Chapter 3
“It’s actually a lot of fun,” Lillian Garcia told Leila as they walked down the hallway of the arena they were at.
It would be Lillian’s last Raw; and Leila would start the following week, just thinking about it made her feel sick.
“You get to travel a lot, meet a lot of people,” Lillian continued, “and it opens up a lot of career opportunities. I don’t think I would have ever gotten a record deal without the WWF.”
Leila nodded as she watched some crew members scurry down the hallway, doing last minute tasks before the show started.
“Do you get nervous?” Leila asked, wringing her hands together.
“Before every show,” Lillian replied with a laugh, “you’re not normal if you don’t get nervous before a show.”
Leila let out an awkward laugh as she said that. She had been in front of hundreds of cameras, but for some reason being in front of an arena with thousands of people and even more watching her at home scared her to death.
“Lillian, your last Raw,” a voice said behind Leila. Leila turned around and let out a small sigh as she saw the man she had seen in the weight room almost a week earlier.
“It’s a little sad huh?” Lillian replied with a smile, “Jeff, I’d like you to meet someone.”
“Who? Leila?” Jeff asked, looking Leila over and smiling at her, “you don’t have to, we go way back.”
“You do?” Lillian asked with a surprised look.
“Oh yeah, she was spying on me in the weight room the other day,” Jeff laughed, “it’s great to see you again.”
“The feelings likewise,” Leila said insincerely and rolling her eyes.
“Leila’s my replacement,” Lillian added, “she’s the WWF’s newest ring announcer.”
“She is?” Jeff asked pleasantly surprised, “congratulations on landing that position.”
“Thanks,” Leila said softly, avoiding his eyes.
“We’ve gotta do a few last minute things before the show,” Lillian said, “I’ll talk to you later Jeff. Good luck tonight.”
“You too,” Jeff replied, then smiled at Leila, “and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“I can’t wait,” Leila mumbled as she followed Lillian down the hallway.
**~~**~~***~~~***~~
“What am I doing here?” Leila mumbled to herself as she paced nervously backstage at an arena.
Tonight she would be introduced as the WWF’s new ring announcer. Her heart pounded in her chest as she continued to pace and started playing with the rings on her finger.
“You nervous?” a male voice asked behind her as she jumped.
Holding her chest she turned around to come face to face with Jeff in full ring attire.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Jeff said with a small smile, “you must be nervous.”
“You don’t get nervous?” Leila asked putting her hands on the hips of her leather pants.
“Nah, I love the rush. No time to get nervous.”
“Then you’re not normal,” Leila said with a smirk, remembering what Lillian had said.
“I never claimed to be,” Jeff replied with a grin.
“Is there something you wanted?” Leila asked, getting annoyed.
“Just wanted to wish you luck,” Jeff said.
Leila nodded but didn’t say anything as she waited for him to leave. She watched him through the corner of her eyes as he placed his hands into the pockets of his black jeans.
“Is there anything else?” Leila finally asked, not even bothering to try to hide the annoyance in her voice.
“No, that’s about it. Just wanted to say hi and wish you good luck.”
“Well you did, so I’ll see you later,” Leila replied as she waved a hand in the air signaling he could leave.
“Besides,” Jeff added, “You’ll be fine. It’s just like modeling.”
“You think you’re so smart don’t you?” Leila asked insulted, “Well Mr. Hardy, let me tell you one thing, you don’t know a damn about my career, and you don’t know shit about me.”
Jeff went to reply but didn’t get to as Leila shot him a dirty look and walked out of the room quickly, leaving Jeff wide mouthed and confused.
~~~~~~~~~**
Leila tightened her leather jacket around her and wrapped her arms in front of her. She had just completed her first Raw and the fans seemed to accept and even like her. Her first full night as a WWF employee was finally over, and now she couldn’t wait to get into her car and get back to the hotel so she could sleep.
“Leila, wait up!” she heard a voice call and immediately recognized it as Jeff’s.
Leila groaned as she turned around to see Jeff jogging towards her. She plastered a fake smile on her face, as she looked him up and down. Now out of ring gear, he didn’t look all that different.
“Are you ready to embrace the fans?” Jeff asked with a small grin.
“Why would I want to do that?” Leila asked starting to walk again as Jeff walked next to her, not breaking pace.
“You do realize they’re going to be swarms of fans out there,” Jeff replied, “and they’ll all be screaming for you and everyone else.”
“No me,” Leila said coolly, still not breaking stride.
“Why not?” Jeff asked, “they liked you, they’re probably gonna go crazy when they see you. But to be honest, so would I.”
Leila rolled her eyes as she watched Jeff walking next to her. She had to admit, as crazy as he made her there was still an attraction. She tried to hide a small smile as she remembered first seeing him in the weight room.
“Is that a smile?” Jeff asked, noticing the corners on her lips turning upwards.
“No,” Leila said quickly, her expression becoming emotionless again as if on cue.
“Aren’t we supposed to go this way?” Jeff asked as Leila went to take a right.
“Maybe you are, but that’s why I won’t be seeing any fans. They parked my car in an upstairs parking garage so I don’t have to see anyone,” Leila said, stopping and facing Jeff.
“Score for the new girl,” Jeff replied.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Leila asked irritated as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Jeff.
“Hold up,” Jeff said raising his hands, “I didn’t come here to argue with you. I actually came to congratulate you; you did an amazing job tonight.”
“Why are you being so nice?” Leila asked looking him over quickly.
“Well,” Jeff laughed, “cause I like you kid.”
Jeff grinned at her quickly as he turned and made his way down the opposite hallway with a quick way over his shoulder.
Leila watched until he disappeared with a look of disgust, but as soon as she saw him disappear a small, confused smile appeared on her lips.
“Kid?” she mumbled as she shook her head and walked down the hallway, a small smile still apparent on her face.
~~~~~**~~~~~
chapter 4
chapter 2