Choices

Cassie wondered around for a bit trying to find a TV. It wasn't long before she was approached by a blonde girl who she recognised from TV. She went by the ring name of Billie Kay. "Are you looking for someone?" she asked , this girl seemed very friendly and Cassie was just relieved to have someone to talk to. " I'm here with my uncle , Paul Heyman, he told me to find somewhere to watch the show , but ummmm.." she looked around uncertainly. "Oh don't worry come with me we have a TV in the girls locker room , you can watch there". Cassie followed her and she couldn't help but feel a little nervous as they went in. There was a group of girls there, Bayley, the Riott Squad , and Peyton Royce. They all eyed her curiously. " This is Cassie , she is Paul Heymans niece , she wants to watch the show" Billie explained. All of the girls smiled and said hello. By now it was almost time for the main event and she couldn't help but feel nervous as she waited for the match to start. "So your uncle working with Roman, that's pretty exciting, did you get to meet him yet?" Peyton asked. " Yes , we met earlier" ,Cassie didn't want to mention anything about writing for Joe or the character change. "What did you think of him?". Cassie saw they were all looking at her with interest . "Seems like a nice guy, I only spoke to him for a little bit". Bayley stood and looked at Liv " Looks like she is in the clear , you can breathe again Liv". The girls laughed , that was when she noticed the blonde Liv had been looking at her suspiciously. Peyton grinned " Sorry , some people in this room know Joe a little more than others, we were just checking which side you were on". They giggled. Cassie didn't want to take part in any gossip, she thought Joe was married but maybe this was something that had happened in the past. But she knew Liv was fairly new to WWE . It wasn't her business so she didn't push it. "Maybe if he wins the title tonight, he will want a repeat of last week Liv" Billie Kay teased. Liv shook her head " Sssh , guys seriously" Liv said. Cassie had her answer, whatever was going on with Liv and Joe was happening right now.

The ending of the main event had everyone buzzing. There was no doubt now , Roman Reigns was a cowardly heel who was Miles away from what he originally was. Cassie had been watching twitter as the event went down and again people seemed really invested in this new Roman. She was glad she had trusted her gut , and her wheels were already turning about what could they do next. When her phone rang and she saw it was Paul , she excused herself and went to find him, he directed her to what they called the Gorilla position and saw both Vince and Joe were laughing and patting each other on the back. "Here she is" , Vince called proudly . He had changed his tune, someone must have been telling him about the fan reaction. "Great call Cassie, I am eager to hear more. But its late right now, let's meet again next week and see what's next for this young man". He clapped Joe on the back and strode off . Paul put an arm around her protectively "You did good kid, looks like you got yourself a new job". The colour faded from Cassies face immediately "No, I can't do this full time Uncle Paul, you know that , with Aubrey and...". Paul caught her arm " Don't say no , sleep on it. I can come over tomorrow and talk to him". Cassie sighed " He is away for the weekend...with work". Joe watched as Paul set his jaw , he could tell something was off about this whole situation "Hey" he said gently and they both turned to him surprised as if remembering he was there. "How about we all get some sleep and maybe we can meet tomorrow all of us and work it all out". Cassie turned her eyes to him "I'm sorry I can't do this". She walked away. Joe looked at Paul "What Is up with her?". Paul let out a long-suffering sigh "It's not a what , its a who. Look get some sleep I will talk to her tomorrow ".

The next day Cassie agreed to go see Paul once she collected Aubrey from school. Travis would be back that night and Paul didn't really come around much when he was there. Marla , Paul's wife , adored Aubrey and would be happy to see her. They all lived quite close to each other in Orlando so it wasn't too much of a drive. Once they got to Paul's house she unbuckled Aubrey and straightened out the little girls blue sun dress. "OK honey let's go". She took Aubrey by the hand and they walked onto Paul's porch. She heard voices around the back so decided to follow them. To her surprise sitting on the chairs out back with Paul was Joe , she knew immediately that Paul had organised this purposely to make it harder for her to walk away. As if sensing her glaring at the back of his skull he turned at that moment. " If it isn't my little princess, come here Aubrey and give Uncle Paulie a hug" , she ran and jumped excitedly on his lap as Paul pretended to shout in pain ."Oh my goodness you are getting too big , how was school?" . Aubrey had just noticed Joe and buried her head shyly in Paul's shoulder "Good" she said in a small voice. Joe smiled at the cute little girl "Hey Aubrey, that's a very pretty name" he said to her and she moved her head a little to look at him. " Aren't you Roman Reigns ?" she asked straight out. Joe looked up at Cassie for a second " She watches some Fridays , just for Sasha Banks" she said pointedly . If he picked up on her jibe , he ignored it " Sasha Banks is very cool" he agreed. This seemed to please Aubrey "Where's Aunt Marla ?" she asked . "Making some snacks in the kitchen , why don't you go help her while I talk to your Mom", Paul asked , rubbing her head affectionately . Aubrey trotted off obediently. When Cassie heard the door close she rounded on both men " I agreed to talk to you Paul , I don't know why He is here". Joe did a double take, then bit his tongue, this girl was really starting to irritate him. " I am here to try and see if we can work things out" he said evenly. For the first time that day she made full eye contact with him, Joe swallowed nervously. "How about you mind your business" she said rudely before turning and walking away towards the kitchen .

"Paul , listen I am as curious as you are to find out what's going through her head for this Roman Reigns character, but frankly, Cassie seems really irritated with me and I don't know if working together is really an option". He went to stand. "Sit down Joe , let me tell you a little about Cassandra. That girl is as soft as they come". Joe snorted with laughter "That girl? The one who told me to mind my own business". Paul wore a serious expression " Its a defence mechanism , she is not in the best situation in life , she gave up everything to be a mother and a wife. To a guy , who, frankly , doesn't deserve any of it. This project was my way of giving her a life line, a way out. She loves to write , man can she tell a story. And a taste of this life has been given to her. I thought she would take it with both hands, but she is too busy worrying about Travis so herself comes last again. Maybe you can talk to her ?". Joe was incredulous "Me, Uh Paul , in case you haven't noticed, she sees not seem to like me at all". Heyman looked at him " The only other person who was so animated when discussing this new character development was you , the excitement and fire in your eyes was the same look that Cassie had when she was telling me the ideas. Between the two of you , I am sure you can figure it out. It's what you both want". Joe sighed Paul was right. He hadn't been this excited in years about trying something new , and Cassie had been the brainchild behind that all. He would try.

Joe took a walk around the house and found Cassie sitting on the front of the porch in an old rocking bench. He plopped down next to her , his large frame causing the swing to move wildly and creak. Cassie glared at him " Uncle Paul has had this for years , if you break this..." he cut her off. "Why don't you like me?" he asked out straight. She looked perplexed and he watched as her expression changed. " I never said I didn't like you" . " Well it seems that way" he said quietly . Cassie let out a long sigh . " Listen, whatever obstacles that are in your way for this job , I understand. I don't expect you to drop your life , I am willing to work with you, if that means last minute Thursday night script writing , I will spend Fridays refining and practising before we tape the show. If you can only do days when Aubrey is in school , I will schedule time in. For now it's just me and Paul that are part of this and we will work around you. I know what it's like with kids". She turned to look at him and saw for the very first time since they met that he had a lovely smile. His eyes were kind , she had overlooked that. "Thanks , how many kids do you have?". Joe smirked and she could tell he liked to talk about this "Five" . Cassie's eyes widened " You have 5 kids" she whistled , and he laughed . It was a nice sound. " Yes I do , so I get it OK, whatever you can make work , besides Vince has often wrote the script while the show is airing , trust me you can do this". He seemed to have confidence in her , it wasn't something she was used to hearing from anyone except maybe Paul. " Why are you being nice to me , I was a total bitch to you today". His eyes met hers "The truth? I have a gut feeling this change in character may bring great things for me in my career. And that idea came all from you , so I guess I owe you one. I can take some venting its a small price to pay".

"I will have to discuss it with my husband first" she said. Paul's words were fresh in Joe's ears. "Sure , and listen change can be hard for everyone , but from what I hear you are an amazing writer. It would be a shame to waste that talent". Cassie was touched by his confidence in her , she turned to look at him again, as she did the motion caused the swing to creak again and before they knew it , they were on a pile on the floor , the swing coming down around them. Joe had managed to shield the blow somewhat for her by getting his elbow under her head . When they hit the ground he sat up almost immediately leaving slightly over her " Oh my god , are you OK?". He asked. Cassie couldn't help it , she threw her head back and laughed loudly. It was an infectious sound , and her entire demeanour changed when she smiled, she showed dimples on her cheeks that he had not seen before and she seemed a lot more approachable, he couldn't help but join in. When Paul, Marla and Aubrey came out to see what the commotion was they found Joe and Cassie lying on the porch in a broken swing laughing hysterically. "Mommy what happened?" Aubrey asked . Joe managed to untangle himself and put a hand out to help Cassie up. She took it and he pulled her up "I guess you were right that thing couldn't take both of us. Sorry Paul, I will pay for the damage". Paul had been watching the scene with interest , whatever discussion they had , it looked like the tension between them had subsided. " OK Aubrey , let s go. We got to get home cause Daddy will be back soon.". She looked back at Paul " I will see what we can work out" she finally relented . She made eye contact with Joe and again stifled a laugh as he was trying to clean up what was left of the swing. "Make sure you clean that up properly" she joked. He smiled " Yes M'am" he said with a pretend salute