Negotiations

[admin]

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Raleigh, North Carolina
Off Camera
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The North Carolina offices of Global Championship Wrestling are busy this afternoon, and we find none other than the Chief Executive Officer of GCW, Minority Shareholder Aurora Alan, with her head buried in her paperwork. The lovely youngest sibling of the Alan family that founded this company is wearing a navy blue pantsuit and heels. She occasionally pokes her head up from the papers and scribbling to look up at her desktop computer. She hears a buzzing on her phone. Aurora sighs as she pulls herself away from her current focus to pay attention to the phone. Seeing that its her secretary she presses the speaker button.

“Yes, Laura, what is it?”

“Sorry to disturb you, Ms. Alan, but Ms. Braddock is here to see you.”

Aurora furrows her brow in confusion. “Which one?”

“Your scheduled appointment for today. Julia.”

“Oh, that’s right, I do have an appointment today!” Aurora says, with a low chuckle as she laughs at herself for nearly forgetting this. “Send her in.”

“Yes, Ms. Alan.”

Aurora shuffles through some papers, quickly looking for something in particular. A few moments later she hears her office door opening. She looks up and sees Julia Braddock entering her office. The Kensington Knockout is wearing a cream colored white pencil skirt, matching business suit coat, and a black silk blouse with matching patent leather high heel pumps. Julia has a pleasant grin on her face as she approaches the desk. Aurora gives up on trying to find whatever it is she was looking for; she stands up and greets Julia with a handshake.

“I am so glad you came all the down here, Julia!”

“It’s MY pleasure, Aurora. I have said it many times and it isn’t just for the cameras, I truly mean it when I say that I am committed to Global Championship Wrestling. I mean, this place gave me my first real opportunity. So am I willing to make the trip from London to North Carolina? Of course. I would make that trip for GCW.”

“Great!” She motions to a chair. “Sit, please, there are a few things I would like to discuss.” Braddock nods and sits down. Aurora sits down next, sitting back down behind her desk. Aurora goes back to looking through her paperwork and sighs, flushing with some embarrassment. “Forgive this mess. I guess I am still getting used to managing the whole ship these days.”

“No worries, take all of the time you need, Aurora. I mean, I plan to stick around in Raleigh for a few days anyway, even after our meeting. Maybe even longer depending on what you want to talk about.”

“Well, while I’m looking for something real important I’d like to show you, I will discuss something else…this is Resurrection season and as you remember this is a three night affair, a three night extravaganza. Each of the three main events will be highly marketed and advertised for maximum profit. And with you and Kelsai being in the night three main event, the final match of the three night Resurrection event, I want to make sure you two get excellent exposure.” Aurora seems to smile as she picks out a piece of paper from the pile. “This isn’t the main one I was looking for but this IS important.”

Aurora passes the paper over to Julia and she takes it and reads it over. “I recognize these names…some of them anyway…magazines, radio shows, tv talk shows…”

“I’ve put together the names of some shows who have expressed interest in talking about Resurrection. Feel free to schedule yourself to appear on as few or as many of them as you would like. We’re also going to produce a special Resurrection magazine this year to preview the event. If you have time either today or tomorrow, could you stop by the studios for a photoshoot for the magazine?”

“Of course, no problem.” Julia nods her head. “Tomorrow works best for me. Is that fine?”

“Yes, that’s fine, I’ll let the studio know.” Aurora continues to shuffle through the papers. Finally she stops as she finds what she was looking for. “Found it!”

“What is it?”

“I think you’re going to love it.” Aurora is grinning from ear to ear as she passes the paperwork over to Julia so that she can study it. Braddock is smiling at first but as she reads more and more of the document she begins to frown. Braddock then places the document down in front of her and looks back up at Aurora.

“This is a GCW contract.”

“Yes. Look, your current contract is set to expire a few days after Resurrection. Now I know your history with GCW hasn’t been kind to you regarding your contract. Perhaps previous management, the likes of Steven Bauer, Henry Van Stanton, and others who have run GCW, perhaps they did not appreciate what you have contributed to this company. But trust me, Julia, my family founded GCW. You were among the few still with us today who brought GCW back from the ashes. I appreciate and respect everything you have done for GCW. So this contract here is more than fair to you and gives back to you what you have given to us and then some. Your pay will be increased, you will have much more freedoms than before, and…”

“Stop it, Aurora.” Braddock shakes her head. “Just stop.”

“But Julia…”

“I get what you’re doing.” Julia says as she motions to the document. “You’re trying to get me to back out on my promise. I swore that I would quit GCW if I did not defeat Kelsai to become GCW Global Champion. Now you are trying to back out of that promise.”

Aurora sighs and nods her head. She cannot deny it. “You’re right. But try to understand the position I am in. I am looking out for GCW’s best interests. Now Kelsai may think GCW would be better off without you, but she is full of shit. She may be champion, she may be on top, but she is full of hot air. You contribute so much to GCW each and every night. Your mere presence on our roster is enough to lend us credibility. And what’s more is that you are just an overall good person. There are so many egos in that dressing room that it drives someone like me nuts. And while I am used to the kind of politicking and corruption that goes on, having grown up around my brother who is the most corrupt of them all, seeing that kind of corruption pervade GCW…people like Danielle Page using a hired gun like Clyde Sutter to do her dirty work…or Brittany Kayl intentionally trying to injure Destiny Skye…that kind of garbage just makes my stomach turn. You are one of the remaining few who still is just a good person, a true role model for the fans. And I think losing you would be a terrible hit, not only to GCW but to wrestling itself.”

“I can’t go back on my promise.” Julia says, shaking her head.

“No one would think any less of you if you did. Please sign the contract, Julia. You have earned this.”

“Aurora, why don’t you answer this question. Depending on the answer to that question, I might consider taking a look at this contract.”

“What is it?”

“Do you think I can defeat Kelsai?”

“I…uh…” Aurora stumbles over her words. Julia folds her arms over her chest.

“I want a yes or no, can I beat her?”

“Yes, of course you can. But think about this, Julia. At Survival of the Fittest had you been one second later, Kelsai would have won the Global Title legitimately. That proves she has what it takes. Then at the Bash she proved that she was willing to stoop to any low in order to get what she wanted. I’m not judging her. I’ve seen that kind of crap pulled by so many people all my life having grown up in this business. She is just the same as so many others who have come before her. But that doesn’t make her any less dangerous than those who have come before her. Could she beat you legitimately? She already came within one second of doing just that. Can she cheat to beat you? She already did that at the Bash. Don’t you realize what you are risking at Resurrection?”

Braddock nods her head. “Oh I know exactly what I am risking. Don’t you understand that losing GCW would tear me up inside? GCW is my very heart and soul. I cannot lose GCW…and no matter what Kelsai says or tries, I will not lose GCW. That’s what people fail to grasp, Aurora. Even you fail to see it. People are looking at this as Kelsai defending the GCW Global Title against me. They are forgetting that I am defending my career against her. That’s exactly how I want everyone to see it, especially Kelsai. You want to talk about how dangerous she is? I am even more dangerous when something very important to me is on the line. My Global Championship was on the line at Survival of the Fittest against five people…and I pulled off the upset of the year by defeating them all. Now something I cherish even more is on the line…my GCW career. And I am defending it against just one person. Imagine what I will do to just ONE person in order to save my career.”

“Is there anything I can say to talk you out of this?”

“No…” Julia shakes her head “...signing this contract right here and now would be taking the easy way out. I took the easy way out when I was a part of Camelot, I took the easy way out when I sided with Mason Van Stanton, and look where that got me. I nearly lost my career as a result of my consequences. Now I have spoiled brat with an oversized ego who thinks that I haven’t suffered enough, who thinks she can be my judge, jury, and executioner. Kelsai does not get to judge me. There is only one person who can judge me and it isn’t Kelsai. I’m going to teach her that lesson at Resurrection and in the process prove to her and everyone else that when the chips are down and the pressure is on there is still no one as good as Julia Braddock.”

Braddock hands the document back to Aurora. “Bring this with you to Resurrection. After I defeat Kelsai and become Global Champion for a second time, I will sign this contract. But not before…I will not sign this contract before then. Signing it now would be the equivalent of lying to the fans, the people who supported me in my comeback almost two years ago. I will not lie to them, I will not turn my back on them. Never again. I’ve done enough lying in my life and my career.”

Aurora sighs. “As a fan, as a person, I respect that about you. As the CEO of this company, however, I hate your decision, because I don’t want to lose you, and I know that as much as you may believe in yourself, that there is a distinct possibility that I may lose you at Resurrection.”

“Don’t worry,” Julia smirks “you are not going to lose me, because Kelsai is going to lose her Global Championship.”

Aurora chuckles softly. “I guess it is a wrestler’s pride thing that I will never understand, considering I have been behind a desk all my life. But if that’s how you feel then I respect that.”

“Thank you, Aurora.”

“But…uh…why Resurrection? Is there some kind of significance behind Resurrection being the time and place you choose to put it all on the line?”

“Simple. I have done so much in GCW already…I am a grand slam winner, I am a two time Civil War Match winner, and I have even been in the main event of Resurrection, this is the second straight year main eventing Resurrection, come to think of it. But there is still one brass ring I have yet to achieve. It is something legends like Andreas Lasiewicz, Brooklyn Smith, and Minerva can all say that they have done but I haven’t done. I haven’t won the world or global title in the main event of Resurrection. It’s like the super bowl, or the world series, whatever metaphor you want to use. Point is, I haven’t grasped that brass ring yet. It was so close last year but I was denied. This year?” Braddock shakes her head. “I will not be denied.”

“But if you are denied…you are going to quit?”

“...I will not be denied. I will become Global Champion at Resurrection. There IS no other alternative.”