Booking Glory-Chapter 80: Damage Control

Right at the top of Daily Herald’s sports page was a photo of Rob, Mr. Wagner, and Steven.

The photo angle was taken just right. It showcased him shaking hands with Mr. Wagner, as Steven had a hand on his shoulder and smiled as if he was introducing Rob to Mr. Wagner.

Below it was the article titled in bold letters.

[BUSINESS TYCOON WILLY WAGNER ENTERING WRESTLING INDUSTRY?]

Rob squinted his eyes and read further.

[Willy Wagner, a well-known business tycoon, hailing from Longham City is poised to enter the wrestling industry next.

It is common knowledge among the friends and family of Willy Wagner that he always had a soft spot for the niche sport of pro wrestling. He had been heard multiple times discussing opening a wrestling promotion with his close associates.

It wouldn’t come off as a huge surprise to anyone who knows the significance of Longham City to the sport of pro wrestling. The city is often regarded as the Mecca of Pro Wrestling due to the fanatical love its denizens have for the sport.

So, it is much of a surprise that business tycoon, Willy Wagner, wants to open his own pro-wrestling promotion. After all, as a native of the city, it makes too much sense for Willy Wagner to be drawn toward the sport he grew up watching.

"I grew up watching wrestling. Wrestling events are where I spent my weekends when I was a teenager. Wrestling will always have a special place in my heart."

The above is a direct quote from Willy Wagner a few years ago when he was interviewed regarding his favorite sport. It is clear from the above statement that Willy Wagner has always been partial to the sport, which many consider to be a niche sport that is beneath boxing, basketball, and other major sports in the country.

"I am actually surprised that it took him this long to get into the wrestling industry. Willy has been following the industry for a long time. He knows the ins and outs of the business. He is great friends with Steven Rush. I guess, it is only a matter of time before he dipped his toes into this industry," one of the closest associates of Mr. Wagner commented when we approached him to confirm the news.

While no clear announcement has been made regarding the business tycoon’s entry into the industry yet, the signs are heavily favoring his entry. It is reported that he has been seen with his close friend Steven Rush a lot in the past few weeks.

Steven Rush, 63, is considered to be one of the most prominent bookers in the wrestling industry. Steven Rush is considered to be a well-respected and well-connected figure in the circle. He is also considered to be a godfather-like figure to several famous pro wrestlers currently active.

Steven Rush, who is currently working as the Head Booker for AWF, the preeminent wrestling promotion in the world, is said to be leaving the company after three decades of service due to creative differences with the top executives in the company.

To add more credence to these rumors, sources report that Willy Wagner and his close friend Steven Rush have been meeting with various talents in the industry in the past few weeks and are conducting closed-door discussions with them.

The above photo was taken last night in front of Sliding Door, one of the elite bars in Longham City, when Steven Rush(middle) introduced Rob Williams(left), an emerging booker and commentator for LWC, to Willy Wagner(right). Following that, the trio went inside the bar and was said to have an hour-long discussion in a private room.

While we do not have any concrete news on what was discussed by the trio, extrapolating on the given data we can conclude that the business tycoon’s entry into the industry is all but confirmed.

...]

Rob groaned inwardly as he speed-read until that point. Glancing further down, Rob noticed that the article went on to list several prominent names in the industry that have been said to have had a similar discussion with the duo.

As for the bit he put out regarding not receiving any offers, it was nowhere to be found. He felt like throttling someone at this point. He looked up to find Mr. Gibson fuming at him from his seat.

Rob knew that things had gone terribly wrong somewhere at this juncture. The way this article was written, it pretty much insinuated that he was one of the notable names that were in discussion with Mr. Wagner and Steven Rush.

And the worst part was the photo that was used.

The photo of him, Steven, and Mr. Wagnar, made sure that he was tied to this turmoil irrevocably. It painted a picture as if he was one of the most important prospects that were currently in talks with the duo. It pushed him directly into the eye of the storm that was coming.

"Well, what do you have to say to that?" Mr. Gibson demanded angrily looking at Rob.

Rob had never seen Mr. Gibson this angry before. So, it came off as a huge surprise to him. Mr. Gibson had always come off as a calm and composed leader. The few times he showed his temper, he was always in control of it.

However, he was not looking at Rob as if he had betrayed him personally. Rob didn’t know why Mr. Gibson was this angry with him, but he knew clearly that he was on very thin ice here. So, he decided to assuage Mr. Gibson as much as possible.

"Mr. Gibson, I have no idea what this article is talking about," Rob played a confusion card right at the beginning.

"You have no idea?" Mr. Gibson’s eyes widened incredulously.

"No, I have no idea. It is true that I met with Steven yesterday. It is true Mr. Wagnar was present there for our meeting as well. It is true that they discussed opening a promotion. But, apart from that, I have no idea what this article is talking about," Rob said directly looking into Mr. Gibson’s eyes.

"You think this is some gossip?" Mr. Gibson asked not believing Rob. "Damn it, Rob. This is not some gossip rag or a wrestling journal creating things out of nothing. This is a legitimate newspaper. For fuck’s sake, this is the Daily Herald we are talking about."

Mr. Gibson slammed his hands on the desk angrily.

"I don’t know what to say, Mr. Gibson. Steven called me yesterday and invited me for a drink. As you know, Steven was the one who introduced me to you. I can’t in good conscience ignore such an invite, can I? As for me being in talks with them, that is pure bullshit. Why would they even want me? I am not some popular star for them to try and poach," Rob said sincerely.

"So, you say you just met him out of respect?" Mr. Gibson asked as if he didn’t believe Rob.

"Yes," Rob said succinctly. "As for Mr. Wagnar, he came in halfway during our meeting. This photo was probably taken while I was leaving."

Mr. Gibson frowned a bit.

"Did they discuss anything else with you?" Mr. Gibson asked suspiciously.

"Actually, I knew that I needed to leave when they started discussing starting a new promotion. It is one of the reasons that I left early. I didn’t want to get entangled with all that drama. However, it looks like I have been dragged into it unwittingly," Rob said with a wan smile on his face.

"Oh," Mr. Gibson looked at Rob as if he was trying to determine the truth of that statement. "So, Steven didn’t offer you anything?"

"Apart from a good bottle of single-malt whiskey, nothing of worth was offered to me," Rob smiled shaking his head.

"Hmmm, in that case, I apologize," Mr. Gibson grunted. "It looks like I overreacted a bit."

"No need for any apologies, Mr. Gibson. I completely understand where you are coming from. Moreover, it was you who gave me a chance. Steven might have recommended me to you, but it was you who saw the potential in me and allowed me an opportunity to test my ideas. I will always be grateful to you for that."

Rob laid it in thick. He knew that this wasn’t the time to hold back. He needed Mr. Gibson to believe him. If not, things will get tricky. If his relationship with Mr. Gibson suffered due to this, then his time at LWC will become hard. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Did you learn anything from their discussion?" Mr. Gibson asked curiously.

"Actually, I think we have nothing to worry about. Their target is AWF. Their sights are set high. And the list of names mentioned here confirms that as well. Apart from me who was included by mistake, every one of these names is a notable figure in the wrestling industry," Rob pointed that particular tidbit out so as to distance himself from the issue.

"Hmmm, looks like Steven is not going to quietly go off into the sunset like those people in AWF hoped," Mr. Gibson murmured to himself.

"I think, this is a good thing for us. Now, AWF and other top promotions will be focusing their attention on them. This will give us enough breathing room to stabilize our positions," Rob said trying to steer the conversation further away from the potential minefield.

"You are right," Mr. Gibson nodded. "Sorry about my behavior earlier. As you can imagine, this came off as a huge surprise to me."

"Actually, it came as a huge shock to me as well when I learned about their intention to start a new promotion," Rob chuckled. "If there isn’t anything else, I am returning to my office."

"Go ahead, I too have a ton of shit to work on," Mr. Gibson said scowling at the mountain of paperwork piled up on his desk.

Rob smiled seeing the paperwork and nodded in agreement. He bid Mr. Gibson goodbye and walked out of the room. The moment he walked out of the room, he let out a huge breath he had been holding in.

This wasn’t how he imagined things to progress.

The ideal thing for him would be for the article to just mention his name along with the other potentials in a long list. However, by putting a photo of him in the article, it had made him feature more prominently than he would have liked.

Now he understood why the whisperings and stares were a little more intense than he had anticipated. He had thought it was some normal reaction or surprise on their part, but now things were entirely different. This changed how people actually viewed him in this company.

Rob knew there wasn’t anything he could do at this moment. The only thing he could do was to keep his head down and ride out this maelstrom. When some other information pops up eventually, people would lose interest in him. He knew how quickly people’s interests changed, so he wasn’t worried about it much.

But, that didn’t mean that he needed to be passive. First and foremost, he had a call to make. Rob walked purposefully to his office and shut the door. He took a few deep breaths and then took out his phone. He found the number he needed and pressed dial.

"Hey Rob, congratulations. I never expected you to feature in Daily Herald this soon," Todd’s voice came from the other end enthusiastically. "Are you sure that there isn’t anything major you are keeping from me?" Todd asked Rob.

"Todd, do not test my patience now. You told me that you would feature my quote, but I didn’t see anything in that article," Rob hissed.

"Well, it isn’t my article, is it?" Todd replied nonchalantly causing Rob to grit his teeth. "Mine is coming out in two days. I have featured your quote in that. This article was done by the folks at Daily Herald. I have no influence over them."

"Oh," Rob deflated a little, "Is there any chance that your article can be released sooner? I am under a lot of pressure here at LWC."

"Not a chance. Anyway, what happened with LWC?" Todd asked curiously.

"Well, Mr. Gibson wasn’t pleased with the article. I just came out of his office. I had to calm things down here. Your article would be a big help for me right at this moment," Rob said massaging his brows.

"I don’t know what to say, Rob. Look, my article is going to act as a follow-up of existing news. We are going to milk this story for a long time. So, don’t worry much. A lot of articles will be popping up soon," Todd said consolingly.

"They better," Rob muttered. "By the way, what do you mean by follow-up?"

"Well, they are going to run with this existing story for a day or two and provide updates later. That way they will be able to get more mileage out of the story," Todd explained slightly.

"You mean, they are going to run with this story for the next two days, huh? That means, my name will be associated with this for at least the following week, right?" Rob said frowning.

"Maybe for more time, who knows? It will all depend on the response your comments get," Todd replied.

"Oh," Rob scowled a bit realizing that he wasn’t in the digital age anymore.

If it was in the digital age, tons of articles will be published at the same time. And the people who had updates will race to publish them as early as possible as well. That meant, whatever follow-up of a story that existed will be coming out by the next day or so.

However, in this current age where newspapers were the primary news sources, newspapers had complete monopoly on news. Unless someone had connections in TV channels or radio stations, they had to wait for the newspapers to print the story at their leisure.

This was a huge bummer for him. If the photo featuring him wasn’t there, it wouldn’t have made much of an impact. But, with the photo, the level of impact was different.

Rob knew there wasn’t much he could do at this moment. The only thing he could do is to wait for the article featuring his comment to come out and see where the wind blows.

"Anyway, sorry Todd," Rob said wrenching his mind away from the troubling thoughts, "I was just a little frazzled."

"Don’t worry, it happens to all of us. Was Mr. Gibson angry?" Todd asked.

"Well, he wasn’t thrilled to see his employee featuring prominently in big news like this. He called me in and asked me if what the article insinuated was true. I had to convince him that things were a bit exaggerated," Rob said relaxing a little.

"Man, that must be one hell of a conversation," Todd replied in a hesitant tone, "you have my sympathies. Well, look on the bright side, you now have the popularity and recognition you deserve."

"I would have gladly traded it for some peace of mind," Rob snorted.

"Don’t be such a downer. If anything, Mr. Gibson will be more eager to keep you around after this. Now he knows that everyone out there knows who you are and where you work. I think he is worried that you will get some better offer and switch," Todd said.

"Not going to happen, I am fine here," Rob chuckled.

"Hey, never say never in this business. This industry brings together strange bedfellows far more often than you might think," Todd chuckled back.

"I know," Rob laughed aloud. "Ok, I gotta get back to work. See if you can publish that piece sometime sooner. It would be of great help to me."

"I will try, but no guarantees," Todd replied.

Rob cut the call and relaxed a bit. He knew that Todd was right in a way. Mr. Gibson will be more eager now to retain his services than he was before. And from the way Mr. Gibson reacted, Rob knew that he valued him as well.

At least, something good came out of this mess.

Rob let out a huge sigh and dived once more into the pile of work that was waiting for him.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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