Chapter Seven.

Reality hits me hard as I pull away from my heated kiss with Mark. I stare at him in a daze, and he seems to be looking at me the same way. With no explanation provided he turns and walks smoothly away, leaving me behind and stunned by his actions. My breathing grows deeper as my fingers brush my swollen lips. What the hell was that?

As the adrenaline wears off, the realization of what just occurred begins to sink in. Michelle will kill me if she finds out! Or worse, what if Mark tells her? Is he still going to tell her we had talked? Crap, crap, crap, crap!

I regain my composure to the best of my ability and head back to the dressing room. Kate is inside looking over our final products as she glances over at me. "Alaina, you okay? The girls said you ran outta here with a fire lit under your ass..." Taking a deep breath I muster up the best smile I can, "Yeah, I'm fine. You good? Do we need anything else?"

Kate looks at me wearily, but to my relief she drops the topic, "No, we should be alright. Good job tonight, we can all relax now and enjoy the show." All of the interns giggle with joy, and I can remember when I was so excited to watch RAW Live for the first time. All of the crew are lucky enough to enjoy a first class suite when not working, but we are always on call in case there is some type of wardrobe malfunction.

Breathing a sigh of relief I walk with Kate to the private suite. We pour some champagne and chit chat before the show starts. For a brief moment, I relax a little after the whole charade with Mark. I am still baffled by his actions, in such a short time of knowing each other he has come to my rescue and nearly swept me off my feet with that kiss. "Alaina, I know you don't understand me or my relationship..." the memory of his words sting in my head. No, no I don't understand. And after Michelle's reaction to Mark taking me home on his bike, I can only imagine what she will do if she finds out we shared a heated make-out session in the back of the arena!

I shiver at the thought, is this place always filled with such drama? I flash back to a warning Kate had issued me when I was hired as a consultant, "It will be very hard for you to keep your personal life personal around here. When you travel and see the same people every day, nearly 300 days out of the year- you are bound to get pulled into something. But you must remain cool, calm, collected and professional. Don't let them pull you into their drama."

It has only been two full days of working here officially and I am already overwhelmed with the amount of issues I have on my plate. Had all this gone on during my nearly two month internship I would have ran for the hills! But I am here now, doing what I love and trying desperately to look on the bright side. Luckily due to how busy we were today, Kate has been unable to discuss Brock Lesnar's advances towards me with Vince McMahon. I'll have to find a way to convince her to let it go, which won't be easy. As much as I think Brock is a pig, the last thing I need is someone else on the roster being bitter towards me.

As I'm in mid-conversation with Kate, the lights go out and cheers erupt through-out the building. The familiar "gong" and funeral themed music fills the arena as chills run up and down my spine. Mark truly is a sight to see when in character as The Undertaker, his presence is bone chilling and in ring craft impeccable. He really loves what he does, and he does it well. And damn he looks good doing it too, really good. I wouldn't mind having his lips on me again, and in other places...

I quickly shake off the thought, what the hell has gotten into me? I am not a home wrecker, but something about him... he has this power over people that is overwhelming. Perhaps it is my strong dislike for McCool that is helping fuel these emotions? My inner goddess is doing back flips and cartwheels all over Michelle's picture, laughing evilly as she does so. Sure I don't like Michelle, but does she deserve this? Uhg, I am not this vengeful person... am I?

Trying to clear my conscious, I feel the urge to pick at Kate's brain to see if I can get some answers... she did say personal business wasn't so personal around here, perhaps she has some dirt that will be useful.

"So what is the deal with Mark and Michelle? When I saw them together the other day she seemed so... I don't know... afraid of him." I murmur, trying to keep the spot light off me as much as possible. Kate shrugs her shoulders, "You know there are so many rumors about those two, I don't even know what to believe. I know that Chelle keeps to herself most of the time. She doesn't have many friends here because she has been known to be hard to work with and kind of snippy. We all think that is why Mark is into her, because she has no one to spill personal business to around here. He is a really personal guy..."

Kate sips her champagne and looks back down at the ring, Mark is wrestling John Cena in the main event- the two are of course stealing the show. My curiosity gets the best of me, "So what are the rumors about them?"

She lets out a light laugh and shakes her head, "I don't know, where to begin? Well a lot of people say Michelle is only with him to get a push for her career. Mark has so much backstage pull that she has become top Diva since starting a relationship with him. Others say that they are only in a relationship for publicity factors and aren't really planning on getting married at all- that one started because they haven't set a wedding date in over a year. And then others say that Mark is a sadist, and Michelle is his submissive little pet."

My eyes grow wide, a sadist? Pet? My mind races with skepticism and more curiosity, "Who the hell would start that rumor?" I ask as denial sets in. There is no way Mark is a sadist! Kate leans in closer so no one can hear, "A former Diva named Candice used to date Mark. She told people that they were in a Dominate/Submissive relationship, you know, where the guy likes to be in control of everything? Anyway, when they broke up, it was nasty- and Mark had basically ruined her and her career here. So to get back at him she spilled all his dirty secrets. Saying he loved to beat on her, whip her, paddle her, the whole disturbing nine yards. She said that he had full control over every aspect of her life, who she talked to, who she was friends with, everything. It spread like wildfire and Mark had to take some time off to let everything cool down. Candice eventually lost her job, and Mark returned about two months later. He was a completely different person, focused solely on work and nothing personal- I think that is why we were all shocked to shit when he hooked up with Michelle. Who knows if what Candice said was even true, she may have just been a bitter psychotic ex-girlfriend hell bent on ruining him like he did her... or maybe it is true. Who am I to judge how people are in their personal lives?"

I can suddenly feel my heart pounding in my chest. This is so much information to take in, and as I look down at Mark who has successfully pinned John Cena for the win- I am left with more questions than answers...