Chapter 11
Claire was back in school and was actually making some great friends. Well, great friends for friendships that were left in the classroom anyway. She still wasn't able to let anyone get that close to her, anyone except Matt that is. She didn't know why it was so hard to get over the hateful words from her ex-husband and over the physical blows that he had delivered. It was the beginning of October now, nine full months had passed since she had packed up her things and headed to her mothers front door, wounded and broken. Nine months was a long time and yet she still was wary of anyone of the male species.
Leaving the University of Tampa campus one day after being back in school for about three weeks, Claire grabbed her phone and dialed Matt's number from memory. He answered on the second ring and sounded out of breath. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Nope I was just finishing up my daily jog, you're fine sprite," he said using his nickname for her. "What's up with you?"
"I was hoping that you weren't busy later and that you would come over for a beer and some steaks on the grill. I got some big news today and I want to talk to you about it and see what you know about the place."
"I'm free tonight; I can be there in say an hour. I need to shower and all that good stuff."
"Great I'll see you then," Claire said and hung up. Once at her house she ran upstairs to change clothes and then she fired up the grill. Matt would be there in half an hour so she wanted the grill ready to throw the steaks on when he got there. She tidied up the living room and put away the dishes from the dishwasher just as he pulled in the drive. She walked out to the back patio and put the steaks on the hot grill as he let himself in the front door.
"Hey Sprite, what's the big news? Well I guess I assume it's big since you called me over here," he laughed.
"Come on out to the patio, the steaks shouldn't take long to cook and I've got us both a cold beer waiting. Grab those plates off the counter on your way out here too." Claire flipped the steaks noting that they would be done in a matter of minutes.
Matt walked out and sat the plates on the table then walked over to kiss Claire on her cheek. "How's school going?"
With a deep breath she smiled. "Good actually, that is why I called you over. Let me get these slabs of meat on the table then we can talk while we eat." She speared each steak and placed one on each of the plates. Sitting down across from Matt at the outdoor patio table she smiled again.
"Okay," he said taking a bite of the tender, juicy steak. "Talk to me girl. Tell me the news so I can be proud and excited for you too." His eyes danced in laughter even without him actually laughing. She loved how they did that.
"Well, you know last quarter I had taken an extra class or two just to get ahead, and I applied for an internship. Well it wasn't really a specific internship, just a general application so that the school could find me a place to go and intern. I wasn't picky where, it's not like I know what anything is around here really anyway. So I found out today that I got accepted to intern at a company here in Tampa! I got my schedule cleared with Sadie because I have to be at this place Friday's and Saturday's both so I've had to cut my hours at the café and add on an afternoon during the week. Now that I've totally rambled on in excitement I'll let you talk," Claire laughed.
He raised his beer in a toast and said "Well cheers to that Claire. Where will you be at for the internship?"
Swallowing down a gulp of the rich heavy alcohol she said, "It's some company called FCW, that's all I know. I have an address to get there Friday night but beyond that I really don't know anything about it."
Matt almost choked on his dinner at the mention of FCW. Claire had no idea what she was getting into with this thing. He did. FCW was the company that he worked for, it was where Stephen worked, and it stood for Florida Championship Wrestling, more than that it was going to be a living hell for Claire. Now was the time to tell her what he did for a living, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Truth be told, he was scared to lose what she had become in his life.
"Sounds like a great opportunity," Matt said. "Did they tell you anything that you would be doing?"
"Just that I would be working with the employees to get a feel for who they were, their strengths and weaknesses and then form a strategy to help them promote themselves within the company to facilitate advancement. It seems like it will be a big task but it's nothing that I can't do. Besides, I will be earning credits toward graduating."
"So you're going to be working one on one with the employees it sounds like. Should be a good way to get to know some people," Matt said. He couldn't help but wonder how she would react Friday night when she realized what it was that she was now involved in. "How about I pick you up Friday and drive you in to the office? Then when you're done we could go out to a celebratory dinner if you want too."
"Sounds good," Claire said taking a sip of her second Guinness. They talked some more and once the sun had finally set into the horizon Matt stood, stretching toward the sky and began gathering the dinner dishes. Inside the kitchen he silently thanked the stars that he wasn't scheduled for Friday, and neither was Stephen. He hoped that would make it a bit easier for Claire, to ease her into things a little better. He said his goodbye, hugging Claire and kissing her cheek. Friday would be here before he was ready and he had no idea what would happen come the discoveries that awaited her on that day.
Friday rolled around and Claire met the day with excitement. She was ready to see where she would be spending her weekends from now on. This was the start of her career and that alone was enough to warrant excitement. She never thought that she would have seen this day; much less that she would be doing it on her own, without her husband by her side. She heard a horn outside and knew that Matt was there to take her to the FCW building and she grabbed her purse and after locking up and making sure that everything was turned off headed out the door.
"Are you ready for tonight," Matt asked her when she climbed in the car.
"I am, even if I'm nervous. I mean what if I mess up or if I'm not what they really need ya know?"
Matt shook his head and thought that it wouldn't be that FCW didn't need Claire, but that Claire wouldn't need the atmosphere that was FCW. Again he thought that now was the time to tell her that he got paid to fight basically, and once again he let the chance slip by without saying a word. "I think you will be just what they need, and if your not then they are insane."
Ten minutes later they pulled into the parking lot and Claire leaned over to kiss Matt's cheek. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to do these days. "I will see you in about four hours, and thank you again for being so damn wonderful."
Claire climbed out of the car and when she closed the door Matt let his head drop to the steering wheel. "Wonderful, yeah okay, lets see how wonderful I am when she figures this entire thing out. She's going to hate me."
Claire took a deep breath as she pulled open the heavy doors heading into the building. Inside looked like an old warehouse of sorts and held the faint smell of sweat. Claire headed to the large desk to the left and rang the bell sitting on the heavy oak. A thin, athletic female came out of the office behind the desk and smiled.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"I hope so, I'm Claire Ryan and I'm supposed to be starting my internship here today."
"Of course, give me just one moment Miss Ryan." The girl smiled broadly and walked back through the door leaving Claire to stand there wondering what kind of business she was working in. She hadn't expected the warehouse type of building that she had found herself in, and it had her curious about the job, more than ever.
A few minutes passed by and the girl returned followed by an older man who extended his hand to her. "Hi Claire, I'm Steve Keirn and I'm the head guy here at FCW. Why don't you come on in my office and let's talk about what you're going to be doing here?"
Shaking his hand Claire followed him into the office and took a seat in the chair across from him. She kept her purse in her lap and nervously fidgeted with the straps. He took his seat and folded his hands on top of his desk never losing his smile. "Claire, tell me a little bit about you. I noticed on your application for the internship that you haven't been in the Tampa area long. What brought you here?"
"Well Mr. Keirn, I went through a divorce and just felt that a change was in order. My mother told me about how much my father had loved it here so I made the decision to relocate to where he was the happiest." Claire thought of her dad as she did often and smiled. He would be so very proud of her.
"So do you think that Tampa could become a permanent home for you?"
Nodding Claire said, "It already has I think. I love it here and I can't see me anywhere else."
"I only ask because this position, while it is an internship now, could become a permanent thing if, when the time comes, you would be agreeable to that. Now tell me, what do you know about this company?"
"In all honesty nothing really, but I can learn quickly and am willing to do just that."
The older man gave a short chuckle and said, "That is just fine Claire. Why don't I tell you about us and what we do here?" When she nodded he went on. "FCW is a developmental company and we work and are owned by WWE. You know of that company?"
Claire shook her head. "No I'm sorry to say that I don't. It sounds familiar and I feel like I've heard it somewhere but I couldn't say where."
"WWE is the top sports entertainment company in the world. Here at FCW we train and develop the talent that will eventually head to the big time and spotlight the shows. These guys and girls put in a lot of time and they are determined to live their dreams. This is where those dreams begin, and it's where many end. That's where you come in."
At the mention of the word sports Claire cringed. Go figure that she would land an internship somewhere involving sports. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, or what she was expecting, since he had added on that entertainment bit. "Okay, what exactly will I be doing?"
"Basically you will be working with the crew here to build up their characters, and show them ways to market that character to make people want to see it." Taking an 8x10 glossy from his drawer he laid it on the desk so that she could see it. "Take this girl for example. She has incredible talent and she has major potential to go far in this business, but she has no gimmick. She loves wearing her feathered boas and that whole movie star glamour, which isn't a bad thing at all. She just doesn't know how to work it all into her character and make it work. That is one thing that can kill a career. You're here to help people like her create a marketable character or to better one that is already in place."
Claire nodded her head and thought that it wouldn't be an easy job but that it was definitely something that she could do. "I think I can handle that with no problem at all. Will I be starting with someone tonight?"
"I like that you're eager. Tonight I want to introduce you around to the guys and girls who are here and let you start getting to know who you will be assisting. You are going to be working with three people at once, so it's going to be quite the task. If you're ready though we can head to the locker room area and get started."
Claire stood as he did and followed him out of the office and down a long hall. "Mr. Keirn, will my lack of knowledge about the business affect the way that I am able to help these people?"
"In all honesty I think that it will actually benefit them. It will help you be able to approach it unbiased." He held the door for her as the entered a large open area with what looked like a boxing ring in the center of the room. Her nerves went crazy.