Chapter 2

Late Start…Early Finish

The hallway was packed with superstars. Tonight was the twenty-man over-the-top-rope elimination match. Whoever won this match would be the number one contender to face the champion at Survivor Series. In this case, Brock Lesnar.

Melanie made her way through the superstars, taking a peek at what each wrestler was doing. Kurt Angle was caressing this Olympic gold medals in his hands. The seven foot tall Big Show was stretching his arms. She turned to see the rabid wolverine Chris Benoit rubbing his wrists, looking very anxious to get in the ring where the match was already in progress. Melanie stopped to watch the match on the monitor.

A-train was just about to throw Eddie Guerrero over the top rope, when Eddie reached into his boot and grabbed a pair of brass knuckles. It was illegal to use any sort of weapon in a match not sanctioned as a no disqualification match.

He hammered A-train over the head with them, sending him over the top rope, crashing to the ground. The referee never saw the illegal weapon being used. Eddies nephew Chavo had distracted the referee, allowing Eddie to stay in the match. The crowd went wild as Guerrero waved good-bye to the eliminated A-train. Why couldn't Melanie be the Guerrero's manager? She could ride their fancy low-riders and eat tacos all day. Benoit came up behind Melanie and shook his head.

"I'm the next entry. These lying, cheating, stealing Guerreros better not try anything like that on me!" Benoit said cracking his knuckles. Melanie shrugged.

"What can I say? It's a family tradition."

Eventually, Melanie made her way through the superstars toward Brock Lesnar's dressing room. She heard voice inside. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but hesitated. She was having second thoughts. Melanie barely had time to turn around when the door swung open.

It was Paul Heyman. His face was beet red; sweat was dripping from his forehead. He looked like he had run a marathon… or bent over to tie his shoes. With a belly that large…

"Can I help you?" Heyman asked impatiently.

Melanie glanced past Heyman into the dressing room. Brock Lesnar was standing with his back to her, facing the corner with his arms crossed. He looked as if he was sentenced to a time out. She looked back at Paul who looked more impatient than ever.

"I'm here about the position of co-manager of Brock Lesnar." She said, trying to sound calm and professional. He looked as if she had sprouted an extra head. He didn't remember her. After several seconds Heyman's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah. Now I remember. Margaret right?" Paul said leading her into the room, slamming the door behind them.

"Actually, it's Melanie."

"Yeah, uhuh." Heyman said quickly. Brock turned around. Melanie could tell, he was exhausted, pale… perhaps lacked in focus.

"Brock I want you to meet your… other manager." Heyman said glaring at her.

"This is Molly."

"Umm, Melanie." She corrected

"Whatever." Heyman said. Brock looked at her, the same way he did not long ago in the general Managers office. She was about to meet his gaze when she decided to look him in the eyes. Just in case. Instead she extended her hand.

Brock Looked at her hand for a moment, then slowly extended his. He had a strong grip, almost too strong. There were burns and scars all over his hand. Some of the scars looked old, some looked fresh. Melanie tried to keep a straight face. She was beginning to loose feeling in her right hand when Paul Heyman interrupted.

"I'm glad to see you two are getting along." He said clapping his hands together. Mel could tell. He was being sarcastic. "You two will need to get along for the next… how long did Ms. McMahon say you were going to be with us?"

Heyman asked pleasantly. Melanie released herself from Lesnar, rubbing her hand.

"From what I know Mr.Heyman…indefinitely." Melanie said. Paul Heyman's smile vanished.

"Oh." He said, trying to sound sincere. "I see." He got up and began to mutter to himself, "I need a drink" Under his breath. As soon as Heyman left, Brock pulled up two chairs and sat in one of them.

Somehow, Melanie knew the second chair wasn't to put his feet up. She adjusted her glasses and sat in the chair across from him, opening her notebook. Inside, she had statistics, career highlights, strengths and weaknesses of each superstar. Brock stared at the book then at Melanie.

"Well, I'm not paying you to sit here. Tell me what I need to know." He said impatiently. Melanie opened her notebook to the notes she took on Brock. She read out loud.

"Brock Lesnar, 25 years old. Born in Webster South Dakota and currently resides in Minneapolis. 6'4'' 295 pounds, heavyweight." Brock slammed his hand on the desk next to him. Melanie dropped her notebook.

"I said tell me what I need to know, not what I already know!" he said. Melanie sighed.

"In order to defeat your opponent, you have to learn more about yourself. I was just getting to the important part, your strengths and weaknesses." Mel said, calmly gathering the papers that had fallen out of the binder. She tried harder to look calm. Brock leaned forward.

"I don't have any weaknesses." He whispered. He sounded more cocky than confident. She sat back in her chair and turned a few pages to her notes on Rey Mysterio. She read out loud.

"Rey Mysterio. 5'6'' 165 pounds from San Diego California. 28 years old, cruiserweight." Brock nodded his head. Mel sighed. He had no clue why this was important.

"So what so I have to do to beat him?" Brock asked. He was rushing her. Melanie began to explain.

"You need to take time to study Mysterio. He is very skilled and has a very unique approach. Not to mention, he's been doing this more than ten years longer than you. Despite the size difference, I would say Rey has the advantage."

Brock sat up. This wasn't what he wanted to hear. Melanie continued anyway.

"On the positive side, you have an impressive amateur background. NCAA champion. You need to use this to your advantage. Rey Mysterio is the most dangerous when he gains momentum. You can't allow that. You need to keep him in the mat, wear him down, then hit the F-5 to win."

The next 20 minutes were spent going over do's and don'ts and what could happen during the mach. Brock hardly listened to a word she said. Finally he stood up

"This is bull shit. I don't need your advice on how to wrestle. You need to shut your mouth, let me do my job, and get the hell out of my way!" Lesnar said pointing to the door.

Melanie felt her cheeks getting warm. She snapped her book shut and stood up. Ignoring Stephanie's "warning," she spoke to him, looking him right in the eyes.

"You are supposed to be representing the best of Smackdown. Instead, you have proven nothing except that you're a cocky, headstrong rookie with no respect for others that have come before you." Brock opened his mouth.

"But…" he began

"Shut up and sit down. I'm not finished." She said calmly.

Brock sat down and folded his hands.

"Not to mention," Melanie continued, "that the skills you posses as an athlete are completely overshadowed by the ignorance of your mouth!"

Brock sat there with his mouth slightly open. No one had ever spoken to him that way. He slowly stood up. Melanie held her breath. Brock Lesnar was about to attack.

"Who wants coffee?" A voice said. Melanie and Brock looked up. Paul Heyman was struggling to hold three cups of coffee.

"Oh is this a bad time?" Heyman said.

Melanie sighed. She looked up at Brock. He looked angry and even more exhausted than before. She couldn't tell whether she was helping or hurting. Melanie gathered her things.

"You owe it to Mysterio, to give him a fair fight. You have two options. Option A is that you earn the win over Rey or" she paused looking at Heyman out of the corner of her eye. She lowered her voice. "Or, option B, you can have the victory handed to you on a silver platter."

"Uhh, is this a bad time?" Paul repeated.

"No. We're finished." Brock said. Melanie sensed it was time for her to go.

Stephanie was in the hallway, looking at the monitor. Melanie stood next to her. On the screen, a smirking Big Show had his hand raised by the referee. He had won the elimination battle royal match. He would be the one to face Brock at Survivor Series later that month for the WWE title. Brock, accompanied by Paul Heyman, walked past Melanie toward the gorilla position.

"Are you guys finished?" Stephanie asked. Melanie looked at the two men disappear as they turned a corner. She lowered her voice as she shook her head.

"We were finished long before we started."

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