"Clem. Come in and have a seat," Erin said pleasantly.
"Boss. There's a lot of talk in the locker room," Clementine said as she walked in and sat down. She was dressed casually in one of her WWE merchandise hoodies and a pair of jeans, and of course her usual baseball cap. To Erin she seemed more relaxed than the last time they had sat down for a conversation about the contract situation. That had to be a good sign.
"I'm sure there is. I'll be gathering everyone together to address them shortly. Before that, following our previous conversations, I wanted to sit down with you." In front of her on the desk was a leather bound folder with the WWE logo on it. She opened it, to reveal the contract that was inside. "Tomorrow, in reality as of earlier today, I'm the Chairwoman and co-CEO of WWE. I'd love to be able to mark my first day with the huge announcement that you've signed to stay with us."
"You taking over wasn't my only condition for re-signing," Clem pointed out in an even tone.
"I know," Erin assured her. "The other thing you need me to do is fire Brian Kelton. I'm about to do something I really shouldn't, which is to call him while you're sat here and do exactly that."
"Oh," Clem said, immediately smiling. "It's wrong, but I'm totally here for it."
"Just so you know, this is a one time thing. The only reason I'm handling it this way is so that you know how seriously I take the issue of racism. In return I expect you to make it known in the locker room that I take it seriously, without talking about what's about to happen. We both know you're one of the leaders in there, so help me by leading and putting down any unrest that might come up. Are we agreed?"
Clem nodded. "Absolutely. As I said before, all I wanted to achieve was fair treatment for all. I was prepared to walk away and speak out if that was what it took to help everyone else. I'm glad I'm not going to have to do that because I really do love wrestling. Just so you know, you're already very highly regarded in the women's locker room. You don't need my help with that, but if I do have anyone come to me complaining, I'll tell them what I think – That you'll be a breath of fresh air in this place."
It surprised Erin how touched she felt by that. Knowing that her employees, at least the female ones, held her in high regard was a real boost. As she had already told Kelly Severide, making WWE a place where people were happy to come to work was her number one priority. "Thank you for saying that. It means a lot, truly. Now, I'm going to call Kelton. As you can imagine, there's so much I need to do today."
"Of course," Clem said, making herself comfortable, ready to hear the man who had almost caused her to quit wrestling get what was coming to him.
Part of Erin did feel bad for doing something unprofessional like this, however if it meant that minutes from now she had Clementine's signature on the new contract, it would have been more than worth it. She picked her phone up from the desk and navigated to Brian Kelton's cell phone number. It only dawned on her as she listened to the ringing tone that her little plan was going to off the rails somewhat if Kelton didn't answer.
But he did.
"Erin. I figured you'd be calling when I saw Hank's tweet. Didn't think you'd be this quick off the mark though."
"I didn't know he'd posted it yet," Erin said truthfully. Her dad's retirement from WWE had now been announced to the world, apparently. She could tell by the background noise that Kelton was in his car, likely driving home. "I wanted to show you the courtesy of calling you straight away, to let you know that I'm going to be taking Talent Relations in a different direction, and I'll be exercising the release clause in your contract. Today will be your last day with the company. I'll have any belongings from your office sent to you by courier."
"You can't fire me, Erin, because I quit. There's no circumstance in which I'd want to work for you, having to watch you ruin what your dad and I spent so many years building."
Erin ignored the attempt to get a reaction out of her. "You can't quit because, as I said, I've released you from your contract. Any possessions you have in your office will be shipped to you. Have a nice night." With that, she ended the call before Kelton could say anything else.
There was a smile on Clementine's face. "That was pretty good. Asshole got what he deserved. I've always strongly disliked those release clauses you put in every WWE contract. Today, I'm definitely in favour."
Erin smiled back, then leaned forward and put her hands on the desk. The big moment was upon her. "They can be useful. Speaking of contracts, I believe I've delivered everything I promised you."
"Who will be running Talent Relations?" Clem asked, still not committing to anything.
"Kelly Severide has agreed to take it on."
Clem mulled that over for a moment, then nodded her approval. "Good choice. That'll work. Let me read through this thing."
Erin watched Clem pick up the folder with the contract inside it. She had a lot to do, which meant that spending time watching someone reading wasn't ideal. But Clem was only doing the smart thing – making sure everything was as agreed before she put pen to paper.
A couple of minutes dragged by. Erin felt tense, but she tried not to show it. Eventually, Clem put the folder down on the table and looked at Erin. "Looks good. I'll sign it."
Erin smiled and handed over a silver pen that she had been holding, ready and waiting.
"At one time I thought there was zero chance of this happening," Clem commented before signing on the dotted line with no fanfare at all. Just like that, it was done.
"I'm delighted we got it worked out. Thank you, Clem."
"No, boss, thank you. I never wanted to have to stop doing the job I love. It allows me to try and inspire people. If one young person watches me and decides that if I can live my dream, they can live theirs, whatever it is, then it's all worth it."
"Come here," Erin said, getting up. She wanted to have strong personal connections with her employees, at least the most important ones, so she was happy to seal the deal with a hug rather than a handshake.
Clementine stood up and they hugged each other. It was a tight and genuine embrace.
"Anything you need from me, you've got it," Clem promised before the embrace ended. "You're a good person, and you care. That's so refreshing."
Erin looked her in the eyes. "It's good that you feel that way. Because now I'm the owner, you're my team captain in that women's locker room. I don't just need you to perform, I need you to lead the other women. Be there for them. Help them develop their skills."
"Will do. It's something I take pride in."
An idea came to Erin. Contract renewals were usually done at the office, where professional photographs could be taken afterwards for release online. In the past, it had been Hank posing with the wrestler in question as they shook hands, with the wrestler holding their brand new contract in the branded leather folder, just like the one currently sitting on Erin's desk. Now it was time for the first such picture of her era in charge, and it was going to be with Clementine of all people.
"Hey, let me get my PA in here. We need to get a picture."
"We do," Clem said, apparently keen on it.
Erin went over to the door and opened it, finding Clara waiting outside, as expected, with two cups of coffee in hand. She knew not to interrupt a meeting that was in progress. "Clara, come in here and take a picture."
"Of course."
Shortly, Clara had her phone ready, and Erin stood beside Clem, who was holding the folder with her new contract in it.
"How's that?" Clem asked Clara, making sure she was posed properly.
"Looks good."
Erin offered her hand and Clem took it, as both women smiled for the camera. Clara's phone make the camera shutter sound several times.
"I took a few to make sure."
"Thanks, Clara. And thank you, Clem," Erin said. "Again, I'm so glad we got this worked out. Would you mind locating Raquel and sending her to see me?"
"Not at all. Then I'll make sure all the girls get to the conference room for your address in plenty of time. Severide mentioned it."
"Right. I'd appreciate that. I'll put the contract announcement out tonight after the show, so please keel it quiet until then."
"Sure," Clem said agreeably.
That brought the meeting to a close. Clementine put the folder back on the desk and left the office.
Erin didn't have time to waste feeling elated about the hugely important deal she had just pulled off. There was a lot more to do. First, check in with Raquel to find out how she and Zelina were doing after the armed robbery that had ended with Raquel killing the perpetrator. Then there was the address to do, where she would have to convince everyone on the roster that WWE was going to become a better place to work under her leadership, not a worse one. What kind of reaction she was going to get, particularly from the men, she had no idea.
"Clara, draft a tweet about Clementine signing a new contract, but do not send it to the social media team yet. I don't want it going out until after the show tonight."
"On it, boss," Clara said, going to work on her tablet.
Meanwhile, Erin took the spare few moments before Raquel showed up to send a text to Jay. He knew how important re-signing Clem had been to her, so he would know what a big deal the news was.
'It's done. Clem signed,' she wrote, adding an emoji of a smiley face with a bead of sweat above it.
A reply came back almost straight away, as was nearly always the case with Jay.
Jay Halstead: Yes! You're amazing, honey. Only you could have done what you've just done. I'm so proud. Love you.
Erin bit her bottom lip for a second, not wanting to tear up. Jay's words often had a strong effect on her, as they were now. But she couldn't dwell on it. Instead, she replied.
Thank you so much. Love you too. Got to go, Raquel's about to come in.
A/N: I figured this was the best place to put a cut in. Erin's first day in charge is taking a few chapters, but it's such an important moment in her life that I feel it should be covered fully.
How much of an achievement do you think it was that she managed to get Clem to sign the new contract?
And how do you think Raquel and Zelina are really coping with what happened?