Chapter Two

The captain came over the loud speaker and advised that the plane was in its final descent and asked for passengers to fasten their seatbelts. Olivia placed the novel she was reading onto her lap as she secured her seatbelt. She was on a late flight into Tampa, Florida and she couldn't wait until they landed. It was almost 10pm and she had an early start the next morning.

Gazing out the small airplane window Olivia let her mind wonder over what she had to do over the next couple of days. The last two weeks had been such a whirlwind of airports, hotels and constant paperwork that Olivia could barely remember which city she was in sometimes. Her work schedule was crazy and she found herself struggling to adjust to the work that was being thrown at her. Stephanie had been kind to her but the work was piling up and Olivia felt herself drowning. Sighing, Olivia wondered if she had made the right choice in accepting the position.

Once the plane touched down Olivia patiently waited while the plane taxied to the gate. Checking her watch Olivia let out a deep breath. She was lucky if she was going to get a couple of hours sleep tonight.

Once she had exited the plane, Olivia collected her bags from luggage claim and then headed over to the car rental desk. She had already reserved a car online in anticipation so it was a quick stop. She had Tuesday off and had planned to spend an extra day in Tampa before flying to the next city.

Rubbing her tired eyes, Olivia made her way to her rental car. Dumping her belongings in the trunk of the car, the brunette turned the ignition on and pulled out of the car park thankful that there was little traffic this time of night.

It took another twenty minutes for Olivia to reach the hotel and by the time she had checked in, showered and slipped into bed it was well after midnight. Putting her alarm on, Olivia fell into a deep sleep the instant her head hit the pillow.

-0-

Running late, Olivia parked her rental grabbing her belongings from the back seat. Locking the car behind her Olivia power walked to the side entrance of the arena where security stood chatting amongst themselves. Flashing her ID tag to security, Olivia hurried down the corridor hoping she wasn't too late. She couldn't believe that she had slept in. Tonight was Olivia's first Pay Per View. Survivor Series. It was a big night for everyone and Olivia hoped she hadn't blown it.

Locating the conference room where creative was meeting Olivia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the other members of creative still arriving. Stephanie, Paul and Vince had yet to arrive.

Finding a spot on the long conference table Olivia began setting up her laptop, note pad and pen before she jumped in surprised by another member of creative tapping her on the shoulder.

"Sorry" Jason laughed has Olivia placed her hand over her frantically beating heart.

"It's fine. You just startled me" Olivia smiled. "How are you?" She asked has she turned on her laptop. Jason took a seat next to her.

"I'm good. How have you been? Settled in yet?" He asked has his brown eyes dipped down to her chest. Olivia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Jason had been welcoming towards her since she had started however there had been a handful of moments when he made her feel uneasy. When his eyes lingered a little too long on her body or when he tried to flirt with her. He was attractive however Olivia wasn't interested. She had been polite and friendly towards him and that's where it ended. She was still new to creative and didn't want to appear standoffish with him so she did her best to keep him at a distance but he wasn't getting it. She was afraid to lead him on. She never flirted with him but Olivia was starting to think that maybe she would need to be a little more direct with him.

"It's been okay. Still trying to get use to all the travelling and hotels room" Olivia replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well, why don't you come out for a drink with me tonight after the show. I can share some of my wisdom with you" He said with a wink before his eyes darted again down to her chest.

"I..." Olivia hesitated not knowing how to answer him but thankfully Vince's loud voice boomed from the front of the conference room indicating that the meeting was starting. Olivia gave a small apologetic smile to Jason before turning her attention to her notes. She was relieved but the relief was short lived because she could see from the corner of her eye Jason watching her. He would be waiting for an answer after the meeting and Olivia dreaded the awkward situation she was now in.

For the duration of the meeting Olivia kept her attention on Vince and ignored Jason beside her and the moment Vince wrapped up the meeting Olivia was quick to her feet and by Stephanie's side. She could see Jason hovering around but eventually he left and Olivia felt like a horrible person for ignoring him. He was just being friendly but Olivia just had an uneasy feeling about it. She may be a coward for how she dealt with it but for now she felt like she dodged a bullet.

Grabbing her belongings from the conference table Olivia left the room and made her way towards her make-shift office. It was going to be a long day and she wanted to get as much done as possible. If she was lucky and got her work done she might be able to watch the main event match from the Gorilla position.

-0-

Olivia stretched her neck from left to right feeling the tension slowly ease. She had been working solidly for the last three hours without a break and her body was stiff from sitting in the same position for so long.

A yawn escaped her full lips and Olivia decided she needed a cup of coffee if she was going to make it through the rest of the evening. The PPV was due to start soon and Olivia, though tired, was excited for it.

Leaving her office Olivia walked down the corridor saying a couple of "hello's" to passing crew members glad to find that she was finally seeing some familiar faces in the sea of people that worked backstage.

On top of her tiredness, Olivia was also trying to wear in her rather expensive stiletto heels and her feet were killing her. Shoes were her weakness. She had an impressive shoe collection at home and it was the one luxury that she allowed herself but she was regretting the four inch navy stiletto heels she was wearing. She had brought them because they perfectly matched the cream coloured pants and the loose navy button up shirt she wore but every step she took Olivia winced in pain. She could feel a blister forming on the back of her heel.

"Liv! Hold up!" Stephanie called out. Olivia turned around to find a puffed Stephanie. "I'm so happy I found you"

"Is everything okay?"

Still trying to catch her breath Stephanie just waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Everything's fine. I'm just in a hurry and I need for you to take this to Randy" Stephanie explained before holding out a copy of the script that they had just finalised.

"Randy Orton?" Olivia queried hoping Stephanie was talking about a different Randy.

Stephanie just nodded and passed the script to Olivia who reluctantly took it from her grasp.

"Randy was suppose to show up at the talent meeting but he was a no show" Stephanie frowned. "I would give it to him myself but I'm running late for a meeting. Can you please find him and give it to him and tell him that dad wants to speak with him before the show" Stephanie smiled gratefully before turning on her heels and leaving a speechless Olivia alone in the corridor.

"You've got to be kidding me" Olivia mumbled under her breath has she looked at the script in her hands. She had successfully avoided Randy these last couple of weeks and she had been dreading coming face to face with him again. Of course she had seen him around the arena here and there but thankfully she was able to keep her distance from him and avoid his attention.

Feeling like she had no choice now, Olivia took a deep breath and continued walking to catering. She had no idea where he could be but catering seem like the most logical place. From the door way, Olivia quickly scanned the tables but she couldn't see him. Deciding to try the locker rooms Olivia was on her way when she passed John Cena in the corridor. He had helpfully told her that he had seen Randy twenty minutes before at the arena gym.

Thanking John, Olivia began the trek to the second floor of the arena where the gym was located.

Now that she was on the road full time Olivia found that she was hearing a lot more gossip than she would normally hear at Stanford and the rumours about Randy seemed to be at the top of everyone's list. Just last week creative had been discussing his extremely moody and argumentative attitude. Stephanie had briefly mentioned in passing that Randy had been unhappy about the ideas that creative had planned for him but that didn't excuse him for his terrible behaviour.

Seeing the gym up ahead Olivia prayed that their exchange would take less than thirty seconds. In and out and she could go back to catering and get the coffee that she desperately needed.

Taking a deep breath and giving herself one last pep talk, Olivia pushed the gym door open and walked in. The gym itself was much larger than Olivia expected. Various machines were scattered neatly around the room but it only took a moment for Olivia's green eyes to land on Randy. He was the only person in the room.

Clutching the script to her chest, Olivia slowly walked towards the back corner where Randy had set himself up. As Olivia approached him she found her breath catching in her throat.

He wore a loose grey sleeveless singlet that was soaked in sweat and clung to his torso while a baseball cap was pulled low over his eyes. Two white ear buds where placed in his ears and the cord led down to the pocket of his baggy black basketball shorts. He was facing toward the floor to ceiling mirrors and in his hands were two extremely large dumbbells. Olivia watched in silence has his biceps flexed impressively against the weights he curled.

A small shiver of appreciative pleasure ran down Olivia's spine and she did her best to ignore it.

Mentally shaking herself from her thoughts, Olivia tried to ignore the heat that rose to her cheeks.

Was it hot in here? she thought to herself before deciding that she needed to get this over and done with as quickly and painlessly as possible. But the closer Olivia got to Randy the more her brain ceased to work.

He was an impressive male specimen and he was making her act strangely and Olivia didn't like it one bit. She was acting like a lovesick teenager.

Now that she was barely five steps away from him, Olivia found herself tracking the beads of sweat that ran down the grooves of his powerful shoulders. They were big and board and Olivia found herself once again lost for words.

What was happening to her.

Again forcing herself to snap out of her thoughts, Olivia turned her attention to the mirror that Randy was facing and found a pair of blue eyes locked onto her.

Shit.

A warm flush crawled its way up her neck and onto her cheeks. She had been caught checking out Randy and the humiliation that she had felt during their first encounter paled in comparison to how she felt right now.

"What to take a fucking picture?" He called out in a gruff and annoyed voice before ripping out the ear buds from his ears. He turned his attention on her and Olivia wished she could melt into a puddle right where she stood.

She did not want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that she had been checking him out or that for a moment, a really small and tiny moment, she had found herself attracted to him.

Instead Randy just stood there with his hands on hips. His scorching eyes baring down on her. Olivia couldn't make the words form on her lips. This was bad. Read bad.

"Do you actually speak?"

"I...I..." Olivia stuttered.

"I don't have all fucking day" he bit back and Olivia felt her cheeks warm again. This was going horribly and Olivia had no idea how to steer this train wreck back on course.

Clearing her throat Olivia forced herself to speak "I was trying to find you so I could give..." Olivia started but was cut off by Randy.

"Look, I don't fuck ring rats so you're wasting your time" He grunted before turning his back on her making it clear that the conversation was over.

"Sorry?" Olivia replied louder than she indented not sure she heard him correctly. Had he called her a ring rat?

"Did you not hear me? I said I don't fuck ring rats and even if I did, Sweetheart" he stopped to take a moment to roam his light blue eyes up and down her body. "You aren't my type".

Olivia winced at his words. She knew that she was nothing compared to the beautiful women that graced the WWE but his words still cut deep. Of course a man like Randy wouldn't be attracted to a woman like her. She knew that but it still hurt. She could feel the tears threatening to flow and Olivia did not want him to know that she was hurt by his words.

"Stephanie, uh, asked that I give you your s-script for the night" Olivia held the script up to show Randy "and that Vince would like to see you before the show starts" Olivia powered through. Her voice only waiving once. Olivia threw the script on the bench beside were Randy stood.

Avoiding his gaze Olivia turned on her heel and hurried out of the gym before the tears flowed freely.

-0-

"Fuck!" Randy muttered under his breath watching the brunette leave. He ran a frustrated hand over his face before picking up the script she gave him. He shook his head in anger and tossed it onto the ground.

He had fucked that up. Royally.

All he had wanted was to be left alone. His morning was shit and the afternoon was even worse. Needing to pump out some of his aggression he had retreated to the gym for some alone time. Blasting music and enjoying the burn of his muscles has he pumped weights Randy could feel himself slowly start to feel normal again until he saw some brunette chick checking him out. He watched her in the mirror. Her plump bottom lip trapped between her white teeth. Her eyes glued on him. He didn't have the time nor the patience to deal with another ring rat but obviously he got that fucking wrong.

Now that he thought about it she had looked familiar and then it clicked when she mentioned Stephanie's name. She was Steph's new assistant. He couldn't remember her name but she had been the same woman whom he had literally ran into only a few weeks before and both times she looked like a deer caught in headlights only this time she looked like she was going to cry.

Fuck. Now she was going to run to management and cry to them about how big bad fucking Randy Orton was an arsehole to her. As if it's news to them.

She definitely looked like the 'goody two-shoes type' too and the fact that she worked for Stephanie just made it a bad combination all round. He was already walking on thin ice with management but if she ran to Stephanie and told her what happened he knew that he would be called into Vince's office for another talk about his so called 'behaviour'. He couldn't deal with that right now. He had bigger issues to deal with then some teacher's pet ratting him out.

-0-

"Good job, everyone" Vince McMahon's voice boomed from the gorilla position as the production team began to take them off of the air. Olivia stood in the back corner watching as a mix of talent and crew workers took their respective leave.

Her first PPV had finally finished and it went off without a hitch. Though she had been excited that morning Olivia wanted nothing more now than to leave the arena and go home. Back to Stanford and away from all the backstage egos.

Her encounter with Randy earlier had been a wake-up call. She didn't belong here. Agreeing to be Stephanie's creative assistant had been a mistake.

Once she had fled the gym and Randy behind she went straight to the nearest bathroom and cried alone in one of the stalls. And it wasn't just her encounter with Randy that made her cry is was everything else as well. Her loneliness being on the road, how out of depth she was in this crazy world of the WWE and how she had no idea what she was going to do next.

She didn't belong here. She belonged back in her cubical in Stanford where she could hide herself away. People forgot her existence there and left her alone. But she couldn't do that here no matter how much she wanted to run away from it all.

With a sigh, Olivia pushed herself to head back to her make-shift office. Grabbing her belongings Olivia headed towards the exit and to her rental car. The ride back to the hotel only took twenty minutes and once her hotel room door closed behind her, Olivia flopped face first onto her bed and closed her eyes. The moment she did her encounter with Randy replayed again in her mind making her cringe.

Turning over onto her back, Olivia stared up at the water stained ceiling.

"Stop it, Liv" she muttered to herself. This was why she kept her distance from men. She was shy and awkward around the opposite sex and though she had no romantic interest in him, for some reason Randy pressed all her buttons and turned her into a mumbling mess. She wished she had enough confidence to stand up for herself when he called her a ring rat. Her? A ring rat? It was almost laughable.

Groaning, Olivia flung her arm over her face. No man had made her feel the way Randy did. He was a complete jerk. He belittled her and made her feel worthless. The way he had talked to her was horrible and she couldn't understand how he had friends in this business. But he did. On the odd occasions that she had seen him lurking around backstage he was always with the 'guys'. John Cena, Adam Copeland and Randy were a trio. Where one was the others was sure to follow. John and Adam were two of the nicest people in the business and how they could be friends with Randy was a mystery to Olivia.

Even Annie said he was a decent guy but Randy had hated her on sight and Olivia couldn't understand why. She shouldn't care but for some reason she did and it made her feel pathetic. She was wasting her energy on a guy who didn't deserve it.

Pushing herself up and off the bed, Olivia kicked off her heels. A soft moan of delight slipped through her lips at the sensation of the soft carpet between her toes. Making her way towards the shower Olivia stripped off her clothes and turned the water on.

Waiting for the water to heat up, Olivia checked her reflection in the mirror. She had never viewed herself as beautiful or even pretty. She was plain and plain didn't cut it sometimes. Plain wasn't the type that Randy Orton nor most men that Olivia had encountered went for. They liked long legged slim models not short curvy brunettes that couldn't even talk to a guy without embarrassing themselves.

Untying her hair from the bun on top of her head, Olivia watched has it fell in dark thick waves to her mid back. She had always worn her hair long ever since she had been a teenager. It was her security blanket of sorts that made her feel more feminine and it was one of only a handful of features she liked about herself. After breaking up with her ex-boyfriend two years prior Olivia's confidence within herself was at an all time low. He left her heartbroken and a shell of herself.

Sighing, Olivia stepped away from the mirror and into the shower. She didn't want to think about her ex-boyfriend or about Randy or about any guy for that matter. Instead she shook all thoughts from her mind and told herself that tomorrow was a new day and as long as she didn't make a fool of herself again she would be fine.