I don't own any of the Plum world characters and I'm not making any profit from them.
Week 20 - Court's "Confession" Challenge
I used: Prompt (2) Words: backup, promise, bet, problem, plan.
The Walls Have Eyes – 2
by jnharrow
Every step away from the camera I got more and more annoyed. Who did he think he was? It was kind of creepy that he was watching me like that. What, he doesn't want me but nobody else can want me either? After all, it had been six months since Joe and I had broken up for good. That was plenty of time for Ranger to step up and ask me out. But that wasn't what he wanted, was it? No, he said he'd be in my bed, not out to dinner with me.
Well, he was neither and I'd almost decided he never would be. If anything, he was more distant than he'd ever been. No kisses, no touching, no flirting, no amused looks. He was all business, all the time.
I set the laptop on my desk and sat down, making no move to turn it on, my mind still racing.
Before I knew it, I was up and striding towards his door. A knock and an acknowledgement and I was inside his office. Hey, no thinking required, look at that.
His eyes met mine and all I could see was impersonal expectation. He was waiting for me to state my business. Well, I would.
"Lester can't be on monitor duty," I said.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "He is."
"You told me I needed experienced backup and that was one of the advantages I'd get from joining Rangeman. You made me promise I wouldn't go anywhere without a partner." My voice was rising, despite my best efforts to rein in my anger. "I was tired of being bet on and made fun of, so I agreed. Then I get backup in the form of Lester and you tie him to the office."
I walked right up to his desk and stared him down. "I went along with your plan and now I don't understand what the problem is."
Ranger said calmly, "Lester's not your partner. Lester is Bobby's partner."
Maybe this wasn't going to be a short conversation. I sat, ever so professionally, in one of his guest chairs and said in as neutral a tone as I could manage, "Bobby is in some
medical training course for the next couple of months. Lester is overdue for a field rotation. Tank made us temporary partners until Bobby gets back." I folded my hands in my lap and waited.
Ranger said nothing, so I filled in the silence for him. "Lester offered to help me out on that skip you gave me. He's harder to find than I thought he would be. Considering what I usually do to your men, I thought he was brave to volunteer."
"Lester offered to help," he repeated.
"Yes."
"Tank made Lester your partner."
Ranger seemed kind of slow today. "Yes."
"I'll get you a new partner."
I couldn't help it; my breath escaped in an irritable whoosh of a sigh. "There isn't anyone. Everyone is working on something. Besides, Lester's a perfectly good partner and he's already been assigned to me so what's the problem? Just tell him he's not on monitor duty and I can get back to work."
"This is a business environment," Ranger said evenly. "Lester can be inappropriate, which could cause issues. He isn't who I would assign to you."
I snorted. "So what, you're afraid of a harassment suit? Please."
It had been so long since Joe and I were together that I might actually welcome a little harassment in the form of a Merry Man. I didn't mention that to Ranger. Both of us danced carefully around the fact that there could be another reason Ranger didn't think Lester was a suitable partner for me. I wondered if he would ever admit to it if there were.
"Fine." Ranger's tone was dismissive as he returned his gaze to his papers. "You say you can deal with Santos, you've got him."
I stood. "I can handle Lester."
As I stepped out of the office, I thought I heard him mutter something about Tank, but I couldn't quite catch it. I shut the door behind me.
