Chapter 10
I got my Human Resources team organized a few weeks after I signed the contract. Manny, Zip, Junior, Binkie, Hal and Cal enjoyed working under my leadership. Each man had a skill I used to manage all the facets of the job. They still worked the occasional monitor shift because my team needed to get treated the same as all other Rangeman employees. Ranger and the core team had their protocols for a reason.
Rangeman's newest employee, Victor Carpenter, got hired as the office assistant. He primarily worked at the main desk in the lobby. Depending on the type of client, Vic would place us in one of the meeting rooms on the first or third floor. He never let anyone get to our fifth-floor control room.
Victor was tall and built like Hal. He has black hair, grey eyes and he's the sweetest guy I met. I couldn't help notice he was the male version of me, as far as personality goes. We got along like siblings. Ranger gave Victor the task of keeping all Rangeman supplies stocked.
"Darlin', can we talk?" Woody asked while Hector was holding Casey. He was three months old. His christening was scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
"Sure," I replied. When Woody moved us into my office, I asked, "Is this regarding the vasectomy?"
"How did you know?" he asked.
I laughed and said, "Woody, I saw you stuffing the bag of frozen peas in your shorts when we got home from the hospital."
"I can't keep anything secret from you," he groaned.
"Nope. Did you get it done while they had you in surgery?" I wondered.
"Yes. We had already decided Casey was going to be our only child," Woody explained. I bit my lip as I tried to figure out how to tell him. "Darlin'. Please talk to me."
I pulled the document the doctor gave me at the hospital. "Read this," I said.
Woody opened the paper and read the results from the blood tests the doctor had run on me. "Really? But I thought we were finished having children after Casey," he whispered.
"Sweetie, we haven't used protection, and it takes time for your swimmers to dry up. Someone said you don't get pregnant for the first few months if you're nursing. That's apparently not true," I stated. "Are you mad?"
"Not even a little bit, Darlin,'" Woody replied. "I love you, Stephanie, and I love our baby."
"I love you too, Woody." I hugged Woody and cried into his shoulder. It was a huge relief to have him on my side.
"Did you think I wouldn't be happy to have another child?" he asked, lifting my chin to look into my eyes.
"In a way. I thought you'd be mad that we're having another child after I said I didn't want another one," I honestly replied.
"I could never be mad at you, Darlin'," Woody said, rubbing his thumbs across my cheekbones. He leaned in to kiss me. I moaned as he deepened the kiss.
"Babe?" Ranger interrupted us.
"We forgot to shut the door," I whispered to Woody. My husband shook from silent laughter. "Since you're here, Ranger, Woody and I have an announcement." I reflectively rubbed small circles on my abdomen.
Ranger pulled me into his arms. "Congratulations. I'm proud of you, Babe," he whispered. He hugged Woody and offered his congratulations.
As I watched Ranger, I realized he was going in the wind again. "When do you leave?" I asked, touching his arm.
"Saturday 2300 hours," he replied. "Four to six months," Ranger stated before I could ask the follow-up question.
"Are you taking any men?" I wondered because I'd have to organize the contract employees to fill the gaps.
"Ram, Cal, Bobby and Zip." It would leave me short-handed for an extended period. Ranger grabbed the stack of documents he placed on the table near the door. "Read and sign."
A tear dripped off my chin, landing on the page I read. "Ranger, are you sure?" I asked. He nodded. Damn pregnancy hormones! I reluctantly signed the duplicate documents and gave them back to Ranger. He exited my office, closing the door behind him.
"Darlin'?" Woody took my hand as he led me to the couch. He pulled me onto his lap. His hands rubbed my arms before he held my face. "Baby, please talk to me."
I shook my head, not wanting to tell him why I was upset. Woody lightly kissed me before tucking my face into his neck. "It's a suicide mission," I whispered. He nodded, understanding what Ranger got me to sign. "I need to get back to work. You're still on medical leave, but I really could use your help."
"Anything," Woody replied. I only had two days to get the contract workers in place. The most challenging role to fill was the medic. Woody released me, then opened the door to my office. I had to meet with my team to get organized.
A few hours after reviewing the new applicants, Cal said, "What about Jose?" He gave me Jose Jimeno's personal information. Jose served as a medical assistant in the Navy. I already had Jimeno on my short-list for a third interview.
"Vic, please set his interview for 1700 hours today or 0800 tomorrow," I ordered. Vic grabbed the page containing Jose's contact information and composed an email, asking for an immediate response. My email indicated a new message from Vic. It got sorted into the correct inbox folder. I liked to keep records of all outgoing and incoming emails from the HR department.
"Move Zero to the gun range," Woody suggested. "He was a sniper for the SEALs." I nodded and gave Vic the signal to request a meeting.
"You need to see this application, boss," Binkie said, passing me the resume.
"That is a hard no," I responded, shaking my head. I shoved Helen's application into the cross shredder and smiled when the paper confetti fell into the trash. An idea popped into my head. If I could recruit older, retired veterans in decent shape, they could help with searches and monitor duty.
"Yo," Ranger answered when I called.
"Do you, Tank, Lester and Bobby have a few minutes? I have an idea to run past the team," I asked.
"Babe," he replied. Ya, ya, I know that I don't need permission to make staffing changes or decisions. I rolled my eyes when he hung up the phone.
"I'll be back in a few minutes," I announced before exiting my office through the door connected to Ranger's domain.
Lester and Bobby entered the room as I closed the door leading to my office. "Helen applied for a job as Rangeman's receptionist. Obviously, I'm not going to hire her. But it did give me an idea. The younger men don't like monitor duty or helping my department run background checks. What's your opinion on hiring fit, older, retired veterans to fill those gaps?" I asked, wasting no time to get to the point.
"Babe?" Ranger raised an eyebrow. Tank wore his thinking face while Lester and Bobby sported matching grins.
"They would have to pass Rangeman's entrance exams," I added.
"Do you have someone in mind?" Tank asked.
"I have a few ideas. My dad, I mean, Uncle Frank, and his friend at the legion, could get hired to work part-time to assist with monitor duties. They wouldn't need to work more than a couple of shifts per month," I answered.
"You don't need our permission, Babe," Ranger reminded me.
"I know, but it's still your company. It's a change from the protocol."
"As long as the men could meet the minimum requirements, I don't see any issues with pursuing your plan," Bobby added.
"Since I'm in charge of hiring, do any of you have problems with me hiring family?" I asked.
"Your family or other Rangeman employee's family?" Lester asked for clarification.
"I received multiple applications from your siblings. Other than nepotism, was there a reason for not interviewing them?" I wondered why Ranger didn't hire his brother, Antonio. He would be an excellent fit for my team.
"No," they simultaneously replied. I stood up, finger waved and exited Ranger's office through the adjoining door to my office.
"What happened?" I heard Lester ask.
"Little girl is going to hire our brothers," Tank replied.
"God, help us all," Bobby added.
"Alright, men. Vic, please schedule interviews for Antonio Manoso, Leo Santos, Hayden Brown and Francois Sherman." Woody raised an eyebrow, recognizing the names.
"Tony, Leo, Denny and Hawk are in town until tomorrow morning. Should I schedule the interviews for this evening?" Vic asked. I did not enjoy conducting interviews after my work hours, but it was unavoidable. It was essential to get through the interviews to find suitable replacements needed to get expedited.
"Go for it," I replied. "Sorry, Woody. I need the men in place before Ranger leaves on Saturday.
"It's okay. Hector wouldn't mind keeping Casey company."
Vince entered my office to drop off lunch for everyone. He went to Pino's to grab meatball subs. When Cal unwrapped his food, I covered my mouth and ran for the washroom. Woody followed me to hold back my long ponytail. "Are you okay, Darlin'?"
"I'll be fine. Our little one doesn't like marinara sauce," I joked. "Ella probably has something for me to eat."
Anticipating my nausea, Ranger got Ella to bring me grilled chicken and pasta with Alfredo sauce. "Carlos thought this would be easier for you to eat," Ella whispered when she gave me the food.
"Bless you, Ella. Would you adopt me?" I asked.
"Mi hija, you're my daughter in my heart," she replied as she always did.
After eating the delicious meal, I went to Ranger's office to thank him. "How did you know?" I asked.
"Babe," he replied. I rolled my eyes and waited for a better reply. "I heard you in the washroom."
"Ah. Thanks," I said, hugging him. "I thought you anticipated that I'd get sick."
"I heard not every pregnancy is the same. You ate marinara sauce when you carried Casey. I assumed this pregnancy would be different," he explained.
The interview with Juan Jimeno went better than expected. I had a contract ready for him to sign. He agreed to work as the lead medic until Bobby returned from his mission. Juan was willing to work as a medic under Bobby's leadership to alleviate the stress. Bobby wouldn't have to be on call 24/7 anymore. "I look forward to working with you and the team," Juan said after signing the contract. I was surprised he didn't want his lawyer to review the terms.
Lester's younger brother, Leo, was a younger version of Lester without the womanizing part. He'd been dating his girlfriend since they attended high school. Neither of them felt the need to get married and have children. They were content by living together. Leo was excited to get offered a job to work in the IT department, assisting Hector with programming and installations.
Tony, Ranger's younger brother, Antonio, was more personable than Ranger. He was outgoing and loved to banter. Ranger gave one-word answers while Tony was talkative. If I tried, I could learn about Ranger as a child. Since I don't like people talking about me, I never pressed for details. "How do you feel about travelling?" I asked.
"Doesn't bother me. I don't like getting tied down," Tony joked. I rolled my eyes and giggled. Tony was easygoing. "Are you the woman that Carlos calls Babe?"
"Yes. Carlos called me that nickname since the day we met. I'm married to Woodrow Johnson. We have a son together, Casey," I replied, giving him some information about myself.
"Carlos was not happy you got married. I always expected him to marry you," Tony honestly replied. "Mama had never seen him smile until he talked about his Babe."
I grimaced. It was more information than I needed to know. Ranger made his mistakes, and I found my soulmate in Woody. "I'm sorry for causing him pain," I quietly stated. "It was never my intention to hurt him."
"Steph, he brought this upon himself. His mistakes are his burden to bear."
"Anyway, back to the interview," I said to redirect the conversation. "I'm looking for the ideal candidate to travel between the Rangeman branches to offer HR relief. I plan to hire two employees per branch to manage the staff. What could you offer as a liaison between head office and the branches?"
"I'm attentive to details and follow protocol to the letter. If I have issues with any policies, I address the issue with my supervisor and encourage others to do the same. Communication is key to keeping the employees happy and engaged," Tony stated. He mentioned his ability to diffuse disagreements by acknowledging both sides of the complaint and finding a suitable compromise.
We ran through various situations I was involved with, and he had remarkably great solutions that would have prevented me from getting injured or acting impulsively. "I would like to offer you the job in my department. Rangeman could use a negotiator," I said as I passed him the base contract. I used the amendment page to outline the job responsibilities. "Read this over. If you agree to the terms, I'll have the legal team draw up the contract."
Tony perused the document and initialled that he agreed to the terms. He would sign the official contract in the morning. "When do you need me to start?" Tony asked.
"Monday morning," I replied. Tony shook my hand and left. I looked forward to working with the younger Manoso.
Denny and Hawk's interviews were informative. They wanted to work in the HR department at a different branch. When I asked Denny why he didn't want to work in Trenton, he replied, "I love my brother, Bobby, but I can't work in the same city. We'd drive each other crazy after a few months."
I laughed and replied, "I could see that. Bobby tends to hover. Do you have a location preference?"
"Boston, but only if Hawk agrees," he replied. Hayden laughed when I attempted to raise an eyebrow. "Frankie and I are partners. We don't want to get separated. Wherever he goes, I'll go."
"I'll keep that in mind," I replied. I already interviewed Hawk. He didn't care which branch he worked from as long as Hayden was there. I discussed the possibilities with Manny, Zip, Junior, Binkie, Hal and Cal before placing them in Boston. Both Hawk and Denny were pleased with the placement.