Chapter nine
Cooper
T he moment Cooper saw Maya’s It could be better text , he was video calling her, his chicken and vegetable dinner abandoned on the kitchen island. He’d spent longer than normal in the weight room, trying to work off the shitty feeling that’d been eating at him the last few weeks. It hadn’t worked; all it’d done was force him to eat dinner sometime near eleven.
She picked up on the second ring, hesitantly answering, “Hello?”
“Hey, Mai. Sorry if you’re busy. I’m more of a caller than a texter, and you seemed like you needed someone to talk to.”
She propped the phone up on the table in front of her, and he took in the tired droop of her shoulders, her long hair up in a ponytail .
“Hate that you figured that out from one text,” she said, grimacing.
“Call it intuition.”
Maya sighed, looking away. “I’ve just been calling practically everybody I know to find funding and coaching and everything else I might need for this. I found a facility, and while the manager seemed enthusiastic, I have no idea what their rate will be for the courts.” Her mouth twisted to the side. “Why’s it so hard to do something good for others?” She’d asked it so quietly, he’d barely heard her.
“Mai, it’s only been a few days since you started researching. The fact that you’ve already gotten a potential facility is impressive as hell.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I also got my sponsors to donate a few rackets and baskets of balls, which was nice.”
“See? That’s great.”
“I didn’t mean to bother you when I texted you that. I’ve just been on a roller coaster of emotions today, and I don’t feel like talking to my brothers about it right now.”
Cooper tried not to let his chest swell too much that she’d chosen to talk to him over Colton and Landon. “You’re never bothering me. I asked because I know how difficult it can be, and that’s from people who have whole teams helping them get it set up.”
Not for the first time, Cooper recognized how remarkable Maya was. The fact that she was working so tirelessly at a cause that was so selfless made Cooper want to do something too.
He had more money than he knew what to do with at this point, and if it could help her—and by extension local kids—by donating some, why would he not?
“Let me pay the upfront costs.”
Maya reared back, almost falling out of her chair. “What?” She shook her head like she hadn’t heard him correctly before asking again. “What?”
“I can pay for the facility, transportation, and a fundraising event to get you up and running.”
“Stop saying that like you’re reading me the weather! That’s thousands of dollars.”
Cooper shrugged, grinning. “What, like that’s a lot?” At her glare, he said, “Maya, I’d rather it go to something like this than something stupid like me buying another car. The last thing I need is another car. So, really, you’d be doing me a favor.”
His whole life, people had wanted to take and take and take, and so he’d given and given and given. Friendship with the mayor’s kid? Alright. Money? Sure. His body? Okay. For once, he was offering something he wanted to give to someone he wanted to give it to.
Her face was still twisted into downright shock. It was adorable. Her refusal to accept and surprise that he would even offer was proof that she wouldn’t use him like others who always expected him to give, always expected to take. It only made him want to help more.
“Why would you support a tennis charity on the other side of the country? ”
“Because I want to help you. And because I want to do something I’m proud of.”
Maya scoffed. “Two championship wins isn’t enough?”
“Something meaningful. Impactful. I want to be like you.” And maybe he was being a little selfish too, but it might even get his parents off his back. Prove to them that he did do things that were worthwhile as a football player.
Cooper was ready to do more, be more than a guy who played ball and slept with pretty girls. He knew everyone had a reputation, good or bad, and it was time to show there was a different side to him than others knew.
But more than that, he hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to be like Maya. Cooper wanted an ounce of her selflessness and compassion.
And yes, he cared about her, and if this helped her and others, that would make it all the more worth it.
“I don’t know…”
“Think it over for me. I’ll talk to the Sabers’ philanthropy department tomorrow to see if they have any tips, even if it’s just tax stuff.”
Maya pulled her hands into the sleeves of her sweater, nodding slowly. “Okay. Thank you so much, Cooper. I appreciate your offer, but—”
“Think it over,” he repeated softly, more firmly.
She nodded again. “Okay. I know it’s late there, so I’ll let you go, but thank you for talking to me. It made me feel a lot better.”
“I’m glad.”
“Oh, and…sorry to ask this of you, but do you think you could hold off on mentioning this to Colt? I think it would hurt his feelings if he knew I’d talked to you about all this before him.”
“Yes, of course.” He didn’t love keeping secrets from Colton, but he understood her concern.
She waved before ending the call, and Cooper thanked his intuition, or whatever it was that’d told him he needed to call her.
The next day, Cooper woke up in a great mood, and even enjoyed a light lift. It all came crashing down quickly, though, when his mother called once again to act as the mouthpiece for his father’s agenda. Unfortunately, his parents were aware his contract was up this season, and though he was pretty certain it would get extended, his mom and dad seemed set on the idea that this was God’s way of telling Cooper it was time to come home.
Cooper was inclined to disagree, blasphemous as it might have been. Despite him explaining that he was on the way to the philanthropy offices to help get a charity set up as they spoke, she still emphasized he would be doing more important work by coming home. Though she didn’t specify what that important work would be.
As if leaving his closest friends and a sport he loved to play would be so easy.
Cooper walked into the philanthropy offices, and he tried to let go of the negative feeling that’d built in him while on the phone, forcing a smile for the man behind the front desk. “Hi, I’m—”
“Cooper Hayes, I know,” the guy said, setting a stack of stapled papers to the side. “How can we help you today?”
That recognition would never get old. “I was hoping to talk to someone about how to get a charity set up.”
“Oh! Did you want someone to set something up for you or…”
“It’s for a friend. She’s starting a small tennis charity, and I wanted to see if I could get tips on where to begin.”
The guy blinked at him a few times before looking at his computer screen. Then he pointed down the hall. “Krista is available now to answer questions about that. Second door on your left.”
Cooper looked down at the man’s name plate. “Thanks, Josh. Appreciate it.”
Cooper followed the directions and walked into the office of a fifty-something woman with gray hair slicked back into a bun and what seemed to be a permanent frown on her face. Even though he thought she was smiling at him, she still looked upset .
“Hi, Mr. Hayes. How can I help you?”
Cooper explained himself once more, and Krista nodded toward the chairs in front of her desk.
“I’m going to print some tax documents your friend should complete, as well as the manual we typically have our newer employees follow when they’re getting something like this set up. Will your friend’s charity be based in Charleston?”
Cooper shook his head. “Los Angeles, actually.”
Krista tapped a pen against her nose twice as she hummed. “Okay. Let me ask around to see if I can find any nonprofits or foundations that might be open to supporting a charity like this. I will say, it’s going to be difficult for your friend to start on her own. There’s a reason we have an entire department dedicated to working with players to get theirs set up.”
Cooper tried not to let that dishearten him. He would keep that from Maya when he talked to her next.
“I assume the answer is no since she’s not a part of the organization, but there’s no chance we could help her get started, is there?”
Krista almost seemed apologetic as she shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think so. If she were starting it here, it would be more likely, as we do help with many non-Sabertooths local charities. But unfortunately, if it’s going to be based out of Los Angeles, we won’t be able to.”
“I figured as much.”
Krista pulled a stack of papers from the printer, handing them across the desk to Cooper. “Some ways you can help are to make sure she sets up a strong mission statement, encourage her to research the cause, and make sure she looks into other organizations with similar goals.”
Cooper pulled out his phone and began typing. “Sorry, I’m just taking notes.”
“No need to apologize. This is all in that manual as well. I’ve printed the documents she’ll need to submit to the state of California to get tax-exemption status. That’ll help when she’s receiving donations. It sounds like she won’t be putting together a board of directors, but she should definitely find local coordinators who can help with things like marketing and outreach.”
Cooper nodded, flipping through the packet she’d handed him. “Okay.”
“She should also come up with a fundraising strategy, and I highly recommend an opening event, like a gala. You can invite Sabertooths players and staff and people she may know in that area to raise money to help fund it for a while until she’s getting steady donations. Of course, I don’t know her personal financial status, but that’s costly on its own…”
Krista looked at him expectantly, and he set the papers onto the desk. “Yes, I’m hoping to help fund the event and anything else she may need to start, like paying for tennis courts and transportation.”
“Good, good. She’ll need to make sure she’s compliant with local legal regulations, which means she’ll be filing and reporting on the charity annually. I recommend finding a good tax attorney to help.
“And like I mentioned, she’s going to want to find people who can help get the word out and volunteers to be there during the lessons, including coaches and probably some other staff. I don’t know much about tennis, but I imagine that’ll be helpful.”
When it seemed Krista was done speaking, Cooper stood, extending his hand for her to shake. She seemed surprised but did so. “Thank you so much, Krista. This is immensely helpful.”
“Happy to help! If you need any more advice, feel free to come back, or I can put your friend in touch with someone who runs similar charities in our department.”
“That would be amazing. Thank you again.”
Cooper stepped out of the office feeling significantly lighter and like he might actually be able to help Maya in more ways than one.