Chapter 15

Babe, there's a definite lack of texting from you… Jon's message arrived a few hours later. He wasn't overly surprised by the fact that there wasn't a text, they didn't call or send texts all that often. But considering they were in the same city, at the same time, that was rare.

Maybe she had gotten swamped from the asshat Ryan and forgotten.

"Shit." She whispered, remembering telling Jon she would text him when she was back at the hotel, and groaned, rubbing her temples. Ryan had her so riled up and then her boss reaming her out didn't help matters any. Vallea sighed, taking a long pull of her wine, and sent him one back. Sorry, came back to the hotel and took a bath to relax. Are you done for the night? After her bubble bath and a coupl ofe glasses of wine, Vallea felt a little better about her current situation, deciding not to tell Jon what happened. The last thing she needed was him blowing a gasket.

Vallea was usually pretty good about details and minute things, Jon had noticed that on their first little date. The day he had saved her and she had taken him out to dinner, then the Ferris wheel. He had picked up on the detail thing and the subsequent time he had spent with her only cemented that. So this, even with their infrequent texting and calling habit, told him that either something was wrong or her night had gone south and she was swamped with work or something.

I'm done for the night. Which hotel are you at? Room number? He'd just come to her, with liquor, just in case.

Room 392 and I'm at the Marriott, same as the WWE. Asshole didn't want to be too far away from his conquest. Vallea knew that would get a chuckle out of him and wasn't surprised when she received a text back that told her Jon was on his way.

After the day she had, seeing him would make everything go away. She just wanted to forget about everything else and still hadn't touched her pile of paperwork, deciding it would wait until tomorrow. Ryan had pissed her off and she didn't want to screw anything up in the current mood she was in.

Jon was not at the Marriott because the Marriott was expensive and gaudy, in his humble, poor boy opinion. No, he was a lot more comfortable at some sleazy motel within walking distance of a bar and a pool table. Not to mention, staying somewhere el cheapo meant when he left the room never to return, he didn't feel terrible about wasting the money because he had spent so very little. Jon was one day going to have to address the lingering poverty issues he had. Soon enough, he was in front of her door, bag over his shoulder, and rapped twice, icy eyes straying down the hallway. He wouldn't be surprised if the asshole wasn't on this floor as well. Vallea knew exactly who it was, so she didn't bother checking first and opened the door, cracking a smile up at her boyfriend. That was still fresh, the fact he had put a label on them and she didn't mind it a bit. It would just take some getting used to.

"Come in."

She stepped aside to let him in and shut the door behind him, wearing one of the cotton robes the Marriott provided to their guests. Her hair was down and still damp from the bath she'd had. It was after midnight, a typical night for WWE Superstars with Raw since the show didn't end until 11 PM Eastern time.

"I watched your match. It was good." She had caught the last bit of Raw after her bath and Jon was in what they called the main event.

"Yeah, it was all right." Jon agreed, bobbing his head as he surveyed the room, setting his not-so-posh duffel bag down on the floor by the door. "Come here, doll," He held his arms wide open, not surprised when she moved into them, feeling her face in his chest and enfolded her in his embrace. "You smell delicious, Val." He murmured, brushing his nose against her damp hair. "How bad was it tonight?" Part of him was mad at Momo for telling him about Ryan because there wasn't really jack he could do without going to prison.

She tried, really tried, not to start crying and couldn't help it as the tears began sliding down her cheeks. Jon comforting her opened the floodgates and there was no stopping it or holding it back. "Bad." She whimpered, sounding pathetic, and could feel Jon's body tense from head to toe. "It's better now that you're here though." Vallea admitted, clinging to him and breathed his scent in, trying to will herself to stop crying. Hadn't she done that enough in the tub?

Carefully, Jon cradled Vallea's face in his palms, tipping her head up so he could see into her face. This Ryan was a royal prick, making those gorgeous eyes flood with tears and he wanted to find the man and force him to apologize. Using the pads of his thumbs, he caught her tears, gently wiping them away.

"You don't have to work for him, Vallea." He said quietly, knowing she would because that was her job, but walking away was always an option, she had to realize that.

She was stubborn and she knew it, but her job was on the line when it came to Ryan. Her boss had made it clear if she couldn't work with one of their biggest clients, she could find employment elsewhere. Honestly, Vallea loved her job and the agency, but it was just this one asshole that got under her skin all because she wouldn't give him the time of day outside of work. He wanted what he couldn't have; she would have to tough it out and bite her tongue until this contract was over.

"Yes, I do. If I want to keep my job and stay with the agency, yes Jon, I have to work with whoever they assign me. I'll get over it, I'm just being a big baby right now. Pathetic, right?" She barked out a harsh laugh and slid her hands up his arms to cover his. "I'll be fine, just a bad night is all."

Jon was unusually quiet as he studied her, really looking at her and letting what she had said sink it, rolling it around his head for a bit. "You are one of the strongest people I've ever met, Vallea," He said finally, sounding oddly serious, which wasn't normal for him. "So for some dickbag bringing you to tears, that's not pathetic. It means he's a lot of trouble, especially if you're crying about it." This woman was tough as nails, he had learned that a while ago.

There was no point hiding the truth from him. "Ryan called my boss and my boss reprimanded me for being unprofessional towards Ryan, even though I wasn't. I thought giving him a heads up I'd be working for Monique in about 6 months was a good thing, but apparently, he didn't think so. He's got this…obsession with me and he only chooses me to work for him through the agency. He's a big shot, and brings in a lot of money, so they bend to his will most of the time. My boss told me if I couldn't make things work with Ryan, I could seek employment elsewhere." Her eyes lowered, sniffling, and reached up between his hands to wipe tears away. "I've never been fired from a job in my life and I'm not about to let this dickhead take what I've built for myself away. I'll play his stupid game and then get away from him when Monique needs me."

Except, Jon could already see that not playing out the way Vallea was thinking. If this guy was that big of a deal that the agency was caving to him and threatening Vallea's job…he could see this Ryan guy playing the unprofessionalism card if by chance Vallea was still working for him when Monique needed her. There was no mistaking the fact that the girls were friends, even a blind man could see it. Sighing, he simply nodded, kissing the top of her head.

"Come on," He backed her further into the room. "I'm here now, fuck that loser." Driving his face into cement with his finisher 'Dirty Deeds' didn't sound half bad.

She smiled at him, despite how crappy she felt, and accepted a soft kiss, her hands gently gripping his shoulders. Jon lifted her, making her squeal out because she didn't expect it, and wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively. He was right; he was here now and there was no reason to dwell on what happened because there was no changing it. Jon sat down with her straddled on his lap and Vallea broke the kiss, rubbing her nose against his.

"So, I need to talk to you about something else. I just want to make sure I understand and we're both on the same page. You called me your girlfriend earlier at the arena…" Vallea didn't need to elaborate further and waited for his response while staring into his beautiful pale blues.

Jon blinked, his mind instantly hitting the rewind button. Yeah, he did say it. It had come naturally out of his mouth and he had known for a few weeks now that he wanted to be exclusive. The idea of her being with someone else didn't sit well with him. He was fairly certain he wasn't in love with her, but he was definitely in serious like.

"You want to know if that's me putting a label on us, right?" She was pretty much a standard chick with that one, he supposed. However, the fact that she hadn't pressured him sooner or asked sooner told him she had a lot more reserve than most chicks. A plus in his book. "Well, it is."

"I didn't want…to pressure you into labeling us what we were because we've been having such a great time together. But when you called me your girlfriend, I just wanted to make sure you meant it and that it didn't just fly out of your mouth accidentally or whatever. And just so you know…" Vallea slid her hands down his t-shirt-covered chest until she came to the bottom, sliding her hands up once again on his bare flesh. "I'm fine with being labeled yours." He was the only man she wanted to be with, the only man she thought of and dreamt about. Her rock climbing savior. Vallea wouldn't be able to sleep with anyone else while hooking up with him anyway, that wasn't her style.

"Damn right you are, I'm crazy awesome, babe!" Jon rumbled with more than just a dollop of arrogance lacing his tone. "You'd be insane to not want to be my woman." He had some diehard fans who were literally insane and would do anything including murder, just for a chance with him. Not that he was telling her about those crazy fans of his. Jon didn't need her scared off. He imagined eventually, she'd have a run-in with one and that'd be interesting to see.

"Yeah well, don't need that head of yours growing three times your size, Good." Vallea playfully chastised, brushing her lips against his, and pushed the t-shirt up over his head to drop it to the side.

She could never, ever get enough of touching his body, his chest and back were the sexiest part of him besides his eyes and smile. Hell, the man just dripped sexuality and he was right, she would be crazy not to want to be his. What woman wouldn't? She squealed out and laughed when he suddenly shot up from the bed, turned her around to where her back was against his chest, and delivered some kind of wrestling move on the bed. It was a German suplex.

Obviously, he modified things a bit. The strength he used, the amount of force, and he made sure every delicate part of her was shielded, just in case she came up off the mattress. Hearing Vallea's peals of laughter made something in him tighten and radiate warmth. The woman was so far perfect for him and he hoped the good times kept on rolling. He also hoped Ryan minded his Ps and Qs because something dangerous had stirred in Jon at the sight of those tears and knowing someone had done it purposefully just to hurt her did NOT set well with him.

Ryan would eventually find out about her and Jon because she refused to keep her relationship a secret from anybody, including that asshat. It wasn't his business and she wouldn't go out of her way to tell him so, but seeing them together at the arenas was inevitable. A week passed by with no other problems from Ryan, though he was still a colossal dickhead. Vallea toed the line, minded her manners, and treated him with fake respect and giving phony smiles. That was all he was getting out of her.

Ryan seemed fine with it and everything seemed to be running along smoothly. Until…Ryan informed her that Dean Ambrose would be their main attraction when it came to making new designs for him for the new memorabilia Vince wanted. The man had recently made a comeback and Ryan was capitalizing on the opportunity, after signing a rather lengthy contract with the WWE. Ryan instructed his PA to go down to Dean Ambrose's locker room, with some sketches he had another assistant draw up, and he wanted to know which one the man liked best. Vallea numbly walked out of Ryan's office and headed toward Jon's dressing room, wondering how Jon would take this news.

"Babe, this is a welcomed surprise," Jon was moderately shocked and a lot pleased at the sight of Vallea in the entrance of his room. He had left the door open to watch the flow of traffic and shout profanities whenever Joe strolled by because that was just hilarious. "You sneak away from your pig of a boss?" He asked curiously, getting up from the bench where he had been tending to his wrists to walk over and close the door behind her before snatching her up.

Vallea kissed him back, basically traveling with him over the past week, without Ryan noticing. She insisted on them taking separate vehicles from now on, even paying for her own and Ryan didn't fight her on it. Or that's what she assumed and told him. When really, she had been riding with Jon and rooming with him too, building their relationship.

"Yeah, but there's a catch as to why I'm here." They stayed away from each other usually at the arenas because Jon had his job to do and so did she. It wasn't done intentionally, just the way it was. "You are going to be working closely with Ryan for a while."