CHAPTER FIVE
GET HER NUMBER
Leanne arrived the next week for Raw feeling good about the night, it would be the first time she wrestled since becoming champion and she was set out to look as good as possible.
She did her hair and makeup in the lockeroom when Rhea approached. "Hey, did you hear about our storyline changes?"
"We had storyline changes?" Leanne turns to her, one eyelash on and her hair done.
"Yeah, Adam said something about a mixed tag thing to bring in Dom." The Australian informs her.
"Dom's already been in it though," which was true leading up to their WrestleMania bout Dom has made sly remarks at Leanne and even cost her a couple singles matches on the way up.
"I think it's because of last week, everyone buzzing about it." Rhea says referring to the segment between them and Jey. "I'm not sure though, you've got a meeting with Adam to fill you in."
Leanne nods at her taking in the information. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. Leanne always made career wise decisions when it came to everything, but last week when Jey interrupted her, she had no say in if she was OK with it or not, hence the reason why she was upset in the first place. But after the week past she found herself less and less angry about it and more looking forward to her run as champion.
Quickly finishing her makeup, the champion left the lockeroom going to Adam's office. She knocked on the door first and after hearing a faint 'come in' she entered.
"Hey Adam, what is this I'm hearing about adding Jey to Rhea and I's storyline?" She questions him, immediately getting to the point.
"Oh yes, last week's debacle with you and Jey Uso before Rhea's interruption caused a lot of stir in the WWE universe, so Hunter and I think it's best we kind of tease them with you and Jey." Adam explains.
She furrows her eyebrows at the idea, "Jey's a baby face though, I'm a heel." She mentions.
"Yeah, well we're still figuring out the details of it, but you have a small segment with Jey tonight before PVA goes out for their tag team match." Adam tells her.
Now knowing what will be going to happen, she nods. "This doesn't end in some kind of relationship, right?" She asks.
"Oh no, this is simply a partnership between you too until your and Rhea's feud is finished." Adam clears up.
"Alright, good." She nods at his words, "thanks Adam."
The older man nods dismissing her from his office. As she stepped out, she walked into catering meeting her friends, Jesse and Stacy who were seated in the corner of the room.
Either because she was focused on her friends or just completely oblivious, the champion didn't notice the many eyes on her, including Jey's.
Jey walked as she effortlessly strut across the room; he wasn't sure if she did it on purpose or if she was just a natural, but he knew one thing: Leanne Fox owned everything she did.
He stared at her as she sat down, her side facing him. She went into casual conversation with her friends smiling and laughing with them.
Her smile. He always noticed that about her, she only ever smiled genuinely at her friends. The first time he saw a picture of Leanne with her friends he noticed her smile. Tonight was no different, she had grill on covering her canine teeth, but it didn't take away anything from her, matter of fact she looked better without it.
Then he heard her laugh, a light giggle, her hand covering her mouth as she did, this shocked him. How did I never notice any of this before? He thought to himself, her smile, absolutely gorgeous, her laugh completely contagious so much so that Jey felt him mouth curve up into one also.
That is before someone smacked him in the arm.
"What wrong with you, Uce. What you smiling for?" His fraternal twin asks him.
Looking downwards, he rubs his face in his hands shaking his head, "nothing."
"Out here looking crazy smiling at air." The older brother jokes at Jey not realizing what was taking place.
"Can't I just be thinking about something that was funny?" Jey retorts to him.
"Yeah, like what?" The brother asks.
"Like how Mia Yim handled you last week." Jey laughs.
Currently Jimmy had been getting heat from everyone on smackdown. Let's just say Jimmy was getting smacked down.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever man, aye, what you gon' do about this bet thing now?" Jimmy asks.
Jey smile dropped into a tilted one as he thought about it. "Man, I don't know. Haven't exactly thought about it. I spoke to Adam about a storyline ever since last week, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet on it."
"You thinking of backing out?" Jimmy asks with a smile, putting his hand up to shake his brother's hand, knowing that if Jey did, he'd owe a lot of money to a lot of people.
"Man- hell no!" He smacks his hand away. "You know how much I'd owe if I do that."
"You went all in bro, not me." Jimmy surrenders, reminding him.
"I know and I intend on sticking with the plan." Jey replies.
Just then, Jey felt his phone buzz in his pocket, taking it out she sees a message from Adam. "Leanne's on board, you've got a segment in 10."
Smiling down at the message he slides his phone back in his pants, standing up from his seat. "I just got myself an in. I'll be right back uce."
Leanne pretended to only notice Jey when he was walking towards their table as if she couldn't feel his stare the entire time since she entered catering. It didn't bother her though, she always felt gazes like that, it was weird at first, but she quickly got used to it.
"Excuse me ladies, can I talk to Ms. Leanne Fox for a quick second please?" He looks at her two friends and then towards her.
A wide grin grew on Stacy's face, "no problem Mr. Uso."
Leanne glared at her partially before looking toward Jey, "what for?"
"Adam gave me an update on our now 'storyline'." He replies.
Nodding her head seeing that it was for work and nothing stupid, she complied to his request, "alright."
As she walks away with Jey, she heard her friends giggling about it like high school kids. The entire time she was sat with them besides talking about their upcoming tag feud with Liv and Raquel, they talked about how Jey was looking at her, that his eyes at been on her since she walked in.
She ignored them but she couldn't lie she was curious about why. Maybe he was trying to muster up courage to talk about their storyline now? Or he wanted to say something about yesterday?
Whatever it was she hoped it wasn't anything to do outside of work.
They walked down the hall by some crates nearby the area they were shooting the segment. Leanne pushed herself onto a crate sitting on it as Jey stood at the side of her making her turn slightly to face him.
"So, Adam tells me that we have a 'partnership' thing now. We're gonna be teasing that." She got to the point immediately.
Her tone was fierce almost strict, but Jey didn't feel anything by it. "Yeah, we got a segment in the next few minutes I wanted to go over some stuff with you."
Keep it professional he thought to himself, he realized that whenever she spoke to someone other than Jesse and Stacy it was usually about work, rarely would it be anything else.
"Alright, like what?" She asks.
"Since it's gonna be teased, I don't wanna immediately jump into a relationship thing-"
"Partnership but go on." Leanne corrects.
"Partnership, I think you'd agree with me when I say, I don't want it to be a he or she saves the other, damsel in distress kind of thing." He elaborates.
Nodding to his words she let him know she agreed, "I'm thinking more of a you got my back, I got yours kind of thing, but in the way that's like neither are afraid to get down with anyone if it protects the other, you know what I mean?" He continues.
"So, kind of like a Chyna and Eddie situation minus the dating part." Leanne states.
"Yeah," he nods.
"Guys, get in position, you're up." A producer comes.
Seemingly at the perfect time since Jey didn't know what to talk about with her anymore, they weren't on a friend basis clearly and by Leanne's tone she wasn't interested in being one. But he was. He just has to figure out how.
Stacy and Jesse joined Leanne at the set with Kayla, Jesse handing her, her titles as she didn't have it before.
He stood off to the side watching them off camera, "in five, four, three, two..."
The right light went on shaping they were live. "Ladies and gentlemen, my guests at this time, PVA."
The crowd gave mixed reactions as the trio came into view.
Onscreen:
"Guys tonight see the new tag team champions in their first title defense face off against the team of Liv Morgan and Rachel Gonzalez, how are you guys feeling going into a match like that?" Kayla asks.
"How are we feeling? What are you a therapist? Kayla you shouldn't be asking us how we feel. You should be asking Liv and Raquel are they ready?" Jesse says.
"WrestleMania was only the beginning for us. Trust me when I tell you, this title ain't leaving our shoulders for a long time." Stacy smirks.
"Well, I guess you two are ready but, Leanne last week you declined a rematch challenged to you by Rhea Ripley, now some say it was a strategic move, but most say well, you're scared of Rhea." Kayla says.
"And your question is." Leanne glares at her.
"Well," the interviewer gulps, "are you scared?"
"Really? That's what you got, you are looking at the new woman's champion, who main evented WrestleMania not too long ago and you're asking me if I'm scared of Rhea Ripley?" The champion retorts.
"You two hearing this nonsense?" She turns to her friends briefly who shakes their head.
"We talking about the Rhea Ripley that I beat for this championship and you're asking me if I'm scared of her? Really?"
"Well, it's believed that you don't want to face her again because you're scared if you do, you might not get so lucky this time." Kayla elaborates.
"Luck, that's what you people rely on for your successes no wonder you don't have a talk show anymore." Leanne utters a jab at the interview who was no longer on the Bump talk show.
"I don't believe in luck Kayla, I got here because I'm a fighter, the reason I didn't accept Rhea's challenge is because she doesn't deserve a title shot. For the last- what- three years Rhea has been given the Charlotte Flair treatment. Getting handed title opportunity after title opportunity just because. People like me had to fight their way out the trenches just to get a spot on the main card, and now I'm at the top of the freaking card."
"Rhea Ripley is a nothing but a weak wannabe nepo baby that runs a little boy band. This," she motions to her group. "Is a family, a bond, something that can never be broken, 10 years together, that is 10 years of loyalty. If I say jump, they say how high, of they say go low I ask how far." Jesse and Stacy creeps over to the back and other side of Kayla who shifts nervously in her place.
"So go ahead Kayla, as me again if I'm scared of Rhea Ripley." The champion steps towards her with a glare, Jesse and Stacy waiting on the champion's words of went to pounce.
"Woah, ease the tension in here ladies, it's just an interview calm down." Jey steps into frame making the audience cheer, he entered from behind Leanne making her turn around to face him.
"Kayla, you mind stepping out of this one." The interviewer wasted no time leaving. "Oh, so tense, you need a massage huh?" Jey asks her playfully, "you know I got somebody on the line that does it really well."
"Or I can do it for you." He smiles down at her.
"Jey what the hell do you want?" She snaps at him.
"I was just walking by and saw you three about to jump Kayla, but aye listen-"
The camera zooming in closer of them two alone.
"No, you listen, this little interrupting thing you've been doing, don't make it a habit. I may be woman's champion, but I have no problem dropping you where you stand, ok pumpkin?" She tilts her head looking up at him.
He smirks down at her, licking his lips, "I hear you ma."
Offscreen:
"Cut!" A producer yells telling them the segment was over.
Jey stared down at her a little more his eyes looking between her eyes then lips then back up again.
Leanne noticed it but looks away as Stacy and Jesse gushes coming over to them.
"That was golden." Stacy smiles.
"Digging the fit Uso." Jesse motions to him.
"Thanks," he answers with a small smile.
"The vibe you two give off is very much enemies with tension." Stacy carries on.
"Don't enemies always have tension?" Jey asks looking at her.
"No I mean sexual tension." Leanne's eyes widened into a horrified expression.
Jesse seeing this, steps in, "Ok how about we go stretch for our match ok."
Throwing an arm around her sister she turns her away to leave glancing back at Leanne who gives her a thank you with her eyes.
"You know you gotta learn to shut up sometimes." The pair heard Jesse as they walked away.
"Enemies with sexual tension?" Jey raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah sorry, Stacy loves to read books and the tropes are usually enemies to lovers so." Leanne cringes apologizing.
"Nah its cool, odd but cool. How do you even come to that conclusion?" Jey thought about it wondering.
"Well, you kinda just see something happening and use assume something romantic because of the unrealistically high standards books have set for us." Leanne explains.
"Isn't that like a weird fantasy?" He asks.
"Kind of since nine out of ten times it isn't real, like that." She points over to two producers.
The guy was leaned slightly over the girl that had a script in her hands, he was leaned closer to her ear talking to her.
"We both know they're just talking about the script." She says, "but from a book perspective they are secretly dating and instead of keeping it discreet he's enjoying teasing her, whispering sweet little love notes in her ear while waiting for her to crack just because he loves to watch her scramble under his pressure."
"That's an interesting take on it, very imaginative." Jey nods. He caught on to how she spoke about book, must be something she likes he thought, smiling slightly down at her. This was the most he'd ever seen her talk besides on TV.
It made him smile at bit that despite what the guys said about her being cold hearted or reserved that she easily spoke to him now.
"Yeah, I read a lot too, anyway I should get going, meet up with the girls for their match." She starts to step away going to leave.
"Hey, wait, uh, if we're gonna be working together now, don't you think we should exchange numbers, in case one of us gets an idea for the story?" He asks.
He may not have showed it, but this was a make it or break it moment, every other guy told him whenever they asked for her number, she never budged saying she sees them at work or something or just flat out no, so this was a moment that would define if he actually goes through with it.
"Hmm, I guess so, sure." She nods slowly, hesitant but agreeing, nonetheless.
He holds in the smile that so desperate wanted to spread across his lips and the howl of cheers that wanted to rip though his chest.
Calmly he took out his phone from his back pocket opening it and handing it to her.
As she typed in her number, Seth and Randy passed by catching a glimpse of them. Seeing Jey's phone in Leanne's and made their mouths drop.
Jey snorts almost laughing getting Leanne' attention also, "what was that?"
"Nothing I was just clearing my throat." He clears it telling her smoothly-ish.
She nods and looks back down to save her number in the phone.
Out of view Randy and Seth mouth words to Jey that even he couldn't figure out, but he only nods at them with a grin to gloat. I'll tell em' later he said to himself.
"Here." She grabs his attention saying.
"Alright, I'll hit you up if anything." He tells her.
"Yeah," she goes to hand him his phone before pulling it back quickly, "if you message me about any other nonsense besides work, I will block you." She tells him seriously.
"Strictly work business Leanne." He crossed his heart while putting his other hand to pledge it.
"Mhm," she nods at him skeptically. "Anyway, I should get going, see ya." Her tone switched to a casual one as she stepped away making him look at her slightly confused.
"See ya." He utters in his own silence now.
Looking down at the phone number, he smiles at her name written in the contact.
When he looks up his eyes widen seeing the two producers who Leanne used as an example for book tropes now lip locked in the dark corner.
Turning off the phone he walks in the other direction shaking off what he saw, feeling a sense of pride. He'd done what no one else could in five years.
Getting Leanne's number.