Chapter 35
A few weeks later, Paul was walking down the corridor to a meeting, seeing a group of divas along the way.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiii, Paul," they chorused, smiling at him widely.
"Afternoon, ladies," he responded cordially.
Huh? Very few of them even acknowledged him before, he thought, slightly confused.
He made his way the rest of the way down, not missing the grins and a few chortles of some of the other guys along the way.
Jericho even got in a crack as Paul passed another group of guys. "Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the sexy beast around here."
Paul stopped for a moment, taking it in. What the hell was that about?!
Wordlessly, he moved along before reaching the meeting room. Hell, even Stephanie was fawning all over him today; normally, she barely noticed him.
Okay, this whole day has been totally weird, he thought. And he wasn't even back on the active roster yet.
It wasn't until he had run into Spanky; who had snickered upon seeing his partner and best friend that Paul finally spoke up.
"All right, what the hell is going on around here today? I have guys giving me weird looks and stupid comments, the divas are all but trying to jump my bones, and even Steph and Hunter are kissing my ass. And now you look like you're ready to bust a gut. What the fuck gives here?"
Spanky showed him the new Cosmo and grinned. "Nice layout, dude."
"Nobody told me the thing was out already! And where the hell did you get that? I never figured you for reading chick magazines."
"I stole Lilian's copy," Spanky replied. "I had to see it for myself. Anyone ever tell you that you have a nice ass?"
"Oh Christ," Paul groaned. "Why did Lucy talk me into this shit?"
"Dude, relax. It hasn't hit the stands yet. As for the big shits kissing ass, they're probably going to do a story line or something."
"Nice." Paul rolled his eyes.
"Man, this could help with us getting a push toward another title shot. Or even a push for just you getting a title shot for that matter." He put his arm around Paul's shoulder. "Picture it; you as the next IC Champion!"
"You are so full of shit," Paul shook his head. "There's other guys in here that are more worthy of that chance, none which were in Cosmo, by the way."
"I'm telling you, this thing can open some serious doors for you!" Spanky said excitedly.
Paul gave him a strange look. "Dude, you are dreaming." He then tapped the magazine between them. "And this will most likely give me a boost for about a month or two, then it's back to the bottom of the totem pole. But I can't criticize Lucy for trying."