Sean made his way to Mr. McMahon's office, filled with anticipation. He stood outside the door for a second to catch his breath. Then, readying himself, he knocked, rapping five times with the knuckles of his right hand.
"Come on in," he heard the WWE Chairman call.
He did as instructed, his hand turning the door handle. He stuck his head in first, almost tentative as he greeted the older man.
"You wanted to meet with me, sir?"
"Yes, Sean," Vince replied. He stood up and moved out from behind the desk, gesturing with a wave of one hand. "Please, sit down. Make yourself comfortable."
O'Haire sat down and eyed his boss expectantly. He was normally a very even-keeled and calm guy, but for some reason, his stomach was doing flip-flops right now.
Vince sat on the very edge of his desk, basically leaning on it. He templed his fingers and eyed the younger man with fondness. The truth was, he liked Sean O'Haire. He saw a ton of potential in the younger man. O'Haire had it all - the looks, the exceptional mic skills, and a tremendous amount of wrestling prowess. And Vince wanted to reward the man.
"First of all, I wanted to thank and congratulate you for rejoining the company."
Sean was slightly taken aback. He wouldn't have expected this, and not from the boss.
"Well, thank you, sir."
Vince waved him off, shaking his head as well.
"Enough of this 'sir' business," he cut in. "Feel free to call me Vince." He smiled, then went on. "My daughter Stephanie had been all the rave about you," he said. "She can't seem to stop praising you every chance she gets. Now, since she had a keen eye for business, I've decided that I want to take her suggestions to heart."
Sean rose his brows as he listened. What exactly was Mr. McMahon about to propose here? He was suddenly literally on the edge of his seat.
"We're going to give you a shot at the WWE Championship," Vince declared, his face lighting up. It seemed as though the evil genius in him was taking over as he laid down the myriad of ideas on the table. "We want to put you in a program for the title, and not just in any fashion."
"Wow... I don't quite know what... That you, Mr. Mc... Vince."
the Chairman smiled as he eyed the younger man. Yes, O'Haire was certainly a deserving candidate. He liked the fact also that he would actually appreciate the opportunity he was getting and not expect it as though it were his birthright. And by damn, as much as he loved Paul like his own son, that was precisely the way he acted about getting a championship shot. And frankly, Vince was getting a little tired of it. The man never showed any humility, not ever. In that respect, Sean O'Haire was the antithesis of Paul.
"Before you thank me," McMahon said, holding up one forefinger, "there's more."
More? Sean thought. What else could be possibly as great as what he's already told me?
"I've seen how you are with my daughter. And I know for a fact that she thinks extremely highly of you, Sean," the older man said. He clapped his hands together and went on. "So, what's I've decided to do is to pair the two of you up onscreen."
O'Haire arched an eyebrow in surprise. It had been ages since Stephanie had been onscreen on a regular basis... And Vince wanted to return her to TV by putting her with him? Hell yeah!
"Wow..." he breathed. "Really?"
"Really. She is going to be your manager, effective immediately. To be frank, I haven't even talked to her about this yet, but I don't see her saying no to the idea!"
Sean could suddenly not stop grinning. He stood up, putting his hand out toward the boss.
"Thank you, Vince," he said, finally remembering to call the man by his first name as he wished him to. "Thanks a lot. I'm very pleased by your news - and with your ideas."
"It's a pleasure." The older man shook his head and nodded, smiling.
*
Just outside the office, Paul Levesque felt his blood pressure rising by the minute. He'd heard everything, every single word, and he didn't like it one bit.
It was his worst fears brought to life. Vince had just given O'Haire the spot that was rightfully his. Hell, he was even putting his ex-fiancee with the prick!
He backed away from the door, seething mad. He was going to have words with the old man over this.