Juli Minorez sat alone in what use to be her Father's office, thumbing through old pictures of him in the ring. With her feet propped up on the edge of the dark oak veneer, she pushed herself to the point where her chair was resting on the two back legs. A pair of black track pants, white cross trainers, and a white sports bra made a cute little ensemble, but are more than a stone's throw away from the scraps of material she is normally seen in. Looking at an old photo of her father leaping from the top rope, a smile sneaks into the corner of her lips as she thinks back to a time when she had no problem being 'Daddy's Little Girl', before her career and his betrayal became her only focus.

'Hey Juli...'

Startled, she nearly fell out of her chair when she turned her head over her shoulder to find Jadian Bridden standing at the doorway; she had completely forgot she was leaning back on two legs of the steel framed seat.

'Oh shit, sorry,' he apologized, his hand reaching out for the chair that did not topple over. 'I wasn't trying to scare you.'

Composing herself, Juli shook her head and scoffed at the notion. 'Please, I wasn't scared. I just lost my balance a bit.'

'You looked a bit scared,' he told her as she stood up, adjusting the chair before turning to face him.

She shook her head, her heart beating so fast she could feel it in her throat.

'Are you sure you're alright,' he asked, his gaze never wavering.

'Of course,' came the quick and snappy reply, coupled with a roll of the eyes and a cock of the hips. 'Why wouldn't I be?'

'Well, you looked a bit out of it for a second there.' Jadian moved away from the door, the sound of it clicking closed echoing out through the awkward silence, as they both just stand there staring at each other for a brief moment. Then Juli snapped out of her trance.

'I was just thinking about everything going on,' She lied, placing the photo album atop her father's desk. 'Desade wants us to stand firm, but I've never really trusted Campbell. There's just something about her I can't stand.' Her eyes focused on something else. It didn't matter what, as long as he didn't see the regret in her eyes.

'Aimz is a bitch,' He noticed she was avoiding him, though he had no clue as to why. 'But you know better than to think Pierce doesn't have something planned to make sure things don't get out of hand.'

'What makes you think she's not the one pulling those strings?'

He glanced down at his feet. She was right, it was as if they were all puppets in her schemes at times. 'Well, I don't. I'm just saying is all.'

She giggled a bit, turning back to find his eyes locked on her. 'You do realize I'm fucking with you, right?'

'Whatever,' he shook his head. 'You don't have to be a bitch about it. Especially when you know how I feel about the way she treats me like a child, sometimes.'

'Oh, get over it,' She says with a laugh, focusing on drawing the conversation away from what she was thinking about when he came into the office. If being a bitch is what it took, then so be it. 'I do that sometimes, too.'

'I can't stand it when you do it either,' he said, as he turned to look over his shoulder toward the door. 'I'm just going to wait for you outside... Let you get back to whatever you were doing before I scared you.'

'I wasn't sca-' she stopped short when she noticed the smile on his face.

'I know,' he chuckled. 'I was just fucking with you.'

---

On the other side of the door, Jadian just leans back against it - his hand still on the knob.

'You guys haven't left yet?'

His eyes flash open, the grinning face of Miguel Minorez slowly bounding in his direction.

'I thought you guys would've been on your way to Worcester by now.' A gym bag is slung over Mike's shoulder - a practically bare shoulder as the scrap of material left of his homemade sleeveless shirt dangles around his bicep.

Jadian lifts his arm and points his thumb back toward the door, words not even necessary to get a nod from Mike.

'She thinks I haven't noticed,' Jadian says as Mike tosses the duffel bag onto the ring apron.

'As angry as she is, he's still her father,' he too had noticed Juli spending a lot of time staring at the old articles and photo albums of her father. 'No point in bringing it up to her though, considering she'd probably knock your teeth in if you did.'

'I think I can take her,' Jadian said with a grin.

'I haven't seen you walking around with a strap on your shoulder.' It was Mike who had a smile on his lips now. 'What makes you think she couldn't step into the ring and do what she did the last time?'

'Yeah... well,' he said with a nervous smirk, his eyes shifting slightly to keep from looking at the man. 'I have a chance to change that this week.'

'With Connors in this thing,' Mike chuckles heartily. 'Sorry, kid, but that isn't a bet I'm willing to make.'

Jadian shook his head, 'Thanks for the vote of confidence, I knew I could count on you.'

'Well,' Mike tries to stifle his laugh. 'I know a few things about Connors, and I heard stories about Sykes when I was in the NWC. Not to mention, you don't have a good track record against - well, anyone - so put two and two together.'

'I guess we'll just have to wait and see then, huh?'

Mike Just shakes his head as Juli walks out of the office, nodding that she's ready to go. 'I don't think I'll be holding my breath.'

Jadian just shakes his head as he walks off, uncertain whether or not he even believes in himself.