Chapter 2

1996

WWF Headquarters – Titan Towers

Stamford, Connecticut

"So, do you have any other questions regarding your contract, Miss Kervin?"

Soft grey eyes slowly looked up at him from her contract, raising a slow eyebrow and Andalyn placed the packet of papers on the desk. She didn't say a word and clicked the pen, signing on the dotted line before standing up. "No, that'll be fine as long as we agree my son is allowed to be on the road with me. Please call me Andy, Mr. McMahon."

"That's not a problem, Andy." Vince McMahon smirked, instantly coming to the conclusion she was from the south due to her accent. He handed over the information she would need for the position she just signed on with the company for a year. "Your flight leaves at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. You'll be going to Phoenix, Arizona and you'll meet up with him then. His name is Steve Austin."

Steve Austin was climbing the ranks of the company quicker than any other wrestler in the WWF and had become insanely popular with the crowd. Therefore, his appearances, signings and media had increased drastically because everyone wanted to see Stone Cold Steve Austin. Because of his busy schedule, Steve had a hard time balancing everything, including making travel arrangements from city to city, so he was in desperate need of a personal assistant.

"And please, call me Vince. I'm not a fan of formalities."

She nodded, storing everything he said in her mind. Andalyn had an administrative associate's degree along with a bachelor's in business management. Right out of college, Andalyn had started looking for a job that could use one or both of her degrees with a little help from her favorite instructor. Turns out, her instructor and Vince McMahon knew each other well, so a good word was put in for her and Andalyn had been contacted by the WWF for an impromptu interview in Stamford, Connecticut. They paid for her flight and room; all she had to do was purchase her own food and drink. Andalyn didn't understand where this offer came from until her instructor contacted her shortly after making an interview appointment with the head honcho of WWF, Vince McMahon. The only thing she asked of the company was being able to bring along her 10-year-old son, Rebel, and surprisingly Vince had no problem with it. Currently, Rebel was out in the waiting area on his Game Boy while she had her interview and signed the contract Vince McMahon offered.

"Thank you, Vince. I appreciate this opportunity and won't let you down."

"I have no doubt in my mind, Andy. Good luck and if you have any problems, don't hesitate to call me."

Nodding, Andalyn took her leave and headed out of Titan Towers along with her son, closing her eyes momentarily.

Andalyn was about to embark on a journey she would not soon forget.

"What am I gettin' an assistant for again?" Steve Austin muttered, mildly curious what Vince had up his sleeve now and stood in a crowded airport parking lot with Dwayne Johnson. Rocky Maivia would be his WWF persona once he debuted in the company. "I can handle my shit on my own, damn it."

"They serve their purposes." Dwayne rumbled good-naturedly with a cocky knowing smirk. "Considering you keep forgetting your own name lately..."

"I'm always so damn busy; I'm surprised I remember how to use my dick."

"Hence the reason for an assistant. She would have found her way to you, Austin." Dwayne grumbled, leaning against the rental car Steve drove while they waited for the PA to arrive. "How are you going to know which one she is?"

"Good point, jackass." Steve admitted, frowning slightly. "I felt bad that she'd be arrivin' with no one to meet her."

"You are such a moron. She's here to help you, so obviously SHE'S not a scatterbrained."

"Go fuck yerself, boy."

"Well Austin, as usual, what a brilliant idea you've had. You just wasted my day." Dwayne grunted, shaking his head.

"Did ya have any other plans, Rocky?" Steve shot back, smiling broadly. The men often called each other by their ring personas, not really thinking about it.

"Sleeping with your mother was on the top 10."

"Yer dead!" Steve tackled his friend to the ground.

Andalyn lead her 10-year-old son, Rebel, through the airport terminal in Phoenix, Arizona the following day, noticing how busy it was and kept a firm hold on his hand. "Stay by me." She ordered gently, not wanting to lose him as they retrieved their luggage.

Andalyn still couldn't believe she'd actually taken this job, but when she found out what the salary was, she had to take it. Not to mention, her instructor was extremely trustworthy and wouldn't steer her wrong. One day, Rebel would have to go to college and, since they enjoyed traveling so much, it was also a plus since the WWF went all over.

"No, kiddin'." He drawled, going through a prepubescent sarcastic phase. He was mostly a normal 10-year-old; minus the fact he had a mentality of a teenager without a liking for girls. "Mom, I don't need you holdin' my hand." Rebel grumbled, trying to pull away from her. His dishwater blonde hair fell into his green eyes, point blank refusing to get a haircut.

"Rebel, please don't argue with me right now, okay? We have to get outta here and THEN you can let go of my hand." Andalyn shot back over her shoulder, pulling him closer when a huge crowd came at them.

They barely managed to escape unscathed and finally made it to the baggage claim, retrieving their luggage then preceded through security. Andalyn sighed, hating that they had to search her bag with her personal belongings. She'd deal with it though since it was protocol. After a half an hour, they were finally free to leave the airport and Andalyn sighed when Rebel started complaining again about being hungry.

"We'll get somethin' to eat on the way to the arena."

She knew he was hungry and still had hold of his hand while crossing the street, heading to the parking lot. Her outfit for the first day consisted of a midnight blue and white pinstriped skirt suit with a silver dress shirt beneath, blue pumps on her feet. Her ravenous curly black hair was pulled back in a clip to try holding back the haphazard style with chopsticks, a few curly tendrils framing her face.

"We're almost there."

"You said that during the layover." Rebel muttered, tired and cranky from traveling.

Andalyn blinked when she spotted 2 grown, very LARGE, men going at it in the parking lot. Shaking her head, she pulled Rebel to stand beside her and they kept walking. Honestly, men could be immature at times. She grunted when one came flying at her, shoving her down to the ground and caused her to scrape her knees while Rebel had dodged out of harm's way just in time.

"Damn it!"

"Shit, sorry! Rocky!"

"Sorry ma'am." Dwayne grumbled, helping Steve lift her from the ground. "We didn't mean to knock you down."

"Are ya alright?" Steve asked worriedly, looking her over for cuts and bruises, noticing just her knees were slightly damaged. "Sorry 'bout that, honey."

"Calm down, Austin."

"I'm fine, thanks." Andalyn replied evenly, dusting her skirt off and groaned when she noticed her fall had broken skin against the pavement, scratching them. "Now that my day is ruined, can one of you gentlemen point me in the direction of the wrestlin' arena where the WWF is currently located?" She asked in a thicker than normal accent due to being peeved and knew she would have to change into a pantsuit before meeting the man she'd be working closely with.

Steve and Dwayne exchanged looks, raising brows simultaneously. Was this the woman they'd been waiting for? Steve groaned, hoping to hell not because this wasn't the first impression he wanted to make with his new personal assistant while Dwayne looked more than amused.

"Um...are ya Andalyn Kervin?" Steve asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. When she shot him a look, he smiled sheepishly and held out his hand. "Steve Austin."

Rebel snorted the same time Dwayne did.

Raising a slow eyebrow at this man, Andalyn wondered briefly if he was a stalker of some kind. "What's it to ya?" She demanded, not taking his extended hand and immediately pulled Rebel to her side, shooting him a glare when he tried pulling away. "Look, I really don't have time for this. I need to get to the arena and I'm not sure which way it is. I have a very important meetin' to attend."

Steve recognized the accent, silently thanking the stars above she was southern like him and smiled a little easier. "I'm Steve Austin," He repeated slower this time. "I'm with the WWF. Ya ARE Andalyn, right?"

"Mom, I think this is the guy yer workin' for." Rebel put his two cents in, trying not to grin. It was hard keeping his face perfectly straight, emerald eyes sparkling wickedly.

"Yer the one Vince McMahon assigned me to?" Andalyn questioned, looking over at her son with narrowed eyes and wondered how he knew since he didn't go to the meeting with her. She sighed, feeling a headache coming on and decided to just roll with this for now. "Yeah, I'm Andalyn Kervin, Mr. Austin." She rolled her eyes inwardly, rubbing the back of her neck, also feeling awkward. "I was supposed to meet ya at the arena, so what are ya doin' here?"

"He's the local good Samaritan." Dwayne joked, extending his hand to her. "I'm Dwayne Johnson, most call me Rocky though." He flashed a warm smile, his teeth pearly white against his naturally tanned skin and grunted when Steve nudged him in the ribs.

"I didn't know if you were familiar with Phoenix." Steve explained ineptly, clearing his throat. "I thought I'd help ya."

"Boy scout."

"The little man pegged it."

"Do NOT call me that."

"Rebel..." Andalyn's voice held warning, sighing at the eye roll her son shot back at her. "Nice to meet ya, Mr. Johnson." She greeted professionally, shaking his offered hand. "And thanks for the thought, Mr. Austin. I have a rental car so I'll just follow ya over." She informed him, releasing Dwayne's hand. "Though, do ya mind if we stop and get my son somethin' to eat? He's starvin'." A smirk curved her lips when he scowled up at her. "Well if you would stop complainin' so much..."

"I'm a growin' boy." He reminded her smugly.

"How old are you?"

"10."

"Tallest 10-year-old I've ever met."

"Like I haven't heard that before." Rebel rolled his eyes, hating his height. He got called freak a lot at school and was thankful to be away from it.

"Yer fine the way ya are, Rebel."

Andalyn shot a glare in Dwayne's direction and guided him to the car, not waiting for their response regarding getting her son something to eat. He came first to her always. Her job wouldn't change that. They slid in the rental car and buckled up, waiting for him to get situated before firing up the vehicle, pulling out. This was going to be an interesting job.

"What do ya want to eat, Reb?" She asked once they were out on the open road with Steve and Dwayne following behind in their own vehicle.

"As much as you can afford." Rebel teased, pointing to a Burger King coming up on the left. "Drive thru is fine, Mom. We don't need to go in or anythin'."

"What do you think of her?" Dwayne asked curiously while they followed Steve's new personal assistant.

"I think Vince is tryin' to fuck with me." Steve snorted, pulling into the Burger King parking lot.

One thing Andalyn loved about her son was he was fairly easy to please, though she couldn't stand his sarcastic nature. She ordered him 3 burgers, 2 fries and the largest coke they had available, handing him the bag driving off. A few minutes later, they were on the road again heading toward the arena. Andalyn was too nervous to eat; she'd have something later while her son gorged. Rebel would eat her out of house and home soon enough if he kept eating this much. Or rather, out of the hotels since they would be living on the road 300+ days out of the year.

"Sanity." Steve muttered when they reached the arena, still sure someone was messing with him.

Andalyn seemed a little bit...stiff...for this kind of work. He was a laid back guy that enjoyed a beer every chance presented. This would be interesting, volatile and explosive to say the least. Rebel's green eyes widened in disbelief at all of the cars in the parking lot they pulled into.

"Mom, this place is PACKED." He stared out the car windows in awe, spotting a motorcycle and moaned longingly. "I want one of those..."

"Ya can have one when yer 18." She quipped, knowing he wouldn't like hearing that and smirked when he just glared back at her, both of them stepping out.

Andalyn decided leaving their luggage in the car and grabbed her briefcase with her paperwork in it, knowing she would have to go through Steve's schedule in order to do her job. She grabbed Rebel's hand, quickly meeting up with Steve and Dwayne, smiling. Rebel wasn't lying, the place was packed and her parental instincts had kicked into high gear.

"Mom seriously, this is embarrassin'." Rebel groaned, jerking his hand away from her. "I'll stick to ya like glue, okay?" He crammed his hands into his jean pockets, looking around quickly and arched a blonde eyebrow when a woman called him cute as soon as they stepped inside the building. "That is sick."

Andalyn finally gave up and kept close to her son, placing her hands on his shoulders as they were guided down the hallway by Steve and Dwayne. Steve was in front of them, showing them the way to his dressing room. Once they arrived, Andalyn released his shoulders and let Rebel do whatever he wanted, to which he turned the monitor on and sat in front of it.

"Okay Mr. Austin, do ya have a copy of yer schedule with you?" She asked, getting down to business and hoped he did since Vince assured her he would.

"Somewhere." Steve replied, nodding when Rebel shot a look at the Nintendo 64 game system in the room. It was Dwayne's, not his. "Help yerself, kid. It's a wrestlin' game..."

"I'll learn it." He grinned at Steve before occupying himself.

"He's interestin'." Steve commented, rifling in his duffel bag, finally pulling out a wadded crumpled piece of paper. "Here we go."

"Yer not serious, are ya?" Andalyn sighed when he nodded, knowing she had a hell of a job ahead of her. "Tell ya what: From now on, when ya get important documents like this, give' em to me so I can keep' em from bein'...messed up."

Andalyn looked over at her son, smirking, knowing he would beat the game before the night was out. The kid was a whiz when it came to videogames. She started looking over it, barely reading the fine print and nodded, jotting down some notes in a notebook.

"I'm gonna switch a few of yer appearances so yer not so booked up."

Steve's face broke out with a relieved grin, feeling a weight lift from his tense shoulders while cracking open a beer. "Thank sweet baby Jesus! I'll make where they're delivered directly to ya from now on." He didn't bother explaining why the paper was wadded up. Steve had been reading it and spewed beer when he saw he'd be lucky to have enough time to take a piss in between everything he was supposed to do.

"Good idea. Thanks."

Andalyn continued writing down notes, tapping the pen against her chin, knowing Rebel would be busy for the night with the videogame and silently thanked Steve for having the system. She ended up writing all of his appearances down on a piece of paper neatly before crumpling up his schedule, tossing it in the trashcan. Whoever was responsible for making up his schedule should've been fired on the spot! There was a Macintosh computer in the room, but Andalyn wasn't a huge fan of computers and preferred to write everything down. If it got to be too much for her to handle, she would use the computer to type and save everything on a floppy disc.