Marvin was sure he would defeat me, so he set the rules. He said no street fighting but strictly martial arts. It was going to be fun. The people there were from work and also my new friend, June.

June asked if I had done this before. I told her I grew up in the streets and watched people fight, which was why I could do this. She laughed and asked me to be careful.

We were going to have three rounds and for the first round, I allowed Marvin to win. I allowed his kicks and jabs. I only defended what I felt could hurt me. I could see the smile on Marvin’s face. Everybody except him knew it was not a clearly won victory.

June walked up to me before the next bout. “I thought you said you did not know how to fight. It’s so clear that you are better than him. Give us a flawless victory in the next two rounds, show him you are better,” June said.

“He is my boss,” I replied.

“You are in charge of security, my girl,” said June as she stepped aside for the next round.

“Obviously, you are hiding talent and everybody sees it. I know you can do better than this. Make it worth my while,” said Marvin.

The next two bouts were difficult ones. I did give Marvin a good fight. It was nice to see him make a few mistakes. He was good and had nice skills, but I could take him on any day and any time. I noticed I was fainting but I decided to go on with the fight.

Though I did not want to win the fight. I also did not want him to win. As it progressed, I became weak and fainty but I held it until it was over. So the last two bouts were a draw.

June walked up to me very impressed after the fight. She hugged me as if we had known for a very long time. She noticed I was a bit tired and was not sure if I was okay. She offered her water. I drank, taking a few gulps. Then she gave me an energy booster.

I felt better though a little bit busy and I did not know why.

“That was a hell of a comeback,” June said.

I smiled at her and said, “Yeah, sure I thought I tried too?” still smiling and using her as a wedge to hold my balance.

“Are you kidding me? You won by my assessment and account of what happened,” June said.

“Na - ah, it’s a draw,” I said.

“You look so exhausted, are you sure you are okay?” June said.

“Yeah, I am. I should be tired cos Marvin is a beast,” I said.

I was really tired and though I should be getting better I was rather feeling a bit dizzy, it was unusual and June was doing everything she could to hide it from the rest of the group. She took some of the cold water, put some on her towel, and gently applied it to the back of my head and on my chest.

It made me feel better, but as soon as she stopped, the dizziness set in again. June saw this and applied it continuously. After a while, I felt really good.

All this while Marvin had been congratulating himself with the group of men from the office. They were all acting amazed at his skills. I even heard one say that he would not dare Marvin to a fight. I laughed because I thought that I had allowed it to happen.

June asked me “What are you laughing at?”

I was pointing in the direction of Marvin and the group of men at the other corner, “I am laughing at the men there, congratulating themselves on a battle they did not win. The ties that I allowed.

“I knew you were better than that. I knew you were some sort of Marine the way you fought?” June said.

“How would you know that?” I asked.

“My father trained me, he was a marine too,” June said.

“Cool, I like that,” I said.

We walked over to the men still bragging about Marvin’s win, as if they were blind to what I did and how I allowed him to win.

Marvin noticed us coming and waved. He reached out his hand and grabbed me gently before hugging me.

“Who is this angel with you? Don’t tell me, Miss June. I can see you have a firm supporter in your corner,” Marvin said.

“Yes, June was supportive and I could have won,” I said.

“Okay, I give it to you that she was a good coach but you didn’t win,” Marvin said, laughing out real loud.

We all laughed and drank some water. I watched as Marvin and June did some sessions together. Marvin was energetic and followed along with June at every routine exercise that day. I was a bit tired and decided to rest, catch my breath, and regain energy.

After the gym, Marvin and June exchanged contact and pleasantries. I had to ask Marvin because not having June’s contact looked weird to me. She was one of the Managing Directors in charge of one of his subsidiaries.

“Marvin, I cannot believe you don’t have June’s details. She is one of your Managing Directors at one of your firms, it is really awkward,” I said.

Marvin acknowledged and told me he had already pleaded with June when he asked for her contact and did not know why he did not have her details though he interviewed her.

I asked if he liked her and whether he would like to go on a date with her. Marvin was trying to respect me in his answer and I reminded him that we had a timeline.

“I do not think she would accept your contract. If not, yes, I like her. If it is okay with you, let’s give it a try,” Marvin said.

I walked up to June and asked “ Would you like to join us for lunch sometime?” I asked.

“The boss sent you to me. He could not do this himself?” June asked.

“Of course he can, it is a formal lunch,” I said.

“What is a formal lunch? I like him anyways tell I will be there, please inform me on time to clear my schedule,” June said.

I was happy we were getting somewhere with her but I did not know if he would accept Marvin’s offer or blow up our issue out of proportion. I was ready to talk Marvin out of this because she was his employee. Marvin had his own ideas and one of them was I would be the one who would offer the marriage contract and its terms to her.

I told Marvin we needed Tessy’s input. After all, she was a lawyer. Marvin at first disagreed but said that he would think about it.

“There is nothing to think about my love, you need a lawyer to draft whatever terms and bond that will bind the contract,” I said. Marvin was amazed. He looked at me in disbelief.

“You could pass for a CEO with the way you spill out these terms and business jargon,” he said.

“I was only stating the obvious,” I said.

We joked about it and he said I should go ahead and get Tessy tomorrow so that we could figure something out.

“Sorry Marvin, tomorrow I have got Lisandro’s meeting and I am not going to miss it,” I said.

“Okay, go do your thing, but who will be in charge of security when you are gone?” He asked.

“Oh that won’t be a problem, I have fixed that, I said.