Chapter 50

Moving Right Along

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

When we arrived in the garage, Tank escorted me upstairs to our apartment.

"Boss, your precious cargo is home safe and sound."

"How did Wonder Woman do?" He asked.

"She can tell you all about it" Tank answered, he kissed me on the head and I locked up after he left. I quickly walked to join my man on the couch, even with broken bones, he is sinfully sexy. I sat down and wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a few lip sucking kisses.

"Hi Honey, how do you feel?"

"Fine Babe, I want to hear everything and don't leave out a single detail." Carlos said kissing me back.

"Let me get out of these clothes first." I hurried to our room and washed off my make-up and put my hair in a ponytail. I changed into a pair of yoga pants and paired it with a tank top. I walked towards the couch and he was looking at me with a want of sex on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"I want to eat you up right now." He purred.

"Stop it." I ordered. "Do you need help with your meds?"

"Nope, I'm good."

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Yeah, I'll have whatever you have."

I have become accustomed to drinking warm sweetened almond milk in the evenings so I warmed up two large coffee mugs for us and cuddled up next to Carlos.

"How did you do tonight, did Billy and Ella take good care of you?"

"Yes they did Babe, my evening was uneventful, now tell me about tonight. How many times did Ramos ask you to marry him?" He asked with a hint of a smile.

"Ha, I'll never tell." I answered kissing his sensual lips. "It was a good night, we had a great dinner and you know how Alexander feels about talking business during a meal. He loved the food and after dinner Alfonso brought out Cuban cigars."

"Did you smoke one Babe?"

"Nah, they laughed at me when I asked for one." I said smiling.

"So at first Alexander said he didn't want to rent to the foundation."

"And what did you say?" He asked.

"I said thank you for hearing me out."

"That's it, why respond like that?"

"Carlos, the man intimidates me, I mean you know how he is." I explained my reasoning for my wimpy reply.

"And Ramos accepted that response?" He asked looking concerned.

"Oh hell no, he lectured me about fighting for what I want." I shrieked back.

"Okay, start from the beginning." Carlos prodded.

"Well here's what happened….." I gave him all the details, everything Alexander and I discussed. He would ask questions here and there but mostly he listened to what I had to say. I told him everything that took place, at times I got so excited I was almost hyperventilating. Carlos had to calm me down a few notches. When I told him the things Alexander said slight tears filled my eyes. When I finished telling him about my evening, he graced me with a 5000 watt smile.

"Did I do good Honey?" I asked excitedly.

"You sure did, I had a feeling he'd sell to you for a nominal fee but honestly $525.00 dollars is unprecedented. I told you there was no need for my help to negotiate with Ramos."

"Carlos I was so shocked, I really was, even though I was fully prepared to rent the hotel but certainly never thought for one second I'd be able to buy the building and still have money to set up the foundation."

"I'm so proud of you Babe; you never cease to amaze me you are an amazing woman." He said looking at me with pride all over his face.

"Thank you" I said gushing with pride myself.

"Tomorrow we'll meet with Jamison and get the foundation started. Have you thought of names?" He asked.

"Yes I have, '1 Ranger Foundation' and…." I stopped what I was going to say when I saw the look on his face.

"Babe."

"You don't like the name?" I asked.

"It's not that but I think it may sound better named after you."

"Nope, the name isn't up for negotiation, it's staying as is." I said firmly and he sat staring at me.

"Don't fight me on it Carlos, you won't win."

"Okay Wonder Woman it's your foundation."

"And I'm naming the hotel 'Xander Towers' what do you think about that?"

"Why did you decide on those particular names?"

"That's easy; to honor the two most powerful men in my life who helped make this dream a reality."

"I'm extremely honored Babe and I'm sure Ramos will be too." Carlos said as he wrapped his arm around me and held on tight.

"I am so in love with you Stephanie Michelle Plum." He said looking at me with love written all over his face.

"I love you too Carlos, I never thought I could love like this." I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Come on Babe, how about we go to bed." I stood up and held out my hand and we slowly walked to our room. I helped him into bed and made myself cozy in his arms.

"Are you feeling okay Batman?"

"I'm feeling fine; I want to make love to you so badly."

"Well you'll just have to wait Mr. Impatient." He let out a sigh and loud grunt that I've never heard from him before and I laughed.

"Okay horn dog what can you do that won't cause you any pain?" I asked feeling somewhat tingly.

"Well how about I show you." And he proceeded to show me a few things and I in turn showed him a thing or two or maybe four. After our evening of sensual fun, we spent some more time talking about my evening, I told him about the business men and the lecture Alexander gave me about constant security.

"Ramos is right Stephanie; I trust him and his men to take care of you when you are with him, whether my men are on hand or not and I would have done the same thing." Carlos said with concern.

"I know but really what's the big deal if men check me out, women gawk at you all the time."

"The difference is when women check me out they rarely act out on it. In your case the men blatantly approach you showing their need."

"How many women have fallen all over themselves and walked into walls or tripped over their tongues when you walk into a room for example, the bimbo flight attendant? There have been plenty of times that I've wanted to kick the crap out of them." I knew I sounded jealous.

"Babe, this isn't about me. You do live a different lifestyle now and you are a very beautiful and stunning woman. Men want you and women are jealous of you." He said as he kissed my head. Then he spent the next hour trying to convince me to change the name of the foundation.

"Babe how about Warrior Foundation?" He asked. "NOPE" I quickly said.

"SMP Angel Foundation?" He wasn't going to let up. "NOPE" with emphasis of the P.

"How about The Vet Foundation?" He suggested with frustration. "NO, NO AND NO. I told you the name isn't up for negotiation '1 Ranger Foundation' will be the name and that is final." I said standing firm on my decision.

"No room for negotiation then?" He asked sulking. "NO, NONE, ZIPPO, NADA." I said firmly.

"Okay, okay you win spunky." He said finally giving up.

"Jeez, finally you understand."

"I don't understand but it's your baby." He said.

"Carlos, does it worry you to have your name attached to a foundation for fear that it will be an attraction to the crazies?" I asked curiously.

"No, we attract crazy fools with or without my name being attached to a building." He said.

"It's important to me to honor the man who has helped this dream become a reality. Goodnight Carlos, I love you." I said slowly drifting off while I made myself comfortable in his cocoon and fell asleep.

"Sweet dreams my beautiful angel."

The alarm rang on our phones and I woke up flustered.

"Good morning sunshine." He was wide awake.

"Good morning sexy." I replied groggily and half asleep. "Why are you awake, you're not planning on working out are you?" I asked still very tired.

"Yeah Babe I am."

"What?" I said suddenly wide awake. "Does Billy know?"

"Yes, I'm limited and able to do a light workout." I looked at him and got out of bed and took care of the medication ritual putting everything on the table for him while I used the bathroom and changed. I quickly checked to make sure my patient took his pills. I helped him put on his shorts and t-shirt then his shoes.

"I love that you let me take care of you for a change." I said as I kissed his knees.

"Well I appreciate it very much Nurse Plum." I finished with his shoes and helped him off the bed. I led him to the door. As we got inside the elevator he put his arm around my waist and had a serious look on his face.

"Carlos what's wrong?" I was a little worried.

"Babe will you change your name after we get married or will you keep Plum?"

"What brought that on all of a sudden?" I asked somewhat confused.

"Just wondering that's all."

I stared at him kind of bothered by his question, not sure where the hell that came from.

"Of course I'm changing my name. I am proud to have Manoso as my last name." I said happily.

"Along with the Manoso name come issues." He said.

"Well I'll tackle those issues when they come up. You and I together can kick ass big time." I said as I kissed him. He paid me back with a beautiful smile.

We walked out of the elevator and into the gym to find some of my Merry Men working out and they stopped what they were doing to talk to their boss. They all had a look of relief on their faces seeing that he was able to make it to the gym. They greeted him saying they were happy to see him. They most definitely care about their boss and worry about him and he is the same way towards his men. Billy was in the gym so he helped Carlos with his workout and I did my thing.

"Hey Ram, you want to spar with me?" I asked as I was walking on the treadmill.

"Okay Bomber, you got it." Ram replied with a look that said he couldn't wait to kick my ass.

When Carlos finished his workout, he stood against the wall watching Ram and I spar, I swear missing a few days of working out really took its toll on me. It definitely seemed harder to keep up with Ram, all in all I had a pretty good work out and he taught me a couple of new moves, the hook and uppercut.

"Whew Ram, you gave me a tough workout." I said as I walked towards Carlos and led him back to the elevator.

"Good job Babe, you kept up with Ram well." He said slapping my butt.

"Thanks boss."

"What time are we meeting with Jamison?"

"I'll call him and schedule a time for this afternoon if that works for you."

"That works Honey." I replied and followed him into the apartment. When we got inside I automatically went to feed Rex and stopped when I saw the stack of TastyKakes I suddenly became sad. Carlos walked behind me and wrapped his arms around me as I started to cry.

"Come on Babe, how about breakfast?" He slowly walked to the warming drawer and pulled out our breakfast.

"Carlos go sit down, I'll take care of this." I softly shoved him out of the way. We finished our breakfast; I cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. I took my sexy Cuban by the hand and led him to the bathroom and together we showered adding some touching and kissing into the mix. After dressing in our Rangeman gear, we were ready to head out the door to our offices. I walked my boss to his office and kissed him.

"Have a good day boss. I'll check on you in a couple of hours."

"Okay Babe."

I sat at my desk took out a note pad and started writing down my plans. I find it's better to put my ideas on paper then transfer everything to my computer. Beginning with the foundation first, I wrote a list of goals which consisted of Jamison, money to invest, Board of Directors and fundraising. I will ask Carlos to be a board member but I know he'll say no because this is my baby. I know I want Lester as a board member, I also don't the board to consist of Rangeman employees. I'll ask my dad, well at least I have decided on two. I jotted down my other ideas and moved on to the hotel.

The first thing on my list is to find doctors and nurses who can either volunteer or work for minimal pay. I continued on with the list that consisted of recreation, common rooms, criteria required to live in the hotel. Of course we would research each potential resident because I definitely don't want anyone with any type of criminal record.

My alarm chimed at eleven to check on Carlos and headed towards his office.

"Hi boss, how are you feeling?" I asked as I knocked and walked in.

"A little tired but other than that I'm fine." He said smiling and I sat in the chair facing him.

"Do you need anything?" I asked.

"No, I'm good." He said.

"Did you take your meds?" I'm sure I sounded like a nag.

"Taken care of Babe" He answered with slight annoyance.

We talked for a little while and I decided to ask him about being a board member.

"Carlos, would you be interested in serving on the foundation's board of directors?"

"Don't get upset but I think its better I stay out of it, I'll help where I can but I think it would be a conflict of interest with Rangeman donating money etc." He said after giving the question some thought.

"Okay, I figured you'd say no but wanted to ask anyway, don't worry I won't get upset. Would you like to go out to lunch just the two of us?"

"Where did you have in mind Babe?"

"Well let's go to the bonds office and grab our files, then we can go to the Flaming Grill." I suggested.

"Okay works for me." I walked to his chair and helped him up and we told everyone we were going to lunch and took the elevator to the garage.

"Oh well how do you like this, it looks like I'm going to be the driver." I said smirking because he hates it when I drive.

"I can manage to drive Babe."

"Nothing doing you are not able to drive, get in the passenger seat Mr. Stubborn" I said as I walked him to the car and opened the door for him I know he was not a happy camper. Once he got settled, I situated myself behind the wheel and drove to the bonds office.

"Lookie here, it's Rangeman Ken and Barbie." Lula said as we walked in the door. We talked for a little bit and Vinnie came storming out of his office.

"Look you girls don't get paid to gossip, Plum if you…" he stopped as soon as he saw Carlos.

"Hi Ranger, Steph, how are you doing?" He said sounding like a slime ball and Carlos growled at him. "Ranger, can you come in my office for a second, I have some business to discuss with you." Vinnie asked and they walked into his office and met behind closed doors while I talked to Connie and Lula.

"Humph, wonder what the weasel wants with Batman" Lula asked walking towards the office and put her ear to the door.

"Hey nosy get away from the door" Vinnie shouted, we forgot about the stupid video camera.

"Any files for us Connie?" I asked and she handed me about eight files. "How was your night with Ty, he's a nice guy isn't he? He and Alex have hit it off."

"Yeah, he really is Steph; he is also one funny guy and nice looking too." Connie said and she continued telling me about their evening. Lula wasn't full of gossip today, not sure if it was because Ranger was in the office or she learned her lesson from our lunch when I sort of told her off. All in all, it was a nice little visit I skimmed through the files and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to train Ty on research. I was listening to Lula talk about her relationship woes when Ranger walked out of the office with a very agitated look on his face.

"Ladies" was all he said as he took my hand and led me out the door. I helped him in the car and took the wheel and headed to the restaurant.

"What happened with Vinnie, you don't look too happy?" I asked him.

"Harry is putting pressure on him to either buy the business or he will sell it himself. Your pervert of a cousin wants me to put up the money for him and buy it on his behalf."

"Wow, would you consider doing that?" I asked somewhat confused.

"No, if I put up the money I'll make the deal with Harry directly and it will be run in the same manner as Rangeman. Connie is a good Office Manager but Lula will actually have to work."

"Well it's up to you Honey, whatever you decide; I'll support your decision but don't do it just because his last name is Plum." I said holding his hand.

"It will be on the agenda at the staff meeting tomorrow." He said kissing my hand. We arrived at the restaurant and of course since Batman was with me, I had good parking karma. I helped him out of the car and we slowly walked inside where we were seated at a corner table. We ordered our food and enjoyed a nice lunch; we didn't talk about work or anything business related.

"Babe, when these ribs heal or if Billy releases me early, how about we go to Point Pleasant for the weekend and we can bring Marcus with us. How does that sound?"

"That would be nice but we have a busy schedule with Christmas coming up, getting ready for the company party. How about we wait until after our engagement party and I bet Marcus will love going to the beach."

"Okay, I thought it would be a good way to take your mind off the ra….I mean Rex."

"Thank you, that is so sweet but it's a busy time right now and I think keeping busy will help me deal with losing my sweet boy. I will definitely take you up on that after the New Year. I promise you that."

"When you are ready, let me know." He said sweetly.

"Besides, you negotiated an entire weekend of sex remember and we can't very well do that with Mini B around now can we?" I said with my own version of a wolfish grin.

"Yeah I forgot about that, good thinking Babe. When Billy releases me, be prepared for our weekend, payback remember and by the way, what do you have in mind for our weekend?"

"Well it involves a weekend at a cabin without neighbors for miles, a hot tub and hammock on the front porch, lingerie and some toys" I said in a sexy whisper and he gave me a wild devilish look.

"Hahaha….you just reminded me of that cartoon character Snidely Whiplash."

"Thanks a lot; I do think I'm a little better looking."

"Oh, believe me you are much much better looking." I said as I held his hand.

"This was a good idea Babe, just the two of us having lunch. I love spending time with you."

"Thanks, I agree, we rarely get time to ourselves. You're my favorite person to hang out with Honey."

Our food was brought to our table and as much as I don't like sushi, I did try a bite "blah, I'll stick to my shrimp tempura and rice." I said stuffing my face with the deep fried goodness.

"Babe." My favorite guy said shaking his head.

We were getting ready to leave when Carlos received a message on his phone. "Babe, Jamison is waiting for us. I didn't realize it was this late." He said throwing several bills on the table and I drove us back to the office.

Jamison was waiting for us in the conference room; I quickly went to my office to gather up my notes and joined the men at the table.

"Hello Stephanie, how are you?" Jamison asked standing up and shaking my hand.

"I'm doing well, thank you. I appreciate you coming out on short notice."

"Carlos tells me you are looking to start a non-profit foundation, tell me about it." He asked and pulled out his own note pad. I explained my idea of the hotel first and then the foundation.

"So you see, the two will go hand in hand."

"Okay, regarding the foundation, I will be able to take care of the majority of the items but I'll list them for you, stop me if you have any questions."

I was already worried wondering if I would understand anything he would talk about but Carlos was one of the smartest men I know, so if I miss anything he'll catch it.

"First, you'll want to file as a 501c3 which is the tax code for a non-profit and we'll need to file a certificate of incorporation, have you decided on a name?"

"Yes, '1 Ranger Foundation' and please don't ask me to change it." I said.

"Don't worry, Stephanie I will not interfere in anything other than helping you."

I was relieved there wasn't going to be another discussion about the name.

"You will need to select board members, naming yourself as the Chairwoman of the Board. You and the board will need to develop vision and mission statements and establish by-laws as well as board policies. Does this make sense to you so far?" Jamison asked.

"Yes, I have already started thinking about the board members; I jotted down a few ideas for the vision and mission statement."

He looked at Carlos and they looked at me smiling.

"We'll obtain a tax ID number and establish a bank account. Do you have money to start up your foundation?"

"Yes I do, the money that has been sitting in my account over the last few months, I don't even know how much is in the account at this moment."

"Not a problem, I'll check into all that. I have the pertinent information you provided for the law suit against the doctors. You will need to put in place check signing procedures on the account and I'll provide you the best recommendations for the proper checks and balances."

"I have two investors who have committed to matching the initial investment, so whatever is in the account will be tripled."

"Very good, you've already done a lot of leg work so far. I will take care of filing for federal tax exemption and the local and state issues." Thank goodness Jamison is taking care of the legal portions of this because five minutes into the procedure and I'd have a huge headache and probably give up the entire idea.

"Have you thought about office space, you will want to keep it separate from Rangeman "

"Yes, I have purchased a hotel with plenty of space my idea was to use some of the offices for the foundation."

"You purchased a hotel without utilizing legal services?" Jamison asked with concern.

"Well, it's all on verbal agreement; we haven't drawn up any paperwork." I explained. Carlos was smiling he has remained pretty quiet so far.

"How much did you agree to pay for the hotel?"

"Five hundred twenty-five." I said smirking it was now my turn to play games.

"You agreed to pay five hundred twenty-five thousand dollars for property without seeking my counsel are you serious?" He said with agitation in his voice looking at Carlos and me.

"Calm down Jamison, let her have her fun." Carlos intervened.

"Hahaha, did you miss the amount that I mentioned?" I asked with a smile.

"Stephanie, I'm not following at all." Jamison said with confusion and I couldn't help laughing.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry I had to have some fun. I agreed to pay five hundred twenty five dollars, not five hundred twenty five thousand."

"Can someone please explain, I'm an intelligent man but I am at a total loss." He said with a frown and burrowed eyebrows.

"Jamison, my dear friend Alexander Ramos has a hotel that has been empty for quite some time and I asked if the foundation could rent it from him but he sold it to me for the disgusting low price I mentioned." I explained looking at his face smiling.

"Stephanie, you amaze me, you really do. You have become quite savvy in the business world; I'm impressed my dear." Jamison said with a huge smile on his face.

I laughed at my attempt at being funny.

"Now have you thought about staff?"

"Yes, I will have minimal staff."

"Fine, you will need to have someone responsible for payroll, again keeping that separate from Rangeman I will take care of that and insurance coverage. The main thing you need to worry about is developing a fundraising plan which I am quite sure you've already thought out."

"Yes, I plan on holding an annual fundraising event each year and will hit up everyone that Rangeman has donated money to. I figure the start up amount will be good until one year from now. I plan on holding a big fundraising event. I have the wedding to concentrate on as well as the hotel; I will definitely need your help with the hotel." I said.

"Absolutely, Stephanie we'll tackle that once I've taken care of the foundation. I want to sit down with you and discuss your plans in detail for the hotel." Jamison said smiling.

"Okay, we can handle that after the holidays if that's alright."

"Yes absolutely, so let me get started on my portion in establishing the foundation, send me an email with any questions you have and I'll do the same."

"Thank you Jamison. I appreciate your help, you make it sound so easy and I'm glad to have you on board." We finished up our meeting and he left me with the list of twelve points we discussed he had underlined the items I was responsible for.

"I'll email you with the balance at the bank and other information we discussed. This is going to be a great venture Stephanie." He said as he stood up, we shook hands and I escorted him out the door.

"Come on boss, you have had a busy day. I believe Billy said work a few hours, not all day. I'll work on the files tomorrow with Ty, good way to start training him on research." I said as I held out my hand for him to follow me. We took the elevator to our apartment but I wanted to stop and check on the guys before we continued on to our floor.

I knocked on Manny's door to which Sade answered, she asked us in and we walked into the living room and saw Manny sitting on the couch, looking a little drowsy.

"Hey Hubs, how are you feeling?" I asked

"Oh doing okay, a little tired and bored sitting at home." He answered

"Well you can help me tomorrow with some research; I'm training Ty with the files we picked up from the bonds office."

"Sure, I can do that I'll have to check with my nurse to see what time she'll let me leave the apartment." Manny said laughing and his beautiful nurse smiled right back at him.

"Well take your time; come to my office after ten." Carlos asked him about his arm and other questions about how he was feeling. Sade and I talked for a little while and I thanked her for taking good care of Manny.

"No need to thank me Stephanie, he's not such a bad patient." She said smiling.

We left Manny and went to check on Alex and Cal; they were both doing okay but in a lot of pain. We visited with them for a little while and Carlos told them to take as much time as they needed and if and when they are ready to get to work, they can do so as long as Billy gives the authorization. I took my patient by the hand and led him to our apartment. Ella was just walking out the door as we got out of the elevator.

"Hello, dinner is in the warming drawer; you have chicken enchilada casserole with vegetables. Stephanie my dear I have a little surprise for you." Ella said and got in the elevator.

"Umm, yummie I wonder what my surprise is." I said licking my lips.

"Babe, you're killing me."

I gently helped Carlos take off his clothes and he almost ripped mine right off me, slowly he pressed me against the wall. He started kissing my neck and made his way down to my breasts.

"Carlos, stop you'll hurt yourself." I said feeling a little weak in the knees.

"Babe, they'll heal." He said in between his kissing.

"If you don't let the ribs heal properly then it will take you longer to get your full strength back and you know what that means?"

"What does it mean smart ass?"

"It means your weekend of sex games will be drastically delayed."

"Ugh." He grunted and finished what he was doing.

"Just be patient and let the ribs heal as they should." I urged him.

I helped him put on his lounge pants and made sure his bandages were still wrapped properly then he slowly lifted up his arms for me to put on his t-shirt and I finished putting on my shorts and tank top and headed to the couch.

"How about a glass of wine, Babe?"

"Yes, that sounds good."

He wouldn't let me get the wine; he moved slowly towards the kitchen and brought back a bottle with two glasses along with the bottle opener. He tried to open the bottle but that much movement was too painful.

"Honey, let me take care of that." I said as I took the bottle away from him. I let him pour the wine. We relaxed on the couch and drank our wine. It's nice to end the work day early and relax but sad we get to do it because Carlos is hurt.

"Carlos, will you help me with the vision and mission statements and by-laws?"

"I'd be happy to Babe but don't you think that is something you should do with your board members. I mean you don't want this to be a one-man show do you?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Who are you thinking about for board members?"

"Well since you passed, I thought I'd ask my dad, Ty and definitely Lester. I don't want the board made up of Rangeman, employees, how many do you think I'll need, also do you think I should ask Jamison?" I asked.

"Depends on your by-laws, I can help you with that which will determine how many you want on your board, as far as Jamison, yes it's important to have legal representation as a board member. Are you okay with chairing the board?"

"Sort of but can you help me if I have any questions or just need help in general?" I asked.

"Yes of course, you and I will work on the by-laws together then send them off to Jamison for review and approval. Once they're set he will submit them to the state and feds." My very intelligent man explained.

"Thank you Honey, I appreciate it."

"I'm here for you, but it's your vision and I want it to be all yours I don't want to influence you or your ideas."

I leaned closer kissing his sweet lips and rested my head on his shoulder. We sat in silence for a few minutes until my growling stomach disrupted our peace and quiet.

"Let's take care of the beast shall we?" He took my hand in his and we walked to the kitchen.

"You sit down Carlos; I'll take care of everything you've done too much moving around today."

I set the table, brought the casserole dish along with the bowl of Spanish rice and re-filled our wine glasses. We had a wonderful dinner and Carlos talked about his meeting with Vinnie and purchasing the Bonds business.

"Are you seriously thinking about buying it?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure; I want to discuss this at our meeting tomorrow with the core team. I think it would be better to have a group of owners rather than just me and you."

"Me, why would you include me?" I asked.

"Babe, we're a team it's not just me anymore you're my partner." He explained.

"Well that's news to me."

"My thought is to open the option of purchase to some of the men. I'll bring up the idea at the meeting and see who sparks interest and take it from there."

"That sounds like a great plan Honey."

"I know one thing, Vinnie will not get away with any of the crap he does now and like I said before, Lula will have to learn how to actually work instead of filing her nails." He added and he sounded pretty serious about it.

"I agree 100%." I said to re-assure him I supported his statement.

We finished our dinner and I quickly cleared the table and took the dishes to the kitchen, not because I'm organized like Martha Stewart but I was curious about the surprise Ella had for me. I took the lid off the cake platter and there was a pineapple upside down cake. What more could I ask for, dinner with a sexy hunk of a man and dessert, it doesn't get any better than that.

After dinner Carlos helped me with writing up basic by-laws and suggestions on the vision and mission statement giving me key points to use in my proposal to the various agencies when I pitch the idea of 'Xander Towers'. We also talked about the possibility of doctors and nurses and how to present them the idea and ask them to volunteer their services or receiving a stipend rather than salaries. My smart man took another direction.

"Babe, here's a suggestion. You can have a doctor on the board and hire PA's and Nurse Practitioners to work under his or her tutelage. I think you'd have better luck with them agreeing to volunteer or accept minimal pay. Some doctors can be greedy."

"You are so right, that makes much more sense. Do you think Marisol and Alejandro would agree to be on the board?"

"I'm not really sure, why don't you meet with them you can present your idea and plans." He suggested.

"That is perfect, see you're the smartest man in the entire world for exactly this reason." I said

"What reason would that be?" He asked.

"You can put into words what runs in my mind with your Batman ESP skills."

"The most intelligent thing I have ever done is fall in love with you Babe."

"Aww, Honey that's so sweet." I said giving him a kiss.

We talked a little more about fundraising and then we moved on to the employee Christmas party.

"So what are your thoughts about the staff party?" I asked.

"Haven't given it any thought what so ever." He answered

"Well I have, tell me what you think about this idea." I said looking at him.

"I haven't heard anything yet." He said smiling.

"Ha, ha oops." I said as I slapped my palm on my forehead.

"Okay, we have the dinner at the hotel and the employees with families can bring their kids. We can have a playroom set up for the kids, a baby sitting room for the little ones. We could have a bouncy house and kid's entertainment. For the adults a DJ and dancing, we'll hold a raffle for prizes and announce the winners for the two-week trip to Barbados. The kitchen is well staffed and can prepare the food. I'll invite the residents from the vet hell hole hopefully they'll be living at Xander Towers by then." I said almost in one breath barely coming up for air like an excited child.

Carlos sat on the couch and stared at me smiling.

"What?" I asked.

"You are something else you know that?" He answered.

"I know, ha, ha." I said with a huge smile. "So what do you think of my idea?"

"I like it Babe, run with it. You have my authorization." He took my hand and kissed it.

I jumped off the chair and grabbed my note book to quickly write the ideas down before I forgot everything, with so much going on I have to jot things down because I can't be sure I'll remember it all. I may just call the wedding planner and have him help me with the employee party. It will be his first event as a test of his abilities. To be honest, I'm using that as an excuse. I desperately need help. A party that I would throw would be okay but an event planner will make the party pop.

I was able to convince Carlos to eat some of the cake, I was happy to see him enjoying it. He has such will power; I wish some of it would rub off on me. Oh who am I kidding, I'll never ever be able to give up desserts.

Once we were finished with dessert, I cleared the dishes and ran the dishwasher. Walked over to my sexy Cuban and whispered in his ear in a sensual growl. "I want to take you to bed my sinfully sexy man."

"You got it Wonder Woman." He quickly got off the chair letting out a sound of pain, it didn't seem to bother him too much as he ripped my clothes off.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

A/N: Thank you all for following and your awesome reviews and messages. You make my heart happy.

I'm trying to get as many chapters in before my partner in fiction Susan goes on vacation in September. I may be able to knock one more out.

Next chapter will make a little leap to Christmas and the engagement party.

My goal is to have this story finished on its 2nd birthday I originally had planned to have it finished by Jan 2016 but the story had other ideas and took over. I hope you get a chance to check out the pictures on Pinterest. Jacob1391

As always, the original characters belong to JE, I'm borrowing them. The story line, additional characters and mistakes are all mine and mine alone.

And last but not least thank you to Susan Peters for really bringing out the best in the story.

Duke Ranger was pleased with this chapter, I hope you enjoy it.

Ranger and Stephanie will be back soon.