A/N: I'm hoping things will pick up again, now that I've finally finished one story. R and R and let me know what you think.

Chapter 14

"Morning, Kate," Mac said as he entered the café.

"Morning, Mac. The usual?" Kate asked cheerfully, pouring him a glass of orange juice.

"Please and thank you. How are you this morning?"

"Same old, same old," the waitress said, smiling. "You seen Randi around lately?" she asked.

"What makes you think I have?" he asked, grinning.

She grinned back. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it was the kiss she gave you before you two parted ways a couple of days ago. I thought the sidewalk was going to melt with the heat of that kiss."

"You saw that?"

"Hard not to. It was right outside the café door," Kate quipped, grinning.

Mac just chuckled. At that moment, there was a CRASH from somewhere down the street. "That sounds like her," he said as Kate served him his breakfast.

She nodded. "Good thing I got the coffee going already."

A moment later, Randi breezed in, sans Fabio. Today she was wearing gold gladiator-style sandals with a four-inch spike heel, a knee-length black swing skirt decorated with a Chinese Phoenix in red and gold embroidery, white shirt with pointed collar, and a fitted black crop blazer with white lace sleeves spilling out from the cuff. Her hair was neatly pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck and decorated with a large fake rose. A gold chain and earrings completed her outfit. She carried her usual work implements; cell and briefcase bag and her sunglasses were perched on her nose.

It had been several days since Randi's little "show" with Stewart at the NYPD and, as far as Mac knew, Stewart had behaved himself and vanished from the proverbial radar. Catherine had gone to their parents and raised merry hell about Randi's behavior but, as Randi had warned her, she didn't get much support from them. Their attitude was basically, "Your problem, you get on with it. We are not getting involved in this."

"Morning Kate, morning Charlie, morning Handsome," Randi said, going to the counter and putting her sunglasses on her head.

"Morning, Randi. You got time for breakfast?" Kate asked.

"Sure do, since I'm expecting somebody to meet me here," Randi replied after placing an affectionate kiss on Mac's cheek. He smiled warmly at her as she sat down and sniffed appreciatively at the coffee Kate placed in front of her.

"Did you find a new secretary yet?" Mac asked.

"That's who I'm supposed to be meeting. When she gets here I'll order breakfast and suggest that she do the same. Angel recommended her, saying her name was Candy and a friend. Angel also says she's a former hooker-stripper trying to go clean so I'm going to give the girl the benefit of the doubt and, if she meets my criteria, give her a try," Randi said.

"That's generous of you," Kate said.

Randi just shrugged.

"Want me to check her background?" Mac offered.

Randi thought about that for a moment then shook her head. "No, I trust Angel. If I start checking everyone's background I'd probably get disillusioned pretty fast."

A moment later a tall black woman entered the café, looking very uncertain about her surroundings. She wore very low-rise black pants, a straight-cut black blazer, a spandex tie-front crop top in soft pink that showed off her generous breasts, slim tummy, and her silver belly button stud, and three-inch spike platform heels. Her hair was cut in a neat bob and everyone could see she was trying to look professional but she still had the whole "stripper" look about her.

"Excuse me," the woman said, going up to the counter.

"Can I help you?" Kate asked pleasantly.

"I'm supposed to meet someone here, a Randy Wilcox," she said hesitantly.

"That would be me," Randi said cheerfully, waving to get her attention. "You Candy?" The woman nodded. "Why don't you park it in one of the booths and order yourself something to eat, provided you haven't eaten already. I'll be right there."

The woman did so, sliding into one of the booths and picking up the laminated café menu. After a moment, Kate went to her to take her order. Meanwhile, Randi continued talking quietly with Mac.

"Join me for dinner tonight?" she asked.

"Sounds good. I'll call you if there are any changes," he said.

She smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less," she said. "Oh, scuttlebutt says you may be seeing me back at the NYPD again. Seems Hodges and the other muckity-mucks were impressed with my work there and they've got another four storage rooms they want me to have a look at. I've got Angel talking to them about it."

He nodded. "Let me know how it goes," he said, finishing his breakfast. "Gotta run, literally." He paid Kate and gave Randi a gentle kiss before leaving, leaving her with a small smile on her face.

"You two are so in love it's not funny," Kate said, grinning.

"Yeah, so?" Randi shot back, also grinning, as she stood up and made her way to the table where Candy was. Kate followed her, knowing Randi would order once she sat down. She did so, ordering pancakes and hashbrowns, with whipped cream and strawberries on the pancakes.

"So, Candy, I understand you're friends with Angel," Randi said casually.

Candy nodded. "She's a good friend and pretty cool. She raves about you all the time, saying you're the best boss she's ever had."

Randi chuckled. "Well, if you're friends with Angel then you know of her recent promotion to my business manager."

"Yeah, she was pretty excited about that. She mentioned that you had given her the task of finding a new secretary and offered to put in a good word for me."

"And she did, saying you were a hard worker, honest and loyal," Randi said. "Those are traits I appreciate and value in my business. This is going to sound rude but I need to know. Are you clean?"

Candy flushed but she nodded. "I won't lie, I used to snort cocaine but that was over a year ago and Angel helped me get clean. I don't touch that shit no more."

"What about alcohol?"

Candy shook her head. "Saw enough of that shit while growing up and swore I'd never touch a drop of it. I never have."

"What if you're in a situation, such as a party where alcohol is flowing pretty freely?"

"Then I go to the bar and request a non-alcoholic drink, even if it's only water."

Randi nodded, accepting her answer. "The reason I ask is because I have a zero-tolerance for substance abuse. I admit, I have a drink every now and then, especially during social gatherings, but that's it. You want to smoke, do so but not when you're working."

Candy nodded. Angel had warned her about that particular rule.

"Beyond that, I only have a couple of questions. One, how do you feel about dogs?"

Candy beamed. "I love dogs and have three little Chihuahuas. They're my babies," she said, taking a picture out from her purse and showing it to Randi. Randi's eyebrows shot up as she studied the picture of the three little dogs, all looking up at the camera with curiosity and all three wearing what looked like diamond-studded collars. "The little black fellow is Licorice, the white one with the blotch on her face is Macaroon, and the brown boy is Tootsie," Candy explained. "They're all siblings."

"And I thought I was bad with Fabio," Randi said, handing the photograph back.

"Angel said you had a dog named Fabio," Candy said.

"That I do," Randi said, showing the woman her photograph of Fabio, who was wearing a fedora and had his ears down.

Candy giggled when she saw the picture and handed it back.

"Next question; can you make coffee?" Randi asked.

"Lady, I don't make coffee," Candy said. Randi's eyebrows shot up. She grinned. "I make co-ff-eee," she said, drawing out the word. "Angel swears I'm the only person she's ever known who can make the best gourmet coffee she's ever had."

Randi grinned. "Okay, second to question. How are you for organization?"

Candy's answer was to reach into her bag and pull out her checkbook. She handed it over to Randi who flipped it over to the accounting section and, again, her eyebrows shot up. Candy was a very neat and very detailed accountant, as evident by the fact that her finances were organized right down to the last penny.

"I'm impressed. I usually leave that stuff to our accountant," she said, grinning as she handed the checkbook back to Candy. "Last question. Do you know your way around a computer?"

"Not very well but I can learn," Candy said earnestly. "I can surf the Net pretty good and I can use a cell."

Randi studied her for a moment and came to a decision. Kate arrived with their breakfast orders and Randi used that time to think about what she was going to say. "Okay, I only have a few very basic rules about things. One, when it comes to your appearance, as long as you're not showing too much of your unmentionables and you look reasonably presentable when we have to deal with clients, I don't care how you dress. I mean, you've seen what I let Angel get away, for Christ's sake."

Candy nodded, not sure where this was going but hoping beyond hope that it was going somewhere good.

"Two, don't lie to me. I hate dishonesty with a passion and I recently fired my previous business manager over it. Three, if you have a problem, speak up and say so. Depending on the problem, I may get a bit snarky but I'll listen. If you're right, you get a bonus. If you're wrong, I eat you for breakfast. Four, no matter how tempted you get, don't try and punch out any of our clients. Let me know if there's a problem and I will deal with the client in question. Five, first thing in the morning, don't get between my coffee and me. Last rule, don't expect regular hours. I try and stick to a regular schedule, but as Angel may have told you, some of our clients are bit eccentric or a case or file will come across our desk and it will require a bit of over-time."

Candy nodded, trying to absorb all this.

"Good. Now, once you've eaten, head over to the office and Angel will help you get set up and show you around," Randi said. She named a figure. "Think you can live with that as a salary?"

Candy's jaw dropped but she quickly closed her mouth and nodded again. "Does, does that mean I have the job?" she asked.

In the middle of forking some pancakes into her mouth, Randi just looked at her and said, "Duh."