Jeff was just about to call Katrina again to find out where she was when his brother came to sit with him on the leather couch in the hotel lobby.
"You still waitin' on her?" he asked.
"Yeah. She's still not picking up. I don't think she'll be happy when she sees me."
"Just like Angie wasn't happy when you left her this morning?"
"Will you stop with that shit already?" he snapped. "She'll cool down, and by tonight she'll be telling me how much she loves me."
"I still think you're not doing this the right way. Yes, Angie is insecure but she's had to put up with a lot of your shit over the years so cut her some slack," Matt snapped. "She's seen what some of the guys do when they're on the road and their girls are at home. I think it's only natural."
"But I'm not one of those guys, I'm me. I've never given her reason to doubt me, so is it too much to ask for a bit of trust here?"
"No," Matt said. "All I'm saying is try to look at it from her point of view. She's a good woman, Jeff. Don't lose her over something you can work through if you just really try."
He looked at his brother in irritation. Really try? What the hell had he been doing the past year or so? He didn't want to lose Angie, of course not, but she was hurting him more than she could imagine by not trusting him.
"I'll call her later," he relented. "Maybe I'll ask her to come with us to Armageddon . She's going to say no, anyway, but I'll ask."
"She won't say no. She knows as much as you do that you need to work something out."
"Hey, guys. Why are we sitting in the lobby?"
He looked up to see their friend, Shane, sit down opposite them. Shane had made his in ring return at the last taping of Smackdown after being out for over a year with a neck injury. It felt great to travel with him again, he was more like a brother than just a friend.
"We're waiting on someone," Matt answered.
"Would this be the girl who stole you from Eve and at the same time is in a hot, torrid sexual affair with Jeff?"
"The very same one," Matt chuckled.
"As if that would ever happen," Jeff laughed. "You two are very alike, but you'd never work out."
"But your torrid affair would?"
"If I was into that girl, you wouldn't stand a chance," he stated. "It's that simple."
"Maybe once she meets me, neither of you will stand a chance," Shane put in. "I am pretty awesome."
"She's going to take one look at you and turn her nose up before she ignores you completely," he chuckled. "She might even spit."
"Yeah. She's a real nasty bitch," Matt agreed.
"So why are you friends with her again?"
"Because she's my nasty bitch," he shrugged.
"She's a kitten when she's with Jeff," Matt explained. "The second anyone else comes close she's all claws and teeth."
"And you like that," Shane stated, looking at Matt speculatively.
"What? Don't be silly. She just... well, I've spent a bit of time with her and I think she's just a big bullshitter, that's all. She's not as tough as she wants us to believe."
"And you're going to do what you do best and save her," Shane smiled slyly.
Jeff frowned down at his phone. He hadn't thought about his brother and best friend like that but... well, maybe if he thought about it some more he'd get his head around that idea.
"No! Well, not the way you think. I'm just trying to be her friend. But I doubt she's going to tolerate me as much as she did last week. She kinda really hates me when she's sober."
"Well, that might make your job of getting into her pants a bit harder then, won't it?" he sneered, still looking at his phone.
He hadn't meant for that to come out like that, like he was bitter or something. He just didn't know if he was okay with that yet. Kat was fragile. Matt would probably be good for her because he was strong and dependable but... well, she'd just come out of a bad relationship hadn't she? Her head wouldn't be in that place yet.
"Are you jealous?" Matt asked incredulously.
"No! But you know what she's been through; I just think you should put any thoughts like that on hold for a while. Besides, I don't really think you're her type."
"No? Let's just say I was interested in her, which I'm not, but what do you think is her type? Dicks like Orton?"
"No!"
"Well, you were happy enough to let her sleep with that bastard."
"Matt, just leave it. If you knew her you'd realise how ridiculous that sounds. Noone makes her do anything she doesn't want to do."
"Are we talkin' 'bout me?"
At the sound of her voice, they all stood up quickly to face her, ready to apologise. But the sight of her knocked the wind out of their sails.
Jeff could not have helped the way his eyes popped out of their sockets. She looked... different. Her hair was still the same messy look, though this time it looked like it had been professionally done, but her clothes... He'd never seen her in anything like that before.
She wore a stylish light blue strappy top that moulded her breasts and left her midriff exposed, with tight – really tight – dark blue hipster jeans and heels. Heels! All the women seemed to be wearing similar fashions but on Kat it looked... new. Different. Hot.
"Well?" Kat asked, twirling around once in front of them.
Her butt looked even nicer moulded by the denim. He couldn't help noticing that. It was a very nice change from the baggy jeans she normally wore.
"Wow," Matt said, the first to find his voice.
But he couldn't say anything. He knew her, knew how much she hated conformity. She'd once gone to dinner with some of Vince's important connections wearing flip flops! So this... As much as she looked very hot in the clothes, they just weren't her.
A sick feeling formed at the pit of his stomach and he suddenly knew he should never have left her.
"Thanks, Matt," she smiled.
She actually smiled at him. A real smile.
Matt was obviously as confused as he was; he looked at him and lifted his brow questioningly. He just shrugged. He had no idea what was going on here, either.
That was when he noticed Hunter standing a little away from them, bags in his hands with a frown on his face as well as he looked at Katrina. He looked completely lost for words.
"Jeff?"
"Huh?" he mused.
"Cat got your tongue? Say something, dude," Kat laughed, coming to stand right in front of him.
"You look gorgeous," he said quickly.
"Thank you," she beamed.
Who was this girl? Thanking him? Beaming?
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" she asked.
"Huh?" he said again.
Introduce her? Since when had she ever wanted to be introduced to anyone?
"Shane Helms," Shane said quickly, taking it upon himself.
"Katrina Lang. Pleasure to meet you," she smiled again.
"Huh?" he repeated.
The fuck was going on here?
"Hunter, are you going to check us in? I wanna go chill in my room for a bit," Kat said, turning around to the other man.
Hunter just stood there.
"Hunter. Hunter!"
Hunter seemed to snap out of his thoughts and shook his head.
"I'm going to check us in," he said, obviously not because he'd heard Kat ask. "Um... Jeff? Wanna help me out here?"
He went to the older man without hesitation and they walked together to the desk.
"She's freaking me out," Hunter mumbled when they were out of earshot. "She's been like this all day; all... happy and shit. Something's wrong."
He would have found this statement funny if he didn't feel the same way. And the thing was; he had a feeling he knew what she was doing.
They heard laughing and both turned around in shock. Katrina was laughing with a man she'd just met and she wasn't even drunk.
"Talk to her, man," Hunter begged. "Find out what the hell is going on."
"I'll try," he offered.
Katrina made her way to the desk, a smile still plastered on her face. It suited her, it really did. He'd always thought she needed to smile more.
"What room am I in?" she asked.
"The best one. What else?" Hunter answered dryly.
"I need to do something real quick. Jeff, can you wait for me in my room? I wasn't expecting you here, but I'm so glad you are. I need to ask you something."
"Sure. Um, I'll take your bag up for you."
"Thanks, sweetheart. I won't be long."
Then she breezed through the lobby. Breezed! Kat didn't breeze through anything!
"You might need the guys to help you with her stuff or get a bellhop to do it," Hunter said, handing him one bag.
"Why?" he frowned.
Hunter inclined his head and when he turned to look, he almost dropped the bag he was holding.
The girl who normally made do with one little holdall that contained a pair of sweats, one or two pairs of jeans and a few tops now had at least three cases besides the one he was holding. What, was she fucking moving?
This was making no sense at all.
"Damn, girl! The hell did you get all of that in them jeans?"
She rolled her eyes as a large, tattooed arm circled her shoulders as the owner fell into step with her. But she didn't push it off.
No, she was playing nice. She was playing bubbly.
"I bet she had to jump up and down just to pull 'em up," another man laughed, coming to walk on the other side of her.
"Hey, guys," she smiled.
Damn it, her face was sore now! How did people smile like this all day, everyday?
She felt like pushing Adam's arm off her, but she'd already got friendly with him the night she humiliated herself doing Karaoke.
Besides, she needed all the friends she could get if her plan was to work. And who better than the people Randy normally hung out with?
"You're lookin' real fine today, Katrina."
Typical.
"Thanks, Copeland."
"Well, listen to that. You finally got my name right," Adam laughed.
She'd made it a point to remember. She remembered every single thing about that night.
"Am I still your Superman? I kinda liked that."
"Sure. You can still be my Superman," she laughed as they came to the elevator.
She turned her head and saw Jeff, Hunter and Matt looking at her like she'd gone crazy. She had, really. She was intentionally putting herself through this shit so she could get back a man who'd called her worthless, a slut and filth.
But it would be worth it in the end, when Randy came crawling back to her and told her how sorry he was. When she got to hold him again.
"So how come, if you've worked here all year, we haven't meant?" Adam asked.
Because you're just as superficial as the rest of them.
"We've met. You just never noticed me," she shrugged.
"I'm noticing you now. How about we meet after the house show for a few drinks and we get to know one another better?" Adam asked.
"I'll have to get back to you on that one."
"Am I also invited? I'm not doing anything tonight."
"Dude! What the fuck are you doing?" Adam asked John over her head.
Obviously, he'd meant for it to be a proper date.
"I'm sure drinks with both of you sometime won't be a problem, but I can't tonight," she answered. "We could make a night of it, maybe tomorrow. Bring your friends, I'll bring mine."
What she wanted to say was 'Bring Orton, so he can watch me all over you."
"Can I have your number, then?" John asked. "I'll call you and we can make a plan
She smiled, genuinely this time. Why were men so easy?
Now all she had to do was find some friends.
Jeff dropped the last bag next to the bed and sat down.
"I thought you said she was a nasty bitch," Shane said. "She seemed quite friendly to me."
"So friendly she walked off with the square jawed one she hates so much," Jeff sighed.
"I think she's having some sort of breakdown," Matt suggested.
"No," Jeff sighed. "She's playing a game. I think she's trying to prove something to that dick."
"But he's not worth it. Why can't she see that?" Matt asked as he dropped himself in one of the chairs.
"I've been telling her this from the very beginning but the girl won't listen," he answered. "And I may have underestimated the situation a little. I thought it was just a sex thing, that she would move on soon. But now it seems she might actually be in love with the guy."
"Maybe. She was very cut up Monday night when he said what he said to her."
"So she's either trying to show him what he's missing or trying to get him back. I have a feeling she's trying to get him back. Why else would she go to such drastic lengths? Why else would she make herself over into the type of woman Orton likes?" Jeff mused.
"Well, I have to go; I have an appearance in a little while. I'll see you later, but call me if you need me," Matt said as he got up. "You coming, Shane?"
He didn't have long to wait after his brother and friend left the room. Kat came in and near enough tackled him down onto the bed in a fierce hug.
"Dude, how've you been?" she asked as she held him really tight around his torso.
"I'd be a lot better if I could breathe," he muttered dryly.
"Oh, sorry," she laughed as she let him go. "I just didn't expect to see you till the Tuesday taping. What's happened? You and Angie fight or something?"
"Not really. I just thought I'd leave a bit earlier than I planned," he lied.
"You didn't come all this way to check on me, did you?"
"Of course not," he lied again, and then added with a chuckle, "Matt was doing a perfectly good job doing that all by himself."
"He wasn't checking on me. He was stalking me," she laughed as she got off the bed and dragged one of her suitcases to the middle of the room.
"He was really worried about you," he said softly, watching her face carefully.
As he'd expected, she tensed a little bit, but instead of making some really rude comment, she said, "That's really sweet of him. But tell him I'm fine."
"Okay, who the hell are you and what have you done with my friend!"
"What?"
"Come on, stop playing this game already and tell me what the hell is going on."
Kat sighed and opened the suitcase.
"I need your help," she said. "I don't know how to wear all this shit without looking like an idiot."
He frowned and got off the bed to stand over her open case. Then his eyes popped out of his socket as he knelt down to inspect some of the designs closer.
"Valentino... Chanel... Versace... Garavani... Ralph Lauren... What the fuck is this, Kitty Kat?" he mumbled. "And where the hell are you going to wear all these clothes?"
"I'm not wearing all of it," she protested. "I just brought it over so you could help me match it with this stuff."
He turned around to see she'd opened the other bags as well, and both of them bursting with designer handbags and shoes.
"Fuck me," he muttered.
There was thousands of dollars worth of shit there. Gucci. Prada. Burberry. You name it.
The Kitty Kat he knew would never have been caught dead in any of it.
This was bad. Real bad. She was going to get Orton back by being someone she wasn't.
"I was going to wear these today. Steph says they're from some dude called Jimmy something or other."
"Choo," he put in.
"Yes, that's him. But she told me I couldn't with the outfit I chose. Said these are more suited for wearing with evening clothes," she said as she knelt beside him. "That just messed my head up. I mean, they're just shoes, what the fuck? So if I'm going to do this right, I'm going to need your help."
"Do what right, Katrina?" he asked.
She sighed and looked away.
"You won't like it," she started. "But you're my friend and I'm telling you this much. Orton... He meant a lot to me. Still does. And I can't just sit back and wonder if he could have been mine if I'd just bothered to be what he wanted."
"Katrina__"
"No, hear me out because you're the only one I can say this to. Ever since Orton chose Maria I've... I've felt like I'm worth nothing. I just think if I was to wear these ridiculously expensive clothes... If I was to be different, to be like Maria... then maybe people wouldn't think I'm so worthless."
"You don't need to prove anything to Orton," he said, taking her hands in his. "He's a dick and whatever he says or thinks doesn't count. You're worth a million times what he is."
"Jeff___"
"No, it's my turn to speak," he cut in. "What I love about you, Kitty, is you're not full of bullshit like everyone else around here. You call a spade a spade. What you're trying to do now... it isn't you. You don't need to change to impress a man. If he can't see how special you are as you are then he's not worth it."
He didn't know how his little speech affected her because she still hadn't looked into his eyes.
"I need him back, Jeff," she whispered.
He let go of her hands and sighed.
"I can't help you with that, Kitty Kat."
She was clearly shocked. He'd never refused her anything before, mainly because she'd never made any ridiculous demands.
"Jeff..."
This time she looked at him and he felt the pain in her eyes like a blow to his stomach. How could she have fallen in love with that jerk and he hadn't even noticed? That just complicated everything. It would make forcing her to forget him that much harder.
"You don't need him, Kat. I can't help you get him back only to watch him walk all over you again."
Her eyes hardened a little and she turned away again.
"Don't let me keep you then. I'm an intelligent girl; I can work this one out by myself," she snapped as she shut her cases and stood up.
"Katrina, don't do this."
"I'll see you around, Jeff," she said.
"I'm not going anywhere," he snapped too as he got to his feet as well. "You can't throw me away like I'm a piece of trash just because I won't help you with this. I'm your friend, Katrina!"
"I'm not throwing you away. I just have a lot of shit to do before the house show."
"We still friends, then?" he challenged.
"Of course."
"Good. Because I'm going to have to crash with you till Tuesday."
"I give and I give," she muttered angrily as she turned from him, but he knew she didn't mean anything nasty by it.
"We've just had our first real fight," he said as he moved to throw himself on the bed he would be sharing with her.
"Yes we have."
"Let's celebrate."
"Downstairs after the show?"
"Sure," he grinned.
So she's gone back to work a completely different person and Jeff doesn't like it. Wonder how he'll feel when she decides he needs an even bigger role in her 'plan'... And how will Orton react once he sees the new her?
And of course, the big question... when is Jeff going to find out who Grace is?
Thank you for your reviews tophersmommy06, xSamiliciousx, oXPunkieXo, BourneBetter67, Enigmatic Lotus Leaf, Bingobaby and alana2awesome, and for those who've put me on their alerts or favs.