by Lindsey Gray
She rolled her eyes. Such a dad thing to say. Secretly, she hoped he was right.
“Get the hell out of here!”
A shocked Emma walked into her friend’s gym to find him screaming at an equally irate man.
Mitch stood in front of Emma while Al and Ben recorded it all from over her shoulder.
“Bill?” Emma called in a firm but worried tone.
Her friend, Bill Bell, and the other man turned toward the sound of her voice. Emma’s stomach flipped and acid billowed when she recognized the man. The former IWA General Manager, Curtis Sharp, stood before her.
Emma stepped around her father to address Curtis. “Mr. Sharp, I’m surprised to see you here.” Emma hoped the shake in her voice went unnoticed.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Terrance Hunt’s former lap dog. You looking for another juicy bone?” Curtis sneered.
Emma put her arm out to hold her father back. “I came to visit my friend.” She walked around Curtis to hug Bill.
The retired IWA wrestler’s hugs helped her through several bad days over the past five years. “Sorry about him,” Bill said and pulled her into his arms.
“Don’t worry about it. I hoped I could show my dad around and get one last workout in before we leave.” She pulled back and gave him her warmest smile.
“Sure thing.” Bill held his hand out to Mitch. “Nice to meet you. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Mitch said while they shook hands.
“You work out here?” Curtis scoffed.
Bill slung his arm around Emma’s shoulders and grinned. “Emma is the best amateur female wrestler I’ve ever seen.”
“Is that so?” Curtis’ eyes sparked with a wicked gleam.
“Don’t get any ideas, Sharp. She’s not into working for douchebags.” Bill tightened his hold on Emma’s shoulders. “He’s trying to poach some of my guys for Ring Royalty.”
It didn’t surprise Emma one bit. Curtis Sharp appeared as slimy in person as he did on television. The idea he would go to work for the IWA’s biggest competitor was no out of the scope of his bottom feeder ways.
“She doesn’t strike me as a girl who knows the difference between a Diamond Cutter and a Pile Driver.” Curtis quirked his eyebrow up on one side, begging her to prove her worth to him.
“If Janice is around, you can watch us spar and decide for yourself.” Emma unzipped her hoodie and slipped it off to reveal her blue Under Armour racerback tank top. “Mr. Sharp, you obviously don’t realize I started wrestling about two minutes after I took my first steps. It’s in the MacLean blood. We’re fighters. Since I moved to LA, Bill brought me under his wing and taught me a few things.”
A girl about the same height and weight as Emma came strolling in. “Oh, hell.” She threw her hands up. “Is Emma here to kick my ass again?”
Emma laughed and pulled her friend into a warm hug. “One last time.”
Janice pushed Emma back playfully. “Fine. Consider this your going away present.”
The women got into the ring dominating the center of the large room. Bill got in the ring to help Emma wrap her hands.
“I’m going to miss you.”
“Oh, I feel like we’ll be seeing each other again soon.” She winked at him then looked at her father. Mitch stood to the right of the camera, his arms folded across his chest with a huge grin on his face.
Hands wrapped and ready, Emma and Janice were ready to show what they were capable of.
Ten minutes later, Emma had Janice in a submission hold she liked to call a Car Bomb. Janice tapped on the mat and Emma let go. She stood and helped Janice to her feet.
“I won’t miss that, but you will be buying me dinner the next time you’re in town.”
“Of course.” Emma pulled Janice in for a sweaty hug while her breathing returned to normal. “I plan to be back at the end of the month. I’ll take you to Spago.”
“God, yes!” Janice joked.
The women said their goodbyes and Emma walked to the ropes. She leaned her forearms against them and quirked her brow at Curtis. “What do you think, Mr. Sharp? Do I know my way around the ring?”
“Maybe, but you’d never make it on the professional circuit.”
“Ah ah.” She wagged her index finger at Curtis. “Never say never.”
“Excuse me. We’re here to meet with Aaron Russell. I’m Emma MacLean.” Emma, Rob, Al, and Ben waited at the front desk of the IWA Corporate offices for the secretary to acknowledge them.
“Yes, Miss MacLean. Let me get your passes.” The young woman eyed Emma with a distinct distain before she got up to retrieve their passes.
Emma saw nothing wrong with her casual clothes. Aaron told them all to dress comfortably since he would be taking them to the training facility after they finished their business. Her dark hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and she wore her black-framed glasses with only a touch of lip-gloss on her lips. As for her outfit, she wore her purple and black trainers, a pair of black yoga pants, and a lavender short-sleeved tee shirt. The guys were all dressed in similar attire, tennis shoes, jeans, and tee shirts.
“Take the first elevator to your right to the fifth floor. The entire floor is the executive offices. Mr. Russell’s is at the end of the hall.”
Emma nodded and smiled. “Thanks, I’ve been here before. I remember the way.”
The receptionist tried to hold back her sneer, but the snide expression slipped through as Aaron stepped off the elevator.
“Emma. Harry. So glad you’re here.” Aaron brought Emma into a friendly hug before pulling back to shake Harry’s hand. “Come on up. Lunch is all set up for us. Afterward, we can head over to the training facility.”
“Can’t wait,” Harry said while he put his arm around Emma and led her to the elevators.
Emma and Harry sat across the table from Aaron, the attorney for IWA, Craig Dawson, and the head of Human Resources, Patricia Finley. They went over her contact point by point; everything was exactly the way she wanted.
Even with the certainty she was doing the right thing and moving forward with her life, her hand shook while she signed the documents in triplicate. When she finished and released her pen from her fingertips, she heard the pop of a cork from the opposite side of the room.
“This is cause for celebration,” Aaron exclaimed before he poured them all a glass of champagne. “This is a far cry from our usual contract signings. There will be no broken tables or chairs today.” The rest of them laughed. “I thought I would mark this occasion with a special toast. To Emma.” They all lifted their glasses. “I have seen you grow over the last four years from a shy and soft spoken young lady into a strong and determined woman. I hope the journey you take with us here at IWA will continue to strengthen your character and fill your life with excitement and laughter.”
“Here, here,” Harry said with a clink of his glass to Emma’s.
They all clinked glasses and took a sip of the decadent champagne before Emma spoke up.
“The shy and soft spoken girl still exists, but as you say, I am determined to make this work. I have so many ideas already.”
“Good to hear.” Aaron put down his glass. “Let’s get over to the training facility to check out some of the wrestlers because you are going to pick all the fights for our event next week.”
Emma sputtered a bit. She didn’t expect to be taking control so soon. “You’re serious?”
“Yes. You’ve studied the storylines going now. I trust your judgment. Tell me whom you would like to fight and we’ll make it happen. Plus, I want you to be out with the commentators during the main event.”
Emma’s heart began to race at the thought of sitting ringside. She thought commentating would happen eventually, but she never dared to assume wearing the headset would be at her first official event.
“You are the boss,” she said with a nervous laugh.
Four rings were set up in the main training facility room, and wrestlers
sparred in each one. Aaron detailed the facility mainly for Harry and the camera’s benefit when her focus drifted to one particular ring.
Rob “Bobby” Breyer was a magnificent specimen, as a man and a wrestler. At six foot two, two hundred and twenty pounds, he was perfection in Emma’s opinion. His usually slicked back dark hair was free of any product and covered his face while he sparred with his opponent, Chance Robicheaux.
She turned her attention back to Aaron as she heard her name.
“What?” she asked.
“I was wondering if you would like to get in the ring with Cherry. I figured she could show you some moves.” Aaron’s grin spread wide across his face at the sight of abject horror on Emma’s.
“I … Uh.”
“She can,” Harry spoke up. “And she will. Don’t let her fool you. She’s been around wrestlers all her life. Even trained with one of the best. I think she might be able to show Cherry a thing or two.”
Aaron called Cherry Spencer and her tag-team partner, Peaches, over to the group while Harry became the recipient of the Emma MacLean death stare. Harry promptly laughed the expression off and took Emma’s glasses from her face.
Emma gathered every ounce of courage in her at the moment and took Aaron’s hand to help her into the ring.
“Cherry, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine, Emma MacLean.”
“Wow,” Cherry exclaimed. “Honored to meet you. I am a big fan.”
Emma accepted Cherry’s outstretched hand to shake. Cherry had a similar build to Emma and the same dark hair. The two women differed only in skin tone and eye color. Where Emma’s skin shimmered with only a slight golden hue from her occasional trips to the beach, Cherry glowed with a natural caramel tone due to her Cuban ancestry. Emma always thought light brown eyes like Cherry’s would’ve suited her better, but her entire family sported the ice blue color of the MacLean clan.
“I’m a fan of yours as well. I loved the submission hold you put on Steffi in your last match,” Emma said with an edge of excitement.
“I can show you if you’d like. Peaches?”
Emma was formally introduced to Peaches and the three ladies got down to business.
Chance practiced a new move with Rob. At the last second, the ring next to him with female trio caught his eye. Rob laid Chance out flat.
“What the hell?” Rob exclaimed while he extended his hand to help Chance to his feet.
“Look who is in the next fucking ring.”
The sight before him would make any straight man strain in his shorts.
Cherry sat on the back of Peaches to show a submission hold to none other than Emma MacLean.
Rob swallowed a few times to rid the dryness in his throat. He hadn’t set eyes on the raven-haired beauty in person since he was a teenager. After her email response to his condolence and offer of friendship, he’d prepared for this moment. Being in the same room with her again was exhilarating, yet a little overwhelming.
“What do you think she’s doing here?” Rob’s voice trembled at the thought of coming face to face with her. He’d readied himself for Monday since Aaron told him she would be there. Nothing ever seemed to work out the way he’d hoped concerning Emma.
“She’s tight with Russell. Seems like she still has the camera crew with her. You should probably put a shirt on.”
Rob glanced down at the sweat trailing down his chest. The world admired his shirtless chest on national TV weekly, but he wasn’t sure he wanted the next impression he made on Emma to be of a sweat-drenched mess. He grabbed a towel and his shirt while Chance hopped out of the ring and walked over to the other one.
“Perfect!” Cherry instructed. “You’re a natural.” Cherry turned her head to Aaron. “You think we can convince her to fight in a real match?”
Emma laughed as she got off Peaches and helped her up.
“Never say never, Emma.” Harry cocked his eyebrow at her.
Sometimes she hated how well her brother got her. He would pick this moment to remember her childhood daydream of becoming a women’s champion. Harry would use this as an opportunity to share it with the world if she didn’t shut him down.
“Enough of your mouth.” Her eyes drifted from her brother to the crowd of people who gathered around the ring.
Emma’s heart leapt into her throat. Rob Breyer stared right at her with a brilliant smirk on his face. Sweat drenched hair, crystal blue eyes, killer smile, and a body currently making her lady parts ache rattled her entire being.
“Good to see you again, Emma.” Rob offered his hand to help her out of the ring.
“You too, Rob.” She immediately backtracked. “I mean, Bobby.”
“Rob is fine.” She realized she held his hand a bit longer than she needed to and reluctantly pulled away. “It’s been a while.”
“Twelve years.” Emma lost herself in his eyes, but the real world intruded when Aaron spoke up.
“That’s right, you two know each other,” Aaron mentioned with a sideways glance at Rob.
“Emma was part of one of the most important days of my life.” Rob’s smile intimated something sinful. She needed to set things straight.
“What he means is I was there the day he won the national wrestling championship against my boyfriend.”
Rob turned to Aaron and continued the story. “I met her and her boyfriend, Derek, during the tournament. Derek and I were both shocked when we advanced to the final match against each other.”
“Rob won the match after Derek put him through the ringer.” Emma laughed at the memory of the two teenagers rolling around on the mat.
“Yes, but Derek got the girl.” Rob’s smile was genuine and caused a flush to creep up Emma’s neck to her cheeks.
“Didn’t last much longer,” Harry quipped. “Not after—”
Emma smacked Harry on the shoulder. “I don’t think this is the time or place to get into my lackluster love life.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I might be interested in hearing what an idiot my old pal Derek is.” Rob walked over next to Harry like they were old friends.
Emma grabbed Harry’s arm, pulled it around his back and forced it upward. “Don’t you dare.”
“I give! I give!” Emma let go as the crowd around them laughed. “I taught you well, young Padawan.”
They proceeded on the tour with several more people in tow, including Rob and Chance. Before she left for the day, Emma got a moment to herself when Peaches led her into the women’s locker room to freshen up.
She used the restroom, reapplied her lip gloss, and deemed herself camera-ready once again.
When she opened the door, Rob’s muscular arm pushed her back inside and closed the door.
“Hey,” Rob whispered.
“Hey,” she whispered back and wondered what was going on.
Rob cleared his throat before he began. “I wanted to get you alone for a minute to tell you how good it is to see you again.”
“I think we did this part back in the ring.”
“Yeah, but I also wanted to see if you might be free for dinner tonight.”
Emma’s heart swelled at the thought, but she remembered the job she just finalized. There were several couples working for the company. What would happen if … She realized she was getting ahead of herself and needed to respond.
“I would love to catch up, but things are crazy for me right now. Plus with the cameras, any man I’m seen with is painted as my soul mate.” She laughed but was saddened by how true her words were.
The disappointment was clear on his face. The same expression he had when she walked away from him twelve years earlier with Derek’s arm draped around her shoulders.
“Maybe …”
“Maybe?” His eyes seemed to lighten a shade off their normal blue.
Emma reached into the front pocket of the jeans he had changed into and took his phone. After several taps, her number was programmed in under NERDY GIRL.
“This is my personal cell phone. Onl
y a few people have this number. I’m trusting you not to give this out.”
“No. Never.” His smile widened as she slipped the phone into his hand. “Can I call you tonight?”
She nodded and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m staying at my dad’s until I get back on my feet. The cameras are usually gone by eight.”
“Expect a call at five after.”
“I’ll be waiting.” She wouldn’t let herself touch him in case she couldn’t stop, so she ducked out the door and went back out to meet Harry and Aaron.
“Dad, I had fun, but I swear I’m going to tape Harry’s mouth shut one of these days.” Emma recounted her wrestling lesson to her father and the camera while father and daughter shared a double meat lover’s pizza in the MacLean kitchen.
“I remember the first day you got on the mat with Harry. He was eight and you were about three?” She nodded in agreement. “You wanted to take him down so bad. He was three times your size, but you were so determined. We couldn’t keep you away from his practice. I kind of figured you dated Derek because of the whole wrestling thing.”
“Ah, Derek. Funny you should mention him.” She put her pizza slice down and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “You remember the guy he lost to at the nationals senior year?”
“Yeah, a kid from Baltimore, right?”
“You remember The Baltimore Bruiser.”
Mick’s eyes went wide at the realization. “Bobby Breyer?”
“Yep. One and the same.” She took a drink of her local microbrew. “He was at the training facility today. He’s the one who sent the oak tree kit.”
“No kidding?” She nodded. “Wow. It was, what, twelve years ago?”
“Almost. Feels like a lifetime, though. Then Harry had to mouth off about how Derek and I broke up.”
Mick took a sip of his own beer. “He’s the vice-principal over at the high school now.”
“He didn’t say anything when we talked after the funeral.” Derek had been a natural leader in high school. When he told her he was going to major in secondary education, she wasn’t at all surprised.
“Mrs. Mosley had her baby over Christmas break and decided not to come back, so the school board promoted him in January.”