7

Taker offered to let Dallas share his room. She didn't have to think it over long before she declined him. A bit regretfully, and she could have saved herself sixty bucks, but in the end she didn't think that would necessarily be a good idea considering his attitude toward her after the night before.

He took it well enough. Dallas went to her own room and tossed her bag onto the bed before heading to the bathroom for a hot shower. She groaned at the thought of having to go to the arena early. Taker was due for a workout with Glen, and a meeting with the same higher ups Dallas had been speaking to in her meeting. His would probably be more informal. She had time to think, as she snuggled under her blanket, that it must be nice to have the bosses in some sort of awe. Taker could pretty much do whatever the hell he wanted, and they didn't bat an eye. Things that would get someone else basically spanked they just overlooked.

Dallas went downstairs the next morning at six-thirty. She was running on three hours of sleep. It was ridiculous for any sane person to be up this early…for a workout. She stopped at the small coffee shop off the lobby and got herself a soda, needing the caffeine boost. When she walked back into the lobby, Taker was waiting for her.

"Mornin'."

Dallas frowned and took a swig of her cold pop. "You're one of those disgusting morning people."

"Nah. I'm just used to it. You ready to go?" He noted the absence of her folder.

Dallas shrugged. "I guess. You've got a meeting. You'll be in there for about seven years." She followed him to the lot and slid into the passenger seat. She vowed that later on she would come back here, and crash. For about twelve hours. They had the Make-A-Wish lunch the next day, so they got to spend an extra day where they were.

Taker seemed to be pretty up-beat. Considering how he'd acted yesterday, Dallas wondered if maybe someone had snuck into his room and hit him on the head. As they neared the arena he glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Can I ask you something?"

Dallas shrugged. Uh oh. "Go for it."

"I just wondered…if you were from Texas. Ya know…you're name bein' Dallas."

She snickered. Weird. "Actually, nope."

He waited a solid minute. "So where are you from?"

Well this was new. Dallas looked at him, surprised. "Vegas. Or close enough to spit on it."

"So were you born in Texas then?"

She didn't know why he cared. "Nope. Again."

"Ok." Taker shrugged, letting it drop.

Dallas grinned. "It's where I was conceived. My mom was a sick, sick person for sharing that with me."

Taker chuckled. "And they commemorated it by naming you after the city?"

"Beats being named 'Holiday Inn'." Dallas said with a serene smile. "And where did your name come from, Mark." She emphasized it. Usually she was like everybody else, and called him Taker.

"My parents were normal." He said, still smiling.

"Lucky you."

Dallas could only wonder why he'd decided to be in such a good mood. Maybe it really was road rust. He needed a few days to settle back into a routine. Although she was not entirely sure it could be accomplished in just two days. Then again he'd been doing this stuff for a long time.

They got quiet as they finished the drive. Dallas thought this time the silence was a bit more comfortable than it had been the day before. Maybe he'd just needed one more go to get rid of the tension he'd caused. She smiled to herself at the thought.

At the arena, Dallas headed for catering while Mark went to the ring for his workout. She risked eating a bowl of cereal at the arena because really – they would have to try pretty hard to screw it up.

Afterward she went to the makeshift booking office and picked up Taker's schedule for the next week, plus a copy of their travel itinerary. She was going to get a head start on hotel and travel arrangements so that whoever covered as an assistant wouldn't be too far behind.

It took quite a chunk out of her morning. Dallas found Taker's locker room and sat down with her papers and a notebook. She jotted down a few changes that she would put in for, like that interview she had rescheduled.

It might have surprised him to know that she didn't feel the least bit upset about not being assigned to him after this week. Hell, it was very possible he wouldn't have a PA for a while after he'd gotten back into the groove.

After all, the sex had been great but Dallas wasn't looking for anything. Hell, she had not been looking for the sex. It was what it was. If it happened again, cool. If not, probably even better. She didn't confuse sex and emotion, and she didn't think sex depended on emotion. Sometimes it was just about feeling good.

Dallas was pretty engrossed in her paperwork, so she didn't really notice Taker come in. He looked at her with an eyebrow up before disappearing into a small bathroom in the corner for a shower and a change of clothes. She didn't even pay attention when he was pretty much standing over her, reading over her shoulder out of curiosity while she made her phone calls.

Taker shook his head and sat down to lace up his boots. He'd gotten back into his street clothes for his meeting. He figured there was something else after that. There usually was.

It didn't take long before he got tired of being ignored. It wasn't something he was used to. Especially from someone who was getting paid to basically pay attention.

Before Taker could even begin to bother her about it, Dallas held up a hand. Like she had sensed it coming. "Just wait two minutes"

He did. He even counted to 120 slowly in his head. And he wondered if she did the same thing, because as soon as he hit the last number, she got off her phone and turned to look at him.

"You're so impatient. You're meeting got changed and the McMahon's want to meet you for lunch at one, unless you absolutely have to have your meeting early. And you don't. We can move your physical therapy appointment up, since you have to do one more before you can get cleared for ring time. That'll give you time enough to go meet with Michael and see if they've got your stuff ready for next week."

Taker took the paper she was holding out. "What's all this?"

"Pre-bookings for your hotels and the flight you'll have to take. Just one next week. If you need to change any of them, let me know before I finalize them tomorrow afternoon, after your lunch with the kids." Dallas handed him another small stack of papers. "More contracts. Plus your home doctor wants a follow up appointment with you. I told him that I'd put in a reminder but I don't know when you're scheduled for time enough off to go home. Well…" She corrected herself. "You could have this weekend, but I think the big boys want you to work a house show or two. To knock the rust off, so to speak."

"Ah. Right." He hadn't given it much thought. He probably should. He could tell them he didn't want to, and they would let him take off. But then he wouldn't get any practice back in the ring, in front of fans, before he got back on television. "Anything else?"

"Nope." Dallas glanced at her watch. "Michael's waiting for you down by the exit. He set up a table, do not ask me why."

"I wasn't gonna." Taker was sort of stunned by her efficiency. "Are you coming to lunch?" He didn't know what made him ask.

Dallas snorted and straightened her stack of papers. "Right. We peasants don't mingle with the royalty. Although I can go find Lisa and she'd probably jump on the opportunity."

Taker made a face at that. Lisa was known to a few of the guys as Leach. The woman would have shown up at lunch whether Taker invited her or not. Lucky for him, she'd only been assigned to him as a PA once. She was a mess, compared to Will and Dallas, and she was forward. Even the fact that Taker as married hadn't stopped her from trying to grope him on one occasion.

Rather ironic he thought of Lisa that way, when he'd been groping Dallas for a few years. Of course that was different. Dallas wasn't the one coming on to him, for starters. For another – Dallas had absolutely no reputation. People liked her, a few of the guys had pursued her, and been shot down. She was considered doable. She just did not do them.

Taker realized he shouldn't trust the rumor mill. Hell, Dallas could have been screwing two or three guys and keeping it quiet. Depending entirely on the guys. Some of them were pretty close-mouthed.

He couldn't get that out of his head as he met with Michael. He barely heard a word the other man said. Luckily, Michael was just as distracted as Taker so it worked out.

Taker found himself trying to figure it out. How could an attractive woman like Dallas last this long in this job without at least a hint of something happening? Even her buddy Rachel had relationships – or maybe just relations – with a couple of guys. So either Dallas had some crazy ass iron control of herself and the generally horn-ball guys around her…or she was good at keeping secrets.

For all the effort he put into keeping his personal life private, he was failing at it. Of course he blamed the internet, rumor boards about wrestling, and so-called reporters. If he let himself think about it long enough, he would have put the blame on the women in his life. He managed to find ladies who couldn't keep their mouths shut to save them from drowning.

So obviously something was not right about this picture. It wasn't like Dallas was a blushing virgin. As a matter of fact, it wasn't like Dallas was overwhelmed at the thought of being with a guy who was, and he had to admit it, famous. He knew star struck. It wore off after a while. And of course Dallas had been around for a longer than a minute. But still…was expecting some kind of reaction too much to ask for?

Taker realized belatedly that he was working himself up to the same anger he'd been feeling the day before. And the hell of it was, he didn't know what he had to be mad about. He'd gotten laid, and pretty sound, the last couple of days. He should be walking around with a shit-eating grin on his face. Basically nailing a chick who until that very time had been a veritable saint should have had him claiming bragging rights. It didn't.

Maybe his attitude was a reflection of hers. She hadn't gotten mad at him, except for that one time. He had been engaged, a month or so before the wedding. And what had come over him? Cold feet? He didn't know. But he could not sleep and had wandered around pretty listless. The hotel had a lounge on each floor, and since their floor was all wrestlers, it was safe to go in and grab a drink, or a snack, and watch some television in a communal way. At nearing on three in the morning, he hadn't expected anyone else to be there.

Dallas was though. She had, at that time, PA'd for him twice. She hadn't been nearly the dynamo she was now, but she was a damn sight better than the other people who had rotated through the job. Taker had talked to her plenty, about random shit that didn't mean anything. Football. Motorcycles – her disinterest in them was written plainly on her face, but she listened. He'd even spilled the beans about a couple of family issues that he couldn't talk to with anyone. Even his family.

So on that particular night, he had walked in on Dallas. She was watching some cheesy horror flick, a wry smile on her lips as she munched on popcorn. She didn't seem a bit surprised to see him pop up either. It had always struck him as a bit odd, that nothing seemed to faze her. It was one of the reasons the heads around the fed liked her.

Taker sat down with her and shared some of her popcorn. And well…somehow he had ended up kissing her. Dallas was hesitant at first, a little confused, but definitely game. One thing led to another, and he found himself stretched out on top of her, nothing separating them but his shorts and her pajamas.

Had someone interrupted them? He had to think hard to remember, because it seemed like every time they messed around, someone called or walked in or knocked. That time it had been Dallas herself. She'd been the sensible one even then. She told him with undisguised regret that nothing beyond what they'd done was going to happen that night. He took it well for a guy who spent the next thirty minutes in his shower, alternating between cold water – which did not work – and his own hand - which was a poor substitute for the real thing.

The really funny thing was Dallas mad was nothing like Taker mad. She had found out, two or three days later, from Glen, who had mentioned in passing that Taker was getting hitched. And for the next six months, every time Taker entered a room where Dallas was in occupation, the temperature would drop ten degrees. The severity of the cold shoulder he got almost gave him frost bite. Eventually, she gave up the silent treatment and it was like nothing had happened. It was like she flipped a switch. On, mad. Off, nothing happened. It was during his separation that they'd had their second little grope session. That one was just seriously deep kissing before his cell phone had interrupted.

Taker had smartened up considerably. He told Dallas well in advance that he was getting engaged again. She did not try to lay claim to him, which was nice, and she also did not try to talk him out of it, which he was getting plenty of from the other guys. She just looked amused. And if he even approached her the entire time he was married, she dodged him. She was pretty adamant about that no married guys thing.

And of course, now he understood her amusement because less than a year and he was officially divorced again. Taker thought maybe Dallas could have been the one who talked some sense into him about that one. Instead she had just let him go about his own self-destructive ways.

Of course, the plus side of the divorce was that the groping was over, and Dallas was pretty much everything he had ever fantasized her to be. That was a little fact he would definitely keep to himself. Dallas would probably get mad all over again if he told her that there were a few nights during both marriages when the only thing that got him through was thinking about her. It had nothing to do with liking her either, just curiosity for what she would be like, what she would feel like, how she liked it, the list was long.

And now that he'd had her…Taker decided his curiosity was not sufficiently satisfied. In other words, he hadn't had nearly enough. Dallas may have had her fill, but he thought this whole week, outside of working, could be best used working each other out of their systems. It was worth considering, anyway.