“Remember how you promised not to get angry?” I reminded her, trying to keep us from falling too far back into old habits. I wanted us to move forward, too exhausted to fight with her again.
“That’s feeling like a big ask, Chloe,” she grumbled.
“Answer one question,” I requested, trying to think over every word before I said it. “What’s your biggest challenge right now with your career?”
Inés couldn’t look me in the eye, so I started to list off my suspicions instead.
“Your injury is still clearly niggling, but I don’t think it’s the biggest thing going on. And then there’s me—clearly I’m a threat.”
“Good to know you think so highly of yourself.”
“I believe we should all have high self-confidence,” I said. “But I think your biggest issue is sponsors. I know things must be getting a little tight.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket, bringing up her social media profile, one I had embarrassingly already loaded. “And considering that this week was the first time you’ve posted in almost a year, I assume you’re trying to drum up some more support.”
“Maybe I’m documenting my time off with my friends,” she grumbled, her slight annoyance a show of her hand.
“But you know what would get you even more PR than some posts with your friends? And pay some of your bills?” I asked. Her eyes met mine, as if she needed to hear the answer. “Becoming a hitting partner with your rival.”
For a moment, the only sound between us was the faint hum of the air conditioning.
“I’ve seen it plenty of times.” Her voice was so small, and suddenly this woman who held such power over me seemed vulnerable. “Older players... who aren’t doing their best. This is how they are put out to pasture, to help the younger players. This could be the end of my career.”
I couldn’t help but fall silent as she looked towards me, all her defenses down. Instead, for the first time since that night at the party, she was opening up again.
“Only you decide when to call it, Inés,” I said. I thought back to when I was sixteen, afraid I’d never be able to face a court again. When I wondered if I could take the toll and stress of being competitive. “You can decide that this isn’t the end. I’ve played against and with you, and I know that you still have that fight.”
It should’ve felt strange, trying to convince her, a competitor, to keep going. But something about it felt like the most natural thing in the world. As if, without her, I wasn’t sure what this sport would hold for any of us.
She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she studied me. “Why would you do this?”
I opened my mouth to answer, to repeat what Calvin had told me downstairs, but she cut me off. “And I don’t mean why your brother thinks you should do this. Because you could work with anyone.”
And while Calvin’s reasoning stood true, that there was a lot I could learn from Inés and her abilities, I hated that he assumed she was down and out. That her career was at the end.
That wasn’t what I wanted. And after this week, working alongside her, I knew I had a different reason.
“I want you to get that magic back,” I admitted. “I want you at your best, because when you play, Inés, you really fucking play. And I could tell you that I want to work with you so I can learn how you did it, but that’s not the entire truth.” I swallowed down my anxiety and continued. “I want to fight you, reallybattleon that court, and for better or worse, I want it to be a fair fight.”
Her expression was twisted, as if she was confused about why on earth I would want that, but I knew. I’d watched her for years, studied her performances, mesmerized by everything about her. And now I had the opportunity to play her. To fight. To win.
Sometimes, I wanted that more than I wanted another fucking trophy.
“So?” I asked. “What do you think?”
I held my breath, waiting for her response.
19
Inés
She’s Pretty—Beth McCarthy
Ispent the entire night wrestling with Chloe’s offer, but during an early-morning call with Selene, she convinced me that this deal was the answer to a lot of my problems.
After that, she drove out to meet us in the Hamptons, and we all piled into the large office in the beach house. Selene, Calvin, Chloe and I all surrounded a landline office phone, Chloe’s agent on the other end.
“We’ve still got some more terms to discuss,” a male voice boomed from the speaker. “We are not willing to subsidize Ms. Costa’s additional items, such as room service and—”
Selene cut him off, leaning forward into the speakerphone. “Room service might be necessary. If you’ve kept her busy into the evening with practice, then she still needs to eat.”
