I don't own them, I don't make any money off of this and I only write for my (and hopefully your) entertainment. I promise to return the characters to the author unscathed. No copyright infringement intended.

Thank you, Kat, for betaing for me. You did an awesome job!

Chapter 6

"Santos. My office. Now. Lil, your desk's waiting. Tank, Bobby, you finish here." Without waiting for a reply from either of them I strode out of the gym, making my way into my office. I settled down behind my desk, waiting for Santos to get his ass down here.

Lester knocked once and walked in, looking wary.

"Sit." He did as he was told, sitting down in one of the visitor chairs in front of my desk, looking down onto his hands which lay twisted in his lap.

"I'm sorry. What's my punishment? Beat the shit out of me, because I certainly deserve it. I was way out of line and for that I'm sorry." That certainly was a new one.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Les, I know something's bothering you."

"I feel like shit. I treated her like some bimbo you can pick up at Stark. I'm sorry I disrespected Steph and the relationship between the two of you."

"There's more." It wasn't a question, but he nodded anyways.

"It's just--" He paused for a moment before continuing. "I think I'm jealous. You two are perfect for each other. Everyone who looks at the two of you together can tell that you're madly in love. When you're in the same room, you mentally strip each other naked, barely able to contain yourselves. You just ooze the happiness. And after I saw the encounter after the interview I just snapped. I mean, it was fucking sexy to see the two of you like this."

I certainly didn't want Les to give me pointers on my style of satisfying my woman, but not only was I his employer, most importantly I was his friend. And right now he needed a friend to talk to.

"What really happened?" This admission was so unlike Lester.

"I don't know, I'm just lonely I guess."

"When was the last time you kicked back, Les? Really kicked back?"

"That's just it. I can't even remember the last time I got laid. And I don't want to get just laid anymore. I want more, the whole package." Was I really talking to Lester here, player extraordinaire?

"Who do you have in mind?" He was getting too specific to just talk in general and his facial expressions gave him away. Sure, he was trying to do the 'blank face' as Steph calls it, but you could see hope and defeat in his eyes, all at the same time.

"Connie."

"Connie? Connie Rosolli? Vinnie's office manager?" I nearly sputtered. Lester couldn't have surprised me more with any other name he could have uttered. But it certainly explained why he wanted to go and get the files all the time.

"Yeah. But I don't know what to do about it." Now we were getting to the real problem. Les was a lot like me in situations like this. We were perfectly fine as long as we wanted company for one night only, but as soon as our feelings got involved we were at a loss. Steph had saved me from a life alone and I had learned some things in the process. Les deserved to be as happy as I was, everyone deserved it.

"Ask her on a date."

"A date?"

"Don't play dumb. Go to the movie theater, take her out to dinner, get to fucking know her!"

The crimson red his face was glowing in told me that he hadn't thought of dates at all.

Lester nodded and with a "Thanks, Ric," he was out of my office, probably on his way to ask Connie out.

He hadn't been gone for a minute when Steph walked in and she was laughing. Her eyes were shining and she was showing her white teeth, her grin was so broad.

"What was that?"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say Les has a crush on Connie."

She was laughing even harder as she walked over to me and plopped down in my lap. Her whole body was shaking and I could feel the vibrations running through her where she leaned against me.

"What did you say to him?"

Raising my eyebrow I urged her to clarify what she meant.

"What did you say to Lester? You must have said something that got him moving."

"Told him to ask her out, woo her."

"About time. Connie has been waiting for ages for him to ask her out."

"And Les was worried she might say no."

"He should have asked me. You aren't the best one to ask when it comes to relationships and love-"

"Babe." I had to interrupt her before her teasing could get really bad.

"Just admit it. You got it bad, but were too afraid to get your head out of your ass. I had to pull it out for you and you know what it was like." She grinned up at me. As hard as it was to admit it, she was right. Without her decision to got to Mexico and get training I might have never gotten my head out of my ass and we would still be dancing around each other.

"You taught me how to do it and now I passed it on to Les to help him."

"That's okay. Thought about his punishment yet?"

I raised my eyebrow.

"What? You better not think I'll let him get away with what he said. And I had really expected you to drag him into the sparring ring. Or can I beat him up a little?" She certainly would be able to do it, but why should she?

"Kinda defeats the purpose when he admits that he deserves to get the shit beaten out of him. And it's no fun then."

"Sounds like I need to get creative." She thought for a moment and her eyes lit up, a clear sign that she had thought of something evil for Lester.

"Got it. The girls and I wanted to go shopping anyways and you know how enthusiastic we can get." Truer words were never spoken. "We need a mule and Les is perfect for the job."

I almost pitied Les. Knowing the girls they would head to Victoria's Secret first and then have him carry around the pink bags all day.

"Babe, you just went shopping yesterday."

"Yeah, but that was only with Mary Lou. This shopping trip will include her, Lula and Connie, and even Val, if she can find a babysitter."

"You sure Les will manage to carry all the bags the five of you'll need?"

"Nope. Anyone else on your shit list right now? Besides, we can't go shopping today, anyway, I've got a date with Tank later. But if Les asks Connie out we need to go shopping anyway. Every girl needs a new dress for a date, especially if it's a first date."

Female logic was often beyond me, but I didn't really care how much money Steph spent on clothes. As long as she made a trip to Victoria's Secret I was fine with it. I had too much money to spend it all anyway, but Steph sure tried to make a dent in it, even if she hadn't been successful yet.

"Okay, we'll see who we're gonna take along."

"We?"

"Sure. You go to Victoria's Secret. I want to select some more panties to rip off of you when I'm about to fuck you. I want to help you try them on." I was sure my eyes were dark with arousal, the image of Steph in lacy underwear almost too much to bear. But dammit, we didn't have the time to act on it.

"Think it's safe for us to go to the office?"

Huh? "Les is there."

"You sure he's gonna remember to bring the files? Besides, Lula and Connie will try and get as many details about last night out of me as they can: which toys we used, how often we did it... you know. Better get it over with as long as there isn't that much to tell."

"That bad, huh?"

"You know how they can be. Now come on." She kissed me and got up, sauntering out of my office.

I met up with her at the elevator and slipped my arms around her while waiting for the car. When the door opened, Tank, Bobby and Phoenix stepped out.

"Where's Les," Tank wanted to know.

"Connie."

"He finally got his head out of his ass?" Bobby piped up.

"Yeah. Ric decided to share his wisdom," Steph quipped.

Tank looked at her unbelievingly. "What you're trying to tell me is that the boss, who needed 3 years and a lot of kicking his ass to get his head out of his ass to acknowledge that he's head over heels in love now hands out relationship advice? Bombshell, just what did you smoke for breakfast?"

"Ugh, Tank, just ask Les when he gets back. If he gets back. And maybe you'd like to give him some pointers on how to behave on a proper date. We all know that that isn't exactly his strong suit."

Tank and Bobby snickered and I had to work hard to keep the smile from breaking free. Phoenix just watched the exchange, trying to get a handle on the dynamics at RangeMan probably.

"You got it."

"We gotta go, give Connie the third degree."

"Don't forget our lunch date, Bombshell." Tank winked at her and we were finally on our way down to the garage. In the elevator we stood like always, close together, chest to chest. I had my arms around her, letting them rest on her butt. Her head was resting on my shoulder, nuzzling my neck and I was trying to come up with reasons why we shouldn't go over to Vinnie's, but I couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't make me look like a sex addicted coward.

"Wonder what Phoenix is thinking about us."

"Babe."

"What? It's his first day and he already saw us going at it, he heard the banter about Les and that I've got a date with Tank. What's he supposed to think other than that I'm totally crazy and he just accepted a job with a bunch of lunatics."

"Babe."

"You know, now that you're my fiancé you're required to actually answer when I ask you something." When she said fiancé her whole face lit up and it made my heart swell. I'd been so stupid for such a long time and had come close to never experiencing this total bliss I felt now. I tipped her chin up so I could kiss her. The kiss was so intense I lost myself in it, not even noticing that the elevator had reached its destination.

The next thing I was aware of was my phone vibrating against my hip. Breaking the kiss to answer the call I saw it was Tank calling.

"Yo."

"You might want to get out of the elevator now." With that he hung up. I looked up and realized that the doors had already opened and Brett and Woody were staring at us.

"Don't catch flies, guys," Steph tossed at them, freeing herself from my embrace and walking over to the Turbo.

I raised my eyebrow at her. There just was no way she should know which set of keys I had grabbed today.

"Don't look at me like that. You always take the Turbo when we go to the office but come back here directly afterwards."

I never knew I was that easily found out, but that also meant that people who meant us harm could get a handle on our plans just by the car I drove. I helped Steph into the car before getting in myself, still mulling over what she'd just said.

We made the drive to the office in silence. Steph was probably planning on how to evade Lula and Connie's questions whereas I was trying to work out when I'd become so predictable. I'd always prided myself on being hard to figure out, but Steph had no trouble doing so, probably never had, as long as it didn't involve our feelings towards each other.

I pulled to the curb in front of Vinnie's, gave Steph a quick kiss and got out of the car to walk around and assist Steph out as well. Laying my arm around her I led her into the office.

When we walked in, Connie's and Lula's mouths dropped and they stared at us. We made quite a picture, I was sure. In bad ass black, with mirrored shades and leather jackets that revealed the hardware, we looked like we were ready to take over a country. But it shouldn't be a new vision for them.

"Ladies." I nodded at them and then made my way into Vinnie's inner sanctum. Let's just hope there was still Lysol in the glove compartment.

Vinnie droned on and on about one skip or another but I tuned him out. That was always the best and easiest way to deal with him, let him believe he's the boss and then do it my way. I was thinking about what I would like to do to Steph once we got back to the apartment when I heard her voice come over a speaker. Stupid weasel had bugged the office again.

"I'm not gonna tell you, Lula."

"Skinny white girl, you know you want to tell me."

That was something I had to witness, so I grabbed the files, silently got up and made to enter the front office. Vinnie started to complain but I silenced him with a sharp look. Our business was finished anyway.

I quietly opened the door and stepped through, but neither of the three women seemed to notice my entrance.

The next was Connie to try her luck and persuade Steph. "Come on, Steph. You know you can trust us. We won't tell anyone."

Steph snorted and I was right with her as Connie just told a lie if I ever heard one.

"Yeah, right. I won't even have gotten in the car when you start spreading the news." Both Connie and Lula had a slight red tinge to their faces. Connie was studying the toe of her shoe while Lula was almost gnawing her nails.

"You at least gonna tell us if you've already used some of what your Granny gave him?" Seemed like Connie was getting desperate.

"Yep."

"Yep as in you're gonna tell us, or yep as in we used some of it already?"

"Yep." My Babe was getting better at evading questions. Seemed like she'd picked up one thing or another while working with my guys.

"So Connie, when's your date with Lester?" Lula gasped at the question. It made me wonder how Les had managed to talk to Connie without witnesses.

"Was that what the donut run was about? And the phone call that had you grinning like a silly girl? And the blushing when I came back?"

During Lula's rant Connie had sunk down low in her chair, admitting defeat in the process.

"Next week on Friday."

"And you weren't going to tell us? Who do you think you are, huh?"

If I was Connie, I'd be afraid of Lula right now.

"I was gonna tell you, but I thought we'd work Steph over first."

"Hmpf. Now spill it girl, before I decide to bust a cap up your ass. As long as her man's with Vinnie she won't go anyway. Spit it out."

"I really have to tell you?"

"Don't try to talk your way out of it, Connie. I spill my guts every time you ask. Now it's your turn."

"I can't believe you guys never noticed a thing. He's been in to get the files often enough."

That Steph didn't know about Les' visits to the bonds office didn't surprise me as she was in the field with Lil most of the time, and very successful too. That Lula didn't notice though surprised me.

"Every RangeMan comes in once in a while," Lula accused.

"Lester comes in at least twice a week."

"Oh."

"Did he tell you where he's gonna take you?" Steph wanted to know.

I just hoped he would take her to a nice place, like Rossini's or Marsillio's. I wanted the both of them to be happy and by taking her to Shorty's he sure wouldn't win her.

"He just said it would be dinner and dancing. Probably Salsa." Sounded to me like he had one of those smaller, cozier places in mind.

Steph piped up at Connie's answer. "We need to go shopping. You need a new dress, shoes, lingerie, a manicure."

Lula nodded her assent, being surprisingly silent for the moment.

"When?"

Steph tapped her chin with a forefinger, scrolling through her mental calendar. "Not today. Tank's going to show me a new move and my mom ordered us over for dinner. But what about tomorrow?" She looked from Connie to Lula and both nodded their heads. "Guess that's settled then."

I took that as my cue to reveal my presence.

"You almost ready to go, Babe?"

Lula and Connie gasped, but Steph just turned her head and smiled at me. It shouldn't surprise me that she'd known I was there; she can feel my presence just as I can feel hers.

"Sure. Let's go or I won't have time for lunch."

"Babe."

I walked over and pulled her to me, dropped a quick kiss on her lips before we made our way out of the office. Steph called a "bye" over her shoulder. Good enough.

We approached the car and after a quick glance around I opened the car door for Steph. She got in silently and I closed her door before I went around to get in myself.

I turned the car back towards Haywood.

"You survived?"

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