Love Match (17 page)

The scent of coffee woke Maya on Sunday. For a brief moment, she felt like she was home in Syracuse. She imagined being in her warm bed, with Dad making breakfast and Mom brewing up her signature French vanilla lattes on that crazy contraption she'd saved for months to buy. Seeing Cleo sitting on the edge of her bed with a to-go cup in her hand and a bright smile on her face was almost as nice.

Then Maya realized that Cleo's smile was just a little too bright. And that her computer was in her lap.

“What's on the Wall about me today?” Maya asked as she accepted the coffee. It tasted nothing like her mom's French vanilla latte.

“Nothing,” Cleo quickly said. “Nothing at all.”

“Then what's with the coffee run and why do you look like you're trying very hard not to kill someone?”

“I'd say the look is more one of regret that we haven't killed Nicole already.”

Maya put the coffee down on her nightstand, suspecting she didn't want any hot liquid in her hands when she found out what was going on. “Tell me.”

Cleo turned the laptop toward Maya. It was another article on the Wall, but Cleo was right. It wasn't about Maya at all.

An enormous picture of Nicole sat at the top of the page. She was out in front of some club smiling at the paparazzi like she was happy they were there. It made sense, since she obviously wanted to be seen, and Maya knew why.

Nicole was in Esteban's dress. The signature look from his collection. The one Maya was supposed to debut to the world in the ad campaign.

“That's my dress!” Maya said.

“I thought I recognized the shoulder,” Cleo said. The joke fell over with a thud.

“That's
my
dress!” Maya insisted.

“Well, technically, it's Esteban's dress and he can do what he wants with it,” Cleo reminded her.

Maya got off the bed. She needed to be on her feet. She needed to move. “That's not the point. I was supposed to launch the line in that dress. I was supposed to be the one in the picture.”

“Okay, Maya, you need to breathe,” Cleo said. “It's just a dress.”

“No. It's Nicole taking something from me again.” She grabbed her phone.

“Who are you calling?” Cleo asked.

“Nicole couldn't just reach into her closet and pull out that dress. Someone had to arrange for her to wear it.” Maya hit Jordan's name on her favorites list. She'd just added the agent to that list and now she seriously considered wiping Jordan out of the phone completely.

“Maya, calm down before you talk to her,” Cleo warned. “Jordan Cromwell is far more powerful than Nicole King.”

Maya waited while the phone rang. “I'm not going to say anything stupid. But I do deserve an explanation.”

Jordan's voice came on the line. “Good morning, Maya! How are you?”

“Um … fine. And you?” Maya was momentarily thrown. Jordan never answered the phone with a typical greeting, much less one that enthusiastic. She usually just started the conversation.

“Good,” Jordan replied. “Enjoying a lazy Sunday, which is anything but lazy in this business we've decided to pursue.”

Jordan was making small talk? Maya worried that she'd called the wrong Jordan.

“I'm glad you rang,” Jordan said. “I was hoping to get in touch with you today.”

“I saw the picture of Nicole in Esteban's dress.”

“Yes,” Jordan said. “Sorry about that. Esteban was beside himself over the leaked photo. And of course, the fashion community was ravenous to see more than that bit of sleeve. Getting that dress out in the public was the only way to deal with it. Creative Core could never pull together a suitable ad campaign fast enough to satiate that audience.”

Maya nodded her head like she understood even though she knew Jordan couldn't see her. “But … is there some reason I couldn't wear it? I've been on the Wall, too.”

“Yes, Maya. I'm sorry to say, but the reality is that you wearing the dress out on the town isn't a story,” Jordan said.

“But Nicole wearing it is?”

“I knew you'd understand,” Jordan said.

“I … But … Jordan—”

“Trust me, Maya. I've been doing this awhile now. We saved the campaign. That's the important part. Doesn't matter who's wearing the dress. You're going to be the face of Esteban's line. That's worth more than a picture on the Wall. Now, go enjoy your Sunday. Once this ad starts running, your schedule's going fill up.”

Jordan reverted to form and hung up without saying good-bye or letting Maya get in a word. She still had plenty to say, but it was pointless. “
This is business, not high school
” echoed through her head. Jordan was right. She had to be a professional.

Maya picked up the computer to get a better look at the dress. She had to admit that Nicole looked good in it. But Maya looked better.

She was about to close the laptop when something other than the dress caught her attention. Nicole had a huge bracelet on the wrist that she'd been nursing for the past two weeks. It was just large enough to hide a small bandage. If Nicole had gone to see someone about the wrist, Maya would have heard. She knew firsthand how hard it was to keep anything a secret at that school. If the wrist still hurt Nicole two weeks after the match, the injury had to be serious.

Good
, Maya thought.
She deserves it
. Then she immediately felt horrible for having that thought.

“Your agent was right,” Renee said as they casually walked in the sunshine on streets miles away from the Academy and their classmates' cell phone cameras.

“She's not my agent yet,” Maya quickly reminded her friend.

“Okay. Nicole's agent was right. It's a beautiful Sunday for relaxing.”

“Ugh! Don't mention that name around me.” Much as Maya didn't want to agree, the day was beautiful. Renee had offered to drive them out to the beach for brunch and Maya couldn't have been happier she'd agreed. The sun and the ocean were the perfect things to take her mind off the Wall.

It was still early for a lazy Sunday, so most people were home in bed. The sidewalk was light on foot traffic and the cars were few and far between. They had an unobstructed view of the ocean that stretched out till it met with the sky.

It was nice to get off campus and forget about classes and practices and the typical drama that seemed to be lurking around every corner. It was especially nice to not have to worry about Travis and Jake. They both had drills to run, so there would be no bumping into them at all, no matter how much a part of Maya secretly wished she could.

“How are things with Diego?” Cleo asked.

“Good?” Renee said.

“Is that an answer or a question?” Maya asked.

“Both?”

“What does that even mean?” Cleo asked.

“It means I'm confused,” Renee admitted. “We haven't known each other all that long, but I think he wants a relationship.”

“That's usually a good thing,” Cleo said.

Renee glared at her. “I know! I'm just not used to it. Most guys get what they want, then move on. They don't usually stick around.”

Maya hated hearing that. On the surface, Renee seemed to have more confidence than most of their classmates. But the people who knew Renee best understood that she was incredibly insecure. Maya appreciated that her friend was comfortable enough around them to let them see this personal side to her, but she wished it didn't exist.

“You better get used to it,” Maya said. “I have a feeling Diego's not going anywhere.”

Renee sat down on a bench so abruptly that Maya and Cleo had to stop and backtrack to keep with her. “That's what I'm afraid of,” Renee said.

“You are officially making less sense than usual,” Cleo said as she and Maya sat alongside their friend.

“I know!” Renee said. “He's totally messing with my mind.”

“Don't blame this on Diego,” Maya said. “You're doing this to yourself.”

“I'm doing this to myself
because
of Diego,” Renee said.

Cleo shook her head. “You're a mess.”

“I won't argue with that,” Renee said. “I like it better when I'm helping you with your problems. I don't want to be the one with the messed-up love life.”

“Renee, the only thing messed up about your love life is
that you've got a guy who likes you—the real you,” Maya said. “That's a good thing.”

“I know! It's insane.” Renee stood up just as abruptly as she'd sat down. “Come on. The restaurant's only a block away. I'm hungry.”

Maya and Cleo shared a look of confusion. Neither of them was certain that they'd helped their friend through her mini freak-out, but Renee having an appetite was a good thing, so they went with it. The girls walked arm in arm, taking up most of the empty sidewalk as they continued to the restaurant.

“Maya! Maya!”

Maya broke away from her friends and turned toward the unfamiliar voice calling out her name. A man with a camera hurried toward her, clicking shots as he got closer.

“Do you know him?” Cleo asked.

“No,” Maya said definitively. “But he sure knows me.”

Renee clapped excitedly. “Your first paparazzi stalking! Congratulations.”

“We should get inside,” Cleo said.

“Agreed.” Maya turned away from the man as the three of them quickened their pace.

“Maya, where's Travis this morning?” the man called after her. “How about Jake?”

“Don't say a thing,” Cleo warned through clenched teeth.

“What did you think of Nicole King in that Esteban dress?” the man continued. “Who wore it better? You or her?”

Maya did her best to ignore him, but it was difficult. There was a line outside the restaurant. Maya wanted to push past
everyone to get inside, but she could already see the article slamming her for being rude and jumping the line.

“Do you think the full pictures of you in that dress will ever see the light of day?”

That one hurt. Maya was worried about that. Jordan had said the ad campaign was going forward. But now that the Wall had provided free advertising—not to mention the sites that picked up the picture afterward—why would the ad agency pay to have Maya's photo splashed all over the place?

Renee leaned in to whisper to Maya. “He's trying to get a rise out of you; make you do something picture-worthy. Keep ignoring him.”

Everyone on the restaurant patio was staring. The line to get in wasn't moving any faster.

“Come on, give me something,” the man pleaded. “What do you think of your anonymous friend Nicole?”

The words slipped out before Maya could stop them. “Anonymous friend?”

The man smiled like a cat that had caught its canary. “From the story about you and the Reed brothers. You knew Nicole King was the anonymous friend, right?”

Maya had suspected as much. It wasn't really a surprise. But it was still tough to hear from a total stranger. Maya knew he was baiting her. She understood that was part of the game. But, suddenly, she simply didn't care anymore.

“I'm more worried about Nicole's injury than I am some dress,” Maya said. “If she doesn't get that wrist taken care of, I'm afraid of what could happen to her career.”

Too late, Maya realized the clicks had stopped even though the camera was still aimed at her. Her eyes went wide as she realized it was a video camera as well. She'd been hoping to give him a bit of hearsay to report back to the Wall. She hadn't intended to give him an actual sound bite to post instead.

“Ms. Hart,” another stranger's voice called out to her. The hostess pushed her way past the line of people still waiting to get in. “Your table's ready. Right this way.”

Maya was pretty sure they hadn't made a reservation. The kind woman had seen her in need, recognized her, and come to render aid. Maya felt incredibly lucky.

As she watched the paparazzo hurry off with his camera, she also felt incredibly guilty.

“Whether it was your plan or not, you definitely got people to stop talking about you and the Reed boys,” Renee said as she and Maya entered Watson Hall. Renee had been hanging out there for the past couple days to avoid Nicole. She and Cleo were both clearly in the video with Maya when she outed Nicole's injury. All three girls had been lying low ever since, hoping to avoid Nicole's wrath.

“There was no plan, Renee. You were there. You saw what happened!” Maya still felt terrible. The story about Nicole's wrist was on the Wall before they'd even finished brunch. That lovely little video of Maya—with more anger than concern in her voice—had been the talk of the Academy by the time they rolled back through the gates of the school.

It was now spinning out of control. Gossipmongers came out of the woodwork theorizing about what was wrong with
Nicole, why she kept it a secret, and if it was a career-ending situation as Maya had suggested.

“What I don't get,” Maya said, “is why she refuses to deal with the problem. It might just be some minor thing.”

“Because Nicole King never shows weakness,” Renee explained. “With her it's always attack, never surrender. You should know better than anyone. Nicole doesn't set out to deal with a problem. She does everything she can to make sure the problem never exists in the first place.”

“What a horrible way to live,” Maya said.

“That's part of sports,” Renee said. “It's part of competition.”

“I don't know that I'm cut out for that side of the business,” Maya said.

Jordan had been livid. Not only had Maya sunk to Nicole's level, but she'd completely failed to give Jordan the heads-up on her other client. To be fair, Maya had a problem getting a word in edgewise when she spoke with Jordan, which she would have pointed out if the agent hadn't abruptly hung up the phone again.