Chapter 1
SPOV
My name is Stephanie Morelli, I have been married to my husband Joe Morelli for close to 5 years. I'm 5'8, 30 years old, and I currently work as a personal assistant to a lawyer who I'm going to strangle before the end of the day. I have worked with Sandy for the past two years and she is a good lawyer, but has a terrible case of ADD. Every time I put together a file for her she shreds it apart looking for a certain motion, even though if she'd just look at the side tabs or the index she'd be able to find it easily. After I spent 3 hours putting together the Jackson file and she tore it apart in front of the judge looking for a motion that was in the front of the file I about lost it. She threw the file back on my desk and asked me to have it put back together before I left for the day. I've got to find another job that doesn't make me contemplate murder on a daily basis. Not only is it not good for my mental health but I think it would be hard for my husband to get the charges dropped even though he's a detective at the TPD.
My best friend Connie who works for my sleezy cousin Vinnie said that she has a company that is looking for an office manager/personal secretary, a local security company called Rangeman. I am suppose to meet the owner Ranger Manoso for lunch at a local diner in 20 minutes, that is if I can get out of here unnoticed. Connie says that Ranger is probably as close to perfect as men come and just oozes sex and testosterone. The company is made up of all ex-military men that either do bounty hunting or security system installs. They all carry guns, knives, stun guns, and dress all in black.
Luckily I made it out of the office on time without Sandy saying a word. I get to the diner and take a look around then I see Mr. tall, dark, and way too handsome sitting in the back booth of the diner. As I approach the table he gives me a 200 watt smile and I feel my panties dampen, damnit I'm married that shouldn't happen!
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud! This is probably a waste of time Mr. Manoso. I'll let you try to find someone else for the position" I stammered over my words as I tried to walk away.
"Stephanie please sit down, I would like to talk to you about the position. From what Connie tells me you would be perfect for what I need. Please call me Ranger." Ranger said as he grabbed my hand to pull me back towards the table, I felt a jolt go through my body as our hands touched.
We sat and talked for an hour about the job position and what it would cover. I felt completely at ease with the situation and felt like it was a job I could do quite comfortably. I had to put in time exercising and shooting a gun but I feel like I could get over that in time. Even with a cop as a husband I have a severe allergy to guns. Ranger asked me to come by his office tomorrow afternoon and fill out all the proper paperwork to get me started after I gave my boss my two weeks notice. I was really excited, and I feel like Joe would be proud of me. I would be making almost double what I'm making now and wouldn't be at Sandy's beckon call. After I sign the paperwork tomorrow I will turn in my notice to Sandy, but now I better get back and fix the Jackson file before she had a fit. I lean down and shake Ranger's hand and pull out my wallet to pay for my part of lunch and he waves it away and hands the waitress his credit card.
RPOV
I couldn't believe the comment that came out of Stephanie's mouth when she approached me. She was the last thing I was expecting to meet when Connie told me she had someone who could take over the office manager position in my office. Most of the Jersey girls I've met and even interviewed come across as too bold, too inflated, to Barbie like to work with a bunch of guy like us. Stephanie was the complete opposite to that. The more I talked to her the more I was fascinated by her. She was strong willed, smart, and a real spitfire. I believe she could keep our whole office on their toes. The final test would be introducing her to the rest of our core team tomorrow afternoon then she could fill out the paperwork.
I felt for the first time in a while that things were starting to look up. I might actually be able to get back in the field and from behind my desk. I know being the CEO that paperwork comes with the territory, but I wanted to do something more physical. Stephanie Morelli is going to be a breath of fresh air to all of us. Now if I could only remember where I know that last name Morelli from. I guess I'll have to do some research when I get back to the office.
-Next Chapter, Morelli's reaction to Steph's new job