Title: Come Up To Meet You
Author: AngryCupcake
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Vince McMahon/Linda McMahon
Disclaimer: All things pertaining to the WWE are owned By Vince McMahon.
Song, The Scientist, and song inspired title belong To Cold play.
Feedback: please feed me
Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
Few men would ever dare to describe Vince McMahon as anything less than fearless. He had the foresight to turn his father's marginally successful wrestling organization into a lucrative billion dollar industry. Through sheer force of his might he faced down his competitors and mercilessly crushed them. His vision forever changed the face of wrestling. There was no doubt of the power this man wielded, his ambition and ruthlessness made sure of that. So why were his hands shaking?
Vince rode the elevator in silence only half listening to the blatherings of his personal assistant. His stomach twisted into increasingly tighter knots with every floor the lift ascended. He felt ill. Yes that was it, he was sick. He should probably just turn around right now and go back to his hotel suite. Sable would take care of him. Vice frowned at the thought; Sable couldn't take care of a hang nail. Delicately put, the blonde diva's skills were rather limited to areas pertaining to physical intimacies. Nice as those skills were a man couldn't live on bread alone.
When the elevator came to a stop at the appropriate floor Vince and his personal assistant stepped out and began making their way to their destination. He watched personnel scurry away from the water coolers, back to their desks and cubicles, as soon as they realized who he was. He usually enjoyed their reactions but today he could barely manage a weak smirk.
"Sir, are you feeling okay?" Barbara asked with a tinge of concern coloring her voice.
"Yes I'm fine." Vince gruffly responded. At times His P.A. could be such a mother hen. Barbara was always hiding his snacks and reordering his lunches in favor of healthier meals. Oh he'd yell at her for it, because he was Vince McMahon hear him roar, but she'd just brush him of and mumble something about his cholesterol and high blood pressure. Although he it was extremely annoying, he secretly enjoyed her fussing. It was comforting. Don't tell anyone.
Before he knew it they were standing in the reception area waiting for the receptionist at the desk to lead them into the meeting room. As soon as he entered all the executives seated at the table greeted him with a round of "Good morning Mr. McMahon." He nodded to them in acknowledgement and sat in his self-designated chair. Barbra made her way to the back to observe and take any necessary notes.
Once he got himself situated he took full stock of the room. His eyes roamed over all the usual suspects until they stopped on one person.
Linda McMahon.
She looked positively breath taking. She grew out her hair. It now touched the tips of her shoulders. It suited her. Her makeup was subtle, done more to highlight her best features than to hide any flaws. Linda listened thoughtfully as Larry or Barry or whatever the hell his name was spoke of the WWE latest ventures in Asia. Vince remembered when she used to look at him like that.
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
It was the first day of his second year in college. No longer a lowly freshman Vince impatiently waited on an incredibly long registration line as a gaggle of giggling girls twittered on and on about utter none sense.
"So what are you going to wear tonight?" the redhead in front of him asked.
"For what?" A brunette asked in turn.
"The fraternity party tonight." The redheaded responded as if the answer was obvious.
"Angelina it's the first day. Partying in moderation, remember?" Another girl said. Vince couldn't see the other girl because the brunette obstructed his view.
'They were probably freshman' Vince thought.
"Yeah but I think a party is the best way to start off the school year," The red head said. "Besides I plan on wearing something ultra skimpy. I swear I'll be like the grooviest chick there."
'Then again freshman girls do have their good points.' Vince quickly amended.
"Give it up Linda," the brunette said. "You fight a losing battle."
"Yeah and you know it." The redhead readily agreed. "If anything, you'll both be right beside me keeping me out of trouble."
"Why me?" The brunette dramatically moaned. "We'll probably get arrested again."
"Hey gross exaggeration! If I correctly recall the cops let us off with a warning." The redhead protested.
"Because I talked our way out of it." The unseen member of the group wryly stated. "My dad would have had a total heart attack if he had to bail me out of jail. You guys know how conservative he is, he still thinks I dress like a hippy yahoo."
As she spoke the line shifted and she came into Vince's line of sight. And what he saw took his breath away. She was simply... amazing.
Linda, that was what the brunette called her, stood 5'6. Her straight blonde hair fell to her waist, just above her jeans. As far as Vince was concerned bell bottoms never looked as good as they did on that girl. He had to meet her. Not that he believed in anything as silly as love at first sight. He just really had to get to know that Linda girl.
"So which class are you switching Linda." One of the girls asked.
"My German class, they put me on the wrong level." Linda responded.
Well that settled it. Vince decided that he would be failing German for the year.
I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
"This isn't working." The statement served to jolt Vince out of sweetness of his memories to the cold reality of his present.
"I'm sorry what?" Vince became uncomfortably aware that all eyes were on him. It was like he'd been caught without his homework.
"I said this isn't working," Linda repeated. "This diva search thing is proving to be a huge waste of time and money. It's done almost nothing to lift our numbers. We should end this quickly"
All the executives around the table swiveled their heads in the other direction to see Vince's reaction, but Bischoff beat him to the punch.
"I don't know." He smirked. "I find the prospective divas to be quite stimulating. Their presence is very up lifting, if you know what I mean."
Linda McMahon chose not to dignify that with an answer. Instead her eyes swung to meet Vince's in a silent challenge and waited for his rebuttal.
Meanwhile Vince internally cringed at Bischoff crude show of support. That man was an ass.
"Linda sex sells. We'll see a massive pay off when this thing wraps up. Remember our statistic show that our major demographic is men aged eight- teen to thirty-four and they are always in favor of more scantily clad women."
And everyone swiveled once again to gage Linda's response. She may have always froze up a bit in front of the cameras, but Linda was fiery in a board room.
"Yes sex sells but not in this case. Those women bring nothing further to the table. They are untalented brainless bimbos. Even the most hormonal eight-teen year old can see that. Face it Vince your people executed this idea badly. The audience is bored out of their minds." As she spoke Linda's assistant handed out a report. The sound of ruffling paper echoed through out the room as the staff looked through the information "The results of the survey I had conducted all indicate significant support for an early conclusion to this diva competition and that includes our key demographic."
"Okay." Vince said.
"Okay?" The challenge in Linda's crystal blue eyes was reduced to confusion.
"Okay." Vince simply stated. "You're right, this is a mess."
"A Mess!?" Bischoff sputtered.
"Yes a mess." Vince leveled a steely glare at the man. Bischoff wisely chose that moment to back down. Vince turned to once again address Linda. "I'll have Barbara schedule a conference between my people and yours to resolve this as soon as possible."
"Um...okay." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at her ex-husband probably wondering what new trick he had up his sleeve. She clearly expected a knock down drag out fight over the issue.
Well she wasn't going to get one, not today of all days.
Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
As soon as the meeting ended Vince bolted for the door and rushed down the corridor. Barbara had a difficult time keeping up with him. The tension rolled off of her boss in waves. Now was not the time to nag. They hurried along in silence.
Vince was almost home free. Not only could he feel it, he could see it. The elevator was almost within reach.
"Vincent Kennedy McMahon stop right there." A voice commanded.
Damn. He knew that voice.
He turned around and yep it was Linda in all her glory.
"Hello Ms. McMahon." Barbara said.
"Hello Barbara." Linda warmly replied. "Could I speak to Vince for a few moments please?"
"Of course Ms. McMahon, I'll be waiting in the lobby." She said to Vince. She walked away pretending not to see all the do- not-leave-me signals her boss sent her.
Vince hated it when his assistant did her passive aggressive I-know-what's- better-for-you shit.
Now he was alone... with Linda. She always saw through his façade. He didn't want her to see the hurt.
Running in circles
Chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
"So how is Sable?"
He wished she said that with malice, but her voice held no venom. It was just an honest question.
"Oh she's fine..."
"Good."
"Yeah."
"How's that guy you've been seeing; what's his name Larry or Barry?" Let it never be said that Vince McMahon was above pettiness.
Linda rolled her eyes. "His name is Harry and you know that."
Vince let it slide. "So you're bringing what's his face to Shane and Marissa's baby shower?"
"Why do you do that?" She asked in exasperation. "Can't we just have a normal non WWE related conversation for once?"
"Hey I was just asking a simple question." Vince put both his hands up in defense.
"Not that it's any of you're business but yes I am bringing Larry err Harry to the shower."
"I'm just surprised you're bringing him to a family function so early in your relationship."
Linda glared at Vince. God he even missed that glare.
"So you aren't bringing Sable." Linda asked.
"No I'm not." He smugly replied.
Linda wasn't fooled. "Because..."
Damn it how could she always tell?
"Because she has to get her nails done." He mumbled.
Linda started to giggle.
"Hey she waited three months for Jean Louis De Sade to squeeze her into his busy schedule." He weakly countered.
"And his name is De Sade?" Linda snorted. "I'm not even going to touch that one. It's too easy."
"It's not funny."
"Yes it is."
"Yeah it is." Vince admitted with a small laugh.
He waited until Linda calmed down a bit. It's been forever since he'd seen her laugh like that in front of him. There was a time when she laughed like that with him all the time. That was before all the tears she cried for him, before all the pain.
"Linda?"
"Yes?"
"It wasn't all bad was it? Our marriage, I mean."
His earnest question sobered her up. A wistful expression crept its way on to her face as she thought about it. "No, it wasn't all bad Vince. We had our good moments. They just tended to be overwhelmed by the bad."
"Ours was a real life story of sex, lies, and videotape huh?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry Linda." His voice shook with emotion.
"I know Vince."
"We were married today. I didn't forget."
"I didn't think you did." Linda said.
"Happy anniversary." Hesitantly he took her hand into his own.
"Yeah happy anniversary, Vince." She rose to her tip toes and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
A far cry from the passionate embraces they use to share. The end
Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
Few men would ever dare to describe Vince McMahon as anything less than fearless. He had the foresight to turn his father's marginally successful wrestling organization into a lucrative billion dollar industry. Through sheer force of his might he faced down his competitors and mercilessly crushed them. His vision forever changed the face of wrestling. There was no doubt of the power this man wielded, his ambition and ruthlessness made sure of that. So why were his hands shaking?
Vince rode the elevator in silence only half listening to the blatherings of his personal assistant. His stomach twisted into increasingly tighter knots with every floor the lift ascended. He felt ill. Yes that was it, he was sick. He should probably just turn around right now and go back to his hotel suite. Sable would take care of him. Vice frowned at the thought; Sable couldn't take care of a hang nail. Delicately put, the blonde diva's skills were rather limited to areas pertaining to physical intimacies. Nice as those skills were a man couldn't live on bread alone.
When the elevator came to a stop at the appropriate floor Vince and his personal assistant stepped out and began making their way to their destination. He watched personnel scurry away from the water coolers, back to their desks and cubicles, as soon as they realized who he was. He usually enjoyed their reactions but today he could barely manage a weak smirk.
"Sir, are you feeling okay?" Barbara asked with a tinge of concern coloring her voice.
"Yes I'm fine." Vince gruffly responded. At times His P.A. could be such a mother hen. Barbara was always hiding his snacks and reordering his lunches in favor of healthier meals. Oh he'd yell at her for it, because he was Vince McMahon hear him roar, but she'd just brush him of and mumble something about his cholesterol and high blood pressure. Although he it was extremely annoying, he secretly enjoyed her fussing. It was comforting. Don't tell anyone.
Before he knew it they were standing in the reception area waiting for the receptionist at the desk to lead them into the meeting room. As soon as he entered all the executives seated at the table greeted him with a round of "Good morning Mr. McMahon." He nodded to them in acknowledgement and sat in his self-designated chair. Barbra made her way to the back to observe and take any necessary notes.
Once he got himself situated he took full stock of the room. His eyes roamed over all the usual suspects until they stopped on one person.
Linda McMahon.
She looked positively breath taking. She grew out her hair. It now touched the tips of her shoulders. It suited her. Her makeup was subtle, done more to highlight her best features than to hide any flaws. Linda listened thoughtfully as Larry or Barry or whatever the hell his name was spoke of the WWE latest ventures in Asia. Vince remembered when she used to look at him like that.
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
It was the first day of his second year in college. No longer a lowly freshman Vince impatiently waited on an incredibly long registration line as a gaggle of giggling girls twittered on and on about utter none sense.
"So what are you going to wear tonight?" the redhead in front of him asked.
"For what?" A brunette asked in turn.
"The fraternity party tonight." The redheaded responded as if the answer was obvious.
"Angelina it's the first day. Partying in moderation, remember?" Another girl said. Vince couldn't see the other girl because the brunette obstructed his view.
'They were probably freshman' Vince thought.
"Yeah but I think a party is the best way to start off the school year," The red head said. "Besides I plan on wearing something ultra skimpy. I swear I'll be like the grooviest chick there."
'Then again freshman girls do have their good points.' Vince quickly amended.
"Give it up Linda," the brunette said. "You fight a losing battle."
"Yeah and you know it." The redhead readily agreed. "If anything, you'll both be right beside me keeping me out of trouble."
"Why me?" The brunette dramatically moaned. "We'll probably get arrested again."
"Hey gross exaggeration! If I correctly recall the cops let us off with a warning." The redhead protested.
"Because I talked our way out of it." The unseen member of the group wryly stated. "My dad would have had a total heart attack if he had to bail me out of jail. You guys know how conservative he is, he still thinks I dress like a hippy yahoo."
As she spoke the line shifted and she came into Vince's line of sight. And what he saw took his breath away. She was simply... amazing.
Linda, that was what the brunette called her, stood 5'6. Her straight blonde hair fell to her waist, just above her jeans. As far as Vince was concerned bell bottoms never looked as good as they did on that girl. He had to meet her. Not that he believed in anything as silly as love at first sight. He just really had to get to know that Linda girl.
"So which class are you switching Linda." One of the girls asked.
"My German class, they put me on the wrong level." Linda responded.
Well that settled it. Vince decided that he would be failing German for the year.
I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
"This isn't working." The statement served to jolt Vince out of sweetness of his memories to the cold reality of his present.
"I'm sorry what?" Vince became uncomfortably aware that all eyes were on him. It was like he'd been caught without his homework.
"I said this isn't working," Linda repeated. "This diva search thing is proving to be a huge waste of time and money. It's done almost nothing to lift our numbers. We should end this quickly"
All the executives around the table swiveled their heads in the other direction to see Vince's reaction, but Bischoff beat him to the punch.
"I don't know." He smirked. "I find the prospective divas to be quite stimulating. Their presence is very up lifting, if you know what I mean."
Linda McMahon chose not to dignify that with an answer. Instead her eyes swung to meet Vince's in a silent challenge and waited for his rebuttal.
Meanwhile Vince internally cringed at Bischoff crude show of support. That man was an ass.
"Linda sex sells. We'll see a massive pay off when this thing wraps up. Remember our statistic show that our major demographic is men aged eight- teen to thirty-four and they are always in favor of more scantily clad women."
And everyone swiveled once again to gage Linda's response. She may have always froze up a bit in front of the cameras, but Linda was fiery in a board room.
"Yes sex sells but not in this case. Those women bring nothing further to the table. They are untalented brainless bimbos. Even the most hormonal eight-teen year old can see that. Face it Vince your people executed this idea badly. The audience is bored out of their minds." As she spoke Linda's assistant handed out a report. The sound of ruffling paper echoed through out the room as the staff looked through the information "The results of the survey I had conducted all indicate significant support for an early conclusion to this diva competition and that includes our key demographic."
"Okay." Vince said.
"Okay?" The challenge in Linda's crystal blue eyes was reduced to confusion.
"Okay." Vince simply stated. "You're right, this is a mess."
"A Mess!?" Bischoff sputtered.
"Yes a mess." Vince leveled a steely glare at the man. Bischoff wisely chose that moment to back down. Vince turned to once again address Linda. "I'll have Barbara schedule a conference between my people and yours to resolve this as soon as possible."
"Um...okay." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at her ex-husband probably wondering what new trick he had up his sleeve. She clearly expected a knock down drag out fight over the issue.
Well she wasn't going to get one, not today of all days.
Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
As soon as the meeting ended Vince bolted for the door and rushed down the corridor. Barbara had a difficult time keeping up with him. The tension rolled off of her boss in waves. Now was not the time to nag. They hurried along in silence.
Vince was almost home free. Not only could he feel it, he could see it. The elevator was almost within reach.
"Vincent Kennedy McMahon stop right there." A voice commanded.
Damn. He knew that voice.
He turned around and yep it was Linda in all her glory.
"Hello Ms. McMahon." Barbara said.
"Hello Barbara." Linda warmly replied. "Could I speak to Vince for a few moments please?"
"Of course Ms. McMahon, I'll be waiting in the lobby." She said to Vince. She walked away pretending not to see all the do- not-leave-me signals her boss sent her.
Vince hated it when his assistant did her passive aggressive I-know-what's- better-for-you shit.
Now he was alone... with Linda. She always saw through his façade. He didn't want her to see the hurt.
Running in circles
Chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
"So how is Sable?"
He wished she said that with malice, but her voice held no venom. It was just an honest question.
"Oh she's fine..."
"Good."
"Yeah."
"How's that guy you've been seeing; what's his name Larry or Barry?" Let it never be said that Vince McMahon was above pettiness.
Linda rolled her eyes. "His name is Harry and you know that."
Vince let it slide. "So you're bringing what's his face to Shane and Marissa's baby shower?"
"Why do you do that?" She asked in exasperation. "Can't we just have a normal non WWE related conversation for once?"
"Hey I was just asking a simple question." Vince put both his hands up in defense.
"Not that it's any of you're business but yes I am bringing Larry err Harry to the shower."
"I'm just surprised you're bringing him to a family function so early in your relationship."
Linda glared at Vince. God he even missed that glare.
"So you aren't bringing Sable." Linda asked.
"No I'm not." He smugly replied.
Linda wasn't fooled. "Because..."
Damn it how could she always tell?
"Because she has to get her nails done." He mumbled.
Linda started to giggle.
"Hey she waited three months for Jean Louis De Sade to squeeze her into his busy schedule." He weakly countered.
"And his name is De Sade?" Linda snorted. "I'm not even going to touch that one. It's too easy."
"It's not funny."
"Yes it is."
"Yeah it is." Vince admitted with a small laugh.
He waited until Linda calmed down a bit. It's been forever since he'd seen her laugh like that in front of him. There was a time when she laughed like that with him all the time. That was before all the tears she cried for him, before all the pain.
"Linda?"
"Yes?"
"It wasn't all bad was it? Our marriage, I mean."
His earnest question sobered her up. A wistful expression crept its way on to her face as she thought about it. "No, it wasn't all bad Vince. We had our good moments. They just tended to be overwhelmed by the bad."
"Ours was a real life story of sex, lies, and videotape huh?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry Linda." His voice shook with emotion.
"I know Vince."
"We were married today. I didn't forget."
"I didn't think you did." Linda said.
"Happy anniversary." Hesitantly he took her hand into his own.
"Yeah happy anniversary, Vince." She rose to her tip toes and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
A far cry from the passionate embraces they use to share. The end