Author's Note: Thank you to all that have read and/or reviewed! I had a fantabulous weekend with all of my men! (And I'm tired than a mofo but the weekend was well worth it). I took many pictures (about 70, though, I think 50 actually came out) so I hope to post a few on the myspace page in a couple of days.

Only three chapters left….

V.

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"I have no romantic interest in you." Dave repeated.

Ayanna felt her cheeks were burning with embarrassment. The man she had been crushing out on and thought he felt the same, dumped her before they had a chance to get together. Wait a minute? Why am I upset about this? I should be happy. "This Chianti is delicious, isn't it?"

"It's okay to feel embarrassed, Ayanna." Dave said. "I probably contributed to you thinking I was interested in you."

"Um, slightly." Ayanna replied. "So do you want to tell me what's going on here?"

Dave wiped his mouth and sat back into his chair. "I need your help."

"For?"

"Winning Kris back."

Ayanna shook her head. She was now convinced that Dave lost his damn mind. "Why should I help you?"

"You shouldn't after what I did to Kris." Dave admitted. "But I want you to."

Dave's past gestures then dawned on Ayanna. He didn't just send her favorite pink roses because he appreciated her—he was buttering her up. "So you intentionally hired me to get back with Kristal?"

"No, I hired you because I needed an assistant."

"But you knew who I was when I returned your call."

"Yeah." Dave conceded.

Ayanna was furious and she wanted to throw her Chianti at him. "So was this your own way of playing head games with people? No wonder Kristal wants nothing to do with you."

Dave conceded Ayanna's remarks. "I deserve that one."

"Oh, there's more if you want to hear them." Ayanna replied. "So what were all those questions about me and Randy about? Some more of your head games?"

"Ayanna, you're an investment. So is Randy. But Randy has a reputation that precedes him. You're not the first assistant I've had got involved with him and left when things went sour. The only reason Melina stayed is because I gave her a nice raise and created a new position for her."

"Randy's not like that anymore, David." Ayanna corrected. "He realized the error of his ways."

Sure, he has. "Have you seen him angry?" He asked.

Dave's question caught Ayanna by surprise. During her two months at Parker-Williams, she's seen both Dave and Randy frustrated but not necessarily angry. She hadn't seen Randy angry during their time alone together. "Well, no."

"Just wait." He warned.

There was a cryptic tone in Dave's reply. It stirred uncomfortable feelings inside Ayanna. She wasn't sure if she should be worried, scared, or completely unfazed. However, the real issue present made her re-focus on something else. If Dave wanted her help, there was a price to be paid. "Let's just say I'll be generous and help you with your situation. What do I get out of it?"

"If Kris and I get back together, you will be tremendously compensated for your efforts."

"And if you don't?"

"Status quo."

Ayanna thought briefly of the proposal in front of her. Dave left Kristal and gave some bullshit excuse on how he just needed space. That motherfucker deserves to be alone. Yet, Ayanna couldn't bear seeing the sadness in Kristal's eyes whenever she asked about Dave. It was too obvious she was still in love with him. "I'm in."

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The next few days in Italy flew by. Ayanna and Dave were swept with various meetings on the product details and market outline for the SilverLining series. Between meetings, the pair also mapped out Dave's plan to win Kristal back. During one evening at Dave's hotel room, Ayanna informed him on everything that has been happening with Kristal, including her new boyfriend, John.

"So what does this John guy do for a living?" He asked.

Ayanna sipped her tea. "He's a hip-hop producer and rapper."

"Oh…" Dave tried to act impressed. "That's exactly what this world needs—the lovechild of Vanilla Ice and Feminem."

Ayanna feigned shock. "Is somebody jealous?" She smiled.

Dave shot Ayanna disbelieving look. "Please."

"Well, I wouldn't be talking with your little Playboy bunny friend." Ayanna counted.

"My friend?"

"Torrie Wilson." She said. "Blonde, big boobies…"

"Oh, I knew exactly whom you're referring to." Dave smiled brightly. "She's not my friend."

"She was something one day to you." Ayanna said.

"She was enough to seal the deal for the new sofas." Dave smiled.

Ayanna shuddered as she remembered the open condom wrapper in Dave's office. "That's fucking gross."

"Actually it was fucking good." Dave replied.

"Now would that statement be considered sexual harassment?"

Dave shrugged slightly and stared straight ahead. "As much as you and Randy getting it on the conference room table wasn't."

Ayanna whipped her head towards Dave. Her eyes widened and she was in shock. No way… "Huh?"

Dave sipped his cappuccino. "Smile because you were on candid camera."

Ayanna covered her already-clothed attire more. She kept asking Randy if there were any cameras around and he kept assuring there weren't any in the conference room, only in his and Dave's offices. Orton is a dead man. "Did you really see us?"

Dave changed the subject. "So she's dating this guy named Cena?"

"She says it's serious but it's far from it. I think she's just with him to get over you."

"What has he done for her? Buy her anything? Take her anywhere?"

"He took her to the Lakers game and down to Catalina island for a nice vacation."

"That's it?"

"They've only been dating for two months, David. That's going to be it."

"Kristal is a woman that needs to be pampered. She needs to be spoiled. She deserves the finest and best." He shook his head again. "She appreciates it now but she wants more. I know she does."

"Thank you for showing how much you care about her now." Ayanna wanted to roll her eyes. "If Kristal was so wonderful, why did you leave her?"

Dave blew out a regretful breath. He told Kristal they needed to go their separate ways but he was actually scared about commitment. "I thought I could find someone better, someone else. I wasn't ready for the commitment and she was constantly talking about how she wanted to get married and have children." Dave sighed. "I should've listened."

"I just have one question."

"Yes?"

"You still love her?"

"I never stopped."

Ayanna smiled at Dave's confession. It gave her more reassurance Dave and Kristal belonged together. "Good to know."

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After her talk with Dave, Ayanna headed back to her room. When she returned, she noticed her cell phone had six missed calls. Randy. Ayanna smiled as she thought about him. She was going to fly back to LAX in a couple days and she missed her boyfriend terribly. Masturbation just wasn't doing the trick.

Just when Ayanna was about to call her boyfriend, she remembered another tip Dave could use to win Kristal back. Since their hotel rooms were next to each other, she opened the connector door and walked into Dave's room. "Dave, I just thought about something else you can use for Kristal….and oh my…."

Standing before Ayanna was a naked Dave Bautista. He was about to take a shower and his back was facing Ayanna. He was gathering his toiletries. He looked at Ayanna through the mirror. He wasn't fazed that she was seeing him naked. "Yes?"

Ayanna stared at Dave's package. He was very impressive. Everything Kristal told Ayanna about Dave's body was a gross understatement. He was a god of Grecian mythology. His skin was deep caramel goodness and Ayanna wanted to take a lick. Oh my.

"Did you need help with something, Ayanna?" Dave asked.

Ayanna was too busy staring at Dave's ass to realize he was talking to her. "That's a really nice tattoo, you got there."

Dave quickly wrapped the towel around his waist. "Are you done staring at my ass?"

Ayanna's attention went from Dave's ass to his sculpted midsection. Ayanna was in complete awe at Dave's body. "Huh?" she then looked up. "Oh, um…hmm…I'll let you finish getting dressed now."

"Thank you. I would like that." Dave smiled. "Oh, and Ayanna?"

She covered her eyes so she wouldn't take any more peeks at Dave's body. "Yes?"

"I saw you naked, you saw me naked. I say we're even don't you think?"

"Uh-huh! Bye Dave!" Ayanna quickly walked out of his room. She hurriedly called Randy. "I miss you so much!"

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"How's Italy?" Melina asked over the phone.

"Italy is fantastic! The furniture for the new line is incredible! I can't wait to show you the layouts!" Ayanna beamed.

"Good." Melina smiled. "So you and Dave are getting along okay?"

"Oh yeah. We really bonded in the last few days."

"Oh? How so?"

Ayanna smiled at Dave. "I saw his naked self. Did you know he has a girly tattoo on his ass?" She laughed as Dave shook his head.

Melina was startled by the admission. Ayanna, shut up! "Oh, you and Dave got naked?"

Ayanna kept giggling into the phone as Dave gave her more dirty looks. "I said enough so that's it." She laughed more. "I'll tell you the story when I get home."

"Alright, sweetie. I'll see you in a couple days."

"Bye, Melina!" Ayanna then hung up the phone.

Melina hung up the intercom and shook her head. "You didn't hear any of that, did you?"

Randy stared at the intercom. The night Ayanna didn't pick up her phone for hours on end became clearer to him. When she did call him, Randy remembered how flustered she sounded over the phone. She was fucking Dave. "I heard all of it."