The usual disclaimer applies. The recognisable characters belong to another.

Thanks for your patience. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

24. Decisions, Decisions!

Monday morning came swift and hard, and I wasn't ready for it, not in the slightest. I had meetings with Ricardo and his lawyers today to talk about the FBI and their offer. I had meetings with the Marketing manager to discuss my idea, and I had dinner plans with Grandma Mazur. She was coming to Newark with a friend of hers from Bingo for the day and wanted to see me.

Today was going to be a long day, so I might as well get up and get started. By 8:30, I was sitting at my desk going through my emails. I looked up around 9 to watch Carlos walk in and sit across from me. He smiled at me and we started at each other until one of our colleagues cleared their throats and said, "My god, you could cut the sexual tension between the two of you with a knife."

I blushed and Carlos scowled at Marco, who laughed at us as he walked past on his way to the kitchen.

Carlos looked down at me and said, "How'd you sleep Babe?"

I shrugged and admitted that I barely slept a wink. "How is your grandmother?"

"She'll be fine. Mama is down in Miami with her and will stay for a week and then decide whether or not it is necessary to bring her up here to Newark or not. Papa said that maybe he and the girls would go down for a couple of weeks because the girls only have 2 more weeks of school left."

"I'm glad she's OK. I was worried when you had to get home so quickly."

"I will make it up to you Babe. I promise."

"I know you will Carlos, and if yesterday afternoon was any indication, it'll be worth the wait."

Carlos grinned at me and I returned to reviewing my emails. At 9:25, I made my way upstairs for my meeting with Ricardo and his lawyers. I walked into the conference room, expecting to find it empty. Instead, I found Agents Franks and Bartlett, as well as another man I didn't know.

"Miss Plum, I'm glad you could join us. I know that you were not expecting us to be here today, but we were asked to come today by our boss. This is Michael Steward, the director of the division that you'd be working for if you accept our offer. He wanted to meet you and Ricardo, and offer you both an updated deal from the one you were given last Friday.

"Ricardo is currently talking with his lawyers and they will join us shortly. In the meantime, I'm sure Michael has a few questions for you."

I sat there stunned and silent, so Michael Steward offered his hand and I shook it before walking around the conference table and sitting.

"I understand how this might all be a bit overwhelming for somebody as young as you Miss Plum. It is not my intention, nor is it the FBI's intention to intimidate you in any way. We are simply impressed by your instincts and skills.

"The written offers that you and Ricardo Manoso received last Friday had a few mistakes in them, so we have come today to ensure that you both have the necessary paperwork to make an informed decision."

He handed me a new folder and I opened it slowly. I was shocked by the numbers in the original offer, so I was fully expecting these numbers to be somewhat lower. Instead of being lower, they were significantly higher.

I looked up from the paperwork and stared at Director Steward.

"How can you afford to offer Ricardo and me this amount of money? Aren't you a government funded organisation?"

"We are partially government funded, but for every terrorist or criminal that we take down, who do you think keeps all the money we seize? We keep that money to fund other investigations, and that's how we can afford to pay for the best. We think that you are the best Miss Plum, and we are willing to make it worth your while to work with us."

"I hope you aren't expecting an answer today. I will still want a lawyer to look over these documents and to think about this."

"Of course not Miss Plum, we just need your answer by 5PM on Friday, just like before."

Moments later, Ricardo and two other men joined us in the conference room. When everyone was seated, Director Steward stood and explained the change in contracts to Ricardo and myself. After listening again to his spiel, he and Agents Franks and Bartlett left us to discuss terms. On his way out the door, Director Steward handed me his business card and left.

Ricardo was the first to speak. "Stephanie, I'm assuming that your new contract has a higher value than the one you were given last week?"

I nodded and handed him my folder. He didn't even glance at it as he handed it to his lawyer.

"While Robert and John look over our paperwork, why don't we go get some coffee?"

I nodded and stood to follow Ricardo to the kitchen.

"I want you to know Stephanie that this is your decision. I will not try to influence you one way or the other. I know it's a lot of money to throw away, but I want you to know that I will back you up if you decide that you do not want to do this. The FBI can be persuasive, but you don't have to do this unless you actually want to work for them."

"Thanks Ricardo, I appreciate you support on this. I have a lot to think about before I make my decision. It's not just the money. I don't know how this will affect my work this summer, or my school work after that. I can't commit to this if it's going to be like a full-time job. Perhaps I'll have to call Director Steward and ask him a few questions before I make my decision."

"That's probably a good idea. Perhaps we can work something into your contract to limit the number of hours you are expected to work for them in any given time period. During the summer, it will only affect me, but during school, it could hinder your education. If you can tell me what Steward says, I'll talk to the lawyers so we can get a clause added to the contract if necessary."

I smiled and enquired about his mother.

"Mama will be fine. I have worried about her ever since she moved down to Miami a few years ago. She likes their winters better, but I hate how far away she is. Maria is going to try to convince her to come back up to Newark for the rest of the summer to rest and recuperate, but I'm not sure how well that will go over."

"Carlos mentioned that you might take the girls down in a few weeks. Hopefully everything will work out for the best."

Ricardo agreed and suggested that we head back to the conference room. The lawyers had probably had sufficient time to go over the new paperwork.

When we walked back in the room, Robert was the first to speak.

"Just like your new contract Ricardo, Miss Plum's has a significantly higher retainer fee and case-by-case fee. The rest of the contract is pretty typical for government work. It talks about confidentiality, interaction with other law enforcement agencies, as well as the negative, yet unlikely side-effects associated with this type of work."

Ricardo nodded and asked, "Is there anything in Stephanie's contract about a case-by-case refusal option? She'll be back to college in a few months and will be immersed in her studies. Concentrating on a case may have negative effects on her school work."

Robert nodded his head to show that he understood the question. "As it stands now, this paperwork states that if Miss Plum accepts the contract, she must accept every job she is given. I will contact their lawyers to find out if it would be possible to modify the contract so Miss Plum can work around her college commitments."

I was a bit shy because I wasn't sure I was supposed to speak to these guys or not, but I knew that if I didn't make my thoughts known, I might end up doing something that wasn't right for me.

"I think I need to make something clear to the FBI. I do not want to do this if it means that I have to sacrifice my education. I want to be able to turn down a job or put an end to a job if it becomes too time consuming. My education has to come first."

Robert nodded and confirmed that he would ensure my thoughts were passed on to the FBI. He was also quite confident that the FBI would agree to my terms. Agent Franks mentioned earlier that he had expected me to accept the job before we left the restaurant last Friday. They figured more money might be the key, so they may just give me whatever I want.

With that in mind, I thought for a moment before an idea occurred to me.

"In addition, I want blocks of time off during the year. I want December off for Christmas as well as January and May off for exams. I also want at least 2 weeks during the summer so I can go on vacation. I want to ensure that I can easily do this work from New Brunswick during the school year. If my apartment does not have the necessary security or infrastructure, I expect them to pay for that. I do not want to have to travel for any reason unless it is agreed up-front before I accept the job."

Ricardo smiled at me as Robert said, "I think we should set up a meeting with Director Steward before moving forward with this. It sounds like we might need to negotiate your contract. There is little point using his lawyers as a go-between when we could get the agreement from the Director himself. I will call him this afternoon and try to set up a meeting.

"In the meantime Miss Plum, I would suggest that you come up with a list of your requirements or demands and get a copy to me before the meeting. I would also suggest that you and Ricardo sit down and discuss any other stipulations you both might have. I will let you both know as soon as I can get a meeting set up."

I agreed to this and shook hands with Robert and John. They left me and Ricardo alone in the conference room. Ricardo looked over at me and said, "I also think you should put some sort of stipulation in your contract to say that you will not be asked to take a job if any member of your family is involved. I know that may not be likely, but I'm sure if the situation were to arise, it wouldn't be pleasant for you."

"I guess you never know with my family, but I will only include my immediate family and my grandmother. I don't have many cousins, and the one I do have, I don't think I'd mind investigating him, he's a bit of a slime ball."

Ricardo and I talked and laughed for the rest of the morning. By the time we left the conference room, I had three full pages of conditions or requests, or whatever you wanted to call them. I returned to my desk around 12 and found Carlos away from his desk. I wasn't sure if he'd gone for lunch already, so I decided to check my email.

I smiled when I read a short email from Carlos.

Babe,

I just popped out to pick us up some lunch. When you read this, grab us something to drink and meet me in the park across the street.

Carlos

I smiled and quickly picked up two bottles of water from the kitchen and hurried across the street to meet Carlos. I must have beaten him because I scanned the park and didn't see him anywhere. I looked back toward the street and saw him walking towards me with a huge grin on his face.

"Babe," he said as he leaned down and kissed me.

"Wow Carlos, that was one hell of a kiss," I managed to squeak out several minutes later. He smiled and guided me over to an unoccupied bench and handed me a bag. It contained a roast beef and horseradish sandwich and a dill pickle. I groaned as I took a bite of the pickle, causing Carlos to choke on his water.

"Babe, after our interruption last night, those sounds are going to kill me."

I blushed and apologised, making a conscious effort to avoid making any unnecessary sounds throughout the rest of our meal. It helped to talk while I ate, so I explained the meeting to Carlos. In fact, I didn't even mention the new contract. I simply explained that the lawyers wanted me to come up with a list of conditions that if they were met, would make me take the job.

Carlos listened to me and made a few good suggestions that were already on my list, but I didn't let on that I'd already come up with them.

He also made a couple of suggestions that neither Ricardo nor I had considered.

"I think you should request a single point of contact at the FBI. All communication should go through that person, so there is no confusion as to who is giving you your information. It might also be worth asking for a secure phone that nobody else can call. That way, when it rings, you will know that it is work-related."

Carlos was on a role. He had read a lot of novels and watched loads of spy movies. I think he was assuming things might get hairy for me so he made a few suggestions that I never in my wildest dreams would have thought of.

"Insist on your privacy, regular bug sweeps, a promise of no surveillance by the bureau. That way, if you are ever followed, you can be fairly confident that the Bureau is not involved. Your security has to come first. Some of the people you will be investigating are really bad guys, so the less that is known about you the better. Request a code name in their internal documents so your name is never used. This will protect you from possible espionage within the FBI as well as any targets. If their lawyers get the paperwork, they'll only see your codename."

This went on for a while, and Carlos was coming up with more and more ideas about what I should demand. When our lunch break was nearly over, we headed back to the office. We had a meeting that afternoon to discuss my pet project for marketing and then I was supposed to meet Grandma Mazur after work at a restaurant nearby. We hurried back to our desks and I walked into the meeting with a lot on my mind.

More to follow... Are you excited to meet the AU Edna Mazur? Chapters will go up on a weekly basis from now on, unless I finish them earlier. Work, life, etc. are keeping me busy at the moment.