Booking Glory-Chapter 86: Second Date

"What do you think he would have done if that hypothetical someone beat me?" Dacey asked curiously after some time.

Discussing Brent had lightened the atmosphere between them. Dacey was currently snuggling into his arm. Rob kind of liked the way her body felt. Especially, when the car jostled while traveling through some rough patch of the road.

"Hound me for weeks, be a general asshole, and find an appropriate time and take some form of revenge," Rob said without even pausing to think causing Dacey to chuckle.

"I feel bad now. I didn’t even give him an autograph," Dacey said shaking her head.

"No need to worry, once he gets over the shock, he will hound me until I delivered it to him," Rob said chuckling.

"Good," Dacey laughed. "You can act as my courier from now on."

"Just that, what about other things," Rob asked winking at her.

"You!!!" Dacey blushed. "We will see about that later. It will depend on your performance," Dacey said mock-seriously.

"When does the evaluation begin?"

"It already started. And I have to say that your performance so far leaves a lot to be desired," Dacey said smirking.

"Looks like I have to take things up a notch. Be prepared, I am going to blow you away," Rob said chuckling.

"We will see about that," Dacey said smiling back. "So, what kind of wheels are you going for?"

"Nothing big. I am planning to get something to drive around the city. As for getting something better, I will do that once I am more settled down," Rob said nonchalantly.

"Come on, you already have a good job. How many people in their twenties can earn more than $5000 per week? And to boot, you have an important position in LWC as well," Dacey said looking at Rob curiously.

"Indeed, you are right. But, I don’t have job security," Rob replied with a wan smile.

"What do you mean?" Dacey asked in confusion.

"The way my contract is worded, they can fire me anytime they want without any warning. And there would be no severance fee or any kind of contractual obligation for LWC towards me after that," Rob said smiling a little sadly.

"You are kidding?"

"Nope,"

"That is not possible. Even new wrestlers will have a specified contract time and if they fired them before the contract period ends, they must pay some amount to settle the contract duration," Dacey said furrowing her brows.

"Well, that isn’t how it is with my contract," Rob said smiling wanly.

Dacey remained silent for some time after that. But, she eventually asked the question that had been bugging her for some time now.

"Is that why you are looking to move out of LWC?" Dacey asked softly.

"No," Rob refused a little tiredly. "I have no plans to move out of LWC. My meeting with Steven was just that. He was the one who introduced me to Mr. Gibson. So, I met up with him out of respect."

"But..."

"I know what the newspapers say. Mr. Gibson and I talked about it. I am not going anywhere anytime soon," Rob said patting Dacey’s hands.

"So, they didn’t offer you a contract?" Dacey asked raising her eyebrows.

Rob looked around furtively and lowered his voice a bit.

"They did," Rob whispered. "They offered double of what I am earning here in LWC. But, there was a problem with their offer."

"What?"

"They want me as a commentator, not as a booker. I can understand. With people like Steven Rush and several other prominent bookers present for them to choose from, the chance of me getting a job as a booker there is really small."

"Is that why you refused the offer?"

"Partly," Rob grunted. "Commentary is just a side gig for me. Booking is where my passion is. I am not going to give up a booking job for a commentary gig."

"So, if they offered a booking job would you have taken it?" Dacey asked softly.

Rob fell into thought for a few moments, before shaking his head.

"No," Rob said slowly. "I feel that the promotion they are going to build is not the right one for me. Don’t take me wrong, I know it is going to change the landscape of this industry. But, to me, it doesn’t suit my needs. I wouldn’t have taken it even if they offered."

"Oh!" Dacey said in surprise.

"Look, I am happy here in LWC. I am not going to throw that away," Rob said patting Dacey’s hands with a small smile on his face.

"But, the papers sound as if you are in discussion with them," Dacey said after a while.

"I think it is a diversion. And frankly who cares if they hire me or not? They have a lot of others to poach from. If I were running other promotions, I would be wary of them poaching any of my top draws and not concentrate on some kid who has just made his debut in the circle."

"Come on, you have some brilliant ideas. Why wouldn’t they want that?" Dacey snorted.

"Don’t know, don’t care," Rob smiled nonchalantly.

However, on the inside, Rob’s brain was firing on all cylinders. Dacey’s question made him pay attention to something he had neglected so far.

During his discussion with either Steven or Mr. Wagner, both seemed intrigued by his ideas. Mr. Wagner even said that his ideas had good potential. And Steven had always been appreciative of him.

If that were the case, why wouldn’t they want to use his ideas? Opening a new promotion was the ideal time to try these ideas. The fan base hasn’t been established yet and they could do a lot of things to cultivate the fans based on his ideas.

Rob knew that it would be hard for the fans to accept a sudden change like heel turns. That was the reason he had gone with Dacey as his first heel option. Dacey didn’t have any hardcore fan base like Diana had at that point. It was easier to create something from the ground up than to subvert an existing structure.

If the promotion they were starting could introduce this new type of booking and make it their norm, the fans would get accustomed to it easily as the promotion grew. It might take some extra time, but the benefits would outweigh the problems that could come.

It would also create a unique brand image and generate more interest in fans if they were the only top promotion doing that. So, by all accounts, a savvy businessman like Mr. Wagner should have caught on to this point.

If they only wanted him as a commentator despite all this, Rob felt that their decision didn’t make much sense. There must be another reason or another angle he wasn’t seeing here. He knew that finding what that is would be very important for him as well.

"Anyway, so you are not moving away from LWC?" Dacey asked once more with a small smile on her face now.

"Like I told, there is no way I am moving out of LWC, at least in the short term. Their offer isn’t something I want or even care about. So, moving out of LWC doesn’t make much sense. Moreover, you are here as well," Rob said planting a kiss on Dacey’s hands.

Dacey blushed profusely and swatted his hands away. While she didn’t reply, Rob felt that she appreciated the gesture and the last statement. It was evident from the way her body burrowed into his following that.

With a goofy smile, Rob stroked her hair and enjoyed the rest of their ride in silence.

*****

"This is all your fault," Rob said exasperatedly looking at Dacey.

"How is this my fault?" Dacey said surprised.

"You were the one who chose this car," Rob said rolling his eyes at her.

"Hello, excuse me, even if I chose this car, you were the one who paid for it. And frankly, neither of us checked up on the gas meter. Who even thinks that the gas meter is going to be faulty?" Dacey said rolling her eyes in return.

"Great, now we are stuck in the middle of the road with no gas station in sight. What are we going to do now?" Rob said moving his seat back a little and exhaling a little frustrated.

"I don’t know, why don’t you go out and enquire where the nearest gas station is?" Dacey said looking around.

"I guess there is nothing else to do, huh?" Rob sighed and got out of the car.

After enquiring from a nearby store, Rob came back to the car and looked at Dacey.

"The nearest station is a mile away. I am going to walk there and get us gas. Are you coming with me?" Rob asked Dacey.

"By walk?" Dacey looked out at the sun and scowled. "In this weather?"

"Hey don’t blame me, you are the one who picked this car. I told you that the other one looked good," Rob said shrugging.

"As if," Dacey snorted. "That was a piece of junk. The engine was a bust in that. Not to mention how worn out those tires looked. I sincerely doubt it would last long."

"At least, it is not a pickup," Rob muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, are you coming?"

"Guess, I will have to. I don’t fancy sitting here all alone. Who knows how long it will take for you to return," Dacey grumbled as she got out of the car.

Dacey put on a cap and sunglasses and turned to look at Rob.

"How am I?"

"Perfect," Rob gestured. "No one will recognize you."

"Let’s hope so," Dacey murmured. "By the way, pickups are way better than the junk you had your eyes on."

"And way more ugly too," Rob countered earning a glare.

"Why do you even bother? From when did guys start caring about how their cars looked?" Dacey asked with a scowl.

"Hey, we care how our cars look. How else are we going to get chicks?"

"And which chick were you planning to get?"

"Ummm, no one," Rob said realizing that he may have fumbled a bit over there.

Dacey snorted in response.

"Anyway, this will last you longer and will have more horsepower," Dacey said side-eyeing him. "I thought guys liked wheels with more horsepower."

"True, but this one looks a bit ugly," Rob said glancing at his pickup truck and grimacing a bit.

"Get over it," Dacey said. "Come on, let’s move. I don’t want to waste my entire day here."

"Coming, coming," Rob hastened to follow Dacey as they walked towards the direction the gas station lay in.

"You know Rob," Dacey said after a while, "I think going on dates with you sucks. Every time you take me out on a date, some issue pops up."

"It is not as if I am the one creating issues," Rob grumbled a bit defensively. "And this one was certainly on you."

"Really?" Dacey turned towards Rob and arched her eyebrows. "Be careful what you say, your performance meter is going down every time you open your mouth."

"Not fair," Rob grumbled in reply.

"When have women fought fair? And I am Dacey Surestone. I don’t fight fairly," Dacey said cheekily.

"You do realize that I am the one who made you like that, don’t you?"

"Then, I guess you don’t have anything to complain about."

Rob didn’t know how to reply to that. So, he kept his mouth shut.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you something," Dacey said looking over. "I don’t know how you are going to react, but I think I should tell you this first before telling anyone else."

"Ok shoot," Rob said looking at her.

"I have an offer," Dacey said a little hesitantly.

The moment the words came out of Dacey’s mouth, Rob’s mind blanked a bit. Did Steven or someone else reach out to Dacey? If so, can LWC still keep her? In that case, what about the story he was telling?

Seeing Rob’s reaction, Dacey bit her lips anxiously.

"Which promotion? Or is it Steven?" Rob asked a little tightly.

"What? No, no, nothing like that," Dacey said hurriedly. "It is not from another promotion. It is something else." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Oh," Rob said with a little relief in his voice. "What is it?"

"I have received an offer to star in a movie. A small indie film. They saw my promos and mannerisms and thought that I would be a right fit for the role they were casting for," Dacey said a little hesitantly.

"Oh, that’s great," Rob said smiling brightly. "Have you agreed?"

"No, not yet. They are asking for three weeks of availability. A week might be possible. But, three weeks is something not that easy to do. Especially, now that I am the LWC Women’s Champion. I don’t know what to do," Dacey admitted a little awkwardly.

"What kind of role is it? Is it a small character or some important role with an impact on the story?" Rob asked curiously.

"I am playing the lead antagonist. My role is kinda similar to my Dacey Surestone persona," Dacey said a little eagerly. "Basically, I am playing a bitchy antagonist that constantly picks on the heroine."

"Is it a female-oriented film?" Rob asked.

"Not exactly, but female roles have a heavier impact. It is a drama about the workplace. I am playing the role of the boss," Dacey said a little excitedly.

"Are there any action sequences?"

"No, why are you asking?"

"I need to know. If you got injured during the shoot, that would extend your absence further, wouldn’t it? I need to be prepared for it," Rob said nonchalantly.

"So, you don’t have any problems with me picking up the movie?" Dacey asked intensely.

"Nope, I think it is even good for you," Rob said shaking his head.

"Why do you say so?"

"Dacey, a wrestler’s ability to draw money is directly related to how popular the wrestler is. And a movie is a great way to reach a wider base of audience. From the people who watch the movie, even if a few tuned into to see your other work, we will be getting more fans."

"I get how it might benefit LWC. But, how is it benefitting me?" Dacey asked in confusion.

"More fans means more merchandise sales. Also, if you become pretty popular, your value as a person who can draw in an audience will also increase. That will help your career more than working mid-card fights for several months," Rob said looking at her seriously.

"Wouldn’t my absence for almost a month hurt the momentum I have right now?" Dacey asked a little worriedly.

"It would, there is no denying it. But, if we plan it properly, we can use it as a springboard and make the crowd hate you more," Rob said smiling deviously.

"I don’t like that smile of yours," Dacey stated bluntly. "You are always coming up with ways to make people hate me more."

"What can I say, it is the nature of my job," Rob said shrugging.

"Why can’t you make people like me?" Dacey grumbled.

"That won’t sell," Rob replied causing Dacey to shoot him a glare. "It can be done, but only at the right time. If the switch between your character is made at the right time in the right way, the people who hate you now will love you after that. That way, you won’t even lose fans, but even gain more."

"How will you do that?" Dacey asked eagerly.

"Let’s say..."

Rob explained how a face turn would work for a heel and the mechanics behind it as they made their way to the gas station. The duo completely forgot their surroundings and indulged in their discussion throughout their way.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

Make sure to add this book to your collection and vote with your power stones to show your appreciation for this work.

You can also check out my other book [Demon Immortal] and see if it is to your liking.

Reviews and comments are truly appreciated.