't worked a day in the last decade. Everything in there was bought with my fucking money.

"Kat-." I started but she hung up. I slammed my jeep into park and grabbed my cell phone. I dialed the number to the head of my security team, John. It rang for a moment before he answered.

"Hey, Tommy." He said.

"Hi, John. Kat changed the gate code on me." I said. He made a noise.

"She called me and asked to change it. Figured she'd tell you."

"Nah. She's pissed at me. Can you be on standby? She's about to find out about the divorce. Might get ugly."

"Sure thing, boss. The code is 4168." He said.

"Thanks, John." I pressed the buttons as he read of the code, hanging up once the light on the bottom turned green. The gate slid open, allowing me to pull forward. I drove up the long driveway, pulling my jeep to a stop in front of the large garage. I shoved my phone into the pocket of my pants and climbed out. Jogging up the front steps, I opened up the front door. I closed it behind me and looked around. The sound of heels clicking echoed off the walls and Kat appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Honey, I'm home."

Kimberly

"I think I'm going to throw up." I said, adjusting my skirt for what felt like the millionth time since we had walked into the office of Big Machine Records. Sandra sat next to me, sorting through articles on her phone as she tried to get as much information as she could from social media about the leak.

"Wel, that makes two of us then." She said, not lifting her head to look at me. "Finally." She muttered, sitting back in her seat.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I was able to figure out where the leak came from. Seems like your friend there has a good team working for him at least. His agent just got back to me. Apparently, it was a security guard at the hotel looking to make a quick buck."

"You talked to Tommy's agent?" I asked. She nodded, putting her phone in her bag. "Did he say if Tommy was alright or not?"

"No. I didn't ask." She replied. I frowned, looking back at my lap. I was worried about Tommy. I hadn't heard from him and I had no idea if he had been fired or not. I was terrified that he had been and that he was avoiding me because of it. I had wanted to call him before coming here but Sandra had rushed me out of the house too fast, I didn't have the time to. Now, I was fearful of what he was going through right now.

"Ladies, they are ready for you." A female voice said on the other side of the waiting room. I took a deep breath before standing, the secretary smiling at us who had been the one to get our attention. Sandra stood up as well, grabbing her suitcase tightly before walking towards the double wooden doors behind the blonde. I followed, trying to wipe the clammy feeling from my palms on to my skirt. The doors opened and Sandra squared her shoulders as if she was about to face a firing squad head on before entering. Inside, I saw the large board room where all of the big meetings at Big Machine Records take place. It was a more modern and sleek looking room, walls made of completely frosted glass that ran from floor to ceiling. The table was a long rectangle made of black steel but covered with a glass top. Expensive black office chairs were positioned at the table and there was a black granite top counter on the right side of the room where I've seen food set up for dinner and lunch meetings. It was empty now, however.

In the chairs, I saw that every member of the board was present. All five of them were older men ranging from their early fifties to the oldest, Mr. Tully, who was nearing his mid-seventies. I had sung at his seventieth birthday party his wife threw for him a couple years ago. He was the president of the board and sat at the head of the table. The chatter in the room stopped as we walked in, the door closing behind us. I followed Sandra's lead as she walked over and pulled a chair out for herself. I sat next to her, unsure if it was hot in the room or if I was just feeling the heat from the tension.

"Gentlemen, thank you for meeting with us today." Sandra said, putting her suitcase on the table. She opened it and pulled out her copy of the contract. "We would like to discuss some of the elements Kimberly would like to add to the contract."

"Ha." Mr. Garcia said from the left of the room, sitting back in his seat. "I don't think negotiations are really in her corner right now."

"I think Marcus has a point." Mr. Land said next to him. "After today's incident, I don't believe that Kimberly has much room to be making demands. She's lucky we've agreed to meet with her today to even consider resigning her contract. We have a reputation to uphold and we don't think lightly about our artists behaving in such a manner."

"While we do admit that there's a mistake that has been made, there's no evidence even suggesting that Kimberly takes place in any kind of reckless behavior like this on an everyday basis." Sandra stated, crossing her arms in front of her. "She's had a solid career with amazing record sales since being signed with Big Machine. I believe that says a lot about her talent and her character."

"There's no denying that Kimberly is talented. There's a reason we agreed to sign with her in the first place. But the issue we are having is dealing with this sex tape." Mr. Tully leaned scratched his wrist under his Rolex watch. "This is a scandal that we do not appreciate having to deal with from one of our artists. It has a negative impact on our image."

"Kimberly is willing to admit that she made a mistake but this isn't something new that hasn't happened before. A number of singers and artists have had this type of issue in the past. It will blow over and she will be able to get past this dark spot in her career in no time." Sandra cleared her throat. "I could provide you with a list a mile long of starlets and singers who have done a lot worse than her who have successful careers."

"Except none of them are signed with our company." Mr. Garcia said. Mr Land sighed.

"Can we see her list of demands?" He asked, pointing to the contract in front of Sandra who nodded. She leafed through the contract and found the piece of paper where I had jotted down what I wanted to be added. She slid it across the table to him and he sat back, looking over it over his glasses. Shaking his head, he handed it over to Mr. Tully. He read it as well, glancing a look in my direction.

"These are requests that are only generally made by our talent that have been with our company for much longer." Mr. Land said. "I understand wanting to have some creative control but what she is asking is too much. Even for those who don't have incidents in their past."

"We understand that but she is just asking for more input." Sandra said.

"Kimberly will need to sit and consider the fact that we are in a position where we don't need to resign with her. We will be willing to sign the original contract as long as she is willing to make a public apology and to allow us to continue working to give her a more positive light in the media." Mr. Tully offered, handing back my demands.

"She's made a tremendous mistake at this point in time. It would be foolish to not accept this offer. A mistake has been made and it's time she faces the consequences of her actions."

"Let us fix this mistake." Mr. Tully said. "We have the power to make this all go away for her."

"She should consider it." Sandra said, shifting to look at me. I moved to open my mouth, knowing I had put myself in this corner. My phone vibrated in my pocket though. I pulled it out and saw that I had a text message from Tommy.

Tommy: Hey, beautiful. You okay? Are we okay? I'm sorry this happened but at least we can finally be open about our relationship if you'd like. Call me when you get a second.

He was right. Even though all of this shit was happening and it felt like the end of the world, there was no more a reason to hide the fact we had been together. The world knew it now. The world could know that we wanted to be together without having to worry about Kat, our careers, or how the world would see us. We were free to do as we wished with our relationship. Tommy and I could be together again.

"Well? Does she have an answer?" Mr. Tully asked, reminding me I was in the room with all of them.

"You know what? I am right here. You do not need to speak as if I'm not six feet away from you in the same room." I said, putting my phone back in my pocket. "And my answer is no. I will not be signing that contract as is. I am not answering for the world in it. I am just asking for the people that work day in and day out to make my dreams come have more time to see their families and for Jeffrey to be able to be who he wants to be without hiding his true self."

"What happens in Jeff's career has nothing to do with this." Mr. Land said. I shook my head, standing.

"That's a lie. You've had me pretending to be in a relationship with him to hide the fact he is gay. Do you know how unethical it is to treat him this way, let alone illegal? If he wanted, he could sue you and your company for the way you've treated him just based on his sexual orientation. I'm sure you wouldn't want that going against your precious reputation. That would be a damn shame."

"Kimberly, you should really reconsider what you are doing." Mr. Tully said, narrowing his eyes at me. "What happened today-."

"Was a lapse in judgement. Not because it happened but because it happened in a space where I was caught on camera. I've been in love with Tommy since I was 15 years old and I'm not ashamed to admit it. We were waiting to announce our relationship in a few months once his divorce was final but the world made it happen that much faster for us. This does not reflect the talent I possess and the endless possibilities there are for me out there. If you let me go, I will find somewhere else that will be willing to follow me in reaching my dream and this label will regret their decision. I am the highest selling artist you have right now and it would be foolish to jeopardize that. We all know it. I will not be signing that contract until everything I asked for is written into it. Let me know what you decide."

With that, I turned and walked out of the board room.

Tommy

"Get the fuck out of here, Tommy." Kat said, walking half way down the stairs. "I want you to get your shit and leave."

"That's funny seeing as everything is this damn house is mine to begin with." I said, walking over and tossing my keys onto the stand near the door.

"Right. It won't be that way once my lawyers take you to the cleaners. We are going to have a field day in court! I will make sure I end up with this house, half your money, and everything else you want so damn badly." She shook her head, grinning at me as she crossed her arms. "You fucked up by sleeping with Kim. I should have known that more happened in that elevator that night."

"You would know. You are the expert in sleeping with any guy that breathes in your direction." I retorted, walking to the bottom of the stairs. "I mean, who else could have four affairs in a five year span and think their husband knows nothing about them?" Her face flushed as realization came to her.

"I never cheated on you!" She exclaimed.

"I have it on fucking camera!" I bellowed, my voice echoing off the walls around us. "If I released the footage I had, there could be an entire series."

"You're disgusting. You had no right doing that." She sneered. I let out a loud laugh.

"I apologize. Maybe you should learn to turn off the security cameras the entire way when you plan on having one of your boyfriends over." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked to see if I had gotten anything from Kimberly. I frowned when I saw there was nothing new from her. I swore under my breath, climbing up the stairs towards her. She seized up as I approached.

"I can't believe how pathetic you are, Tommy. You had to stoop so low because you were jealous to sleep with your ex-girlfriend in a public elevator. What kind of person does that? At least I had the decency to make it discreet." She batted her hair over her shoulder.

"Discreet enough that the entire gym knows about it." I muttered, walking past her. She turned on her heel, surprised that I was moving around her.

"Where are you going?" She asked. I didn't bother to look back at her.

"I've flying out to Nashville for the night." I called back before walking into our bedroom. I walked over to my large walk-in closet and found my duffle bag on the top shelf. Pulling it down, I started to shove some clothes into it. Kat stomped into the room, her cheeks flushed.

"You're going to her? After all of this, you're still going to run after her?" She asked.

"Yeah. I am. I'll be back Friday night. You better not be here." I replied, making sure I had enough underwear for a couple days. I also put in some work out gear and pajamas. In the pit of my stomach, I was worried that I was making this trip for nothing. What if she didn't want to see me anymore? What if she didn't even bother to answer the door when she realized it was me?

"You can't be serious right now. You cheat on me, release a sex tape to the world then take off to the other side of the country to be with her and expect me to just leave MY home." She said, stressing the MY part. I stopped then finally, glaring at her.

"No. It's MY home. This house is mine. Everything in it is mine. Hell, even the plastic shit inside of your body is technically mine since I paid for it. But you know what? Take whatever the hell you want here. I don't want it. Trust me. If it's important to me, it's not in this house anyway." I zipped up my bag.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She hissed, glaring at me.

"What do you think it means, Katherine?" I sighed. "I'm over all of this shit. I have been for a long time."

"So what? Just because you had a one time fling with Kim, you two are just suddenly going to run off together? Remember what happened the last time you were apart? You didn't even last six months! What makes you think this time will be any better?"

"For starters, I won't have a whore trying to get me into bed every second she gets." I shrugged. "This time is different and it hasn't been just a one time thing. We've been talking ever since. But it's not even just Kimberly. I've been fed up with your shit for years, Kat. I just didn't have the balls to say it to make you leave. That's changed now. I've been working with my lawyers to file my divorce against you. It'll be here by the end of the day, I can promise you that. And don't be surprised when you end up with nothing from all of this." She shook her head.

"You're delusional. After everything I had to put up from you, I deserve this house and all the money I can get. You're always moody and miserable. You act like it's a chore to be rich. You never want to have sex with me. You are always miles away even when you're in the same room as me!" I scoffed, walking over to my end table and grabbing my phone charger.

"Maybe because I can't stand to look at the person who can stomach the shit they've done to me." I offered, shoving the charger into my bag. "I mean, you've cheated on me for years now. What kind of person can do that and wake up in the morning, expecting their husband to love them the same? A literal psychopath, that's who."

"Fine. I cheated. But so did you! We can make this work by wiping the slate clean, Tommy. We both made mistakes and we can learn from them. We can go to couple's therapy and talk about everything that's happened. We don't need to get divorced or break up. We can fix what's broken." She stepped towards me and grabbed my arm. I pulled it out of her grasp.

"You're just forgetting the same fact of how you killed our baby without talking to me about it first." I hissed, walking away from her.

"What?" She asked, turning to face me.

"I know all about the abortion. Do you think that I wouldn't figure out what happened? That I would just buy some fake ass miscarriage story and just accept it without proof. I called the doctor and they told me what happened. How could you do that? How could you kill our baby? That baby was half mine and you had absolutely no right to abort them without talking to me. You tricked me into dropping out of college and marrying you with an empty promise of a family."

"The baby wasn't even yours!" She yelled. The words seemed to hang in the air heavily as the gravity of her statement hit me. My eyes widened and I felt my heart beat thunder in my chest as my blood pressure rose.

"You've got to be shitting me." I said, shaking my head.

"Look how much better off you are now! You weren't going anywhere with that degree, Tommy. We were barely making ends meet as it was. I didn't know how else to get you to see that MMA was the right way to go. I had a little fling with my dance instructor and found out I was pregnant. I knew that if you thought we were going to have a baby, you would reconsider everything. Now we have a million dollar house and you're a multi-championship fight! How much better is that than some stuffy job as a dinosaur bone collector?"

"I didn't want to do MMA for a living! I had dreams, Kat. I was going to school for a reason and you literally scammed me into thinking I had no other choice. Do you know how incredibly evil that is? Did the other guy even know you were pregnant with his kid?" I asked. I shook my head. "Never mind. I don't need to know." I put my bag over my shoulder. "Just pack your shit and leave."

"I'm not going anywhere." She said. I shrugged.

"Fine. I'll have you removed from the property. I've had your name removed from everything already." I headed towards the bedroom door. She was hot on my heels though as I headed towards the stairs.

"This is why I never wanted to have kids with you! You never wanted to commit to me. I was only a second choice after Kimberly dumped your ass." She seethed.

"You know what? You are absolutely right. What does that tell you about yourself?" I questioned, jogging down the steps. I scooped my keys up from the table. "I never should have gotten together with you. I should have tried to win Kimberly back and make it work for her. Our entire relationship was a mistake. But at least I know how to fix this one."

"If you walk out that door, we are over." Kat said as I grabbed the door knob. "I mean it, Tommy. If you leave, we will never be together again."

"Great. Can I get that in writing? My people will be in touch with your people. Don't forget to leave your key when you go." I shot her a smile and a quick wave before walking out the door. As it closed, I heard her let out a loud scream of frustration. As I headed to my jeep, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I sent Kim a text, telling her to call me when she could. I climbed in and started the engine. "I'm coming for you, Beautiful."

Kimberly

"I can't believe you did that." Sandra said as we walked into my house. The ride home had been a quiet one, her being in disbelief. She hadn't been very helpful as I ripped the board of directors a new one but I knew that it was out of uncertainty for my own future. I closed the door behind her as she walked into the living room.

"I know. On a scale of 1 to 10, what are my chances that I'm not fired?" I asked, sitting on the couch.

"Well, I wouldn't put my money very high." She replied, sitting across from me. "But, at least you were able to stand up for yourself. I think that's a huge deal and they know you mean business. You're right. You are extremely talented and they know exactly how important you are for their business. I think I'm going to reach out to a few other record companies to let them know you are possibly interested in shopping around for a new label. Let's see what we can get to bite, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me." I replied. Sandra stood up and I did as well. "Thank you for having faith in me, Sandra. And for having my back of course." She smiled.

"That's what you pay me for." She joked, giving me a wink. "But in all honesty, I think you were very brave today and that's the kind of person I like to stand behind."

"Thank you." There was a knock on the front door as we walked towards it. Reaching out, I opened it and saw that Jeff and Evan were both standing there. "Hey! What are you doing here?" I asked as they walked in.

"Well, the label just called me. They advised me that I was allowed to be open about my sexuality to the public if I wished." Jeff said, smiling at me. He was a taller guy with blonde hair that he always kept short and gelled nicely. Evan stood behind him, the shorter man with red hair and a matching beard smiling at me. "Seems like they wanted to make sure that I understood they had no desired to stand in the way of my rights as a gay man."

"Imagine that." Sandra said, putting her hand on her hip.

"Something tells me that you had something to do with that." Evan said. I shrugged.

"All I did was go in there and tell them what I wanted for myself and everyone involved. I also may have reminded them how serious a lawsuit would be if they discriminated against you when it came to the issue."

"You are such a force to reckon with." Jeff reached out and hugged me. "You'll be happy to know that my publicist and I are going to work together to come up with the best way and time to announce it. Then, we will be going public with our engagement. None of that would be possible if it wasn't for you." He said, letting me go.

"And your sex tape." Evan offered. I snorted, shaking my head.

"What can I say? I'll do anything I can to help my friends out." I replied.

"Let's keep things toned down going forward, shall we?" Sandra asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm heading back to my office before I have to figure out another way to prevent World War 3. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Sandra." She waved as she headed out the door.

"She seems pretty calm about the whole thing. I heard you let the whole office have it and that you were removed from the building." Jeff said, sitting on the couch. I shook my head, walking over. Evan poured us some drinks from the wet bar on the other side of my living room, setting the tray on the coffee table between us.

"No. All that happened was that they tried to convince me that I messed up and agreeing to their terms was the only way to fix it. I realized though that it might not have been all a mistake. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'd rather not have my tits bouncing around the internet but still, at least I'm not hiding anything anymore. And now you can be honest with the world too."

"That I can." He said, reaching over and taking Evan's hand in his. "So, how is Tommy taking all of this?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't talked to him since. He sent me a text while I was in my meeting but I haven't had the chance to talk to him. His phone went straight to voicemail when I called on the way here. Sandra talked to his agent and said that he wasn't going to be fired or anything which is good."

"Are you kidding? The UFC loves this type of drama. It helps fill the seats and sell events over cable." Evan said, sipping his drink. "He had nothing to worry about."

"I'm glad. I was afraid he would have lost his job." I said.

"So? Now what? Are you two going to be together?" Jeff asked, leaning forward. I shrugged.

"I'm not sure." I said, softly. "I would like to be but there's so much to figure out. His divorce is going to be a messy one. He lives on the other side of the country. I will be on the road a lot. We'd have to see how things take us. That is if he still wants to be with me."

"He would be crazy not to be." Jeff sipped his drink. "Give him some time. With all the excitement of the day, he might just need some time to let the dust settle. He'll come around."

"I suppose I'll have to wait and see." My phone chirped in my pocket and I pulled it out. I saw that I had an email from Big Machine Records. I felt my heart thunder in my chest as dread built in the pit of my stomach.

"What is it?" Evan asked.

"The label emailed me." I replied, standing. Jeff stood too, walking over to me.

"Look, whatever it says, it doesn't matter. This isn't the end of anything unless you make the call. Got it?" He said, grabbing my other hand. I nodded, pressing the screen with my thumb. It took a second to load, the letter head appearing at the top of the email.

"What does it say?" Evan asked. I skimmed it quickly.

"Kimberly, we would like to honor all of your requests. We've reconsidered the actions of today and will be willing to offer you another chance. Please be advised of these changes and return the signed copy at your earliest convenience via your attorney." I read outloud. My eyes widened.

"That's amazing! You scared them into agreeing." Jeff said, hugging me again. Evan jumped up and joined our hug. Relief washed over me as they squished me between them. At least I knew I still had my career to count on and I was finally going to have some control over it. "This is great! We should celebrate. Let's go out to the club!"

"Um...I think I'm going to stay in and avoid the public for a bit." I replied. He looked at me confused and then it seemed something clicked.

"Oh. Right. Titty video. Forgot all about that. By the way, please tell us all the juicy details you failed to mention before. Is he big? I bet he's big."

"Jeffrey!" Evan gasped, swatting him.

"What? I meant tall. I bet he's tall."

"Yeah. Sure, you did." Evan rolled his eyes, heading to make more drinks.

A couple hours past and the two kept me company. It was nice to sit and talk with them, hearing how they were going to plan their wedding. I was so happy that the two of them were going to be able to be open and free to be themselves. It was something I know they've been hoping for and now, they could finally have that together. They deserved that and then some. At least I could give this to them.

"Kimberly?" Kat arena said, poking her head into the dining room where we were eating dinner. I looked over my shoulder at her. "There's a man at the door for you."

"Oh, boy. I wonder who that could be." Jeff said.

"Probably a reporter." I muttered, standing.

"We'll come just in case." Evan said, standing. Jeff gave him a look.

"In case of what? What are we going to do? Give him a makeover and send him on his way?" Evan glared at Jeff who dragged himself to his feet. Katarenna disappeared and I headed towards the front of the house. Jeff and Evan were behind me as I turned the corner that led to the door. I stopped though when I saw it was Tommy standing there. He was looking at the painting by the door, a bag in hand.

"Tommy?" I asked, stepping towards him. He turned to face me, a tired look on his face. He smiled when he saw me though, hiskind brown eyes filling with warmth.

"Hey, beautiful. Sorry for the surprise. My phone died on the plane." He said, setting his bag down and stepping towards me.

"It's okay." I replied. Jeff made a noise behind me, reminding me that we were not alone. "Sorry. Tommy, this is Jeff and his fiancé Evan." I said, pointing over my shoulder. "Guys, this is Tommy."

"Nice to meet you." Evan said, shaking Tommy's hand.

"You too." Tommy said. He turned his attention to Jeff. "Fake boyfriend?"

"And you must be the real boyfriend." Jeff said, shaking hands with Tommy. "Kim told us so much about you."

"I hope it was all good." Tommy said, smiling at me.

"Wouldn't be good gossip then." Jeff said, grinning.

"I think we are gonna head out." Evan said, nudging Jeff towards the door.

"What? Why? The night is still young." Jeff said. Evan gave him a look as he tried to silently speak to him.

"Kim doesn't need us in her hair anymore." Evan said through gritted teeth. Jeff nodded, understanding.

"Right. Call me tomorrow, okay?" Jeff said, hugging me quickly. Evan did as well, the two heading to the door. They left, Jeff winking at me before closing the door.

"Hi." I said, looking up at Tommy.

"Hi, yourself." He replied, giving me a small smile. Reaching out, he took my hand in his. "Quite the crazy day, wouldn't you say?"

"Tell me about it." I muttered, letting out a sigh. "How did it go over with UFC?"

"Like a lead balloon. But at least I still have my match this weekend. I'm sure I'll have a short leash for a while but with all things considered, I'm okay with that. What about you? Did the label drop you?"

"Actually, no. They wanted me to just sign and not ask for anything. I almost did, too. But I knew I couldn't go through with that. I would be signing another two years of my life away. So, I told them my demands and that I wouldn't sign unless they gave them all to me. Well, they did."

"That's amazing, Kimberly." He said, smiling. "Seems like things worked out good for everyone then."

"What about Katherine?" I asked, wincing. He let out a little chuckle.

"My head of security called to let me know that she left shortly after I did. Seems she wasn't too happy. Her and I had some words as I was getting ready to come here. I told her that I knew everything she's done and that this was it for our marriage. She wasn't too happy. She even admitted that it wasn't my baby she was pregnant with." My eyes widened at the revelation.

"What?" He nodded.

"Turns out, it was her dance instructor. She was cheating right from the start and wanted to make sure I became a fighter like she wanted."

"She's legit the most awful person on the planet." I said.

"I have to give her some credit though. She was right about me becoming an MMA fighter. If she hadn't pushed me into it, I wouldn't have been at that hotel that night to get stuck in the elevator with you. You and I both know that if I was just a paleontologist, we wouldn't have found our way back to one another."

"No, we don't." I shook my head. "We never know what could have happened then."

"It doesn't matter. I'm just grateful that the path brought me here." LEaning in, he kissed my forehead. "I was terrified that everything that happened today would come between us."

"Me, too." I whispered. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to be with me anymore."

"I thought the same thing." He stroked my cheek with his thumb. "Is that the case?"

"Absolutely not." I replied. He smirked.

"Same here." Cupping my face in his hands, he pressed his lips to mine. He kissed me sweetly, warming me inside as he did. When he pulled away, he put his forehead against mine. "I can't wait to tell the world you're mine."

"Who knew a sex tape could be so beneficial?" I joked, a laugh coming from him.

"True." Bending down, he scooped me up in his arms. "Maybe we should get started on our sequel then. We do have a reputation to uphold now."

"Oh, ha ha." I mused, giving him a playful glare. He kissed me again.

"I love you." He breathed, brushing his lips against my cheek.

"I love you, too." I kissed him again. "I suppose we can practice for our next one."

"Say no more!" He exclaimed, jogging towards the stairs. I giggled as he started up them.