Nerdy Girl Nation (Nerdy Girl #1) by Lindsey Gray

had gotten used to the fans calling him Bobby over the years, but his friends and family had always called him Rob, except his father. To Robert Breyer Senior, he would always be little Bobby.
    “What did you think of the match tonight?”
    “Horseshit!”
    Rob rolled his eyes and sat down on a bench beside the bus transporting the wrestlers to the airport. “Tell me how you really feel, Dad.”
    “You should be in a heavyweight contender match, not Cosmo. You've won twelve more matches than he has in the past year.”
    “Dad, this is the direction Aaron wants to go. On camera, I might not be happy, but I think Chance and I are a good team. We can earn those tag team belts.”
    “You told her tonight, you are a singles competitor. The woman needs to get a few facts straight. First she takes your job, now she is making you compete with Chance,” Robert Senior huffed. “He has a long way to go before he can even come close to your skill.”
    “Dad, I've got to get going. We're loading up to go to the airport.”
    “Buffalo tomorrow, right?”
    Rob shook his head once again. His dad knew Rob's schedule almost better than he did. “Yes. I'll be back in Boston on Wednesday.”
    “Your mother's birthday is coming up. She would love for you to make a visit.”
    A visit to Baltimore was not on his top ten list of things to do anytime soon. The trip would be for his mother, though. Despite her poor taste in men, Rob loved his mother dearly. The thought brought Emma to his mind. How was she handling her own loss?
    “I'll see what I can do. Tell her I'll call her soon.”
    “Safe trip, Son.” The call disconnected.
    “Your dad pissed?” Chance asked as he plopped down next to Rob on the bench.
    “Yeah.”
    “Fuck him. He can't control you anymore and it's killing him. We were on fire tonight. Don't think I didn't see you giving the side eye to our new GM. What's going to happen there?”
    One side of Rob's mouth curled upward. “Time will tell.”
     

 
    The flight to Buffalo was only a little under two hours, but for Emma every moment counted. She had so much she needed to do before her head hit the pillow at one of Buffalo's finest hotels.
    “Here are tonight's numbers from the broadcast. The arena numbers aren’t in, but they usually take a day or so to get the information.” Emma's new assistant, Kelly Merchant, rattled off and handed her a tablet programmed with the schedule of her new life.
    “Thank you, Kelly. These first few weeks will be an adjustment, but I think working together will help me get the hang of everything pretty fast.”
    Kelly let out a sigh of relief and sunk back into her seat. “I'm glad I still have a job. When Mr. Sharp was fired, I was sure I'd be next.”
    Emma had been given glowing reviews on Kelly's work since Kelly had joined the company two years earlier. “Why would you think that?”
    “Sharp was always making threats. It was implied more than once, if he went down, I'd be going with him.”
    Emma sensed there was more to the story, but decided not to push. Her own experience with Curtis Sharp made her realize he was as much of a prick to Kelly as he was to everyone else.
    “If you can help me get through this before we land, there is no way I'll be able to go on without you.”
    Kelly released a short laugh and went through the Monday night ritual with her new boss.
    After the pilot announced they needed to fasten their seatbelts in preparation for descent, Kelly and Emma had their report finalized and ready to send.
    “What a crash course. Last time I crammed like that was when I worked on my Master's.” Emma pinched the bridge of her nose after she removed her glasses.
    “You'll have the IWA turned around in no time.” Kelly took Emma's hand and squeezed.
    Emma's heart flipped a bit at Kelly's kind words. It had been so long since any female colleague had offered her any good words. Irene never gave her an ounce of praise. In Emma's mind, Irene’s actions were