Free Blow by Sarah T. Ashley Page A

lose the gym?” she stammered. “We’ve been doing so well lately. I—I mean, we have Kirk now.” She gestured to me helplessly.
    She was right, of course. By signing me, she had elevated the profile of the gym considerably. I’d already won three legit matches that had brought in a considerable chunk of change. There was no way she could be behind on bills.
    Emily’s face tightened. “No, there’s no way that could be correct. I’ve been going off the books my dad left me. I’ve been over them with our accountant. I’ve been assured that everything is in good working order.”
    The man from the bank—Gerald—cleared his throat and ran a hand over his face. “Look, honey, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your dad fudged the accounts. He’s been in the red for over a decade, just barely keeping ahead of the foreclosure line. You’ve been doing the same, whether or not you realized it.”
    I hung back. Emily and I hadn’t been together long enough for me to interfere in her business proceedings, but when she looked over at me with something akin to panic on her face, I did step closer to her. She stiffened her spine and raised her chin. “Can you give me some more time? I’m confident that I can come up with the payment.”
    Gerald shook his head. “You have until the end of the month. There’s nothing I can do. You should have a talk with your old man. Maybe he can give you some insight into what he did or why he did it. That might help you fix the problem. As it stands there’s nothing more I can do. The bank has extended numerous lines of credit to your father that are also outstanding.”
    Emily began to shake as she said,” I understand. Thank you for your time. Let me show you out.”
    I stayed in the office as Emily ushered Gerald through the gym and to the front door. This news would be devastating to her to say the least. How many times in the past few weeks had she said that they were finally in the black? People had started coming back to the gym to train. Most days the place was packed from open to close. Even now, mid-morning, there were fighters sparing in the ring with one of the coaches calling out instructions. The machines were mostly full of people working out.
    Her dad must have done a real number on this place if things were that bad. I shook my head. I had never met the guy, but he didn’t sound like a gem. Not the way Emily saw him at least. She saw him in a way that made him seem like a rock star. I had a feeling he was really only a schmuck who had left his daughter to clean up his mess. It made me want to punch him in the face.
    When Emily came back into the office, her shoulders were slumped forward, and I could tell that she was fighting back tears. She pressed her fingers against her temples. “I can’t actually believe this is happening,” she said, though I couldn’t tell if she was talking to me or not.
    “It’ll be okay,” I said, reaching out to pull her into a hug. She pulled her wrist out of my grip.
    “No. No, it won’t be okay,” she said. “None of this is going to be okay. My dad screwed me over, and all these years I’ve been worried about disappointing him. How stupid am I?”
    Her voice had risen to an octave that I was pretty sure could shatter glass, and I had to shut the door because people were starting to look. I was at a loss as to what she wanted from me, but I knew I had to do something. If she didn’t want a hug, maybe she wanted me to say something to her.
    “Are you going to talk to him about it?” I asked.
    Emily looked at me like I’d grown a third eye. “Are you kidding? What can I do? Just pick up the phone and say, hey, dad, did you cook the books? Yeah, don’t think that one is happening.”
    The tone of her voice irritated me. “Look,” I snapped. “I’m just trying to help you out here. I’m not sure what you want me to do. I’ve already lent my name to this gym. I’ve brought in clients. I’ve brought in