____________________________________________________________

Amy pulled into a free parking space at the arena, put her rental in park and exited the car.

She was uncertain as to whether or not she should drag her luggage inside, as she was only expecting to have a meeting with Stephanie McMahon.  As far as she knew, even if the SmackDown General Manager hired her right on the spot - which, actually, she'd already done over the phone last night - she didn't think she'd be on the show on such short notice.

The redhead made her way down the hall and smiled as she spotted Janet, the makeup artist.  They exchanged pleasantries until Amy asked the woman where Stephanie's office was located.

"Amy, it's so great to see you again..." the older woman said as she squeezed her hand.  "I'm so glad you'll be on SmackDown after what happened last night..."  Janet raised a hand to her mouth.  "Oh, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay...it happened, but now I'm moving forward," the diva assured the makeup artist.  She smiled warmly.  "Well, I'd better get going - Stephanie's expecting me."  After a moment, Amy continued on her way down the hall and to the GM's office.

"Yes, I see...Well, that certainly is a shame..."

The redhead could hear the brunette speaking on the phone as she approached the room.

"It's a very noble gesture, but...yeah," Stephanie said, and as Amy neared the doorway and peered inside the office, she saw the GM with her gaze fixed on the array of papers on her desktop.  It sounded and looked as though her conversation was pretty serious.

"It shouldn't have had to come to this..."  Stephanie suddenly looked up and saw the redhead just in her doorway, and she gestured with her free hand for her to come in.

"All right, Mom...Thanks for letting me know about it," the brunette said, and she chased the words down with a sigh before continuing.  "All right...Bye."

Amy had sat down in one of the chairs situated just before Stephanie's vast mahogany desk, and now she exchanged glances with the GM.  She wondered what had happened and if the brunette was going to indulge her.

"Well, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Amy...and sorry for making you wait."

"No, that's okay."

Stephanie sighed again, an unhappiness taking form on her face.

"We have a little situation on our hands," she told the other woman.

"What do you mean?" the redhead asked.  She assumed the 'situation' the GM was referring to had to do with the telephone call she'd just ended with Linda McMahon.

Stephanie braced herself, biting her lip gently as she straightened up in her chair.  She knew the news she was about to deliver would be quite a blow to the other diva - and that Amy might very well feel responsible, even though she wasn't.

"My mother just informed me of Jeff Hardy's release from the WWE..."

"Jeff Hardy's - what?!"  The redhead stared at her in shocked disbelief, her eyes widened.  She must be mistaken in what she thought she'd just heard Stephanie say.  It couldn't be right - it just couldn't...

"Jeff's been released," the brunette reiterated sadly.

"No...Please tell me you're joking..."

"I wish I were," Stephanie said as she folded her hands primly atop the desk.  "But it's the truth..."

Amy's head was practically whirling as she desperately tried to force her brain to accept the news.  Her best friend - not only in the company, but in the world - had been released...

"According to Mom, he demanded his release this morning," the brunette continued, and she felt herself actually cringing inside as she began to further explain.  "He felt that what Eric Bischoff had done to you last night was so unfair, so unjust, that he no longer wanted to work for a company that would allow such things to happen."

As Amy stared at the GM in even further shock, Stephanie angrily tossed down the pen she'd been holding.

"Damn it...I would have loved to bring Jeff to SmackDown, but he asked for his release all together - not merely from RAW, but from the WWE..."

Amy finally found her voice again.

"It's not your fault, Stephanie..."  She made a mental note to call Jeff as soon as possible.  Damn it... She'd thought about the idea of him doing something rash because of what had been done to her.  Damn if she didn't know him better than she knew her own self...

"Anyway..." the brunette said, straightening her shoulders and appearing business-like again.  "Onto our meeting...Since you can't wrestle for another two months, I really think it would be a great idea for you to manage one of the guys."

"Okay..." Amy said, finding it difficult to shift her mind away from Jeff and his unbelievable actions.  "That sounds fine.  Who do you have in mind for me to work with?

"Well, I have just the perfect match for you..." Stephanie said, and the high-flying diva couldn't help but think the GM's words and smile alike would be more appropriate if she were fixing her up romantically.  "How would you feel about managing Edge?"

Amy blinked in surprise.  For some reason, Adam Copeland was the last guy she would have expected Stephanie to put her with.

"Edge, huh...?"