Waiting for her husband to answer the phone Linda wondered where it had all gone wrong, she loved him dearly and the same for her daughter but they were so alike and neither would back down that it made her life so hard trying to referee between the two but in this situation it was mostly Vince in the wrong.
Blindly reaching for his phone Vince put it to his ear, "Vince McMahon speaking."
"What the hell have you done Vince?"
Rolling his eyes at the immediate assumption that he was in the wrong he set his glasses on the desk, "What do you mean what have I done? Last time I checked I wasn't doing anything wrong, I was just working."
Frowning Linda was not impressed with her husband acting dumb, "So you don't know why I am calling then? Are you going to play that game with me Vince?"
Realising it was best for his sanity to just be honest with her he sighed, "Okay fine, you are calling because of my conversation with Stephanie aren't you?"
"Yes Vince I am. Why the hell have you disowned her?"
Standing up he locked his office door, "Because I have to make an example of her. I can't sit back and let her disobey me like that because that is not the message I want being sent out to the locker room. Just because she was my daughter it does not give her the right to disobey me like she did and this is her punishment."
Scratching her head she didn't understand, "Vince this was a personal thing so I don't see why you are acting like it has any bearing on work. I understand that you are upset that she has been seeing Paul behind your back but this is just plain ridiculous."
"But that is just it, this is very much a business thing as her actions impact directly on the business and I laid down a punishment that I felt fit the crime. If she comes to her senses and dumps Paul then I will obviously reconsider my position but until that point she is very much disowned."
Having been married to the man for over thirty years she was well aware of how he reacted when he was sticking his heels in and she was not going to get him to move and see any sense so she would have to work on him again, "Fine Vince, if you want to lose your daughter over who she is dating then that is on you but I am not going along with this stupid and ridiculous plan of yours to make her see sense or whatever the hell it is that you are trying to do. At least think about how ridiculous you are being please."
Rolling his eyes Vince always knew that she was the soft parent, "I'm not being ridiculous but whatever you want. I need to go back to work but I will talk to you tonight."
"Mmhmm, goodbye Vince."
Hanging up the phone Linda contemplated texting Stephanie to say that she had had no luck changing his mind but thought better of it, she didn't need that stress.
Paul did not let on to his girlfriend that he was concerned about how the other guys were going to react over everything so after the production meeting as she sat down to do her work he made his way to the ring to work off some of his stress and anxiety.
Stretching on the ropes he felt eyes watching him and as he turned his head to see who it was he almost wished he hadn't when he saw a couple of guys stood there gossiping, "Do one of you care to do exercise with your feet and not your mouth? I could do with some help practising a submission move."
There was a clear conversation going on between the guys before Matt Hardy was pushed forward, "Here is your willing victim, we mean opponent."
Climbing in the ring Matt did some stretching before they began doing some basic holds and then Paul locked the submission move in on him.
Leaning on the apron the other guys watched waiting for Matt to be in the hold before Adam said, "Is it true that you're back with Stephanie?"
Tightening the hold just a little Paul ignored the hiss of pain from Matt, "Yes we're together and no I really don't care to hear your thoughts on my relationship."
It was Jay's turn to be curious now, "Is it true that her Dad disowned her because the two of you are together?"
Matt's hiss of pain turned into a howl of pain as Paul tightened the hold so much that he felt like he was going to rip his legs off, "Ow ow ow, Paul I have to wrestle tonight."
Removing Matt from the hold Paul felt slightly guilty, "Sorry for hurting you." Turning his attention to the guys outside the ring he stood up and walked to the ropes, "As for your downright intrusive questions you have no right to ask that. I would suggest you think before you speak in the future because the next person you ask those of won't have as much restraint as I do and will knock you straight out no second chances given."
Grabbing his water from the corner of the ring Paul climbed out and headed backstage leaving Matt to admonish them for asking the question whilst he was in the position where his legs could get ripped off.
Stephanie had tried to focus on her work but it was hard to focus on it when her mind was on the fact that she had been disowned. Getting on with her work was hard but she did manage to do bits and pieces here and there so when Paul walked back through the door she was relieved, "Can I ask you something please?"
Dropping his water onto the table he flopped down on the couch beside her sitting close but not too close as he was aware that he had been sweating and probably smelt, "Yes you can ask and I will try to be honest with you because this sounds serious."
Placing her laptop on the table she turned on her side to face him properly, "Do you think your family will accept me as part of their family?"
Resting his hand over hers he squeezed it gently, "You still have your family, just not your Dad right now. As for my family of course they will accept you as part of the family, as my girlfriend they will love you like a daughter."
She couldn't help the tear that fell down her cheek at his comments, "Thank you."
He didn't really care that he was sweating, his girlfriend needed his comfort more so he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, "I love you so much."
Holding him tightly she didn't care how he smelt because he felt good, "I love you too Paul."
A few weeks had passed since Vince had told Stephanie that she was disowned and things hadn't improved between the two, they worked together in a professional capacity but that is where it ended despite Linda's best efforts to change things.
Opposite to the way Vince had reacted when the couple visited Paul's family to inform them that they were together they had been ecstatic and had welcomed Stephanie back to the family with open arms.
It had been a long week at work because it had been a pay per view and it had been a big two weeks as they had spent the few days before the pay per view with his family so now they were spending the weekend at the beach house and neither could be happier.
After having dinner at their favourite restaurant they made their way back to the house but rather than going straight inside Paul tugged her hand to go towards the beach instead, "It is unseasonably warm, let's make the most of it and have a late night walk on the beach."
"Why Mr Levesque I do believe you are a closet romantic."
Smirking back at her as they walked the narrow path the smiled on her face and the amusement in her eyes made his heart swell with love, "There is no closet involved Miss McMahon." The frown that crossed her face at the mention of her name was not going to stay there as it would ruin his plans, "Shoes on or shoes off?"
"Off, definitely off."
Bending down the two of them took off their shoes before they walked hand in hand across the beach enjoying the silence and the slight sea breeze. Pulling Stephanie towards the sea he smiled, "No walk on the beach is complete without the sea lapping at your feet."
Watching him sceptically as he rolled up his trousers she reluctantly followed him closer to the sea, "If I get frost bite on my feet it is all on you."
The second she felt the sea around her feet she relaxed, it wasn't as cold as she had expected, "Can we sit out here for a while please?"
Shrugging his shoulders he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, "Your wish is my command."
After walking by the sea for a few minutes with the only noise being that of the water they eventually made their way a bit further up the beach and took a seat on the sand with Stephanie sat between Paul's legs leaning against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
Words didn't need to be exchanged as they sat there together but the longer he sat there with her in his arms the more it felt right. Removing his arms from around her he shifted a little on the sand pulling a box from his pocket before he opened it and slipped his arms back around her holding the box open in her direction, "I love you so much Stephanie and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
Turning around in his arms she knelt on the sand staring at him, "What?"
Gulping he wasn't expecting this reaction, "Stephanie will you marry me?"
"I . . . for real?"
Stroking her cheek with his thumb he nodded his head, "For real. I know it's kind of quick but I love you and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you're not ready . . ."
"YES!"
"Really?"
Stephanie nodded her head, "Yes really. I love you Paul and I can't wait to be your wife."
Slipping the ring on her finger he kissed her wrapping his arms around her waist and falling back to lay on the sand holding her close. He wasn't expecting marriage to fix the problems with Vince but he was sick of worrying about Vince and the boys and had decided that he was going to live his life with only two people in mind, himself and Stephanie, and this was exactly what he wanted.
