Not mine and no money being made.

I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. I've noticed the reviews have gone down for the last few chapaters. I"m sorry I've not responded to each person individually... I'll try to be better at that.

My New Life
Congratulations… You're Leaving?
SapphireJ

I was just about to fall asleep when I heard it. "Santos…sir, yes sir…is there any other way, sir…no sir, but I just got married…today sir…yes sir, I understand…1400 hours sir."

Lester flipped the phone closed and slipped an arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "Your leaving." I stated, not asking as I already knew the answer.

"I'm so sorry, Steph. I don't have a choice." I heard Les sigh and knew this was hard on him. It was my duty to not make this any harder. As much as I didn't want him to leave, I knew it would happen sooner or later.

"I know. I knew this going in and it's a part of your life. When do you have to leave?" I had a feeling this was going to happen. At least it happened after we got married.

"I need to be at the airport at two tomorrow. I don't know where to, but I was told that it could be a month or two. God, I don't want to leave you. Not after we just got married." He kissed my shoulder and it sent shivers down my spine.

"I know. I don't want you to leave either, but someone else needs you right now. I'm not about to become one of those clingy wives that wants her husband to change. This is your life and I told you a long time ago that I accept it. Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

His hand slid down the front of my body ever so slowly. His lips, teeth, and tongue were all over my shoulder and neck. "You." I found myself flipped onto my back quicker than I could blink.

All too soon it was morning. Lester and I didn't sleep last night; instead, we made love all night long. I can sleep after he leaves and I know he will try to catch some sleep on the plane.

"Hey, I'm going to go get a shower. Why don't you pack up what you need, then you can take a shower while I fix breakfast."

"Ok. I love you Mrs. Santos." Lester leaned down and gave me a toe curling kiss. Man, I was going to miss those while he was gone.

Rushing through my shower, I ran downstairs to get the coffee going. I wanted to make Lester a good breakfast. Lord only knew when he'd get another decent meal.

We got to RangeMan a few hours later. It was time for the morning meeting. Lester and I walked in and took our seats. Looks like it wasn't just Lester that was going; Ranger, Bobby, and Tank were leaving as well.

"Wow, most of my favorite guys are leaving me. Had I known you all were leaving; I'd have had you all over for breakfast. You know I like to make you a meal before you leave." I wasn't pouting, but I was disappointed that I didn't get to keep with my tradition.

"Yeah, we know Steph, but we all got called around 0330 and we didn't want to call and, um, wake you." Tank was trying hard to not to laugh.

"Well, count on a meal when you guys get back. You know I like to make sure you guys have a wonderful meal before you leave and when you get back." I wasn't about to admit that we were awake at that time.

Ranger cleared his throat; guess it was time to start the meeting. "Ok, with the entire core team leaving this time, Hal will be put in charge. Stephanie, you will be second in command while we are gone."

I started to object, but he stopped me. "You are the only manager left here. I would have put you in charge, but Hal does know the entire business more than you do. You are getting close though, so I wouldn't be surprised that if we all get called out again at the same time, you will be the one in charge."

"We do have three meetings set up for new clients that you will need to be involved in. The regular searches and FTA's to be brought in and anything pressing that comes up. Hal knows about the meetings, he will be there with you. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Miami. Silvio can help you out."

The rest of the meeting was about the guys getting their gear ready for the trip. It was soon time for them to leave. As I walked them down to the garage, the rest of the guys were wishing them well and giving them slaps on the back. Once in the garage, they all loaded their gear into one SUV; I'd be taking Hector later to pick it up at the airport.

"I'm going to miss you Mrs. Santos." Lester leaned down to give me a hug and I tried to fight off the tears. When the hell did I become one of those women that cry when their man was leaving? I was really going to miss him. "I love you, Baby and I'll be back as soon as I can."

I held him tight, not wanting to let him go. "I love you too, Mr. Santos. Hurry up and get your stuff done so you can come back to me. We still have a honeymoon to take." I kissed him hard and when we pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine and tried to steady his breathing.

"God, I'm going to miss those kisses. I will be so glad when I'm done with the government." He grabbed my hair and pulled my mouth to his once again. I forgot everything else until I heard the whistles and felt him pull back. "Something to remember and help me get through my days and nights." He winked at me and hopped into the SUV.

"Hey One Shot, can I get a kiss to remember you by?" Lester slugged Bobby in the arm and said something, but I couldn't hear it. I gave each of the guys a kiss on the cheek and wished them a safe return.

I stood and watched the SUV pull out of the garage and head down the street. When I could no longer see it, I went back up to the fifth floor. "Hey, Hal."

"Hey, Steph. So, you and I are in charge until the boys come back. Should be interesting." He was smiling as he looked at a stack of paperwork.

Grinning at the pile, I pointed and asked, "Um, did Ranger leave paperwork for you?"

"Nope, left it for you."

"Um, sorry Hal. I don't know how to do the paper work. I'm off to the bonds office to pick up files. I might take the girls out for lunch too. I'll check in later. Have fun with the paperwork. Bye." I ran to the elevator laughing. I could hear Hal cursing as I stepped on the elevator.

I walked into the office to see Connie painting her nails and Lula looking through a magazine. "Hey girls. How's it going?" They both stopped and looked at me.

"Huh, new guy says the filing's all done. I think he might just work out." I knew Lula hated filing.

"So, who is the guy? I didn't know Vinnie hired anyone." I sat down on the couch next to Lula and grabbed a magazine.

"I think the pipsqueak is Harry's nephew. He wanted a job, so Harry forced Vinnie to hire him." Lula looked like she was about to fall over laughing. "You should have seen Vinnie when Harry told him he had to hire the kid. Looked like he was about to piss his pants."

"Hey Steph, why are you here? You just got married yesterday. You and Les should be on your honeymoon!" I wondered when Connie would realize that.

I put the magazine down and sighed, "Well, Les, Tank, Ranger, and Bobby left for a mission. They all got called around 3:30 this morning."

"Yeah, my Tankie wasn't too happy 'bout that. We was in the middle of somethin' and his phone rang." So, that is why Lula was looking pissed today.

"Connie, do you have any files for me today? I need to keep busy." I knew if I was busy, I wouldn't be counting the minutes Les had been gone. Dammit, what the hell happened to my control and not needing anyone?

Connie flipped through the files and shook her head, "Sorry, Steph. We don't have any high-bond skips. All of them are in Lula's range."

I looked at Lula and she rolled her eyes. "Let's roll, Lula. I'll help you today. Our men are gone, so we are going to stick together."

"Oh hell yes. Let's go. Oh, we need to stop at McDonald's, I'm starving." Lula grabbed her purse and ran out the door. Either she was starved or in a hurry to pick up some skips. My money was on the food.

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