Maria Kanellis made her way inside the spacious marble tiled lobby of the multi-level office building in New York City. She smiled sweetly at the young receptionist at the front desk and spoke quick greetings to the people she passed on the way to the elevator. Once the sliding doors closed she pressed a series of floor numbers that would take her to the twenty sixth floor of a building that everyone thought only had twenty five. She still wondered how they'd explain themselves if someone ever pressed the right combination of numbers and found themselves on a floor that wasn't supposed to exist, but that thought vanished as soon as the doors slid back open and she stepped into the large open space.
Everything was modern and and clean. There were no cubicles, but expensive desk spaced around the center of the room with glass walls separating the offices along the exterior and corners. Co-workers barely spared a glance for the gorgeous red head as they bustled around with files and coffee mugs. Maria paid no mind to the lack of greeting and simply walked to her corner office and shut the door, effectively blocking the noise. Unbuttoning her black pea coat and hanging it on the back of her door she made her way to the leather chair tucked in behind the large wooden desk and sat down.
It was only 8:00 in the morning and already she had voicemails on her answering machine and unread emails on her computer. Sighing she began the routine of calling people back and replying to emails before there was a knock at her door and one of the junior agents stuck her head in.
"Maria, Graham wants to see you in his office."
"Let me call you back Tom." Maria quickly hung up the phone and stood up before addressing the younger girl. "Did he say if I need to bring anything?"
"No ma'am." Was the girl's only reply before she hurried back out and into the chaos.
Biting back the comment about being far too young to be called ma'am by anyone Maria shut her door behind her and went to her boss's office. The handsome blonde was flipping through a file when she walked in and he looked up with a bright smile. Maria still marveled that he ran such a lucrative business and was only two years older than her.
"Maria, please have a seat." He motioned to one of the plush chairs in front of his desk.
Crossing over to where the chairs were Maria sat down and crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap. "Vanessa said you wanted to see me."
"Yes, I've got something I think you might be interested in." Graham's blue eyes lit up and he pushed the folder that he'd been reading towards her.
"Another case?" Maria inquired.
"Yes." Graham nodded, "And you would be perfect for the job."
Maria nodded for him to continue as she began scanning the file.
Graham began, "Well, a few months ago one of the Divas working for the WWE had a problem with a stalker. They thought they had things under control once she retired until two weeks ago when another Diva received threatening letters. The CEO, Vince McMahon, has decided that he wants a female agent on the inside."
"Let me get this straight, I'm supposed to go undercover as a Diva for a wrestling company?" Maria's eyebrow raised and she studied Graham for signs that this was a joke.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. To the fans you'll be the newest member of Monday Night RAW, but behind the scenes you'll still be an active agent keeping eyes on the female athletes." The blonde man sat back in his chair as he finished giving a quick debriefing on the newest case.
Maria sighed and skeptically agreed. "Okay...when does this all start?"
"Now."
"Now?"
"I've had Rebecca put backgrounds together on the roster so you can study them during your flight. Your training begins immediately." Graham pulled a thick manila folder from a drawer in his desk and sat it in front of Maria.
"Training for what exactly?" Maria cautiously took the heavy folder.
"Wrestling of course. I've already been in touch with management and they've arranged to have some of the other roster members help you so that you can go ahead and get on the road."
Maria couldn't believe what she was getting herself into; the things she did for her job... "You want me to pretend to hurt someone? I'm trained in hand to hand combat and Jiu Jitsu. I know how to kill a man without leaving a trace of evidence. Not to mention what I can do with a weapon."
"Then learning to wrestle shouldn't be a problem." Graham challenged.
Shaking her head Maria stood up. "I'll pack my bags. When is my flight scheduled?"
"You've got a few hours; I booked a non stop flight to New York." Before his agent could open the door completely he added, "Oh, and Maria, pack everything you own that is sexy. You're a Diva now."
Maria rolled her eyes and shut the door once she was back in the bustling office space.
Several hours later Maria found herself in the first class section of a large jet ready for takeoff at the airport. It appeared that WWE's deep pockets did have their advantages; usually she was stuck in coach between a crying baby and a man with wandering eyes. File after file was spread out in front of her as she tried to take in as much information as she could before arriving at RAW. So far the only thing she was certain of was the men looked to be far too muscular, not that some of them weren't attractive, but the massive body builder look had never done much for her. With all of the huge men surrounding the women on the roster she wondered if she'd really be needed.
She'd already read up on the two Divas that had received threats and she could definitely see why the person had chosen them. They were, as the file defined WWE Divas to be, smart, sexy and powerful. They were also both dating within the business. The newest victim of the stalker, AJ Lee was dating a fellow wrestler by the name of John Cena. She had to give it to them, they made a very attractive couple. Maryse, the Diva that had been hearing from the stalker for months now, was in a relationship with Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin, but had stopped receiving messages after she quit. It would be so much easier if the wrestlers just used their real names Maria thought as she tried to remember all of the stage names as well.
Luckily, one of the things that she had learned from the very beginning was you have to be able to adapt to a situation quickly. So if that meant learning the names of 50 to 60 people on a wrestling roster then that's what you did. By the end of the flight she would have their names, ages, hometowns, and career accomplishments memorized. That was one of the things that had propelled her to the top of her field so quickly; she had a photographic memory.
Opening the next file she stopped. The name 'Phil Brooks aka CM Punk' was printed at the top, but it was the picture of the man below the name that caused for pause. He was one of the smaller guys she'd seen, but there was something about the way he held himself that made him stand out. Hazel eyes that looked like they hadn't seen a good night's sleep in ages stared back at her and she found herself transfixed on them. He was covered in tattoos, something that she didn't normally find attractive but worked on him somehow. She was still studying his picture when the pilot's announcement to prepare for take off interrupted her and it was then that she realized she might be getting into more than she bargained for.
The second her plane landed Maria called Graham to touch base before things got too hectic. He answered on the second ring, per usual, and informed her of where she needed to be and who she would be meeting with.
After gathering all of her luggage and catching a cab to the hotel she'd be staying at with the rest of the roster she finally made it to her room. Normally she would have a roommate, but because no one really knew Maria was even coming she had a room to herself.
"At least this way I might get some work done without being interrupted about what color nail polish matches an outfit." Maria mumbled to herself; she'd already decided that anyone who had a job title of 'Diva' had to be obnoxiously girly.
Once everything was settled Maria took a quick shower and got ready to head to the arena. Thanks to some of the pictures that came with the females' files Maria had a general idea of what to wear. Deciding on straightening her long red hair and applying some makeup that accentuated her green eyes, Maria pulled on a pair of her best jeans and slipped on a pair of black pumps. Choosing a purple halter top with a cowl neckline that showed just enough cleavage and exposed her tan back she examined herself in the mirror. After putting in a pair of silver dangle earrings to complete the outfit she grabbed the bag she needed to take to the arena and was ready to go.
Thirty minutes later she was walking down the hallways of the arena. The heels of her shiny black shoes clicked on the linoleum in time with her steps. When she made it to the right office she stopped to knock before entering.
A middle aged man with slightly graying hair was behind a makeshift desk when she walked in. He quickly stood to greet her.
"Mr. Laurinaitis?" Maria asked and when he nodded, continued. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Special Agent Maria Kanellis. Vince McMahon requested I come to keep an eye on the women wrestlers."
"Miss. Kanellis, it's so good to finally see you." John Laurinaitis shook her outstretched hand. "I can certainly see why your boss suggested you when we inquired about a female agent." The older man looked Maria's lean form up and down appreciatively.
Inwardly fighting the urge to put the man in some sort of painful submission hold as she reminded him to keep his eyes on hers she began, "Yes, well, I would like to get straight to work if you don't mind."
Seeming to get the hint John nodded. "Of course. I've scheduled a meeting with the roster to introduce you."
"Whatever works for you."
Following Mr. Laurinaitis out of his office the two made their way to the conference room where the wrestlers had been told to gather for a meeting before the show.
Different conversations floated around the room, but the main topic was the question of why they had been called into the meeting.
"Maybe someone died." Phil Brooks, better known as CM Punk offered while taping his wrists.
Kofi Kingston chuckled, "Dude, you always expect the worst."
"Yeah, well, in my experience the only reason for these kinds of get togethers is to tell us something bad happened." Phil responded.
"I heard McMahon hired some chick agent to protect the girls from that mystery stalker." Dolph Ziggler piped in.
"Great, we get to chaperone some scary librarian." Phil groaned.
"Scary librarian?" John Cena chuckled.
"Yeah. There's no such thing as a hot undercover agent in real life." Phil said.
Just as the friends were about to take bets on what the 'special agent' might look like John Laurinaitis walked in followed by one of the most beautiful women they had ever seen; and they worked with "the sexiest women on TV." Long red hair fell down her back and framed her angel like face and the way she moved commanded everyone's attention.
Maria quickly assessed the size of the group as she walked in behind Mr. Laurinaitis. Everyone was definitely staring, but she tried to ignore that and focus on the task at hand. The room had quieted as soon as the two had made their entrance so Mr. Laurinaitis began right away.
"Hello everyone. I'm sure you're wondering why you were asked to attend this meeting today so I'll get right to it. As most of you know, Maryse dealt with a stalker a while back and most recently it seems he has turned his attention to AJ. After discussing things with Mr. McMahon and the rest of the board members we've decided to take further action. I'd like to introduce Special Agent Maria Kanellis." The older man motioned towards the young woman beside him. "She will be known to the audience as the newest RAW Diva and you will be expected to help her learn the ropes of being on the road and in the ring. Her true reason for being here, however, is to protect the girls and keep and eye out for any signs of the stalker. He turned his attention to Maria. "Now I'm sure you have a few words?"
Maria nodded and took a step forward. "As Mr. Laurinaitis said, my name is Maria Kanellis and I've been working with a private agency since I was 18. It's safe to say I've never done anything quite like this, but I'm willing to work hard to try and learn how you all do things here. With that said, my first priority is to protect the women of this company and if you get in my way, I'll move you. I've never had a case go wrong before and I don't plan on starting now. Are there any questions?"
The wrestlers began whispering amongst themselves at this latest development. Phil, however, was too busy observing the 'newest member of the roster' to hear them.
"Who gets to teach her how to wrestle?" Dolph asked causing several other men to chuckle.
"That privilege belongs to Phil though I'm sure your expertise can be put to good use." Mr. Laurinaitis said.
"Yeah, you can teach her how to be an obnoxious asshole." Phil joked, secretly celebrating the fact that he would be in charge of Maria's training. Sure he had a lot on his plate already, but somehow he didn't think he'd mind adding her to it.
Maria laughed at that. "I'll take all the help I can get."
"Alright, I'm sure you all want to talk to Maria more but we've got a show to start. Phil, if you'll stay for a few minutes there's a few more things we need to go over." John dismissed the group.
As the other members of the roster filed out of the room the WWE Champion came to the front of the room. Maria had worked with a lot of men in her career, but she had a feeling she'd never met anyone like him.
"Phil, as I said you'll be in charge of Maria's training. I know you've got a lot going on already, but Vince said you would be the best man for the job." Mr. Laurinaitis sounded as if he couldn't believe his own words. Maria got the feeling these two didn't get along well. "Take her around and show her the ropes."
Phil slung his arm around Maria's shoulders. "You got it Johnny boy." Maria's natural instinct was to tense and throw her guard up at the physical contact, but she felt strangely comfortable with his closeness, almost safe; a feeling she hadn't relied on someone else for in a long time. The red head watched as Mr. Laurinaitis scoffed and walked off.
"Is he always like that?" Maria asked, looking up at him from her position under his arm.
"If you mean an asshole, then yes, he is." Phil answered with a grin.
"So, I got the WWE Champion as my personal coach. Should I be worried or honored?" Maria raised an eyebrow.
Phil chuckled and removed his arm from her shoulders. "Have you read my file or something?"
Maria tried not to think about the fact that she missed the contact when she answered, "Phil Brooks, 34 from Chicago, Illinois. You've been WWE Champion for nearly a year after publicly speaking your mind on RAW. You started in the Indy's and worked your way up to where you're at, but something tells me you're still not satisfied. That last part wasn't in your file."
Phil looked at her blankly for several seconds. "Well, you certainly know a lot about me for me to know nothing about you."
"Trust me, I'm not someone you want to get to know."
"You obviously don't know me as well as you think because if you did you'd know I prefer making my own decisions." Phil said.
"How about we start by you showing me around and we'll go from there?" Maria said, hoping she'd stopped any questioning before it began. She was incredibly strong in her beliefs and one of those was not getting involved with the people she worked to protect, but there was something about the tattooed man in front of her that gave her the impression he could make her break that rule.
"Deal."