Chapt. 6

Claire arrived at the arena earlier than needed for that nights Smackdown taping. She wanted to get a jump on her client's profile. She'd gotten a text from Steve that afternoon that the two profiles she had requested the night before were waiting on her in her email inbox. She was more than eager to see if these two guys were going to be what she had hoped that they would. Her gut kept telling her that they were a perfect complement, that missing element to the character of Roman Reigns. She hadn't been able to shut her mind down all day, it had been in overdrive working out her plans and then reworking them all over again. She was seeing how it would all come together and she was pleased with the way that it was playing out. Now if reality would only support what was inside of her head.

She walked into the employee entrance and immediately searched out her office space. As soon as she located the right room she set up her laptop, thankful to see she had a working office for tonight's event. Opening up her email, she located the message with the files that she was looking for and clicked them quickly to open it. She saw the two attachments, one labeled Seth Rollins and one labeled Dean Ambrose. She chose to click on Seth's profile first, and then his interview disc. When it was done she clicked to open his working file before doing the same with the Ambrose attachment. She scribbled notes in her legal pad throughout both attachments and by the time both had finished playing she had at least six pages of scribbles that she would have to go through and decipher into logical ramblings. Before she would be able to get to that however, her grumbling stomach told her that she needed to feed her body.

"Ah, the workaholic takes a break at last," Nic said from behind her. She was headed toward catering and was still lost in the thoughts of work. She didn't hear anyone coming up behind her.

She turned, attempting to control her breathing after the scare he'd given her, and flashed him a cool smile. "My tummy was grumbly. In fact it was so loud that I couldn't hear my own thoughts over it any longer. Come to catering with me? I have some ideas to bounce off of you."

"Yes ma'am, lead the way kiddo."

Minutes later they were seated at a table in the back corner, away from the eyes and ears of anyone who might wonder in to indulge in the goodness of catering. Claire took a bite of her burger and chewed slowly, savoring the greasy goodness blended with the perfectly melted cheeses. Swallowing, she washed it down with a long drink from her tea before saying, "Okay so, I've never met these guys face to face but I'm sure you have so I think you may be able to give me some insight that I do not have yet. My newest file is on Roman Reigns. He's damn impressive no matter how you cut it. I mean his hair, oh dear God what I'd give for that hair!"

"Claire, focus. Why are we here?" His eyebrow was raised and he had that smirk on his face that you never quite knew how to read.

"I was making a point. Anyway, he's impressive, but… I don't know Nic, it's like there's something not quite there yet, some missing portion to what this guy should be."

Nic nodded slowly. "I can get that actually. Yes, he is damn impressive as you said. He has that size and the looks that will carry him. He's very eager and willing to learn. Best thing is he takes direction and criticism and uses it to better who he is."

"I picked up on that. He has a desire and passion that is tangible almost for this business. Even with all of that I still just feel like there's something missing. I watched two other files tonight. One for a Seth Rollins, and one for a Dean Ambrose."

His head jerked up and he shook it slowly. "Claire those are three totally and completely different guys."

Staring into space, Claire nodded thoughtful, almost as an afterthought. She sat silent for a moment, in her mind seeing it all come together despite the three individuals drastic differences in almost every aspect of their being.

"What are you thinking?"

Shrugging, Claire said, "I see the three of them as a unit. Each of them bringing out the strengths in each other. I'm thinking an almost militant type force."

Nic's eyebrow went up again and he gave her a wildly skeptical look. If he was honest he thought she was going to bomb with this idea. He could usually see promise in her plans and gimmicks and could clearly picture how they would work. But this? It was just too scattered for it to work. Maybe once she saw them live and spoke with them one on one she would see that too.

"Don't you give me that look, Nic. I know what you are thinking and you are wrong. I'm heading to the performance center this week to meet with them and get a better feel, but just wait. You're gonna see that I am right on this."

"Prove me wrong then kid."

Claire's flight touched down at eight-thirty the next morning in a rainy and grey Tampa. She headed straight home for a nap and a shower before she hopped in her Jeep and headed to the WWE Performance Center over in Orlando. It felt like, these days that she spent more time there, or in route to or from, than she did at home. It was near two hours just one way. Lately she had been giving thought to a move, especially since she was at the performance center practically every single day that she was at home. She loved Tampa but it made more since to be in Orlando since that was where work was. The only thing holding her back right now from a definite decision was her having just told Matt he could move in with her.

There was no time to dwell on any of that as she parked her car in the parking lot of the performance center. She grabbed her book bag, she refused to use a briefcase or anything resembling adulthood, and her laptop case and headed toward the front door. Opening it up she was thankful for the gust of ice cold air that greeted her. It was a welcome relief from the heat outside. She savored the air as she walked down the hallway to her office. Her name was even on the door, it was that official. It was still a great feeling to see it there. She walked in and quickly fired up the computer there on her desk. She did a fast review of her notes then grabbed a fresh legal pad and a pen before heading out to the gym area.

Turning the corner she walked straight into a broad… well she couldn't even say chest seeing as how she was staring at a spot between the man's chest and stomach. He smelled amazing, that was her first thought. She let her eyes move up to find his, and was surprised when they moved much slower than intended. Her breath caught when they finally met his however. He had the most beautiful melted chocolate eyes that she had ever seen. Then it hit her who had stopped her in her tracks. This was her newest file, this was Roman Reigns.