This is an AU story. I hope you find the characters still themselves even if their world is different.

Sally

The Good Wife

Chapter 2

My bodyguard helped me into the limo before climbing in behind me. He took the seat opposite mine. My skin was all tingly again from his hand holding mine as he helped me into the car. He quietly studied me as we sat facing each other. It felt like he was trying to look through me or something. It made me shiver. He reached over and covered my shoulders with my wrap. I shivered again at his touch. He gave me a long look before settling back into his seat.

The other door opened and another tuxedo clad man climbed in. He smiled widely at me, his eyes traveling my body. Not quite leering, more in appreciation. I have to say, I kind of enjoyed it. He seemed to be Latino as well although he was taller than my bodyguard. His hair was shorter, his eyes were green and he had a devastating smile.

"Mrs. Orr," he nodded.

"Steph," I smiled and corrected him. He smiled, but glanced at the other man for approval. His superior maybe? There was a silent conversation before he turned back to me and smiled.

"Ok, Steph." I smiled back at him. He was gorgeous but he didn't have the bad boy vibe going for him that the other man had. He seemed like more of a player.

"And you are?" I asked. My mother had drilled the importance of proper burg manners to me.

"I'm Lester." I got another big grin from him.

I turned to the other man and waited for him to introduce himself. He studied me for a moment, like I was amusing him.

"Ranger," was all he said. He was still very serious.

I looked at Lester and then back to Ranger, "Did your mother not like you?" I asked. Lester laughed and the corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up ever so slightly. I was amusing him. Great.

Lester was apparently the spokesperson, "Street name. Left over from when we were in the Army Rangers together."

I crinkled up my nose in confusion, "Do they call you Ranger too?" Another bark of laughter from Lester, Ranger looked either amused or annoyed. He seemed difficult to read. I felt the need to explain so they didn't think I was a total idiot, "If you were both in the Rangers why does he get the nickname?"

Lester calmed down and shrugged, "He was the best." Well okay then.

"So will you two be following me around all night?" Ranger just nodded yes.

I rolled my eyes, "Big talker, huh?" His lips curled into an almost smile, while Lester tried to suppress a chuckle.

I looked out the window as we wound our way through Trenton. I sighed. Here I was on my way to probably the most important public event of my life so far, alone. My husband was meeting me there. It was kind of depressing. Bastard. I just hoped it wasn't another college intern. That had been a mess. Could he not keep it in his pants for one night? It was his fucking party for Chrissake! Here I sat, the new First Lady of New Jersey on the way to the Inaugural Ball alone. It wasn't that I cared about the girl. I long ago gave up caring about the girl. Our marriage was for appearances only.

We haven't slept together in years. Our agreement was that we could sleep with whoever we wanted. What it really meant was he could sleep with whoever he wanted. I'm not a casual sex kind of girl. I couldn't do it, one night stands were not my thing. That being said, it's kind of hard to find a boyfriend while your husband is running for governor. Probably couldn't do that either. In the eyes of the church we were still married. I was not a great Catholic, but the guilt was still there. The downside was I haven't had a social orgasm in years. Like six years! Usually it wasn't a problem. Usually my shower massager and other feminine electronics took care of things. Usually I wasn't riding in a limo with two of the most handsome men I have ever seen who are going to be following me around all night. That and the knowledge that while I sit here all sexually frustrated, my husband is out there somewhere boffing some dumb slut. Nope, doesn't bother me at all.

"Will he be meeting me out front or inside?" I asked, still looking out the window. "It would look best if we could meet up with them somewhere before we get to the party. For appearances we should arrive together. I am sure there will be press." It was so quiet in the car I turned to see why I didn't get an answer. Lester looked kind of dumbstruck, but Ranger just looked like Ranger. "What?" I rolled my eyes. "You think I am stupid? I know he is off getting his knob polished before the party. I would just like to keep it out of the press." I was just being practical. This was a regular occurrence in my life.

Ranger spoke finally, "Our office building is not far. We have an underground garage. We could meet there to avoid scrutiny." He waited for my approval. I nodded. He grabbed his cell phone and had a four word conversation before hanging up again without saying goodbye. "Half an hour," he told me.

"Nice phone manners," I commented. He gave me another almost smile.

We pulled into an underground garage and parked. Half an hour, what was I going to do in the limo with these two for half an hour? I briefly entertained a very excellent way of passing the time that involved the three of us naked, but the little Catholic girl inside me nixed that idea. So I reached over and grabbed the champagne bottle that had been chilling. The note said Congratulations Governor Orr! And it was from one of Richard's campaign contributors. I poured a glass and offered it to Ranger, then Lester. When they both declined, I shrugged and downed the glass in one swallow. Ranger's eyes widened ever so slightly. Lester looked impressed. I poured myself another glass before settling back in my seat.

"So what is the name of the company you work for?" I couldn't sit for half an hour in silence, it would kill me.

Lester answered, "Rangeman."

"Yours?" I glanced at Ranger. He nodded.

"What all do you do?"

This time Ranger answered, "Security systems, investigations, skip tracing and personal protection."

"Skip tracing?" I asked.

"It's when…" Ranger started to explain before I interrupted.

"I know what skip tracing is." I rolled my eyes. "You know Vinnie?" I asked.

From the look on both their faces, the answer was yes. It also looked like they felt the same way about him that I did. I started laughing. Ranger quirked an eyebrow at me. Damn, I always wanted to be able to do that.

I calmed down enough to say, "He's my pervert cousin." Lester started laughing. Ranger gave me a smile that looked like it gave off about 100 watts. Damn he was beautiful.

"Ok, new topic," I suggested. They both just stared at me. I rolled my eyes, "Come on, you guys can't expect me to sit here for a half an hour not talking."

Ranger's lips quirked up again, "Twenty seven minutes." I rolled my eyes again, before taking another sip of champagne.

"Come on, please?" I begged. Lester looked like he wanted to answer, but he wasn't sure if he should. Ranger just looked like he didn't want to.

Lester's phone rang and he stepped out to answer it. I stared at Ranger with puppy dog eyes hopping he'd cave.

Finally Ranger gave in, "The Diana Prince Foundation?" He questioned.

I smiled at him, "You did your homework."

"Always," he smiled back.

I shrugged, "When I was a kid, I wanted to be Wonder Woman. I had the Wonder Woman Barbie doll and the Underoos and everything." That got a full fledged grin out of him. "So much so that when I was nine, I wanted to fly, so I jumped off the garage roof and broke my arm." I stopped for a sip of champagne. "When Richard and I were first married I worked at his law firm. I was an investigator." Ranger looked a bit skeptical. I shrugged, "I am very nosey and I find people like to tell me things. They trust me." He nodded and I continued, "I kept finding cases where women and children fell through the cracks of the system. They were being abused or neglected, but it wasn't severe enough for anyone to notice or for the law to step in. Either that or they had nothing of use to bargain with the police for to get them out of the situation. They were the forgotten."

I smiled at him hoping I didn't sound like a big sap, "I thought if Wonder Woman were here, she would help them. I asked Richard to do something, to help, maybe take some of the cases pro bono. He did for a while and we helped a few people, like my friend Lula. But after a while he had less and less time to work on it and I found more and more people I wanted to help." I took a big gulp emptying my champagne flute. "My husband. There was an incident." Ranger looked at me knowingly. "The Orrs needed my cooperation. I needed their money. I made them a deal. They funded the Diana Prince Foundation, I agreed to stay silent." I think he was impressed at my negotiating skills. Either that or he thought I was pathetic for staying married to a cheating husband. Judging by how little I could read on his face it could go either way.

"You do good work." He complimented me.

I smiled, "Thanks, we try."

He studied me for a while. I wasn't sure if he was sizing me up or undressing me with his eyes. I was hoping for the latter, not like it would do me any good, but the thought was nice. I hadn't flirted in a long time.

Feeling brave after two quick glasses of champagne, I licked my lips and asked him, "See something you like?"

His eyes turned dark and he gave me a grin that made him look like the big bad wolf. Omigod. I blushed and I felt my panties go wet. I had almost forgotten what it felt like. I worried I had pulled on the tiger's tail. I must have looked scared or nervous, which I was both so that's okay. His grin softened and I relaxed a bit.

"What were you going to ask? You wanted to ask me something." I hoped to change the subject.

"The Deal?" He asked.

I shrugged and reached for the champagne, "What about it?"

"He sleeps around and you stay quiet?" Ranger took the champagne out of my hands, opened the fridge and handed me a bottle of water.

I took the water, probably should watch the alcohol considering the night I had ahead of me. "Pretty much, he sleeps around; he doesn't try to sleep with me. I stay quiet, The Foundation continues to run."

"And you?" He pressed.

I sighed, "And I remain Stephanie Orr of course." I gave a bitter laugh, "The Orrs are like New Jersey's version of the Kennedy Family, or at least they would like to think so. They are all about old money and political power." I shrugged, "Staying married to Richard is a way for me to continue the work that is most important to me." I looked at him to gauge his reaction, but his face was blank again.

"I'm assuming because of your contract with the Orrs that I don't have to worry about confidentiality?" He nodded. I let out a sigh of relief, "I don't normally feel the need to explain my marriage to people, or my knowledge of my husband's extracurricular activities."

He gave me a small comforting smile, "Why did you?"

"Do I amuse you Ranger?" His smile faded a little when I asked but he shook his head slightly to indicate no. I gave him a small smile, feeling a little guilty about my accusation. I played with my water bottle before continuing, "You're hard to read. Normally I am good at reading people." He raised an eyebrow in question. My smile got bigger as I told him, "I have kind of a spidey sense when it comes to people. It's what makes me good at what I do."

He looked like I had confused him again. I seemed to be good at that. "In my work with the Foundation I do a lot of investigating, trying to help out our clients, I guess you would call them. More than that, it's the reason the Orrs need me to still be married to Richard. He is great with policy making and the big picture, but he is gullible as hell. My job is to read people, who is trustworthy and who is hiding something." He looked impressed. "It helps that men get distracted by the boobs and the face. Women get more distracted by the clothes and the diamonds. They all think I am just arm candy, so they say things around me that they shouldn't."

He was studying me, "Why are you telling me all of this? You trust me?"

I smiled widely, "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. I don't know, for some reason I feel like I can trust you." My smiled faded and I took a deep breath, "I saw how you looked at me when you had to tell me he was going to be late. You felt sorry for me. I don't need your pity. This is my life, the deal I made. If you and your men are going to be helping us, I don't want you keeping things from me, trying to protect my feelings." He looked like he wanted to say something, but he was searching for the right words.

I heard a car door slam and loud voices. The Dick had arrived. The anger I had been suppressing for the last hour came bubbling to the surface Must have been the champagne. I wasn't angry about what he had been doing, but that fact that he had to do it now and make me wait, rubbing it in my face. Okay, maybe I was a little angry about what he had been doing. I wanted to punish him. My eyes darted around the back of the limo. I could feel Ranger watching me, trying to read what I was going to do.

"You have a gun?" I asked him quickly. He gave a slight nod, but he looked nervous. He should. "Good, whatever you do, don't shoot me." In one swift move I catapulted myself into his lap. His arms instinctively moved to catch me. I took advantage of the fact that he was momentarily stunned. As I heard the door open, I leaned in and kissed him. He was startled and opened his mouth to protest. I took advantage of the opening to sweep my tongue into his mouth deepening the kiss. His hands tightened around my arms to pull me off of him. As the kiss intensified, he used them to pull me into his body as he kissed me back. His talented tongue caressed mine. His soft lips felt heavenly. I moaned into his mouth. I heard a low growl rumble from his chest. It had been so long, too long since I have been touched by a man. Pathetic I know, but the closest I ever get to seeing any action was Sugar, the masseuse at Lula's spa I saw once a month and I wasn't really his type, if you know what I mean.

I heard someone clearing their throat behind us. Reluctantly I broke the kiss and turned with my arms still around Ranger's neck. Lester was leaning in the door, his mouth hanging open in a large 'O.' He was trying to block the view of the gentlemen behind him. Fuck, that was the whole point!

"Santos." Ranger barked. I assume that was Lester? Ranger removed me from his lap and set me in the seat next to him. Lester joined us, flanking my other side. Another bodyguard entered and took the seat opposite us. Last to join us was my loving husband. Well crap. That was all for nothing. Well not nothing, I smiled and touched my lips. They still tingled. My breathing had finally returned to normal.

"Steph?" Richard greeted me. He at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.

I opened my clutch and repaired my lipstick, barely hazarding a glance at him, "Dickie." I acknowledged him with little interest.

My seat vibrated as the two men on either side of me suppressed laughter at my nickname for my husband. It was going to be a long night.