"Yo, Kurt... Jackie Gayda's here to see you."
Kurt Angle lifted his gaze from the papers he was looking through at his desk, his eyes resting on his bodyguard and assistant, Luther Raines. He smirked at the mention of the diva's name, giving the burly man before him a nod.
"Send her in," he replied, folding his hands on top of his desk.
The smile playing on his lips remained there as Jackie stepped into his office, closing the door behind her in a very nervous fashion. She approached his desk tentatively, taking a seat only once he had gestured for her to do so. She sighed quietly... the look Angle was giving her alone already had her feeling very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable, in fact, that she found herself almost wishing that she had taken Torrie's advice and allowed John to talk to Kurt for her.
"Well, Jackie, as I'm sure you know, I called you in here to discuss your future here on Smackdown," he said, his tone very professional. "Now, I don't want you being pushed to the backburner, so I've taken it upon myself to compile a list of Superstars that you can work with while Rico recovers from his injury."
He shuffled around through the somewhat messy stack of papers on his desk and pulled a sheet out, handing it over to her. Jackie took the piece of paper from his hand and quickly scanned over the names on it, all of a sudden beginning to feel sick. The names on this list were names of people she'd never be caught dead in the same room with, much less work with. Hell, with names like JBL, the Dudleys, Chavo Guerrero, Rene Dupree... who would want to work with any of them?
"Mr. Angle, with all due respect, I don't really see myself working with any of the guys you've suggested," she said warily, taking a deep breath and she glanced up at him.
Kurt rolled his eyes emphatically. He heaved a gigantic sigh, narrowing his eyes at her as though she was making life extremely difficult for him. If he would have just let her decide on her own, none of this would have been happening.
"Somehow I got the feeling you'd say that," he replied, shaking his head. "Luckily for you, I have a plan. I'm going to test you out with some of these individuals, see who you work with best. Trust me when I say all of these men have taken a very keen interest in you."
Jackie wrinkled her nose in distaste at the odd look Angle gave her with his statement. She could tell by the tone of his voice that the men he was referring to were interested only in her physical assets. It was one thing to be oogled over by fans - they were the reason she got paid - but Jackie did not appreciate such treatment from her coworkers. She was not about to be passed back and forth between Angle's friends to be treated like a piece of meat.
"But I don't want to work with them. Not for a month, not for a week, not for one night," she protested, though she knew deep down that her efforts would be futile.
"Well, unfortunately for you, you're not in the position to make that decision. I am, and you will follow my orders. Tonight, the Dudleys have a match against Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio... I expect to see you out there with them," Kurt said, smirking at the shocked look on the young woman's face. "And Jackie? Don't mess up the match. You better do a good job... or I'll have yours."
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Jackie couldn't help but sigh as she stood at ringside, her mind far from the match occurring. She still couldn't believe that Kurt Angle had actually forced her into valeting for the Dudley's. Forcing back a yawn, she tossed her gaze into the crowd, surveying the people. It was obvious in some of the look she was getting from fans in the first few rows that they knew something was wrong. The normally bubbly, radiant diva had grown quiet and withdrawn. Her smile was gone.
Jackie's attention was drawn back to the match in a flash as she heard a loud smash. Bubba Ray Dudley had stopped the lightning fast Mysterio in his tracks, taking him out with a stiff sidewalk slam. He watched as the cruiserweight rolled over in pain, clutching at his ribs. D'Von took care of Van Dam, giving him a swift dropkick, knocking him right off the apron.
With Rob out temporarily out of the picture, the Dudleys capitalized, setting themselves up behind Rey, who was at the moment struggling to get to his feet. Jackie winced as the small man turned around, walking right into a 3D. Before she knew it, Bubba had covered Rey for the three, and the Dudley Boys celebrated in the ring. Her mind suddenly recalling Kurt's, 'Do a good job,' speech, Jackie put a huge grin - a fake one, but a grin no less - on her face, slipping under the bottom rope.
Just as she was about to approach Bubba and D'Von, RVD was back in the ring, and he downed the tag team champions with two swift, hard kicks. Rey found his way off the mat and the fighting picked up again, even though the match had ended, and Jackie found herself in the middle of the turmoil. She backed into a corner and watched, her eyes widening in fear.
Bubba dropped to the ground in front of her, having been kicked in the ribs by RVD. She saw Mysterio from the corner of her eye, crouching before Bubba, laying in wait for him to stand. What happened next was a bit of a blur. Bubba must have caught a glimpse of the shorter man waiting to attack, and - thinking of himself before her safety, of course - grabbed a hold of a very startled Jackie's wrist. He yanked her in front of him in order to shield himself, and by the time Rey noticed what was going on, it was too late to stop. He nailed Jackie with a clothesline and she hit the mat in an instant, a sharp pain shooting through her back. Rey dropped to his knees in a second, concern flooding his eyes.
"Oh man, Jackie, I'm so sorry!" he cried, hovering over top of her as she painfully clutched the small of her back. "I didn't know he was going to do that."
Nodding her head in acceptance to his apology, Jackie shooed him away, not wanting to be in the middle of the action any longer. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply as the pain in her back died down to a dull twinge. When she opened them, she gasped... Bubba Ray was standing before her, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled, leaning down in front of her.
"I... I was just..." she stammered, suddenly finding herself extremely nervous as she backed into a corner. There was no telling what Bubba would do.
Luckily, she didn't have to find out. A burst of applause and cheers erupted from the audience, and someone nailed Bubba from behind. The large man dropped to the mat, and was met with a few more boots to the gut before he rolled out of the ring, grabbing his belt and D'Von and fleeing up the ramp, screaming obscenities all the way.
Jackie took a deep breath and looked up, preparing to thank her savior, whomever he may be. She gasped as she met a pair of brown eyes...
"Charlie..."