Santa Barbara, CA
29th June, 2020
It was fair to say, and indeed he would be the first one to admit it himself, that New Jersey horn David Helms was not a businessman in his own right. He didn’t come from money, he wasn’t born into a family that had a history of making big deals and dealing with large sums of money on a daily basis, his family made ends meet and lived comfortable but that was the best that could be said. The success he had had in the business world, he owed to men much smarter than he was, who helped him make smart investments, helped him squirrel away his money into either property or investment companies that would guarantee at least a reasonable profit on his investment, they just wouldn’t turn him into Jeff Bezos overnight. Which in David’s view, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, because he worried he’d turn into an asshole like Jeff Bezos if he had Bezos level money and that was something David was fairly keen to avoid. He saw what entitlement brought in the wrestling world and he had no desire to be part of that particular problem, so one less elitist asshole billionaire was definitely not a bad thing in his book. The only business out of the whole Next Level empire that David had been completely hands on with was AnteUp, as that had been his and Tommy’s baby, and he had learned the role as he went, going from having no clue what he was doing to eventually having the whole show running like clockwork without really having to put much effort in. The rest of the empire though? Well, he wouldn’t attempt to fly the Next Level jet, so why would he try and run the record label, or the bar and restaurant? That was his mantra, anyway. But AnteUp… that had been a whole different ball game, it was something that he had nurtured from concept to reality, from fledgling school to flourishing and beyond, to the point they were now one of the premiere wrestling schools in the country with a reputation for turning out championship winning wrestlers at every level of the business. And it pained him to think that he was giving all of that up… but David believed he had no choice in the matter, because as far as he was concerned, his position as co-owner was untenable now, thanks to the ignorant attitude of his former friend. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to go in and teach anymore, without wondering whether Tommy was going to show up and start problems. He didn’t want to go to work wondering if anyone he cared about had been punished because of their loyalty to him. Matty and Britt had already informed him that they both planned to quit when David sold up, what about those who David had hired personally, would Tommy take it out on them when he left? He was surprised in a way, that Tommy hadn’t already tried to replace those who were Team David before a sale had even been agreed, to replace them with his own people and shift the power in his own favour. That sounded like a Tommy Valentine tactic in Dave’s opinion, or at least one employed by this version of Tommy anyway…
What choice did he really have, anyway. He and Tommy had been at loggerheads for weeks, and the fact that they had a physical bust up at the school? That was fucking unacceptable, whether Tommy believed so or not. And in a way, he wasn’t even angry that two of the students had gone to the dirt sheet websites with the story, if he was going to be honest with himself about it; he and Tommy were both the wrong side of thirty, they should know better than to make their problems public, let alone in front of paying students that had joined the school to learn from the two of them, not watch them throw down in a legitimate fight, showing no care about who was watching or listening. It was unprofessional and David definitely wasn’t proud of himself for letting things get to that point… but at the same time, perhaps it was good that it had happened? If the two hadn’t come to blows, if it hadn’t happened in such an unprofessional way, would David have ever reached the decision to sell his shares in the Next Level empire and truly distance himself from all things Tommy Valentine? Because the problems between them, David wasn’t sure that they would be able to fix them, not this time anyway.
In the past, the pair had fallen out, sure. They had their problems, they had stopped talking, a wedge had been driven between them on more than one occasion… but they had never come to blows until that morning at AnteUp, things had never turned physical between them. That escalation meant that this was something much more than any of their previous disagreements and David wondered if it was the change in Tommy that people had been dealing with for months that had caused that escalation. Whatever the reason though, it had happened and the wheels were in motion… and while there was still a loud voice in David’s head saying he was making a mistake or that he would come to regret the decision in the end, he was determined to see it through. Perhaps he was just pigheaded, perhaps his own ego was as fragile as he believed Tommy’s to be, but David refused to back down now. He wouldn’t take back the threat, he wouldn’t let Tommy say he was weak or that he was afraid to follow through on his promises, he was going to show Tommy that actions did have consequences, even if it felt like David was shooting himself in the foot at the same time. His mind was made up though, that much he was sure of. The blow had been softened when the accountants returned with their valuation for the complete list of assets that David planned to sell. He wished he could have been a fly on the wall when Tommy saw the figure and realised how much it was going to cost him if he wanted to but David out himself instead of Dave selling to anyone that could put up the right money, but unfortunately he didn’t get the pleasure of seeing it… he had heard through the grapevine though, that Tommy had been seen with a face like thunder for the couple days the following the completion of the valuation process and that was enough to put a smile on David’s face at least. The brokers were involved now though, shopping around his portfolio to prospective buyers and David had followed his lawyer Heath’s advice where the broker firms were concerned. David has taken up the services of not just the me brokerage company but three, and had hired them on a no sale not fee basis, offering a higher fee to whichever company made the sale than they would have got otherwise. It saved money up front and allowed Dave to only pay out once he’d received money from the buyer, and after he had already blown a considerable amount on his new old Gulfstreem jet to remove the issue of sharing the Next Level Learjet any longer, he was happy about putting payments of for as long as he possibly could. Not that he couldn’t afford them, he wasn’t broke by any stretch of the imagination… but the reprieve meant he wouldn’t have to do any further balancing and transferring of funds like he had to do to purchase the plane and that was always going to be a bonus.
With the firms hired though, David knew it meant he would need to ensure Tommy was notified of the details of the sale. He only had physical copies of the portfolio, as none of the brokers had provided him with electronic copies yet and while he was pretty fucking sure that all three of the brokers would contact Tommy independently in order to try and persuade him to make the purchase through their company and not one of their rivals - it was a significant slice commission after all, so who wouldn’t want the win in that particular battle? - David decided he should probably at least go a little way towards ensuring Tommy was kept in the loop. He had a problem with the guy, and was determined to sell up and get out of Dodge, but that didn’t mean he was going to screw Tommy over any worse than deciding to sell in the first place was already going to do. If Tommy could find the money to buy David out then David would gladly sell to his soon-to-be ex business partner. It would probably feel sweeter if it was Tommy’s money anyway! That didn’t mean David wanted to come face to face with his former best friend though, because he had no desire to get into another fight… so David instead decided to drop the folder off at the school and leave it on Tommy’s desk for him to find whenever he next came in. He wasn’t planning on staying long, he actually had a viewing at a property back in the city anyway, a prospective site for a new school should he decide to jump straight back in at the deep end following the sale of AnteUp, so he couldn’t stick around for long anyway. Unfortunately, fate is a giant bitch who likes to add insult to injury by rubbing salt in all open wounds whenever the chance is presented.
“If I’d known you were going to show up this morning, I wouldn’t have bothered getting here early,” Tommy Valentine said as David opened the door of the office upstairs; David had planned a quick in and out operation, to just leave the folder on Tommy’s desk and then leave again, as he’d stopped taking Monday classes now, with a little rejig of the roster and class schedules to accommodate the two different show schedules he and Tommy were on. In his head David reasoned that until he had sold his shares in the school, he still had a responsibility to those kids that attended classes, but that didn’t mean he had to rub shoulders with the asshole that had caused him to want to sell up in the first place. So he’d scheduled himself and Tommy in on different days to avoid situations just like the one they were now in. “I was just starting to like the schedule that Stone wrote up when it was all changed thanks to you being a childish little bitch who can’t handle things like an adult… it gave me a taste of how things will be run around here when you’re gone. So way to go for ruining that too, brosef, another thing in a long list of shit you’ve ruined over the years!” Tommy added, clearly trying to get a rise out of David. It took some effort for David not to throw the fact that it wasn’t actually Matty that re-made the schedules, but he really didn’t want the argument, so he let it go with an inward sigh. He wasn’t giving Tommy anything to throw back at him.
“Don’t panic bro, I have no intention of staying. Can’t stand the smell in here,” David shot back, wishing he’d not even bothered going that far. He didn’t come to the school for a fight, he didn’t even know Tommy would be there in the first place and the last thing he wanted was for stuff to kick off again like it had before Taking Hold of the Flame. “Had to come in to leave you this stuff, so here,” he said, tossing the folder onto Tommy’s desk, “job done and I can get out of your hair. Have a good one,” he added, turning to leave again.
“You won’t have to come here at all soon anyway, so you should probably make the most of it,” Tommy snidely said to him, and Dave stopped in the doorway to see Tommy sitting with his feet up on the desk, the closed folder on his lap. “So what’s so important that you had to hand deliver it to an empty desk, hoping I wouldn’t be on the ball with my arrival for the day?” he asked, tapping at a folder with a finger.
“The portfolio documents from the three broker companies I’ve enlisted to sell my assets,” David told him, once again refusing to rise to the baited comments from his former tag partner. “Figured it was probably a good idea for you to know who to talk to when you finally manage to pull the money together… if you manage it anyway…”
Tommy let out a belly laugh, though David could tell he was forcing it to a certain degree. He may not recognise the mat sat across the room for him anymore, but he did know when he was putting on a performance and that laugh reeked of it. “Don’t you worry about a thing brosef, I’ve got it all under control,” the North Carolinian said with a scoff. “If it means getting you out of my hair, I’ll find the money by hook or by crook. You’ll get your thirty pieces of silver for betraying me, don’t worry…”
“Taking a leaf out of Gio’s book now, huh?” David asked, shaking his head before trying to end things again. “Like I said bro, everything you need is in that folder, so I can get out of your hair now.”
“It’s pathetic bro,” Tommy said, swinging his legs back down from the table and tossing the folder on top of it to lift the cover. “You realise all of this could have been avoided if you’d not been such a spineless asshole, right?” he asked before turning to look at the documents. He flicked through a couple of pages and David was sure he saw the momentary flicker of something in his face when he got to the page that had the financial details on it. Was it panic? Anger? He couldn’t tell from where he stood, but there was definitely something. “If you had the bottle to stand up to your wife in the first place, we’d still be running this place like we dreamed about for years, way before you ever got your head wedged firmly up Regan’s ass…”
David simply rolled his eyes; he wasn’t going to rise to the bait, he flat out refused to let Tommy get to him this time. He wasn’t going to do it. “Whatever bro, just read through that shit, yeah? I’m not going to waste my time debating this stuff anymore. You’re entitled to your opinion, regardless of how wrong it is. Pick whichever broker you like in there, I have pretty much the same deal with each of them anyway, so it’s not like you can try and screw me out of anything by going with one over the others… I’ll ensure they let you know if anyone else submits an offer while you’re trying to find the spare cash behind the sofa cushions. I’m done here,” he said, knowing he probably shouldn’t have taken the shots he had done, but the new Tommy knew how to push David’s buttons and he couldn’t help himself.
“You really do enjoy cutting your nose off to spite your face, don’t you?!” Tommy shouted after him as he turned to leave again. He’d made it barely three steps across the mezzanine before he had to turn back again.
“You don’t get it do you?” David asked in disbelief. “This isn’t just me blindly defending my wife anymore Tommy, this is me washing my hands of you!” he told him, flatly. “There was a time where I would have bent over backwards to help you, no matter what… but this new you, this ‘new guy in town’ attitude of yours? I don’t recognise you anymore bro! It’s not about me defending Regan after she said some shit you didn’t approve of, this is me cutting someone out of my life that’s turned cancerous. Toxic. I’m not throwing a tantrum and selling up, I’m stepping away from a situation that I see as bad for me, and whether it’s you or someone else who buys it, it doesn’t matter to me anymore; what matters is I get out before it gets any worse.”
“I’m toxic?” Tommy asked in disbelief and David didn’t miss the fact that both of Tommy’s hands balled up into fists at the comment. He could practically see the flick of a switch in Tommy’s head, as he went from sarcastic asshole to the beginnings of rage infested fuckhead. “You’re full of shit sir, you know that? As far as I’m concerned, the only toxic thing is Regan’s cunt, because it’s clearly poisoned your brain and left you unable to see right from fucking wrong!” he said as he stood up, still glaring at his former friend.
David simply shook his head, sighing heavily. “Whatever man, I’m done here. Have a good one, yeah? Try not to take your feelings out on any kids that end up in the ring with you,” he added before turning to walk across the upper floor to the stairs; he wasn’t going to rise to it, he wasn’t going to let Tommy turn this into another argument or, worse, another fight.
He made it to the bottom of the stairs before Tommy’s words filled the building again. “I’ll save that for you this Wednesday, huh? We’ll see how much hope is left in the Last Shadow these days, when I kick your fucking ass back out of the Underground again!” Tommy shouted as David turned to see him standing leaning on the railing on the upper floor.
“Whatever Tommy, I’m not interested in your bullshit anymore,” David told him, forcing himself to remain calm despite the circumstances. “I’m not letting you get to me anymore bro, I’ve given you enough headspace these past few weeks, it’s time for an eviction. So go fuck yourself and good day!” he said before turning and pushing through the door that led to the entrance and reception area of the school. He didn’t know if Tommy was following him after his final remark and in truth he didn’t care. Even if the asshole was coming after him, he wasn’t going to let him start anything. He’d just get in his car and get the hell out of there if necessary, even if Tommy would probably call him a chickenshit for doing so. He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings as he made for the door to the parking lot though, and as he reached out to grab the handle the door swung inwards and crashed into him. “Son of a bitch!” he shouted as it knocked him flat on his ass, causing him to land heavily on the small of his back. “The fuck?!” he said to himself before the door opened again and this time Jordan Majors stepped inside, wide eyed and clearly concerned.
“Oops!” she said, looking down at David without moving for several long seconds before suddenly realising that she wasn’t moving and she dropped her gym bag and stepped forward to help David up. “Shit, I’m sorry Dave, I seriously didn’t see you, I was on my phone and I kind of kicked the door to open it instead of stopping to look, and… I did wonder what the hell it hit,” she said as David half pushed himself up to and half allowed himself to be pulled back to his feet. “Guess I know the answer to that one now, huh?” she asked, giving a nervous little laugh before biting on her lower lip briefly before smiling sheepishly.
David took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gritting his teeth for a moment before letting it go. It wasn’t Jordan’s fault that Tommy had given him shit once again, and she didn’t know he was there. Accidents happened. “Don’t worry about it,” Dave told her, shrugging it off as he rubbed at his lower back with one hand. It wasn’t anything serious, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt. There was no need to lay the blame at Jordan’s feet though, he wasn’t a douchebag, irregardless of what Tommy would probably claim to the contrary. “it happens… not like I’ve never had a bump before, is it?” he asked, making light of the situation with small talk. It was probably obvious he was doing it too, but he was wound up by Tommy and in truth, wanted to get out of there as soon as he could.
Jordan evidently saw that on his face despite him trying to hide it though, if her next question was anything to go by. “Is everything alright?” the blonde asked, looking concerned. “I get that we don’t really know each other so I could be reading this wrong but I do know enough to see when someone is pissed off and no offence Dave, but you look pissed off right now…”
David sighed. “Tommy’s in there, that’s all doll, don’t worry about it,” he replied, hoping it would be all the explanation that was needed and he saw the change of expression on Jordan’s face which confirmed he was right.
“Oh…” Jordan said with apprehension, an indecisive frown appearing on her face as she was clearly weighing up her decision to come and train. “I thought you handled Monday’s?” she asked, confused about the sudden change of circumstances.
“Switched the schedules around a bit,” David informed her, looking at his watch to check the time. “And I’m sorry doll, I really need to get going. Have an appointment that I need to get to and if I don’t leave now I’m gonna be late.”
“Oh, um… Okay. Yeah, no problem. Think I’m just going to call an Uber and work out at Kath’s place today then,” the blonde replied, having evidently made a decision.
David looked at her for a good couple of seconds before making a decision. Fuck it, it couldn’t hurt. “Tell you what, I’ll give you a ride... I could use a second opinion anyway,” he told her, which left Jordan with as many questions as it did answers but she wasn’t going to turn down the free ride back to Santa Monica.
“You’re sure?” Jordan asked, which got a nod from Dave. “Okay… but a second opinion on what?” she asked as they headed outside and Dave made a b-line for where his Audi was parked in the spot reserved for him. David didn’t reply, but simply smirks as he opened the car door, the door locks having already reacted to the fob in his pocket and he shut the door behind him as Jordan stood watching, wondering what the hell she was getting herself into before deciding to hell with it, life was nothing if not an adventure and she opened the passenger side door to climb in after David, who hit the push start to fire the v10 into life. Unfortunately, his exit from AnteUp was far less dramatic than it would have been if he didn’t have to back out of the parking space first, and wheel spin at that point seemed like overkill all things considered, so he pulled away like a sane rational person instead to start the long-ass drive back from Santa Barbara. “You still haven’t told me what you want a second opinion on, but I’m already wondering if I’m the right person for the job no matter what it is anyway… so maybe just drop me off on the way to whatever it is you’re doing?”
“I’d have to go past where I’m headed to drop you off then double back on myself if I was gonna do that,” David explained, as he concentrated on the road. “Besides, given that we’re in the same profession, I actually know you’ll be able to give me your thoughts…”
“Okay, now you’re just talking in riddles, Dave!” Jordan told him, no idea what on earth David was talking about and clearly growing frustrated with it.
David chuckled to himself, shaking his head. “You have a serious overthinking problem, don’t you doll?” he asked, taking a turn onto highway 101 heading east. Jordan looked wounded by the words, but the truth was that she only felt that way because his assumption was right on the money.
“You barely know me and you got that just from me asking where we’re going?!” Jordan asked, which drew another chuckle from David.
He shrugged. “It’s not exactly a deep seated character trait kiddo,” David informed her, his eyes locked on the road as he overtook a slow moving pickup, unleashing the horses in the Audi’s engine for the first time. “You’re basically panicking about what I want your opinion on because I haven’t told you yet… doesn’t take Mensa-level smarts to figure out you over-analyse.”
“Okay, smartass, point taken,” Jordan said, laughing. “But where are we going? I’m fine with whatever, but that doesn’t mean I’m good with going into whatever we’re doing blind…”
“I’ve got a booking with a realtor agent,” David explained, now that Jordan had actually calmed down enough for him to explain.
“What, a new house?” Jordan asked, clearly confused. “Okay, so I’m not really sure how much I can help, I mean I’ve never bought a house before, and Kath was going to help me with finding a place of my own before things changed, so… um... “ she stuttered to a stop, and finally David looked away from the highway long enough to cast a sideways glance at her, wondering why she’d suddenly clammed up on him. Jordan noticed him looking at her and she bit her bottom lip again before frantically trying to break the silence. “Anyway what I’m saying is that I have no idea what to look for when buying houses because I’ve never done that which is kind of the most important element of what I just said!” she blurted out, all one long sentence that flew out much quicker than normally would be the case.
David already had his suspicions where Jordan staying at Kath’s place was concerned, but he hadn’t pushed the matter. He still didn’t particularly want to do that either, because Kath’s business was her own unless it concerned Jay, and Jordan deserved the same level of respect where her own privacy was concerned… but that didn’t stop him wondering what the whole ‘before things changed’ meant. “Things changed, huh…” he said, trying to sound blase with it but they both knew he was making an extremely pointed remark. “Interesting…”
Jordan actually made an involuntary meep sound that very nearly caused David to laugh out loud before he got a handle on himself, and she quickly turned away to look out of the window, no doubt trying to hide her face from David for a while as she tried to figure out what she should say to that. David decided to leave her to figure it out; he didn’t plan on pushing the issue for the time being, and would accept whatever excuse she came up with, but he did make a mental note to talk to Kath at some point, that was for sure. “Yeah…” Jordan said, watching the scenery for a moment longer before finally turning back to look at Dave. “Well, Kath pointed out that she really didn’t mind having a house guest, it gave her someone to talk to and all, and sharing the cooking and cleaning I guess made things easier, so we decided to put off my search until maybe after Rise to Greatness so we can use the post pay per view break to really view some places, you know?” she said, hesitantly but trying to act natural as best she could under the circumstances.
David nodded his head, as if it was a perfectly logical explanation. “Gotcha. Makes sense,” he said, doing a pretty good job of coming across as convinced by what she’d told him, which seemed to be a relief to Jordan and all well apparently well again. “It’s not a house I’m looking at though, so you don’t have to worry about that… it’s actually a commercial building downtown. I know you’re in on the stuff with me and Tommy because I had to explain when you saw the new jet, but I didn’t tell you the whole story when we talked about it.”
David’s concentration was locked on the road again as he navigated the notoriously miserable Los Angeles traffic, so he couldn’t see Jordan watching him carefully or her lack of surprise that he hadn’t told her every intricate detail about what was going on. “Well, I guess why would you?” she asked, shrugging it off. “I know we’re sort of building a friendship or however you want to describe it, but it’s not like I’m in your inner circle or anything, is it? But if you’re going to look at a commercial property, does that mean…”
“That I want to start up something new?” He asked, guessing that she’d worked out the logic of the situation. It wasn’t exactly difficult to do it, when you thought about everything; would David have invested so many years into the project at AnteUp just to step away completely when it was evidently a labour of love for him in the first place? Not a chance. “You’ve got it in one doll… I know I could just sort of sit back and enjoy my free time when not wrestling, but honestly, after so long helping the next generation of wrestlers out, I know for a fact that I don’t want to just stop doing what I’ve done for five years now… so I started looking at real estate, and you wouldn’t fucking believe the luck but there’s a former LA Fitness building that’s going to auction in August! Viewings are available on request, so I figured fuck it, and booked one.”
“Wait, so you’re going to go it alone this time?” Jordan asked, and David wasn’t sure if she was impressed or concerned by that fact.
He wasn’t sure on that yet, given the offer from Lucas when they’d had a few drinks recently. He could go it alone… but he also knew that others being on board would bring more experience to the project and he wasn’t sure which was more beneficial to him as he headed on a new journey once he’d sold everything and washed his hands of Tommy for good. “I don’t really know yet,” David admitted. “Originally, that was the plan, but… well, Lucas offered to get involved, and with how well things worked out with Infamously Dangerous, and all the experience he has in the business, it’s pretty tempting. I haven’t decided if I want to go it alone and it be entirely my own vision, or maybe take Lucas up on the offer and expand our new empire a little. But when I saw the old LA Fitness building on that site, I figured I just had to take a look either way.”
Jordan nodded her head. She understood that it was worth taking a look regardless of what it would ultimately be used for, or branded as at any rate. And the two discussed just that for the rest of the journey back into Los Angeles, talking about the notion of building something from the ground up. Jordan told David that she didn’t really have anything like that to talk about but that she saw plenty of merit in the idea, and David told the young blonde all about how much it meant to him to see the kids that joined AnteUp succeed in their own right… though he tried not to make a big deal out of Peyton’s success because he also knew that some of that had come at Jordan’s expense. By the time they reached downtown, they were talking about the fact that Jordan hadn’t really been given all that much advice about what to do with her money or the money she earned from wrestling, that she’d gladly listen to any tips he had and he promised to throw some contacts her way if she actually wanted to look into investments that she could make going forward. After all, David hadn’t really been that up on such things himself when he was younger and he’d made a point to listen to plenty of advice in the earlier days where he started making good money because how else was he going to learn?
The real estate agent met them in the parking lot, having apparently arrived only a minute or two before them, which David was grateful for as he was worried they may have arrived earlier and were left waiting. The building was bigger than David expected, but that shouldn’t have come as any great surprise given that it also included a damn swimming pool and sauna in one section of the building, and while David didn’t have the first clue about how to manage a swimming pool beyond hiring a company to take care of the one in his backyard, he suspected that he could do something similar on a commercial scale anyway, if he actually ended up owning or co-owning the place. The agent took them on a basic tour of the building, and there were signs throughout of what the various areas had been prior to the fitness center closing a few short weeks earlier, but David wasn’t thinking on what it once was but what it could be. The fact that it was as big as it was meant that he could literally have several rings set up at the same time and maybe run multiple classes at once while allowing those who were simply practicing in their own time or paying to use the place for their training to not have to schedule around classes like they did at AnteUp. The opportunities were actually endless, so long as he could find a buyer for his own portfolio and free up funds to re-invest in the new idea. By the end of the tour, the agent had a string of call-back’s to make so she left Dave and Jordan to look around on their own while she quickly dealt with them.
“So… does it meet your expectations?” Jordan asked as she hopped up onto the semicircular desk that had once clearly been the reception area. Large glass windows behind it gave a great view of the main floor of the former fitness centre and David looked beyond the blonde to the room behind her, nodding his head.
“I think it kind of exceeds them,” He told her, walking up to the glass windows to get a better look at everything. “It’s huge, for a start. And I know AnteUp isn’t exactly small, but this could be so much more than the current setup there… and I get we’d have to walk before we can run, so I’m not saying we would jump in both feet first, but having the option for expansion is pretty sweet…”
“Expansion?” the blonde quizzed and Dave nodded his head.
“Yeah,” he said, pointing through the glass as Jordan joined him at the windows. “Like, okay so over there in that corner, the wall of tv’s? That’s obviously the best place for a big twenty by twenty… a ring I mean…”
“Wait, why’s that the best place?” Jordan asked, looking at where David was pointing.
“Easy,” He said, turning back to look at her. “It’s right in front of a fucking wall of tv’s! It’s not just tv units, it’s a wall that’s an entire tv screen… imagine being able to have live cameras of the ring, all feeding through that system! So you can go through routines, run classes or just drills, then pull the video up on the screen in order to show the trainees what you’re talking about! I’m kind of disappointed that we didn’t think about doing that at AnteUp if I’m honest, but I can really see the potential of it…”
“Okay, I can see that,” Jordan said, nodding in agreement. “And the hardware is clearly there, assuming the previous owner isn’t going to completely rip the whole system out.”
“Can probably negotiate that on top of the sale price, but I’ll bring it up with the agent,” David said, glad that Jordan had brought that up herself. He wouldn’t have thought about it, and if he could get it as part of the price - assuming he managed to win it - then it would make things easier. “But then you have so much space for extra rings too, so maybe an eighteen by eighteen and then two or three fifteen’s as well. Or maybe a second twenty, an eighteen and one fifteen. I’d need to look at the measurements to be sure… but that takes up probably two thirds of the ground floor. The rest can be padded sparring stations, maybe throw up some heavy bags and things like that. Basically make the entire floor dedicated to the combat side of things…” he told her and she continued to nod, following along just fine.
“Okay, and then what, first floor for say, running machines and the rest of the cardio gear, and third floor the weight room?” She asked, starting to think about things as David was, mentally planning out the building and how it could be best used. “The pool is a nice addition compared to AnteUp if you can get that up and running. Great cardio without stressing your muscles…”
“Exactly!” David said, nodding his head now as he snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “And I don’t have the first fucking clue about how that would work, but I can probably hire someone to do that side of things for me anyway so I’m not overly concerned about that,” he said, shrugging. “There’s already an office area to the side of this reception area, which means I don’t need to commandeer any other parts of the building just to be able to do paperwork… I genuinely think this could be fucking amazing if I can get it!” he finished, looking truly excited about the potential of the building they were in, and what could be done if he was given the chance.
Jordan looked at Dave then turned her attention back to the room beyond the glass windows again, soaking it all in. She was silent for a while, before she finally spoke, continuing to look through the glass as she did so. “You know, I think I actually love the idea of it,” she admitted, looking at the television wall again. “So much of what you said makes sense, and I can visualise it all… but it’s not just that, I think it’s hearing how passionate you are about it… so call me crazy, but… well I’m gonna take a punt anyway,” she said before finally turning to face Dave instead of gazing at the room beyond the windows. “I know you said that you weren’t sure if you wanted to go it alone or with a partner, and I know you said Lucas already threw an offer at you… but I want to do the same. If you do want someone to join you on the crazy ass journey, I have money. I’d love to help, to be involved in something. It could be my chance to start building a legacy of my own, or at least start putting my own portfolio together, even if I’d be learning a lot of stuff on the fly… and I don’t expect an answer right now or anything, but, I just want to put it out there for you to consider I guess…”
David had to admit that he was caught off guard by the offer; he knew that Jordan had money, and he’d heard some things that she was kind hearted with it, but he didn’t imagine in a million years that she would be interested in something as crazy as investing with him in building a new wrestling school and gym. “You’re shitting me, right?” he asked, but she shook her head. “You’re actually serious?”
“Why not?” Jordan asked, shrugging. “I saw the passion you have or had maybe, for AnteUp, and listening to you talk about what you could do with this place, it’s exciting… and I want to feel like I’m contributing something by being part of it. You’d probably be the one having to do a lot of the work because I have no idea about running a business, so maybe fifty-fifty would be a bad idea, but… well, we can discuss that later if you’re actually interested or whatever… but yeah, I’m serious. I want in if you decide you’re looking for a partner…”
David wasn’t sure what else to say. Simply put he was shocked by the offer, but it was also a source of pride for him in a way, that someone who was most definitely part of the next generation would want to work with him in helping ensure the future of the business. He promised to give it some thought, but told her he wasn’t going to jump to any decisions right there and then. As sure as he was that this was the general plan he wanted to follow, he still wasn’t sure how he wanted to move forward, alone or with a partner. And Jordan understood that. She’d already said as much, but she reiterated that she wasn’t expecting an answer right there on the spot, she just wanted him to give it some consideration and he promised that he would do just that. The pair didn’t get to discuss much else as the real estate agent made her way back inside, but that was perfect timing because David had something he wanted to ask her. “So I have one question I want to ask,” he told her as she returned from making a few quick calls and she told him to fire away. “How determined is the owner to send this place to auction?” he asked, which seemed to confuse the realtor but David had already made his decision, this was the place that he wanted should he sell his own portfolio in time. The agent explained that she wasn’t sure how her client would respond but David put forward a suggestion to her anyway. He suggested the owner pull the building from the sale, at least for not. He’d compensate the owner for the waiting time, and should he be able to make a sale of his own in say, eight weeks, he would pay the top end of the estimate no questions asked, and hopefully negotiate a few extras to be left in the building too. The agent told him she would put the deal to her client and get back to him as soon as possible, and that was music to David’s ears, even if the agent wasn’t sure of what the answer would be. A lot of this hinged on chance, David knew that; if it did go to auction, there was a chance he may not win the bidding even if he had the money, and it was also pretty dependent on him finding a buyer himself or he wouldn’t be able to proceed… but at the same time, despite the potential pitfalls, he just had a feeling about this building. It was the perfect canvas to build upon, it had everything he could need, regardless of whether he went it alone or not. This was it, this was the venture he wanted to jump into. For the first time since he had made the snap decision to pull the plug on all things Next Level, David found himself excited about what was to come away from his own in-ring career… and if lady luck was shining on him or he found enough lucky rabbit’s feet to touch, then he may be able to get the ball rolling quicker than he had ever imagined. The only question was… how lucky was he?
