Dayo was seated in the front of a boat with his family scattered around him—Jeffery scrolling through his phone, Janet half-lying across a couch with snacks, Abisola speaking quietly with Jason, while Alice and Valerie argued softly about where to eat dinner and Wayne sleeping. It was one of those rare calm moments that came after chaos, after medals, after cameras.

Dayo had rented a boat for them after all it was not everyday you get to go to paris.

plus he was a billionaire and it caused nothing and seeing all of them happy made him smile.

Then his phone buzzed.

Dayo glanced at the screen.

Richard.

He frowned slightly and stood up, moving a few steps away.

"Coach," he said, answering.

"Where are you right now?" Richard asked, his voice steady.

"On a boat we rented. With my family."

"Good. I won't take long."

Dayo leaned against the railing overlooking the lobby. "What's up?"

There was a brief pause on the other end.

"I heard you were planning to leave Paris soon."

Dayo nodded instinctively, even though Richard couldn't see him. "Yeah. A few days more, then back to the States. We've done what we came here to do."

Richard hummed. "I think you should stay."

That made Dayo straighten. "Stay? Till when?"

"Till the end of the Olympics."

Dayo let out a small laugh. "Coach, that's another week. There's no reason for me to still be around. My events are done."

"I know."

"Then why?"

Another pause. Longer this time.

"Just… stay," Richard said. "Trust me."

Dayo exhaled slowly. "Is this about something specific?"

"No. Not directly."

"That's not an answer coach."

Richard chuckled faintly. "It's the only one I'm giving."

Dayo glanced back at his family. Janet was laughing now, probably teasing Jeffery about something. His parents looked relaxed. Safe.

"I don't like vague," Dayo said.

"I know," Richard replied. "But sometimes vague is necessary."

Silence settled between them.

Finally, Dayo said, "Alright. We'll stay."

"Good."

"But if this turns out to be nothing—"

"It won't."

Richard hung up before Dayo could say anything else.

Dayo stared at the phone for a moment, then slipped it back into his pocket.

He looked around and said. "Cannon ball."

And dive into the water making his whole family laugh.

Then jeffery dived inside to.

***

Olympic Committee Headquarters – Paris

The room was quiet, but tense.

A long glass table sat at the center, surrounded by men and women who carried influence without needing to announce it. Screens lined the walls, displaying names, statistics, medal counts, and archived footage.

"This is getting circular," one man said, rubbing his temple. "We need direction."

"We need logic," another countered. "Not emotion."

Diana leaned forward, folding her hands. "Logic is exactly why we're here."

On the screen behind her, a name was highlighted.

JASON DAYO

Three gold medals blinked beside it.

50m Freestyle – Gold

100m Freestyle – Gold

200m Freestyle – Gold

"Three sprint events," Diana continued. "All won by the same athlete. Back to back. No rest window. No precedent. We all saw it happen something that has never been achieved before not to talk about the amount of stress he was in."

A woman across the table scoffed lightly. "Others have won more medals."

"Yes," Diana replied calmly. "But not these three."

A man beside her tapped his tablet. "Historically, no swimmer has swept the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle in a single Olympic Games. Ever."

"Still," another voice cut in, "this award isn't about records alone. It's about overall contribution."

Diana nodded. "Then let's talk about contribution."

She gestured to the screen. It changed.

Clips played—Coach Richard speaking at a press conference, footage from earlier in the year.

'After the drug scandal, we were short-handed. We had to rebuild fast. Dayo helped identify athletes with clean records and untapped potential. Without him, half of this roster wouldn't be here and as you can see we achieved a record never done before by the swimming team we broke every record.'

Murmurs spread across the table.

One of the older committee members frowned. "You're telling me an athlete helped assemble the team?"

"Yes," Diana said. "And because of that, the U.S. swimming team exceeded its projected medal count."

A chart appeared.

Previous Olympic Average:

Gold – 8

Silver – 6

Bronze – 5

Current Projection:

Gold – 13

Silver – 9

Bronze – 7

"That's not coincidence," Diana said.

Another man leaned back in his chair. "But isn't this award meant to recognize performance within competition, not behind-the-scenes influence?"

"And why can't it be both?" Diana shot back.

A woman on the far end spoke up. "There's also the issue of time. Dayo only started competitive swimming two months ago."

"That's exactly why this matters," Diana replied. "It challenges everything we think we know about limits."

The room fell quiet again.

Finally, the chairman raised a hand. "Enough."

Everyone looked at him.

"We are not deciding today," he said firmly. "This discussion remains internal. We revisit after the closing events."

Diana didn't argue. She only nodded.

But as the screen dimmed, Dayo's name lingered in the air.

***

Later That Evening – Athlete Village

After Dayo and his family came back from the boat Dayo got a call from someone and decided to see the person.

Dayo walked through the quieter section of the village when he spotted her.

Suyin

She was sitting on a low wall, legs crossed, hair pulled back loosely, watching people pass like she had nowhere urgent to be. When she saw him, she smiled.

"You survived," she said.

"Barely," Dayo replied, stopping in front of her. "You're done competing, right?"

She nodded. "Finished yesterday. No more nerves."

"Must feel strange."

"It does," she admitted. "You?"

"I don't know how to stop moving yet."

She laughed softly. "Figures."

They talked as they walked—nothing heavy. Teasing. Casual. Easy.

At one point she glanced at him sideways. "You know, for someone who just rewrote Olympic history, you're surprisingly normal."

"That's the nicest insult I've heard today."

"Haha yeah yeah." She said with a cute smile.

Dayo smiled at this he looked ahead and saw he was already arriving at his hotel.

She stopped walking. "Come over?"

Dayo hesitated only a second. "Alright."

Dayo's Room

The door closed behind them.

The room was quiet, warm, dimly lit. She kicked off her shoes, turning to face him.

"You're tense," she said.

"Long day."

She stepped closer. "Then relax."

Their faces were inches apart.

And then—

Knock. Knock.

Dayo froze.

He frowned. "Who's there?"

A voice answered from the other side.

"Dayo… it's me."

His breath caught.

He knew that voice.

The moment shattered into stillness.

And the door remained closed.

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