Thanks for the amazing support on this story. Glad it's being well received.
I apologize for the wait, but final exams got in the way and I'm just glad I survived, lol.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.
"That it?" I asked as the SUV rounded the corner and we headed down the block towards a state of the art building.
"Yes." Was all he said as he drove into the building's underground parking structure. The car rolled to a stop as he parked on one of two open spaces next to the elevator.
"What about my bags?" I gave him a puzzled look when he angled out of the car and strode towards the stairs.
"Ella will take care of that." He said as he disappeared inside. It wasn't until the door clicked shut that I realized I was supposed to follow him up.
"Crap." I wheezed as I jogged up the steps in order to catch up. I'm no slouch, but going up five flights of stairs is not something I do every day.
"Is there something wrong?" He arched an eyebrow at me when I finally joined him in hall on the fifth floor.
I shook my head in the negative as I tried to catch my breath. This guy was fit as hell and from the looks of the men bustling around us I was probably the only one out of shape in the entire building. Without a word, he spun on his heel and walked down the hall. Sucking in a breath, I followed him into an office.
"Ranger…" A freakishly large man appeared in the open doorway. It looked like his muscles had muscles. He probably wasn't expecting to find that the boss had company, which seemed to throw him off for a second. Probably realizing he'd let his guard down, he instantly schooled his features into a neutral expression.
"Are the men gathered?" Carlos asked the big man. When he nodded, Carlos said he would be there in five. The man turned around and left, obviously the short sentence was explanation enough.
"Should I wait for you here or…?" I'm not real sure what I'm supposed to do.
"No." Carlos is real hard to read and I feel like my questions annoy him. "I'm going to introduce you." He said introductions would make things flow easier. "Here."
I took the key fob and keys he handed me. "What are these for?" I cringed. He probably thinks I'm an idiot who can't think for herself.
"This," Carlos tapped the key fob. "…will give you access to the seventh floor." He also told me the other two keys were for the apartment on said floor. "Oh, I almost forgot." He handed me the key to the SUV he drove here.
"You're giving me a car?" My surprise must have shown on my face, because his forehead scrunched up in thought.
"You'll need a means of transportation."
I still have stuff to take care of in Newark. "That's true." And with that, the conversation was over. Carlos exited his office and once again I found myself trailing behind. He stopped abruptly when he reached a door across the hall, making me bump into him. "Sorry." I mumbled. God, this was so not my comfort zone.
Carlos slid the door open for me to go in before him. I stood just to the side of the door when I entered. All eyes in the room settled on us.
"Hi, Beautiful." One of the guys seated around the large conference table shot me a wink and smile. He looked a lot like Carlos, except his eyes were the color of new dollar bills. "I'm Lester." His grin widened and a spark light his gaze as his eyes scanned me from head to toe. The appraisal didn't make me feel uncomfortable, but there was something about him that told me he was a womanizer. But that didn't take away his charm.
"I'm Stephanie." I waved at the group in general, choosing to ignore Mr. Green Eyes.
A large hand landed on the small of my back as I felt its owner lean a tab bit closer to me. "Stephanie, you've already met Lester." I detected a hint of warning in Carlos's tone and from the looks of it, Lester didn't really care. "They are Tank, Bobby, Hector, Diesel…" He started rattling off the names of his employees, but I was momentarily distracted both by his proximity and the wink the tall blond Diesel shot my way.
"Hi, guys." I waved again, not wanting to admit that I didn't catch everyone's names. I already knew Bobby and now I knew that the big man was Tank.
"Men," Carlos's voice made the guys return their attention back to him. "I would like to introduce you to my wife, Stephanie." His hand moved from my back to my right hip, pressing my left side to his toned chest. My heartbeat sped up and my mouth went dry as his unique masculine scent enveloped me.
The guys were silent as their eyes darted from Carlos to me and back, obviously shocked by the news.
Four days earlier
I spotted her before she reached the door. "Ready?" Mariela poked her head inside, smiling wide.
"Yeah." I grabbed my purse and keys, locking the door after me.
We walked the short distance from my shop to the Mexican place, sitting at the same booth as the day before.
"Ladies." The same waiter appeared magically at our table, grinning at us. His enthusiasm made me wonder how much of a tip Mariela left the last time. We ordered the same thing, except we swapped the margaritas for two Cokes. "I'll be right back with your drinks." He said before walking away.
"I'm so glad you changed your mind." Mariela confessed she was worried I'd stick with my initial 'No'.
"I'm surprised too." Maybe it was the way my morning started or the fact that my car was reposed before I even made the day's first sale, but I dialed her number before I really thought about it.
"Thanks." She smiled sweetly at the waiter when he brought us our sodas. "My brother has agreed to meet you for dinner."
"What!" I had a feeling things were going to move real fast. "Why are you telling me now?" I frantically checked the time. I had nothing in my fridge, not that I'm much of a cook anyway. "How am I supposed to put a meal together with such short notice?" I took a swing of my Coke, trying to figure out what I could prepare quickly. Let's be realistic here.
"Relax." Mariela said she'd take care of it.
As if on cue the waiter came back with chips and salsa. "Do you cater?" Mariela asked him. He answered yes and promised to return with a menu. "See." She flashed me another grin.
"Okay." Now that the food part of her plan was taken care of, I felt much better. "Look, I don't want you to think that I'm selling myself for…" I brought my voice down to a hushed whisper so only she could hear.
"I know." She cut me off, reaching across the table to pat my hand in reassurance.
We ate in comfortable silence as she tried to settle for a food package for tonight's dinner meeting.
By the time we walked back to my shop, Mariela had it all set. All I had to do was make a trip to my apartment and get ready for dinner.
"I forgot." Mental head slap. My car was repossessed this morning. No car meant I'd probably have to take the bus or call a cab. Either way I'd have to close earlier than usual to have enough time to go and come back before Mariela's brother arrived.
"Forgot what?" She asked.
"I don't have a car anymore."
"You can take mine." I envy her ability to think fast.
"What about you?" It was after one already. It might take me about an hour to go home, get ready and come back.
"I'll stay and set things up." She asked if there was a back entrance.
"We're having dinner here?" I looked around my nearly empty store, realizing it was large enough to accommodate a table and chairs.
"Where else?" I felt like I was missing something, but decided to leave the planning to her. It seems like she knows what she's doing.
I completely forgot that I've neglected doing laundry for two weeks, so that only left one sexy little black dress that would be suitable to wear. Somehow I don't think jeans and T-shirt would make a memorable first impression. Delay number two was courtesy of my unshaved legs. Wearing jeans seems like a practical choice in the mornings, but now it's going to take time for me to get rid of the unwanted hair.
"I'm sorry." I apologized to her when I finally got back, almost an hour before Mr. Mañoso arrived. "I lost track of time."
"No worries." Nothing seems to bother this woman. I might have to ask her for lessons.
"Are we still having dinner here?" The store looked just as I'd left it.
"The backroom seems more fitting." Mariela smiled, looking very pleased with her work.
"Nice." I praised once I inspected her work. This area was once filled with merchandise. Once it started emptying out, I've sort of avoided it all together. These days I only come back here when I take a trip to the john. "Is there anything I can help with?" I felt bad for leaving her alone to do all of the hard work. She shook her head, saying we had time to unwind before the food arrived.
The restaurant sent a guy to set up the food for us. The thongs section caught his eye, so I let him chose one for his significant other. His playful grin said the lace was better than a cash tip.
When the back door opened I felt my heart skip a beat. I felt as nervous as the time I wanted to fly and jumped off the garage's roof as a kid.
Mariela greeted one of the men with a soft peck on the lips before focusing her attention on the other man. "Carlos."
I stared at the man standing before me, momentarily losing the ability to talk. She said her brother was quite handsome, but I thought she was just being subjective.
But oh boy was he handsome.
Ranger's 'problem' will be dissected next chapter. It'll be fun to see what he thinks of the guys giving 'his wife' winks and smiles:D