"Ugh! Idiots!" Stephanie groaned as she closed her phone and slammed it on the desk.

Trish looked up from her magazine and frowned. "What happened?"

Stephanie shook her head and folded her arms on her desk, burying her head in it as she muttered, "I'm so dead."

Trish frowned and casually flipped the page, looking at its contents. "What happened, Steph?"

Popping her head up, Stephanie answered, "Lesner's a no-show tonight."

Trish's eyes widened and she looked at her best friend. "Why? I thought we had that big mixed tag match tonight?!?"

Stephanie nodded her head. "We did. See the problem?" Stephanie lowered her head again. "My dad's gonna kill me. He's gonna fire me and kick me to the streets."

Trish rolled her eyes. "He's not going to kick you to the streets," she said. Then she thought about it for a moment before adding. "He might put you in an unfair match in the public in front of millions just to humiliate you..." Stephanie looked at Trish in shock. "But he won't kick you to the streets," she quickly added.

Stephanie shook her head and groaned as they heard a knock on the door. "What?" Stephanie yelled.

The door quickly opened and John stuck his head in. "Uh…is this a bad time?"

Stephanie went back to her laptop. "Yes…go away."

John shot Trish a questioning look, but she only shook her head and signaled for him to come in. He did so, closing the door, but Stephanie completely ignored him, going about her work.

"What can Stephanie do for you, Cena?" Trish asked sweetly.

John looked at Trish, then at Stephanie hoping to get a reaction, and when he got none, he looked back at Trish. "Well…I heard that Brock Lesner was a no show, so I was hoping that maybe I could prove myself some more to…" he turned and looked at Stephanie. "…you."

Stephanie looked up from her computer and at John and saw that he was serious. She sighed and folded her hands, leaning back in her chair. "You're serious?" John nodded and Stephanie shot Trish a questioning look, but she only shrugged. "You're willing to go against Chris Benoit and Torrie Wilson?"

John nodded. "Yeah. Benoit is the real deal. If I beat him, then that's two huge Smackdown superstars, back to back!"

Stephanie shook her head. "I don't have a script."

John waved his hands. "No need. I'm a freestyler and I know Benoit won't have any problem following. I'll make sure we get those fans on their feet."

Stephanie considered the idea for awhile before she finally nodded, sitting up straight. "Alright, I'll let you take Brock's place. You and Trish will team up, so get to know each other. We go live in two hours, so if you want to rehearse, I suggest you do so."

John smiled at her as Stephanie stood up. "Thank you, Stephanie."

"It's Ms. McMahon," Stephanie told him.

Trish giggled as John blushed. "Right…sorry."

"And I'm warning you, Cena," Stephanie continued. "If you fuck this up, even in the slightest…it's your career."

John nodded. "Trust me, boss. You won't be disappointed."


Trish closed the door behind her as she turned and watched John unpack some of his clothes and place them in the locker. "So," Trish started. "That was a pretty brave thing you did."

"What?"

"Throwing yourself in a match with Chris Benoit? He's a great guy…but gets caught up in the matches a lot."

John nodded. "I figured."

Trish watched him closely and smiled. "You like her, don't you?"

John turned to Trish. "Who?" he asked nonchalantly.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Stephanie." John blushed slightly and cleared his throat as Trish giggled.

"That obvious?"

"Yes, but if I were you, I'd back off."

John frowned. "Why?"

"John…I'm Steph's best friend," she told him. "One, she is our boss; two, you're new. Like it or not. Three, you still have yet to prove yourself to this company and Stephanie especially. Believe it or not, this is a hard job. Yes, it's fun, but people walk out all the time. Brock is an example. Four…have you met her father?"

John chuckled slightly. "Look, thanks for the advice…but I don't give up that easily."

"I'm not telling you to give up, John," she said. "I'm saying to be careful."


Chris lifted John off the mat and slammed him back into, back first. John's head snapped back and the mat as well. Groaning and hissing in pain, he rolled over on his side and grabbed his head, tucking it under for protection. He heard the roar of the crowd but found that the shock blocked most of it. He felt arms wrap around his waist and pull him back up, just to get hit in the face. As he staggered backwards, he felt a presence behind him. A strong kick in between the legs knocking John to the mat in pain. His vision became blurry as someone began to pound on his back to keep him down. He attempted to get up, only to get kicked in the stomach and brought back down.

In the back, Stephanie was watching the match closely near the curtain with the other crew members. As she was doing so, her father came from office and quickly walked to over to her with a sense of purpose. "Stephanie."

Stephanie groaned inwardly at her father's stern tone. "What Dad?" she asked, her eyes still glued on the monitor, with slight agitation in her voice.

"What's this with Lesner not showing up?"

Stephanie shrugged. "I don't know, he just never came in."

"So you place a new guy with him?" Vince nearly shouted.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes. "You're the one who hired him." Vince rolled his eyes. "Besides, he came to me with the idea."

"Oh, did he?"

Stephanie nodded. "Yes…and because it was last minute and so short notice…I did what I had to do."

"He's getting his ass kicked!" he said, pointing at the monitor.

"Yeah, but the fans are loving it."

Her father blinked a few times before speaking. "Wait…you knew he'd lose?" Stephanie watched the screen, not answering her father, as John was put in the cross face. Vince grinned. "My daughter's a genius!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and finally faced him. "I did what's best for the fans. Putting Cena up against Benoit is blockbuster."

Vince waved his hand. "Steph, you don't have to explain to me. I completely understand. Good job."

Stephanie watched as her father walked away, whistling. As she turned her head back to the match, she saw John tap out, and Chris and Torrie winning the mixed tag match. Shaking her head sadly, she sighed and went back to her office.


Trish pressed the ice back to John's neck again, but he hissed and grabbed the pack, throwing it in the trash can. Trish watched him do so and sighed. "Are you alright?"

"I blew it," he said softly.

Trish rolled her eyes. "Please. You lasted against Chris for a long time, and you got his respect, which is something difficult."

John shook his head. "Doesn't matter. She said…"

"I know what Stephanie said, John," Trish said. "Just don't worry about that now, okay?"

"But…"

"I'll talk to her," Trish said, cutting him off. "You just go back to your hotel and relax."


Trish walked into the office and saw Stephanie sitting in her chair, thinking. "Hey."

Stephanie looked up. "Hey."

"Whatcha doin'?"

Stephanie pointed to the computer screen. "Going over Cena and Lesner's contract."

"He did good today, Steph."

Stephanie nodded. "He did great," she said monotone.

Trish frowned. "What's the problem then?"

"The problem is…I just lost Lesner to other national wrestling industry," Stephanie told her. "Now the ratings will fall and if we don't stay in a certain area of ratings, Smackdown will get dropped and we'll lose a lot of money and good talent."

"Steph, don't worry about that…"

"The Board of Directors is on my ass…so how?"

"You need some R&R," Trish told her.

Stephanie snorted. "Like I have time for that."

Trish grabbed Stephanie's hand and forced her to stand up and follow her. "Tell you what, we'll make some time."

Stephanie raised her eyebrow. "Where…?"

"Don't worry, but we'll have some fun."