Page 22 of Match Point

“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t nor do I still do it on my own. My manager did a lot of it for me and hired good people. I have a team of lawyers who handle the legal end. My aunt, my dad’s sister, is the CEO of my company. She takes care of the business side of things. Stanley’s people handled all my social obligations, endorsement deals, and sponsorships, a job Howler’s taking over. I don’t attend many social events nor have I ever been comfortable having people do things for me.”

“Yet you wanted me to bring you coffee and a muffin every morning. Interesting.”

A reluctant smile tugged at her mouth. Just when she wanted to hate him, he had to act all cute. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

He shrugged and the click of the keyboard sounded loud in the quiet space. “Probably not. All joking aside, we’ll hire you an assistant, someone with strong social media skills. Once you’re back in full swing, Howler will want to do a media blitz. We’ll need a list of all your social media accounts and passwords, any websites you have that are tennis-related.”

“I’ll have to email my aunt. Her people do all that for me. Except you won’t give me Wi-Fi access, so…”

“It doesn’t have to be done right now. Once we get back to Seattle, the publicity department will want to meet with you and discuss a marketing strategy. You have another physical scheduled before the tournament and an interview with Grace Chen coming up. Why did you pick her?”

Because she’d investigated Miller and Sorcha wanted to learn everything she could about him. “I like her. She used to host a show on the Epicurean Network, and I was a guest judge during one of their celebrity editions.” When she’d first made it big, she’d had multiple offers to be on countless television show and do cameos. She’d even been offered a movie, but her father hadn’t wanted her to become distracted.

“She’s also a local area talk show host and does human interest stories. Howler thinks it’s a good idea to get you some positive publicity after your recent string of negative stories.”

“They’re highly exaggerated. If I did half the stuff they accused me of, I’d be dead by now. There’s one magazine, I hate above all others; Scandal. They’ve had it in for me for years, ever since I called the police on their reporter for becoming too familiar. People see you on a magazine or on TV and they feel like they know you, but you don’t know them. Without fans, I wouldn’t have my clothing line. And without guys like Miller, I wouldn’t have any negative publicity.” Scandal was owned by Miller, an irony not lost on her.

“You have negative publicity because you create negative publicity. Granted, it must suck to have to monitor yourself 24/7, but you have to admit, you don’t exactly go out of your way to avoid attention.”

She squared her shoulders, jaw rigid. “Why should I have to gear my behavior to how people think I should behave? I’m only human, and I’m not changing for anyone.”

“Who said you need to change?”

“You, for one.”

“Not change, just adjust.”

She picked at her chipped nail polish. Fame was a double- edged sword. It allowed her to do everything she wanted and gave her access to things most people would kill for, but it was hard to live in a glass house, with no privacy or the ability to simply be human, warts and all. “I suppose you have somebody in mind for my assistant. Somebody organized, annoying, and bossy like you.”

He chuckled, the sound making her smile. “Pretty much.”

“Make sure he’s hot as well as smart. I have a reputation to protect.”

The light in his eyes faded and he focused on the screen. “I said I’d hire you an assistant, not a gigolo.”

“That’s insulting. I don’t have to pay for it. I can have any guy I want.” No, not every guy she wanted. Some she needed to stay far away from.

“Glad I don’t have to boost your ego.”

She giggled and lay her head back once more. “Yep, you can see them all lining up around the block, ten deep, just waiting for a chance to date me.” While she’d dated various men, only one had lasted more than a year. He’d been one of many trainers. He was married now with kids, living the life she might have had with him had she said yes to his proposal.

“You’re being modest.”

“I’m being a realist. It’s hard to know if a man is dating me because he likes me, or he thinks he should like me.” She yawned, exhaustion tugging at her eyes. Her skin felt heated, almost feverish, and an unsettling truth hit her. Age was catching up to her. She was in her mid-twenties, which was on par with the industry. Some of the top women competing were older than she was. Her height was a disadvantage as well. At five-seven, she was on the shorter side for the top professional women.

“I believe you find someone with the same interests as you, and if you find them attractive, you have a chance at a relationship.”

“You make it sound so clinical. What about passion? That I can’t wait to be with her again feeling that makes you feel alive?”

“Passion fades, respect and mutual goals will last a lifetime. There’s something to be said about structure. I don’t like surprises. I’d prefer to have everything laid out rather than fly by the seat of my pants. I can’t change who I am. I accepted that a long time ago.”

We take the hard cases. Not that Leo was a difficult boy, he just needed someone to listen to what he was telling them. In a way, he was still the same as when he was a boy. He was sharing something profound with her, the reality of who he was.

He shut the lid on the laptop and the room was much darker without the blue glow. “I let you slide on the workout today but we’re going to hit the ground running tomorrow.”

She stretched, tired just thinking about it. “Where is the gym at?”

He pointed in the direction of the picture window. “Out there. We’re going off-roading.”

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