Chapter 21
With purpose in every step, Roman stormed the interior hall of the arena looking for the one person who could fix this situation. He yanked open the door to catering and flanked by Seth and Dean walked inside. Immediately, the room went silent as superstars and mid-carders alike stopped to look at them.
It didn't matter what they all thought. Nothing mattered except fixing this situation and getting Lexi back. It took only a moment of scanning the room before he found his intended target.
Hunter watched him approach and stood as Roman neared. "I know what you're going to say."
"Do you?" Roman struggled to maintain control of his anger. Putting his hands on the legend wouldn't accomplish anything.
"I know you're upset, but Lexi made her decision." Hunter replied. "If there is anyone who you should be mad at in this situation, it's her."
"Why is that?" Dean asked. "Why should he be mad at Lexi for doing the right thing?"
"Yeah," Seth added. "Why be mad at her when you forced her to make that decision?"
"Do you think I like this outcome?" Hunter snapped. "Lexi is my friend and I love her dearly."
"Well I love her too," Roman shouted. "She sacrificed not only her career but our relationship because management gave her no other choice."
"It wasn't me." Hunter argued. "It was Vince." He glanced around the room, then lowered his voice. "Why don't we go talk somewhere a little more private?"
"I'm not going anywhere." Roman folded his arms across his chest. Dean and Seth followed his actions.
"You're not helping your case, Roman." Hunter warned. "If you cross Vince, he'll fire you too. Do you really want to give up your entire future for some fleeting relationship with a girl you managed to sweet talk into bed?"
A sheet of red filled Roman's vision and in the blink of an eye he had Hunter pinned against the wall. The sound of chairs scraping across the floor told him stars were preparing for battle, but he didn't care as he stared Hunter in the face. "Don't you dare disrespect her like that."
"It wasn't meant as disrespect," Hunter replied, but made no move to fight back. "I was simply trying to make you see the bigger picture. You have a bright future with this company."
Roman's fingers curled into Hunter's shirt. "My future means nothing without her in it. She is everything to me. Don't you understand that?"
For a moment Hunter remained silent, then he nodded. "Yeah, actually I do understand what she means to you, but just because she's gone doesn't mean you two can't still have a relationship."
"Easy for you to say," Chris said from a few feet away. Roman glanced his direction and noted the look of understanding on his face. "Hunter, your situation is a bit different. You married the owner's daughter. You can see her whenever you feel like it. That's not such an easy task for the rest of us."
"Chris is right," Miz agreed. "Most of us have to make the choice, the company or our relationships. It's damn near impossible to balance both and succeed."
"Besides," John Cena added. "Lexi lives in another country. What is he supposed to do, pick up and move across the border?"
"Canada isn't that far away," Hunter replied.
"It's not the same as you moving to Connecticut to be closer to Stephanie," Chris countered.
For several moments, no one said a word then Hunter finally spoke. "Okay, I see your point, but what do you want me to do?"
"Fix this," Roman replied.
"I can't. Vince can be very vindictive when he wants to be."
"So can I," Chris said. "Tell Vince if he doesn't fix this situation then I'm walking too"
Shock rippled through Roman's system as Chris's words took root and he turned his attention from Hunter to Chris.
"She's my best friend," Chris explained. "She's always been there for me and I'd do anything for her."
"That makes two of us," Randy said as he stepped next to Chris.
"Make that three," John added.
Within minutes nearly half the roster, many of them superstars stood behind Roman. He let go of Hunter and stepped back. "Well, it looks like you have a bigger problem. So what are you going to do about it?"
Hunter scrubbed a hand over his face and nodded. "Okay. Okay. You guys win. I'll try to talk to Vince about this situation with Lexi, but-" He held up a hand. "we need to have a plausible storyline ready to present."
Roman nodded. "Her biggest argument had to do with the others on the roster not knowing the truth. Now that they do, I think you could probably do whatever you wanted in front of the camera and she'd go for it."
Twenty minutes later they sat around a large table, superstars looking over their shoulders as Hunter mapped out their idea. "Okay." He leaned back in the chair, looked at Roman and grinned. "This might just work."
"So exactly what's the plan here?" Chris asked.
"Lexi's been maintaining that The Shield didn't kidnap her, but nobody believes her. So she's going to turn heel and join The Shield in a fight against what she sees as injustice. She's experienced that injustice first hand, so she now believes in The Shield's cause."
"That gets her wrestling again," Roman added. "Which is what she really wants anyway."
Chris grinned. "And it puts her back in your arms."
Roman smiled up at his new friend. "That too."
"Now," Hunter said. "I'll present this to Vince and see if I can get him to go for it. If he does, it's going to be your job, Roman to bring her back to us."
"No problem." He looked from Hunter to Chris and then on to others in the group and smiled. "I'll kidnap her if I have to."