Twisted & Sadistic vs. Team Desire

[Braddock]

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July 17th, 2023
Charlotte, NC
Off Camera
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Rise To Greatness XX is less than a week away and Glory Braddock is feeling very confident. Reuniting with her friend and tag team partner Brittany Lohan to bring back Twisted & Sadistic truly was the best move she could have made. It was like riding a bike, she never forgot, she remembered everything, and all of the chemistry she and Lohan had was still there. Now the dangerous duo are marching into Toronto for Rise To Greatness to face Team Desire, aka: The Stewards, and it is Katie Steward who seems to have a similar goal as Glory Braddock. Both are interested in becoming Supreme Champion, both only need the SCW World Tag Team Championship to achieve that status, and they stand in each other’s way. Rise To Greatness will witness one team take a giant step forward, closer to their goal, while the other takes a giant step backward. Glory Braddock and Brittany Lohan are going to do whatever is necessary to ensure that they are victorious and that they take that next step forward closer to the SCW World Tag Team Championship. And in a tag team division that is very stacked, Glory Braddock knows that she and Lohan will have to really put on an impressive performance at Rise To Greatness.

Friendship is important to The British Bombshell. She has and always will be loyal to her friends. Loyalty to her friends is what essentially brought her to this point in SCW. Brittany Lohan and Glory Braddock have had a rocky relationship that closely resembled the ups and downs of a roller coaster, but they did remain loyal to one another, and now Braddock has an ally willing to fight by her side in the trenches of this deep tag team division. The British Bombshell has another friendship that has withstood a tumultuous period, a friend that she has remained loyal to, and is intent on remaining loyal to right now in his time of need, even if he isn’t convinced that he needs her right now. And that individual is Matthew Taylor.

Glory and Matthew were the closest and best of friends growing up. What Glory did not know is that Matthew had always admired her, always had a crush on her, and always wanted their relationship to be more than just friends. The one time he got an opportunity was during a moment of weakness in Glory’s life; she cheated on her husband Kurt with Matthew. Luckily her marriage survived but she knew she couldn’t get that close to Matthew again. He offered, as a friend, to help Glory become tag team champions. He offered to be her tag team partner, but Glory refused. She rejected him out of fear of getting too close to him again. Needless to say, Matthew did not take rejection very well and Glory was worried that she would lose her friend. Fortunately for her, her friendship with Matthew survived. But not all was well with the wild Matthew Taylor. Braddock has learned that he has now since rebounded from Glory’s rejection and is now dating another longtime mutual acquaintance; Melody Murphy.

Braddock knows Melody all too well. She, Melody, and Matthew’s older sister Francis were the hot popular mean girls of the school. Glory was a completely different person back then. Her entire persona changed the moment that her then-boyfriend Thomas Gage got her pregnant and ran away. Glory was quickly ostracized by Melody as well as Francis. But Matthew was there to comfort her and to be her friend. Glory never expected to see Melody again, until recently when Melody walked right into the corporate headquarters of Glory’s own business, Glorious Golden Enterprise, where she learned that Melody and Francis were working together on a partnership. Apparently Melody was interested in investing in Braddock and Francis’s company. Glory, with great hesitation and reluctance, agreed to let Francis and Melody pursue the partnership, but she let it be known that she does not trust Melody. Not for one second. Furthermore, where did Melody even get the idea to invest in Glory’s company? She just assumed Melody and Francis remained friends and remained in contact with one another. And while that is partially true, there is one fact that Francis left out; Melody is now dating Matthew Taylor and that is how she not only came back into Glory’s life but also how she became interested in partnering with her in this business endeavor.

No, Glory does not trust Melody, but this is beyond any business dealings. Glory is concerned about what Melody really wants to do with her friend Matthew. Back in the day, Melody scorned Matthew. She really looked down upon him as trash and a clown. Melody was the type of snob who would never have been caught dead with someone like Matthew. Yet now they are dating? Glory finds it highly dubious that Melody’s tastes would have changed so dramatically and drastically. She does not trust Melody to give her an honest answer so there is only one other place where Glory might get some truth and that is from her kinda-sorta friend and business partner Francis Taylor. This is what brings Glory Braddock to the upscale, fancy home of Francis Taylor in the more luxurious part of town in Charlotte, North Carolina. Braddock sits on the comfy plush black sofa. She is dressed in a casual pink a-line short puff sleeve mini dress with a high waist and a ruffled hem. Her feet are encased in low heeled sandals. Seated next to her is a woman who at times can be quite the mystery; is she a friend? Maybe. She is a business partner, she is Francis Taylor, the president of Glory’s company. Francis is wearing a sleeveless black dress with a straight pencil skirt hemline that stops just above the knee. Francis is wearing black patent leather high heel pumps on her feet.

“I admit that I am surprised to see you, Glory.” Francis says sweetly.

“I hope dropping in on you uninvited isn’t a problem.” Glory states. Francis shakes her head.

“Seeing my good friend, who also happens to be my boss,” she winks knowingly “it’s never a problem. Stop by any time. Still, it is surprising to see you. I know how much you detest Charlotte.”

“It isn’t necessarily Charlotte specifically that I dislike.” Glory says with a sigh. “I mean, its more that I’m a homebody. I always have been. England is and always will be home for me.”

“Then why did you move to Miami?” Francis asks. Is it for your husband?”

“Kurt is sweet, he would have followed me to the ends of the earth if I asked. But I didn’t want to make him permanently leave his home. So part of it is Kurt. The other reason is to be close to my adoptive mother.”

“Ah yes, Aphrodite, our minority shareholder. I suppose I can see why you moved away from your beloved England.”

“I’m surprised you left England for Charlotte, quite frankly.” Glory points out. “Don’t you miss our old home?” Glory asks. Francis nods her head.

“Of course I do. But I still have some comforts of home right here.” As if on cue a man, dressed very nicely in black and white, walks in carrying two drinks, one a glass of white wine and the other a glass of red wine. He hands the red to Francis and the white to Glory.

“Pinot Grigio for Ms. Braddock and Merlot for Ms. Taylor.”

“Thank you, Gregory. That will be all.” Francis says, waving her hand to dismiss him. He turns and walks off. Glory’s eyes are wide as she turns towards Francis.

“I recognize him…is that…” her voice trails off, she can’t quite finish her thought. That’s ok, because Francis can finish it for her. She nods her head.

“Yes, that’s Gregory. He worked for my father until he passed, then he worked for my mother until she passed, now he works for me.” Francis sips her merlot. “He has always been loyal to my family. When I heard you were coming, I had him prepare some wine. I hope you like pinot grigio.”

“I prefer the reds but this is good too.” Glory takes a sip.

“So what does bring you to Charlotte?” Francis asks. “I somewhat doubt you’re here just to catch up on old times. After all, you never do visit unless you have an agenda.”

“You’re right, I do have an agenda. My company is headquartered here and my company is about to enter into a big partnership with a major league investor.”

“Melody.”

“That’s her. I thought it might be a good idea to pay you a visit since this is still my company and I have a vested interest in this partnership you are trying to build.”

“Apologies, Glory, but didn’t you say that you didn’t want to be a hands on micromanager of the company? Isn’t that why you built in so many layers of bureaucracy into the company? From Aphrodite at the top, me next, on down to Tabitha Silverstone. What’s the point of all of us if you are going to suddenly start getting involved?”

“Usually I do trust your judgment, Tabitha’s judgment, and of course mother’s judgment. But this idea of yours to partner with Melody Murphy has given me pause.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I do not trust Melody.” Glory says pointedly. “Sorry if you and her are still besties, but I don’t trust her just yet. So yes, I would like to be kept appraised of what is going on and what your plan is.”

“Fair enough.” Francis takes a sip of her wine. “The primary idea is the financial investment itself, Melody is going to be pumping a lot of cash into GGE expecting nothing in return. But that’s not all; Melody has a ton of resources and connections that we do not have. We are involved in some projects that she would also like to dip her toes into, so to speak. So she will share her resources and connections to help us expand, to fund further research and development into all aspects of our company, from our modeling wing to the wrestling wing. Trust me, Glory, it a win win for all involved.”

“Seriously? You expect me to buy all of that crap?”

“What do you mean?”

“I told you that I don’t trust Melody, and this plan of yours just sounds too good to be true. Now, after hearing this spiel of yours, I’m not sure I trust you, either.” Glory stares daggers right through Francis. Francis chuckles uneasily as she sips on her wine.

“Calm down, Glory. Remember, we’ve been friends for a very long time.”

“We WERE friends, then you and Melody turned on me. Now we’re business partners, or to be more accurate about it, I am your boss. And you need to start being very honest with me and do it quickly, because I am have yet to decide if I am here just to talk to you or if I am here to fire you.”

Immediately the gravity of the situation begins to dawn upon Francis Taylor. This isn’t some casual meeting and Glory Braddock isn’t here to be friendly. This isn’t her friend, or rather former friend. This is her boss. Francis gulps uneasily before placing the wine glass down on a nearby table. She slowly and quietly nods her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“I know you have been keeping secrets from me, Francis. Did you know that I have been spending a lot of time in Birmingham lately?”

“Uh, no…”

“Well my father’s best friend…you probably don’t know him because his type were always beneath your notice. His name is Blake O’Malley. I consider him like an uncle. He’s been training me lately, his gym is in Birmingham, so I’ve been spending more time there as of late. I happened to run across your brother there, and you wouldn’t believe who was with him?” Glory watches and waits patiently for a reaction. That reaction comes quickly as Francis Taylor’s face goes pale. She sighs deeply.

“Melody.” Francis states. Glory nods her head.

“That’s right, I saw Melody with Matthew. They informed me that they were dating now. That’s not all. According to Melody, it was her budding relationship with Matthew that eventually led to Francis’s brilliant idea to have this partnership between her and GGE.” Glory folds her arms over her chest and stares judgingly at Francis. This resembles an angry parent waiting for an explanation from a disobedient child.

“Look, I admit that I knew about Matthew and Melody dating for a long time now. And you’re right, I used that as a way in; quite frankly, Melody and I have barely spoken since we both got out of school. When my brother told me he was dating her, it was wonderful news for me. I was genuinely happy not just for Matthew but also for myself because it gave me the chance to get reacquainted with an old friend. I spoke with Melody, we were catching up, and I learned about her own business dealings. Then on a whim I just suggested to her about investing in the company.”

“A whim?” Glory is skeptical and the look on her face shows. Francis insists it is true as she nods her head.

“Yes, honestly, it was just a random suggestion. I didn’t think Melody would take it seriously.” She shakes her head. “But what I did was not ethically wrong or legally wrong. Deals like this happen all the time in business.” Glory takes a moment to soak this all in. She sips her wine again and sighs. Glory nods her head.

“You’re right. This isn’t unethical. It isn’t illegal. But you should have known that I would have had major problems with such a partnership, not just merely the fact that I’m forced to work with Melody again but also due to the fact that this stems from her dating my best friend.”

“I think I see the problem here.” Francis sighs as she takes a sip of her wine. “Glory, do you still hold a grudge over what happened between the three of us?” Glory finishes her wine in one big gulp and slams the glass down.

“Yes, maybe I DO still hold a grudge. But I have every right to hold a grudge because you and Melody tormented me in school. We were friends, the best of friends, but then you two turned on me after I got pregnant.” Braddock shakes her head in disgust. “As if a teenage pregnancy wasn’t bad enough, but then you two adding more shame and humiliation on me was just salt in the wound.”

“Is it an apology you want? Fine. I apologize! Whatever Melody and I did to you, I apologize! But be honest with me, you have no room to judge us.” Francis points an accusatory finger at Glory. “Don’t forget that me, Melody, and our friend Maria Braddock were quite the stunners, quite the knockouts in school.”

“Do NOT call me that again.”

“Why not? It is your middle name. And you went by your middle name in school. And while you sit there and accuse us of being bullies, of being stuck up mean girls, the fact is that you were one of us.”

“But I changed.” Glory says angrily, nearing tears. “Your torment and harassment made me realize just what kind of awful person Maria was; so I knew I had to change. Yes, Maria is my middle name, my mother gave it to me. Gloria is my first name, my father insisted upon it.”

“And you thought a name change could forever separate you from who you once were?” Francis nods her head. “You did change. After your parents split up you became daddy’s little tomboy. But that wasn’t who you were. And isn’t who you are now. I look at you here before me, Gloria, and I do not see your father’s little tomboy. I see my good friend Maria, the upscale fashionista.” Francis sips on her wine. “You claim Aphrodite influenced you but that’s entirely true. You just remembered who you really are.”

Braddock sighs and nods her head. These are memories she would rather not think about because they are painful. Being pregnant while a teenager in school was difficult for Glory, the betrayal of her friends was just extra harmful. Yet much of what Francis says is true. The person she became after learning and growing under the wing of Aphrodite Noel is very similar to the person she once was in school, the mean girl who was with that tightly knit group, with Francis and Melody. The more she thinks about it, the less angry she becomes.

“You should have been more forthcoming.”

“You’re right, Glory, I should have, but Melody and I agreed that you would have overreacted and killed the partnership dead before it even had a chance. That’s why we never told you anything until now. Was it deceptive? Yes. But we had the best of intentions.”

“And what exactly are those intentions?” Glory asks curiously. “Do you want to line your pockets with more money?”

“No, we just want our friend back.” This response catches The British Bombshell by surprise. She is even more surprised when Francis reaches out and grasps her hands, holding them tightly. “I do apologize for trying to manipulate you. But trust me, I mean it when I say that I want my friends back. Seeing Melody again and speaking with her brought back memories of the good old days. We were very close. I saw this as an opportunity not just to help our company but to also bring back the friendship that way once shared.” Francis finally releases her grip on Glory’s hands. “But if you want to fire me then go ahead. I did manipulate and deceive you. Plus you are my boss. You have every right to fire me.”

Glory Braddock is not as angry as she once was, as angry as she was when she first arrived at Francis Taylor’s house. But she is still angry. She doesn’t like being lied to; and yet she cannot bring herself to fire Francis Taylor. She sense a hint of sincerity in Francis Taylor’s voice. Glory shakes her head.

“I haven’t exactly been the picture of perfection myself. And you know what? Purely from a business standpoint, this partnership between Melody and me, there is no arguing with the facts and the fact is that it will be huge for our company and all of our employees.”

“Exactly.” Francis says, growing more excited.

“And I would do anything to help those who work for me, even if it means working with someone, doing business with someone, who I do not trust. So I won’t fire you, Francis. And yes, this idea of yours can proceed.” Glory rises up to her feet. Francis rises as well and tries hug her but Glory gently pushes her away. “But I’m warning you…I am going to be paying very close attention to this business arrangement of yours. You say that you and Melody want your friend back? That friendship is dead. And I am not sure I can ever bring myself to trust her again.”

“Trust me, Glory, Melody would never screw us over.”

“I’m not worried about us.” She points a finger at Francis. “I am worried about your brother.”

“Matthew?”

“Yes. Matty is a dear friend of mine and if Melody hurts him in any way then I swear to God she will have hell to pay.”

“You are worrying yourself over nothing.” Francis says with a soft laugh. “My brother is happy. So is Melody. They’re happy together.”

“I hope you’re right. I just think it strange that I am worried about your brother than you are.”