*Sigh* I know, I know. RL has just been kicking my butt. Thankfully, I knew what I wanted to write, I just had to find the time to get it down on paper. I'm just glad I did. I was beginning to feel a little guilty.

Please keep me in your thoughts (and if you're religious, your prayers) tomorrow. I have an interview for grad school and I could use a little extra luck.

Enjoy the chapter! Not mine.

"I can't believe I've never been to your office." I said to Carlos. We were in the elevator heading up to the fifth floor. Carlos was currently having problems fastening my visitor's badge to the front of my shirt.

"Maybe if I had a bit more cloth…" He mumbled to himself as he unbuttoned my shirt one more time.

I smiled. "That's three now. Anymore and my navel is going to be showing." I looked up and saw the camera. "Can they see us?"

"Mmm, no," Carlos said, nuzzling my neck. "I scrambled the cameras the minute we got in."

At least there was that. "Well they will see me in two floors."

"Not if I can help it." That seemed to get through to him. He finally fastened it to my collar and quickly buttoned my shirt. "You already saw the garage and off that is the shooting range. The first floor is the front desk and… other things…"

"Just say it. It's your arsenal."

Carlos grinned. "Arsenal is a little weak for that. And that's not all."

"A little weak? What do you have back there?"

"The usual and some stuff that's still in testing stages from the government." I opened my mouth and he put his finger on my lips. "I can't tell you what they are."

I pouted. He smiled and kissed my protruded lip. "Well then what else is there?"

"Interview rooms."

"Isn't that a nice way of saying Interrogation rooms?"

Carlos just grinned at me. "Floor three is the gym and training area. We got everything imaginable down there. Four is apartment for the men who want to live on site. There are six apartments and four are currently occupied. Five is the control room and my office. Six is Ella and Luis's apartment. They keep the place clean and orderly."

There was one more floor, but before I could ask, the doors dinged open.

And there stood ten of Carlos's men.

"Jesus." He muttered at me. "Don't you people have jobs?"

"Hal called. He said you were bringing…" Lester looked at me and then back at Carlos. "He said you were bringing a girl up here."

I giggled. Carlos slid his eyes to me. "Don't encourage him."

Lester grinned. "My therapist says I'm incorrigible."

"You need a better therapist."

"Probably."

Carlos crooked is eyebrow. "Move."

They backed up five feet. I giggled again. "Come on, they're just curious. I take it daddy doesn't bring dates home very often."

Carlos closed his eyes. "Never. And don't call me daddy. It undermines my authority."

I bit my lip and looked at him coyly. "Not even when we're alone?"

He grabbed me and pulled me in close. "Especially not then. I'd rather hear you scream my name as you finish." He whispered in my ear. I shivered as he gave it a small kiss.

I blushed and turned to the guys. "My name is Stephanie Plum. Please call me Stephanie or Steph, not Ms. Plum. That makes me feel old."

The guys went around and introduced themselves. From convict and gang member to decorated soldier, I could feel the loyalty oozing out of every man standing in front of me. Carlos didn't care if they did time in prison or another country, as long as the man was true to the company and stayed on the morally grey side of the law, they were good in his book.

And that made them good in mine.

Five minutes later, Carlos was able to shoo them away. He then took my arm and led me to his office. I was surprised to find his office was done similar to mine with dark woods and calming wall tones. The room was very Carlos.

Over the past few months, Carlos would come to visit and I'd be piled under paperwork. He would gently kiss my head and told me to work and he'd wait. I figured I could do the same for him. As he signed time sheets and worked with clients, I pulled out my iPad and worked on my shipments.

Ten minutes later, Tank came in.

"We got a situation boss with… Oh, hey Stephanie."

I gave him a finger wave.

Carlos nodded. "Give me five."

Tank returned the nod and left. Carlos finished up what he was doing and came around the desk to sit in front of me. He crossed his arms. "You're not a prisoner in here."

I raised my eyebrows.

"You can go visit Hector and Lester. I'm not keeping you on a leash."

I smiled. "I know that. I had some things to work on." I showed him a graph.

Carlos looked relieved. "Okay. Tank and I need to go over some things with a client. If you get hungry, there's a fridge in the control room. It's down the hall, to your left."

"Ooh." I sighed. I was getting a little peckish.

Carlos smiled and kissed my head. "Don't go crazy."

"Try not to get shot."

"I don't think I'm leaving the building, Babe."

"Still."

He smiled against my hair. "I'll do my best." And he left.

I continued to work for a few more minutes until I got bored. He did say there was food and I am kind of hungry. Breakfast was a few hours ago and we were having lunch together, but with work, I wasn't sure when that was going to be. So I meandered down to the control room. No one seemed bothered by my presence anymore and I was grateful. Looks like they were taking to me like I was to them.

Lester and a few of the other guys were taking a break when I entered the room.

"There she is!" Lester said, getting up and putting his arm around me. "I thought Ranger was going to keep you locked in the tower all day."

I rolled my eyes. "He's not the warden." I found the fridge. "Ooh."

Lester and the other two guys chuckled. He let me go and explore the kitchen. Unfortunately, it wasn't filled with meatball subs and pizza, so I settled on an apple and a bag of baked chips and joined the guys. Lester introduced me to Bobby and Woody. They had been out on a FTA pickup when we arrived and were coming back to be debriefed.

"So you're the boss's lady." Woody said with a Texan twang.

"He told you guys about me?"

"Well, Lester did most of the talking, but yeah." Bobby answered.

I punched Lester on the shoulder. "Such a gossip."

"Hey, when the boss comes back wearing last night's uniform and a big grin, people need to know. Plus, we all follow Lula."

I sighed. We were going to have a talk about that. "Not everything she puts on there about me is true."
"So you didn't slip and fall last week?"

"Well, yeah, that's true…"

"And you didn't snort pop out your nose?" Bobby asked.

"Actually, I did…"

"And didn't you…"

"Stop. I get it." I giggled. Lester hugged me close. "I'm glad you and the boss are together. We all are."

"Really?" I asked.

The guys nodded. "You've done wonders for him."

Woody grinned. "I've never seen him so happy."

My blush darkened. I had no idea how much I had changed his life. Not once did he feel the need to tell me this. Sure, we talked about how we were territorial, but never anything more serious.

Like forever.

Mental head slap.

This guy is the epitome of maleness. It was going to take more than a few dates and really hot sex to get him to tell me that.

And I was willing to wait.

"Well, ditto for me." I said shyly. Lester grabbed my shoulders and squeezed.

"Good. Because I wouldn't want to kick your ass."

I was laughing and hugging him when Carlos found us. He smiled and held out his hand. "Ella just called. Lunch is getting cold."

My stomach chose that moment to rumble. Everyone chuckled and the blush came back. I took Carlos's hand and he pulled me up. Carlos nodded to the men and I gave them a finger wave goodbye.

"Everything okay with your client?" I asked.

"Just fine. Enjoy your visit?"

"I did." I hugged his arm closer to me. "I'm glad I'm here."

He took the arm I was hugging and wrapped it around me, bringing me that much closer. "Me too."

He may not talk about forever, but talking about the right now was good enough for me.

Lunch consisted of chicken fajita soup and an assortment of bread rolls. I moaned my way through every bite. Ella was a goddess!

"Babe." Carlos said gravely.

"What? I can't help it! It's so good."

He grinned at me and grabbed another roll. Whole wheat, of course. "Glad you're enjoying this."

"I want Ella to adopt me."

"I'm sure she'll be pleased. She doesn't have any daughters."

I was surprised at that. She had no one to pass this wonderful knowledge down to? I did need to eat at home more…

More to think about later.

After we had finished, Carlos gave me a tour of his apartment. The whole apartment may be sparse in the knick knack department, but overall, it had a calming effect on me that I thoroughly enjoyed.

"And what's back there?" I asked.

"My bedroom."

"Ooh," I breathed. "I haven't seen yet that." I looked at him through my eyelashes and began unbuttoning my top.

"Babe, about Jeanne… What are you doing?" He asked, a horrified look on his face.

"I don't want to talk about her. I want to make love." I said, releasing the button I had just redone.

"But she…"

There went another button. Carlos's eyes darkened. "You're going to do a button every time I bring her up, right?"

"Your mother didn't raise a dummy."

The wolf grin made an appearance. "What if I do this?" He asked shortly before ripping my shirt open and sending every button flying. "No leverage, babe."

Thank god I wore the right bra. Slipping the ruined shirt to the floor, I unhooked the front clasp of my bra, revealing my breasts. Carlos's eyes honed in on the exposed flesh.

"Still want to talk about Jeanne."

"God no."

"Well talk later?" I asked, nodding my head.

Carlos nodded his head, eyes not leaving my nipples. I giggled. Deciding to take pity on him, I grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom.