~4~
They didn't hear from her the rest of that day. Lester had to stop himself a few times from calling or texting her and Ranger had to stop himself from going over to see her. Ranger had asked the guys out on patrol to keep an eye on her building and let him know if anything seemed out of place. The last patrol had radioed in that everything seemed okay. It was now about 12 hours from when Ranger dropped off the contract.
Both of the men were about to go crazy when they each got a text from Steph. She had questions for both of them and wanted them to come over to be with her. They both went to the garage and were soon headed to her apartment. They both thought that it was going to go in their favor, as questions from Steph usually meant she was really interested. Silence from her usually meant she wasn't interested and had dismissed it.
They practically ran up the stairs and found her door open. They automatically drew their guns and went into what Steph liked to call "Ranger mode". They crept into her apartment and didn't see her. They didn't hear anything except the rat running on his wheel. The kitchen table was covered with the pages from the contract and from what they could see, it looked like a red pen had thrown up on the paper. Apparently, she wanted some changes made to it. They were in the process of clearing the rest of the apartment when Steph came out from the bathroom. She let out a yell when she saw the guns.
"I was in the bathroom, what is wrong with you two guys?"
They both put the guns away and looked at her. "Babe, your front door was open and you were not anywhere in sight." Lester added, "Besides, from the looks of the mess on your table, there could have been a struggle."
"I opened the door a crack because I knew I would be in the bathroom when you got here. And, the mess on the table is my attempt to make sense of that ream of paper you call a contract. Seriously Ranger, could you have made it any more confusing? That's why I called you both over here. I need some help understanding parts of it and I want both of your explanations. Ranger's is the business side of things and Lester, you provide the common sense of things."
They both looked at her and smiled. Ranger gestured towards the table and they all sat down. Lester looked at the bottle of tequila sitting there and raised his eyebrows at her. "When we get this hashed out, we'll drink."
By the end of the first hour, Lester had gone to the kitchen and came back with a couple tubs of the ice cream she hadn't eaten yet. At the end of the second hour of negotiations, Ranger had sent a text to Tank to bring pizza. It was the end of the third hour when Tank and Bobby appeared with pizza and beer. Steph excused herself for a few minutes and headed into her bedroom.
One look at how exasperated Ranger and Lester were caused Tank to start laughing once he sat down at the table. "Little girl giving you hell over this Ranger?" "Tank, you have no idea," Lester said. "I didn't even read my contract with the Army this closely. She's finding things that I didn't even know existed in the RangeMan contract."
Ranger sat and rubbed his hands over his face. "Do either of you have a copy of this contract? She's made so many revisions, that I can't keep track of what's the most current version." Bobby looked at the table and sighed. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pad of blank paper and handed it to Ranger. "At this point, it might be easier to just start over and write it out as you go. Then you have the attorney do it officially."
Steph came back and after they all had pizza and a couple beers each, they started at the beginning again. Steph was still hung up on the "secret" bank account and the amount that was stated that it held. Bobby had to tell her to forget about that for now, as it wasn't part of her Rangeman contract, it was just something extra Ranger had put in the folder.
They started at the beginning of the contract and line by line, they eventually got through it all, with revisions made by both Stephanie and Ranger. Ranger had put in some generalized statements about training expectations but Stephanie wanted it more exact. She wanted to know what she was getting into and if needed, she wanted to negotiate it down to what she thought her abilities were. What they kept trying to tell her was that as she got more into the training and she improved then should would have no problems with the expectations. Finally, Ranger threw in the towel and let her word it the way she wanted it.
It was close to 2:00 am when they finally got through it all. Lester finally opened the bottle of tequila and poured out shots for all of them. It didn't take many for Steph to end up with a glazed look and a silly grin on her face. She kept looking at Ranger and giggling. That would make Lester and Bobby start to giggle and finally Ranger had enough, He cut them all off and had Tank take the two giggling men back to RangeMan.
He sat down next to Steph and she stopped giggling. He looked at her, tipped her chin up to look at him, and softly kissed her. "Welcome to RangeMan Babe." He leaned forward to kiss her again and saw that she had fallen asleep. He picked her up and put her in bed. Turning off the bedroom lights, he went back into the living room and cleaned up their mess from earlier. He locked the door on his way out and headed back to the office.
~5~
Steph woke up in the morning with a groan. There was a constant pounding in her head and it felt like the little men in her head were trying to escape. She groaned again and pulled the pillow over her head. Before she could smother herself, the pillow was lifted off of her. She opened half an eye and saw a face with green eyes staring at her. She swatted at the face and tried to get the pillow back.
"Good morning sunshine! Time to wakey wakey. Big day ahead for you. Meeting with the RangeMan attorney in an hour. Go shower and I'll get you coffee." Lester reached down and pulled her out of bed and pushed her into the bathroom. He headed into the kitchen and started the coffee. Before it was done, Ranger walked into the apartment with a bag from McDonalds. They looked at each other and laughed. "She won't want the coffee until she has the fries and Coke." He headed towards the bathroom and heard the shower running. He knocked on the door and said, "Babe" while shaking the bag. The water shut off instantly and the door opened enough for her hand to stick out. He handed her the bag and then the drink and the door was shut again.
He walked back into the kitchen and sat down with Lester at the table. Lester poured him a cup of coffee and they waited. It didn't take long for Steph to come out, dressed, and still drinking the Coke. She came and sat down with them. She looked at Ranger and tried to raise an eyebrow at him. It didn't work too well and he laughed. "Babe, we have a meeting with the company attorney to finalize the contract and then we'll meet with the core team to go over a training schedule. Ella is cleaning the empty apartment so we can get you moved into the building either today or tomorrow. I already stopped by and told Vinnie you were done as of today. Any questions?"
She sat with her mouth hanging open. Lester chuckled and asked if she had any questions. She shook her head and took her empty cup to the kitchen. When she came back out, Ranger was holding her bag and Lester had already left. "I'll give you a ride to the office and then we can get started. I would like you to get moved in today if possible. That will give you a couple days to get settled before your business classes start on Monday. We've got you signed up for an accounting class and a class for the type of software that we use. Tank is going to get all of the books that are required and Hector is setting up a laptop for you to use in the classes. When we get to the building, we'll go meet Ella and show you the apartment. If you want anything changed, we can get it done this morning."
"Ranger, I'd like to pack my own things so please don't have the guys come over and pack for me. The thought of Lester pawing through my underwear drawer gives me the creeps. I would like to buy new furniture so can you take me shopping sometime today when I have free time?"
"Sure Babe. I know a couple places that can deliver today still. I'll get you the bank account information and cards for that account so you can use it for whatever you buy. I know you saw the amount you have in the account in the paperwork I gave you, but I'm sure it's changed. A chunk of the money is invested and the interest earned is deposited into the account on a weekly basis. I have a detailed listing of everything that has been done with the account since we opened it for you. All of the jobs you didn't take your full share of the fees are listed, as well as the amounts earned and also a list of the investments and how they are all doing. If you want to change anything, I can set up an appointment for you with our investment staff."
They pulled into the garage and headed to the fourth floor. The door to the apartment at the end of the hall was open and Ranger led her inside. It was pretty empty and Ella was cleaning the floors and counters. There was no furniture but the kitchen appliances were installed. Steph looked around, she would need to buy everything new. The furniture she used at her current apartment was passed down to her from family members and held no sentimental value to her. She had a lot to do today. Ranger asked if she was ready to head downstairs and they left Ella to finish her cleaning.
They walked into Ranger's office and the guys were already there, along with a man that Steph had never met before and Ranger introduced her to him. He got right to business and pulled out the contract that had the changes made that they had come up with last night. Steph read it over and then picked up the pen to sign it. The guys all signed as well, as they were all owners in the company. Once it was signed, the guys all cheered and gave Steph hugs and kisses. The attorney left her a copy and then left the office. Ranger pulled Steph out to the control room and yelled at the guys who were on the floor. With the core team standing behind them, Ranger announced that Steph had just signed her contract and would be moving into the building with the next few days and would officially start on Monday with classes in the morning and then training in the afternoons. The guys let out a cheer and they all came over to congratulate her. Hector smiled at her and with Ranger as his translator, said that he would teach her Spanish if she would help with his English. She smiled and agreed and dropped a kiss on his cheek. He actually blushed and walked away. "Babe, I think you broke Hector." Steph punched him in the arm and then said, "Okay, who wants to go shopping?"
~6~
Ranger and the rest of the core team decided to help Steph shop for the apartment. At the first store, Ranger handed Steph a credit card with her name on it. She looked at him and all he said was "secret account" and she laughed. She was grateful for their help with the electronics and furniture, but once they got to a home goods store, they were useless. She picked out dishes, pots and pans, towels, and Ranger helped her pick out the same kind of sheets that he had on his bed. He waggled his eyebrows at her when she picked them out. She laughed and pushed him away. The furniture and electronics were getting delivered that afternoon and Ranger said the guys would set it up for her if she would let him know where she wanted everything. They loaded all of her other purchases into Lester's car and he would take them back to RangeMan for her.
Ranger dropped her off at her apartment to get her things packed and had Hector come over with some empty boxes. She was sorting through her clothes when Hector knocked on the door. She opened it up and waved him into the apartment. He got to work boxing up what she showed him was ready in the kitchen and living room and then went back to her bedroom. She was lost in thought when suddenly felt that someone was watching her. She looked up and saw Hector standing in the doorway to her bedroom. She let out a yelp and he laughed. "You're too quiet and sneaky. Make some noise next time."
He looked at her quizzically and then she remembered he didn't speak English. She pulled out her phone and using a translator app, showed him what she said. He laughed and then typed something on the app for her. "You have too many sexy underthings. I know why Ranger smile much when he come back from you." She punched him in the arm and laughed. He took the boxes she had packed and set them in the living room with the others. He pulled out his phone and about ten minutes later, Hal showed up with a truck. Hal and Hector carried out the boxes that were packed and then came back inside. Hal asked if she was taking any of the furniture and she said no, she bought all new things and was planning to donate it. He said that he'd come back for the furniture she didn't want and he and Hector would drop it off in Hector's old neighborhood community center that helped people with anything they needed.
By the time Hal and Hector came back, Steph had put together a few boxes of clothes she didn't need any more and asked the guys to donate it as well as the furniture. Hal translated to Hector and he came over and hugged Steph. She looked at Hal and he explained about the area that Hector grew up in and the low incomes of those that lived there and any kind of help is appreciated. She wanted to talk to Ranger about trying to do more for the community as a company.
Steph went downstairs and got in the truck with the guys and headed back to the office building. She helped carry in the last of her boxes and Rex's cage and Ranger met them at her apartment. Her apartment was full of RangeMen. Her couch and loveseat were set up along with the dining room table and chairs. Her boxes of dishes were sitting on the kitchen counter and Ella was busy directing the set up the bedroom furniture. The bedframe was done and Ella was making the bed with the new sheets and comforter. The dresser was set up and it looked like a lot of her clothes was already hung up in the closet. It also looked like Ella had added to her wardrobe, but she wasn't going to complain!
Steph walked back to the living room and found Bobby and Lester arguing over where to set up her entertainment center along with the television and dvd player. She let them picker for a minute before she interrupted and pointed out where she wanted it. She shook her head when Lester stuck his tongue out at Bobby, as Steph picked Lester's choice. She walked into the kitchen and found Ranger unpacking her dishes. She started to help him put things away in the cupboards and drawers. They walked back to the living room and stood looking around. "Starting to look like a home Babe." "Yep, that secret bank account came in handy today. I would have had to work forever at Vinnie's to be able to buy all of this stuff. I basically brought my clothes, movies and Rex. Everything else is new." "Babe, sometimes it's good to start all new. I think this is going to be one of the best decisions you've ever made." "Thanks Ranger, I hope I don't screw it up." "Babe."
Ella left for a bit and came back with pizza and beer for all of them. The guys started trickling out as the evening progressed and eventually it was only Steph and Ranger left. They were both sitting on the couch having a beer. Steph was half asleep when Ranger pulled her onto his lap. "Babe, time for you to go to bed. You've been busy today and falling asleep." He helped her up and gave her a kiss on the forehead and then headed for the door. As he was walking out, he turned and said, "Babe, go take a shower and get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning about what comes next for you."
Steph walked into the bathroom and smiled when she saw a basket full of the shower gel that Ranger uses. "Sneaky man", she thought. She grabbed her phone and texted him. "Thank you." He came back with the usually response of "Babe." She smiled and headed for the shower. She was almost asleep when she got another text from Ranger. "Welcome to Rangeman Babe." She put her phone down and fell asleep with a smile on her face.