Fuck...

Maria had only broken up with him that morning and now he'd humiliated her by being all over another woman in front of the people he worked with. How could he ever begin to make up for that, on top of everything else?

"I'm sorry I'm late, sir," he said quickly, when he realised he was still the centre of attention.

Damn it, what did all these people think of him now? He knew how bad it would have looked to someone not used to him and Keri fighting.

"Have a seat, Jeff. Miss Christos, so glad you could join us," Vince said with a smile. "I've saved you a seat up here next to me."

Normally, Vince would have thrown one of his famous billionaire fits if anyone was even a minute late, but he seemed to have forgotten all about him as he smiled at Keri.

This had warning bells ringing in his head straight away.

He sat as far away from his brother as he could but realised belatedly that he'd chosen the seat opposite Randy. The man's expression was blank but his eyes were piercing him intently. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. Such a psycho... The fuck did Keri see in him anyway?

"I'll get straight to the point," Vince said when Keri sat down. "I've asked you here to offer you a job. Actually, two of them. The first one... Well, how would you like to be Jeff's valet for the next couple of months?"

What?

"No!" Jeff interrupted, daring to go against the boss' wishes. "With all due respect, sir, that's a very bad idea."

"Would I get to whack him in the head with a chair like Matt did?" Keri asked, looking him straight in the eye as a smile formed on her lips.

There were a few snickers around the room but he pushed everyone to the back of his mind as this new situation suddenly presented so many potential problems for him. How would he stop himself from sleeping with her again if he was forced into her company?

"Keri, don't do it," he said.

"You telling me what to do again, Nero?" she snapped.

"No. I'm just saying, think about it," he tried desperately.

"I'm willing to pay very handsomely," Vince smiled.

Sure. Offer the girl loads of money, the one thing she'd spent her whole life trying to get!

What the hell was Vince's game? How could he think making her his valet would work? Had he not seen what had happened only seconds ago? If he wanted Keri to work for him so bad, he should have made her Matt's valet, not his.

"How much money?"

"We'll discuss terms in private, but I assure you, you'll be comfortable for a while."

He saw her bite her lip in thought. How could she even consider this after all that had happened? She knew how angry he was with her.

Then she smiled.

That was when he knew his fate was sealed.

Dammit!

But wait? Had Vince said he had two job offers?

Keri watched Jeff angrily storm off in one direction, leaving her standing in front of the room where they'd just had a meeting with Vince. Everyone had long since gone and left them to talk about the job and terms.

Well, two jobs...

She frowned again as she thought how completely odd Vince's offers were. Not just the valet one, the other one too. A reality show? Had she really just agreed to have cameras following her around wherever she went? Was she fucking crazy?

She had to admit, had Jeff not made her so mad she would have laughed in Vince's face. She couldn't have cameras following her, she had people all over the place probably out for her blood. The last thing she wanted to do was tell them where she was. But the money Vince had offered for that...

For a couple of months of backstage promos and a few ringside appearances, Vince had named a figure that had her jaw dropping to the floor. It would be the easiest money she'd ever made. If she chose to also take the second offer, the valet job would serve to introduce her to the Hardy fans who didn't sometime see her on the Hardy show when she made little appearances and therefore Vince would pay her a lot more. He'd said another figure that had her almost paralysed with shock. Then to have cameras following her and Jeff for a few months... the money she'd make on that would set her up for a long, long time.

And she had to face it; she really needed the money right now. She had to replace what she'd spent from the bank account Matt had set up for her, then the rest... well, if she was going to be any sort of good mother at all, she needed to set herself up somewhere and provide security and stability for the baby.

Her hand drifted down to her stomach and she sighed.

She'd be showing soon. That meant if she took this job, Jeff would know she'd lied to him. She had a feeling he wouldn't accept taking a backseat in the baby's life. Then of course everyone else would know. Especially if they had camera's following them constantly. Vince was obviously hoping for some drama, and a secret pregnancy went right up that alley.

Her face fell as she thought of all the options. Vince's offers were incredible. But she couldn't take them.

"Oh, you're still here," Vince smiled as he walked out of the room they'd left him in. "Everything alright?"

"Um... I should probably tell you this before you go and draw up any contracts and stuff," she started.

Shit. Turning down so much money...

"Please don't say you can't do it. I'll double your money."

Shiiii...

"Um... That's very generous of you, but why would you do that? For all you know the whole thing could just crash and burn."

"I don't think so. And if it does, I'll chalk it up as experience and move on," Vince shrugged.

Oh, yeah. Billionaire. He could afford it.

"I still_"

"I'll triple your money."

"Huh?"

She wasn't even bargaining for more money and the man was throwing it at her!

"Just go and think about it," Vince said. "I'll talk to you again just before Wrestlemania, I'll have all the necessary paperwork, but you can still change your mind if you really feel you can't do it."

With that the man walked off, leaving her to wonder if he was crazy. You didn't offer some stranger, an unknown, loads of money in the hopes that people would like them enough for you to make your money back.

Shaking her head, she started to walk down the long hallways. There was a lot more activity now than when they'd first got to the arena so she guessed it would soon be show time. She needed to talk to Randy about this. He'd probably think she was crazy for thinking about taking the job if she didn't fess up about the baby. But if she confessed, Matt would probably kill Jeff, so there wouldn't be a job to do anyway.

She had a lot to think about.

However much she wanted the money Vince was willing to part with, she hated Jeff, she hated the things he'd said to her and didn't know if she could be in a room with him long enough to give Vince what he wanted. And then there was the fact that when he touched her she forgot herself...

Her fingers went to her lips as she remembered how he'd kissed her earlier. She could still feel his lips on hers, still feel the fire in her veins... If that happened on TV, wouldn't that cause a bit of a scandal? Forced in his company, it would probably happen a lot. It would be like porn...

Immediately, she shut her brain down. It would do her no good imagining Jeff's hands on her body. The man was vile and she hated him, no matter how skilled in bed he was.

She came upon an area that had been set up as Catering and decided to grab something to eat. Now that she knew she was pregnant she had to take care of herself better. The sickness was almost completely gone now, even if some smells still made her nauseous. If she ate healthily and regularly, she'd gain her weight back in no time.

There were a few tables and chairs set up and most were occupied. She saw Adam and a few of the people she'd met the week before but decided she really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Then she smiled when she saw Mark at a table by himself like the last time. Were people really afraid of the guy?

Taking her plate, she made her way over and sat down opposite him. She spared him a brief glance and almost laughed when she saw the irritated look on his face. Then she bit into her sandwich and ignored him completely, which seemed to please Mark because he tucked back into his food and ignored her too, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

How was she going to keep the baby secret?

Matt and Shane were in the locker room when he walked in and he expected to be beat down the second they saw him.

"Well?" Shane asked instead.

Well what? Was he asking why he near enough ate Keri up against that door or what had happened in the meeting with Vince?

"Did she take the job?" Matt asked, obviously irritated with the amount of time he was taking to answer.

"Yes," he bit out.

The bitch.

"You don't seem too pleased about that. What's the matter? Thought you'd be happy that she'd be on hand for you to fuck to your heart's content," Matt snapped.

"Matt!" Shane chided.

"No, I want to hear what he says," Matt said. "What's his problem?"

My problem is that bitch killed my baby and I still want to fuck her!

But of course he wasn't going to say that. That statement would get him killed.

"Well?" Matt asked. "What the hell was that shit? You said you would do right by her. What was that argument about? You had enough of her already?"

"Matt... It's complicated," he started.

"How? You're sleeping with her because either you care about her or you're using her. Which one is it?"

He was going to go with the answer that wouldn't get his dick cut off.

"Of course I care about her," he lied. "She just still rubs me up the wrong way sometimes."

"So that shit in front of everyone was a lover's spat? You made up now?" Matt asked.

Made up? If he never saw her again it would be too soon!

"Yeah," he lied again.

"I told you," Shane smiled, slapping Matt on the back. "Worrying over nothing. Just let them be, they're grown."

"I have to worry. Keri's my responsibility."

"And I'm your brother," Jeff snapped, irritated that once again everyone was just worried about Keri. What about him?

"You haven't had it nearly as bad as Keri has, so don't start with that 'you always take her side' bullshit," Matt warned.

That had him thinking back to the night they'd watched video evidence of him taking Keri's virginity. Matt had hinted at something... said he'd promised Keri would be safe with them and not her own family... And what else had he said? That he couldn't kill her uncle? Keri had looked desperate to stop him talking.

"I know you're my brother and I know you have her back but forgive me if I don't believe you've suddenly fallen in love with her. You're only going to hurt her and I can't have that."

He frowned. He now knew how hard Keri had it with her family but surely she'd been safe there... And if she hadn't been, was her uncle the cause?

"What are you protecting her from, Mattie?" he asked quietly, his eyes narrowing.

"From jerks like you," Matt snapped. "Men who want to use her and throw her away."

"We've already established that's not what Jeff's doing," Shane said.

Um... Yeah. It was best to just go with it.

"Tell me the truth, Matt."

His brother seemed to realise what he meant because his anger drained from him and his lips clamped shut.

"That is the truth," Matt said, turning away from him with a sigh.

Jeff knew he was lying. Did that mean his suspicions were true? Did her uncle do something to her? Obviously, since she'd been a virgin when he first slept with her, nothing like that had happened. But was that because he was on the wrong track or because Matt had got her out of that house in time?

"You're lying to me. Tell me what happened," he insisted.

Okay, so he hated the bitch but if she'd gone through some shit with her uncle on top of everything else... poor thing. No wonder she was messed up.

"Why? Coz you think you can rush in and play hero this time?" Matt chuckled humourlessly as he turned back to face him.

"I need to know," he insisted.

Matt looked at him intently for a while, and he could almost see the point a light bulb lit in his head.

"It's not my story to tell," Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But I have a feeling she'll tell you herself soon."

Jeff frowned. It was almost as if his brother had changed his mind about him. But why?

"I'm going to find something to drink," Matt said. "See you guys later."

Wait? Did that mean he was forgiven?

He was still frowning at the closed door when Shane came to stand in front of him, his face serious.

"Okay, now that we've got rid of Matt, why don't you tell me what's really going on?" Shane said. "And let me remind you that, while Matt would have killed you on the spot if he found out you were lying, if you lie to me, they'll never find your body."

"I don't know what you mean," he stated.

Did Shane know about the baby? Did he know how much he hated that bitch?

"Something's going on her that both of you are hiding. Spill."

"Shane_"

"Look, I know you were feeding Matt a load of shit. You still hate Keri, or at least you think you do. I can overlook that fact 'cause I can see the bigger picture here. But something's forcing you together and I want to know what it is."

Jeff swallowed. It would feel good to just unload all of this bullshit to his friend but he didn't think he was ready to talk about it yet.

What would he say? That in the two days he was away from everyone he'd already built up an image in his head of his new family? Keri with his child in her arms and a smile on her face as she sat in their newly rebuilt house... And at night, endless passion as he took her over and over again.

"Dude... Are you crying?"

He looked away from Shane to blink back the tears he hadn't felt coming.

"What? No, of course not," he snorted.

"Keri's not sick, is she?" Shane asked urgently. "I mean, all this started 'cause she wasn't well, and I know you took her to the doctor's last week. She's not dying or anything, is she?"

"No, she's fine," he assured him. "I'd have told you if she was sick."

"So what is it?"

Jeff sighed. How could he even begin to answer that question when he wasn't even sure himself? One kiss had sent him back to the point he'd been before he found out she'd aborted their baby. He'd known it was a bad idea to touch her.

He was saved from answering when there was a quick knock on the door before it opened and someone stuck their head round.

"Oh, hey. Is Keri back yet? She's not answering her phone and I'm ready to go."

His eyes narrowed angrily on the intruder, meeting that cocky blue gaze for a moment before he forced himself to look away.

But Shane didn't miss that exchange. When Jeff looked back at him, he saw the same thing he'd seen on Matt's face, as if a bulb had gone on.

"She should be back in a minute, Randy. Why don't you come in and wait for her?" Shane suggested.

Randy looked from him to Shane and back again and chuckled.

"Um... I think I'll pass on that. Just tell her I'll wait for her in Catering," he said before he closed the door again.

"Fuckin' dick," Jeff muttered under his breath.

"A month ago, you could almost pass for friends," Shane chuckled.

So what was he saying?

"You don't like the guy either," he pointed out.

"I never said that. I don't approve of all the time Keri is spending with him, but I never said I don't like him."

Traitor!

"Whatever," he said. "I'm getting ready for my match now."

"You're avoiding talking about Randy and Keri," Shane stated.

"If she wants to be with that dick there's nothing we can do to stop her, is there," he snapped.

"In other words, you're jealous as fuck," Shane laughed. "Has she decided she wants Randy instead? Is that why you're in such a bad mood?"

"I don't care that she's with Randy! He's welcome to her."

"Uh huh," Shane chuckled as he turned to walk out of the locker room. "But when you decide to take her back, let me know. I'll bring some popcorn."

AN/ Again, so sorry. Things hectic over here.

I felt alright this morning so just decided to get one out. Probably not very good as I didn't plot or plan nothing. Just wanted to get one out while I can.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, hope you enjoy this one.