Lula's internal dialogue has always been soemthing that I have wondered about. I hope to explore that more later.

Ranger's POV

Babe just called to say that she and Lula were coming in. It sounds like Lula has a few questions for me, so I'll have to do my best to assuage her reservations. I know that if Lula turns the job down, Babe is likely to turn it down as well. I just had to pull out all the stops and figure out a way to convince Lula that this was a good idea for her.

In fact, the more that I thought about it, the more I was convinced that Lula had more to offer RangeMan than just bringing in low-bond skips. I just needed to convince her of this and maybe she'll take the opportunity to make a few changes in her life that will encourage Babe to do the same.

I spoke to Tank earlier. When I first brought up the topic of Lula working here, he seemed a little reluctant. Now, he sees it as a way of keeping her away from her old life and keeping her safe. It may also stoke the fires of their dwindled relationship. It kind of fizzled out after the confusion over their engagement a few years ago and I think both were too proud to admit the mistake.

I am expecting Lula's biggest concern to be about wardrobe. RangeMan has a specific requirement for its employees to look consistent and subdued. I can't have Lula show up to talk to a customer in florescent yellow spandex, and I hope she is not offended when I explain why.

I'm also expecting the fitness requirements to be a bit of an issue. I'm not so worried about the gun training with Lula. She doesn't seem to be afraid of her gun. She just doesn't know how to use it. I'm sure that regular practice and lessons will improve her skills.

I didn't have long to wait before there was a knock at the door and my Babe stuck her head in my office. "Hey Ranger, Lula wants to talk to you first. When she's done, I'll have a few questions of my own."

Before I had a chance to say anything, Lula was being pushed in my office and Babe was closing the door. Lula looked at me and it was clear that she was a bit apprehensive about being in a closed room with me. I smiled kindly and said, "Please take a seat Lula. I would like to hear your thoughts on the job Steph talked to you about."

Lula sat down and before she said anything, I thought I should explain why I wanted to do this before she started to ask her questions. "I want to assure you Lula, that this is a genuine job offer. I think you have a lot of potential and the night classes that you have been attending will also make you a positive addition to RangeMan. We have a lot of intimidating looking large men that don't always put our customers at ease. That leaves Leister and I to take a brunt of those meetings and we have become so popular that it's getting difficult to keep up with demand. I think you and Steph could help out there in addition to your skip tracing."

Lula looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. After a few moments, she found her voice and said, "Why would you want to trust me to represent your company Ranger? It's very important to you and I'm not exactly the ideal picture of a corporate professional. You know my history. Why would you want me to tarnish your image?"

Ranger had a very stern look on his face when he said, "I think that you underestimate yourself Lula, a lot. I don't care how you made your money in the past. What I care about is how you have taken steps to improve your circumstances and stuck to them. I know it can't be easy to spend your days in Vinnie's office and I am proud of you for what you've done.

"You've even started taking night classes to improve yourself further. That is why I would be proud to be your employer. You have heart, determination, and you are far smarter than you give yourself credit for."

Lula smiled at me and said, "I am also assuming that this job is a way of guaranteeing that Stephanie will take one as well."

Ranger laughed and said, "See, smarter than I gave you credit for. I genuinely want you to work for RangeMan Lula, but I won't lie to you. I am hoping that you and Stephanie will help each other and keep each other on track. Now, did you have any questions about the job itself?"

Lula nodded and took out a piece of paper from god knows where. She looked up at me and said, "Stephanie mentioned that RangeMan would let me have time off to attend lessons if I continue to attend my night classes. Is that true?"

I nodded and said, "Not only will RangeMan let you have time off for the lectures, RangeMan will also work around your study schedule exam preparation times. In addition, RangeMan contributes to the cost of your education. Since you are working on a business degree that will directly benefit RangeMan, we would probably pay for the entire cost of your course, including books."

Lula's mouth was open and her jaw was somewhere south of its regular location. She must have been happy with my answer because she made a visible attempt to close her mouth and looked back down at her paper. She swallowed and then said, "I am willing to accept that I will have to wear the RangeMan uniform, but for those days where we're stuck in the office, would you consider letting us wear a t-shirt in another colour? I know I look good in black, but a single-toned wardrobe can be a bit boring."

I was expecting a lot more than this from Lula about the uniform. I was expecting her to fight kicking and screaming, so the request for different coloured t-shirts kind of took me by surprise. I didn't really have a problem with it, but I'd need to discuss it with the core team before making a final decision.

"I don't see why we couldn't do that, but I would need to talk to the rest of the core team. If you did leave the office for any business related activities, you'd have to change. Once I talk to the guys, I can have Ella acquire the necessary t-shirts and then put the RangeMan logo on them like she does for the black ones. If I'm honest Lula, I thought you would try to avoid the uniform at all costs."

"The idea of wearing a uniform gives me the heebie jeebies, but as I said, I look good in black, and my current wardrobe is costly to maintain. Stephanie made me see reason by explaining that wearing a uniform would cut my wardrobe costs for work so I could splurge on social events."

I nodded and said, "When you start visiting customers, you'll also be expected to wear business attire. This will be a few months down the line though, as you and Stephanie will both need to go through some training about our products and the services we offer. You will be given a clothing budget to purchase these outfits and access to the RangeMan tailor if you can't find something you like in the stores.

"Most of the guys at RangeMan have to use our tailor because suits are not made for men like us off the rack. They also are able to adjust the suits for our shoulder harnesses so it is not obvious that we are wearing our weapons. You and Steph may have the same problem with suits off the rack, but you have a few months before you need to worry about that."

Lula nodded and continued to read the questions from her list. In the end, I was able to answer everything to her satisfaction, or so it appeared. Lula was usually really easy to read, but for some reason, she was a little more difficult to read today. I just assumed she was taking this job seriously, so I thought nothing of it.

When Lula finally stood and shook my hand, she asked one last questions. "Ranger, what would happen if I decided to take a bit of a break from work to attend classes full-time? I don't mean right now, but next year I'll be in a position where I could take a term full-time and finish my degree. I was wondering if RangeMan would let me have a sort of sabbatical."

I had no idea that Lula was this close to finishing her degree. From what Steph told me, I thought she'd only had a few courses. I vocalised my thoughts to Lula. "I didn't realise you were that far through your course. I thought you had only taken one or two night classes."

Lula stood up taller and said, "For the past year, I've had 4 classes each semester. That's effectively going full-time, but it was really hard. I cut down after that and only take 2 each semester. If I take 2 for the next year that will leave me will only 6 more. That's too many to take in evening classes, so I thought I'd ask about a sabbatical."

"I'm impressed Lula. We will definitely let you have the time off. You can work as much or as little as you want while you are taking classes, but even when you are not working, you will still be expected to fulfil the other RangeMan requirements like fitness and gun training."

Lula grinned and said, "I think I can manage that. Thanks Ranger, at this point in time, I can't find any reason to turn down your job offer. I know Steph has a few questions for you, so I'll let her ask them and then we can work out any more details if necessary."

"That sounds good to me Lula, while I' talk to Steph, I'll ask one of the guys to give you the full RangeMan tour. You can see all of the restricted areas and possibly have a go in the gun range depending on whether anyone else is currently using it."

So now what? More?