Page 68 of Glorious Ruin
Cameron left, and we settled alongside Evan for a few minutes. Everyone had something nice to say or congratulations to give as we all engaged in some classic banter. We made it to our cubbies, but the peace didn’t last.
As I squatted down, trying to fix a loose lace on one of Silas’s wrestling boots, the door to the locker room banged open with a kick. “REED! KINCAID! OUT HERE! NOW!” Presley screamed with a mottled face as he barged through the entry.
Silas and I jumped to our feet while the entire locker room went dead silent, and every eye fixed on us. Cautiously, we followed Presley into the hallway, letting the heavy door slam behind us. The second the latch clicked, he turned on us.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he screamed. “You’ve fucked the storyline! You’ve fucked the ratings! I told you both to keep it quiet, and you went and pulled a goddamn PR circus!”
He stepped back, pacing the narrow hallway, but he was far from done. “The office is in a frenzy. The guys whoactuallybuilt this industry, they’relivid. Those men went from gods in the ring to corporate machines. They have zero mercy for what you’ve done to the integrity of the business, and they want your heads on a platter!”
I stepped forward, placing myself slightly in front of Silas. “How is us being together any different than a straight couple, Presley? There are three couples on the main roster right now whose storylines ended months ago, and they’re allowed to walk around hand-in-hand. Why are we being treated like we committed a crime?”
Presley stopped pacing as his eyes narrowed on us. Instead of responding to the logic, he pivoted. “What I saw in that locker room just now waswildlyinappropriate. The whispering and touching… It’s going to make the rest of my employees uncomfortable. I have a responsibility to maintain a safe and professional work environment, and you two are a distraction.”
He pointed a finger down the hall. “From now on, you’re not permitted in the main locker room. Effective immediately, you are restricted from that space. Get your shit out of there right now and go to the room at the end of the hall. I can’t handle any more goddamn meetings with HR because of theissuesyou’ve created.”
“And just so you know, Silas… The storyline has been moved up. You’ll be working with Martinez starting tonight.No more mistakes. As for you, Kincaid, you’re off-screen.Indefinitely. You’re lucky I’m even letting you stay in the building.”
As we grabbed our gear from the locker room each pair of eyes fell upon us. The guys inside had heard every word. We walked out with our heads down, staying quiet as we headed for our new space.
It was a supply closet. A small, windowless room filled with mops, extra rolls of tape, and the smell of industrial cleaner. One folding chair sat in the corner, and a single light bulb dangled from the ceiling. I threw my bag to the side, and the sound of it hitting the concrete echoed in the tiny space. Silas sat on the folding chair, his head in his hands.
“A supply closet,” he whispered with a brief laugh escaping him. “We’re the top fighters in the UWF, and they’ve put us in a supply closet.”
I walked over to him, taking his hands in mine and squeezing hard. “It doesn’t matter, Si. It’s just a room. They can’t hide us away forever.”
I stood next to the monitors in Gorilla, my arms crossed over my chest with my eyes fixed on the screen. On the monitor, Silas stood in the center of the ring, the Heavyweight belt glistening as it rested on his shoulder.
And across from him: Rico Martinez.
“He’s pacing too much,” Evan whispered from beside me, having snuck into Gorilla to stand with me. He leaned in closer, his breath bristling against my ear. “Look at his feet. He’s nervous as hell.”
“He’s twenty-something and cutting a promo with Silas Reed,” I whispered back, my eyes glued to the monitor. “Heshouldbe nervous. Silas will eat him alive if he misses a single line.”
“You talk about legacy, Silas,” Rico spat into the mic, his voice carrying through the arena speakers. “You talk about honor, but we all know the truth. You’re aReed. It’s because of your daddy and uncle you got your spot here, isn’t it?”
Rico walked a circle around Silas. “Reeds…they protect their own. You all circle the wagons to make sure the family stays on top. So, let’s be honest…that’s the only reason Deadlock’s where he is, right?”
Beside me, Evan’s spine straightened, and his brow furrowed. “Wait, that’s not the line. He’s supposed to talk about entering the Front Lines match.”
“What?” I asked.
“Rico’s line is supposed to be about building a team to go against Silas in the War Zone match,” Evan said, his voice dropped in a tense whisper. “He skipped that entire part of the promo. He’s going off-script, Cal. He’s shooting.”
On screen, Rico stepped closer to Silas. “People treat Kincaid like he’s a god, but now we know the truth. We all know how this little set-up works. I mean, back in the day, people said the women slept their way to the top to get TV time." Rico smirked, leaning into the mic. “Well, I guess gender doesn’t matter when you’re on your knees, does it? Kincaid didn’t earn that top spot by wrestling. He didn’t earn it with his Iron Man matches or broken bones. It was earned by blowing the boss’s favorite legacy hire.”
“What the fuck is happening?” I breathed.
“He’s fuckingshooting,” Evan hissed, his eyes wide. “He’s actually shooting onlive TV. Presley is going to kill him.”
The arena went deadly silent. Rico had just reduced my entire career to a sexual favor in front of hundreds of thousands of fans.
One thing about Silas is he’s spent his entire career keeping his discipline locked down. Not once has he ever lost his cool.Until now.
There was no scripted TV reaction. He didn’t look shocked or try to play to the crowd. He dropped the belt, and it hit the canvas with a heavy thud that echoed through the silence.
“Oh God. Look at Silas’s face.” Evan ran a nervous hand through his hair. I was looking, but I wasn't seeing the corporate champion standing in that ring anymore.
I was seeing Maverick Reed’s son.
