Chapter 110 Strategic Retreat and Regroup
Steph’s POV
“Y’all get it straight?”
We’re on the road to Houston, RMSA men behind us in another SUV, and Lula’s looking at me out the side of her eye.
“Yeah. We’re straight.”
She nods. “Good.”
I look over at her. “We’re good too,” I tell her quietly.
She exhales. “Thanks. So what the hell was wrong with you?”
I sigh. “A bunch of things.”
“Such as?” Connie asks.
“Well…” I bite my lip. “It was like, we got here and Tank and Bobby were like hey and bye. Gone. We have the recruits to look after and it was the first time that no one treated my review like it meant something.”
Lula has an odd look on her face. “OK. . .”
“I’m not saying I expected to walk in to some big party, but if my reviews are supposed to be a source of bragging rights around the company, at least pretend to be excited that I’m here! Tank and Bobby asked me to help with the recruits and I did it and I didn’t see them again until we left for Louisiana. Hector was off checking the building and cabling, but I expected that. He tells me if the building is sound and that’s the extent of his involvement with my reviews. And the men were cold to me.”
“Cold?” Lula asks, whipping around an 18-wheeler as if it’s a sports car.
“Yeah. I mean, yes ma’am, no ma’am, Ms. Plum, after I made it clear that I hated ma’am and Ms. Plum.”
“I think you need to let that go, Steph,” Connie says. I turn around to her. She looks amused. “Those men are fun and funny once you get them one on one, but it takes time. ML and I got to know them when they were guarding us in San Antonio, right?”
“Right,” ML agrees. “They’re former military. Some have barely been out a year and they haven’t been RangeMen a year. Every single one of them we talked to admitted they were nervous about the review and desperate to make sure they come out well.” ML sighs. “For the San Antonio men, your review of them is also a review of the men who trained them from around the company and they want to show those men that they did a good job.”
“Oh.” I have nothing to say to that. That’s . . . touching.
“Right. So they’re nervous.” ML grins. “They even admitted that they wondered if our impressions of them were part of the review. They ma’am’ d me, Candy and Connie to death!” She and Connie start giggling and Lula and Candy laugh.
“Why?” I ask, mystified.
“Steph, you just called the Miami branch sexist,” Candy says. “There’s a push against sexism in the company and they have Miami men in house. Is it impossible to consider that we might be there as a test to see if they treat women with respect?”
My mouth drops and Connie, ML and Candy all laugh.
“Oh my god! Talk about mixed signals!” Candy laughs harder. “They’re military! They treated you like they do the senior leadership, with respect first. They’ve known the Leadership Core for months and still call them ‘sir’! The men wanted to make sure you liked them and understood they respect both you and the position, and you thought they were being cold and mean!”
Everyone falls out laughing and I shake my head. Unbelievable. Crap, I didn’t consider that at all.
“Unbelievable,” ML says.
Candy nods. “Took me a while to pick up on it. Plus, with Hector here, for the former gangbangers, that’s like having a rock star in house and you’re his partner! They’re definitely going to be quiet and respectful and make sure you understand they respect you. Yes ma’am, no ma’am, and Ms. Plum, following the military guys’ lead.”
Everyone is wiping their eyes at this.
“OK, so what else was wrong, Steph?” Lula asks.
“Well, Ranger.”
“Oh god yeah. Who was that?” Connie says.
“Exactly!” I yell, turning around in my seat. “I mean, I meet a new Ranger and this one is a completely new version. This was smiles and laughs and eats fattening food and, according to Hector, knows rap!”
Every mouth drops.
“Wait! Ranger’s here?” Candy asks in confusion.
I pale. Shit! Everyone else has gotten quiet too.
“You don’t know that, Candy,” Lula says firmly. “He’s overseas.”
Candy’s shoulders slump. “Right. You know, I can keep a secret.”
“We know, but no one is supposed to know he’s here.”
“Right.” Candy gives me a small smile. “So you met another side of Ranger, huh?”
“Yeah.” I sit back in the seat. “I didn’t know what to think and I mean, who the hell is he? How many more versions of Ranger am I going to meet?”
We’re all quiet.
“Well, I gotta say, after watching him rush the house with Mrs. CJ in his arms, I wondered who I was looking at too, but he didn’t seem too weird to me.” Connie reaches for the cooler with pop and waters and pulls a pop.
Everyone looks at her. She shrugs. “He didn’t. I mean, overall, he was quiet, and he smiled and laughed, but he’s usually a little more open when you’re around. When you weren’t in the room, it was normal Ranger.”
I look at ML and Lula. They both slowly start nodding.
“Yeah, Connie’s right. When you’re around, he’s more relaxed and laid-back. I’ve never seen Ranger and Tank smirk that much at each other,” Lula says. “Hell, I was wondering who I was looking at because Tank with Ranger is different from Tank with Bobby and Les.”
“How?” I ask.
Lula is quiet. “Tank with Bobby and Les is like watching a man with his little brothers, even though Bobby is a few months older than Tank. Bobby and Les? Two halves of one whole. Those two are clowns!”
I laugh. “I know. They play practical jokes on each other all the time.”
Lula grins and looks in the rearview. “Yeah. So Tankie with them is more big brother trying to keep them out of trouble.” She looks at me. “The RMSA men call Bobby ‘Mommy’ and Les ‘Daddy’, but Tank is ‘Grandpa’.”
I nearly piss myself laughing. Candy and ML are gasping for air and Connie chokes on her pop. ML pounds her back, mascara running down her face.
“Grandpa?”
“He’s not sure if he’s amused or pissed by that. He would have preferred ‘uncle’. Les likes to call him ‘the wise old man’ and the men picked up on that.”
I’m grinning. “OK . . . ?”
“So anyway, Tank with Ranger is like seeing my man with the other person he counts on, and I got jealous. Tank and Ranger can glance at each other and have a whole conversation. I wasn’t sure what to think of that, but then Ranger winked at me. I wondered if I saw that wrong, but he smiled and I knew I didn’t. It was like being let in on the joke.”
“Right,” Candy says softly.
“Right. I mean, I remembered that Ranger told me he was glad to respect my position as Tankie’s number one and when he winked at me, I realized he meant it. He wasn’t gonna pretend I wasn’t standing there.”
“Is that when you plopped yourself on the couch next to him?” ML asks.
“Yup. I asked him what that was about and he told me that Tank was damn near asleep and fighting it because Chenae had launched into some long-winded discussion about commodity futures and he didn’t understand shit she was saying—”
“Neither did I,” Connie mutters.
Lula laughs. “I learned to ignore Chenae when she starts talking money on the phone. Anyway, Tank was trying to be supportive and not fall asleep on her, but it was rough. That glance at Ranger was to ask him to throw a Señor Scary her way to shut her up.”
We all laugh.
“Yeah. So . . . I kinda felt like I was in the group now. Ranger would talk to me. I wasn’t always gonna be wondering what the joke was.”
I sit back in my seat. Tank’s an issue for me but he talks to me. If Ranger is willing to and is talking to Lula, I gotta learn to talk to Tank. I’ve always seen the way Tank and Ranger communicate. I don’t think I’ll have the learning curve Lula has.
“So, what else, Steph?” ML asks.
I’m not willing to talk about how I felt watching the RMSA men treat Lula like their big sister. Lula is the San Antonio me and I wondered if that was the way she felt around the Trenton guys. Like she was just tolerated. The San Antonio guys love Lula. I’ll probably always be Ms. Plum to that office.
I don’t want to talk about that because it’s just petty. Like I’m not happy for Lula that she’s finally found happiness in her life. She and Tank have a strong relationship, his family loves her, Ranger’s starting to be nice to her, and the RMSA men love her. She’s working at RangeMan, going to school, and planning her wedding. Lula’s life is great.
What kind of friend would I be to crap on that?
It would be like the way I acted when Mary Lou had Junior. I was still expecting to be ML’s number one. Now I was, at best, number three. I treated her horribly because I felt the one person in my corner had disappeared. Now Lula, who’s always been there, ready to ride with me, will no longer be there and I didn’t really accept that until I got here.
Lula has her own life now.
I don’t have a life. My friends all have their own lives. Connie’s dating Marvin and they spend plenty of time together, even with Marvin’s crazy hospital hours. Candy and Hal are teeth-rottingly sweet. They’re the sweethearts of the office. ML has her busy life, Lula has her busy life, and what do I have?
RangeMan and an absent Ranger.
“Steph?”
I look back at Candy. “Oh.” I smile. “Thinking.” I shrug. “I guess that was the biggest of it. The review just wasn’t going like I wanted and I didn’t know who I was looking at this weekend.”
Everyone nods and we start talking about bridesmaid dresses. Lula’s future sisters-in-law got the wedding invitations in the mail and Key is excited about catering the wedding. Antoine found a DJ. Lula’s wedding is coming together and everyone’s involved.
“Hey Steph, are you still planning the bachelorette party for Vegas?” ML asks.
“Yeah.” I grin at Lula, who is grimacing. “What?”
“You know we had a good time, Steph,” Lula says. “But Wilma and Thelma won’t be able to do Vegas. Their money’s tight. And Chenae is definitely on a strict budget.”
No Chenae? Pity.
“Oh. Well, what about New Orleans?”
“Mardi Gras,” Candy says excitedly.
“Yeah!” Connie and ML add. Candy checks her phone. “Mardi Gras this year will be one month before Lula’s wedding. I say we go for it.”
I look at Lula. “Good for you?”
She grins. “Hell yeah, White Girl! I’ve never been to Mardi Gras and Wilma and Thelma got lots of stories ’bout it. I wonder how many beads I can get flashing my titties.” She starts shaking and everyone laughs.
I’m suddenly not that excited. I have nothing to flash. Connie, Candy and Lula will drown under the beads.
—oOo—
“I thought we weren’t supposed to have a guard.” I’m looking at the black SUV behind us. They finally caught up again.
Lula smiles. “One, volunteer duty. Two, shopping assistants. Three, guard for Connie, Candy and ML.”
“Do we need one?” ML asks. She, Candy and Connie turn to look.
“I didn’t think so but Tank disagreed,” Lula replies. “Steph’s trained. She can handle her own. Me, Candy and Connie are training and you’re not trained. Tank thought one trained RangeWoman plus four untrained friends wasn’t good odds.” She looks at me. “Plus, you can’t carry concealed in Texas. The guys can. If some shit pops off, you wouldn’t be armed, are you?”
Nope. I shake my head. Good planning, Tank. Just another thing I wouldn’t have considered that they did. I’m not fooled, though. The guard is for all of us.
Lula makes another hairpin turn and we stop in front of a restaurant next to a car dealership. We climb out and walk in. Lula gets one table for us and another table for the guys. Connie sniffs.
“Barbeque?”
“I heard about this place from Thelma,” Lula says, looking at the menu. “She said I had to try it.”
The guys walk in and collapse into their chairs at the table next to us. “Lula,” one says. It’s Arlo and he looks pale. “I know we cleared you on the driving assessment, but do you have to show off on us all the time?”
We all laugh. The waitress comes by to take our orders and all but one of the guys orders a beer.
“Medicinal,” Arlo explains, looking at me nervously. “We’d never normally drink on duty, ma’am, but escorting Lula requires a beer.”
I laugh. “I’ll ignore it if you can manage not to call me ma’am for the rest of the day.”
He nods. “Yes ma—” He cringes. “Yes . . . Steph.”
We cheer and he blushes slightly.
Lunch is spectacular and we head to the bridal boutique. I pull the dress I spotted earlier and try it on. I look great and this time, ML and Connie both find the right dress. We’re all looking at ourselves in the mirror, smiling. Our dresses are similar but right for our figures.
My dress is backless with a deep v-neck. I’ll look great in this. It makes the most of my less spectacular chest. ML’s dress has a shirred keyhole halter neckline and Connie’s dress is one-shouldered with a sweetheart neckline. All three dresses are silk with a shirred waistband and fall in soft folds down to our ankles. Well, Connie will have to get her dressed altered for length, but otherwise, it’s perfect.
Lula picks out a strapless version for Chenae and the cap sleep draped bodice version for Jackie and texts the information to both of them. They both answer that they’ll go try the dresses on.
ML, Connie, and I stand in the mirrors looking at each other. We look great and we’ll look perfect next to Lula.
The whistles and catcalls scare the hell out of us. ML actually jumps and whirls around, her hand on her heart. The RMSA men are taking pictures and smiling.
“The prettiest bridesmaids in Texas,” one says.
“Stop that!” ML says, blushing.
“No, keep going,” Connie says, posing. “Shit, any day I can get four handsome men whistling at me, I’ll take it!”
I laugh and strike a pose. “True! This has been a good day. All I ask for is that I know I look hot at least once every day!”
I get whistled at for that and drag ML into the fun. Lula and Candy smile and take more pictures as we pose, arm in arm.
Finally. The great dress search is over. Thank god.
—oOo—
“This is supposed to be a road trip. What are we going to do?” Connie asks.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to ride one of those Texas electronic bulls,” Candy says.
We’re walking out of the bridal salon, trying to figure out what to do next.
Arlo hums. “Well, the only rodeo going on right now is in Amarillo.”
“Well, let’s go!” Lula says, headed to the truck.
“Lula!” Rodrigo yells. We’ve learned names. “Amarillo is near Oklahoma!”
“And?”
“Nine hours.”
We all turn to Lula. “NO!”
“That’s too long in a truck, Lula,” Connie says, shaking her head.
“I want to see something I can’t see anywhere else,” ML says.
“Well,” Rodrigo says, looking at me, “we hear the CO likes botanical gardens.”
“That’s true.” I smile. “I do.”
“Well, this is Texas and we do it better here. How about a butterfly garden?”
I perk up. “Sounds good.”
—oOo—
“This was a great choice,” Candy says. We’re at the Cockrell Butterfly Center and ML and Connie are taking picture after picture. “Do you remember Ferngully?”
I grin. “Yes. I had to be . . . way too old to love that movie as much as I did.”
Candy smiles, standing still so that the butterfly that landed on her ear doesn’t fly away. He finally flies away and she smiles. “Did anyone—”
“Oh yeah,” Connie says. “I got plenty of snaps of that.”
The RMSA guys are snorting. We look around. Lula’s covered. “Lula?”
“These things don’t eat people, do they?” Lula’s starting to look a little wild. “I mean, they covering me like I’m food. They know I’m not food, right?”
“Stand still, Lula,” Arlo says. “They won’t harm you. They’re just curious.”
“Yeah, well, I ain’t good with curious animals.”
“As long as you don’t have bacon in your purse,” I reply, and Connie puts her hand on my shoulder and laughs. I hide my laugh behind my grin. Lula cuts her eyes at me.
We keep moving through the Butterfly Center and taking pictures. This was a great idea—
“AGGHH!”
We go running to Candy, who is running away from an exhibit. One of the RMSA men, Arne, catches her in his arms. Well, he tries. Candy hits him with the speed of a linebacker and down he goes.
“Candy, what—”
“AGGHH!”
ML’s running but she slows up and hides behind Rodrigo. Arlo tiptoes forward and peers ahead. Eventually he relaxes and comes back all smiles.
“The hissing cockroach or the pink tarantula?”
“Cockroach?” Lula looks alarmed. She starts checking her hair.
Arlo grins. “They can’t fly. They can climb but they’re kept in their cages.”
“Nope, that’s all I need to hear,” Lula says, headed for the exit. “I had enough of cockroaches.” She’s moving fast. “I’m not getting this hair redone.”
We scramble to follow her, Candy still hanging on to Arne. Arne does not look bothered by this at all. He’s trying to hide a grin. “Phobia?”
She nods. “I’m from Florida. Massive cockroaches?” She shivers. “No thanks. Hell no. A thousand butterflies don’t make up for a three inch roach. Then there were tarantulas to go with it?” She shakes her head. “I’m with Lula.” We climb in the Escalade and look at each other.
“OK, what now?”
I grin at Lula. “Let’s test the guys.”
“How?”
“Everyone, find something to do either here or San Antonio.”
We hit our phones but before I can type anything in, Lula gets moving. “Lula!”
“Alamo.” She looks over. “That’s back in San Antonio and all this time I been here, I still haven’t gone. So let’s go.”
“Go for it,” Connie says.
“I’m grabbing the ‘Oh shit’ handle’,” ML mutters. I laugh.
“‘Oh shit’ handle?” Lula says. She hits the on-ramp for I-10 W and gets moving.
“I still love you, Lula,” ML says. We’re all laughing.
Ninety minutes later, two things happen simultaneously.
First, Lula’s stomach starts rumbling.
“Lula, did you have beans at lunch?” ML asks.
The fart answers ML before Lula can. We each hit the window buttons and let the windows down, but Lula farts again. This time she has company.
Connie lets one off and looks surprised. “OK, I thought I had that under control.”
I’ve pulled my t-shirt up over my nose. Meanwhile, Candy lets one off.
“Sorry,” she moans. “I should’ve used the bathroom before we left Houston.”
“I know.” Lula lets off a third fart. “Damn. OK, no beans at the wedding.”
I open my phone and write a note.
Our hair is flying everywhere, the air is barely breathable and Connie and Candy are both squirming. Lula hits an exit to use the bathroom when we hear the sirens.
I look. Police car. Highway patrol.
Lula’s looking for a place to stop and can’t find one. “I gotta go. They can write me all the tickets they want but Imma go fart in peace first.”
“McDonald’s up ahead.” It sound more like “Mcfarmma’s uhead’ because I’m breathing through my mouth, so I point. Lula nods and pulls in, the truck screeching to a halt.
I unlock the doors and Candy, Connie and Lula take off for the entrance, doors wide open, keys still in the ignition.
“Stop! Stop and put your hands up!”
One cop goes running after Lula, Connie and Candy. The other trains his gun on me and ML. “Don’t move, ma’am.”
I’ve had it.
“Quit calling me ma’am!” I glare at him. “Do I look fifty to you? Miss! Miss Plum! But not freakin’ ma’am.”
“Ok, ok, no need to escalate this,” he says soothingly, backing up. “Just put your hands on your head and turn around.”
“Officer, I think you’re overreacting a little here,” ML says calmly. “We’ve had a long day—”
“Ma’am, I don’t care—”
“Please quit calling us ma’am!” ML yells. “For god sakes, it’s annoying!”
“I thought you didn’t mind,” I whisper.
“The San Antonio men blush when they say it. He’s got a gun.”
Two more police cars pull up. The officer jerks his head toward the McDonald’s and two men head in that direction. The other two join Dudley Do-Right holding a gun on me and ML.
“Hands on your heads, ladies.”
We sigh and put our hands on our heads. Meanwhile, Arlo and the guys finally caught up. They get out of the truck and stand to one side, watching carefully.
“Gentleman, you need to move it along,” the officer says.
Arlo shakes his head and pulls his ID. “RangeMan. The black woman driving is the fiancée of the head of the San Antonio office. The woman there”–he points at me–”is the managing director of the company. We’re the security team for them.”
“Some security.” The cop snickers. “We clocked them doing 95.”
Arlo shrugs. “And you caught them at a Mickey D’s. You wouldn’t have caught them unless they wanted you to. Three are missing. I put money on the bathroom. We’re just coming back from Houston.”
The other two officers approach and check our ID. I also pull my RangeMan ID. They take it back to their cars to start running it.
At that moment, Lula, Candy and Connie walk out, looking relieved. They stop short at the sight of me and ML with our hands on our heads, Arlo, Arne, Rodrigo and Marty standing to one side, and the cops looking utterly confused.
Lula walks right up to the first cop on the scene. “You need to go get your partner. He should know better than to walk into a ladies restroom. The other women beat the crap out of him! And put that gun down! There are children ’round here. You waving that gun like a damn fool might scare them.”
I catch ML’s eye and die of laughter inside.
“Now what’s the problem?” Lula demands, hands on hips. “You can’t be about to arrest me for using the bathroom? If you arrest me for using the bathroom, Imma get on TV, Twitter, Facebook, and everywhere else and make you look foolish. I got a constitutional right to find a place to use the bathroom!”
The other officers return with my ID and ML’s and we put them away.
Candy and Connie flank Lula in front of the first officer. The one that followed them inside the bathroom staggers out. He’s bruised and has a look that says he’s seen scary things.
“Johnson, you OK?”
He nods, swallowing hard. “Bathroom.”
“Humph,” Lula says. “Told you so.” She turns around to walk back to us and a small one rips from her. Dudley Do-Right gags a little. “Come on, let’s go home.” She turns back to Arlo. “Try to keep up this time. I lost you somewhere between Houston and Columbia.”
He grins. “GPS Tracking. You might lose sight of us, but we still see you.”
“Damn!” Lula and I mutter.
—oOo—
We’re back at RMSA. Connie spotted a drug store and ducked inside for Gas-X. ML and I endured ten more minutes of farting from all of them before it died down.
I sent an email to Tank. Lula says no beans at your wedding.
Tank replied Agreed.
Connie, Candy and ML are headed inside the building when I pull Lula to the side. “I know, because of Tank, this might be a tough request, but I need help.”
“Yeah?” She grins. “Whatcha need help with, White Girl?”
I grin. Yeah, Lula and I will be OK. “Perhaps the manipulators need a taste of their own medicine.”
Lula’s eyes widen. “Oh hell yeah! I’m with you there. Shit, you ain’t the only one they got and if you wanna get ’em, I’m in. I’d love to hit Bobby and Les back for that shit! Tankie too! I’m still mad about his shit!” She turns and looks out of the door of the garage toward the main building.
I laugh. I thought so. Lula’s near to launching into rhino mode. “What did Tank do?”
She turns to me. “He put the marriage in question.” I stop laughing and she nods. “Yeah. I haven’t said anything because I understood why, but since I talked to Rosa Deuce I been thinking about that. I understood where Tankie was comin’ from, but Rosa stepped up and stood by her man even when it looked like his ass might spend years in jail. Tankie threatened to ditch me.”
“Lula . . .” I have nothing to say to that.
She swallows hard. “Yeah. He took it back just as fast and I understood why, but that’s been pissing me off.”
“Why haven’t you said anything?”
She snorts. “Cuz he apologized and he meant it, but I keep thinking, what happens the next time some shit like this happens?”
I’m quiet. No matter how many times I’ve screwed up, Ranger’s never abandoned me and never threatened to.
“Now, I know my man. He sometimes says shit before he fully thinks it through because he’s reacting not thinking, but he gotta stop that. He did that shit to me twice.” She turns to me. “You gotta plan?”
“Not yet. I’m still thinking about where to hit them where it hurts.”
She nods. “Well, since I’m around them the most, I’ll see what they react to. See what I see.” She grins. “Do some detective work.”
“Thanks, Lula.”
She grins. “We’ll be stuck with RangeMen for the rest of our lives. We better gang up to fight back. If we don’t, they’ll think they run things!”
I slap her hand. Damn skippy!
Tank’s POV
Lula’s happy. Steph’s happy, the review is going well, they had a good day today, and they found the right dress.
Good.
I’m happy too. Steph’s getting counseling. She loves Ric. I want to see them both happy, preferably together, as Les said. I’m glad we managed to get past that ‘Fuck You’ issue today. Oh, that shit still stings and I doubt I ever forget it, but we kinda earned that one. Three on one during that confrontation?
I shrug mentally. Even at our worst we don’t gang up on each other like that. Well, we did on Ric this morning, but Ric fights back. We know how he’ll handle a confrontation. Well, now we know Steph will cuss us out. That shit won’t fly, but now I know; confronting her one on one like I did works better.
Bobby cannot be involved in tense discussions with Steph for a while. His tendency to state things bluntly, assuming the person getting hit can take it, doesn’t work with her. Steph needs someone to softball things to her; state the same facts, but gently.
Lula’s got her new book and I’m looking through the stack of reports from Ryan. Ranger texted; that embezzlement charge is bugging him. Steph would never steal money from the company. She might not say anything about a plan, but stealing? Not Steph. He thinks I should check back through the reports from Ryan.
I read Ryan’s reports. Those reports get read the moment they arrive.
I’m checking all the monthly statements for the past three months, since she returned from the beach. Nope. I start on the quarterly reports.
“Whatcha reading?”
I look over. Lula’s looking craning her neck, trying to look at the reports. I swat at her and she laughs. “Reports from Ryan. Looking for something.”
“What?”
“Change in procedure.”
“Oh.” She goes back to her book but looks up quickly. “Change in accounting procedure?”
“Yeah.” I’m skimming the October report. I’m not finding it. “Why?”
“Bobby asked me to file those.”
“Right . . .” I look over.
“Ryan sent an addendum to the August report. It arrived mid-September but it should be filed with August. You catch that?”
I frown and look at my stack. I flip through and find the August report.
And the addendum.
“Found it.” I look over at her. “Why? Why did you remember that one?”
She shrugs. “Because that was one of those projects Bobby bribed me to do for him. He wanted to get all the old reports scanned into RangeWorld. I was working on them when that report came in, so I scanned it in with everything else then filed it.”
Lula and her filing. I laugh mentally.
“This should’ve been brought to my attention first.”
Lula shrugs. “I scanned it and sent you an email asking if you’d seen it. That was his copy I scanned, but I didn’t know if you and Les saw your copies. I didn’t file your copies.”
This is cosmic comic irony. Lula actually did the fucking filing and what happens?
I miss an addendum!
I chuckle, then laugh, then really start laughing. The bed is shaking from my laughs and Lula is looking at me, confused.
“What?”
I calm down and kiss her forehead. “Don’t ever change. I love you just as you are.”
“Good to know. You marrying just what you see.”
“I hope so.”
“What happened to Les’s copy?”
She shrugs. “Should be in his filing cabinet. I only had Bobby’s copy.”
I think for a moment. Gonzo should still be on duty. I dial.
“RangeMan bridge.”
“Gonzo?”
“Sir?”
“I’d like you to check Les’s office, the main filing cabinet, third drawer. Accounting reports. Check to see if there is an addendum to August filed in there.”
“Yes, sir. One moment.” He leaves the line and returns a few minutes later. “Yes sir. It’s filed with August, sir. Do you need it, sir?”
“No. Just needed to know if it was there.” Click.
Fuck. So I probably filed mine thinking it was another copy of the August report. Shit. I pull the August addendum and read. Ryan clearly outlined the change in procedure. Money from a Boston revenue stream would be diverted into the CO’s account, in holding. The CO would release the funds directly to the company reserves after ensuring the expected revenues matched the anticipated amounts. Revenue stream: Hospitality. Amount: $650K.
Fuck. OK. I consider what Ranger said this morning. He’s right. Steph’s trying to save Mark’s ass with us. If I’d known he went after Hospitality contracts without her approval, I would have killed him. Les would have chopped him into little bits, both for failing to follow chain of command and for going around him. New revenue streams have to be approved by him. Yeah, forget me. Les would’ve left bits of Mark’s body up and down the East Coast.
Damn. I should’ve trusted her. I trusted her in everything else she’s done. Why on earth did my trust in her falter here?
Numbers greater than three digits, I suppose. I’ve had too many years of watching people I trust, especially family, use me for money. That’s my touch point. Too many aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone smiling in my face and trying to use me for money. That’s why I have a select list of people I trust when it comes to money. Chenae, my mother, Lula, Ric, Bobby, Les. I added Steph to the list, seeing a fellow tightwad in her, but at the first sign of a possible problem, I got pissed.
Gotta work on that. She has a fiduciary responsibility to the company too. Gotta trust her to do what’s right.
I text the guys. Embezz charge unsub.
Les. Explain.
Procedure outlined in aug. addendum.
Ten minutes pass.
Les: Fuck. I feel shitty. And stupid.
Bobby: Ditto.
Me: Ask me how I found it.
Les: Do tell.
Me: Lula. Doing Bobby’s FILING! She caught that there was an addendum.
Ric: HAHAHAHAHA
Bobby: *palm slap forehead* You gotta be fucking kidding!
Les: More evidence that when Lula files the entire world is turned upside down!
“Tell Les to go to hell,” Lula says. I look over. She’s staring at my phone.
“Nosy.”
“I can file. I can file my ass off. Can’t nobody file better than me,” Lula mutters, going back to her book.
Me: Lula says U can go 2 hell, Les
Les: *finger*
Me: You want to keep that?
Ric: Irony: Lula files, doing her job. You three miss an addendum and change in procedure. So, does Lula file or not? *taps chin*
I rub my forehead and chuckle. Irony.
Bobby: Issue removed from agenda next week.
Ric: Good. You put her in place for a reason. Remember that.
Les: Agreed.
Hector: Yes, please remember that. Now, anyone want to tell me what the hell U guys are talking about?
I cringe mentally. I forgot I put Hec in my LC contact group. We thought Steph might’ve embezzled from RM.
Hector: That’s so funny I’m going to pretend you mean that as a joke. What would she buy? An xtra big tastykake? She barely spends her salary!
Bobby: LMAO. Tastykake.
Hector: Fuckers. You deserve the acid reflux that probably gave you.
Les: Thanks Hec. Grind it in.
Hector: You fucking bet I will. Trust Angelita. She only does what’s right for RM. You asked her to run it. Well, she’s running it.
Ric: How did today’s meeting go?
Me: You talked to her?
Ric: Not yet.
Me: Talk to her. It was a rough day.
Hector: Am I going to end up curled up with her?
Me: Probably.
Ric: Stay out of her bed, Hec
Hec: Les in her bed is a problem. Me in her bed is comforting. My dick will not be tempted to travel
Les: Resent that. Ric loves Steph. Would not dare. Plus, Little Les trying to make new friends. Got lots of party hats.
Bobby: Good. Big Les needs more shit to do and Little Les needs to get out more.
Les: What’s with this sudden interest in my dick’s social life?
Me: We can tell when he doesn’t have one. Big Les starts behaving like an idiot.
Les: *FINGER*
Hec: Les: go get laid. Tank: Me + U on mats 0600.
Bobby: Nope. Not Tank. Me.
Hector: Fuck!
Bobby: Oh yeah. Me. I was the one to hit her where it hurt.
Hector: Shit. Angelita’s gotta learn to take a hit.
I grin. No one wants to be on the mats with Bobby. For any reason. ‘Mommy’ is deadly.
Me: What? I’m not a threat?
Hec: I can still walk after mat time with you. Bobby, order extra pain relief.
Bobby: I’ll see what I can do.
Ric: I hope you didn’t do something to my woman I wouldn’t do to yours.
Les: We didn’t. That’s the fucked up part. We did to Steph EXACTLY what we did to Lula.
Ric: Thanks Larry, Moe, and Curly.
Bobby: Moe.
Me: Larry
Les: Curly was the childlike one. And he was fat! I’m Shemp
Hector: Good call
Les: *finger. Massive finger*
Ric: You only have one finger left, primo. Might want to save it for another day.
