"Jay?  What's the-"  Adam cut off his words as he and Amy simultaneously glanced over in the direction of the other man's gaze.

Nora stood uncertainly as she eyed the three of them.  Although Amy had always been a friend, she didn't know the tall blond man very well, and she felt a bit uncomfortable knowing that Jay had shared her misery with his best friend.

She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, lowering her head a bit as Jay suddenly rose from the table and left his friends to go to her.  The Canadian looked the small diva over for a moment, taking in the white tank top and tight blue jeans she wore, her platinum blond hair pulled back in a ponytail.  He was glad to note that she looked a bit better this morning than she had the previous day.

"Hey," he said as he gazed at her.

"Hey," Nora said softly as she raised her eyes to him.  She managed a tiny smile, which warmed Jay's heart.

"You look good...and you look like you got a decent amount of rest last night."

"I...did," Nora admitted.  "I had the bed all to myself last night."

The blond man blinked and then turned back to face his two friends sitting at the table.  "Do you want to join us?"

The petite blonde looked up into his concerned face uncertainly.  "I...I don't know if I should," she said.  "I mean...I don't want to interfere or..."  She swallowed hard, then said, "...I'm not sure I feel comfortable.  I don't know him too well."  Nora gestured with a nod of her head toward Adam.

"Hey, it's okay if you don't join us," Jay said gently.  "But believe me when I say that Adam is a great guy...he's the best friend I've ever had, and he would stick his neck out to help you, just like I would."

Nora glanced down at her feet for a moment, considering her friend's strong words.  She looked back up into his blue eyes and nodded.  "O-okay."

Putting an arm gently around her waist, the Canadian led the young woman to the table.  Adam and Amy both looked up, smiling at her gently.  "Hi, Nora," Amy said.

"Hi..."  She sat down in the chair beside Jay, directly opposite Adam.  She glanced at him shyly, nervously.  "Hello, Adam."

"Hey, Nora."  The tall man lifted his coffee cup to his lips, taking a long sip of the beverage.  The truth was, he felt slightly awkward and didn't know what to say to her.  What could one say to a person who had been subjected to terrible abuse at the hands of someone who claimed to love her?

"Nora came to talk to me last night," Jay blurted.

The little blonde turned to stare disbelievingly at him, her blue eyes widened.  She hadn't wanted him to say anything about that.

"Honey, it's okay," he soothed, instantly noticing the look she threw his way.  He placed one hand on hers gently.  "We're all going to help you in any way possible - but especially me.  You can count on me, Nora..."

*

Early that afternoon, before she got lunch, Stephanie McMahon picked up her cell phone and pressed a few buttons.  She held the phone up to her ear and waited for the person on the other end to answer.

"Hi - it's Stephanie...would you do me a favor?"  After a quick pause as she listened to the response, she continued, "Would you meet me in say, half an hour?  Okay, I'll be at the Italian restaurant down the block for lunch...all right, see you there.  Bye."  Relieved, she pressed a button to end the call, then proceeded to do a few things that had to be done before she went for her lunch meeting.

*

At the same time that Stephanie made her phone call, the man who was Nora's boyfriend had his own little meeting with Vince McMahon.

"Do you understand what I want you to do?" Vince was asking him.

The man had to refrain from yelling at his boss.  There was nothing he despised more than the old man's condescending attitude toward him.  "Again, yes, I do, Vince," he stated firmly.  "I understand you perfectly clear.  But you'll have to give me a little time to do this - a couple of hours at best.  I have to get another rental car, and that'll take awhile."

"Very well," McMahon said.  "By the way, don't allow Torrie Wilson to distract you from your duties."  He pointed a finger at the man in front of him.

The man stared at him in slight surprise.  How in hell had he found out about him and the blonde woman?  He knew that Vince had eyes and ears everywhere when it came to his employees, but he still couldn't believe he would know about that so soon.

"Don't worry," he finally responded.  "Even she couldn't deter me from this job."  He smirked with satisfaction.  "Believe me when I say I'm going to enjoy doing this for you."

McMahon's smug face broadened into what was half-smile, half-smirk.  "That's good...that's very good.  I'm glad you're looking forward to it," he said.  "That way, it's not just a job..."

*

Half an hour later to the minute, Stephanie looked up from the booth at which she sat in the Italian restaurant.  She saw the man who was supposed to meet her for lunch up in the front of the establishment, talking with the maitre-d.  She rose slightly from her seat and gestured with a wave.  He saw her and said something to the maitre-d, who then proceeded to lead him to her table, placing a menu before her companion.

"Thank you," he said graciously.

"Thanks for meeting with me," she said with a small smile as the man began glimpsing through the menu.

"Have you ordered yet?"

"No - I was waiting for you.  I only got here a few minutes ago," Stephanie said.

After a moment, the man knew what he wanted to order for lunch.  A waiter came by with his notepad in hand, pen in the other, and they made their orders.  When he was gone, Stephanie faced her lunch companion seriously, her hands clasped in front of her on the table.  She decided not to jump into the real reason she'd called this meeting until after they'd eaten.

*

Less than an hour had passed, and they had finished lunch and were now just sitting and talking.  Stephanie was sipping on a cup of herbal tea while the man sitting across from her ate a piece of tiramisu and drank a cup of decaf.

"Okay," he said as he crammed another huge bite of the delicious dessert into his mouth, "you want me to watch this guy?  Follow him?"

"That's right," she said.

"What exactly do you think he's up to, Steph?"

The brunette put her tea down for a moment as she thought about his question.  "I'm not exactly sure," she admitted.  "But lately, it seems he's got something up his sleeve - something that is not good," she said in sotto voce.  "It's something I can't quite put my finger on, but...well, last night, I caught him flirting with Torrie Wilson, but this has nothing to do with it.  He's just been...sneaking around lately - acting very weird."

"Hmm...well, if a guy is cheating on his girlfriend, he would act weird."  He put down his fork, now done with his dessert.  "Okay, I'll do what you want."  The man had known even before Stephanie had told him what she wanted that he would do it, whatever it was - he'd had a big crush on her ever since joining the federation in late 1999.

"Thank you," the young woman said, a small smile on her face as she gazed into the man's blue eyes.  "I really appreciate this."  She reached across the table and grasped his hands in her own.

The young man glanced down at her hands over his, then raised his eyes to meet hers and smiled.  He liked the contact a lot.  He looked up suddenly as the waiter came by and placed the check on the table.

He reached for it, but Stephanie stopped him by grabbing for it first.  "Lunch is on me," she insisted.

"Oh, Steph, no..."

"Nonsense...you were nice enough to meet me and agree to do me this favor, so I insist on paying for lunch."

He gazed into her large blue eyes, and, after a moment, finally relented.  "Fair enough."  He smiled at her.  "Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Kurt..."