This was meant to go up yesterday for Valentine's Day but I didn't quite manage to finish it so here you go, better late than never.
"More flowers have arrived for you Miss McMahon."
Quickly finishing typing her name she sent the email that she had been working on before she lifted her head and smiled at her poor Secretary who was struggling to see over the flowers, she was a petite woman as it was and they just seemed to make things so much harder for her.
Shutting the lid on her laptop she got up and moved around her desk taking the flowers from her Secretary, "Thank you Edwina, I also feel like I should apologise because I am sorry that you had to struggle with those. Is there a card?"
"Just like every gift before it there seems to be a card with it but I am guessing that there isn't a name attached to it this time either." She couldn't help but linger for a minute because she really did want to know who all of these mysterious gifts were from.
Desperately ripping open the envelope once she put the flowers down she hoped that this time there was a name attached:
Stephanie,
These flowers may not be as beautiful as you but they will certainly brighten the room as much as you do. Enjoy them.
xx
With a heavy sigh she dropped the card, "Not this time."
"Maybe next time, maybe next time."
Six weeks earlier:
"Flowers have arrived Miss McMahon. I hope you don't mind but I looked at the card as it was separate to the flowers and I automatically opened it. It doesn't say who they are from, it is just wishing you a Happy New Year."
Confused she stared at the card as Edwina passed it to her, it was a pretty decorative card that said 'Happy New Year' on the outside with lots of balloons and streamers and on the inside the writing was plain and clearly written to be so that she wouldn't be able to work out the author.
Edwina left the office leaving Stephanie to slide in to the seat on the couch and stare at the flowers, they were beautiful and they were some of her favourite flowers in her favourite colours. She didn't understand who was sending them, why they were sending them or what they wanted, nobody was this generous for this long without expecting something in return.
With a final sniff of the flowers she moved back to her desk to get on with her work but before she did she had to share the most recent development with her best friend.
I just received some more flowers, they are beautiful and smell delightful but I still don't know who has sent them .
Stephanie was beginning to get frustrated with this entire thing, she just wanted to know who they were and what exactly it was that they wanted.
Five weeks earlier:
After receiving the flowers the previous week it had been playing on her mind, she had spoken to her Mom about it and she told her to just ignore it, it was probably a one off or she had a secret admirer who would reveal themselves soon.
Running around the arena she was hungry and wanted nothing more than to have a bacon filled bagel but she didn't have time to go and search for it so she would have to settle for whatever it was that they had in catering.
Before she could go and get something to eat she had to swing by her locker room and drop off her very own script for the evening. As her arms were full she pushed the door open with her back and was about to drop her papers on the table when she spotted the paper bag on the table so dropped them on to the couch instead.
As she picked up the bag she knew that she hadn't put it there but she didn't know who else would have put it there either. Unsure of who the bag was intended for she looked at all sides of it eventually seeing her name scrawled at the top in unfamiliar writing, peeking in to the bag she couldn't tell what it was as it was wrapped in paper but she pulled it out with her free hand before she dropped the bag to the coffee table and unwrapped the item.
The second she laid eyes on the bacon bagel she practically began to drool, who did this and how did they know exactly what she wanted to eat? Although she wanted it she didn't know who had left it here so she couldn't eat it.
The door opened and she smiled seeing Paul stood there, "Somebody left me this bagel, I could kiss them as I really fancied it but I kind of don't want to eat it because I don't know if I should trust it."
"You're insane, you are actually insane." He laughed at how offended she was looking, "Who is going to buy you that and poison you with it? Seriously woman stop overthinking it and just eat it, enjoy it and be grateful that they bought your lunch for you."
Poking her tongue out at him, she sat down to eat it, "If I die I want you to tell my parents that effectively you killed me as you told me to eat it."
"If you're that worried I will happily take the first bite."
"NO! Keep your grubby hands off my lunch."
"If you don't want me to touch it then I suggest that you don't give me reasons that I suggest that I do. I will leave you to enjoy your lunch and we will catch up later."
Stephanie had gone back to her work but glanced at the flowers from time to time, things were beginning to get creepy as it had been going on for six weeks now and she was no closer to finding out the identity of this person.
Her attention was drawn from her work by a knock at the door, "Come in." When her Dad popped his head around the door she was nervous, he had no idea that she was still getting gifts and she wasn't sure how he was going to take it.
"Can you spare a minute for me please Stephanie?"
"Always Vince, you are the boss."
Stepping inside the room he immediately spotted the flowers, "Anything I should know? Maybe who sent those." When she didn't immediately reply he moved to look at the card himself.
"NO! Dad wait, I don't know who has sent them."
Concern as a Father overtook his original reason of coming in here as a boss so making himself comfortable on the couch he patted the seat beside him, "Come here and tell me what is going on please."
Inhaling deeply she slowly exhaled as she moved over to the couch and sat down beside him, "How much do you want to know?"
"Everything please, leave out no details."
"It started six weeks ago and I have had one gift a week ever since. First I got flowers, then I got a bacon bagel for lunch, the following week I received a DVD of this movie that I have been dying to see, the next week I got a box set collection of albums from an artist I like, last week I got a gift certificate for a massage, manicure and pedicure along with a small bouquet of flowers and now I have receive those. All but one of the gifts have come with a small note that doesn't tell me anything about the sender but it is like they really know me and know what I like."
He couldn't help but stare at his daughter with a look of confusion, who would possibly go to all of that trouble but not reveal themself? "Do you have any idea at all as to who they may be?"
"None whatsoever, it is a complete mystery Dad. As nice as it is to be spoiled I can't help but feel like they will want something sooner or later, that or it is a really really creepy stalker."
"You understand that I love you don't you?"
"Of course." Any time those words were uttered she knew that this was not going to be a nice thing to hear.
As a Father all of this confused and concerned him and he wanted to protect her, "I think that you should call the Police, they are essentially stalking you at home and at work so they know your every movement and that isn't good Steph."
She knew that, she understood that, the only problem was that it didn't make her feel unsafe, the gifts didn't make her nervous or make her fear for her safety, they just made her smile and feel special.
"Stephanie you can't let them get away with this, if somebody is stalking you you need to tell somebody."
"What do I say though? 'I'm sorry to bother you but I think I am being stalked, nobody is following me but I am getting these random gifts and there is no name attached'? They will tell me that I am wasting their time and that giving somebody a gift is not a criminal offense."
His daughter was too stubborn sometimes, "If you won't go to the Police then at least let me look in to it, I will hire a Private Investigator and maybe they can get to the bottom of it all."
Even that felt like overreacting but she knew that he was only trying to protect her and if she didn't agree then he would get her brother involved and that would be worse, "If I get one more gift that is unsigned then I will let you do that but until then I don't want you to do anything okay?"
A brief thought of disobeying her and looking in to it anyway crossed his mind but she promised one more gift so he could wait. "Okay, one more gift but only if you promise and swear that you will take care of yourself on the road this weekend and will make sure that you aren't alone."
Now he was just being dramatic. Rolling her eyes she shook her head, "I am not a child, I can take care of myself on the road."
"Normally I would agree but this is a house show loop and neither your brother or I am there to watch over you. Promise me or I will look in to it anyway."
Ready to rip her hair out she shook her head, "Seriously Dad?! If it will get you off my back I will ask Paul if I can ride with him just for a quiet life."
"Thank you, that is all that I ask. Now about these papers I came in here to discuss with you."
Stephanie couldn't have been more grateful to have such an amazing friend who also happened to play her husband, nothing was too much for him and he was always there for her when she needed him so when she asked to ride with him he didn't hesitate to say yes.
After a successful house show on Saturday night they had a three hour drive to the next city so with Stephanie in the passenger seat Paul was in charge of getting them there safely. After the radio station changing five times in as many minutes he was about ready to turn it off, "Remind me why I allowed you to be in charge of the radio?"
"Because you're an idiot and left your phone in the trunk and you thought that the music on my phone would suck so this was the compromise?"
Briefly tearing his eyes from the road he glared at her, "Shut up if you don't want me to leave you here. Why am I driving you around Princess? Wouldn't Daddy spring for a limo for you?"
"Fuck off." She was trying to be offended but failed miserably as she couldn't stop grinning at his comment, "For your information my Father is acting like it is the nineteenth century and feels like I need a protector."
"He has listened to you talk recently right? I don't think anybody in their right mind would want to try anything with you as you'd probably shatter their eardrums."
If he wasn't driving she would hit him for that comment, even that sexy grin he did so well wouldn't have let him off this time. "It's stupid but he thinks these gifts that I have been getting mean that I have some sort of stalker and that I should be deathly afraid of them."
"Are you?"
How could she possibly explain that she wasn't without sounding like she didn't value her own safety?
"Steph?"
"Honestly no. Now don't go giving me this big lecture about how I am not a good woman or am not taking care of myself or something please. I know that I should be afraid because well they're anonymous gifts and I don't know who they are coming from but they're kind, they're thoughtful, there is no malice behind them so it is hard for me to be afraid when I just don't feel threatened by them."
Blindly reaching across he squeezed her arm gently, "Even if they seem like kind gifts you never know what the person will expect the other side."
"I know that they won't last forever and I'm okay with that. At this point I want to know who is sending them and why but I am also aware that they may, or probably will, want something out of it. I am keeping my mind open to all possibilities and all eventualities whilst keeping myself aware of my surroundings and making sure that people know where I am to keep myself safe."
She may not be his sister or his girlfriend but he was very protective over her and he was happy to hear that she was thinking about her safety. "Good, I can't have my wife being kidnapped on me as that would make me a terrible husband."
Rolling her eyes she chose to ignore that comment, she hoped that she meant more to him than a storyline.
It was only when she hadn't said anything in a good twenty minutes that he began to think that he had offended her in some way and that was the last thing that he wanted to do. "Steph, you know that I only meant that as a joke right? I love you like a sister or whatever mushy shit you girls like to say, and I genuinely wouldn't want any harm coming to you."
"I love you too Paul, you're my best friend and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it."
"It would be boring as hell without me that's for sure."
"Shut up Paul, you know you mean more to me than just entertainment." It was true, he meant so much more than that and she was so grateful for this storyline because without it they would have never had the opportunity to really get to know each other.
"I should hope so, I am your chauffeur tonight after all. So you know when this guy inevitably invites you out are you going to go?"
Good question, she hadn't really thought about it ending like that, she just assumed one day the gifts would end or they'd ask for a job or something. "I don't know, I guess it would depend what they wanted. If they wanted to go to dinner then maybe but if they wanted to come to a show then probably not. I don't know that I would be able to tell my parents that I would meet them though, I think that they would hit the roof."
He was about to hit the roof, "Are you out of your ever loving mind? You cannot meet a stranger and not tell anybody where you are." Pulling the car over to the side of the road he could not continue the drive whilst having this conversation as she was making his blood pressure rise.
"Why did you pull over?"
"Because you're about to give me a heart attack with how high you're sending my blood pressure."
His concern was sweet but she was a grown adult. "I am getting the feeling that you're not going to rest until I say that I will tell somebody where I am and what I am doing."
"See, I knew that you were smart, you picked that up quickly."
This time she didn't hesitate and smacked him in the shoulder, "Asshole. If you are so concerned then you can be the poor sucker who gets a play by play of where I am and what I am doing if it comes to them actually wanting to meet and me agreeing to go."
"I'll be a sucker for you whenever you want."
That comment could be taken so many ways but to be on the safe side she ignored it, "So are you going to drive again or what? I need my beauty sleep you know."
It would be so easy to tell her that he thought she looked beautiful no matter what but that would be creepy and he didn't want to do that so started the car and continued their journey.
It was Tuesday 13th February and Stephanie had spent the last few days travelling with Paul, even when her Dad and brother came on the road she decided to stick with travelling with her best friend, they were having so much fun together that she didn't want this week to end.
"Got any plans for tomorrow Steph?"
Spinning around to look at who had spoken she smiled at Natalya, "I wish Nattie, nobody loves me that much."
"Aww, I'm sure you have a secret admirer somewhere."
"Most men would probably think that I am married to this job anyway so I can see why I am single. I'd better get going as I have so much to do before the show tonight. Have a good one and enjoy Valentine's Day."
"Thanks, you too even if you don't have a date."
There was so much for her to do so Stephanie had barely stopped in a couple of hours so when she had five minutes to herself she darted to her locker room to hide out and to put her feet up.
With a heavy sigh she sank down in to the cushions of the couch and relaxed. After a minute her cell phone began to ring, leaning forward she had to rifle threw some papers before she found it but at the same time she also saw an envelope on the coffee table with her name scrawled on it. Ignoring the phone ringing she picked up the envelope and slid her finger beneath the opening and pulled out the card from inside.
'Happy Valentine's Day', well they were a day early so she gave them bonus points for doing something nice for her, whoever they were. Her finger slipped in to the opening, as she opened it something fell in to her lap but ignoring that she focussed on reading the card.
Dear Stephanie,
I think the time has come for you to find out who is behind the gifts.
If you are interested in finding out who I am then meet me for dinner at Peter Luger Steak House in New York at 7pm tomorrow, they will know who you are, and if you like me then we can go to the show and if not at least you will know who I am.
I hope you come to meet me,
?
Picking up the ticket she smiled seeing that it was for Hamilton the musical, she had wanted to see it for so long but had never had the time to actually go.
Barely able to contain her excitement she jumped off the couch, putting the card and ticket back in to the envelope she hid it in the stack of papers before she practically skipped out of the room to go and find Paul.
As she walked along the corridor she spotted Paul stood leaning against the wall, "Just the guy I am looking for."
"I didn't do it, whatever has gone wrong it is not my fault."
Smacking him with the stack of papers she rolled her eyes, "Shut up and look at this." She flicked through the papers before removing the envelope and handing it to him.
Carefully removing the card from the envelope he read it over and looked at the ticket, "Well somebody has big plans for Valentine's Day."
"I'm so excited Paul, I am finally going to find out who they are and you are going to get a blow by blow account of where I am so that you know that I am safe."
"It's a good thing I have no plans for tomorrow then, just me and a massive load of laundry so you'll really help me out there."
She wasn't sure whether to be offended or not but as she heard her brother calling her name from behind she quickly snatched the card out of his hands and stuffed it all in the middle of the stack of papers, "I have to go, don't say anything to anybody please."
Pretending to zip and lock his lips with a key he threw away the pretend key, "My lips are sealed."
"Thank you." She had to stand on her tip toes to reach him but she pressed a kiss to his cheek before she turned around to go and find out what her brother wanted.
That night Stephanie was both nervous and excited so didn't sleep very much but despite the lack of sleep she was so excited for her dinner date.
Leaving work early she needed to get ready and get to New York for seven pm, luckily she already had her outfit planned out so she just needed to shower, do her hair and make-up and put it on.
I'm ready to leave Paul, I will be on my way soon.
With a little time to spare she was ready to leave, looking at herself in the mirror one last time she smiled at the reflection looking back at her. She was wearing a black off the shoulder cocktail dress with a silver belt around the middle to brighten it up a little, her hair was hanging down in loose waves and her make-up was light.
To make sure that she was on time she pulled on her jacket and grabbed her clutch from the side making sure that her purse and ticket were inside before she picked up her keys and headed for the door.
And I'm leaving now.
The nerves had been there all day but they got worse when she got in to the city and now stood outside of the restaurant she felt like she was going to throw up.
I'm outside the restaurant now, I'm so scared.
She stood there waiting until it was 6:59 and then she made her way through the front door. The Host was stood at his post looking incredibly intimidating, she felt so nervous about approaching him incase it was some elaborate plan to humiliate her.
"Stephanie? Is that you?"
Her head snapped up to see who had said her name only to find the Host staring back at her, "Are you talking to me?"
"Are you Stephanie? Are you on a blind date type of scenario?"
Slowly nodding her head she bit down on her lip, this was so nerve racking as it was so real, she was about to find out exactly who had been sending her all of those gifts. "That is me."
She watched as he briefly ducked down before he stood up with six red roses in his hand, "These are for you."
Why had her date bought her flowers for him to give to her? She was so confused as she took the flowers from him but she spotted the note in the middle and immediately reached for it:
Thank you for coming, I know how nervous you must be. Follow the Host, he will bring you to the table and I will soon join you.
As she lifted her head the Host gave her a warm smile, "Follow me please Ma'am."
Weaving through the tables they made their way towards the back of the restaurant before he pulled out a chair for her, "Please be seated, your date will be with you shortly."
Anxiously taking a seat at the table she swallowed down the nausea that was threatening to rise, it would soon be over, she would have all of her answers. As she waited for her 'date' she placed the flowers on the table and removed her phone from her clutch to text Paul again.
I am sat at the table waiting for my date to join me, I'm so scared. What if he is an axe murderer? It's too late for me to back out now.
The text had just finished sending when she heard footsteps getting closer, quickly shoving her phone back in to her bag she kept her eyes cast downwards too nervous to look up until they were obviously close by and cleared their throat. Inhaling deeply she slowly lifted her head taking in their smart trousers and their well built chest covered with a shirt and jacket before gasping in shock when she immediately recognised the person stood in front of her, "Paul?! What are you doing here?"
Smiling sheepishly he held out a further six red roses towards her, "Surprise, I'm your secret gift sender."
Automatically reaching for the flowers she took them off him and inhaled deeply, they smelt so beautiful but she was so confused.
He hadn't quite expected this reaction so sliding in to the seat across from her he inhaled deeply to quell his own anxiety before he said anything.
"Why?" Blurting out the biggest question in her mind she wasn't upset or disappointed that it was him, she was just confused.
"Why not?" He was trying so hard to read her but her face was blank and her body language gave nothing away either. "I didn't initially intend for it to go on this long but when you weren't in a hurry to find out who was behind them I just chickened out on revealing myself to you."
"Why didn't you just tell me how you felt? Why go to all of the trouble of spending your money on sending me anonymous gifts?"
Beginning to think that he should have listened to his gut when it told him that this was a dumb idea he reached in to his jacket for his wallet, the least he could do after all of this was to shout her dinner. "I felt like I was firmly in the friend zone, I thought that if I told you how I felt then you would dismiss it completely without giving it a shot. I'm sorry though, I shouldn't have done this. Let me pay for your dinner and you can have a good evening."
She watched him reach in to his jacket pocket so she reached across the table to grab his hand and to stop him, "Don't."
"Don't pay for your dinner? I really can't expect you to pay for yourself when this is all my doing."
"Don't leave. I am just a little shocked Paul, I never thought that you could see me like that. I thought that I would always just be Vince's daughter, your friend and your pretend wife, I never imagined that you would see me as more."
Hesitant about what she was actually saying he didn't quite remove his hand from the inside pocket of his jacket, "I don't need a pity date Steph, if you don't see me like that then you don't see me like that and that's that but at least I tried and told you how I felt."
It was beginning to frustrate her how obtuse he was being so finally releasing her grip on his arm she got up from her seat walked around the table and bent down to press a kiss to his lips, it wasn't a full out passionate kiss but it was definitely a lot more than you would give a friend. When she pulled back from the kiss she cupped his cheek with her hand, "Any closer to figuring out what I am trying to say to you?"
"You're thirsty?" He gripped her wrist gently before turning his head to kiss her palm, "Do you really mean it?"
"I am serious Paul. I didn't want to make the first move as we have to work together, I didn't know if it would ruin things if you didn't feel the same way as me so I thought that friendship was better than nothing at all. You didn't have to spoil me to tell me how you felt though."
"If I just told you how I felt I thought you'd ignore it so I just sent small gift to let you know that I listened to you, I thought that you would figure it out as the gifts would be too much of a coincidence after our conversations and when you didn't I came up with this as a last resort."
She hadn't added things up, it all made sense now though as the massage came during a particularly stressful week and he was the only person that she had told that she could do with a massage. "Do you always listen that much when I talk? How did you know I wanted a bacon bagel? I definitely didn't tell you that"
He couldn't help but laugh as the waiter approached so he released her hand and allowed her to go back to her seat, "I guessed that it might be something that you would enjoy, or hoped anyway. As for listening, I always listen to what you have to say."
"Would you like some menus?"
Glancing over at his date he shrugged his shoulders, "Stephanie?"
"Yes, of course we would please. We need to eat dinner before we go and see Hamilton, you have a ticket too right?"
"We will have two menus then please." He reached in to his inside pocket and produced a ticket, "One ticket for Hamilton."
Stephanie couldn't wait, this was going to be the best date because it was with her best friend.
The two had dinner together before they went to see Hamilton and now they were leaving the theatre hand in hand. Nothing was said as they walked down the street with people milling all around them, neither knew whether they were going because neither knew what the other wanted to do.
After such a wonderful evening she didn't want it to end, she wanted to stay wrapped up in this happy little bubble where it was just the two of them forever. "So about tonight."
Stopping dead in the street he ignored the curses from the two men directly behind them who were forced to dart around them after nearly running in to them as he stopped to turn to Stephanie, "What about it?" Although they had somehow naturally begin to hold hands he was now expecting to hear the worst from her.
"I don't want it to end. I was wondering if you had anywhere you had to be tomorrow or if you wanted to come back to mine with me?"
Tomorrow was yet another day off for him and he had absolutely no plans whatsoever, he hadn't even thought that far ahead as he had just wanted to get today over with and hoped for the best. "I have nowhere to be until tomorrow night, I have a red eye out for Friday's house show then but other than that I'm free. Are you sure you want me to come back with you?"
"Positive, if you want to." The curses of people as they were forced to walk around them were ignored as she focussed on the man in front of her waiting for his answer.
"Sure, I can't think of a more perfect end to the day. Let's go."
Hand in hand the two began again to walk down the street with smiles on their faces, it may have been an unconventional way to get together but it had worked.