Chapter 9

We returned to my apartment as I received a text. 'Document is prepared. Are you available for the next hour?'

I replied, 'Yes. I'll be at my apartment. Call when you arrive.'

"Hal, my lawyer will be here within the hour with papers for me to sign." I neglected to mention the prenup. Hopefully he won't be too angry with me.

"He works on a Sunday?" Hal asked.

"Langdon likes to set his own hours to be available 24/7 for his clients. I personally think he's a work-aholic, but he's already set in his ways," I attempted to explain.

I was in the washroom when my apartment phone rang. Hal answered, "Plum residence, how may I help you?" I could only hear his side of the conversation.

"You're Stephanie's lawyer? Yes, she said to expect you soon. I'll buzz you through." I heard the door buzzer chime as I washed my hands.

I walked into the room to make the introductions. "Hi Harry. It's nice to see you again. Would you like coffee or water?" I offered.

"Coffee please. I'm barely running off fumes," he joked.

I grabbed Harry's coffee, then grabbed me and Hal a bottled water. "Hal, this is my attorney Harry Langdon. Harry, this is my fiancé Hal."

They exchanged pleasantries as we prepared to conduct our business. Harry placed the prenup in front of me.

"Hal. Do you remember mentioning you'd be willing to sign a prenup?" He nodded. "Well, I had Harry prepare one for us. This document indicates if you and I were to divorce, we keep our own stocks, bonds and savings predating our wedding date. It also awards you the house we just purchased. Before disagreeing, I requested the terms to be nonnegotiable."

"Stephanie, we jointly purchased the house. You should be given half." I shook my head ask he attempted to change my mind.

"I'll be fine without that money Hal. Trust me. Please sign this agreement. You are my soul mate. I can't foresee a time where we'd need to implement the prenup. It's merely a formality to protect your interests and to prove to everyone else I'm not marrying you for your money," I pleaded.

"If you insist." I nodded my head, happy he was finally agreeable. He used the pen I passed him to sign his name. I signed the document before handing it back to Harry for his signature.

"Thank you Harry." I saw him to the door.

"I'll courier a copy tomorrow and file the document with the courts," he said before leaving.

Hal was sitting on the couch when I returned to the living room. "Is the financial discussion still forbidden until we marry?" I asked, watching as curiosity crossed his face. Does he suspect I'm financially secure?

"It can wait a few more days. I was honestly surprised you are willing to sacrifice your share of our house should we divorce. Dickie really did a number on you. I love that you're thinking about my financial stability. Are you willing to explain why I would get the house?"

I reached for his hand, threading my fingers through his. "Part of the reason has to do with our finances. The biggest reason is you can't work at Rangeman forever. We will eventually grow old and your ability to keep up with the younger men will become challenging. Ranger once told me men approaching 50 are not suited to work in the security business as the younger men do. I know your SEAL spec ops paid extremely well and you have amassed millions of dollars. If you want to retire at 50, you will have plenty of money to live comfortably into your 90s. I'm not saying this will happen, but if we happen to divorce, I want you to have that extra bit of cash to live more comfortably."

He pulled me into a hug. "You are a very generous and caring woman. It's one of the many reasons I fell in love with you. I can't wait until we can make our commitment permanent. I love you more than life itself."

"I love you too. Would you like to watch the game with me?" I asked, hoping to divert our attention from our finances. It wasn't time to have that discussion.

"Who's playing?" he asked.

"Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees," I said as I turned on the television.

"Yes Baby!" Hal yelled. "Let the game commence." We missed the first 3 innings of the game, but there was still no runs on the scoreboard.

The game progressed slowly. It was the top of the 9th when the Jays scored 2 runs with only one out. "The Yankees need to pull their heads from their asses and make better plays!" I exclaimed.

Hal shook his head. "They haven't played too well this season. I'll be surprised if they can pull a win today," he logically said.

"I know," I said feeling defeated. "They need this win in order to progress through the rest of the season. If they lose this game, they wouldn't be in contention for the World Series. I was hoping this would be their year."

Hal pulled me into his lap. "They can still win the game. Don't give up on them yet," he wisely said. The Yankees managed to strike out the next two players. It was their turn at bat. If they could tie the score, the game will go into extra innings.

"OMG!" I jumped off Hal's lap. "Did you just see that play? Do you think they'll call it?"

"It appears the Yankees managed to win the game. What does that replay show?" he asked.

I kneeled in front of the TV to concentrate on the replay. "YES!!" I exclaimed. "He's safe. The Yankees win."

Hal laughed, "We have to wait for the official call."

I cuddled on his lap as the announcer called, "The Yankees win the game."

"That was a very exciting inning. I've never watched such a thrilling game," I admitted. "Hal, are you spending the night?" I asked, spinning the topic wheel again.

"If you want me here, I will stay." He shifted my position on his lap. I was straddling him as he pulled me into a kiss. When I moaned into his mouth, he lifted me and carried me to bed. He gently placed me in the middle of the bed and slowly removed my clothes before removing his own.

I was surprised he removed his boxers before climbing in beside me. "Stephanie, I need to feel your body pressed against mine. Please let me hold you."

"Okay Hal, whatever you need," I whispered. I too was craving that connection. It was going to take all my strength to stop myself from jumping him. I placed my head on his shoulder, my arm around his chest and my leg over his waist. He was warm.

With one arm across my shoulder and his hand resting on my hip, he pulled me closer to him. He turned to lay flat on his back, pulling me on top of him. I could feel his erection against my body. If I shifted slightly, he would be in perfect position to enter me.

As I started to shift, he said, "Please Steph. We only need to wait a few more days."

Slightly frustrated, I said, "We should get dressed. I can't guarantee I won't jump you while I'm sleeping. You're too much of a temptation."

He leaned over the side of bed to grab his T-shirt and boxers. I allowed him to pull the T-shirt over my head as I helped him pull on the boxers.

"Come here Steph." I moved closer to him. "I know this is difficult for you. Next time I'll remember to leave my boxers on." To remove the sting, he kissed me passionately. He rolled me onto my back and hovered over me. I felt his hands move along my thighs as he kissed me. He gently nudged my legs apart so he could settle between them. I felt him rub against my body and lifted my hips to get closer. Reaching between us, he pushed my hips back to the bed. He lowered his hand to touch my folds. I felt him push two fingers into me as his thumb rubbed my clit. It seemed like a few seconds before I started screaming his name.

He settled beside me and pulled me back into our comfortable position. "Sleep my love. We have an early shift tomorrow."

"Goodnight Hal. I love you," I said on a yawn.

"I love you too Steph."

We woke up at our usual time since we had to spend at least an hour in the gym. I quickly freshened up and pulled my hair into a messy ponytail. Hal's hair was perfect as always. "It's not fair," I complained.

"What's not fair?" he asked.

"Your hair is always perfect in the morning," I complained.

He laughed. "My hair is also short. You are perfect Steph," he said as he embraced me. I pulled his face towards mine and kissed him. He deepened the kiss as he pulled me tight to his body. As I put my hands under his shirt to touch his back, he quickly ended the kiss. "Steph, we need to leave or we'll be late."

I reluctantly removed myself from his embrace. "You're right. I'm supposed to be training with Woody this morning."

We arrived at Rangeman in time for my session. "Great job Steph. You managed to pin me 3 times. You're finally ready to take on Santos."

I pulled Woody into a sweaty hug. "Thank you for helping me. I knew you'd be the one to push me."

"No problem Darlin'," he said as he gently patted by back. "Ram's expecting you in the gun range in 30 minutes."

I looked at the time. "Woody, why didn't you say something sooner?" I practically shouted. I ran to my locker room and sped through a shower. The elevator arrived as I was pulling my wet hair into a messy ponytail.

The elevator arrived on the garage level where the gun range was located. I pulled the door open as Ram was setting up my targets. "You're exactly on time," he said as he tapped his watch.

"Thank goodness," I said. "Woody decided to spend an extra 45 minutes on self defence and I needed a shower. I honestly thought I was going to be late."

He laughed. "If you were late, I'd have to take Woody's shift on monitors tonight."

I pulled out my phone to send a text. 'Did I ruin your plans tonight Woodrow?'

He texted back a colon followed by a p, the emoticon for sticking out your tongue.

Laughing, I shook my head and attached my phone to my belt. Pulling out my glock, I quickly disassembled and reassembled it as Ram timed me. "That was 5 seconds faster than your time last week. Excellent job Steph," he said as he gave me a quick hug.

He lined up my targets and timed how long it took to empty the magazine for the five weapons, moving me down the line to fire each weapon as the magazines emptied. When he pulled in my targets, he noticed only one hole in each. "Steph?"

"What?" I asked, wondering what I did wrong.

He grabbed his phone to send a text.

Tank, Lester, Woody, Hal, Cal, Manny, Bobby and Hector arrived within minutes. Hector set up his laptop to show the video of my session.

Ram pointed to each target and said, "If I didn't just see it for myself, I would never have believed it."

"Believe what?" I asked.

Ram motioned for Hector to play the video. "Do you see what you did? You shot every bullet through the original hole you made in each target. Few snipers are that accurate. I would love to try your long range skills."

He showed Tank my time. "Little girl, the skills you displayed today should make you proud. You outlasted Woody during self defence and your weapon accuracy broke Ranger's current record."

Hal pulled me into his arms whispering, "Wonder Woman, you are absolutely amazing." Everyone pulled me into hugs as they congratulated me.

I felt a buzz on my hip. Reaching for my phone, I felt it buzz a few more times. 'Awesome job Bomber,' Junior texted. 'Sweet. Can we try some long range shots?' Vince texted. More men sent me texts, congratulating me on my accomplishments.

When I read the last text, I felt tears in my eyes. 'Proud of you Babe. I always knew you were Wonder Woman.'

Tank called in a few contract workers to cover monitors so we could celebrate at Shorty's. At 10 pm, I called it a night. Hal dropped me off at home while he returned to work his late night monitor shift.