Always And Forever

Chapter 2

Work was pretty slow for the first day. It was almost seven in the evening when I had finally gotten through a load of paperwork. I thought about the guys while completing the last form. Was Seth really interested in me? And what was the deal with Roman? I found it quite strange (and rude) that he didn't say a word to me while we were there. Being a quiet guy didn't seem to fit his image, however, neither did being a cocky guy. There was something about him that I couldn't really figure out.

"Knock, knock!" Without looking up, I recognized Seth's voice, he was standing outside the door, and looked at me with a smile.

"Hey Seth! Are you done for the day?" I asked, as I got up to gather my stuff.

"Yeah, actually I was. I was wondering if you wanted to go grab some food with me and you know...maybe we can get to know each other?"

"Umm...sure, that sounds great. Let's go!" I got my bag and headed toward Seth. As we were walking through the corridors, I noticed he was more familiar with navigating the arena than I was. My pace was slightly behind Seth's so he slowed down a bit.

"How come Dean and Roman didn't come along?" I questioned him.

Seth abruptly stopped right before entering the stairwell and turned around to face me, stopping me in my tracks as well.

"Because, I'd much rather keep you all to myself..." he replied with a sinister look. My face went blank, trying to process his words. I immediately felt uncomfortable.

"What?" I asked with confusion.

"Relax, I'm joking! Dean and Roman had to take care of some promo work so they took a raincheck." Seth explained as he chuckled.

Something about his joke seemed off. I decided to brush it aside and just accepted he had a weird sense of humor. Seth was still in his ring gear, he seated me in the lobby and went to change.

While he was gone I pulled out my phone, scrolling around for places to eat. I'm sure Seth would know of some good eateries, he's traveled across the country more than I ever had. I looked over at my watch, it had been fifteen minutes since Seth was gone. How much longer would he be? Coming down the lobby, I spotted Dean and Roman walking towards me, with their bags on their shoulders.

"Hey new girl!" Dean smiled at me as he and Roman sat down right next to me.

"Oh, hey guys! Where are you two heading?"

"We're done for the day, we were just hanging around with some of the guys from work. My turn to ask - what are you doing here...by yourself?"

Once again, Roman was silent. Occasionally we would make eye-contact, but that was about it. Seth had told me that the two were busy, but here they were ready to go home. I wasn't sure if I should ask them. Maybe Seth was hiding something from me, it's unlikely he didn't know where Dean and Roman would be, given the amount of time they spend together.

"I was waiting for Seth, he went to change and then we're supposed to go eat somewhere" I explained.

At that moment, Dean's expression changed - he had a look of uneasiness on his face. He turned and looked at Roman, who also looked slightly tense. I knew there was something going on with Seth, something that Dean and Roman knew about. I couldn't help but ask more about Seth and what he had said to me earlier.

"Is there something wrong?" I questioned Dean.

He put his arm around around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him, and slowly whispered, "Look, I can't stop you from going out with Seth, that's completely your call, but just be very careful around him." Then he quickly pulled away and sat back, leaning against the wall behind us.

Before I had the chance to ask him why, he tapped his foot against mine, then quickly pulled out his phone,

"You guys can try this place right here - it's only a couple of blocks away." He put his phone in my face, showing me what was on the screen. A feeling of dread overcame me, as I read the message he had typed, "He's just bad news, don't worry, we gotchu...play along!"

I looked up from the screen and saw Seth making his way towards us. Trying to act normal, I asked Dean more about the eatery.

"Are you sure the food is good there? I'm pescatarian, so I hope they have something for me."

"Oh don't worry, they've got you covered, the guys and I always go there, as a matter of fact, we're going there right now, you and Seth can come along if you want" Dean insisting we join them.

"Hey Seth, what do you say? Let's go there with them, I want to try out that place where you guys always go to all the time."

Seth was not very pleased that Dean and Roman were here, and he was even more annoyed with the fact that I joined in with their plans. I also noticed Dean was scribbling something down on a little piece of paper, and had quickly put it away.

"We've gone there too many times, I had a new place in mind and that too just the two of us, if you will" Seth raised his brows at the other two.

Dean didn't want to create a scene so he quietly agreed to let us go alone, that concerned look never left his face. He gave me a friendly hug, and discreetly slipped the piece of paper in my hand before leaving with Roman. Seth waited for them to leave the arena first, them took me with him.

We made our way to an Italian rooftop restaurant, the view of all the city lights was truly breathtaking. Before our food came to our table, Seth excused himself to use the restroom.

I quickly reached into my pocket and unfolded the paper, it had Dean's number and a message reading - "text me" I fumbled with my phone as I saved Dean's number in my contacts, and sent him a text letting him know everything was good so far. Dean instantly replied back, letting me know him and Roman were nearby. That was comforting to know, but I still didn't know why they were against Seth.

I put my phone away right as Seth returned back to our table. We had our dinner over an engaging conversation about Seth's wrestling career and his work in Ring of Honor. He asked about me as well, but I was minimal with my details. This was quite an interesting guy but throughout the night, Dean's words were still in the back of my mind.

Seth paid for our meal, and then dropped me off outside my hotel.

"Thanks Seth, I had a great time with you tonight" I smiled at him.

"Oh, no problem Kiran, the pleasure was all mine, I definitely hope to see you again" Seth closed in on me as he lightly kissed my cheek. Uncomfortable as it was, I knew if I backed away, he would sense something was off.

"Alright girl, I'll see you tomorrow at work, take care" he smiled as he went back to the cab and took off.

In my hotel room, I immediately called Dean to ask what all this was about. He told me how Seth had a toxic and violent history. He was extremely jealous and was not good at taking no for an answer. Apparently in the past, he had gone out with a girl from the compant, they became one of the popular couples at work until a few months later they were often seen arguing. Then the girl had started showing up to work with random cuts and bruises. Seth had not let his personal life mix with his work life because at that time, the Shield was new to WWE. Dean and Roman had confronted Seth about his behavior, but Seth kept denying and warned them not to screw anything up. When matters escalated to Vince McMahon, the girl had gotten fired from the company for unknown reasons. Now I realized why Dean was cautioning me and I knew I was his next victim.