Chapter 23

Only the mistakes are mine, I'm just borrowing the characters from JE.

RPOV

It hadn't taken long to come up with a plan and the cover story for our trip to Arizona. Tank, Cal, Lester, and I were the ones going to make the trip out. We'd take the jet down to Miami to pick up Babe and then head out west. It would take most of the day to get there, but with the time difference we'd still have plenty of time to pick-up food and supplies for our "extended vacation" in the rental house we'd found. Then we just had to figure out where in town Anna Kemp was hiding out and extradite her back to Miami. I anticipated the Op would take at least a week, possibly two. Bobby was going to continue the oversight of Miami while Steph was with us, and Hal and Hector were overseeing Trenton.

I was fully aware that a certain level of familiarity between all of us would be a requirement to keep our cover intact. That was actually why Lester was coming. Of all of us, he seemed to have the least amount of filter, which could prove helpful for fucking once. That he'd had a crush on Steph since the minute he saw her would actually work to our advantage. We'd decided to go with a story somewhat similar to the truth: that we'd all served together in the armed forces and were tighter than brothers. That was the true part. The new part of the story was that the time overseas had blurred lines, and when we came back and happened to all fall in love with the same woman, it just made sense since we'd been accustomed to sharing, well, everything when in the service.

I realized more than anyone that I was the person who would be most at risk to blow our cover. While my men had seen that I'd always been protective of Steph and knew we'd been living together nearly 4 months, they weren't privy to the things that had happened during the cruise and in the weeks after. Most of them thought the explosion was just causing Steph to crash in the penthouse temporarily. While we hadn't had the conversation outright about permanent living arrangements, Steph and I both knew things were getting serious. I knew I'd put off filling in my men long enough, so I'd called a meeting to discuss the Op. Ella had brought up a beef stew and fresh bread for us to eat for dinner, and I was waiting in the penthouse screwing around with the TV looking for a game to put on for background noise. We still had 6 days before we left, but there was a lot to be done. There was a knock on the door, and the 3 of them entered together. We all helped ourselves to dinner and beers and sat at the table to eat.

"Jet is confirmed for the trip," Tank began. It was a softball start and we all knew it. While it wasn't like we were going to have to participate in an orgy or anything, similar to the op with Jeanne Ellen, there would be physical affection involved in this. And I couldn't fucking call them all to the mats every five minutes. I'd have to keep the animal in his cage.

"We were talking, and it seems like we need to enact a moratorium on calling us to the mats," Lester said, as if reading my thoughts. He managed to say it without wiggling his eyebrows, which I vaguely appreciated.

"Not that we'll take advantage of it," Cal put in. "Eyes on the prize; we need to find the FTA and get this damn situation with Armando put to bed once and for all." He blushed and seemed to realize his choice of words probably wasn't the best.

"I've been doing some research, and it isn't unusual for a newer poly couple to do the type of long trip together to feel things out," Tank said. "So, I'm thinking we'll be best to say that it's something new to all of us, and we're testing out the lifestyle to see how things go."

I realized I hadn't said anything since they'd arrived. How could I tell them everything without sounding like fucking Oprah? I was Ranger. I was Badass. I didn't talk about my feelings. Until recently I didn't actually feel most of my feelings. I could almost hear Steph rolling her eyes and saying "Suck it up Batman." But I still had no idea how to begin. So, I got up from the table and went into the bedroom thinking sometimes words were overrated. They guys were quiet behind me, focusing on their dinner. I returned a few minutes later with the small box in my hand and without saying anything, opened it to display the 4-carat diamond and platinum ring. I placed it in the center of the table and sat back down.

Tank smiled and clapped me on the back. Cal was nodding, and of course, leave it to Lester to pick the damn thing up and appraise it like he was a fucking jeweler on the side. He gave a low whistle.

"It's about damn time," Lester said.

"When are you gonna do it?" Cal wanted to know. Tank was studying me.

"I'm betting he's still trying to figure it out," Tank said finally. I gave a barely perceptible nod. My brother knew me well.

"Make sure to get the full coverage insurance on this," Lester said. "No offense." Cal slapped him upside the head.

I guess as it turned out, I didn't need any words for this conversation at all.

"But we get it, Boss," Cal said. "We'll keep her safe for you."

"And you better damn well tell us before you ask her," Tank said. "You owe the Core Team at least that much for watching your fucking back and forth with her all these years."

Lester picked up his beer. "To Bombshell and Boss Man!" he said.

"To Bomber and Boss," Cal and Tank echoed. We tapped the necks of our bottles together and drank. I snapped the ring box closed and slid it into my pocket. That conversation went pretty damn well!

*****Change to SPOV******

I'd been running around like a crazy person, working nearly 14-hour days, trying to get as much done as quickly as possible. Though, truth be told, I was trying to get as much done as I could before we left. I was hoping if I got everyone hired before I left that training could take place while I was in Arizona and I could simply come back, make my recommendation for the new Managing Director, and head on home to Ranger. It dawned on me that I no longer really considered Trenton to be home. At some point, it started feeling like home whenever I was with Ranger. I'd have to ponder that more later.

I'd already made preliminary offers to 6 new Rangemen and had received back written acceptance. If I could find 4 more before I left, that would give us 10 to train. If 7 of them made it through, we'd be good to go. Of course, I was hoping for 100% retention through the "Rangeman Bootcamp", but you never can truly tell how people will deal with a situation until they're submerged in it. I had 3 more groups set to come in this afternoon. So far, we'd had nearly 30 guys in for interviews. And surprisingly, I'd only had to throw out 4 of them for blatantly checking me out or referring to me as a pet name immediately upon meeting me. Which was actually lower than I'd expected.

Jorge let the next group of 5 guys into the conference room. He came to my office.

"Steph, we've got the next group ready to roll."

"Great. Jorge, I'd like you to take point on this interview," I said randomly. He tried to hide his surprise and nodded.

"Oh, ok. Sure, I can do that." We got to the conference room door and he paused. "After you, please." I walked in and sat to the chair to the right of the head of the table. Silvio followed us in and took his seat on the left.

Jorge took charge in his own way, and I was impressed in how he was handling himself. We were about 20 minutes in when the man sitting next to answered a question, and got a tickle in his throat. We all waited politely while he coughed and tried to compose himself. I was just about to ask Silvio to grab a bottle of water for him when he looked over at me.

"Hey, hon, be a dear and grab me some water would ya?" he said.

To their credit, 3 of the other guys interviewing looked horrified, and the other one looked like he wanted to laugh out loud. I hadn't actually spoken since we'd entered the room, I'd just been observing and taking notes. I'm not sure what came over me, but spending over a week in Miami where Spanish was the primary language on the Control Room floor coupled with the lessons I'd been taking with Hector all just kicked in and clicked in my head. I glanced at him dismissively, keeping a firm hold on my blank face.

"Sé que no me estás hablando idiota." (I know you're not talking to me, asshole.)

He looked startled, and I gave extra points to the guy across the table who couldn't hold in his laugh. Jorge looked at him with a blank face and serious eyes. Silvio looked murderous. Wow, he really needs to work on his blank face.

"Oh, uh," he stammered.

Jorge stood and never took his eyes off the asshole guy. "I can't say thanks for coming in, because I'd rather wish you hadn't. But please see yourself out now. We won't be continuing the interview process with you," he said.

Nobody moved for a beat, then Jorge walked over to the door and opened it, sweeping his hand grandly toward the Control Room.

"Edward," he barked. "Please show Carl back to the garage. His interview is over."

Asshole Carl stood and walked out, acting too cool for school. Make that 5 assholes we weeded out simply with my presence. I thought I might need to suggest to the Core Team this might need to become standard operating procedure in the future. You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat (who they assume to be) the "help". The rest of the interview passed without additional drama. We liked 2 of the guys enough to extend them offers before they left. The other 2 were going on the list of potential contractors.

We took a break before the last 2 interviews of the night. It was 5pm, and at this rate I knew we wouldn't be done until almost 8. It was Monday, and the group of Brother Husbands was flying down to pick me up tomorrow morning. I had a lot to tie up before we left.

Silvio walked with me to the breakroom for coffee. "No sabía que pudieras hablar español," he said conversationally. (I didn't know you could speak Spanish.)

"Héctor me ha estado enseñando. Escucharlo toda la semana ha ayudado mucho." I explained. (Hector has been teaching me. Hearing it all week has helped a lot.)

"Tu acento es bastante bueno. ¿Ranger lo sabe?" he asked. (Your accent is pretty good. Does Ranger know?)

"Supongo que lo resolverá pronto." (I'm guessing he'll figure it out soon.)

We got our coffee and took a cup back for Jorge. I sent a text to Ella asking her to pack some things from the Penthouse in Trenton to send on the plane with the guys tomorrow morning. We completed the final interviews by 7:45. We made offers to one guy in the next group and 2 guys in the last group, leaving us with 11 total new hires. We spent a few final minutes mapping out the plans for the next few days. Training would begin for all 11 new hires tomorrow at Noon. Silvio and Jorge were overseeing them all, and they'd train on split shifts so that all the men in the office had a chance to meet them and provide feedback. They spend a day or two in each department, looking for skillset fit and how well they meshed with the current team. If I got back from Arizona in 2 weeks, we would be ready to make final placements for teams and begin getting back to normal, once the Core Team named a permanent Managing Director. Silvio and Jorge would be sending me daily briefings on both the new hires and the status of Teddy's programming. And I'd be able to be in contact if any other problems arose.

Finally, at nearly 9 o'clock, I took the elevator to the Penthouse. I'd never called Maribeth for dinner, so I just had a handful of berries with honey vanilla Greek yogurt and two Peanut Butter Kandy Cake Tastycakes. Is that a balanced meal or what? I tossed my clothes into the hamper and made my way to the shower. I stood beneath the hot water until I was pruney and as relaxed as I could get without a shower massager. I washed my hair and shaved, then wrapping myself in Ranger's fluffy bathrobe I padded to the living room and clicked on the TV. I needed to watch something mindless. I was reveling my last couple hours of alone time, because I knew I wouldn't be alone again – or even alone with just Ranger – for at least a couple weeks. I settled on Ocean's 11 and let myself get lost in the story of the casino robbery. Brad Pitt and George Clooney weren't nearly as hot as Ranger, but they weren't bad to look at for a couple hours.

I ended up sleeping on the couch all night. My Apple watch woke me at 5, and I almost screamed when I saw my hair in the bathroom mirror. I'd fallen asleep with it wet, so let's just say it had "extra energy" this morning: little orphan Annie meets Diana Ross. I blew out a sigh and twisted it into a bun. I was supposed to spar with Bobby this morning, so I tugged on some workout leggings, a high support sports bra and tight workout tank and made my way to the gym. Bobby wasn't there, but the lights were on and a handful of men were already mulling around. Bobby and I had only sparred once since we'd been in Miami, and it had been a draw and one pin each. I was itching for a rematch, with my sexual frustrations oozing out as physical aggression. I really missed Ranger.

Bobby and I stayed in the ring for nearly an hour, at 2 pins each. I knew they had to be about to call time, so I used one of the dirty moves that Hec had taught me and managed to get the slip on him. I held him for the required 3 counts and the room erupted. Bobby sprang to his feet and offered a handshake. I knew he knew it was a cheap shot, but he wasn't a sore loser. I returned to the penthouse and showered and dressed for the day in black capris, a stretchy tank top and sandals. We were going to the desert after all. Even though I wasn't in Rangeman uniform, I spent the next couple hours on the Control Room floor, giving feedback on searches and FTAs. Around 10am, the normal chatter of the floor suddenly disappeared. I poked my head out of the conference room in time to see Ranger, Tank, Lester, and Cal walking across the floor, wearing a non-black array of "desert vacation" shorts, tee shirts, and sandals.

My "harem" had arrived.

A/N- shout out to ChristinaS who shared the term Brother Husbands in her review. I loved it so much, I had to include it!