I met Ranger as I was getting off the elevator in the administration building. "How did it go?" he said as he assessed my face for signs of strain.

I grinned with tears in my eyes. "They had a party for me. I rolled onto the floor and there was a banner welcoming me back, and everybody gave me hugs and told me how happy they were that I was okay and that I was back, and Dirk and Miguel and Nick had brought in a cake and muffins and trays of fruit and so on, and there were urns of coffee and tea and there were juices and milk and things, and we all had a party. They said that they all wanted to fatten me up, and Nick gave me a carrot muffin to go as he said that it was healthy. I got a chance to meet the new staff and have a twenty-minute yap with them, and existing staff were surprised that I remembered about their loved ones and their names and details, and between it all? I felt loved and welcomed back. It was incredibly rewarding."

Ranger grinned. "I am so happy for you, babe. I know how anxious you were about it."

"I think it is going to work out just fine."

Ranger leaned down and kissed me. "I'm glad."

"How was your return?"

Ranger sighed, although his eyes were smiling. "I didn't get a cake or a banner."

"Hunh. That's probably because you don't like cake. They could have given you a bunch of carrots or something though."

Ranger laughed hard as he held the door open for me and let me enter the conference room first. I smiled at Adele as I moved towards the table. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, thanks. The question is, though, how are you?"

I grinned. "I'm going to be just fine. I was really nervous about going back to work today just because I'm suffering from anxiety, but my department had a welcome back party for me. I was able to catch up with everyone and meet the new staff, and it was fabulous. Once again, I was reminded of why I am happy to be part of the Rangeman team."

Adele grinned. "We are the best place to work, aren't we?"

"We are, and I'm not saying that because Ranger is in the room either."

Adele laughed. "Darla and her lawyer are going to be here in another fifteen minutes. In preparation, Darla Suksalot is the person trying to sue us for discrimination. She uses a wheelchair to get around."

"She wanted a job in research?"

"Yes. She has her Master's in Criminology. She did well in school and passed her courses with a 3.5 GPA. However, when she did the psychological testing, she got sixty-four percent on the test. As you know, to be considered for employment at Rangeman, you must score an eighty-five percent or above. The average, amongst our existing employees, is actually ninety-three percent. Interestingly, what she did well in was determination and tenacity. What she failed was teamwork, positive attitude and flexibility."

"What was her thesis on?" I asked.

"Nothing relevant. I think it was on the appropriateness of treating the disabled the same as able-bodied people in the criminal system."

"Oh boy. Okay. What else do we need to know about her and her claims?"

"She made it through the first interview, the knowledge and academic credentials interview, but she didn't make it through the psychological testing. She says that there is a bias in the testing for those that are able-bodied."

"That doesn't make sense considering the number of people that we hire who have challenges."

"I know. There is no basis to her claims, and I have a lot of data to back that up. However, we need to go through the motions despite the unfairness of the claim."

A few minutes later, Darla came in with her lawyer. Her lawyer looked a lot like Darla, and when they introduced themselves they had the same last name. Since it was an unusual name, I figured they were siblings. I wheeled myself over to them and shook their hands. "I'm Stephanie Plum", I said. "I'm the Executive Vice-President for Research and Investigative Services at Rangeman. How are you?" I smiled brightly at them, and both Darla and Zack, her lawyer, looked off-balanced.

"I'm good", said Darla.

I smiled again. "I'm glad. I heard that you were unhappy with Rangeman?"

"I applied at Rangeman for a job two months ago."

"Yes?"

"I didn't get the position."

"Not everyone does. That's the whole point to an interview process", I said. "To even get an interview is a compliment to your skills. Out of all the resumes that we receive, only ten percent get to the interview stage. Of those, only thirty percent make it to the psychological testing, and of those only fifteen percent get hired. From what I understand, you were interviewed but you didn't pass the psychological testing. I'm sorry. We have very stringent qualifications to be accepted on staff."

"I passed the psychological testing. I wasn't hired because I am in a wheelchair."

"You're saying that Rangeman has a bias against the disabled?"

Darla glared at me. "That's exactly what I am saying."

I turned to Ranger. "Apparently you are supposed to be unhappy that you hired me and it sounds like I should be submitting my resignation."

"Oh God, don't do that", said Ranger. "There is no one who could fill your shoes."

I smiled at him and turned to Adele. "Apparently Rangeman made a mistake hiring you as well. They are supposed to be anti-disabilities."

"Good to know", said Adele. She looked at Darla and Zack. "We are looking for a very specific person to work at Rangeman. That person must have a college degree and practical experience. That person must pass the interview process and, after the interview process, they have to get a minimum of eighty-five percent on the psychological testing. Just for comparison, Darla, you got sixty-four percent and that is why your application stalled. We don't care if someone is disabled. In the American population, two percent are of working age, disabled and have a college degree. I don't know how many of those people would pass the psychological testing or have a college degree in a field that we hire in. However, what I do know is that five percent of our staff has mobility issues, whether they use wheelchairs, crutches or use a prothesis. If you take into account other issues such as Asperger's, Autism and so on, that number goes up to eight percent. If you take into account mental illness, we are supporting thirty percent of our staff. That is why we have psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical doctors with extended mental health training on staff. At least half of our staff, not including the security guards, are former military. We also have a significant number of former police on staff. I guess what I am trying to say is that, if less than two percent of the American population is disabled and has a college degree, and we actually hire thirty percent, why do you believe that we are being discriminatory to those who are disabled?"

"I think you just brought in two people off the street who were disabled and paid them to pretend that they worked for Rangeman."

"That would both be pathetic and easily refuted", said Adele.

"There are lots of people who are talented that we want working for us", said Ranger. "Whether they have challenges or not is irrelevant. We have enough money that we can spend on supports to allow that person to shine, whether it is purchasing equipment that better and more comfortably enables the employee to do their job or programs that allow them to do their job more easily. However, to get a job at Rangeman you need to pass the interview process and, I'm sorry, but you didn't."

"The psychological testing is inherently skewed to those who are able-bodied", she said.

"Really?" said Adele. "Then how do you explain that we hire significantly more people who suffer from disabilities than the national average? We have thirty percent of our staff handling issues, Darla. There are only two percent of the population that are disabled and have a college degree, less if you only consider those that are trained in a relevant area. Even if you don't count those with mental challenges, eight percent of our staff still have a disability of some sort."

"Why do you hire so many disabled?" said Zack. Darla glared at him.

"For a security guard", said Adele, "we can't hire a physically disabled person. They are not qualified to be able to do the job. However, someone who is working at a desk? For instance, someone who is working in the Research department? There is no reason that they can't have mobility or other issues. It doesn't affect their job. There are areas in the company that aren't appropriate to have a disabled person. For instance, a bodyguard needs to have full physical and mental capacity. A researcher, however, we can hire any qualified person into the role, regardless of physical ability."

"How do you assess things like workstations to judge whether they need supports?" said Zack.

Ranger smiled. "We have an occupational therapist on staff. Her sole job is to assess employees to determine their needs, and to work with suppliers to make sure those needs are being met."

"I would like a list of all staff and an identification of whether they are disabled or not", said Darla.

"I'm sorry, but that isn't going to happen", said Ranger. "This is a security company and releasing staff names puts staff at risk. I am not willing to do that without a court order."

"I would also like to meet all disabled staff to make sure that you aren't making them up."

Ranger smiled again, but I could tell that he was irritated. "I'm sorry. Again, as I said, this is a security company and I am not willing to put my staff at risk to satisfy a whim of yours."

Darla turned red. "This is not a whim", she said. "This is serious. Just because I'm disabled does not mean that you shouldn't take me seriously."

Adele jumped in. Like me, I guess she could see that Ranger was getting ready to do a smackdown. "We are taking you very seriously, Darla", she said. "However, based on our hiring practices and our employee profile, what you are proposing is ludicrous, and we aren't sure how we can prove it other than to tell you about our hiring practices without jeopardizing the safety of our employees."

"What do you want, Darla?" I asked.

"I would be willing to take a million to go away, and to not make this issue public."

Ranger froze and glared at her, but calmly he said, "I am not going to pay hush money on anything, let alone something that doesn't exist. That is extortion. We will not be paying the million."

"I'll take you to court."

"Okay", said Ranger. "I'll see you in court. Adele, if you could show our guests out? Steph, if you could wait here with me and we'll talk with Adele when she gets back?"

"Certainly", I said. I turned to Darla. "I'm sorry, but since we are talking about full disclosure and our company has disclosed our information, it is only fair that you tell us about your disability. Why do you have limited mobility?"

"It's none of your damn business."

"On the contrary, it is extremely important to the case that you are creating."

"I have MS."

"I'm sorry to hear that", I said. "Is it the type that goes into remission, or is it the type that is progressive and does not have remissive episodes?"

"It is progressive."

"When were you diagnosed?"

"About ten years ago."

"And when did you start using a wheelchair?"

"About five years ago."

"I'm sorry. What are your symptoms?"

"Mobility issues are the main ones."

"What kind of mobility issues?"

"None of your business. This meeting is not to assess my veracity or to see if you made a mistake in your testing. I'm telling you that you did. This meeting is to tell you that I am going to sue you for everything you are worth. You cannot get away with failing to hire qualified people, just because they are disabled."

"I understand", I said. "How do you feel about having MS?"

"I'm devastated. It's like a living death."

I smiled. "Yet there are a lot of people with MS that choose to do amazing things, and they don't let the disease ground them."

"Maybe their illness isn't as severe", said Darla.

"And maybe it's attitude", I said softly. "I have found that, with a disability, you must think about what you can do rather than what you can't. You have to remember that other people, despite being able-bodied, might have just as many or worse challenges in front of them, and they are choosing to thrive."

"That's impossible."

I smiled again. "Not impossible. However, this attitude? That was why you didn't get hired. If you are ever wondering, just think back to your conduct during this interview and you will have your answer."

"Bitch."

I grinned. "Then aren't you happy that I'm not your boss?"

Darla started to wheel herself out of the room but, as she did, I thought about how uncomfortable she seemed in the wheelchair. I thought about Noah. His wheelchair was an extension of his body and he knew instinctively what to do to get the wheelchair to go where he wanted it to go. I had only been using my wheelchair part-time for a month, but I too looked more comfortable using it and making it do what I wanted it to do. Darla, however, was having trouble lining herself up with the doorway. Even though we had wider doorways in all Rangeman buildings to accommodate wheelchairs and other supports, she still looked like she was thinking about which wheel to move to get the wheelchair to do what she wanted. It did not make sense if she had been in a wheelchair for five years.

She turned her torso as she left the room. "One million, and I will go away."

Ranger sighed. "Not happening."

"Then I'll see you in court."

Ranger smiled. "I guess you will."

Zack swallowed hard.