Chapter 24
Lester
"You didn't come home last night," I said, turning to lean against the counter beside where my cousin was waiting for the Keurig to dispense his coffee. Taunting him was a dangerous pastime, especially when it pertained to his personal life, but I'd long ago made peace with the fact that he would beat my ass into the ground at every opportunity, the only difference would be what I did to deserve it this week. It's how I knew he cared.
He flicked his eyes to me, but his expression never changed, his posture remaining loose, relaxed. "What makes you say that?"
Oh, so he was going to try to deny it? It's a good thing I could back up my statement with evidence. "Well, I ran into Ella on my way to the gym this morning and she asked if you were okay, since it didn't look like you'd slept in your bed," I explained, folding my arms over my chest as I continued to watch him carefully for any signs of acknowledgement. "And I was on monitors this morning when you arrived, carpooling with Steph."
Again, he cast me a brief look that revealed nothing. He picked up his coffee - black, because he's a psychopath - and headed for the door. He clearly knew I was going to follow him either way, because as he passed me, he uttered a single-word prompt to continue: "And?" Was he actually voluntarily engaging in conversation of a personal nature? Usually he would have already shut me down.
"Aaaaaaand," I said, keeping pace as he power-walked across the command floor, heading for his office. "After the revelations at dinner last night, I need to make sure you're not just taking advantage of my girl."
That got a reaction. I had to suppress a smile when his shoulders tensed and he spun around so abruptly in the middle of the hall that hot coffee sloshed out of the mug and over his hand, the fury in his expression morphing swiftly to pain before he managed to lock it back down. "Your girl?" he demanded in barely more than a whisper. "What do you mean your girl? What kind of sick think have you and Bobby got-"
"Whoa there, Primo," I said, the urge to smile having evaporated the second he accused Bobby of anything. He could say what he liked about me, but I wouldn't take him shit-talking my fiance. "Bobby and I haven't got anything going on with Steph apart from friendship, and brotherly protection. I'm just a concerned third party here."
He huffed out a breath through his nose, turning away from me again with the same speed, but much more grace, ensuring the rest of his coffee remained inside the cup. "Nothing happened, if that's what you're asking," he offered over his shoulder as we entered his office.
I waited until we were both seated and he'd mopped up the coffee on his hand before catching his gaze and raising an eyebrow. "Nothing happened?" I quoted. "Given the sexual tension you were both bathing in, I find that hard to believe."
"We talked. Nothing more."
The way he said it made me want to believe him, but I had to lay out the facts to make sure. "Nothing more would suggest you left after the talking," I pointed out. "But you didn't. You stayed the night, which means -"
"Which means you need to start minding your own fucking business before I snap your neck!" The fury was back with a vengeance and I had to believe he'd make good on the threat based on the similarity of his current expression and demeanour to that which he'd sported during torture and interrogations sessions just before he lost his patience.
"Woah," I uttered, holding up my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Cool your jets. Now I definitely believe that you didn't have sex last night. No one could be this cranky if they were getting some."
A low growl rumbled in his chest. Expression murderous. And while I wanted to piss-bolt from the room to save my idiot ass, I forced myself to stand slowly, tip an imaginary hat, and back away calmly, never once daring to turn my back on him or break eye-contact until the door was closed between us.
I shook myself off, reminding myself that Ranger was never really going to hurt me in that way. Sure, he could call me to the mats for a no-holds-barred sparring match, but if he were to just lash out at me in his office he'd have bigger HR problems than Tank simply calling him to the mats. Not to mention how the family would react. I was somewhat safe, but I should probably learn to get my intel about his and Steph's relationship from just Steph in the future.
With that in mind, I gave myself one more shake to rid myself of Ranger's lingering threat and headed back toward the command floor. As I approached Steph's cubicle, I discovered that my fiance was an infinitely smarter man than I was, because he was already mid-conversation with her, keeping it casual, probably not invoking any kind of wrath from anyone. We hadn't even discussed a divide and conquer plan this time around, but had defaulted to our usual go-tos. I'd need to up my negotiation skills next time and ensure I was out of the firing line for a while.
When I reached Bobby's side at the entrance to the cubicle, I didn't hesitate to slide my hand into his back pocket, squeezing the firm bun I found there and using my grip to pull him tight against my side so I could drop a kiss behind his ear.
"Morning, Les," Steph greeted brightly, so used to our PDA by now that she barely registered them.
I smiled down at her where she sat in the swivel chair, back to her computer, one foot tucked under her ass, her elbow resting on the desk beside her, and Ram's almost daily delivery of coffee and a Boston Creme held in her hands. The promise of a week's worth of coffee and donut delivery was well past the expected end date, but he hadn't quit. I'd asked him about it once a couple weeks ago and he said he liked the excuse to drop by and talk to her. I could understand that, she was good quality.
"Morning, Beautiful," I replied, maintaining my grip on Bobby's ass when I leaned in to give her a one-armed hug, forcing the man to move with me or be pulled over. "How was the rest of your night?"
"It was fine," she said. "How was the rest of your night?" To her credit, she didn't show any of her usual signs that my question flustered her. She'd actually come a long way in not broadcasting every single thought that ran through her head in the last few months since she'd started working with us. But there were still certain topics that were guaranteed to get a reaction.
"It was great!" I enthused, grinning as I released Bobby's ass and planted my own on top of an open file on Steph's desk. "Bobby and I played Mario Kart before bed."
"Lester cheated," Bobby added.
Steph's brow furrowed slightly. "How do you cheat at Mario Kart?"
I gave her a look, but it was Bobby who answered, his tone deadpan, but still laced with enough innuendo to get the subtext of his statement across. "He distracted me."
"Oh!"
And there was that gorgeous blush I knew and loved. She could school her expression all she wanted, but her cheeks never failed to turn a rosy colour when talk or suggestions of sex came up.
"Yeah," I agreed with a laugh as she took a sip of her coffee to hide her embarrassment. Little did she know I was about to up the ante. "So anyway, I was just in with Ranger and he said the two of you talked things out last night?"
Just as I predicted, the pink of her cheeks darkened to a nice red, and she seemed to be struggling with eye-contact all of a sudden. "Yeah, we talked," she confirmed.
I leaned in, grinning from ear to ear. "What else did you do?"
She shoved my shoulder, but I'm honestly surprised she didn't slap me. I know if I'd tried to pry like this into my female cousins' lives they would have given me what-fors. "I don't think you need to know that," she said, avoiding eye contact even harder as she spun her chair back around to face the computer. In the process, her curls shifted slightly, revealing a hickey at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. I was about to point it out when Bobby cleared his throat, drawing my attention his way.
He gave an almost imperceptible jerk of the chin behind me and I twisted to find a pair of eyes peeking over the edge of the cubicle wall, apparently listening avidly.
"You need something, Vince?" I asked pointedly.
His eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to say something when he revealed his whole face, but wisely decided against it after another glance from me to Steph and back. "Nothing, sir," he uttered, shrinking back down.
"I suggest you go for a walk," I instructed, leaning back a little to peer over the divider at him.
"It'll be good for your health," Bobby added, when Vince didn't immediately vacate his seat and scurry away, and the thinly veiled threat in the medic's tone seemed to do the trick, because in the next moment he was scrambling in the direction of the breakroom.
"God," Steph groaned, pressing her face into her hands. "Now he's gonna think I'm sleeping with the boss!"
"So you guys really didn't -" I started to ask, but she cut me off with a glare.
"No."
I nodded. "Mm, yeah, I kinda got that impression from Ranger, too," I aside, meeting Bobby's gaze while Steph continued to hide her face. This probably wasn't the time and place to continue this discussion, especially considering we'd already busted one guy eavesdropping, but my curiosity was off the charts. Why wouldn't they have done the deed last night? Despite the fact that they definitely had not been on the same page about what their relationship was prior to dinner, I would have thought that the desire running off them both was enough to melt their clothes off and launch them into bed together the second they were alone, if for no other reason than to get the tension under control so they could focus on figuring out how their lives actually fit together now that they'd decided to move forward as more than friends. I'd heard worse pillow talk than relational logistics.
Bobby appeared to be riding a similar train of thought, but just as he opened his mouth to make a suggestion, Steph popped her head up and spun around to face us once more. "He said he wants to do things the right way," she said, apparently giving us the details we wanted with no further prompting on our part. "He didn't want to sleep with me last night because we hadn't even gone on a proper first date. I mean, he wanted to sleep with me last night. But he doesn't want our relationship to just be about sex."
"Does he realised that he's spent the last three months-"
"Believe me, Bobby, I pointed that out," she said, cutting him off. "But he's insisting on dating me properly."
I let out a groan. If Bobby ever tried that bullshit with me, I'd spontaneously combust within twenty-four hours. Steph and Ranger had just as much chemistry, so it was hard to believe that either of them would be able to hold out much longer. As much as it would be funny to watch, I didn't think they wanted to get to the stage where they were pouncing on each other in the office.
"So…?" I drew out the single word so that it turned into a question, hoping she'd illuminate what their plan was going forward, because Ranger always had a plan.
"We're going on a date this Friday night," she sighed. Was that a hint of disappointment? She had it bad. Not that I was surprised, especially since she'd thought they were already dating…
"Why not sooner?" Bobby asked.
Steph shrugged. "He wants us to have all the time we need, and apparently that means we need to not be expected to get up and go to work the next day, which disqualifies every night between now and then." She was blushing aggressively now. Probably I could have cooked an egg on her cheeks, they were so hot. "What if he doesn't really wanna be with me?" she asked quietly.
"Beautiful," I said, my expression as serious as my tone. "He wouldn't have acted the way he did at Tia's last night if he didn't want to be with you. Trust me."
"If he didn't want to be with you, he would have set you straight after Elena revealed your position, not dragged you out to the greenhouse to make out," Boby added
"You know how guarded and private he is about his life," I pointed out. "He wouldn't even entertain the idea of a relationship, especially with someone he has to see every day, if he wasn't serious about it."
She took a deep breath, probably willing herself to calm down and accept our assurances. "Thanks guys," she said, nodding. "This really helped."
"Anytime," Bobby said, bending over to hug her and giving me an exquisite view of his cargos pulling tight over his delicious ass. "You know we're always here for you if you need to talk things out."
"We'll let you get back to it," I said, hopping off the desk and giving her a tight squeeze of my own. Truth be told, I wanted to drag Bobby back to his office for some data consolidation, but the very thought caused a phantom ache in my ribs from last time, so I tucked the desire into a pocket of my brain to be pulled out later tonight. Instead, I needed to track Vince down and do some damage control on whatever gossip he was likely to spread after what he'd overheard. I already knew there'd been speculations based purely on the fact that Steph had a persistent inability to call Ranger by his street name at work.
We left Steph's cubicle together, but quickly parted ways, Bobby bidding me farewell with a squeeze of my hand instead of the kiss he probably wanted - I definitely wanted - heading for the stairwell while I made my way to the breakroom.
As I suspected, Vince was there, in the centre of a small group of men that quickly went from talking over each other to not talking at all when they noticed me in the room. They remained that way as I crossed to the fridge for a bottle of water and one of the fruit salad cups Ella kept on hand - the main reason I'd come in earlier before I encountered Ranger - and then plopped down on the sofa.
"Got something I can clear up for you?" I asked, spearing a pineapple chunk and popping it in my mouth. "Perhaps some speculations about a certain office manager and her relationship status with the boss?"
Silence continued for a whole minute while I chewed and swallowed, then popped another piece of fruit in my mouth and did the same. They were all exchanging glances, deciding who the spokesperson would be? Who would be the sacrificial lamb? Finally, Hank let out a sigh and levelled his gaze on mine.
"Vince here seems to think Steph is sleeping with Ranger," he said. "That it's the only reason she got the job."
I nodded. As expected. "Do you all share this viewpoint?" I asked, waving my fork around to encompass the rest of them.
Zip tugged at his collar. "You have to admit," he said. "It's a little odd… I mean, she's got no military background."
"And she's a she," Manny added. "Since when does Ranger hire chicks?"
I raised my left brow at him. "Diana?" I pointed out, naming the Miami manager.
Vince scoffed. "Diana doesn't count as a woman. She's got bigger balls than half the company combined."
He had a point. Diana was a force of nature and well and truly earned her spot on the team. No one with half a brain would dare cross her, let alone suggest she got the job because she'd shown proficiency in the bedroom and someone wanted to keep her around. I thought the same could probably be said for Steph in the right situation, but most of these guys didn't know her well enough to realise that. She was 'other' and the threat of consequences that would rain down on their asses from any member of the core team if they mistreated her meant that a lot of the guys tended to keep their distance unless they needed something from her.
"And they go up to seven together once a week," Zero put in. "Ranger doesn't let anyone upstairs. It's his sanctuary. His fortress of solitude."
Letting out a slow breath, I slowed my chewing to give myself time to think, to contemplate my options. This information wasn't mine to share, but if the men were already speculating on this level, didn't I have a duty to set the record straight? Steph was my friend; I didn't want her reputation to be brought into question anymore than it already was. God knows she gets enough of it from her mother and the Burg.
The guys were all watching me, waiting, expectant, and as I swallowed my latest mouthful, I knew I couldn't delay any longer.
"Alright," I said, leaning forward to brace my elbows on my knees and make eye contact with each of them in turn to be sure they were paying attention. "I'll set the record straight for you once and for all. You want to know if Steph and Ranger are dating? Yes. As of last night," - I emphasised the timeline - "they are dating. Before that, they were just friends."
"But Ranger doesn't have fr-" Zip tried to protest, but I shot him a look that shut him up quick-smart.
"They were just friends getting to know each other," I reiterated.
"So how'd she get the job?" Vince asked. "I wasn't even aware we were looking for an office manager until she showed up in January."
"She's a family friend," I said, which was true enough. "She lost her job just before Christmas and Ranger offered the job here. I think you can all agree that it was a good decision."
"I'm honestly surprised at how well she fits in with us," Hank admitted, nodding his agreement. "But-"
"Great," I said, surging to my feet. "So we're done here." I turned and started for the door, calling over my shoulder, "I trust you can all be counted on to spread the truth, from now on. And if you have any questions, to ask them instead of whispering in huddles like old biddies in the supermarket."
