Max held his breath, as did everyone else in the stands.
An instant later it was over. Game, set, match. To the Russian.
Gaby's Cinderella run at Wimbledon had officially come to an end.
Eyes stinging with emotion, he watched her run to the net to shake her opponent's hand. They skipped that and hugged each other, as the entire stadium stood and cheered. This was what they'd come to see, two gladiators battling it out. There was no shame in this defeat. And though he knew Gaby was disappointed, when she looked up at the players' box and gave a little shrug, there was still that little quirk at the corner of her mouth. She knew she'd done her best. Maybe not the entire match, but she'd come back, she'd fought hard. And she'd simply been outplayed.
"She fought hard, Max," Aurora told him, a soothing pat on his knee as the crowd bustled around them. "You should be proud of her."
"Oh, I am, I am." He watched as she packed her gear and waved to the crowd one last time before leaving Centre Court. The place erupted in cheers. She'd clearly won their hearts. And Max knew they'd both be back here again. Maybe next year, maybe the one after that. But they'd be back.
He stood and helped Aurora and Vivian move past him to exit the box in front of him. Mercedes followed. He needed to get down to the press room. All the players gave a mandatory press conference after each match, win or lose. He wanted to be there for Gaby, lend moral support if nothing else.
Tess came up, then. "She played her game, Max. She played her game.'' There was pride in her eyes, as well as disappointment. Tess didn't like to lose any more than his sister did, but there was fight there, too. And determination.
"Yes, she did." Maybe it was time he played his, too.
Tess started to move past him and descend the steps to the waiting security personnel who would escort her inside. Max put his hand on her arm, stopping her. She looked up, eyebrows lifted in question.
Had she really been naked and in his arms yesterday? He shut those images out. "I have to go down to the press room, but—"
"I was going to go back to the locker room. Talk to her, make sure she's okay before she faces the vultures. If you don't mind, that is."
He appreciated that she'd asked, but hated the sudden formality between them. "Of course it's okay. You're her coach, after all."
She just looked at him, that combination of exasperation and amusement he'd come to expect—and enjoy—clear on her face. And right then he knew he couldn't let her go. Gaby needed her. And maybe more important, he needed her.
"You can be really proud of her, Max." She started to slip free of his hold and move past him.
He didn't let her go. "You can be, too."
She paused, looked at him. "Of course I am."
"I mean—"
"I know what you meant. listen, I need to talk to you. Right after the press conference. I—"
Vivian popped up just then. "Darlings? I think you need to get yourself to the press room pronto." She looked past Max to Tess. "Both of you."
"What?" Max asked her. "What's going on?"
Tess urged Max down the stairs, staying right behind him. "Is Gaby already in there?"
Vivian nodded and hustled them into the waiting arms of the security cadre, who turned and moved them en masse inside and down the short hall to the press room. She stopped just in front of the door and looked at them both. "So is Fionula Hust." She glanced at Tess and a brief look of despair crossed her face. "She's found out, Tess. Everything."
Max looked at Vivian, then at Tess, whose expression swiftly went from confusion to dread. "What?" he demanded. "What's going on?"
"The job offer?" Tess asked.
"That and… you know. About the endorsements, the taxes, all of it."
"What job offer?" Max asked. "What endorsements?" But no one was listening to him.
Tess's shoulders slumped. Max couldn't remember ever seeing her look so defeated. "You knew?" she asked Vivian quietly. "And she's badgering Gaby about it?" She was clearly upset.
Vivian nodded. "Yes, honey, we did. I'm so sorry. Aurora ducked out to tell me. I came and found you immediately. I didn't know what else to do. Aurora is just inside the door, keeping watch."
"Thank you, Vivian." Tess pushed at Max. "Let me in there," Despair had quickly turned to anger. "I can't believe she's got the balls to use Gaby to get to—what am I saying, of course she does."
Max grabbed at Tess's arm. "Do you want to tell me what in the hell is going on?"
"This isn't about Gaby, Max. It's about me. I am sorry. I—" She broke off, swore. "I have to get in there. She shouldn't have to deal with this alone, or at all. It's wrong and way out of bounds." She glanced back at Max. "I tried to tell you this yesterday. I should have told you a long time ago. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt either of you. I never meant that."
"Told me what? Hurt me how?"
But she'd already pushed inside the door. Flashbulbs were going off and there was a hubbub in the room that wasn't typical of the well-mannered way in which the Club members preferred to run things.
Max went to push in the room right behind her, but Vivian—all five-feet-nothing of her—stopped him. "Let her handle this, at least to start. You going in there right now will just fuel the fire."
"Whatever the hell is going on, I should be in there. Whatever Tess did or didn't mean to do, obviously she's done something."
"Now, Max, she was in trouble. She did what she had to do, but she's always been there for Gaby. Always. Never forget that."
Max was already pushing open the door, but looked back. "In trouble how?"
Vivian sighed.
Max's gaze narrowed. "How long have you known about whatever this is all about?"
"Tess didn't know that we knew. We've been trying to help her, behind the scenes, as it were. Help both of you, really." She sighed again and looked even more miserable. "Don't give up on her, Max. She needs us. She needs you. And she's not used to needing anyone."
Max didn't say anything, but opened the door. And stepped into chaos. Patented Tess Hamilton chaos.
Chapter 26
Tess walked into a barrage of shouted questions and flashbulbs going off in her face. Neither bothered her so much as the expression of utter relief on Gaby's face when she spied Tess making her way to the table to take a seat next to her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, leaning over to make sure the words were heard only by Gaby and not picked up by the microphones on the table in front of them.
"I don't know what they're talking about," she whispered back, having to talk directly into Tess's ear to be heard over the continuous shouts and whirring photographic equipment.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Let me handle the questions."
Gaby just nodded, looking far more the young teenager at the moment than the highly trained athlete who just held her own on Centre Court moments ago.
"And by the way, you made me proud out there today."
Gaby just ducked her chin. Tess used the moment to paste on her cockiest grin and turned to face the phalanx of reporters and journalists seated in the rows of chairs in front of them. No point in dancing around it at this point. "Hello. I hope you don't mind my crashing the party. I understand you have some questions for me." She wagged a teasing finger. "Shame, shame, picking on a rookie player who just suffered her first major loss," She faced down one particular reporter directly, her grin turning perhaps a shade more feral. "Fionula, perhaps you could lead things off for us."
The journalist didn't even blink. In fact, Tess thought there might be some drool collecting at the corners of her mouth at the opening she'd just been handed. "Can you tell us about your financial situation at this time?"
"I thought you'd already done that research," she replied. "Seeing as you've apparently been speaking with some sense of authority on the subject today."
A light round of titters rippled through the crowd, but most shifted a bit closer, held their recorders a bit higher, waiting for the next vo
lley.
Fionula's gaze hardened slightly, but she'd faced far worse. "I understand you've experienced a reversal of fortune with the loss of your endorsement income and an extensive payment to the IRS for overdue taxes. Is that true?"
"I wasn't aware that my financial status was the business of anyone but myself, and perhaps my accountant. Okay, and the manager at the Jaguar dealer."
Fionula ignored the chuckles of her comrades. "Your tax records are on file. Your payments to them have been quite substantial and must have created a—"
"I believe Uncle Sam and I are square," Tess said, cutting off her assumptions. "Do you have anything indicating otherwise?"
Fionula saw that for the dead end it was and quickly changed tactics. "Nike confirms that they haven't renewed your contract. As have several other major manufacturers you've represented over the past year. Can you confirm any new endorsement deals at this time?"
"I am always considering new offers and various business ventures. Again, I don't believe this is the business of the general public. Unless you'd like to discuss your salary and income tax records, as well."
The room went silent as everyone seemed to draw a collective breath.
Undaunted, Fionula said, "I'm afraid no one cares about my income and expenditures, but of course we're always curious when someone who has achieved such enormous success—"
"Might turn out to be just as human as anyone else?"
It was as if the collective unit of media personnel were themselves watching a tennis match, their heads shifting from Tess to Fionula, only pausing to scribble notes or shift their cameras.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that just because I'm a prominent sports figure doesn't mean I have to expose every detail of my personal life. I'm not running for office. Hell, I'm not even playing tennis anymore."
"Is that why you've sold off all of your assets in several European countries?"
Tess didn't blink. "Not that it's anyone's business, but yes, I'll confirm that. I no longer travel the globe playing tournaments, so those properties ceased to be necessary for me."
"So liquidating these numerous assets wouldn't have anything to do with the tax payments, the loss of endorsements?"
Tess shrugged. "Business decisions." She smiled. "As you know, some years are better than others."
Like the pit bull she was, Fionula dogged onward. "Regarding that, can you confirm you've been offered a position as a sports commentator by Alan Chapman of the BBC sports cable network? And is it true you've accepted?"
From the corner of her eye, Tess noticed Gaby shift slightly to look at her, as well. Clearly she was surprised to hear about it this way, but it wasn't like she had signed on for life with the Fontaines. Gaby might have hoped to extend their partnership, but that agreement had never been made.
Still, she didn't want Gaby to find out like this, in such a public forum. It was exactly the kind of thing Max would expect of her, making a spectacle out of something best handled in private. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.
So, of course, it was happening just like this.
Tess should have made time to talk to Max. His offer to continue coaching Gaby had been casually made under the most extenuating of circumstances and she wasn't even sure he'd been sincere. Not that it mattered now. What had surprised her was how compelling the offer had turned out to be for her.
In fact, yesterday after the Ranee Incident, when she was forced to admit that maybe Max was right after all, and Gaby would be better served being coached by someone with a somewhat tamer influence, was exactly when she began thinking what it would be like if she did stick around. Max probably didn't need to be saddled with the sort of distractions that came with the Tess Hamilton package, either. And yet, since Alan had made her the offer, she'd perversely done nothing but think about the life she might have had with the Fontaines. Both as coach to Gaby, and as… well, whatever Max was willing to let her be.
Of course, today's little circus had probably taken care of any future possibility there. On both fronts, personal and professional. She cringed, thinking of what Max was going to say, although she had a pretty good idea of exactly what that would be. Only this time, she deserved it. Not that she'd planned this circus, but she could have clued him in before this had a chance to happen.
All that she had left now was to pray Alan had a good sense of humor, and that he believed that any publicity was good publicity. Christ, but she'd managed to screw things up royally. Again. Only this time it wasn't just her life, this time there were others involved.
She glanced at Gaby, then back at Fionula. "As I've stated before, I field offers all the time. At the moment, I can honestly say there is nothing to report. Any and all offers are still pending." She smiled sweetly. "Of course, if that changes, you'll be the very first to know."
"One more question," Fionula said, having to raise her voice to be heard over the sudden barrage of questions being shouted at Tess. "Is it true you took on coaching Gabrielle here as a means of putting your creditors off until you could secure a more lucrative deal? And now that she's made it this far in the tournament, do you wish you'd worked a better offer with her brother Max?" She paused for just a moment, then smiled like the snake she was. "Or perhaps, given several of your very public displays, you already have. Care to comment?"
"That's insane!" Gaby blurted out, finally finding her voice. "Tess isn't using us for money. Why would she do that? She doesn't need to coach me. She was only helping me because—"
It was like watching a car wreck happening right in front of her and there was nothing Tess could do to stop it. She watched the moment unfold as if in slow motion… Gaby breaking off her heated defense and slowly turning to face her, confusion and hurt dawning in her eyes. Every camera in the room started shooting frames at double speed and the cacophony of voices grew to an almost fever pitch.
"Why did you agree to help me?"
Tess read the question on her lips, the noise so loud now she couldn't actually hear the words. She wanted to tell Gaby she'd done it for Aurora, and for herself, and for a lot of reasons that hadn't been there in the beginning but were there now. But the bottom line was, one of the deciding factors that day she'd agreed to stay on beyond the Glass Slipper agreement she'd made with Aurora, had been the promise of a percentage of the purse. Of course, no one could have predicted just how big a payoff that would be and certainly Tess had never seen it as an answer to her prayers. Just something to help her buy time until she found an answer.
She thought she'd found that answer with Alan's offer.
Now she wasn't sure she knew anything at all.
"Why, Tess?" came the repeated shouts from the reporters, and she could just see that four-inch headline tomorrow: Why, Tess?
Gaby was still staring at her, her big doe eyes all stunned and confused, but still filled with hope. Hope that her idol and hero really hadn't let her down so badly. Yeah. Why, Tess?
"I—" Tess's defense, not that she had one, was cut off by a voice coming from just inside the side door the players used to enter the media room.
"She was helping out a mutual family friend." The deep voice easily projected over the chaos of shouts, instantly quieting the room.
Heads swiveled en masse. Tess turned toward the door, too, heart sinking, even as hope bloomed there.
Gaby spun around in her chair. "Max!"
Max made his way up to the table where she and Gaby sat and picked up one of the microphones mounted there. "Tess agreed to help a family friend and be a mentor of sorts to Gaby when I was seeking out help for her. As you know, this is my sister's first year on tour, and she's not used to any of this," he said, pointedly staring down the group, but his gaze seemed aimed directly at Fionula. "We've done our best to make Gaby available to the media, and for obvious reasons, she's enjoyed her time here in London. We achieved far greater success over the fortnight than we could have ever believed, and I think a big part of that success is due to Tess's
coaching and mentoring ability."
When he paused, the entire room exploded with questions. Tess started once again to speak, touched by Max's defense of her, but knowing he was doing whatever he had to in order to get Gaby out of this situation as unscathed and as quickly as possible.
Max raised his palm to quiet the room, and continued to speak. "When Tess agreed to stay on with Gaby for the duration of the tournament, she offered to do so gratis. Gaby is right, she didn't have to help us and I sincerely doubt money was a motivating factor, as we had to insist she go on our payroll at all. Tess loves this game and I think she sees in Gaby a little of herself and… well, she'd have to respond to the rest. But as I am the one who ostensibly hired her, I wanted to put to rest right now any rumors that she was motivated by greed or anything else. She's been pretty selfless these past few weeks." He glanced over at her. "And I, for one, am very glad she decided to hang around."
"Max! Max!"
"Tess, what do you say!"
"Max, are you two involved personally?"
"Tess, are you staying on with the Fontaines?"
"Max, is Tess going to be Gaby's full-time coach?"
"Tess, what about the job offer from BBC?"
The shouts came from all corners of the room. But it was all white noise to Tess, who was still caught up staring at Max. He'd come to Gaby's rescue. And he'd come to hers, too. He'd gone above and beyond defending his sister to defending her, as well. Even when Tess knew he must be upset, knew he had to believe there was at least a scrap of truth to Fionula's accusations—she was too good at what she did to toss out questions like that without having done her homework—yet he'd just stood there and exonerated her anyway.
Tess had her own personal four-inch headline screaming through her mind: Why, Max?
Did he really believe in her? Or was this some kind of angle?
Not So Snow White Page 33