Chapter 19
Rubbing her hands together nervously, Rajani stood outside of Stephanie's hotel room, once again chewing on her thumbnail. She wore a pair of skinny blue jeans with a form fitting red shirt that slightly shimmered, the stomach part of it and sleeves see-through, which showed off her small star tattoo she'd gotten when she was sixteen. It was blue, green and black mixed, a little punkish since that used to be her style, but not anymore. Even through her punk phase, Rajani hadn't touched her hair like others. Bringing her hand up, Rajani slowly knocked on the door, wearing a black choker necklace around her throat to hide the bruising. Stephanie blinked when she opened the door, staring at Rajani in surprise.
"Hey Raja, everything okay?" She asked, watching as the woman slowly shook her head and frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I need to talk to you about a few things, can I come in?"
"Sure." Stephanie stepped aside and let her in.
Paul walked out of the bathroom at that moment, already dressed and raised an eyebrow at his wife. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, go to your meeting. I'll meet you there, tell Daddy I'll be late."
"If this is a bad time-"
"No, you're fine."
Stephanie eyeballed her husband, telling him with her blue eyes to get the hell out. Snorting, Paul just walked out, shutting the door behind him. Once Paul was gone, Rajani slowly removed her choker and showed Stephanie the bruising before launching into the whole explanation of what Kane did to her. Throughout the explanation, Stephanie's face went through several emotions: shock, anger, disgust, fear, disbelief, rage and worry. They all alternated with each other and, by the time Rajani had finished explaining, Stephanie wasn't sure which one to feel and they were all struggling for dominance. She was also a bit upset that Rajani hadn't come to her with this as soon as it had happened but at the same time, she understood why. Taking a deep breath, she tried sorting out where to begin.
"Alright, what do you want to do about this?" Stephanie asked calmly, already knowing fine, suspension and orders for therapy were on the table.
"Taker said he would handle Kane...and I do believe him. I actually stayed with him last night because…" Rajani figured she might as well come clean about her hotel rooms being destroyed with flowers and the ominous notes that were left. "I tried giving a false name in this hotel and whoever this person is STILL found me. It was carnations, which means fascination according to Taker. Before that it was lilacs and then the first time was a bunch of colorful roses with no note. The first note with the lilacs said SOON and the note last night said JUST DAYS AWAY." Rajani looked at Stephanie, fear in her dark eyes. "Stephanie, what am I going to do? What if it's not Kane doing this? It could be anyone at this point, but after Kane's attack he's the only suspect..."
Stephanie rubbed her temples, closing her eyes. When she found out who was messing with Rajani, she was going to make them regret it. Hell, Dwayne would probably make them regret, not even wanting to know how he would react.
"I'm assuming you're not going to tell your brother about any of this." Stephanie said quietly, cracking one eye open in time to see Rajani shaking her head no, not surprised. "We're going to find out who's doing this Raja and, yes, Kane is the only suspect and he's the one who...it wouldn't be John, would it?" She asked after a moment's consideration. "I know with everything going on it seems really creepy, but...if all this wasn't going on with Kane, it might be sort of romantic and we all know John has been trying to get you to go out with him."
"I thought at first it might be him, but Taker told me that Cena isn't capable of it." She actually started laughing and repeated Taker's mocked version of John, both of them giggling uncontrollably. "It just doesn't...feel like something he would do either. The lettering on the cards is...creepy. Dark. His would be...I don't know...maybe it is him." Rajani sighed heavily, suddenly remembering that she had asked John about the flowers...sort of, the giggling dying. "Actually, I did ask Cena about the roses and he looked at me like I'd grown a second head. So like I said, he's definitely not a suspect. Taker pretty much thinks it's Kane and Kane is doing it to get to Cena through me because he thinks something is going on between me and Cena. It makes sense if you think about it. And if Dwayne finds out about this, he'll end up killing Kane and whoever else is tormenting me so please, we have to keep this from him at ALL costs."
"Well I'm not going to be the one to tell him."
For a variety of reasons, Rajani didn't want her too because it would mess up WrestleMania. Yes, wasn't a very nice friendly reason, but she was a McMahon after all. She had her 'moments' on occasion where she put the family business before personal problems.
"We're going to have to figure out how to keep you safe though, because that last card...sounds like this is about to come to a head and it'll probably be very bad. You can bunk with me and Paul if you want and you'll have to start traveling with someone. I mean, we can try to go on like business as usual to keep things from looking suspicious to everyone outside the loop, but...that puts you in danger, Raja."
"Taker already took care of that." When Stephanie raised an eyebrow, Rajani shrugged, looking down at her nails. "I trust him, don't ask me why. He's the last person I ever thought I would trust, but...he's really helped me out and I'm comfortable around him. He wants me to start traveling with him and we're going to get a hotel suite with separate bedrooms. I have no feelings for him and I'm pretty sure he has none for me, so it works. We're...friends, I guess..." Rajani had no idea what else to call Taker and slowly looked up at the bewildered look in Stephanie's eyes. "Hell, you even sent him for me so obviously you trust him too. If anyone can protect me, it's him. He's the locker room leader and I'll stay with him until my brother comes on the road with us, then I'll stay with Dwayne until he leaves...or until this situation is taken care of."
"Well I know I trust him, mostly."
Stephanie was honest and sometimes Taker could be untrustworthy. Though, that generally ran to his career and direction of storylines he was involved in. Even then, it usually worked out, so maybe he was just sneaky and not necessarily untrustworthy.
"I thought...after yesterday, riding with him, you weren't comfortable with him?" She was getting confused. "And what does he have to say about all this in regards to Kane? They were – are best friends..."
"He apologized for that and said he was just trying to seduce me in a piss poor way. I believe him. He's pissed with Kane right now and said he'll handle him. That's all he'll tell me. I'm not even asking because last night, after I told him who did this to me, you should've seen the look in his eyes, Stephanie. It was scary. He looked murderous and then said later on that he would've tossed Kane out of the truck into oncoming traffic if he would've known what happened the previous night." Rajani sighed, hating that she was coming between two men who were supposed to be best friends. "I told him he shouldn't get involved and he said that wasn't my decision...that he already was. Something tells me their confrontation is going to be very ugly."
Well, at least Taker admitted the attempt at seduction had been piss poor and Stephanie had a feeling it had been his way to see if he could press Rajani's buttons. She had watched him play his seduction game and, much to Paul's amusement and her chagrin, the man used to be rather good at it; a bit of a man whore. Emphasis on used to be or else she'd be questioning his motives right about now.
"Yeah, it will be..." Stephanie groaned, massaging her temples with her fingertips. "And, as I'm sure you've already noticed, you can't tell that man anything. If he agrees with you on something you know he doesn't agree with, be concerned."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Rajani smiled softly, glad Stephanie wasn't angry with her for the lies she told. The woman understood, which Rajani was thankful for. They parted ways, Stephanie heading to her meeting with her father while Rajani went back to Taker's room. She felt better now that she'd told Stephanie what happened to her, remembering to fasten the choker around her neck to hide the bruising from anyone else. She wanted to keep this private if possible, knowing if any word got back to Dwayne what happened, there would be hell to pay. Rajani decided to take the elevator and waited for it patiently. Though, she made sure to carry her can of mace with her, just in case Kane decided he wanted to attack her again.
John was leaning against the faux wooden panels that lined the inside of the elevator, on his way up to take a shower, before hitting the road. He had just used the hotel's gym for a workout, which was not only a way for him to keep his body in its impressive condition, but it was also a great way to relieve stress. Working out released endorphins, which were basically the equivalence of his body drugging itself for a happy buzz. John was down with that. He looked up from the floor when the doors opened, eyes widening at the look Rajani was sporting, which was very different from the work-friendly clothes she generally wore. He liked this look much better. Instantly, John felt like a scrub in his damp from sweat workout shorts, which were now clinging to his thighs and lack of a shirt, a damp towel wrapped around his neck.
Rajani looked up the same time John did, their eyes locking and felt her throat instantly go dry at the sight of him. Sweating from head to toe, Rajani couldn't help wondering what it would be like to give this man a tongue bath. She mentally shook herself and smiled, stepping on the elevator, keeping her back to him and went to press her floor button, but it was already lit up. That meant John was on the same floor Taker was. The doors closed and the intoxicating smell of John permeated the small space they stood in, making her heady. She wanted to say something to him, but couldn't get her voice box to work at the moment, cursing in thought.
John shifted from one foot to the other, glancing down at her. "How's, the uh, throat?"
He gestured to the choker she wore, which was a look he hadn't seen in quite awhile on any woman, but...it looked really good on her. When she just arched an eyebrow at him, he gathered it was healing. She wasn't wearing a sleeveless turtleneck anymore, so it was manageable at the least.
"You look nice." John then added, eyes sweeping over her attire again, wondering what the odds were of her coming to work dressed like this. "It's different though, I'm used to you being in formal clothing." Rajani was going to the same floor he was...he might be able to get through the next few minutes without insulting her or ticking her off, maybe.
"That's because you only see me at work and nowhere else." Rajani remarked in a soft voice, still not turning around to face him, battling her emotions.
She was torn in half on what to do. Did she turn around and let fate take its course or simply let the moment slip by like all the others had? Rajani didn't know what to do and finally turned halfway to glance at him before turning to stare back at the elevator doors.
"And thank you. I would say the same for you, but that would be lying, no offense." Her hair was down, curled at the ends for style and set right at the middle of her back, enjoying the new length immensely.
"Yeah, I know I look and probably smell like crap, so no offense taken." John said good-naturedly, knowing most women did not appreciate a half-naked, sweaty guy with bulging muscles and whatnot. "If there were an easier, less visually appalling way of maintaining the look, I'd...still probably workout." He finished, grinning slightly. John liked pumping iron, it was his way of relaxing. Or if he was pissed and needed venting, though that could occasionally backfire with sore, aching joints and zero energy for the next few days. "I'd like to see you more, outside of work I mean." He added, watching her expression closely to see how she would react to that, but meaning it all the same.
"I know you would." Her eyes closed momentarily, trying to keep her composure and fighting back what she really wanted to do and say. "And you don't smell that bad. Could be a lot worse, like rotten eggs, which you don't smell like at all." Rajani suddenly reached over and pressed the stop button on the elevator, halting both of them before turning to face John, folding her arms. "Why me? You could have any woman on the planet. Women throw themselves at you on a daily basis. What makes me any different from them besides being your coworker? What is it about me specifically that makes you keep pursuing me?" Her voice wasn't filled with anger or malice, just pure curiosity.
"You kinda already nailed it, Raja." John said softly, turning so he was facing her. Though, for once being mindful of her personal space, which was due more to his current condition then actual respect of said boundaries. "I can have any woman I want and there are lots of women that throw themselves at me," Beautiful women, loads of beautiful women. "And you are the one woman who doesn't." Stephanie didn't count. "So...yeah, that kind of makes you much more attractive than the others, you're not after my fame or my money." Actually, most of the time she seemed to dislike him, except when she was using kissing as a distraction...Even she couldn't deny there had been SOME chemistry there.
"Yet I'm a prostitute and a bitch in heat for trying to help you." Rajani nodded stiffly, wondering what made her hit that stop button in the first place. "Why would I go after your fame and money when I have my own? Not fame, but I have plenty of money and don't need a man to support me like these other prostitutes and bitches in heat. So, the only reason you keep pursuing me is because I don't throw myself at you? So throwing myself at you would turn you completely off in other words. Thank you for putting it into perspective for me, Cena."