A/N: thanks for the reviews! they really inspire me to write more. I hope you all like this chapter, I made it a little bit longer. :)
Brad Maddox smiled as he passed people by on his journey down the hallway. Monday Night RAW had gone extremely well for him last week thanks to his new assistant. They went over all the matches and found out what would work best and everything turned out fine. It was a bit surprising considering he didn't want to have an assistant in the first place. Things were going great, but he was still skeptic about working with Patricia. Although she was helping him a lot, it still bothered him that Vince didn't trust him to work the show alone. Still, there wasn't much he could do about that now.
He rounded the corner of the arena quickly and accidentally bumped into someone. This was becoming quite a problem lately. "I'm sorry- Vickie?" Of course, it had to be her. Instantly, Brad took a few steps back so he could be out of her range. There was no telling if she was going to go crazy on him or not. She scoffed in response. "Watch where you're going!" Vickie yelled as she brushed imaginary dust off of her dress. "I'm sorry, I really am." He said, hoping to calm her down. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Hmph." Maddox sighed and shook his head.
"Anyways, how's the new job working out for you, since you're the new General Manager of Smackdown?" Brad couldn't help but sound envious as he said that. He had really wanted the job for himself. Maybe Vickie would lay off his case though since she was back in a leadership position. "You say that like you're expecting me to have a tough time. I'm doing just fine without you! I'd say Smackdown is in a much better condition now thanks to me. I can't say the same for RAW however..." was her remark. Brad immediately stiffened once he heard that. Okay, so she wasn't over being fired yet... He was incredibly peeved at her comment about his job. RAW was going great because of him. She was clearly still jealous about the whole ordeal. "I wasn't saying that, but it's nice to hear that things are going well for you." He replied through gritted teeth.
Vickie brushed off his comment and continued on as like he had said nothing. "To be honest, it really doesn't matter how well things are going for me over at Smackdown. Once you mess up, the McMahons will come crawling back to me, re-naming me as the General Manager of RAW again. So, don't get so comfortable with your new job, Brad." She sneered. Maddox gave a little laugh in response, trying not to get too worked up over what she said. It really struck a chord with him though. First Vince didn't have faith in him and now neither does Vickie. When will people realize that he's going to be a great General Manager? He is not going to screw things up.
"Listen here, Vickie... I-"
"Is everything going alright over here?" Brad halted mid-sentence to glance over at his assistant. "Oh. Hey, Patricia." He said, silently thanking her for stopping him. He was just about to say a few things that would no doubt get him in trouble... or worse. Putting on a smile, Maddox placed his hand on her shoulder. Vickie glared at them both.
Patricia beamed back at him and fixed her glasses. Brad couldn't help but think that she looked very pretty today. She had her brunette locks up in a tight ponytail. Her glasses matched her black skirt and heels although her shirt was a deep maroon. He was soon brought out of his little trance by the sound of Vickie's voice.
"Excuse me? Who are you?" she asked, not even bothering to hide her snobby tone. Patricia slowly turned to look at her. "I don't think we've formally met before. I'm Patricia, Brad Maddox's assistant." Brad watched as her smile didn't falter when she stuck her hand out to greet Vickie. However, the only thing she received in return was a smirk. "Really? How cute. Let me guess, this was Vince's idea, right?" Vickie laughed. "He must not have a lot of trust in you if he won't even let you run the show by yourself." Maddox shifted as he felt himself becoming slightly irritated. He watched as Patricia awkwardly pulled her hand away and brushed her bangs out of her face. Brad glared back at Vickie. He was about to reply, but she wouldn't let him.
"What does she even do for you? Bring you coffee and fix your ugly ties?" She snorted at her little joke. Patricia gasped. "Actually, I help him go over matches and promos for the show. I even write out a schedule for him. See?" She held out the clipboard in front of Vickie's face and flipped through a few pages. It was shoved back at her so she tucked it underneath her arm. "So, what do you do to prepare for Smackdown? Do you scribble down your ideas on the back of a napkin or do you screech at someone until they do it for you?"
"Okay, okay. Let's all just calm down." Brad was quick to interrupt. Things were getting just a little too heated for him and he did not want to attract any attention from this. "Patricia, why don't you give us a minute, okay? I'll meet you in my office." He suggested. She gave him a small smile before abruptly turning around and heading down the corridor.
"Well, she sure is nice." Vickie said once Patricia was out of sight. "Back off, Vickie." Brad warned, not liking how she was treating his assistant. She huffed in response and shook her head. "She does seem a bit controlling though. I would watch out if I were you." He tilted his head and gave her a confused look. "Pardon?"
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that, well, she writes out the whole schedule for you, Brad. It looks like she's calling all the shots. Are you sure she's not the real General Manager of RAW?" Vickie smiled at her question.
"Actually, she plans things out and I go over everything and change it, if necessary. So all the final decisions are mine." Maddox retorted. Although he was so sure of his answer, her question did spike up some worry in him. Patricia did seem to come up with most of the ideas...
"Oh, of course. My mistake." She replied. "I wonder what Vince would think about that though. If he knew that you gave her so much leeway into creating the show. She is only an assistant after all. Maybe he'll realize the ideas are hers and he'll make her the GM instead..."
Brad chuckled. "That wouldn't happen. He knows as well as Patricia does that everything that happens on the show is decided by me. She only provides her opinion and writes it up. Just give me a few weeks and I'll show the both of you what I really can do." He crossed his arms and eyed her seriously. Her comments were really starting to get to him.
"Fine, fine. Whatever. Just enjoy the fun while it lasts, Brad." Vickie gave him an evil smile before she turned and left him alone. For a minute, he just stood there and took all of that in. He already had enough doubts about himself before, but after that conversation he definitely has tons more to deal with now. With a sigh, he made his way towards his office.
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Soon enough, Brad Maddox was sitting on the leather couch while Patricia sat by his side. They were going over the schedule for tonight's events. He had the clipboard in hand, looking over each and every little note. His conversation with Vickie earlier had provoked something inside of him. Unlike last time where he went along with most of Patricia's suggestions, this time he was almost against every one of them. "Can I have a pen? I need to change a few things." He asked and held out his hand. Watching as she pulled a pen from seemingly out of nowhere, he kept replaying what Vickie had said in his mind. Once he received the pen, he quickly went through and crossed some things out and replaced them with his own ideas. Brad handed her the newly fixed schedule when he finished and leaned back onto the couch.
"You changed quite a lot..." Patricia pointed out. He side-eyed her and shrugged. "So?" She gave him a weak smile. "It's just that, I had the company's best interests in mind when I wrote these out so-"
"Stop." Maddox held out his hand and she became quiet. A confused look crossed her face. "I'm the General Manager, okay? I also have the company's best interests in mind as well as my own. Now, if you would be so kind as to tell the roster about the little changes, that would be great." The words seemed to spill out of his mouth before he had time to think. Brad watched as Patricia nodded and stood up. She waited for a moment, continuing to give him a strange look.
Without hesitation he added, "Oh, and bring me a coffee, please." She looked stunned at this. "Uh, sure. What would you like?" Brad tapped his chin in thought. "Surprise me." Patricia left the room quickly and Maddox felt a little ashamed of himself. What he said was very rude. Yet, he knew he had to show her who was boss somehow. He was really starting to take Vickie's comments to heart and that was beginning to show. This was not a good thing.
Minutes ticked on as he continued to think about his actions. Suddenly, the door to his office burst open. He was expecting Patricia, but saw Vince McMahon there instead. "Mr. McMahon. It's so nice to see you here." He offered a handshake and was met with a cold glare. The scene reminded him of Patricia and Vickie. "So, where is your new assistant?" Vince asked as he glanced around the room. Brad smiled and placed his hands behind his back. "She went out to remind the guys about their matches tonight. She should be back here soon." As if right on cue, a light knock was heard on the door. Maddox called out and granted the person access to his room.
Patricia came in juggling the coffee while holding the schedule in her other hand. She had a surprised look on her face once she saw Vince. Dropping her gaze, she handed Brad his coffee and shut the door. Maddox noticed the look that Mr. McMahon gave him upon receiving his drink. Laughing nervously, he turned back to Patricia. "Thanks for the coffee. Why didn't you get yourself some?" He asked politely. She glanced between Vince and Brad. "Well, I wouldn't be able to hold both the cups and the schedule..." came her quiet reply. Mr. McMahon cocked his head at Maddox.
"Sorry about that. I'll get my own coffee next time." Brad looked at Vince. "So, sir. What brings you here?" Mr. McMahon shook his head before replying. "I just wanted to check in on you two to see how things were going."
"Things are going great, sir. I-"
"May I see the schedule for tonight?" Vince asked Patricia, obviously ignoring Brad. She handed him the schedule with a smile. He looked it over, eyebrows knitting together as he continued on. "Why are most of the matches crossed out?" He asked, turning his attention towards Brad.
"We decided to change a few things, that's all."
"Oh." Vince handed her back the clipboard and gave Maddox an incredulous look. "Why? The crossed out matches looked pretty good." Brad scratched his head, trying to think of an appropriate answer.
"We came up with other matches that would work better, sir. You'll be impressed tonight. Don't worry." Patricia said in a sweet tone. Vince smiled and nodded at her, then patted Brad on the back.
"We'll see about that. Good luck tonight." Mr. McMahon said before exiting the office. For the second time since they met, Brad found himself silently thanking Patricia for being quick on the spot. The room was quiet for a few minutes. He eagerly took a large sip of his coffee, but coughed immediately afterwards.
"I'm sorry, is that too strong for you?" She asked, an innocent look danced in her eyes. "No, no. Not at all. Actually, this is how I prefer my coffee." He smiled back and took a much smaller sip this time. In all honesty, he thought it was terrible. She served him an all black coffee. No sugar or creamer added. It was like she hadn't even tried. He grimaced at the nasty taste. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to go get a cup for myself." Patricia asked, sounding awfully sweet. For some reason, Brad was skeptical of her. "Yeah, that's fine." He said as he waved her off.
It seems like his coffee's not the only thing that's bitter...