Mike's not thrilled. He qualifies for MITB against Jeff Hardy, and then the man gets a second chance at the match? Against fellow loser, Daniel Bryan, no less. It discredits all that he's accomplished. But there's not much he can do about it, so he stares at the ceiling and counts down the hours until he'll be returning to the road.
"I can't believe it," AJ mumbles sleepily from her place on the bed next to him. He hums, stroking her arm, and she sighs. "Just thinking how much things have shifted from me being GM to Paige being GM." She hesitates. "God, she's your boss right now." She looks up at the dread spreading over his face and bites down a giggle. "Hadn't realized that before I said so, huh?" She leans up and kisses him softly. "Well, you survived me as your boss, I'm sure you can survive her."
"God, I hope so," he mumbles, closing his eyes. "I don't know how I'm gonna handle this. I don't really..." He breathes out. "I don't like her. After what she and Del Rio did to Ricardo... as if he hasn't been through enough lately." He mulls over it. "But I'll be the same level of professional I always am, I guess, when I absolutely have to deal with her."
AJ does laugh here, stroking her fingers down his face. "Then you're definitely in trouble, husband."
"I know." Groaning softly, he presses his face to her shoulder, kissing the soft skin there. "Help me."
She laughs, kissing his temple. "Would if I could, husband." She hugs him tightly and just holds him until he pulls away slowly, kissing her. "It'll be alright. Trust me."
"Always," he murmurs, smile growing despite his discomfort with everything going on in his professional career right now.
-x
His worries prove somewhat founded when he gets nowhere with MizTV, trying to needle the New Day into announcing which member will be competing at Money in the Bank... just to end up escaping the ring to avoid them. He makes it all the way to gorilla when Paige herself stops him. Neither says a word, just stares at each other, tension and dislike palpable in the air. Finally he grits his teeth and turns back around, realizing she's not going to let him off of the hook. He finds himself in a match against Big E once he makes it back down to ringside, a referee waiting for him and everything. Kofi and Xavier swap at commentary, sometimes rushing up to feed Big E syrup while acting like it's boxing or something as ridiculous as that.
It angers him, causes his focus to be scattered enough that the match goes on way too long. He can't deny in the end that the biggest assist in his scraping out a win would be the Bar, Cesaro and Sheamus causing enough of a distraction that it's easy enough to hit the Skull Crushing Finale on Big E to victory. When the three of them make it backstage, Paige is still standing there with that disapproving look on her face. She stares them down, then informs them in a terse voice, "Next week, the three of you will be facing all three members of the New Day."
Cesaro nor Sheamus seem bothered by the prospect, which is pretty much how Mike feels. After looking back and forth between Paige and Mike, Cesaro swats Sheamus and he finally takes the hint, following his partner through the halls to escape the tension coming from the two of them. Mike doesn't appreciate them bailing like that, but he simply blinks lazily at Paige and then shrugs. "Nice seeing you," he says without a small amount of sarcasm, turning to head back to his locker room.
"Mike, wait," she calls out before he's taken even a handful of steps. He freezes, listening with a grimace as she walks up to him. "We should talk."
He turns to stare at her, weary but calm despite his simmering anger as he recalls everything Ricardo's told him and the few things AJ learned from Alicia. "What do you want now, Paige?"
"You have every right to be angry with me," she says quietly. "I'm beyond angry with myself. Ricardo was-is- a great guy, he loved me more than I deserved, and I threw it back in his face- with his best friend... his brother, no less." Her dark eyes shift away. "Part of me feels like this forced retirement was kind of... karma due to my actions. I deserved it." She straightens her shoulders, clears her throat to shake away the emotions trying to drown her. "So I just want to let you know, I'm going to continue doing my job as general manager, so I will do my best to make things fair for all of the other wrestlers but you can act however you want to me, say whatever you want off-camera. I won't hold it against you professionally." Her dark lips twitch up, and he watches her for a few moments. "You get a free pass."
He scoffs, shakes his head. "You're still a piece of work, huh?"
"I don't know any other way to be," she confesses lowly and he sighs. "Just tell me one thing. Is Ricardo..." She falters, swallows hard. "Is he happy?"
Mike stares at her coolly. "I'll be right back." He ducks into his locker room for a moment before returning to her, holding his phone out.
She quietly takes it and stares at the screen, lips parting as what exactly she's looking at registers with her. "Oh," she says quietly. Alicia leaning against Ricardo on the beach, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist as she shows off her engagement ring in the bright sun overhead. Both are relaxed, grinning into the camera, and Ricardo is more comfortable in his own skin than she ever remembers seeing him. She traces his face with her eyes before closing them and handing it back to Mike. "Thank you," she says.
He frowns at her, guilt and sympathy mixing with the impatient and disgust he still feels fo for her, squeezing the phone in hand, before turning and leaving without another word said.
For the first time in a long time, he can't think of a damn thing to say.