A/N: Just a quick note. Thanks to the lovely and talented author SexiBitet, I have posted a banner for this story, so please go to my profile page and check it out. Now, on with the story.
Chapter 23
Maria removed the towel from her body, dipped her foot in the warm water, and then submerged herself into the tub with a deep sigh. Resting her head on the back of the tub she closed her eyes and lost herself in her thoughts.
The memory of her night with John had awakened the young diva's senses like nothing else she had ever experienced. The whole encounter was everything she hoped it was be: sensual, warm, loving and simply amazing. John was absolutely correct in thinking that by sleeping with his best friend it would change their relationship. It did. But he was wrong in holding back for so long for fear that it would destroy the mutual love and respect between them. As Maria thought back with a smile on her face about the way in which John made her feel so good, one thing stood out in her mind. John wanted to be with Maria because he truly did love her. Not just because of her body or the sex, but because he loved who she was. It was a concept guys like Shane McMahon would never understand.
John had made Maria feel young again. He gave her the spirit Shane had taken from her when the McMahon heir decided to use Maria as his personal sex toy by wooing her with his power, charm and empty words. No one would take that from her again and she was confident that as long as John was by her side, the smile now planted on her lips would be there forever.
While Maria continued to enjoy her thoughts and her moment alone in the nice warm bubble bath, her time was cut short as soon as she heard her cell phone ring. Jumping from the tub immediately in the hopes that it would be John, she grabbed a towel and ran toward the direction of the familiar ring. Practically slipping on the hard tiled floor.
"Hello?" She asked almost out of breath.
"Maria, you're breathing heavy, you must be thinking about me already." Shane replied jokingly on the other end.
Maria rolled her eyes. It was comments like that, that would have made her laugh in the past, but the more she started to see who the real Shane McMahon was, the more those little comments sickened her.
"Are you back in town?" Maria asked, ignoring his previous statement to get him off the subject.
"Yes, and I want to see you tonight." He insisted.
Maria's mind quickly thought back to the last time she and Shane were together. Despite the fact that she had told him she was not in the mood to have sex, he selfishly disregarded her wishes. For so long she had wanted to believe in him and ignore the things Trish, Randy and John had warned her of, but finally everything was coming full circle. John was the man for her, Shane wasn't. It was now that simple.
"Not tonight Shane." Maria replied plainly.
"Not tonight?" Shane asked surprised by the somewhat cold response. "Whatever plans you have break them. I want to show you how much I've missed you."
As Maria thought of what to say next, an idea came into her head. Call it a test if you will. A test to truly see just how much Shane "missed" her.
"Okay Shane, how about we go out for pizza. I know a great little place..."
But before Maria could finish she could hear Shane laughing on the other end.
"Pizza? Maria, I've told you before I don't have time for that sort of thing. Just meet me in my suite. I'd rather just be alone with you."
And that was all Maria needed to hear. From the start the two had never gone out to do what she wanted to do. It was always her meeting him somewhere alone in his suit, a hotel room, his office, a darkened room at some arena, the back of a limo. Practically anywhere Shane could get her where no one else would see them together. Maria understood that because he was practically her boss that he had to be careful when having an affair with a diva, but certainly it wasn't too much to ask that they actually go out somewhere in public away from fans, instead of carrying on their relationship in a closet. Shane may have been able to get away with it with other women and certainly he had done the same thing with her, but Maria was over it. There was no reason to continue the charade when she knew there was someone so much better than Shane ready to shout to the whole world that he loved her.
"Good bye Shane." Maria responded and then disconnected the phone without giving Shane a chance to respond.
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As Shane exited the elevator and walked through the lobby, he noticed that his secretary was away from her desk. Already in a sour mood the dark haired executive of the WWE cursed to himself as he pulled out a set of keys and started to unlock the office door with his name plate on the front.
Upon entering his office he looked to his desk only to find a scantly clad, beautiful blond woman with a cigar hanging from her mouth staring back at him.
"Hello Shane." Trish said smiling at the shocked man in front of her. "Love the cigars, are they Cuban?" She asked with a smirk.
Shane scrunched his eyebrows in anger looking at the former WWE Women's Champion.
"How did you get in hear?" He asked her.
"Never mind that, the important thing is that we have some unfinished business. You might want to close the door." Trish suggested.
Little did Shane know that Trish was now holding all the cards, and a can of mace just in case. This time, if Shane wanted to play rough, she was ready for him.
As Shane turned back to the door and closed it behind him, Trish pulled out the device that held a recording of her struggle with him only several days before.
"You better have a good explanation for this darling because right now I could call security and have you arrested for trespassing." Shane threatened, but it only made the smile on Trish's face grow wider.
Without responding, Trish instead replayed the recording for Shane's very own ears the hear.
"You fucking bitch. That doesn't mean anything. You're crazy and everyone here knows it." Shane shouted in her direction after listening to the recording. He then moved closer to where she was sitting.
"Really Shane? I wonder what Vince would say if he heard all that? What about Linda or maybe the police?" Trish replied with confidence. It was obvious by Shane's reaction that she now had him pretty much where she wanted him.
"What do you want Trish?" He asked.
"An apology is a good start."
"An apology? Okay fine, I'm sorry." Shane replied making it quite obvious he really wasn't sorry for anything.
"Not good enough." Trish replied as she got up from where she was sitting and walked over to Shane. Carefully she slipped the tiny device down between her cleavage as Shane watched with interest her every move. A smirk came across his face.
"This really is pathetic Trish. You'll never win. Why don't you just give me that little recorder you have there before I make you regret ever crossing me." Shane threatened again.
Trish lowered her eyes and gave Shane an innocent look as she used one of her hands to fling her hair behind her shoulder. With the other hand though, the right one and the more stronger of the two, she used the distraction to grab Shane hard between his legs causing the arrogant man to double over in pain.
While Shane groaned at the pressure now being applied to his groin, Trish couldn't help but to enjoy his obvious pain. Sure it would never take away the pain he had caused her over a year ago or even recently when he tried to force himself on her, but it was at least a temporary satisfaction to know that she was the one now in control.
"I said I want an apology Shane." She demanded.
Shane looked up at Trish now with his eyes practically watering. It was clear to him that she wouldn't let him go until she got what she wanted.
"Okay Trish, I'm sorry." He replied.
Trish rolled her eyes.
"Sorry for what?" She asked. Whether he liked it or not, he would admit to the fact that he raped her.
When Shane didn't come up with a quick enough answer, Trish squeezed harder, causing the Boy Wonder to groan even louder.
"For raping you. I'm sorry for raping you." He said reluctantly, but knew it was exactly what she wanted to hear.
"Thank you." Trish replied politely, then released him from her grip causing him to fall to his knees.
While Trish watched Shane slowly try to recover, she started to make her way to the door.
"Oh and by the way, I have an appointment with your father. Now that you have finally admitted to raping me, I think it's time he knows the truth as well. I'm guessing he won't be too happy." Trish finished as she took one last look at Shane and then exited the room.
As Trish marched down the hall with a smile on her face, she had finally felt that some sense of justice had been served. Maybe someday soon she would be able to feel normal again despite the fact the she would have to live with such a dirty little secret the rest of her life. Making her way closer to Vince's office she gazed at the many framed posters of superstars past and present hanging from the prestigious halls of Titan Towers. She was happy with her decision to return to the WWE and hoped that some day she would be the Women's Champion again. Pausing briefly at one picture in particular, she also had hope that she would fall in love again. As the stagnant blue eyes of a posing Randy Orton, in character as "The Legend Killer', looked back at her, she was certain that maybe some day she would.
The End?
A/N: So what did you all think? Again, this is my first story so please, please I would love to hear from you. I'm not sure if a sequel is in order or if maybe I should start a new story so your feedback would be great to help me decide. Did I make the right character choices? Would you have preferred to see something different? Was it believable? Should I use these same characters again in future stories? Any thoughts you might have would be awesome and a huge thank you to those of you that have reviewed previous chapters. I love reading all your comments. Don't forget to check out the banner for this story on my profile page, and until next time, peace!