Chapter 7
"You act like I'm scum, even when I'm not treating you like shit." Jon accused, dropping back down in the metal folding chair because his knee still throbbed from putting too much weight on it. "Only recently have we started really getting along and now…" He trailed off and shook his head in disappointment. "I had thought maybe you'd see I'm not as bad as I seem."
"I didn't know you thought about me that way, Jon." Now she felt guilty for not paying closer attention to him. "You called me a whore this morning when you found me with another man. Do you know how badly that hurt me? It made me actually contemplate quitting and finding someone else to be a PA for in this company. You really hurt me this morning and last night. Yet, I'm supposed to see you as the good guy?" Sarcasm dripped in her tone with that last part and Eviana blinked tears from her eyes, refusing to let them fall in front of him.
"This morning was uncalled for." Jon admitted quietly, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. "So was the rest. I had no right treating you that way. I'm not asking you to see me as a good guy, Evie. I'm asking you to just see me. You've always kind of looked right through me, like I wasn't there. I know I'm just a job to you, but I wish you'd see me as more. Just like I should see you as something more than a person to take my frustrations out on when shit doesn't go my way."
Finally, he was being 100% honest with her, not sugarcoating a word and wanted Eviana to see how much he was willing to change to make this work between them. For the first time in a year since Eviana had been assigned to Jon, Eviana watched him pour his heart and soul out to her. She didn't know how to respond to it.
"I only looked past you because you disrespected me over and over again. To earn respect, you have to give it in return, Jon. You haven't done that with me until recently. You are my job, I don't deny that, but I would like to try to be your friend as well. As far as my personal life goes, if you ever – and I do mean EVER – call me what you did this morning I'm done. What I do with my personal life and who I spend my time with is none of your business. In return, I will try to stop looking past you and start treating you like a human being instead of an asshole, unless you disrespect me." She was willing to compromise with him and meant every word that came out of her mouth.
All Jon could do was nod, clasping his hands in front of him tightly. "Got it, Evie." He stood up and limped into the bathroom to get ready for the house show that night, needing a few minutes alone to recollect his thoughts. I blew it, he thought, gripping the sink tightly in his hands to try controlling his emotions.
Jon had been nursing a crush for Eviana and, instead of showing her how much he liked her, he reacted to it by treating her like garbage. From this moment on, he vowed to do everything in his power to prove to Eviana he wasn't a monster. He really cared about her and hopefully with time Jon could win her heart somehow, someway. Things between her and Bray wouldn't last, Jon was confident in that. Then again, he'd been wrong before.
After the bathroom door closed, Eviana finally allowed the unshed tears to spill down her cheeks, not believing what just happened. She had no idea how Jon felt because the man treated her so horribly, causing her to just look through him. Sighing deeply, Eviana started to wonder if maybe this relationship with Bray would work out or not, deciding she had to give it a shot. She wasn't about to call it off just because Jon had a revelation. If he truly meant what he said, he would prove it to her. Getting herself in check along with her emotions, Eviana sat down and began her work at the table, trying to push everything that happened with Jon in the far recesses of her mind.
Emerging from the bathroom a little while later after a quick shower, Jon had his jeans and black beater on, dropping his bag near the wall like he always did. He slowly walked over to where Eviana sat and looked over her shoulder, breathing her scent in. "How's it looking, Evie?" He asked quietly, dropping to one knee rolling his jean leg up and began wrapping his injured knee with the bandage, glad it started to feel a little better.
"It's looking good."
She looked down to meet his eyes and noticed Jon once again wasn't wrapping his knee correctly. Eviana decided to take control and took his hand, guiding him over to sit the metal folding chair. Without a word, she bent down and began wrapping his knee for him the right way, figuring that was probably why it hadn't healed faster. When she finished, Eviana put the brace on over it and stood up, tossing the empty roll of ace bandage in the trashcan.
"There, now it'll be sturdier for you in the ring."
Smiling appreciatively, Jon softly chuckled and eyed the wrap job she did on his knee. "Thanks."
"Maybe you should go see the masseuse and see if she can work out some of those kinks." While wrapping his knee, Eviana noticed how tight it was. "You have a signing tomorrow morning at 8, by the way." She informed him, biting back a smile at his groan.
"Oh you mean Meena? Maybe I should. Why don't you come with me? I'm sure she'd appreciate the company. She says I annoy her."
Jon didn't know about Eviana and Meena's friendship apparently, so this would be amusing. "Gee, I wonder where she got THAT idea from." She laughed softly and stood up to join Jon. "Come on, big baby. Let's go get your knee looked at and see if she can work out the kinks in it."
"She got that idea because I like practicing my promos on her." Jon admitted with a chuckle and led the way out into the hallway. "You haven't met Meena, have you?" Deciding to play dumb, Eviana shook her head and Jon grinned broadly. "She's a sweetheart, too damn nice for her own good though."
"Nope, can't say I have. I've heard nothing but great things about her though." Eviana lied smoothly, linking her arm through Jon's to make sure he kept his balance with his injured knee. "You like to spin those lame promos on her?" She laughed harder at the look on Jon's face and knew she'd hit a sore spot, but it was all in good fun.
"Well, I got to keep my mind off her magic hands." Jon defended, sounding only half-serious. Truth be told, Meena had caused his dick to jump in his pants on more than one occasion. "Just wait, she'll see you and find something wrong, than you'll know what I mean."
A few minutes later, they both walked into Meena's office and froze in the doorway, jaws dropped to the floor. Meena was straddled across Joe Anoa'i's lap, Jon's best friend, with their tongues shoved down each other's throats and his strong hands planted firmly on her backside. Joe groaned, their chests pressed together and he moved one hand around to start stroking her pant covered crotch, both of them lost in the moment not realizing they had an audience.
"Uh Meena?"
Meena nearly jumped off of Joe's lap, not expecting anyone to walk in her office since she was on a break. "Jon! You startled me!" She gasped, clutching her chest and turned to wipe her smeared gloss away from her mouth before gesturing him in. "Come to recite some more of those…" Meena trailed off, noticing a woman with Jon and fought the urge not to smirk. "You must be Eviana."
Chewing her bottom lip, Eviana already knew about Meena and Joe's relationship, hating they had intruded on an intimate moment. She looked down the hallway, noticing a lot of wrestlers and Divas had shown up early and smiled a little. "And you must be the infamous sweetheart of the WWE, Meena."
Jon looked back and forth between Joe and Meena, wondering when the hell this happened. "Everything alright?"
Joe raised a brow, wondering what Jon was doing here and then remembered his friend's injured knee, stepping aside to let Meena do her job. He wasn't leaving. Randy Orton had pestered her lately, pursuing Meena ever since she started in the company. Lately, things had escalated to dangerous heights between Meena and Randy. He wouldn't stand for it. They were opponents at WrestleMania earlier that year, Joe coming out the victor, much to Randy's vexation. After what he pulled on Meena, Joe couldn't wait to rip him apart limb from limb again.
"Famous sweetheart?" Meena echoed, looking genuinely amused and decided to keep their friendship a secret from Jon for now. She could read between the lines. "Hardly." She glanced at Jon and spotted his knee, pointing at the table. "You know what to do."
Jon hopped on the examine table and could tell Joe was tense, wondering why the big man's eyebrows were dropped nearly to his nose. "Everything alright, bro?"
"I'll talk to you about it later."
Meena decided a change of subject was in order before Joe's Samoan temper flared up again. It was the reason why she'd kissed him and they ended up in a heated passionate make out session in her office. "So Eviana, I've heard a lot about-" She stopped when Jon cleared his throat loudly, smiling sweetly in return and couldn't help thinking the pink tinge in his cheeks was adorable.
"No – no please, go on. What have you heard about me?" Eviana smirked at Jon blushing and crossed her arms in front of her chest, raising a curious brow. "You're a popular woman, Meena dear."
"Don't be fooled. She is a sweetheart." Joe stated with a smirk of his own, nodding his head secretly toward Eviana since he knew her friendship with Meena.
"Thank god…" Jon murmured, laying back to let Meena work her magic and glanced over at Joe again. "She's a saint."
"Not gonna argue with that, bro."
Removing his brace, Meena winced at the sight of Jon's heavily bruised and swollen knee. "That must hurt." She commented quietly and began massaging it carefully, taking her time to work the kinks out of it along with the tenseness. Finally, she just wrapped a warm cloth around his knee with salve on it to help with the swelling and pain. "Hold still for 10 minutes. I need a water." Meena glanced at Joe than Eviana, not wanting to go alone because of Randy lurking around the arena.
The mere thought of Jon talking to Meena about her unnerved Eviana and she didn't understand why. Maybe it was the fact she was taken by The Eater of Worlds and actually liked him. Then again, she'd always had a huge crush on Jon, but he'd hurt her so many times that she never thought she had a chance. Now that she was with Bray, Jon's true feelings were shining through and it was all one confusing mess.
"I'll go with you, Meena. We can talk." Eviana offered and looped her arm through Meena's, both girls walking out of the office leaving the men behind.
Jon shot up from the table. "No…" He groaned when they disappeared rather quickly and sighed, shooting Joe a glare. "You couldn't stop them?" Joe merely shrugged, a dark expression crossing his face. "Alright, what the fuck happened, man?"
"I walked in here earlier and Randy was…assaulting Meena…" The amount of anger flowing through his body and eyes told Jon he wasn't screwing around. "He's gonna pay for touching her." He vowed darkly, clenching and unclenching his fists trying to control his temper. "So, what's with you and the pistol?"
"Evie? Nothing man, I did wrong by her. Seriously wrong." Jon grunted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and felt the bitterness on his tongue with the next words coming out of his mouth. "She's with…Bray now." When Joe raised a brow, Jon explained what happened between him and Eviana earlier that night and how they'd hashed everything out.
"Damn. How could you treat her like that, bro?" Joe knew about Jon's feelings for Eviana, so this wasn't surprising how the man reacted to another man being with her. "And what the hell is she doing with Wyatt?"
Jon didn't bother defending himself. "I treated her like that because I'm a scumbag and a dick. And yes, Bray Wyatt." The man's name left a bitter taste on Jon's tongue whenever he said it. "New topic, what the hell is going on with Meena? Orton again?"
Nodding, Joe cracked his knuckles and the sound of bones snapping reverberated off the walls of Meena's office. "He never stopped and I have no idea what his next plan is regarding her. I need you to keep your eyes and ears open, bro, and see if you can find out any information for me."
"I'll ask around and see if Renee has heard anything. I thought Orton had a new broad?"
Joe snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, one that can't travel with him on the road because she has her own job and goals to pursue. So naturally, he's trying to get some sugar on the side like he did with his ex-wife. The guy is a fucking scumbag and I wanna rip his larynx out." His temper was starting to soar again.
"Jon really likes you." Meena declared while walking the hallway with her arm linked through Eviana's, glad they had some time to catch up with each other alone. "He talks about you a lot."
"Is that right?" Eviana could feel the guilt tearing her apart inside and hated it because she honestly enjoyed being with Bray. "What does he say about me?" Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, despite the fact she had a current man in her life.
"He doesn't understand why you seem to hate men. He's a dick at times and admits it, but I get the impression he was more than a dick towards you."
They walked into catering and took a seat at a nearby table, Meena doing most of the talking. She could tell something was going on with Eviana. They'd been friends too long and she knew whenever Eviana wasn't happy. It came with the whole 'best friend' status.
"That's an understatement." Eviana grunted, starting to peel the paper off the water bottle she had, keeping her eyes glued to it. "He's constantly taking his anger out on me and I don't understand why. It's all been verbal, nothing physical, but it still hurts all the same. Jon is just NOW coming out of his shell and treating me better, but it's too late. I'm dating someone else."
Meena raised a brow, feeling sympathetic for her friend because she knew all about Eviana's crush on Jon. "You have to do what's best for you. If Jon really cares about you as much as he says he does, he'll start thinking about what's best for you too. Don't be so harsh on him. When it comes right down to it, he's a scared little boy trying to deal with fame as well as come to grips about his attraction to you. Jon just needs a foot in his ass every now and then, Evie."
Why hadn't she come to Meena sooner with this problem? She was absolutely right. "Thanks, I needed to hear that. We agreed to try to be friendly towards each other, but with his temper he needs to get a handle on it." They stood up after a few minutes and started heading back to Meena's office since her break was almost up. "What about you and the Samoan Adonis?" Eviana decided a change of subject was definitely in order and she was curious about Meena's relationship with Joe – Jon's best friend.
"We're…I don't know actually." Meena admitted sheepishly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "He wants to be more, but I have this rule about mixing business with pleasure…as you very well know." Turning the corner, Meena suddenly froze in her tracks and halted Eviana too, swallowing hard. "Shit."
Eviana opened her mouth to question Meena on why she stopped abruptly and immediately snapped it shut, spotting none other than Randy Orton talking to her current boyfriend, Bray.
"What the hell?"