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#Post#: 586--------------------------------------------------
A Chosen Leader - Chapter 2 - By a Jury of Her Peers
By: RampageSports Date: October 29, 2014, 10:39 pm
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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/Ashley_100x120.jpg
Name: Ashley Tisdale
Nickname(s): Ash, Tiz, Blondie Girl, Sharpay
Background: ESL bantamweight contender
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Aly_100x120.jpg
Name: Alyson Michalka
Nickname(s): Aly
Background: FAC light heavyweight contender
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Kristen_100x120.jpg
Name: Kristen Bell
Nickname(s): Princess Anna
Background: DEF bantamweight contender
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Petra_100x120.jpg
Name: Petra Cubonova
Nickname(s):
Background: DEF heavyweight contender
[hr]
A Chosen Leader - Chapter 2 - By a Jury of Her Peers
Later that afternoon, Ashley reappeared in my office with Emma
in tow. They both looked like they had some big secret they
couldn't wait to share, which left me wondering if I should make
a run for it. It was already too late though, so I stayed where
I was.
"We got it," Ashley said, with an enormous smile on her face.
I looked at her, then at Emma, who was nodding and smiling just
as big. I didn't know who they'd come up with, but I knew this
much... they were sure they'd made the right choice. I couldn't
see how that was possible, given the list they had to choose
from. But there was no denying the look on each of their faces.
"You have a thought on who should lead the team?" I asked.
"No," Emma said. "We have the answer."
If that statement had come from Ashley, I would have taken it
with a grain of salt. I love her to death and I trust her
implicitly... but she's the type who gets massively excited
about how well the color of her dress brings out her eyes. So,
she's prone to a little overstatement. Emma, on the other hand,
was as grounded a person as I'd ever met. Her excitement I
could buy into... and now, I was excited, too.
"We even have the team name all picked out," Ashley said.
The two existing RSI teams are named for their leaders. I was
quite certain that, whatever these two had come up with, they
intended to continue the pattern.
By this point, Ashley was so worked up, she looked about ready
to burst.
"Jesus, Ash," I said, "spit it out, would'ya?"
"The Alley Cats," she blurted out.
I looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "The Alley Cats?" I
asked incredulously.
"Not 'alley,'" she said as she flopped the latest issue of TKO
magazine down on my desk. "Aly."
On the cover was a photo of a casually posed Alyson Michalka,
one of three RSI athletes to come away from the recent Lingerie
Invitational tournament with a title win. For Aly, it was a
successful defense of the crown she had won the previous year.
As usual, I was still confused.
"I don't understand," I said. "Aly's already on Britney's
team."
"Get her off," Emma said. Her certainty was almost scary.
"Richelle," Ashley said, "you asked us to find you the right
choice." She tapped her finger on the magazine cover for
emphasis. "It's Aly. Think about it. There's no one better."
So I sat back in my chair, steepled my fingers in front of me
and did just that.
Alyson Michalka is a world-class fighter in a weight class
loaded with world-class fighters. There isn't anyone she can't
beat, but there also isn't anyone who hasn't beaten her.
Winning consistently against that sort of competition is almost
impossible. So, if anyone had learned to persevere in the face
of adversity, it was Aly. And, after some initial frustration
issues that cost her dearly, she has somehow developed an almost
Zen-like patience. She is confident that, no matter what kind
of setback she suffers, she has the skills to get back where she
needs to be.
Patience. Perseverance. Confidence. Skill. That only left
one question. Could she lead?
I've seen first hand the effect Aly has on her peers. They've
watched her struggle. They've seen her doubt herself. And,
they've seen her battle back from it. When she won last year's
Lingerie Invitational, the women of RSI lost their collective
mind. And with her successful defense this year... let's just
say that party's still going on.
But the most important clue was right in front of my face. The
two most senior members of the prospective team had been the
ones to come up with Aly's name. They didn't just like Aly.
They wanted her to lead them. In fact, they were so excited
over the idea, they were practically vibrating.
As for me, I've said many times in the past how much respect I
have for Aly. In fact, Aly was someone I'd considered to lead
one of the original RSI teams. But, after talking it over with
Danni, we agreed she wasn't ready at that time.
Hmmm. Danni.
I was pretty convinced that Ashley and Emma had it right, but
there was no harm in asking the person I trusted most to
weigh-in.
"Hey, Danni," I called out to the neighboring office. "You got
a second?"
A moment later, RSI stable leader Danneel Harris appeared in my
doorway.
"You think you just yell for me and I come running?" she asked
with some annoyance.
I looked at her, stunned. "All I did was ask if you have a
second."
"What am I, your dog?" she said. "Do I get a biscuit, now?"
The thing about the biscuit was a step too far, and it made me
realize she was screwing with me. I had recently noticed this
was happening more and more, which, as you might imagine, simply
made me giddy with joy.
"Don't f*cking start, Danni," I said. "We're trying to do real
work over here."
"That happens in this office?" she said.
I did my best to look p*ssed as I said, "Listen b*tch, this is
the office where the magic happens. For starters, this is where
I sat when I decided to hire you."
"And then it all went downhill," she deadpanned.
"All right," I said, "what the hell is going on with you? When
did you decide on this new career in comedy?"
"Just feeling funny today," she answered.
"Today?" I said. "It's been like, all week. And it's time to
give it a rest. We actually have something serious to discuss,
for a change."
I looked over at Ashley and Emma, who both looked bored at the
nonsense going on between Danni and I.
"Hey," I said in their direction, "nobody asked you for your
opinion."
They rolled their eyes in unison.
"These ladies have a recommendation for the new team leader," I
said to Danni.
"Oh, really?" she said with a light-hearted smile.
I picked up the magazine and showed her the cover.
Her eyes went wide and the smile vanished as her mouth fell
open.
"Holy sh*t," she said, and that was all the confirmation I
needed.
I turned back to Emma and Tiz.
"Holy sh*t, indeed," I echoed with a nod. "I think we have
ourselves a winner."
They both smiled broadly as I hit the speaker phone and dialed
down to the training area.
"What?" barked Stephanie McMahon as she answered.
"Hello to you, too, Sunshine," I said.
"Don't start with me," she said. "We're just a few days out
from the next event. Bell and Patrick look like rookies.
Spears and Cuthbert are trying to kill each other, which makes
me really excited about the idea of them facing off for real.
Cubonova has a title fight, and her game is falling apart. And
Harris has to defend her title, and I can't even get her to come
down here."
Okay, so it was likely that none of those things were true. But
Steph gets a little worked up as fight night draws near.
Actually, now that I think about it, the part about Britney and
Elisha was probably accurate.
"I told you I'd be down in a little while," Danni protested.
"That was hours ago," Steph said.
"Buy a watch, Steph," Danni said. "It was about ten minutes
ago."
"Whatever," replied RSI's fighter development coordinator. "Just
don't blame me when Loken puts you through the fence."
Danni just rolled her eyes.
"Hey, this is fun Steph," I interjected, "but I actually called
for a reason. I need Aly up here."
"Are Watson and Tisdale on their way back down?" she asked.
Another point about Steph... when she gets like this, she
apparently forgets everybody's first name.
"No," I said. "They're still here."
Stephanie was well aware of the reason Emma and Ashley were in
my office. Even in the grip of her pre-event despair, it only
took her a few seconds to put it all together.
"Holy sh*t," she said.
"I think that makes the verdict unanimous," I said. "Send her
up, Steph."
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