Chapter 2
Zelia was the dumbest woman on the planet, at least that's how she felt.
Just like she wanted, Jon called after Survivor Series ended and she blatantly ignored it. He called 5 times and finally left a voicemail, demanding to know where she was. How could Zelia give him her cell number only to ignore his phone call? What the hell was wrong with her? Zelia was a coward for doing it, but she wasn't ready to talk to Jon yet. The man made her incredibly nervous in HWA and he had the same effect on her in the WWE.
She wasn't sure if she'd ever be ready to talk to him, but Zelia knew she couldn't hide forever. Eventually, a confrontation would happen and she did not look forward to that. Jon was a nice guy, but when pushed he had one hell of a volatile temper. He wasn't a woman beater, but that didn't mean he couldn't become one with Zelia. She was the epitome of pathetic, hating herself for once again running away from him when he deserved an explanation.
This went on for a week straight and every voicemail Jon left became angrier. Zelia didn't blame him, who could? They were close friends in HWA and when she took off, she cut all contact with everyone. She honestly thought she'd never see any of them again, including Jon. Now he was in the same company as her and Zelia felt like crawling in a dark hole and never coming out again. She constantly looked over her shoulder to make sure Jon wasn't there whenever she setup for a show and made sure to ask for more time on the catwalk.
Jon was livid. He didn't understand what the hell Zelia's problem was, especially since she gave him her cell phone number. He didn't ask for it. Starting to wonder if maybe it was a false number, the voice on her voicemail nixed that possibility. What was going on? Why had Zelia left and come to the WWE without telling him? Did Zelia think Jon would hate her for going to a better organization or something? He could not figure it out to save his life.
She was the only one he could count on in the HWA because there were times Jon felt like throwing in the towel and giving up wrestling completely. Zelia was his voice of reasoning and lifted his spirits when he needed it. She was his best friend and, somehow, he ended up falling in love with her. Who wouldn't? She was smart, funny, the sexiest woman he'd ever met and had a heart full of gold. Whenever Jon needed her, she was always there, but naturally he'd been too cowardly to make a move while in HWA. Then she left and he felt lost, alone and abandoned, questioning if it was him that drove her away several times.
All he wanted was an explanation. Even if Zelia told him to go to hell, he just wanted SOMETHING from her, any kind of closure. Jon planned on getting it by any means necessary, his bluish grey eyes turning stormy. He would let Zelia sweat it out for a few more days and then make his move, refusing to let anything get in the way of his career. When Joe and Colby asked him what was wrong, Jon simply blew them off and focused primarily on their current angle.
The Shield had arrived.
It was another Monday night Raw at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Christmas was a few weeks away and Zelia had done zero shopping for her family. Granted, the gifts would have to be mailed because Vince had planned a Raw on Christmas Eve. Everyone would have to fly out late Christmas Eve night and some wouldn't arrive home until sometime the next day, depending on if there were multiple stops on the way. Zelia didn't mind too much since her family didn't exactly support her decision to work in the wrestling business.
"Hey, do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow once we're out of this stinky state?" Valisa asked, both of them working on connecting one of the ring posts to the squared platform. "I have some serious shopping to do for Christmas and could use the company."
"Are you a mind reader?" Zelia demanded, sounding amused. "I was thinking of doing the same thing."
"Then it's settled, we're going shopping in Bridgeport. I'm flying there tonight after we take the ring down and I took the liberty to change your plane ticket." Valisa grinned, knowing it would give them a chance to have some time to talk.
"Thanks." Zelia didn't mind considering she'd been leaving to go to the next town after taking the setup down. That way she didn't stay in the same hotel as Jon. "I know one place I have to go for sure is Yankee Candle, so I hope that town has one."
"Pretty sure it does, but if not you can always do some of your shopping online." Valisa suggested, shrugging when Zelia merely quirked a brow in her direction. "Hey, I don't like it either, but when push comes to shove…"
"Yeah, let's just try to get as much shopping done WITHOUT having to go online." Zelia knew she'd have to overnight everything she bought, which would cost a lot of money because of shipping and handling.
Once lunch arrived, Zelia headed outside while Valisa offered to get their food and drinks. She knew Zelia was avoiding Jonathan Good and, being the great friend she was, Valisa decided to help her out. Heading into the cafeteria, Valisa stood in line and sighed at the cologne the man in front of her wore. It was intoxicating. Then Valisa realized he was a member of WWE's newest terrorist group The Shield. She could tell because he wore black cargo pants and a tactical black vest, his long black hair hanging down his back in wet waves.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Valisa closed her eyes briefly at the sound of Phillip Brooks' voice behind her and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with." She retorted, moving forward when the line did.
"Oh I don't know about that." Phillip took another step forward and placed a hand on her hip, his mouth remaining by her ear. "You've been avoiding me the last few weeks. What's wrong?"
"Because I don't want to see you." Valisa snorted, feeling extremely uncomfortable and wished she could move away from him, but she'd end up bumping into the long dark haired god from The Shield. "I want you to leave me alone, Brooks. That's why I've been avoiding you, don't you get it?"
Phillip frowned, wondering what suddenly changed her mind about wanting him. "You're lying, Valisa. That's not very nice or smart. Why the change of heart?"
"Because you are way too damn opinionated and you think the whole world revolves around your ass!" Valisa was tired of being prodded and shoved his hand from her hip, scowling. "You're not my type, now leave me alone unless you want your balls hanging from my Christmas tree."
Joe heard that and immediately felt his eyes cross, wondering if the lady would actually castrate Brooks , turning around to try diffusing this situation. "Why don't you go in front of me?" His gentle grey eyes locked on ocean blue and Joe suddenly felt the biggest wave of warmth flow through his big body.
Valisa smiled genuinely, having a similar reaction to him and nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
Shooting a glare back at Phillip, Valisa stepped past the dark haired eye candy and could feel him behind her, his body heat seeping into her skin. Phillip didn't appreciate the rookie sticking his nose into business that wasn't his and stormed out of the cafeteria to vent his anger privately. Joe merely shook his head and bit back a groan as the scent of sunflowers permeated the air, knowing fully well it came from the caramel haired beauty. He had no idea what Phillip's problem was with her, but he couldn't stand hearing anymore castrating comments from her beautiful lips either.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly, keeping his voice low so nobody else would overhear them.
"Yeah, he just doesn't know how to take no for an answer." Valisa replied, arriving at the table finally and began piling the plate with double everything. "It's not just for me."
"Boyfriend?"
Valisa smirked, raising a brow at the rookie and felt her mouth go dry. "No…"
Joe chuckled, on the inside jumping for joy because he hoped she wasn't taken already. "I'm Joe." He extended his hand while holding his plate with the other.
"Valisa." She watched as his hand practically swallowed hers whole and felt a blush creep into her cheeks.
That was not a name one heard every day, Joe thought, finding it incredibly sexy. "Very nice meeting you, Valisa." Her name rolled off his tongue in a caress that lit every nerve ending of her body on fire.
"You too, Joe. Thanks again for letting me cut in front of you. I owe you one." Winking, Valisa decided it was time to take her leave before she ended up jumping him in front of everyone in the cafeteria.
"See you later, honey." He rumbled, watching her leave the cafeteria and couldn't help noticing how the red pants she wore hugged her pert backside to perfection. "Damn…"
"Stop dry-humping the woman already." Jon scolded with a smirk, having witnessed the whole exchange as they both headed over to a nearby table. "Who was that?"
"Some girl I haven't met yet. Her name's Valisa. I helped her out since Brooks decided to be a dick." Joe shook his head, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "Did you eat?"
Jon nodded, looking up when Colby walked in to get his food and waved his hand to let the man know where they were. "Valisa, huh? That's an unusual name." Much like Zelia…what was with the names of women in this day and age?
"That's what I thought too. Do you know her?" Joe asked, chomping on some chips he grabbed and began pouring dressing over his salad.
"No, I can try to find out some info if you want though." Jon offered, nudging his friend and nodded once at Colby.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Colby asked, seeing the mischievous grin on Jon's face.
Jon wondered if Joe would mind if he told Colby about his encounter with the caramel haired beauty named Valisa. "Joe boy here has a little crush on a woman and I was offering to help him out."
"You fucking suck, Good." Joe growled, grey eyes flashing though pure amusement shined through them. "Dibs." He stated before Colby could try making a move on her. "I plan on talking to her again."
"What's her name?" Colby asked, intrigued while sipping his Gatorade. "Maybe I've met her already."
"I doubt it."
They looked up when Paul Heyman walked in and headed toward them, all squaring their shoulders. "Gentleman, are we ready for another segment tonight?"
Jon nodded, looking completely serious. "Yes sir." They knew better than to disrespect one of the company's legendary managers. It was such an honor to work for a man of his prestige. "We know what's going down."
"Good." Paul's beady eyes turned on Joe. "You look like you wanna ask me something." He sat down, folding his hands on the table. "What's up?" On television, Paul Heyman was a ruthless bastard, but behind the scenes he was one of the most helpful and influential people in the company.
Joe hesitated briefly, wiping his mouth off with a napkin. "I know you're working with Phillip Brooks and everything, but…I just witnessed something that didn't set right with me. I didn't know who to talk to about it."
"Go on." Paul ordered, leaning back in the chair folding his arms in front of his chest.
Joe proceeded to explain what happened between Phillip and Valisa, trying to sound indifferent when all he really wanted to do was bash Phillip's head in. "I don't think it's right for any woman, no matter what she's done, to be harassed by anyone, male or female."
Paul agreed, wondering what the deal with Phillip was lately and sighed. "I do know he's been having…issues with Valisa lately."
"So you know who she is?" Jon piped in, raising a brow and smiled. "Just curious, sorry."
"Yes, she's part of the ring crew for the company, but if you want my honest opinion, I think she'd be better in front of the camera." Paul smiled back, though his expression looked troubled for obvious reasons. "I'll talk to Brooks about this. He's the WWE champion and he can't afford to have any bad feedback backstage. I'm glad you came to me with this, Joe."
Joe nodded, shaking Paul's hand along with the rest of the guys. "I'm sorry if I'm causing trouble, but no lady deserves to be treated that way." So Valisa worked as part of the ring crew, that was very interesting news to hear.
"Hey Paul, can I ask you something else?" Jon stopped the man before he could walk away, standing from the table with desperate bluish grey eyes.
"Sure son, what is it?"
"Does Valisa know Zelia Bell?" He asked nonchalantly, or so he tried making it sound like.
Paul nodded, smiling. "Two lovely ladies, they're best friends. I really have to go, but I'll see you later on for the segment taping." They were doing it live to give the audience a little spice.
"Isn't Zelia the woman you confronted a few weeks ago at Survivor Series?" Colby asked, looking up at Jon and shared a perplexed look with Joe.
Jon nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he took his seat again, the wheels in his head already in motion. "Yeah and I think I have the perfect way to finally get her to talk to me." He'd explained everything to both of them, considering Joe and Colby his closest friends. "Joe, you said you wanna talk to Valisa again, right?"
Joe didn't know if he liked where this was going, looking skeptical. "Sure, maybe…" He drew that word out, wondering what was going through Jon's head. "Why?"
"Well, since Zelia has been avoiding me and refuses to answer my calls, I think a surprise encounter is in order." Jon smirked, rubbing his hands together as his bluish grey eyes gleamed with mischievousness.
"And how do you propose to do that?"
"Simple."
Joe listened to everything Jon said along with Colby and had to admit the plan sounded flawless. He didn't know if he could pull it off though because it would require digging into Valisa's personal life. Jon was desperate though and he did want to help his friend, so maybe Valisa would feel the same way about Zelia. There was only one way to find out. Agreeing to do what Jon requested, the three men headed out of the cafeteria to do the show that night, pushing everything else in their lives on the backburner for the moment.