Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Thirty-Two

She ran her finger along the match listing for that night's SmackDown, the woman more than a little surprised when she saw her name listed for a tag team match. Her match was also listed as happening later on the card than Jeff Hardy's match was, which meant she really couldn't walk out with him. Too much of a risk that she might get hurt before her match, especially considering the fact that Jeff was wrestling against Kane. She couldn't help but hope that the Big Red Machine gave Jeff a bit of a beating and that thought, on top of the fact that she had a match of her own, was enough to bring a small smile to her lips... A smile that faded away when she looked at the other matches listed and saw that CM Punk was scheduled to take on the Great Khali of all people.

"Damn it," she muttered, trying to keep her expression neutral. Of course, if she looked upset and anyone asked her about it, she could just say that she was worried about Jeff's match against Kane. No one had to know that she was concerned about the fact that Punk had to step into the ring against Khali. Khali didn't have the greatest skills - far from it - but he was a big, lumbering man that gave smaller men trouble simply because they couldn't get him off his feet. And that big, lumbering man had a hell of a reach and he could hit hard. So yeah, she was worried about Punk against him. Worried that the World Heavyweight Champion could end up getting hurt.

Shaking her head slightly, Eve tried to force the thoughts from her mind, the diva turning and heading down the hall, intending to go and find her tag team partner for the night... Her partner wasn't exactly a surprise, since there weren't a lot of divas on SmackDown, and two of them were currently out. Kelly was out with her rib injury courtesy of Maria, and Maria had been knocked for enough of a loop by Melina's kicks at the live event over the weekend that she wasn't scheduled to be there, either. Melina was, in fact, Eve's partner for the night, and they were teaming up against Michelle McCool and Layla El, a partnership that Eve had a bad feeling about. Those two were definite mean girls, and Eve kind of thought that they were the type to end up thriving together. The good news was, she was teamed with Melina, and she knew that the two of them could work well together, too. Best of all, she knew she could trust Melina.

Nodding a little at that thought, Eve started to turn a corner, then bit back a scream as someone suddenly grabbed her by the arm and yanked her into a room. Her first thought was that it was CM Punk, but the grip was harsher than Punk's would have been, so she knew it wasn't him. Her second thought was that it was an infuriated Jeff Hardy - mad about Melina hurting Maria, mad that she had another match tonight and couldn't walk him out - but she quickly realized that it wasn't him, either. No, neither CM Punk nor Jeff Hardy was standing in front of her.

Instead, it was Dolph Ziggler. Maria's boyfriend.

Yeah, this probably wasn't going to go well.

Despite the fact that she was all sorts of nervous about this turn of events, Eve Torres squared her shoulders, the diva refusing to look afraid or back down. At least, she hoped she didn't looked afraid... She really couldn't guarantee that Ziggler hadn't seen the fear on her face when she'd first realized who it was that had grabbed her.

"What the hell do you want?" she snapped out, pleased to hear that her voice wasn't shaking. Damn it, this was the last thing she needed right now. Her problems with Jeff were getting worse and worse, Maria was a nutjob (who thankfully wasn't at the arena tonight), and she had a tag match to deal with later on. Which, at least she was teaming up with Melina, but still... They were facing Michelle McCool and Layla. Not likely to be an easy combination to beat.

For his part, Ziggler shifted his weight a bit nervously, almost looking hesitant, but then he finally just burst out with it. "What's going on between Maria and Hardy?" he wanted to know, and Eve had to fight back the urge to laugh at the question. Really? He was coming to her about this? He was asking about what was up and not yelling at her for getting into fights with Maria and not stopping Melina from pretty much concussing the other woman on Saturday? It was really kind of weird.

"You know, I don't really hang out with either of them much lately, so I'm the wrong person to ask," Eve stated, pushing herself away from the wall and starting to head for the door to the room, flinching back instinctively when Dolph moved to prevent her from doing so, the man pretty much invading her personal space. He didn't make a move to touch her - violently or otherwise - which she took as a good sign. He didn't seem to want to attack her; he just seemed to want answers. Unfortunately, he wanted answers that she didn't really have.

"Damn it, Eve-"

"I don't know, Ziggler. I can tell you this... She has had the hots for Jeff Hardy for years. Dating back to when he wasn't even here for a few years and she'd just been in the diva search. I didn't know her then, but I've heard stories about how she totally freaked out when Jeff returned to the WWE a few years ago. And I can tell you, for the past couple of years, while I've been around... She wasn't happy. When he asked me to be his manager. She wanted the job for herself. The job and... more," Eve said, knowing it was harsh to say these things to the guy that Maria was technically currently dating, but also figuring that he had a right to know that his girlfriend wasn't really head over heels for him or whatever. That Maria was possibly biding her time with him, hoping that Jeff would start sniffing around, and then she'd go running off with the younger Hardy brother. Honestly, Eve didn't figure she was telling Ziggler anything that, at least deep down, he didn't already know.

Ziggler jerked his hands through his hair, the man looking angry... Though Eve was pretty sure he wasn't angry with her. Angry with Maria, with Jeff, with the situation... But not really angry with her. Arching a brow, the man gave her a look. "Doesn't it bug you? That he knows that she wants him and that he's using her. I mean, he's your-"

"My what? He's not my boyfriend, Dolph. He never has been, and he never will be," Eve said, trying not to look as disgusted as she felt by his assumption. Truthfully, it was probably an assumption that several people in the company had made, if only because they all went with the 'When Harry Met Sally' school of thought and didn't believe that a man and a woman could be friends without it turning into more. And the truth was, she and Jeff had never been more than friends, she'd never thought of him that way at all and well... Now, they were far *less* than friends, and she was simply biding her time until she got the perfect chance to turn against him and make him pay for being such an asshole. The fact that Jeff still seemed to think that there was no way she would turn against him - no matter how badly he treated her - just went to show how many brain cells the man had fried over the years.

Now Ziggler looked confused. "Wait a minute. You and Hardy have never..."

"Never," Eve said firmly. "I've never even considered it. I'm his manager. Nothing more. He can be with whomever he wants. It won't hurt me," she told the man, though she was starting to feel a bit bad about the fact that Jeff being with whomever he wanted could, in fact, hurt Dolph. It wasn't that she liked Ziggler - she didn't like him at all and thought he was arrogant and a jerk - but that didn't mean she thought that what Maria was doing to him was okay. Clearly, the guy had an interest in Maria - he wouldn't have dragged her here to ask questions about it if he didn't - and even though Maria wasn't technically cheating on him (that she knew of), the fact that it was obvious that Maria had feelings for someone that wasn't him had to suck.

"Then why did she tell me that you two were together?" Ziggler asked after a moment, and Eve found herself actually flinching at that.

"When did she tell you that?"

"Awhile ago. Around the time she and I got together. She talked about him a lot and..."

"When you questioned her about it, she told you not to worry and that Jeff was already taken," the brunette surmised when the man trailed off, and Eve found herself wanting to hit Maria more than ever for being a lying little bitch. Dolph may be a jerk, and it was clear that he knew something was off about Jeff and Maria's relationship, but he'd still rushed to her aid on Saturday and practically carried her to the back after her match against Melina. He'd taken care of her despite the fact that Maria probably hadn't deserved his care and consideration.

"She lied to me," Ziggler said, the man apparently sharper than she'd thought, because he seemed to understand exactly what had happened. "She told me that you and Hardy were together so I wouldn't think anything of her spending time with him... She could say she was with you both, since you're her friend and all. Or you were her friend." The wrestler paused, taking a deep breath. "If he crooked his finger at her, she'd coming running, wouldn't she? Dump me in a heartbeat."

Eve looked away at that, not wanting to tell him that she was pretty sure he was completely right about that. She and Ziggler weren't friends, and she really didn't want to have this conversation with him. On top of that, if Ziggler dumped Maria over all of this and ended up telling the other woman about this conversation, then Maria would just have yet another reason to come after her. Not that Eve was afraid of Maria. She knew she could take care of herself against the other woman. After SmackDown, everyone else knew it, too.

"Your silence speaks volumes," Ziggler said, reminding Eve that she'd been silent for far too long, and the diva sighed.

"None of this is my place to talk. I mean, her lie about me dating Jeff, I'll deny to anyone, because it's my right to talk about something involving me. Including lies involving me. But I shouldn't... I don't want to be in the middle of this whole mess."

"Something tells me you already are. Whatever the hell is going on with Hardy and Maria, you're involved, whether you want to be or not. Simply by virtue of the fact that you're still walking Hardy out to ringside, and Maria apparently wishes it was her instead of you out there."

"Dolph-"

"Don't apologize. I'm pretty sure it's not your fault," the man said, then arched a brow at her, meeting her gaze. "I saw the match listing for the night. That you have a match."

"Tag team match," Eve acknowledge, and Ziggler nodded.

"Tag team or not, it's still a match. You and... Melina, right? Against Michelle McCool and Layla?" He smirked slightly. "Those two are a problem waiting to happen."

"That might be an understatement."

Ziggler nodded. "How's Kelly?" he asked suddenly, and Eve blinked in surprise, then bit her lip, considering the man. He had no reason to feel guilty about Kelly's attack, or to even worry about the woman at all... But it was actually kind of nice of him to ask, and maybe he was a little bothered by the fact that it was his supposed girlfriend that had been the one to attack Kelly in the first place.

"She's... She'll be okay. After awhile, anyway."

"I didn't know. That night. What Maria planned to do," Ziggler told her, then stepped to the side, flicking a look at the door, letting Eve know without words that he wasn't going to stop her if she tried to leave. The diva moved around him to do just that, stopping when he spoke again. "She isn't here tonight."

"Excuse me?"

"Maria. I wasn't sure if you knew it, but she's not at the arena tonight. So, uh... She won't be screwing up your match or anything. You don't have to keep an eye out for her."

Eve eyed the man for a moment, then nodded slightly as she headed out the door. "I actually knew that. But thanks for telling me anyway."