Booking Glory-Chapter 27: New Contract

"Don’t look at me like that," Mr. Gibson said seeing the blank look on Rob’s face. "Dallas really enjoyed working with you. And Irvin is of the mind that you will bring more value to the show than it already has."

"But.. but.." Rob was still in a state of stupefaction trying to wrap his head around what Mr. Gibson was saying.

"And here’s the thing," Mr. Gibson spoke unbothered by Rob’s apparent speechlessness. "While those two old men feel that your idea has merit, they feel that they are not the right person to do it. And after listening to you on commentary, they feel that you would be the right person for it. So, what do you say?"

"Mr. Gibson, I am not really sure that I am cut out for commentary," Rob hesitated a little.

"Wait a second," Mr. Gibson raised his hands to forestall Rob’s denial. "Before you go on to say some shit, take a look at this. Initially, I was planning to give this to you when your idea with Dacey pans out, but I think this would be the right time to give you this."

Mr. Gibson retrieved a pile of papers from his drawer and passed it to Rob. Rob reached out and took them automatically. He was still processing the fact that the two veterans and Mr. Gibson wanted him on commentary.

As his eyes roved over the contents of the paper, he couldn’t help but stifle the curse that was coming out involuntarily. What he saw on the paper was his new contract with LWC and what surprised him the most was the money involved in it.

That was a lot of fucking money.

Just looking at those numbers, Rob had the impulse to just sign the damn thing. While he did earn more than this in his life, this was the first time he was seeing this much money written out for a guy who was just starting out in the business.

Seeing that number made him giddy.

His younger body was eager to jot down his name and be done with it. However, the mature mind that has passed over was a little cautious.

So, Rob curbed his instincts and slowly went over the entire document. Mr. Gibson began to do some other work as Rob started reading the entire document. It took him an entire fifteen minutes to read the document completely.

The short gist of it was, he was being hired as a booker and color commentator for LWC. His responsibilities included performing commentary for all the LWC shows like weekly episodes like <Fyre> and special PPVs like <Break Out> and <Last Stand>.

Other than that, he had the authority to book the wrestlers and put out a show on behalf of LWC. Rob noted that the contract didn’t state that it was just for the women’s division.

Apart from that, he had to do some voice-overs and other marketing-related stuff when called over. And there were a bunch of other responsibilities that he need to take care of in LWC.

Rob simply glossed over that. He knew what they entailed mostly as he was working as a contracted helper for LWC shows backstage. So, he didn’t bother about them much.

But, what hooked Rob so much was the amount LWC in paying him for this. If Rob had to stop and think about it, then it was clear that the only extra duty that has been added to him was the addition of his role as a commentator and the additional responsibilities that came with that.

And the money they were paying him to do that stuff was really ridiculous compared to what he was earning currently. Rob hadn’t worried about his finance much as he was too deeply involved in trying to make a name for himself in his chosen field.

Even then, he knew that his finances were abysmal. The first offer Mr. Gibson gave to him was to the rookie standard. That too not some star rookie standard. It was the basic of the basic.

He was paid a fixed amount weekly for the entire year, regardless of the additional responsibilities that were piled up on him. He earned a measly amount of $1000 per week doing backstage work as a helper.

When he was handed the booking of the women’s division, there hasn’t been much change in his bank account apart from the bonuses he got for booking the segments. Even those were really low as his status was still a contracted employee who was in the trial period.

Since he had no one else to look after and spent most of his time here in LWC, Rob hadn’t actually thought much about it. He merely spent some amount to buy daily necessities and forgot about the money that was piling up in his account.

Even at this moment, he had no clue as to how much money his account had.

After all, LWC took care of his meals and other necessities when he was in the arena. Rob merely paid the rent for his small apartment and spent the night there every night.

With all his meals taken care of, there was literally no other expense apart from rent and purchasing some daily oddities for Rob to worry about. So, he hadn’t paid much attention to the monetary aspect of the business.

Now that he thought about it, the draw for <Break Out> was the highest LWC had made ever since its establishment. They even had to sell additional tickets and add more seats to the arena to satisfy the crowd.

Even then, there were many complaints regarding the non-availability of tickets by the fans. Not to mention the broadcast rights LWC has sold the <Break Out> PPV for. In short, <Break Out> alone had given huge profits to LWC.

And compared to the measly amount they paid him for it, the difference was indeed huge. Rob felt a little uneasy as he realized this. Realizing your dream and proving your worth is all well and good, but one had to take care of the monetary aspects of it as well.

It was clear that Rob had been very negligent of it until now.

But, the contract in front of him told him that Mr. Gibson had taken that into account and had come through for him. He knew that while this wasn’t a top contract in the industry, this one took care of him pretty well.

For starters, his weekly salary has been raised from $1000 to $7,400. This alone was enough to change his life trajectory in the current economical state. Earning $100 now was the same as earning $1000 in ten years. The economy is going to go through a boom when computers start to hit the market in a big way.

So, the increase in weekly salary was a good condition for Rob. Apart from that, the bonuses he was being paid for the special show also increased exponentially. The new bonus structure had an increase of 12% all over the board.

So, if Rob was reading this right, he would be earning that amount extra for every PPV that LWC is going to put out there. And it was not just the basic pay, the increase was visible all around the board.

If his segments in LWC PPVs are being included in videotapes or other aspects that LWC was going to sell, then Rob would get a percentage of the sales too. While it wasn’t something like 12%, it was ample enough that Rob didn’t feel cheated out.

And there were the bonuses for performing advertising and other stuff in his role as a commentator apart from the weekly shows and PPVs. All in all, Rob would be earning a minimum of $30,000 per month.

This was a massive increase compared to his monthly earnings of $5,000 a month.

Rob just couldn’t believe his eyes after reading the entire contract. He knew that Mr. Gibson must have pulled some serious strings in the back to give him this contract.

As one of the bookers of the product, Rob knew LWC’s financial situation well. He knew that LWC was barely able to keep it floating despite the glamorous outlook it showed. So, giving him such a contract at this moment made Rob feel very appreciated.

"Mr. Gibson, I really don’t know how to thank you for this," Rob said in an emotional voice.

"Don’t think too much about it, kid. I would have been able to offer you more if LWC was in a better position. Robin was already dissatisfied with the amount here. He thought you were too young and green to be paid this much," Mr. Gibson said with a smile.

"However, I felt that you were worth this. Is it a top contract in the industry? No. Can other promotions offer you more? Probably. But, this is the best LWC has to offer you at this moment. I am sure you already know our financial situation. So, don’t make me regret this."

"Don’t worry Mr. Gibson. I will be sure to repay your trust in me," Rob said emotionally as he nodded.

"As you can see, the only increase in your role is that of a color commentator. I will hire someone to help out Desmond backstage. What I want you to do is to deliver what you did during the trials week in and week out," Mr. Gibson said with a content smile on his face.

"The chemistry you and Dallas have is something very interesting. I am sure it will draw more viewers to our show and keep them there. So, I want you to do your best with the responsibility I have given you."

"As for the booking, you are only responsible for the women’s division as of now. We don’t allocate more than 15 mins for them anyway. So, there is no need for you to be present in the Control Pit for it."

"We have me and Robin there. We will take care of these things. You don’t need to sweat about it. But, be careful when you are on-air. There is hardly something we could do to cover up mistakes in the commentary. So, follow Dallas and Irvin and learn the tricks of the trade quickly," Mr. Gibson said causing Rob to nod.

"I will do it, Mr. Gibson," Rob said with a determined tone.

"Good, if you don’t have anything else to discuss, take the contract back to your lawyer. Have him give it a look over and then sign it. Send it back before Tuesday however. I want this to be settled before the next episode of <Fyre>" Mr. Gibson said leaning back in his chair.

"Umm, I really don’t have a lawyer as of now. So, I don’t think we need to wait for that long," Rob said sheepishly trying to gloss over that fact.

"Stop right there kid," Mr. Gibson said seriously. "Here is a tip, in this business, it is imperative that you have a lawyer looking over your shoulder. I have seen several bright stars end up bankrupt because they didn’t listen to their lawyers."

"So, find someone to check it, and then, only then, you will sign it. Am I clear?" Mr. Gibson exhorted causing Rob to nod like a wooden chicken.

"Good, now get out of here, I am sure you have some work to do," Mr. Gibson shooed away Rob before turning his attention back to the file in front of him.

Rob walked out of Mr. Gibson’s room with a heady feeling. The contract clutched in his hands was an indication that he had stepped foot in this industry. Now he had a foothold and pretty soon he will be on TV doing commentary.

This day just became so much better...

*****

When the day ended, Rob was on cloud nine as he stepped out of the LWC arena. Usually, he would spend some time in the training center trying to socialize with the wrestlers and workers present there.

However, he had other things to take care of today.

So, Rob left the LWC arena at 5 PM in the evening and walked back to his home. The first thing he wanted was to see if the original body had any lawyer’s contacts on him so that he could take care of the contract in his hands as soon as possible.

He had been hardly able to concentrate on his work throughout the day after the meeting with Mr. Gibson. All day long, he had been trying hard to not jump up in joy and make some ruckus.

Despite his mental state, or maybe because of it, he managed to find a solution to a problem that has been plaguing him. When he solved the issue of booking Evelyn and Selena without wasting their momentum, Rob felt like slapping himself up his head for being such a fool.

While Rob was agonizing over how to book Evelyn and Selena after <Break Out>, an idea suddenly popped up in his mind stunning him. Why did he need to search for other wrestlers to do a program for Evelyn and Selena separately? He could just book them together and make a program with them.

Considering that Dacey will be going over in her program with Diana, she would need a new challenger. Booking a program with two established women and making the winner challenge Dacey made more sense to Rob than trying to find another contender after the program was over.

This way, the challenge wouldn’t be too abrupt and he would be able to simultaneously advance multiple storylines. When Rob came to this conclusion, he felt like berating himself for not seeing what was in front of him.

All it needed was just a change in his mindset. Instead of agonizing over the two, he could create a story out of them and integrate them into Dacey’s rise as well. This would create an intricate story that the audience would buy into.

Solving that issue opened a door filled with countless possibilities for Rob to play around with. And the plan he had for Diana would also perfectly tie into his new plan. If he could somehow work out how to integrate Alanna when she finishes her new training, then everything would be perfect.

In the end, Rob was really in a happy mood when he reached his home. So, he didn’t waste any time and began to search for the contact of a lawyer that the previous body had used.

Lawyers were essential for people from all walks of life. They were needed to give proper advice regarding a variety of things in this country it was a no-brainer that the previous body would have someone in its list of contact.

In the end, Rob unearthed the contact information of the lawyer who had helped Rob sign the renting agreement for this apartment. While this guy wasn’t a friend per se, he was someone highly respected in the local community as he gave legal help to people in need in Rob’s neighborhood.

Rob had come into contact with him when he faced some issues moving into his apartment. Being an orphan, it was really hard for him to move in for the first time after leaving the orphanage. And this man was the one who helped Rob out sorting out the documents and other difficulties with the landlord.

"Hello Mr. Walker, this is Rob, Rob Williams. You helped me move into my apartment around a year ago. No, no, I don’t have any problem with the landlord, I just called because I have an employment contract in my hand and want you to look over it."

"I am fine with that fee, can I come over?" Rob asked eager to get this done. "Sure, sure, I will be there in fifteen minutes. And thanks a lot for seeing me after your office hours,"

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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