I watch him as he walks over to the door. I follow him out, because I want to be sure he’s gone when I lock it. He turns around and smiles at me. My blood runs cold.
“Don’t fuck with me, okay? Ten thousand and I’m gone.”
I shut the door in his face and turn around. I’m overwhelmed, because I have no idea what to do next. If I could somehow come up with the money and get him out of my life, I’d do it in a second. I laugh, because although the idea of getting ten grand is ridiculous
, it’s actually more realistic than Tony keeping his word.
Wiping my tears, I’m determined to resolve this, if only for the sake of keeping Jake away from that scum. I have so many regrets, but letting Tony back into my life two years ago is by far my biggest. But my mom had just died; I was completely alone and he was there for me.
Or so I’d thought.
I was sure he still has the videos, and he’d have no problem going back to jail if it means ruining my life too. That’s what makes this so fucked-up. How could I compete against that? He’s an ass who cares about nothing but himself and he knows I’ll do anything he asks me if it means protecting my son.
Everyone does things they regret, and I’m no exception.
Chapter Five
Ryder
“You’re not following through with the stroke. That’s why the ball isn’t going where you want it to.” I sigh, frustrated. This damn kid just refuses to listen to me.
“Uh-huh. Because I hear you’re the expert on stray balls,” she smirks, her hand on her hip.
I shake my head. What does that even mean?
I’ve been at this stupid camp for less than three hours and I’ve already come to a conclusion: teenagers are the fucking worst. They think they know everything, and Little Miss Attitude here is no exception.
And I also hate Mondays.
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read,” I mutter. Déjà vu sets in. Didn’t I have this same conversation with Scarlett?
Fuck. Scarlett.
Why had I gone there last night? I’d wanted to punish her, but all I ended up doing was proving to myself what an idiot I am. And it had done nothing to dull my feelings for her.
I slammed a ball into the net. Is she seriously thinking about getting back with this guy who had shown no interest in Jake his whole life?
“Aren’t you supposed to be mentoring me? I only agreed to this stupid camp because my coach insisted I could learn something from the best. The only thing you could teach me is how to fuck up my career,” she giggles.
I look over at her and sigh.
Three more weeks of this?
Cally Harmer. At only fifteen, she’s one of the hottest young players rising up in the tennis rankings. Up until a month ago she had only completed at a junior level, but she had earned a wildcard entry into Wimbledon after winning several lead-up tournaments in a row. Unfortunately, she’s like a miniature version of me.
Translation—a pain in the arse.
“Watch your mouth,” I fire back. “And you don’t have a career to fuck up yet.”
She pouts and resumes serving shots across the net. “You know you’re a joke don’t you? I used to think you were a great player, but then you got cocky.” She narrows her eyes at me, flipping her long blonde braid over her shoulder. “I don’t even know why you’re here. Since when do you actually give a damn about tennis?”
“I’m here because my sponsors are paying me fuckload of money to babysit spoiled brats like you,” I say, gritting my teeth. “I’m here because apparently I have nothing better to do for the next fucking month than waste my time trying to dig your head out of your own arse.”
Her mouth drops open in shock. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to this abuse.” She laughs as she packs up her gear. “I cannot believe you just said that to me. You’ll be hearing from my father,” she adds before she storms off.
Fuck. Maybe I’d taken that a little too far. Reaching into my pocket, I grab my phone and search for Matt’s number to give him a heads-up on what was probably—hopefully—the end of my mentoring career. With any luck I’ll be back in London by the end of the week.
Me: Sorry in advance. I won’t let it happen again.