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Chapter Forty-Five

AURORA

Rise

Episode 583

Lexington, Kentucky

I haven’t seen Theo since he rushed off to go see Nathan. My flight out was early, and I wanted to get home, take care of my ankle. We’ve been texting, and he’s been promising me a conclusion to what we started last week, but I haven’t gotten it yet.

When I get to the arena, I do my usual routine of checking the production rundown for the night and I notice something off. An unexpected pivot. Instead of the rematch against Micah being at the PPV, it’s tonight. After, Hext and Jules are scheduled to interrupt the celebration. I know that I’m meant to feud with Jules. Why are Hext and Theo going at it again ? We just ran that feud last PPV. Why is Micah getting bumped?

“What happened with Micah?” I ask as I enter Theo’s locker room, still limping but not on crutches. I’m not cleared to wrestle, but I can still valet, as long as I don’t get in the ring or take any bumps. The metal door swings shut behind me. “Why are you feuding with Hext again?”

“Good afternoon to you too, baby doll. Your makeup looks fantastic , by the way. Shayna really knocked it out of the park.”

Rolling my eyes, I throw the crumbled-up print off with tonight’s rundown at his head. He smirks when it bounces off the wall beside him. “What happened to Micah’s title shot?” I repeat the question.

“Getting all soft and sweet on Micah, Roo?” he asks. Something dark flashes in his eyes. Something a lot like jealousy.

Not touching that. “It’s a good feud. People want to see it. People want to see Micah get his main event shot. We saw you and Hext at the last PPV.”

“I don’t book. I only do what the bossman tells me.” His tone is so damn dismissive that I want to hit him.

Even all the time we’ve been spending together doesn’t make him any less… Theo . He’s still an asshole a lot of time, like right now.

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Theodore. You have more of a say in your booking than most people do. You know exactly what’s going on.”

He shrugs. “Can’t say I do.”

My eyes narrow. Fuck it. Fine . He doesn’t want to talk to me. I’ll go ask the man in charge. Turning, I leave the locker room and let the door slam behind me. The metal echoes in the corridor. I don’t give a fuck if it causes a disturbance right now.

Limping down the hallway, I stop at the door with Nathan’s name and knock. I’m not insane enough to stomp into my boss’s office.

“Come in!”

I open the door and Nathan’s brown eyes light up. He takes off his reading glasses, running a hand through his dark hair. “Aurora! I actually wanted to speak to you,” he greets me .

Any other time, that would make me panic, but he doesn’t look upset. This is the first time I’ve talked to Nathan outside of the HR meeting after my pictures got leaked. I was assured that it was going to be taken care of and no punishment would be given to me due to an ‘outside hack.’

So, I don’t think this is where my pay-per-appearance deal ends. They probably want Jules to go over in our feud first, make their next star look good, and then rid themselves of the train wreck that I’ve been.

Lowering myself into the chair across from him, I put my hands in my lap. “I have a question.”

“Question in a minute.” Nathan sorts through the stacks of papers on his desk. How he manages to travel with all this disorganization is beyond me. Sure, he’s like a billionaire, but I’d go insane if I were that messy. Finally, he pulls out a packet and slides it across to me. “You’ve knocked it out of the park, hiccups aside. Your work with Theo has been phenomenal . You’ve won the crowd over; you’ve made them hate you. There’s a spot for you here at GRW if you want it, Aurora.”

Listening to him, my eyes barely scan over the text on the paper in front of me as I soak it all in. An actual contract, not just a pay-per-appearance deal. Something real . Something solid.

“I’m…I’m signed?” I know how stupid that sounds. It’s obvious what he’s saying, but I need the verbal reassurance to pull me from this state of disbelief.

Nathan nods. “You’re signed as soon as you sign the contract. Feel free to look it over, take your time and—”

I don’t need to hear anything else. A stray pen is among the mess on his desk, and I snatch it. Not bothering to read anything else on the paper, I scribble my signature at the bottom of the last page. If my dad knew I signed a contract without reading anything, I’d get one hell of a lecture. I should read it .

But when your dream is right in front of you, you snatch it. No matter how shitty some of the pieces may be.

Nathan raises an eyebrow at my eagerness, but he doesn’t comment on it. “It’s a three-year deal. There’s a two-year option attached if both parties choose.”

A smile that’s so wide it hurts spreads over my lips. “Is it unprofessional to hug your boss after signing a contract?”

“Completely,” Nathan answers. But he doesn’t stop me when I stand and hobble to the other side of the desk, wrapping my arms around him. This man made my dreams come true. He deserves nothing less than a hug. “You had a question?”

The hug breaks and I look down at him. I’d forgotten all about that when the contract was in my face. Good to know I’m easy to appease. “Right. Why is the feud with Micah being dropped?”

“As Theo and I discussed the other night, actions have consequences. It’s about time he learns that, and all things considered, he’s getting off lightly.”

It’s not hard to put two and two together. Hext is the ‘break in case of emergency’ option for Nathan. Reliable, beloved, a respected veteran. “Theo’s dropping the belt?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis right now, Aurora.”

I thank him, grab the contract from his desk, and leave. Nathan’s a busy man. He has a company to run and a show to put on. He doesn’t need me in his office, asking a thousand questions that I doubt he’d answer. Actions have consequences . So what the fuck did Theo do?

There’s no need to storm into the locker room again; I catch Theo in the hallway. He smirks when he sees me, before he can open his mouth, I blurt out, “What did you do?”

The smirk stays on his face. “Gotta be more specific than that, Roo. I do a lot of things.”

Why does he insist on giving me a headache? “Why are you dropping the title? Nathan told me.” More or less .

“I can’t be champion forever.”

“Get more specific, Abrams. What. Did. You. Do?”

Theo takes a step closer, backing me up against the beige-painted brick wall. His eyes darken as he looks down at me, our gaze meeting. “You already know what I did, Aurora. I leaked my pictures on purpose, and I guess Nathan grew some balls and decided to take charge of his company for once. About damn time, honestly.”

“I didn’t ask you to—” That was weeks ago. Why is Theo just now being punished? Did it really take Nathan that damn long to come up with a plan?

“Didn’t say you did. I gotta go talk to Micah. See ya in a bit.”

Theo leaves me there, letting that information soak over me.

He’s dropping his title because of me. Because of my shit. He didn’t have to get involved and he did. Now it’s cost him.

Way to take the wind out of a girl’s sails.