Post by matt on Jan 31, 2022 15:33:57 GMT -6
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Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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The British Bombshell is flying to Boston to visit with her biological mother, Mary Ford. Glory and her mother at one point had a close relationship. But that close relationship ended when Glory was just fifteen when her father, Glenn Braddock, suffered a career ending back injury that forced him into retirement. Glenn would immerse himself into his work training future wrestlers, including his daughter Glory. But Mary could not handle the life of being married to Glenn Braddock. It was more like being married to wrestling. She fully expected him to devote more time to her since he could no longer wrestle but he still managed to find a way to devote more time to wrestling than he did to his family. He didn’t even treat his daughter like family but rather he treated her as a student. Mary chose to leave Glenn. An unfortunate side effect of leaving Glenn meant the custody battle for Glory Braddock. Glenn won full custody in court and as a result Mary didn’t even see her daughter for years. The separation of Glory from her mother caused a rift, the two grew distant. In fact, it wasn’t until her father died that Glory Braddock decided to even attempt to mend the rift between her and her mother.
The attempt to form a relationship with her biological mother has been met with mediocre success at best. They are on good terms but Mary and her daughter still live rather far away from one another. When she’s not wrestling Glory calls Miami, Florida home but Mary spends her time in Boston, Massachusetts with her nieces, Glory’s cousins Angelica Jones and Kayla Jones-Snow. Mary has a close relationship with Angelica and Kayla. It is rather odd that she would be closer to her nieces than she would be to her own daughter. But Glory has a reason to be in Boston more frequently than she usually would; she is a silent partner in the modeling agency owned and operated by her cousin Kayla Jones-Snow. Glory will visit Kayla to keep tabs on her and the modeling agency and while she’s there she can visit Mary and at least attempt to reform that bond, that relationship they once had.
Glory Braddock is in the living room of her mother’s home in Boston, Massachusetts. It is much more modest than what Glory is used to living in. The truth is, Glory didn’t used to live in opulence, either. She used to live much more modestly, much like her mother and father. This small, plaid patterned sofa is comfortable enough for Braddock’s taste as she sits with her feet tucked up underneath her. She is wearing a pink t-shirt and silky pink pajama bottoms. Her long blonde hair hangs straight and unrestrained to past the shoulders. Mary enters the room with two glasses with her. She hands her daughter the glass with red wine and she keeps a glass with a clear liquid for herself. Mary, with a big smile on her face, sighs and sits down next to her daughter.
“Wine for you…” she then sips her own clear liquid “...and vodka for me.”
“I never understood your fascination for vodka, mom.” Braddock remarks stoically.
“I am Russian, Gloria.” She chuckles. “Need I say more?”
“That stuff will kill you.”
“My dear, moderation is the key to everything.” Mary holds up her glass of vodka. “Yes, this will kill me, but only if I abuse it. Your wine that you love so much will kill you if you abused it. It is called alcoholism, Gloria.”
“Well I’m not an alcoholic so you don’t need to worry about that.” Braddock says as she sips her wine. “Are we seriously going to argue about alcoholism all night or can we try to enjoy one another’s company?”
Mary chuckles a little as she sets down her vodka. “Fair enough. I am glad you came by, Gloria. We do not spend nearly enough time together. I only wish you brought my precious grandchildren with you. Where are Melinda and Dawn anyway?”
“Melinda is overseas competing on the European circuits. Dawn is with Kurt. They are on their way ahead of me to my next scheduled wrestling event. I am competing that night and I need to win.”
“Need to win, do you?” Mary shakes her head with a sense of disappointment in her voice. “I have heard that many times before from your father.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh I most definitely understand. I spent twenty years married to your father and watching him throw his body, his life, into the sport, and eventually sacrificed his health to it. I then spent time watching your cousins, Angelica and Kayla, do the same thing. I have watched loved ones sacrifice so much for what they believe in, sacrifice everything for a win. So yes, I understand.”
“This is about more than just a win, mom. If it were just about winning it wouldn’t be a problem.” Glory sips her wine one more time before setting her glass down “I was there too, if you recall. I remember how dad was, how he threw everything into his craft. Everything to him was a must win. Every match for him was a match he needed to win. He went into every match with that mentality. It became unhealthy, not just for him but for the family. It led to you and him breaking up. One thing I can safely say, I do not have that kind of unhealthy obsession with wrestling. I do not have that kind of mindset. I do want to win every match, sure, but not every match is must win. But this one ...it IS a must win match.”
Mary sighs deeply. “I will take your word for it.”
Braddock rolls her eyes. “Dad would have understood, you obviously don’t.”
“Gloria…”
“Look, mom, maybe we shouldn’t talk wrestling? I mean, it never worked for you and dad, and I doubt it’ll work for us.”
Her maternal instincts tell Mary that her daughter needs to talk about this more even though she denies it. But at the same time she recognizes that her relationship with Glenn deteriorated because of wrestling. Perhaps it is best if they avoid the subject of wrestling for now, especially if Mary and her daughter are to reform that bond that they once had? Mary sighs and nods her head.
“Well, what else has been going on in your life then?”
Satisfied that they have moved on from wrestling talk, Glory picks up her wine and starts sipping it again. “Kayla and I are working together. Did she tell you?”
“No she didn’t.” Mary says, her interest clearly peaked. “What are you two doing?”
“She needed my help a few months ago with her modeling agency and so I became a silent partner.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in modeling.” Mary states. Braddock shakes her head.
“I’m not. In fact, I know nothing about modeling. But I did want to help my family, so when I learned Kayla was having financial difficulties I decided to support her agency using my company’s resources.” Braddock sighs deeply. “And I also met someone at the agency.”
“Who?”
“A young woman named Fiona. Fiona Osbourne.” Glory sips her wine. “Kayla thinks I should mentor her. But I’m not so sure.”
“Why not? What’s wrong with the young lady?”
“She has some…baggage.”
“Don’t we all have some baggage?”
“Yes, but Fiona’s baggage is rather difficult to deal with. Do you remember what happened to Kayla after my aunt Kelly was murdered?”
Mary winces. This is a very painful memory. She nods her head. “Yes…” her voice trails off “...I was still overseas in England. And your father refused to let me get involved. Had I been tough enough to stand up to him perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps….”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Glory reaches out and places a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “But yes, Aunt Kelly was murdered and Kayla ended up in a foster home. Her foster father was abusive and forced her into modeling at a young age so he could exploit her beauty for his own profit. Fiona is in a similar situation. Her parents are out of the picture and Fiona ended up in foster care. The foster father got her involved in modeling so that he could exploit her. Lucky for Fiona she is now of age and her foster father no longer has a legal hold of her. But that isn’t stopping him from trying.”
“He’s still harassing the poor girl?” Mary asks. Glory nods her head.
“Yes…and Kayla is worried that Fiona won’t have the courage to stand up to him. Kayla wants me to mentor Fiona, to take her in so that she won’t have to stand up to him.”
Mary appears to be very distraught. She wipes a tear from her eye. “Gloria, I recall that Kayla was sexually abused by her foster father. You are telling me that Fiona is suffering from a similar situation that Kayla suffered from. Does that mean that…” Mary cannot even finish the sentence, the thought is too painful. But Glory already knows what is going on and shrugs her shoulders.
“I have no idea. Kayla didn’t say.”
“Still, Fiona is clearly in trouble. Maybe you should do something?”
“No, absolutely not.” Glory says, vehemently shaking her head. “Nothing good can from me helping her.”
“How could you say that? Helping people is what you do. It’s…”
“You don’t get it.” Glory says out of frustration. “Fiona is currently overseas training at dad’s…my wrestling school.”
“Wait a second, she is at the school? She wants to be a wrestler?” Mary asks quizzically. Glory nods her head.
“Yes. Apparently Fiona adores me. I was her inspiration. She wants to break away from modeling and get into wrestling. That’s her career choice. I helped her get in at my school but what Kayla is asking me to do, taking Fiona under my wing and mentoring her, that’d be like singling her out. I do not want to single any particular person out as special in my school. I do not want to show favoritism.”
“I may not know much about Fiona or what’s going on but I do know that you help people. That has always been your best character trait. What could it hurt to take this young girl who clearly adores you, and help her out? I mean, obviously she has no family that could help her. You could be her family.”
Braddock sighs deeply. As much as she hates to admit it, her mother is right. Fiona needs help. She needs family. “You’re right, mom. Fiona has no one she can rely upon. Her biological father, the best I can tell, abandoned her. Her mother is dead. Her foster father is an abusive, controlling, drunk. Fiona needs help but she doesn’t just need a mentor, she needs a family. I’m just not sure I have the time or the ability to be that person in Fiona’s life.”
“Yes, she does need a family.” Mary points at her daughter. “You could be that family, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean adopt her. Become the mother she has lost, the mother she needs. Then you would truly be giving her what she needs…a family, not just a mentor but a family.”
“That’s bloody ridiculous.” Glory shakes her head. “I cannot fill in as a mother figure for Fiona. Besides, I doubt Fiona would even accept it.”
“It isn’t ridiculous. After all, you eventually accepted and even embraced the idea of Aphrodite Noel as your adoptive mother; to a point that, for many years, you wouldn’t even recognize me at all.”
“It’s not the same…” a tear forms in Glory’s eyes. She doesn’t like being reminded about how she emotionally hurt her mother by agreeing to acknowledge Aphrodite as her mother. On the same token, at one point she refused to acknowledge Aphrodite just to maintain power within her company, and that emotionally hurt Aphrodite as well. She doesn’t like being reminded of this, but Mary persists.
“Isn’t it? Just take Fiona in. Let her live with you, officially or unofficially as your adopted daughter. That’s all she needs. She needs a family. She needs…”
IT ISN’T THE SAME!” Glory snaps back angrily, shouting at her mother at the top of her lungs. “What Aphrodite and I have is different! You cannot ask me to do to Fiona what Aphrodite did for me! You cannot ask me to do it and I won’t! I won’t! I…” Glory stops her rant as she notices the color slowly start to leave her mother’s face.
“Glory…”
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Glory starts to get frightened as her mother clutches at her chest. Mary then falls over off of the sofa and onto the floor. Glory drops to the floor and checks on her mother.
“Mom?! Talk to me! Mom?! MOM!!!!” Braddock quickly leaves her mother’s side and rushes over to a telephone. She picks it up and immediately dials 911. “...HELP! Send an ambulance! My mom, I think she just…I think she just had a heart attack!”
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Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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When Glory Braddock made the flight from Chicago to Boston she fully expected to spend time bonding with her mother. She didn’t anticipate getting into a heated conversation with her mother, she didn’t anticipate snapping at her mother, and she definitely didn’t anticipate accidentally giving her mother a heart attack. But that is exactly what has happened and now The British Bombshell is spending the remainder of her saturday night in Massachusetts General Hospital by her mother’s bedside.
It was quite a severe heart attack and while Mary is certainly not out of the woods yet, she is at least stable and Glory is thankful for that much. She is also thankful for the fact that she is joined here by her cousins, Angelica and Kayla Jones. All three women are in the hospital room by Mary’s bedside. Glory is on her mother’s right side while Angelica and Kayla stand by her left side. Angelica and Kayla are doing their best to maintain the appearance of strength for the sake of their cousin. It was just a couple of years ago that Glory suffered from the emotional and mental torment that the death of her father, Glenn Braddock, took on her. Now her mother is hanging on by a thread.
“I’m sorry, mom…” tears are flowing down her cheek. Braddock has been crying for quite some time now. She is nearly out of tears to shed. The guilt is overwhelming because she blames herself for putting her mother here, she believes she is to blame for her mother’s heart attack. Kayla, though, shakes her head.
“It isn’t your fault, Glory.”
“Isn’t it?” Glory looks up at her cousin with a distraught look upon her lovely face. “Mom was just trying to tell me something. She was just trying to help me…and I didn’t want to listen. I threw it back in her face. I lost my temper and I shouted and…” she looks back down at her mother’s lifeless form “...her heart just couldn’t take it.”
“We all lose our tempers from time to time. It’s normal.” Angelica chimes in. A smirk forms upon her face. “I mean, my sister broke a very expensive lamp just because the Pats lost.”
“Fucking Buffalo…” Kayla growls. Despite the situation even Glory cannot help but chuckle a little about this. Angelica grins and nods her head.
“A smile and a laugh; that’s a little better. Trust me, your mom will be fine.”
“I hope so. If she dies because of me I wouldn’t…I couldn’t forgive myself.”
“Stop it.” Kayla snaps at Glory. “It wasn’t your fault. Your mom already had heart problems and you know it. Something like this was bound to happen with or without you. You just happened to be there when it happened and thankfully you were. Because she might not have survived had it not been for you.”
The British Bombshell does not immediately answer. She knows what her cousins are trying to do but she just cannot bring herself to believe them. Her mother came close to death thanks to her. She brought about this heart attack. The guilt is overwhelming. Braddock’s self-blame is brought to an end when the door to the hospital room opens. A man dressed all in black wearing a clerical collar walks in. All three women smile politely at the arrival of the family’s priest, Fr. Fitzgibbons.
“Thank you for coming, Father.” Kayla says, greeting the priest with a warm grin.
“Of course, anything for a family that has been such a staple of my parish for so long.” Father Fitzgibbons is the priest of the local catholic church where the Jones family have attended for nearly their entire lives. Mary herself has been attending this church for her entire life. Glory Braddock only recently converted to Catholicism. The priest approaches Glory and places a hand on her shoulder. “How are you holding up, Ms. Braddock?”
“Not well, Father.”
“Your mother will be fine. I assure you.”
“I just feel like I am responsible for this in some way. Especially considering how I yelled at her. I gave her this heart attack. I…”
“No you didn’t.” The priest insists as he shakes his head.
“You say that, my cousins say that, but I just can’t bring myself to believe it. She was trying to help me when I lost my temper and shouted.”
“What was she trying to tell you…if you don’t mind telling me, of course…”
Braddock considers telling the priest but then she takes a quick glance at her cousin Kayla Jones-Snow and decides against it. It was Kayla who brought up the idea of Glory mentoring Fiona in the first place. When Glory told Mary about the idea it was Mary’s persistence, her encouraging of Glory to not only mentor but to take on Fiona as an adopted daughter, that caused Glory to snap and lose her temper. She isn’t sure how Kayla would react to all of this. And this isn’t a conversation she wants to have with Kayla right now. Glory shakes her head.
“I’d rather not say, Father. I apologize.”
“Don’t apologize. Some things are best kept private. But if I may offer some advice, perhaps one way to honor your mother would be to take whatever it was she was trying to tell you and think about it. Whatever she was trying to tell you she probably had her reason, I’m sure she thought it was important. So consider what she had said to you in those final moments before the heart attack.”
Braddock nods her head. “I will, Father.”
“Excellent. Now let us pray…” the priest turns towards Mary. Glory, Kayla, and Angelica all bow their heads. “...God our Father, your Son accepted our sufferings to teach us the virtue of patience in human illness. Hear the prayers we offer for our sick sister Mary. May all who suffer pain, illness, or disease realize that they have been chosen to be saints and know that they are joined to Christ in his sufferings for the salvation of the world. Lord Jesus, You willingly gave yourself up to death so that all people might be saved. Listen to our prayers; look with love on your daughter Mary. We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…Amen.”
“Amen.” Glory, Kayla, and Angelica all cross themselves and say amen in unison. The priest begins again with another prayer but Glory is no longer paying attention. She is still distraught over her mother. She is hopeful that she can pull through this and recover. But she is also thinking about what the priest said. Her mother was just trying to help her, she was just trying to offer some advice and Glory didn’t want to listen. But maybe she should listen? Kayla first suggested that Glory take Fiona under her wing, Glory’s mother Mary endorsed the idea, so maybe Glory should take on Fiona as a special project? What harm could it do?
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.”
“Amen.” Glory says quietly.
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Raleigh, NC
Off Camera
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Glory Braddock can recall in graphic detail the events of January 15th in Boston, Massachusetts as she was visiting with her mother, Mary Ford. It was supposed to be a brief layover, a brief time to visit with her mother and try to repair a relationship that has been in disrepair for quite some time. Instead The British Bombshell had to bear witness to her mother having a massive heart attack. Luckily for her mother Glory was there and was able to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. The heart attack was a severe one, severe enough that it could have killed her had Glory not acted quickly enough. But Braddock did act quickly and the doctors were able to save her life. The British Bombshell doesn’t view this as a stroke of luck. Instead she feels incredible guilt over the entire event. The heart attack happened to strike immediately after Glory lost her temper and started yelling and shouting at her. Braddock cannot help but feel somewhat responsible for the heart attack. She cannot help but feel as if she is the one who brought about the heart attack because of what she said to her mother.
The British Bombshell is incredibly grateful to still have her mother. She is incredibly grateful that her mother survived the heart attack. If nothing else this incident did provide a wake up call for Glory Braddock. She recognizes that certain things need to change with herself, with her very life. She spent a few more days with her mother in the hospital. But Glory realizes now that maybe she is placing too great an emphasis upon wrestling, maybe she is losing track of more important things in her life. Her mother’s heart attack has forced Glory to take a look into the mirror and realize that she needs to make some serious changes with her life. So she has made one final side trip to Raleigh, North Carolina to meet with her company’s Board of Directors. There are many skeletons in her closet, many secrets she has kept, and it is high time that she rid herself of those secrets and of the pressure she has put upon herself.
Braddock is walking through the halls of the Raleigh corporate offices for Glorious Golden Enterprises. Ordinarily Braddock would schedule such a meeting in Miami, her preferred location; but for what she is planning to say, for the revelation she plans to drop upon the Board, she feels it is only appropriate to host this meeting at the Raleigh headquarters, the original home of her company before she moved it to Miami. Glory is dressed nicely, dressed to impress in a pink two piece jacket and lace dress with matching pink high heeled leather pumps. A warm, friendly smile is etched across her face. The beautiful blonde approaches her secretary, a brunette young lady who is stationed in front of her office. The secretary is dressed in a navy blue suit skirt outfit.
“Hello…” Glory pauses for a moment as she struggles to remember this woman’s name. She doesn’t spend nearly enough time in Raleigh for her to know these employees as well as the Miami employees. “...uh, Julianne, right?”
“Yes, that’s right Ms. Braddock.”
Glory sighs with a warm smile on her face. She looks down at Julianne and nods her head. “Thank you. And, uh, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry? For what, Ms. Braddock?”
“Just for…” Braddock shrugs her shoulders “...for being me, I suppose. I mean, I haven’t exactly spent as much time around the offices here. I admit, I have inadvertently ignored the Raleigh offices and all of you who work here.”
“You’re a busy woman, Ms. Braddock.”
“I am but that isn’t an excuse. Everyone here is just as valuable to my company as those who work in Miami. I realize that now and I hope to make things right very soon.”
“Well, I appreciate the kind words.” Julianne smiles. “But, really they’re not necessary.”
“Thank you, Julianne, but they are necessary. And maybe some action is necessary too.” Glory looks up, past Julianne towards a door marked ‘Conference Room’. Braddock motions to the door. “Has everyone arrived?”
“Yes, they are merely waiting on you.”
“Is the minority shareholder there?”
“Yes, Ms. Aurora Alan has arrived.”
“Great. Thank you again, Julianne.”
Aurora Alan needs to be at this meeting. Before making the trip from Boston down to Raleigh, Glory reached out to Aurora and invited her to this meeting. She wasn’t certain that she would show up. As the minority owner, Aurora’s presence is not truly necessary, but Braddock hoped that she would show up. She is glad she did. Braddock walks past Julianne and approaches the door. Glory pushes the door open and steps inside the conference room. Inside there is a large oval shaped table with the entire Board of Directors sitting around it. Sitting at the far end of the table is company president Francis Taylor and at the near end sits the minority shareholder Aurora Alan, youngest sister of Matthew Alan, the founder of the company itself.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Braddock” The Board Chairman Sam Hopkins says. He looks at the watch on his wrist and then looks back up at Glory, smiling. “You are on time today. Congratulations.”
“I probably deserve that.” Glory says chuckling. “I haven’t exactly been known for my punctuality. It is one of many faults I have. And I do apologize.”
“There is absolutely no need for an apology, Ms. Braddock. In fact, the Board is quite pleased with your performance as of late. Between the success of the wrestling school, our partnership with your cousin’s modeling agency, and the new health insurance plan for our employees, you have really outdone yourself.”
“Thank you, Sam,” Glory sighs deeply and shakes her head “and I wish I could say that this meeting would be another celebration of our success.”
“Regardless, you are the owner of this company, you have proven yourself to this Board, and we are happy to be back here in Raleigh where this company was born.”
Glory nods her head. “Yes, and it is no accident I chose to have this meeting here in Raleigh as opposed to Miami. While expanding our reach to Miami has proven to be a success, I seem to have forgotten this company’s roots. I have chosen to ignore this company’s traditions. And the fact is that this company began as a North Carolina company before going global. That is my fault, one that I will not make again. Starting today you will probably notice that more of these meetings will take place in these Raleigh offices.” Braddock motions to Aurora Alan.
“I am also pleased that Aurora Alan decided to join us.” Glory smiles warmly at Aurora. “Your family started this company. Yes, I took the financial risk of buying this company to try and bring it back. Yes, I may be the owner today. But ultimately your family will forever be tied to this company. This is your birthright, Aurora. So thank you.”
“Thank you, Glory.” Aurora responds with a nod of her head.
“And I want to thank the entire Board of Directors for showing up today for this important meeting. I need to get something off my chest, something very important.” Glory takes in a deep breath and sighs. “Back in 2012 when I bought this company, you trusted me to run it to the best of my abilities. And I did my best…for two years I tried to do right by this company. Then from 2014 to 2015 I acted strangely. My devotion, my loyalty to a person who once worked for this company, made you uncomfortable. My devotion to Aphrodite Noel made you uncomfortable. You briefly took away my power to act on behalf of the company and it bounced around from one corporate president to another. You later trusted me to run the company again with the promise that I would see a psychiatrist to ensure that my judgment would not be clouded by my loyalty to my mentor. And for a time I did see that psychiatrist.” Her voice trails off. Braddock pauses for a few moments before shaking her head.
“I have stopped seeing that psychiatrist. In fact, I have not been seeing that psychiatrist or any psychiatrist for a long time now. I have been deceiving you in letting you believe I was still attending sessions with the psychiatrist. I apologize for the deceit and I promise to resume my sessions with the psychiatrist.” Glory approaches Aurora Alan and stands next to where she is seated. “Ultimately all I wanted was what was best for this company. I love this company and I truly believed that I knew what was best for this company. And maybe I do? But the fact is that if no trust exists between you and I, then how can I truly make the appropriate decisions for this company? So until further notice, Aurora Alan, the minority shareholder, the minority owner of this company, is the decision maker. Whatever she says has my stamp of approval.”
“What?!” Aurora is taken by surprise. She stands up from her chair and looks in Glory’s eyes. She can tell that the blonde is serious about this. “Glory, you don’t have to do this. The Board trusts you. The Board no longer cares about whatever relationship you have with Aphrodite.”
“Maybe they don’t care but I do. The fact is that I have been misleading and deceitful in corporate practice. I have not been acting like Glory Braddock. In fact, when I look in the mirror I don’t even know who I am anymore. I need this time off from running the company to remind myself just who the hell I am, Aurora. And I will need someone to run the company in my absence. Who better to run it than the sister of the man who founded this company?” Glory smiles warmly as she places a hand on Aurora’s shoulder. “Like I said, this company is your birthright.”
“Are you sure you wish to do this?” Board Chairman Sam Hopkins asks. “Like Ms. Alan said, we trust your judgment.”
“I need to do this, Sam.”
“Very well. By voice vote, who approves of Ms. Braddock’s proposal?”
“Aye!” The entire board unanimously says.
“All opposed?” Hopkins waits but there is no response. He nods his head. “Very well, the vote is unanimous.” He gets up and approaches Glory Braddock. He extends his hand. “Thank you, Ms. Braddock; thank you for your honesty. I hate that you are leaving us.”
“Thank you, Sam. But don’t worry, I’m not leaving. I’m just taking a break to discover myself.” She chuckles. “Or maybe I should say, rediscover myself?”
“Best of luck, Ms. Braddock.” They shake hands and then he turns to face the entire room. “We are adjourned.”
With that the entire room stands up and begins to make their way out of the room, everyone except for Aurora Alan who remains standing there staring skeptically at Glory Braddock. The British Bombshell and Aurora Alan remain staring at each other for several tense moments while the conference room empties. Once it is completely empty Aurora speaks up.
“What’s wrong, Glory? What makes you think you need to do this? I thought running this company was so important, I thought…”
“It is important to me!” Glory exclaims as she finds a seat at the oval desk. Aurora sits down in the chair next to hers.
“Then why cede power to me?”
“Look, it is hard to explain. You’re just going to have to trust me.”
“Trust you? How am I supposed to trust you when you won’t tell me the whole story? You said yourself you have been deceitful lately, you admitted to misleading the Board of Directors. So if you want me to trust you to run your company then try telling me the truth. Why do you feel you need to step away from this responsibility?”
Glory sighs and shakes her head. “You may not have heard but my mother had a massive heart attack this past Saturday.” Braddock pauses to let her words sink in. Aurora immediately softens her demeanor. She wraps an arm around Glory’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea. How is she doing?”
“She survived, thankfully. But the entire incident, everything, it would not have happened had I not lost my temper with her. It would not have happened had I not argued with her, if I had just shut up and listened to what she was trying to tell me. And all she was telling me…” Glory wipes a tear from her eye “...all she was trying to tell me was that I should help someone.”
“Someone specific or just help someone in general?”
“A specific person. Her name is Fiona Osbourne. She is one of my cousin’s models but she doesn’t really want to be a model. She wants to be a wrestler. I helped her get started by getting her into my wrestling school. But my cousin wants me to do more. She wants me to mentor her, she wants me to take her under my wing. When my mom found out about this, she was insistent that me helping Fiona was a good idea. She wanted me to mentor Fiona. That’s when I snapped, that’s when I lost my temper and shouted at my mother, sending her into a heart attack.”
“Glory, everyone loses their temper from time to time…” Aurora says in an attempt to console Glory. But Braddock isn’t hearing it. She shakes her head.
“That’s what Kayla said, that’s what Angelica says, that’s what our priest says, but how do any of you know? The truth is, Aurora, that all of this has rocked me to my core. My mom is right, I should want to help Fiona. That’s the kind of person I was raised to be…that’s who I was once. But I have changed, and not for the better. I am selfishly thinking about myself and not about others. I’ve forgotten who the hell I am, Aurora!” Glory stands up and motions to the conference room. “I am not a business woman! I am not a fancy wealthy stuck up corporate bitch! That’s not me! None of this is me! I became that person when I was mentored by Aphrodite Noel. What started as a mentorship became a much closer relationship. It was so close that I started thinking of her as my true mother, because my real mother in my mind had abandoned me. I was devoted, loyal to that woman. The old Glory Braddock, the person I used to be, was lost. I need to know if that person is still there, buried somewhere deep down inside. I need to know if I am still a good person.”
“That’s crazy talk, Glory.” Aurora states definitively. “Of course you are a good person. You have done so much for so many people. Hell, you took a giant risk in trusting your ex-boyfriend in order to get the employees of this company full health insurance coverage. That was all you.”
“Yeah, I did that. But does it balance out with all of the bad I did?” Glory sighs and shakes her head. “I just don’t know. I do know that I need to find out if that good-hearted, kind-hearted person is still there, if that old Glory Braddock is still there, or if whatever was done to me by Aphrodite is permanent. I need to try and find myself, Aurora.”
Aurora sighs out of frustration. Clearly she is not going to talk Glory out of this. “Well at least tell me how you are going to do this?”
“I need to go back to my roots. It’s just like with this place…it started with you and your family. Now it is back in your family with you running the show. I need to go back to where I started and I started as a wrestler, not as a corporate snob. That’s why I transferred power to you. I want to focus only on wrestling as that was my first passion. And I know I can trust you to keep this ship afloat and successful if I decide at the end of all of this that the corporate snob is here to stay.”
“Fair enough.” Aurora says, nodding her head. “So is that it? You’re just going to fully immerse yourself in wrestling?”
“No, because that was my father’s mistake. Fully immersing himself in wrestling cost him his family. It made him forget who he used to be. Wrestling is only one passion of mine. The other is helping people. My mom was right, so was my cousin…what makes me great is my passion to help people. So I am going to mentor Fiona. And hopefully that experience will help answer my questions.”
There is a tense pause as Glory and Aurora state at one another. Then a warm smile creeps across Aurora Alan’s face. “Well I think you are well on your way to answering your own question.”
“What do you mean?”
“What you just did was courageous. It took you a long time of fighting complete with backroom politicking and deals to get control of your company back. But you willingly gave it up to me because you knew needed help. You admitted your mistakes to the Board knowing that they could potentially punish you but you did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. I don’t know much about your father, or your family, but what I know about YOU is that you are a good person at your core. That’s what is most important.” Aurora embraces Glory in a tight hug. “And don’t worry, I will hold down this ship until you get ready to return.”
Glory smiles weakly. “Thanks, Aurora.”
“Don’t mention it. But hey, I don’t want to hold you up any longer. You have a date in Detroit in a few days, am I right?”
Braddock nods her head. “That’s right. I have a very important match, arguably my most important match in several years, and with any luck, my head will be in the right place, my heart will be in the right place, and when I defeat the brasser…” she smirks knowingly “...and I WILL defeat her, it will be for the right reasons, and I will do so the right way.”
A sense of calm washes across Glory Braddock. She realizes that the next few weeks, months, or however long this next chapter in her life will take her, this mentorship of Fiona Osbourne as well as her own personal quest of rediscovery, it will be challenging and difficult. But she is already feeling content knowing that this is the right thing to do.
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
The British Bombshell is flying to Boston to visit with her biological mother, Mary Ford. Glory and her mother at one point had a close relationship. But that close relationship ended when Glory was just fifteen when her father, Glenn Braddock, suffered a career ending back injury that forced him into retirement. Glenn would immerse himself into his work training future wrestlers, including his daughter Glory. But Mary could not handle the life of being married to Glenn Braddock. It was more like being married to wrestling. She fully expected him to devote more time to her since he could no longer wrestle but he still managed to find a way to devote more time to wrestling than he did to his family. He didn’t even treat his daughter like family but rather he treated her as a student. Mary chose to leave Glenn. An unfortunate side effect of leaving Glenn meant the custody battle for Glory Braddock. Glenn won full custody in court and as a result Mary didn’t even see her daughter for years. The separation of Glory from her mother caused a rift, the two grew distant. In fact, it wasn’t until her father died that Glory Braddock decided to even attempt to mend the rift between her and her mother.
The attempt to form a relationship with her biological mother has been met with mediocre success at best. They are on good terms but Mary and her daughter still live rather far away from one another. When she’s not wrestling Glory calls Miami, Florida home but Mary spends her time in Boston, Massachusetts with her nieces, Glory’s cousins Angelica Jones and Kayla Jones-Snow. Mary has a close relationship with Angelica and Kayla. It is rather odd that she would be closer to her nieces than she would be to her own daughter. But Glory has a reason to be in Boston more frequently than she usually would; she is a silent partner in the modeling agency owned and operated by her cousin Kayla Jones-Snow. Glory will visit Kayla to keep tabs on her and the modeling agency and while she’s there she can visit Mary and at least attempt to reform that bond, that relationship they once had.
Glory Braddock is in the living room of her mother’s home in Boston, Massachusetts. It is much more modest than what Glory is used to living in. The truth is, Glory didn’t used to live in opulence, either. She used to live much more modestly, much like her mother and father. This small, plaid patterned sofa is comfortable enough for Braddock’s taste as she sits with her feet tucked up underneath her. She is wearing a pink t-shirt and silky pink pajama bottoms. Her long blonde hair hangs straight and unrestrained to past the shoulders. Mary enters the room with two glasses with her. She hands her daughter the glass with red wine and she keeps a glass with a clear liquid for herself. Mary, with a big smile on her face, sighs and sits down next to her daughter.
“Wine for you…” she then sips her own clear liquid “...and vodka for me.”
“I never understood your fascination for vodka, mom.” Braddock remarks stoically.
“I am Russian, Gloria.” She chuckles. “Need I say more?”
“That stuff will kill you.”
“My dear, moderation is the key to everything.” Mary holds up her glass of vodka. “Yes, this will kill me, but only if I abuse it. Your wine that you love so much will kill you if you abused it. It is called alcoholism, Gloria.”
“Well I’m not an alcoholic so you don’t need to worry about that.” Braddock says as she sips her wine. “Are we seriously going to argue about alcoholism all night or can we try to enjoy one another’s company?”
Mary chuckles a little as she sets down her vodka. “Fair enough. I am glad you came by, Gloria. We do not spend nearly enough time together. I only wish you brought my precious grandchildren with you. Where are Melinda and Dawn anyway?”
“Melinda is overseas competing on the European circuits. Dawn is with Kurt. They are on their way ahead of me to my next scheduled wrestling event. I am competing that night and I need to win.”
“Need to win, do you?” Mary shakes her head with a sense of disappointment in her voice. “I have heard that many times before from your father.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh I most definitely understand. I spent twenty years married to your father and watching him throw his body, his life, into the sport, and eventually sacrificed his health to it. I then spent time watching your cousins, Angelica and Kayla, do the same thing. I have watched loved ones sacrifice so much for what they believe in, sacrifice everything for a win. So yes, I understand.”
“This is about more than just a win, mom. If it were just about winning it wouldn’t be a problem.” Glory sips her wine one more time before setting her glass down “I was there too, if you recall. I remember how dad was, how he threw everything into his craft. Everything to him was a must win. Every match for him was a match he needed to win. He went into every match with that mentality. It became unhealthy, not just for him but for the family. It led to you and him breaking up. One thing I can safely say, I do not have that kind of unhealthy obsession with wrestling. I do not have that kind of mindset. I do want to win every match, sure, but not every match is must win. But this one ...it IS a must win match.”
Mary sighs deeply. “I will take your word for it.”
Braddock rolls her eyes. “Dad would have understood, you obviously don’t.”
“Gloria…”
“Look, mom, maybe we shouldn’t talk wrestling? I mean, it never worked for you and dad, and I doubt it’ll work for us.”
Her maternal instincts tell Mary that her daughter needs to talk about this more even though she denies it. But at the same time she recognizes that her relationship with Glenn deteriorated because of wrestling. Perhaps it is best if they avoid the subject of wrestling for now, especially if Mary and her daughter are to reform that bond that they once had? Mary sighs and nods her head.
“Well, what else has been going on in your life then?”
Satisfied that they have moved on from wrestling talk, Glory picks up her wine and starts sipping it again. “Kayla and I are working together. Did she tell you?”
“No she didn’t.” Mary says, her interest clearly peaked. “What are you two doing?”
“She needed my help a few months ago with her modeling agency and so I became a silent partner.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in modeling.” Mary states. Braddock shakes her head.
“I’m not. In fact, I know nothing about modeling. But I did want to help my family, so when I learned Kayla was having financial difficulties I decided to support her agency using my company’s resources.” Braddock sighs deeply. “And I also met someone at the agency.”
“Who?”
“A young woman named Fiona. Fiona Osbourne.” Glory sips her wine. “Kayla thinks I should mentor her. But I’m not so sure.”
“Why not? What’s wrong with the young lady?”
“She has some…baggage.”
“Don’t we all have some baggage?”
“Yes, but Fiona’s baggage is rather difficult to deal with. Do you remember what happened to Kayla after my aunt Kelly was murdered?”
Mary winces. This is a very painful memory. She nods her head. “Yes…” her voice trails off “...I was still overseas in England. And your father refused to let me get involved. Had I been tough enough to stand up to him perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps….”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Glory reaches out and places a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “But yes, Aunt Kelly was murdered and Kayla ended up in a foster home. Her foster father was abusive and forced her into modeling at a young age so he could exploit her beauty for his own profit. Fiona is in a similar situation. Her parents are out of the picture and Fiona ended up in foster care. The foster father got her involved in modeling so that he could exploit her. Lucky for Fiona she is now of age and her foster father no longer has a legal hold of her. But that isn’t stopping him from trying.”
“He’s still harassing the poor girl?” Mary asks. Glory nods her head.
“Yes…and Kayla is worried that Fiona won’t have the courage to stand up to him. Kayla wants me to mentor Fiona, to take her in so that she won’t have to stand up to him.”
Mary appears to be very distraught. She wipes a tear from her eye. “Gloria, I recall that Kayla was sexually abused by her foster father. You are telling me that Fiona is suffering from a similar situation that Kayla suffered from. Does that mean that…” Mary cannot even finish the sentence, the thought is too painful. But Glory already knows what is going on and shrugs her shoulders.
“I have no idea. Kayla didn’t say.”
“Still, Fiona is clearly in trouble. Maybe you should do something?”
“No, absolutely not.” Glory says, vehemently shaking her head. “Nothing good can from me helping her.”
“How could you say that? Helping people is what you do. It’s…”
“You don’t get it.” Glory says out of frustration. “Fiona is currently overseas training at dad’s…my wrestling school.”
“Wait a second, she is at the school? She wants to be a wrestler?” Mary asks quizzically. Glory nods her head.
“Yes. Apparently Fiona adores me. I was her inspiration. She wants to break away from modeling and get into wrestling. That’s her career choice. I helped her get in at my school but what Kayla is asking me to do, taking Fiona under my wing and mentoring her, that’d be like singling her out. I do not want to single any particular person out as special in my school. I do not want to show favoritism.”
“I may not know much about Fiona or what’s going on but I do know that you help people. That has always been your best character trait. What could it hurt to take this young girl who clearly adores you, and help her out? I mean, obviously she has no family that could help her. You could be her family.”
Braddock sighs deeply. As much as she hates to admit it, her mother is right. Fiona needs help. She needs family. “You’re right, mom. Fiona has no one she can rely upon. Her biological father, the best I can tell, abandoned her. Her mother is dead. Her foster father is an abusive, controlling, drunk. Fiona needs help but she doesn’t just need a mentor, she needs a family. I’m just not sure I have the time or the ability to be that person in Fiona’s life.”
“Yes, she does need a family.” Mary points at her daughter. “You could be that family, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean adopt her. Become the mother she has lost, the mother she needs. Then you would truly be giving her what she needs…a family, not just a mentor but a family.”
“That’s bloody ridiculous.” Glory shakes her head. “I cannot fill in as a mother figure for Fiona. Besides, I doubt Fiona would even accept it.”
“It isn’t ridiculous. After all, you eventually accepted and even embraced the idea of Aphrodite Noel as your adoptive mother; to a point that, for many years, you wouldn’t even recognize me at all.”
“It’s not the same…” a tear forms in Glory’s eyes. She doesn’t like being reminded about how she emotionally hurt her mother by agreeing to acknowledge Aphrodite as her mother. On the same token, at one point she refused to acknowledge Aphrodite just to maintain power within her company, and that emotionally hurt Aphrodite as well. She doesn’t like being reminded of this, but Mary persists.
“Isn’t it? Just take Fiona in. Let her live with you, officially or unofficially as your adopted daughter. That’s all she needs. She needs a family. She needs…”
IT ISN’T THE SAME!” Glory snaps back angrily, shouting at her mother at the top of her lungs. “What Aphrodite and I have is different! You cannot ask me to do to Fiona what Aphrodite did for me! You cannot ask me to do it and I won’t! I won’t! I…” Glory stops her rant as she notices the color slowly start to leave her mother’s face.
“Glory…”
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Glory starts to get frightened as her mother clutches at her chest. Mary then falls over off of the sofa and onto the floor. Glory drops to the floor and checks on her mother.
“Mom?! Talk to me! Mom?! MOM!!!!” Braddock quickly leaves her mother’s side and rushes over to a telephone. She picks it up and immediately dials 911. “...HELP! Send an ambulance! My mom, I think she just…I think she just had a heart attack!”
==========
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
When Glory Braddock made the flight from Chicago to Boston she fully expected to spend time bonding with her mother. She didn’t anticipate getting into a heated conversation with her mother, she didn’t anticipate snapping at her mother, and she definitely didn’t anticipate accidentally giving her mother a heart attack. But that is exactly what has happened and now The British Bombshell is spending the remainder of her saturday night in Massachusetts General Hospital by her mother’s bedside.
It was quite a severe heart attack and while Mary is certainly not out of the woods yet, she is at least stable and Glory is thankful for that much. She is also thankful for the fact that she is joined here by her cousins, Angelica and Kayla Jones. All three women are in the hospital room by Mary’s bedside. Glory is on her mother’s right side while Angelica and Kayla stand by her left side. Angelica and Kayla are doing their best to maintain the appearance of strength for the sake of their cousin. It was just a couple of years ago that Glory suffered from the emotional and mental torment that the death of her father, Glenn Braddock, took on her. Now her mother is hanging on by a thread.
“I’m sorry, mom…” tears are flowing down her cheek. Braddock has been crying for quite some time now. She is nearly out of tears to shed. The guilt is overwhelming because she blames herself for putting her mother here, she believes she is to blame for her mother’s heart attack. Kayla, though, shakes her head.
“It isn’t your fault, Glory.”
“Isn’t it?” Glory looks up at her cousin with a distraught look upon her lovely face. “Mom was just trying to tell me something. She was just trying to help me…and I didn’t want to listen. I threw it back in her face. I lost my temper and I shouted and…” she looks back down at her mother’s lifeless form “...her heart just couldn’t take it.”
“We all lose our tempers from time to time. It’s normal.” Angelica chimes in. A smirk forms upon her face. “I mean, my sister broke a very expensive lamp just because the Pats lost.”
“Fucking Buffalo…” Kayla growls. Despite the situation even Glory cannot help but chuckle a little about this. Angelica grins and nods her head.
“A smile and a laugh; that’s a little better. Trust me, your mom will be fine.”
“I hope so. If she dies because of me I wouldn’t…I couldn’t forgive myself.”
“Stop it.” Kayla snaps at Glory. “It wasn’t your fault. Your mom already had heart problems and you know it. Something like this was bound to happen with or without you. You just happened to be there when it happened and thankfully you were. Because she might not have survived had it not been for you.”
The British Bombshell does not immediately answer. She knows what her cousins are trying to do but she just cannot bring herself to believe them. Her mother came close to death thanks to her. She brought about this heart attack. The guilt is overwhelming. Braddock’s self-blame is brought to an end when the door to the hospital room opens. A man dressed all in black wearing a clerical collar walks in. All three women smile politely at the arrival of the family’s priest, Fr. Fitzgibbons.
“Thank you for coming, Father.” Kayla says, greeting the priest with a warm grin.
“Of course, anything for a family that has been such a staple of my parish for so long.” Father Fitzgibbons is the priest of the local catholic church where the Jones family have attended for nearly their entire lives. Mary herself has been attending this church for her entire life. Glory Braddock only recently converted to Catholicism. The priest approaches Glory and places a hand on her shoulder. “How are you holding up, Ms. Braddock?”
“Not well, Father.”
“Your mother will be fine. I assure you.”
“I just feel like I am responsible for this in some way. Especially considering how I yelled at her. I gave her this heart attack. I…”
“No you didn’t.” The priest insists as he shakes his head.
“You say that, my cousins say that, but I just can’t bring myself to believe it. She was trying to help me when I lost my temper and shouted.”
“What was she trying to tell you…if you don’t mind telling me, of course…”
Braddock considers telling the priest but then she takes a quick glance at her cousin Kayla Jones-Snow and decides against it. It was Kayla who brought up the idea of Glory mentoring Fiona in the first place. When Glory told Mary about the idea it was Mary’s persistence, her encouraging of Glory to not only mentor but to take on Fiona as an adopted daughter, that caused Glory to snap and lose her temper. She isn’t sure how Kayla would react to all of this. And this isn’t a conversation she wants to have with Kayla right now. Glory shakes her head.
“I’d rather not say, Father. I apologize.”
“Don’t apologize. Some things are best kept private. But if I may offer some advice, perhaps one way to honor your mother would be to take whatever it was she was trying to tell you and think about it. Whatever she was trying to tell you she probably had her reason, I’m sure she thought it was important. So consider what she had said to you in those final moments before the heart attack.”
Braddock nods her head. “I will, Father.”
“Excellent. Now let us pray…” the priest turns towards Mary. Glory, Kayla, and Angelica all bow their heads. “...God our Father, your Son accepted our sufferings to teach us the virtue of patience in human illness. Hear the prayers we offer for our sick sister Mary. May all who suffer pain, illness, or disease realize that they have been chosen to be saints and know that they are joined to Christ in his sufferings for the salvation of the world. Lord Jesus, You willingly gave yourself up to death so that all people might be saved. Listen to our prayers; look with love on your daughter Mary. We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…Amen.”
“Amen.” Glory, Kayla, and Angelica all cross themselves and say amen in unison. The priest begins again with another prayer but Glory is no longer paying attention. She is still distraught over her mother. She is hopeful that she can pull through this and recover. But she is also thinking about what the priest said. Her mother was just trying to help her, she was just trying to offer some advice and Glory didn’t want to listen. But maybe she should listen? Kayla first suggested that Glory take Fiona under her wing, Glory’s mother Mary endorsed the idea, so maybe Glory should take on Fiona as a special project? What harm could it do?
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.”
“Amen.” Glory says quietly.
==========
Raleigh, NC
Off Camera
==========
Glory Braddock can recall in graphic detail the events of January 15th in Boston, Massachusetts as she was visiting with her mother, Mary Ford. It was supposed to be a brief layover, a brief time to visit with her mother and try to repair a relationship that has been in disrepair for quite some time. Instead The British Bombshell had to bear witness to her mother having a massive heart attack. Luckily for her mother Glory was there and was able to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. The heart attack was a severe one, severe enough that it could have killed her had Glory not acted quickly enough. But Braddock did act quickly and the doctors were able to save her life. The British Bombshell doesn’t view this as a stroke of luck. Instead she feels incredible guilt over the entire event. The heart attack happened to strike immediately after Glory lost her temper and started yelling and shouting at her. Braddock cannot help but feel somewhat responsible for the heart attack. She cannot help but feel as if she is the one who brought about the heart attack because of what she said to her mother.
The British Bombshell is incredibly grateful to still have her mother. She is incredibly grateful that her mother survived the heart attack. If nothing else this incident did provide a wake up call for Glory Braddock. She recognizes that certain things need to change with herself, with her very life. She spent a few more days with her mother in the hospital. But Glory realizes now that maybe she is placing too great an emphasis upon wrestling, maybe she is losing track of more important things in her life. Her mother’s heart attack has forced Glory to take a look into the mirror and realize that she needs to make some serious changes with her life. So she has made one final side trip to Raleigh, North Carolina to meet with her company’s Board of Directors. There are many skeletons in her closet, many secrets she has kept, and it is high time that she rid herself of those secrets and of the pressure she has put upon herself.
Braddock is walking through the halls of the Raleigh corporate offices for Glorious Golden Enterprises. Ordinarily Braddock would schedule such a meeting in Miami, her preferred location; but for what she is planning to say, for the revelation she plans to drop upon the Board, she feels it is only appropriate to host this meeting at the Raleigh headquarters, the original home of her company before she moved it to Miami. Glory is dressed nicely, dressed to impress in a pink two piece jacket and lace dress with matching pink high heeled leather pumps. A warm, friendly smile is etched across her face. The beautiful blonde approaches her secretary, a brunette young lady who is stationed in front of her office. The secretary is dressed in a navy blue suit skirt outfit.
“Hello…” Glory pauses for a moment as she struggles to remember this woman’s name. She doesn’t spend nearly enough time in Raleigh for her to know these employees as well as the Miami employees. “...uh, Julianne, right?”
“Yes, that’s right Ms. Braddock.”
Glory sighs with a warm smile on her face. She looks down at Julianne and nods her head. “Thank you. And, uh, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry? For what, Ms. Braddock?”
“Just for…” Braddock shrugs her shoulders “...for being me, I suppose. I mean, I haven’t exactly spent as much time around the offices here. I admit, I have inadvertently ignored the Raleigh offices and all of you who work here.”
“You’re a busy woman, Ms. Braddock.”
“I am but that isn’t an excuse. Everyone here is just as valuable to my company as those who work in Miami. I realize that now and I hope to make things right very soon.”
“Well, I appreciate the kind words.” Julianne smiles. “But, really they’re not necessary.”
“Thank you, Julianne, but they are necessary. And maybe some action is necessary too.” Glory looks up, past Julianne towards a door marked ‘Conference Room’. Braddock motions to the door. “Has everyone arrived?”
“Yes, they are merely waiting on you.”
“Is the minority shareholder there?”
“Yes, Ms. Aurora Alan has arrived.”
“Great. Thank you again, Julianne.”
Aurora Alan needs to be at this meeting. Before making the trip from Boston down to Raleigh, Glory reached out to Aurora and invited her to this meeting. She wasn’t certain that she would show up. As the minority owner, Aurora’s presence is not truly necessary, but Braddock hoped that she would show up. She is glad she did. Braddock walks past Julianne and approaches the door. Glory pushes the door open and steps inside the conference room. Inside there is a large oval shaped table with the entire Board of Directors sitting around it. Sitting at the far end of the table is company president Francis Taylor and at the near end sits the minority shareholder Aurora Alan, youngest sister of Matthew Alan, the founder of the company itself.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Braddock” The Board Chairman Sam Hopkins says. He looks at the watch on his wrist and then looks back up at Glory, smiling. “You are on time today. Congratulations.”
“I probably deserve that.” Glory says chuckling. “I haven’t exactly been known for my punctuality. It is one of many faults I have. And I do apologize.”
“There is absolutely no need for an apology, Ms. Braddock. In fact, the Board is quite pleased with your performance as of late. Between the success of the wrestling school, our partnership with your cousin’s modeling agency, and the new health insurance plan for our employees, you have really outdone yourself.”
“Thank you, Sam,” Glory sighs deeply and shakes her head “and I wish I could say that this meeting would be another celebration of our success.”
“Regardless, you are the owner of this company, you have proven yourself to this Board, and we are happy to be back here in Raleigh where this company was born.”
Glory nods her head. “Yes, and it is no accident I chose to have this meeting here in Raleigh as opposed to Miami. While expanding our reach to Miami has proven to be a success, I seem to have forgotten this company’s roots. I have chosen to ignore this company’s traditions. And the fact is that this company began as a North Carolina company before going global. That is my fault, one that I will not make again. Starting today you will probably notice that more of these meetings will take place in these Raleigh offices.” Braddock motions to Aurora Alan.
“I am also pleased that Aurora Alan decided to join us.” Glory smiles warmly at Aurora. “Your family started this company. Yes, I took the financial risk of buying this company to try and bring it back. Yes, I may be the owner today. But ultimately your family will forever be tied to this company. This is your birthright, Aurora. So thank you.”
“Thank you, Glory.” Aurora responds with a nod of her head.
“And I want to thank the entire Board of Directors for showing up today for this important meeting. I need to get something off my chest, something very important.” Glory takes in a deep breath and sighs. “Back in 2012 when I bought this company, you trusted me to run it to the best of my abilities. And I did my best…for two years I tried to do right by this company. Then from 2014 to 2015 I acted strangely. My devotion, my loyalty to a person who once worked for this company, made you uncomfortable. My devotion to Aphrodite Noel made you uncomfortable. You briefly took away my power to act on behalf of the company and it bounced around from one corporate president to another. You later trusted me to run the company again with the promise that I would see a psychiatrist to ensure that my judgment would not be clouded by my loyalty to my mentor. And for a time I did see that psychiatrist.” Her voice trails off. Braddock pauses for a few moments before shaking her head.
“I have stopped seeing that psychiatrist. In fact, I have not been seeing that psychiatrist or any psychiatrist for a long time now. I have been deceiving you in letting you believe I was still attending sessions with the psychiatrist. I apologize for the deceit and I promise to resume my sessions with the psychiatrist.” Glory approaches Aurora Alan and stands next to where she is seated. “Ultimately all I wanted was what was best for this company. I love this company and I truly believed that I knew what was best for this company. And maybe I do? But the fact is that if no trust exists between you and I, then how can I truly make the appropriate decisions for this company? So until further notice, Aurora Alan, the minority shareholder, the minority owner of this company, is the decision maker. Whatever she says has my stamp of approval.”
“What?!” Aurora is taken by surprise. She stands up from her chair and looks in Glory’s eyes. She can tell that the blonde is serious about this. “Glory, you don’t have to do this. The Board trusts you. The Board no longer cares about whatever relationship you have with Aphrodite.”
“Maybe they don’t care but I do. The fact is that I have been misleading and deceitful in corporate practice. I have not been acting like Glory Braddock. In fact, when I look in the mirror I don’t even know who I am anymore. I need this time off from running the company to remind myself just who the hell I am, Aurora. And I will need someone to run the company in my absence. Who better to run it than the sister of the man who founded this company?” Glory smiles warmly as she places a hand on Aurora’s shoulder. “Like I said, this company is your birthright.”
“Are you sure you wish to do this?” Board Chairman Sam Hopkins asks. “Like Ms. Alan said, we trust your judgment.”
“I need to do this, Sam.”
“Very well. By voice vote, who approves of Ms. Braddock’s proposal?”
“Aye!” The entire board unanimously says.
“All opposed?” Hopkins waits but there is no response. He nods his head. “Very well, the vote is unanimous.” He gets up and approaches Glory Braddock. He extends his hand. “Thank you, Ms. Braddock; thank you for your honesty. I hate that you are leaving us.”
“Thank you, Sam. But don’t worry, I’m not leaving. I’m just taking a break to discover myself.” She chuckles. “Or maybe I should say, rediscover myself?”
“Best of luck, Ms. Braddock.” They shake hands and then he turns to face the entire room. “We are adjourned.”
With that the entire room stands up and begins to make their way out of the room, everyone except for Aurora Alan who remains standing there staring skeptically at Glory Braddock. The British Bombshell and Aurora Alan remain staring at each other for several tense moments while the conference room empties. Once it is completely empty Aurora speaks up.
“What’s wrong, Glory? What makes you think you need to do this? I thought running this company was so important, I thought…”
“It is important to me!” Glory exclaims as she finds a seat at the oval desk. Aurora sits down in the chair next to hers.
“Then why cede power to me?”
“Look, it is hard to explain. You’re just going to have to trust me.”
“Trust you? How am I supposed to trust you when you won’t tell me the whole story? You said yourself you have been deceitful lately, you admitted to misleading the Board of Directors. So if you want me to trust you to run your company then try telling me the truth. Why do you feel you need to step away from this responsibility?”
Glory sighs and shakes her head. “You may not have heard but my mother had a massive heart attack this past Saturday.” Braddock pauses to let her words sink in. Aurora immediately softens her demeanor. She wraps an arm around Glory’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea. How is she doing?”
“She survived, thankfully. But the entire incident, everything, it would not have happened had I not lost my temper with her. It would not have happened had I not argued with her, if I had just shut up and listened to what she was trying to tell me. And all she was telling me…” Glory wipes a tear from her eye “...all she was trying to tell me was that I should help someone.”
“Someone specific or just help someone in general?”
“A specific person. Her name is Fiona Osbourne. She is one of my cousin’s models but she doesn’t really want to be a model. She wants to be a wrestler. I helped her get started by getting her into my wrestling school. But my cousin wants me to do more. She wants me to mentor her, she wants me to take her under my wing. When my mom found out about this, she was insistent that me helping Fiona was a good idea. She wanted me to mentor Fiona. That’s when I snapped, that’s when I lost my temper and shouted at my mother, sending her into a heart attack.”
“Glory, everyone loses their temper from time to time…” Aurora says in an attempt to console Glory. But Braddock isn’t hearing it. She shakes her head.
“That’s what Kayla said, that’s what Angelica says, that’s what our priest says, but how do any of you know? The truth is, Aurora, that all of this has rocked me to my core. My mom is right, I should want to help Fiona. That’s the kind of person I was raised to be…that’s who I was once. But I have changed, and not for the better. I am selfishly thinking about myself and not about others. I’ve forgotten who the hell I am, Aurora!” Glory stands up and motions to the conference room. “I am not a business woman! I am not a fancy wealthy stuck up corporate bitch! That’s not me! None of this is me! I became that person when I was mentored by Aphrodite Noel. What started as a mentorship became a much closer relationship. It was so close that I started thinking of her as my true mother, because my real mother in my mind had abandoned me. I was devoted, loyal to that woman. The old Glory Braddock, the person I used to be, was lost. I need to know if that person is still there, buried somewhere deep down inside. I need to know if I am still a good person.”
“That’s crazy talk, Glory.” Aurora states definitively. “Of course you are a good person. You have done so much for so many people. Hell, you took a giant risk in trusting your ex-boyfriend in order to get the employees of this company full health insurance coverage. That was all you.”
“Yeah, I did that. But does it balance out with all of the bad I did?” Glory sighs and shakes her head. “I just don’t know. I do know that I need to find out if that good-hearted, kind-hearted person is still there, if that old Glory Braddock is still there, or if whatever was done to me by Aphrodite is permanent. I need to try and find myself, Aurora.”
Aurora sighs out of frustration. Clearly she is not going to talk Glory out of this. “Well at least tell me how you are going to do this?”
“I need to go back to my roots. It’s just like with this place…it started with you and your family. Now it is back in your family with you running the show. I need to go back to where I started and I started as a wrestler, not as a corporate snob. That’s why I transferred power to you. I want to focus only on wrestling as that was my first passion. And I know I can trust you to keep this ship afloat and successful if I decide at the end of all of this that the corporate snob is here to stay.”
“Fair enough.” Aurora says, nodding her head. “So is that it? You’re just going to fully immerse yourself in wrestling?”
“No, because that was my father’s mistake. Fully immersing himself in wrestling cost him his family. It made him forget who he used to be. Wrestling is only one passion of mine. The other is helping people. My mom was right, so was my cousin…what makes me great is my passion to help people. So I am going to mentor Fiona. And hopefully that experience will help answer my questions.”
There is a tense pause as Glory and Aurora state at one another. Then a warm smile creeps across Aurora Alan’s face. “Well I think you are well on your way to answering your own question.”
“What do you mean?”
“What you just did was courageous. It took you a long time of fighting complete with backroom politicking and deals to get control of your company back. But you willingly gave it up to me because you knew needed help. You admitted your mistakes to the Board knowing that they could potentially punish you but you did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. I don’t know much about your father, or your family, but what I know about YOU is that you are a good person at your core. That’s what is most important.” Aurora embraces Glory in a tight hug. “And don’t worry, I will hold down this ship until you get ready to return.”
Glory smiles weakly. “Thanks, Aurora.”
“Don’t mention it. But hey, I don’t want to hold you up any longer. You have a date in Detroit in a few days, am I right?”
Braddock nods her head. “That’s right. I have a very important match, arguably my most important match in several years, and with any luck, my head will be in the right place, my heart will be in the right place, and when I defeat the brasser…” she smirks knowingly “...and I WILL defeat her, it will be for the right reasons, and I will do so the right way.”
A sense of calm washes across Glory Braddock. She realizes that the next few weeks, months, or however long this next chapter in her life will take her, this mentorship of Fiona Osbourne as well as her own personal quest of rediscovery, it will be challenging and difficult. But she is already feeling content knowing that this is the right thing to do.