CBWL 048

Montana’s Steakhouse – Atlanta, Georgia

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 Lunch

Cowboy Watts and Jim Ross were sitting in a back booth at Montana’s, the same place they’d torn apart just a few nights earlier. This time the mood was much quieter. Both men had plates of ribs and brisket in front of them, the kind of sloppy, sauce-heavy BBQ that made a mess no matter how careful you tried to be.

Cowboy had a stack of napkins next to his plate and was already on his second rib, sauce on his fingers as he scrolled through his phone with his other hand.

Cowboy Watts: (mouth half full) “Jesus. These three are already giving me a headache and it’s not even noon yet.”

Jim Ross took a bite of brisket and wiped his mouth with a napkin, watching Cowboy scroll.

Jim Ross: “What are they saying?”

Cowboy kept scrolling as he answered.

Cowboy Watts: “Tony first. He landed in L.A. last night, went and got Wendy. Said it went smooth. Her agent tried to come with them when they were leaving and Butterbean had to… handle it. Tony didn’t go into detail, but I can read between the lines. He also said Wendy looked rough. Like, worse than we thought.”

He took another bite of rib and kept reading.

Cowboy Watts: “Arnold’s on his way back with Emma. No problems on his end. Short and sweet, like always. He’ll have her here by tomorrow like we asked.”

Jim Ross nodded and reached for his iced tea.

Jim Ross: “And Elena?”

Cowboy let out a short breath through his nose and shook his head slightly as he read her message again.

Cowboy Watts: “She’s on a plane right now. Headed to the hospital to see Sterling herself. Said she doesn’t trust what the doctors are telling us and wants to check on him in person. She didn’t say it outright, but I can tell she thinks something’s off.”

Jim Ross raised an eyebrow.

Jim Ross: “She flew out already?”

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah. Didn’t even tell us she was going until she was already at the airport. That’s just how she operates. Once she gets something in her head, she moves.”

He wiped his hands on a napkin and kept scrolling through the rest of his messages, shaking his head.

Cowboy Watts: “Three different people, three different headaches. Tony’s playing cowboy out in L.A., Arnold’s doing his job like a damn robot, and Elena’s gone rogue because she thinks the hospital’s bullshitting us about Sterling.”

Jim Ross took another bite of food and chewed thoughtfully before speaking.

Jim Ross: “Tony took Butterbean with him anyway, huh?”

Cowboy Watts: (grunting) “Yeah. He already told me they handled Wendy’s agent together. I told him not to bring him, but he did it anyway. Said he paid for the ticket himself.”

Jim Ross: “Figures. Tony don’t like being told what to do. Especially not by me.”

Cowboy took another bite of rib and kept scrolling.

Jim Ross: “Speaking of Tony… what the hell’s going on with him and Wendy? He was real quick to volunteer to go get her. Almost too quick.”

Cowboy Watts: “I noticed that too. Soon as her name came up, he was damn near jumping at it. Something’s off with that whole situation. I don’t know if he’s got some kind of play in mind or if he just likes having that kind of pull over people, but it don’t sit right with me.”

Jim Ross nodded slowly and took a drink.

Jim Ross: “Meanwhile, Arnold’s doing exactly what we asked. No extra people, no drama, no bullshit. Just went and got Emma like we told him. Sometimes I forget what it’s like dealing with somebody who actually does their job without turning it into a production.”

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah, Arnold’s solid. You don’t gotta babysit him.”

Cowboy scrolled a little further down on his phone, then let out a tired breath.

Cowboy Watts: “Elena’s already on a plane headed to the hospital. She didn’t even tell us she was going until she was already at the airport. God only knows what she’s gonna find when she gets there… or what she’s gonna do about it.”

Jim Ross: “That one worries me. She doesn’t exactly operate like the rest of us. If she thinks something’s off, she’s liable to take matters into her own hands.”

Cowboy set his phone down and rubbed his face with one hand, leaving a faint smear of sauce on his cheek.

Cowboy Watts: “And on top of all that, we still don’t have a single person lined up to drive the goddamn trucks. Show’s on Friday. That’s three days from now. Sterling’s laid up in the hospital and we got no backup plan. Who the hell is supposed to move everybody and everything?”

He looked across the table at JR with a tired smirk.

Cowboy Watts: “Maybe you can get behind the wheel of that 18-wheeler. Put that old man strength to use.”

Jim Ross let out a short, dry laugh and shook his head.

Jim Ross: “My daddy used to pull bull trailers in Oklahoma back in the day. I rode with him enough to know I don’t wanna do that shit for a living — especially not with this roster.”

Cowboy chuckled under his breath and picked up another rib.

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah, well… somebody’s gotta figure it out, and fast. We’re running out of time.”

Cowboy’s phone started ringing on the table. He glanced at the screen, saw it was the office, and answered while still holding a rib in his other hand.

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah?”

He listened for a few seconds, his eyebrows slowly pulling together. After a moment, he sat up a little straighter.

Cowboy Watts: “…Say that again?”

He listened some more, his expression shifting from confused to surprised. After another few seconds, he let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

Cowboy Watts: “You’re shitting me.”

He hung up the phone and set it down on the table, staring at it for a second like he was still processing what he just heard.

Jim Ross: “What was that about?”

Cowboy wiped his hands on a napkin and leaned back in the booth.

Cowboy Watts: “That was the office. Wendy’s agent just forwarded over her contract. Apparently Tony and Butterbean put the screws to him pretty good last night.”

He let out another short laugh, shaking his head.

Cowboy Watts: “The agent took a forty percent cut of her earnings as some kind of buyout fee… but he signed her over completely. She’s locked to us for the next year. And get this — her salary for the year was already paid in full. So effectively… we just got Wendy Williams for free.”

Jim Ross raised his eyebrows, clearly caught off guard.

Jim Ross: “Free?”

Cowboy Watts: “Free. We don’t owe her another dime for the next twelve months. She’s ours now, whether she likes it or not.”

He picked up his drink and took a sip, still looking mildly amused and slightly baffled at the same time.

Cowboy Watts: “Tony must’ve really leaned on that poor bastard. I told him to go get her, not to strong-arm her whole damn contract out of the guy.”

Jim Ross: “Well… we got her locked in for a year with no additional cost. That’s not exactly a bad thing, all things considered. Especially with everything else that’s going on.”

Cowboy grunted and went back to his ribs, though he still looked like he was thinking it over.

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah, well… we’ll see how it plays out. Girl’s got late-stage dementia, she’s already struggling, and now she’s stuck with us for the next year whether she wants to be or not. Something about that don’t sit right.”

He took another bite, then glanced across the table at JR.

Cowboy Watts: “Still… free’s free.”

Jim Ross nodded slowly, but didn’t look entirely comfortable with it either.

Jim Ross: “Yeah… free’s free.”

Cowboy took another bite of rib and shook his head with a small, tired smirk.

Cowboy Watts: “Finally. A fucking break. We actually got something for free for once.”

Jim Ross gave a small nod as he wiped his hands.

Jim Ross: “Yeah… it’s about time something went our way without us having to strong-arm it.”

They barely had time to enjoy the thought before Cowboy’s phone rang again. He glanced at the screen and sighed when he saw who it was.

Cowboy Watts: “Colonel.”

He answered and put the phone on speaker, setting it on the table between them.

Colonel Parker: (smooth, slightly greasy tone) “Cowboy. I heard we just acquired ourselves a new asset. Wendy Williams. I wanted to make sure everything was handled properly on the contract side.”

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah, that’s what I’m calling about. Her agent already forwarded everything over. I need to know if this shit is bulletproof. I don’t want any surprises six months from now where some lawyer tries to say we strong-armed her or some shit.”

Colonel Parker: “Oh, it’s solid. From what I’ve seen, the agent signed everything over cleanly. He took his cut and walked away. Legally speaking, she’s locked in for the full year. Of course, if you want me to have my people look it over one more time and tighten anything up, I can do that. Just say the word.”

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah, do that. I want it airtight. Last thing we need is more legal bullshit on top of everything else.”

Colonel Parker: “Consider it done. I’ll have it reviewed and back to you by tonight.”

Cowboy hung up and set the phone down, rubbing his temple with two fingers.

Cowboy Watts: “Jesus. Can’t even enjoy good news for five minutes without having to make sure it’s not gonna bite us in the ass later.”

He scrolled through his contacts and hit another number, putting it on speaker again.

It rang twice before Sheri L. Dew answered.

Sheri L. Dew: (cool, professional) “Cowboy.”

Cowboy Watts: “Hey. Just got off the phone with Colonel. Wendy’s agent forwarded over her contract. He took forty percent as a buyout, but she’s locked in with us for the full year… and her salary was already paid in full. So we basically got her for free.”

There was a short pause on the other end.

Sheri L. Dew: “…Free?”

Cowboy Watts: “Free. We don’t owe her another dime for twelve months.”

Sheri L. Dew: (after a moment) “Well. That’s… unexpectedly efficient. I’ll want to see the contract myself, of course, but if it’s as clean as it sounds, that’s a significant win. Especially with everything else going on right now.”

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah, well, don’t get too excited. Girl’s still got late-stage dementia. This might end up being more trouble than it’s worth depending on how bad she gets.”

Cowboy had just finished telling Sheri the news when she went quiet for a moment on the other end of the line. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm and pleasant, almost warm — the same tone she used when she was about to say something cold.

Sheri L. Dew: “Well… that is certainly an interesting development. The Lord does work in mysterious ways, doesn’t He?”

Cowboy and JR exchanged a look. Cowboy put the phone on speaker so JR could hear clearly.

Sheri L. Dew: “I’ve always felt that Wendy was brought into our circle for a reason. Even with her… challenges, there’s still a light in her. A voice. And now that she’s fully committed to CBWL for the next year, I truly believe she can become the kind of vessel we need. Someone the audience can connect with on a deeper level.”

She paused, then continued in that same gentle, almost maternal tone.

Sheri L. Dew: “Of course, we’ll need to make some adjustments. Her appearance has… slipped quite a bit since we first brought her on. I think it’s only right that we increase the plastic surgery budget moving forward. We owe it to her — and to the audience — to help her look like the strong, vibrant woman she once was. It wouldn’t be fair to keep her on camera looking the way she does now. She deserves better than that.”

Jim Ross slowly raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

Sheri L. Dew: “And truthfully, this might be a blessing in disguise. With her fully locked in, we no longer have to worry about her running off or becoming difficult. She’s ours now. And I feel very strongly that she’s meant to be the voice of this company moving forward — at least for the time being. There’s something about her… even in her current state… that still carries weight. We just need to polish her back up.”

Cowboy rubbed his face with one hand, already regretting putting her on speaker.

Sheri L. Dew: “I’ll have the numbers for the increased cosmetic budget sent over by tomorrow. We’ll want to be aggressive with it. The sooner we can get her looking presentable again, the better it will be for everyone. Especially her. It’s not right to let a woman her age continue to let herself go like this when she has a platform. It reflects poorly on all of us.”

She let out a small, almost sympathetic sigh.

Sheri L. Dew: “Poor thing. But the Lord never gives us more than we can handle. And now that she belongs to CBWL, we can help guide her back to where she needs to be. Both spiritually and… physically.”

Cowboy stared at the phone for a second, then looked at JR.

Cowboy Watts: (quietly, to JR) “Jesus Christ…”

He picked the phone back up.

Cowboy Watts: “Yeah… alright, Sheri. We’ll talk more about it tomorrow.”

Sheri L. Dew: (pleasant, but direct) “Cowboy, where is Wendy right now?”

Cowboy glanced at JR before answering.

Cowboy Watts: “She’s with Tony. He went out to L.A. to get her last night. They should be on their way back by now.”

There was a short pause on the other end of the line.

Sheri L. Dew: “I see. I need to speak with Tony. Can you give me his number?”

Cowboy frowned slightly.

Cowboy Watts: “You need to talk to him right now?”

Sheri L. Dew: (still calm, but firmer) “Yes. Right now. I need to discuss Wendy’s situation with him directly. Her appearance, her condition, and how we’re going to move forward with her. I’d rather not go through too many middlemen on something this important.”

Cowboy let out a quiet breath and rubbed his temple with his free hand.

Cowboy Watts: “Sheri, he’s probably still in the air or just landing. You sure this can’t wait until they get back?”

Sheri L. Dew: “I’d prefer not to wait. If you could just send me his number, I’ll handle it from there.”

Cowboy looked across the table at Jim Ross, who raised an eyebrow like you sure you wanna give her that?

Cowboy exhaled and finally said:

Cowboy Watts: “…Alright. I’ll text it to you.”

Sheri L. Dew: “Thank you, Cowboy. I appreciate it.”

She hung up without another word.

Cowboy dropped his phone on the table and shook his head.

Cowboy Watts: “She wants to talk to Tony right now. About Wendy. About getting her ‘fixed up,’ apparently.”

Jim Ross gave a low chuckle and wiped his hands on a napkin.

Jim Ross: “That woman doesn’t waste any time, does she?”

Cowboy Watts: “Nope. And something tells me Tony’s about to get an earful the second he lands.”

He picked up another rib and took a bite, looking mildly annoyed.

Cowboy Watts: “This was supposed to be the easy part of the day.”