Author's note: Thank you for the reviews. They turn this from being a solitary activity into a little community. I'm glad to see you ladies are sticking with me on this journey, and with Steph. She's got a lot of work to do. If you haven't posted a review, I'd love to hear from you. And some of you guessed where this chapter was going….

Tuesdays were now Rangeman days.

I had initially been worried that after what had happened over the weekend, I'd receive a less than warm welcome. I knew that Tank and Lester wanted me here, but after my carelessness, Zip had been shot. Not stunned, or knocked out, actually shot. It seems I needn't have worried. Word had spread that Zip would make a full recovery and everyone treated me like normal. Depending on the Merry Man, this varied between friendly colleague, little sister, unrequited crush and oddity aka female, so therefore from another planet. I guess Hal was right – they were just used to my screw ups and recklessness. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

I didn't mind working inside today – fall had hit with a vengeance. I'd skipped the track this morning because of the rain and was now watching it roll down the window next to my desk. I didn't want to tell Lester I'd given up already. Today was just a rest day. And maybe tomorrow if the weather didn't improve.

I started sorting through my in tray looking for an interesting challenge. Jack Cartwright, Dianne Peterson, Leon Hernandez, Requisition form 3c – request for employee expense (medical/equipment). It was already signed and approved.

I knocked on Tank's door, brandishing the form. "Tank, what's this?"

He looked up from his screen. "That is the solution to my problem, Bombshell. My medic came in here yesterday and helpfully pointed out that as per your employment contract, you're supposed to have access to a gym."

"I do have access to a gym, Tank. It's in this building. It smells funny and I don't like to spend time there, but I do know where it is."

Tank ignored the comment about it not smelling like roses. "Yes, but it doesn't have a women's locker room. That means I have to build a women's locker room, or kick someone out of one of the apartments on four. And while Brett is on thin ice at the moment, evicting him seems harsh."

"I can just use Ranger's bathroom on seven."

"You want me to write into the employee manual that female employees are to shower in the CEO's private apartment?" He muttered. "I'm not touching that sexual harassment suit with a ten foot pole." He continued on a bit louder, "And I'm not building a women's locker room. I have nine hundred things to do and calling in contractors isn't on that list. Paying for your gym membership solves my problem, and if you actually go, it'll make Bobby happy. Do you know who the second most important person in this building is, Bombshell?"

Tank was second in command and acting CEO, so this seemed like a no-brainer. "Um, you?"

"Not even close. That honor goes to Robert Brown. Every single person on that floor out there is a weapon. It's Bobby's job to make sure that when we do our jobs, we're in the best shape we can be and we have the best chance of doing that job safely and effectively. And it's also his job, to put us back together when something goes wrong. Healthy people are easier to put back together. Bobby wants you to go to the gym. If Ranger was asked, he'd probably want you to go as well. And since they are the most powerful men in this company, I have to care if they're happy, though no one seems to care if I am happy. So take your form and go sign up to Eden. Get a 12 month contract and you better damn use it."

He turned back to his screen.

I had a feeling I was going to regret this but I was curious about what Brett had done, "What are you working on? You're even more grumpy than usual."

"Rosters, Plum. The bane of my existence. Brett can no longer work Wednesday as he has an emergency dental appointment. I thought about offering to remove the tooth myself, but I don't want Rodriguez from HR up my ass."

I came around the desk and looked at the spreadsheet over his shoulder. "Why can't Cal pair up with Binkie, instead of Ram? That don't work together very much, but they get along fine. That leaves Ram on the shorter shift – he's got too many hours now anyway. Bobby can go with Ram in the morning, and spend the afternoon in the infirmary. He's in the middle of inventory so he has plenty to do there."

Tank was looking at me like I'd grown two heads.

"What?" I said defensively, "They talk in the breakroom and I listen. This would solve Brett being out of the mix tomorrow." The staring continued, "I like people and I like puzzles."

The staring changed into a grin like all his Christmases had come at once. "Looks like we've found ourselves a new roster monkey."

Oh hell no. Not more paperwork. "And just when am I supposed to do that?"

"Thursday mornings. Half day, extra pay."

"I don't want your pity pay." First the gym membership and now this.

Tank gave a sardonic laugh. "Bombshell, it's not pity pay. You'll be paid the same as the employees who write the rosters in the other Rangeman offices, and you'll earn every cent. It's a shit job and no one wants to do it. It's difficult, they complain, you've got overtime and health and safety considerations, and contract requirements. And just when you get it sorted, someone gets sick."

It would mean even fewer hours with Vinnie. But it would be more money and it was the sort of challenge I liked. The things I hated about office work were the tedium and the pantyhose. I wasn't in danger of either of those here. "How much more money?"

"50% higher than your current rate. 0800 to midday."

I was actually warming up to the idea, but I didn't want him to know that. "For more office work, and this office work? Double at least. The Trenton office is the largest and it participates in more alphabet agency taskforces, so the rosters are more complex." I wasn't certain that either of those things was true but it seemed likely.

Tank didn't correct me so I'd guessed correctly, "Two thirds higher."

I could live with that, and they were now paying for my gym membership, but I used to negotiate for a living and I wanted a win. "75%. Trial period of four weeks. Tuesdays and Wednesdays tracing skips, Thursdays til lunch on rosters. If I have to re-work them on Tuesday or Wednesday, it's at the higher rate."

He nodded, "Done. You're quite the negotiator, Plum."

I backed out of his office before he thought to wonder why that was. I was sure there was a file on me somewhere, but I didn't know if Tank knew or remembered that in another life I'd been a professional buyer. I could haggle over polyester underwear with the best of them, but I wasn't going to negotiate on tear gas and handguns. Learning different calibres and grip specs held no appeal. Procurement could stay with whichever poor soul currently had it.

I took the elevator down to the infirmary, where Bobby appeared to have started on inventory.

"Thank you," I said, and he glanced up.

He seemed to know what I was talking about, "Steph, I don't care when you exercise, where you do it, or why you do it. I care that you do it."

"Well, thank you." I paused, "And I'm sorry about what happened to Zip." As Tank had pointed out, Bobby had to put the men back together after I broke them, so I knew Saturday would have been hard for him.

He just nodded. While no one was giving me grief, I needed the men, and in particular the Core team to know that I knew what I had done. And I needed to remember that I knew what I'd done.

I thought of something else. "Tank mentioned female employees when I was talking to him. Are there other women who work for Rangeman?"

"Brianna and Kelly work out of the New York office. Mostly on a contract basis when we have protection details. There are some places it's easier to send a woman, and some clients are more comfortable with them. There's a female locker room in the New York building, and they're both vets so they're used to majority male environments. Working out in the main gym doesn't faze them and they both survived boot camp and multiple deployments. You on the other hand are a Jersey girl. I thought this might be more up your alley."

I smiled and went upstairs to finish my searches.