Chapter 6
THE NEXT MORNING PINK SLIVERS OF LIGHT CREPT ABOVE THE waterline far in the distance, giving the beach an unearthly glow.
Indy stretched her arms over her head, muscles suddenly so much heavier than they’d been the day before, as she clomped down the wooden stairway leading from the practice facilities down to the sand.
Each step made every fiber of muscle in her legs throb.
After only one day, her body was in shock.
She’d forced herself out of bed that morning knowing the sooner she moved, the less it would hurt—eventually.
Gingerly she reached the bottom of the stairs and landed in the sand, and suddenly, even standing still was painful as she tried to keep her balance on the soft surface.
“This wasn’t a great idea,” she muttered to herself. She wanted to turn around and crawl back into bed. She could run tomorrow, when her body was more accustomed to OBX’s training regimen.
She grasped the handrail of the stairs to pull herself back up them, but as she looked up, she saw Penny Harrison, long dark hair piled at the top of her head and headphones plugged into her ears, jogging down the stairs.
Indy froze. It was one thing to be introduced to one of your idols, especially with two other people around as a nice buffer, but what the hell was she supposed to say now?
Should she wait until Penny said something, or say hello to her like it was no big deal?
She probably had people acting like crazed fans around her all the time and Dom had said not to bother her while she was training, but they knew each other now, so…
“Hey,” Penny said, cutting into Indy’s mental ramble as she jumped down the last couple of steps into the sand.
“Hi,” Indy finally managed, and her resolve to limp back to bed crumbled. She’d come here to train at the place that made Penny Harrison one of the best tennis players in the world. If that meant pushing through the soreness, then that’s what she would do.
Penny raised her eyebrows and nodded down the beach. It was probably the closest thing to an invitation Indy was going to get, so she nodded back, and they set off, their pace even and measured.
The smell of the ocean air wafted up from the shore, filling Indy’s senses, forcing the last traces of sleepiness from her. She quickened her pace slightly as her muscles loosened and energy began to flow through her limbs.
“Easy does it,” Penny cautioned from a step behind her. “You want to warm up, not tire yourself out for training later.”
The sun finally burst out from the horizon, the ocean a sea of orange, purple, and pink as the light reflected off the water. They ran for about ten minutes, turned at the edge of the OBX property, and followed their footsteps back toward the practice courts.
“Shit,” Penny muttered as soon as they turned and saw a figure jogging in their direction.
“What?” Indy asked, squinting into the distance. The little part of her that would always be a tennis fan first recognized the silhouette. Alex Russell was headed straight for them. Indy had no idea how that could be a bad thing, but she kept her mouth shut.
“Nope,” Penny said simply, and turned, sprinting in the opposite direction, and Indy followed suit, her legs burning as she tried to keep up.
She thought back to last night, watching Jack demonstrate the footwork drill and the way his shirt had stretched against his broad shoulders and the power in his thighs.
Athleticism obviously ran in their family.
Finally, Penny led her through a small alleyway off the beach, and somehow they were back on OBX property. She pulled to a stop on a deserted walkway between two of the outer practice courts.
“Are you okay?” Indy asked, wheezing, not really sure what else to say. A wave of guilt slid through her for letting her mind wander to Jack, when his sister was clearly upset. Especially since he’d gone completely cold at the end there for reasons beyond her understanding.
Shit. She’d done it again. She forced herself to refocus on Penny.
“I’m fine,” Penny snapped, and then cringed. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Indy said.
“No, it’s not, but thanks.”
“You’re welcome?”
“You’re not going to ask why I ran away from him?”
“It’s none of my business.”
Penny studied her carefully and Indy figured she was trying to see if there was some ulterior motive, the new girl trying to get close to the star.
And yeah, maybe a part of her was freaking out that she was standing there with the Penny Harrison, but mostly she was just glad to have maybe found another girl who didn’t hate her on sight.
Finally, Penny nodded. “C’mon, let’s grab breakfast.”
Indy followed her, thankful to have passed whatever test she unknowingly took and grateful her muscles weren’t quite as sore anymore, thanks to their mad dash across the property.
They walked in silence through the maze of practice courts, past the back doors to the atrium, and they both turned left at the edge of the main building toward the entrance of Deuce.
Open twenty-four hours a day, Deuce served as a dining hall for the live-in athletes, staff, and any tennis vacation guests, plus it was open to the public for lunch and dinner.
With vaulted wooden, whitewashed ceilings and contrasting dark-stained floors and tables, plus an outdoor eating area that overlooked the beach, it was the place people gathered before and after training, and that morning it was bustling.
“Why’s it so crowded?” Indy asked, looking into a sea of faces she’d never seen before. It hadn’t been nearly as packed during lunch and dinner yesterday.
“Some of the international Classic players started showing up last night and this morning. Athletes, coaches, families—it adds up to a lot of people here for a couple of weeks,” Penny said, leading the way to the breakfast buffet at the far end of the room.
Indy recognized the two people in line ahead of them, Lara and Addison, and as they made their way through the buffet, she heard her name muttered more than once as the pair kept glancing back and then whispering again.
She tried to focus on the food instead as they each grabbed some scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, fruit, and toast, and after they paid, she saw Jack and Teddy already sitting at a table, waving Penny over.
Indy hovered uncertainly for a moment at the empty chair between the Harrison twins, her eyes lingering on Jack, confirming that he was actually as hot as she remembered from the night before.
He, however, was looking anywhere except in her direction.
Then Penny looked up at her, eyebrows drawn together. “Are you going to sit?”
“Right,” Indy said, putting her plate down and sliding into the chair beside Teddy. He immediately smiled, gently nudged her with his elbow, and stole a strip of turkey bacon.
“Teddy,” Jack warned from across the table, sending his brother a withering glare, but still seeming to make the deliberate choice not to look at her.
“What? She doesn’t mind, do you?” he asked.
Indy shook her head. “Not as long as I can steal some of your potatoes. They were out when I went up.”
Teddy immediately pushed his plate toward her and she grinned, popping one into her mouth. “Thanks.”
Her joy was short-lived.
Across the room, Lara and Addison were holding court at another table filled with most of the top young players at OBX, including Jasmine Randazzo.
If looks could kill, Indy would’ve expired as soon as Jasmine’s eyes locked onto her. Indy couldn’t help herself. She tilted her head, half question, half challenge, until Jasmine broke eye contact and her table dissolved into fierce conversation.
Her ears burned, imagining the shit they were talking, sinking any chance at all of her recovering from the disaster that was her first encounter with Jasmine. Apparently simply making a new friend was another unforgivable crime when that friend was Penny Harrison.
All three Harrisons seemed oblivious to the attention, so Indy decided to ignore it. Having them with her was like having a solid wall that could keep out any crap anyone wanted to throw at her, but it was a temporary fix at best. She couldn’t use them as human shields once she headed to training.
“Got confirmation last night that Harold Hodges’ll be here covering the Classic, Pen. He wants to do a feature with you and Alex if that’s okay?” Jack asked, dumping an unhinged amount of sugar into his coffee.
Penny’s mouth twisted into a pout, but she nodded.
Teddy laughed and then, using his fork for a microphone, said, “You’re like so famous, Pen. What’s it like to be so awesome?” He nudged his sister with his elbow, making her drop the knife she was using to butter her toast, but Penny laughed with him.
It was weird. Indy hadn’t really expected them to be so… normal.
“Indy!” Roy called out from the edge of the dining hall, approaching the table quickly. The entire place, buzzing with activity seconds before, fell into total silence. “Coach wants to see you. Come on with me back to his office.”
“Oooh,” Teddy said, chuckling, as panic hit her hard.
“Shut up, Ted,” Jack said, glaring at his younger brother.
“What crawled up your ass today?” Teddy muttered, but Indy couldn’t worry about whatever was going on with either Harrison brother right now.
Why the hell did Dom want to see her? It felt like being called to the principal’s office, only a million times worse.
Had she done anything wrong? He hadn’t even coached one of her training sessions yet.
Did he think she’d run into Penny this morning accidently-on-purpose after he’d warned them to stay away? How would he have even known about it?
She nodded to Penny, who smiled encouragingly, and left with Roy. Her joints were stiff, her feet dragging like lead and her throat tightening against the panic that tore through her.
When they reached the atrium, Roy nodded at the staircase leading up to Dom’s office and she scaled the steps slowly, only to find the office empty.
Indy took a seat in front of his desk and waited.
Eyes on the clock, she watched the seconds tick by slowly.
If he didn’t show up soon, she might throw up.
Her stomach grumbled, protesting that last thought.
There was barely anything to throw up. She wished she’d grabbed a slice of her toast before leaving Deuce with Roy. At least then she wouldn’t be starving.
Then two sets of footsteps echoed on the stairs. Indy stood, wiping her sweaty palms against her shorts, then smoothed back her hair.
Dom stepped into the room, followed closely by a tall blond woman in her mid-thirties.
“Indiana, good, you’re here.” Dom quickly strode away from the woman, frowning over his shoulder at her. His eyes darted around the room and he wiped his hand over his entire face. Indy’s stomach sank. That couldn’t be a good sign. “I’d like to introduce you to Ms. Morneau.”
The blond smiled, showing off two rows of perfect white teeth.
She wore a white pencil skirt and a blush-colored silk sleeveless blouse, cut high at the neck.
“Caroline, please.” She said her name in a soft French accent, like “Cah-row-lean.” Approaching Indy, she ignored her extended hand and pressed a faux kiss lightly on each cheek.
Indy pulled away sharply and looked back and forth between Dom and this odd woman who thought it was okay to kiss her.
“I take it your father didn’t call you,” Dom said, reading the confusion on her face.
Indy shook her head. “Dad doesn’t have the time to call me. He’s far too busy with work. Hedge funds don’t manage themselves.”
Dom cleared his throat. “Well, Caroline will explain, then. I’ll just go.”
Before Indy could ask him what the hell was going on, he was already out the door and down the stairs, leaving her alone with Caroline.
“Why don’t we sit down?” Caroline motioned to the chairs in front of Dom’s desk.
“I’m sorry,” Indy said, ignoring the suggestion. “I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you exactly?”
“Caroline Morneau. Your father has hired me as representation.”
“Representation for what?”
“For you.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“I’m your agent, Indiana.”
For the next twenty minutes, Caroline rattled on, but Indy barely heard a word.
Only a few things stood out. Caroline worked for a company called Trinity Agency that specialized in representing athletes.
They were a subsidiary of the law firm that her father had on retainer, and as soon as the news of her ranking had dropped, her father had put Caroline on a plane to North Carolina.
It was typical. Her dad was always doing things like this, barely speaking a word to her for months and then having a car delivered to her driveway for Christmas.
Her mom used to say it was his way of showing affection.
To Indy it screamed of a guilty conscience.
She wanted to go pro and sign with an agent, but hell would freeze over before she let her dad have anything to do with it.
“Indiana, are you listening to me?” Caroline finally asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
“No, I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right, I can start again.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m sorry you wasted your time coming all this way. I haven’t even gone pro yet, not officially, and anyway, when it’s time, I’ll pick my own agent.”
Caroline smiled, a small rise of the corners of her mouth that made Indy feel like she was five years old. “Perhaps you should call your father.”
“Perhaps,” Indy agreed. But if he wanted to talk about this, he could pick up the phone. She had zero intention of telling her dad anything. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a training session.”
“Of course,” Caroline said. “Take this with you. It is your contract. There is no need to decide today, but your father wishes to protect your interests.”
“Sure.” She took the papers and sped out of the office, down the stairs, and back into the atrium.
“Everything okay, Indy?” Roy asked, laying aside his newspaper as she nearly flew past his desk.
She stopped dead and turned to him with a smile. If he knew her better, he probably would’ve been able to tell the smile was fake. “Do you have a recycle bin behind your desk?”
“Sure do.”
“Could you throw this out for me?” she asked, holding out the contract.
“No problem,” Roy said, taking it and glancing down at the cover page. “You sure you don’t need this?”
“Positive.”