*Thank-you for all the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much. = )
Dave and me arrived in New York City the day before my interview with Cosmo. He didn't really have to come with me but he insisted he go and be there for me. I thought it was a sweet gesture on his part. He was really involved plus we were planning on finally doing some baby shopping after my interview. I figured it would be about time since we had yet to buy a bottle for the baby. It wouldn't be long before she came. We were only 2 months away from my due date and only had a girl name picked out and no boy name. We were struggling but it was also in part to Dave's hectic work schedule. He rarely got days off but he never wrestled. He just had to travel with the crew; Vince's orders. I could tell that he hated it. I knew he hated it he just didn't have the same passion for the business that he did before. I think it was because Vince was being so tough on him. It just seemed like he was doing it more for an obligation than for the love he had for the business and I didn't blame him. If I had been treated that way I would feel the same way and I wouldn't want to be there. I didn't understand if he wasn't happy with his job why he didn't just quit. He had a lot of potential to do something else. Something that he loved and something that he wouldn't be treated like an outcast for what he had done.
We were sitting in the hotel room when I said, "When do you go back to work?"
"Friday," he said with such disdain.
"You don't sound too happy about it," I said.
"It is what it is, Tess. I don't really want to talk about it."
"Well, when you're ready to talk about it I am here."
"Thanks," he said looking over a baby name book. "I really like Ryder for a boy. I know you don't like it because it reminds you of Kate Hudson's son but I like the name because of Zack Ryder.. Zack has been there for me when no one else has. I would like to make him the godfather."
"But I told Nattie that Tyson could be the godfather," I said. That was something we really hadn't discussed so I probably shouldn't have promised Nattie such a high honor.
"Really, Tess? They are the biggest back stabbers in this business. Where was your so called best friend when everyone else turned their back on you? Oh yeah she turned her back on you too. She's just like the rest of them. I don't want them being anything to our child."
"But I told her she could be Godmother," I said. "She is my friend."
"All right," he said, "I will allow Nattie to be godmother but only if Zack can be the godfather."
"Deal," I said. It wasn't worth an argument. My best friend could be the godmother and Dave's friend could be godfather. It worked out for both of us. "And I don't like the name Ryder. How about Benton?"
"Benton is cool," he said, "I don't know, Tess, I can't do this tonight. I'm too tired and you need to get some rest. I think it's better if we just wait to see the baby and then give it a name. I mean we really don't know what it is yet."
"You're right," I said. "That sounds like a plan. Let's just wait till the baby is born because then we will be able to see our baby and pick a name that fits him or her."
"That's what we did with Max," he said, "and it worked out perfectly."
"What is Max's real name? Maxwell?" I asked. I had been with Dave for months but I had no idea what his son's real name was. I always assumed it was short for Maxwell.
"Maximus David Batista," he said. "His mom picked out his name. She wanted original."
"It doesn't get anymore original than Maximus. I like it though. It's cute and he is such a Maximus type of kid."
"See?" said Dave with a smile, "we waited to see him before we named him and it worked out great."
"Yeah it did," I said with a smile as I got into bed next to Dave.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body close to his. We were just laying in silence enjoying the warmth of each other's bodies when Dave said out of no where, "Tess, what would you do if I quit WWE?"
"I don't know," I said as I turned to face him. "Are you thinking about quitting?"
"I think about it sometimes. It just sucks so much. I hate it. I used to love this business but now it's like I am pushing myself to go every week. It's just not the same as it used to be and backstage politics suck. After you left everything went to hell," he said.
"I didn't leave I was fired and things were already going to hell before I was fired. Vince lets too many superstars run things then actually making good decisions for his own company. Triple H is the one I hate. HE thinks just because he is the son-in-law of Vince that he can do whatever he wants and get his way all the time. We had some trouble with that but Vince put a stop to it when people started complaining. The problem with the company is they allow the same people win the belt. It's always the same person. It's always Randy or John but never anyone new. They give some people chances but never really the ones that deserve the chance. They have so many young guys that they could use but they never use because Michael Hayes and John Laurinitis doesn't want to or Vince doesn't want to. That's the one thing I always hated. I am glad I am done with that company. I really am. It's the best thing that could have happened to me."
"I agree," he said, "I'm happy for you, Tess, you're using your talent for bigger and better things."
"Thanks," I said. "I honestly think I only worked for WWE because of John. I wanted to be with him. I never really had a real interest in the business. I always wanted to be a journalist but John talked me into working for the company."
"So now you finally get to live your dream," he said, "and one day I will be living mine."
"Isn't being a WWE superstar your dream?"
"It used to be," he said, "but I have other dreams now. And one day my dreams will come true."
"Okay," I said. I had no idea what he was talking about but I wasn't going to press him on it. He would eventually tell me about his future dreams but for now I was going to let it go.
The next morning I was getting ready for my interview and I was wearing a new business suit that I had gotten for the interview. I was trying to hide my stomach because I didn't want my pregnancy to jeopardize my chances of getting that job. "Can you tell I'm pregnant?" I asked Dave.
He looked me over and said, "sort of. You're far along enough to know, Tess. It's not like you can hide it."
"I know but I don't want them not to give me the job because of being pregnant. Don't get me wrong I'm happy that I'm pregnant it's just I don't want to lose my chance to get this job because of being pregnant."
"Don't you think they should know, Tess?"
"And they will AFTER I get the job. Right now it's not important."
"I think it's pretty important. You have 2 months left… we are cutting it kind of close now, Tess."
"We're not that close," I said trying to suck in my stomach.
"You can try that but it's not going to work. You're pregnant and you can't hide it. Just be honest. You're talented enough to get the job whether you're pregnant or not. I don't think legally they can not give you the job because you're pregnant."
"But they can say I'm not qualified or any other excuse," I said. And that was true. They could say anything to not give me the job. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take so I did my best to hide my pregnancy but it didn't work out so well. I was still showing no matter how hard I tried to hide it. I just had to take the chance and show up to my interview 7 months pregnant and definitely showing. I had nothing to lose.
I showed up to my interview about thirty minutes early. I needed to show how dedicated I was to the position and showing up early for a job interview is a good sign of a good candidate. As I waited I went through my resume and made sure my portfolio was in order. I can't say that I wasn't nervous because I really was. It had been a while since I've gone on a job interview probably about 12 years or so. It felt like an eternity before they called me back to the office for my interview. I took a deep breath as I got up and walked to the room. "Hello, Tessa. I am Samantha. How are you today?"
"I'm well. How are you?" I replied.
"Good. Come on in," she said holding the door for me to walk into her office. "Please take a seat," she said as she rounded her desk and took a seat across from me. "So Tessa, what is the reason you want to work for Cosmopolitan Magazine?"
"Well, first I am a BIG fan of the magazine. I don't think I have missed an issue in the last 10 years. Second, I have tons of ideas to bring to the magazine and as a reader I know what women want to read about."
"Good," she said with a smile, "And you worked for WWE what happened there?"
"A conflict of interest," I said. That's all she really needed to know. She didn't need to know the whole gory story of how I cheated on my boyfriend of 16 years with a guy I was assigned to work with and ended up getting pregnant by that guy.
"I see," she said, "Do you have your resume and portfolio?"
"Yes, Ma'am I do," I said handing it to her.
"Thank-you," she said as she looked over it. "Have you ever worked for a magazine before?"
"I wrote a few articles and did a couple of interviews for WWE magazine for about 3 years before getting onto the creative team."
"I see. So you have magazine writing experience?"
"Yes," I answered.
"Good," she said as she continued to look over my portfolio and resume. "This is amazing, Tessa. I have to say I've seen a lot of candidates but none of them with the experience and talent you have. I have to say you are the best choice."
"Thank-you," I said with a smile. "But there is one thing you should know if you're considering giving me the job."
"What's that?" she asked looking up.
"I'm 7 months pregnant."
"So you're due in February?" she asked.
"Yes. February 17th," I answered.
"I see," she said.
"Is that a problem?"
"No not at all. I'm sure we can work around it and besides while you're on maternity leave you could be emailed articles and things to go over. We can communicate through emails and phone calls. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Okay. That's great," I said. I was happy that my pregnancy wouldn't be a problem. She seemed to be very lenient about it so that was a good sign.
"If you were given the job would you be willing to relocate to New York City?"
"Absolutely," I said. "Would I have to relocate?"
"You probably wouldn't have to relocate you could work from home but you would have to be present for staff meetings and things like that. It's just costly to travel back and forth."
"All right," I said. I wasn't sure if Dave would be willing to relocate especially with how close he had gotten with Max lately. Florida and New York were really far apart. I wasn't sure if I could leave Max.
"Well, Tessa looking over your resume and your portfolio and talking to you today I have to say you are the best candidate. You are what we are looking for. How would you like to work for Cosmopolitan?"
"I got the job?" I asked.
"You got the job," she said with a smile.
"Thank-you so much. I would love it. Thank-you."
"You're welcome," she said shaking my hand. "We will have you start after the new year. How does that sound?"
"Great. Thank-you so much," I said standing up.
"You're welcome. Have a great Christmas and I will see you on January 2nd."
"See you on the 2nd. Thank-you," I said before leaving the room. I was incredibly happy that I had gotten the job. I guess I never really had anything to be nervous about. Everything turned out great except I wasn't sure about relocating to New York. I had to discuss it with Dave and hopefully he would be on board with it. I walked out of the office and down to where Dave was waiting for me. "Hey," I said.
"So?" he asked.
"I got the job!" I said with a smile.
"You got it? Congratulations. Tess, I am so happy for you!" He said as he wrapped his arms around me. "Oh my god, I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks," I said with a smile before I softly kissed his lips, "but there's just one thing."
"What?" he asked.
"We have to move to New York," I said.
"Okay," he said.
"You're okay with that?"
"Sure why not? It's for you. You got a job at one of the most popular magazines in the world. Why wouldn't I move to be with you."
"Because of Max," I said.
"We can work that out later. If we have to move we have to move," he said. "I will still see Max and he can come to visit. It's not a big deal."
"All right as long as you're on board with it."
"Tess, I love you so much there isn't anywhere in this world I wouldn't go for you. If loving you means I have to move to New York to be with you then I'm going to move to New York. No matter where you go I'm going to go with you. I love you so much it doesn't matter where I live as long as I am with you."
That was probably the sweetest thing I had ever heard anyone say to me. I got a little teary eyed which I blame on the pregnancy hormones and said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome, Tess," he said as he softly kissed my lips. "Now let's go find a place to live. And do some shopping for that baby."
"Okay," I said with a smile. And just like that I saw that the direction my life was headed was a lot better than before. I was happy and I was finally living my dreams. The dreams that John had squashed for me and I wasn't even upset about being pregnant anymore. It just fit in so well with the life I was heading for and who I was planning on spending my life with. Good things were definitely coming.
*A/N: So what did you think? Please review and as always thank-you for reading.