Paul 'Triple H' Levesque was standing backstage talking to his friend Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman the first time he saw her. His attention was attracted by the sound of his boss' distinct and gruff voice as he spoke to another wrestler. Paul glanced in the direction of the voice and saw not only Vince McMahon but also next to him the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
As the pair walked past him he took in her stunning blue eyes, her long, straight, brown hair, her shapely legs and her skirt and top, neither of which left much to the imagination. He felt a strange feeling in his chest that he had not experienced before as he watched them, specifically her, disappear around the corner. He finally noticed the sound of his friend clicking his fingers next to the side of his head, "Hello? Paul? Hello? What planet are you orbiting around?" He turned to Sean and asked, "Was that McMahon's daughter?"
He got a laugh in response, "No it's his sister you asshole, of course that's his daughter. Stephanie."
Paul did not say anything but Sean laughed again, "Don't let Jo see you looking at her like that, she'll kill you." He was referring to Paul's girlfriend Joanie but Paul still was not listening, "Why is she here?"
Sean sighed, "Why do you think she's here? You know the storyline they've got going on with the Undertaker terrorising McMahon and his family. She's probably going to debut tonight I'd guess."
"Right, of course." Paul could not get the image of the woman out of his mind. He wondered what was wrong him. He already had a girlfriend and he was truly in love with her. He shook his head to try to clear it and focus on the conversation before he looked even stranger in front of his friend.
He spoke to her for the first time later that night. He had gone to fetch himself some coffee from the catering area. He was pouring himself a cup when suddenly as if from nowhere she was next to him. She looked considerably different to the first time he had seen her, she had redone her makeup much more conservatively and was now wearing a blue jumper and cream pants. When she spoke her voice was soft and shy, "You're Triple H, right?"
Paul finished pouring his cup of coffee and stepped aside so that she could take her turn, "Hi... yeah that's right... Paul."
She gave him a shy smile, "Stephanie McMahon, nice to meet you." He thought the smile was beautiful as he noticed the way the sides of her nose creased slightly as she did it. He realised that he had left it a second too long before replying, "Nice to meet you. So, you're on the show tonight?"
Stephanie finished pouring a cup of coffee and started on a second, presumably for Vince, "Yeah, like my costume?" He thought how much more he had liked what she was wearing when he had seen her earlier but replied, "It's uh... great."
She gave a little laugh, "No it isn't it's terrible. I need to look like a sweet, innocent little girl apparently." Paul resisted the temptation to ask if that was what she was really like. Aside from that he could not think of a response at all. He was not usually like this around people but there was something about this woman that made him nervous. He took a mouthful of the incredibly hot drink to cover for the fact that words had deserted him.
Stephanie had finished pouring the second drink and added sugar and milk to it, "I'd better get this back to my dad. We need to run over our script for the millionth time."
Paul smiled, "Good luck, it gets easier after the first night." She smiled shyly again as she walked past him, "Thank you, Paul." He felt that strange feeling in his chest again and again wondered what the hell it was. As he turned to head back to his locker room he saw his girlfriend marching towards him a few yards away. As she approached she demanded, "Who is that?"
"Huh?" His response sounded incredibly dumb.
"Don't huh me. The girl you were just talking to who was batting her eyelashes at you. Who was it?" Joanie stood with her hands on her hips, her muscular figure tense with anger. Paul wondered why she was always so insecure about things like this, whatever this was as he replied defensively, "That's Stephanie McMahon. She wasn't batting her eyelids at me, she introduced herself and I wished her good luck as this is her first show."
Joanie walked over and started to make herself a coffee. She banged the cup on the table as she did so, clearly indicating that she was still not happy. Paul should have left the conversation there but her attitude pissed him off, "What's wrong with you? A woman introduces herself to me and you go off the deep end? That's not normal Jo."
"Go away from me Paul." Clearly Joanie was pissed off. Paul was glad to fulfill the request and go away. He trudged back to his locker room and again the image of Stephanie's smile entered his head. It was incredible.