Even for someone as high up the WWE pecking order as Roman, getting some time in Vince McMahon's office was no easy feat. He had ended up waiting outside for forty minutes before the boss came out. Predictably it came when Roman had his back turned to the door, engaged in a socially distanced conversation with Baron Corbin.
"You wanted to speak to me, Roman?' Vince asked loudly, cheerfully slapping him hard on the back of his left shoulder.
"Oh, hey, Vince," Roman said in a friendly manner as he turned around. He felt bad about the conversation that was about to take place. He had been given a main event spot at Wrestlemania, and had been pretty much guaranteed a win as well. Now he was going to walk away from it. There was a chance that it might have an effect on the good relationship they had with each other, as it was well known that Vince could be temperamental when things didn't go his way.
"Come in," Vince said, leading the way into the office. "How are things with you? We've not talked in a couple of weeks. I hear you and Mandy Rose are dating?"
"Yeah, we are," Roman was happy to announce as he closed the door behind him.
"She's a beautiful woman," Vince said, moving over to stand near his desk.
"She is. Both inside and out."
Vince looked like he was going to say something else about Mandy, but then he seemed to change his mind. "So, what can I do for you? Something to do with the Wrestlemania match?"
"You could say that," Roman said. He wanted to take a deep breath now that the moment was at hand. "The thing is, Vince, this corona virus is turning out to be a serious thing, as you know. Although it's been over a year since my chemo, my immune system will still take some time to recover. The virus is known to be especially deadly for immunocompromised people. For that reason, I don't think it's safe for me to keep coming to tapings. Sharing a locker room with a bunch of guys or wrestling them would be an easy way for me to catch it, and if I catch it I could die. Vince, I'm truly sorry to do this to you, and you know I'd never do it for any other reason, but I'm going to pull out of Wrestlemania, and all other shows. I simply can't risk working until this is over."
The speech had gone on a bit longer than Roman had planned. Nonetheless, he thought he had gotten through everything that needed to be said, and had done so calmly and respectfully. The fact that Vince didn't say anything immediately actually said a lot. Rarely for him, he took a moment to process what he had heard and consider his response.
"You know what you're walking away from?" Vince said after a moment, speaking calmly. "A Wrestlemania main event. In fact, a win in a Wrestlemania main event, as well as a run as Universal Champion. That's a lot to walk away from. And time out could harm your career in the long term."
The last sentence was delivered as a statement, not a threat. Roman knew it was true, too. Wrestling was a business that moved fast, and someone could get the jump off at any moment, becoming the next big star. Roman had one of the top spots, and he wasn't protecting it if he walked away. Nonetheless, his mind was made up.
"I know what I'm walking away from, Vince. Trust me, I wish I wasn't doing it. But this could be life and death for me. It's something I have to do."
Vince seemed to accept that with some resignation. "You've clearly made your mind up. This is your decision, right? This hasn't come from Mandy or someone else?"
Roman sighed. "Come on, Vince, you know me better than that. This is my decision. Again, it's what I need to do for my health. Although speaking of Mandy, I need to let you know that since we're living together now, and she could easily pick up the virus here and go on to infect me with it, she's going to have to step out too. I'm sorry to also ruin that story for you and Otis."
"Ah, that was just a bit of fun," Vince said with a dismissive hand gesture.
"Mandy would like to continue working with WWE though, when all of this is over. I'd really appreciate it if she got that opportunity."
"When the time comes, we'll talk about it," Vince pledged.
"Thank you. I'm sorry about this, Vince, truly. I know I'm dropping you in the shit."
"You're doing what you need to do," Vince acknowledged, managing a smile. "Keep me informed regarding your intentions. When you're ready to return, we'll have a talk. I'd better get on. As you can imagine, I have a lot of work to do now."
"Of course. Thanks for understanding, Vince. It means a lot," Roman said, offering his hand to the boss.
Vince gave him a firm handshake. "Take care of yourself. And keep in touch."
"Will do. You take care too," Roman said. With that, he turned and left the office. He felt sadness, not knowing when, or possibly if, he would be back. No one could know what lay ahead in the scary, unprecedented times they were living in. On his way along the hallway, he thanked God that he had met Mandy and didn't have to go through it alone.
It didn't surprise him at all when he found her waiting for him. She had her mask pulled down under her chin, which allowed him to see how anxious she looked. "You look upset," she said, coming towards him.
"I am. But the meeting went pretty well. I'm sad because I'm leaving and I don't know when I'll be back."
"Oh, Roman," Mandy said sympathetically as they embraced each other. "What did Vince say?"
"I told him pretty much what I ran through with you. He was understanding. He didn't get angry or anything. He reminded me of what I'm walking away from, and he asked me if I'm sure it's what I want to do. I apologised for leaving him in the lurch, but I said my decision is made. I also told him about us being together, and therefore you're leaving too, but you'd love to come back when we're on the other side of this thing."
Mandy stepped back slightly and looked him in the eye, not looking positive about the answer to her next question. "What did he say to that?"
"He said we'll talk about it at the time."
"Sounds like a blow off," Mandy said glumly.
"No, Vince means what he says. If he didn't want to at least talk about it, he wouldn't have said so. We'll need to come up with something good to pitch to him. I guess we'll have plenty of time on it."
"Yeah, I guess so. So, what happens now? Are we leaving?"
"I guess we are," Roman said, feeling downcast. "I'd better go tell the guys what's going on first. I owe them that, since I'm bailing on them."
"You're not bailing on anyone," Mandy scolded. "Stop thinking like that, please. You're doing what you need to do to stay safe. There's no shame in it."
"I know. And I know it's the right decision, yet I still feel bad about it. Nothing is going to change that."
"I understand," Mandy said.
Roman doubted that she actually did understand, but that wasn't her fault. She had worked with WWE for a matter of weeks, and didn't know much about how the business really worked. The guys in the locker room were his family. There was no way walking out was ever going to feel anything other than wrong.
"Thanks, babe," he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll feel somewhat better once we're back on Elena. I'm going to go speak to the guys. I'll meet you in the car, if that's okay?" He took his keys out of his pocket and offered them to her.
"Sure," Mandy said, taking the keys. "I'll make us something nice for dinner later. At least that will be something to look forward to."
"Thank you, that sounds amazing," Roman smiled. "I'll see you in a few."
"Yeah." Mandy gave him a smile before they parted ways.
She's going to be my rock during this, Roman thought as he made his way to the men's locker room. It was going to be important to show his appreciation, as she had been doing for the fact that he had brought her down from New York to stay on the yacht. It was early days in their relationship, but he felt like they were building on a very solid foundation.
The locker room was noisy when Roman walked in, with people packing up their things, preparing to leave. "Guys, can I have a minute, please?" he said.
As the recognised locker room leader, he didn't need to ask twice. He was granted silence almost immediately.
"Thanks. I want you to hear this straight from the horse's mouth. Obviously you all know this virus is starting to get serious, that's why we're here right now. You all also know that I won my most recent battle with leukaemia just over a year ago. My immune system is still not good because of the chemo, which is why I've just been to see Vince. I told him that I'm going to have to pull out of Wrestlemania, and any other work, for the foreseeable future. I feel awful about it, but it's something I've got to do for my health. I hope you'll all understand."
He was virtually inundated with replies from people saying of course they understood, and he should do what was best for his safety.
"Do you have somewhere safe to stay? And are you going to be okay when it comes to buying essentials and stuff like that?" Elias asked.
"Mandy is staying with me. We've got things all figured out, guys. Hopefully I'll ride things out for a while, then life will go back to normal for all of us. Until then, I'm only ever a call or a message away if anyone needs to talk."
Thanks and well wishes came Roman's way from everyone in the room, making him feel truly humbled. There really wasn't anything like the brotherhood in the locker room.
"I'd shake y'all's hands, but I don't think that a good idea in the circumstances. So I'll just say stay safe, and I'll see y'all somewhere down the road."
As his colleagues, or more like his second family, said goodbye, Roman grabbed his travel case and left the locker room with a heavy heart. It wasn't the first time he'd had to go away for a period to look after his health. It hadn't gotten any easier.
The feeling persisted as he made his way out of the building. He had been tempted to go and see Hunter Helmsley too, but he knew they would talk on the phone in the coming days. It was a fairly regular thing for them to do so.
Outside, Roman found Mandy waiting in the car. There was just enough room for his case in the Bugatti's trunk. Once he had it stashed, he got in, noticing that Mandy had done away with her mask and gloves. "I'm surprised you didn't keep the gloves on."
Mandy laughed. "Jokes, that's a good sign. Ordinarily, I'd like wearing them. But when they might have a virus on them, not so much."
Roman laughed too. "I guess that makes sense. Right then, let's go home."
He fired up the engine, carefully pulled out of the parking spot and cruised away from the Performance Center. There was no way to tell when he would see it again.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter.
Time for Roman and Mandy to begin their next chapter, and to think about ideas for their returns. What do you think Mandy could do with WWE, since she's obviously not a wrestler?