Title: All Your Secrets
Author: Karen U/revivingophelia
Disclaimer: no one you recognize belongs to me
Rating: PG-13/T
Spoilers: May 2012 - Eve is the executive administrator, and Punk's just finished his feud with Jericho.
Characters/Pairing: Eve Torres, CM Punk
Prompt: #154; hot tub (for this installment)
Summary: She wanted to be alone; instead she ended up confessing more than she meant to
Warnings: mild language
Notes: A three-part series for a project365 claim I've got going. Written as three one-shots.

Part One - Heat of the Moment

She made her way down the hall, the woman very aware of just how late it was... Nearly two in the morning. Which, if she was lucky, meant that the indoor pool that the hotel boasted - open all night - would have either very few occupants... Or perhaps no one else at all. And that, quite frankly, was exactly what she wanted. A little bit of alone time to relax.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, she eased the door to the room open, pausing just inside the dimly lit room and looking around... Eve smiling as she realized that she was getting what she wanted. The pool was empty... And so was the hot tub that she could see across the room. Her smile widening, the diva made her way over to the hot tub, kneeling down to press the necessary buttons to turn the jets on, then standing again, slipping off the shorts and t-shirt she was wearing over her bikini. She put her clothes and towel on a nearby lounge chair, then pulled her hair up, securing it with a clip. She slipped off the flip-flops that she was wearing as well, then dipped a toe in the water... Smiling in satisfaction as she stepped into the hot tub, easing herself down so that she was sitting on the bench that went around the inside edge of it. Taking a deep breath, she leaned her head back slightly, the diva enjoying the feel of the hot water and the jets that were causing the water to bubble up all around her.

Yes, she had definitely needed this. She had needed a chance to relax, a chance to just sort of let things go... To take a moment away from being the Executive Administrator and just sort of... Be herself again. Enjoy a few moments when she didn't have to worry about someone being nasty to her or trying to undermine her and the job she was doing. A job that she wanted to be good at. That she tried to be good at. Damn it, she was good at it. Even if only a couple of people really knew what she was doing.

Making a face, Eve shook her head, reminding herself that she was here to relax, not to dwell on what people thought about her or the job she was doing. Not to dwell on work. She was here to relax and enjoy herself and be alone...

And it seemed she wasn't going to get the 'alone' part, either.

Eve Torres bit her lip to hold in a sound of frustration when she heard the sound of the metal hitting metal as she door swung shut again, the diva opening her eyes and looking over...The woman fighting the urge to groan when she saw exactly who it was that had entered the room. No. This was not her day, her night, whatever. She thought she'd lucked out when the place was empty, but now she knew she was really cursed because it was no longer empty, there was one other person here with her. She was now alone with CM Punk.

She could see the moment when he realized that she was there, when he took note of who she was, but she refused to let the annoyance that crossed his face when he saw her cause her any pain. She knew all too well that he didn't like her. That was fine. She just wanted him to leave her alone right now. Unfortunately, the pool area was a public place, which meant she couldn't force him to leave. She could only hope that he despised the idea of being around her so much that he would leave on his own. Of course, even if he did leave, it probably wouldn't be without a few nasty comments sent her way. It was just the kind of guy he was... Or so she thought.

Punk eyed her for a moment, though he didn't say anything, instead just making his way over, pulling off the t-shirt he was wearing with his swimming trunks and kicking off his shoes, dropping the shirt and his towel on a chair not too far away from the one she'd put her things on. He met her gaze for a long moment, then headed over to the pool and jumped in, immediately starting to swim laps, and Eve watched him for a moment, then decided that if he was going to leave her alone - and it seemed that he was - then his presence here was none of her concern. So instead she reached over to turn up the jets in the hot tub, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes, enjoying the heat of the water and the feel of the jets... The woman losing track of time, not sure how long she sat there, just knowing that it must have been awhile when she suddenly sensed someone looking at her again. Opening her eyes, she jerked, nearly sliding off the seat into the deeper middle of the hot tub as she realized that CM Punk was standing at the edge of it, frowning as he looked down at her. She caught herself quickly, pushing herself back into place and reaching up to secure her hair again, watching as Punk slowly eased himself into the water, the man seating himself across from her.

"Waiting to meet someone?" he asked, that hard edge to his tone that meant he was irritated... Eve made a face, the diva sure that she knew who he thought she might be meeting and more than a little disgusted by the thought of it. The idea that she would actually... and with... Ew. Just ew. She had no interest in any man that was old enough to be her father.

"I wanted to be alone, actually," Eve replied, her own words sharp, the woman arching a brow at him. "Obviously, you messed that one up for me."

"You can't be alone in your hotel room?"

"I got talked into rooming with Vickie Guerrero. She snores. Loudly. It reminds me of a freight train," the brunette replied, watching as CM Punk's lips twitched in something like amusement at her words.

"Now is that any way to talk about your friends?"

"She's not a friend. She's a business associate. And sharing a room with someone else cuts down on costs. You know that as well as I do," the diva said, then heaved out a breath, starting to rise from her seat... Very aware of the way Punk's eyes moved over her as the dark blue bikini she was wearing came into view. It wasn't anything too revealing - everything necessary was all nice and covered - but it was still a bikini, which meant it was a lot of skin. And whether he liked her or not, CM Punk didn't seem to mind the view.

"You're leaving?"

"I imagine you would prefer it if I would," the woman replied, and Punk sighed, jerking a hand through his wet hair, then gesturing to the spot across from him.

"Sit down. I'll behave. If you will."

"Gee... And here I was... Thinking about how much fun it would be to jump your bones. I'll just have to restrain myself," Eve stated, and Punk swallowed hard before he smirked.

"Oh, well... Feel free to do that. I just meant we should mind our manners."

"I didn't know you had any," the diva replied as she sat back down, and Punk's smile widened a bit at that.

"And here I thought we were going to behave."

She averted her gaze. "It... Just slipped out," she said, her voice low enough that it could barely be heard over the jets, and she thought she heard Punk swear in response.

"Eve, I didn't... I was joking. I'm not mad. I still don't understand why in the hell you're working for Laurinaitis or anything you've done for the past few months, but... I'm not mad at you for making a joke. It's kind of nice to know you can."

"I'm not asking for anyone to understand me or what I'm doing."

"Why don't you explain it to me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm here. Right here, right now. We're here... And nobody in the company would believe it if I told them about this little meeting. This little conversation. So explain it to me, Eve. Tell me why you did what you did-"

"I was sick of feeling helpless," she snapped out before she could stop herself. "Sick of being the supportive one. I stood by Kelly's side the entire time that she was the divas' champion. Despite the fact that she got a title shot before I ever got my rematch, I stood by her." She arched a brow at the confusion on his face. "Yeah, a lot of people forget that. I had a rematch clause when I lost the title to Brie. When she and Nikki cheated me out of it. And instead of getting my rematch? Kelly got a shot. More than one shot, actually. It took her two tries to get it off Brie. Two tries, and I never got a rematch during that time. But I played the best friend, and I was happy for her."

"Eve-"

"You wanted an explanation, and you're getting one," she snapped out, reaching up to run her hands over her face before she continued to speak. The small amount of eye makeup she hadn't managed to get off when she'd washed her face earlier smeared, smudging beneath her eyes. "Why? Are you surprised that it goes so far back? You thought everything I've done has been on a whim? It hasn't. I was a good friend to Kelly. I tried to be. And then, when Zack started coming after me... I tried to let him down easy. I used the biggest clichés in the world to get him to back off. I told him I couldn't go out with him because I was washing my hair. He wouldn't let up. And then, when Kane started coming after John Cena, somehow I ended up getting dragged into it because of Zack. I was cornered in the divas' locker room by a man that weighs three hundred pounds. My supposed friends just hauled ass out of there and conveniently forgot to even call the damned security guys to try and help me out. Then they wanted all the details because they just love the drama. And I decided I was done. I was done being the friend. Done being the scared little girl. I was sick of not having any power over anything. So I took it. I got John Cena and Zack Ryder out of my life."

"Wait a minute-"

"What? You think I'm dumb enough to tell the Bella twins my master plan if I didn't want it to get out? Please. And in case you're curious... I didn't really fire them. Their contracts were expiring and they wanted to take time off to do other things. We staged that. And no, I'm not going to tell you why." She gave a slight smile. "They were a little annoyed by the fact that they didn't get to leave with the title. But Layla won that fair and square."

"That doesn't explain why you're working for John Laurinaitis. Why you cost Team Teddy the match at WrestleMania-"

"You might want to ask Theodore Long what it is I have against him. What it is that he wanted from me in exchange for Zack being added to the team." She met Punk's eyes unflinchingly as she spoke. "I threatened him with a lawsuit, sold Zack this silly plan to get him on the team, and then... Well... Teddy knew that if he didn't put him on the team, then I was going to file a complaint. Simple as that."

"You don't expect me to believe-"

"Believe whatever you want to. But what reason do I have to lie? I mean, you already told me that this little conversation is between us. That no one else would believe we ever had it. I'm telling the truth. I mean, think about it... Teddy nearly married Kristal. Aksana was his special friend. He had the Bellas sitting on his lap at the TLC pay per view. Why should it surprise you that he tried something with me? After all, it's what John Cena made sure people thought of me. Who cares that all Cena ever got was one kiss?"

"And now you're working for Laurinaitis, who probably wants the same from you-"

"He's not going to get it," Eve snapped out, the diva rising to her feet, stepping out of the hot tub. She arched a brow at the man as she looked down at him still seated there, then turned to gather her things... Stopping to look back at him as she wrapped her towel around her body and slipped on her flip-flops. "Oh, and Punk? Who says that Laurinaitis is the one I'm really working for?"

She was gone before Punk even had a chance to register what she'd said.