CHAPTER 11 – Vince's orders
In the backstage Jessie and Stephanie met with Cindy and Laura. Stephanie wanted to spend some time with her friends, before going out in the ring by his "husband" side, because he was exasperating her with his bizarre behavior. She couldn't stand him anymore. But tonight, no matter what, she would have kissed him, a real kiss not the usual sham thing they did all the time. He couldn't reject her, not with the camera zooming on them.
I'll show him who Stephanie McMahon is – she thought, belligerent.
"Fresia?" asked Jessie to Cindy and Laura
"She's coming, she just has to finish a job"
But time went by, and no trace of her.
"Maybe someone else arrived to ask for her services" Laura joked winking, referring to Mark. By now he used to drop at Fresia's to braid his hair when the show was already began.
Jessie's telephone rang signaling for a sms. She read it and turned pale.
"What is it?" asked Cindy
"It's Fresia, she's going back to the hotel; she'll explain us tomorrow. What the hell is happening?" said Jessie, distressed.
The girls looked each other, worry evident on their faces. Fresia had never missed a show since she started to work for WWF, watching every match with Mark involved. He arrived just in that moment and turned on the engine of the bike that rumbled threatening. He passed by the girls, looking at them with a scowl on his face, then he sped up to reach the ring. His dark look made them realize that something happened between Mark and Fresia, something so serious to induce her to go back to her room, alone.
Glen arrived too, Jessie caught his attention with an eloquent gesture, opening her arms, as to ask him what was going on. Glen shook his head confused, like he didn't understand what she was meaning. Then he noticed Fresia's absence and nodded toward Jessie, making her understand that they would have spoken about it later. The pyros exploded and he went to do his job.
The girls were restless, they wanted to go in search of Fresia, but the message she sent was pretty clear, so they stood there, not knowing what to think, what to do. Until Jessie couldn't wait anymore and dialed Fresia's number. No answer. She tried several times and finally she wrote a sms. Still no answer. Now the girls were really agitated.
The match was intense and full of turn of events, but nobody in the backstage saw it. In fact a lot of people noted that Fresia wasn't there and they all were discussing about what could have happened. They all hoped she wasn't ill, or something like that. The buzz increased minute by minute, the show completely forgotten.
The audience was going into raptures: the Undertaker had immobilized Kane and was trying to tear down his mask. The fans were all standing up and shouting "Do it! Do it!". In the end, the Bad Ass reached his goal, but the lights went out and the face of Kane disappeared in the dark. The ref called the "no contest" and the match ended without a winner.
Vince was visibly satisfied. The show was sold out and the WWF merchandising was doing the same. That night he wanted to celebrate, so he had reserved the receptions room of their hotel, ordered the best catering of the Country, recruited a famous band and spread rumors between his employees and partners that he would have not tolerated defections. Everybody had to take part in the gala evening that would have been recorded and showed to the fans during the next Raw. He rubbed his hands happy and went to get ready, while his assistants were running back and forth to remember the after show appointment.
Mark and Glen came back from their match, the last one of Summer Slam. Glen approached Jessie immediately and the girls attacked him with a lot of questions, speaking all together.
"Girls, girls – he said, raising his voice to make them hear him – I don't know what happened, she's a friend of yours, and you should know it better than me"
"Glen, don't play right now, will you? Fresia never missed a Mark's match, until now. Something happened, we didn't know what but we are sure that Mark is the reason of it" said Stephanie, who had changed at the speed of light after HHH's match returning immediately by her friends.
"I'll try to speak to him in the locker room, then I'll tell Jessie. In the meanwhile you'll better go to change. Vince wants us at the party in an hour".
"Shit, the party! I completely forgot it" said Jessie sighing. "All right girls – she continued – back to the hotel, we change and then we'll fetch Fresia, no matter if she disagrees. Vince will not be tender with the ones who break his rules".
"That's right. So we'll know finally what happened to her"
Mark was scanning the backstage, like he was looking for someone. She wasn't there. On the other hand, the entire roster was observing him. Nobody dared to approach him, to ask him the question that was on everybody mouth: why isn't Fresia here with us? His fierce expression was enough to discourage even the bigger, like Kevin and Paul Wight. They glanced at him, shaking their heads and went away. They knew Mark's nature very well and were ready to bet he had took it out on Fresia.
In her hotel room, Fresia was under the hot spray of the shower. Her tired muscles relaxed immediately but his mind and heart were devastated. Fat tears run down her cheeks, mixing up with the water that was rinsing her hair and body. How could she managed to end up like this?
It's my fault – she thought sadly – he had tried to warn me, but no, I didn't understand a thing, till I collided with a truck.
She wrapped herself in a hotel's bath towel, a smaller one around her head and lied down on the bed. The phone ringed several times. She knew the girls were trying to talk to her, but she had to process the events alone. What will she do now? How could she handle her job, from now on, knowing she had to face Mark almost every day? God she was so ashamed. She had pushed him too much, and after all he had answered her, so much that the evening of her birthday she had even believed he had started to care. He had promised her a date! Evidently she had misunderstood, or maybe Mark changed his mind after the first look to the gorgeous Priscilla. There was nothing she could do, she couldn't compete with a supermodel like that.
What a disappointment! She had believed he was different, she had thought he could look past the appearances, to her heart and soul. He was like all the others, instead: if he had to choose, he chose the beauty.
She stood up and took off the towel from her hair, trying to set the long curls in order with her fingers. She went in the bathroom to put away the towels and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and red from the crying and the nose was congested by dint of blow it. God, but she was pathetic! The girl in the mirror wasn't her, but one of those weak women she had always hated. In that very moment she made an important decision: she would have never cried for a man, never again. If a man made her cry than he wasn't good enough for her and didn't deserve her love.
She felt immediately calmer. She wore her beloved silk pajamas and sat down on the window's balustrade, looking out in the night, trying to decide what to do of her future.
Jessie and Stephanie met Nora at the entrance of the Arena, they took Steph's car and rushed to the hotel. At the seventh floor they stopped in front of the room number 742 and knocked several times, forcing Fresia to leave her niche at the window and open the door. When they saw her grieved look, they immediately realized she had been hurt badly. One by one the girls hugged her tight, then sat her down on the little sofa in the ante-room and made her tell what happened.
At the end of the story, they were rabid. Mark was a really bastard. First he made her believe to accept her avances, then he had annihilated her preferring the beauty. Fresia had felt like a nullity. The girls decided to avenge her friend, using the weapons they possessed. Stephanie, for example, could do a lot about it. She swore that the Dead Man would have not won a match for a long time, sniffing the perfume of the championship and almost get it, but ending up seeing the belt at someone else waist… Perhaps on a co-worker he didn't stand, like HHH.
The girls agreed with Stephanie, that one would have been one hell of a punishment for Mark's ego. Fresia listened to their plans a little amused. Luckily she had her friends, who loved her just the way she was.
"Steph, you're great" said Jessie with a high-five to Stephanie.
"I know, a McMahon always knows how to put things right".
"Hey, what time is it? – asked Jessie – we have to get ready for the party, your father will skin us alive if we'll not take part in the WWF celebration".
"Of course we'll be there – said Nora – a party without us would be so boring"
"Oh no, I forgot the party. Look at my face, how can I come in this state?"
"Don't worry, I know how to fix it" said Jessie going to her room. She came back a few minutes later with a relieve eyewash, that worked immediately giving back a normal appearance to Fresia's eyes. Just one thing was missing: the mischievous light that enchanted everybody as soon as they met her. The girls went on their own room to change then they would have met near the elevators at the mezzanine floor, in front of the receptions room. They wanted to enter all together: the Circle was embracing its hurt member, to protect her from everybody and everything.
When she was alone, Fresia opened the closet to examine the contents. She didn't feel like dressing up, but decided to take her mind off things, seeing that she wasn't going to have fun. The white dress was in plain sight. She took it out draping it in front of her. Why not? She thought. He had bought it in view of a special evening with her dream man, but since he was her nightmare man now, there was no reason to preserve the dress anymore.
She put on her moisturizing Chanel cream, wore white lace underwear and a light make up that emphasized her eyes. She put on the white dress and the white stilettos. She took the matching pochette that completed the outfit and looked at herself in the mirror. Not bad. Unfortunately she didn't have the time to fix her hair, so she let it loose. By now it came almost to her waist. She breathed deeply to prepare herself for the evening, before going out. He would have been there with his stunning escort and she didn't know what to do. Luckily she was not alone, her friends would have helped her to survive the party.
The girls waited already in the mezzanine when Fresia arrived and they were all fabulous. They welcomed Fresia with howls of admiration, making her feel right, even if she was scared to enter the room already crowded.
"Girls you are beautiful" she said smiling
"WE are beautiful, you mean" corrected Stephanie "So, no more excuses, we have to go"
"Let's go" said Nora.
They entered the room, it seemed that nobody had wanted to disobey the boss because the entire WWF was there. The tables was positioned as a horseshoe, leaving the center of the room free as a dance floor. The end of the horseshoe was occupied by the stage, where the band was already playing quietly, to allow the conversation between the tables.
The girls went toward two free tables at the opposite side of the entrance, stopping here and there to say hello to their friends. Fresia was frightened of looking around, she didn't want to meet the eyes of Mark, not yet. She needed to sit and calm down a little, before it. They reached the table for six, two places already taken by Cindy and Laura. They sat with their friends, just when the waiters were coming with the first course. Fresia put the pochette in front of her on the table and turned her attention to Laura and Cindy, at her right side, who was asking her why she wasn't present at the show. She told them everything.
"Men. I won't never understand why their heads are so empty" said Cindy, acidly.
"Because God gives neurons only to those who deserves it: women" replied Laura, convinced.
The girls laughed, attracting the attention of the numerous men in the room, after all their table was the more fascinating of the party. Fresia started to relax, raised her eyes to acknowledge the waiter who was serving her the first course…. and saw him. Mark.
He was seated to the other side of the room, just in front of them and was watching her intensely, his look seemed like… ravenous. Why was he looking at her like that? What did he want from her? Didn't he humiliate her enough? His beautiful companion sat beside him and was totally gorgeous. She wore a black dress that highlighted her milky complexion and red hair, picked up in the chignon Fresia did. She looked like a goddess and Fresia lowered her eyes, mortified. How could she have thought that with such women at his disposal Mark could take an interest in her?
Mark saw Fresia enter the room, surrounded by her friends and almost fell from the chair. She was beautiful, in her elegant white dress emperor style, with high heels slandering her figure and her hair down. He had never seen her with her hair completely down and the effect was devastating on his hormones; an effect that Priscilla with all her arts didn't equalized. The truth was that after half an hour with the redhead he was already bored to death. Not that she was stupid, not at all, but she seemed interested only in ending the night, more than spending it with him.
He found himself wondering how it would have been to spend the evening with her, with her funny chitchat, her strong personality, the dress emphasized the curve of her breast, caressed by her soft curls… Damn, his hormones were in a turmoil again, and he had to use all his willpower to control his lower region.
Fresia raised her eyes and she saw him, their looks met for a few instants and he was lost. Above all he lost the battle with his hormones and had to make sure to be covered by the long tablecloth. He watched while Fresia looked at her red escort – who was flirting with Chris Irvine, seated at the table beside theirs – and hung her head, defeated. A strong sense of guilt flooded him, he knew she was hurt because of him, but going out with a virgin was a big "no no".
She will forget about me soon enough – he thought. The crush of an inexperienced girl for an older man could be strong, but it was like a straw fire: a powerful flame that lasts just a few minutes, leaving only a bit of ash behind it.
With this comforting reflection, he started to eat.