Chapter Two

Case of the Ex

The thought of her mentor and friend leaving sent more tears to her eyes. It was going to be a miserable week as she grieved for the absence of her best friend. Teasing her hair and trying to look as normal as she could, Mira pulled the door open and left Kurt's locker room. She needed to get a look at John's contract; the last thing she wanted was another one slipping through her fingers.

She stopped in front of her office door and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Pushing the heavy black door open, she froze in what could only be described as shock.

Dressed in a "Fully Evolved" T-shirt and black trunks, Randy Orton sat behind her desk, his long legs up on the surface. The cocky grin she had once loved so much tugged at the corners of his mouth. He had his arms rested behind his head, making it clear that he had made himself comfortable while waiting for her to get back from crying in Kurt's locker room.

Mira bit her lower lip. He was the last man she wanted to see. She'd been dreading seeing him. The last time she'd seen him - and Candice Michelle, for that matter - she had thrown the diamond engagement ring he'd given her at him. She'd slapped him hard enough to leave him with a black eye. It still made her smile on the inside as she recalled him on SmackDown with his eye a hellish shade of purple.

"You sure look happy to see me," he greeted mockingly.

"Get your feet off of my desk and your ass out of my chair," she replied through clenched teeth. Her first task was to prove to everybody that she wasn't a push-over. She wanted to be known as a respected woman who ran a tight ship. She wanted to be admired the way Stephanie McMahon had been during her tenure as the SmackDown General Manager. She wanted to command the kind of respect that Stephanie's father, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, commanded.

The grin still on his face, Randy swung his long legs off the bench and stood. "Milady," he said, motioning to her seat. She rolled her eyes at him and walked past, sitting down in her chair.

"What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't I check up on my ex and see how she's enjoying her first night as the Raw GM?"

"No. You can't. What do you want?" She knew him better than that. Randy was always a man with an agenda. Everybody had tried to tell her this when they were together, but she'd refused to see it. Never again would she be blinded by Randy Orton.

"You looking to get rid of me already?" he teased.

"Always. Spit it out." There was a beat. "How's Candice?"

"Ouch." Randy recoiled as though she had just reached over her desk and slapped him across the mouth. "We broke up after I went to SmackDown."

"Oh, poor you. To lose two women in a month. How you must have suffered," she drawled venomously. He exhaled. He knew she was going to be angry for a long time. In his experience, women held onto things for a long time.

"I deserved that one, too. It's too late to apologize for things, isn't it?"

"I wasn't sure you even knew what the word meant. What do you want?"

"Mira, I've been a jerk. I'm sorry about everything, all right? I know I hurt you..."

"Understatement of the century." She looked at him. "Are you just here to play kiss-ass or something? Because if that's all you want to do, then you can turn around and walk that flat ass out the door right now."

"Flat..." He raised his hands in surrender. "You're still mad. I get it."

"Make your point. Oh. My. God."

"Mira, I know you. You live and breathe this business like Triple H does, and I know you saw what Kane did to me last week. I want him. In the ring. Tonight."

"Consider it done. Top of the seven o'clock hour, he's all yours."

"Thank you." He stayed, the two of them encased in the awkwardness reserved for exes. She wished he would leave. "So...do we hug...?"

"No. You just leave."

After Randy left, Mira leaned back in her chair and reflected on her career, rubbing her burning eyes. She had debuted, wide-eyed and naive, thinking she'd be with Kurt. Vince had thrown both of them a curveball by aligning her with Kurt's sometimes ally, sometimes enemy Brock Lesnar. Their union had ended - quite ugly, actually; she took an F5 after accidentally costing Brock the title in favor of Kurt. She'd tried to walk alone, stay away from the boys, but when she was transferred to Raw in 2004, she found herself in a whole new ballpark.

After congratulating Randy Orton on his title win, she found herself wrapped up in things that she didn't have time to understand. Everything had happened so fast. Before she knew it they were together and he had proposed. Then she caught him with Candice, a woman she had branded useless ever since her days as a contestant in the 2004 Diva Search. For months, she'd thought that Maria Kanellis, another Diva Search contestant, was the biggest threat to her relationship with Randy. She'd been surprised to find Maria had become an ally.

After the split, she stayed single. Became great friends with Shelton Benjamin, Torrie Wilson and Shawn Michaels. Shawn was one of the most spiritual and wise men she had ever met, a stark contrast from the man he had been during the nineties. She loved hearing his stories and his advice. She thought of him as the uncle she never had. If only she had heeded his warnings about Randy...She couldn't think about that.

She got onto the computer and began chatting with some of the WWE fans on Interactive. She giggled. Jerry Lawler was right; everyone thought she was a fake. A couple guys let her know that she was hot, which she openly laughed at. With a body like Lara Croft, eyes like ice and hair like a ruby, she was an attractive woman. But she never saw herself that way. She was always flattered by the compliments.

As she chatted with fans and tried to get her mind off of Kurt's sudden departure, the 2006 Diva Search winner Layla El burst in. Her brown eyes were wide with excitement, her curly hair bounding in every which direction when she jumped. She was dressed in a pink mini-dress with a sweetheart neckline and shoes that were not meant for jumping. Mira looked over at her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Layla?"

"Mira, you need to come with me - now!"

"What..."

"NOW!"

What has Layla El so damn excited? Tune in to find out.