She shook her head, holding a pocket of nicotine smoke inside her mouth. I waited until it pushed from her nostrils and lips. “You mean Renata.” Oh, yeah. That could be the name. “That’s my sister. She back at home. I’m Treesha.”
Oh…
“And you were there that night I picked Tori up?”
“Like a pussy fiend.” She plucked her ashes into the bushes next to her.
My head swung to the other side, brows knitted. “I hadn’t fucked Tori.”
“Well…” She tossed her head in a shrug. “We all know that eventually changed.” She placed the cigarette to her mouth again. “Right?”
“I’ll let her fill you in on those details. In the meantime, you can tell me why you’re here.”
She snorted, cigarette hanging conversantly from her lips. “You was fine as fuck then, but you’s a sexy ass muthafucka now. You still rich?”
“Who’s asking?”
Treesha scoffed. “My nosy ass. But not like that; you off limits, bro. It’s just…” She pulled from the cigarette, eyes plunging toward the ground. “I’ve always wondered about you.”
I switched weight on my legs. “Why?”
She didn’t speak at first or for a while. “Because that uppity Black school changed Tori.”
Blakewood?
“Positively, I hope.”
She shrugged again. “Mostly. But it fucked her up, too.”
That gave me pause, my response rolling out slowly. “What’s fucked up about Tori McNabb?”
Treesha flicked her cigarette onto the ground, stood, and squashed it with her flip flop. “I said too much. I ain’t the one being interviewed here.” The muscles in my face relaxed. “I only came to tell you tomorrow’s your day to ask her whatever shit you wanna ask her.”
“When?” I asked as she turned away.
“She’s up at a quarter to five to start her training. You can slip in the gym around one. She’s gonna cut her day short for you.”
Tori’s cousin didn’t wait for a response before ambling off.
As I ascended the steps of the dimly lit dining area, immediately, I noticed how sparsely filled the place was. That was but for the copper toned feminine stature in the far left corner. She sat stock-still, wonderfully postured at a table topped with a small floral arrangement, tea-light candles, and a tumbler one-third filled. Her impassive attention was locked onto me.
“A one-on-one with the champ without her handlers,” I muttered. “This trip may be salvageable yet.”
Her eyes followed mine, sweeping against the Mauve again. “Your little girlfriend arranged it after your controlling hissy fit earlier at the gym.”
My brows raised, begging her pardon. When Tori’s hard gaze didn’t relent, I pulled out the chair and took a seat.
“My little girlfriend. Predictable,” I scoffed, nodding. “Regarding my assertion earlier during your training session, that was not what most would consider a hissy fit so much as it was a demand of professionalism. I came to Indonesia to do a job, too.”
Her head shook softly as she peered me deeply in the eyes. “Nothing trumps my training.”
“But this trip was scheduled for Tyler Thomas,” I argued. “Foolishly, I haven’t changed the itinerary. Thomas would have never begun his work with you in between you sparring with a man who looks to have just completed a fifteen-year bid in a state penitentiary. I value my work, just as he does.”
Earlier today, when I was told I was scheduled to finally speak to Ms. McNabb, it was not the early ending of her daily training session as Treesha described. It was actually a break in between, where she sat down with me in the corner of the makeshift boxing gym the resort put together for her. Tori was sweating and out of breath, sitting across from me while hydrating. I was told we had twenty minutes before her workout resumed.
Offended, I stood from the table and refused the conversation. Tori watched mutedly as I spoke to one of her handlers about rescheduling a dignified time when we could speak without distraction. Tori didn’t utter a word, and after a few pleas from her on-duty public relations person, I walked out. An hour later, Keyonna came out onto the deck of our villa to tell me Tori and I would be sitting down here, in the main cafeteria, to begin the interview. I didn’t envision us being alone.
I pulled the recorder from my pocket and placed it on the table. Using my eyes, I guided her attention to it. “I’m sure you’ve been made aware of the method by which all of our exchanges will be noted.”
Tori’s arm swept up from beneath the table, revealing her own tape recorder. “Oh, absolutely.” Her tone was firm, though soft.
I nodded.
Touché…
Tori didn’t trust me, and I honestly didn’t give a shit. I’d been in investigative and feature writing journalism for a few years now. I can’t say that all of my subjects were thrilled to share with me. So, I tapped my recorder and issued a nod to Tori, inviting her to do the same. Without wasting much thought measuring her energy, I decided to get started. The questions I would lead with were meant to flatter and disarm. Icebreakers were paramount.
“From the first day of your training, I saw the kids from the island were in the gym. I was told you were explicit in your demand to allow them free access to the facility.”
Blinking successively, Tori’s eyes fell to the table, telling of her lack of preparation. She was jarred, but visibly struggled to regain the control of her steed.
“Yeah. I’m a visitor in their home. I’ve come here for the beauty and isolation of it; why shouldn’t they have access to the benefit of me being here?”
Nodding, I loaded my follow-up question. “So, why are you here? You can train virtually anywhere on the planet. Why come to Southeast Asia to prepare for a fight?”
Tori nodded, ready to answer. “Well, this is a special fight to me. Monica and I have been circling each other for years, examining and flexing. She’s a heavyweight, and not a priority to reset my regimen for. Aside from that, I’ve had a few opponents I felt I needed to defeat before manipulating my weight to engage her. Gaining weight while conditioning can be a challenge. Monica’s fast and a smart boxer. I needed a place where I could wake up to stable conditions and the people project positive energy.
“A trusted spiritual advisor recommended Kamigu. It’s…” She rubbed her hands together then gestured to the caressing mild winds, the applauding palm leaves from countless branches, and the brilliant celestial bodies winking down over the resort. “…heaven here on earth. I was told it was sanctified and consecrated. This is where I need to be to prepare for the biggest fight of my career...”
My brows met when her intonation changed. I’d taken a sip of my drink, warming into what had begun to transition into an amenable exchange. Tori’s attention was on my mouth. I realized I’d licked my lips and quickly hoped I wasn’t loud with swallowing, not that I could imagine how she’d hear such a distinct sound from across the table. There was no music playing in the dining room, but the collective sounds of the ocean and general village around us created an audible backdrop. Rolling her eyes away, she shook off her thoughts.