Chapter 46:
"Ah, Haley!" Mike Adamle looked up from the paperwork he had been sorting through, to greet the brunette Diva enthusiastically, just an hour before RAW was due to air. "Come in, come in." He gestured her into the room with eagerness.
Haley closed the office door behind her and turned to face the new RAW GM with a raised eyebrow. Her hair and make-up had already been done for that night's show; all she had left to do was change into her wrestling gear. For now, she had chosen to dress for comfort in a pair of gray Triple H lounge pants and an old frayed 'Just Bring It' zip up hoodie.
"You wanted to see me?" She had been confused since earlier that afternoon when she had arrived at the arena only to receive summons to Adamle's office at eight pm.
"I did." He nodded vigorously and pat the leather couch he was seated on, an indication that he'd like her to sit beside him. "Sit down, please, get comfortable."
His over-excitedness and want for her to be in close proximity would normally creep Haley right out. Guys that happy usually turned into the weirdest ones to be around. But General Manager or not, you'd have to be really stupid to want to offend the girlfriend of the Animal. And with that thought for comfort, she lowered herself onto the couch, as far away from Adamle as was possible while being discreet.
"So I've been making big plans for Summerslam." Adamle continued, once he assumed she had gotten comfortable. "I've got some great matches coming up."
"I've noticed." She remarked dryly crossing one leg over the other. "Your main event is certainly, enthralling. I mean, there's a lot of history and drama there."
"Ah," He beamed proudly. "I assume you're referring to the John Cena versus Dave Batista match, quite a blockbuster, no?"
She grit her teeth to bite back the irritation. "I'm sure it will be a match for the ages."
"That's the plan. I wanted something really big to start off my career as General Manager." Adamle resumed speaking, not taking notice of his companions annoyance with that particular subject. "I've been putting some more matches together for Summerslam as well. I wanted to make RAW's matches to be real crowd pleasers."
Supressing an eye roll, Haley feigned support. "I'm sure you're doing a fine job." She commented with fake sweetness.
"Thank you, Haley." His eyes lit like the fourth of July. "Now your story interests me very much, and from the fans reaction to you, I gather they love your story as well. You pushed yourself to limit to earn the Women's Championship and then you were screwed out of it, twice! Naturally, that has to make you angry and it makes the fans angry on your behalf."
Haley frowned at him quizzically, not exactly seeing where he was going with this. He was a peculiar little man after all.
"I would like to give you that opportunity of revenge you've been seeking." He clarified, looking quite pleased with himself.
Haley instantly perked up. "I'm getting another title shot?" She asked hopefully, her mind already steps ahead of her, planning the most painful way to knock Mickie unconscious for the three count.
"I'm afraid not." He frowned sympathetically, once he realized what she had been thinking. "Unfortunately Haley, because you lost your rematch in the technical sense, I need to provide someone else with a chance for the title just to be fair. If the next contender is not successful you'll certainly be back in the running, or you'll be back in the running should they succeed, but for now, a title shot is out of the question."
"Oh." Haley instantly deflated.
"I'm sorry." He apologized sincerely. "Plus, Beth Phoenix and her friend Santino Marella came to see me earlier about title shots, so I made another Adamle original. Beth and Santino will be taking on Mickie and Kofi in a winner's take all match at Summerslam. There's always Unforgiven." He added.
"Right." Haley nodded, though no emotion was expressed in her voice.
"But, after watching your tag team match with Kofi against the Burchills last week, I can deliver Katie and Paul to you at Summerslam. After all, they are the ones primarily responsible for your losses. It's revenge, a dish best served cold." He chuckled at his own joke.
"All right." She sighed resignedly.
"I'm making this an inter-gender tag team contest." He explained further. "And to really give you an opportunity for revenge, I'm making it a no disqualifications match."
"Okay." She eyed him skeptically. "So then, who's my partner?"
"Well, that would be up to you." He looked at her as though he were giving her Christmas early this year. "It will be a partner of your choosing."
"I'm screwed." Haley informed her boyfriend as she emerged from the bathroom, now dressed for the evening in black wrestling pants and a red bra top. "I have no partner, you have a match at Summerslam, Kofi has a match at Summerslam, Rey is MIA, John's facing you, I'd rather die than ask Chris Jericho and all my other friends are on SmackDown!"
"No you're not." Dave rolled his eyes at her dramatic tone. "We have two weeks, we'll find you a great tag team partner. You'll beat the hell out of Katie and Paul it will all be over."
She snorted and looked at him dubiously, placing her other clothes back in her bag. "Are you kidding me, Dave? This is so far from over! Until my belt is back around my waist and I thoroughly kicked Mickie, Paul and Katie's ass to the point where they never come at me again, it will never be over. She stabbed me in the back, and now she gets to reap benefits, I don't think so!"
"Easy Hales, calm down!" He lowered his voice into a more soothing baritone, seeing his girlfriend get more and more upset. "Let's try a segue here, who do you have in mind for potential partners?"
"Right now, Charlie Haas." She shook her head and mumbled under her breath. "I'm screwed, I'm telling you. Because you see, this is now a no disqualifications match, so Paul Burchill could cheerfully beat me over the head with a steel chair and not get called out for it."
That particular mental image was not at all comforting to the Animal, who felt his own anger begin to stir at the thought. "You could also kick him in the balls." He pointed out, liking his own idea much better. "That would at least make it more of a Diva match since he's intent on wrestling you."
She laughed. "I never really thought of it that way."
"Well, you should." He chuckled. "It made me feel better."
"Unless I get a really kick ass partner within the next two weeks, nothing about this match is going to make me feel better." She sighed. "Screwed."
"Charlie!" Haley's voice carried down the hall as she chased after the former half of the self-proclaimed World's Greatest Tag Team.
Charlie Haas paused in mid-stride to glance over his shoulder. He shot her a teasing smile and stopped to wait for her. "Well, if it isn't the little heartbreaker?"
She looked up at him in confusion. "What?"
He shook his head to disregard the comment and laughed. "It's nothing." He assured her. "Just a stupid Cena thing, no big deal."
"Okay…" She eyed him curiously for a moment, before letting it go. "So," She began conversationally. "What are your plans for Summerslam?"
A grin stretched across his face from ear to ear. "Adamle gave me the night off! My mom's birthday is coming up, and I always miss it, but I haven't seen her in two months. So I figured it was worth it to ask. Regal would have told me to piss off. Man, Adamle is such an improvement."
Her expression flaltered slightly, but she tried not to let her disappointment show. "Yes, I suppose he is."
"I heard he gave you a match though!" He nudged her playfully. "Pretty cool guy. Doing stuff like that."
"Yeah." She shifted her weight uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Pretty cool." She repeated.
Charlie glanced at his watch and winced. "Oops, I got to jet, Haley." He informed her regretfully. "I've got a date tonight. Good luck tonight and if I don't see you before, good luck at Summerslam too."
"Bye Charlie, thanks." She waved him off, groaning as he disappeared around the corner. "My God, I am so screwed!"
A/N: Quite the dilemma for our heroine no? She's got Eve plotting against her, and now she has to find herself a tag team partner for Summerslam. What's a girl to do?
Review replies will hopefully be up soon, I appreciate everyone's love and support. And patience for my retarded email account.
Up next, Haley confides in Hunter and then she's saved by a mystery man? Who is it? Could it be...? You'll have to review to find out.