Chapter 11

The next morning the ladies were up bright and early.

"Nova, Becket's here. Your limo is heated up and waiting."

"Thanks, Claire. Have the morning off. Security is going with me. I'll call you later. Thanks for the girls' night. I needed a friend."

Nova hugged her assistant and grabbed her gym bag with a sigh. She was not ready for the day and had no idea how it would go with Becket already being angry at her.

Becket stood waiting in the common area of the penthouse hotel suite tapping foot impatiently. Nova walked in with her gym bag expecting him to say something about her luxury accommodations. He looked around the room and just shook his head.

"What? Say it, Becket. Too fancy of a room for a rookie?"

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Didn't have to. Your face speaks volumes. Let's just go," Nova mumbled as she rushed past him to avoid the tense conversation.

In the car, Becket ignored her by checking his phone. She was glad he did because she was in no mood to deal with his snide attitude anyway.

After working out in the gym for about an hour, they reached the stadium where Powerbomb would have a house show that night. Paparazzi had not yet caught on to Nova being with Powerbomb Global. It was being kept very hush-hush until her big reveal.

They forced Liam to keep the information quiet with the help of Nova and Holt's lawyers, and a hefty non-disclosure agreement.

Nova and Becket made their way down to the ring and he jumped up to get inside. "Okay. I talked to Kevin last night. He said you used to be pretty good. I don't want you coming out for your first match like some glorified jobber. If you're going to do this, I want you to put in 100%. Got it, rockstar?"

She nodded with a roll of her eyes.

"Good. I asked around to some other guys you knew from WEC. They said you have a good work ethic, so let's see what you got. Take a bump," Becket said coldly, pointing to the mat.

Nova didn't say a word as she tried to maintain her temper. She figured the less she talked to him the better. Nova was still mad about the night before and gave him the cold shoulder up to this moment.

Nova did as she was told and failed miserably on her first attempt, falling to the mat on her back with a thud. Nova hated she was so rusty in the ring and hit the mat in frustration. She was fit from touring, but wrestling was much more physically demanding.

Over and over, she attempted to get back her stride. Feeling the pressure in her neck from falling wrong every time, she fell flat to her back once more. I had been this way for weeks during her private practices and she couldn't figure out what she was doing wrong.

Becket just sighed in disappointment. "Tuck your head. Try it again."

She tried again doing slightly better. She instantly got up and did the maneuver over and over, each time improving.

"All right. That's enough. Front bumps."

She quickly adjusted to his instruction and did even better than before. Throwing her body forward with a flip, she landed perfectly on the mat.

Becket nodded in approval. "Good. That's it. Okay, run the ropes."

Nova took off in a jog, bouncing off the ropes, each time hitting her side instead of her back. She knew she'd be feeling the rope burn in no time. It took a few rounds before Nova caught her stride and hit correctly but it was obvious the talent was there.

Becket started to spare with her, and Nova felt herself being stiffer than she ever remembered in the past. After a while of being nervous and angry with herself, she became more comfortable with Becket in the ring.

Soon, Nova got a little too cocky knowing she was doing so well. As she began working on an Irish whip, Becket swung her around making her fly over the top rope, landing flat on her ass outside the ring. She hit her head hard on the side of the mat in the same spot as Raven had hit her the night before.

Nova grabbed her head as tears welled up in her eyes. Trying not to show how badly she was really hurt; she couldn't help the whimper that escaped her.

Becket went to her, leaning over the top rope. He looked down with a chuckle. "See. That's what happens when you get too cocky and stop focusing on what you're doing. This is why I don't think you're ready yet."

She looked up at him with a quiver of her lip. Becket saw the tears rolling down her cheeks and knew she was really hurt. Quickly, he jumped down to check on her. This was what he had feared all along.

"Sorry for laughing. Here, let me see." He checked the spot on her head. "Oh man, you have a huge lump back there."

"No shit, asshole. No thanks to you. I hit the same spot on the ring just now, you jackass. Raven hit me really hard last night." Nova pushed his hand away.

Becket stood up and reached for her hand. "Come on, goth barbie. Let's get you some ice on that goose egg. We can go see if catering has some lunch out yet."

She took his hand and let him help her to her feet. Leading her to the backstage he found an ice machine and quickly went to help her.

Nova never spoke to Becket as he got the ice, or as he held to her head for her. She looked up at him and pushed his hand away with a sad breath. She didn't need pity. She needed him to trust she was trying to do her best.

Becket felt a tinge of regret from his actions of the night before. It wasn't personal. He was trying to show Nova how dangerous things could get if she wasn't ready for what awaited her in the ring. He needed to remind her of the severity of being properly trained. He knew it was a bad idea and hurting her was killing him. He knew sometimes he took this job too seriously and this was proof of it.

To his defense, he had seen too many people hurt over the years, by not taking the business as seriously as they should. He didn't want her to be one of them. His father being one of them, Becket had a first-hand account of what being too ego-driven could do. A man whose career ended long before it should have left his son with the reality of the hazards of the ring. Now his father was a broken man; physically and emotionally. Left in a wheelchair never able to return to the ring.