Chapter 23
"There will be a shakeup within the roster over the next couple months."
Those were the first words out of Vince McMahon's mouth. Every single person in the room grew silent while staring at him with wide eyes. What did he mean by shakeup? Not a single pair of eyeballs left Vince while he walked slowly back and forth, hands clasped behind his back. Hunter, Stephanie and Shane stood off to the side, each with stoic expressions on their faces.
"Something's missing from the shows. A fire – a ruthless aggression." Vince continued after a few moments of silence, his fists now clenched in front of him and faced all his employees. "Or maybe it's competition. Good old-fashioned, bloodthirsty competition." His voice rose slightly with an edge, eyes flashing. "For those of you who don't know, back in 2002, we had what was called a brand extension – a draft. Different superstars were put on each brand and they only worked for that brand."
"With the exception of the World Heavyweight champion." Shane interjected, folding his arms in front of his chest. This wasn't news to him since Vince had talked it over with him, Stephanie and Hunter prior to this meeting.
"There's been complaints as of late from several of you regarding being pushed and becoming champions. Several of you have voiced your concerns since there's a large roster full of remarkable talent…and I've listened. As of July 19th, there will be another draft taking place, but it won't be on Raw." Vince began to swagger like he usually did in the ring, feeling proud of the empire he built and evolved. "As of May 25th, Smackdown! will no longer be a taped show." He smirked at the sudden murmuring buzz among everyone and continued once it grew quiet again. "From that day forward, Smackdown! will be called Smackdown! Live! And after the brand extension, the Smackdown! Live superstars will be doing house shows on Monday nights while Raw house shows will be on Tuesdays."
Jecina felt the wind knocked out of her at these two game-changing announcements and swallowed hard, wondering what brand she would end up working for. She wasn't a superstar, just a caterer that fed the employees, but Vince thought highly of her. He wouldn't have dragged her from her catering business in Chicago if he didn't. Looking over at Lilianna, she couldn't tell what the woman was thinking and frowned, hoping she didn't end up on the same brand as Roman.
"Now then, there are other announcements, but I will let Hunter and Stephanie take over. Also, one other thing, Shane will be the Smackdown! Live Commissioner once the brand extension happens. Stephanie will run Raw and Hunter will focus primarily on NXT for a while. Each Commissioner will be getting a new on-screen General Manager, but those won't be announced for the time being." Vince stepped to the side and folded his hands in front of him, watching his daughter take center stage amongst the WWE family.
Stephanie smiled proudly, holding her hands out in an extended gesture. "Now I know what you all are thinking. Where are you going to end up and how will this affect relationships within the company. Let me assure you, we will do everything in our power to ensure everyone stays with their loved one, but…it's not guaranteed. Business is business and we always do what's best for business. With that said, the shakeup will begin tonight with a few changes among the superstars. So first, Lilianna Walker please step forward."
Snapping her head up, Lilianna could feel her cheeks tinge slightly red and wondered if this was Roman's doing. He was the company's golden boy; someone they were trying to make into John Cena 2.0. In her opinion, he wasn't nowhere near ready for that kind of responsibility, but Lilianna had kept her mouth shut for the sake of their relationship and love. Look where that got her! Another broken heart and loneliness. Walking through the sea of people toward the front where Stephanie stood, Lilianna could only imagine what this devious woman had up her sleeve.
Stephanie had promised Lilianna a huge change in her character and what she would be doing on-screen once she signed a new contract with WWE. "As most of you know, or all of you, Lilianna planned on leaving us in a few months to pursue other opportunities in the world. However, she has had a change of heart and signed a multi-year deal with us, so she's not going anywhere. I think loyalty should be rewarded. So therefore, as of tonight, I'm teaming Lilianna alongside one of the biggest names in this industry. Names, I should say." She smiled down at the bewildered blue haired woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. "AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson collectively known as The Club."
WHAT, Lilianna's mind screamed, sure her eyeballs had fallen out of her head and felt her jaw drop as AJ Styles with his boys walked up to the front to join her. Her cheeks had turned 5 shades darker and Lilianna vowed to kill Stephanie once this meeting ended. She'd never been a valet of any kind and, last she checked, none of the other women on the roster were eye candy either. Women could kick ass just like the men these days.
"Now before you jump to conclusions, she's not your valet, Styles. She will be your partner alongside Gallows and Anderson. Do you understand?" Stephanie eyeballed the three men hardening, daring them to defy her instructions.
AJ smiled, saluting Stephanie with glittering blues. "Whatever you say, boss lady. We look forward to havin' her in the group."
"Good, it starts tonight. You will go out during her match to watch, no commentary. Just watch and we'll take it from there. She won't officially join you for a couple weeks." Stephanie explained, turning her attention to others while Lilianna, AJ, Gallows and Anderson made their way to the back of the room together. "Now then, next order of business – A&M, please step forward."
Jecina couldn't believe what was happening and could only watch as Jon left her side to walk up to the front, sucking in a silent breath.
"What's up, Princess?" Jon demanded, chewing a piece of gum and leaned against the wall with his arms folded in front of his chest. "Who are we gonna destroy now?"
Dean remained silent, seeing the gears turning in Stephanie's devious mind the same way Lilianna had earlier. He was pretty sure smoke would come billowing out of his Samoan friend's ears at any second after watching Lilianna walk away with AJ Styles and his boys. Honestly, Roman had nobody to blame except himself for losing her, but he would never admit that aloud to his friend. His eyes met Jecina's for a few seconds before turning his full focus and attention on Stephanie.
"Yourselves."
"What?!" Both twins shouted simultaneously, the humor in Jon's voice gone while Dean's held pure shock.
"Oh my god…" Jecina whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and knew this had to do with the upcoming draft. They were splitting Jon and Dean up!
"We're not sure what will happen during this upcoming draft, but…both of you have been chomping at the bit for single's competition. Much like my Dad, I've listened along with Hunter and we've decided you two have run your course being a tag team. We want to see what you both bring to the table separately." Stephanie beamed proudly at this idea, rubbing her hands together. "So therefore, tonight on Raw will begin the dissention of A&M. It will culminate at the next pay-per-view event, which will be the last time both rosters will be on the same show for a while. Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Summerslam and Survivor Series are the only 4 events that will have both rosters together once the draft happens."
"Bout time." Dean muttered, not caring who heard and couldn't wait to embark on this new adventure away from his evil twin.
"Ditto." Jon sauntered through the crowd back to Jecina's side and wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders to pull her against him.
Jecina didn't know what to think about any of this, trying to get over the initial shock of Stephanie's game-changing announcements. A few other announcements were made, such as Smackdown! Live having its own champions in the tag team division as well as a new women's championship being introduced. Gabriella was informed she'd be going after the Raw Women's championship tonight in a #1 Contender's match and the winner would face the current champion, Charlotte Flair. Not a lot of people liked Ric Flair's daughter simply because she used her father's legacy in order to get her foot in the door of WWE. She claimed to work her backside off to get to where she was, but nobody believed her and never would. Gabriella looked forward to mixing it up with her in the ring since they hadn't had a match together since NXT.
Once the meeting ended, Jecina caught up with Stephanie and pulled her aside, worry evident in her emerald eyes. "What happens with my job, Stephanie? I can't do both shows once the draft happens, so which show am I going to be on?" She needed to know and frowned at Stephanie's apologetic smile.
"You'll find out when everyone else does. That's all I can say for now, Jecina."
"Damn it." Jecina whispered solemnly, heading down the hallway toward the cafeteria to start setting up for the night.
What would happen if she ended up on the opposite show as Jon? How would their relationship survive? Didn't the company realize they were screwing with people's personal lives by doing this? Jecina's trust issues with Jon would inevitably surface if they were on separate shows, which also meant their traveling schedules would differ too. They would only see each other 2 days out of the week, if they were lucky and Jon's schedule didn't change his days off. She wasn't surprised when Lilianna met up with her in catering and could see the fury in the woman's eyes.
"This is insane." Jecina didn't know what else to say, pulling her hair tightly so no hair went into the food she prepared. "What are they thinking doing this? Why fix something that's not broken?"
"I don't fucking know, but being teamed up with those jackasses…" Lilianna had to take several deep breaths in through the nose and out the mouth, clenching her fists tightly at her sides. "I'm going to kill Stephanie. She told me she had the 'perfect' way to keep me a vital character on-screen, but THIS? Teaming me up with those idiots isn't the way to go!"
Jecina felt terrible for her friend's rotten luck as of late. First, Lilianna called off her engagement and relationship with Roman and now she was forced to team up with The Club. "I'm sorry, Lili." She murmured, pulling out a huge pot to fill it with water since she was making spaghetti as one of the main courses. "I don't know what the McMahons are thinking. Hell, Stephanie won't even tell ME where I'm going and I'm strictly backstage. This is so frustrating and can you believe what they're doing to Jon and Dean? They're splitting them up, which tells me they'll be drafted to separate brands."
"Oh no…" Lilianna cottoned onto what Jecina said and frowned, her own heart going out to her. "You're worried you'll end up on the same show as Dean, aren't you?"
Jecina shut the water off, leaving the huge pot in the sink and gripped it tightly in her hands, nodding. "That's not all." She hadn't told Lilianna about not telling Jon how she truly felt and it devoured her whole. "It's Jon too. I don't…trust him to be on a different show than me. At least being on the same show, I can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't fuck another woman again…" Her eyes went wide at that confession and immediately lowered them to her shoes.
"Wait a minute…time-out. Back up a second…what do you mean you don't trust him? You've been with him for 2 damn years, even AFTER finding out he fucked Layla before the threesome. And you're telling me you don't trust him because of the past?" This was news to Lilianna. She was under the impression Jecina and Jon had full trust in their relationship, but obviously that wasn't the case. "And I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say Moxley has no idea how you truly feel about him, does he?"
Shaking her head, Jecina felt shame course through every portion of her body. "I love him. I love him so much and I'm in love with him. But trusting him…I've tried letting what he did to me go so many times. I know he's apologized and more than made up for it, but…" Tears filled her eyes as Jon's venomous words pulsated through her mind. "I can't get it out of my head. How he stood there so callous and cold telling me he fucked Layla. I don't understand it. And I know she's gone and doesn't work here anymore, but that won't stop him from sticking his dick in another woman if he wants to. We got together very quickly and he never gave me the chance to be angry at his deception. And I can't tell him…he wants to move in together and start the next chapter of our lives and eventually marry me. How am I supposed to tell him I don't fully trust him after 2 years?"
"Sweetie, sometimes the truth hurts. But keeping this bottled up inside isn't healthy for you either." Lilianna had softened her voice considerably before speaking, seeing how upset Jecina was. "I know you love him and want to forgive him, but forgiveness doesn't come easily. Look at me and that Samoan bastard I gave my heart to for 2 years. If it was that easy, I would've forgiven him for everything he's put me through with his mother lately. If you don't tell Jon, sooner or later the truth will come out and it's going to be when you least expect it. You just have to decide if that's worth the risk. Have you thought about maybe talking to someone about this?"
"No…and what's worse is what happens if I end up on the same show as Dean? He's still in love with me. I'm not stupid, I can tell he wants to be with me, even if he told me we could be just friends. I can see it in his eyes. And the way he called me out at the airport about calling him to help me find you instead of Jon…that was malicious on his part. He's trying to drive a wedge between me and Jon…" Slamming her balled up fist down on the counter, Jecina turned back around to lift the heavy pot and set it on the stove, lighting the flame. "I don't know what to do anymore…"
Lilianna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He can be in love with you all he wants. Doesn't mean you have to be his friend or give him the time of day. And no, I'm not just saying that because he's that Samoan bastard's friend." Looking at the clock, she groaned at the time and knew it was time to go down to The Club's locker room to finalize plans for their angle that night. "I gotta go. Call me if you need me and don't worry, things will happen the way they're meant to."
Watching her best friend jog off, Jecina wondered if those words would ring true after the draft happened.