Chapter 4

Chapter 4


Tony and Eve were in the office of the network executive who green lighted most of her soaps. He looked over their pitch, and they saw his face looked very negative. He didn’t seem to like the pitch very much, in his opinion the spinoff they pitched was too much like the original show. The premise of the show just didn’t seem unique too him.

‘’We’re not pickin’ it up’‘, he said in a gruff voice.

Eves heart jumped up into her throat, despite the differences between Tony and Adam, she always did her best to help her brother out if she ever needed someone. And now that he led a straight clean life, she wanted to help him get a new start. She was now crushed for Tony because rejection had just halted that start.

‘’Why not?’‘ she asked.

Tony felt terrible, he wanted to become a successful soap writer and producer like his sister, she had made such a success out of Capulet Consumer Goods after their mother turned the company over to them while he had troubles with the law. However, he wanted to do this soap as a way to make up for the past.

‘’It’s the exact same concept as the previous show. We have no use for two shows that have the same type of story’‘, responded the network executive.

Tony knew that rejection was apart of the business, and if they couldn’t pitch it to this network, they could pitch it to another network. It wasn’t in Tony’s nature to give up, he needed to prove himself to everyone, and prove that he could do right.

***

Eve and Tony went to pitch the show to an executive at a rival network, the executive was interested the proposal, it showed promise. He felt that this was much better than the soaps on his network which had very low numbers. This show might perk up the network’s spirits in regards to daytime television.

‘’Alright, we’ll pick it up for thirteen weeks’‘, he said.

They surprised to hear that a network wanted to pick up the show, both were overjoyed that Tony had now gotten his foot in the door. Tony’s palms sweated, he was so nervous and excited that he got a gig.

‘’You’ll pick up the show?’‘ he exclaimed as his eyes bugged out.

‘’We’ll give it a run for thirteen weeks, if the numbers are good, we’ll renew it for another thirteen weeks. It the show’s still up there after that, we’ll keep it on for six months, and then we’ll talk about renewals for each year.’‘ said the executive from the rival network.

The executive handed them a contract and a pen, Tony read it over, and he signed on the dotted line. Eve read the document at a slower and more careful pace, and signed as well. The executive then put his signature down to make it official. Everyone in the room felt a little more relaxed after the deal was done.

‘’We’ll put it in the 2pm time slot’‘, said the executive.

They now felt that a bombshell had been dropped on them, that was the same slot that Eve’s top rated soap was slated for on the opposite network that just rejected the show. The show they had once planned to be a spinoff of her top rated show was now gonna be its competition instead.


***

While on the set of her soap, Eve watched Tony’s soap on the rival network via the TV monitor in the studio rather than pay attention to hers which had been shot live at that very moment on that very sound stage. She received the numbers for the daytime broadcasts, and Tony’s soap had now replaced hers as the top rated daytime drama.

‘’What the hell’s wrong with this show?’‘ she asked herself.

She was so proud of her brother Tony that he became successful, but this was a business. She needed to get the show’s priorities together or the network would be down her throat. She began to cry, the smallest drop in the numbers for any of her soaps gave her the impression that they would be cancelled. She then got up to make an announcement.

‘’Why aren’t you people givin’ your best efforts? The numbers for the show have slipped, what’s everyone problem?’‘ she commanded everyone in the studio in a frantic tone.

They all looked at her as if she was about to have another one of her mood swings, she always had constant battles on the set with the cast and crew of her soaps. They always debated over who had final say, her or the people who put her visions on the screen. She just couldn’t stand anyone else who screwed with her work. She was a total perfectionist!

‘’God dammit woman! The numbers just slipped a little because of the debut of your brother’s new show. He may be on another network, but this company still produces his show! Get a grip!’‘ shouted an annoyed producer from Capulet Television.


She saw red, and people in the studio gasped that someone had the guts to talk to her like that. They awaited to see what she’d say next. Every person on the set feared her, and feared for their jobs each day they came to work. They were scared to cross her or rub her the wrong way, her mental illness was so severe that they just didn’t wanna mess with her.

‘’How dare you speak to me that way, I’m the whole reason any of this even exists Get off my god damn set, and don’t you ever come back!’‘ she shouted.

As the producer left, everyone felt a sudden chill in the room. They just stood there afraid to move, they hoped to keep their employment. The signal was given that the show was about to go back on the air. Everyone rushed back to their places, and the cameras rolled again as if the incident between Eve and the producer had never happened.


***

Later that weekend, Tony was in St. Louis, he entered the office of the promoter Adam had screwed in the match for the world heavyweight title. He laid $5,000 in cash on the promoter’s table. The promoter had financial trouble ever since Adam screwed him out of the title. Without the world title the ticket sales and television numbers had dropped in St. Louis. So the promotion was now up for sale.

‘’Are you a licensed promoter?’‘ the St. Louis promoter asked him.

‘’Yes’‘, he answered with a grin.

Tony wasn’t a licensed promoter, he just lied to the promoter to further the deal. This was the first phase in his plan. Plans that he hadn’t announced to anyone back home at Capulet Consumer Goods or its television division. Could this have been the hidden agenda that Adam had suspected?

‘’I’ll need to see verification of that before we close the deal’‘, stated the promoter.

‘’And I’ll get you that as soon as possible’‘, he responded as he shook the promoter’s hand.

Tony left the promoter’s office as he smiled about what was up his sleeve. He knew if he could pull this without anyone’s knowledge back home, he’d be able to pull off the biggest coup, even bigger than what Adam had pulled with that promoter. He wanted to make sure that this was a big deal, and that he cold shove it in Adam’s face!


***

Tony traveled to Jefferson City, Missouri where the offices for the state athletic commission were located. He entered the office, and went to over to the section for sports promoters. He paid the $500 fee required for a promoter’s license. He was then given a liability waiver form to sign for insurance purposes. It stated that he would responsible for any athletic related injuries any wrestlers or boxers suffered under his promotion, not the athletic commission.

‘’Are there any arenas in the state of Missouri that your slated to promote athletic contests in?’‘ asked one of the commissioners.

‘’Yes, in St. Louis’‘, he responded as he signed the waiver.

He was then handed his promoter’s license, and an evil smile came over his face. He now had part of what he needed to get established as an wrestling promoter. But most back home would wonder why he should be a wrestling promoter when he had his hands full five days a week with a top rated soap opera. Tony was the one person who knew the answer to that question.

***

That Sunday night, Tony was in the office of a network executive who handled their sports broadcasts. He handed the executive a pitch for an wrestling show to replace an established wrestling show in it’s time slot. The executive nodded his head, and even smiled a little. Tony awaited his response as he laid back in his chair.

‘’What are you gonna give this network in exchange for air time?’‘, the executive questioned.

‘’I’m a shareholder in Capulet Consumer Goods, and I’ll be more than happy to sponsor the show myself.’‘ he responded.

He shook hands with the executive, and left the office. He knew had pulled off a great scheme, he felt it was gonna be huge. He had a smirk on his face, as if he knew if it was gonna as successful as his soap opera. All he needed to do now was hold his first live show that would be broadcast on television.


***

Adam was inside his office, preparation was underway for his next big wrestling show, but there were two main problems. Neither the television crew or the new world heavyweight champ had shown up yet. He managed to snag a last minute replacement for the main even in case the new champ didn’t show, and he had also made the decision to go on with the show as scheduled whether there was a TV crew to broadcast the show or not.

He turned on the television set in his office to see what the situation was with the network. He discovered that he had been replaced by another wrestling show, which made him furious! He then saw that the show’s location was in St. Louis. He was so upset that he threw a chair up against the wall! The show then went to a commercial break, and he was shocked as he saw his brother in law Tony Capulet advertise a product from Capulet Consumer Goods which prompted him to ram his fist through the TV screen!

‘’What the hell’s goin’ on?’‘ asked Gene as he rushed in with several guys from the locker room.

‘’That god damn uncle of yours got a promoter’s license, took over the St. Louis office, stole our champ, and stole our TV show!’‘ he screamed at the top of his lungs as his fist was covered in blood.

Everyone backstage just stood there as they wondered what the hell they were gonna do. They no longer had a national TV deal, and they no longer had the support of the world heavyweight champion. Aside from the crowd out there in the arena it was almost as if there was no wrestling show at all.


***

Tony drove a car with his wife and kids inside, and a rental truck hooked behind the car. Adam and the rest of The Montagues followed them in their car. As Adam’s car came near the rental truck, Tony pulled away, and drove very fast. He then pulled up to his new house, just before Adam pulled up. They both got out of their cars, and a fist fight ensued.

‘’You’ve almost ruined our lives you son of a bitch, do you even care about your sister at all?’‘ Adam asked as he delivered another punch.

‘’Not if she doesn’t put food on my table’‘, Tony responded under duress.

Their families pulled them apart, Adam was held back by The Montagues while Tony was held back by The Capulets. Eve just couldn’t bear to see her husband and her brother fight like that. They had fought like that since the day they got married, and when it was announced that she was pregnant with his child. Police came due to a call that came in about the disturbance, and were warned not to pull a stunt like that in public view again.