Chapter 15: I’m Not Questioning Your Decisions…

Ranger’s POV

I’m happy to see that the Trenton men are taking Steph’s elevation seriously. More importantly, the video of this little party is being broadcast live to each RangeMan office so they all know that the email was not a joke and that it should be taken very seriously. If they have questions, their XO is also here, standing in the background during this party. More importantly, the new CO has the backing, faith, and confidence of the entire Trenton staff and threats to her will not be taken lightly. I’m sure Lester is getting great shots of this party so that there are no questions about Steph’s legitimacy or her importance.

I’m covertly watching my XOs. The guys were listening into C3 and they report that Steph’s elevation was not really commented on after we left. Danny offered Babe some good advice, which she appears to have taken on board, and she’s running the meeting with a firm grip. Good. I wanted her to take control from the beginning.

“You know, I never questioned whether or not she would be able to run the business aspect of this company,” Bobby says quietly as we watch the Trenton guys hug my Babe. “I still have concerns about whether or not she’ll make the other changes.”

What can I say? “I do too, Bobby. I simply have to hope and pray she does.” Our eyes meet, and I can see that, although Bobby will never let his concerns show in front of the men, he’s not certain that Babe will step up to bat. Bobby is the brother I count on to worry the most. Bobby is the ‘what-if?’ member of the group; if there is a flaw in your plan, Bobby will find it. “I can say that she’s never let me down before so I have no reason to worry that she will now.” Bobby stares at me for a long moment then nods. He’ll let his worries rest and pray I’m right.

I’m watching Mark. I am not ignorant of his desire to move up to the Leadership Core Team, but I’m not sure how to resolve this. I’m not elevating him any further but I also don’t want him to leave. He’s a perfect fit for Boston. Lester is firmly of the opinion that it’ll be a cold day in hell before he votes Mark up to Leadership Core, and Bobby is standing with him. Tank is on the fence between firing him and firing him after kicking his ass. We make all business moves only after a unanimous vote, and I’ve been the hold out. Well, no longer. I finally make a decision: if Mark gives Babe any trouble, he’s a dead man walking. If she fires him during the year, I won’t oppose it or reverse it later.

“Ranger, can I have a moment?” I’m not surprised to see Armando is the first to approach me. I nod him toward my office and shut the door.

“Ranger, I’ve served under you for a long time. I’ve never questioned your judgment, and I’m not questioning it now. I am informing you that I have a problem.” I incline my head toward him and wait. I already know what his problem is. “Look, every man in RangeMan knows the Bombshell Bounty Hunter stories. We know she’s good, but word is she’s a disaster. She falls in garbage, she’s outrun by her skips, she doesn’t conform to standards. You know the Miami office. It’s machismo central. I don’t want her coming to Miami and getting her feelings hurt or being insulted by the men when they question her proficiency. I want to know how you expect me to handle this.”

Shit, right as usual. I’m ready to replace Armando. This is not what I wanted to deal with. Armando’s questions and concerns are legitimate, and if I were in his position I might have them too, but I don’t expect this out of my XOs. You have to be a strong-willed individual to be an XO, able to resolve nearly any problem, and I’m thinking that Armando no longer has it in him. Has he been marking time waiting for me to return to Miami?

Thankfully, Lester walked in during the middle of that little speech. “You tell the men that she’s the CO. That regardless of what they’ve heard she’s a great bounty hunter. You tell them that if they really want to make an issue of her skills and abilities, you can hold her capture rate up against theirs and really embarrass them. You tell them that she signs their checks so they can stuff their machismo up their asses. If Trenton can deal with it and respect her, Miami better. And if they still can’t get over it, just call Tank. He considers any challenge to her leadership a challenge to his judgment and leadership and an insult to both him and Ranger. And when he’s done, I’ll see them on the mats too, blades in hand. And Bobby won’t be handing out any ibuprofen once he’s had a turn with them.”

Armando’s gone pale, but he nods and leaves.

“Thanks, primo.”

“De nada. I knew he would ask. The machismo issues of the Miami office are serious, though. I’ll encourage her to visit there second.” I raise my eyebrows. “I think she should visit Atlanta once she’s out the cast to see how it runs. Danny will be supportive, and it’ll be a good trip for her. Miami will be more difficult, but it should still be a good trip. Boston next, because Mark will be an ass, and NYC last.”

Lester’s plan might actually be better than any of mine if they’re this far-reaching. I’ll never tell him, though.

“I expect Mark to walk in here at any moment,” I reply. Sure enough, the door opens and Mark walks in.

“Ranger, can I speak to you alone for a moment?”

Lester smirks and doesn’t move.

“Go on.” Mark glances at Lester then realizes that Les will be staying. Mark is afraid of Les; smart of him. “Ranger, I’m trying to make sense of this move. I mean, I know she has a great capture rate and that she’s good at distractions and, given what she just told us about her first FTA, she’s smart. But to elevate someone who isn’t even a RangeMan employee to the top position, to your job, over all the other people you could have picked—”

“You mean over you?” Let’s cut to the chase. You’re only pissing me off trying to praise and insult her at the same time and you’re questioning my judgment. I don’t appreciate that. Tank and Bobby have walked into the office, and I see Bobby lock the door.

“Well, yeah, over me.” Mark stands up straight and clenches his jaw. “I’ve run the company twice before when you brought other offices up and God only knows how many times when Leadership Core has a mission. . . I have the experience. I have the knowledge of the company and the industry as a whole. I know every XO, every core team and B-team at every office, I know a vast majority of the men and quite frankly, I’m insulted that you chose to put your girlfriend in the top job.”

I feel Lester inhale sharply, and I motion for him to stay still. I want to hear this. I don’t want Mark distracted by the sight of Les loosening his blades, which is what I think Les really wants to do. Still, I can see Les moving for his short blades.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to rise to the Leadership Core, and I had hoped that I’d given you enough of a demonstration of my skills and abilities to be considered, so yes, I consider your decision to elevate your girlfriend an insult not just to me but to every man in RangeMan who aspires to a leadership position in this company. We’ve worked hard for years to rise to the positions we are in, and you just dropped her on us with no warning, no discussion and no consultation. And I still haven’t seen what makes her so special as to warrant the job of Commanding Officer.”

Tank and Bobby are frozen in rage. Lester has his short blades in hand. I’m actually amused. Not ‘haha’ amused but ‘That shit was so not funny that it’s funny’ amused. Mark finally notices that he’s surrounded by the Leadership Core Team and that Lester has his blades in hand. He pales.

“First, the Leadership Core does not deem it a necessity to consult the XOs before we make a decision. We may ask your opinions, but the final decision belongs to us and that’s the way it always will be.” Mark goes pale. He finally realizes he has overstepped severely with me. “Second, it’s true that we’ve called on you before to run the company. What we’ve learned from those experiences is (a) you will grow the company but you’ll look out for Boston first, and (b) you will attempt to remain in situations that are none of your business and maintain access to information that is no longer yours to peruse.

So yes, you’ve given us a demonstration of your skills and abilities and what we learned from it is that we need someone who will put the welfare of the company above the welfare of their branch, and we need someone who will not hesitate to hand the reins back when the assignment is complete. That’s why we elevated our colleague, not my girlfriend, to the CO spot. We need someone we trust absolutely to run the company the way we would. That person is Stephanie. We trust you to run RangeMan Boston and you have done and continue to do an outstanding job of it. We don’t trust you to refrain from continuing to attempt to poke your nose into the running of the other branches when the assignment is over. That’s why we didn’t elevate you.”

Mark has gone completely white, but my brothers have calmed down somewhat and are looking amused. The door handle is rattled. “Ranger? Ranger, are you in there?” Steph is outside.

“One moment.”

“OK.” We hear her call Junior to help her move away.

I turn to Mark. “That’s why we elevated her. She got an answer from me so she moved away to take care of other business. That’s what I expect. When she visits your office sometime in the coming year, I expect you to answer her truthfully, give her every assistance, and help her carry out her decisions. Any questions?” Mark is still white, but I’m done. I’ve handled this issue.

The government signed the contract this morning. $75 million, which includes the counterintelligence op I’ll need to run. I have other shit I need to do to prepare and arguing with Mark is not on my short list. I watch him walk out the door and turn to Lester.

“The blades? Really?”

“Fucker is lucky I didn’t slam his head to the floor,” Tank growls.

I look at my brothers. “I’m in. If he gives Steph any trouble over the next year, he’s dead man walking. If she fires him, I won’t oppose it or reverse it.” All three smile and I can see that we’re on one page again. Decision made unanimously.

“He’s a great fit at RM Boston. We’ve all agreed on that,” Lester says. “If he quits, then Bomber will need to elevate someone else there but I know Mark and I know men like him. He’ll spend the next year attempting to gather intel to prove that elevating Steph was a bad idea and present it to us when we return. So, we need to start thinking about a replacement.” We nod. We’ve thwarted Mark’s rise to the very top and he’ll never forgive or forget it. Les is right. He’s now officially a short-timer.

---

Mark’s POV

There’s no way I’m going to spend an entire year answering to this SMACK. She has no experience, no leadership skills, no training, and no fucking idea what she’s doing. I love this company. I’ve loved it for a long time, devoted my life to it, done what I’ve been asked to do time and time again, and helped the company grow and prosper and I just can’t understand why I’ve been passed over. If it were just Ranger, I’d wonder if he was pussy whipped, but this is the decision of the entire Leadership Core. If I know one thing about these guys it’s that they don’t share ass, no matter how good it is. So she can’t be fucking all of them. What’s her gift? What’s she got that prompted them to promote her over everyone?

Clearly Ranger doesn’t intend to give me any real information on his decision. That bullshit he fed me might work for Javier or Danny, weak shits that they are, but not me. I’ve seen the global picture of this company. I know how these guys think. There’s another reason. I need someone in the Trenton office who can pass me information, but it’s clear I won’t find a mole here. These guys are loyal to her, are thrilled about this bullshit decision, and are taking the opportunity to celebrate three promotions in their office.

I need to watch her, to get an idea of what makes her tick, and I make a quick decision: I’m staying through to next week. Apparently she’s holding some sort of seminar on how she finds people. Ok, I will give her that; she is the best in the company at searches. Chase let me know that her work last week, while on bed rest with a busted leg, led to their office finding two outstanding skips worth $2.5 million dollars. Now, if that’s true, that is an appropriate job for her. Research, that’s at her skill level, because anyone who believes even half those Bombshell Bounty Hunter stories knows she’s shit at apprehension. Head of Research, not Commanding fucking Officer.

I catch Armando’s eye and nod. We’ll have dinner tonight and talk about what the hell is going on. I saw him enter Ranger’s office before I did, so I know he got dressed down before I did. Idiot. Never be the first person to approach Ranger with bullshit, even if it’s legitimate. You’re getting the full brunt of his temper. Hell, if he addressed Armando anywhere near the way he addressed me, Armando must be missing part of his ass. That’s almost as bad as approaching Lester when he’s in a mood. Now Lester, that’s the only motherfucker on the Leadership Core that I’m truly afraid of. I never approach him, for any reason. In that direction is suicide.

An hour later, I’m back in the conference room listening to the other XOs give this SMACK all their ideas. Idiots. No fucking way I let her implement my ideas and take credit. Fuck her. I’ll implement my ideas in Boston, let Ranger see how effective they are and realize how effective I am as a leader and as a follower. I’m following his orders to grow my branch. She’s smiling, writing all of it down, and listening to Danny, Javier and Hal spout their nonsense.

I’m starting to get a bit pissed about Hal. I’d heard about him, about how she stunned him with his own stun gun, yet he’s sitting there like a panting dog at her feet, thrilled to be working with her. I’d never do it. She’d be lucky not to get stunned every time I saw her had it been me. I was hoping to make an ally out of him, but that’s clearly not going to happen and from the way all the Trenton men are looking at me, the word has already spread about our ‘discussion’ in Tank’s office. I finally spot the infamous Hector. That’s Hector? Jesus! That man could kill someone with a glare! OK, Lester is the number two man I’m afraid of. Hector wins hands down.

Finally, this day from hell is over. I head back to the hotel and call Armando.

“Yo. Steakhouse?”

“Yeah. Out of Trenton. Princeton.”

“Ruth’s Chris?”

“Sounds good. On my way there.”

I call in a reservation and arrive an hour later. Armando has already been seated. We order and sit back.

“What have you learned?” I ask.

“Not much. Trenton men are loyal to her. They know about your conversation with Hal. No chance of turning anyone there. Why didn’t they elevate you this time?”

I’ve been anticipating this question. I know that he didn’t want me in charge either because I’m aware he has a leak in his branch, but there’s no way I want the bull Ranger said to me to get out. “They believe she has good ideas, a fresh perspective and they want to let her take the reins for a while.”

Armando stares at me. Finally, he smirks. “Makes sense. Did you know he started adding her to all the company paperwork 2 years ago?”

OK, so I momentarily lost my blank face. I know it. Two years ago? He’s been putting her on all the company paperwork for two fucking years? “You have to be joking.”

“Ryan left some paperwork out on his desk by mistake. They’d all signed off. It was right after the Scrog situation.”

OK, I’m going to chalk that up to emotional disturbance. I feel myself calm but not by much. That’s enough time to get all that reversed.

“Actually, she’s on all the paperwork now. She’s all but a partner.”

OK, I’m done. I’m done. I can’t believe it. She’s on everything? Everything? You mean she’ll become a partner, will be or could be elevated to Leadership Core, before me? NO. NO NO NO.

The rest of dinner is uncomfortable. Armando takes the opportunity to continue to poke me about the fact that she’s trusted by Leadership Core, so I finally let it slip that he has a leak in his branch. That shuts him up fast. Yeah fucker, I know about that. I wonder if she’ll find out.

The next day we each sit down with her to discuss branch finances and outlook. I’ll give her my third string ideas, not my best stuff.

“Good Morning Mark.” She’s all sunny and happy, like everything was wonderful in her fucking world. I bet everything is beautiful in her world. Damn, how good are you in bed? Or are you that good at a circle jerk? She’s probably going to be made a partner. She’s already in charge for a year. Why? This is a company that prides itself on keeping a low profile. She blows shit up constantly. She’s so far from low-profile it doesn’t make sense. How does that square?

“Morning.” I’m no more polite than I have to be. My lack of sunny happy answer throws her for a moment. She blinks rapidly then sits next to me. Damn. I wanted her on the other side of the table.

“OK, I wanted to meet with each XO one on one to talk about your branch and get a feel for what’s in your pipeline. I’d also like to review your branch paperwork and get an idea of your plan for the year.”

How cute. Someone give you a checklist on how to play grown up games, little girl? Business degree my ass. I pulled your record. You were at the bottom of your class. You worked for a Mob-related company. You bought cut-rate granny panties! I’ll give you your capture rate; I verified that. Still, how the fuck do you qualify?

I pull out the branch paperwork I brought with me, grateful I didn’t bring everything. She pulls out copies of everything I didn’t bring. Shit. This is the start of a long hour with her. OK, so she’s sharper than I gave her credit for. It’s almost as if she can tell when I’m not giving her the full story, but she doesn’t push and I don’t elaborate. I’ve heard about her so-called instincts. I’ve got a year to test them, see if they’re that fucking good. Finally, she sits back and looks at me.

“I’d heard good things about the Boston branch, and based on that, I was expecting to hear innovative, outstanding things from you. Frankly, I’m a bit surprised.”

Fuck you. I don’t break the blank face. She just looks at me. Finally, she shrugs.

“OK, well, I look forward to working with you over the next year, Mark.” She smiles. OK, she’s hot but she’s not that damn hot. Not CO level hot. “I know that you’ve run the company when called on so I’ll be looking to you for help when I don’t understand procedure.”

At that I smile. Good. Maybe I can still get some answers about you and what’s going on by the time Ranger comes back.

I’m a loyal soldier. I’m loyal to the company. I’m loyal to the true CO. I’m loyal to my orders. I’m just not loyal to you.