Chapter 2: Expect the Unexpected.

Mackenzie looked herself over one more time as she took a deep calming breath. She had her long, thick hair down and curled inward. She was careful to make sure there was enough hairspray in it to hold in place. Her hair liked to do crazy things when she wasn't looking, and she wasn't about to take that chance during a career changing meeting.

She straightened her black suit jacket and dusted off the matching pants. She was careful to ignore the small fact that the outfit hugged her thighs and clung slightly to her midsection. Besides, as long as the outfit was black and slimming and her ass wasn't hanging out of her pants, she'd be fine. She inspected her medium open-toed heals before taking another breath and declaring herself ready.

Checking her teeth one last time, she finally exited the ladies' room. When she was finally in front of Mr. McMahon's office (for the night), Mackenzie knocked lightly. At the sound of a stern, "Come in," she entered the room. "Good morning Mr. McMahon."

"Ah, good morning, Ms. Moore. Please, have a seat," he gestured to the seat in front of where he sat at his desk. When she appeased him, he leaned forward and entwined his fingers atop his desk, "I trust you know my reason for asking you here today?"

"Yes, sir. I believe this is about my application for executive editor?" she inquired.

Mr. McMahon took in a long breath, before giving her a somewhat apologetic smile. He could tell she was reading him well, and he allowed it on purpose, it always softened the blow if the other person could expect the let down, "About that, Mackenzie," he paused, noticing the way her features fell so quickly, "I'm afraid that Linda has already filled that position."

Mackenzie swallowed the growing lump in her throat. A weak, "Oh," was all she could manage.

Vince then smiled, he still had plans for her, "However," he began and smiled again when he saw her face lift with intrigue, "I did have something else for you, that is, if you're willing to listen to it."

She furrowed her brow and cleared her throat, "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, it seems we've acquired an opening on the Smackdown writing team. Frank quit, so now we need someone to fill his spot. I read over the essay you sent in with your résumé, and it's just as impressive today as it was two years ago. So, what do you say?" Vince raised his eyebrows with the question.

Mackenzie took in a breath of relief, thought about it for a few minutes, then made her decision, "Sure. What do I have to sign?"

Mr. McMahon pulled a contract from his briefcase and slid it toward her, "I hope you find this job more enjoyable than the one I stuck you in with production."

Mackenzie straightened at met his eyes with modesty, "It's not that I didn't like the other job, it's just not what I had applied for originally. Besides, if I can't edit, I might as well do this, but if you ever need someone to help out occasionally with production, I'd be more than happy to-what's this?" she pointed to figure on the paper.

Vince leaned forward and looked at the location her finger directed, "Ah," he smiled, then looked her straight in the eyes, "That's your new salary."

Mackenzie went hoarse for a moment, "Well…that's uh…that's…uh…hmm…" she had no words. She was getting a raise-a very nice raise.

"I find the salary change necessary given the importance of this position. That and there's a possibility that you may be writing for Raw on occasion as well," Vince explained.

"Well, I'm glad," She joked, and they both shared a brief laugh. When she was finished signing the paper, they shook hands, and Mackenzie left the office. She headed down the hall to find Stephanie and to get acquainted with the rest of the Smackdown writing team. Tonight would mark the first change in her life; a life that desperately needed changing.

Mackenzie sped down the highway toward the arena. Indianapolis was such a busy city during the morning, afternoon, and night. She decided she had better go the speed limit before she got herself into an accident. As she let her car slow down to sixty, her cell phone rang. She flipped it open and saw that it was her mother calling.

"Hi, mom. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much hun, just checking in," her mother sounded suspicious.

"Okay, what is it?" Mackenzie knew better.

"Alright, I'll give it to you straight."

"Okay, you know that's all I ever ask of you mother," she stated with exaggerated sweetness. She could since her mom rolling her eyes on the other, which she was in fact, doing.

"There's someone I want you to meet-"

"MOM! The last time you tried hooking me up with someone it was a total flop! I've never seen anyone run faster in my entire life!"

"Well maybe if your mangey mut hadn't attacked him, he wouldn't have run so fast!"

"Oooooor…maybe if he hadn't gotten sick from you famous banana pudding-"

"Hey, at least my banana pudding didn't bite him on the ass! Now, c'mon give me another chance. At least meet him next time you come home. When will that be, by the way?"

Mackenzie let out a sigh as she pulled into the parking lot, "Alright, alright I'll at least see who it is…wait, who is it?"

"Well, now, don't flip when I tell you, but it's Donald Treidm-"

"Donald Treidmont!! Mom! You have got to be kidding me! He's ten years older than me! Are you out of you're mind? NO, wait, don't answer that!"

"Mackenzie, honey-"

"No! Listen, I'm at work now. I'm going to be traveling with Smackdown now, and I'm not sure when I'll be home next. So, don't make any appointments, got it?"

"Yes dear," her mother replied, making it obvious from which parent Mackenzie inherited her sarcasm.

"Good night, mom. I'll call you later this week, okay?"

"Alright. Go and do great things, or whatever."

"Thanks mom, I'll try," Mackenzie and her mother shared a brief laugh before saying goodbye and hanging up.

When she finally managed to find a parking space, Mackenzie shutoff her engine and tried to think happy, motivational thoughts. 'Okay, this isn't a big deal. Everything is going to fine. I'm going to go and do great things…or whatever.' She let out a laugh then rolled her eyes.

She loved that her mother always found ways to make her feel better even if she didn't know she was helping. Her mom had always been there for her, supporting her. After her mother and father's divorce, however, Mackenzie had been the one doing the supporting. She believed that her mom always tried so hard to fix herself up with someone to replace the emptiness in her own heart, but she'd be damned if she was going to say that to her face.

Clearing her head, Mackenzie finally got the nerve to leave her black, Chevy Blazer, rental. She had a thing for blazers, she acknowledged, and a thing for black as well, apparently. She straightened her outfit, the same one she had worn that morning, and headed into the arena.

Not two feet into the door, Mackenzie was immediately recognized by Stephanie McMahon. "Mackenzie! We've been waiting for you. The show is about start. C'mon, we're all going to be watching from catering."

All Mackenzie could do in response was nod in agreement. She followed Stephanie down the maze of hallways she scarcely had time to remember until they came upon a door that simply read, "Catering." As Stephanie led her to their table, Mackenzie allowed her eyes to skim the room.

She recognized several of the wrestler's faces as she passed from one end of the room to the other. She was careful to let her eyes linger long enough to identify each face, but took them off quickly before being noticed. Then it happened. Those eyes. Those curious blue eyes, and they were locked on her. The bore into her, skimming her entire body very carefully. Mackenzie felt completely naked and exposed. She felt her cheeks burning, and abruptly turned away.

She was so distraught by the lasting interlude, which in reality only lasted a couple of seconds, that she failed to notice that Stephanie had stopped. As a result, she bumped right in to Mrs. Levesque. She looked up to see Stephanie giving her an amused look, "We're here," she laughed.

Mackenzie let out a nervous, airy laugh, "Oh. Oops. Sorry about that-I wasn't paying attention."

"That's alright. The show is starting now, let's watch," Stephanie took her seat.

"Okay," Mackenzie agreed as she took the seat beside her.

Fifteen minutes into the show, Stephanie turned to her again, "Are you hungry? I'm famished. Do you want to get something after the show?"

Mackenzie didn't know what to say. Stephanie McMahon wanted to hang out with her. Ugly, fat Mackenzie Moore. She stuttered, "Um…sure."

"Good. I hate eating alone. Paul isn't here tonight. I won't get to see him until tomorrow after I fly over to meet him. I write for both shows, so it's going better than I expected. You know, as for being able to see him."

"Is that the only thing that's going well?" Mackenzie joked.

"Well, it's not the only thing that goes well…" Stephanie giggled quietly, afraid someone might hear her derogative sense of humor. This caused Mackenzie to laugh, because she had never seen someone act so timid while kidding about sex. Then again, she was the chairman's daughter, but that somehow only made it funnier.

Wrestlers came and went with their matches and promo cuts. Close to the end of the show, Mackenzie noticed Stephanie bolt up out of her seat. When she looked up, she almost choked on her sandwich.

"Paul!" Stephanie squeaked, "When did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I thought we were supposed to be meeting tomorrow at the airport!"

"What? I can't surprise you every once in awhile? Well, if that's the case…" he trailed off and turned away, only to be pulled back into place by his wife. He bent down and kissed her lips, "See, that's what I thought you'd say. I just got here about thirty minutes ago. I took a non-stop flight from Chicago."

Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck, "God, I love you! I've missed you so much!"

He put on his cockiest grin, "I know. I'm just a loveable kind of guy." This caused Stephanie to roll her eyes, but he went on anyway, "So, what do you say about having dinner with a great guy like me, huh?"

Stephanie paused momentarily and gave an apologetic look at Mackenzie before nodding in reply. "Are you gonna go catch up with some of the guys?"

"Yah. You want to meet me at your office in ten minutes?" Paul smiled.

"Yup. See you there," she pecked him on the lips before he took his leave. She then turned to Mackenzie, "I'm sorry about-"

"No. Don't worry about it. I totally understand," Mackenzie smiled, "It's probably not often that you get to see each other during the week between work. Besides, you have no reason to apologize. He's your husband for crying out loud."

Stephanie smiled and nodded her agreement, "You know what, Mackenzie Moore? I like you. Why don't we reschedule for next week?"

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do," Mackenzie replied, honestly.

With that, they turned their attention back to the main event and made sure it all played out smoothly. When the show was over, the group of writers made plans for the next meeting and said goodnight. All of them left except for Mackenzie. She didn't have an office to go to, and her hotel room seemed unappealing at the hour so she opted to stay there and think for a little while.

Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to think about things she wanted to mull over. This always happened to her. She would start off thinking about work and all the stress it caused. This, in turn would cause her to think about something her mother told her once to help her get through a rough spot, then her thoughts would trail to all the men her mother had tried to put her together with. These thoughts, would then lead to all the rejections, and eventually into the causes of the rejections and then, finally, into self-loathing. It was a vicious cycle, and an on-going one at that.

It was just that every day she looked in the mirror, she saw something hideous staring back at her. She tried to ignore it and delay it, but at the end of the day, she was only left with her thoughts and visions of that reflection. 'Why did God make man create mirrors?' she suddenly wondered, then sighed, 'Even so, I suppose that wouldn't keep other people from seeing.'

She hadn't meant to be this way, but now that she was she didn't know how to fix it. Mackenzie had tried just about every single diet and exercise program out there, but she didn't have any direction. She didn't know what areas of her body to work, how often to work them, or for how long. She couldn't afford a trainer, and eventually her diets went flop, because she just gave up. It seemed futile to her, but she did want to succeed. It wasn't a matter of motivation or determination, because if given good incentive, she could do it. However, it was a question of knowing what the Hell she was doing.

Besides, she always felt so awkward going into a gym full of people and exercising. She felt like Charlie Brown on the playground. It was as if everyone was watching her. She was the fat chick, trying to become like them, the fit people. It was as though her world was infringing on theirs. She just felt out of place. Sighing again, Mackenzie laid her head down on the table. 'Face it, Mac. You've given up. Plain and simple. You'll never change, and you'll keep on going like this because it's all a part of your destiny to be fat. So you just need to get used to hating yourself.'

She had to admit, the little voice in her head had a point. She had given up. Maybe it was her motivation that was killing her. She didn't want to be like this, she hadn't asked for it. However, she had been the one to do it to herself. Mackenzie shook her head. She would not do this again. Mackenzie knew damn well she had done it to herself, and she knew that if she were to change, she'd have to work damn hard to fix her mistakes. She was about to delve more into her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulders and jumped in surprise.

Mackenzie whipped around to see who had scared the living daylights out of her, "Who the-" she cut off when she her gaze met a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"Closin' time," the jersey clad Massachusetts native smiled down at her. His presence surprised her and she swallowed the lump nervousness that sat in her throat. The only thing she could think of now, was that John Cena had a very sexy smile.

Muwahahahahhaa. Oh YAH!! Cliffhanger!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! I want a ton of reviews!!! C'mon!!! I need to replace the ones I lost when my story got deleted.