Chapter two!

Thank you for the reviews :)

Not mine, not making money

Steph POV

I had been busy since I had left Ranger. I had flown to Europe, traveling around the countries finally settling in London. I was determined to start my own business and after a couple of weeks I was set to start. At the start I was the only employee in the CharlesBrown company. I had taken the name Charlotte Brown and was supposedly married to Charles Brown, who I also had made up. I took the name because there was no ties to my actual name.

After successfully capturing a few huge bonds I hired another employee. His name was Adam Cabot and we grew to be very close. He and I managed the business and soon we were the most successful bonding company in Europe. We expanded to security soon after and with the skills I learned during the time I spent with Ranger, we were the best in business.

He had been screwing with me from the start and I was mad! I was determined to use the skills he learned me against him. I employed now nearly 20 men and women, a thing that Ranger never did. I knew that women were as good as men in this business. Soon we passed him in ranking and I threw a party. I had told my friends who were also working for me, the whole story and they were on my side in this thing. We partied hard and late and I felt horrible the morning after.

I had purchased a house on the outskirts of London. It was three story house in a Victorian style. I had renovated it, the first floor had the kitchen and living area with two living rooms and spa in the back. The second floor had apartments where Mark, Cindy, Michelle and Oscar lived in. They were the core team with me and Adam. He and I lived on the third floor, in separate apartments, he on the north side, me on the south side. In the middle of the house was the grand stairwell. It was huge and gave the house the glamor it needed.

There was was a basement too. There was the gym and computer rooms. The security center was there too and somebody was always there watching the monitors. I had learned that it was for the better to change shifts often so that one would not be sitting there for over four hours. After that the chance of missing something increased.

I had also build two buildings on the yard. One was full of apartments for ten more and the other was guesthouse, where the guys who lived with their families in London stayed during work. They worked one week and had the next week off.

My apartment was large. You entered through a double door and to a hall. If you looked straight forward you were met with a gorgeous view over a small lake. There was four doors in the hall. I had a large table in the middle and a chandelier on top of it. I had fallen in love with it when I saw it at a second-hand shop and had bought it with 50 pounds. Straight forward was my personal living room.

The door that was first on the left side led to my office. It was a small room with large bookshelves filled with books and a desk in front of a large window. I had decorated it with pictures of my family and friends. The colors were in soft beige's and browns, I avoided the black.

The first door on the right led to the kitchen. It was a huge because Adam had taught me how to cook. Now, I loved cooking and was pretty damn good at it. It was shaped like a "L" and had a little island in the corner. It was decorated in light blue and brown and it was always clean. There was a fruit basket on the counter and Rex's cage was on the island. A door behind the corner led to the dining room.

The second door on the right led into a small closet. If you were not paying much attention it seemed like an ordinary closet, but behind the jackets and shoes were a huge gun collection. I had gotten better at shooting and now that I was responsible for twenty, let's just say that I took my job seriously.

The last door on the left side led to my bathroom. It was spacious and white. I decorated the bathroom with different color rugs and towels, according to my mood. There was a large tub and a shower as well as a toilet and sink. A second door on the other side led to my closet. It too was large and filled with clothes. It was divided in two, working clothes and casual. The working clothes side was darker and held a lot of cargo pants and shirts, t-shirts and tops. The casual side had many colors and different textures.

There was another door that leaded through to my bedroom. It was a huge room with the end wall was made of glass, and a king sized bed was against the wall and a Monet above it. I changed the pillows and blankets according to my mood. There was a large cupboard full of blankets and pillows. Against the bed was double glass doors that led into the living room. The end wall was made out of glass and in the middle of the room were a couch and two large chairs. In the middle was a coffee table filled with books and magazines. Behind the couch and chairs was a large dining room table made out of dark wood. There was seats for twelve and there was a beautiful flower arrangement on the middle of the table.

I woke up in my bed with my clothes still on. I groaned as the last night caught up with me. I rolled to my stomach so that I could see the time in the digital watch on the night stand. 8.43. I groaned again and reached for my phone and pager. Both were empty. The pillows were light blue.

I took a shower and decided to wear casual clothes. I could come back up and change if the situation needed that. I walked barefoot to the kitchen and made my self some breakfast and took a pill against the headache. I gave Rex a grape and sat down to eat my breakfast at the island. When I was done, I said goodbye to Rex and walked to the closet, took a gun and patted across the hall.

Adam's apartment was like mine only mirrored. I sneaked in to try to find him. I found him laying in his bed, snoring. I climbed beside him.

"Hey you..." he said voice thick from the sleep and wrapped his arm around me. No point of trying to surprise this man. I snuggled closer.

"Thanks for last night. I mean, getting me back to my place safely. I was a bit crazy last night."

I felt him laughing.

"A bit? A bit? That's an understatement. I mean, dancing on the table? Really?"

I punched him and stuck my tongue out at him.

"I made breakfast, it's in my kitchen if you want to. I'm going to the basement."

He groaned to let know that he heard. I left him and hopped down the stairs to first floor. For safety reasons the stairs to the basement were behind a locked door behind the kitchen in a, what appeared to be an ordinary cupboard. I typed in the password and descended to the dragon's lair.
"Hey Mark!" I said as I walked past him, watching the monitors.

"Hi darling. How are we feeling today?" he turned and smiled at me.

"Better." I laughed at him and continued to the computer room and sat down at one of them. I could have used the one in my office but I liked it here, where all the action happened. I checked my emails.

"Hello, Mr. Brown
My name is Carlos Manoso and I'm a bounty hunter and founder of RangeMan. As you were new to the business and I have been in for almost 20 years, I decided to send you an email if you want to get in touch or need advice. I'd be happy to help."

That arrogant bastard. I pressed "print" and printed ten copies. Then I took the copies and taped one on the computer room door and one on the monitor room. Then I went one floor up and taped the rest up on the walls.

I walked downstairs and replied.

"Dear Mr. Manoso.
If I remember correctly I have gone past you, so really do I need advice from you? I have gotten here without you and I'll think I'll manage from now on too.
Sincerely
Charles Brown"

I picked up my phone.

"Hi, Michelle. Hope I didn't wake you up. Oh, your up already? Good, I need you to watch the RangeMan plane. I want to know when to expect them."

I hung up on her after a goodbye and dialed Cindy.

"Hey honey! I need your make-up skills soon. I've gotta go undercover."

Reviews? :)