Reality (Linstead AU)

Chapter 70

The segment that was going to see the formation of the unlikely alliance between Clementine and Raquel Victoria Gonzalez had been assigned to Jay to produce. He was glad, although he had expected it given that he did most of the producing for the women these days. A few hours before the show, he had called a meeting backstage with everyone involved.

The way the process worked was that the creative team wrote the talking segments of the show, known as promos, and decided the outcome of matches, including specific details of the finish if necessary. The plans were then given to the producers by Erin, who would often add her own requirements or instructions. The producer's job was to relay all of that information to the wrestlers, and to help them construct the rest of the match to lead up to the finish. Lastly, it was up to the wrestlers to actually go and deliver what had been planned, on live TV and in front of an arena full of people.

"Have a seat, ladies," Jay said after all of the women had followed him into an office that he had found to hold the meeting in. There was a wooden conference table in there, around which there were enough chairs for all involved. In addition to Raquel and Clem there were three other women: Hailey Upton, Stella Kidd and Sylvie Brett.

One of the other stories to come out of the previous night's Summerslam show was that Sylvie had turned heel, as Hailey and Stella had done a month or so earlier. The three of them were going to be aligned as a faction, with Sylvie as the leader.

A heel turn for Sylvie had surprised Jay, but he looked forward to seeing her try to pull it off. She had certainly come a long way from the timid woman who had shown up on the main roster doubting her own ability to be there.

As they all sat down, Jay took a seat next to Sylvie, opposite Raquel. He grimaced when he looked at his friend's face. Her eye was now even blacker than it had been earlier, although the swelling had reduced a little. But she wasn't his friend at the moment, she was a wrestler that he and Erin had a duty of care over.

"Before we start, Raquel and Clem, Erin wanted me to make sure you're both good to go tonight. You're both pretty beat up, and you're going to have to get physical again tonight if we go with plan A. If you're not up to it, we can write something else for tonight and save the physical stuff for next week when you've had a chance to heal up."

Clem and Raquel looked at each other, then at Jay. "I'm good to go," Clem said. "Just know that there's a good chance this cut on my head will open up again. It did once this morning."

"I'm good too," Raquel said, not surprising him in the least. "I've been through worse. Let's talk about what we need to do, and get it done."

Jay nodded. "Plan A it is. I had to ask." He went on to lay out what Erin and the team had written for them, which would lead to the formation of the Clementine/Raquel team.

The six of them put together the required segments in detail. In truth, the women did most of the work between them, with Clem taking the lead. She was experienced, looked up to by the other women, and had a good mind for the business. Jay was able to sit there and do nothing more than gently steer them, making sure nothing got off track from what Erin wanted. In about fifteen minutes, they were done.

Jay thanked them and broke up the meeting. He followed them out of the room, happening to be right behind Raquel. Before parting ways, she put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Just wanted to say you're very good at this new job. Don't think I've told you that yet. I'm proud of you."

"Ah, thank you," Jay said, feeling touched. Erin had already said something similar to him, but until now she had been the only one.

"Of course. Catch you later."

"Yeah," Jay said with a smile. They headed off in opposite directions. Raquel was likely going back to the women's locker room, whereas Jay's destination was Erin's office.