Chapter 4

Tomoko sat in a small little single apartment in Brooklyn NY, staring at the mirror while brushing her hair. She could hardly believe that only three month ago she lived in one of the most posh high rises in Tokyo, with maid service, a group of very close friends and a different wardrobe for every night. The trade-off, sleeping with men she didn't know, and to be quite frank, didn't want to know.

As she ran a brush through her long black hair, the telephone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Tomoko? This is Stephanie McMahon. We met the other day?"

Tomoko wandered if she should hang up the phone, this was Shane's sister after all, but Stephanie was nice, she figured no harm in finding out what she wanted.

"I was wandering if you could meet me for lunch to discuss a possible job opportunity. Are you currently working anywhere?" Stephanie asked.

"No." Tomoko replied, still cautious about what it is that Stephanie was proposing.

"Great, how about we meet in an hour?"

Tomoko agreed and hung up the phone. She was desperate, and if Stephanie wanted to discuss job opportunities, she was all ears.

Meanwhile, before rising out of bed to go to the gym, John strokes gently on the hair of the woman next to him, fellow WWE Superstar Victoria. Although he loves Victoria and would never intentionally do anything to hurt her, he can't help but to think of Tomoko. I must find out who she is. He thinks to himself. He moves closer to Victoria and places a tender kiss on her head, causing her to stir lightly. When she finally wakes, she sees John staring down at her with a loving smile on his face.

"Can you please just let me sleep?" She asks in a harsh tone.

Although they've been together for several months now, it hasn't always been an easy ride. At least not for John. Victoria is a strong, opinionated and ambitious young woman. All characteristics that attracted John to her in the first place. The only problem is, she is also quite moody and not the most giving of people. To say John was whipped, would be wrong, but he did take a lot of crap from her. Between those moments of bitchiness when Victoria would act like John was more in the way than anything else, there were moments of pleasure. Not just physical pleasure, but the pleasure of being around someone who could relate to you. They were both in the same business and could share the same frustrations. Let's face it, being on the road all the time and getting your body pounded on a weekly basis was not easy. Victoria was home for John whether he liked it or not.

And so, as Victoria remains lying in her warm bed ignoring John's affections, John goes to take a shower and is out the door.

When Tomoko arrives at the tiny deli on the corner of 8th street in upper Manhattan, to meet with Stephanie McMahon, her only expectation is to leave with some hope that she can start all over again. Doing what, she has no idea, but beyond going back to a career in prostitution, she's willing to try just about anything.

Stephanie is already sitting at a small round table when Tomoko enters. She gets up from her seat and greets her warmly, and then the two go back and sit down. Tomoko looks around and it is obvious to Stephanie she is somewhat nervous.

After ordering something to drink, they got down to business.

"So, tell me Tomoko, do you know anything at all about professional wrestling?" Stephanie began.

"Not really. I mean I've heard of people like The Rock, but beyond that, I guess I've lived a pretty sheltered life."

Stephanie smiled at her and responded. "Living in Japan for 4 years. I doubt that. What about other sports, are you athletic at all?"

"I was a tomboy growing up. My dad always wanted a boy." Tomoko paused for a second then asked. "Please, I don't want you to think I'm rude, but why do you ask?"

Stephanie straightened up and answered. "We are looking to add a new WWE diva to the roster. When I saw you the other day, I thought you were perfect for the kind of girl we are looking for."

Tomoko was totally taken off guard. Her, a WWE diva. Somehow she couldn't imagine herself being mentioned in the same sentence as the word 'diva' at all. Stephanie continued.

"I know this may be a lot for you to take, but I like it if you just thought about it. We're not looking for a wrestler per say, so you really wouldn't have to do a lot of training. If you're interest Shane and I will introduce.."

After hearing Shane's name, Tomoko cut Stephanie off in an instance.
"I really don't think I'm the right person for this. I know nothing about wrestling."

Stephanie decided it was time to play her trump card before she lost Tomoko completely.

"What if I told you, you'd make 250 thousand dollars in the first year."

250k, that's a lot of money, even more than what she had been making in Japan, Tomoko thought to herself. But still, she knew nothing about the WWE and the thought of running into Shane on a daily basis might destroy her. She had decided she wanted to put the past behind her. Seeing Shane would most definitely prevent her from doing that.

After a few moments of contemplation, Tomoko finally responded to Stephanie's proposal.

"I'm sorry Stephanie, but I just can't. I appreciate the offer."

As Tomoko picked up her purse and started to leave, Stephanie asked her one more question.

"Tomoko, wait, before you leave. I still can't get over the fact that you were so upset the other day after talking to Shane. Is there something going on with you two? Anything you need help with?"

Tomoko looked to the floor, ashamed of herself for even trying to get Shane's support. In the prostitution business the girls are taught to never get attached or personal with their clients, but Tomoko crossed that line when she got pregnant with Shane's baby.

"No. Nothing at all. Shane's just a, well, just a guy I met in Japan." Tomoko responded and then rushed out the door before more questions could follow. Stephanie for her part could see the hurt in Tomoko's eyes. There was something that she hid deep down inside, and somehow Shane had something to do with it. Stephanie truly believed that Shane was the key to getting Tomoko to join the WWE. She would be sure to have another discussion with him about Tomoko whether he liked it or not.