There Ain't no Love Like Ranger Love
Chapter 1
Stephanie Plum pulled up in front of the Vincent Plum Bail Bonds office where she was employed as a bounty hunter. Pulling up and parking at the same time was her friend, Lula, who also happens to be the office file clerk.
They greeted each other with a knowing grin. Stephanie was carrying a box of donuts and Lula a cardboard carrier holding three large cups bearing the Starbucks logo. It was going to be a good morning. Sugar, caffeine and whipped cream to start the day. Yum!
Steph held the door open for Lula and followed her inside. Normally, the next step would be to greet, Connie, the office manager, who should be sitting at her desk, pretending to be working. Instead, Connie was standing in the middle of the office with a look on her face that appeared to be somewhere between shock and wonder.
"Connie, you okay?" Steph asked with a frown. "What's wrong?"
"Yeah, you look like you just seen E.T. or somethin'," Lula said.
Connie came slightly out of her reverie and blinked twice before finally realizing she was no longer alone. She glanced back over her shoulder toward Vinnie's office and then back to the girls. "Come here," she ordered with a hiss, motioning Stephanie and Lula closer. "Hurry!"
Lula and Stephanie deposited the donuts and mocha lattes on Connie's desk and moved closer to hear what she had to say. "What's wrong?" Steph asked again. "Tell us, now!"
"You are not going to believe it! Vinnie sold the business! The paperwork was on my desk when I came in," Connie said. "The new owner is in there now. I peeked through the peep hole and he's ... he's ..."
"Spill it, girl," Lula demanded. "You're making us nervous. "He's what? A goon? Worse than Vinnie? An ex-con? A clone of Severus Snape?"
"No!" Connie hissed, holding a finger to her lips to indicate they should keep their voices down. "He's ..."
Before she could finish, the door opened and a man strolled out and smiled at them. Not just a man, a god among men. A five foot, ten inch, delectable, golden skinned, Asian man. His complexion was flawless and he had dimples when he smiled. He was the epitome of a clean cut GQ cover model. He could be in the running for Sexiest CEO of the Year, if there were such a thing.
He was wearing a custom tailored black suit, starched white shirt, black dress shoes, burgundy and black tie and silver cufflinks. He was so far opposite of Vinnie, the pendulum had swung clear to the right and crashed through the side of the Earth's biosphere.
"Ladies," he greeted them as he moved closer, his gorgeous smile still in place. "My name is Yasahiro Nakamura. My friends call me Yashi and I'd be pleased if you'd also called me Yashi. I've purchased the business from Vincent Plum and would like to speak to each of you individually this morning to hear your feelings about the business and to inquire about your desire to remain employed here as part of the team."
Connie, Steph and Lula were rooted to their spots in the middle of the office, mesmerized by his devastating good looks and his beautiful, rich, cultured voice. Stephanie knew one of them should speak up and acknowledge him. Ideally, all three of them should at least greet him, seeing how he was the new boss, but silence reigned supreme.
Connie felt a mad desire to fan herself and Steph absentmindedly checked her chin for drool. Lula thought he was a little slice of heaven on a Ritz cracker, but she was so wrapped up in her love affair with Tank, she wasn't quite as off-kilter as the other girls.
Finally, Lula spoke up. "Nice to meet you, Yashi. I'm Lula, the file clerk, and Stephanie's assistant, on account of sometimes it takes two of us to bring in some of the wilier skips. Plus, we like to have lunch together, you know what I mean?"
"Indeed," Yashi said with a smile. Except on certain rare occasions, I also prefer not dining alone." Too bad it happens all too often, he thought to himself. "I'm pleased to meet you, Lula."
"I can't even tell you how pleased I am to meet you," Lula said frankly. We gonna love not having to put up with that pervert, Vinnie, no more."
Hearing Lula speak up helped Connie loosen up a bit. "I'm Connie, the office manager. I found the letter about the change of ownership on my desk this morning," she told him. I'm sorry Vinnie's office is such a mess. I can clean it for you this morning."
"Hello, Connie, It's very nice to meet you," Yashi said, turning his smile solely on her. "You don't normally have to do the cleaning, do you?"
"Uh, no. Vinnie was a pig and had all sorts of, uh, undesirable paraphernalia in his office, so he never allowed anyone in there, even to clean."
"I see." Yashi's smile grew wider. He glanced back over his shoulder at the door that led to Vinnie's office, then focused his gaze back on Connie. "That explains a lot, but don't worry about the cleaning. I'll hire professional office cleaners to come in twice a week."
"Wow," Connie said, wide-eyed. "We've never had professional office cleaners come in. I think I'm going to love working for you, if you'll have me. Oh, and I don't know where you're from, but your English is excellent."
Yashi threw his head back and laughed and it was a delightful sound. "Thank you, but I can't really take credit for that. It just tends to happen when you're born and raised in Chicago and graduate from Harvard," he told her with a wink.
The playful wink combined with his spectacular dimples and amused dark eyes made the three women go weak in the knees. Next, he turned his attention to Stephanie. "You must be Miss Plum, our resident bounty hunter extraordinaire," he said with a smile.
"That would be me, but you can call me Steph or Stephanie. I'm not overly fond of Miss Plum," Steph said, feeling stupid that she couldn't think of anything to add. She'd only known one other man in her life who could take her breath away just by smiling at her and that was Ranger. She was wondering to herself if Yashi was still going to give the high bond skips to RangeMan and how Yashi and Ranger would get along.
Usually, Ranger had it all over Vinnie. There seemed to be no limit to the number of stupid situations Vinnie got himself into and Ranger helped him out of. It always ended up that Vinnie "owed" Ranger and Ranger pretty much told Vinnie what to do, not the other way around.
"I've seen the numbers concerning your success rate on captures, Stephanie. I'm very impressed."
Stephanie felt an unreasonable amount of delight at the way her name rolled off his tongue and felt the infusion of color on her cheeks. "Thanks. I get lucky a lot," she told him.
"If only we could all get lucky ninety-nine percent of the time," he said with a grin. "I'm sure it's not all luck though. I imagine you've picked up some tricks of the trade along the way."
"Right," Stephanie agreed. "But somehow the skips have no appreciation or respect for whatever tricks I've learned. They continue to come up with new and clever ways to avoid being brought back into the system."
"I imagine that's so," Yashi said thoughtfully. "Are you experienced in any of the martial arts?"
"I have a black belt," Stephanie told him with a straight face. She waited a moment before delivering the punchline, then added, "and a purse and shoes to match."
The laughter at her joke made Steph, Lula and Connie all relax a bit more and the grin on Yashi's face made it worth telling the really old, really goofy joke. "Seriously," she said. I've never done any type of martial arts. I just try to get better at staying on my feet and not getting shot."
Yashi's eyes widened at the sobering thought of one of his employees getting shot. Stephanie was a beautiful young woman and the thought of something happening to her ... well, his mind didn't want to go there. "Perhaps I can be of some small assistance, Stephanie. I'm quite accomplished in karate and would be happy to give you some free lessons. I'm opening a karate studio here in Trenton, but if you'd prefer private lessons, I'm sure we can make arrangements. Of course karate won't stop a bullet, but perhaps improved skills will help you make a capture before the situation escalates to that point."
Steph bit her bottom lip as she thought about karate lessons. Somehow, that didn't sound quite as bad as exercise or running at 6 am. "Thanks. I'll let you know," she told him.
"Great," he said with a nod. He glanced at the box of donuts and cups of Starbucks on Connie's desk, then looked back at the girls. "I see you were just getting ready to enjoy a morning snack. I think I'll excuse myself and go out for a newspaper and cup of coffee. Perhaps we can chat and have our interviews when I get back, if that works for the three of you," he said with another gorgeous smile.
"You're askin' us if it's okay?" Lula asked incredulously. "We musta died an gone to heaven. Vinnie never cared what any of us wanted. He just barked out orders and insulted everyone."
A frown flashed across Yashi's face. "I've owned other companies and I've never found it necessary to bark out orders or insult valued team members. I think mutual respect is the way to go," he told them. "So, on that note, I'll head out to find that coffee and paper and I'll see you ladies in about twenty minutes."
The three girls turned in unison to watch as Yashi exited the office. They continued to watch in fascination as he gracefully slid into a beautiful silver Mercedes and pulled away from the curb.
"Somebody wanna pinch me so I know I ain't dreamin'? Lula asked.
"No kidding," Connie said on a whisper. "That man is a walking orgasm if ever I've seen one."
Lula and Connie turned to Steph to see if she agreed with them. "Well," Lula demanded. "What you think of Yashi, white girl? I think that man could give Ranger a run for his money."
"Ranger who?" Steph asked.
Connie and Lula gasped at the same time, horror spreading across their faces. "Say what?" Lula demanded.
Steph smiled. "Just kidding, girls." She strode over to the desk. "I don't know about the two of you, but I need a donut or three or four before I run home to change my panties."
Just then, the door opened and Ranger walked in. "I think you got here just in time, Batman," Lula told him.
"Ladies," Ranger said with a hint of a smile. "Just in time for what, Lula?"
"White girl almost done went and forgot your name."
"I did not!" Stephanie snapped back at her. "I was kidding."
Ranger's eyes shifted to Stephanie. Her overreaction was not lost on him. "Babe, you were joking about forgetting my name?"
Before she could reply, Lula spoke up again. "Probably she was kidding, Batman, but you might wanna learn how to use a pair of chopsticks so you're not left completely out of this here game."
A frown creased Ranger's forehead and he reached out and tilted Steph's chin up so she was forced to look at him. "Babe?"
When Stephanie didn't answer him right away, Connie spoke up. "Ranger, did you know Vinnie sold the business and we have a new owner?"
Ranger's eyes widened a bit indicating he was shocked over the news. "No," he admitted. "Who is the new owner?"
"His name is Yashi and he's sex on a tiki torch," Lula told him.
Ranger's eyes shifted back to Stephanie. "Is that so?"
"Don't ask me," Steph said nervously. "I didn't really notice."
"The hell you didn't," Lula said with a laugh. "A woman would have to be dead not to notice those dimples."
Steph stepped back a bit so that Ranger's fingers were no longer under her chin. Her movement did not escape Ranger's notice.
He tore his gaze from Stephanie and looked at Connie then. "So, did he say anything about giving the high bond files to RangeMan?"
"Sorry, Ranger. I haven't had much of a chance to speak with him. He should be back in about twenty minutes if you want to stop back."
Ranger gave a slight nod. He cupped his hand on the back of Steph's neck and leaned close. "Babe, can I see you outside for a moment?"