CHAPTER FIVE
When Hazel went into the Center the next day, she had every intention of speaking to Mike about her horrible predicament. But every time she went to the office at the opposite end of the corridor to hers, Tracy was with him.
By afternoon, Hazel was a wreck, holding it all inside.
She went to Mike’s office, catching him there after he’d completed a private lesson.
Feeling her nerves perform a nervous tap dance, she knocked and went inside.
Mike lifted his head. “Hi, Hazel. What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you about something,” she began as Tracy entered the room.
“What’s going on?” Tracy asked.
“I just needed to talk to Mike about something. Don’t worry. I’ll come back,” Hazel said, realizing the situation had just gotten worse. If Tracy ever found out about the lie, she’d be furious. And Hazel wouldn’t blame her. She knew Tracy was doing everything she could to hold Mike’s attention.
She walked back to her own office at the end of the hallway and continued to set it up. The Center had given her a new computer, and she was in the process of transferring files and ideas to it.
She was still working on it when Mike knocked on the door. “You wanted to see me?”
Feeling her mouth go dry, Hazel nodded.
Mike stepped inside and gazed around. “Nothing fancy, but it’s workable. I see you decided to add a couple of plants.”
“Yes, I love them. They came from my classroom. One of them was given to me by a student.”
Mike sat in one of the two wooden chairs and faced her. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“I’ve done something terrible, all to get my mother off my back. She’s an old-fashioned woman who’s determined to see her daughter married and giving her grandchildren. Something I’m not ready to do.” Hazel stopped and drew a deep breath to steady herself. This was so damn embarrassing.
“What does that have to do with me?” asked Mike.
“When I spoke to my mother last night, she pushed and pushed that idea until I guess I snapped. When she asked if I had a man in town that I wasn’t telling her about, I lied to her. And when she pushed for a name, your name popped out.”
“My name? Why me?” asked Mike, sitting up to attention.
“I knew it had to be someone who would never be interested in me. I’m not your type.
I just need you to play along if my mother ever comes to town.
Summertime is busy for her, so I don’t expect her to come north anytime soon.
” Hazel crossed her cold fingers together, feeling sick as she gazed at him.
“Let me get this straight,” said Mike. “You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend because you know that would never happen.” He shrugged. “As long as we can keep it to a business agreement, I think I can do that.”
“Please don’t ever tell Tracy. She would be very unhappy with me,” said Hazel, “and I don’t want to cause any problems at work.”
“I appreciate that,” said Mike. “And the only time we have to pretend to be together is if your mother or someone else in your family visits. Is that right?”
Hazel bobbed her head; her throat was too clogged with tears of embarrassment to answer.
Mike got to his feet. “Well, then. That’s taken care of. Ross and I have been thinking it’s time for me to start lessons with you. Ross suggested you get up to speed with your game, so you can help with group tennis lessons for the younger groups.”
“Okay,” said Hazel, liking the idea. Anything to pay back Mike for his willingness to help her.
###
That afternoon, Hazel drove to Concord to visit Access Sports.
Not only did she need to talk to them about a cooperative deal, but Hazel also needed some tennis clothes and a new tennis racket.
Her old racket was usable, but if she was going to be a support to some of the clinics, she wanted a newer one.
When she arrived at the store, it was even better than she’d heard about. The women’s section had tennis clothes to suit every style and size, and a complete section for pickleball.
She was wandering through the selection when a well-built young man approached her. “Can I help you?”
“Right now, I’m browsing, but I’m interested in a couple of outfits, and I want to get a new racket. I might as well get a pickleball paddle, too. First, I’d like to talk to the manager.”
“I’m Tom Jeffries, the assistant manager. My father owns the store. How can I help you?”
“I’m Hazel Belmont, the new Administrator at the Sports Center in Lilac Lake. I’d like to discuss a merchandising arrangement with you.”
His eyes lit. “A couple of months ago, I called there, hoping to talk to the owners about doing business with them. Come into my office. My father is out, but we can work on structuring a deal for all to approve.”
Pleased, Hazel followed Tom into his office, which contained samples of outfits strewn on a table and a box of blue baseball hats with a logo Hazel didn’t recognize. Shelves in his office contained several trophies.
“Oh, I see you’re a wrestler,” said Hazel. “Wow! A state champion.”
“That was my sport,” said Tom. “Now, I coach the high school team.” He indicated a chair. “Please sit down. I’m anxious to hear what you have in mind.”
Hazel lowered herself into a chair and removed some papers from her purse.
“This is a list of ideas I had for how we can cooperate. The Center doesn’t have a retail outlet yet, but both Ross Roberts and Mike Dawson agree we should have one.
Until we add that, I think we can display some items from your store on the wall behind the reception desk and in the main entrance. ”
“And you’d do that because …” Tom said smiling.
“Because we’d get a percentage of the sales through the center. In addition, we’d offer our clients special offers to your store, again for a percentage of sales. The Center is drawing people from all over for a variety of sports. It could be a very smart arrangement for both of us.”
“I agree,” said Tom. “I can come to the Center and help you devise a retail area there. Let me talk to my father and then come meet with you and the owners there.” He stood. “This is a fabulous plan. I have you to thank for it, Hazel. Now, let’s take care of what you need.”
Pleased, Hazel followed Tom into the store, picked out a racket, and tried on several outfits before choosing a skirt, shorts, two different tops, and a jacket, all interchangeable.
It was a big investment for her, so she was excited when Tom gave her an employee discount.
“Whoever selects women’s clothing has done a fabulous job,” said Hazel.
“That would be my wife, Evie,” said Tom, waving an attractive blonde over to them at the checkout desk.
After introductions were made and the two women had chatted for a while, Hazel invited her to visit the Center.
“I’d love to see it,” said Evie. “When I heard that Mike Dawson was the tennis pro, I decided that, somehow, I’d make time for a private lesson or two. He could’ve stayed on the circuit and decided not to. He’s that talented.”
Hazel had never heard the story, but now she began to wonder about Mike’s life before coming to Lilac Lake.
She said goodbye to Tom and Evie and left with Tom’s promise to come to the Center soon with her new tennis racket strung especially for her.
###
After bundling her purchases into her car, she drove to Office Depot to pick up supplies that were already approved by Ross.
In addition to completing her own office, Hazel was helping Craig set up his office and buying supplies for all aspects of running the center.
Paper clips, staplers, pens, stickers, and other office supplies were listed.
Hazel ordered business cards for herself and the other management people with the Center’s logo on them, so they all were consistent.
Next, she drove to a discount store to pick up small towels and a new water bottle. She wanted to get permission to order special towels and water bottles with the Sports Center logo on them, but she still had some research to do on it before she presented the idea to Ross and Mike.
As she headed back to Lilac Lake, satisfaction filled Hazel.
She liked being in charge and organizing everything.
She was nervous about her upcoming tennis lessons but wasn’t going to let that stop her from doing her job.
Besides, after being relatively inactive during the winter and spring months, she was eager to get back in shape.
Mike left for a quick business trip to Florida, giving Hazel time to practice hitting tennis balls on her own. She started a routine of getting up early to go to the Center to use one of the automatic tennis ball machines on one of the courts.
On the third morning of seeing the same boy sitting on the grass outside the fence watching her, Hazel’s curiosity got the best of her. She walked over to him.
Up close, she could see he was about ten years old, with auburn hair and a sprinkle of freckles across his nose. He looked up at her with hazel eyes and stood, prepared to run.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. “I’m Hazel. Who are you? I see you here in the mornings. Do you play tennis?”
He studied her, as if assessing her, and said, “I’m Jed. Jed Abbott. I’d like to play tennis, but my foster mom says we can’t afford it.”
“Have you ever played?” she asked, drawn to the longing in his face.
“Yes. I went to a day camp in my other foster home. The tennis teacher told me I was really good.”
Hazel’s heart went out to the little boy. She couldn’t imagine what his life was like, going from one foster home to the next.
“Come around to the gate,” said Hazel. “I’ll lend my racket to you. Let’s see what you can do.”
Grinning, Jed sprinted to the gate and entered the court.
Hazel noticed he was wearing sneakers, a pair of jeans that were a little short on him, and a navy shirt with no design.
She saw that the size of his hand was almost as big as hers and could hold the racket easily. “Here. You take this and show me the grip you use.”
Eyes alight with excitement, he held the racket out to show her.
Hazel had him move his hand a bit and said, “Okay, stand on the other side of the net and I’ll toss some balls to you. You remember how to stand properly to hit the ball, don’t you?”
“Yes.” He trotted to the far side of the opposite court.
She threw a ball in his direction and watched as he rushed forward, easily swinging the racket and hitting the ball.
The ball was out, but it didn’t matter; Jed’s form was perfect.
Hazel tossed several more balls to Jed. Each time, the ball was returned. Not always in, and sometimes hitting the net, but his eye-hand coordination was phenomenal.
After a while, Hazel said, “We’d better pick up the balls. The Center will open shortly. But, Jed, meet me here tomorrow and every morning this week. And when the tennis pro returns next week, we’ll show him together what you can do. In the meantime, you playing here will be our secret. Okay?”
Jed moved his head up and down enthusiastically.
Hazel hurried home to change for work, but her mind stayed on the adorable boy who was extremely talented. She hoped Mike wouldn’t be upset with her, but she wanted to give Jed the chance to play at the Center, even if the cost came from her salary.
###
For the next several mornings, Hazel met Jed for some private practice. Each time Hazel saw Jed play, she knew she was right. He was no ordinary player.
After meeting Jed in the mornings, Hazel remained busy on the job. She was pleased to discover she liked making posters and announcements and seemed to have a knack for putting them together in colorful displays.
Tom and Ross met over the retail operation and came to a quick agreement.
The office next to the reception desk would serve as the store’s display of goods and equipment.
Hazel developed purchase order sheets and instructed the reception staff on how to handle requests for orders.
Evie Jeffries would make sure the displays were changed regularly.
Hazel ordered baseball hats, T-shirts, water bottles, and towels with the Center logo to be sold separately from the store’s collection.
As Hazel and Ross discussed, the more advertising the Center could do, the better the chance of attracting new customers.
Hazel also looked into special rates at the Lilac Lake Inn, and with Ross Roberts as a part-owner, an agreement was easily reached to offer discounts to Sports Center members and vice versa.
With Mike’s absence, Tracy handled group lessons.
Though Hazel wasn’t included as an assistant, Tracy called on her to handle any paperwork associated with the class, including tracking who was present and who would attend the next class.
Something Hazel had been told that Tracy would take care of.
But Hazel didn’t complain. She had other things on her mind.