Reality (Linstead AU)

Chapter 83

Before getting into the discussion about Clementine's character changes, not wanting her to think their day was going to be all business, Jay decided to pose a question. He waited until they were sitting in the living area, Jay on one couch and Clem on the other, each with their coffee cups in hand. In order to get to the question he had in mind, he had to refer to the trip he and Erin had made to the Performance Center.

"So, I think I told you Erin decided to call up Kylie Estevez, right?"

"Yeah, you did. Said she's going to be on the team with me, Raquel and maybe Maya, if she does end up coming back to WWE."

"Erin really wants that to happen," he said, implying that it was important for Clem to do what she could with Hailey Upton to encourage her to change her mind a d get past her stubbornness.

"I'm working on it."

"She thinks there's a lot of money in Maya working with you, or against you for that matter."

"I'm working on it," Clem said, a little more forcefully this time. 'Don't keep pushing me when I'm already doing it' didn't need to be added. It was moments like that from Clem that caused Erin not to get along with her very well, whereas Jay knew she didn't mean anything by it. It was just how she talked. To him, it was relatable. He realised the conversation had quickly gotten away from the question he had wanted to ask.

"Anyway, when Erin told Kylie about the call up she was quite emotional. Then Erin told her she was going to work with you and she broke down. It was obvious that working with you meant more to her than the call up. It was striking because getting called to the main roster is such a massive step in a WWE career. Seeing her reaction was a profound moment for me." He stopped speaking, then realised he hadn't ended up asking a question at all. Nonetheless, his thoughts were out there for Clem to comment on. She looked humbled, he thought.

"Something changed when I was out with the knee injury, Jay. Before then, yes I was doing good work, I was popular with the fans and I did my best to be friendly and help people in the locker room when I could, but when I came back it was different. For whatever reason, I was looked up to more, respected more. Maybe the girls missed me when I was gone? I know the fans did. Then the whole thing happened with my contract situation and me deciding to leave WWE. We don't need to re-hash all that."

"No," Jay said thankfully.

"Erin might not like me for doing that when she was new to the top job, but in my opinion it was a stand that needed to be taken. It was a stand for respect and better working conditions for female wrestlers, and for black wrestlers. Since then, the rest of the girls act like... I can't find words to describe it."

"They revere you," he said, proud of himself for finding that word.

"I guess," Clem said uncomfortably. "Honestly, it's so bizarre to me. As far as I'm concerned I'm just a kid from Chicago who grew up with nothing. I was never special at anything. My grades in school were average at best. I sucked at baseball, much as I loved it. Basketball I was no better at. Got into wrestling because I loved watching it, and I had no particular desire to try any other kind of work. Now I make two million a year, and every woman who walks through the door in WWE looks up to me. They seek my approval, they seek my advice. They come to me with their problems. The treat me like a role model, like a sister, like a leader, even like a mother at times. Don't take this as me complaining because I'm really not, it's just... it's just... a lot to carry," she choked out, suddenly on the verge of tears.

Shit, Jay thought. The last thing he had wanted to do was upset her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to... I was actually going to ask how you carry it all."

"I don't know," she admitted quietly, shaking her head. In those moments, Jay saw a really vulnerable side of Clem. The heavy burdens she carried for WWE weighed greatly on her, he saw. Probably more than he, Erin or anybody realised. Yet she continued to do it without a word pf complaint, which said a hell of a lot about her. A true role model for people. The kind of person part of him he wished he could be.