Disclaimer: The characters and real people portrayed in this story do not belong to me. The characters are owned by the WWE, and the real people own themselves. This story is completely fictional.

A/N: So I have no love lost for Kelly Kelly. When I heard she was released, this immediately came into my mind and demanded to be written down. I was going to keep it a one-shot, but the ending just didn't feel like an ending, but I'm still undecided so if you want more, let me know! Reviews are lovely, and if you want to be brutal, go right ahead. :)

Sometimes, she was petty.

And sometimes she was just downright vindictive. But her heart was always in play either way. Her heart was always this driving force. Her father once told her that business was ruthless, that it should be dealt with without sympathy or compassion. Business should never be conducted with emotion, just the driving force of bettering the product. Everyone thought she was her father's daughter, a perfect replica of him, and in many ways they were right. But not in this way; never in this way.

Stephanie always had a problem with letting her heart get in the way.

So yes, she was petty, she did petty things, she used her power for evil sometimes, and she felt no remorse afterwards. This time was no exception, and she couldn't exactly say she was sad that it had come to this. No, in fact, she kind of wanted to break out a cigar and light it up while sitting back in her leather chair. It felt like a weight was finally lifted off her shoulders. She could breathe again, well, not quite breathe, but the stifling evidence of error was gone at the very least and that had to be enough for now.

At least one problem was taken care of, she would never have to see that flash of blonde hair turning around the corner again. She would never have to see that smug smile hidden behind her dimwitted looks. She would never have to catch the careful manipulation behind those squinted eyes. No, she would never have to deal with that again. She could walk down the halls with her head held high. The axe had finally fallen, and she was the one swinging it.

"Barbie, have a seat," Stephanie said as she sat across from the blonde.

"Stephanie, you're looking really pretty today," Barbie told her, but it rang of a falseness Stephanie had become accustomed to when talking to the younger woman. There was always an air of fake when Barbie was around, but after…everything, her aura had taken on a new level of falsity.

"Thank you," Stephanie said in a sickly sweet voice. That was how it always was with the two of them, this politeness that permeated every sentence they spoke to each other. Stephanie didn't know how much Barbie knew about her, but it was enough for this girl to think she had the one over on Stephanie. But now it was over. It was all going to be over.

"So, did you go over my e-mail to you? I thought I was pretty fair in it, don't you think?" Barbie asked as Stephanie pulled out the printed e-mail, holding it up to show Barbie she'd indeed received it. Stephanie had actually laughed when she first read it, needing to take pause for her fit of giggles to subside before she'd called to schedule a meeting with Barbie. "I mean, I am probably your top diva, right? That's what everyone says."

"I don't really give credence to what everyone says," Stephanie told her.

"I'm sure you don't, what with you being in charge," Barbie said, but Stephanie could read between those incredibly transparent lines. Did this girl really think she was that dense? "But I think it goes without saying that I should get a little bit of leeway. I work hard representing for this company, and with the top guys, if they want time off, you're really right there to give it to them, aren't you?"

"We did give you time off, to spend with your boyfriend, he's…a football player, right? Oh wait, that was a while back, hockey player now?" If Barbie wanted to start with the catty comments, Stephanie could do the same, and she could do it better.

"Yeah, hockey, how's Paul by the way?"

Stephanie nearly bit right through her lip, but instead she bit the inside of her mouth, so hard she knew she was soon to fill her mouth with the coppery taste of her blood. "He's great, actually, really taking to his new position."

"That's good, weird seeing him being all Mr. Corporate now. I'm sure it's really a change seeing him all the time at work…"

"We have separate offices."

"Oh of course," Barbie nodded. "So, about what I proposed, I think that a lighter schedule would benefit us all. I'd come in refreshed and looking like your top diva, and I would get the time off I want."

"Well, I discussed it at length with my father." She had, but she'd been very bias in one direction, effectively convincing her father to agree with her opinion. She may be 36 now, but she could still have her father wrapped around her finger. It was just business after all. "And we both agreed on what to do about this."

"So?"

"We've decided it's best to let you go."

"Excuse me?" Barbie's mouth dropped open a little bit, and Stephanie felt her veins course with elation as sideswiping this little girl and her self-satisfied air.

"Well, we wouldn't want to keep you from all those opportunities you outlined in your e-mail," Stephanie ran her finger down the list of things Barbie said she had lined up. Stephanie figured maybe one or two was true, but this girl, Stephanie couldn't see her making the big time. The only thing Barbie really had a penchant for was manipulating men, and in that department, she might do alright. "Plus, with all the time you've spent gone as it is…I think it's kind of safe to assume AJ might be the top diva right now."

"So…you're firing me?"

"Well, I don't like to think of it as firing per se, I like to think this is a mutual decision. You did say that if you couldn't have the lighter schedule, you might have to consider leaving, so you've considered it, and we're giving it to you."

"But—"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine out there," Stephanie told her. She knew she could probably negotiate with Barbie, knew that she may even be able to talk Barbie into her regular schedule, but she was petty, and she did petty things, and she had petty reasons. So Barbie had to go. It was as simple as that. "We don't want to hinder you, but you know our schedule, and you know how we work."

"Yes, but I'm your top diva."

"Barbie, I'm sorry to say, but there will be other divas who will come in, besides, we're really trying to find women who have some kind of wrestling talent…it's been a rough go for you."

"I know what this is about."

"Well, it's about this e-mail you sent us, pretty much outlining demands we weren't going to give into," Stephanie's voice took on a hard edge as she pushed the piece of paper towards Barbie. "This was talked about, and we're only trying to help your cause…unless you were bluffing, were you bluffing, Barbie?"

There was a pause, and Stephanie knew most of what she'd written were lies, but Barbie's pride was at work here, and she needed to save face. "No."

"I didn't think so. You're get the standard severance package, and we'll cite this as a mutual decision. You can go down to accounting to take care of all that paperwork," Stephanie told her. "Or we can just do it through your lawyer or agent if you have one."

"I know about you, Stephanie," Barbie said as she stood up.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stephanie kept her composure as she stared down the blonde. Now was not the time to reveal any kind of prevailing emotion.

"I think you do," Barbie said. "Too bad you couldn't keep what you had, I guess he just saw something better come along…"

"Again," Stephanie was seething inside, wishing she could rip the hair extensions from this idiot's head, "I don't know what you're talking about, Barbie. Are we done here?"

"Yes, we're done."

Stephanie reveled in the memory of Barbie walking out of her office with a dejected posture. She thought again about the lovely "future endeavors" note that popped up on the website soon after Barbie had been terminated from her contract. Stephanie had personally called the website team to tell them they needed to update with the new information. She was a petty woman, and her heart did most of the speaking for her, and in that moment, her heart was soaring with power and the freeing feeling of the stabbing pain from the last few years finally being extinguished.

"Stephanie?"

"Yes, Marcy?" Stephanie pressed the button on her intercom to speak to her secretary.

"There's someone here to see you, says it's urgent."

"I'm busy, and I'm not expecting anyone, who is it?"

"Mr. Chris Irvine."

Stephanie froze, her finger hovering over the intercom button. Her eyes darted around quickly looking for an escape route, but there wasn't one. It wasn't like she could just jump out the window, and her door was the only door to the room. She could only imagine what he was here for, he was probably here about Barbie, and she sneered. If that was the case, she didn't want to hear it.

"Um, send him in," Stephanie said because there was no way out of this, no matter how much she wanted out of this.

She turned to her right quickly to the mirrored wall beside her and checked herself, making sure she looked alright. Even if Chris was angry with her, she wasn't going to look like this was affecting her in any way, shape, or form. That would only be giving him what he wanted, and she wasn't going to let him take the satisfaction of firing Barbie away from her.

Chris sauntered in a moment later, and the first thing her eyes darted to were his two new tattoos, proudly on display on his arm. She scowled a little at them. She'd never seen the point of tattoos, and he was perfect without them. Chris caught sight of where her arms were and he let out a light chuckle at her face. Upon hearing the sound, Stephanie looked up at Chris, his face breaking out in a grin.

"You like them?"

"No," she told him bluntly, "I think they're hideous."

"Well, good thing they're on my skin then," he sat down in front of her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I came to talk to your dad," Chris shrugged, "thought I'd come here, talk to you. See how you were doing, you know, all the good stuff that friends do."

"I'm not in the mood, Chris," she told him, "I've got a lot of things to do."

"Like fire a certain diva," Chris was full out smirking now, but Stephanie didn't find it funny. She didn't find it funny at all so she stayed silent. "Oh wait, no, it was a mutual decision, right? You know, Stephanie, I just don't get you sometimes. You get so angry and you find the one moment where you can fire her—"

"So you've talked to her then?"

"No, I haven't talked to her," he told her slowly, "but I've talked to Maryse, who talked to her. I saw her and Mike when they came to my Fozzy concert in LA last week. She said that Barbie sent an e-mail—"

"Where she said if we didn't want to agree with her, then termination would be the route she might want to take," Stephanie interjected.

"Which was exactly the thing you wanted to pounce on. All I'm trying to figure out is why now?"

Chris was here tonight.

That was the only thought as she walked into the arena. Chris was here tonight, Chris was here tonight, Chris was here tonight. He was only coming for a visit, but he was here, and she was here, and damn if it she didn't want to see him so badly. He hadn't even been gone that long, but she hadn't been to a show in a while, so she'd missed him. All she needed was a glimpse of him. She didn't even need to talk to him, seeing him would be enough to tide her over.

"Have you seen Chris, I heard he's here tonight?" she'd asked a random production assistant.

"Um, maybe try catering," they'd told her, and she'd hurried along to find catering. Paul kept texting her, but she was ignoring it for the moment. She saw him everyday, he could wait a few minutes for her to catch up with Chris.

When she arrived at catering, there he'd been, and there she'd been. They were talking amicably, and the surge of bitter hatred that rose from her toes was so startling she nearly stumbled backwards. She caught herself though, as she tended to do, and she quickly went to grab a water and some food, not that she was going to eat it, no, she was going to eavesdrop because she was a fool, she was a complete fool.

She took the chair right behind them, her back towards them as she leaned against the back of her chair, trying to listen in while idly pushing her food around the plate. "You look so good with your hair like that," Barbie told him.

"Thanks," Chris said cockily and Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"It's so good to see you again, I feel like we haven't talked in forever."

"Probably because we haven't," he chuckled. "Life and all that."

"I know, it goes so fast, and it sucks because we even live in the same city, you know what I mean. It should be so easy to see each other."

"Well, we're busy," he reiterated the point. "I've got the tour and you've got your wrestling stuff and modeling stuff."

"That's true, but I really should come see you on your tour, I heard your new album, it's really good, Chris, you should be so proud of yourself," Stephanie frowned. It should be her coyly flirting with Chris, not Barbie. Only it shouldn't be her, and she closed her eyes, thinking about how sad it was she'd pretended to get food just so she could eavesdrop on the lives of two people who she shouldn't care about. Not that she cared about Barbie, but Chris was a whole other beast.

"I am, I think it's the best one we've come up with, I really think people are liking it so far."

"I know I am, I think She's My Addiction is my favorite track, it's just so…it speaks to me, you know."

Stephanie couldn't hear anymore. She just could not take it anymore. She nearly flung her tray across the table, but instead, stood up angrily, stalking out of there. The sad truth of it was, when she'd first heard the song, she'd wondered too if it had been about Barbie. It was only a moment, just a second, but it was a thought nonetheless, one she pushed away, but one that seared in her brain, even if only for a moment.

She was petty, and she hated Barbie Blank.

"Because she wanted to go," Stephanie answered glibly. There was nothing more to it than that.

"She probably would have stayed, I think we both know that."

"I don't care, she said she wanted to go, so she went end of story. I don't even know why we're talking about this."

"I think we're talking about this because I think you're thinking you made a mistake. I think you've been thinking you've made a mistake for a long time now," Chris rose out of his chair, leaning forward with his palms on the top of her desk.

"She wanted to leave," Stephanie told him, emphasizing her point. "I didn't force her out the door, Chris."

"Why do you constantly refuse yourself what you want? What do you get out of it, what does anyone get out of it?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"I mean…is this really how you want to live out the rest of your life?" he asked her, gesturing around to the air as if there was something around him to show but her office. "I gave you the world, Stephanie, or at least I tried to, but you didn't want it. You threw it back in my face, and I moved on. I'm sorry you didn't like Barbie, but at least she didn't make me feel like my heart was constantly in a vice."

"You didn't stay with her."

"No, I didn't because she was a rebound, that's it, that's all," Chris shrugged, "but I still didn't get what I wanted. I would have given you everything, Stephanie, and now, when I'm at a really good place, you go ahead and fire Barbie, and let's not act like this wasn't some type of cathartic, orgasmic experience for you."

"How dare you!"

"No, how dare you," Chris told her, "how dare you think you can come waltzing in and try to send me mixed signals like you've done for years. You think I didn't feel your eyes on me all night when we were at the Hall of Fame, or the way you insisted on introducing the kids to one another. Why are you pulling this now if not because you think you made a mistake?"

"She wanted to leave," Stephanie kept deflecting because Chris was hovering way too close to the truth.

"Regardless, you took pleasure in it because I know you. You have no right to do that. You have no right to feel anything about me or my relationships anymore. You gave up that right. So stay out of my business unless you're going to do something about the situation."

"And if I do!" she challenged him, her eyes ablaze. How dare Chris come in here and start demanding things, things she couldn't give him. Why did he always make it hard for her? Why were his words always the most cutting, why were his stares always the ones that bore right through her skin, muscles, and everything to the soul lying down beneath.

"Then do it. Stop being a coward and do it," he dared her, he was daring her right now to do what they both knew she wanted to do. Propriety and societal norms be damned. He wanted her to come around this desk and kiss the life out of him. But she couldn't do that. She just could not do that. She had to stay on this side of the desk, let the imaginary barrier between the two of them stand if she ever wanted to keep herself.

Being with Chris was like getting lost. She felt for him like she was something else entirely, like she was a completely different person. The person she was with him, that person, that woman wanted to crawl into him, become a part of him. She lost herself in Chris because when she was with Chris, she felt as if…as if they were just one person, one person who somehow got separated into these two incomplete halves. And the effect was terrifying. For all her pettiness, there was one thing that reigned above that.

Fear.

They stared each other down for moments, seconds, minutes, an eternity before she backed down in this crazy game of emotional chicken. She turned away, her hair cascading down her face and shading it from his. She could hear him scoff. "I knew it," he told her. "I knew it…"

"She was granted the termination she wanted," Stephanie said in sotto voice. "That's it. She wanted it, I granted it."

"Of course," Chris said, playing the damn charade he'd played for the past few years now. "I better go, I've got a flight and then a month with my family before I go back on tour."

"Good luck with that."

"Yeah, thanks," he said dully, the fight drained from him.

"Chris?"

"What?"

"What is She's My Addiction about?"

"Don't you mean who?" he wondered. She didn't respond so he stared her down instead, looking her straight in the eye, making sure he gaze didn't waver for a moment, "I think you know who it's about."

Stephanie always had a habit of letting her heart get in the way of business.

Stephanie always had a habit of denying her heart when it came to pleasure.