Post by Pax Stormcrow on Jul 1, 2024 2:34:47 GMT
Pax walked up to the hotel room door and took a breath before he lifted a hand to rap his knuckles against it. After a moment, he could hear footsteps inside before the door swung open to reveal a short woman, her thick brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail wearing a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. She narrowed her eyes at him behind a pair of wingtip glasses that were perched on the tip of her nose.
“Took you long enough.”
“Sorry, traffic was a nightmare.”
“Sure, sure. Come on in, Pax.”
She turned on her heel and flounced into her hotel room to take a seat on the couch before grabbing up a takeout container full of noodles.
“Fortunately, Charlotte will be fielding a lot of follow up from her upcoming interview. That should give you time to do some work while you’re here. If that’s ok with you.”
Pax sighed softly as he followed her into the room, taking a seat facing her.
“Look, I know I got responsibilities here too. I haven’t shirked any of them yet.”
“No, you haven’t. But your behavior may have damaged the image so ya better act right in these meetings.” She reached over to pull out a manila folder and tossed it onto the table. “This is a run down on Japanese business culture. Read it. For the day time meetings you just gotta stand around and look cool. Sanada-san and myself will handle all the business details. The first meeting shouldn’t be a problem. We already have a business deal with them. We are just negotiating a new deal with a higher yield. Sit and look pretty in the meeting. Then we have lunch after the fact where you put that charm and those pretty brown eyes to use. We got them a suite for the Rising Sun’s show, so you’ll need to put in an appearance there. Maybe come up and entertain them for a couple matches.”
“Sure, sure. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that. I gotta prep for my match before and then cool down and recovery.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “If you can, you can. If not, it’ll be fine. Show up after the show is over. Sign some autographs. You know the drill.”
“Ya, I’ll do what I can.” He reached out to pick up the manilla envelope and started paging through it. “Holy shit, this is a lot…”
Kate nodded her head as she used some chopsticks to feed herself some noodles. “Yup, it is.” She finished chewing and swallowed before continuing. “I’ve blocked out time for you. Wednesday at noon to Thursday at noon. Don’t make any other plans for that. We’ve got our business meeting, a factory tour, and then some photo ops with employees. After that, we are taking him out for a Nomikai. He can be kind of a wild man so we are doing whatever the heck he wants. I’ve prepared notes based on previous after hours business arrangements. Hopefully he’ll stick to the chosen venue but he’s been known to veer off after hours.”
“Uh, Kate. Some of the things in here…”
“Look Pax, we are doing what he wants. This is an important potential partnership for us so we need you on your best behavior. You know what your contract says.”
Pax sighed softly and ran his hand through his hair.
“Ya… I know. Alright. I’ll do what’s asked of me.”
“That’s a good boy. Now get out of here. I need to finish my lunch.”
He stood up and walked out of the hotel room and down the hall towards the bank of elevators. He looked through the folder and shook his head one more time. “The hell am I getting myself into?”
~_~
The vlog opens on Pax seated at a table with a smile on his face.
“What up neechies, it’s ya boi! Last week Una and I cemented ourselves in first place in Group B for Heiress to the throne. As if there was any doubt, right? I’m not pleased about it ending in a time limit draw, but what are ya gonna do. That’s just the way things go sometimes. We move forward, which brings us to the match tonight. But Japanese style 10 person tag match.”
He lifts his shoulders easily.
“I’ve been in big tag matches before. This is a unique situation for me though. With the exception of Una, I haven’t tagged with any of these folks before. That said, I know that Birds of Prey work well together. They’ve proved it before. So it’s alright if I haven’t. I know that I probably gotta take a back seat in this match.”
He smiles at the camera.
“Maybe a surprise for ya to hear, huh? But let’s be real. Una and Rini have been tagging for years. They’ve added Natasha to their group and have a ton of experience with her. Then there’s Masao. He and Rini tagged together for HTTT, but not only that, all four of them have mentors that have a history too. Their training and history is closely related. I’m the odd man out here and I can respect that. I’ll follow their lead and do what needs to happen. You can’t have an ego in a big match like this. It’s too chaotic by half, and the Winston’s have been tagging together forever. If we want to come out with a win in this? We gotta think smart. I’m fine with doing that. My time will come. I’m on track to be a back to back Heir to the Throne. I can take a step back and support my team this week. It’s all good to me. We do the work, week in and week out.”
He pounds his fist against his chest and flashes two fingers.
“Peace Out.”
“Took you long enough.”
“Sorry, traffic was a nightmare.”
“Sure, sure. Come on in, Pax.”
She turned on her heel and flounced into her hotel room to take a seat on the couch before grabbing up a takeout container full of noodles.
“Fortunately, Charlotte will be fielding a lot of follow up from her upcoming interview. That should give you time to do some work while you’re here. If that’s ok with you.”
Pax sighed softly as he followed her into the room, taking a seat facing her.
“Look, I know I got responsibilities here too. I haven’t shirked any of them yet.”
“No, you haven’t. But your behavior may have damaged the image so ya better act right in these meetings.” She reached over to pull out a manila folder and tossed it onto the table. “This is a run down on Japanese business culture. Read it. For the day time meetings you just gotta stand around and look cool. Sanada-san and myself will handle all the business details. The first meeting shouldn’t be a problem. We already have a business deal with them. We are just negotiating a new deal with a higher yield. Sit and look pretty in the meeting. Then we have lunch after the fact where you put that charm and those pretty brown eyes to use. We got them a suite for the Rising Sun’s show, so you’ll need to put in an appearance there. Maybe come up and entertain them for a couple matches.”
“Sure, sure. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that. I gotta prep for my match before and then cool down and recovery.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “If you can, you can. If not, it’ll be fine. Show up after the show is over. Sign some autographs. You know the drill.”
“Ya, I’ll do what I can.” He reached out to pick up the manilla envelope and started paging through it. “Holy shit, this is a lot…”
Kate nodded her head as she used some chopsticks to feed herself some noodles. “Yup, it is.” She finished chewing and swallowed before continuing. “I’ve blocked out time for you. Wednesday at noon to Thursday at noon. Don’t make any other plans for that. We’ve got our business meeting, a factory tour, and then some photo ops with employees. After that, we are taking him out for a Nomikai. He can be kind of a wild man so we are doing whatever the heck he wants. I’ve prepared notes based on previous after hours business arrangements. Hopefully he’ll stick to the chosen venue but he’s been known to veer off after hours.”
“Uh, Kate. Some of the things in here…”
“Look Pax, we are doing what he wants. This is an important potential partnership for us so we need you on your best behavior. You know what your contract says.”
Pax sighed softly and ran his hand through his hair.
“Ya… I know. Alright. I’ll do what’s asked of me.”
“That’s a good boy. Now get out of here. I need to finish my lunch.”
He stood up and walked out of the hotel room and down the hall towards the bank of elevators. He looked through the folder and shook his head one more time. “The hell am I getting myself into?”
~_~
The vlog opens on Pax seated at a table with a smile on his face.
“What up neechies, it’s ya boi! Last week Una and I cemented ourselves in first place in Group B for Heiress to the throne. As if there was any doubt, right? I’m not pleased about it ending in a time limit draw, but what are ya gonna do. That’s just the way things go sometimes. We move forward, which brings us to the match tonight. But Japanese style 10 person tag match.”
He lifts his shoulders easily.
“I’ve been in big tag matches before. This is a unique situation for me though. With the exception of Una, I haven’t tagged with any of these folks before. That said, I know that Birds of Prey work well together. They’ve proved it before. So it’s alright if I haven’t. I know that I probably gotta take a back seat in this match.”
He smiles at the camera.
“Maybe a surprise for ya to hear, huh? But let’s be real. Una and Rini have been tagging for years. They’ve added Natasha to their group and have a ton of experience with her. Then there’s Masao. He and Rini tagged together for HTTT, but not only that, all four of them have mentors that have a history too. Their training and history is closely related. I’m the odd man out here and I can respect that. I’ll follow their lead and do what needs to happen. You can’t have an ego in a big match like this. It’s too chaotic by half, and the Winston’s have been tagging together forever. If we want to come out with a win in this? We gotta think smart. I’m fine with doing that. My time will come. I’m on track to be a back to back Heir to the Throne. I can take a step back and support my team this week. It’s all good to me. We do the work, week in and week out.”
He pounds his fist against his chest and flashes two fingers.
“Peace Out.”
Well howdy there pardner.