BeFoUr
Her thinking had been flawed since Dean broke into her house. He'd said that The Shield would have her back, but maybe not in the way she thought they would. Because, as much as Roman Reigns wanted to think that she was one of them now? She wasn't.
She would never be The Shield.
And she could never afford to think she was, either.
Kenna woke the next morning with Roman's soft snoring filling the silence of the room.
She was startled, because she couldn't remember whether she'd got up to let him in or— no. No, he'd sweet talked one of the receptionists to get a keycard. Right. Because obviously that was something that he was fond of doing; breaking into apartments, just like his brother. Silently, Kenna wondered who picked up the habit from who.
Quietly, Kenna dressed herself in the clothes she would be wearing for the rest of the day. A ribbed black tank was tucked into high waist khaki jeans, and she pulled on her usual thigh high boots over the green material. Next was the gold jewellery, but the makeup she would worry about when she got to the arena.
Kenna packed everything else into her suitcase and then scribbled a message for Roman on a room service card.
She was walking through the door before she could hesitate.
It wasn't like she was running— even though she felt like it was exactly that. Kenna needed space. Because, even to herself, she couldn't hide the growing feelings she had towards the Samoan. And how would she be able to break them if she was falling in love with him?
"You're up early."
Kenna skidded to a halt at the voice and felt bristles start to rise on the back of her neck. When she turned, Seth Rollins was standing at his own hotel room door.
"I—" she broke off, unsure of what to say. "I can't sleep. And I need to get to the arena, sort out some shit by myself."
He inclined his head at her. "Need any help with that?"
"Nothing you can do to help."
Seth stared at her for a moment before nodding his acceptance. "Roman ended up sleeping with you, didn't he?"
A deep flush crawled up Kenna's chest, and she looked at the floor before looking back at him. "Uh… yeah. He pulled a Dean on me and broke into my room. He's still asleep, but you can have the keycard if you want to go in and talk to him…"
"Think I'll let him have his beauty sleep."
It was difficult for Kenna to get a read on Seth Rollins. He didn't say much, didn't really speak to her much, but they were on the same wavelength intelligence wise. He could read people as easily as she could, and she'd always have to be careful when it came to the Architect. Possibly, if she wasn't here to break The Shield with Roman, she'd have suggested to her brother that Rollins would be the one to turn against his comrades.
Maybe she could still go that route if their Plan A didn't work.
Hunter always seemed to have a Plan B, anyway.
"Anyway, you go do what you're gonna do. Shoot us a text if you need us— I'm sure Roman won't be too far away." He said it with a smile, one that wasn't too sarcastic, one genuine enough that she didn't feel guilty.
Kenna went to turn around but then paused, clenched her jaw for a moment as she pondered what she wanted to get out of this shitfest. "Seth…" she waited until the man had turned back towards her, and she lowered her eyes. "I'm not The Shield. You guys are, not me. Make sure Roman sees that, alright? We're just using each other, it's just a business partnership. Roman and I… just because there's something between us doesn't mean I'm part of The Shield. I'm not, okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
She turned her back without even glancing at him, didn't give him the opportunity to see the emotions flickering across her face even if she wasn't lying.
Three hours and a plane ride later, and after seemingly endless phone calls and voicemails to her step-brother, Kenna was stood in front of his makeshift office in the arena.
There were still five hours before the show started, and she knew that The Shield would be driving down, setting them on the arena just before the night was set to begin. So, she knew for the moment that she was safe, not having to worry about whether she'd be seen attending such a 'prestigious' meeting.
As she walked in, Kenna wasn't surprised to see the faces she was greeted with
Hunter sat behind a wooden desk, Stephanie standing behind him, and Kane was sat in front of them with his mask hanging limply in his hand (whether that was something that held unexplainable power over him or something that was just a prop to support his mood swings, Kenna wasn't sure of).
"Kenna," Hunter said with a gentle smile. "Glad to see you're actually here in one piece."
He shot a pointed glare at Kane, and Kenna didn't miss the roll of Stephanie's eyes. She stared at the other woman for a long moment before taking a seat on the chair next to Kane. "I'm fine."
Stephanie smiled arrogantly. "Just as I knew you would be."
"It was your idea, then?" Kenna asked shortly, interlocking her fingers over crossed legs. "Because last I knew, Kane wasn't chokeslamming me."
"Plans change, Kenna."
"As I'm well aware of," Kenna shot back, "because plans have changed twice on me now without so much as a warning. And don't get me wrong, Stephanie, I'm fine with plans changing, what I'm not fine with is being blindsided and unprepared for such a heavy bump."
It was like ice on fire. Kenna was angry and Stephanie just didn't care. But she would.
"See, I don't even understand why Kane's in here. He took a direct order from you Stephanie, so there's no way he should be punished between the three of us— but when it comes to SmackDown tonight, that's a different story. He's going to be targeted for your choice, not his own, and so whatever happens to him tonight is going to be on you."
"Kenna—"
With a hiss, Stephanie slammed her palms down on the table in front of her husband and sneered at Kenna, effectively cutting Hunter off. "What happens tonight is on you. You're the one who concocted this idea and you're the one it's going to fall back on when all is said and done."
"And you're the one who couldn't do it yourself, who needed my help, so if you want me to stay and continue to give my help, then you better start treating me like we're equals."
"We're not equals," the woman laughed at her. "You're under my payroll, which means I'm your boss—"
"Stephanie—"
"I'm not under your payroll," Kenna hissed back at her, finally standing so she was staring right into Stephanie's eyes. "You're not my boss and inside these four walls, I will never answer to you."
"You bitch—"
"Enough!"
Kenna's head snapped towards where Triple H was kneading his knuckles into his temples, and for a long moment, silence echoed around the room.
It wasn't rare for Stephanie and Kenna to have at each other like this— in fact, it happened almost every time they saw each other. Kenna neither trusted nor respected Stephanie and never had, and because of it, Stephanie didn't bother hiding her disdain for her step-sister-in-law. And, like usual, Hunter was left to play the peacemaker.
Hunter's nostrils flared as his eyes slid shut, and then he said, "Kane, you're dismissed. Word of this gets out and I'm terminating your contract with us immediately. No one knows."
The giant of a man left the room quickly and silently, but Kenna's eyes were still latched onto Stephanie's furious face.
"I've had enough," Hunter said more calmly. "You two might not like each other or this situation, but we're on the same team. Our job here is to dismantle The Shield, not the Authority. Kenna does it from the inside and we do it from the outside, and that's not up for debate. From this moment onwards, Stephanie, everything you change, you run by me," at this, the woman made an indignant sound— but Hunter continued like he hadn't even heard it. "Absolutely everything, especially when you change something to do with Kenna. The bump she took last night, even though it came from us, was completely unacceptable, and it's not going to happen again."
"You're taking her side."
"There are no sides to take," he hissed back at her. "Do you understand how bad it looks when one of the talents directly related to The Authority chokeslams a woman? For a company that is anti-violence against women, we sure as hell didn't look it last night."
Stephanie huffed in frustration and shook her head, paced the length of the room until she stood in the far corner with a pout at her lips. Like a child, Kenna thought.
"As for you, Kenna…"
The young woman turned her attention back to her step-brother. "As for me?"
"Restrain yourself next time, yeah?" Hunter sighed tiredly. "I understand your anger considering we talked about this last week, but letting that go with Kane in the room wasn't the best idea."
"Duly noted," she shrugged it off, but there was something else pressing her mind. "You organised the new contract?" Stephanie's head snapped in her direction, and with a start, Kenna realised that she probably had no fucking idea. Hunter hadn't told her. She looked back to her brother with a raised eyebrow. "She doesn't know, does she?"
"She doesn't know what?" Stephanie said slowly. "Hunter? What don't I know?"
Kenna'd put her foot in her mouth without even realising, and Hunter's levelled glare had her own eyes widening in an unspoken apology.
He sighed before turning to his wife. "We're renegotiating Kenna's contract."
"Why?"
"We're bringing her on as a Talent, Live Events & Creative Consultant, as well as a part-time talent when she's finished with The Shield," Hunter explained lowly. "It means she's responsible for herself and doesn't answer to anyone apart from Vince. And also includes a hefty pay raise."
Stephanie's voice was croaky when she asked, "How much?"
"It doesn't matter—"
"How much?"
"One million as a talent on the basis of three show stopping pay-per-view events, and four hundred thousand as a consultant," Hunter replied easily, and he turned to face his wife. "On top of that, profit sharings from merchandise sales and TV appearances."
The woman looked pale.
It was a small consolation that in a years time, Kenna would be close to two million dollars richer. She'd always had money because of her family and because of herself, but never like this.
"That's ridiculous," Stephanie finally managed to say, and her eyes were wide. "That's more than I earn."
Kenna's eyebrows shot to her hairline— because really? Of everything, the McMahon was upset about the difference in wages? "I thought you'd be more upset about the fact that I'm never going to answer to you," Kenna mused aloud, deliberately ignoring Hunter's glare. "Guess money is everything to you. If it's any consolation, Steph, I'll probably end up donating my bonuses to a worthy cause."
"Bonuses," she mimicked, "because you're going to get more than one… how long is the contract?"
"Two years."
"…Right."
Stephanie's change in attitude was certainly odd, and Kenna was confused— this wasn't just about the money. No. Stephanie McMahon was just as conniving and ruthless as Kenna was, and her mind was probably running over a thousand scenarios of the near future. Most of which, no doubt, would end with Kenna getting what she wanted.
She was planning.
Kenna's eyes narrowed but she didn't say anything about it. "Okay, so now that that's out of the way— The Shield are planning to go after the New Age Outlaws tonight. They'll lay out the WrestleMania challenge next week, probably, but it'll give you guys some time to prepare."
"Don't get too caught up, Ken. We don't need another repeat of RAW happening, intentional or not. I'm not going to let you get hurt again."
It's too late for that, isn't it? Kenna thought sombrely.
She mostly tuned out to what he said next, frowning as her phone buzzed in her pocket. When she pulled the device out, a message from Roman was staring back at her.
We need to talk. Tonight.
Ominous.
Kenna didn't know what to make of the short message. She thought back to the note she'd left him, to the encounter she'd had with Seth Rollins, and stopped short. The note had said something along the lines of 'need some space for a while, I'll meet you at the arena', and she'd told Rollins to pass on the message that Kenna was not part of The Shield— so, maybe, somehow, he thought she was trying to end things.
I'm already at the arena, let me know when you get here and where you want to chat.
It was probably nothing, but with the men of The Shield? She could never know for sure.
so, very quick apologies for the lengthy wait for this, i got the flu and have been feverish all week and been unable to even look at words and concentrate on them, but am feeling on the mend, so hopefully it means another update soon :) also, chapter is named after 'BeFoUr' by Zayn
to Raquel the Writer (thanks!), and quinzel harley (thought you'd like the finisher and name ;) also, i agree, but being broken in on is about to really start sucking for Kenna when it keeps happening again and again! i like your last point and made a conscious effort to have Kenna realise what had happened, so hopefully this makes it different? let me know x), thank you so much for dropping a review!
i'm noticing that we're slowly getting more followers! don't be afraid to let me know how you think this is going and where i can improve!
all the love x