Here's your next installment of this AU Carlos and Stephanie Saga... Please enjoy!

Income law in the US is foreign to me so forgive me if there are technical errors. In my world, this makes sense.

30. Home Stretch Presentations

The flight home wasn't quite so comfortable. None of us were given an upgrade so we were squished in the economy portion of the plane. Maria and Ricardo were lucky to find seats on our plane as well, but since they booked so late, they were forced to sit at the very back of the plane.

I sat between Carlos and Evie in the centre part of the plane where there were four seats. Isa was beside Evie and they were busy watching a film together. Carlos and I were quietly talking about how to broach the subject of him staying with me over night on occasion. We still hadn't been intimate so spending the night together pretty much guaranteed that outcome at some point in the near future. I wasn't sure if I was comfortable discussing our sex life with Ricardo and Maria.

When the plane eventually landed, I was so worried about talking to Carlos' parents that I didn't notice when the wheels actually touched the ground. Carlos managed to get my attention when the plane finally stopped and held my hand. The girls were giggling and smiling but I didn't really take much notice because I was so lost in my own problems and thoughts.

I followed Carlos off the plane and didn't really confront my fears until we reached baggage claim. Maria took the girls to the bathroom and left Ricardo with Carlos and me waiting for our suitcases to come along. I was watching the belt turn when Ricardo wrapped his arms around both Carlos and I and spoke.

"Carlos, your mother and I had a discussion on the plane about the two of you. We think that because you are joining the army in the autumn, you are going to want to spend as much time with Stephanie before you leave as possible. We are OK with you exploring your relationship as much as possible, but we are also hoping that you will spend some time with your family as well. We are hoping that you will still live at home and stay there the nights before you work in the office. The other nights of the week, you can stay with Stephanie if you want."

I looked at Ricardo and then at Carlos. Carlos was nodding and said, "You are right Papa. I do want to spend time with Stephanie. I also want to spend time with you, Mama and the girls."

Carlos looked at me and I nodded to encourage him to go on. "I will probably live at home most of the time and maybe stay at Steph's once or twice a week. Our relationship hasn't reached a point where a sleepover is customary and we don't want to rush things. I may spend my free evenings with Stephanie, but I'll probably come home to sleep."

Ricardo smiled at us and said, "I'm glad that you are taking your time and not rushing into anything. You both have our full support and we can revisit this topic in the future if necessary."

Maria and the girls joined us and I saw her and Ricardo have a quiet conversation. Maria caught my eye and winked at me before rushing forward to collect her suitcase. Maria, the girls and Ricardo loaded their things into Ricardo's car. Carlos loaded my belongings into Maria's car and sent his suitcase home with his parents. Carlos would drive me home and then head back to his house.

Carlos kissed me and wished me a good night and I told him to get a good night's sleep. We had a presentation to give the following afternoon. Carlos grinned, waved and was gone. I walked inside and went up to my apartment. It was late so I got ready for bed and fell asleep without even having the chance to worry about my presentation the following day.

The next morning went by in a rush. Carlos and I had a quick meeting to go over the presentation and then we had a hurried lunch. At 1PM, we joined Ricardo and the head of the marketing and sales teams in the conference room.

I thanked everyone for joining us and started the presentation. Carlos and I spent the following hour explaining my idea and answering questions. The gist of the presentation was a way to bring in business after we finish processing corporate tax returns for the year. There was a bit of a lull for a few months starting in mid March after the corporate tax return date passes. I suggested that we offer a 3-tier level of service for personal tax return customers.

The first tier is the least expensive. We would take in the necessary paperwork and evaluate the tax return and then return the forms to the customer for filing. The second tier would include a 30 minute in-person consultation and then the tax return would be processed and returned to the customer. The third tier would be the most expensive. It would be done all on-site and the customer would leave with their tax return forms in hand that day.

It wasn't a revolutionary idea, but it was something that our firm had never done before. It was a way to keep the accountants busy in the quiet period. I also suggested some pro-bono work for non-profit organisations. It would be a great way to train new employees and look good on our website.

When we finished the presentation, the head of the sales department, Monika Page asked a question. "Do you have suggestions for what we could charge for these services? If so, what are your projected earnings?"

Carlos took over this part and explained the cost for each tier and provided the projected earnings based on a competing company's customer base. Our projections were only 60% of that company's because it would be new and untested, but the projected earnings were enough that both Ricardo and Bob Croft, the sales head were expressing interest.

Ricardo took over the questions, but instead of directing them towards Carlos and me, he asked Monika how much effort would be needed to come up with a marketing campaign to turn this into a reality. Monika thought for a moment and said that a couple of weeks would be sufficient. Bob was very supportive of the idea as well. He had several contacts that could help bring in customers at all three tiers.

Ricardo smiled at Carlos and me and said, "I think your idea is a great on. It's too late this year to put this into practice, but we can definitely start working on the marketing campaign for next year. Both the sales team and the marketing team can look at past campaigns from our competitors and come up with something that will show that we are a great alternative company. I'm only sorry about one thing."

Carlos and I looked at each other and I asked, "What is that?"

"Neither you nor Carlos will be here to witness the success of your idea."

I nodded and said, "I'm sure you don't need us to make this a reality. This company and staff are more than capable of making this idea a reality. I wouldn't have suggested this if I didn't think you could do it without me."

Ricardo smiled and said, "Monika, I'd like you to try and include Carlos and Stephanie in this as much as possible in the next 2 months. Bob, get in touch with your contacts and let us know what our competitors are doing in this area. I'd like to meet again in 2 weeks to go over what you've found out and how we'll proceed. Marketing can use those 2 weeks to come up with some ideas for an advertising campaign and how we'd explain our new services on the website. I'll have Amanda sent out an invite so we can reconvene."

Bob and Monika agreed and both Carlos and I nodded. I gathered my papers and laptop and watched as Bob and Monika left. Ricardo waited until they were gone before he said, "Your presentation was wonderful. It's a great idea and the two of you did really in-depth research to back it up. I'm really impressed, you did a great job."

I turned a bit red and Carlos was smiling widely. Neither of us really knew what to say so we stayed silent. Ricardo patted Carlos on the back and kissed me on the cheek and said, "I'm very proud of you both."

Ricardo left Carlos and I alone and headed back to his office. He had another meeting to get to and we had other work that we needed to do. I packed away my laptop and Carlos carried the bag back to my desk. He spent the rest of the afternoon working on a contract and I finished a report I was writing about my most recent customer audit.

When 5PM came around, I said goodbye to Carlos and started packing up. Carlos looked up and said, "I've got Mama's car today. She stopped by earlier and left it for me. Ricardo told her about our meeting today and Mama thought that you might want to go out and celebrate tonight."

I smiled at Carlos and said, "I'd love that. Where should we go?"

Carlos thought for a moment and then said, "Why don't you call Molly and Christie to see if they're free tonight. If they're free we can go to New Brunswick."

I called Molly and she was free. Jimmy would be joining us but that was fine by me. Christine and Vince would also join us. Carlos called the rest of his friends and made arrangements to meet at Grifters at 7PM. I was excited and really looking forward to seeing my friends. With work, the whole FBI thing and my trip to Miami, I haven't seen them in a few weeks. They don't know that I bought an apartment or that I took the FBI up on their offer.

I walked back to my apartment and changed out of my suit and then rushed back to the office to meet Carlos. He had also changed into a pair of shorts, sandals and a t-shirt. He saw my raised eyebrows and said, "Mama thought I might want a change of clothes. She brought several options, but Grifters doesn't have much of a dress code. I figured dress slacks and a tie was a bit much."

I laughed and we walked to the car hand-in-hand. We were the first of our friends to arrive, so Carlos and I picked out a large table near the back and took a seat. We ordered a pitcher of Coke and another of non-alcoholic beer and waited for our friends. Lester was the next to arrive, followed by Christine and Vince, then Bobby and finally Molly and Jimmy. Tom would join us later that night when he got off work.

We spent the evening catching up. Lester told us about his many conquests and Bobby added in a few of his own. I told everyone that I'd be moving into a new apartment after the summer. Everyone begged me for details. Molly asked what was going on with my current apartment so I explained that my roommate's cousin would be moving in there. Even though they begged, I didn't give anything away but promised to tell them everything at a later time.

As I was avoiding their questions, I remembered that the apartment had 3 bedrooms. I made a mental note to talk to my handler to find out if it was safe for me to have roommates. If I could, it would mean that both Christine and Molly could live with me and our expenses would be minimal.

When Tom arrived, he and Carlos shared the news that they were joining the army. The guys were really supportive and based on some of their comments, they seemed a little jealous that Carlos and Tom were going to get to see the world. I don't think I'd be surprised if any or all of the guys followed suit and joined right alongside Tom and Carlos. Bobby said something about the Army paying for his medical education. Lester commented about how much more tail he could get in a uniform.

Everyone laughed at Lester and the conversation moved on but I could tell by the look on Molly's face that she wasn't 100% happy with the thought of Jimmy joining the army. Christine seemed to be fine with Vince joining the army, that or she didn't think it would happen so she didn't let it bother her.

We then went on to make plans for a weekend at my apartment. We wanted a weekend of sun, pool and food. Molly and Christine had time off the following weekend. The only one who was busy was Carlos. He had a class on Saturday evening, but he'd be there Friday and join us later Saturday night. Sleeping arrangements would be tight but Lester and Bobby volunteered to sleep on the deck chairs and Tom thought he might be able to fit on the sofa. That left the 2 bedrooms for Molly and Jimmy and Christine and Vince.

By the time we left, everyone was excited for the following weekend. Everyone had to bring some food and we would talk during the week to arrange who would bring what. The car ride home that evening was filled with what ifs and suggestions for the following weekend. It was 11:30 by the time Carlos dropped me off. He kissed me goodnight and said, "I'll see you tomorrow Babe. Maybe we can go out on a date on Thursday evening."

I nodded and said, "That sounds fun. Let's talk more about that tomorrow. Goodnight Carlos."

He kissed me once more and watched as I walked into the building before driving away. It was late but I wasn't tired. I decided to tire myself out by doing a few laps and then had a shower. I crawled into bed around 12:15 and fell asleep without much notice.

The next chapter will be up next Friday.