After the door closed behind his sister, Shane walked back over to his desk and sat back down in his chair. He sighed as he again ran a hand through his thick, chocolate-brown hair. He picked up his pen and went back to the mound of paperwork on his desk. He groaned with a hint of frustration when he heard another light rapping on his office door. He immediately thought it was his sister coming back to check on him. "Come in, Steph." he groaned, somewhat annoyed at the interruption.
"Sorry to disappoint, Shane-O." a deep, husky voice replied as the door closed behind them.
Shane turned his attention to where the voice had come from, and was pleasantly surprised to see the two younger men standing in front of him. He gave each one of them a small smile as he stood up and offered each one of them a firm, assertive handshake. "What's up, gentleman? What brings ya by?" he queried as he encouraged them to sit down. By this point, Shane was walking an extremely thin line between trying to be polite and being extremely annoyed when they didn't answer right away. He watched as the two younger men exchanged a momentary glance between them. It was obvious that the older of the two men was the one "in-charge". Or at least it seemed that way to him. All he wanted was to be left alone so he could get through the mound of paperwork on his desk so he could get home to see his family and try to get some sleep. He waited for what seemed like an eternity when he finally crossed that very thin line between politeness and annoyance. "Rhodes, DiBiase… just tell me what the hell you two want to talk to me about, or show yourselves the damn door. I don't have time for this shit."
The second and third-generation superstars again shared a momentary glance. This time, it was a glance letting DiBiase know to take the lead and do the talking, which was a familiar role for Ted. One that he didn't mind at all. Ted cleared his throat as he locked eyes with the older man on the other side of the desk. "Shane… we don't mean to bother ya, but Cody, Randy, and I have been talking for a while, and the three of us had an idea." he said, letting his words trail off.
"Well, if you, Orton, and Rhodes came up with this idea, then why isn't he here with you two? And since we're going down this path… why are you pitching your idea to me? I sure as hell hope that with as long as Orton, and even the two of you, have been here, that you should know to run all that stuff by my dad, Steph, and the rest of the creative team." Shane growled.
A small, sly smile pulled at the edges of Ted's lips. Of course, the three mulit-generational superstars knew the protocol when it came to pitching ideas for storylines, but this time was different. This time was more complicated than normal. "While that may be true, Shane, this time is different." he replied, the expression on his face quickly turning to one of seriousness.
Noticing the smile and hearing Ted's response made Shane's curiosity rise. So much so that, despite being exhausted and annoyed, he decided to further the conversation. "Alright, DiBiase. You've got my attention. Why is it that you, Orton, and Rhodes have decided to come to me first with your idea instead where you three really should've gone?"
Again, a small, sly smile pulled at the edges of Ted's lips. The idea the he had come up with alongside Randy and Cody was probably their best to date. He had to admit at least that much. The more he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that it was probably their most controversial to date as well. And what's more, he found that seeing Shane so obviously intrigued made things even better. "Well, Shane," he began, "Like I said, this time is different."
"And as I said before, either spit it out or get the hell out of my office." Shane quickly countered before Ted could say anything else.
Ted was determined to draw this abrupt, impromptu, and very obviously unwanted meeting out as long as he could. And as he thought about it, he wasn't sure why he suddenly had that urge, either. All he knew was that he now had Shane right where he wanted him. "Randy, Cody, and I thought we should bring our idea to you first because we wanted to see what you thought about it." he replied.
"Okay, and why's that? You, Rhodes, and Orton all know that I hear the ideas for storylines before they're finalized anyway."
That was the exact answer Ted had expected, and even hoped for, from Shane. Now it's time to lower the boom, he thought to himself. "True, but not too many storylines involve you these days, do they, Shane-O?"
That arrogant, smug little punk, Shane thought to himself after hearing Ted's response. He took a long, deep breath to calm himself before answering. He knew if he didn't, he would end up doing something he would regret. "And I think we all know the reason behind that, now don't we, TJ?" he responded with an ice-cold tone to his voice.
"I don't think that's quite the way Ted meant it, Shane." Cody quickly interjected in the hopes of trying to cut the tension.
"Cody's right. That's not the way I meant it." Ted added.
"Okay… I have a lot of paperwork to get through and I would like to get out of here so I can go home." Shane paused for a moment, unsure if he would be able to keep his composure without doing so. "So, I highly suggest you two had goddamn well better tell me what the hell it is you came here to tell me and quit wasting my time."
"Well, Randy, Cody, and I were talking. We thought about it, and we came up with an idea that involves you and possibly Steph." Ted replied.
"May I remind you that my baby sister just happens to be 5 ½ months pregnant? All three of you of are out of your fucking mind if you think she's going to have anything to do with a storyline while she's pregnant." Shane snapped.
Both Ted and Cody had expected that type of response from Shane. Randy, Ted, Cody, Shane, and Stephanie had all basically grown up around the wrestling business and had known each other since they were younger. After all, it was only natural that they become acquainted with each other due to the fact of what their parents did for a living and the common bond they shared with each other. They each had a mutual respect for the other. An uncomfortable, eerie silence fell across the room. The tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
"Will you at least hear us out before you dismiss us completely?" Cody asked, trying to finally break the silence.
"I'll listen to the idea, but as for the dismissal of the idea… I reserve that right." Shane replied sarcastically.
There was a sense of relief on the part of Rhodes and DiBiase with that answer. They knew that they still shot at least trying to convince Shane about their idea. "That's all we need and are asking from ya." Cody replied with a sly smile equal to that of the man sitting next to him.