Page 5 of Courting Trouble
Cassie manoeuvred her battered Corsa into the narrow parking spot beside the Riverside Tennis Club, filled with dread.
She had spent all weekend picturing the woman she’d be coaching today: some flouncy, entitled actress with perfect hair, designer sunglasses, and an opinion on everything. Cassie had never met Delilah Day, but she already hated her.
The key scraped as she turned off the engine, and just as she reached to open the door, a sudden thud rattled against the side of her car.
‘What the hell?’ Cassie barked, yanking the door open.
There, beside a car somehow shittier than Cassie’s, stood a tiny, wide-eyed woman of about thirty. Her hands flailed as if she could somehow patch the dent with sheer panic.
‘Oh! I—I didn’t mean to—I can fix it! I can pay! I’m so sorry!’
‘You bumped my car?’ Cassie snapped. She’d shown up here already angry, and this wasn’t helping. ‘You could have parked anywhere else. The place is half empty. Why would you get so close? Where the hell is your spatial awareness?’
The woman looked around, as if noticing the plethora of options for the first time. ‘Jesus, how did I… You’re right. I’m so sorry, Miss Thorne.’
Cassie blinked at her own name.
‘Delilah?’ Cassie said slowly, realisation dawning.
The woman’s jaw tightened in a nervous smile. ‘Yes. I’m Delilah Day.’
Cassie’s irritation turned to astonishment. She was supposed to survive six weeks of training a pampered diva. Instead, Delilah Day was a walking apology note. Which might actually be worse. A selfish arsehole was something to push against. What the hell was Cassie gonna do withthis?
‘Can I get your insurance details?’ Delilah asked.
Cassie shook her head. ‘The car’s a piece of shit anyway. One bump isn’t gonna do much. Forget it.’
Delilah was wordlessly grateful.
‘Come on, let’s get cracking, shall we?’ Cassie said.
Delilah’s lips curled into a small, tight smile, but her eyes stayed sharp, wary. ‘Sure. Lead the way, Miss Thorne.’
Cassie forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. ‘It’s Cassie.’
Five
Delilah sank onto the cold metal bench, the fabric of her tracksuit scratching at her skin.
She stared down at her phone, her thumb hovering over the screen as the echo of the car park argument throbbed in her mind. Cassie Thorne—the grumpy, rage-filled coach—had already shouted at her. They weren’t even on the court yet. This didn’t bode well.
Delilah’s fingers moved almost of their own accord, dialled Ashley’s number. The line clicked through, and when she answered, Delilah didn’t fuck around.
‘Ashley, I don’t think I can do this,’ she said, her voice tremulous. ‘Cassie… she’s a terror. We had a little incident in the car park, and the vibe is already poison. The way she yelled at me… I mean, I get that people lose their tempers, but she was so angry. It’s like she hates me already, and we haven’t even started training. How is she gonna react when she sees me try to play tennis?!’
There was a brief pause, the faint sound of typing on the other end. Then Ashley sighed. ‘Delilah, I know it’s rough, but you have to remember why you’re doing this. You’re a good actress about to get her shot. We’ve come a long way, and we’re so close. Cassie’s going to take you the last few steps, OK?’
Delilah shifted on the bench, biting the inside of her cheek. ‘How am I supposed to learn from someone who’s already pissed off at me? I’m going to be fumbling and failing every step of the way.’
Ashley made her voice gentler. ‘You’re not a wimp, Delilah. You’ve dealt with plenty of egos in your time. Jesus, you worked on asoap. You can handle her.’
Delilah closed her eyes, hating that Ashley was right. There was no way around it. No shortcuts. Delilah had to do this. She hadn’t really called Ashley to drop out. She’d called her to be talked back in.
‘Alright,’ she said finally, voice steadier now. ‘I’ll start the session. But if it gets unbearable, I’m calling you again. And you will pick up and you will listen to me moan, right?’
‘You’ve got my word,’ Ashley replied. ‘But I think you’re stronger than you realise.’
Delilah tucked her phone into a locker and headed to her doom, aka court three.
