Page 51 of Risky Match
I’m dumbfounded. “He can’t make you do that, can he?”
“Not technically, but when I object, he becomes impatient. I’m no longer that naïve young player he needs to boss around. I want even more say in the business side of my career, and my manager should support me. Unfortunately, at times, Noah seems to have forgotten that I’m the client. After much consideration, I’ve finally decided to find a different manager after this tournament and start over.”
We drift closer, and I rest a hand on his arm. He leans into my touch.
“Thanks for warning me about Noah. Otherwise, I might have considered hiring him when you have a new manager.”
“He may be fine for someone else, just not me. He’s like a parent who still thinks of me as his child. He might treat you differently though.”
Despite their problems, Blake is hesitant to completely destroy Noah’s reputation. That speaks to Blake’s character and loyalty that comes from a long relationship. My guess is that his decision to part ways with Noah has been a particularly difficult one.
We need more information, so I push forward. “I hate to pry, but you mentioned he made some business mistakes. Would you be willing to share the details? It would help me decide whether to keep him on my list of possibilities.”
“I don’t like talking about it, but for you I will under one condition. You must promise not to repeat the information to anyone else,” he says solemnly, taking my hand from his arm and intertwining our fingers.
“Of course.”
I’ll try to keep my promise, but my team may need the information. Right now, I hate my job. Deceiving someone I’m growing closer to is tearing me up inside.
“He invested a significant amount of my money in a start-up company. The start-up went bankrupt within six months. I lost millions of pounds.”
“Did he have permission to make the investment?”
“Technically, he did. He’s been working with my financial advisors since early in my career. I’d given him authority to make investments back when I didn’t have any experience in those matters. However, he typically mentioned his plans to me. This time he didn’t, so I didn’t have a chance to prevent the calamity.”
“Had you known his plans, would you have stopped him or is it just hindsight that makes you realize it was a bad idea?”
“Under no circumstances would I have agreed to the investment,” he states with an unquestionable conviction.
“May I ask what the startup did?”
He sighs. “You won’t believe it. They made ugly tennis sweatshirts.”
“You must be joking!” I laugh.
“The only joke was on me. They managed to lose all the money Noah invested for me in mere months. When they went bankrupt, they shipped me twelve cases of the unsold sweatshirts. They were the ugliest, lowest quality sweatshirts I’d ever seen. They were so bad, I was embarrassed to donate them to charity.”
“Why would Noah invest your money in something like that?”
“He’d read that people were making millions in ugly Christmas shirts and sweatshirts, so he thought it was a certain winner.”
“No wonder you question his judgment now. He puts you in a terrible position. I’ve heard athletes often find themselves in financial trouble due to poor investments by their managers. Have you recovered—financially, I mean?”
“I’m not broke if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t want to discuss it. It’s painful.”
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“The more I think about it, I’m changing my advice. Instead of hiring a manager, you should avoid the headaches of dealing with sponsors and managers. Doesn’t your family have enough money to fund your foundation?”
“They do, but I want to use my passion for tennis to benefit the people in my country. That’s not the case now. Instead, I’m spending my family’s money to fund my tennis. It doesn’t seem right. If I’m allowed to have sponsors and accept prize money, I could change that.”
“In the beginning, I relied on my family to be able to play tennis. The circumstances were different, but I suspect we feel similar guilt.”
“When we ...umm ...spent time together two years ago, you mentioned that your parents had sacrificed everything for you to play tennis.”
“They did. My dad took a second job on weekends. We didn’t go on family vacations. My parents drove old cars, put off repairs on their small house, and bought our clothes from thrift stores. Every extra bit of money went to send me to tennis events and pay for occasional coaching. I owe them everything.”
“They must love you very much. I’m sure they’re incredibly proud of you.”
