Category: Change in the Wind

The Full Story, with all Side Stories and the Housekeepers’ War series integrated in.

Chapter 87.5: Unpleasant Duties, Part III

Piman’s POV
Friday Afternoon (the day of the firing)

“We have an interesting dilemma,” Thomas says, eyeing the rock garden.

“Interesting dilemma?” I’m contemplating the patterns. We’re at the Morikami Gardens in Boca Raton. I prefer this area. Who expects hoods to do business at a Japanese garden? Boca is a retiree haven, not a gang hotspot.

Looks are deceiving.

“We have five disloyal RangeMen that are being fired”—he glances at his watch—”right now.”

I stare at him. “I’ve heard nothing of disloyalty from Pedro.”

“He’s one of them.” Continue reading →

The War at Home

A/N: You guys asked for this one. One Shot Prompts from Lyllyn, babesrus2, and Meyzen. It took me a long time to get the Muse working on this one and it’s a long one.
Keep the Kleenex (or the RangeMan hankies) handy. Those of you who are mothers, get two boxes.

There’s nothing wrong with narcissists that reasoning with them won’t aggravate.

There was never any equality in the fight.

From the moment Armando Rafael Cortes was born, he was always behind the eight-ball. Never the front-runner. Never the winner.

He started off wrong by being six days late. Not his fault. He had no idea that the doctor had assigned him a birth date and that, by being late, he’d disrupted his mother’s careful plan. Armando should have been first, so Connie could smile smugly at her sister and congratulate herself for having a beautiful baby boy first. Armando came when nature decided it was his time, but this was held against him for years. Continue reading →

Chapter 87: Decisions Have Consequences

Armando’s POV

I’m ready. I have everything I need and I’m prepared.

Time to fire my major annoyances. All five of them.

I pull my documentation regarding every instance in which Antonio has irritated the shit out of me in the past six months. I pull the documentation detailing his disrespect of every housekeeper in RangeMan, and Diego brings his documentation showing every attempt to disrespect Maria since her return. He also brings additional documentation, from every time he’s written Tony up and everything that’s happened since Steph arrived. I compile all the information and hand it over to Candy, who flips through and nods. I take a moment to sit down and center myself.

I’m going to enjoy this but it’s long overdue. Continue reading →

Chapter 86 Who ARE You?

Armando’s POV

I walk back to my office in silence. Thomas motions as if he’d like to talk to me, but I shake my head and lift my fingers to my face. Phone. Talk to you later. He nods and goes to his office. I lock my office door and sit back.

I have a problem at this branch and it isn’t a disloyal RangeMan. It’s a bunch of arrogant assholes. I cringe. Hell, I’m included. Firing Antonio will be easy but it won’t solve the problem. The problem is deeper and the solution will be much harder.

Charlotte isn’t my test. This is my test. How I handle this will decide how the CO and Leadership Core deal with me. Continue reading →

Chapter 85.5 Intelligent Guessing?

This chapter is simultaneous with ‘You aren’t Sexist? Really?

Meanwhile, in Texas

Tank’s POV

(All conversations in Spanish once Hector joins in.)

Little Girl won’t tell us what this survey is about. She just asked us to take it. Bobby’s been grinning all morning; I’m betting he knows.

I finally finish it and I get an email with my results. Damn. I gotta remember Steph is sneaky, but I’m happy I didn’t embarrass myself. 0.87 in Hostile Sexism, 2.42 in Benevolent Sexism. I’m not a sexist but I have some tendencies.

Les pokes his head in. He doesn’t look happy. “How’d you come out?”

I grunt and wave at the chair. He and Bobby walk in. “Clean. 0.87 Hostile, 2.42 Benevolent. I’m not a sexist asshole. You?”

He grimaces. “1.27 Hostile; 2.81 Benevolent.”

We cringe and I look at Bobby. “0.87 Hostile, 2.09 Benevolent.” I nod. My phone rings.

“Yo!”

“Yo! I took Angelita’s survey.” We all look at each other in surprise. Didn’t know Hector was taking it too. Continue reading →

Chapter 85: You aren’t sexist? Really?

Steph’s POV—Friday Morning

Conference 1 is silent. I have a thick stack of papers in front of me: the results of the branch.

“I’ve found out why we keep losing contracts.”

Each man looks at me, some hostile, mostly curious.

“I noticed a pattern when I reviewed the contracts lost. Consistently, it was women who held the final say so on hiring RangeMan. I expect they hired us because who else could provide so many handsome, buff men?” I smile and I can see a few smiles in the group. Most of the men have put their blank faces into place.

“However, when I reviewed the non-renewals or notices of termination, it was these same women who terminated our services. I was curious to find out why.”

At this point, the lights dim and the voices of our former clients came through the loudspeakers. Continue reading →

Chapter 84.7: The Women’s Brain Trust Unites

Candy’s POV—Sunday Night

I’m doing the research, reading back through my college texts and looking in SHRM for the answer.

How on earth do you fight sexism when a lot of women can’t even agree on a definition? Personally, I like the definition ‘discrimination based on gender and the attitudes, stereotypes, and the cultural elements that promote this discrimination,’ because it acknowledges both the act and the supporting culture, but I’m betting there will be at least one woman in the brain trust who disagrees with me.

That’s important in Miami. The culture supports this kind of discrimination. This is also going to be a hard discussion for the company leadership. I wonder if Steph plans to bring this up with the Leadership Core. The RangeMan ‘culture’ is militaristic and highly male-oriented. Men own the company, men run the company, and men are 99% of the company. Steph and I are the only company-wide leaders.

This could get sticky. Continue reading →

The End of Grief

A/N: Prompt from shirleygirl2013. This takes place in Miami before Steph arrives.

“Every widow wakes one morning, perhaps after years of pure and unwavering grieving, to realize she slept a good night’s sleep, and will be able to eat breakfast, and doesn’t hear her husband’s ghost all the time, but only some of the time.” ~ Jonathan Safran Foer

“Sneaking away?”

The voice is rough, sleep edged and amused. Maria stills, her clothes in hand. She’d meant to leave Rafe’s room before he woke, but he must be a light sleeper. She feels caught, like a naughty child.

“Umm . . . ” This is awkward. She’s unsure. How do young women do this? How do they get up and walk away after a night of passion without feeling awkward and guilty? Continue reading →

Chapter 84: You have no loyalty

This will be the ONLY time I write from either of these POVs. Now, excuse me. I need to go disinfect.

Antonio’s POV—Monday morning

I can’t believe Ranger put a bitch in charge of a black ops company but hey, that just means my next step, to XO, should be much easier. Women are much easier to manipulate than men and, if it’s true she has all this power, I can follow her orders long enough to capture the prize. Fuck Diggy. I intend to take over as XO of Miami, and I’m sure everyone has told her everything they believe to be true about me. Time for her to learn the truth.

The fact that her ass was kidnapped from right under Diggy’s nose means he’s dead in the water. Fucked up his shot to be an XO in 24 hours. I can’t wait to laugh at him. A muscle in my jaw twitches and I try not to wince in pain. Fuckin’ Mack. That asshole has been a pain in my ass since he arrived, dissin’ me ever since he said hello. I’m going to get his ass back for the concussion.

I’m next to the CO’s office, waiting for her to come back. I can’t believe I’m about to do this shit, but hey. Whatever. Her little quote on Friday was cute. The Miami men don’t have a problem with their masculinity. We simply know what a woman’s place is and we have no problems reminding them. That feminism shit’s gone too far and we know why Ranger put her in charge. Continue reading →

Chapter 83.5: 72 Hours with the Equal Rights Warrior

“Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman,
but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.” ~ Dorothy Sayers

Edna’s POV

Hot Damn! An all-expenses paid vacation to Miami!

I hang up the phone and start packing. Stephie said the flight would leave Newark at noon tomorrow and one of her RangeMen would pick me up at 10 a.m. and escort me to the airport. I’m thrilled.

Stephie said that she needed help teaching a bunch of sexists to fear the power of a woman. Not a problem. I marched in the 70s for the ERA and I still regret it didn’t pass. I spent years as a housewife only to get screwed in the end. I now live with my propriety-obsessed daughter and her quietly compliant husband.

That house is hell. Continue reading →