A/N: Sorry, I left off with a cliffhanger last time, but all your questions should be answered within this chapter. I wrote most of this as a flashback, which continues from where chapter three left off. The italics is the flashback, in case you didn't know. Anyways, enjoy! Lots of surprises happen in this chapter!
It's been a full week now and Brad still couldn't get over what had happened when they last saw each other. Patricia has never left his mind all this time. As hard as he tried to keep her out of his thoughts, it seemed nearly impossible to do so. He couldn't stop thinking about her long, beautiful brown hair. The way it flowed like silk down her back on the days when she didn't have it up in a ponytail. He loved the black framed glasses that set gently atop the bridge of her nose, which she'd adjust often. She was never seen without her clipboard that he had grown very fond of, because it had saved him numerous times before. Her skirts and occasional dress pants always went well with her blouses of every color. Every little detail was carved into his mind and he just couldn't shake them.
It hurt for him to think about Patricia like this. He should just forget whatever feelings he may or may not have and move on. There's nothing he can do about it now, it's far too late. Brad didn't even know if his feelings were true or not. He knew he found her attractive, but to say that he actually liked her that way was quite a stretch. Hell, the only reason why he was even thinking about her like this was because of what happened last week. When they were sent to Vince's office because she had revealed her identity to the entire WWE Universe. That was the moment when everything had started to go downhill for him.
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After what seemed like forever, they had finally managed to reach the door to Vince's office. Brad lightly nudged her arm with his. "I'm right here... you'll be okay..." She nodded and knocked on the door. Mr. McMahon's voice called out to them, telling them to enter. They shared one last look before opening the door and entering the room.
Vince McMahon was sitting at his desk, hands clasped firmly in front of him, a squinted and stern look was directed at them. Brad had no clue whether that was a good sign or a bad one, but the stare was so hard it made him swallow nervously. He watched as Patricia came into view. She stepped forward, trying to appear confident and professional although her expression showed fear and sadness.
"Please, take a seat." Vince said in his usual gravelly tone, gesturing for them to do so before resuming his earlier position. The General Manager gave him a slight nod and a sheepish smile as he complied. Patricia did the same.
"I'm assuming you both know why I called you down here." Mr. McMahon stated and straightened his back, never dropping his cold gaze.
"We do, sir." Patricia replied quietly. Her voice was shaky which showed her obvious discomfort. She shifted slightly, but managed to keep eye contact with the boss. Brad nodded again, his eyes dropping to look down at his lap.
"Then you should already know what I'm going to say, correct?" Although his words were vague, the duo both knew what he was referring to. Patricia had slipped up and that would cost her big time. Maddox glanced over to her and saw that even though her head was held high, she was on the brink of tears. It tore him apart to see her like this. What normally was a shy and respectful girl was now on the verge of losing her job just because of one little mistake. She didn't deserve this. Brad knew he had to take a stand.
"Sir, I know a mistake has been made, but I can assure you that it wasn't her fault." He stood up, regaining confidence as he returned the cold stare he had been receiving earlier. "Patricia is an amazing assistant and honestly, I don't even think that RAW would be doing so well if it wasn't for her. It was not her fault for acting out, Vickie was egging her on! She had to take a stand for herself." He looked down and met her eyes. Although she was nearly in tears, she gave him a weak smile. Brad looked back at Vince. "If she were to leave, we'd all be lost without her." He had made his plea and now the only thing left to do was wait for a response. Mr. McMahon's eyes had slightly widened as he gave the GM a strange look. Vince then focused on Patricia, who kept her head down in shame.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding..." Mr. McMahon said slowly, eyeing the both of them weirdly. He motioned for Brad to sit down, but the general manager politely refused.
"You are correct, sir. You are the one misunderstanding this situation." Maddox continued on. Vince had a confused look on his face. "If you are thinking of firing Patricia, then I think you should really reconsider. She's one of the best-"
"Whoa, whoa. Slow down there, Maddox." Brad reluctantly stopped. He figured Vince was going to tell him that his words were useless, that he had already made up his mind.
"I never said anything about firing Patricia... I called you down here to tell you that I loved that segment you guys had! It was genius!" Brad and Patricia shared confused glances while their boss was all smiles.
"Of course, my initial intention was to keep her as a secret. No one was supposed to know about you having an assistant, but after what happened, it got me thinking. This could be a great idea!" The two were left speechless by the surprise as they listened to Vince ramble on. "That segment... that is what entertainment is all about! Patricia, you were spontaneous... you were on fire! Vickie... she had no-" He paused to chuckle. "she had no idea what was going on!"
"Y-You're not mad, sir? I disobeyed you.. I let the secret out..." Patricia was relieved because it seemed like her job was still intact. Still, she was confused.
"Not at all! I'll admit, at first I was very upset with you. You could have caused something disastrous to happen all because you couldn't control your temper." Her face flushed red. Brad kept looking back and forth between the two, not believing what he was hearing. "It all turned out fine in the end though. The crowd loved it! They loved you, Patricia."
"What do you mean?" Brad finally found his voice. Vince kept his eyes on her as he answered the question.
"I meant exactly what I said. After the segment, the crowd was cheering and chanting. They loved the drama and what you said to Vickie." Mr. McMahon smiled down at Patricia. Maddox felt a little hurt that he was being ignored, but that was usual for him. Also, he couldn't help but be happy that he wasn't going to have to find a new assistant. He's grown very fond of her lately.
"Really? They like me?" She asked, voicing her disbelief. Her tears had dried and a smile found it's way to her face. Vince stood up and threw his hands into the air.
"They were in awe! You were even trending on Twitter not too long ago." Brad's jaw dropped as he ran his hand through his hair. "What?"
"It's true! Brad's Assistant was trending worldwide. Many of the tweets were filled with nothing but admiration for how you stood your ground and of course, some were a little confused... but the main part is that they enjoyed it. Which is why I want you to play a bigger part in all of this. I want to give you screen time and more segments so we can develop a storyline!"
Now it was Patricia's turn for her jaw to drop. This was completely unexpected. Maddox had no idea what to think about all of this. She had one little TV appearance and already she was a bigger star than him! He couldn't help but feel jealous. It looked like she would be Vince's new favorite now... not that he ever was to begin with.
"Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. I promise I won't let you down." His assistant said as she stood up and eagerly shook Mr. McMahon's hand. Brad noticed the gleam and sparkle in her eyes as Patricia grinned. He smiled despite feeling left out. It was nice that she was going to get the recognition she deserved.
"Oh, I know you won't. All you have to do is keep being yourself." Vince seemed ecstatic for once and Brad was upset that it wasn't towards him. He knew he shouldn't play the victim, but he felt wronged here. For weeks now he's been trying to prove himself of being worthy and then there goes his assistant, sweeping their boss right off his feet for doing something she wasn't supposed to do. It didn't seem right.
A sharp knock on the door caused everyone to look up at once. Vince sighed and yelled, "I'm busy here!" There was shuffling heard outside. "It's almost time for your segment, sir!" said a voice that probably belonged to one of the crewmen. Mr. McMahon had a look of realization cross his face as he stood up quickly and brushed himself off. "I'll be right there!" He announced and footsteps could be heard scurrying off. Vince looked down to Patricia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll go over all the ideas I have planned out with you later. You're gonna do great, kid." He nodded at her before leaving the room, not even looking at Brad. Once it was just the two of them, Patricia jumped out of her seat with a huge grin.
"Isn't this great, Brad? I get to keep my job and not only that, I'm going to be on TV! Everything went better than expected." She said and giggled, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. He could only muster up a half-smile to give her. Patricia's glow dimmed at this.
"Aren't you happy for me?" She sounded worried now. Brad sighed, then tucked his hands in his pockets.
"Of course I'm happy for you! I was so scared that you almost lost your job..." He trailed off. "Looks like Vince has really taken a liking to you."
"I think he was just excited about the new storyline... He wasn't interested in me..." Patricia replied, giving him a little shrug. Brad shook his head in response.
"That's not true. He really does like you. Trust me. You're one of his favorites. He's proud of you." It hurt for him to say those words. It must be professional jealousy. Brad knew he was being stubborn for acting like this, but he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that she had done better than him. In Vince's eyes, she was great and he had confidence in her. It was the exact opposite for him even though he had been trying really hard.
"Brad, what's wrong? You sound upset... why?" Patricia was staring at him with squinted eyes and furrowed brows. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest.
"Nothing's wrong. You deserve your... promotion... You didn't even have to try, yet you impressed him..." Maddox let his eyes fall from hers, focusing on the ground instead. He jumped slightly when he felt her hand on his shoulder. He gazed up slowly to look at her.
"Are you mad at me? It's not like I planned for this to happen. I'm lucky that-"
"No, no. I'm not mad. I just... I wish I was in your position right now..."
"Wait, what?" Patricia let her arm fall to her side.
"Well, Vince obviously favors you over me." He said with sigh.
"That's... that's not true..." She blushed slightly and stared at his chest instead of his eyes. She looked lost in thought.
"It is true. I'm not trying to take anything away from you. You're amazing." Patricia smiled softly at that. "It's just that I've been trying so hard to impress him so he can stop doubting me and apparently everything I do is just never good enough." Brad didn't want to pour his heart out to her like this. She didn't need to worry about him when she should be celebrating. He seemed selfish and he felt like it too. He caved in though. Only because she had been looking at him with wonder in her eyes, so soft and caring, he wanted to tell her anything and everything at that moment. Thankfully, he had some self control and managed to hold back after that.
"I'm sorry for putting all this on you. It's not even your problem. I'm just sensitive, I guess." Maddox said quietly.
"It is my problem, Brad. You're my co-worker. My friend. I have to be concerned about how you feel." Patricia replied, looking him in the eyes. She fixed her glasses and he smiled.
"That doesn't mean I agree with you though. I'm sure Vince likes you, maybe he's just scared to admit it. Maybe he's trying to seem cool and act like he doesn't care. He should though because you are doing such a good job at being the general manager. It's not an easy job and you're doing great at it." Patricia said sweetly, blushing lightly from his stare. He still thought she looked cute when she did that.
"Thanks... I'm sorry for being such a downer." Brad replied, instantly feeling better. There was still a part of him deep down that knew Vince didn't like him by any means. Despite that, her words really cheered him up. Maybe it was the way she said it or maybe it was the way her eyes sparkled as she did so. Either way, he was happy again.
"It's fine, don't be sorry. Anytime you need to talk, I'm right here. You'll be okay." Patricia offered, squeezing his shoulder gently. Brad noticed that she had quoted him from earlier. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in.
"Brad, what are you-"
"Thank you, Patricia..." He felt her relax into his touch as she draped her arms around his neck. After a moment, they both leaned back, but Brad still kept his arms on her. He liked this feeling of holding her. He also liked how her lips were parted and how that sparkle never left her eyes. She left him breathless. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling began to wash over him. His eyes darted to her lips as his pulse began to race.
"Uhh, Brad..." She said quietly, blushing much like before.
"You're still so cute... and nice... and beautiful..." Maddox slowly tilted his head towards her own. Their foreheads touched gently as they stared into each other's eyes.
"I think I'm falling for you..." Brad let the words slip out before he could think. Patricia looked surprised and confused, but she made no move to push him away. It only lasted for a second, but he let his lips touch hers. She was frozen to the spot until he broke it off.
"Brad... I-I... we can't do this..." Patricia shook her head slowly and removed his arms from her. In an instant, he felt his heart drop to the floor. All that happiness from earlier had vanished and now he was left feeling like an empty shell. He messed up. He shouldn't have done that.
"You're a great guy and you're so sweet. I-I like y... no, no. This can't happen. What about our careers? What would Vince think? We can't..." Patricia said, looking anywhere but at him. She started to back up towards the door.
"Patricia..."
"I'm sorry, Brad." She said and left the room quickly.
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That was a week ago today and he was still not over it. Usually they would talk and hang out during their off days to discuss plans for RAW, but she's been ignoring and avoiding him this whole time. Three weeks. It took him three weeks to screw everything up. Brad wasn't even sure what all happened. He just jumped the gun and got lost in the heat of the moment. Patricia made him feel happy and wanted and he must have confused that for her having feelings for him. Now he walked down the empty hallway alone. He didn't even bother to try and look for her. Brad figured she'd want nothing to do with him. That kiss though. Her eyes went they parted. He could've sworn he saw something there. Apparently, he was wrong. He couldn't blame her though. It would be unprofessional for them to be together. Not only that, but now she was Vince's favorite and... well... he wasn't.
Maybe this needed to happen so he could get his emotions in check. Although he was upset, this also angered him because he shouldn't feel so bad about this. Sure, he got rejected, but they had only known each other for less than a month. What did he expect? For her to fall in love with him? Brad should learn from this. To not rush ahead into anything. He'd get over it soon.
Maddox lifted his head up and tore his gaze away from the ground. Just as he rounded the corner, he caught sight of the one person who'd been on his mind constantly. Patricia had noticed him too. They stared at each other for a moment. No one saying anything. No one moving. It was like time had froze. Brad could feel an ache in his chest as he looked at her. She had her ponytail done up, her glasses had slipped halfway down her nose, and she had her clipboard in hand. She looked as beautiful as ever. It was then that Brad realized everything he had said earlier had been a lie. He did care for her. He cared a whole damn lot... and he wasn't going to get over her anytime soon.
A/N: aaand that wraps up the fourth chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it! I also hope that you guys aren't too mad with me for what I did. I kind of played with your emotions a bit. Sorry! Haha. As always, reviews and favorites are welcomed! If you haven't followed yet, do that so you can keep up with the updates!