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#Post#: 476--------------------------------------------------
Bigger Things - Chapter 3 - An Offer Declined
By: RampageSports Date: October 8, 2014, 8:27 pm
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Character Reference
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Richelle_100x120.jpg
Name: Richelle Winterfeld
Nickname(s):
Background: Owner of the RSI stable, former underground fighter
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Danni_100x120.jpg
Name: Danneel Harris
Nickname(s): Danni
Background: RSI stable leader, reigning DEF welterweight
champion
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Stephanie_100x120.jpg
Name: Stephanie McMahon
Nickname(s): Steph
Background: RSI's fighter development coordinator, former DEF
super heavyweight champion, current SCQ super heavyweight
contender
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Britney_100x120.jpg
Name: Britney Spears
Nickname(s): Brit, Queen B
Background: Team leader of Britney's Brutal Beauties, DEF
middleweight contender, training partner and close friend of
Elisha Cuthbert
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Elisha_100x120.jpg
Name: Elisha Cuthbert
Nickname(s): Leesh
Background: Team leader of Leesh's Lethal Ladies, DEF
middleweight contender, training partner and close friend of
Britney Spears
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Emma_100x120.jpg
Name: Emma Watson
Nickname(s):
Background: Reigning FAC featherweight champion, training
partner and lover of Tiffany Mulheron
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Tiffany_100x120.jpg
Name: Tiffany Mulheron
Nickname(s): Tiff
Background: Former ESL featherweight champion, current ESL
featherweight contender, training partner and lover of Emma
Watson
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Jennifer_Lawrence_100x120.jpg
Name: Jennifer Lawrence
Nickname(s): Jen, J-Law
Background: FAC middleweight contender
[hr]
Bigger Things - Chapter 3 - An Offer Declined
About an hour later, Emma gave a tap on my office door frame.
"Steph said you wanted to see me." she said.
"Yeah," I said. "C'mon in." I gestured toward the guest chairs
in front of my desk.
Emma stepped in, then turned and looked back toward the door.
"Last time I was in here," she said, "I landed on my bum. Right
about there." She pointed to a spot a few feet outside the
door.
I laughed. "I promise to let you go out with a little dignity,
this time."
"Very sporting of you."
"I thought so," I said.
We looked at each other for a moment, both of us smiling. It
seemed as though years had passed since that day, but it had
only been a couple of months, at most. We could laugh about it
now, but neither of us was likely to forget what had happened.
Nor would we forget the vicious brawl it had eventually led to.
But, in the end, Emma and I had made our peace, and our
relationship was stronger than it had ever been.
So, maybe it wasn't a total disaster, after all.
Emma took a seat, and I rose up and came around my desk, leaning
back against it as I spoke.
"So," I said, "do anything fun this weekend?"
She smiled. "Very funny."
"Seriously, Emma," I said, "that was an incredible speech. It's
got a lot of people talking."
"Thank you," she replied. "I wasn't sure how it would come
across, but I think it's worked out pretty well."
"You seem to be getting quite a bit of support from other
celebrities," I said. "Most notably from the men. I saw quite
a few who were quick to announce they were on board."
She nodded. "There's been a lot of positive response, so far."
"Also, it certainly has your teammates excited," I said,
thinking about my early morning wake up call from Ashley. "They
couldn't wait to tell me after they'd seen it."
She laughed. "I heard about that," she said. "Ashley is
very..."
"...motivated," I finished for her.
"Yeah," she said. "That's one word for it. Sorry she had you
up so early."
I shrugged. "Small price to pay."
Thinking about the blizzard of phone calls I received that
morning brought another question to my mind.
"Why didn't you tell us what you were up to?" I asked. "You
know we all would have been behind you."
It was her turn to shrug. "This was my thing," she said. "I
wasn't trying to rally support ahead of time. I just wanted to
put it out there, and see what happened."
"Well, everyone here heard you. Loud and clear," I said. "And
speaking of your teammates..."
Emma sat forward, recognizing we were coming to the real reason
I asked her to stop by.
"As you know, we're planning to put together a third entry for
the team competition."
Her expression brightened. "I'd love to be a part of it."
"Good," I said with a smile. "But, I was thinking more along
the lines of having you lead it."
The bright expression went away pretty fast.
"You're our youngest champion," I continued. "You fit in well
with the veteran fighters, but the younger athletes have a lot
of respect for you. And, I have no doubt you can handle the
job. You're the perfect choice."
She took a minute to consider her response.
"I'm honored," she said. "Really, I am..."
"I sense a 'but' coming," I said.
"I just... I don't think I can do it," she said.
"I know," I replied.
"I really want to but I don't think I could..." She stopped
mid-sentence as she realized what I'd said.
"Wait... what?"
I smiled at her. "I said I know."
"Then why did you ask?"
"Like I said, you were the perfect choice," I answered. "You
deserved the chance to turn it down."
"But you assumed I would," she said.
"I didn't assume it," I said. "I've spoken to no one but you
about this. If you had accepted, the job would be yours. But,
I did expect it... I sort of figured you had bigger things on
your plate, right now."
She was quiet again.
"You know," I said, "we were impressed with more than just what
you had to say the other day."
She looked up at me.
"We know the risk you took in standing up like this," I said.
She waved me off. "I didn't risk that much."
"Sure you did," I answered. "You put yourself out there for
something you care about. And you opened yourself up to a ton
of scrutiny and criticism. Not to mention those ever-present
jackasses that troll the web looking for sh*t to stir up."
Within just a few hours of the time the news of the speech
broke, some anonymous losers announced online that they had
embarrassing photos of Emma, and they were going to be releasing
them in the days that followed.
"What a bunch of rubbish that was," she said.
"Spoken with the confidence of a woman who knew those morons
couldn't possibly have compromising pictures of her," I said.
"And, there's only one way to be that positive."
She smiled.
Her little crisis with Tiffany aside, I've never met anyone who
has as much respect for herself as Emma does. You'll never see
her looking trashy to gain attention. At awards ceremonies and
public events, her attire is always chic and beautiful but never
inappropriate. She has, from time to time, bared a little skin
for a photo shoot. And even then, it always seems that she does
it on her own terms.
She knew nobody had n*de pictures of her because no such
pictures exist. Period.
But that's not to say that Emma isn't understanding about such
things.
"Speaking of compromising pictures," I said. "I saw what you
did for Jen."
"It wasn't just for Jen," she replied. "None of them deserved
what was happening."
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard
about the scores of young female celebrities that had their
personal data stolen from "the cloud" and released to the
public. In many cases, the stolen data included photographs of
a very private nature. One of those involved was RSI's
middleweight contender, Jennifer Lawrence. Shortly after the
photos were released, the young women found themselves under
attack from every direction. How had they allowed this to
happen? Why would they put such pictures out on the web? Why
did such photos even exist in the first place?
I admit those same questions occurred to me, as well. But, it
didn't take long for the criticism to get completely out of
hand. The women needed someone who wasn't directly involved to
speak up for them, and it was Emma who came up swinging. She
reminded people that a crime had been committed, and that it had
not been the victims who had done it. Whatever their reasons,
the women had a right to have such photographs. They also had a
right to expect them to remain private.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about," I said to Emma. "You
didn't have to put yourself out there like that. It had nothing
to do with you. But, for someone so quiet and reserved, you get
pretty ballsy when you see others getting pushed around."
She shrugged.
"You can downplay it if you want to," I continued. "But just
know that I understand what you're risking. So do your
teammates. And, for every troll that crawls out from under a
bridge to give you sh*t, there are hundreds of people... women
and men... young and old... who admire you not for your
celebrity, but for your selflessness and integrity."
She smiled. "So, you guys still have my back?"
"Front, back and everywhere in between," I answered. "We'll
follow you anywhere, Harry Potter Girl."
She blushed for a moment, then moved quickly to change the
topic.
"You still want me on the team?" she asked.
"You bet your ass,"I answered. "The featherweight slot is all
yours."
"What are you going to do about finding a team leader?"
"I'm thinking I'll have to find someone who's very, uh...
motivated."
It took a second for the light to come on. "Oh, wow... that'll
be interesting."
"You don't think she can do it?"
"I think she'll be great at it," she said firmly. "And the team
will certainly have it's own flair."
"With both of you on the team," I said, "I don't expect style to
be an issue."
She nodded. "An excellent point."
"We'll have to call you guys The Fashionistas, or something like
that."
"Oooh... I like it!"
"Yeah, great," I said. "Now, get out of my office."
She laughed, then turned a little more serious.
"Richelle," she said, "thank you. I really am honored that you
thought of me first."
I shook my head. "No, thank you, Emma."
She stood and we hugged each other again.
"Remember to keep your head up, out there," I said. "I have no
doubt you're going to face a lot of ugliness... including from
so called feminists who would rather rip men to shreds than
build women up."
She looked at me.
"Remember that nobody was talking about this until you gave your
speech," I continued. "It was your words and your ideas that
excited people. Don't let anyone tear you down for it."
"I won't," she said, the conviction strong in her voice. Then
she turned and headed out the door.
I remember having conflicting emotions as I watched her go.
Part of me that couldn't help but worry. What if she failed?
What if she couldn't achieve any sort of meaningful difference?
I could think of no one better than Emma to take up this cause.
If she couldn't do it, who could?
But part of me also marveled at this young woman, who seemed so
willfully committed to a goal that really has no upside for her.
She's a talented actress who seems to have no problem finding
her next role. On top of that, she already has more money than
she'll ever need. She's smart and mature well beyond her years.
Achieving gender equality would do precious little for Emma,
personally. Yet, she had chosen to put herself out there as a
target for naysayers, simply because she knew what she was doing
was right.
I shook my head, trying to clear myself of my uncertainty. She
could do it. I knew she could. After all, it's like I said to
Danni... I've learned from experience not to doubt Emma Watson.
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