Thanks for the reviews, Vera Roberts and looney ninja. I was starting to wonder if anyone was reading this story. :) And Vera, thank you for your advice. It means a lot coming from someone of your reputation.

-----

CJ laid the maps and brochures out on the bed. Nothing with too many people. Just something quiet and secluded. She needed alone time to get her head back in the game.

The ringing of her room phone startled her slightly. "CJ Spencer," she said distractedly, looking over the pamphlets on the bed.

"Ceej," a smooth voice on the other end said.

"Greg," she sighed.

"How are you, Sweetheart?" he asked, as if they talked on a regular basis.

In reality, she hadn't spoken to him since their break up six months earlier. He had been the first person she had met when she moved to Los Angeles, and they had fallen for each other right away. Their relationship had also been the start of her addiction to money and power.

He was only twenty-eight, but already the president of a growing web site design company. He had fallen for her, and then wined and dined her almost every night. It had been a whirlwind of parties and rubbing elbows with Hollywood's elite.

But he had decided to sell his company and start something else. Growing tired of the commitment, he was ready to move on, and so was CJ. They parted on friendly terms, but hadn't spoken since the night he drove out of her life.

"I'm in shock," she smiled, sitting on the bed and forgetting all of her plans for the evening.

"How can anything I do shock you?" he asked with a laugh.

She conceded with a giggle. "Exactly. So, how did you get my number? And how did you know I would be here?" she asked.

"Well, I was sitting here in my huge, lonely mansion," he started, never one for humility, "and I was thinking about that weekend in Cabo. So I thought I would call you. Cara said you were here," he explained.

Cara. Of course. "Oh. Well, so what are you up to?" she asked, not exactly sure she was happy with the consipiracy feel of the situation.

"The business in New York didn't really work out, so I moved again. Came to Vegas and hooked up with some friends. I'm running web design for the hotel that you are sitting in right now," he bragged.

"You are?" She was kind of surprised. Greg had never been the kind of guy to work with, or for, anyone.

He laughed. "Don't sound so surprised. Now, the reason I was calling," he turned the tone to something more serious. "Will you join me for dinner tonight?" he asked.

She had planned to spend a night alone, to decompress from the pace of the night she'd been having, but he was so charming. "I would love to," she said. "Where should I meet you?"

"In the lobby," Greg said as though he already had it all figured out. "I'll wait for you there."

"I'll be there," she smiled, hanging up with a small smile. Sure, getting away from the men and the free drinks would probably be smarter for her career. But it was just dinner with an old friend. Wasn't it?

-----

Randy looked at himself and nodded. "Lookin' good, Orton," he pumped himself up as he finished running gel through his hair. A gray V-necked sweater clung to his muscular chest and his linen dress pants hung effortlessly from his trim hips.

He had tried to back out of this dinner with some of his friends, but John would have none of it. And Edge was beginning to catch on to the fact that something wasn't right with Randy, as well.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. "Come on, man," Edge said, looking the young man at the mirror over.

Stuffing his wallet into his back pocket, Randy affixed his watch to his wrist and shot himself one last look. "Alright, let's go."

"Orton, you look so pretty!" John teased as the men stepped out of their rooms at the same time.

Randy rolled his eyes. "You're lookin' pretty fly yourself, Cena," he winked.

"Alright," Dave interrupted, stepping between them and leading the way to the elevator. "There are beautiful women waiting to be gawked at downstairs."

They were laughing together when the four hit the doors to the lobby and stepped inside. The other guys stopped to talk about something, but Randy just stared. Without a doubt, he knew that she was his angel. Her crystal silver eyes screamed as she surveyed the room, as if she were trying to locate someone. Her perfect figure was accentuated by the red, form-fitting cocktail dress that she wore. Raven black hair fell all around her shoulders and half-way down her back. She was the one.

He hesitated for just a moment before his brain told him that he had to talk to her, had to hear her voice, had to try to touch her. He had to know for sure.

For what seemed like hours, she walked toward him, her long legs carrying her gracefully in stride. When she had nearly approached him, he opened his mouth to speak, only to see her walk right past him and into the arms of a guy in his late 20's with a huge grin on his overly-tanned face. He wrapped his arms around the angel and whispered something in her ear before dropping his arm to her waist and leading her into the restaurant.

The wind rushed from his body as he watched her go. For one moment in time, they were so close they could have touched, but she just kept wakling. And he had let her walk right on by. That's it, Orton. You let her go.

-----

Greg pulled CJ's chair out and then eased it back under the table once she was seated. She crossed her legs and leaned on her elbow as he smiled across at her. "You look stunning," he complimented.

She smiled graciously and then looked down at the menu. "Thank you," she responded. "As do you," she said, shooting him another grin.

He looked at the menu for a moment and then put it down and covered her hands with his. "What happened to us, Ceej?"

For a moment, she was taken aback. He knew what happened to them. CJ took a deep breath. She always felt more confident in the presence of men like Greg. In reality, he was the one that had taught her that, never to bow to anyone. "Two different people, going in two different directions," she responded, meeting his gaze head on.

He nodded and took a drink of the water at his side as the waitress approached them. As he was ordering for both of them, CJ let her eyes wander around the room until her gaze fell on him.

She had noticed him in Dallas, wondered if it was just coincidence that he had been everywhere she had been. But he seemed so self-involved and she had nearly forgotten him. Until she saw him in the lobby a few minutes earlier. His eyes were clear and blue, but empty somehow, like something hurting him, or missing down deep. She didn't consider herself a master of human emotion, but there was something about him that turned her inside out.

"So you're still working for Cara, huh?" Greg asked with a smirk.

She snapped her eyes back to him and nodded. "Yes, I am. For now, anyway. But I've been thinking that a change might do me some good, though," she admitted, taking a drink from the wine glass that the waitress sat before her.

"Really? Get out from under the watchful eye of Mommy Dearest?" he asked, a twinge of mocking in his voice.

CJ squirmed a bit under his condescending gaze. Who was he to judge her? "Something like that. I like to think of it as a redefinition of self."

That seemed to catch his attention. "Now why would Miss I-Can-Get-Anyone-and-Everything-I-Want need to redefine herself?"

Now CJ was really resenting him. But she couldn't let him know that. "I just get bored easily, you know? I wanted to try something different," she explained evenly, as if this were the most natural desire in the world.

"Well, I say more power to you," he nodded, causing CJ to swallow her wine awkwardly and give him a polite grin.

-----

Idle chatter went on around him, but all Randy could think of was Angel and how she blew past him a few minutes earlier. Why hadn't he just reached out to her? Just touched her for a moment? Because she would have thougth he was a nut, that was why. She would slap him and call him a lunatic or something.

But she was electric. He pivoted in his seat, trying to locate her. There she was, seated across her table from the man in the lobby. She was watching him speak, but looking deeply disturbed, like she didn't wanna be there with him. Or maybe he was imagining things.

John watched his friend's gaze and then hugged when he saw what was attracted Randy's attention. "Dude, get your head outta your ass," he said, twisting Randy's chair back around to face the table. "She's with another guy."

"What's goin' on?" Edge asked, trying to follow Randy's gaze until it rested on a beautiful, leggy woman with jet black hair and silver eyes. "Dude, she's fuckin' fine," he gasped.

Randy nodded. "Yeah, she is. So what were we talking about?" As his friends continued to talk, he pretended to be listening. Why couldn't he get her out of his head? And why was she always there, every time he turned around?