Just Business

1. The Golden Boy

2015

"So let me get this straight. You called me and flew me halfway across the country because the current number one contender for the world championship and your all-round golden boy has had an extremely loving and loyal woman by his side since his teenage years; the same woman who has seen him through his days wrestling in barns for no money to becoming one of the biggest stars in the business. Through all the uncertainty and turmoil she stuck by him, and he rewards her with an engagement ring. Then, the second he reaches the peak of his career, he decides to pick up a hot little side piece in the form of one of your rookie employees. And this affair continues for months and months while his star rises and the fiancée gets left in the dark. Until one day she finds out the truth about how she has been made a fool of by the man she loves and retaliates out of anger and pain by leaking both of their nude pictures onto the internet during a live broadcast of your flagship show, using his social media accounts which means that the pictures end up splattered all across the company's social media pages. And to top it all off, the previously unknown mistress is now the internet's hot topic because she may or may not be a neo-Nazi."

The woman took a deep breath and crossed one brown leg over the other. She placed her hands in her lap and pursed her lips, scanning the panel of executives before her with raised eyebrows.

"Well, you guys must really care about this guy. Because from where I'm sitting, the easiest way to go would be to just cut your losses and let him go before his reputation tarnishes your company even more. I respect that he is probably a talented guy, and very popular with the fans, but he seems like he's got a hell of an attitude problem and has been a nightmare to manage since day one. But judging by the looks on your faces right now, you aren't exactly ready to send him away. So tell me what exactly you are trying to get out of this."

The suited executives looked around the table at each other until all of the gazes settled on Paul, who sat directly opposite the woman. He straightened his tie and cleared his throat.

"Look, Amina," she said with a low but strong voice. "We wouldn't have brought you in if we weren't serious about this. You're the best at what you do, and we need this mess cleared up. The girl is expendable but Rollins is the biggest star we have today. He made a dumb mistake and he has already paid for it personally. He's not perfect but he was made for this business. He's worth saving, trust me."

One of the other executives murmured something under their breath, and Paul shot them a swift look.

"Amina..." He continued. "He's immature, stubborn and can be stupid as hell, but Seth is a good guy. We can't let this ruin his career, and we can't let this ruin our company. We're offering you a lot of money for this; are you going to help us?"

Amina sighed and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay."

Every single suit sat across from her heaved a sigh of relief, but before they could celebrate for too long, Amina was already opening her briefcase and handing out sheets of paper.

"Here's what we're going to do. The girl has got to go, immediately. She is expendable and no-one will blink an eye if she is quietly released from her contract. And Seth... Let me meet him and talk to him a little, and then I'll tell you guys exactly how we are going to salvage his career and your company's image."

Amina stood and picked up her briefcase.

"Have your legal department fax the contracts to my assistant back in New York. Oh, and Paul? Don't worry about your golden boy. He'll be just fine."

She straightened her jacket and tossed her hair across her shoulder, before going to shake the hands of her latest clients.

"Lovely to meet you all. Now, if you don't mind me, I've got a meeting in LA with yet another famous dude who couldn't keep it in his pants. I'll see you all in Connecticut on Wednesday."

She flashed her trademark grin and sauntered out of the makeshift office and back into the backstage area of the arena, her fingers already tapping furiously on her phone.

2016

"Here is your winner, and the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion – Seth Rollins!"

The Wrestlemania crowd erupted as Seth Rollins stood in the centre of the ring and allowed the emotion to burst out of him. He spun the championship above his head and headed to every one of the four corners of the ring to pose in celebration. The crowd – whether they were cheering or booing – were fiercely vocal about the man stood before them; who in the space of a year had managed to go from a smart mouthed punk on the verge of losing his entire career, to the most important champion and by proxy the most important man in Sports Entertainment.

As the minutes ticked by, every single major news publication across sports, entertainment and pop culture was churning out stories about the incredible athlete who had just officially become "The Man". Fellow wrestlers were posting all over social media about the unbelievable 'started from the bottom' story of Seth Rollins, who had busted his ass across the independent scene, and then in FCW, and then in NXT, and now in the WWE to accomplish his boyhood dream. As hated as the on-screen character of Seth Rollins was, on this particular April evening there was no man more universally loved than Colby Lopez.

Amina Fitzgerald stood backstage at the Levi Stadium watching the celebration with a satisfied smirk. She barely even reacted as a tall figure slowly came and stood beside her.

"Guess you got your money's worth, huh Paul?"

The two turned their heads away from the monitor and met eyes with each other. Paul grew a grin to match hers and put an arm around the younger woman's shoulder.

"I don't know how you did it," he said, the glee still evident across his broad features. "This time last year Rolling Stone were calling him an arrogant, philandering, full-of-shit punk who won't ever amount to anything in this business. And now they're publishing articles about how we could be the biggest pro wrestling star of his generation. They even called asking us they could put him on the cover of the magazine. Our phones are ringing off the hook with all sorts of publications begging for Seth Rollins."

"Exactly what I told you would happen," Amina replied nonchalantly. "Everybody loves a good redemption story, and now your golden boy has his moment in the sun. It's just up to him to not fuck it up again."

Paul chuckled.

"If he does," the Connecticut native murmured. "I'll be the one to deal with him personally."

Amina giggled and shook her head, patting Paul warmly on the shoulder.

"He's heading up the ramp now," she gestured back at the TV monitor. "You better go and congratulate your boy."

Paul nodded and shook her hand warmly.

"I guess I better." He held her smaller hand in his and gave her a warm, earnest smile. "You did a good job, even if I was hesitant about hiring you in the first place. No offence. I don't know what kind of conversations you had with him behind closed doors but they really had an impact on him. He's a completely different man to the boy I used to know. You really are the miracle worker they say you are."

She shrugged.

"I just did what needed to be done, and he did everything I asked him to do. He may make misguided, questionable decisions, but he's a great wrestler and he loves what he does. He'd do anything to keep this job, trust me Paul."

"Well, I'm more grateful than you can possibly imagine. And next time one of our Superstars messes up..."

Amina snorted.

"Next time, you can call someone else because there is no way I am dealing with wrestlers – sorry – sports entertainers again."

Paul chuckled.

"I don't blame you. But I'll keep your number just in case."

Amina shook her head but smiled as she straightened up his suit jacket.

"It's been a pleasure working with you Mr Levesque," she said in her confident, professional manner. "But now I've got to get back to my real world of philandering politicians and irresponsible Hollywood stars."

The two stood their ground before one other and shook hands one last time before Paul gave a final nod and picked up his trademark power strut as he headed back down the corridor to the Gorilla position, where he met the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion with a warm hug befitting a father and son. Amina had followed closely behind but kept a sure distance, from which she watched on proudly as WWE Superstars and producers heaped praise upon the new champ under the bright gaze of the cameras. Tears were streaming down his face as he continuously pumped his fist into the air, grasping tightly onto the gold title as if it would be snatched from his grasp at a seconds' notice.

She straightened up her suit jacket and headed back unnoticed through the bustling backstage area to the isolated car park where her brand new BMW was waiting for her.

Amina tossed her handbag onto the passenger seat and made sure she was well and truly alone in the car park before dialling an unsaved number on her personal phone. She hesitated for a moment but finally pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear. Just as she was expecting, the call went straight to voicemail.

"Hey... It's me. Listen, I'm heading back to my hotel now. I'm sure you want to celebrate after that big win, but it would be good to see you. I've got a meeting tomorrow back in New York so I guess... Anyway, you know where to find me. I'll be up late working so... God, I'm just rambling. Whatever, I'm not going to lie and say I haven't missed you, because I have. And seeing you out there tonight really brought a lot of stuff back and I guess I just want to be with you tonight. So call me if you do too. Okay. Bye, babe."

She hung up and sighed to herself, shaking her head as she stepped into the driver's seat and gripped the wheel tightly.

"I'm an idiot," she mumbled to herself as she started the ignition and sped out of the arena.

Eight months later

"Amina..."

The brown skinned woman's eyes remained glued to her computer screen as she continued to respond to the long list of emails that had piled up during her short vacation away from work. Her young assistant stood awkwardly in the doorway shuffling from foot to foot, trying desperately to get her boss's engagement.

"Amina!"

Amina sighed and finally looked up from the screen, leaning back in her chair and eyeing her assistant cautiously. She had a habit of coming to Amina's office full of unimportant news and stories, and with the stress that ironically comes with being away from work for a month, the last thing Amina was interested in right now was hearing whatever was about to come out of her mouth.

"Yes, Polly?"

Polly cleared her throat and continued shuffling.

"Uh, well..."

"Polly, is this important?"

Polly nodded furiously.

"Okay, so what is it?"

Polly bit her lip.

"I know you told me you don't want to hear from them again..."

Amina's eyebrows furrowed.

"But..."

"But what?"

"But WWE is on the phone and they said it's an emergency and that they need you..."