Chapter 7

When John finally reached Tomoko, it was only a short time before his match was about to start. As he quickly walked toward her he took in every ounce of her beauty. She stood there alone among the chaos backstage. The way she bit her nail nervously almost drove John insane. Although he only had a few minutes, he would finally get to spend a second alone with her.

"Tomoko." John called out.

Tomoko turned her head and started to smile before being distracted from the other direction. An out of breath, college aged intern rushed up to her with scripts in his hand. John cursed to himself, what's a guy got to do to be alone with this woman?

"Here's your script Ms. Iko". He said as he handed her the rundown for the show, and then was off to deliver more errands.

"Tomoko". John called again as he finally reached her.

Tomoko looked up at him and smiled congenially. John could tell she was a bundle of nerves. Off in the distance he saw Stephanie approaching. He took the moment to give her some encouragement.

"Don't worry sugar. You'll get used to all this. That first pop from the crowd will make it all worth it."

He winked at her and then squeezed her hand delicately to let her know he would not leave her hanging through this whole ordeal.

"Thank you." Tomoko said in response. A warmness she couldn't explain, coursed through her body at the touch of John's hand.

"Okay, John, Tomoko, you both set?" Stephanie asks.

Both look at each other and nod.

"Now remember Tomoko, you just have to stand at the entryway and look sexy right after John gets slammed by Booker T. I just want you out there long enough for people to notice. One of the production assistants will let you know when to step back behind the curtain. Just remember, sexy, sexy, sexy". Stephanie continues to explain making sure Tomoko knows exactly what to do.

John smiles at Tomoko thinking this should be a piece of cake for her. She is already the sexiest woman he's ever seen and she's not even trying. After Stephanie leaves, Tomoko turns to John.

"What do you think, can I pull off sexy in this thing I'm wearing?"

She does a little spin showing off her tight leather pants and low cut matching leather top. She is totally unaware that John is almost slobbering all over himself as he checks out her entire body. As for Tomoko, she feels utterly ridiculous in the outfit.

"You look stunning." John mutters as he struggles to keep cool and stay in character.

Soon thereafter, John's music hits and he makes his way down the ring. Tomoko stays in the back watching from a monitor until it is her turn to make an appearance. She's never watched any type of wrestling match either live or on t.v., so when she heard the roar of the crowd as John stepped out onto the ramp, she was in awe. She was also very impressed at the way John worked a crowd with his ghetto thug-like gimmick. Actually, she soon realized that the more she watched him, the more she was growing attracted to him.

As John and Booker T, went at it in the ring, an assistant pulled Tomoko away from the monitor and up toward the curtains leading to the ramp. The butterflies in her stomach felt more like wild horses. She took a deep breath and when she heard a thunderous boom coming from the ring, she new that John had just been slammed hard to the mat and that she would have to step out for the first time in front of thousands of people.

Sure enough, the assistant practically shoved Tomoko through the curtains and into the arena. Tomoko repeated to herself the direction that Stephanie gave her, "Sexy, sexy, sexy." As she walked out in her high heels, heels she was quite used to wearing thanks to her previous so called profession, she placed her hands on her hips and tried to play up every ounce of sex appeal she could muster. This was her one shot, her livelihood. If she messed up here she knew people like Shane would have no problem convincing Stephanie she wasn't the right girl for the job.

As she stood there for what seemed a lifetime, she could here the roar of the crowd die down. All eyes were on her now and there was no mistake, she was definitely getting noticed. She looked around and saw that the people wanted to know who she was, what she would do, who she was there for? Even John, while lying on the mat as if to be unconscious, snuck a peak at Tomoko. As he lie there motionless, all he could think was, damn she's beautiful.

Soon thereafter, it was time for Tomoko to step back behind the curtain. As the story unfolded in the ring, Booker T would pretend to be in total awe of the mysterious woman at the top of the ramp. This of course gave John a chance to sneak up behind him and roll him up for the one, two, three. As John jumped up in victory the crowd went nuts. John was declared the winner and Tomoko had successfully made her mark in the WWE.

When John finally made his way to the backstage area he immediately went looking for Tomoko. Off in the distance he could see her standing with Stephanie, Stephanie's assistant and another writer. As he went to congratulate her, Victoria intercepted his pathway.

"Damn Stephanie McMahon. How dare she put someone out there with no experience at all. We all know I'm the right woman for that role."

John made little eye contact with Victoria, trying harder to make sure if Tomoko left he knew which way she was going, Victoria could sense that he was distracted and this made her even angrier.

"John, are you listening to me?"

John turned to Victoria. He hadn't really heard a word she said, but tried to pretend he did.

"Yes baby. "

Victoria rolled her eyes as she looked back at Tomoko.

"Look at her. She probably thinks she's hot shit. Well, she won't be for long. After you tell Stephanie you don't want to work with her any longer." Victoria said with a smile.

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. Victoria actually wanted him to request that Tomoko be fired. John knew there was no way in hell he could do that to her, and he wouldn't.

"Listen Victoria, I think she did a good job. Besides, you wouldn't want the role she's playing, you got so many more talents. Why waste what you have by playing second fiddle to someone like me." John explained as he gently rubbed Victoria's arm, hoping to somehow calm her down. It seemed to work.

"Maybe you're right." Victoria replied as John sighed in relief. "But I still want her gone. And if you don't do your part Johnny-boy, well, you know I can have any man here in the WWE I want. If you can't get the job done, then I'll find a real man who can."

Victoria smiled again at John as he looked back at her with utter shock. He knew she could be a bitch, but this was ridiculous. The easy thing would be to dump her ass right then and there, but as strange as this may sound, John and Victoria had been through a lot together. He feared seeing her with another man would kill him, and it probably would.

In the meantime, Stephanie congratulates Tomoko on her performance. The crowd reacted exactly the way she had hoped and she and her writer would continue to expand Tomoko's role every week. Tomoko for her part was very excited that the show was a success. She too was anxious to speak with John and thank him for believing in her. When she saw him off in the distance speaking with Victoria, she had tried desperately to go over to him before he left, but just as Stephanie was about to leave, Shane approached her as well.

"Great job." He gave her a harmless kiss on the cheek. "Damn girl you looked hot out there." He then turned to Stephanie. "I have to hand it to you Steph, you were right all along."

Stephanie smiled at Shane and then left. Tomoko thanked her again and then turned back to Shane.

"Looks like your time in Japan wasn't a total waste huh?" Shane said almost insensitively.

"Shane, please, I'd just like to forget all that. It wasn't exactly the best years of my life. Please don't ruin this moment for me."

Shane smiled at her and replied. "You telling me your time you spent with me wasn't the best time of your life? I find that hard to believe."

Tomoko stared at him hardly believing what a pig he could be. She angrily shook her head and started to walk away without even responding to Shane's remarks. Besides, she was more interested in catching John before he left for the night.

As Tomoko walked away, Shane grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

"Hey, I was just joking. After seeing you tonight I know you've got what it takes to be a WWE diva. I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me, okay. Let's just focus on the prize: Higher ratings and more money. If nothing else, we can at least work together toward that end, right?"

Tomoko's anger slowly disappeared as Shane's face softened. She knew that was as close to an apology as Shane was going to get, and this time he seemed somewhat sincere. Tomoko looked at Shane and then looked at his hand as it was extended to hers. She smiled at him and shook it.

"Yes, we can work to that end. But please no more jokes." Tomoko pleaded.

Shane smiled back at her then finally left. When Tomoko turned her attention back to John, he was gone. Tomoko cursed to herself as they would have to wait yet another day to get to know each other more.