I could see it peeking out from behind her sweet smile and peppy nature. Sense it hiding beneath her nervous speaking and Pinkie Pie from My Little Ponies impression. Strength, toughness, and most of all, heart.
Qualities which led me to hire her, when the decision was mine to make. She was young, but so were most of us in a company willed into existence by the Bowman brothers and their quickly expanding empire.
Along with that youth, came her pedigree, she coming from a family I bet would make her special - even if it was once or twice removed.
A bet that inspired me not wait for my office to clear of sweaty, catcalling construction workers. And instead to invite her to my apartment so that we could finish up her signing, and officially add her to the roster of the Women's Wrestling Network.
"Great!" I said brightly, out of expectation more than true excitement as the friendly brunette handed me back her newly signed employment contract. A contract I took and placed to the side of my black skirt-covered hip, a skirt I thought went super well with my emerald green blouse. "Ok, now that it's official, I wanted to go over some of our plans for you."
"Plans sound good! Where do we start? Where am I starting, actually? Anywhere's good, but somewhere good would be ... uh ... good ... too." As she spoke in her frantic, overly-excited manner, I laughed softly. Each of us sitting on my thin-framed white-fabric living room couch.
"Well, good is what we got, sister! Since we're starting you out with The Doll!" As I said it, I watched her face, knowing it would light up as soon as she heard the news. An expectation that became reality as the cute, thick-browed Latina leaped out of her chair, her eyes seeming to triple in size from shock.
"What!? Wait, are you kidding me? You're kidding me... Why? How? No... This is all fake, right? You're filming me, and this is one of Chavo's mean jokes..." I'd say I could see the wheels in her head spinning as she spoke, but instead, it was more like they moved so fast they broke off and crashed into a stack of anxiety-riddled kittens.
"No, this isn't a joke. And though I would have loved to, I haven't met Chavo Guerrero, Jr." I tried to calm her, though I don't know that I was equipped with those specific spells, in Jennifer's case.
"Ha! I haven't heard anyone say his full name like that in years. We just call him Chavvy. But if you wanted to meet him... I could... He trained me! He's like my cousin's cousin or something. Wait! You knew that. You hired me. Sorry! Where were we?"
Almost being confused myself, I took a moment before answering. "We ... were ... uh ... about to talk about you and Doll."
"Right! Yes! Tell me... Me and Doll. Go... No, wait; you're MY boss. Tell me when you want to. Which hopefully will be soon, since I really want to know. But no pressure..." Again Jennifer set loose, almost squirming with anticipation as she brought herself back to a seat. And though she was manic, almost painfully so, she was still engaging and intensely adorable. Qualities which seemed to increase before my eyes, as her lower lip began to curl outward.
"Are you pouting at me so that I tell you?" I asked, more amused than annoyed.
"Yes." For once, the Latina said little more than what I needed - she making sure to keep her extended lip on full display
"Alright, well ... only because you pouted, here's the deal. We want to put you and her in a storyline a little like the one Trish Stratus and Mickey James did. You're The Doll's biggest fan and a new wrestler who wants her as your mentor." Despite my duty to tell her about it, I was torn about the storyline.
Like, it made sense and had gone well in the WWF, but I hated copying them. Knowing to the depths of my soul that we had the talent to do better. But I wasn't a writer, just the one who tasked with conveying the writers' ideas to the talent.
"I love that! It's like ... the truth! I AM a giant fan of hers! And having her as a mentor would be like..." I knew that if I let Jennifer, she would talk forever. So before only a sentence or two, I cut my brunette guest off.
"But first!" I interjected, over her still accelerating mania.
"You need to go talk to her. To Katherine. To get to know her, and more importantly, to let her get to know you. She is the biggest star in the company, and she needs to like the stories we give to her." With every word, I began to realize that the prospect of being in a program with The Doll was something so exciting for our new luchette, that she was willing to listen. Not just listen, but think. Calmly.
"So ... head over the to our new training facility tomorrow. Sundays are Kat's private training day. Introduce yourself. Ingratiate yourself. And make her like you, or at least, as close to that feeling as you can, ok?" Despite the speed of her previous responses, Jennifer just sat when I finished my instructions.
As she did, I watched her, just sitting there, her muscular legs crossed, in her tight, shorter than short cutoff jeans. In them, and her pretty white sweetheart top, I could tell she was processing and playing out her meeting with the legendary Katherine Dahl in her head. Something I saw as a positive, knowing Kat's temperamental temperament and her reputation as a diva, though not Vince's kind.
"Any questions?" I asked, half-impressed and half-worried by Jennifer's sustained silence.
"Just one, but it isn't related to WWN. Are you ... uh ... interested inβ" She began, with a shyness I had yet to see expressed on her beautiful face. But mid-sentence, and loudly, someone knocked at my apartment door, interrupting her.
"Ugh! One sec." I replied, after a frustrated sigh. An irritation I carried with me as I stood and walked to my door, not knowing who it might be or why they knocked like the kool-aid man. To answer that question, I leaned in and peeped through my peephole. In it, I saw a woman I did not recognize. A brunette with a scowl on her face, one who again pounded on my door, even as I looked her over.