All familiar characters belong to Janet. Mistakes and Lylo are all me.

Chapter 4

"You know, talking to each other helps the searches go faster," I informed Lylo.

We had set up shop at my little cubby desk this morning, and I showed her how to run routine background checks and organize the resumes that never stop coming in. No matter how full a Rangeman building is, Ranger still manages to find positions for those who really need one. He's a really good guy even though he accused me of using this community service sentence of Lylo's to get out of the jobs I hate doing here. I, however, see myself as a teacher … maybe even a mentor, to someone who needs something totally boring to focus on to offset all the chaos in her life.

"I'm good," was my work-buddy's response.

All right. I can play this game. Hell, I invented the 'I'm not sharing my feelings' game. I went completely silent and just waited. She broke in less than four minutes. Whatever is on her mind is clearly bothering her.

"I was thinking about how I was when I was little. I just realized that I spent my first thirteen years expecting to die from something or someone, and all the ones since actively wanting to die. My dad took off without a second glance at the positive pregnancy test, and my mother purposely had me knowing she wasn't going to take care of me. How do I forgive or ever forget that?"

"You don't," I told her. "And what I mean by that is you stop thinking about her or their asshole actions and concentrate on yours by committing to take care of yourself in all the ways they didn't. Look at it this way, if you really want to piss your mother off, be happy. I am, and my mom still hasn't forgiven me for it."

"Your boyfriend is hot, rich, and clearly has some pull with the cops … and she's pissed about that?"

"Yep. Ranger's Cuban and comes from Newark, not the neighborhood I grew up in. Two immediate strikes against him. But the most despicable thing about him in my mother's eyes is that he loves, protects, and takes care of me while taking zero shit from anyone, least of all her. She despises him even more than she resents me, and that's saying a lot."

"Wow, that's seriously messed up," Lylo concluded.

"It is. I'm embarrassed to admit that it took me over thirty years to understand that, but once I saw her abuse as actual abuse, like what your mom was doing to you, I hauled ass away from her and my old life. And here I am … with the hot, rich guy who is probably the only person besides my grandmother to love me unconditionally."

Her eyes strayed from where I was looking at Ranger, who is currently walking out of his office, to the monitor Ranger got for my cubby that showed Lester talking to Louis on the fourth floor.

"Seems like all the men here love you too," she added.

If it was anyone else, I would've sworn she sounded wistful.

I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "I've told you nothing except the truth since I met you …"

"Since you arrested me, you mean."

"Technically, I drove you to the police station without you being cuffed. And you weren't booked or put in a cell once we got there, so I'd hardly call that an arrest, but I didn't lie to you then either, right?"

"I guess not."

"So believe me when I say that you aren't as unlovable as your mother has made you feel. I don't like a lot of people, but I actually look forward to us hanging out …"

"Forcing me to fulfill a court order," she corrected.

"If your goal is to shut me up faster, you not interrupting me would help with that."

She flicked her fingers at me and I took that as a sign to continue bugging her.

"Everything okay here?" Ranger asked us.

"I think so," I answered. "Lylo hasn't stabbed me with a letter opener yet."

"Because I haven't seen a letter opener," she replied. "Do they even still make those things?"

"Yes, but as you've likely noticed, half of my workforce would see those as toys to challenge each other on breaks. I can do without the extra paperwork and added medical bills."

Lylo nudged me. "He's funny too."

"Only around people he likes. Remember that. You're crabbier than I am, but still kind of adorable."

She glanced past my chair and up at Ranger. "I see what you mean with the letter opener-decision. It's obviously a smart one."

"Steph looks innocent enough, but she knows almost as many ways to kill someone and defend herself as my men do. Another wise decision would be not to try to stab her with anything ... even a breadstick. Especially a breadstick, she'll take your arm off if it's the last one."

She looked back at me with her eyebrows raised. "What can I say ... I like breadsticks. The rest are hazards of the job and my life," I told her. "This will be hard for you to believe, but not everyone likes me or me poking my nose in their illegal businesses."

A laugh escaped and she quickly covered her mouth to stifle the sound.

I tugged it away. "This building is a safe space … you can laugh, cry, or swear without judgment."

Before she could respond with a one-liner to distract from the fact that she finds me amusing, Ram and Hal approached my cubby and stood by Ranger's side.

"Hey, Lylo?" Ram said, purposely sounding extra friendly and not at all threatening. "Hal and I are heading out for lunch. You wanna come with?"

I felt her eyes hit me and then bounce back to them before she spoke. "Um …"

"Don't worry," Hal tried to reassure her, "just as friends. Lester threatened to remove the organs of any man who hits on you, inside or outside of this building."

"It's been fun seeing him so mixed up over a woman," Ram agreed. "Anyway, we thought you'd like insider knowledge of the best burgers in town."

"Ah, thanks. That's nice of you, but Steph and I already have plans."

Now my eyebrows shot up at her with a question in them. Her eyes narrowed in warning and I cut her some slack. I was once in her place, and I know being respected and included takes some getting used to.

"Raincheck," I told the guys. "And everyone knows that after Ranger's Mom and Ella, the diner on Broad makes the best burgers."

"They're only one of the best," Ram argued. "Our choice is from the bar and grill. Maybe we need to hold a Burger-off this weekend?"

A group setting is clearly something Lylo could handle. "Sounds good," she told them, earning herself a double smile.

They left, but I noticed their exit was a little quicker when they saw Lester walking out of the stairwell into the control room. "What's going on?" He asked, watching Hal and Ram pass him to leave.

"They guys were just heading out for lunch," I said, not sure how to play this.

He made a show of looking at his watch. "Well look at that. It is lunch time, isn't it?"

"It is," Ranger said, enjoying the hell out of seeing Lester still having to work for a date. "I was planning on taking the ladies out."

"It's okay, I can …" Lylo started to say.

I tapped her hand. "Come on, we'll have fun," I said, standing up. "You can't get through a day of cubby hell without a bunch of extra calories. They get burned off fighting the boredom, so you really can eat as much as you want."

She darted a glance at Lester and then quickly turned away when she saw that I'd noticed. "Alright. I guess I'm ready then."

Being the modern-day Latin Knight in Shining Armored Vest that he is, Ranger put her out of her misery without drawing any unwanted attention to her.

"Would you like to join us, Santos?" He asked Lester. "You still owe Stephanie some tiramisu."

"I do?" He said, before catching on that Ranger is giving him an opportunity he probably doesn't deserve. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I do. What do you say, Steph?"

"I'm definitely up for a helping of Marsilio's Tiramisu. After I get my Fettuccine Alfredo."

"Babe."

"No, no Babe-ing me. If Lester's buying, I'm getting my money's worth."

"I'm buying?" He asked.

"You are if you want to come," Ranger told him. "And if you do, you use your 'Children's Hospital personality' like we've discussed, so you don't offend the ladies."

I grinned at Lylo. "This is gonna be A LOT of fun now … watching Lester try not to tick off you or the Boss. It's like free dinner theater." She smiled back and didn't back out when I looped an arm through hers before circling Ranger's waist with my free arm. Progress! "You can get the elevator, Lester."

"Fine, but I'm driving," he grumbled.

"I'm driving," Ranger countered. "You can get yourself there on your own if you have a problem with that."

"You wanna ride with me?" He asked Lylo.

"I should probably stay with Stephanie and the Boss, so no one can say I ditched my community service duties."

He sighed with as much effort as Mary Alice would put into a sound of frustration. "Great. We'll tag along and save on gas. Less carbon emissions and all."

"I love my life," I whispered to Ranger, as we all stepped into the elevator.

"You sound like you're enjoying it too freakin' much right now," Lester grumbled.

"I am. Thank you."

"Are you gonna pick on him all afternoon?" Lylo asked, subtly sticking up for her Rangeguy.

"No. I just want you and I to see if he's worthy of your time. And he is. If he didn't care about you, he would've flipped me off, told me to buy my own fucking dessert, and wish Ranger luck in putting up with me. Am I right, Les?"

"Not all of that's true, just the part about Ranger needing luck handling you. I'm always happy to escort two beautiful, intelligent women to lunch."

"Annnnd he's back," I teased.

But true to his word, and his fear of Ranger, while my guy called ahead to get a table set aside for us, Lester spoke quietly to Lylo in the backseat. He even told her to wait so he could go around to open her door for her when Ranger had parked in Marcilios' parking lot.

I'm impressed. Whatever Ranger had said to Lester, or threatened him with, after Lylo's first day at Rangeman, had calmed him down. Yes, he clearly still wants her, but he's staying close without totally invading her space, which oddly enough is now making Lylo reach out to him more. If I didn't already know they belong together, this weird push and pull dynamic they have going proves it.

"I can smell your wheels burning, Babe," Ranger said, rounding the hood of the Cayenne to reach my side, kissing my temple like he missed touching me during the drive across town.

"They're not burning, just spinning a little while I'm thinking. I want this for them, as much as you wanted us for me."

"I wanted us for me too. You're not the only one getting something you've never experienced before."

I turned in his arms and just hugged the hell out of him. This whole situation has me appreciating even more than I already do … the man, the boyfriend, the friend, and father he is.

"I love you," I quickly whispered against his chest, so Lester wouldn't catch us and say something about me not being able to keep my hands off the Boss.

"I know. I think that's what Lylo is highlighting for all of us … how knowing how much you are loved is vital to how much you want to live."

I watched her shrug off Lester's arm as they neared Marsilio's front entrance, but she isn't exactly scowling. When he put both hands on his chest and acted as though she'd physically wounded him, I'd even say her mouth may have wanted to crack a smile if it could only remember how.

"Tell me the truth," I said to Ranger, "do you think there's hope for her? For them?"

He tightened his hold on me. "On paper, I'd say a very cautious yes. She's fully cooperating with my team of specialists. She shows up every day despite bitching that you annoyed her into coming in. And she's tolerating Santos rather than just kicking him in the nuts and telling him to leave her alone and go fuck himself. I know this is difficult, Steph, but you've done everything you can to show her that it is possible to enjoy your life."

That's what I keep telling myself. I mean, if I can end up living what Mary Lou calls a happily ever after, then just about anyone can.