A/N: Thanks for the love on the story so far. Sorry about the late update.

Happy belated New Year.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T ANYTHING BUT THE OC AND PLOT.


Ghosts Of Days Gone By
Tension


Summer was sitting in the production area looking over things for the show. She wanted to make everything in tip top shape. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone take a seat beside her. She wasn't too enthused about who graced her with their presence.

"Hey, Kiddo," The Game greeted.

"Hey," Summer deadpanned. "Can I help you with something?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I wanted to apologize to you about Wednesday," Hunter responded. "I'm sorry that I didn't hear you out like I should've. The show was about to start and I didn't want any drama or distractions. Considering that you aren't a part of the NXT process, it was just easier to get rid of you at that time. I should've actually waited to hear you instead of just booting you out of the building."

"Thank you for your apology," Summer nodded. "I am sorry for letting her get to me. It wasn't appropriate for me to act the way I did on Wednesday whether or not I started the argument; which I didn't by the way."

"I know. Some of the crew told me what went down after you'd left. It was kind of unnecessary for her to bring up Edge wasn't it?"

Summer sighed. "She knows that's the only way she can get under my skin. I think she takes pleasure doing that."

"If I need to… I'll talk to her about her actions this past Wednesday," The King of Kings offered.

The youngest McMahon child shook her head. "No need for that. I appreciate it though." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for having my back ninety-nine percent of the time."

"Of course, kiddo. That's what I'm here for." He ruffled her hair. "Good luck with the show tonight. I'll be lurking around here if you need anything."

"Thanks, Hunter," She smiled. She was glad to be back on good terms with her Brother-in-law again because she honestly didn't know what she would do without him.


Randy wasn't at the show tonight, which meant that Summer didn't really have anybody else to talk to. Sure she was friendly with a lot of the roster, considering they worked under her, but she didn't hang out and have full fledged conversations that lasted for hours with them like she did with Randy.

She appreciated his friendship even after all those years ago they dated. She was happy for him that he got married again and was happier than ever, but whenever Randy would talk about his wife and kids, it made her think about how she didn't have that. It ate her up inside. She was thirty-seven years old and had nothing to show for her existence that long on earth.

Her best friend, Nikki Bella, finally had a baby in her womb after wanting to be a Mother for so long. Summer was over the moon for her bestie, but it made her realize she wasn't even close to having that.

Stupid life. It just wasn't fair to her.

"Summer!" Her wallowing in self-pity came to an end when she heard her name get called. She looked up and saw her Dad approach her. He didn't look too pleased. He slammed the scripts of the show on the table she was sitting at. "What kind of bullshit is this?!"

Summer frowned."That bullshit is all the hard work I put into the show." She got up from her seat so she could look Vince right in the eyes.

"You have Brock opening the show with Drew getting the upper hand. You have Rhea attacking Charlotte. You have Undertaker in the middle of the show. You have Becky and Shayna getting into a physical brawl. You have Edge going on last. I don't like this. This is all wrong."

"Dad, the show is getting ready to start in an hour and half!" Summer exclaimed. "I've already had the producers give out scripts for tonight's show."

"Well, we're going to have to give them a new script. Because I had a different vision for the show."

Summer rolled her eyes. She was intrigued to know what Vince's "vision" of the show was. "Oh, Daddy Dearest, please tell me this vision that you have." Her tone was mocking and it didn't go unnoticed by the Chairman.

"I don't appreciate the way you're acting right now, Summer."

Summer raised her hands exasperatedly in the air. "How am I acting? You're the one who's wanting to change the show at the last possible minute. That's super unprofessional, Dad. You should come to the shows earlier so you can look over the scripts and we can revise way in advance."

"I'm the Chairman, damnit! I can do what I want!" The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut with a knife. "I want the show changed because I'm not satisfied with how it is. Brock should go on last because he's the WWE champion and I don't want him and Drew to interact at all, I want Charlotte to look strong before her title match, I want Undertaker to start the show because he will draw in our opening audience with good numbers, and I can't believe that you were stupid enough to have Edge close the show over Brock. And having Becky and Shayna be physical with each other before Wrestlemania? Are you trying to give away that match on free television? What were you thinking?"

Summer felt herself visibly shaking. It took everything in her not to yell at her Dad. She let out a deep breath. "You want to know what I was thinking, Dad?"

"I asked you, so tell me what you were thinking."

"Okay, here's what I was thinking: I was going to have Brock open the show because I know he likes to leave early and having Drew get the upper hand on Brock would help Drew look like a credible threat to Brock before Wrestlemania. I had Rhea attack Charlotte so Rhea could look like the badass that she is going into Wrestlemania. I wanted to give fans a preview of how physical Becky and Shayna could be.. It's not like they would be wrestling a whole match. And I wanted Undertaker in the middle of the show between 9:30-10:00pm because he would be a good ratings boost for that time because that's when our ratings tend to drop. Lastly, I wanted Edge to go on last because everyone is the most hyped about Edge and Randy's feud. Edge is also a ratings boost so he would've given us strong ratings for the last part of the show."

"I'm still changing it. You better give everyone a heads up that there will be changes made to the script."

Summer huffed. "Fine." With her heels clicking on the ground, she went to talk to everyone she needed to and let them know about the status change of RAW.


Adam went looking for Summer. One of the producers told him that he wouldn't be closing the show anymore. He wondered what was up with the sudden change. He saw Hunter. If anyone knew where Summer would be, it would be The Game. "Hunter." Adam called out.

The Game turned around and came face to face with the man who once dated his baby Sister-in-Law. "Adam. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need to talk to Summer. Do you know where she is?"

Hunter nodded. "I do, but it wouldn't be in your best interest to talk to her right now."

"It's about the show."

"Okay. Whatever you need to tell her, you can tell me."

The Rated R Superstar sighed. He knew Hunter wouldn't give away Summer's whereabouts that easily, especially to him. "I was originally going on last, why am I all of a sudden going on in the middle of the show?"

"Talk to Vince. He's the one who modified the whole script right before the show. So, if you have any issues, he's the one you need to talk to."

Adam ran a hand through his hair. "Summer didn't have anything to do with the script change?"

"Nope. She was the one who fought for you to go on last along with everything else that was in the original script."

Speak of the devil: out of nowhere appeared Summer. It appeared to Adam that she had been crying and she was trying her best to mask that she had done that. "Hey, Adam. Everything okay?"

"I should be asking you the same thing."

Hunter wrapped an arm around Summer's shoulders. "C'mon kiddo. Let's go get the show on the road. I'll sit in production with you tonight to ensure that nothing goes awry."

Adam watched as Hunter and Summer disappeared down the hallway. It seemed like The Game was doing everything he could to ensure that the Rated R Superstar couldn't interact with the youngest McMahon child. He wasn't sure why, but that thought didn't sit well with him.


RAW had officially come to an end, so Summer was currently walking down the hallway and talking on the phone with her best friend. "Nikki, I can't believe my Dad criticized me, pretty much called me stupid, and then completely changed the script."

"I'm sorry, Sum. If it's any consolation: I liked your version of RAW better."

"Thank you," Summer smiled. "I'm trying my best to improve the show but it's like Dad is refraining me from doing so. It's beginning to feel like 2016 all over again." 2016 was the year that Summer had decided to take a hiatus from wrestling. She was tired of always taking a backseat to Shane and Stephanie and fighting with Vince over creative decisions.

"Keep hanging in there, Summer. Things will turn around for you."

"I certainly hope so." She heard Brie Bella in the background call out to Nikki. Summer took that as her cue that Nikki would have to get off the phone at any moment."I guess that's your cue to go."

"Yeah. Sorry that I couldn't talk for long."

"No worries. I know you're busy."

"I'll talk to you later. Love you, Sum."

"Love you, Nik." She ended the call and put her iPhone in her Michael Kors purse. She saw Adam talking on the phone once she got outside in the parking lot of the Performance Center. Deciding to be friendly, she gave him a quick wave as she passed him.

He hurriedly got off the phone with the person he was talking to and approached Summer. He knew now would be a perfect time to talk to her since she was by herself. Maybe he could actually get what he wanted to say to her off his chest. "Hey, is it okay if I talk to you?"

Summer nodded. "Sure."

The Hall of Famer nudged his head to an empty area of the parking lot. "Can we talk over there? I don't want to talk to you in the middle of the parking lot."

Summer nodded and followed him. "So, what's up?"

"First of all: I wanted to tell you in person that I'm sorry for the confrontation that happened between you and my wife the other day. Second of all: I heard from Hunter that Vince was the one who changed the script at the last minute. I thought it was you who did it and I wanted to fuss you out." The mere thought of him fussing out Summer over something she wasn't even responsible for made him feel guilty to the core.

"Thanks for that, but you shouldn't have to apologize for how your wife acted. And, yeah, if it was I who decided to flip the script at the last minute, then it would be totally justified if you fussed me out."

Adam nodded. "Thank you for fighting for us…" He inwardly groaned to himself on that dialogue blooper. "I mean the wrestlers. You've always been someone that the superstars could count on to be an advocate even if nothing got changed."

Summer smiled. "Of course. I'm going to fight even harder now that I'm the Executive Director of RAW."

"I believe it. You're the only woman I know who has the balls to stand up to Vince McMahon."

"Really?" Summer giggled.

"Yeah."

There was a tension in the air so thick that it could be cute with a knife. It wasn't the same tension that Vince and Summer had earlier, it was a sexual tension lingering in the air. It didn't help that Adam and Summer were standing close to each other in a deserted part of the parking lot.

"So," Summer started. "I'll see you around. Or on social media… since you know… we are mutual followers now."

"Right."

"I should probably head out."

"Thanks for giving me a chance to talk to you."

"No problem." She nudged her head to where her private vehicle awaited her. "My chariot awaits."

"Let me walk you to your vehicle since it's late and dark out," Adam offered.

"Okay," Summer nodded. "Thank you." The two walked in silence to Summer's vehicle. She thought it was sweet of him to walk her to her vehicle considering everything that had transpired between them. "Thanks for walking me to my vehicle." She opened the door and tossed her suitcase into the vehicle before getting into there herself. She and Adam exchanged friendly waves before her driver drove her out of the parking lot.


A/N: Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.