THERE YOU WERE
Chapter One
"Keep it together, Liv" Olivia Hunt mumbled under her breath has she walked down the near empty corridor of the Lake Charles Civic Centre Arena in Louisiana. Today marked her first day on the road with the WWE and if Olivia was being honest with herself she was seconds away from just turning around, walking straight back out into the cold November day and jumping onto a plane to Connecticut where she called home.
The thought was so tempting that Olivia would have done it if she hadn't already called Stephanie McMahon earlier that morning to let her know that she had arrived. The Chairman's daughter was waiting for her so Olivia had no choice but to take a deep breath and continue on to her destination.
The gentle rhythm of her stiletto heels clicking against the concrete floor slowly soothed Olivia's nerves. Looking down at the piece of paper in her hands a small frown eased onto her heart-shaped face. When she had spoken with Stephanie earlier that morning she had rattled off directions on how Olivia could find her make-shift office for the night but Olivia was struggling to make sense of her notes. With a sigh, Olivia took a left turn hoping that she had chosen correctly.
Her life had dramatically changed two weeks ago when her boss had told her that Stephanie McMahon was looking for a temporary creative writing assistant whilst her current assistant was taking six months maternity leave. He had put her name forward and Stephanie had requested an interview with her. Olivia had been surprised by the news. She had been working for the WWE corporation for five years has an editor at their headquarters in Stanford, Connecticut. She loved her job but her boss knew that when she had originally applied to work for the WWE it had been in the hopes of securing a writers position. They had told her that she didn't have enough experience but had offered her an editing position instead. She had been disappointed at the time but gladly accepted the offer. Working for the WWE had been a childhood dream and she was ecstatic to take anything they were willing to offer her.
Unexpectedly she had hit it off with Stephanie when the Chairman's daughter had called her for an interview. During her time with the WWE Olivia had met Stephanie on a handful of occasions at various work related events and found her to be pleasant but very professional. The thought of shadowing Stephanie on the road made Olivia anxious. She felt completely underqualified for the position. For the last five years she had been shut off from all the politics and egos that existed in the WWE. Safe in her bubble at Stanford she had made a name for herself there but leaving it all behind for the unknown made Olivia feel uneasy.
"Olivia!"
At the sound of someone calling her name, Olivia turned around to find a smiling Stephanie McMahon walking towards her.
"Hey! I'm glad I caught you. Did you settle in at the hotel okay?" Stephanie asked coming to a stop just in front of Olivia. Olivia felt relieved at the sight of Stephanie.
"Yes, everything went smoothly. I was actually trying to find your office but I think I took a wrong turn somewhere" Olivia replied with a sheepish smile. Stephanie just laughed.
"You aren't the first to get lost around here. Give it a couple of weeks and you'll find your bearings". Stephanie said before checking her watch. "Come on, I've got a couple of minutes to spare so I'll give you a quick tour" she smiled before motioning for Olivia to follow her.
For the next ten minutes Olivia followed Stephanie around the arena whilst Stephanie pointed out various points of interests to her. They had just passed catering and were chatting aimlessly about the show that night when the two women stepped through a black curtain and onto a platform that served has a stage. Standing out on that stage and looking out into the sea of empty seats made Olivia's stomach drop.
She had been a fan of wrestling since she was kid when she would watch it with her grandfather. Every week she would watch without fail and when most kids her age grew out of wrestling and focused their attention on the opposite sex Olivia still watched. She loved everything about it. From the athleticism of the wrestlers to the over-the-top storylines. She would fantasize about stepping out on to this very stage in front of thousands of fans but she had learnt very quickly that she was more apt to working behind the scenes then in front of the camera.
A surge of various emotions began to boil inside of her and she became speechless. How many times had she dreamed of being on the road and standing on this very spot has a child.
"The crew are still making the final adjustments to the ring" Stephanie explained. "If you come this way I'll take you out to the production trucks" she continued before making her way back through the curtain. Olivia reluctantly followed.
"How are you finding it all?" Stephanie asked peering over her shoulder to look at Olivia. Quickening her step, Olivia tried to match Stephanie's longer strides.
"...Good" Olivia tentatively said. "It's just a lot to take in all at once" A small frown eased onto her face has she nervously tucked a loose stand of hair behind her ear.
Stephanie smiled brightly before answering "Everyone gets first day jitters. Being on the road is a little daunting but once you settle in you'll be fine" she reassured. "I'm not going to lie. Being on the road is nothing like being in Connecticut. It's chaotic and demanding and there are so many different egos to deal with but it is also completely rewarding and fulfilling".
"No, it's definitely not like Connecticut" Olivia mumbled.
"You'll be fine" Stephanie said with a comforting squeeze of Olivia's shoulder. "If you want to survive on the road there are a couple of things you need to know" Stephanie began. "One. Don't let anyone walk over you. Understand that you are a rookie around here and don't be surprised if you are met with some resistance from the veterans. They mean well but they take their roles seriously. Some like to give rookies a hard time".
Olivia nodded her head in wry understanding. Working in Connecticut had its advantages such as being away from all the backstage politics but despite all that even Olivia knew that the talent and management had formed their own hierocracy system. In the World of Wrestling Entertainment the superstars that went the distance, took the hard knocks and sacrificed themselves every night in the ring were the alphas, the unofficial "leaders" of the locker room. They paved their way into the history books and Olivia had heard too many stories, even in her small cubicle hundreds of miles away, of disrespectful rookies trying to make the cut and failing.
"Two" Stephanie continued "Watch yourself. There is way too much testosterone running around these halls and there are definitely some charmers in the bunch. Obviously there are no rules about staff dating but if you do...just be careful".
Stephanie clearly did not know her. Olivia took her work serious and would be the last person to mix business with pleasure. "Don't worry. That won't be a problem" she assured her new boss. It had been almost two years since she had even been on a date with a man and the thought of hooking up with one of the male superstars was almost laughable.
It had been a couple of hours since the day had officially begun and Olivia was trying to enjoy the calm before the storm. When the tour had finished, Stephanie had taken her to the make-shift office where the creative team was based for the night and had introduced her to the other writers. Paul Levesque, Stephanie's husband joined them and Olivia watched in awe has the two commanded the room and the attention of the staff. Like Stephanie, Olivia had met Paul at various work functions but it was still crazy to watch him, as well as Stephanie, in their element.
When the meeting came to an end, Stephanie had Olivia follow her and observe what happened on a typical live show day. Stephanie was trying her best to not overwhelm Olivia and to slowly ease her into her new role. Olivia thought that she had handled herself well considering that she had been introduced to Shawn Michaels, a legend in the WWE, who had been lurking around backstage. The Heartbreak Kid was one of her favourite wrestlers of all time and Olivia had surprised herself that she was able to keep her fan girl-self in check.
In her five years with the company, Olivia had only ever met a handful of the superstars. The talent rarely ventured to headquarters and if they did it wasn't to Olivia's floor. In addition to Shawn, Stephanie had introduced Olivia to a number of other superstars whom were starting to now flood the corridors of the arena.
Checking her watch, Olivia gave a sigh. She had agreed to meet back with Stephanie in twenty minutes but she had been enjoying herself. Stephanie had needed to attend a meeting that Olivia couldn't go to so she had pushed the young woman to go to catering for something to eat. Definitely not confident enough to walk into catering solo, Olivia found an empty seat in the arena and watched John Cena, Chris Jericho and Adam Copeland practice in the ring below.
Pushing her bag on her shoulder, Olivia stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her white collared shirt and grey pencil skirt. Making her way back through to the backstage, Olivia felt her phone buzz in her hand. Looking at the screen a small smiled eased on her face when she noticed the name. Her close friend from home had sent her a text asking how things were going and Olivia was quick to respond. Reaching the end of the corridor Olivia absently took a left turn too busy typing out a reply to notice the other body coming around the corner towards her.
The force of the collision hit her hard and Olivia was forced to take a step back to regain her balance. Her phone slipped from her hands and onto the floor before she could even process what had happened.
"What the fuck?" An angry voice cried out breaking through the otherwise silent corridor. The voice made Olivia instantly look up at the man in front of her and she took a deep breath in. He towered over her 5"6 frame and she was momentarily taken back at his piercing blue eyes.
"I-I am so sorry" Olivia timidly said very aware of the anger flashing in the man's stare.
"Are you fucking blind?" He sneered and Olivia felt her mouth go dry. Her brain shut down and she struggled to find the right words to calm the situation. She couldn't believe her luck.
Randy Orton. The Randy Orton. The Viper. The Legend Killer. Whatever you wanted to call him, was staring her down impatiently waiting for her to speak. Olivia opened and closed her mouth two times before she felt the flush of heat work up her neck and onto her heart-shaped face. She was completely mortified. She was not one for confrontation in any situation especially when she had a very pissed off Randy Orton in front of her.
After a full ten seconds of silently staring at one another, Olivia watched Randy's upper lip curl into an intimidating sneer.
"Next time watch where the fuck you're going" he huffed before side stepping her and continuing down the corridor.
Olivia watched Randy's retreating figure has her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. Dazed and confused, Olivia wasn't sure what to do next. The encounter had left her shaking. It had escalated so quickly that she was still trying to comprehend what had just happened when she heard someone speak.
"Hey, are you okay?" A female voice asked forcing Olivia to turn to the owner of the voice. A tall blonde woman who was staring at Olivia waiting for her answer.
"Oh, I'm fine" Olivia replied weakly feeling embarrassed that someone had been a witness to her humiliating encounter with Randy Orton. The stranger just smiled and Olivia knew that she hadn't fooled her but thankful that she didn't say anything further. Instead the stranger bent down and picked up Olivia's phone from the floor and handed it back to her. "Thank you" Olivia said shooting the woman a grateful smile. Olivia turned the phone over in her hands relieved to find that the screen was still intact.
"Don't pay him any attention. He's just in a bad mood. I've heard he's having a rough time with management" the woman informed her before extending her hand out to Olivia. "I'm Annie"
"Olivia" Olivia replied before taking Annie's hand and shook it.
"New around here?" Annie questioned curiously.
Olivia nodded. "It's my first day actually. I'm Stephanie's new creative assistant...well, temporary creative assistant anyway".
"Welcome! I work in hair and make-up" Annie explained. Olivia nodded once before taking a curious look down the corridor where she had watched Randy disappear. Annie noticed Olivia's attention "I promise you that we're not all like Randy. You might actually find that a lot of us are very friendly to be around"
"Good to know" Olivia laughed "Is he always like that?" She asked. The moment she had looked up at him she knew who those piercing blue eyes belonged too. She had followed his career from his very first day with the WWE. Years ago, before she had been employed by the WWE, she had a major crush on him. When she had begun working for the WWE she had heard numerous rumours of his backstage antics from his playboy ways to his serious anger issues with management. Olivia had always had trouble believing it but knew that there must have been some truth to the rumours. Now witnessing it first hand, Olivia believed that Randy Orton's reputation certainly did live up to all the hype.
"Randy can actually be a pretty decent guy but he can also be dick. You just caught him on a bad day" Annie replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Anyway, I need to go. I have to get back to the chair but it was really nice meeting you. Maybe we can catch up another time and I can introduce you to some of the others. No doubt they would be happy to have some extra oestrogen around here" Annie smiled brightly before waving goodbye. Olivia waved back.
The thought of maybe finding a friend on this crazy journey made Olivia brighten but then she remembered that she was late. Really late. Pushing everything to the back of her mind Olivia broke out into a walk-run to the conference room where Stephanie was sure to be waiting for her. However this time Olivia made sure to check every corner she took.