10

Of all the things to argue over, clothes should have been at the bottom of the list.

Dallas was glad it wasn't her doing the arguing. Taker wanted to wear regular clothes – of a sort. Jeans, boots, his current t-shirt. The brass wanted him to go to the lunch in full Undertaker mode. The only reason she intervened was because it was getting late, and she was tired of hearing a certain blonde-haired giant nosed asshole running his mouth. When he wanted his way, that was the end.

"Listen. Fuckhead." Dallas was standing in the hall. She had been coming to see if Taker was ready and had walked into this argument. Lucky her. Paul narrowed his eyes. "Nobody else is going in gear. Not even you. Not that any kid on the planet would wanna look at you in your underwear. I am pretty sure though, that a roomful of sick 5 year olds is the wrong place for you to be shoving the Undertaker down their throats. Seriously. You wanna win brownie points, or you wanna give a bunch of kids nightmares?"

He huffed. But he did leave. Dallas looked at Taker and saw his day was starting off on an aggravated foot. That was something else for the kids to see, indeed.

"I'm fine." He said it before she could ask. Dallas smirked and went into the locker room. Her folder was back. She was finalizing his next week. "Apparently I just don't speak that shithead's language."

"Yeah? Next time just tell him to shut his dicksucker. That usually works wonders." Dallas kept a straight face but Taker had to laugh. He could see her doing that. And getting away with it. "So are you ready?" She looked at him from head to toe, critically, as if taking inventory.

"Yes. Mom." Taker rolled his eyes and zipped up his travel bag. The consensus was he would need to do at least one of the house shows that weekend. He chose to do Friday's so he could take Saturday and Sunday off. Other than an appointment with the trainers to finalize his clearance, he was done. He followed Dallas through the halls toward the exit. The only reason he had come to the arena was to get in a last workout at the more private gym.

Now he relaxed and just enjoyed the view as Dallas got a bit ahead of him. She was wearing a black knee length skirt with a button down white shirt. Very naughty secretary. And heels. It wasn't often he saw her wear heels higher than a centimeter. Apparently she'd known exactly what she was doing because with her hair up in a messy bun she definitely looked like the part. Something out of a soft core type photo shoot. If it were up to him he'd go for a triple x rating, but time as always was catching up to him. As it was, they were running behind for the lunch. He should have already been there to get settled in.

They barely made it. Taker sat down at his designated table moments before the doors were opened and the kids and their families were ushered inside. For an hour he signed autographs and posed for pictures with a steady stream of kids that ranged in age from three to fifteen.

During the actual lunch itself a few of the guys took turns up at the small podium, telling edited for small ears stories of life on the road. Dallas appeared and asked if he wanted to go up and have his equal time. Taker just looked at her as if she grown a second head. She snickered and wandered off again.

Eventually everyone was done. The kids and their parents wanted more pictures, this time was more a press opportunity. By the time it was all done, and the last family had left, it was nearing on five in the evening.

Taker spent fifteen minutes trapped in a conversation with one of the volunteers who had helped with the lunch. She was pushy. He'd already forgotten her name. Twice. On purpose. The woman obviously did not want to take a hint.

Dallas rescued him. She had her folder tucked under her arm and a pen tucked behind her ear, somehow completing the whole 'naughty secretary' image he'd gotten into his head. In this case, maybe 'sex-retary' would be a better description.

"Time to head out. You have to be at the next venue by eight." Untrue. But Dallas lied smoothly. She smiled at the other woman. Next to Dallas, she looked like a shriveled ear of corn. "Thank you for all your help." She shook the woman's hand and guided her into walking away.

"Damn. How did you do that?" Taker asked, smirking.

"Years of practice?" Dallas raised an eyebrow. "Unless you wanted another member in your wife of the month club."

"Ha. Funny."

"But also true." Dallas turned to mark the woman's progress out the door. "Scrawny. Blonde. Fake boobs. Sounds like your M.O."

"Woman, are you tryin' to aggravate me?" Taker was in too good a mood to take her seriously.

"Is it working?"

He grunted an answer and looked down at her, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

"What?" She asked, walked next to him as they went toward the doors.

"I'm having visions of knocking shit off a desk and screwing you on top of it." Hell, honesty could possibly get him everywhere.

"Then my evil plan is working. Are you driving?" Their bags were already in the rental, and Dallas had checked them out of the hotel. They had a drive ahead, but after a day of semi-rest it did not seem as draining.

"Yeah. I already adjusted the seat." Taker helped her into the passenger seat before going around the front and sliding behind the wheel. "So what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" He asked as he merged into traffic on the highway.

"Nothing much. Your final clearance physical – shouldn't take more than a few minutes." Dallas pulled the pen from behind her ear and opened her folder. She marked a few things off. "You can get a workout with Glen before your warm up match either at 10 or at 4. Those were the only ring times left."

"Better do 'em both." Taker said with a sigh.

Dallas smirked and reached into the center console for her cell phone. She messaged the bookers with the times Taker wanted, got it confirmed, and added the note to her folder.

"Then there's your match. They want you go on fairly early. Show starts at 7:30, so I'm assuming you would be around 8, or quarter after."

"Wow. Bumped all the way down to curtain jerker."

"Actually Glen has to haul his ass out of there by 9-ish. He's got some charity thing he's doing in the morning in New York. Obviously someone did not think this all the way through."

"Guess I'm not gonna complain. Means I get an early night."

"And two days off. You'll have a promo Monday, and a match for Smackdown on Tuesday."

"I thought I had a match Monday?" He made it a question as he pulled to a stop at a red light and looked over at her.

"I did too but they need you more on Smackdown."

"It doesn't matter much either way." Taker cocked an eyebrow. "So does that mean you get a weekend off too?"

Dallas laughed. "Weekend off? What's that? Hell no. It means I get to come in Saturday, do a day's worth of computer work, and maybe take most of Sunday off. Until the house show that is."

"Will takes weekends off."

"Will also has kids. And he gets perks, because he's Will." Dallas laughed again. "We all kind of cover for him. Ya know, us non-family having members."

"Ah. I didn't realize you were helping him out."

"And when I take a vacation, he'll cover my stuff for a few days so I get a full 9 instead of just 5. It all works out." She shifted in her seat a bit and faced him. "Do I need to find you a flight back home after the show tomorrow night? Pretty sure I can…"

But Taker was shaking his head as traffic started moving again. "I'll probably stick around. Maybe go home Saturday. I'll have to let you know."

The rest of the trip they were both quiet. What was it he'd been thinking the night before? Oh. Right. They only talked work. Taker smirked at the thought. Why the hell did he care? It never bothered him before. It sure as hell wasn't going to bother him now.

By the time they got to their destination, Taker was tired and hungry. He parked and got out of the car to stretch. Dallas went around to the back to grab her bag. He met her there and opened the tail gate. "You wanna go grab some dinner?"

Dallas looked at him for what felt like a full minute. "I was just going to order room service, or a pizza or something. Don't you get tired of being out all the time?" She tucked her folder into her overnight bag and pulled the zipper shut.

"On occasion. But hotel food is depressing."

"Well, I can't argue that one."

"You wanna share a room again?" Taker asked, taking her bag and his at the same time.

He got another one of those longs looks. "At least you're asking me this time."

"Was that a yes?"

"It was more a…" Dallas sighed. "Never mind. Sure. If you want."

"This may shock you, but I do want." Taker said it in a monotone. He saw her smile though, so at least she wasn't mad about him asking. "Hopefully there's a desk in the room."

Dallas cracked up laughing. "I would have never pegged you as a role-play kind of guy." They entered the lobby and Dallas checked him in while he held an elevator for them. She came back with only one room key, so apparently she hadn't been just saying yes to shut him up. "Just so you know…" Dallas continued her conversation as if they hadn't stopped. They were alone in the elevator. "It's hard to take a man seriously who wears a shirt with a picture of himself on it."

"Don't worry, it's gonna come off." Taker thought that Dallas did not realize how lucky she was his hands were full. He'd be lucky if he made it through dinner. Of course, they could always eat later. He smiled to himself and followed her down the hall to their room.