"Yes, Matt...sit down," Stephanie said, not bothering with such niceties as thanking him for coming.  She was way too angry, and the situation was far too serious for that.

Matt sat down on one of the chairs in front of the large desk as the brunette rose and came to stand before him.

Stephanie stared at him evenly, and her voice remained calm as she spoke.

"After your match tonight, pack up your things and go home - you're suspended without pay for the next two weeks..."

"What?!"  The dark-haired man sat up and forward, an annoyed look on his face that the young woman didn't particularly care for.

"I think you heard me, Matt..."

"But why?!  This is totally unfair!"

"On the contrary...I think I'm being too generous," Stephanie said as she glared directly into his brown eyes.  "And if you ever put your hands on Amy or any other diva in violence again, I will fire your sorry ass..."

"All I did was defend my girlfriend!  That bitch punched her!"

"I don't care!" the woman shouted.  "She is a woman - you are a man!  You don't do that!"

Matt pursed his lips tightly together as he kept his gaze on the angry young woman's.  So, the little bitch had run to the boss and told on him... Visions of revenge flitted through his mind.  Oh, he would relish the chance to make what he'd done last night look like a cakewalk - but damn it, Copeland would never let Amy out of his sight after that.

On closer inspection, Stephanie noticed the darkening bruise on the man's left eye.  Gesturing, she said, "So, she actually managed to give you a good shiner to match the one you gave her?"

"No..." Matt practically spat.  He lifted a hand to point to his eye.  "Adam Copeland did this - he just attacked me!  Why don't you punish him, too?"

The brunette arched an eyebrow.  "Oh, is that so?  Adam did it?  Good..."

Matt was incredulous.  "'Good'?  You mean you're not going to suspend that prick like you're doing to me?"

"Of course not..." Stephanie said, crossing her arms under her breasts as she continued to stare at the man.  "...what he did was justifiable.  You know, you should be ashamed of yourself, beating up a woman like you did!  And not just any woman, but your former girlfriend.  What the hell is wrong with you, Matt?!"

The elder Hardy brother had no response for her.  All he could do was listen to all of her angry words as he envisioned hurting the redhead far worse when he was fortunate enough to get the chance.

"Listen, pal..." Stephanie spat, the fury she felt now clearly showing on her pretty face.  "I hope you're not going to do the same thing to Torrie Wilson someday...it's a pity she's stupid enough to still want to be with you after knowing and seeing what you did to your last girlfriend."  She straightened up, returning behind her desk to sit on her plush chair.  "But some people never learn - or don't know any better until it's too late...now, get the hell out of my office.  I can't stand to look at you for another minute..."  The brunette pointed an angry finger toward the door, as though he needed to be directed out.

Without another word, Matt did as she ordered, taking care not to slam the door as he exited.  Once in the hall, he stormed back to his locker room, slamming that door when he entered.

Torrie jumped slightly at the sudden, unexpected noise, then settled down again when she saw Matt.  The blonde diva had decided to share her new boyfriend's locker room at his request.  She was more than happy to do so, especially after that bitch Dawn Marie had pointed a finger at her earlier in the women's locker room.  Torrie was certain that, had Matt not been there, the brunette would have struck her - Nidia, too.  Both women had been furious with her, which made the blonde more than a little uncomfortable.

"Damn that little bitch to hell!" Matt shouted, his hands fisted tightly at his sides.

The diva initially thought he was referring to the SmackDown GM but then realized otherwise as the man spoke again.

"That little whore went to Stephanie and told on me!"

Torrie's blue eyes widened in surprise.  She never would have taken Amy for the snitching type.  Anger surged through her as Matt continued, letting her know about his suspension and everything else Stephanie had threatened.  Actually, promised was a better word for it, since the tall blonde knew the General Manager did not make idle threats.

"Damn her!  Damn him, too!" the dark-haired man yelled.  Now, more than ever, not only did he want to make his ex-girlfriend pay for being such a tattletale, he also wanted to get Adam tenfold.  Twice the blond man had sought him out, beating the holy hell out of him - and Matt hadn't forgotten that one other time, either, in that hotel cafe when Adam had spared him because of Rey Mysterio's protestations.

"I hate to see you so mad," Torrie said as she approached him, laying a consoling hand on his chest.  She gazed up into his face with concern.

"Yeah, so do I, Torrie...so do I..."