The next day I sat in the lobby of the PDW main headquarters as I heard "Anxiety" by The Black Eye Peas so many times I could probably recite it right now. Anyway trying to get my mind off the song, my mind started to wonder. Here I was flat broke and former shell of what I use to be till a old friend and more recent guy who was pretty much dead to me came with an opportunity. I couldn't believe I was actually going through with this. I found myself wondering if I was still able to wrestle. Then I snapped back into reality as the phone rang by the secretary desk. Of course I was still able to wrestle, I mean I have been great at everything else. With that I felt myself become relaxed as the secretary told me Star was ready. I then proceeded into her office to start yet another successful career. This time I would climb to the top of the wresting world. She asked me your basic run of the mill questions. Even if they were run of mill questions, I could tell I was making quite an impression on her with my answers as she couldn't stop smiling. Anyway the interview didn't take long as well as the offer as one lightning quick interview with Star and I was offered a contract right on the spot. Then again that didn't come as a surprise to me. Interviews were always just formalities for me as I think it was charisma that attracted people to me. Star just happened to be another that couldn't me resist my services either.

Anyway after I was offered a contract right away I put my John Hancock on the contract. I made sure there was going to be a significant signing bonus in there for my signature, cause I didn't want to stay another fucking second in that urine stain of a motel. After dotting my last "i" in my signature I found out that I was booked for the next show. So with that it was time to get the fuck out the hell hole and get my own place. Sure one hundred thousand dollars wasn't going to buy me a mansion ,but it would buy me far enough away from East L.A. So when I got my signing bonus check cleared the bank I hit the nearest real estate office and cruised for a couple hours for a house. I found one that was right or at least right for me right now. The house was nice and recently built with plenty of room in it. The neighborhood gave me a sense of what I was familiar with you know the country club type atmosphere I grew up in. I knew I wasn't going to get woken up at three in the morning by some crack head wanting the next fix in this house. So I took it knowing the sooner I grabbed the boxes and suitcase from the motel the better I would feel.

Heh...so maybe answering Riley Winter's call that other day wasn't that bad of a thing after all. Then again if it wasn't for him, I may have never been at that motel in the first place. Though enough questioning about the past, all I know is that I am ready to get back to my kind of people and away from the scum of the Earth. It was time to get away from the past as\fast as I can as it was moving day.

-=Trying To Move from the Past=-

As I snapped back into reality.I turned back around from the U-Haul and started to walk back in to the roach motel that I called home for a year too long, a Hummer with dark tinted windows pulled up as Riley Winters stepped out. Apparently the company didn't hurt Riley's financial situation with him showing up in a 2008 Hummer. Anyway I greeted him with just a head nod as I trying to get this move done quickly. I headed back into the room to grab more things to stuff into the U-Haul. I couldn't believe how much just junk I had in boxes as I picked up a box and turned around as Riley Winters stood in the doorway blocking me from the outside. Riley Winters looked down at the floor rubbing the back of his neck as I knew that had always been Riley's dead give away that something had to be wrong. He done the same thing right before the police stormed my office and arrested me.

"What is it?" I knew he couldn't lie to me as he stopped rubbing the back of his neck and looked up at me with some fright and concern in his eyes. I knew something had happened.

"I'm sorry" Sorry for what? Tell me you fat piece of shit. I mean he apologizing to me before he said anything got me nervous and not to mention aggravated the hell out of me as my heartbeat started to increase.

"I swear I didn't mean to." Mean to what? Quit fucking giving me half sentences you old bastard and spit it out already.

"DAMN IT! What is it?" I was starting to lose my patience not to mention the box I was holding was starting to get a little heavy.

"I saw Ashley today." Damn it has been almost a year since the divorce yet just the mention of her name still cuts deep through me like a knife. I mean this was the girl I thought was my true soul mate. This was the girl I could actually have a deep meaningful conversation with rather than some small chat with a meaningless fuck buddy. This was no fling. It was the real thing or so I thought.

"Yeah so. How is she doing?" I was trying to play it off where Riley Winter couldn't tell just her name still hurt me. I didn't want him to see that her vision haunted my dreams.

"She is doing good and she asked about you."  She did?! Wait how in the world did she know that I was even talking to Riley Winters now? She was still around when I fucking told Riley to hit the bricks. I knew he was leaving out something.

"Wait how did she know we were even back on speaking terms?" He knew he had been caught so he had no other choice ,but to tell me the truth.

"Well I kind of let it slip that you just signed with Platinum Dynasty Wrestling and I was helping you move." Was that it? Was that the big secret? He was getting me all worried for nothing. Hell I'm glad he told her about my new career move. It would show her that I was on my way up from the so called gutter. I mean that wasn't so bad. Then I looked at Riley as he looks like he had something else to get off his chest as he took a deep breath.

"She then told me that she wanted to talk to you" Now? Now she wants to talk? It has been fucking ten months since we last talked and that was in front of a judge in a fucking court room. So let's just say there wasn't much talking between us more our lawyers did the talking for us.

"You told her no right?" I could tell though by his facial expressions he didn't tell her no as his eyes kept darting away from me toward the ground.

"Well Gio, you know how hard it is to tell her no." The sad part of it, I knew exactly how hard it was. I mean who could say no to those big beautiful brown eyes? She had those eyes that would just melt you where you stood. It would almost paralyze you from the neck down. I mean I know it is cliché but it was really her eyes that first attracted me to her. Right now though I had to shake the thought of her eyes out of my mind and answer Riley.

"I know." I had to admit it. It was pretty much known around our friends that I was some what pussy whipped, but with a beauty like that who could blame me? If it would had been any other woman though I would had told her to get her shit and get the fuck out. Ashley was different. She had a hold of me like no one else had ever had.

"So uh..." Please tell me she isn't out there. Please tell me something else. Anything else Riley. I still don't want her to see how far I had fallen since the divorce was finalized.

"So I gave her a ride here." She is here right now? I wished he would have told me something else as I dropped the box I was holding luckily nothing broke in the box. My mind started fucking going a one hundred miles a minute. Hell I even caught myself straightening up in front of the nearby mirror. What the hell was I doing? I was acting like a fourteen year old on his first date with the most popular girl in the school. Yet only thing I could say to Riley was....

"She is? FUCK!" I think Riley Winter even flinched when I said that thinking I might take a swing at him. Which I must admit did cross my mind ,but I chose not to take a swing.

"She wanted me to make sure it was okay for her to come in." Wait! What? Wanted to make sure? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was treating me like some fucking trailer trash you would see on "Cops". I mean was she scared I was going to hit her or something? I am not some barbaric redneck.

"It's fine. She is just my ex-wife." I lied through my teeth as I really didn't want to see her face to face. Not now at least and I think Riley Winters knew it too as he asked me again.

"Are you sure?" I nodded yes as I just could find myself to say it again as my hands started to shake for some reason. I had to settle myself down as Riley Winters went out to the Hummer to get her. Get a hold of yourself Gio I told myself. It is just Ashley. I started to calm down as my breath finally regulated till that angelic figure appeared in the doorway of my shit hole that I called a home. I just stood there awestruck as she spoke.

"Uh hey Gio." The look on her face gave me reassurance that I wasn't the only one nervous in the room. Yet here I was still stuck staring at her beauty. Luckily I remembered to close my mouth as I shook off the awe.

"Hey Ashley." I looked at her as she was still as beautiful as she was when she graced the Playboy pages. Yeah she posed for Playboy after we were married as that would have been a hang up for most men ,but really with my looks she couldn't do any better. I didn't have to worry or so I thought.

"So I hear you are going into wrestling. That is good. You were always a great athlete." As she said that I started wondering why she was here? Did she want to just have some meaningless small chat? Did she want to see the shit hole I lived in? What did she want to talk about?

"Thank you." I mean she did compliment me after all. Then again she was just stating the obvious after all I was a two time N.C.A.A. wrestling champion ,but I had to be nice.

"Anyway I was thinking, we ended on a wrong note." Really you think so, Ashley? Now after almost a year you figured that out? I was starting to think I gave her way too much credit for her intelligence. I mean really she didn't realize that when she told me she wanted a divorce over the phone while I was in jail? She continued to talk as I could feel my blood pressure rising. I was sure my ears were starting to turn red.

"It was a horrible thing I did. I know. I'm sorry Gio." WHAT THE FUCK!? Was she apologizing now? Why? Why now do you want to apologize? I was starting to get my life back on track and now you show up. These thoughts raced through my head as she continued bearing her heart to me.

"I mean I was just so confused. You were in jail." I was only sentenced for a year. I was going to get out.

"I mean I know you were getting out ,but I was so confused." She was confused about what? It was 365 days, 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes. It wasn't actually that long even it felt like an eternity for me. Wait were you confuse about the part that I was really framed? Maybe the part of how we were going make it when I was flat broke? What was so fucking confusing about the situation?

"I just got scared that you would be different after you got out of jail." So you got scared and fucking didn't even give me a chance of proving myself? Real nice. Damn you know that was fucking unfair as hell.

"That was my mistake Gio. Now I am here to ask you for forgiveness." Forgiveness? She wants me to forgive her for fucking breaking my heart while I sat rotting in jail cause she was scared that I would be different when I got out of jail? I can't believe her. Yet my mouth spoke with my brain unknowing what was coming out of it.

"I forgive you." What the hell was I saying? I knew I shouldn't forgive her. The bitch fucked me over royally, hell she didn't even bother to give me a reach around while she done it. Though I must have answered her from my heart cause I think she still owned that part of me even though it was broken by her a year ago.

"Thank you Gio. You don't know how much of a burden that is off of me." Yeah well I am glad one of us feels better now. Hell I was in a good mood getting out of this hell. Now I find myself depressed again and back in hell.

"Anyway I was wondering if we could start talking again? You know kind of try being friends. I always enjoyed our conversations." I couldn't believe the nerve of the bitch. She now wants us to be buddies? I couldn't let that happen again. I mean hell look how frustrated she had me and we have only been talking about ten minutes tops. I couldn't really live this way.

"Sure." What the fuck!? Did that just come out of my mouth? Dude what the hell is going on? Why the hell did I just agree to that? Do I have a death wish or is it my heart trying to hold on to something that may or may not still be there? As I tried to figure that out I looked up and saw her eyes as they danced with happiness.

"Really! That is so great. I didn't know how you would react." Yeah really it was a total fucking surprise to me too. She leaned in to give me a hug as my body totally melted in her arms as I felt her warm embrace. She then gave me a kiss on the cheek as I found my knees actually getting a little weak. She let go of the embrace as she walked out the doorway. She then stop as she was going to say something else ,but chose not to as she went on to the Hummer. Riley Winters then walked over to me.

"You handled that better than I thought you would." Yeah I should have handled that like the way I wanted. Tell her to fuck off. Yet I don't know what happened right there.

"I know." I finally got a hold of myself as Riley Winters smiled and headed toward the door.

"I will be back later to help you finish up moving." He exited the door as I picked up the box that I have dropped with my mind still on Ashley wondering why the hell did I agree start talking to her again. Plus why now? Why didn't she talk to me I don't know why I will still broke? I put the box in the U-Haul as I jumped up on the edge of the trailer and looked out over the parking lot as I thought about Ashley and then my mind shifted to my debut match in Platinum Dynasty Wrestling.

So in my first match I have to face Ash---DAMN IT!!! I mean what a way to get ready for my first ever professional wrestling match, huh? Really how the fuck am I suppose to concentrate on Dante Gleason Poole with the thought of Ashley clouding up my train of thought? Come on clear your head Gio. Come on don't let her fuck you over in Platinum Dynasty Wrestling too. You could always separate business and your personal life before. Do it NOW.....

Okay let's try this again.

So in my first match ever I have to face Dante Gleason Poole. Wait you got to be kidding me Dante. Do really expect anybody to say your fucking complete name? Or even want to know your complete name? I mean really do we want to even know you first name? I could have really went the rest of my life without that fact jammed inside my mind. I don't need some useless name stuck in my head about some newbie that I defeated in my first match. I don't get sentimental about shit like that. Anyway as you can already tell Dante by now simply I don't even care who the fuck you are. I just know that what I am capable of and that is pure greatness. Why you may ask Dante? Well it is simple it was bred in to my genes. I mean look at me, really look at me. I have been successful at everything I have done in my life be it school, athletics, or business. Now I venture into professional wrestling and I have no doubt in my mind that I will be successful in that too. Though Dante please don't take this loss personal after all it is just business to me. The business that I soon will run when I reach the top of the mountain. Yes I plan on rising the ranks fast as I rose in the ranks at Silicon Valley. I plan on not getting bogged down by some pretentious nobody trying to make a name for himself even if it is three names.

Though I do plan on making everyone else suffer cause after all it was society that cost me everything, from the back stabber weasel that set me up, to my high paid legal team that couldn't defend themselves out of a wet paper bag, to the jury that convicted me with basically no evidence because they were all jealous of my lifestyle and wanted me to pay for it. I am going to make all of society down to even the most insignificant person ,like you Dante, suffer for what they cost me. They cost me my business, my emotional stability, my life and my wife. I will have no remorse for who I have to beat to a bloody pulp. My conscious will fall on deaf ears as it tries telling me to stop. Sorry luck for you Dante. See I can't help it cause this was just the effect that the decline of Western civilization had on me as it basically made me a cruel fucking bastard. So fuck you and fuck the world caused they blessed me with everything I could want and took it away in a matter of months.

Yet Dante don't be timid and go ahead run your mouth. Go ahead Dante look in the mirror before the match and try to pump yourself up by calling yourself the King of Diamonds, Deuce of Clubs, Eight of Spade or whatever deck of card you have drawn that night ,but there is one thing that you will never be able to call yourself and that is the winner when you face me. Why? I am the one holding the royal flush in this match. You can make all the claims you want. You can try raise the bet. Play the river. You can do all the poker clichés you want, but when it gets down to the bare facts you just don't have it in you to make it in the PDW. Really Dante you will not ever be Platinum champion. You will never even get a sniff at it.

Why? Well you remind me of that intern every fortune 500 company has. He thinks he is going to be the greatest thing ever just cause he graduated in the top five percent of their class ,but they has no sense of reality. So when he gets to the company and the real world treats them like it's bitch, they won't be able to take it and just crack under the pressure. Dante you will crack under the pressure of facing greatness like myself and end up just another newbie lost in the shuffle of obscurity known as the opening matches. Chin up though Dante maybe you will get Cyber title shot every once in a while. After all the title has to be defended every week ,but that is about as far as you ever get.

While I will make my mother fucking signature on the PDW. I don't care if there is a group that has a death grip on the company. Hell I kind of admire that. After all that is just great business and I can't blame them for that cause there is always power in numbers. Yet they will not stop me as I see it the more successful I am, the closer I can get to reclaiming my damn silver spoon and getting back my lifestyle. My determination is greater than it has ever been. So as you see Dante, you might as well give up hope that you can actually sneak out a win cause really hope is just plain pathetic and only made up for little kids and poor people. Then again hope went out the window when Star booked you against Giovianni Aries.

You know Dante, I haven't heard much from you. Hell I had to Google you just to know you called yourself the King of Diamonds cause you haven't said a peep. Which I am banking on that is a blessing to my ears. I don't know how many clichés I could take about a deck of cards. Tell me Dante though do you really think you are a king or is that Burger King crown cutting off the circulation to your brain? You see your little nicknames may intimidate some people ,but the King Of Diamonds to me just makes me feel pity for you. It just shows me that you apparently lack any personality of your own. That is why you have create this Alice In Wonderland or house of cards type facade. You hope people are distracted with the name or whatever and just ignore the fact that you have the personality of a piece of wood. I hate to tell you that is the elephant hiding in the room. So Dante why don't you bring the pen and paper cause at Disclosure you will see the total package of brains, athleticism, and charisma when you step in the ring. While I will just see some fool with a funny crown on his head. Then again should I expect anything better at the bottom of the barrel? I think not. Let's face Dante I am the best newbie in the federation. What? Don't believe me? You will when you are eating the bottom of the turnbuckle. At Disclosure the world will bare witness to a fucking prodigy of sorts that will sky rocket to the top and there isn't anything that Dante, PDW, The Pantheon can do about it. I mean after all I can't help that greatness just comes second nature to me.

I let out of a little smirk knowing that Dante was as good as counted as a victory for me after finishing my little tirade about my match with him. I knew he couldn't match what I had to offer in PDW much less this upcoming match. Anyway my attention then turned back toward the parking lot as Riley's Hummer pulled back up as I hopped off the back of the U-Haul and started back into the hell hole. He must have not ran into Ashley that far away cause he return pretty damn quick. Riley climbed out of his hummer and he walked in. He picked up a box and looked at me with a look of concern on his face.

"You okay Gio?" I wanted to tell him fuck no that my mind was consumed with Ashley. Yet I couldn't really gush about my feelings to him. It would be too much like Brokeback Mountain for my taste. I rather sucked it up and kept it inside like every other man.

"Yeah." I tried to avoid as much eye contact as I could cause Riley would have been able to see the hurt in my eyes.

"I'm sorry that I brought her." Yeah well it is a little too fucking late now. My heart had just screwed over with my mind and I don't know really what to do next. How could I actually have a friendship with my ex-wife? I mean just over half an hour she had me so frustrated I couldn't think straight .

"It's cool" I couldn't really blame him for bring her. I knew the old sucker couldn't say no to a beautiful woman even it was my ex-wife. He had been an old hound ever since I had known him. He was one of those rich bastards that couldn't control his lust and had a warehouse stock full of Viagra. I knew he had cheated on wife more time than I could count and I wouldn't doubt that he was a frequent visitor to the free clinics just going on some of the women he was with.

"You know Gio, what gets me is that she didn't want to talk to you till you signed that wrestling contract." Wait was he actually hinting at what I think is? Was he trying to say that Ashley was nothing more than a gold digger? Though to think of it I mean she has only been around me when I had money. Yet when I was broke she was no where to be found. Also she came from a poor background in some small town in Ohio. Riley could be on to something. Yet could what use to be the love of my life be nothing more than a gold digger that was good at her game?

"Yeah I know, I really don't know how to take it." I really didn't. Then again being very trusting hadn't been one of my best characteristics since the cooking the books incident. Though who would blame me, right? Hell during the court case I didn't even trust my own mother. I mean I didn't know who was out to get me and jail didn't make anymore trusting.

"Gio I would be careful around Ashley."  No shit Sherlock. I know I can't let her have free range at my feelings ,but after today it still seems that she can still turn me into a little school boy with a crush. That made me fucking sick to my stomach. I hated the bitch had control over me. Then again I have always hated trying to be controlled. I guess that is why I always want to be at the top of everything I do.

"I know." I told him as I starting think damn he was starting to act a lot like my father now. Then again after my father died a couple years ago, he was really the only person that was there for me. My mother was having a difficult time coming to terms with it. So with no else to turn to Riley became more like a father figure to me then I ever thought he would. When I made to the top I knew I had to repay so that is how he became my vice president. Riley then broke he silence as he start toward the door.

"Good now let's get you out of this shit hole." He didn't have to tell me twice as he finished loading the last box into the U-Haul. While he did that I went to the land lord and happily gave him this month and next months rent as I didn't want to give a fucking notice and stay another second here. I just wanted out of that fucking place. After being square with the land lord I jumped in the U-Haul and cranked it as started to back up. I looked at the shit hole one last time remembering nothing but bad memories as I exited the parking lot and headed toward the future with bigger and better things.

-=FADE TO BLACK=-