"We have a briefing in about 25 minutes, so should I show you around and introduce you to a few people?"
Claire Harris smiled politely. "Yeah, that sounds great." She fell in beside Zane, her new manager, as they walked up the concrete hallways of the venue. This morning had been a whirlwind for her, and she wanted to remain as switched on as possible. Time zones were messing with her head already, but she knew she just needed to make it through the day and her brain and nerves would settle.
"Oh, this is a great one to start with," Zane said, veering right suddenly. Claire dutifully followed. "Hunter?" he called out, increasing his pace to catch up with a man a few feet in front. "Hunter, this is Claire Harris. She's the new social media coordinator we've brought up from HQ. I'm trying to introduce her to some people before we head into planning." Claire extended her hand and locked eyes with the man. She knew who he was. Even before her internship at WWE headquarters began, she knew who he was. "Hi Claire," he said welcomingly, taking her hand. "The name's Paul, but around here, it's Hunter. Nice to have you on the team." Claire made sure her handshake was firm; she'd always remembered her grandfather's words – to do business with men you must show them you can do business like men, no one appreciates a limp handshake. "Hi Hunter, nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you and the roster, I'm really excited." Hunter smirked sideways. "Excellent. I'd heard good things about your work ethic from Zane and the team in Stamford, so I'm sure you'll fit in great. Who you got tonight?" he asked. Claire referred to her copy of the script for that night's RAW tucked into her arm, although she already knew what content she was responsible for tonight. "I've got Stardust and Ryback, then the Divas segment," she said confidently. Hunter nodded his head once. "They'll treat you just fine. Good luck for your first night, I'll see you later on." He turned and walked away, but not without adding "Look out after her, Zee." Zane scoffed quietly and returned "Of course!" as the pair turned down a different corridor.
With each person they met, Claire had to check herself. It wasn't that she was starstruck, but more that she couldn't believe she was finally on the road. Two years ago, she'd applied for a communications internship with the WWE. To her surprise, she got accepted. That first six months were a hard slog and exactly what she expected from being bottom of the food chain. Everyone was polite, of course, but she was working long hours on the most mundane tasks and doing the coffee run for her seniors. She appreciated the laws of the jungle though – you've got to show you're worth it in the real world before you get your chance. She was fresh out of college and her time would come.
Not one to be thankful for someone else's misfortune, Claire still felt a smidgeon of unease about how her career accelerated not long before her first work anniversary. Chris, the digital content coordinator at HQ had an elongated period of time off when his appendix burst suddenly, and then suffered a minor complication from the surgery. Claire could still close her eyes and see the look of sheer panic on her boss Michael's face when she walked in that Thursday morning – there was TV to cover tonight and Chris wouldn't be there to take care of it. There were articles to write, social media to schedule and respond to, and tomorrow, an engagement report to write. Claire volunteered and Michael only agreed once Claire had confirmed she would still be able to get both his morning and afternoon coffees.
The WWE wouldn't have been her first choice of work environment. She had watched bits and pieces when her older brother went through his obsession in the late 90s. Names like The Rock, Steve Austin, Undertaker, Dudley Boys, Edge and Christian, Trish Stratus and, of course, Triple H, were familiar to her. But once her brother moved on to chasing girls and forgot about professional wrestling, Claire hadn't cared to continue following it herself. This had actually worked in her favour in landing the internship. Michael had told her he wanted someone who knew the basics and what the WWE was about, but "ain't got no room for fawning fangirls" was the key takeaway. He was pleased she knew enough to know what she was talking about, but removed enough to not let being a fan take over her job. This, combined with her willingness to work hard and help out, set her up to take advantage of the opportunity which fell her way while Chris was off work. For the first time in her months with the company, articles she had written herself went online and on the app. She was able to create her own content for Facebook and Twitter. She'd never forget the buzz she got when one article on Ceasro had generated a mass discussion between the fans, the WWE Universe. Engagement, she had celebrated. That's what it's all for. Quality engagement. Michael noticed the stats rising during her time, and when Chris returned, reallocated tasks to allow the two of them to work together. When a vacancy came up on the road with the travelling communications team, it wasn't Chris who Michael suggested to Zane, it had been Claire. Now she would be traveling the country with the company and its roster of Superstars and Divas, who she had previously only written about from afar.
The last room Zane led her into was occupied by three men. He knocked gently on the door and two of the men looked up. "Oh hey Zee," said one of them, raising his eyebrows in greeting. Claire felt weird. She'd felt weird all day. Zane was introducing her to people she already knew the names of. She knew their characters and their trademarks, their ring attire and faces more than they'd probably think was acceptable, if they knew. But that's what happens when you're uploading stories, editing photos and posting to social media in this company. You know people without actually knowing them. She knew the three people before her; Roman Reigns, one of the Usos (okay, so maybe she wasn't yet good enough to tell the difference between them), and Dean Ambrose. Today was about them meeting her, really; getting to know that she'd be the one coordinating their social media presence for shows, so they'd need to get used to her.
The man came forward, acknowledging Claire's presence and expecting it was someone Zane had come to introduce. "Guys," Zane started, "meet Claire. She's flown out from HQ today to join my team. She'll be taking care of some of the social media so I'm trying to introduce her to everyone I can before you all have to work together." The Uso came forward, offering his hand. "I'm Jey, good to have you on board." Claire took his hand, smiled and expressed her own pleasantries. Next, the man she knew as Roman did the same. "Joe. Look forward to working with you." Claire smiled and shook his hand.
"And this man probably won't be so willing to work with you," Zane laughed, "as he can't stand social media, right Ambrose?" The men all chuckled, and with a quick scan of their mood, Claire joined in. "Right," said Ambrose. "All a waste of time for me. But I don't cramp your style too much, do I Zee? I play along." Zane scoffed. "Begrudgingly." Ambrose extended his hand from his seat to Claire. "Jon." Claire took his hand and smiled, thinking his hair was a mess. She'd not seen him without it watered or slicked back for a match. In most of the out of ring stuff she'd seen, he was wearing a hat of some kind. She gently bit the inside of her lip as the word 'fluffy' jumped into mind. No self-respecting professional wrestler would want to be labelled fluffy. "Nice to meet you guys, I'll see you around the place." The corners of Jon's mouth turned up into a slight smile, and then his eyes dropped back to his bags. Zane led her out of the room, talking about the purpose of the planning meeting they were about to attend. Claire listened intently, determined to prove her place in the team and on the road. Social media was important, Mr Ambrose, and there is more to it than meets the eye.