Don't Look Down

Hilde blushed a bit as Taylor sat on her, but did her best to keep her from falling over. Her smile was soft and shy until Taylor spoke and soon the German's eyes widened . "Eh!? Vas!?" She blurted out and shook her head vigorously, her blush deepening. "I... I... don't have a secret!" She insisted. Her heart began to beat faster, but as she steadied herself to try and explain things, Taylor was off in a whirlwind.

Lukretia had heard Taylor from inside Hilde's office. Though she couldn't mkae out what she was saying specifically, the voice and tone was pretty unmistakeable. When Taylor finally burst forth, Lukretia gave the young punk a courteous nod and smile.

"Miss Parker... It has been a vhile." She said and slipped out of her chair. She stalked towards Taylor with a haughty gait and a surprisingly warm smile. When she was close, she took Taylor's cheeks in her hand, mindful of the injuries and planted a kiss on each side before backing away.

"For your valiant efforts, if nothing else." She said and turned away. "Perhaps you are vondering vhy I called on you?"

Taylor stood still, a pantomime mockery of her very best behavior, while Lukretia approached. She had spent so much time trying to bludgeon the stately German with her punky attitude. She figured that probably everyone that came into her office tried to make it a show just for attention, and she wondered how Lukretia managed to keep it all in one piece. She figured that maybe the best way to rebel was to be super nice while she was here.

"Oh, I'm allllll ears," she said, bending each knee and bouncing a little, unable to completely hold still.

Lukretia stopped about halfway back to her desk and turned around. She smoothed down her tight fitting knee length skirt and looked over Taylor. "You have practically been a ghost since you lost ze title, Miss Parker. I know you have suffered serious injuries, und I do not expect you to get back in ze ring until you are in a respectably healthy state, but it does not mean zat you can simply abandon your duties. As a, now former, champion, you still have obligations to ze company zat can be fulfilled without having to wrestle."

Lukretia spoke in her most official tone as she slowly worked her way back to Taylor. She stood in front of the blonde and reached out her hand gently to trace along Taylor's cheek, just under her injured eye.

"I vas hoping you might have been able to hold Miss Convway off." Lukretia mused. "Perhaps I had misjudged..." She said as her finger slipped down Taylor's cheek before she removed it.

Taylor's eye twitched. Lukretia's opening condescending salvo got her blood pumping right away, but she defiantly held her composure. Excuse the hell out of her for not running around promoting the company from the hospital.

"Winning was ze plan," she said, reaching out with her finger as if to touch Lukretia's cheek. "Things don't always go according to plan. I said what I needed to say. I'm still here, and I'm still not afraid. I just want to fight."

"Ahh, jah, jah." Lukretia said, lightly batting away Taylor's fingers. "I am still quite proud of you, Miss Parker. Your actions vere quite commendable, if not a bit foolhardy, but a voman like me admires your courage. Really, vhat else could you have done?" Lukretia said, shrugging a bit. "Of course Miss Convay vould need to hide behind much bigger people und much more people. On her own she could not have gotten ze job done, if ze fight vas a fair one, jah?"

Lukretia said, raising an eyebrow at Taylor. "Und now you can hold your head up high because you have fought your best against ze odds und everyone who cheers for you vill be so grateful to see you again." Lukretia said. Her usual haughty, yet cheerful demeanor was not there. Her tone was firm and serious, as if she were still in business mode.

"Vhen ... vill zhey see you again, Miss Parker?" Lukretia asked. "Six months? A year?" Lukretia lifted up her finger and pushed it into the top of Taylor's chest as she got close once more. "Personally, I admire vhat you did, but as ze General Manager, I am not one bit pleased. You are one of ze most talented girls in ze league und yet you seem content to be led out of ze ring on a stretcher after every fight. Zere IS an interest in keeping you ... reasonably healthy..." Lukretia said.

"Und vhile I do admire your tenacity, it does not extend to someone who appears to be suicidal." Lukretia said, looking Taylor up and down.

Taylor cocked an eyebrow at Lukretia. She was probably just trying to goad her. "If it wasn't for my broken skull, I'd already be in there," she said. "If you can get me booked, I'll fight this week. Or next week. Or the week after. But maybe that's suicidal." She shrugged.

"Look man, life's too short to sit around and wait for this stuff, and it's way too long for regrets. I know I'm not gonna be doing this when I'm forty, and I'm not trying to play it safe. I want to show the world what I can do, and what you can do when you hold nothing back and stand up for yourself." She looked the general manager straight in the eye. "And I want my title back."

Lukretia raised an eyebrow at Taylor's words and her smirk returned. "Oh, you're free to try, Miss Parker. You know I vould never stand in your vay of anyzhing."

The German domme paused for a moment. "It vill sure be easy for someone such as yourself. It vas easy enough for you to get a rematch vith Engel after she beat you und she is a much better wrestler zhen Fräulein Convay."

Taylor snorted, and folded her arms over her chest. "Easy, yeah. You got three more former champs for me to beat?"

Taylor glanced back at the door. "Ya know Angel's right behind me. I wonder what you've got to say to her..." She raised a curious eyebrow at the scheming German. "I'm not asking you for anything. I'm just letting you know that I'm not a ghost, and I'm not gonna stop until that belt is back in my hands, where it belongs. And I don't care if you book it or not... I'm pretty good at picking fights."

She planted a hand on her hip and cocked them to the side. "Anything else?"

Lukretia remained as she was. "I vill tell her ze same zhing I told you. Ze zhing I tell every Frau who comes through meine door. I do vhat I can to help zose who vish to help zemselves und prove zat zhey are stong und capable vomen in ze ring. Some, like you, can rise to ze occasion und push zemselves beyond zeir limits. "Ozhers... cannot."

Lukretia turned and began to slip back towards her desk. "If she vants to have ze match vith you, zhen I vill, indeed, make it happen. Ve shall see zough. In ze end, she may have ze title, but she vill alvays be an undeserving, covardly schwimmbadjunge." Lukretia said with some disgust in her tone.

"Yes," Taylor nodded. "I sure know how to take it to the limit. Now let me go get that crazy swim-bad... thing."

She gave Lukretia a mockery of a salute, and then turned and clomped her big red combat boots out the door. "Bye, Hilde!" She waved on her way back to the hall, where she spotted Angel, meandering around.

"Hey," she said, waggling dual gun-hands at the silver Latina. "Drinks after?"