Chapter 16
Jon had set his food on his lap and kicked his feet up on the coffee table, sipping his beer. He would have to thank Joe for stopping to get some. Joe currently sat beside him on the couch and copied what he did, both of them bumping their fists together eating. Kavari walked over to grab her and Colby's food, starting to sit beside him, but the man had other ideas. He gripped her hips and pulled her to sit on his lap, kissing the side of her neck.
"Where's the woman with the plan?" Colby asked chomping on a fry, noticing Jon sitting on the couch without Bianca and knew they had another falling out.
"Right here." Bianca said quietly, holding the phone in her hand and sat down in one of the chairs away from Jon, pressing a finger to her lips to silence everyone. "Go ahead, Mrs. McMahon. We're all ears."
"Good evening everyone." Linda McMahon's crisp gentle voice flowed over the speaker of the cell phone. "I apologize for this call being so late, but I had to wait until I was completely alone. As you are all aware, I have been informed of what my husband and Bryan Danielson have done to all of you. Now, I do not condone what you've done to the two women, gentlemen, BUT – I'm willing to overlook it. You can thank Bianca for that. She was very convincing and defended all 3 of you to the fullest of her abilities. Now then, getting down to the business of dealing with my husband and Bryan Danielson. I'm sure all of you would agree that firing Danielson is simply too good for him, not to mention basically a slap on the wrist. I have convened with my daughter Stephanie and her husband, Paul Levesque, regarding this situation as well. They had no idea what was going on because Vince did not bother informing them. Therefore, I have decided to turn FULL control over to Paul and Stephanie effective immediately. There will be an announcement on Raw of Vince's forced retirement, whether he likes it or not. He has to get out of the business because all he's doing is making people's lives miserable and breaking the law. As for Danielson, I'm thinking there should be a special handicapped match in the future on Raw, after the pay-per-view and you gentlemen winning your titles. Leati Joseph and Colby, you both will be crowned the new tag team champions and Jonathan, you will be crowned the new United States champion that night. The following Monday night on Raw, the charade can drop because the opening segment will be Vince's forced retirement followed by Danielson's 3-on-1 handicapped match. Does that sound like a fitting punishment to you, Bianca and Kavari?"
Bianca had the biggest smile on her face, her electric blue eyes lit up like stars as she nodded eagerly. "A million times yes, Mrs. McMahon. Thank you so much."
She tried keeping the excitement out of her voice and covered her mouth with her hands, feeling the biggest wave of relief crash over her. All eyes turned to Kavari, awaiting her answer. Colby rubbed her back gently, watching Kavari stare at the phone chewing her bottom lip and chuckled, kissing the side of her head.
"Go ahead, tell her if you agree, baby." He murmured quietly, nuzzling her neck. He had absolutely no problem with beating the shit out of Danielson for everything the punk had done to them, not to mention his own baby sister.
"Yes ma'am, I do. I just want to make sure my father doesn't get punished for any of this. He's worked for this company for almost 20 years and this place has been his life. I know he had nothing to do with it." Kavari leaned further against Colby, soaking in his warmth. "I agree with it all." She tuned Linda out while staring into Colby's beautiful chocolate orbs. "Mr. Soon-To-Be One Half of the Tag Team Champions, Dad held that title a few times with my Uncle Mark and a few other partners."
Jon smirked, grunting along with Joe and bumped fists again like a couple of cavemen. "Mrs. McMahon, we're up for the task." He couldn't help noticing the huge smile on Bianca's face, making her even more radiant.
"Very good, I'm glad you all approve of these plans. Kavari, I have already spoken with Glen regarding this situation and he will not be punished. I am sorry, but we had to question him to make sure he was not involved in the heinous actions of my husband and Bryan Danielson." Linda informed her, hearing her sigh of a breath of relief and smiled. "Now then, this is regarding both Bianca and Kavari. I think the WWE universe would love to see the Shield with the two of you on their side. You both have shown you can handle anything that is thrown at you, including being abducted in your own homes. So, I'm offering you both WWE contracts that will be permanent. It will come with benefits and the pay will definitely be something you'll have a hard time passing up. You will both be permanent valets of the Shield and, if you wish, we will train you both on how to wrestle so you can enter the Diva's division. That is your choice though. I am just laying the offer on the table."
All Bianca could do was gawk at the phone, the smile gone from her face replaced with her dropped jaw, electric eyes wide in bewilderment. Did she just – did Linda McMahon just offer them WWE permanent contracts?! Bianca swallowed incredibly hard and looked up at Kavari, who automatically agreed. Christ, the pressure was on her now. All this time she thought she'd be able to go home, to disappear without a trace and leave the WWE behind. Now, an opportunity had be presented to her that was unlike any other and could set her for life and beyond.
"W-Would it be alright if I took a little time to think about this, Mrs. McMahon?" She asked weakly, feeling faint and felt her chest constrict, desperately needing some air.
"Of course dear, you take as much time as you need. The offer will remain on the table until after the Raw where your brother will be in the handicapped match, no outside interference whatsoever, against the Shield."
"T-Thank you." Bianca squeaked out in a stammer and felt her legs begin to tremble.
The call ended a few minutes later after Linda went over a few things with Kavari, which Bianca drowned out because she was too busy trying not to hyperventilate. Finally feeling as though she could stand up, Bianca stumbled to the room and closed the door behind her, immediately opening the balcony door to inhale the fresh air outside, only standing in the doorway. If she fainted, that would be a nasty fall that would kill her instantly if she went over the railing.
"WOOHOOOOOOOO!" Colby crowed as soon as Linda McMahon ended the conference call and lifted Kavari in the air, spinning her around in circles. He loved the sound of her squeals, both of them completely ecstatic about the sudden turn of events. "My Shield woman! MY Shield woman!" He reiterated and emphasized the word 'my' because that's exactly who Kavari was. HIS woman and nobody would ever take her away from him. "Bros, we fuckin OWE Bianca, man. Seriously, I thought we were goners when Linda called! She really stuck up for us even after all the shit we put her through. You've gotta convince her, Kavari. You've gotta convince her to stay with us. She belongs here, you both do. It won't be the same with just one of you, though I'll take what I can get as long as I'm with you."
"Get a fuckin room." Joe grunted, trying to sound disgusted, but he was honestly happy for Colby and Kavari, shaking his head as he finished eating. Thank god their careers were safe, he could finally breathe and sleep easier at night.
Kavari found her heart again after Colby had spun her around in circles and walked over, shoving Joe's head to the side. "Get used to me, Ape Man. I'm gonna be around for a while." When he gave her a fake glare, she returned it with a smirk and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Get over it. I wonder if I could talk to Linda about a different stipulation in my contract. Don't get me wrong, but I don't want to be a wrestler. I've never wanted to be one. I have a degree as a cosmetologist, maybe I could still valet for you guys and fix hair in-between. Besides, someone has to take care of these dead ends for you, Joe." She picked up a couple strands of his thick black hair and looked at them closely with scrutinizing eyes.
"Leave my hair alone, woman." Joe growled, folding his arms in front of his chest and knew he couldn't stay mad at the woman. She was so full of life and her laughter was completely addicting, not to mention her smile. "Welcome to the Shield." He placed a hand on her head and shook it gently, messing around with her, a smirk tilting his lips.
"Hey Colby, calm down the decision is entirely up to Bianca. And no one will convince her to do anything she doesn't want to." Jon stated, defending Danielson's sister because he knew Bianca wouldn't take the contract.
There was no way she would. She wanted to go home and forget any of them existed. Jon finished up eating and grabbed his beer off the table, heading out on the balcony for a smoke. He leaned against the ledge and lit up a cigarette, inhaling the nicotine as it filtered throughout his big body and exhaled smoke out of his nose a few seconds later. It didn't take a genius to know Bianca wouldn't be staying after what would be always dubbed: Monday Night Raw Humiliation Shield Style. As much as he wanted to go in there and beg Bianca to stay, Jon knew none of it would do a bit of good. He could see the longing in her sky blue eyes to be home and Jon wouldn't deny her anything.
"I'm heading to bed. Please keep it down because if your antics wake me up, I'm tossing your boy toy over the railing. Keep an eye on Jon too." Joe disappeared into his room and closed the door behind him.
Colby rolled his eyes at Joe's gruffness and knew he would warm up to Kavari eventually. "Come on baby, there's a few things we need to discuss." He lifted her over his shoulder again, this time not smacking her ass, but he did squeeze it gently. Jon would be fine, he wanted alone time with his woman, kicking the door shut behind him.
Once Bianca had enough air, she closed the balcony door and felt her stomach rumble violently. She was starving. Her food was still out in the sitting area…where Jon was. Frowning, Bianca contemplated what she should do and suddenly squared her shoulders, refusing to let a man deny her food. She laid down the law to him, so it wasn't her fault if he didn't listen. Knowing Jon, he wouldn't. He was that stubborn of a man. Grabbing her food, Bianca didn't notice anyone around and suddenly spotted Jon on the main balcony, her heart clenching painfully in her chest. Did he want her in the Shield? Would they be able to maintain a purely platonic relationship? Bianca chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully and decided to go talk to him about it, carrying her food with her. She tapped on the balcony door and slid it open, catching his attention.
"Mind if I join you? I want to talk to you about a few things, unless you want to be alone." He gestured her forward and Bianca sat down at the small table on the balcony, the cool night air feeling wonderful against her skin as she pulled out her crispy chicken sandwich.
"Not at all." Jon gestured to a seat and sat across from her, lighting up another cigarette. "Eat first. Talking can wait until you finish. I'm not going anywhere." He was pleasantly surprised she came out to sit with him, but a feeling in the pit of his stomach told him he wouldn't like the talk they were about to have.
Bianca smiled appreciatively and proceeded to eat her sandwich and fries, taking her time so she didn't end up with a stomachache. They had a long drive ahead of them tomorrow to make it to Smackdown!, so going to bed with a bad stomach definitely couldn't happen. Once she finished eating, Bianca placed her wrappers in the bag and turned her attention to Jon, folding her hands in her lap.
"I wanted to talk to you about the contract offer. I don't want anything to be weird between us if I decide to take it. This abduction situation has taught me one thing and that is I have to stop isolating myself from other people." As much as she loved her home in Aberdeen, it was time to start joining the land of the living again besides going to the children's hospital. "I have to live my life the best I can without Myron because I know he wouldn't like what I've done for the past 5 years. I know you…mentioned having some kind of feelings for me and…I just need to know if we'll be able to work together. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be forward like this, but my head is going a million miles a minute. So, what do you think about this?"
Jon leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, smoke filtering from his nose and mouth. He could tell this woman 1,000 things, but right now he had to say the right words for her. "Linda McMahon doesn't give out job offers easily. If she's offering you and Kavari a job, it's because she sees potential in both of you. Whatever you need me to do for you to be comfortable working with the company, I'll do it." It would kill Jon, but he'd do whatever Bianca wanted and avoided the subject of his feeling altogether because they didn't matter, at least to her. There was no point in talking about them. "Because you're right, Myron wouldn't want to see you the way you've been living. I mean, yeah you need your time to mourn, but locking yourself away from any other human contact is unhealthy. When I first came and abducted you, you were pale and looked like a ghost. Now, a week later, you're radiant. You are completely different than you were a week ago. I like this version of you much better, truthfully."
Something inside of Bianca told her that Jon was only saying what he thought she wanted to hear and not the other way around. This wasn't Bianca's first rodeo and she knew the wrestling business pretty well. Something told her that since Jon had favored her in the whole abduction situation on-screen that the company would want to continue that. Especially when they beat Bryan down, they'd more than likely want her involved and to incorporate her personal life as far as being Bryan's sister into everything. That meant she would be Dean Ambrose's love interest on-screen. Bianca wanted to point all of that out, but she just kept her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself.