Game On

Chapter 14

Steph POV:

The first part of the plan was in place. Rage and I were out on the floor, talking to Cal and Hector. Rage and I faced Les's office, watching as he walked in with a cup of coffee in his hand and aviators on his face; he was no doubt hung over. He slammed the door to his office open. As the knob hit the wall, the air horn sounded.His coffee flew into the air, spraying everywhere. We had already warned everybody in the office what was going to happen; hearing Lester screech was worth it.

He turned to glare at everyone in the office. Rage had to help steady me as I laughed. He flicked on the light and reached around to yank the horn off the wall. He flung it into the control room before slamming his door. I shook my head.

"Wait until he finds the 'donuts'," Rage chuckled.

As if on cue there was a loud groan. This morning, I sent Rage out to get a box of donuts from the Tasty Pastry. After putting the donuts out in the break room, I wrote a note as he prepared the next prank.Inside of the box, we placed a vegetable tray and placed it on Les's desk. Les opened his door and dropped the box on the floor; after glaring at us, he went back into his office.

I snickered and Rage and I made our way to my office. He laughed after he closed the door. "Wait until he figures out who it was," I told him.

"He deserves it." He shook his head. "So, what're we doing today?"

"We're working on security layouts," I told him.

He sighed."Can't we just wait around and see what happens with our pranks?"

I laughed softly as I powered up my computer. "I've never known you to try and get out of work. Besides, I promised Carlos we would still get some work done today."

He shook his head but nodded. He fetched his laptop before settling on the couch. We tossed ideas back and forth as we talked about plans, pointing out pros and cons of each. Around ten o'clock we opened the door so we could watch the hallway, waiting to put out the next phase of the plan into action. When lunch rolled around, Les walked past my office on his way to the break room.

I pulled the Febreeze bottles and zip ties from my office drawer. I nodded to Rage. He glanced out into the hallway to make sure we were clear before we hightailed it across the floor.

Standing in front of Les's office, we prepared the bottles. Sizing the zip ties. Four bottles. Rage pushed open the door and we tightened the zip ties, tossing them into the office before shutting the door and sealing them inside.

We turned and froze when we saw Carlos standing in front of my office. He raised an eyebrow. Rage and I made our way over to him. He nodded to Rage before leading me inside my office, a hand on the small of my back. He shut the door and looked at me.

When he broke out laughing, I nearly jumped out of my skin. It wasn't what I was expecting. When he finally calmed down, he shook his head at me. "Where the hell did you come up with that one, Babe?"

"Google," I answered with a small smile.

"What did you use?" he asked as he led me to sit in my chair. He walked around sitting on the corner of my desk.

"Lavender." I grinned. He chuckled.

"Babe, you're evil."

"Probably." I smirked. He leaned down and kissed me softly, taking my hand in his and resting them on his knee.

"Viktor called," he said.

"And?"

"We'll be having dinner with him tonight," he said. "We're going to meet him at seven, so we'll have to leave at five."

"Yay, New York during rush hour on a Friday." I shook my head. He kissed the back of my hand with a small smile.

"How many more pranks are you and Rage playing on Lester today?"

"Only a few." I smirked. He chuckled.

"I don't want to know. Just don't get hurt and don't set the building on fire."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Sir," I sassed.

I watched his eyes darken, and I shifted, biting my lip. "God, you're going to be the death of me," he growled, leaning down to kiss me.

"Hmm," I said. "Would you prefer Daddy?"

He sucked in a harsh breath. "We're in the office!"

I grinned. It wasn't often I was able to ruffle his feathers, but I always loved when it did happen. I brought his hand to my mouth and pressed a soft kiss to it. "I guess I'll see you before we leave. What's the dress code?"

"Dressy," he said. I nodded.

He leaned down and kissed me before standing to leave. He opened the door and I called him back. "If you see Rage, can you send him back in? We do have work to do besides pranks," I told him. He chuckled.

"Sure, Babe."

A few minutes later, Rage joined me. I moved to the couch for a view of Les's office. He came back from lunch, opening his office. Two steps inside he gagged loudly and stumbled backwards. Rage and I were laughing but trying to be discreet.

Les walked into Carlos's office and came out a few minutes later, still looking pissed off. By this time Rage and I had gotten ourselves under control, he stormed into my office.

"I know this was the two of you," he grumbled.

"What was the two of us?" I asked, cocking my head and raising my eyebrow, providing him with a perplexed look.

"All the shit that's been happening today." He turned to Rage. "Is this because I cuffed you to the machine?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lester." Rage shrugged. Les glared at us before storming out.

"Wait until he discovers the rest of them!" I cackled. Rage laughed, shaking his head.

XXXXXX

I was on Carlos's arm as we walked into the restaurant. I wore a tiny black dress that hugged my curves in all the right places with four-inch FMPs, and my makeup and hair were done like a true Jersey girl. When Carlos saw me, he smiled and cocked an eyebrow.

"Babe?"

"I bought these shoes and this dress for a special occasion. I wanted to wear them at least once before packing on the baby weight."

He shook his head and moved towards me. His shirt was still unbuttoned, and tie was draped over his shoulders. His hands cupped my hips as he pulled my body against his. My hands rested against his warm, hard chest as I looked up at him.

"You're gorgeous, Babe." He kissed me softly.

"Will you be saying that when I'm fat and moody?" I mumbled.

He frowned looking down at me. "You're not going to get fat; you're going to grow to accommodate our child." His hand roaming to my stomach, that wasn't showing yet. "And if you get moody, I have the perfect remedy."

"Carlos," I scolded with a smile. He chuckled and kissed me again.

We were escorted to a table in the back of the restaurant. In the booth, a man with short trimmed black hair sat. His eyes were ice cold, hair dark as night, features sharp, broad shoulders and trim build. He stood and grinned at Carlos.

"Ranger, it's been a while."

"That it has, Viktor," he said, shaking the man's hand.

"And this must be the lovely Mrs. Manoso," he said, taking my hand and kissed the back. I smiled.

"It's nice to meet you."

"It's always a pleasure to meet a beautiful woman." Viktor grinned.

"Stop flirting with my wife," Carlos said, motioning for me to get into the booth. I laughed and Viktor grinned.

Viktor sat across from us. "What's the word on the street?" he asked.

"He's putting out feelers."

"So, what're we doing?" he asked, taking a sip of his wine, and sitting back in his chair, surveying Carlos and me.

"You're going to meet up with one of our guys on the streets. He knows what's going on and he'll set up the meeting with you and Morelli. Morelli is under house arrest, so It'll be interesting to see what happens. We would at least want audio proof that Morelli was plotting something. So, try and get him to admit as much as possible," Carlos said.

Viktor nodded. "Da, I get it. He is a disgusting man. Plotting to kill an unborn child."

My stomach churned at the thought, and I placed my hand on my stomach. Carlos's hand squeezed my thigh. Viktor leaned forward, patting my hand that rested on the table.

"I will make sure he doesn't succeed," he said.

"Thank you," I said softly. He nodded grimly before sitting back as the waiter approached.

Another Update, hope you enjoy.