"Hey, Raquel. Have a seat," Erin said when the WWE Women's Champion walked into her office. Raquel was wearing simple black pants and a sleeveless version of one of her WWE merchandise shirts, this one in black with a gold RVG logo on the front. She offered Erin a smile, showing no sign of being upset about what had happened the previous day.

"Erin. Congrats again. It must feel great to be the boss?"

"Thank you. Right now, it's a lot to deal with. I'll get there though Forgive me, but we need to get on with this. There's so much to do tonight. Firstly, a ground rule. It's kind of been an informal one anyway. Now it's formal. During work hours, our friendship is not a factor in anything that happens or anything we talk about. I'm the boss, you're the employee. Outside of work hours, I'd like our friendship to remain as strong as it is right now. That goes for Z too of course. Any problems with that?"

"Of course not," Raquel said. "You're the boss now. I don't see how it could be any other way. Something tells me that's not why you asked me to come in though. You want to talk about what happened yesterday."

Erin nodded. "I do. Most importantly, I want to check that you're okay? Both of you, I mean."

"Work time, so you're asking professionally?"

"Right now, yes."

"Alright. We're both okay. What happened won't stop either of us doing our jobs, and I know not to talk about it to anyone so as not to have WWE seen in a bad light by anyone. Not that it should. That's why I'm in here and Z isn't, right?"

"Partially, yes," Erin admitted. "I'm glad you know what I need from you on this." Raquel had a smart head on her shoulders, which was a positive. But the rigid professionalism bothered her on a personal level. Keeping the two separate was hard in a situation like this. It made her feel bad because she had a feeling that Raquel was putting a brave face on things and maybe needed a friend to talk to.

"Alright, I'm going to go ahead and immediately break the rule I just made," she decided. "But only because of the seriousness of what we're talking about. Personally now, how are you holding up? You killed a man yesterday. That has to be traumatic, even for someone with a military background?"

Raquel thought about her answer for a moment. "Honestly? Killing him doesn't trouble me. He put himself in that situation. He also assaulted someone with a gun and threatened to use it to kill people, including me and my girlfriend. What I did needed to be done, so I did it."

"But something is troubling you," Erin observed. It was obvious in Raquel's tone.

"I couldn't sleep last night," she admitted. "Every time I drifted off, I got the same nightmare – that asshole busting into the diner, but instead of pistol whipping that guy he shoots Z in the head. That could have happened, Erin. My Z. She could have been killed, and I wouldn't have been able to stop it."

"But that didn't happen," Erin said in a reassuring tone.

"No, but it could have. That's what I can't get out of my head. I didn't come in here planning to talk about this. Opening up isn't easy for me."

Erin nodded. "I know. I mean, that's why I know nothing about your time in the military, even though we're friends."

"Neither does Jay. Only Z knows about some of the things I've done. I don't like talking about it."

"I respect that. Raquel, as your boss and as your friend, it's important to me that you're okay. The same goes for Z. WWE will pay for counselling, if you'd like to talk to someone about what happened yesterday."

Raquel managed a smile. "That's good of you. Don't think it's necessary though. We'll both be fine, seriously."

"If you're sure," Erin conceded. "On a personal level, I'd like to invite you guys to come out to Eagle's Nest and stay with us for a couple of days. It'd be nice to spend some time with you. Jay would definitely enjoy it. Might do you guys some good to have a short break?"

"I'll talk to Z," Raquel said positively. "Can't imagine she won't be up for it. Should be a good time. Thanks, Erin."

"Of course. Right, business head back on. Report to the conference room. I'll be along to address everyone shortly."

"You got it, boss. For what it's worth, I think you're going to kill it in this new role."

"Thank you," Erin said with a smile. She motioned towards the door, and Raquel got up and left.

Erin took a moment to compose herself before following. In a night full of big moments, it was time for the next one. It was time to address her employees, for that was exactly what they were now. All of them, even Jay, worked for her in order to put food on their tables. That brought her another sense of responsibility. If she ran the company badly and profits dropped, cuts would have to be made. People would be released. Some of them might end up in financial trouble. Erin never wanted that to happen as a result of some kind of failure on her part. If someone deserved to be fired, she would fire them. That was different. It was people facing hard times through no fault of their own that bothered her.

"Not the time to be thinking like that," she told herself, and got up. It was time to find her public speaking ability, and whatever courage she could. The wrestlers wouldn't be inspired or reassured if she came across as a weak, floppy mess at the front of the room. They needed to see their new boss. Someone with a backbone, with leadership qualities, and with a clear vision for the company they all worked for.

Feeling determined, she left her office, finding Clara waiting outside. That was a good thing, since Erin didn't actually know where Severide has assembled everyone. "Show me where everyone's waiting," she instructed.

"This way," Clara said, setting off along the hallway. As soon as they started walking, Severide came around the corner, walking towards them.

"Everyone's assembled, Erin," he reported.

"Thank you. You and Clara will stand with me. I'm going to inform everyone about your ongoing roles."

"Right," Severide acknowledged.

Erin followed Severide to the conference room, where he stopped for a second to let her walk in ahead of him. She found all of the wrestlers, referees, commentators, backstage interviewers and other ancillary employees all sat waiting on steel folding cheers. Conversations that had been in progress were stopped abruptly. Silence descended on the room, and everyone's eyes were on her. Some people looked happy that she was now the boss. Some looked uncertain. A few didn't look pleased. She looked at Jay sitting in the front row, offering her an encouraging smile. Her rock, as always.

Taking her place front and centre, Erin got straight on with her address her, wanting to come across business-like and professional but not authoritarian.

"Good afternoon. I'm sure you've all heard a lot of rumours flying around over the past couple of months, and especially today. The reason you're here now is so I can let you know what the future is going to hold for WWE. As of today, my father Hank has retired from the company."

Noise instantly filled the room. Sharp intakes of breath and people starting to talk to each about the confirmation of the shocking news. In a way, Erin could understand it, but talking over her when she hadn't finished was disrespectful. They would never have done that to her dad, so she knew she had to assert her authority.

"Quiet!" she said loudly, and the room fell silent again. "You can talk about it all you want after we're done here. Now, with Hank's departure, I will be taking over as Chairwoman and co-CEO. My co-CEO will be Lucy Thorne, a businesswoman who is already on our board of directors. You're likely never to deal with her, as I will be running the wrestling side of the business. Earlier today, I made my first major decision. Brian Kelton has been relieved of his duties in Talent Relations, and has left the company."

There were more murmurs around the room. These sounded more positive, so she let it go for a moment. This time, the room soon quietened down without Erin having to demand it.

"Some of you had issues with Mr Kelton, which I was made aware of. I shared those issues. It is my determination to make WWE a workplace where no one has to have those kinds of issues with anyone they work with, much less people they have to report to. This is why I have appointed Kelly Severide as your new Head of Talent relations. Treat him respectfully, and I know he will do the same with you."

"Most of you anyway," Severide said, adding a moment of humour to lighten the rather heavy mood in the room. Erin was grateful to hear the ripple of laughter from the people in front of her.

"This is Clara Strong," Erin continued, motioning to the rather daunted-looking woman beside her. "She is my PA. You'll be seeing her at every TV event from now on. Often, she will be the one who passes on messages or instructions from me. She will be treated with the utmost professionalism and respect. And I do mean that," she said firmly, and she knew her point had been made. She saw some people nodding, perhaps respecting her firmness. After all, she was the boss now.

"As I said, my aim is to make WWE a place where everyone is happy to work. I want the company to grow, I want our audience to grow. It'll take a lot of hard work, but when we all achieve that, we'll all be rewarded for it."

It was a fairly clear hint that she was prepared to offer pay increases to those who earned them. Her words had credibility, as people would soon realise when Clementine's contract renewal and massive wage hike became known to them.

"As far as your day to day work, and TV including tonight, it should be business as usual from your point of view. However, if anyone has any pressing concerns that they think need to be addressed tonight, and need to be addressed by myself rather than Mr Severide, come and see me in my office. Writing team, we'll have our creative meeting in half an hour. There are some changes to make to tonight's formats. Okay, that's all."

With that, Erin turned and walked from the room, which erupted into conversation the moment she finished speaking. Clara followed her, whereas Severide stayed behind, which was a good idea in case people wanted to speak to him right away.

Erin went back to her office feeling pretty happy with her performance. She had gotten her points across well, and had done so without droning on forever and boring everyone. A couple of deep breaths helped her to calm down.

Less than five minutes later, her door opened. Jay walked in, with Severide right behind him.

"We've got a problem, boss," Severide said, walking over to her desk.

"That didn't take long," Erin said dryly, looking up at him. "What problem?"

"Adam Ruzek has walked out. He said if Hank is gone so is he."

Erin closed her eyes and sighed. "Jesus Christ."

A/N: What did you make of how Erin dealt with Raquel, and with the announcement she had to make?

Her next problem to deal with didn't take long to arrive. How did you think she should deal with Ruzek?