2. Miles Day
I’m on the ninth hole, about to putt for birdie when my phone starts to ring. My hands tighten around the club, a growl escaping me.
“Don’t you normally turn your phone off while on the course?” my caddy, Fitz, asks.
“When I have an assistant to take important calls for me, yes.” I pull out my phone to check it. It’s a call from my mom. I’m not ready to hear the latest about my dad’s new model girlfriend, so I silence it and slide it back into my pocket.
“You still haven’t hired a new one?”
“I’m trying to be more selective since the last one bought me a flight to the wrong state.” I clench my jaw at the memory. I missed Shaw winning the Stanley Cup and proposing to his now-fiancée, Sutton. Those are the kinds of things friends don’t miss. But because of my last assistant Chris, I did.
I’ve been playing professional golf for five years now, and I’ve only had one good assistant. The first year of my career I had Oliver, a great guy who I can attribute a lot of my success to. After he left to start his own golf academy, I’ve been on a downward slope. When my assistants aren’t making constant mistakes, they’re trying to seduce me or blackmail me to get money. One woman camped out in my house in lingerie, only for my mother to be the one to find her while visiting. Another guy took photos of me in my house to sell to gossip sites. Thankfully, all he took before I caught him were some photos of me eating breakfast. A few guys on the course made fun of my golf-themed pajama pants–a gift from my mother–but it wasn’t too bad. I can only imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t caught him as quickly as I did.
After a series of failures, I’m determined to find an assistant who is organized, knows golf, and won’t attempt to seduce or stalk me. This process is taking longer than I thought, though, which means that I’m less focused than I should be during practice rounds like this one.
“The U.S. Open is next month, you need someone before then,” Fitz says.
I lift my ballcap and rake a hand through my hair before putting it back on. “I know, but I can’t afford to have a disaster happen during the week of the Open either. I need to choose the best person for the job.”
“I’ve been asking around, and I told Jada to keep an eye out for a good fit.”
I nod. “Thank you.” I pause. “But don’t send me any old golfer’s kids okay? Those are the worst ones.” I’ve already made a few elderly enemies from firing their spoiled grandkids.
He laughs. “Noted.”
I lift the golf club in the air. “Now let me sink this birdie and then we can go home for the day.”
“Sounds good.” He steps back, giving me plenty of room to putt.
I take a deep breath in and let it out, forcing my frustrations out with it. I need all of my focus to be on this one movement. With a gentle swing, my club taps the ball. It rolls right into the hole.
“Nice work,” Fitz says with a grin. “If you keep this up, I’ll have a big check next month.” I laugh and hand him my club to put back in the bag. The money a caddy makes is dependent on how much money their golfer makes, so Fitz likes to joke about the correlation.
“Hopefully a better one than last week.”
Fitz’s smile falls at my words. Last week was the PGA Championship, and I lost by a stroke to Zane Hastings, the most hated golfer on the tour. He’s unfortunately as talented as he is a pretentious jerk. Everyone avoids him when possible, except the newer golfers who want his connections. I’ve always avoided him, which is hard to do because we share a postal code. If I hadn’t grown up here and had a sentimental attachment to this town, I would have moved out as soon as he moved in. But since I love Coastal Cove, I just do my best to avoid him on and off the course.
“Second place isn’t bad, man,” Fitz says as we start to walk toward the clubhouse. Today was one of the practices where we left the golf cart behind. Since we don’t use them during the tournaments, I prefer to use them as little as possible.
“If I would have lost to anyone else, I wouldn’t care as much,” I tell him, but that’s not entirely true. I want to win every time I step up to that very first tee box. No matter how close I get, if I’m not taking home the trophy, then I spend every day up until the next tournament thinking of everything I did wrong and how to not repeat those mistakes.
“Cheer up, man.” Fitz slings an arm around me and squeezes my shoulder. “You’re number two in the world right now.”
“Legacies aren’t made from being number two.”
“Your intense dedication makes us a lot of money, but it also makes me worry for you.”
I laugh. “Don’t worry about me, I’ve got a good life.”
“You live in a house all by yourself and all you do is play golf or video games.”
“You’re proving my point.” I grin at him, but he shakes his head, his shaggy brown hair falling in his eyes.
“All I’m saying is it wouldn’t kill you to take a break now and again, maybe even–I don’t know–go on a date.”
“I go on dates all the time,” I say, pulling out from under his arm. My hand starts to feel too hot in my glove, so I rip it off. I hate it when Fitz brings up relationships. I work hard to bury the subject, but occasionally he grabs a shovel and digs it right back up.
“Going to charity events or sponsorship parties doesn’t count.” He lowers his voice as we near the clubhouse. “I don’t want you to be like these old jaded golfers on the senior tour talking about the good old days while drinking too much scotch.”
“Just because I don’t want to get married doesn’t mean I’m going to end up like that. I know you and Jada are happy, but marriage isn’t for everyone.”
“I’m not telling you to get married, I gave up on that a long time ago.”
I shoot him a disbelieving look before opening the door to the clubhouse. The scent of eucalyptus greets us as we walk into the lobby. I nod to the receptionist who smiles brightly at us before we veer off toward the locker rooms.
“Then what are you suggesting?” I ask as we walk down the hall. I smile as we pass the framed newspaper of me winning the Masters for the first time. Coastal Cove had a huge beach bonfire party to celebrate one of their own winning a major golf tournament. It was one of the best days of my life.
“To have some fun. Take a woman out to dinner, or the beach.”
I shake my head at him. I’m not taking any woman to the beach. That’s my sanctuary. I bought a beachfront mansion for that very reason. I’m not tainting that peace with a woman who will only be in my life for a blip of a moment.
“Fitz, just drop it. I’m happy with my life. I’ve got friends and a career I love. I don’t need anything more.” I try not to let my frustration leak into my tone too much. I know he means well, but he knows why I don’t want to get married or have a serious relationship. That’s not going to change because I take a random woman to dinner.
“Fine.” He sighs. “I’ll leave it alone, but only because I need to dip out of here. Jada has a showing at her gallery tonight and I told her I’d help move in the new pieces.”
Fitz’s wife Jada is an artist. She makes pieces inspired by Coastal Cove’s scenery. I own quite a few acrylic paintings by her. I don’t pretend to know anything about art, but I know she’s good. The fact that her gallery sells out every time she has a showing proves it too.
“Okay, I might drop by later,” I say and he pats me on the back.
“She’d like that.” He pulls out his phone; it’s lit up and buzzing in his hand. A photo of him and Jada kissing is on the screen. I barely resist rolling my eyes at how cheesy they are.
“Hey, beautiful,” he says upon answering. “We were just talking about you. Miles is going to try to drop by your gallery showing.” I watch his smile grow as he listens to whatever she’s saying. “You’re amazing. I knew you’d find someone. I’ll let him know. Love you too.”
He hangs up and I raise my brows. “Well, what was that about?”
“Jada said she found you a new assistant. Her name’s Ellie Hart. She graduated a little over two years ago with a degree in business administration and a perfect GPA. Plus, she’s got experience as an assistant.”
“That sounds promising,” I say. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give her an interview. If Jada approves, she has to be decent.”
“I’ll send you her contact information once Jada gives it to me.” He takes a step back. “I’m going to head out though. See you tonight?”
“Sounds good.”
He walks back toward the lobby and I head into the locker room to get my duffel bag. A hesitant smile stretches my lips. Maybe I’ll find someone good after all this time. Someone who will simply come in and do her job so that I can focus on mine. Then I’ll win the Masters, and steal back the number one spot from Zane, making everything right in the world once more.