Babe story. Babe HEA. Very Morelli UNFRIENDLY. Some angst but lots of fluff to counteract it.

Mi amor (my love) Querida (Dear) Mi cariña (My darling/sweetheart) Si (Yes) Dios (God) Amante (Lover)

I do not own anything, all belongs to Janet Evanovich.

Warning: language, adult themes, violence etc.

36

SPOV

I was fidgeting as we headed down in the elevator. Yesterday had gone ok…except for Mark harassing me, yet Carlos had taken care of him. Everyone else had treated me with indifference or like I wasn't there. Only Ram and Blinkie had been brainless enough to voice their harsh opinions but I think my kicking their asses had gotten the message through…hopefully to everyone. Carlos was standing close by my side, but we weren't touching. I wondered how much contact we were allowed with his less contact not no contact policy.

The doors slid open on the fifth floor and Carlos placed a hand on my lower back, guiding me out in front of him before letting his arm drop and falling into step beside me. Gulp. Was I supposed to go to my old cubicle, or was I supposed to go find Lester, or did I have a new cubicle, or was I still located on the first floor?

"Babe, breathe. Core team meeting, conference room three, in ten minutes. Follow me now" I did as instructed. We rounded the corner passing all the cubicles, walking to the next door down from his office. Then he stopped.

Stephanie Michelle Plum – Associate Chief Executive Officer

"Wh-what?" I read the plaque on the door again as he turned the knob and pushed us both inside. His hand closed the door with a loud snap and I faced him, my jaw hanging open.

"What's mine is yours Babe. I love you and you agreed to let me spoil you. Besides, you are intelligent, skilled and know the security business well" He took my hand and led me behind the large rosewood desk, sitting down in the luxurious leather chair dragging me into his lap.

"B-but…I…no…who did you kick out of here?" I wondered, my eyes travelling the room that was only a fraction smaller than Carlos'. There was a large window to the left of the desk, a painting of a beach scene hanging on the wall to my right as well as the state of the art laptop sitting on my desk. Pushed in the corner was a mini-fridge, there was a matching black leather couch against the far wall and two straight back chairs were placed in front of my desk. The walls were a golden light yellow.

"Steph, I didn't kick anyone out …this office has been yours for a long time. I had it renovated over a year and a half ago. I have been waiting for you to start here permanently, without the chance of Morelli talking you out of it. Enjoy amante. This is all yours, all for you. Accept it, enjoy it please" His lips were brushing against my ear as he spoke. All I could do was blink in disbelief. He did all this for me?

"For me?" I clarified quietly, picking up one of his hands and interlocking my fingers with his.

"Yes. For you mi cariña." I turned my head and caught his lips with mine.

"Thank you. I love it…but, ah, what exactly does an associate CEO do?" I questioned and was answered with a chuckle.

"You have a say in the running of this business. You only answer to me, everyone else answers to you. The cases you work will be mostly with me, Tank, Bobby and Lester. You will still be doing searches but not full time. You also get to assist me with paper work. Basically, you are the boss. Bobby and Lester are currently being trained by Tank so that when we are absent the business will not suffer for it. Is that ok Babe?" He kissed me soundly before waiting for a reply.

"Ok? It's better than ok! Thank you. I love you" I murmured, wiping my lip gloss from his lips.

"C'mon Babe" We stood and exited my office making our way side by side to the conference room.

Lester, Bobby and Tank were the only ones awaiting us. Carlos took a seat at the head of the table, indicating the chair to his left for me. Tank was on his right with the other two sitting where they pleased. Bobby didn't look too happy to be there.

"Ladies" Carlos smirked as he inspected his bruised and battered friends. Lester and Tank chuckled while I rolled my eyes.

"Settle down gentlemen. First order of business. Stephanie has accepted her position as associate CEO. From now on she answers to me and me alone. Not to sound repetitive but any problems with her are to be resolved with and by me. Steph, the floor is yours" I gaped at him. WHAT? What did he want me to say…think Steph, think …ok, got something.

"Hi guys." I gave a small finger wave and was encouraged by two smiles and a nod. "Uh Lester, I've considered it in full and I've decided I would very much like to be your partner" At my announcement there were two very distinct and opposite responses.

"WHAT?!" Bobby shouted at the same time Lester hollered a loud "YES!"

Dead silence encompassed the room for a moment.

"Bobby. A word. Outside" Carlos stood and stalked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. I cringed as Bobby followed in the same fashion.

"I think that went well" Tank announced.

"You were expecting that?!" I gestured at where Carlos and Bobby had disappeared.

"Beautiful. Take a seat" Lester encouraged. Huh. That's funny, I don't even remember standing. I sunk into a plush chair and swung my eyes between the two men.

"Explain" I ordered. Matching smiles broke out on their faces.

"Well, it's like this. Tank has his own office, I have my own office and Bobby has a desk in the infirmary as well as a cubicle on the fifth floor. Now you're getting a big fancy office." And that was where he stopped talking.

"And…so he's jealous?" I took a wild stab in the dark.

"Yes. Exactly" I laughed out loud at Tanks answer.

"You can't be serious. He's jealous of me? Crazy, disaster prone, incapable, disappointing, little old me?" I scoffed at them as their masks fell down into place. What did I say?

"Stephanie. Don't you dare talk about yourself that way. What have we discussed?" I flinched at the anger level of Carlos' voice. Crap, I really need to be more aware.

"Sorry" I whispered, dropping my eyes to the floor.

"Babe" Carlos immediately kneeled down in front of me and cupped my face. "Beautiful, smart, funny, creative, determined and cunning. That's my Babe. There are many more where those come from. Ok?" He was being all sweet in front of his men. I was a weakness. Shit. "NO! Stop it. You are not my weakness. We talked about this Babe. Please?" He was begging me now.

"Ok. I'm sorry." I gave him a tentative smile, one which he returned with a soft kiss.

"I could get you to look at me like that if I had five minutes alone with you" Lester mumbled jokingly.

"Lester, you couldn't pay her enough to look at you like that!" Bobby snorted.

Carlos's amused eyes met mine as he pressed another kiss to my mouth. As he stood, I watched all four men have a silent conversation before they resumed their respective seats.

"Steph." My eyes met Bobby's; he was smiling at me now. "It's really good to have you back. I'm sorry about overreacting before as well as not realizing what Weston was up to. I should have watched your back. We all should have, and I am truly sorry for that. But, I would prefer it if you wouldn't break the men's ribs. It's a pain in the ass; they constantly bitch about everything, alright?" I smiled at him as Lester's and Tank's jaws both dropped. Guess they didn't know about me breaking Ram.

"I can't promise anything, but I'll try and restrain myself" Bobby laughed.

A loud knock on the door halted any further discussions.

"Enter!" Carlos barked.

Cal, Woody and Zero all trooped in with a truckload of folders and a flash drive.

"Report" Carlos demanded.

"Sir…" Zero hesitated, cutting his eyes to me.

"Men, your new associate CEO. You answer to her now as well. Begin" My eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"Bosses…and Ma'am, at 0710 hours there was a break in at 183 Goldview drive. A Mr. Dorthmount's residence was attacked by a group of four heavily armed men. Inhabitants including the owner, one female believed to be the wife and their two children are locked in the secure room. Assailants are still present. We have footage of the break in, no inside cameras though, and details of the account" Woody asserted efficiently.

"Hit Play" Carlos instructed, swiveling in his seat to face the drop down plasma screen. We observed the four men enter the house deftly. Tank instructed the tape to be rewound and we watched the scene again. During this time Lester and Bobby had been scanning the folders for information.

"Right. Six man team. Three enter the back, three the front. An extra two men waiting outside as backup. Everyone locked and loaded. Move out." All men jumped to their feet and moved to the exit as I lagged behind. They progressed quickly to the fifth floor where mics and wires were distributed as well as flak vests.

"Babe. I need you to call Mr. Dorthmount and keep him on the line, updating us on their situation. Try to keep him calm. In the control room, Caesar has the phone number to the secure room. Got that Babe?" I froze. Shit, we were surrounded by Merry Men. What the hell was I supposed to address him as? Carlos, no too intimate. Ranger, no he gets upset when I call him that. SHIT!

"Yes, uh, yes…sir" I mumbled the last bit and turned quickly, moving to the control room. Strong arms spun me around. Hard lips crashed into mine.

"Carlos, you call me Carlos. Don't get too crazy Babe" He insisted.

"Don't get shot…and please be careful" I whispered. He kissed my cheek.

"I'm back up Babe. I'm keeping my promise" And then he was gone. Him and the assembled team running to save the world once again.

"Stephanie." Caesar directed me to a seat in the control room and handed me a head set. I heard the sound of ringing.

"H-hello?" A man answered.

"Mr. Dorthmount?" I asked calmly.

"Y-yes. Wh-who is this?" I took a deep breath.

"This is Stephanie Plum from Rangeman Security. We have just dispatched a team to enter your premises and secure the location. Estimated time of arrival is approximately five to ten minutes. Is anyone in your family injured? Can you give me any information on the assailants, sir?" I really hoped I was doing this right. Since the armed men had entered the house, probably ten minutes had passed. Hopefully another ten would see the family safe and well.

"Ms Plum" I cut him off.

"Steph. Call me Steph please" I was trying to charm him a little by being friendly.

"Steph, we're all fine thank you. There are four men. All have at least one gun. One man has a handful of grenades." Crap.

"Carlos?" I hit the button to link to his ear piece.

"Talk to me Babe"

"All armed with at least one gun. They also have five or more grenades" I reported before switching back frequencies.

"Mr. Dorthmount, have the assailants made any demands, threats, or such of that nature?" I questioned.

"They're still searching the house looking for us and my computer I presume. I'm fairly certain they want my new software or me if they can't locate it." He retorted.

"Where are they at the moment?" I prompted.

"Two are upstairs in the front rooms. One's at the front door and the other is at the back" I switched frequencies.

"Carlos? Two men upstairs in the front rooms. One man at each entrance" I relayed.

"Good work babe. We're just about to pull up. Watch the cameras" He disconnected.

"Mr. Dorthmount. Help is moments from arriving. Stay calm and you should all be safe in no time" I crossed my fingers as my eyes stayed glued to the screens in front of me.

Two vehicles screamed to a halt outside opposite sides of the house. Three men stormed into the house from each vehicle. Carlos slid out of the vehicle in front, two guns trained steadily on the building. Bobby did the same at the back. I watched in horror as a grenade was launched at Carlos, who instantly caught it and tossed it high into the air where it exploded.

WOW.

Within five minutes, the teams had secured the four invaders and the family was safe from harm.

Police, EMT's and firefighters swarmed the scene.

In the control room, there were handshakes, congratulations and backslaps all around…well excluding me. Caesar removed my head set without a word. I was dismissed in other words. Slipping silently out of the control room, I made my way to my new office.

My new office. Doesn't that sound nice?

I shut and locked the door behind me and sunk down into my chair. Glancing at my inbox, I was staggered to encounter it overflowing with searches and reports. News sure travels fast.

Sighing, I booted up my laptop and hunkered down to work. Fifteen minutes in, I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Rising, I unlocked the door, swung it open and encountered…no-one. Hmmm. Shutting and relocking the door, I sat back down and heard the sound once more. Opening the door again, I found nothing. Grumbling, I slammed the door and sat back down again.

After forty five minutes of periodic knocking, I exited my office with my gun in hand.

"The next person to knock on my door will be getting a bullet in their DICK! Do I make myself clear?!" I shouted at the silent floor.

No answer.

I fired a round at the ceiling which simultaneously brought every man on the floor to their feet, guns pointed at me.

"Do you all understand?" I demanded.

No-one made a move to re-holster their weapons or move their sights off of me.

"What the FUCK is going on here?" I heard Carlos growl. Every single man facing me paled and their arms dropped. I kept my gun at the ready, but not directed at anyone, as Carlos strode towards me, a furious glare marring his features.

Uh oh.

Words: 2434

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