2005
Mickie James walked down the corridors of WWE Headquarters, staring at the huge building in awe. It was definitely different from her days wrestling in OVW. She stopped when she spotted a door with a gold plate that read 'Vince McMahon.' She hesitated nervously then proceeded to knock on the door.
'Come in,' a gruff voice said on the other side of the door.
Mickie turned the doorknob and stepped inside. She took a moment to examine the office. The hardwood desk was littered with folders and important documents. There was a flat-screen computer in the middle of it. On her right side was a large, black filing cabinet and each cabinet was labeled appropriately. They were on the tenth floor so the window behind Vince's desk offered a nice view of the outside. 'Wow,' she murmured in amazement.
Vince smiled at her reaction. 'Mickie James, sit down.' He gestured to a chair on the other side.
She nodded and sat down on the expensive leather chair. She suddenly jumped up and extended her hand. 'I'm sorry,' she apologized. 'How do you do, Mr. McMahon?'
Vince shook her hand firmly and grinned. 'It's okay. Now Mickie, I hope you understand why we called you here.'
Mickie shook her head. 'I'm sorry, I don't understand…'
Vince clasped his hands together. 'Well, I checked out some of your tapes while you were in OVW and I must say I am very impressed. Not many divas have your skills. The bottom line is I want you to work for the WWE.'
Mickie gasped quietly. Ever since she decided to be a wrestler, it had always been her dream to work for the WWE. Her idols, Mae Young and Sherri Martel, had all worked for the company. High school gyms and OVW were all stepping stones that would lead her to her dream. She never thought, though, that her dream would come this fast, this soon.
'So, what do you say Ms. James?' Vince asked, looking at her expectantly.
'It would be an honor to work for you, Mr. McMahon,' Mickie replied resolutely.
It was three days since her meeting with Vince and she was packing to debut at Raw in Chicago. She slid open the door of her closet and grabbed a handful of clothes, tossing them into her suitcase. She turned towards her desk, planning to take her alarm clock with her, when she saw a picture that made her stop. She took the photo in her hand and slowly ran a thumb over it.
'Randy,' she whispered, choking back tears.
2002
The door opened and slammed shut. 'Mickie! I made it. I'm going to the WWE!' Randy Orton exclaimed to his wife of barely six months.
Mickie ran out of the kitchen and placed her hands on his shoulders. 'Are you serious?' She saw him nod excitedly and gave him a big hug. 'Oh my gosh, that's incredible. Congratulations. I'm proud of you baby.'
He gave her a peck on the lips. 'Thanks, baby. And I want you there every step of the way. I don't want us to be a apart for more than a day.'
She looked into his eyes, wondering if he was serious. 'Vince is okay with that. That is okay?'
Randy grasped her hands in his. 'I asked him and he said it was okay provided that I use my salary to buy your plane ticket. I happily agreed if it meant being near my beautiful wife.' He swept her into his arms and gave her a long kiss. 'I love you, baby.'
'I love you too, Randy.'
Tears streamed down her cheeks and fell onto to the photo frame. She wiped them away quickly and placed the picture into the suitcase. She refused to revisit the past. She was not going to let old memories destroy her future. After half an hour she finished packing and turned off the lights. She slipped into her bed and thoughts of her new job filled her head with occasional visits from a certain someone.
Randy was in the locker room, putting on his boots for his match against John Cena later in the night. He saw Batista approach him and smiled. 'Hey, Dave.'
Batista leaned closer to the self-proclaimed Legend Killer. 'I heard a new diva is coming to the WWE. She is making her debut tonight and supposedly, she's very hot.'
Randy grinned at his friend's announcement. 'What else is new? Vince is always bringing in some hot broads every week with beauty and no brawns.'
Batista shook his head. 'This one is different. I heard that she's very talented, on the same level as Victoria and Molly Holly.'
Randy raised his eyebrow in interest. 'Really? About time. What's her name?' He grabbed his water bottle and took a gulp.
'Something like Minnie…no Mickie James.'
At hearing the name, Randy spat out his water which unfortunately landed on Batista's face. 'Hey man, what the hell?' Batista stood up and grabbed a towel on the bench.
'Sorry, dude. Did you say Mickie James?' Randy asked.
Batista nodded, wiping his face and chest which were covered with Randy's water and spit. 'Why did you react like that? Did you knock her up and leave or something?' Batista inquired.
Randy faked a laugh. 'Good one, Dave.' He grabbed his things and stuffed them into his locker. 'Gotta go. See you later.' Randy hurried out of the room and leaned his head against the hallway. He had to be on Punk'd. His ex-wife was coming here, tonight. After almost three years of not speaking to each other, they were going to meet.
2002
After a couple of months on the road, Randy was glad that they could finally relax in their own home instead of a hotel room. He placed his long legs on the table and turned on the TV. The phone rang and he groaned, too lazy to get up and retrieve the annoying device.
'I'll get it,' Mickie offered and he smiled appreciatively.
'Thanks, babe.' He was enjoying some basketball game when he heard a loud squeal. He stood up, worried for the safety of his wife. 'Honey, is everything alright?'
Mickie ran out, a big smile on her face. 'I just got the best news. TNA wants me to wrestle for them,' she announced, jumping up and down.
'TNA?' He asked in confusion, 'that wrestling promotion down in Florida?'
Mickie nodded excitedly. 'Apparently they saw some of my tapes that I sent to them and liked what they saw. They want me to start in two weeks.'
She saw his face and her smile disappeared. 'What's wrong?'
'You didn't tell me that you sent TNA tapes.'
'Well, I didn't think that I was going to get hired so I didn't tell you in case you got your hopes up. Don't look at me like that,' she said, folding her arms across her chest.
His jaw clenched. 'Like what?'
She threw her arms up. 'Like I'm betraying you or something. It's not like I kept a deep, dark secret from you.'
'Well let's see…you auditioned for TNA, WWE's competition, without telling me and then you're breaking our promise. What about our deal to never be apart? If you sign with TNA, you'll have to move to Florida.'
She looked down onto the floor and he knew his words were making her feel guilty. 'I don't want us to be apart…'
Randy's heart leapt and he smiled, taking her hand in his, and rubbing it softly.
'But I can't give up my dream. I'm sorry Randy,' she said softly, her brown eyes brimming with tears.
He dropped her hand. 'So that's it? You're not going to even think about it. You're leaving, just like that.'
'That's not fair, Randy. You're making me out to be the bad guy. I supported your dream. I followed you to the WWE. Now that I'm going professional, you can't support me.'
He pointed his finger at her. 'Don't you dare!' he fumed. 'I have always supported your dreams and you know it. I was there from the training schools to the independent circuits. But you promised to be there for me when I got into the WWE. You said we'll always be together. This is not about just me, Mickie. This is about us! You're letting us down.'
She grabbed his arm, tears cascading down her cheeks. 'There can still be an "us." You can visit me in Florida on your days off and I'll visit you wherever Raw is. I promise we can make this work.' She looked at him, her eyes pleading for him to understand.
Seeing the hurt look in her eyes, he felt his heart clench painfully. But his pride did not allow him to reach a compromise. 'It's TNA or me, Mickie.'
She balled her hands into fists. 'I can't believe you're doing this Randy. But if you're making me choose, I choose TNA,' she said firmly, her voice unwavering as she stared him in the eyes.
'Fine, enjoy your new job,' he remarked coldly, walking into their room and slamming the door roughly.
Randy slowly opened his eyes, exhaling deeply. He though he had left everything behind. But as always, the past caught up with him.
