A/N: Update. New chapter for your reading enjoyment.
I'm not really going to get into it on my author's note, but this will be the last update from me for a few weeks. Work has dictated that I shall be bust for the next three weekends. As the weekends are my writing time, I won't be able to update for a while. I hope you guys understand. Just think of it as a slight sabbatical, and I'll be back before you know it.
Please read and review! I disclaim!!
Chase Alicia McGowan was not a happy woman. At least if the scowl marring her beautiful features was anything to go by. And boy, was Randy Orton going to hear about it.
When they had met over a year ago, Chase had been completely honest. She was up front about her high-maintenance and no bullshit outlook on life. You had to be that way if you were going to succeed as a model. After all, with such a beautiful face, there wasn't much else she could do with her life other than dominate the world of fashion.
Chase had been 'discovered' when she was nineteen years old. Working behind a counter in her local mall and as a part-time promotions girl, her life was filled with dreams of something better than the small town roots where she seemed destined to be stuck. As luck would have it, a talent scout returning to his home state for a vacation had spotted the brunette demonstrating a new line of make-up, and things had progressed speedily from there. She had been signed immediately to a fashion label and was sent out on the runway. Her looks, combined with the right level of promotion made her name sky-rocket in the world of fashion.
Chase had found herself on the cover of every magazine in publication, ranging from American tabloids to high fashion like Vogue. Talk shows became desperate to interview her, clubs and promotional events begged to have her feature there. She seemed to possess the Midas touch, with the public being unable to get enough of the once sweet Texan girl that transformed into a high-fashion Supermodel. Chase McGowan had become famous the world over.
In a move that stunned everyone, yet seemed purely logical to Chase, she fired the man who had discovered her, hiring a new manager. Success indeed had changed Chase. She was a business woman, who knew exactly how to get what she wanted.
This 'winner takes all' attitude filtered through to the rest of her life, including men. She had been linked to any number of high profile celebrities, from actors to musicians to athletes. A tabloid darling, the man on her arm was guaranteed to generate headlines whether she was actually dating them or not. It didn't matter. If the Chase McGowan came to a premier on your arm, you were guaranteed that your film would be a hit.
And it stood to reason for Chase, that if she expected the best clothes, hotels and cars that she would only have the best men to pick from. Indeed, she had compunction about picking men with marital statuses other than single. It was all fair games to Chase. Her relationship with Randy Orton seemed to be nothing more than an accident. After flicking through the television channels one evening, her eyes caught on the chiselled physique of Randy Orton doing his thing inside a wrestling ring. Deciding that he had the right 'look' for her to be associated with, Chase set the wheels in motion for their first meeting.
It happened, by a planned 'coincidence' of course, that Chase was visiting the same hospital for injured soldiers that the superstars of WWE were at. Chase had immediately set upon Randy, and had mostly been at his side ever since. He was incredibly handsome, and looked perfect next to her.
It wasn't as though Randy had minded being eye candy. Far from it. Despite his celebrity status as a wrestler, Chase exposed him to the true celebrity world, where what you achieved could only be governed by your own ruthless ambition. Not to mention the typical male attitude when it came to bragging. He was dating one of the most beautiful women in the world. It was guaranteed to make the boys jealous. The fact that she had her own career which supported her, not to mention kept them apart for extended periods fit him perfectly. Randy was with her long enough to fuck her senseless, and not have to put up with the morning after rubbish usually associated with relationships. It was an affair of convenience. And it suited Randy perfectly.
He had one of the world's most beautiful women on his arm. Who was he to complain if she could be a highly-strung bitch on occasion?
Perhaps it was time for Randy to realise just how much of an issue Chase could be when she felt the need. Her face had been a true vision of inner ugliness as she had walked in on Randy and Juliet. The cold, calculating eyes said it all. Her boyfriend had a child with him, the origins of which were completely foreign to Chase. The fact that he had her was a slight detail he'd left out of their telephone conversation earlier in the week. As far as Chase was concerned he had some serious explaining to do.
She had reluctantly agreed to go with Randy and the spawn to get some breakfast, where he had promised to explain everything. Apparently food was important to Juliet. She'll never make a model, Chase had mused.
Of course, if Chase had known where it was Randy was going to take them, she would never have agreed. Sat in what looked like a diner taken from the 1950's, she was having enough trouble just to keep down the wave of nausea that threatened to void her stomach of all it's contents. Had these people never heard of hygiene in the food industry? Chase was fairly sure that the conspicuous browns stain on the red vinyl seat wasn't chocolate sauce.
Taking Randy's leather jacket from him by force, Chase laid it out over the seat, perching herself on the edge as best as she possibly could. Removing the small bottle of disinfectant gel she always carried around with her, she squeezed a generous amount into her palm. Vigorously rubbing her hands in the gel, she sniffed in disgust. She was probably going to catch something from the air in here anyway, Chase reasoned. Glancing over the table, her eyes narrowed as she watched Randy helped the spawn into a booster seat. As it was, she was too small to reach onto the table and needed extra height.
Certain that Juliet was settled, Randy focused his attention on his by now smouldering girlfriend. Seeing the look burning in her eyes, Randy shrugged his shoulders in a laboured effort. "What's that look for Chase?" Chase flicked her eyes from Randy, to Juliet and back again. As foolish as Randy could be, he wasn't an idiot. Leaning closer to Juliet, he smiled down at the five year old. "Hey Juliet, why don't you go get one of those colouring sheets. That nice lady behind the counter will give you one."
Juliet giggled with glee at the prospect of colouring. Sliding down off the seat, she scampered beneath the table and over towards the counter. Keeping an eye on her as she waited patiently, Randy waited with baited breath on what Chase was about to come out with.
"Randy, honey. I'm sure you have a good explanation for having the little molestable locked in our apartment. But I'm honestly not that interested." Chase's beautiful smile was colder than an Antarctic winter breeze. "Instead, how about you tell me something happy. Like when the orphanage is having the little thing back."
Pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers, Randy sighed heavily. This really was the last thing needed from Chase right now. "It's not exactly like that Chase. She didn't come from an orphanage…"
"Thank god." Chase reached into her purse to remove her pack of cigarettes. "I was thinking you'd gone all Angelina Jolie on me and started adopting a brood. So who does it belong to?"
Randy gritted his teeth in an effort to draw confidence. Making sure there were no sharp objects in the general vicinity, he exhaled heavily. "She's mine Chase." Chase's face remained blank, the cigarette wedged between her fingers hovering between her open lips. "Juliet is my daughter."
Lowering the cigarette, Chase arched and eyebrow. The fact she was able to silently shocked Randy. After all, she'd had more than her own fair share of botox pumped in her head. She usually had very little motion in her face. "I'm sorry, maybe it's the odious smell of deep fat frying that's messing with my senses. It sounded like you just said that the spawn is yours."
"Her name is Juliet," Randy corrected. "And that's exactly what I said."
"What?" Chase's voice was an irritated screech, coupled with her slamming her hands palm down on the flat of the table. Oblivious of the heads turning to watch them, Chase seemed to be on an upward spiral to hysteria. "What do you mean she's yours?"
"Her mother was an ex girlfriend of mine. She was killed last night in a car crash. The police called me and asked me to come pick Juliet up." The look of sorrow on Randy's face was lost on Chase. She couldn't see past the curtain of red blinding her vision.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me you had a daughter before? How could you keep that from me Randy?" Chase's eyes narrowed into a demanding glare.
"I didn't know she existed Chase. Beth never told me she'd had a baby, much less mine. I haven't seen her in years. The first I knew about it was last night." There was an exhausted tone in Randy's voice, one which filled his own ears. How many more times was he supposed to explain that he had a daughter he didn't know about. What were people going to think about him now? How much of a monster must he be if the mother of his daughter couldn't tell him she had given birth?
"You didn't know? How can you not know you had a child Randy? Surely the fact your girlfriend swelled to the size of a small country must have been a give away?" Chase leaned across the table, as if trying to spit her words in Randy's face. How dare he keep this from her?
"I didn't know she was pregnant. She must've gone through it herself and given birth to Juliet. She never told me." His voice was getting weaker by the minute. Obviously, Chase was in neither and understanding nor forgiving mood.
"She's your spawn Randy. You must have some idea." A look of disgust curling her top lips, Chase sank back into her chair, arms pinned across her chest.
"I guess my crystal ball must not have been working that day." Randy retorted, leaning back into his own seat.
Reaching for her cigarette, Chase lit it and stuck it between her lips in one swift move. "We discussed this at length Randy." Chase sounded like she was trying to discipline a child as she spoke. "We both decided that we didn't want children, and that if we did change our minds in the future, we were going to adopt." Because God knows I'm not sacrificing my figure just to reproduce. "I don't want a kid. I'm at the peak of my career, and can't even think about having someone else's little brat to look after. Did you even think about me at all during your little knight in shining armour routine?"
"It came as a surprise Chase. I wasn't prepared for this at all. And I meant it when we talked about it. I didn't plan on having kids." Reaching across the table, Randy took Chase's free hand in his. "But things are different now. I have a daughter. It's not a fact that I can change that easily, no matter what we decided in the past."
"More is the pity." Chase grumbled, blowing a billow of smoke out of the corner of her mouth. She opened her mouth to give Randy yet another piece of her mind, but fell silent as Juliet tottered forward. Clutching a large sheet of white paper with a cartoon farm scene, she placed it onto the table. Keeping holding the crayons, she scrambled beneath the table before climbing back into her seat.
Scooting the paper over to herself, she dipped her head as she began colouring the paper in. Randy took a moment to watch her. He'd never actually seen a blue pig before, but Juliet seemed pleased with it. That was good enough for him.
"Have you considered adoption?" Chase's question was enough to cause Randy to nearly fall out of his seat. However possible that was, considering he was sat in a booth that very nearly happened. Chase regarded him coolly across the table, delicately flicking at the cigarette she held.
"Chase." Randy's voice came from between gritted teeth as he cast a sideways glance at Juliet. Thankfully, she was none the wiser, utterly content in her colourings.
"Well it's a fair question. You said it yourself, you didn't want to be saddled with responsibility. Well that's a huge responsibility right there." As much of a bitch that Chase could be, she tended to be right in what she said. Or was it that she knew how to push Randy's buttons? It didn't really matter. She was making far too much sense for her own good.
"I'm serious," Chase continued, drawing a long puff of smoke from the think white stick. "It's all totally sweet you rescuing your little sprog and all, but have you even though about if you can cope with this?" Randy felt as though he was sinking back into his seat as Chase grew in stature before him. "I mean honestly Randy, you can't seriously think you can be a father? For god's sake man, you can barely take care of yourself. Are you really going to inflict yourself on her? As much as despise children, no-one deserves the parenting of Randy Orton. Hey, is that an oxymoron?"
"I said this was all really new to me Chase. I haven't figured out what I want to do yet." Randy shook his head in a gentle arc as Chase smirked. She was like a shark sensing blood in water.
"So there is another option I take it." Chase felt like crowing on the inside, but kept as impassive as her devilish smile would allow.
"There are her grandparents," Randy admitted in defeat. "The cops are trying to contact them. I'm not sure if her staying with me is a stop-gap measure until they show up."
"Well there we go." Chase's face beamed brightly. "That solves everyone's problems now, doesn't it? They'll find the geriatrics and bundle the spawn off to -…"
"Stop calling her a spawn!" The tone in Randy's voice was a lot more harsh than he had wanted. But he didn't feel the venom any less. So what if he'd only know her twelve hours, Juliet was his daughter and it wasn't right for her to spoken about that way.
"Don't you tell me what to do Randy." Chase glared. "You're the one whose been lying and sneaking around knocking god only knows who else up. Just try and think about how I'm feeling about this, would you please?"
Randy was at a loss for words. "Chase, I need to try and figure this out. And I was kinda hoping on your support through all this."
"What is there to figure out?" The model barked in return. "You didn't want her, you can't care for her, there's a sweet pair of coffin dodgers out there who can. What is the problem here Randy? The only one who seems to think this is a bigger deal is you."
"Well what if I don't want to give her up?" Randy's meek statement caught Chase by utter surprise. As it was, he had only half-meant to say it. But it was out there now, hanging like a vampire bat between the couple.
"You want to keep her?" Chase's voice was thick with incredulity.
"Like I said, I need time to think about it." Randy realised he was rapidly losing control of the situation, at least if the violent shade of fuchsia Chase was turning was to go by.
"I cannot possible accept a child into my life." Her statement was laced with implied threat. "And I don't think you can either. I have a career and a lifestyle that I want to maintain. I'm a fashion model Randy. I'm not about to start playing happy families, not even with you. So you'd better just think about that."
Randy felt the anger building inside him like a crashing wave. It was churning all the way up to his throat, preparing to explode all over Chase. Fortunately for Chase, she was saved in the nick of time. A middle-aged waitress waddled over, flipping over to a fresh page in her dog eared note book. Clutching her coffee pot in her other hand, she pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose. Both her gaudy pink lips curled into an unimpressed sneer.
"I'm sorry honey, but you can't smoke in here." Resting her hand on her hip, she waitress motioned at Chase with the half-full coffee pot.
Chase's smile positively dripped with sarcasm. "Don't worry honey, I was just leaving."
"Chase." Randy sighed. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted her to stay given her less than enthusiastic reception to Juliet.
Standing up from the booth, Chase pulled her own jacket up over her shoulders. Reaching for her purse, she realised she still had the lit cigarette between her fingers. Sliding out of the booth, Chase stood toe to toe with the waitress. With a smile falser than the breasts on Pamela Anderson, Chase dropped the burning end of the cigarette into the coffee pot. It sank into the steaming black liquid with an audible hiss.
With her expensive heels clattering all the way as she stormed to the exit, Chase slammed the glass door to the diner behind her. Wincing at the sound, Randy looked down at Juliet who was still engrossed in the puddle of colour on her activity sheet.
That really hadn't gone well at all. If it wasn't enough that Randy wasn't entirely sure that he could cope with caring for Juliet, it seemed that Chase was totally against him. And knowing his girlfriend like he did, she wasn't exactly going to change her mind over night. She would fight him every step of the way. And he dreaded to think how she would behave towards Juliet.
Maybe Chase was right. Maybe it was best for Juliet to be with her grandparents? They would care for her better than he could hope to, and they hadn't known each other all that long. She'd probably forget him easily enough and go back to some semblance of her old normal life.
But if any of that were true, it still presented Randy with a problem. If Juliet was going to be better off with her grandparents, why did the mere thought of giving her up make him sick to his stomach?
Realising he needed some advice from a more experienced source, Randy turned to look directly at the ashen faced waitress. Her eyes seemed transfixed on the cigarette floating around in her coffee pot.
As she lifted her eyes to narrow them at Randy, he smiled weakly.
"Could we have a few more minutes please?"