Chapter 14
"I'm going to go eat, so you're coming with me," Jon informed her, having no intention of hanging out in the hallway just to keep her company. "Come on, doll." Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he led the way down towards the cafeteria, pointing out who was who as they walked. Most people didn't give her a second glance, there was just too much going on and people backstage who didn't always belong weren't necessarily a new thing. "So, why'd you take this job if he's such an ass?"
"Because I need to keep paying my bills and living in Vegas isn't cheap. Besides, the company relies on me a little too heavily and Ryan is one of their biggest clients, so turning it down would've shown I'm not reliable." Vallea always put her job first before anything else; she was very career-orientated and driven. "I've seen girls get fired because they turned down work from the agency. I'm not going to be one of those women, so if I have to work for an asshole like Ryan for however long, so be it. At least my bills are paid and a roof is over my head." She honestly didn't care what people thought of her or why she was with Jon, her focus solely on him for the time being.
"You're an idiot. You're the dumbest smart person I know, you know that?" Jon snorted, turning through a door and then one more before leading the way into the cafeteria. "If your company relies on you heavily, then that probably means you're a major asset and you likely have a little pull, especially with asshats." She was going to wind up either burning herself out because she wasn't smart about her clients or one of them was going to be the wrong kind of client. Working for someone who went out of their way to screw with a person, belittle them…no job was that goddamn important. "Hungry?" He was famished, eyeballing the offerings.
Maybe she was stupid for taking the jobs with Ryan, but they paid well and there were no other jobs within the agency at the moment. It was a bit of a slow time of year, even though Christmas was around the corner. They would start booming in late November again, but until then, she had to take what jobs were offered. If Jon couldn't understand that, it was his problem.
"Not really, but I'll try to eat something." There was a delicious-looking salad made, so she headed that way while Jon stuck with meat. Vallea idly wondered how many times a day he ate to maintain the physique he had.
Jon had worked jobs he had hated, but he had never had a boss go out of their way to run him down, harass him, or anything like that. He probably would've lost his mind the first time it happened. The 'get tough and survive' mentality from growing up had never left him. Sometimes, it tended to get him in trouble but it had also saved his ass more times than he cared to remember. After loading up on chicken, which was a good protein that wasn't overly heavy, he followed her to salad, eyeballing it. Once they had their food, Jon led the way to the back of catering and sat down with her to eat. It was surreal how she was here with him at his place of work. There were so many people in this company, no wonder it was a global phenomenon. They definitely had the manpower to back it up for sure.
"So, how've you been?" She asked cordially, taking a bite of her salad with French dressing. They hadn't really talked much since Jon had dropped her off, though he had left her with one last romp to remember him by.
A few text messages here and there were about all the communication they'd had due to his busy schedule.
"Oh you know, traveling the world, beating the shit out of people and getting paid for it, the usual," Jon answered around a mouthful of chicken. At her disgusted look, he flashed her an apologetic smile and closed his mouth. "Sorry, doll." He was hungry and usually ate five or six 'mini meals' because he tended to burn through everything, with snacks in between and a lot of water. "How about you? Climb any fun mountains lately?"
"Unfortunately, no. It's been raining a lot in Vegas lately and even I'm not crazy enough to climb them when it's bad weather outside." Vegas had their monsoon season, just like Arizona, and it was currently happening. Flooding would ensue, but the desert would simply soak the rain up due to the dry heat. At least the mountains nearby would have their water replenished. "Don't apologize for eating. I understand you're a big man and you have a big appetite." She smirked, took another bite of her salad, and chewed thoughtfully. At least she had her own hotel room, so inviting Jon to stay with her wouldn't be an issue.
"You would know that firsthand, doll, wouldn't you?" His voice dropped several octaves as he stared intently at her before a wicked grin spread across his face. "You got any idea how long you're going to be in town?" He had no idea what the hell she was doing here anyway, besides following around a King Dick and apparently, he was the deciding factor if they stayed in town tonight or not. He was guessing that tomorrow they'd be gone, however, and he pulled a face at that. "I should hire you. Think I can get that written off on my taxes as a business expense? Having my girlfriend being my very personal assistant?"
Her heart began to beat a little faster in her chest at what he called her. His girlfriend. That put a label on what they were. That made it official. Vallea felt a warmth spread through her body and slid her hand down to squeeze his jean-covered thigh gently.
"I don't mix business with pleasure and you know that already. We've had this discussion before." She reminded him, moving her hand from his thigh up to stroke his beard. "Besides, I'd much rather have you as my boyfriend than my boss."
"I remember quite explicitly you telling me that if done right, you enjoy roleplaying," Jon said sweetly, though he kept his voice low because he didn't want to embarrass her and he didn't need any of the guys harassing her. "You could make money while having fun with me." Then he realized he was basically implying that she could be his hooker or something, wondering if she would take offense. "Or not." Jon took another bite of his food, his free hand dropping down to squeeze hers.
"Tempting. Very tempting. Not happening though." Vallea thought along the same lines as him, not caring what people thought, but she knew if she became his assistant, there would be serious issues.
For instance, the agency would fire her on the spot since Jon was not one of their clients and Ryan would give her grief too. This was a very new and fresh relationship…god, they were in a relationship now…and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin it by spending every waking hour with the man and him growing tired of her. Her phone buzzed and it was Ryan wondering where the hell she was at, making her sigh.
"Oops, break over time to get back to work. Will I see you tonight?"
"If you want to, yes, text me when you're done with the asshole, babe." Jon eyed her barely touched salad, frowning slightly. "I usually bunk with Joey boy, but since I knew you were coming…" He hadn't known about her traveling arrangements, or where she'd be staying, or even how long, but hope to see her had made him go solo tonight, instead of being the usual cheapskate. "If he gives you any issues, let me know and I'll…nicely ask him to be a decent human being." More like stomping his ass into a bloody puddle of goo.
She smiled at his overprotective nature and stood up from the table, brushing her lips against his cheek. "I'll text you when I'm back at the hotel." She rode here with Ryan and they would probably be leaving before Jon was done with the show. "Be safe in the ring." Squeezing his shoulder, she dropped her barely touched food in the trash and headed out to meet with the warden, hoping he was in a better mood.
Ryan was somewhat in a better mood. "Here." He held out a healthy stack of paperwork and envelopes. "I need you to review all of this and then condense it into something more manageable for my board to go over." Vince was open to this little business idea and that meant Ryan had to review and debate the pros and cons of Vince's own terms and conditions. Vallea was precise with paperwork, the woman was brilliant, if only she wasn't such a cold, frigid bitch.
"Will do."
Vallea was used to huge stacks of paperwork and it wouldn't take long for her to go through everything. A couple of days, at most. It would get her away from Ryan too since she'd be holed up in the hotel rooms in order to work privately. He didn't need to know anything about her personal life or the fact she was now dating one of the wrestlers that worked for WWE, for Vince McMahon.
"Looks like the meeting was a success, so that's good news for you and your company." Being friendly was the right way to go when it came to Ryan; maybe he wouldn't be such a dick towards her going forward. Vallea highly doubted it since the man was probably born a dickhead.
"We'll see. McMahon already has this kind of service and he's been with them for years."
Ryan was also smiling as he began walking down the hall away from the temporary office. Of course, it was renewal time for the old provider and he had done his homework, swooping in with an offer. The fact that McMahon had agreed to the meeting and then came prepared with paperwork about what they needed, their current production rates, and incoming and outgoing costs, told Ryan the man was shopping around.
"Where were you?"
"Getting some air." That was all he needed to know. Short, sweet, and to the point. Vallea had to tread carefully when it came to Ryan and made sure when she booked their rooms, they were on opposite floors of the hotel. She didn't want to be anywhere near him any more than she had to be. "Oh, I feel I should warn you ahead of time, but Monique is looking into another business endeavor and she'll be needing my services once it gets underway. I already told her I would, but it won't be for a couple of months, so hopefully by then, you'll be set with the WWE and you won't need my services anymore." It also would give him time to look for a new PA, if he still required one.
"You're already under contract to me for an indeterminate amount of time, Vallea," Ryan said without breaking stride or looking down at her. "Monique doesn't take precedence simply because she's your friend." How unprofessional, and that very thought drenched his tone, making it clear what he thought of her inability to prioritize appropriately. Honestly, he didn't think this would take very long, the window of opportunity was slim for both him and the WWE, so a decision would be reached soon enough.
Not that she really needed to know it.
"But I'm also not strictly YOUR PA. I do other jobs for the agency as well and you know as well as I do, those contracts are usually 6 months along and no more. The agency sees to it. So, if I have to wait 6 months to be able to work for Monique, so be it, I will. She's one of my clients just like you are. It's got nothing to do with her being my friend either. It's good business, keeping yourself open for new possibilities. You should know that better than anyone." Vallea informed him, keeping her tone syrupy, and didn't stop walking either, all the paperwork already nestled in her bag over her shoulder. "So, do we have to stay for the show or can I go back to the hotel to start my work, sir?"
"You can go."
Ryan was planning on calling the agency and requesting that Vallea be sent to training again because she was a snotty little bitch. She was highly unprofessional, talking about another job already and she had just started for him tonight. He already knew he'd be receiving a discount on hiring her, having to put up with her crap.
"I feel I should warn you, when asked for a review of your services, I'm not recommending the pay raise option. You've gotten terrible with your attitude, Vallea. The amount of unprofessionalism, I expected so much more from someone of your supposed caliber."
"And I feel I should warn you I will be telling Margaret how you've been treating me, Ryan. I really don't care what you think of me, but you WILL treat me with respect when I work for you. I'm not your doormat and I was simply informing you of a job that is COMING UP in a couple of months. I was being PROFESSIONAL in telling you ahead of time, so you could find someone instead of stopping services with you in the blink of an eye. My bad for trying to be professional, won't happen again. Goodnight." Asshole, she thought angrily, stalking away from him and whipped her phone out to call a cab. Screw him, she would NOT be taking a ride back to the hotel with him and if she had to, she'd walk.
Ryan was already texting her boss, informing the woman that he would not be using their services again. He was one of their best clients and had provided fairly steady work for the agency over the years either via himself or by recommending them. He would be taking his business elsewhere and that would also include his contacts, unless they rectified this situation with Vallea. She had chastised him, offered her unprofessional opinions, and was basically being a condescending snot behind her sweet fake act. She'd had the chance to turn down the job, she hadn't, and now she was being unprofessional. Ryan was not someone to be trifled with and Vallea would learn.
"You will return to the hotel with me and if you even think about taking that paperwork out of my sight until you and said paperwork are SECURELY in a building, I will have you terminated for being a liability to your agency's clients and potentially sensitive documents."
All Vallea wanted to do was slam the paperwork down on the ground and tell him to kiss her ass. She was tired of this and being treated like crap from this guy! Margaret had assured her it would be different this time and no, nothing had changed at all. Ryan was even WORSE if that was even possible. Not saying a word, Vallea got in the backseat of the vehicle and stared out the window, not able to wait to get back to the hotel and far away from him.
On the ride there, she received a call from her boss and was reprimanded for her behavior, ordering her to make things work with Ryan or she would be terminated. He even sweetened the pot with Ryan and added additional time to her contract with the douche lord. All Vallea could do was hold back tears until she got to her room, after parting ways with the asshole, and tossed her bag on the bed with the paperwork inside, refusing to even look at it. A bubble bath and wine were in order after the day she had.
Of course, this all made Ryan very happy. Maybe, just maybe, Vallea would learn her place and remember that she was nothing more than a lowly assistant. She could do better, be better, of course, she just had no desire to do so.