Memphis finished loading her belongings into the trunk of the rental car. It was the beginning of yet another grueling travel week that had the RAW brand of the WWE road tripping it across the midwest. Memphis was making the first leg of the trek on her own and that was just fine with her. Sometimes the silence did make a noise but those noises would soon be quieted when Phil would be joining her from Chicago. Sighing after everything was tightly but neatly packed away, she closed the lid of the trunk and gasped when the open space revealed Randy Orton standing there.

"Wow, that's just creepy," Memphis rolled her eyes and shook her head.

He didn't say anything. She looked around and noted that there was no one else standing in the dark parking lot except for the two of them. A chill ran through her body as she felt fear consume her.

"Memphis…"

"What do you want, Orton? Why are you here? You want to yell at me, tease me, screw with my belongings, throw something at me, what? I'm sure it's going to be a good one. What is it this time?"

"No," he said quietly. "I just want to talk to you."

"No way," she shot back.

"Please."

What? Was The Viper actually being civil, using manners?

"I don't have anything to say to you," she turned to walk away but stopped when a firm hand placed a grip on her much smaller arm.

He held her in place until he walked in front of her, blocking her path. He towered over her, his blue eyes boring a hole right through her as Memphis tried to keep her cool.

"Just for a minute."

"Get your hands off me," she yelled, looking down.

She was being her usual defiant self but there was something deeper Randy saw as he studied her. He saw fear. She was afraid of him and instead of bringing instant gratification, it made him feel ill on his stomach. Instantly he recoiled.

"Sorry, look…I didn't mean to scare you. I just…I just need like five minutes of your time. What I have to say won't take long."

She stared at him. His face looked worried and he actually came off like a real human being when he wasn't smirking and sneering and up to no good. He looked like a different Randy Orton altogether but Memphis had been fooled before. They didn't call him The Viper for nothing. He was a snake and anyone foolish enough to get closed to him deserved to be bitten.

"I just don't get you," she looked in his eyes. "What more do you want? What more can you do to me?"

"Nothing. That's what I'm trying to say. Look, I fucked up…I fucked up bad. The other night…that was too much."

"And the dog shit in my bag and everything else wasn't?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah it was. I was wrong. All of it…it was stupid and petty and ridiculous and just wrong. I shouldn't have done it, any of it."

She still wasn't convinced.

"Then why did you?"

He could only shrug his shoulders. It was a question he had asked himself a million times over and a million times later, he still had no definitive answer.

"I don't know. I was a jerk."

"You are a jerk."

He chuckled in spite of the situation.

"You're right."

"What is this?"

"What?"

"This. The nice Randy."

"Look, I was wrong and I wanted to cop to that. I owe you that much. It is what it is."

"So you expect me to believe that you had a sudden change of heart."

"I guess you could say that. Yeah, something like that."

"Does it have something to do with Vince threatening to fire your ass and fining you a whole bunch of money? Everybody knows what happened, everybody heard."

"It's true but no that's not why I'm coming at you now."

"While we're on the subject, why are you?"

The truth was big bad Vince and his threats meant nothing to Randy. He feared neither the boss' bark or his bite and the money meant nothing either. Randy Orton was a rich man and had every material thing he wanted and needed. Cash was just another superficial pleasure and considering what he had done, he almost felt he deserved losing some of it.

"Memphis, I've done a lot of bad things," he began. "I can't make excuses for stuff. Most of it was my own fault. Pretty much since I've been here, I've ruled the locker room with an iron first. I bullied a lot of people, stuff that I used to be proud of…"

"And now?"

"Not so much. I don't know. It's not fun anymore and I guess it hasn't been for a long time."

"Well excuse me for not feeding into the whole new and improved RKO. Sorry but I'm just not buying it."

"You don't have to and who could blame you? I did some pretty messed up stuff to get your attention, to get a reaction out of you. I don't know why. Maybe it's because you had the sack to stand up to me. I guess I didn't know how to take that so I took it too far. It was a tit for tat thing. I piss you off, you piss me off and it never ends. But uh…spying on you in the gym that night…"

She shuddered at the mere thought.

"That was absolutely sick and demented and disgusting. I can't believe you did that. That is so weird and crazy and a total invasion of my privacy. How could you?"

"It was wrong to watch and even worse to throw that in your face, especially in front of everyone, I admit that. When I did and I saw the look on your face…I don't know. Suddenly it wasn't gratifying or funny or any of that anymore. I looked into your eyes and I saw real hurt and for some reason it really bothered me. I can't figure out why but it did."

"I'm sure you've hurt a lot of people. Why me? Why was it different this time?"

"I don't know. I wish I did. But that look on your face…I still see it. It…it bothers me."

"Good. It should. And I hope you don't expect me to feel sorry for you. Hell, I still don't even believe you're even being genuine right now. You're probably up to something."

"I'm not. I know you think that and you have every right to think that. There's nothing I can do to prove you wrong, only time will tell, I guess. I just wanted to look in your eyes and tell you that the past few months I've treated you badly. I was mean. I was a real dick. I was unfair and there are just no words. I'm ashamed, actually ashamed of what I've done. It's hard for me to say that to you, to anyone. In case you haven't figured it out, I'm not exactly the guy known for throwing around apologies…"

"And I still haven't heard one tonight. All I've heard is a lot of pussyfooting and whining and rambling and you trying to make excuses for your bad behavior and in the process ease your guilty conscience."

"I'm sorry. Is that what you want to hear? I know it's what you deserve so there it is. I said it. I'm sorry for everything that I've done to you."

"I deserve an apology and a whole hell of a lot more but you don't get off that easy, you don't just get to walk away. I'm not gonna do that for you, not tonight, Orton. Too much has happened. You don't get to walk away scott free, you don't deserve to sleep well tonight. If you're really sincere about all this, maybe you could start with facing your own demons and owning all the destruction you've caused. It's not just a game. You sit back and you pull people's puppet strings for your own entertainment and it really hurts people. And you don't care. In fact, you get off on fucking with people's lives. Now because for some crazy reason you actually feel bad about it or maybe you're just bored with it all, I am supposed to shake your hand and accept your apology and go about my merry way, pretending like nothing ever happened?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"No, I didn't expect that at all."

"Then what the hell did you expect?"

He looked in her eyes. She was still damned angry. Lightning flashed and it turned the warm hazel a dark black. She wasn't cutting him any slack and doing him any favors and she certainly wasn't letting him off the hook. That was just her way. And standing there in boots, skinny jeans, a dark tank and made up with her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, she actually looked gorgeous doing it.

"I don't know what I expected. Look, I don't want anything from you, Memphis. I don't deserve anything. I just wanted to lay it all out there and apologize and let you know that it's over. It never should have really started but I kept it going and now I'm calling a truce. You should be able to come to work and do your job and not have to worry about bullshit."

Memphis took one step closer to him.

"From the first day I came to this company, you have done nothing but make me miserable, make my life a living hell. I never did anything to you except for stand up for myself yet you kept coming like a Doberman on a short leash. You can apologize all you want…your words mean nothing to me."

"They say actions speak louder than words."

"Screw your actions too. I don't care. All I feel is anger and contempt and disgust for you and that is all I will ever feel. All the weak ass apologies in the world can't and won't change that. If you really want to do me a favor, if you really want to prove you've changed, stay away from me and stay away from Phil, too."

"Yeah, he made that clear the other night."

"What?"

"I ran into him in San Antonio. Let's just say he wasn't too happy with me. Threatened to kick my teeth in if I ever hurt you again."

Memphis had to suppress a smile. It felt nice that Phil had stood up for her like that but in the moment, that was beside the point.

"You're not even worth it."

Her words were slow and deliberate and for the life of him, Randy couldn't figure out why they stung him so much.

"I get that you're mad and you're probably gonna be mad for a long time. That's okay. I, I guess I just want you to know I'm for real. Look, we're never gonna be best friends or anything but maybe we can at least squash all the bad blood. I'm just trying to fix this somehow."

Reluctantly he extended his hand. Memphis looked at it with utter disdain.

"You can't fix this," she walked away. "Go to hell, Orton."

He watched her brush past him, get in the car, crank it up and pull out of the parking lot. Memphis left him standing there until he disappeared from the view in her rear mirror. She pulled onto the nearest highway, not even bothering to pay attention to the GPS. Aimlessly she drove for a few miles but the tightness in her chest and the sweat on her palms was so overwhelming that she was forced to pull over at the next exit. Putting the car in park and gripping the steering wheel, she forced out a deep breath. What the hell had just happened? What was Randy Orton's deal? The humility, the sincerity, the genuineness? It made her mad as hell. How dare he? What a nerve! He was a real piece of work. From their very first encounter he had been nothing short of a monster who had made it his mission to make her life a living hell. He had managed to succeed and after repeatedly humilating her and breaking her spirit, now she was just supposed to believe he was sorry? She was supposed to accept that and be fine and forgive and forget? That was never going to happen.

But there was something else. Their interactions had always been intense and like always, Memphis had stood her ground but every single time they were together, it was like his presence stole a little piece of her soul. And the way he had grabbed her arm had sent shivers of fear throughout her small frame. God, she hated him. And hate was such a strong word. Memphis Kramer had never hated anyone in her life but Randy Orton had managed to bring out the worst in her. He had a knack for that. And unfortunately they had to work together. She knew she would see him again…and again and again. The very thought made her want to vomit and she had no idea what she was going to do. As she struggled to regain a normal breathing pattern and tears of anxiety rolled down her cheeks, she only had one thought. Damn, Randy Orton.