Chapter 5

September 19th, 2015still

San Antonio, Texas

"Hey, guys!" Paul glanced down at the dogs; stopping mid-meeting to kneel and pet the boys when they practically pounced on him out of excitement. "Are you boys happy to be back on tour? You look happy; yes you do!"

"You are totally blowing your image as a bad ass right now. Now all these people that respect but fear you have heard you baby talk. They'll never take you seriously again." Lex shook her head; arms crossed under her breasts, and let her eyes drift to the ceiling when Paul continued to talk silly and rub bellies.

"I'm embarrassed to know you. I'm going to have to take your man-card for this." She held out her hand; pulling him up to his feet and smiled when he engulfed her in a hug.

"I'm glad you decided to come, Lex. I'm sorry I interrupted your vacation but I'm really happy you're here." He patted her on the back, turned towards the roster with an arm draped across her shoulders, and narrowed his eyes on the five men that traveled with her. "So did they behave or do I need to smash heads?"

"I told you they won't take you seriously now. Your man-card is in my back pocket. Actually they were great; perfect gentlemen and respectful guests. *cough* Johnston *cough* I'm kidding!" She waved off Sami when he opened his mouth to argue and mock whispered to Paul. "I'm really not; he's a huge pain in the ass. Kidding!" She placated the scowling Sami before glancing up at Paul and shook her head no.

"And how about this one? Anymore trouble with this one?" Paul walked up and stood toe to toe with Baron; drilling his hard glare into the rookie.

"Okay, that would be so much more effective if you weren't shorter than him and like a hundred years old. Paul, quit trying to intimidate my client." She pushed her way in between them; her back pressed to Baron's front, and patted Paul's arm.

"He's under my protection now; we're getting along just fine and he listens to everything I say. For a first day, he and Finn have been perfect." She tossed a smile at them both over her shoulder before tilting her head at her friend. "Leave the poor man to me and get back to your meeting."

"We actually finished the meeting and I was wasting time until you finished walking the venue so I could introduce you. Guys, this is Lex Rossi." He turned towards his seated roster, tugging Lex by the hand out to stand center with him until she pulled her hand free and frowned at her clenched fist. "What happened to your hand?"

"I got into a fight at the show last night."

"Of course you did." He ruffled her hair before settling his arm across her shoulders once again.

"Was that during the Borg orgy?" Sami piped up, glancing between Lex and Baron.

"Borg orgy?" Paul glanced from Sami to Lex; who twirled her finger beside her head, pointing to Sami indicating he's crazy. "I don't even want to know. As I was saying, this is Lex Rossi; our head of security, and Finn and Baron's personal security. She'll be observing you guys here and when you return to Florida, to determine which of you could need personal guards in public. She'll also be bringing on a small crew to watch over you at the PC and venues. I don't need to tell you we live in a different world and it's dangerous out there. I'm doing what I can to ensure your safety but vigilance on your part is the first step. In case you're curious, I stole most of that speech from Lex. I've heard it enough times to be branded into my skull." He smiled with a blush while she glanced up at him with an arched brow.

"And it has taken years to get through that thick melon of his but I out-stubborned him. It's a word…now." She scowled at Paul before looking back over the collected superstars and divas.

"Tonight you have me and the staff of the Aztec to watch over you here but once you walk out these doors, you're on your own until I hand-pick some new staff from my crew that I've loaned out to bands. I don't want to worry anyone but given the state of affairs in the world, this company has to be extra careful due to the size of crowds our shows draw, our set schedule posted months in advance on the main website, and the big name attraction. You might not be on the main roster but you are WWE superstars and divas. You are a big fucking deal and; if you ask me, you're near and dear to the boss man's heart. You'd have to be for him to bring me here." She hip-bumped Paul and smiled softly when he fought down a blush.

"Aww, that's so cute." She patted his cheek with a smile, laughing when he shrugged it off with a grin.

"Okay, enough of that; let's get you introduced so they can get ready and you can skulk in the shadows like the control freak that you are. This is Big Cass and Carmella; our on-screen and off-screen real-life couple."

"Now that is a big boy. Holy shit. Sorry! Pleased to meet you both." She shook each of their hands; scowling at Paul when he laughed at her. "Shut up! He's fucking huge. What the fuck do you want me to say?"

"What came out of your mouth sounds about right for you, my eccentric little hellion." He patted her head with a chuckle. "Cass tags with this one; Enzo." Paul backed up a step and rolled his eyes when the wild one swooped in, took her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

"Hello, beautiful!"

"Enzo is moving in on your lass, mate." Finn elbowed Baron who stepped forward clenching his jaw and fists.

"Ooo! Has Baron staked a claim already?" Enzo's eyes lit up and a broad smile took over his face. "Maybe she'd prefer someone who's fun and has an actual personality." His smile vanished an instant later when Lex reached up, grabbed the wrist of the arm on her shoulder, ducked under it and took Enzo to the ground. "Ow! She's mean! Ow! She's mean! Ow! Why didn't you tell me she's mean, boss?"

"Why do you think she's my head of security, dumbass?" Paul chuckled; finding amusement in Enzo's predicament.

"I find Baron quite fun with a wonderful personality, and have enjoyed my time with him. I know one thing I do prefer though." She pinned his wrist between his shoulder blades with her shin; freeing her hands to snatch his other hand, and flexed his wrist back to render it inactive. "I prefer strangers not to touch me like we're the best of fucking friends two seconds after our introduction. Don't get me wrong, Enzo; I'm sure we'll become the best of friends in no time at all but I have a thing about being touched. Are we cool?"

"We're cool if you'll show me that move, beautiful." He slid his gaze to hers and smirked.

"Enzo, don't press your luck. Get up, idiot." Paul took his forearm once Lex released him and pulled him to his feet.

"So now everyone knows not to touch her unless she instigates it, right? And if you want to avoid a serious beatdown, do not approach her directly from behind. Two feet to her right or left can save your life." Paul instructed his people, and Baron couldn't help thinking back to last night.

"I can't believe I forgot how many people you took down on the main roster when I brought you on." Paul ran a hand down his face, releasing a heavy sigh.

"For fuck's sake, Paul, you act like I'm a goddamn attack dog."

"Your dogs are nicer than you." He shot back.

"Yeah, you're right." She nodded after thinking on it a moment. "I didn't hurt the man though."

"It's okay, munchkin; Enzo could use an ass kicking every once in a while if you ask me." Baron moved to her side, placing his hand on its usual resting place; her hip.

"Well it looks like Baron is counted among your friends. Anyone else, beautiful?"

"You are a character. I don't know whether I like the hell out of you already or if I want to fuck you up some more." She smirked at Enzo; sizing him up with a glint in her eyes. "For your information, I've been friends with Johnston for years, Joe for a few, and took an instant liking to Finn and Tyler. I'll meet you in the ring later to show you that move though." She winked at Enzo, laughing with a shake of her head before going through the rest of the introductions.

Paul made the rounds through Blake and Murphy; Cass and Enzo's opponents for the night, Bull Dempsey and Tye Dillinger, Apollo Crews who was Solomon's opponent, Alexa Bliss who was going up against Carmella, The Vaudevillians and their opponents Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, Bayley; the Women's Champion, and her opponents Dana Brooke and Emma, and then he went on to tell her that Joe would be up against Baron, and Finn and Tyler would be the main event.

"Now that that is all done, I need to meet with Bloom so you guys go over your spots and have a great show." Paul waved off the gathered roster and turned to walk backstage. "Alexandra!" He called out, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Yes, Paul?" She glanced back over her shoulder, giving him the most innocent look she could muster.

"I've known you too long for that to work. Don't break the kids before the show. That look doesn't work either." He pointed at her when she gasped in mock outrage; a hand over her heart.

"You are absolutely no fun in your old age. Take the dogs with you so they won't get in the ring." She spun on her heel, ran and slid under the bottom rope; hitting her feet instantly.

"Keep it tame! Just drills or step-by-step moves. Nothing high impact until we're back in the PC. Baron, I need to see you." He jerked his head for the big man to follow him and then patted his leg. "Come on, boys!"

"You'll be fine, Sas; I promise." She smiled when a look of concern crossed his face, and found his mood lightened with her reassurance.

"I'll be right back." He followed his boss and the dogs up the ramp, and disappeared behind the curtain.

"Mr. Devitt, would you be so kind as to join me in the ring?" Lex grinned, crooking her finger at the Irishman.

"It would be my pleasure, luv." Fergal vaulted over the top rope and moved to stand before her.

"I watched several episodes of your show this morning while I was cooking breakfast for you guys, and I think we can put on a clinic. Are you interested?" She grinned impishly; her eyes mischievous.

"Oh shit, this is going to get good." Sami pulled up a chair, straddling it and kept his eyes glued to the ring. "She can do it, Finn." He told the Irishman when he looked skeptical.

"They got a home-cooked meal?" Enzo frowned, turning to look at Solomon. "She cooked for you?"

"Breakfast and lunch. Be jealous." Sami wagged his eyebrows before returning his gaze to the ring. "Come on, gorgeous! Show the demon how our hellcat fights!"

"Mr. Clement, if you would join us please?" She waited until Tyler stepped between the ropes before cocking her head at him. "How's that sex cramp?"

"It feels a lot better. Thank you for the assist."

"You're very welcome. You will probably need it again tonight after taking on this one and our night out." She thumbed at Finn while rocking back against the ropes. "In the meantime, let's run the ropes to warm up while I stick my nose in something that is none of my business."

Twenty minutes later, Baron walked down the ramp to find his fellow wrestlers and the crew standing around the ring, cheering on the two competitors. To his ultimate surprise, Lex was going up against Finn in what could only be one of the most insane spur of the moment high-flying, fast-paced matches of perfection that he'd ever seen.

"Initiating physical contact, guys! Sami, incoming!" Lex bounded off the ropes behind her, running towards the opposite side of the ring, and flew over the top in a high arc, doing a forward flip and landed with her legs over his shoulders, taking him down to the ground. She ended up on her feet; smirking down at her friend before returning to the ring.

"Who taught you that?" Cass asked from beside Sami.

"Rollins."

Finn rushing up behind her, she took off to the opposite corner, ran up the turnbuckles and back-flipped over his head. When he turned to face her, he was met with two feet to his chest, sending him over the top into his co-workers' arms.

"Bryan." She answered Cass when his mouth opened. "Initiating contact." She called out while running to the opposite ropes, built up her momentum by bouncing off of them and flew over the top rope with her body sideways.

"Ambrose." Sami shouted from the other side of the ring. "If it is sloppy but effective, it will always be Ambrose." He smirked up at Cass while they walked to the other side of the ring to help untangle the mass of bodies.

"Ouch! You have hard elbows." Enzo groaned from beneath the pile.

"Quit being such a pussy." Lex chuckled; taking Finn's forearm when he offered the assistance. "Thank you. Oh, okay!" She blushed when he pulled her into a hug.

"That was fun to cut loose like that. Thank you!"

"Finn gets to hug her and we get elbows. Damn it, woman." Enzo grumbled when she swung her heel back into his side.

"You're welcome but it was more for Matt's benefit. I was hoping to give him some ideas for tonight. It is my home town, after all. I want them to have the better of the three shows. Any time you want to workout though, Irish, you let me know."

"Where did you learn the rest? I mean, I know you're a martial artist but regular wrestling? I know MMA people tend to look down on us." Bayley asked from the side where she and the other divas were watching from.

"Well they are just fucking stupid." Lex shrugged with her hands on her hips. She was dead serious and everyone picked up on it from her furrowed brow.

"Any piece of shit off the street can beat someone's ass. In fact, most of the people in the UFC don't have a legitimate martial arts discipline. Oh they say they do because they incorporate bits and pieces from a few into their ring work but I know less than ten actually do. The UFC is not what it used to be when Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock ruled the ring. Just because you can throw a kick doesn't mean you're a black belt in Taekwondo and just because you grapple doesn't mean you know shit about Jiu-jitsu. I wouldn't let a thing any of those assholes say about wrestling bother you. To be able to sell an ass beating and make it look amazing is what takes skill." Lex nodded her head at the Women's champion, getting a beaming smile in return. "As for the pain in the ass that taught me the rest of that workout…"

"That would be Punk." Baron held his hand out; smiling softly when Lex took it, and drew her away from Finn and to his side. "Am I right?" He glanced down at her; unconsciously licking his lips when his eyes caught the sweat beading on her tanned skin.

"You're right. He wanted someone to train with; someone he could cut loose with and not hurt." She glanced at Finn, nodding at him. "The problem was I could hurt him unless I toned my shit down so he taught me to suit his needs. Get your mind out of the gutter." Her head lolled to the side, glaring at the chuckling men. "I was not one of his conquests in the locker room, or anyone else's for that matter."

"Looks like you set yourself back on becoming friends with her." Cass sighed while he watched Lex storm up the ramp. "You pissed off the company's prized security consultant – the one with lethal skills. Good luck with that." He patted Enzo on the shoulder before wandering back to the ring.

"Ladies, since the men have the ring to practice first, why don't you come with me so we can go over a few things?" Lex called out to them without even turning around before she vanished backstage.

Sami was seething with rage; waiting until Lex was out of earshot before he turned his wrath on his co-workers.

"The nerve of you pricks insinuating that my friend is some common locker room slut!" Sami growled at the gathered wrestlers. He was shorter than most of them but he was livid and quite capable of kicking most of their asses. "That woman has never slept with anyone that she's worked with! As far as I know, she's never had a boyfriend since I've known her! She jokes around and acts like one of the guys but she's a goddamn professional that takes her job seriously, and fuck all of you that even thought she's some kind of whore that sleeps around with her clients!"

Sami bumped his chest into Enzo; ready to swing on the first person that made a move. Tye was about to open his mouth until Baron, Finn, Tyler and Joe lined up beside Solomon. The real surprise to everyone was when Cass moved to join Lex's defenders.

"That woman is genuine. You can see it in her eyes when she's in the ring. She doesn't deserve that kind of treatment even if it was just a joke and you didn't mean it." The big blonde sighed; glanced at his smiling girlfriend while she walked up the ramp and crossed his arms over his chest. "It is hard for a woman to be taken seriously in our business. People always assume it's their looks or they slept their way to the top. I can't imagine how hard it is to be taken seriously in the line of work she's in without pricks like you thinking the worst."

Paul appeared an instant later, scowl firmly in place and eyes narrowed on a few of the men. "Finn, go calm her down before she talks to the girls." He jerked his head up the ramp after the women; stopping Baron when he stepped forward. "I have other plans for you, Corbin. You're going to put on a clinic with our mouthier men; teach them how to respect a lady. Joe, Tyler, Solomon, join Baron in the ring. Feel free to cut loose and show me what you're made of."

Baron exchanged a smirk with his boss before his face went stone cold serious and he charged the ring.


Finn found his fellow wrestlers watching Lex stare at the ground with a dark look on her face. The Divas; though slightly intimidated by the woman, couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. They had all been similarly judged at one point in their career.

"Are you alright, luv?" He moved to her side, placing a hand across her waist.

"It isn't anything I haven't heard before, Fergal."

"And yet it still bothers you." He reached across her with his free hand, took her arm and gently turned her to face him. "I know this is new territory for you and you have to start at square one all over again but you already have over half of us on your side. Don't let them get to you."

"He's right; you do have a lot of us behind you." Bayley stepped forward, giving her a bright smile.

"And you got my man on your side too! He was out there defending you right beside your five travel buddies!" Carmella grinned from beside the Women's Champion.

"My five travel buddies huh?" Lex glanced up into Finn's blue eyes, cocking a brow at him.

"You're damn right. When I left, Sami was about to kick everyone's butt for even insinuating such horrible things about you. And I don't think I need to tell you how riled up Tom was over the whole thing." He pulled her into a hug, feeling her tension ease. "Now how about you teach these ladies a few things about self-defense until they need to hit the ring?" He held her at arms' length with a bright smile.

"Okay."