"So let me get this straight, you want me to end this storyline between you and Paul?"
"Yes, Dad, I want that," Stephanie said as her father eyed the three people in front of him suspiciously. Something was going on that he didn't know about, he could feel it. The mere fact that Shane, Stephanie, and Chris felt the need to come in here and talk to him about the same thing was much too shady for him not to notice.
"But why? This thing between you two is going swimmingly," Vince tapped his index fingers against his chin. "The crowd is eating you both up as heels, plus you have this feud with Chris, and we were thinking about bringing Kurt really into it all."
Stephanie groaned, "Dad, I'm asking you to please change this."
"Well, we could bring in Kurt and have you get really close to him—"
"Why can't I get close to Chris?" Stephanie asked, grabbing Chris's hand as a sign of solidarity. "We're together, why can't we be together onscreen?"
"I think your interactions right now are perfect," Vince looked between the two of them. "The crowd is loving this hate relationship you two have for each other. It wouldn't make sense for Chris to suddenly want you."
"But he's going to kiss me, don't you think that's the perfect segue into a relationship onscreen?" Stephanie wondered. If there was anyone she didn't want to work with besides Paul, it was Kurt.
"We're playing that off as he did it to distract you," Vince said, "besides, you'll be accompanying Kurt because you're friends with him, so the natural progression would be from friends to more, don't you think?"
"I don't even understand why you'd want to put me with Kurt after what happened between the two of us," Stephanie argued although she really should keep the focus on Paul and that situation, but it couldn't hurt to speak out against the Kurt thing as well.
"But you and Chris were together," Vince pointed out, "and you said you knew what you were doing with Kurt so I'm guessing that situation didn't affect you as much as you acted like it did at the time."
Stephanie was caught there and Chris gave her a supportive smile. She and Chris had been together at the time, but there was no way she could tell her father or her brother that she and Chris had essentially been sleeping together with no commitment whatsoever. Even though she was with Chris at the time and unknowingly devoted to each other didn't mean that the thought of what Kurt had done wouldn't sting. The only thing she could do though was act like it hadn't.
"Yeah, I'm just saying, it sucks that I have to work with him when he took such advantage of me," Stephanie left that argument behind though, "but that's not the point. The point is I don't want to work with Paul anymore, and I think the best thing for me to do is to work with Chris."
"Why are you so adamant?" Vince asked, looking Chris in the eye. "Are you telling her this is what you want?"
"No, I'm not," Chris said, and he was about to get into an argument with Vince over what he was to Stephanie and what role she didn't play in his career, but Stephanie placated him with her soft hand. "That's not it at all.
"Then what is it? I can't just change an entire storyline that we've got planned for at least the next couple of months because you feel like it. If there is a reason you don't want this storyline, I suggest you come out and tell me right now because otherwise, I'm not seeing any legitimate reason for changing anything."
Chris looked at Stephanie, letting her know with his eyes that this was her decision. If she wanted to continue the storyline, he would be upset, but he wouldn't go against her decision. Stephanie took pride in her storylines, in the way she worked, and he didn't want to take that away from her. In the time they'd been together without knowing it, he'd never stepped on her toes when it came to her work and he saw no reason to start questioning her decisions now.
"I don't want to work with him any longer. I don't feel comfortable working with him anymore."
"You don't feel comfortable?" Vince tried to process this as his eyes narrowed. "Did he do something to you? Is he doing something to you? I mean, he came in here and he said he wanted to maybe amp up your relationship, but is there cause for concern."
"No, not really," Stephanie said, dodging around what happened earlier. She was stronger than being a tattletale to her father, and besides, she'd taken care of the situation herself. Maybe Paul would get a clue. She could only hope he would after she slapped the taste out of her mouth.
"Then I'm still not seeing the problem here," Vince told her. He looked to Shane and Chris, "do you two have anything to say about this?"
"Well," Chris started, "I would like to work with Stephanie because she is my girlfriend."
"You are working with her," Vince pointed out, "it just wouldn't make sense for your feelings to turn on a dime. Maybe at some later date it might make more sense, but right now, Paul and Stephanie are making fantastic heels, and with the addition of Kurt, it would really bolster his position in the company, something I really want to do."
"What about Chris?" Shane asked. "What are you planning on doing with him?"
"We were probably going to put him in a feud with Benoit. I know you two are friends, and I think you two could have good matches against each other," Vince threw it out there, and Chris was torn. He wanted Stephanie away from Paul at all costs, but a feud with one of his idols, that was something he'd wanted for a long time, especially now that he was in the WWF where things were handled better than they were when he was in WCW.
"We'll just continue on as we're going then," Stephanie said. Chris had told her all about his dream feuds for the WWF, and she remembered he'd said Benoit, and she didn't want to take it away from him.
"Stephanie," Chris said, her name holding all the questions he needed to ask.
"Just…don't put me with Kurt, not in the long run," Stephanie said, "I'd rather stay with Paul than be with Kurt. It may have been a ruse, but I'm still so disgusted by what he tried to pull with me."
"That's a fair deal," Vince said, "we can keep you two as friends or very good acquaintances. I want you to understand I'm not trying to go against your wishes and I'm not trying to ignore your suggestions, Stephanie, but you know we have things planned, and I can't cater to everyone's whims."
"I know," Stephanie said, standing up as Chris and Shane followed. "Thanks, Dad."
Stephanie led the two men out of the room, but it was Chris who spoke first, "Why didn't you tell your dad what happened?"
"Because I handled it," Stephanie said, "I handled the situation, and I don't think he's going to pull anything like that again. He knows what I can do to him, he knows that I can handle myself. He won't try it again."
"He might though," Shane told her, "and what if he does?"
"Then I will slap him again, and maybe I'll tell Dad. I just don't think it's a good idea right now. He's right, we have things set for at least the next few weeks, and to suddenly change everything, it wouldn't work. Plus, Chris, you want to feud with Benoit, I know you do. If I was to join you, you'd be stuck in this feud with Paul for a while, and you deserve better than that."
"Well, he is one of the top guys, it wouldn't be such a burden," Chris laughed, taking her face in his hands, "plus, it would mean I get to kick his ass under the pretense that we have a match."
"You still do have a match," Stephanie said, "remember, we haven't even gotten to Fully Loaded yet, that's where you're going to be in a Last Man Standing match with him, and in those matches, you can be as brutal as you want to be."
"I like the sound of that," Chris smirked as he leaned forward to capture Stephanie's lips. She smiled into the kiss too as Shane made gagging noises next to them.
"Seriously, now you're just doing it to torture me," Shane said with exasperation. "You do realize I'm still here, right, guys?"
"Yes, but we suggest you leave," Chris mumbled against Stephanie's lips. "It's about to get gross."
"I'll talk to you later then," Shane gagged again. "I need away from this suck fest over here. Stephanie, please be careful with that guy, he's not a good guy if he's so willing to push the envelope with you."
"Don't worry," Stephanie turned to face him briefly, "I know what I'm doing."
Shane held his hands up in surrender before he walked away. He loved his sister, and he loved seeing her so happy. He would never admit it, but she did look good with Chris. Maybe the kissing could be toned down a little bit, but Stephanie was someone else when she was with Chris. She was happier, and that's all he wanted for her. If Paul thought he was going to destroy them, he had another thing coming to him. He would not let his little sister be unhappy, not ever.
"Are you sure you're okay with continuing this storyline?" Chris asked as soon as Shane left, "be honest with me too, okay, I may have been oblivious before, but now I know all your tells."
"Rather presumptuous of you, don't you think?"
"Yes, it is," he told her, "so just answer the question."
"I'm not happy about it," Stephanie shrugged, she wasn't going to lie. She would rather be with Chris, even if that meant she had to follow him around and be his valet and completely decimate the story they were trying to tell right now. Part of it was because of Paul, but there was a huge part of her that wanted it for even more selfish reasons. There was a little part of her, okay, it was a rather large part of her that wanted the entire world to see that she had Chris Jericho.
She knew that he was the object of many affections. She wasn't stupid nor was she blind. When they went out, she knew he caught the eye of a lot of women, and though she wasn't normally the jealous type, Chris was the first wrestler she'd ever dated. With that distinction came recognition. Stephanie was used to being recognized now that she had a higher profile spot in the company, but the men she'd dated before had all been out of the limelight therefore there was no reason for them ever to be recognized.
Chris had gained notoriety in WCW for better or worse. Now, with the WWF, he was getting even more fame, plus he had his cover band that sometimes played gigs, which would draw in other people. Chris was charming and he had a charisma that was unmatched. All of this meant that he had a lot of admirers, and Stephanie was just not used to the scale. She knew, if she went out there with him, a lot of people would cry storyline, kayfabe, whatever, but it would give her some sense of satisfaction. But that was selfish of her, and she didn't want to be selfish. She didn't want to play the part of jealous girlfriend.
"Then let's get it changed."
"But I can deal with it," Stephanie added. "I can deal with it because I can deal with him. He's not going to intimidate me, and I'm not going to be scared to work with him. Everything will remain professional, and if it's not, then I will sever that tie."
"You're sure?" he asked again, wanting to make sure this was truly something she could deal with, not that he thought she couldn't. To him, Stephanie could run the entire world and look flawless while doing so.
"Yes, I'm sure," she nodded, giving him a smile, "I promise, I won't let anything happen that we can't handle."
"We?"
"I'm assuming we're a we," she told him.
"We are," he told her, "I love you."
"I love you too," Stephanie said, "but right now, I need to go tell Paul what's going on."
"You want me there?"
"No, I don't, I know you say you're not going to retaliate, but he's going to say something smug to you, and you're going to go off, then my dad will either fine you or suspend you or something, and I would rather not deal with that."
"I wouldn't want to, he'd bait me into it," Chris said, confirming that Stephanie knew he wouldn't be able to hold his temper if provoked. He could hold it now because Stephanie was reassuring, but if Paul tried to say something, he wouldn't be able to hold his tongue or his fists for that long. "If he pulls anything…"
"I will let you know then you can beat him up."
"Good," Chris said, kissing her. "I better go talk to Sean since he's supposed to attack me tonight."
"Okay, I'll see you later?" Stephanie asked.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," he joked as he walked in one direction while Stephanie walked in the other. She arrived at Paul's door without really thinking about it. Her feet must have just carried her there without really thinking about it. She knocked on the door and waited for Paul to answer if he was there. She kind of hoped he wasn't, but that was dashed the moment he opened the door. He smiled at her, but she scowled.
"You came back," he said, "come in."
"I came back for one reason and one reason only," Stephanie said.
"You didn't tell Chris, did you? I mean, he hasn't even done anything, why would you hide it, Stephanie?" Paul asked, and there was the smug look that Chris would have punched right off his face.
"I did tell Chris, he's just not a jerk who feels the need to storm after a guy. I'm not a damsel-in-distress, he knows that."
"If you were mine, I would defend you."
"So you just don't even listen when I talk?" Stephanie asked. "Because I just said Chris doesn't see me as some weak, little girl who can't defend herself. Anyways, that's not the point. The point is this: I will continue with this storyline because it's best for the company. I will not like it, I will not like you, but I love this company, and if it means I have to pretend to like you, so be it, I can act well enough. So can you since you pretended to be my friend."
"I didn't pretend anything, we're friends, and we can be more—"
Stephanie held her hand up, "Stop, just stop embarrassing yourself. I thought you might not be what everyone said, but then you kiss me, you call Chris's ex, oh yeah, we knew about that, and you consistently try to make Chris out to be some kind of bad guy. Our relationship from now on is only on the professional level."
"Stephanie—"
"There's no room for negotiations, Paul, fact is, you blew it."
