Chapter 4
Evie arrived at Titan Towers late Wednesday morning and headed up to Linda McMahon's office. The receptionist smiled when she saw Evie come through the office door.
"Go on in Evie. They're waiting for you," said Sherri as Evie approached the desk.
Evie stopped in mid stride. "They? I thought I was only meeting with Linda." She wondered who else was waiting for her. A thought on "they" may be emerged, but she swiftly dismissed it, not wanting to consider the possibility.
Sherri shrugged to indicate she didn't know what was going on any more than Evie did. Evie shook her head, wondering who the other person or persons might be. She waved at Sherri and walked into Linda's office.
Linda stood up when she saw Evie enter. "Hello Evie. I'm glad you were able to make it on such short notice," she said as she held her hand out.
Evie smiled and shook Linda's hand. "It wasn't too much of a problem." She glanced over at the person seated in the other chair and was pleasantly surprised. She had been expecting Vince McMahon or some of the members from the board of directors. "Hello Mick."
Mick Foley stood up and offered his hand as well. "Hi Evie."
They shook hands and Linda gestured for both of them to sit down. Her eyes focused on Evie. "I'm sure you've been wondering why I asked you to come all the way out here."
"Something like that. I didn't know if I should be worried or not," Evie replied.
Linda smiled slightly. "Well, you're not in any sort of trouble. In fact, I've heard nothing but good things from Hunter." The tiny smile turned into a knowing one.
A faint blush stained Evie's cheeks. "How nice," she murmured.
"However, the reason why I asked you to come, is because both Mick and myself want to talk with you about a more serious matter," Linda finished.
Evie glanced over at Mick as he spoke up. "You know what's been going on between me and Bischoff, as well as me and Randy Orton." As Evie nodded in response, Mick continued. "Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking during my absence and I decided that I can't continue as the RAW co-general manager. So, Linda and I decided to elect a temporary co-GM." He turned his gaze to Linda.
"This is only until either Steve Austin returns or we select someone else to fill the position on a permanent basis," Linda stated.
Evie became a little uneasy. She knew what they were going to ask her. Wanting to get it over with, she brought it up herself. "And you want me to take the position?" she asked.
"Well, after a lot of deliberation and the fact that Mick and I have gone through the RAW roster discarding one person after another-" Linda started.
Evie gently cut her off. "I don't mean to be rude Linda, but could you get to the point?"
Linda grinned. "I'm sorry. I forgot you prefer the direct approach." She sat back in her chair. "Yes, we would like you to be the interim co-GM," she stated carefully.
Evie's eyes glanced from Linda to Mick and back again. "Why me?" she questioned.
Mick spoke two words. "Chair shots."
A soft laugh escaped from Evie. She knew he was referring to the Last-Man-Standing/Hardcore match she'd had in March of last year against Jericho. Shawn Michaels had interfered, helping her to win the match after she whacked Jericho with a chair. Immediately following, Hunter had come out and confronted Shawn. Evie took down Shawn with the same steel chair and then when Hunter fired her, took him out as well. Bischoff had come out to the ring demanding to know what the hell was going on and Evie hit him in the stomach with the chair; a little payback for the altercation in his office a week prior to the match when she broke his finger after he made advances towards her.
"Besides the fact that I can take care of myself around Bischoff," she said with amusement.
Linda chuckled. "That's one of the reasons. You're not afraid to stand up to him. You've seen how he operates. We need someone who's going to balance the equation, and you've been around long enough to get a solid grasp on how things work."
Mick leaned forward in his chair. "You don't take crap from anyone. You showed us and the rest of the world that when you took out four men, all bigger than you I might add, with a steel chair. You walked into that ring and took on Jericho, HBK, Triple H and Bischoff, and walked out of that ring."
"What about Christian?" Evie asked innocently.
"Christian doesn't count as a man; just as a creepy little bastard," Mick said with sarcasm, managing to get a wry grin from Evie. "The fact is, Evie, you've got- pardon the expression, you've got balls."
Evie's smile faded and she sighed in exasperation. She had the feeling that neither Mick nor Linda were going to make it easy for her to say no. "And I suppose that there's nothing in my contract that gets me out of this?" she asked half-jokingly.
Linda looked almost apologetic. "I'm afraid not." When Evie shook her head, Linda spoke again. "You're not required to take the position. You can refuse. We want someone who has a backbone and won't give in to certain people."
"Meaning Evolution," Evie stated matter-of-factly.
Mick gave her a half-smile. "We're not going to tell you how to do your job. You're gonna have to make that decision on your own."
"And what makes you think that they won't expect me to cater to their demands?" she asked sharply.
Mick answered her. "If you choose to grant any special stipulations, then that's up to you. Use your judgment, but if you choose not to favor them, make sure to lay down the law before any of that comes up."
"Evie, the fact is, there isn't anyone else on that roster we feel is up to the job," Linda interjected. "You handle yourself well in tight situations; you don't go back on your word. You get right to the point with things and you show quite a bit of determination when dealing with… certain superstars," she stated with a small grin and Evie knew who she was referring to. "We need someone who is going to be direct and honest to oppose Bischoff."
Mick looked directly at Evie. "Basically, what Linda's saying is that we need someone to knock Eric off his high horse. Austin kept him on his toes, but now that Austin's gone…" he trailed off.
"What happens if I tell you both no?" Evie asked Linda.
Linda stood up and stepped around to the front of her desk. "It won't affect the job you have now. We can't make you do this, and I'm not so petty that I would make keeping your current job a condition." She leaned back against the desk and smiled. "I'm not Vince."
Mick laughed. "Thank God for that," he quipped.
Evie chuckled as well and then fell silent. She hated being put into situations like this. It seemed that both Linda and Mick thought highly enough of her to offer her the position, and that spoke volumes about their faith in her abilities.
If she did take the position, it would possibly- no- probably was more like it- cause a lot of tension between her and the members of Evolution as well as the rest of the wrestlers. But as Mick had said, it was better to lay down the law first.
She sat back in her chair and sighed softly. It didn't seem like they were giving her much of a choice. But it's only on a temporary basis, she reminded herself.
Evie spoke up. "How soon would you have to know?"
"Well," Linda began, "Mick would like to step down as soon as possible. We'd like to know by the end of the week at the latest."
Evie cocked her head to one side, regarding Linda with a sharp gaze. "That doesn't give me a lot of time to decide."
"I realize that Evie, and I'm sorry. Mick expressed that he wanted to get this taken care of on RAW this coming Monday," Linda replied.
"We know it's all of a sudden for you, but like Linda said, there's no one we'd trust more than you," Mick stated.
Evie gave a half-hearted laugh. "You're not making this easy, are you?"
"Decisions are never easy," Mick said softly.
"Well, let me think about it and I'll give you my answer on Friday," Evie said as she stood up. Her mind immediately started working on anything she would want to add into the contract if she said yes to their proposition. "If I do take the job, I will be making some non-negotiable specifications in my contract."
Linda chuckled as she straightened up. "Like I said, you seem to have an excellent grasp on how things work in this company." She shrugged casually and Mick stood up as well. "That seems fair enough. And by the way, we would like you to keep this quiet, at least until Monday night."
Evie shot her a perceptive glance. "Meaning no one knows at all?"
"We would prefer it, but I know that Hunter is going to be asking questions about this visit. If you do speak about it to him, please let him know that secrecy is important," Linda said as she moved towards the door and opened it.
"I'll make sure he knows to keep his mouth shut," Evie responded. "I'll be in touch." She smiled at Mick, nodded at Linda and walked out the door.
Linda closed it behind her and turned to Mick. "What do you think?"
Mick was silent for a couple minutes, going over the things that had just been discussed. While Evie had shown him that she did have a backbone by getting in the ring more than once with Jericho, he had a few doubts. Those mainly pertained to her relationship with Triple H and Evolution, and how the rest of the superstars were going to react to that factor in her new position, if she took it.
"Why do I get the feeling we just might be releasing a lamb to the wolves?" Mick finally asked.
"Don't underestimate her. She can be just as stubborn as anyone else, and then some," Linda said with feeling.
Mick was quiet for another minute as he contemplated something else, and then, "I think Triple H is going to be extremely interested in what he'll be able to get out of this whole deal. Evie is definitely going to have her hands full with this; if she decides to take the job," he said quietly.
"You might be right on that Mick, but I have a feeling Evie will keep Hunter in line," Linda said and then grinned. "In fact, I think she just may be keeping Bischoff in line as well."
Evie dropped her bag on the laundry room floor and closed the door to the garage. Using her foot, she pushed the overnight bag across the laundry room floor and into the kitchen. She was too tired to pick it up and carry it. Her flight had been cancelled due to an engine problem, so she'd had to go through all the hassle of finding another flight to New Hampshire and then making it back to Hunter's house. He had stayed on for a house show while she was at Titan Towers and was supposed to fly home afterward. The light was on over the stove, but the rest of the kitchen was dark, which meant that Hunter was home and he was either watching old wrestling tapes, or he was in bed.
After switching off the light, she shoved the bag into the short hallway that lead to the living area and didn't see the bluish white flicker of the television. Must be in bed, she thought. Leaning over with a sigh, she picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. As she slowly made her way up the stairs, she went over, for what felt like the millionth time, what Mick and Linda had talked about. As much confidence as they seemed to have in her, she didn't feel she was every bit the person they saw her as.
She debated on whether or not she wanted to take the job. Linda had said it wasn't permanent. The question was did she want all the hassle that went along with it? Did she really want to put up with all the insinuations that were bound to happen? All the complaints? All the stress? And then there was Evolution and Hunter. She knew without a doubt that Ric Flair would be all set to take advantage of her temporary position. He'd probably expect her to allow them all sorts of freedom that they wouldn't get with Bischoff.
"Not on my watch," she growled quietly and then shook her head. "What the hell am I talking about? I haven't even made up my mind yet."
She reached the top of the stairs and walked towards Hunter's bedroom. Gently she pushed the door open and found all the lights off except the one on her side of the bed. A huge form covered by a sheet, lay on the other side. She smiled as she quietly put her bag down and started removing her clothes. Tossing them onto a chair, she slipped into the adjoining bathroom, took care of business and returned to the bedroom.
After turning out the light, she pulled the sheet back and slid into bed. Instinctively, she nestled up to Hunter's broad back, delighting in the feel of his warm skin and the smell of soap. As her cheek touched him between his shoulder blades, he stirred.
"Evie?" he asked sleepily.
She giggled. "No, it's your fairy godmother."
A large hand reached around and grabbed her thigh. "Sure doesn't feel like a wrinkled old woman," he said with drowsy amusement.
"Wrinkled old woman?" She sat up and leaned over him. "Wrinkled old woman?" she repeated.
"Well, you must be old, because it sounds like your hearing is bad," Hunter quipped as he half rolled over to look at her, a playful smile on his face.
She pinched his backside and he yelped. "Why don't you feel again?" she asked him.
"Look old lady, you better cut that out before my woman comes home and finds you in my bed," he replied in a mock stern voice.
Evie spluttered at that remark and proceeded to roll him over so she could pummel him. Hunter laughed and caught her hands before the first blow fell. He moved so that she was pinned under him, her hands above her head. She stuck her tongue out at him and he promptly caught it between his lips.
He kissed her deeply as he released her hands. Evie cradled his head in her hands as she responded with fervor. He broke the kiss and looked down at her. She sighed with pleasure and a hand smoothed the hair back from his face.
"I guess you missed me," she said huskily.
Hunter smiled. "I guess I did." He pulled away from her and lay on his back. "So what was the deal with Linda?"
She rested her head on his chest and draped an arm over his stomach. "I'm not supposed to talk about it," she replied.
"Is it that bad?" he asked quietly.
Evie sighed as she sorted her thoughts. "Well, from a certain point of view, it could be bad. But from another, it could be good for some people."
He looked down at the top of her head. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well," she said, "it's exactly what it means."
Hunter turned the light on and sat up, causing Evie to sit up as well. "Okay, you're talking in riddles here. Can you, or can you not, tell me what is going on?"
"If I tell you, it goes no farther than this room. No one else can know about it," she said solemnly as she pulled the sheet up over her breasts. "And that means the rest of Evolution too."
"All right," Hunter said, "you have my word."
In the next ten minutes, Evie told him what had taken place in Linda's office. As she explained everything, Hunter grew more and more interested.
"So, that's why no one else can know," she finished.
Hunter remained quiet, but the wheels were turning in his head. This had been completely unexpected. A thousand little plans began forming and hatching in his mind, but they were interrupted by Evie tugging gently on his arm.
"So what are you going to do?" Hunter asked carefully.
Evie shrugged. "I don't know. Part of me wants to take it just to stick it to Bischoff, and part of me doesn't want to put up with all the crap I know is going to come up."
"It is only temporary," Hunter reminded her. "It's not like you're going to be a co-GM for the rest of your life." He thought about something. "If you do take it, you can always have a clause written in that you can step down at any time."
She nodded. "I had thought about that and a million other things." She turned her face to his. "If I do take the position, I won't be doing it to give either you or Evolution any advantages. In fact, none of you should expect any because it's not going to happen."
Hunter saw the determination in her eyes and knew that she wouldn't back down from that decision, but he could work around that. "Fair enough," he replied, careful to keep a neutral expression on his face.
"I mean what I said about you and Evolution." She gave him an expression that meant business. "And no tricks or games either. I don't put up with your crap now. Don't think it's going to be any different if I take the job," she stated firmly as she shook a finger at him.
"I know," Hunter replied quietly and then a half-grin appeared. "If you do take it, can you see Eric's reaction?"
Evie chuckled. "It would almost be worth it just to see the look on his face." She cocked her head slightly to one side. "So what do you think?"
Hunter gauged his response carefully. He didn't want her to think he was pushing her into something she was reluctant to do, or manipulating her, for that matter. He knew she didn't take to kindly to that, having gone through it with both him and Shawn last year. True, it would be worth it to give Bischoff a difficult time, but there were other things to consider.
"You know this might affect our relationship," he stated calmly.
She met his gaze. "Business is business, as you always tell me," she stated with a little smile. "And it can only affect it if we let it."
"You'll be recognized a whole hell of a lot more too," Hunter continued. "Do you know how many stories I've heard of Bischoff getting things thrown at him by fans?"
The smile remained on Evie's face. "I'm not worried about the fans. I'm more concerned with the actual job, and you didn't answer my question."
Hunter carefully framed his response in the form of a jest. "The Evie I know has never walked away from a challenge." He paused and then grinned. "I mean, look at how long you've been with me," he joked.
Her smile grew wider at his reply and then disappeared just as quickly. "I'm serious here, Hunter. What do you honestly think?"
Again, he weighed his response. "I think it's a good opportunity for you. I mean, you'll definitely be opposed, that's for sure. Not by us, but by the rest of the roster. And you know Bischoff will try his damnedest to get rid of you, or he'll try real hard to get everyone to distrust you."
A half hearted chuckled issued from Evie's mouth. "Sounds like you're trying to dissuade me more than convince me." She waved her hands in frustration. "Those thoughts had crossed my mind. I'm going to have to earn everyone's trust and show them that I'm not a pushover at the same time." Her hands dropped to her lap. "It all seems so overwhelming when I think about it. I'm not sure I can do this," she said and then realizing what she said, she hastily amended, "if I decide to do it."
Hunter caught what she had said, but chose to ignore it. It sounded as if she had already made up her mind. He smiled inwardly at that thought as he laid a hand on her sheet covered thigh. "Tell you what, why don't we talk about it in the morning. It's late and we've both had a pretty busy day."
"I suppose," she sighed in response and then looked down at his hand. "So what are you planning on doing with that?" she asked in amusement.
He grinned mischievously. "Why don't I show you," he said as he pulled the sheet down from her body, exposing her breasts.
Evie laughed as he reached over and turned off the light. Her laughter shortly turned into moans as Hunter demonstrated exactly what he had in mind.
The next morning, Hunter walked into the kitchen in his robe to find Evie drinking a glass of orange juice. He didn't recall hearing her rise, but she was gone when he had gotten up fifteen minutes ago. Glancing at the clock over the kitchen sink, he noticed it was only a few minutes after 9a.m.; early for her to be up. She usually slept until 10:30. Hunter assumed her appearance at this time of the morning had to do with Linda McMahon's proposition. He also noted that she had on her workout gear, which was also unusual at this time of day.
"How long have you been up?" he asked as he pulled the blender out of a cabinet and set it on the counter.
She smiled at him as she set the glass down on the counter. "Since 7:30." She shrugged when she saw the look of surprise on his face. "I have a lot on my mind and I couldn't go back to sleep." She watched as he pulled various items out of the refrigerator.
"Not surprising," he replied as he set everything down and began measuring liquid. "You have a lot to consider."
"I'm done considering," she stated and then finished off the remainder of the juice in her glass.
Hunter looked at her quizzically. "Really?" He hadn't even had a chance to talk it over with her.
Evie nodded and then turned to rinse the glass out. "I've taken things into consideration and I've made a decision," she replied with her back to him. She placed the glass in the dishwasher.
He came up behind her and turned her to face him. "And what did you decide?" he asked cautiously. He had the distinct impression she was going to take the job as he recalled her little slip up last night.
An enigmatic smile appeared on her mouth. "That's for me to know and you to find out," she teased.
"That's not fair," Hunter protested. "After you tell me what that meeting was about and ask my opinion, you aren't going to tell me what your decision is?"
She shook her head. "Not right now. I have a few more things I want to go over and then I'm going to call Linda and let her know first."
Hunter smiled. "So you have a rough draft of your contract written out already?"
"I don't know, do I?" she asked him vaguely. She didn't want to tell him her answer yet. As much as he kept a neutral expression, she knew he was more than interested in this whole situation. She hadn't missed the calculating look in his eyes when she had told him about her meeting with Linda and Mick. It made her glad she had mentioned that there would be no special favors for him or Evolution. Still, she knew she'd have to keep a close eye on him, having been on the receiving end of his machinations before.
Hunter turned back to the blender and continued with his food preparations. "But you are going to tell me?" he questioned without looking at her.
Evie chuckled. She had to give him credit; he was persistent. "You, Mick and Linda will be the only people who will know, either way," she replied.
Hunter set his bag down in the locker room and shut the door behind him. He was the first one to arrive out of the group. It was the night of the Royal Rumble and he was feeling fairly optimistic about his chances against Shawn later. Evie had flown out to Stamford late Friday morning and was due back some time tonight. She was coming to the arena straight from the airport.
She had finally told him that she was going to take the co-GM job that had been offered to her. He'd had the suspicion that she would. She reminded him again that there was not going to be favors granted to any of them because of this. He had nodded in response, not too concerned about that particular piece of information. He could work around it if necessary, but would have to do it subtly so as not to cause suspicion.
The rest of Evolution showed up within the next thirty minutes and clothes were changed, plans gone over and revised and entertainment decided for the evening. Batista cornered Hunter after changing into his gear. Ric had disappeared for something, accompanied by Randy.
"Hey Hunter, where's Evie?" Batista asked as he adjusted his elbow pads.
Hunter shrugged. "She's flying in later. She had something to take care of before coming out."
"Nothing serious I hope," Batista replied with a touch of concern.
"No, just some personal stuff that had to be resolved," Hunter replied casually. He glanced up at the younger man. "Why?"
"Just wondering if everything is okay. I mean, you two are pretty much joined at the hip, so it's kind of unusual to not see her around," Batista stated with a half grin.
Hunter chuckled. "Yeah, it's kind of strange not to have her around, but like I said, she'll be here later."
Thankfully, Batista accepted that and changed the subject to his tag team match with Ric that night. They were defending the titles against the Dudley Boyz in a table match.
He and Ric had just started their match when Evie arrived in Evolution's locker room.
Hunter looked up as the door opened and grinned when he saw her. "'Bout time you showed up," he said in good humor.
She rolled her eyes in response as she dropped her luggage in an out of the way corner. "Gee, things went fine. Thanks for asking," she quipped.
Hunter chuckled. "You know what I meant." He stood up and walked over to her. "So everything's cool, then?"
"Yeah. We got everything ironed out and it's all signed, sealed and delivered," Evie replied. "There was a little issue over one specification, but Linda was nice enough to let it slide."
"Which one?" he asked, intrigued. He hadn't thought that Evie's stipulations really warranted any caution on the company's part.
She looked up at him. "The part where I can step down at any time whether or not Austin comes back." She cocked her head to one side. "A couple of the board members didn't think that was very sensible, but Linda talked them into conceding."
"Was Vince there too?" Hunter questioned. He watched as she started removing her coat.
Evie nodded. "Of course; he is the owner." She shrugged her coat off and draped it over a chair. "Funny thing is, you would have thought he'd be eager to deny me the position, but he approved everything," she stated. "Of course, he told me afterwards that he was taking bets on how long I'd last." A humorless smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
Hunter shook his head. "Nice to know Vince is so supportive of his employees," he said wryly. He reached out and pulled Evie into his arms. "But he doesn't know you like I do," he whispered and then leaned down and kissed her softly.
She leaned into the kiss, savoring the sensation of his mouth against hers and his arms wrapped around her. She had missed him over the past couple of days. Even though they had spent a lot of time on the phone, she missed the feel of him lying next to her at night. She briefly pushed her tongue into his mouth to tease and shivered as she heard his quiet moan.
He broke the kiss and grinned down at her. "I missed you too," he stated in a rasping tone that didn't belie the desire he was feeling at that moment.
Evie returned the smile. "I'll show you how much I missed you if you're up to it later," she stated slyly.
Hunter laughed as he detached himself from the embrace. "I think I'll still let you show me even if I'm not up to it."
She simply turned up the smile as she pushed past him to help herself to a bottle of water.
Hunter realized he had missed the end of the tag match, but thanks to J.R. and Jerry Lawler's loud commentary, his ears picked up the fact that the titles had been retained by Ric and Batista in under six minutes.
Evie remained in the locker room for the duration of the pay-per-view. She watched the events unfold as the night progressed. Hunter, Ric, Batista and Randy quietly chatted about Hunter's upcoming title match against Shawn Michaels. All too soon, he disappeared to warm up. Evie moved from the folding chair she was sitting on to the sofa. Dave grinned as she sat down next to him. He had said hello to her when he and Ric had returned after their match.
"So, where were you?" he asked in a casually low tone.
Evie shrugged. "Oh, out and about taking care of a few things," she stated evasively.
Batista wondered what was so secret about her trip. "What? Can't talk about it?"
"Not particularly," she responded. Her eyes met his. "But you'll find out about it soon enough."
His eyes widened at that. "Is it a good or bad thing?"
Evie wore a secretive smile. "Depends. What's good for one person can be bad for another."
Batista opened his mouth to ask another question but was interrupted by the sound of Hunter's music. He snuck a quick look at Evie. She still had that smile on her face. He pondered her cryptic remark and wondered if it was something personal or work related that she was referring to. The thoughts were quickly dismissed as he turned his attention to the monitor to watch the match between Hunter and Shawn.
The two adversaries went at one another as if it were the last time they'd be able to inflict serious injuries on one another. In the following 25 minutes, they had beaten each other so badly that they both were wearing their own blood as a crimson mask.
Shawn tried his best to continue, but he was so spent that when he did try to take Hunter down, he went down as well. He started tuning up the band for Sweet Chin Music, but when he went to deliver it, Hunter dropped to his knees and punched Shawn right in the crotch. When that didn't do the trick, Hunter nailed Shawn with a Pedigree. The ref counted to nine before Shawn managed to get to his feet. Frustrated, Hunter walked right into a superkick and both men went down.
The ref started counting, but both men were barely stirring. By the time the ref got to six, Shawn finally started to attempt to get up. He grabbed the ropes, trying to pull himself up but collapsed again. The ref reached ten, counting out both men and calling it a draw. Hunter retained his title.
Evie's eyes were wide with apprehension at Hunter's condition. She knew that the two men hated each other, but the bloodstains that decorated their faces and the canvas showed her how serious they both were in their attempts to prove themselves the better man.
She watched with a trace of horror as the EMT's made their way out to the ring to check on the two men. She jumped at the touch of Batista's hand on her arm and glanced up at him.
"We're going out there. If he has to go to the hospital, I'll take you since I'm done for the night," he stated in that gruff voice. "Wait here."
Evie nodded and watched as they disappeared out of the room. She pulled herself together and quickly gathered up Hunter's things and piled them by the door. With some foresight, she phoned the limo driver and had him take the bags out to the car. Shortly after he left, Batista came back in.
"They're taking him in for x-rays and stitches. He's pretty banged up," he told her. "Let's go."
Mutely she pulled on her coat and grabbed her purse, following Batista out to the limo. Randy stayed behind as he was an entrant in the Royal Rumble. Ric stayed with him to make sure things went fine.
Three hours later, Evie and Batista were helping Hunter into the hotel room. He was wearing a lot of bandages and quite a few stitches. Nothing had been broken, but there would be a lot of bruising showing up in the next 24-48 hours. The on duty doctor had told her that Hunter would need to rest as much as possible over the next few days. He strongly vetoed any wrestling as he handed Evie the bottle of painkillers.
They got Hunter situated in the bed. He didn't stir as Evie pulled the blanket up over him. With that done, Evie walked Batista to the door.
As she opened it for him, she looked up at him. "Thanks for all your help tonight, Dave."
"You're welcome." He shot a glance at Hunter's prone form and then returned Evie's gaze. "Sorry your night's ruined," he said with a hint of amusement.
Evie chuckled as she lightheartedly smacked him. "Your night's going to be ruined if you don't shut up."
"Already was," he joked and then gave her a sly look. "Unless you wanna come back to my room with me."
"You're lucky Hunter's incapacitated. Otherwise you'd be in big trouble, buster."
"Maybe I'd get lucky if he was still in the hospital," Batista shot back.
The chuckle turned into laughter as she herded him out the door. He laughed as well while she pushed him out into the hallway. His words had produced what he intended and he was glad to hear her express amusement. At the hospital, he had tried to keep her from pacing and worrying, but she was too preoccupied with Hunter's condition to listen to him.
"I'll see you in the morning," he said, looking at her over his shoulder.
She leaned against the door. "Sure thing."
Once he had turned the corner, she closed the door and went to check on Hunter. He seemed to be asleep, so she changed into her nightshirt and shut the lights off. After she had climbed into bed next to Hunter, she carefully curled up against him; her cheek nestled against his shoulder.
He stirred slightly at the feel of her against him. "Evie?" he mumbled.
"What's wrong?" she asked as she raised her head to look at him.
"Don't think I'm up to it tonight," he replied in a thick voice.
She smiled. "Don't worry about it. There's always tomorrow." She dropped a light kiss on his shoulder.
"Love you," he murmured sleepily.
Evie gently laid her hand on his arm. "I know," she replied.
Mick Foley stood in the middle of the ring, a microphone in hand. The look on his face was almost Mona Lisa like. As he thought about what he was going to say, that secretive smile he had been wearing all day magnified. He raised the mic to his mouth.
"Now, everyone knows about the little scene between me and Randy Orton. And I know people have been wondering why I walked out on a match," he said and then paused as the crowd rumbled.
He held up a hand. "Well, I'll get to that in just a minute. In fact, what I have to say ties into that." He took a breath and waited for the crowd to settle down. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and at this time, I've decided to step down as co-GM."
The crowd immediately roared its disapproval. Mick spoke over the noise. "I know, I know. It sucks, but lately I've been letting personal matters interfere with professional ones, so in the best interest of the profession, someone else has been elected to fill in as co-GM until Stone Cold Steve Austin returns."
Again the crowd erupted, albeit briefly. Mick faced the ramp that led backstage. "This person was elected because they don't take crap from anyone; especially Eric Bischoff. This person got into this very ring, took down 4 men, and then walked out, and this person isn't even a professional wrestler."
Mick chuckled as he thought about the reaction he was going to get from Bischoff. "Would this person come on out please?"
On cue, KMFDM's Boots started playing and Evie stepped out from behind the curtain. She was attired in a black pantsuit with a dark green shirt underneath the jacket. Her hair was gathered in a loose knot at the back of her head.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the new RAW co-general manager, Evie Mackenzie!" Mick announced. The audience gave a low rumble of approval.
She took a breath, blew it out and assumed a look of amused defiance as she strode down the ramp and walked up the steel steps. Mick gallantly held the ropes open for her as she climbed in. She crossed the canvas and took the mic that was offered to her by Lillian Garcia. Before she could even thank Mick, Bischoff stormed out from behind the curtain.
"What the hell is going on around here?" he demanded. "This isn't funny Foley." He pointed directly at Evie. "You need to get out of that ring and back in Evolution's locker room!"
Evie and Mick smiled at each other. Mick motioned to her to respond. Evie chuckled as she lifted the mic to her mouth. "Why don't you come down here and make me?" Evie said to Bischoff.
"Don't mess with me, dammit! I said get out of that ring right now!" Bischoff stormed.
Mick shook his head as he laughed softly. "Eric, take it easy. You're gonna pop a blood vessel." He glanced at Evie and then back at Bischoff, watching him splutter. Mick laughed again. "Evie was elected fair and square and there's not a lot you can do about it. Now I suggest you get used to the idea, because Evie's going to be around until Austin comes back."
"How many times do I have to tell you Foley! Austin isn't coming back! He lost his job!" Bischoff screamed. He turned his furious gaze on Evie. "And as for you, who's gonna trust you? Who's gonna come to you for matches? You're Triple H's assistant. You're with Evolution!"
Evie spoke up. "Eric, both Triple H and Evolution are well aware of the fact that they won't get any sort of special treatment from me. As for the rest of the RAW roster, I know I'm going to have to earn their trust; especially since I've been Triple H's personal assistant for two years now."
Bischoff smirked. "Well, from what I hear backstage, you're already giving Triple H some "special treatment". I also hear he pays pretty well, too."
Evie's eyebrow lifted as she shot Mick a glance. Mick shook his head as Evie turned back to Bischoff. "I'm sure it pales in comparison to what you paid those floozies I saw you take up to your room last night." She grinned. "Of course if you were a real man, Eric, you could probably get it for free."
Bischoff went red with anger. "You know I can make your life miserable, don't you?"
A soft laugh escaped from Evie. "I don't doubt that you'll try. I have four words for you though," she said in amusement.
"Oh yeah? What are they?" Bischoff sneered.
"Broken finger," Evie smirked and then said the other two words, "Steel chair."
Bischoff visibly blanched. He remembered she had broken his finger when he had propositioned her in his office prior to her match with Jericho, and then she had hit him with a chair after her match. He gulped as he remembered the twisted look on her face and fought to calm himself.
Mick took some perverse pleasure in the disturbed expression on Bischoff's face. He had to give credit to Linda. Evie definitely disliked the GM and would stick it to Bischoff in as many unpleasant ways as possible, and it didn't look like Eric was going to enjoy it.
"Sounds like you might wanna watch your step there, Eric," Mick said in amusement. "From what I hear, it's not wise to make a woman mad; especially this woman." Mick smiled. "I mean, between giving Jericho two bloody noses and kicking him in the family jewels, not to mention beating him twice in matches that you set up, and taking down both HBK and Triple H with a steel chair… I don't think you want to piss her off."
He laughed as he remembered something. "Oh wait! She hit you with that steel chair too!
Bischoff recovered. "This is ridiculous! I'm not going to stand for this! I'm going to appeal to the board of directors!"
"The board approved her, Eric," Mick stated as he tried to stop laughing. "I don't think you have any recourse."
"I'll appeal to Vince McMahon then!" Eric shouted. "We'll see what the owner of the company has to say about this."
Evie spoke up again. "You know Eric, as strange as it seems, Vince McMahon also gave me the go-ahead. Of course, he said that he would bet that I'll quit in a month and something about me making a fool out of myself, but Vince doesn't know me very well. I don't walk away from challenges, and I'm definitely not walking away from this one." Another smirk appeared. "Not where you're concerned anyway."
"We'll see," Bischoff stated vehemently and then stalked off backstage.
Mick glanced at Evie. "Well, you definitely have your work cut out for you, Evie. But I don't doubt you can do it."
"Thanks Mick," she replied as she shook his hand.
"Now I believe I owe the audience an explanation as to why I walked out on my match with Randy Orton," Mick said matter-of-factly.
Evie nodded, taking that as her cue to leave, left the ring. As she slipped behind the curtain, two members of the security team came up on either side of her. She looked from one to the other. "What's this?"
"Mr. Foley thought you might need an escort back to the locker room," one of them explained.
Evie grinned. She had to hand it to Mick. He was thinking ahead. "Fine then. Shall we?" she asked as she gestured in the general direction of Evolution's locker room.
Once she had closed the door behind her, Hunter turned around from where he was sitting to look at her. He looked like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. Evie suppressed a grin at his expression. She glanced around at the other two members of Evolution. Batista grinned at her. A grimace flew across Ric's face, but was quickly replaced by a grin to hide it.
They had been told about Evie becoming co-GM before they left the hotel. She had made it clear that this was not going to be a free ride for any of them; including Hunter. When Ric protested, stating that it could do more good than harm, Hunter backed her up, much to Ric's irritation. Ric muttered something about being pussy-whipped under his breath, which, fortunately for him, Hunter didn't hear.
Hunter stood up and mimed a clap. "Looks like you've already managed to piss off Bischoff," he said as he smiled. "Excellent."
Evie chuckled softly. "Well, we'll see how pissed off he gets next week," she said as she pulled the pins out of her hair, letting it fall free.
"When do you officially start?" Batista asked.
"Tomorrow," Evie responded. "So this is our last night in the same locker room, gentlemen." She carefully tucked the pins in her jacket pocket.
Thank God for small favors, Ric thought. At least with Evie out of the room, he'd be able to bend Hunter's ear about the way things were going. So far, Ric was not happy with any of this.
I'd like to offer up huge thanks to OnlineOnslaught for their extensive archive of RAW and pay-per-views. (bows down repeatedly to Rick) If you've never been to this site, I highly suggest you visit. News mixed with a liberal splash of humor, shaken (not stirred) with opinions and served on ice; not sweet, but can be very tart. (Good grief… Now I need a drink…)
I'd like to also offer up huge thanks to all of you who have kept on reading and reviewing! (bows down repeatedly to readers and reviewers) I appreciate that everyone actually takes the time to read my stuff and then leave a review for it. It continuously amazes me that people keep on coming back. Thank you!