Free Tender is the Nerd by Vicki Lewis Thompson

it, he also made regular visits to the batting cage. Tossing his glasses on the desk, he raised his fists and began to circle. “Go for it, Ry. Game on.”
    “ No !” Miranda started forward, determined to prevent the fight by getting between the two men. But strong arms pulled her out of the room and into the hall. She turned and discovered that Tony had grabbed her around the waist. “You need to stop this!”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “But look at them!” She stared in horror as Rylan’s fist connected with Frazer’s nose and blood spurted out. Then Frazer landed a punch that sent Rylan staggering against the desk. “They’re trying to kill each other!”
    “Not really.” Garrett stood in the hallway along with the rest of the staff as the fight raged on. “Tony’s right. We should let them go at it. This has been coming for a long time.”
    “That makes no sense.” She winced at the sound of fists meeting flesh. “They’re fighting over me!”
    “My guess is they’re fighting over a lot more than that.” Garrett glanced at Tony. “Am I right?”
    “Oh, yeah. You may be the catalyst, Miranda, but according to Rylan they haven’t had a good fight since they were kids, and their mother ended that one before they could finish it. After that Frazer decided fighting was beneath him.”
    Dulcie wiggled her way through the crowd. “Well, he sure is fighting, now! I didn’t know he could throw a punch.”
    “Oh, he could always do that,” Garrett said. “Remember when he bought that punching bag sophomore year, Tony? “
    “I do. Hanging that thing from the ceiling of the dorm room was an engineering miracle.”
    “Ruined the ceiling,” Garrett said. “Nearly got us all kicked out.”
    “But what if they hurt each other?” Miranda couldn’t believe everyone was standing around making conversation as if they’d come to watch a boxing match.
    “Right!” Eyes wide with alarm, Dulcie glanced at her. “What if Rylan knocks out one of Frazer’s teeth?”
    “Or Frazer breaks Rylan’s jaw?” She shuddered as they crashed into a wooden chair and it splintered.
    “I’m more worried about the equipment,” Garrett said. “But I’ve noticed they’re avoiding it, which means they’re not a couple of raging bulls. If a laptop gets crunched it might be time to wade in there.”
    Tony crossed his arms. “But it’ll be better if we don’t have to.” He looked over at Charlotte. “Speaking from an HR standpoint, what’s your opinion?”
    She shook her head. “When it comes to testosterone-fueled conflicts, I got nuthin.”
    “No worries.” Garrett unfolded his arms. “They’re winding down and nobody’s dead yet.”
    “I think you’re being way too cavalier about this,” Miranda said.
    But Garrett’s assessment was accurate. The guys had apparently exhausted themselves by hammering on each other. Breathing hard, they stood about three feet apart but neither seemed inclined to resume the fight.
    They were both spattered with blood from Frazer’s nose, and Rylan’s left eye was turning purple. The shoulder seam of his plaid shirt was ripped and Frazer’s lip was bleeding, too.
    She didn’t have much experience with fights so she didn’t know what to expect now that it appeared to be over. Then she heard something she’d never expected. Rylan started laughing. Even more bizarre, so did Frazer.
    She’d had enough. “You two are insane .” Stalking into the room, she glared at them. “Look at you two idiots! You have blood all over you, one has a shiner and the other could have a busted nose. Plus you’ve trashed this office!”
    Rylan raised a finger. “ But , no computers were harmed in the making of this epic fight. That’s all that matters, right, bro?”
    “Exactly.” Frazer grinned and his lip bled some more. “We saved the equipment.”
    She glanced from one to the other and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. They were a mess, but they looked happy . There