Chapter 3
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Randy pulled her by the arm threw her into the room, and closed the door. She tried to fight him off, whacking at him until he let go.
"How long have you been standing there?" He asked, as she tried to regain her composure. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"
He looked at her, as if studying her. She looked at him right back. He is a big guy, and standing in front of him, looking up at him, he looks a whole lot taller and threatening, scary, intimidating.
But Arianne will not be intimidated.
He kind of looks good when he's angry. She thought, while keeping a straight face. Actually, he looks hot when he's angry.
"No." She said. "Well…you weren't exactly keeping it down."
"You have a habit of sneaking up on people?" He asked.
"Well, that makes two of us now. Doesn't it?" She bantered.
But as soon as she said it, she felt bad about it. "Look, I didn't mean to listen. I only came to…say thank you." She said, "Ms. McMahon told me how you pulled for me to get the job. I appreciate that you believe in me enough to do that. And…I also came to apologize…for the way I spoke to you before, it was disrespectful."
"Forget about it." He said.
There was no change of expression from him. He wore that intimidating expression he always does in the ring.
"Will you stop looking at me like that?" She finally said, psyched out.
"Like what?" He asked.
"Like you're going to eat me alive!" She said.
A smile suddenly lined his lips, and he lost the intimidating look. "Sorry. Force of habit."
They were both silent for a couple of seconds until she let out small laugh, and then he laughed too. He took the chair he kicked earlier and unfolded it, placed his bag on top of it, and started packing his stuff.
"So, we're cool?" He asked. "Is that all you came to tell me?"
"Yeah, we're cool…I suppose we should be if we're going to work together. I'm writing for you now, after all." She said, "Speaking of which, I thought I'd run some ideas by you first." She handed him some papers from her bag. "See if you like it."
"Take a seat." He said, as he took it. He took his bag off the chair and sat on it.
"It's basically how we're bringing DiBiase back." She said, putting another chair and sitting beside him.
"I thought we could put in a mix of mystery, not say it's him first. Sim and Manu would come to Cody and basically tell him they have this guy who wants to take you out." She explained, "Turn to page three."
He turned the page, and she pointed the part she's talking about.
"There see?" She said, "And then BOOM, Ted turns on them. You, Cody and Ted beat them up, and Legacy is formed."
He curled his lips, impressed. "I like it, I like it." He said. "Good job."
He looked at her at the same time she looked at him, and in that fraction of a moment they both felt some kind of electricity between them that caught them both off guard. Arianne was the first one to take her gaze off.
"All right…thanks." She said, standing up. "I should ah…I should go, let you pack."
"Yeah…ok." Randy said.
Arianne walked towards the door, but when she was about to turn the knob, she remembered what her last conversation with Joseph. He wants her to get as close to Randy as she can. She can't let another opportunity pass again. This was her chance.
"Um…Randy…"
"Yeah?" He stopped what he was doing.
"About earlier…I was listening." She said.
He became serious again. "How much did you hear?"
"I heard everything." She said. "Your part of the conversation, anyway. Was it your wife?"
He didn't say anything, but his eyes said everything.
"I take that as a yes?" She said. "I assume she didn't like the segment with Kelly earlier?"
He just sighed, and shook his head a little.
"You know…I think maybe I can do something about it." She said, "I mean, I could convince them to scrap that storyline. I'll think of something…"
"You'll do that?" He asked.
"Sure." She said, "I think you can do better than the arrogant self-absorbed playboy. You're past that, right?" She winked.
"I'm so past it!" He said.
"I thought so." She smiled. "Well, I'll get right on it. I…I'll go now. For real this time."
"All right." He smiled. "Thank you."
Then she went out and closed the door, but didn't leave yet. She stood there, leaning on the door with a little smile creeping in the corner of her lips.
But it wasn't because she was happy. It was more a smile of satisfaction for what she's accomplished to do.
Joseph will be happy to hear about thought.
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"That's good." Joseph said, darkly.
He's on the phone with Arianne, and she'd told him everything that happened in the past few weeks. He was very happy with the developments.
"Now you've earned his trust, it's time to take the next steps." He said. "You have to get closer to him."
"What do you mean?"Arianne asked.
"Seduce him."
"What? I can't do that! He's married, he has a family."She protested.
"I don't give a rat's ass about his family! He took away mine!" Joseph screamed. "You listen to me, Arianne. You're going to do what I'm telling you, or you won't have a family to go home to. It's you or him, Arianne. What do you say?"
For a while she did not respond. But she doesn't really have any choice. "Fine, I'll do it. Tell me what you want me to do."
"Good." Joseph said, "The best way to take out an opponent is through the heart. And that's what you're going to do. Listen closely…"
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January 12, 2009 Monday, Sioux City, IOWA
Arianne was sitting in the stands inside the arena by herself when Randy arrived with Cena. The stadium was still empty and the crew were still building the ramp and setting the ring for the night's show. When he saw her, he thought she looked distressed and deep in thought so he approached.
"Hey, man…I'll talk to you later." He said to John. "I gotta go talk to my writer about…something." And then he walked off.
"All right, man." John said, looking at where he was going. "I can't believe he's still playing it." He said to himself. "Oh, well…mind your own business Johnny boy." He told himself.
Arianne didn't see Randy until he was just a few feet away from her.
"Hey, you okay there?" He asked before taking a seat beside her. "You look a little…well, a lot problematic. Something I can help you with?"
"No." She said simply.
"No what? No you're not okay, or no I can't help you?"
"Both." She sighed.
"Hey, come on. Give me a chance." He said, trying to cheer her up. "Tell me what the matter is, maybe I can help you. Is someone hassling you? Want me to beat them up?"
"No…" She said. "No ones' hassling me…"
"Then what is it?"
She sighed, "It's my boyfriend." She said, as she leaned over to him, putting her head on his shoulder. "He just doesn't understand my work."
"Oh." He said, suddenly feeling awkward and out of place. "I hadn't realized you had a boyfriend."
"Have." She said. "We're still together…as far as I know anyway."
"Right." He said, "Well, what happened? I mean…if you don't mind telling."
"I just had an argument with him…" She said, "He doesn't get it. I love what I do here, I love my job. And part of that is being on the road all the time. I can't believe he's making me chose between him and my work." She sobbed.
"Hey, hey…" He put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't cry…"
"He's so unfair." She said, "How could he do that? He even accused me that maybe I have a relationship with Cody, just because he saw his number on my cell phone when we were together one time when I was home."
"Hmm…isn't that familiar?" He said almost inaudibly, but she still heard him. Although she pretended she didn't.
"Listen…that sort of thing…it happens, especially in this business. It's a concern with people we have relationships with. And I suppose it's normal for them…" He sighed, taking his arm off her, to the arm rest.
"Temptation's all around us, especially because we travel, and sometimes we get lonely and try to find distractions and relieve ourselves." he said, "Sometimes we don't pick the right way to do it. We just have to watch out and be careful. We just have to understand them and be patient with them as much as we can."
"Thanks." She said. "That actually helped."
He smiled a little, "Yeah?" He said. "I told you I can help, didn't I?"
She smiled, "Yeah, you did." She said, "I wish he was more like you…"
She sat up and looked at him at the same time he looked at her, and there was that feeling they both felt that time they were in his dressing room, and it still caught them off guard.
But this time, she didn't withdraw her gaze. She held his stare for several moments until he looked away.
"I should get backstage and prepare." He said.
"Right, okay." She said, "Sorry if I bothered you…"
"No, forget about it." He said, looking down at her. "It's not a problem. You didn't bother me at all."
"Well, thanks still."She said, still looking at him."Hey, if you need someone to talk to…you can talk to me. Maybe I can help you back."
He smiled, "See you at the back." He said.
As he was walking towards the back, he can't help but think about everything he said to Arianne.
Who was he really trying to convince—Arianne or himself? He's felt the way she has so many times he'd already lost track. It's really one of those things that exasperate him.
Although he told Arianne to have patience, he never really understood why he's the one who needs to be patient when there was never really a cause to doubt him anyway.
It's not because he's never been tempted since getting in a relationship. It's the fact that he never acted upon those temptations since he got married. It pisses him off that even after all that, his wife still seems to always find a way to doubt him.
He took a deep breath as he entered his dressing room. Ted and Cody were already there discussing what was going to happen in the show tonight. It was going to be when his stable Legacy will be formed with those two.
"Hey, man!" Ted said when he saw him.
"Hey, welcome back, man." Randy said, bumping fists with Ted. "Gonna be a big night, you guys ready?"
"Yeah, we're ready." Cody said, "Nervous, but ready."
"Good." Randy said, "Let's do this."
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January 16, 2009
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After a couple days' rest, everyone was back for work except Arianne. Randy wanted to see how she was doing since he didn't see her after that Monday's Raw.
He'd asked a couple of the seamstresses that he knew are friends with, but they didn't know why she wasn't around. Then he remembered Cody has her mobile number so he waited for him.
"Ted! Is Cody with you?" He asked Ted when he saw him walk in.
"Yeah, he's just parking the car." Ted said, "Why?"
"Nothing, I just need to ask him something." He said.
He went to the parking lot to look for Cody. He saw him as he was taking his bags out of the compartment.
"Cody! I've been looking all over for you."
"Hey, what's up?"
"Have you heard from Arianne?" He asked, "I haven't seen her around."
"Uh, no…I just got here." Cody said.
"Yeah, obviously." He said, getting exasperated. "I meant if you know why she isn't here."
"No, she didn't tell me anything. And I haven't talked to her since last Monday before the show." Cody said, "Why? Is there something wrong?"
"Uh…" He thought about it. "No…"
It was none of his business what's happening with her personal life. So what was he so anxious about? He didn't have an answer. He just is.
"You know what? Can I just borrow your phone?"
"Sure…" Cody pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave it to Randy. "Did you forget your phone?"
"No." Randy took his phone and searched for Arianne's number in the phonebook and sent it to his phone.
"It's right here, on my pocket." He said, at the same time the message alert sounded and handed Cody back his phone. "Thanks man."
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"It's him." Arianne said, her phone in her hand, ringing. "Do I answer?"
It was Randy that was calling her phone. Earlier she received a text message from him asking her where she was, if she was stuck at an airport, and if she was all right. She didn't reply, so that was probably why he decided to call.
"No." Joseph said, "Don't answer it. Let him worry about you…just as I predicted he would."
"I'll just turn it off." She said.
She rejected the call and turned the phone off. She was starting to feel the urge to answer it, but she knew Joseph would throw a fit if she didn't do what he told her.
He's never talked to her this calmly before since the accident and she didn't want to aggravate him.
"So what now?" She asked Joseph.
"You can leave tomorrow morning, show up at work." Joseph said, "It's time for step two."
She sighed and nodded reluctantly.
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Arianne finally showed up for work the next day. Or at least she was there physically. She didn't seem to be there mentally. She was not her herself at all, and everyone noticed.
She didn't even hang out or talk to Randy and the boys much except during the shows, right before they go out for their match …until that Monday's Raw when she went to see Randy, Cody and Ted at their dressing room to give them the night's script.
"Come in." Randy said from inside the room when he heard the knock.
"Hey, guys." She said.
"Arianne! Hey!" Randy stood up.
"He's not very excited is he?" Ted whispered to Cody.
"No, not in the very least." Cody chuckled.
"I brought your script for tonight." She smiled, trying to look happy. "Well, not really much of a script for you." She told Cody and Ted as she handed them a piece of paper.
"But we've added a segment with you and Ms. McMahon tonight." She said to Randy.
He read the script. "She's going to slap me?" He said, "Maybe I should get some anesthesia for my cheek."
She just smiled tiredly. "Good luck. This is gonna be a big night for you." She said, "You're kicking the chairman's head off."
"Aren't I lucky?" He joked.
She just sighed. "Good luck, guys." Then she left.
"Okay, what's wrong with that picture?" Randy asked.
"You noticed it too?" Cody asked.
"Noticed what?" Ted asked.
"She's like glum." Cody said, "Normally she'd have been giggling no matter how corny the jokes we throw around."
"Well, I wouldn't know." Teddy said, "I haven't spent that much time around her, I just got back."
"We'll I would. Something's wrong." Randy said, under his breath. It had been bothering him all this time, and he just had to know what the problem was.
"I'll be right back." He told Cody and Ted.
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He went after Arianne, but she disappeared so fast after she left his dressing room so he had to look around for a bit. Finally he had to ask a few people, from Jillian to Khali, until finally Hornswoggle told him she was in the creative staff's room by herself.
When he got there, the door was slightly opened and he could see her staring at her laptop.
"Arianne…"
She closed the lid of her laptop when she heard him. "Randy? What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you." He said.
"Why? Do you need something?"
"No…I just…" He took a seat across the table from her. "I just wanted to see if everything was all right. You don't seem like yourself lately…is there a problem?"
She looked down on the table for a minute, but when she looked up at him again she just covered her face with her hands and burst out in tears. Randy instinctively went around the table to try and comfort her.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" He sat down on the chair beside her, and put a hand on her back.
She looked at him, with tears flowing from her eyes. "I broke up with him." She said, in between sobs. "He's the one who was cheating on me! That bastard!"
"A-are you sure? I mean, do you have proof?" He asked, not really sure if it was the right question.
"Of course I have proof!" She said. She opened the lid of her laptop and turned it towards him. "He took pictures of it…of him doing my best friend! He sent it to me by accident, that idiot!"
He looked at the screen and saw a picture of a man and a woman in a very compromising position. He closed the lid down and held her in his arms. He had no idea what to tell her, so he just provided her the only thing he could—a shoulder to cry on.
Outside, one crew member happened to pass by and because the door was slightly open, saw them. Luckily, John Cena happened to be passing by too and saw him before he could take a picture with his phone and scared him off.
But he got curious about what the guy was looking at so he took a peek too, and saw them. He didn't know what they were talking about and he didn't want to presume anything, so he just closed the door.
"I'm sorry." She said when she was a bit calmer. "I shouldn't be burdening you with my personal problems."
"No, no, no…it's fine. Of course you should tell me." He said, "We're friends, aren't we?"
She sat up, wiped her tears off. "We are." She smiled." She said, quietly. "Thank you."
"Don't worry about it." He said, "I'm here for you if you need me. I mean that."
She looked at him straight in the eyes. "You're a good man, Orton." She said, "You're wife's lucky to have you."
He smiled a little. I wish she knew that. He thought.
"You should go." She said, "Show's about to start. You better get ready."
"Right." He stood up, "You gonna be all right?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure." She shrugged. "But I have to be. Speaking of which…can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure."
"Don't tell anyone about this." She said, "I don't want it to affect my work…and the less people know about it, the less I have to talk about it."
"It's between you and me." He said.
A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading! I would love to hear from you about what you think of the story so far. I would appreciate any feedback/comments/critiques. :)