It's just getting started

Rick had to hold Kat off from getting drunk, which wouldn't give the impression he was aiming for, but he was pretty depressed himself. At ten, the only guests were Jan, Eliza, a couple of Kat's personal training clients, and Usha's friends.

One of the bodybuilders he'd prepped for fighting Kat mumbled something about needing to get up in the morning and was heading for the door when that door opened and a gaggle of women entered.

"Five minutes," Rick told the bodybuilder. "We'll put you on first so you can get out of here and recover."

"Hah, that's a laugh. No cunt is beating me."

That was supposed to be part of the script, but it didn't sound like a script to Rick, it sounded like the real thing. He certainly didn't want to see his friend get pummeled by some sexist jerk... both because he liked her and because it would destroy the marketing message he was going for. But it was too late to change things. He'd just have to warn Kat this guy wasn't going to be pulling his punches. "Let me help you with your gloves," Rick said.

Five minutes later, a few more women had arrived, all had plastic glasses of wine in their hands, and a couple of the younger ones had joined Jan and Eliza on the dance floor.

Rick slipped on his referee shirt, cut off the music, and announced the upcoming event.

"Kat has created an old-time boxing studio here, but it's old-time with a twist. Because it's her goal to show how boxing can empower women to stand up for themselves.

The bodybuilder grabbed the mike from Rick, shoving him to the side as he did so (which wasn't at all part of the script), and laughed. "Women don't have the upper body strength to handle a real man." He popped his biceps and preened for the women, some of whom seemed appreciative, whistling and chanting 'take it off.'

Kat was supposed to say something about standing up for women. Instead she gestured to the bodybuilder. "Talk is cheap. Let's see what you can do in the ring."

The bodybuilder laughed again. "What I can do in the ring is fuck you. First I'll fuck you with my fists, then I'll fuck you with my dick. Any questions?"

Well, this had gone off-script in a big way. Rick had thought Kat was bringing in friends. If this jerk was a friend, no wonder Kat had been willing to go gambling in Oklahoma with a complete stranger. She couldn't do worse.

The party guests babbled amongst themselves, clearly as confused as Rick was whether this was part of the planned entertainment or something completely off-script.