Novel Square
Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Chapter 43:
Sulking Alex “Time to get up, Alex,” Carlos repeatedly kicked Alexander’s feet at five in the morning from their hotel suite in Paris. “It’s time to practice.” The two landed at past midnight in Paris. Immediately after arriving at the hotel, Alexander saw Kendra posting social media pictures of her and another man shortly after getting bailed out of jail. As a result, Alexander indulged in a bottle of wine as his sleeping aide.
Alexander was snoozing face down on the bed. He frowned, turning to Carlos. “Man, I love you, but I’m not the one who is competing in the finals. I don’t need to warm up -”. “But you are my practice partner. Get your lazy ass up!” Carlos kicked him again in the feet.” How will you ever beat me if you keep getting affected by Kendra? She’s out there, maybe in another man’s arms while you sulk? Not the Alexander Jenkins I know, a tennis superstar and model.”
“Superstar? I haven’t gotten to your level yet,” Alexander groaned. “And you won’t if you keep brooding,” Carlos grumbled. “Let’s go and practice. I have a press conference later. Hurry! It’s a thirty- minute drive.”
Only then did Alexander get up to take a shower. Before leaving their hotel room that early morning, Carlos sent Kate a text: (I know you are still sleeping. I want you to know I miss you already. I won’t have this phone with me all the time, so bear with me, my Kate. I love you.)
***
At seven in the morning, the game was still on, but despite it only being a practice match between Carlos and Alexander, a few other players who came to practice crowded the tennis court.
The tennis ball was being volleyed with intensity, coming from each side of the court. Even with Carlos’ usual powerful strokes and backhand, Alexander caught up, pushing their match to the fourth set, with
Carlos leading by two.
Alexander hit the ball perfectly, landing it on the opposite side of where Carlos took his stance. Carlos grunted as he ran to the ball. He barely made it, but he threw it back to Alexander, awarding him the win for the practice match. Three girls in a group clapped hands at the two, but their cheers varied. All of them were female tennis players, and while they did not qualify for the finals, they remained in Paris, wanting to watch the final game for both men’s and women’s singles. “Hi Carlos, good luck with the finals!” Hanna Dil winked at Carlos, saying, “I’m rooting for
you.”
“Hi Alex, Hi Carlos!” Linda White greeted. “Good game, Carlos. You sure gave Alex a simple pass!” It was Savannah Knight, the same woman who modeled with Carlos for a swimwear brand.
“Shut up, Savannah! No one asked for your opinion!” Alexander shot back, wincing at Savannah. “Why did you even come here? Did you get lost?”
Savannah scoffed and added, “It’s true! Carlos probably made you win a set – ” “I did not, Savannah. Alex is just fired up,” Carlos corrected, walking closer to the group of tennis players.
“Yeah, I was imagining you as Kendra,” Alexander declared, making him and Carlos laugh.
When they saw Savannah roll her eyes, Carlos said, “Cut Alex some slack. He and Kendra broke up. I don’t know why you guys hate each other so much, but maybe, for now, Savannah, you can give Alex a break with your back-and-forth taunting.”
“I only came to wish Carlos a good game tomorrow, anyway,” Savannah said before turning on her heel. “Bye, guys! See you tomorrow!”
The two other girls remained, trying to catch Carlos’ attention, but he merely greeted them and suggested leaving. “Alex and I have to go. Excuse us.”
“But Carlos,” Hannah Dil attempted to hold Carlos’ arm, but he pulled away.
Carlos walked ahead without saying more, leaving Alexander to run after him and their security team. “Hannah Dil digs you,” Alexander said. Carlos said nothing. Instead, he asked, “Why do you and Savannah have this anger with each other, anyway?” “I can’t tell you,” Alexander said. “Why?” Carlos asked. “Because,” Alexander replied. Carlos just brushed it off. It wasn’t the first time he asked about the bitterness between them. Besides, it wasn’t his business, even if he was good friends with Alexander.
It was only in the shower rooms, when Carlos and Alexander bathed in their individual cubicles, that they finally covered Savannah. The two athletes were heading to their lockers with a towel around their waist when Alexander finally confessed, “Before I dated Kendra, I was courting Savannah during my ATP tours. It was brief, and no one knew about it. Call it a.. summer fling.”
“What?” Carlos’s mouth nearly fell to the floor, shocked.
“And then I met Kendra, and I ghosted her,” Alexander revealed. “She had been hating me ever since. I would just let it go. It was my fault, but sometimes her insults get under my skin that I shoot back, you know.”
“So let me get this straight. You courted her, and then you disappeared · no contacts whatsoever?” Carlos asked, and Alexander nodded.
“Yes,” Alexander replied. “Please, don’t tell me you are going to side with her? Sometimes, I ignore her, but her remarks about my game can really be offensive.”
Carlos pimed a finger on him and suggested, “I have nothing to do with your hostility for pach other bur! Try apologizing to her, and maybe… things will change”
***
The next day, The French Open resumed, and Carlos was about to go head to head with the second- best tennis player in the world, a Swedish player named Erik Berg.
The grand stadium for the French Open finals was filled with tennis enthusiasts. Sports TV networks worldwide covered the event, and different groups came with their own banners to support their favorite players.
Around the world, especially from each of the player’s home countries, gymnasiums were packed with supporters cheering for Either Carlos or Erik.
In Braeton City, the street near the city’s government office was closed. A comprehensive LED screen was mounted on the side, covering the upcoming game of The Devil, Carlos Ronaldo.
At CSK Apparel, the company allocated their last work hour for observing Carlos’ game. They had a monitor arranged on the same floor as Kate’s department. Everyone found their own spot while Kate sat next to Arman, the HR Director, and Raffa, the design director.
Before the game was about to start, they watched BNC Media’s coverage of Braeton’s humble gathering by the city hall. The news anchor announced to a surprised visitor, “We are waiting for the match to start, and no one deserves to be here and cheer The Devil on other than Hailey Mckenzie! Yes, that’s right! Our special guest for tonight is Hailey Mckenzie.”
Kate’s mouth fell to the floor. Her lips twitched as she frantically took out her phone to text her father. She asked: (I thought you took care of Hailey, dad? Why is she in Braeton?)
Ethan replied: (I’m sorry, Kate. When I contacted the judge, he had already agreed on the terms of Hailey’s bail. Plus, Braeton’s mayor had already invited her to this event. It was a miss on my part. However, to ease your worries, the court issued a restraining order, prohibiting Hailey from going near Carlos. As for suppressing the Mckenzies, Carlos and I are still working on it.)
In the wide monitor, Halley could be seen talking about Carlos. She said, “Carlos has really gone a long way. I am confident he would win this match, the Wimbledon, and then the US Open too. He is going to go all the way. So don’t turn off your TVs, guys! Let’s support Carlos!”
Hailey looked at the camera and added, “And just a walk down memory lane; let me show you guys some pictures of Carlos when he last won the French Open.”
Addressing her words to Carlos this time, Hailey said, “Good luck, Carlos! Braeton loves you, and I love you!”
After briefly featuring Hailey, pictures of Carlos and the Mckenzie’s in previous French Open games flashed on TV. There were many pictures of Hailey standing behind or next to Carlos.
Hailey may not be in front of her, but Kate felt the woman was rubbing it in her face. Clearly, Hailey was trying to show the world that she was the closest woman to Carlos, and that utterly pricked a needle in her heart.
Hailey’s arrest never made it to the public. This was also a way to protect Carlos and hide his actual whereabouts. Thus, no one still knew that Carlos detested Halley. Many fans think Hailey and Carlos were still friends or were taking a break, considering Carlos’ succeeding tournaments
Kate sighed and said under her breath, “I really hate her. She has some nerve.”
“You hate her?” Unfortunately, Molly caught onto Kate’s words. She was sitting behind Kate,
merely a cubicle away. “Why am I not surprised? I still think Hailey and Mister Ronaldo are good together.”
“Yeah, I think so too,” Raffa echoed. He turned to Kate and asked, “Why do you hate her, Kate? You should be careful. You will get fired if she is the company’s third owner.”
“She is jealous of Hailey because Kate is a fan of Mister Ronaldo,” Molly implied before a sarcastic laugh left her lips.
Their exchange resulted in Raffa sitting next to Molly, chatting more about Hailey and Carlos. From her seat, Kate sighed. Even the fact that she was the third shareholder was not a piece of information that she could disclose just yet. “I can’t wait for this to be all over.”
Out of nowhere, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to Arman as he whispered, “Don’t worry, Miss Wright. I’m on your side.”This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.