Chapter II: Someone Else to Corrupt

"Samia! I see you didn't change your mind," Rob Van Dam yelled at her from across the parking lot.

"Wouldn't quit for the world, sir. Let me help you with your bag. It is my job," she called back and hurried over to take a smaller bag from him. At first he hesitated but then handed it over.

"You look great, very professional," he commented, glancing over her attire.

"Thanks," Samia replied. She was dressed in a smoky blue pants and a short suit jacket. She had her hair pulled up in a French twist, much like the last time RVD had seen her. "And you look…laid back," she added about his sandals, blue jean shorts, and gray tanktop.

He chuckled slightly and they headed for the entrance where a young lady met them at the door to escort Rob and Samia to RVD's room. She laughed to herself and remembered that that was her just last week. She had simply called Phillips Arena to quit but they would easily find someone else to replace her. Her boss wasn't quite so understanding but she had at least given him a four day notice, something she hadn't wanted to do as she was sick and tired of doing his research in the stuffy law library, making his appointments, and getting his coffee. I still can't believe it's real, she thought and smiled as she followed RVD into his room. "What first?"

"Well, we can start with my usual routine," he answered and began to go through what he would expect from her each night out at events. It wasn't much as he wasn't really in need of a valet, just that he wanted to milk the Chairman for all he could. "I'm heading down to McMahon's office. Why don't you go find yourself something to drink and bring me back something?"

"Yes, sir," she replied and disappeared out the door. Hospitality was easily found and she was quickly on her way back. Not far from her destination, she turned a corner and ran smack into Kevin Nash. "I'm sorry," she muttered and tried to hurry by out of embarrassment, remembering her last babbling conversation with him.

"Wait a minute," he said, putting a large hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Aren't you that woman that helped me last week? Sarah, Sharon, Sam…I'm sorry, I don't remember."

"Samia…Carlsen. Yeah, that was me," she answered, curious enough to stick around to see what he wanted.

"What are you doing down here?" Nash asked.

"I'm Rob Van Dam's valet now," she replied, quite proud of her position.

"Oh, so you're the talk of the locker room…" he stated, folding his arms across his chest and leaning up against the wall. She looked at him in bewilderment and he continued. "Yep, you've got a few people's panties in a wad."

"I didn't mean to. Do you think…" she trailed off, not really sure what to say.

"I know you didn't. They just think RVD got special treatment, not to mention how you got hired on the spot. Don't worry about it and don't let anyone give you a hard time," he encouraged, patting her on the shoulder before he turned to go. She stood there a moment, trying to make sense out the conversation, but then returned to RVD's room to settle down and wait on him.

"Good. You're here," he stated coming in the door. He was dressed for his match—a flaming red dragon breathing fire plastered across his singlet. "It's about time to head out. You ready?"

"To go to the ring?" she asked, staring at him in astonishment.

"Yeah, but you'll have to take care of yourself out there."

"No problem," Samia replied, butterflies quickly bubbling up in her stomach and her legs beginning to go numb. She just hoped she could stay upright once on the other side of the black curtain.

"I'm gonna stretch a bit more and then we'll be on our way," he stated and gracefully dropped down to the floor. She nodded, looking at him, but then had to strain to keep her eyes away as he managed to put himself in positions of which only some women dream.

Finally he popped up with a contented sigh and simply said, "Let's go." "Okay," she replied tentatively and followed him out the door and down the hall.

RVD could hear the click of her heels behind him and thought about how he was taking a big chance on her, especially with her coming to the ring. He knew he could weed her out if she freaked ringside but he kind of liked her. He had talked a friend of his in running every background check known to humanity on her, and between that and their talk last week, she seemed to be perfect for the job. He hoped it worked and not just because he had a growing affinity towards her.

"I don't usually cheat so you don't have to run interference…unless I yell at you to," he explained as they hovered at the bottom of the stairs. "Watch the pyro smoke, it'll choke you. Be my cheerleader and have fun. Just be yourself. You'll do great." He squeezed her arm and headed up to the entrance as his music started. She gulped and started after him, having to hurry to catch up with him and wishing she could be as calm as he was. The two stepped out together from behind the dark curtain. To keep up with his long strides, she jogged along side of him and attempted to pull in the crowd. The new valet accepted RVD's Intercontinental belt as Spike Dudley's music came over the loud speakers.

"Who's that, J. R.?" Lawler excitedly asked, despite the fact that Lillian Garcia had just announced her.

"That's Samia Carlsen," Ross sarcastically replied but, after being the only one privy to his angry glare, he added, "She's RVD's new valet."

"She looks stuck up with that suit on," Lawler replied with one of his condescending laughs. "I wonder what got into her."

"Jerry, I think she looks like a fine upstanding lady," J. R. chided.

"Yeah, stuck up," Lawler muttered.

Paying little attention to the last comment, Ross continued to do what he was paid to do—announce. "Samia's originally from Athens, Georgia, and now lives in Atlanta. She's a graduate of University of Georgia with a couple of degrees in criminal justice and, it's says here, a J.D. She passed the bar exam but she's not a practicing lawyer."

"Wonder why," Jerry responded with another of his laughs.

"Beats me," J. R. replied and turned his focus to the ring.

Upon his win, Samia scrambled into the ring with the belt and held it high above her head before handing it to him. The lights and music cut for the commercial and the two made their way out. Neither saw Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels standing in the shadows of the entrance.

"Kev, who's that?" Shawn whispered.

"Her name's Samia," Nash replied nonchalantly and returned to his conversation with one of the pyrotechnics crew, who he was paying off to screw up the Undertaker's fireworks.

"She's kinda cute," Michaels interrupted, apparently running on a one-track train of thought. "She could use some loosening up though," he commented as he watched her and RVD walking down the hall behind them.

"She's what Molly Holly is trying to be," Nash replied and turned back to the pyro guy but then the wheels in his mind began spinning. "You know, Shawn, maybe you're just the man to do that. You are a sexy boy."

"Yeah, I know," Shawn replied conceitedly.

"Sure, Shawn, sure. Go see who else you can corrupt," the taller man said, patting Michaels on the back before sealing the deal for an unforgettable entrance.

Three days later, Samia met Van Dam at the Hartsfield airport. "Ready for two months on the road?" he asked when she set her luggage down in the seats at the terminal.

"I sure hope so. If not, too late now," she responded with a smile.

"Our flight's been delayed an hour. There's a bookstore down that way, if you're interested," he informed her and pointed to his right.

"Thanks. See you in a while," she replied, heading in the direction he had indicated. The bookstore was fairly large but the magazine rack caught her attention. She picked up the latest issue of RAW's magazine and began flipping through it.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" The Texan accent of the speaker caught her off guard.

"Yes?" she said and turned to find Shawn Michaels at her side.

Having caught her attention, he flashed his devastatingly handsome smile and leaned up against the rack. "Samia, right?"

"Yeah. Shawn Michaels, right?" she asked, laughing, hoping to hide her nervousness.

Michaels pulled the magazine out of her hands and replied, "I guess that takes care of introductions. Want to get somethin' to eat?"

"I've already had lunch, but thank you. Anyhow, I really should just hang around here for now," she explained and started to reach for the magazine again.

"You're not gonna miss your flight," he replied and tucked the glossy pages back into the rack.

Samia wasn't very comfortable being around him, especially with his reputation. The nWo might have been her favorite on television but she didn't want to meet them in a dark alley. She knew what they were capable of and didn't want to be on their bad side at all. The woman began walking towards the fiction section and kept talking. "I'm not hungry. You don't have to worry about me." She picked up the latest John Grisham novel and began thumbing through it.

"I just thought I could get to know the newest face in the WWE a little bit better," Shawn continued, slightly taken aback that he hadn't hooked her for lunch right off the bat.

"Thank you for the interest," she said, hoping to end the conversation, and headed for the cash register to purchase the book. Michaels hung back until she was done and then followed her out of the store.

"If you're sure…" he offered again and flashed his pearly whites.

She hesitated, trying to gain her composure as she was about to melt from his smile. "I'm sure. Thank you though," she replied and took a few steps back. It was then she felt a hand on her back.

"We got a problem, Samia?" Van Dam asked, surprising her.

"No, sir. Mr. Michaels was saying 'goodbye,'" she answered as professional as possible. Taking the hint, HBK waved and did an about face to leave.

"Are you sure everything's fine?"

"Yeah, Shawn just stopped in to introduce himself," she explained as if it was nothing.

"With Shawn Michaels, that's not all there is, but alright. Let me know though if they give you any problems." Samia nodded and they walked back to the terminal together. "What'd you get?" he asked as she pulled the book out.

The novel reminded him of her previous occupation. "You didn't tell me Monday why you'd quit such a prestigious job for something like this."

"Trust me, it wasn't very 'prestigious.' I've been wantin' to find a way out and just haven't yet," she sighed and then continued. "I thought I wanted to be a D.A. but it sucks away your entire life. You see things you never, ever wanted to see." She stopped and shivered. "It doesn't matter. I don't have the ruthlessness it takes to make it big in a firm and I'm not one of those who's gonna represent people who don't deserve to get off and watch those who deserve justice wallow in the system."

"Hmm…" he replied, at a loss for a response. He definitely wasn't going to say what he was thinking—that she was too naïve to be a real lawyer. "And this was what you were doing?"

"This last job, no. It was a step removed and I think it may have been worse. I guess you've always been a wrestler, huh?" she asked, preferring to change the topic.

"Pretty much," he said with a nod of his head.

"That was one tough match. I thought I had lost the belt," RVD proclaimed, flopping down in a chair, exhausted after his match at the next RAW.

"You thought you lost it. I thought I was gonna have a dying duck fit out there," she excitedly replied.

"I didn't have a clue I was getting the best cheerleader along with the best valet," he commented, laughing inwardly at her Southern idiom. They always seemed to pop up when they were alone.

"You're just being a kiss up," Samia responded to his compliment. "I'm not being the best by letting you sit there without water. I'll be back."

"I've still got some," he said, shaking a bottle that was about a quarter full.

"And it's about gone too," she pointed out and slipped out of the long black overcoat that complimented a black sheath underneath to head out the door. She saw Shawn Michaels approaching but only smiled at him and then looked down, hoping he would pass by.

"Hey, chick. How ya doing?" he inquired, stopping her, and she backed up against the wall. Nash was behind him and they flanked her on either side.

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, glancing behind them for an avenue of escape. "And you, Mr. Michaels? Mr. Nash?" she coolly asked and looked at each of them in turn. This was any girl's dream but she wasn't quite sure it was what she really wanted.

"We're just hangin'," Michaels responded. A moment of silence followed and, although Nash broke it, Samia was grateful for it to have ended.

"So, Miss Carlsen, how did you get such an interesting name?"

"It's Middle Eastern. It means 'zenith' in my mother's native language. You know, the zenith being the highest point in heaven," she explained and then inwardly blanched, expecting some perverted comment from Michaels.

However, he pondered her answer and then replied, "So, if your name means the highest point in heaven, then you would have to be an angel. Cool. Fits ya."

She smiled back at him but then caught herself and demurely replied, "Thank you, but it's only a name."

"Alright, cutie, want to go out and get a drink with us after the show?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest and staring at her.

She caught herself smiling but then looked away. "Thank you but I can't. I have to get back now," the woman declined and then slid out from between them only to see RVD coming around the corner. "I was just comin' with your water. You didn't have to…" she trailed off when she noticed he was looking over her head at Nash and HBK behind her. They only waved at RVD and walked off.

"Samia." She turned back around to face him when he said her name. "You'll probably wanna know you were caught on camera with the two of them? The whole arena saw it." Her jaw dropped in surprise. "Is there something going on between you and them? They're trouble and a girl like you doesn't need to have anything to do with them."

She just shook her head and replied, "I'll be back with your water shortly." They parted ways and she continued on her path but passed Nash and Michaels standing off to the side and talking. She knew they had heard her "conversation" with RVD but she didn't hear them laughing to themselves about having pissed off RVD on purpose.

TBC…