Same Day, Stamford, WWE HQ:
The Photo-shoot had quickly turned into a logistical nightmare soon after Colby and Joe had arrived. A portion of the Superstars who had been scheduled to be there early had shown up late and then everyone had to contend with all the technical difficulties because of the new equipment.
Joe shook his head after being told things would be another twenty minutes at least before the next photos would be ready and walked off to join Colby who was seated on a bunch of wooden crates off to the side.
"What a joke Man, twenty minutes to take some stupid damn pictures?" Joe huffed and took a seat beside his friend. "I could take whatever they need on my cell and we'd be out of here in five."
Colby chuckled, "Go make an offer."
Joe shot him a look as Colby broke out into full laughter and caught the eye of many in the room. "Okay, what happened?"
Colby shrugged, "Can't I be focused on the positives."
Joe turned and stared at him. "Half an hour ago you cried over not having any spoons in your kitchen, now your "Mr. Positive", oh wait please don't tell me it's about the girl in the parking garage?"
Colby grinned and was about to answer when Pam walked over. "What girl in the parking garage?" She asked with a smirk.
"Nobody." Colby replied brushing it off.
"Nah, nice try." Pam laughed and sat next to him. "Did you meet someone already?"
Joe couldn't help but laugh as Colby began to stutter. "When we were down in the garage, a car pulled in and some attractive brunette woman stepped out."
"Why?" Colby groaned and gave him a look. They both knew to never divulge anything like that especially to either Pam or Renee as neither woman respected boundaries. But Joe couldn't resist he needed something to cheer him up and if he had to throw Colby under the bus then so be it.
"Ooh tell me about her!" Pam grinned and clapped her hands together.
"It's nobody just some random pretty girl." Colby replied quickly. He needed to calm things down before she got totally out of control. "Honestly Pam, it's nothing."
"Sure I hear ya." Pam said and nodded her head. "So what did she look like?" She asked after a minute of silence.
Colby let out a loud sigh and shot Joe another look. "Why do you do this to me? Pam, it's nothing..."
Meanwhile:
Up on the top floor, Belle listened contentedly as Stephanie went through what she had planned and on the surface it sounded solid but there was still a murky undercurrent which stirred away in the pit of her stomach. They had talked for roughly forty or so minutes and not a single mention of "Mr or Mrs Anonymous." Okay, so nothing over the phone or email but maybe that was for security purposes, but why not come out and ask what she thought about the whole debacle?
Belle smiled and nodded along, but couldn't shake her uneasiness. Should she be the one to bring it up? Or should she wait and see until the end? "What the hell!" She asked herself.
"So what do you think?" Stephanie asked.
"Alright, so you basically want me to pose as your assistant but I'd be paid to continue to write my blog and incorporate more of your story-lines and backstage off-camera events, and at the same time not tell anyone it's my blog?" Belle said as she tried to get it straight in her head.
Stephanie smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Belle, honestly your blog's the talk of backstage, so why not use it to both of our advantages? Your work would get more exposure online and honestly if this works out then we would control the narrative a little more. All I wanted was for you to help me blur the lines of reality. I miss the days of my childhood where I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. If you come on board with us, I truly believe we can achieve some of that again. So what do you say?"
Belle sat back in her seat and stared at the Billion Dollar Princess. Exposure and control; two rather scary words. She didn't want anyone to learn of her existence or the fact she was the one behind the blog and did she want to give up pieces of both her professional and personal lives? Could she trust them to protect her and her identity? And the thought of herself as a rat among her potential new work colleagues didn't sit right with her either.
Stephanie picked up on Belle's hesitance and needed to act quick to get her into the Company and to work. She also didn't like the thought of her Dad and the look of disappointment in his eyes especially when she told him that she could handle everything. "It's a lot to think about I know but here look this over it's what we would pay and the steps of how we can manage your new "persona" and security."
"I appreciate that I truly do. It's a big decision like you said, how long before you need an answer?"
"I can give you a few days. We can extend your stay at our cost of course and hopefully when you fly home to Australia, we can re-book your flight back here to the States." Stephanie replied.
"Thank you." Belle stated with a short nod of her head. "It was lovely to have met you and I thank you again for your time."
"The pleasure was all mine Belle. I look forward to your answer. I can't wait for us to start to work together." Stephanie smiled and stood with her hand extended. "In the meantime please don't hesitate to call me, I included my cell phone in the information."
"Thank you." Belle replied and shook Stephanie's hand.
"I can show you out." Diandra smiled from the door.
Belle nodded politely and followed her out. "Thank you."
Stephanie watched the two women as they left her office and sat back down. "Great job JJ." She silently fumed. "How could something like that not show up!" When she saw Belle unfold her vision cane she had been totally knocked off her game for a second. "Unbelievable." She fumed and dialled JJ's cell phone.
"Hi Steph, how are you?" JJ asked.
"Humiliated thanks to you. Did you leave anything out of your report?" Stephanie asked annoyed.
"No, why?" JJ asked surprised.
"So none of your sources said anything about anything medical?"
"No not a word. Why?"
Steph shook her head and took in a breath. "The woman's partially blind! Do you know how embarrassing it was to be caught out like that?"
JJ closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Steph, I'm so sorry I had no idea. When did it happen did she say anything?"
"No, she took it quite well she had a little laugh about it. She didn't say much about it and I couldn't come straight out and ask."
"Apart from that how was it?"
"It went well, I didn't bring up the leaks but I could tell that she was intrigued and before she arrived I checked the site and all references to the scripts and whatnot had been removed. So obviously she asked her team back in Sydney to remove them." Steph replied with a smile.
JJ nodded in agreement. " Did you want me to see if I can find any medical information? Honestly its the one area that I didn't think to dive into. Not that it's an excuse." He replied.
"No, no I don't want to breach her privacy any further. I want her to feel comfortable and be able to trust me." She explained. "JJ, I need to go Paul's on the other line. I apologise for my tone earlier."
"Totally understandable Steph. Let's talk more in a few days."
"Thanks, JJ, see you later." She smiled and ended her call. "Hi, Baby."
"Hey Babe, how did the interview go, all over?" Paul asked and sat down on the edge of the ring at the PC.
Steph exhaled and reclined, "I'm so embarrassed...
Meanwhile:
Diandra and Belle reached the foyer and stepped out of the elevator. "Thank you again for coming down with me. I hope I didn't take you away from too much work."
"No, not all. I was ready for a break anyway. Are you alright down here I can stay with you?" Diandra offered kindly.
Belle smiled and shook her head as Marty approached. "No I'm all good, Marty's here. Thanks again for coming down with me."
"Not a problem." Diandra replied and shook Belle's hand. "I look forward to seeing you around here more."
Belle nodded and walked towards Marty as the two women parted ways. "How was your Burger?"
Marty grinned, "Fabulous thank you."
Belle couldn't help but laugh. "You sound like my Dad."
"Ahh, another foodie is he? We'll be best buds in no time." He replied with a wink. "Are you hungry? We can always go back in if you like, or I can grab you something?"
"No, I'm alright thanks Marty."
"Okay. So how was your interview?" He asked as they walked towards the elevators leading down to the garage.
"It went well actually. Though they weren't expecting my friend here." Belle grinned.
Marty chuckled, "Surprised were they?"
"Yes, to put it kindly."
"Always good to keep the suits on their toes." Marty replied and helped her into the elevator and pressed the down button. "So do you think you will accept?"
"I'm not sure, I have to go over a few things first that they gave me. But it sounded interesting." She said with a slight shrug.
"Well take your time, you've come a long way to be here. It won't hurt for them to spin their wheels for a bit."
Belle grinned. "You know something, Marty? I couldn't have put it better myself."
A/N: Wishing for a much better 2021 for all of us!