Fighting to Win (The Elite Book 1) (7 page)

I
f the way
Mitch’s stomach pitched in circles was anything like what Julia had gone through watching him, he didn’t want to experience it too often. He probably should be anywhere else but sitting in the stands waiting for Julia to compete. She didn’t know he was here. She probably wasn’t expecting him to turn up, but he hadn’t been able to keep away. Not after the way she came to watch him compete even after they agreed to keep distance between each other.

“You doing all right, dude?” Drake took a seat next to him.

“Sure, and shouldn’t you be practicing or something?”

“Coach is okay with me taking it easy, seeing as the semis for the 1,500m isn’t until tomorrow. He was happy for me to support one of my favorite people.”

“I thought that was the physio you’ve been spending all your time with?”

Drake rolled his eyes. “I said
one
of my favorite people. That woman lives to torture me.”

Mitch snorted. “You love it, admit it. You have a lot of favorite people, huh?”

“Sure do, and you’re close to the top of the list.”

“Why aren’t I at the top? Aren’t I your best friend?” Mitch plastered his best hangdog expression on his face.

“Dude, you’re crazy. And that would just be plain weird.”

“Well, whatever, I’m glad you’re here.”

A soft punch landed on his upper arm.

“When is she diving?”

“She’s fifth. Trina is sixth.”

Drake whistled. “Now that’s going to make the competition really interesting.”

“It’s either going to psych Trina out or spur her on. Regardless of the drama Julia had to go through to get here, she’s a damn good diver and the current world champion. I have every faith that she’s going to nail all her dives.”

“Don’t jinx her.”

The music sounded around the arena, and Julia and the rest of the competitors walked out. It was amazing how quickly the diving event went by. It wasn’t like swimming with races taking a couple of minutes each. Basically, a diver climbed up the ladder, walked out to the edge of the platform, took a couple of deep breaths and then sailed off the edge before landing into the water a few seconds later.

“Do you know any of the other competitors?”

“A few names I recognize from the world championship, but I don’t really remember how well they dived then. My focus was only on Julia.”

Conversation between them faded as the first competitor took to the platform. Her dive was low on the difficulty scale, and she completed it cleanly. Her scores were credible but not knock-them-out-of-the-park high.

Mitch didn’t pay much attention to the next three competitors. Then it was Julia’s turn. His legs started to bounce out a nervous tattoo. This was it. The big moment when all the focus would be on her. And on the judges to see how they would score her.

Part of him wanted to look away. Early on in their relationship, he’d always worried she would slam her head on the platform. He still held his breath on her more difficult dives, but the anxiety wasn’t as bad as it had been before.

With a small bounce she was up in the air, clearing the platform, somersaulting twice before straightening out like an arrow to enter the water with the smallest splash.

To his eye, her dive had a degree of difficulty higher than the previous divers and she’d executed it perfectly. The way the crowd was cheering, they thought so too.

In her zone, Julia didn’t look up to the crowd, not even toward the area where the rest of the diving team was sitting. There was Brooke clapping madly, and since she was a fellow diver he had to assume that Julia had completed a great dive.

Yep, solid eights all round, and it catapulted her into the lead. It was only the first dive, but Mitch had a good feeling her excellent form will continue with the rest of her dives.

“Holy shit, she nailed that one, didn’t she?” Drake asked.

“Yeah. She did.”

“Do you think she’ll medal?”

He shrugged. “It’s hard to say; this is the semis. She has to do enough to get through to the finals. And we’ve got the Chinese and Russians. Those girls are tough competitors, and you never know who’s going to have an off day or a remarkable day.”

“Well, let’s hope our girl is in the latter.”

Our girl
.

He knew Drake had no romantic overtures toward Julia. However, he liked the sound of those two words. Or maybe he preferred the version
my girl
. Yes, he preferred that term a lot more.

“Trina’s up,” Drake nudged him with his elbow.

There was something about Trina that rubbed Mitch the wrong way. She had always tried hard to flirt with him at diving events. Get him alone. It had sucked, and he’d always managed to find a way to nicely put her off. It was clear Trina disliked Julia, in a way that was more than team competitiveness. There was always a bite in her comments to Julia. And Julia, being Julia, would let those words roll off her back. Did that bother Trina more than if Julia snapped back?

Trina’s dive was a disaster. She came out of her turn too early, and her legs kicked over a bit when she entered the water, causing a splash much larger than Julia’s.

The crowd cheered and clapped politely, but even they knew it wasn’t as good.

Trina’s scores were in the mid to low sixes. But again, it was a first dive. Anything could happen.

“Whoa, she doesn’t look happy,” Mitch commented as she walked back toward her coach.

“Nope, things look good for Julia.”

Never one to put the cart before the horse, Mitch tried to rein in Drake’s enthusiasm. She didn’t have this in the bag. “Long way to go, dude. Long way to go.”

S
he’d made it
. The rank outsider. It hadn’t mattered that she was the reigning world champion. Because of her limited opportunity to get into competition form after the investigation, no one expected her to make the finals of the 10m platform diving event at the Olympic Games. She’d proven them all wrong.

“You ready, Julia?”

“Yep.” Mick’s eyes were glowing with pride. She’d finished the preliminary round in first place. But there were only two points seperated her and the second-place girl from Russia.

Most of the other competitors would believe that because her early dives had been hard, the ones in the finals would be easier, therefore putting her chances of winning gold at next to zero. Instead, she’d saved her most challenging moves for last.

God, she hoped this strategy succeeded. From the moment the scandal had broken and all had seem lost, Mick had kept her focused on her diving while helping her to clear her name. It had been a tough time, but now all their hard work was going to pay off.

She was confident, and so was Mick.

“Good girl, and as I’ve always said, relax, let your body and muscles lead you. You’ve got this. And no matter what happens, know that I’m proud to be your coach.”

Mick was never emotional, but his words were heartfelt and meant the world to her. She hugged him, hard.

“Thank you, Mick. Thank you for everything. Your guidance. Your belief in me. I wouldn’t be here without you.”

His response was to squeeze her for a moment and then step out.

“Go get ’em.”

With a nod, she headed out of the locker room, ready to face the crowds and her competitors. Trina had made it by the skin of her teeth, but Julia was confident that the other woman wouldn’t be a threat. The Russian and Chinese girls, the ones she’d beaten in Russia at the Worlds, were the ones she had to worry about.

Julia quickly pushed the thoughts away and replaced them with Mick’s words of encouragement.

She totally had this.

A
lmost an hour later
, with two dives completed, Julia was behind the Russian by fifteen points. This was the final dive of the event. Potentially the final dive of her career.

Everything hinged on the next twenty seconds. All her dreams. But whatever happened in the next few minutes, she had nothing to be ashamed. Winning a silver medal was a pretty damn good result. No one had given her a chance at all of qualifying for the team, let alone medalling.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed the ladder. In her mind she was envisioning the tumbles she had to complete before coming out into a twist then unfurling and hitting the water ramrod straight.

Timing was everything.

The walk to the front of the platform loomed before her. In reality it was only a small distance, but to her it seemed a mile long.

Her toes gripped the familiar course edge of the platform. The smell of chlorine clung to her skin. The drip of water slid down her back. All familiar smells and sensations. Only intensified in this moment. She focused, mentally picturing the dive in beats and movements one last time. The crowd noise faded, and she took a deep breath, bounced up on her toes before leaping into the air and curling into the somersault position. One. Tumble. Two. Break out to curve her arm around her head. Three. Twist. Four. Sight the water. Five. Straighten. Six Arms locked straight. Left hand on top of right hand. Seven. Legs as straight as her arms. Toes pointed to the heavens.

Then splash. Entry complete. Bubbles of water swirled around her as she twisted and kicked her way to the surface. The moment her head broke the water sounds rushed back into her consciousness.

She’d done it. Everything about the dive had felt perfect. She only hoped the judges agreed.

With baited breath, Julia climbed out of the pool and looked at the scoreboard. Still blank, the judges hadn’t entered their results. Then the screen lit up. The numbers didn’t register—she felt only Mick’s arms closing tightly around her.

“You did it,” he shouted. “You won.”

Only then did her vision clear and the scoreboard come into focus. She’d scored nines and tens, enough to put her in first place.

All the pent up emotions, the ones she’d refused to let overwhelm her since Russia last year, pummeled through her and she started to cry. Great, loud sobs. She didn’t care that she had a camera in her face. That millions of people were seeing her ugly cry. She was an Olympic champion, goddammit. Against all the odds she’d proven everyone wrong. No one could question her performance. Her dives had been flawless. She’d deserved each and every one of the points she’d been awarded.

With her vision still blurred with tears, she didn’t recognize the large body that swept her close once Mick released her.

“Oh, Jules, I’m so proud of you. Congratulations, baby! Congratulations.”

She rubbed a hand across her eyes. “Mitch, you’re here? You came?”

His response was to frame her face with his hands and kiss her. Just as when she dived, her body took over, relishing in the touch of Mitch’s lips against hers. His arms wrapped tightly around her, holding her close.

Everything felt perfect in that moment.

But she was also aware of where they were.

With a twist, she broke the kiss and looked into his blue eyes shining with emotions she hadn’t seen in a long time. Her heart caught in her throat. So many feelings were swirling through her: excitement, shock, happiness, love. Too many to comprehend on a pool deck surrounded by the world’s media. Her coach. The millions of people watching on television.

“We have to talk,” she whispered.

Mitch nodded. “I know.”

“Julia.” This time it was Mick’s voice she heard over the rabble of the crowd. “You don’t have time for this.”

His words were like a dousing of cold water. It would likely be hours before she and Mitch could talk. There was the medal ceremony. Press conferences.

As if reading her mind, Mitch nodded again. “Go, enjoy your moment. You deserve it, and you’ve earned it. I’ll be waiting for you. However long it takes.”

Julia didn’t doubt the truth of his words. “I’ll find you.”

With those parting words, she turned and walked through the throng of cameras and people, accepting congratulations as she made her way back to the locker room.

Nothing was better than this.

J
ulia kept touching
the medal hanging around her neck, sure that if she didn’t, she’d wake up and find out that she still had to compete. Physically, she may be sitting in the press room, answering questions the reporters were flinging at her, but mentally she was anywhere but there. Obviously, she was doing a good job as there didn’t appear to be any long pauses or weird looks sent in her direction.

Finally, the press conference was winding down and she would be able to get out of here. Hopefully, Mitch was waiting outside for her.

“One final question,” said the press conference organizer. Hands raised around the room, and the girl pointed to a reporter at the back. “You.”

“Hi, Julia. Congratulations on your win.”

“Thanks.” Immediately she went on guard, all her senses on alert. The guy’s smile and stance reeked sleazeball. Surely this wasn’t the same guy who’d caused issues at Mitch’s press conference. If so, the publicity people for the team needed to be fired. They should’ve made sure the guy had his press pass revoked.

“There was a pretty public display of affection between you and Mitch Osborn after your win. The rumors surrounding a reconciliation between the two of you have been rife. So have you and Mitch reconciled?”

After the way the press had been more than happy to crucify her on speculation alone , politeness now was overrated. Not to mention she’d won her medal, she’d answered the questions asked of her. It didn’t matter to her what she said now.

“Last I knew, this was the Olympic Games and not
The Bachelor
or
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
. I don’t actively seek to have my personal life splashed across the gossip Internet sites. So I say it’s none of your damn business, and the fact that you can make the last question about me and not ask one of the ladies on either side of me about their accomplishments is a disgrace. I may have won the gold, but this press conference shouldn’t be about only me.” Julia nodded her head at the reporters gathered. “Thank you for your time.”

She stood and walked out, the high from her win draining away, all because some stupid reporter asked a question she didn’t have an answer to. She and Mitch hadn’t talked in days. She could be facing the possibility that the kiss he gave her and his request to talk after her win was all a good-bye. She couldn’t bear it if that was the case.

Not paying attention to where she was going, she barreled into a hard body. The arms that enclosed her were immediately familiar.

“Hey, where are you off to in a hurry?”

She looked up into Mitch’s gaze. God, how had she ever survived the last few months without him in her life?

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“What for?”

“For the whole thing with Brett.”

Immediately Mitch tensed, his arms becoming steel bands around her. The hallway they stood in would soon become inundated with the people from press conference. A bunch of reporters didn’t need to overhear this conversation. Julia grabbed Mitch’s hand and headed out of the building.

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere we can talk in private.”

Just before they reached the exit, the door opened and two Olympic officials walked in. The tall, dark-haired one Julia recognized as Griffin Tyler, the head of the Aquatic Committee, and she assumed the other red-haired man was his associate. In their black pants and red blazers, they looked formidable and impeccable. She stepped to the side to let them pass, but they stopped in front of her and Mitch.

“Ahh, Julia, just the girl we are looking for,” said Griffin.

Dread the size of a cannonball landed squarely in her stomach.. The last time officials came looking for her it was to tell her she was being investigated for allegedly bribing the judges. Her fingers tightened around Mitch’s. Thank God he was standing beside her this time. Although it wasn’t in his best interest if they told her they were stripping her medal for some reason or another.

“What can I do for you?” She sounded calm even though her heart rate had increased by a hundred beats per minute in the last thirty seconds.

“Let’s find somewhere less open to talk.”

“Sure, Mr. Tyler.” Her voice shook a little, and when Mitch loosened his hold on her hand, she was sure he was about to leave her alone to face whatever bad news they were about to impart. Her body sagged against his when Mitch slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tightly.

Without another word, they headed back the way she and Mitch had come from. Griffin opened a door and flicked the light switch. It was a small office he led them into, its plain white table and black chair screaming
temporary
. Was it a sign that the medal she still wore around her neck was temporary too?

There weren’t enough chairs in the room, so Julia stood to one side while Griffin propped his hip against the table.

He cleared his throat, ratcheting up her nerves another ten places. “Julia, last year some serious allegations were made against you.”

Oh man, here it is.
The words she was dreading. She’d never be able to go back to the States and hold her head high. How could she prove this time that she didn’t bribe the judges? There was no way anyone would believe her. Who would do something like this to her?

The thoughts couldn’t be contained no matter how she tried.

“I didn’t do it then, and I didn’t do it now,” she blurted out, her hands clutching the medal she’d earned fairly.

“We’re aware you were cleared, and we’re not suggesting you’ve done anything wrong.” Griffin paused, and some of the tension within her poured out. “That’s what we’ve come to tell you. We know who was responsible for the allegations.”

What?
They’d found the person? Julia had had no idea the matter was still being investigated.

“Who was it?” Mitch asked the question she couldn’t form. His voice was strong and pure and holding a tinge of anger.

“Trina White. We caught her this evening speaking to a reporter, once again accusing you, and your coach this time, of talking to the judges about giving you favorable scores.”

Julia would’ve crumpled to the floor if Mitch hadn’t been holding her. “
Trina
,” her voice squeaked out. “Trina did this to me? But why? We’re teammates. Sure, we’re competitors, and I’ve always felt that she doesn’t really like me, but I would’ve never thought she’d go this far. How can you be sure it was her?”

“We’ve spent the last hour questioning her extensively, and she finally admitted that she was the one who contacted the reporter last year.”

She let what Griffin told her sink in. No fucking way. Why Trina would do something like that to her? Had she hoped Julia would just accept the allegations and quit the sport? Had Trina wanted a place on the team that badly that she would stoop that low?

“I don’t understand any of this,” Julia whispered.

Griffin came forward and patted her on the shoulder. “It is a lot to process. But I wanted to let you know that we will issue a statement on our findings, and that you’re now fully exonerated.”

“This will kill Trina’s career.”

“Perhaps she should’ve thought of that before sprouting lies about you. And she’s going to know about it when I see her next.” If anything Mitch seemed angrier than her.

“I trust you won’t do anything silly, Mr. Osborn?” Griffin directed an imperious look at Mitch. “The matter is now closed. Nothing good will come of confronting her.”

“Really,” Mitch sneered. “Do you know how much pain Julia went through last year? What we both went through because of one jealous woman’s actions?”

Griffin waved his hand. “Be that as it may, two wrongs don’t make a right. I suggest you let us handle it.”