Booking Glory-Chapter 50: [Bonus - ]Dacey’s ?

Hey Folks,

Belated Diwali Wishes!!!

This marks the 50th Chapter of this work.

At this moment, I would like to take some space to thank all of you wonderful readers who have been supporting this work.

While I would like to list out the names of all the contributors, the list of the names is around fifty and I am sure you would appreciate it if I didn’t waste that much space. You are here for the content and the story I put out, not for a list of names.

Keeping that in mind, I have opted out to thank a select few that had helped me out and supported me above the rest.

[Mann3rs], [jellymandan], [axjames], [Tigery91], [NEMOYO], [Monsterkind01], [gdaquan16], [marcus_Bowman], [mila_jonas], [RyujinDragneel] have come out as the top ten in the list of fans for this fic.

[axjames], [ummmname], [Mann3rs] have emerged as the top contributors of golden tickets.

[mila_jonas] has sent me the first ever gift I received ever since I started writing here. You will never know much it meant to me as an author. Thank you for that.

And last but not least, [Devansh_Shini] I read the long comment you sent out and am glad that my fic was able to entertain you that much. I can feel your appreciation and am immensely thankful for that.

Pity, it wasn’t a Review though... Maybe I am being too greedy here guys but I would like to have a few reviews from you on this fic as well.

Regardless, I thank you all and all the other members who parted with their power stones, golden tickets, and various comments to show their appreciation for this story from the bottom of my heart.

I have already taken too much space with this, but I feel very satisfied. So, who cares!!! Now, onwards to the story.

And I do have a surprise in this one for you all...

*****

Dacey Surestone almost felt her knees give away as she came back through the curtain. She knew the promo she was going to cut tonight was different than the previous ones.

This one had more raw emotions. This one had a surreal reality to it that hasn’t been showcased before. This one had a lot of emotions to put out there like anger, disappointment, pride, and whatnot.

This one had a lot of layers to storytelling she hadn’t even thought possible to put out in a wrestling program. From Dacey Surestone feeling betrayal to the gradual change in her character to what she is now, this promo gave a glimpse into who the character Dacey Surestone was and what she had gone through to get here.

She knew, despite Diana and Mr. Gibson being present there and having an intriguing segment before she went out, this was entirely about shaping Dacey Surestone as a character.

So, she had given it her all heading into the segment.

Now, as she walked backstage after delivering that promo, Dacey felt exposed under the eyes of all the workers and talents walking the area. She had mixed a lot of her personal emotions into it, her frustration with the injury, her insecurities, her hunger for the spotlight, and a lot more.

So, after infusing so much of her genuine emotions into a promo, Dacey felt as if everyone backstage was judging her as she walked past. So, she quickly made her way into the locker room, not willing to stay back and chat with anyone.

Her heart dropped further as she entered the locker room and saw everyone staring at her. Even Alanna, the ever-chirpy and non-stop-talking Alanna was looking at her strangely.

Luckily, it didn’t last for long before Alanna broke the silence.

"Oh Dacey, that was brilliant!" Alanna exclaimed engulfing her in a hug.

It was as if a spell was broken and everyone else surrounded her and congratulated her on her stellar performance. Dacey’s heart lightened knowing that she hadn’t botched this thing.

It was a genuine worry for her heading into this segment. Last time when something important was given to her, she had choked out there and had to salvage things.

So, when Rob suddenly came into the locker room in the morning and told her and Diana that they will be main eventing, she had almost collapsed from nerves. And to add to that, Rob had to go ahead and change some aspects of the promo by including Mr. Gibson in it.

Earlier, the plan was to have a one-on-one confrontation between Dacey and Diana. This entire angle about Dacey being Mr. Gibson’s protégé was going to be told later after their first PPV match.

But, Rob had changed it on the fly and had instructed them that they will include it for this week as he wanted the main event to have more impact. Luckily, Diana was a veteran who was able to adapt on the fly and had helped her to come up with a compelling way to pull it off.

If not for Diana, she didn’t know how much of a clusterfuck this could have become. Despite knowing that putting out such a story at this stage of their rivalry was detrimental to her standing with the crowd, Diana had been fine with it. Dacey truly admired the professionalism that Diana brought to the table.

Dacey knew that she would be immensely grateful to Diana for the rest of her life, especially for being game enough to agree to the change in storytelling direction. She knew that Diana would now have an uphill battle to reclaim the fan’s love after this segment when facing her.

As if thinking about her had brought Diana in, Diana walked into the locker room with a big smile. She embraced Dacey and patted her on the back.

"Dacey, that was the best goddamn promo I had ever seen a performer put out. You were amazing!!! I can’t believe I got to be a part of it," Diana gushed.

"You, you aren’t angry?" Dacey asked hesitantly.

Diana looked up in surprise and saw Dacey looking at her in trepidation.

"Why would I be angry?" Diana asked confused.

By now, the rest of the locker room had moved back giving the two women some space to discuss things. The atmosphere between the duo became a little awkward at that moment.

"You know... you know... out there, I just stole the spotlight," Dacey said scratching her head.

"Oh that, no, no, I am not angry about it. Look, Dacey, if it was any other segment, I would have been disappointed that the spotlight was skewed toward you. But, this was different."

"Let me tell you this, this segment is going to live on for a long time. The story we told out there, was going to be remembered and discussed by people for a long time. I can tell you this, what you, me, and Mr. Gibson created out there was something special," Diana said grabbing Dacey’s shoulders.

"Haven’t you seen their reaction?" Diana gestured toward others present in the locker room. "Didn’t you see the crowd eating out of our palms out there? Didn’t you see how others look at you when you came backstage? They know. They all know that this segment was something rare."

"Just like you know too," Diana said pointing at Dacey’s heart. "In there. In there you know what exactly you accomplished out there. You blew out all our expectations and brought something magical out there. Girl, you are a star now. As Rob used to say, whether the crowd hates you or loves you, from this moment on you will start putting assess in the seats."

"Now, if you are asking me whether I am jealous, then that would be a whole other question. Am I jealous? Absolutely. So is everyone here. We all yearn for moments like this. We all want a single moment like this to happen. This is the kind of moment that will define a person’s career in this industry."

"I am jealous that this story fell into your hands. I am jealous that it wasn’t me that was delivering your lines. I am jealous that Rob had made you a star in just five weeks."

"But, I am not angry at you. So, don’t worry. And I am also confident that Rob has something planned for me as well. If you hadn’t noticed, Rob likes his stories to have strong characters."

"Take the Triple Threat Match for example. There was no lopsided booking. We all were portrayed as equals. And come next week, I am sure Rob’s plan will help me earn back some fans I lost to you today," Diana smiled good-naturedly causing Dacey to roll her eyes.

Dacey had been anxious about the possibility of Diana being angry with her for stealing the spotlight. It was a legitimate concern. Diana just came back last week with great momentum. And this week was originally about Diana confronting Dacey and Dacey being a coward.

But, the sudden change in schedule altered the plans and made Diana play more of a supporting role than a lead role as was originally planned. Anyone would be angry with the change and person they perceived as someone who stole their spotlight. It was common in this business.

To hear that Diana didn’t harbor a grudge was a great relief to her. And with that burden out of her heart, the true excitement within it bubbled up.

Of course, she knew that what she put out there was special. Even if she was asked again to do it, she wasn’t sure that she could. That was one of a kind moment that would be hard to replicate.

And the timing was perfect too.

For weeks fans have been clamoring about knowing why Dacey did what she did. Tonight, they had given them a teaser about it. They had let the fans sneak a peek inside Dacey Surestone’s mentality.

Dacey knew that this would become the talk of the town soon. And next week, the expectations will be even higher than what it was today. And from the plans they had, Dacey knew that next week was going to be yet another banger.

This feud with Diana was becoming the most important aspect of her career at a breakneck pace. Diana knew it too. Dacey was sure about it. This feud would be the big launching pad for Dacey’s career.

"Do you think we did everything we needed to do out there?" Dacey asked Diana after a while.

"I don’t know. Actually, I feel as if we did more than we needed to do. As I said, this was one of a kind moment here. And I don’t think anything else could be improved," Diana said thinking a little.

"But.." Dacey wasn’t sure, however.

"I know what you are talking about," Alanna chipped in. "No matter what we do, that demon Rob will point out some places where we could have supposedly done better. It is as if he is never fully satisfied with our performance."

Alanna pouted causing others to chuckle.

"Yeah true, when my match with Selena was over two weeks ago, you know what Rob said, he said we needed to add a bit more realism while fighting in the crowd. Give me a break here dude, I just fell off the entrance stage and crashed into a table below and he says we lacked realism." Evelyn said shaking her head.

"If he says anything about this segment, I am going to bash his head with a steel chair," Alanna growled cutely.

"Oh, is that so?" Rob’s voice came from behind them causing Alanna to scream and turn around.

Rob stood there at the entrance. He looked as if he had just walked in and had heard the end part of the comment Alanna made.

"So, why am I getting a steel chair to my head here?" Rob asked looking at Alanna.

Alanna squawked and started stuttering. Rob shot her an unimpressed look before turning his eyes toward Dacey and Diana.

"Dacey, Diana, what you did out there was just fantastic. I can feel that this is going to be special. However.."

The moment the last word came out of Rob’s mouth everyone in the locker room groaned. Diana and Dacey were snickering as they tried hard not to laugh out loud. Alanna’s face was reddish by now and Evelyn was shaking her head amusedly.

Rob looked at the locker room in confusion. He didn’t know why everyone reacted like that. He was worried for a second if he had heard it wrong, but the reactions of everyone before him confirmed that his hearing wasn’t at fault here.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Rob asked with confusion.

"Nothing, nothing, don’t mind them. You were telling," Diana took charge and steered the conversation back to the original track.

"Well," Rob wasn’t sure anymore if he wanted to say what he was going to say. "Well, I just thought it would have been even better if Dacey had slapped Mr. Gibson out there before walking off."

Silence engulfed the room as they all digested Rob’s statement. As much as they hated it, they knew that such an action would have had more impact as well. Dacey grew red in her face. She blamed herself for not even considering that idea.

"Anyway, as I said, what you both did out there was fantastic. And you have proved to everyone that the women’s division in LWC can carry the burden of being in the main event. Congratulations."

The women present smiled at that statement.

"But, don’t get complacent. It is better if we all had a level head. And I don’t think the main event spot will open up anytime soon now. But, this has made your stock rise as an entire division."

"So, to continue on, Evelyn and Selena will be featured next week. As you know, the initial plan was to bring you both back after the PPV, but I feel that we can capitalize on this momentum and see if we can push you two also up the card."

Evelyn and Selena smiled gratefully as others patted their back.

"We can schedule Leia’s return to the ring the show after the PPV. She will be facing Joselyn. Alanna, your role in that match will be to be the goofy one who is trying to encourage Leia and help her win. Unfortunately, Leia is distracted by you, allowing Joselyn to pick up her first victory. From then on, you and Leia will be featured at least semi-regularly to establish you both as a chaotic duo," Rob said looking at the three.

All three nodded.

"When Marie comes back, she will join Joselyn and all four of you will feud a little, culminating in a tag team match in PPV. Meanwhile, Fiona, I hope your training has been going well. I can see that you have started shaping your muscles. You will start competing soon in basically squash matches and start establishing yourself as a huge threat."

"So, are there any questions you need answers to at this moment? If so, be quick, I have to go check on some things," Rob said looking at his watch.

"No, no, by the way, do you have sales data for the merchandise this week?" Dacey asked eagerly.

She had become a number addict ever since her first T-shirt started selling like hotcakes. She was always eager to know more about merchandise sales as it was one of the indicators she had for herself to determine if she was doing well.

"Well, from what I heard out there, Mark made a comeback and beat you to the top for this week," Rob said causing Dacey to deflate. "However, yours and Diana’s also moved well. They are in the top 3 across the board right behind Mark’s."

"What about Marshall Jones?" Alanna asked like the little goblin she was.

"His also did better," Rob said shooting a hard glare at her. He knew Alanna was purposefully being difficult.

"Rob, how is the general reaction out there? While we have an idea, it would be good to have another perspective," Diana piped in seeing Rob ready to leave.

"Hmmm, it is pretty much what we expected. The segment was great and received good reviews. But, the crowd is pretty confused as to how to feel about Dacey at this point. Which was exactly what we wanted them to feel when he planned this segment. So, I am pretty happy," Rob replied.

"I guess, they will be discussing it for the entire week. But, after next week and the PPV, we will make them hate Dacey completely. It needs to happen to move forward your story and establish yourself as the top face. Only when it happens can our following plans progress smoothly."

"What about our story?" Evelyn asked from the side.

"Your story has some interest. But, the heat from the brawl is dying down. That’s the reason I am putting you both on TV next week. This way you both will be fresh and current for the audience. And I have some plans regarding your rivalry. Basically, it will be about one-upmanship between you two. We will see how it goes," Rob said getting a nod from Evelyn and Selena.

"And mine?" Alanna piped up.

"Yours has barely begun," Rob said shooting an unimpressed glare at Alanna.

While others chuckled, Alanna stuck her tongue out childishly causing Rob to shake his head.

"If that is all, I will take my leave. I got places to be."

Dacey watched Rob walk away from the locker room. Even though she felt like calling him back, she didn’t. She merely watched him walk away.

"You know, someone else is going to jump in if you don’t get a move ahead," Diana whispered causing Dacey to turn back to her in shock.

"What? You thought you were being subtle?" Diana shook her head.

Luckily, her voice was low so no one heard her. Dacey shot her a glare with no heat in return.

"All I am saying is, go for it if you feel like it. But, do it fast. He is making waves and a lot of people have their eyes on him. Including some in the locker room," Diana whispered patting Dacey on the back.

Dacey bit her lips and turned to look in the direction Rob had left earlier. She hesitated a bit, but eventually shook her head and turned back to pack her stuff. Diana watched her actions and merely shook her head in sympathy.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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