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Amy stared at Eric Bischoff with a combination of shock and outrage. She could not *believe* what she was hearing from the General Manager and was reminded of what a slimy, underhanded creep she'd always thought he was. Now, she knew for sure that she'd indeed been correct in her thinking.
"You *can't* be serious!" she cried, gesturing wildly with one hand.
"Believe me, Amy - I am *dead* serious," the man said. He smiled at her tauntingly, happy that there was no way the redhead was going to be able to get out of this. He hadn't forgotten how she'd tried to fuck with the storylines a few months back, and he would be damned if he was going to allow that to stand unanswered.
"But... But you *can't*! You can't expect me to do this!" My God, Amy felt as though she were trapped in the middle of some impossible, albeit horrible dream. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be having this conversation with Bischoff. It was too crazy! Was it possible that she was actually still at home, in bed, laying beside Adam and dreaming? 'More like having a nightmare,' she told herself. But it was real.
"That's where you're wrong," Eric stated firmly, all traces of amusement suddenly gone from his face. He eyed her seriously, anger clearly beginning to show. "I *expect* you to do this, and I don't care how much you hate it. This is a fantastic idea, and it's going to happen. And it's going to happen as of... tomorrow's RAW!"
Amy felt sick as she stared at the GM. What in hell had she ever done to deserve this? He was going to force her into a storyline with someone she despised?? She couldn't believe this.
"Damn it, Eric... I won't do it!" She crossed her arms under her breasts in a defensive posture. She had her rights, and she knew how the company operated. She was allowed to object to a storyline or to working with certain people if she felt uncomfortable with it or them.
"No... You're not hearing me," Bischoff said menacingly. "You listen, and listen to me real good, Amy - if you don't do this, your precious husband will *never* get another shot at the Intercontinental Championship, let alone the *World* title."
The redhead stared into the man's dark eyes with horror, her heart leaping up into her throat. She couldn't believe this. It felt so surreal, as though it weren't truly happening. The bastard of a General Manager was actually threatening Adam's career. She felt as though the walls were closing in on her, but damn it, she was not going to allow this asshole to fuck with her husband's career, everything he'd worked so very hard for. For God's sake, Adam hadn't even returned to the ring yet after being out fourteen months thanks to a broken neck!
She had no choice and she knew it... And *Bischoff* knew it. The man smiled smugly at her as he awaited her to respond. She swallowed hard and slowly, very reluctantly, nodded.
"Fine... I'll do it," she said. She felt absolutely sick to her stomach.
"Fantastic," Eric said, that stupid smile plastered to his face. Amy wanted more than anything to just smack it clean off. Instead, she looked up and toward the door. "Is that all?"
"Yes... For now. As I said, you can expect this to start taking place as soon as tomorrow. We'll work something out as far as a match goes. But for now, you can leave." The General Manager waved his hand in the air in a dismissive fashion, and Amy was only partly relieved as she slipped out of the room.
She stood just outside the door for a long moment, trying to get her bearings. She was in shock. She couldn't believe it. And then, after a moment, she regained her senses and started the walk down the hallway back to Adam.
She was almost there when she suddenly realized she was being watched. She could feel eyes on her, and as she looked up and over her shoulder, sure enough, that was the case. She scowled with disgust as she caught sight of them. The pair was looking closer than two peas in a pod and extremely taunting as they smiled at her - particularly Matt Hardy. She knew he had to have known what her meeting with Bischoff had been about, and he was enjoying it. His girlfriend, Torrie Wilson, had such a big smile on her face that her dimples were poking through her cheeks.
"Lookin' forward to tomorrow night's RAW, Amy?" the dark-haired man asked. With those words, he burst out in uncontrollable laughter, and the blonde at his side giggled as well.
The redhead rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning back to face forward. She wasn't even going to bother with them. Lord knew, she would have to deal plenty with *him* before she knew it. Instead of giving them the satisfaction of a response, she hurried her steps and rushed to the locker room, where Adam was waiting.
She came to the door and knocked, hoping she would be able to face him without having to explain. He was nervous enough as it was with his first match back after his neck injury, and this would only aggravate him. Hell, who was she fooling? It would totally *infuriate* him!
The door opened quickly, and the tall blond man smiled as he held the door open for her, ushering her inside with one hand. He was dressed for his upcoming match, clad in a pair of black tights and boots. She gazed down at the red cast on his left hand, recalling that the stipulation for tonight was that Edge was banned from using it as a weapon in his match against Kane. If he did use it and was caught, he would be suspended.
"Almost time for my match," he announced. He looked as excited as she knew he felt. She couldn't tell him, not now. Now was the absolute wrong time for this kind of news. He seemed excited, but then he suddenly did what Amy hoped he wouldn't and questioned her. "So, what did Bischoff want?"
"Um... Nothing. Not much, just letting me know something about tomorrow night's RAW." She pressed her lips together, inwardly praying that he wouldn't ask her anymore for now. She just wanted him to get through his first match back successfully, and without any additional stress. She could always talk to him later.
"Hmm... Okay," he replied, giving her an odd look. She knew he didn't quite buy her answer. "Well, my match is coming up in a few," he continued, "so I'm heading out to gorilla. Want to come with me?"
The redhead nodded, offering him a smile she didn't feel but had to force. So, with that, she headed back out
into the hallway, and her husband followed her out, grabbing his royal blue trench coat.