Meant to Be: Chapter Two
… Welcome to the circus.

It turned out to be a much more complicated process getting out on the road than Ella initially thought it'd be. There were several complications along the way, insurance papers that had to be signed. The admin team misfiled them twice and lost the third copy in internal mail. There were the masses of details and documentation Steph had sent through to Ella in various stages of where and what she was supposed to do on the road. As Steph was already back on the road covering Nick and prepping for Ella's arrival, the information came through in drips and drabs. Communication was not at it's best and Ella was due to be in Ohio for her first night at Raw.

It was the night before and Ella was attempting the mammoth task of choosing what to pack and what to leave behind. She was clueless as she blindly threw in various shoes, shirts and oddly enough mittens. Which she promptly removed when she tipped the contents out onto the floor and started again. Deciding eventually you could never have too many clothes Ella assumed the last of her problems would be trying to carry her suitcase downstairs in the morning to the awaiting taxi she'd pre booked.

It would only be the beginning of her problems.

After tripping over her doorstep to the taxi and almost flying flat on her face Ella had managed to arrive at the airport in one piece, but it wasn't without it's bumps. Once half way to the airport Ella had the unpleasant feeling she'd forgotten something. Insisting the driver turn around she found her intuition to be correct. There on her kitchen table were her bound scripts and itineraries Steph had posted out from the road. Sweeping the documents into her purse she set out on her second attempt at leaving for the airport.

Once she arrived, the sight of the bright yellow delayed announcement had greeted her next to her scheduled flight time. She wasn't going to be touching down in Ohio anytime soon. After a pitiful attempt at calming her nerves and twenty minutes of wandering the airport for a schedule, she relayed the delayed message to Steph. In order to entertain herself in her delayed state she'd spent $20 on magazines and $5 on coffee to hopefully calm her frayed nerves.

Without any further problems, Ella breathed a sigh of relief when they finally allowed passengers onto the plane. After finding her seat she was looking forward to a couple of hours of indulging in fraudulent celebrity gossip. But what greeted her wasn't as pleasant as the ideal she'd played out in her head. There sat in the seat next to her own was a very grizzly toddler. His mother say next to him paying no attention whatsoever to her child's behavior. At that moment the child seemed to be taking great delight in kicking the chair in front of him.

The flight was not without it's tantrums and tears. Several of her magazines had been turned into coloring books, and turned into confetti at her feet. Having a multitude of nieces and nephews Ella had a lot of patience. But it was pushed past it's limit when she took her eyes off of the child for more than two seconds. Red soda was thrown in the air landing over her once pristine white shirt. Ella did her best to bite her tongue when the child's mother gave her a once over and made no move to apologize. Thankfully the flight attendant had witnessed the scene and jumped in before Ella could launch a verbal attack on the woman. After giving up on the brazen red stain Ella had returned to her seat, counting the minutes until the plane touched down and she would climb into the chauffeured car that would be waiting for her.

If leaving her schedule behind, her flight being delayed and the red stain on her shirt wasn't enough of a sign for Ella to have turned around and climbed back into bed. The news that there were no reservations or cars booked under the name Ella Lewis nor the WWE.

"I can't believe this!" She cried as the porter informed her for the third and final time that there were no cars booked or available to take.

Exasperated Ella had paid out her own money for a taxi to drive to the arena. Fortunately for Ella it was a short distance away. She prayed for the sake of her own sanity that this would be the last of her problems. She hadn't even set foot backstage yet and already she felt close to tears. But one blessing out of the chain of events had been the fact she'd had no time to worry about her impending debut at Raw. The worries had been plaguing her for the past two weeks, no matter how many times both herself and Steph tried to calm her fears.

She knew the reality of her situation. She'd only been chosen out of mere circumstances. If someone else had been at the offices at the same time they would have got the job. Ella would have then been quite content sat behind her desk making phone calls and filing papers. But thankfully the distractions of the day had been enough to distract her.

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(25/06/05) Raw Tapings – Cleveland, Ohio

Ella took a second deep breath as she climbed out of the taxi, handing the driver his money she thanked him for taking her suitcase from the trunk. Pulling the handle from her suitcase she pulled it towards the back entrance of the arena. Pausing only momentarily to pull out the security pass from her purse, which she'd almost left behind that morning along with her stack of documents from the kitchen table.

"Now or never Ella." She whispered to as she drew herself up to stand up straight, an attempt to look more confident than what she was actually feeling.

There was already a small group of fans waiting aside the already guarded back gate. Gathered in hope of stealing a glimpse of their favorite WWE superstars before the show.

"Hi," Ella gave one of the burly security guards a quick wave. "I'm Ella Lewis." She flashed her security pass. He eyed the laminated backstage pass that was imprinted with her name. Before checking it against the list he held in his hands. Ella was sure she'd caught him smirking at the bright red splash against her chest. Despite her best efforts it was still visible.

"You're on the list, you can go on in." He finally announced after what felt like an eternity. "We can take your suitcase for you if you'd like?"

"Are you sure?" She asked.

He gave her a warming smile; "It'll be in your office if you need it. We'll make sure it gets there alright."

"I have an office?" Ella squealed, her attempt at a professional stupor simply evaporated.

The guard smiled again as he led her inside. He'd obviously been informed that she was the 'new girl'. "Yes Miss. Lewis, your office."

Ella clapped her hands in glee as she followed him through the maze of corridors. She quickly realized she had no idea where she was going or what she was supposed to be doing. Looking at her watch it informed her it was only just about nearing six. She still had plenty of time until Raw would get underway. She had to admit she was feeling pretty excited.

She took the opportunity to wander through the backstage area in attempt to get acquainted with the format backstage. So fat she'd past the women's locker room twice and had seen catering set up. Turning yet another corner she was delighted to find the one person she'd been looking for, Stephanie McMahon. But before she could open her mouth or take one step forward Ella found herself flat on the floor. She tried desperately to make out the face of the person leant over her. She didn't recognize the voice and the stars clouding her version were not helping.

Once the haze started to clear she made an attempt at pulling herself together. It was then she realized the front of her shirt, for the second time that day was soaking wet.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" Ella blinked repeatedly trying to focus on the man in front of her. Getting no response he turned back to Steph. "I think I broke her, are you ok?" He asked again. "Steph, what's her name?"

Before Steph could answer Ella did it for her.

"Ella." She answered, feeling her forehead for any bumps. It was throbbing. "Oww." She groaned, "Steph, please tell me the insurance papers went through on the fourth attempt."

Steph laughed as she knelt down next to John to help her to sit up. "You took quite a knock there honey. You feeling ok?"

"A little shaken, but other than that I'm good." She picked at the front of her shirt. "What's this down the front of me?"

"Umm, that would be my fault." Ella looked round to the man she could only assume had been the cause of her hitting the floor. "It's coffee. I'm really sorry." He took her arm, and with Steph's brought her to her feet.

"Maybe I should do the polite thing and introduce the pair of you. Ella you'll recognize him one you gain consciousness again. This is John Cena, Raws newest trade."

Upon another look Ella recognized him instantly. She rubbed at her forehead as they shook hands, "This how you meet all the girls?"

John blushed as Ella smiled; it hadn't been the reception he was expecting. "Only on the rare occasions. You know how it's like." He shrugged.

"Maybe you'll have to explain that to me some time, might learn something." Ella laughed despite the headache that was forming.

Steph watched the exchange before stepping in, "Alright then!" She laughed, "On with the introductions. John this is Ella Lewis our new creative producer."

"Let me formally say hello then Miss. Lewis." Again he shook her hand, "I'm really sorry about your shirt. Though I don't remember coffee being red."

Ella inspected the interesting mix of brown and red across her chest and cringed. What she really wanted to do was scream, what had once been a designer shirt, now resembled nothing more than a dishcloth. It was one of her best shirts, the reason for her wearing it for her first day. Instead she did the one thing she could do, especially after the day she'd experienced so far, laugh.

"Let's just say this isn't the first time this has happened today." Steph raised a curious eyebrow. Ella not being bothered to explain the tirade of events shot her a look that said she'd explain all later. "I think I'm going to try and find my office and change my shirt. They said my suitcase should be there by now."

"It's not there." Steph announced regretfully.

"What?"

"I came in not long after you. I had them take it over to the hotel. I'm really sorry Ella, I'm sure we can sort something out for you."

"No, no." John announced, stepping between the two women. "I'm responsible for half of this mess, so I should be the one responsible for fixing it. I can't have our new creative producer walking around like this. Leave it to me, you carry on and I'll find you!" With that John took off down the corridor leaving Ella quite worried as to what he'd return with.

"Well this wasn't how I planned to make my grand entrance." Ella admitted after both women stood in silence, having watched John disappear.

"Well sweetie you look like you've made a big impact. Come on; let's go find you some painkillers and a cup of coffee. You should be down in the ring with the bump you just took. You'll be giving these guys a run for their money soon!"

Steph made sure Ella's arm was linked firmly with her own, as she guided her to Ella's office. She wanted to make sure she was really ok, the last thing she needed was to have her new creative producer pass out because one of the superstars had bulldozed her over.

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John easily found them twenty minutes later. They were sat in Ella's office for the night, surrounded by the night's scripts and revisions. Steph was prepping her for the night's tasks ahead of her. Both women looked up from the scripts in their hands when John made his dramatic entrance.

"Well Miss. Ella, I Mr. Cena have managed to find a replacement shirt. Though it did take me a while, I found one!" Ella noted his change in persona, only minutes ago he had been quiet and serious. Now he was definitely more confident. "Ta da!" From behind his back he pulled a grey 'Chain Gain Solider' t-shirt.

Ella choked out a laugh, "Wow."

"Don't go thinking I got it cheap because it's my merchandise." He winked as he handed the cotton shirt to Ella. "I had to pay top dollar."

"I'm speechless." Ella rendered.

"What? You don't like it?" He feigned hurt as she held the shirt against his chest. "I think it'll be a perfect fit! I did stop by wardrobe, but the only women's clothes they had were boob tubes and bras. Didn't think they'd go down that well, though maybe with some of the male crew."

Ella stepped around her desk and took the shirt from John, "Thank you John." She held the t-shirt now against her own chest. "What do you think Steph?"

Steph beamed at her once intern. At that moment she was extremely proud. Though her time as her assistant of sorts hadn't been anything more than help with script revisions. Steph had been worried Ella would take the whole experience a little too hard. As much as Ella liked to deny it and attempt to hide it, Steph knew she struggled settling in with the creative team. They hadn't taken too kindly to someone who'd gone from the simple position of assistant, to production coordinator to a prominent member of the creative team in such as small period of time.

She'd seen the potential in Ella straight away, and couldn't understand how someone with a CV like hers would want to be an intern. But as Ella explained on her interview, her age had held her back from previous opportunities. Being only twenty-four when she got the job, Ella found herself in a new climate where companies wanted experience over talent and qualifications. Something Steph had been equally guilty of in the past. It was easier to high someone who knew what they were doing than someone going in blind.

But once she'd seen Ella's portfolio of work and her promo ideas she'd set about putting her plan into action. Which was why she'd kept Ella in Stamford, pushing her in with creative as soon as her internship was completed. To a job that really didn't exist, except for the simple reason of preparing her for the day she would go out on the road. Giving her the paperwork behind the tasks she'd complete on the road, it would give her a better understanding for the work and preparation that went into even the smallest idea.

Ella's impromptu appearance on the road happened sooner than Steph had expected. Andy who ran Smackdown's daily events was looking to scale down his workload. Steph was hoping to slot Ella in the gap he would leave covering their shows, while Nick continued working Raw. The plan had been to get Ella out on the road in the next couple of months to shadow Nick to get a feel for how things worked and for life out on the road. But back then when these ideas had been formulating in Steph's head there was no need to worry about dramatic cut backs and Nick's sudden behavior. It all had prompted Steph to push Ella into a role she knew she wasn't prepared for. All Steph could do was cross her fingers and hope Ella could handle it.

"So, you going to change?" Steph asked, not being able to stop herself from laughing at the grin on John's face as Ella nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll be back in a minute." Ella announced as she slipped out the door.

Once out of the room she was thankful the women's bathroom was not far from her office. Had it not been she was sure she would have got lost. Removing her shirt she looked at it sadly, crumpled in her hands. She remembered how painful it had been to fork over the money for it, especially when it was only a white shirt. But the v-neck, tailored capped sleeves, and the way it hugged her curves had meant she couldn't leave it on the hanger.

Knowing it was past all attempts of being saved, Ella took the brave decision. Not being able to witness herself throwing such an expensive shirt away, she turned her head and covered her eyes as she dropped it into the trashcan. Composing herself from mourning of her lost shirt Ella eventually slipped John's shirt over her head. Ella laughed as the large grey t-shirt swamped her. It was well over two sizes too big. Shaking her head she did the one thing she could think of. Reaching behind her back she gathered the loose material together and tie a knot at the back in an attempt to make it look like it should fit.

This was not how she remembered seeing herself earlier that morning, stood in front of the mirror in the hallway of her townhouse. Catching sight of her reflection in the mirror she decided to get her hair out of her face. She quickly tied her shoulder length dark brown hair into a messy bun, allowing her side fringe to hang over her eyes. She'd given up all hope of looking presentable.

She'd left the house looking ready for business in her black suit, which she'd spent hours agonizing over. It was a cropped black, three quarter length jacket with tailored cropped trousers. Thinking of her white shirt again she looked to the bin, the sight pained her. Set off with a pair of pointed toed black heels, Ella had believed nothing could have gone wrong as she stood in the hallway of her home waiting for the taxi. How wrong she could've been, she looked far from the professional woman who'd left her house that morning.

"So what do you think?" Ella asked tentatively, as she stepped back through the door. What she failed to mention was that she'd been pacing outside the door for the past five minutes. The nerves that had evaded her all day were finally rearing their ugly head.

"You know what Steph?" John remarked as he gave Ella a once over glance, finishing with a wink that caused her to blush. "I think she's going to fit in just about right around here."

Steph reciprocated John's smile, "I think you're right John."

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The saying 'being thrown in at the deep end' was lost on Ella. To say it was a slight understatement was foolish. She was in the deep end, and then some. Since the moment she'd stepped foot out of her office for the start of the night she hadn't stopped. Steph assured her she would be with her at all times while Ella took over the running of the promos.

"I'll be with you every step of the way. Just do what you think is right and go from there. You can't do anything wrong. Chill, deep breath, it'll all be fine. I promise." Steph assured her once more with a pat on the shoulder.

Ella, taking Steph's advice took a deep breath hoping it would do some good. This was a live production, if anything went wrong it would fall onto her. This was definitely a lot more than she could have ever imagined. She rubbed at her forehead; her third headache of the day was already forming.

"Ok, that's a wrap." Ella shouted as the cameramen started to dismantle their equipment, getting ready to more onto the next location. "Get this tape out and down to the directors as soon as possible please."

Ella had her head burrowed in the script for the next promo she was to watch over. Making her way down the hallway she followed the feet of the cameraman in front of her. She nearly screamed when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder.

"You should be more careful about where you're walking."

"What, so you don't run into me again?" Ella grinned up at the sheepish face of John Cena; she quickly looked down at his hands. "Good, you're not carrying any hot liquids."

"I'm not going to live that down am I?"

"Well you did make quite an impact."

He held his hands up in surrender, "Well I must say you're looking very good in that t-shirt." Ella had forgotten she was wearing his merchandised t-shirt. "I hear you're doing a good job, how's it going?"

Ella laughed, "So far so good. Two down and only three more to go." She looked down at the script she'd been reading over. "And it looks like you're next."

"The one and only John Cena at your service."

Before Ella could reply, Eric Bischoff who was hell bent on making his presence known, stopped her.

"Right, let's get this done! I've got other things to do."

Ella was intimidated, but she wasn't about to show it. So far everyone she'd come across had warmed to her and been extremely helpful. A sharp contrast to the team back in Stamford. Though Ella had the nagging feeling it had something to do with the fact Steph had been lurking in the shadows on all of her promos.

Eric brushed past her, knocking her hard into John's chest.

"Excuse you!" Ella brushed down the front of her shirt. She glared at Eric for he hadn't even acknowledged her.

John held onto her shoulders forcing her to focus on him, "You alright?" He asked her, Ella nodded her head in response. "Don't worry, he's not all bad." He saw the scowl flash across her face. "Well, not most of the time anyway."

Ella took another deep breath; the trick that she'd learnt earlier now wasn't working. She attempted to count to ten but got lost half way, giving up in a fit of frustration.

What on paper had meant to be a quick promo, involving Eric being bitter over Eugene winning Kurt Angles invitational. Turned out to be a stressful and eventful shoot taking longer than originally intended. It started when the cameraman discovered he had the wrong film and needed to trek over to the other side of the arena for the change of film.

"Everyone got their new scripts?" The lineman called out. John nodded as he handed his script to Ella while Eric turned to glare at the lineman.

"What new scripts?" He asked pointedly, "Who advised these revisions?"

Ella cleared her throat before she spoke up from behind the papers she held in her hand, "I made them."

"Who might you be?" Eric turned his pointed look at Ella, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm Ella Lewis, creative producer." She tried to put on her best confident stance, she was sure the cracks were showing.

"There was no need."

"Excuse me?"

"What don't you understand? There was no need for any changes whatsoever."

"It wasn't working. I have the authority to do so, so I changed them." Ella refused to look at him, he may have played an egotistical power driven character on TV, and a big name in wrestling. But she wasn't about to let him push her around either. Yet if she were to look up at him she was sure her strong resolve would break instantly.

"This is ridiculous! Anything else you would like to change tonight? Some of the matches perhaps? Or shall I tell everyone to be on guard for a whole shift of schedule? It'll be the whole goddamn show next!"

Ella had plenty of patience; she was the youngest of four and a multitude of nieces and nephews to contend with. But it was becoming extremely thin at that moment, "It's not my fault you didn't read your script revisions."

"Young lady, I did not receive any revisions."

"They were sent to your office over an hour ago."

"Well I don't see any revisions in my hands, do you?" He gave her a snide once over, "For a producer you could have chosen a more," he paused for another look. "Appropriate attire." He thrust his copy of the previous script in Ella' face. Her laid back persona was well and truly taking a beating.

Taking such a deep breath leaving her dizzy, Ella bit her lip as she debated throwing her clipboard at his head. But with Steph about wandering in and out of her sets it didn't seem like a wise decision. Ella clenched her teeth choosing silence over opening her mouth; anything that came out now would surely land her in hot water.

"Never mind," Eric said giving up on a response from Ella. "Someone around here will have the common sense to do their job properly. They might even do as they're told, unlike the idiots here who think they know what they're doing!" Eric looked pointedly at her again before taking a step closer, too close for Ella's liking. "We'll do the script I have here in my hands and that's final! Hopefully if you have any common sense in you, you'll make sure next time everything is done properly. That is if there is a next time."

John had witnessed Eric lose it with new people backstage before. But none of those outbursts compared to the one he was witnessing now. It was all over something as trivial as a simple script revision. He was ready to put himself between the two and made a step forward to interrupt the silent exchange, but a movement at the back of the room caught his eye. Looking up he saw Steph; she'd come in halfway through Eric's tirade. She was keeping a watchful eye over events, she signaled for John to back up. He nodded and against what his head was telling him to do he stepped back.

Steph wanted to see how Ella would cope under this outburst. It wasn't unknown for some of the superstars and crew to throw their weight around. Those working backstage had to keep a strong backbone. She knew Ella was guilty of being laid back. Steph could only wonder how far back it went until she would be pushed to her limit.

The way she was grinding her teeth, Ella was positive there would be nothing left of them once she was done filming this promo. She was happy when Eric let go of his glare and turned his back on her.

"If Nick was here then at least things would be running a lot smoother. He knew how to do the job! Unlike the crap they seemed to have pulled in to replace him."

It was then Ella's patience snapped. She'd had enough.

"Right!" She slammed her clipboard down on the table beside her, causing the whole room to jump in shock. "I don't know what gives you the divine right to talk to me like this! It is not my damn fault you don't check you desk for any script revisions."

Eric opened his mouth to argue but Ella cut him off.

"Don't say you didn't get it because I put that damned thing on your desk myself. It is your responsibility to check these things! I don't give a shit about what you think about me! What I do know is that Nick is gone! He was doing his job and work no justice! So I expect someone like you to give me a little respect walking into a situation like this!"

Ella ran a hand through her hair, "I may not know what I'm doing but you could at least give me some goddamn patience here! So now if you're done throwing your toys out of the pram and your temper tantrum is over, we can carry on. Mind you though, your tantrum is in strong competition with the one I witnessed this morning. Though he was five, exactly how old are you?"

Ella expected him to hurl more abuse or storm out. But what he did next threw Ella and the rest of the room off guard. He smiled.

"You know what? I like you kid, you've got balls. Which is a lot more than could be said about Nick. It's something I'm sure he never actually possessed." Eric extended his hand to Ella. She didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or not. "Eric Bischoff." Ella accepted his handshake, unsure as to what had actually just happened. "Welcome to on the road with the WWE."

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Thankfully the rest of the filming went without concern. There were a few bumps during a scene with Kane and Lita. A fit of giggles on Amy's part had seen the rest of the crew in tears of laughter. Filming had been delayed for a good twenty minutes before anyone could continue. But now filming was over and all tapes had been sent to the directors for that nights show. For Ella's first few weeks her promos were going to be filmed before Raw started to allow her time to get used to the job. Steph was sure throwing her live promos every Monday night would send Ella into a panic.

Ella felt like she could finally breath. The night was far from over – she still had to make sure things went smoothly backstage with promo queues and any stray threads that needed tying. She was quite intrigued to see how John's performance would pan out. His CD had been floating around the offices for quite some time but she'd yet to hear any of it.

Steph finally caught up with her later that night sat up on several stacked crates. Her head rested against the pillar next to her, her eyes closed. Steph could see she was fighting the tiredness from the day that'd been. Going against the urge to jump from behind scaring her, she went with the option that would cause the least noise. She placed a hand on Ella's shoulder.

Ella stirred from her daze, "What, huh. Oh hi Steph." She rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"How's it going El?" Steph jumped up on the crates with her. "I must say, from what I've seen this evening Ella you're doing far better than what I imagined. You've taken to this so well!"

Ella blushed bashfully, she wasn't used to compliments.

"Thank you. I thought I'd fall apart at the seams at times. I'm sure you've heard." Ella said referring to her altercation with Eric.

Steph nodded, "I heard. I was impressed with how you handled him. He's not usually that shitty."

"That's what John said."

"He likes to feel people out, sadly that's how he feels it best to get the desired result. I thought you'd nail him." Steph looked down at her watch, "Wow, today has just flown by."

"It has." Ella laughed sneaking a look at Steph's watch. Her day had been more than eventful, what she wanted more than anything was to go to her hotel and sleep.

As if reading her mind Steph instructed her to head off, "You can head to the hotel if you'd like?"

Despite wanting to go Ella declined, "No I'll stick around, in case there's something that needs doing."

"I think you should head off Ella. You've had a long day, I can cover things here."

Ella let out a yawn, "Are you sure? I don't mind."

"I know, and I'm thankful. But I really think you need your sleep." Steph ushered Ella to her office. "Now let's get your stuff together. I'll make sure there's a cab waiting for you outside."

Ella watched her walk off before she entered her office to collect her personal belongings and files. She was looking forward to having a long overdue lie in the next morning, knowing she wouldn't be needed until later the next afternoon. She was in need of a long hot shower, even though she'd lost the shirt she still smelt like coffee and cherryade.

As she stepped out of her office she checked her satchel again to make sure she had everything with her. She didn't want a repeat of the morning's events, by leaving something important behind. Searching for her cell phone she started on her way out of the arena.

That was until she hit something very solid and ended up hitting concrete for the second time that day.

Ella groaned as she rubbed her forehead, it was becoming to be a familiar sensation.

"Oh God, is this how all you guys greet people?"

"Huh?" Came the confused voice from above her.

Ella looked up at the person who she'd run into. She laughed as she took his hand as he helped her to her feet. "It's a long story."

"I'm really sorry." He apologized, "I wasn't looking where I was going. Can I help you out? I assume that's where you were heading wasn't it?"

Ella nodded as she brushed down the front of her trousers, taking her fallen bag and folders from the man in front of her. "Thank you, I'll be alright. I've been through worse today, trust me."

He smiled, most women he knew, if not all would be throwing some kind of a fit about now. "I see you're a Cena fan then?" He noted looking down at the shirt she had on.

She too looked down at the shirt before back at him, "Hmm, should I be looking for any other wrestlers merchandise to wear then?" She had already noticed he was dressed in his wrestling gear, thankful he had on a t-shirt. Their conversation would be playing out a lot differently had his chest been bare.

The laugh that came from his throat enticed Ella, "Not sure, but for the record that Cena." His voice turned to a whisper as he leant down to whisper into her ear, "He's a little lame. You ought to aim higher, I'm better."

Ella grinned, "Are all you guys back here this competitive and egotistical?"

He shrugged with a smirk on his face; he liked this woman's approach. "I you want me to be honest, yes."

"I'll have to keep it in mind." She winked turning to leave.

"I didn't catch your name." He stated, calling her back.

"I didn't say it." She said stepping back up to him, "It's Ella, Ella Lewis."

They shook hands; Ella couldn't get over how small her hands looked in comparison to his.

"I'm Dave Batista."

"I know." She said with a smile, which must have been catching because one soon spread across his face. "It was a pleasure meeting you Dave, hopefully next time won't hurt as much."

Ella gave him a wave as she turned hitching her bag onto her shoulder, moving in the direction of the back entrance she'd come through earlier that afternoon leaving him to watch her as she disappeared out of sight. It was definitely an interesting end to an already eventful day. If one thing she'd learnt from her first day on the road with the WWE, was to take every precaution not to end up on the floor when meeting new people. Either that or make sure wherever it was she landed was somewhere soft. With a content sigh she sunk into the backseat of the awaiting cab, looking very much forward to what the following weeks would bring her.