"You told him what?"
Steph rolled her eyes. "You heard me, I told him it was a mistake and that it shouldn't happen again."
John just gaped at her,
not believing his ears. "But the entire plan was to make him
realise he liked you... he kissed you and clearly wanted something to
happen and you blow him off by telling him it was a mistake.
That it shouldn't happen again."
He frowned at her. "Are you sure you're feeling alright
Stephy?"
Stephanie frowned. "You just don't get it John.
I like him, alright, I do. But... I'm just so scared."
"Scared of what?" John asked gently.
Stephanie stared up at him fearfully. "Scared of what my father will do if he finds out. He'll go nuts John. Even if he loves Paul.. it's still... I'm still his daughter and no matter who it would be it's gonna look bad y'know? What if he tells Paul he'll bury him if he sees me?" Stephanie held her head in her hands. "I don't want to jeoparadise Paul's career John.. because I know if it came down to his career or me he'd choose his career, and that would break my heart."
John sighed in frustration, running a hand over his short hair. "Steph, I understand that alright? But just think for a second... if you two start seeing each other and God forbid you guys fall in love, do you really think he's gonna pick his career over you?" Stephanie made a face. "I'm serious! You don't realise how crazy he is about you. I see him looking at you and it's the same way you look at him and God," John ran a hand over his tired eyes. "You're both just being stupid. I can understand his reason for not dating you but for you guys to have kissed already and you're not even taking advantage of it-"
"Stop it! John, just stop it." Stephanie got to her feet hurriedly, grabbing all the folders and files in her arms before rushing towards the door. "This conversation is done and I'm already late for a meeting with my father, so goodbye." She slammed the door on her way out, causing John to sigh. He knew he'd upset her, but hopefully by the time her meeting was over and she'd settled in at the arena, he'd be able to talk some sense into her. Living the life of a billion dollar princess was never fun.
Stephanie rushed through the seemingly empty hallways, trying her hardest not to drop the dozen ring binders in her arms. She was almost at the door to the board room when she felt her foot connect with something solid and before she could even realise what was happened, her files went flying out of her hands to land on the floor and her entire being went crashing down with them. She felt her chin smack none too kindly off the floor and she bit her lip to stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She lay there for a moment, letting her body absorb the impact, before she sat up and glanced at the offending footrest that had tripped her up. The sheer humiliation of her fall combined with her and Paul's kiss the previous week and John's angry reaction had left her a confused and frustrated mess, and before she knew what was happening she was sitting in the middle of an empty corridor bawling her eyes out.
This was the sight Paul came upon as he rushed to the meeting he was already late for. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Stephanie there. He hadn't been able to get her off his mind the whole week. Joanie had noticed he'd been acting weird and when she'd called him out on it, he'd gotten snappy with her and they'd ended up in an argument. He couldn't forget that kiss... how good she felt in his arms. He suddenly noticed she was crying and putting two and two together he realised she must have fallen and hurt herself. He walked forward silently and didn't say a word until he was crouching down beside her and touching her face gently.
"You okay beautiful?" She jerked away at his touch before relaxing when she realised it was him.
"I'm fine." She wiped at her tears and let out a shaky laugh. "It's silly. I tripped and fell and now I'm sitting here crying my eyes out feeling sorry for myself."
"Are you hurt?" His brown eyes gazed at her in concern, and she found her attraction for him growing by the second.
"No," She whispered, her insides squirming as he placed a hand on her cheek and touched it gently. "I'm okay, I'm just having a bad day."
"Another one of those." He smiled slightly. "I think I know how to make you feel better." He saw how her eyes widened and cursed inwardly as she pulled away from his touch.
"Paul, we really shouldn't go down that road." She started gathering up the papers, tears still fresh on her cheeks. He helped her pick up all her things but kept them out of her reach when she asked for them, causing her to frown. "Paul, we're already late as it is, my father might come out here looking for us soon, don't you think he'll find this a bit odd?"
"I don't care." She opened her mouth in shock. "Steph, look, I know this is complicated and it's kinda out of the blue but I really think we need to talk about this."
Stephanie bit her lip, unable to deny those puppy dog eyes pouting at her. "Look, can we just get tonights show over with please? It's been a stressful few days and I really just wanna wait till I'm back at my hotel relaxing before I get into all this."
Paul frowned, knowing that if he waited till they were back at the hotel, too many people would be prowling around - namely John and Joanie - and they wouldn't get the private time they needed. Knowing it was better than nothing however, he turned his frown into a smile. "Thank you. All I ask is that we talk things over."
She smiled at him and held out her one free hand. "Now can we at least get to this meeting."
Paul shook his head and instead took all her items from her hands. "Allow me." He nodded towards the door and Stephanie wiped at her cheeks again to make sure there were no lasting tear drops. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and walked smartly into the room, Paul at her heels. "Sorry I'm late Vince, I dropped my things and Paul helped me pick them all up."
Vince shot them a slightly annoyed look. "That's okay Stephanie, why don't both of you have a seat." He took a second glance at his daughter when he noticed how puffy and red her eyes were. He frowned. He'd known his daughter for 23 long years now and he knew fine well when she had been crying. He made a mental note to ask her about that later. "We were just discussing latest ratings and different rumblings going down in WCW."
Stephanie gazed around the room trying to find a place to sit seeing as her normal spot beside her father was currently being occupied by Mark Calloway, who shot her an amused yet apologetic smirk. She knew there was only two seats left in the room and both of these were next to Joanie Laurer, who was staring pointedly at her boyfriend. Not wanting to put herself in that situation, she suddenly caught sight of Tori who was sitting on a crate at the other end of the room with Sean and Jesse. Deciding she didn't care whether or not it was business-like, she crossed the room and threw her stuff down before hopping up and pulling out her notepad after giving Tori a quick hug.
Vince stared at her in disdain before resuming his meeting. Paul had already taken a seat next to Joanie but he wasn't listening, instead he was just staring at Stephanie, who was pretending to be interested and taking notes but in all actuality she was just thinking about an excuse she could give Paul later that night to get out of talking to him. Maybe she could convince John to take her out clubbing or something. God knows she needed a break.
"What do you think of that Paul?" Paul glanced at Vince in surprised, not believing that on the one day he wasn't paying attention, Vince decided to ask him about his topic of discussion. Paul sat there blankly, trying to think up an answer that wouldn't give away the fact he hadn't really been paying attention. He glanced to Joanie, who just gave him a look of disdain. Thankfully, he was saved from answering by the arrival of Shawn Michaels, who suddenly burst in the door, a goofy grin on his face, and waved to everyone in the room.
"What's happening guys?" He caught sight of Vince and winked. "Sup boss, how ya been?"
Vince just stared at Shawn in shock, not believing what he was seeing. Paul sprung up instantly and went to his friends side. "Come on Shawn, let's get you some water or somethin."
"Hunter!" Shawn happily let Paul lead him out of the room. He glanced back and shot Vince a look of apology before catching Stephanie's eye. Not caring who saw, he winked at her. "How you been man?"
Paul dragged Shawn through the arena till they came to the parking lot. He sat Shawn down on the curb and went to his rental and pulled out a bottle of water he knew he had stashed away in there somewhere. He came back and gave Shawn the bottle before crouching down till he was eye-level with his old friend. "Shawn, what have you taken?"
Shawn just stared at him for a few moments before chuckling. "What are you talking about man? Vince told me to come down so I could have a segment with you and Stephanie, you have to tell me what's going on with you two by the way." He wriggled his eyebrows at Paul suggestively. "So here I am, what's the big deal?" Paul could tell just by his friends eyes that he had taken something and was still on a high because of it.
"Shawn, let's get you back to my locker-room okay?" Shawn rolled his eyes but stood up with Paul anyway. As he stood up, his left leg buckled underneath him and he fell, taking Paul down with him. Paul grit his teeth in annoyance as Shawn roared with laughter next to him. Eventually Paul was able to get him up onto his feet as he half-walked, half-dragged him back to the McMahon-Helmsley locker room. He deposited Shawn on the couch and then just a split second later Stephanie burst into the room, out of breath from running so fast.
"Have to, get him out of here." She panted, bending over slightly to try curb her breathing. "Dad, pissed. Don't want him, seeing Shawn, like, this." She took a deep breath and fanned her face. Running in heels and a short leather skirt was not the best decision on her part.
"Shit." Paul glanced back at Shawn, who had taken a keen interest in Stephanie's legs, and then back to Stephanie. "I can't let him drive back on his own, he might kill himself." He glanced at his watch and sighed. "And I'm due on air within the hour, I'll never get to the hotel and back in time."
"Paul, just take him outside for a while." Stephanie pleaded. "He'll be in so much trouble if my father finds out he's taken something, he made a total fool out of himself back there."
"I know." Paul ran a hand through his hair. "Shit." He noticed that Shawn had kinda zoned out, still staring at Stephanie. "I'll go talk to Vince, just watch him okay? I'll be right back." Stephanie had opened her mouth to protest but he had already walked out the door. She turned back to Shawn and gave him a nervous smile, which he returned rather quickly.
"So, Stephanie," He drawled out the last syllable in her name. She didn't find it attractive. "How have you enjoyed working with Hunter?"
Paul caught sight of Vince talking with Jim Ross a little way up ahead. He sped up his walk and tapped Vince on the shoulder, hoping to get Vince away quickly before he left Shawn and Stephanie alone for too long. He knew Shawn could get kinda frisky when he was on a trip. "Vince, can uh, can I talk to you for a sec?"
Vince nodded as JR walked away. "What can I do for you Paul?"
"Well, I actually have something to talk to you about, something pretty serious." Paul said, thinking the right words to say to try get Shawn out of deep shit.
"Is this about the Stephanie thing?" Paul just stared at Vince in confusion. "Are you finally going to talk to me about this?"
"What Stephanie thing?" Paul frowned, wondering if she had maybe said something to her father. "What are you talking about?"
Vince stared at him suspiciously, but Paul didn't have time to be wondering. "Look, it's about Shawn, he's out his face. Absolutely wrecked, I need to know if there's anyway you can get him to the hotel without him hurting himself."
Vince sighed. "I suppose I'll have to won't I." He gazed at Paul curiously. "Tell me the truth Paul, should I let him work tonight, or should I send him home?"
Paul shook his head straight away. "Send him home sir, he's in no condition to be out there tonight. His wife's probably at home worried sick about him."
Vince sighed heavily. "I'll have a limo pick him up in ten minutes, make sure no-one sees him as you take him outside... this is the last thing we need getting out." Paul went to walk away when Vince called him back.
"I would like to know later why my daughter was crying earlier." Paul just stared at him, not knowing how to respond. "I'll be in my office later if you wish to have a chat."
Paul was worried about what Vince could possibly wish to talk about, but he couldn't dwell on that right now. He realised too late that leaving Shawn with Stephanie was probably a bad idea the moment he walked through the door and saw the deep flush on Stephanie's cheeks and the hostile way in which she stood near the door - as far away from Shawn as possible - with her arms folded across her chest.
"There you are." Paul could hear the relief in her voice and felt bad for abandoning her. "I think it's time he went home."
"Tell your wifey to lighten up a bit Hunter." Shawn said with a roll of his eyes as he got to her feet. "You'd think McMahon's would have a bit more sense of humour, but they're all the same."
"Shawn," Paul said warningly. "Shut up and let's go."
"Tell me Hunter, is she a good fuck?" Shawn glanced at her up and down. "She seems like it, although Greenwich bitches are probably too high up for the likes of us huh? Is that why you feel the need to hide the fact you guys are together?"
Paul couldn't help the surge of rage that coursed through his veins. "Shut the fuck up and get out Shawn." He said through gritted teeth.
"I mean, I don't blame you, I'd bang the bosses daughter if I had the chance-" Paul couldn't control his fists as he decked Shawn with one punch.
"You shut up!" Paul roared, rearing back to hit him a second time. "You shut your goddamn mouth Michaels!"
Shawn stared up at him in shock. "Dude, what the fuck? I was only messing with ya."
"Apologise to Stephanie." Paul spat. "Now."
Shawn shot Stephanie a dirty look. Him and Paul had never had a fight like this. Especially over a woman. "No."
Paul's fists clenched in anger. "Say it or I'll-"
"You'll what Levesque?" Shawn's eyes flashed dangerously. "Deck me again? I dare you to even try cuz I'm ready this time."
Paul opened his mouth to retaliate when Stephanie stepped in between them. "That's enough, both of you. Shawn, I think you should go." Shawn shot her a look of loathing.
"I don't do anything you tell me to do princess." Shawn spat, glaring at her with pure venom. "So back the fuck off and stay out of this."
"That's it." Paul grabbed Shawn by the neck and threw him out the door. "You come back here when you've learned some manners." Shawn got to his feet hastily and glared at Paul evily.
"I dunno what the hell she's done to you man, but get rid of her, she'll be nothing but trouble anyways." He sneered at her as Vince and other WWF personell came round the corner. "McMahon's always are."
"Get him out of here." Vince ordered security, who instantly pounced on Shawn and escorted him out the building. Vince turned to glance at Paul, who was looking livid, and Stephanie, who was looking upset but mostly concerned as she took Paul's hand in her own. The two were unaware of anyone else as Stephanie enquired after his well being and Paul did the same for her.
"He didn't try anything with you did he?" Paul asked, gazing into her baby blues with deep concern.
Stephanie smiled slightly and shook her head. "No. I think he's just pissed off that you didn't find him funny when he came in all wasted."
Paul was gonna ask if they could maybe talk now but he noticed Vince approaching them out the corner of his eye. "You two okay?"
Stephanie turned to her father and nodded. "We're fine daddy, Shawn and Paul just had a little argument." Vince stared over at Paul in surprise. "I'm sure they'll sort it later tonight."
Paul wasn't so sure. He hadn't exactly liked the anger he felt hearing Shawn insult Stephanie, but he knew it would be hard to forgive his friend after the things he'd said. "Yeah Vince, I'm sorry to cause a scene but he wouldn't leave."
"That's alright." Vince was a busy man, and he had things to do, but he would get to the bottom of this by the end of the night. "We'll discuss this later Paul, after the show. But right now, Stephanie, can I speak to you for a minute? It's rather important." Stephanie shot Paul a confused look as she let her father lead her down the hallway. Paul watched her go with a heavy heart hoping that Vince didn't do something drastic.
The last thing I need is him cancelling our storyline. He thought with a bitter sigh. Then I'll never have an excuse to get close to her.
