Post by Kathleen Conway on Aug 3, 2013 13:57:54 GMT
There was a knock at her door, and Hannah Reed looked up from the paperwork on her desk.
Hannah: Come in...
The door opened slowly and Hannah got up from her seat as Kathleen Conway entered the office, wearing a luxurious red designer dress and heels, hanging from her ears were some diamond earrings and draped around her neck was a diamond necklace Hannah had seen once before and envied even then. From conversations outside of work, Hannah knew the stories behind the jewelry. The earrings were a birthday gift from two years ago. The necklace was simply a gift for the sake of being a gift, and the giver of these gifts was also her greatest and not so secret admirer, her husband Jake Conway. The dress and the matching heels were a bit more of a mystery, but knowing Kathy as she had come to know her, they probably had some similar wonderfully romantic story behind them.
Hannah offered a smile as Kathy extended her hand and Hannah accepted.
Hannah: Please have a seat.
Kathy sits down and so does Hannah.
Hannah: Can I get you something to drink?
Kathy: No, I'm fine. Thank you.
Hannah: Well, I can see why they market you as The Queen Of Diamonds.
Kathy smiles.
Kathy: A diamond is a terrible thing to waste...
Hannah: That's what Miss Lockheart tells me.
Kathy's smile fades as she intentionally changes the subject.
Kathy: How's Berto?
Hannah: Yeah, he's...fine. Thanks for asking.
This time it was Hannah's turn to steer the conversation away from something she didn't want to dwell on, at least not in the office.
Hannah: So, you wanted to see me? What can I do for you?
Kathy: Apparently the suits need something in writing that Tiffany will be released before they are willing to accept responsibility for what happened...
Hannah: Ah yes, I can only imagine what you're going through. God knows I worry enough about Jess every time she goes out there just to wrestle. If she was being held by some nutcase, I don't know what I'd do.
Kathy: Probably the same thing I'm trying to do.
Hannah nods.
Hannah: Anything I can do to help.
Kathy: I need a contract for a match at Legacy with an explicit clause in it that Tiffany will be released, and if she isn't and IWF still refuses to take responsibility, I will fight them in the court of law...
Hannah: Sounds simple enough, I'll have it drawn up by Monday.
Kathy: Excellent.
Kathy smiles, it hadn't been this easy to get what she wanted from anyone other than her husband in a long time. She guessed it was true, when you had acquired a practiced demeanor around lawyers and spoke to them on their terms, very matter of factly, you never lost the skill despite being out of the force for many years now. Of course it was also a great comfort and help to her to know Hannah Reed was there for her not just as her legal counsel but also as her friend. She didn't have many in this business so she had learned to cherish the few she did have even more.
She had come in here with blind faith that somebody would help her. A friend now rewarded that faith.
Ashley Mastrangelo.
Forgive me for what I'm about to say, I mean no disrespect, and any venom I am about to spit in your direction probably isn't intended for you. I have been struggling these last few weeks to not let this situation with my baby sister's disappearance and being held at the mercy of a maniac get to me, it hasn't been easy but I think I've done rather well all things considered. Lesser women in my position would be going out of their mind, screaming at the top of their lungs about how now suddenly everybody was put on notice. about how everybody they face in the ring from now on wore the face of their enemy, and how they would make an example and send a message.
I don't want to do that to you Ashley, I really don't. After all, what have you done to be painted in the same light as a lunatic? Nothing, and for me to kick the shit out of you would accomplish nothing for either of us in the long run, except maybe to tell Eternity that I could beat up little girls to send a message about supposedly how big and bad I was. That would really be easy, too easy, don't you think Ashley? What would it really accomplish if I played Eternity at her own game and got in the ring with you on Monday Night and snapped your little noodle arm, just to make a point?
I'm sure it'll make me feel a little better to release some of the pent up rage inside of me, at least for a moment, but it won't get Tiffany back any faster, that's the problem Ashley. That's why I don't want to be appeased by a moment of fleeting comfort, I don't want to release any of the hatred I feel. I want to simmer in it. I want to stew in it. I want to be baptised in it. I want to let it wash over me, I want it to continue to build and build and build because I know that as long as it does, as long as it continues to grow more and more intense under the surface, Eternity and all my other critics will continue to underestimate me and continue to believe that I really don't have it in me to get the job done, to be a legitimate wrestler.
I want Eternity to savour that particular blanket of false security in which she has wrapped herself because I want to savour the look of surprise on her face when I wrap it around her throat and begin to choke the life out of her and she realises what a mistake it really is to underestimate the full force of a silent rage like mine. Just because you are an easy shot for me this week Ashley doesn't mean I will make a target out of you, at least not until you really deserve it or give me a real reason to. I may have married a man who is quick to release his rage, but it isn't fair for you to assume that I am exactly the same so I hope you don't. Why would you? It'd be no fairer than me assuming you were exactly the same as the man who trained you simply on the basis that when it really counts you can't get the job done in that ring.
I've had those very same criticisms thrown at me my entire career and I'd be a real hypocrite to throw them at you. I may be many things, but one thing I've never been and will never be is a hypocrite. The fact is you've managed to impress me these last few weeks Ashley, you really have. Not least by the fact that you were trained by one unbelievable egomaniac and teamed wth another, and yet you remain humble. I have to admire that, and I hope it lasts. These are the kinds of strengths of character that get lost and overlooked in a business that defines your worth by your ability or lack of to get a three count or to make somebody tap out like a bitch.
I've always maintained that you learn so much more about who a person really is not by how they handle victory but how they handle defeat, and you handled losing your big title match with all the grace that certain egos in the back will dismiss as a weakness but I applaud as a strength.
Kathy applauds.
You got right back up and dusted yourself off and earned a victory over a veteran like Alysson Gardner, the woman who was touted as the pinnacle of the Diamonds Division even barely as the doors of this company had opened, not only by herself but by others aswell. Aly was the name on everybody's lips, and you beat her. I'd be an idiot not to give you any credit for that.
Do you know what a big deal your victory last week is?
I'll be honest, I hope you don't, because I like who you are now, I like the humility you carry yourself with. I can really respect a woman after my own heart who handles her biggest losses with a little retail therapy. Sometimes I think the only reason my husband finally wants me to win the big one is because he knows it'll give his credit card a rest...
Kathy laughs.
It's quite obvious Ashley that you have a clear youth advantage over me, and last week you proved that you are more than capable of beating a veteran, and in comparison, a veteran is what you face again this week in the ring. Clearly you've impressed somebody and now you're being tested, some might even say groomed for greater things, and I won't lie to you Ashley, that makes me a little nervous. You're as much a test for me as I am for you this week, I need to prove that nothing will stop me from saving Tiff, and unlike most of our peers, I'd much rather do it without jeopardising your career or eclipsing your bright future before its even begun. By your own admission, you've already been a victim of somebody else's opportunity, and believe me I really don't want to make you a victim of somebody else's mistake. When it comes to you Mastrangelo, maybe I've been blinded by my faith...
Thank your lucky stars Ashley that is only my faith that blinds me, and not my rage.
At least not yet.
Hannah: Come in...
The door opened slowly and Hannah got up from her seat as Kathleen Conway entered the office, wearing a luxurious red designer dress and heels, hanging from her ears were some diamond earrings and draped around her neck was a diamond necklace Hannah had seen once before and envied even then. From conversations outside of work, Hannah knew the stories behind the jewelry. The earrings were a birthday gift from two years ago. The necklace was simply a gift for the sake of being a gift, and the giver of these gifts was also her greatest and not so secret admirer, her husband Jake Conway. The dress and the matching heels were a bit more of a mystery, but knowing Kathy as she had come to know her, they probably had some similar wonderfully romantic story behind them.
Hannah offered a smile as Kathy extended her hand and Hannah accepted.
Hannah: Please have a seat.
Kathy sits down and so does Hannah.
Hannah: Can I get you something to drink?
Kathy: No, I'm fine. Thank you.
Hannah: Well, I can see why they market you as The Queen Of Diamonds.
Kathy smiles.
Kathy: A diamond is a terrible thing to waste...
Hannah: That's what Miss Lockheart tells me.
Kathy's smile fades as she intentionally changes the subject.
Kathy: How's Berto?
Hannah: Yeah, he's...fine. Thanks for asking.
This time it was Hannah's turn to steer the conversation away from something she didn't want to dwell on, at least not in the office.
Hannah: So, you wanted to see me? What can I do for you?
Kathy: Apparently the suits need something in writing that Tiffany will be released before they are willing to accept responsibility for what happened...
Hannah: Ah yes, I can only imagine what you're going through. God knows I worry enough about Jess every time she goes out there just to wrestle. If she was being held by some nutcase, I don't know what I'd do.
Kathy: Probably the same thing I'm trying to do.
Hannah nods.
Hannah: Anything I can do to help.
Kathy: I need a contract for a match at Legacy with an explicit clause in it that Tiffany will be released, and if she isn't and IWF still refuses to take responsibility, I will fight them in the court of law...
Hannah: Sounds simple enough, I'll have it drawn up by Monday.
Kathy: Excellent.
Kathy smiles, it hadn't been this easy to get what she wanted from anyone other than her husband in a long time. She guessed it was true, when you had acquired a practiced demeanor around lawyers and spoke to them on their terms, very matter of factly, you never lost the skill despite being out of the force for many years now. Of course it was also a great comfort and help to her to know Hannah Reed was there for her not just as her legal counsel but also as her friend. She didn't have many in this business so she had learned to cherish the few she did have even more.
She had come in here with blind faith that somebody would help her. A friend now rewarded that faith.
Ashley Mastrangelo.
Forgive me for what I'm about to say, I mean no disrespect, and any venom I am about to spit in your direction probably isn't intended for you. I have been struggling these last few weeks to not let this situation with my baby sister's disappearance and being held at the mercy of a maniac get to me, it hasn't been easy but I think I've done rather well all things considered. Lesser women in my position would be going out of their mind, screaming at the top of their lungs about how now suddenly everybody was put on notice. about how everybody they face in the ring from now on wore the face of their enemy, and how they would make an example and send a message.
I don't want to do that to you Ashley, I really don't. After all, what have you done to be painted in the same light as a lunatic? Nothing, and for me to kick the shit out of you would accomplish nothing for either of us in the long run, except maybe to tell Eternity that I could beat up little girls to send a message about supposedly how big and bad I was. That would really be easy, too easy, don't you think Ashley? What would it really accomplish if I played Eternity at her own game and got in the ring with you on Monday Night and snapped your little noodle arm, just to make a point?
I'm sure it'll make me feel a little better to release some of the pent up rage inside of me, at least for a moment, but it won't get Tiffany back any faster, that's the problem Ashley. That's why I don't want to be appeased by a moment of fleeting comfort, I don't want to release any of the hatred I feel. I want to simmer in it. I want to stew in it. I want to be baptised in it. I want to let it wash over me, I want it to continue to build and build and build because I know that as long as it does, as long as it continues to grow more and more intense under the surface, Eternity and all my other critics will continue to underestimate me and continue to believe that I really don't have it in me to get the job done, to be a legitimate wrestler.
I want Eternity to savour that particular blanket of false security in which she has wrapped herself because I want to savour the look of surprise on her face when I wrap it around her throat and begin to choke the life out of her and she realises what a mistake it really is to underestimate the full force of a silent rage like mine. Just because you are an easy shot for me this week Ashley doesn't mean I will make a target out of you, at least not until you really deserve it or give me a real reason to. I may have married a man who is quick to release his rage, but it isn't fair for you to assume that I am exactly the same so I hope you don't. Why would you? It'd be no fairer than me assuming you were exactly the same as the man who trained you simply on the basis that when it really counts you can't get the job done in that ring.
I've had those very same criticisms thrown at me my entire career and I'd be a real hypocrite to throw them at you. I may be many things, but one thing I've never been and will never be is a hypocrite. The fact is you've managed to impress me these last few weeks Ashley, you really have. Not least by the fact that you were trained by one unbelievable egomaniac and teamed wth another, and yet you remain humble. I have to admire that, and I hope it lasts. These are the kinds of strengths of character that get lost and overlooked in a business that defines your worth by your ability or lack of to get a three count or to make somebody tap out like a bitch.
I've always maintained that you learn so much more about who a person really is not by how they handle victory but how they handle defeat, and you handled losing your big title match with all the grace that certain egos in the back will dismiss as a weakness but I applaud as a strength.
Kathy applauds.
You got right back up and dusted yourself off and earned a victory over a veteran like Alysson Gardner, the woman who was touted as the pinnacle of the Diamonds Division even barely as the doors of this company had opened, not only by herself but by others aswell. Aly was the name on everybody's lips, and you beat her. I'd be an idiot not to give you any credit for that.
Do you know what a big deal your victory last week is?
I'll be honest, I hope you don't, because I like who you are now, I like the humility you carry yourself with. I can really respect a woman after my own heart who handles her biggest losses with a little retail therapy. Sometimes I think the only reason my husband finally wants me to win the big one is because he knows it'll give his credit card a rest...
Kathy laughs.
It's quite obvious Ashley that you have a clear youth advantage over me, and last week you proved that you are more than capable of beating a veteran, and in comparison, a veteran is what you face again this week in the ring. Clearly you've impressed somebody and now you're being tested, some might even say groomed for greater things, and I won't lie to you Ashley, that makes me a little nervous. You're as much a test for me as I am for you this week, I need to prove that nothing will stop me from saving Tiff, and unlike most of our peers, I'd much rather do it without jeopardising your career or eclipsing your bright future before its even begun. By your own admission, you've already been a victim of somebody else's opportunity, and believe me I really don't want to make you a victim of somebody else's mistake. When it comes to you Mastrangelo, maybe I've been blinded by my faith...
Thank your lucky stars Ashley that is only my faith that blinds me, and not my rage.
At least not yet.
Well howdy there pardner.