Contract Negotiations

Clack, clack clack, clack...

The sound of Allison's heels on the AFW tile floor announced her coming and going whenever she visited the place. She strode down the halls with quiet composure, with poise like a dancer and a measured, graceful gait in her designer, suede heels.

Her appearance was brighter and sunnier than usual. She was dressed in a long, high-waisted, periwinkle dress with a high, vintage-styled neckline. There was a pretty red flower in her hair, a string of white pearls around her neck, and a silver bangle on her wrist, and she wore white stockings, though not much of them could be seen beneath the hem of her dress. She was the picture of elegance in a place that wore it like lingerie.

In a moment, she would be in a negotiation for a match against a girl she had utterly demolished the first time. She could hardly think of any stipulations that did not work in her favor, and she relished the challenge of twisting the situation into wrought beauty. All at the expense of the Gastins, of course.

The insufferable Gastin twins.

She reached the conference room door and pushed it open to find Clyde, Bonnie, and Mercy already inside. She gave them a polite smile, and did not appear at all daunted by the bad blood between them. She let her green eyes meet Mercy's for a brief flash, and then found her seat. She placed her small, black Chanel purse on the table and neatly wound the thin leather strap into a circle. She sat down, crossed her legs and folded her hands.

"Hello, everyone," she said with a smile.

Mercy couldn't help but feel nervous. She had spent most of the time shuffling the papers in front of them and looking them over even though she had committed them to memory long before she ever arrived in the office.

She had wished Bonnie and Clyde hadn't arrived on time. She had almost wished that Allison had come first. Then, maybe, she could talk to her about her recent behavior. She also didn't want to have to spend a single awkward second with Bonnie and Clyde while she waited.

She almost sighed audibly when the door clicked open and she looked at Allison and gave her the most polite nod she could manage while she focused on keeping her blush from surfacing.

"Ms. Watson, thank you for coming. I'm sure we'd all like to proceed with these negotiations as quickly as possible, yes?"

She swiveled her head towards Bonnie and Clyde. "Mr. Gastin, Ms. Gastin? Whenever you're ready, we can begin this mediation officially."

Bonnie and Clyde had been sitting there in the room quietly awkwardly. Wiht the former tapping her high top sneakers on the floor as she waited impatiently, sitting beside her brother who slouched in his chair with a tense look on his face, the wound he got from the Video had healed up, but the burn was still there. Ex lover or not, Allison was fucking him in a way no one else had and it was downright scummy. Occasionally though, that tense look would soften when he looked to the pink paralegal in the room, looking like he wanted to say something before closing his mouth.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. She was glad she and Duffy were not complicated, though she thought it was sad her brother kept screwing up, it wasn't her place to get in the way. That and the awkward silence between the old couple just made her really uncomfy. She didn't really have anything against Mercy, but was not a fan how the breakup went down over the phone after they finally got the cheerleader out of their lives. Still, she found herself more preoccupied with seeing Allison in person again, recalling the backstage attack she had suffered very vivldly. Bonnie was ready, eager and focused, she glared in the direction of the door, waiting to see Allison appear...

And finally she did.

Both Twins were a bit taken a back by her appearance. They found her pretty. But this small fixation only lasted about a few seconds before both Twins glared at her in response to her polite smile and clearly fake greeting, Bonnie herself would scoff at the manner of how she conducted herself, acting like she was such a lady when she was closer to a monster.

Clyde's brow twitched as he watched Allison look at Mercy. This bitch couldn't get him so now she was going after his girl- er... Ex!? What a skank!

"Alright." He said while glaring at Allison.

"Go on ahead." Bonnie added afterwards, crossing her arms.

"So nice to see you all looking your very best." Such that it was.

Allison deliberately avoided giving Mercy and looks or smiles or anything untoward that would draw attention to their previous liaison. She was certainly only there to put all this unpleasantness behind them, and for nothing else.

"Now, then. Who would like to go first?" She said, with a smile so prim and inoffensive that choking her was the only rational response.

Mercy looked down while Allison settled in. "Every party is here?" She said, as she looked around. "This will be the final meeting as I understand it, so now is the time if there needs to be any more arrangements."

She cleared her throat. She doubted anyone would speak up but they'd have their chance if they needed to.

"As I understand," she began as she slid a piece of paper out in front of her, closer to the middle of the room, "Bonnie Gaston and Allison Watson are interested in pursuing a contract for a match in the Friction division of AFW that will, in response to an ongoing series of encounters between both parties and other persons, cease all further contact between all parties in accordance with all parties agreed upon wishes except when bound by other contracts already in existence."

Mercy lifted up her head and looked between the two of them. "Does that sound about right?"

"Yuup." Bonnie answered while keeping her fierce gaze locked on Allison.

"Of course," Allison said gently. She smiled warmly back at Bonnie, but didn't allow the girl to capture her gaze. She remained completely at ease.

"Ok then, uuuuhhhh...." Mercy said as she flipped through some papers.

"Then, we need to settle the match stipulations." Mercy turned to Bonnie and looked at her, smiling politely. "Ms. Gastin, what are you looking to get out of this match?" She asked. Maybe giving Bonnie the first chance to lay groundwork would help.

Allison's smile made Clyde sneer at the Brit. Reminding him so much of her smile at the end of the video.

Bonnie was irked that Allison wouldn't look her directly in the eye, she furrowed her brow at the woman while Mercy flipped through the papers before asking her a question that Bonnie never really thought of. The answer was clear enough.

"An ass whoopin." Bonnie growled. "A chance ta' finally get even. Ta' undo my shitty loss, ta' make her stop tryin' ta'..." Bonnie picked her words carefully. "Play her lil' ol' games with my family. Ta' make her pay for hurtin' Yi Lan and fer makin' my life an absolute hell." Bonnie felt a little dramatic saying all that, but she knew what she sought and wanted Allison to know why.

Mercy sighed. It was about what she expected from Bonnie but she had really hoped to hear something else.

"I understand that you're eager to see Ms. Watson inside the ring, however, 'ass whoopin' isn't exactly a quantifiable stipulation for contract purposes."

Mercy tried again. "What is the best way to resolve the matter completely, Ms. Gastin? Why don't we first start with this:" Mercy tilted her head and looked at Bonnie. "If you beat Ms. Watson in the match we're negotiating for, what would you like to happen then?"

Mercy clutched her pen and pulled out a slip of paper, ready to write down the instructions.