Bayley lay on the king size bed that she shared with Seth, wearing sexy black lace underwear and long black leather gloves that finished just past her elbows. Her arms were above her head, wrists tied the bed frame with white bondage ropes. A black sleep mask covered her eyes, and black duct tape was wrapped around her head, covering her mouth and sealing it up. The latter was mainly to satisfy her gagging and mouth covering fetish, but Seth had come to enjoy it too during their relationship.

"Beautiful, angel. Now relax, and enjoy. Don't try to struggle," Seth said, barely above a whisper.

"Mmmm," Bayley moaned quietly, ignoring him and straining her wrists against the bonds.

"That's not going to work," Seth took pleasure in telling her. He was well used to the fact that if he didn't tie or gag her effectively, she wouldn't hesitate to get free, and then gloat about it. It had been a long time since that happened though because he was good at his side of things.

Realising the futility of her situation, Bayley lay still. Unable to move, talk, or even see, she was totally at Seth's mercy. Some day soon, she would extract her revenge, like she always did, she thought. But for now, she let herself relax, allowing her mind to focus entirely on whatever sensations Seth created for her, in addition to the enjoyable discomfort from the bondage and gag.

Seth started by massaging her left leg. "You have stunning legs, Bay. Always in such great shape. The only problem is this troublesome knee."

He moved up to the knee that had put her out of action for seven months. There was still a scar on the left side of it from the keyhole surgery that had fixed her ACL. He kissed the scarred area. "So much pain and rehab, but it will all be worth it. Tomorrow, you'll be on Smackdown and all of this will behind you."

"Mmm," Bayley moaned. As much as she liked the caring, loving gestures and words, her body wanted something very different, given the situation she was in.

"Patience," Seth took pleasure in saying. He worked his way slowly up her leg with his kisses. When he got high enough, he pulled down her underwear, then continued upwards.

It wasn't long before Bayley's muffled noises were filling the room, and they sounded distinctly ecstatic.

The next day, Seth and Bayley had to fly out to Smackdown. For Bayley, it was the first time since the previous July. She was excited about her return, and somewhat nervous as well. Training was all well and good, but performing was always something else entirely. To keep her mind off it, she was trying to focus on their other line of work.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?" he said, pausing the music he had been listening to and removing one of his ear buds.

"Are we going to do another coffee shop for our next project?"

"Sure," he said openly. "It would make a change from houses, and we both love Bean and Gone."

"Yeah," Bayley said fondly. "The only thing is, we got really lucky with Bean and Gone coming up for sale when we were in a position to buy it. How likely is it that we'll find someone selling a coffee shop?"

"We probably won't. But what we will find is somewhere we can create our own coffee shop. I feel like that would be more fun, too. Might not prove to be as profitable as the houses we've renovated, but the company is doing well enough for us to indulge ourselves a bit."

"Oh, Seth," she said excitedly. "Starting a coffee shop from scratch. Now that is a wonderful idea. I can't wait to start looking for locations. Let's start next week."

"Yeah, we can do that," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting back to work. I know I could have carried on while you were hurt, but the enjoyment comes from us working together."

"Right. I'd have felt really left out if you'd done something while I was unable to join in. Do you think we should go for the same style as Bean and Gone, like we said in Hunter's office that day?"

"Yes, I do. We should use the same branding, and maybe the same interior style. And I like the name Bean Again. It's perfect."

Bayley leaned over and kissed him. "It is. And so are you."

He laughed. "I don't know about that. I've got another side to me, as you found out last night. And I know you have, too."

"And don't you forget it," Bayley whispered into his ear.

A few hours later, Bayley walked into the women's locker room. Smackdown was in Florida, so at least they were spared the cold winter weather than most of the rest of the country was dealing with, including their home state of Iowa. On her way to the locker room, she had been greeted by several backstage crew she knew, and by a few of the male superstars. As yet, she hadn't seen any of the women.

As soon as she entered the room, Bayley became the centre of attention, somewhat surprised to find almost everyone already in there. Absence made the heart grow fonder, she knew, and this was no different. Friends and colleagues alike all crowded around to welcome her back and say hello. It was often this way when someone returned because by and large the women were a close group. But Bayley noticed something that she hadn't experienced before.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, recently traded to Smackdown for Bianca Belair and Carmella, had joined the other women that Bayley knew well in welcoming her back like a friend. It was the reaction of the roster's less experienced members, Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart in particular, that drew her attention. Reverence. That was the only way to describe their behaviour. It surprised Bayley. It was one thing to be looked up to by recent main roster graduates who hadn't met her before, but this was on another level. She made a mental note to find time to talk to them later.

"I missed you so much, Bay," Sasha Banks said as Bayley began unloading her travel case into the locker next to Sasha's. They always changed together without exception.

"I missed you too. And I missed wrestling. You know what it's like when you're out for a long time. Nothing quite seems the same when you come back. You look in amazing shape."

Sasha smiled. "Thank you! But girl, I look amazing? No, you look amazing. I think the time off did wonders for you. You look healthy and happy, and you're wearing some bling. Look at you! A necklace and a watch."

"Christmas gifts from Seth," Bayley explained with a smile of her own. She had been given a silver necklace with a small black diamond pendent in the shape of a heart, and a silver Breitling diver's watch with a black face. She didn't know how much the necklace had cost, but she did know that the watch had to have cost a lot because she had previously looked at some similar ones herself in the past.

"Let's have a look at the watch," Alexa said. Her locker was on the other side of Bayley, so she had overheard the conversation.

Bayley showed the watch to her. "It's a diver's watch. Water resistant to five hundred metres, apparently."

"It's really nice," Alexa said approvingly. "Have you gotten into diving then? I assume there's a reason Seth chose a diver's watch."

"Yeah," Bayley chuckled. "We spent some time down here in Florida the past couple of months. We decided to try diving in November, loved it, and we both ended up getting certified. Then we came back for Christmas and did a few more dives. I still feel inexperienced, but I enjoy it a lot. If you get a chance to try it, go for it."

"I'll try it with you, Bay," Sasha said.

"One day, we'll make that happen," Bayley promised.

The three of them chatted away for about half an hour before Sasha was called out of the locker room by Mickie James, a recent signing as a road agent.

Alexa drifted into a conversation with Zelina Vega, leaving Bayley momentarily to her own devices. That was when she noticed Shotzi approaching her, looking more like a fan at a meet and greet than a colleague. It felt bizarre.

"Bayley? I hate to interrupt you, but could I ask you something."

Then it dawned on Bayley. She had felt the same way back when she had been new to the company, meeting people like The Rock and John Cena for the first time. It was seriously daunting meeting a megastar and trying to talk to them as an equal when you felt that in a way you didn't deserve to do so. Now she was the megastar herself, at least in Shotzi's eyes, it seemed. That said a lot, and Bayley felt a bit taken aback. She had only been gone for seven months, but perceptions of her seemed to have changed quite a bit. Well, she told her, she wasn't going to start acting any differently to normal.

"Hey, Shotzi. Good to meet you," she said, getting up off the bench. She accepted a pretty nervous handshake. "What can I do for you?"

"Tegan and I were wondering if you could watch our match tonight and give us some critique? Please," Shotzi quickly added.

"Sure, I can do that. Out of interest, why me? You could have asked Charlotte or Sasha."

"We think you're the best in the business," Shotzi said simply.

"Well, thank you," was all Bayley could say to that. "I'll watch your match, and we can catch up after the show."

"I really appreciate it. Tegan will too. I'll leave you in peace."

Bayley watched Shotzi walk off across the room. The encounter left her with a strange feeling. She was used to fans acting like that around her, she could remember doing the same when she was younger. But for her colleagues to treat her as if she was somehow on a level above them was something new, and she didn't think she liked it all that much. It made her feel like she wasn't at ease.

To give herself a minute to clear her head, she decided to go to catering and grab a coffee. At some point, she would have to talk to Sasha or Seth about how she felt. Being seen as 'the best in the business' was likely something she couldn't do much about or get away from, so she figured she might need to come to terms with not simply being 'one of the girls' in the locker room. But she didn't want to.

Bayley went down to catering and got herself a coffee, exchanging greetings with several people but not stopping to talk to anyone. On her way back out of catering, she encountered Hunter Helmsley. He looked busy, but he greeted her with a smile and a hug.

"How does it feel to be back?"

"Great," Bayley said cheerfully. "Felt like I was stuck at home forever." Although it's pretty weird how I'm being treated by some of the lesser experienced girls in the locker room, she didn't add.

"We're glad to have you back. Listen, I've got a meeting I needed to be in five minutes ago, but can you get down to the PC this coming Wednesday? We've got some new female signees reporting for their first day of training. I'd like you to be there to speak to them."

"Uh, sure," she replied. What other option was there?

"Great. Seeing you will be an experience for them. I'll catch you later."

"Yeah," Bayley said quietly to his back as he walked away. "What the hell?" she muttered to herself. The day was getting weirder and weirder.

"What's wrong with you?" Liv Morgan asked, walking up to Bayley from behind. They had known each other for some time, and Bayley would happily call Liv a friend. Right now, a friend was what she needed.

"Ever since I got here, it's been weird. I haven't felt like one of the group. I've felt like half of them are looking up to me. And now Hunter wants me to go speak to new signees at the PC."

"Bay, most of them do look up to you. It's probably only Charlotte, Becky and Sasha who don't. I know I do. You're an amazing wrestler, a businesswoman, and most of all a good person. As for the new signees? They're people who literally dream of being like you one day. I know you know what it's like to be in that situation, meeting someone you think of like that."

"Yeah. It's just not something I imagined experiencing from the other side."

But it seemed that it was happening. She was now going to be the face of women's wrestling in WWE, and the person that all of the other wrestlers looked to for an example to be set. It was pressure. A lot of pressure. But that was one of the reasons she was now making so much money.

A/N: Bayley has found herself in a position that she hadn't expected. Will she be able to get used to what is expected of her?

Will Seth and Bayley find somewhere to set up a brand new coffee shop? It would be the second one in their empire if they do. Should they try to replicate the one they already own, or try to create something new?