Chapter 59.7 The Housekeepers’ War, Part IX
San Antonio, Part I
Maria’s POV
I am very interested in meeting the San Antonio RangeMen. This will be the first time I’m walking into a branch where there isn’t an established housekeeper. I’m not following in someone else’s footsteps. It’s just me this time. Rafe is also looking forward to a month-long vacation to another location. We’re giddy about this opportunity.
Lester, Tank and Rafe meet me at the airport. True to his silliness, Lester picks me up and twirls me around.
“Maria!”
I giggle and Tank slaps him on the head. He turns to me and gives me a warm hug, as does Rafe.
“Maria, welcome to Texas. Where are your bags?”
I’m astonished. That may be the most words I’ve ever heard from Tank. I look over at Lester, who is laughing.
“Wait till we get her back to the office to shock her, Tank.”
Tank glares at him and picks up my bags. Rafe and Lester collect Rafe’s bags and we follow Tank out to the SUV.
“Welcome to San Antonio. You know we’ve been working with the men out here for the past few months, but it’s the first time we’ve had a housekeeper out here,” Lester says, smiling.
I nod, smiling. I get to set the standards this time.
“OK, so since this is a new branch and this is the first time we’ve had a housekeeper, you’re setting the standard. Whatever meals, laundry, and procedures you set in place will probably be followed by the new housekeeper. Also, we’d like you to sit in on the housekeeper interviews.”
I frown. “Isn’t that Ella’s responsibility?” I don’t want to overstep.
Lester nods. “She’ll be here in three weeks, when the interviews conclude, to meet your top three picks. Again, go ahead and set the base standard and you and Ella can work with the new housekeeper to help her acclimate to the role.”
I nod. “How many candidates do you have?”
Tank chuckles. “15.”
I know my eyes are bugging out. “15?” Rafe and I are astonished.
Tank nods. “Three couples eager to take on the housekeeping/maintenance duties. The rest are combos. That’s why we want a RangeMan housekeeper to set the standard with the men first. If they know what the housekeepers do across the company, they’ll be less willing to try to influence this one to do anything outside the contract.”
In other words, if I train the men first, hopefully they won’t do to some other woman what Miami did to me. Got it. I’m eager to help.
“Does that mean Maria won’t return to Miami?” Rafe asks, concerned. He squeezes my hands and smiles tightly.
Les turns and shakes his head. “No. We made it clear in the posting that there was a possibility that the couple hired could end up here or in Miami. We made everyone acknowledge that when applying so the choice is still yours, Maria. You too, Rafe. If you choose to leave Miami and come here with Maria we’ll back you.”
I sit back and smile. Great! I’m looking forward to this.
I’m in awe of this location. It’s gorgeous. Marble, glass, hardwood and tile.
It’s a housekeeper’s nightmare. Rafe looks just as overwhelmed.
So many shiny surfaces to keep clean! I feel sorry for this maintenance man already. The housekeeper is really going to have to pitch in here.
SA Standard 1: Windows and reflective surfaces in client-facing areas must be cleaned once a day. Otherwise, prospective clients will see every finger smudge and particle of dust and dirt.
The men walk me to the elevator and I’m still counting the shiny surfaces. Once inside, I turn to Tank and Lester.
“You need to up the housekeeper’s pay for this location.”
Tank blinks. “Why?”
“It’s a housekeeper’s nightmare. Shiny surfaces everywhere that will have to be cleaned, polished, wiped, mopped, and swept every day. And that was just the lobby. I shudder to think what I’ll see the moment I start examining each floor. Is it true about Texas dust storms?”
Both men are solemn and they nod. “We haven’t experienced one yet, though,” Lester says.
“I wash exterior windows once a week during hurricane season,” Rafe says. “I mop the lobby once a day to clear away leaves and mud. Your lobby is going to look choked with dust. Did you put in a good air filter here?” They nod. “That’s good, at least, but the maintenance man may need to change filters twice a month.”
Their eyes are wide. We stop on the fifth floor. More glass and wood. Fingerprints everywhere! I turn to Les. “Where are we staying?” I look at Rafe, who nods.
“I get the feeling that we’ll need to settle in and really look at this location top to bottom before we say anything more,” Rafe says, looking around.
“Seventh floor,” Tank replies. “This location has nine floors. Oh, and there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
A large black woman with big brunette curls walks forward, smiling. “Hi! I’m Lula. Are you Maria?”
“Yes.” Is this Tank’s fiancée? She’s definitely the right size for him. “Are you Stephanie’s bounty hunting partner?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” she laughs. She turns to Rafe. “Hi.”
“Hello. I’m Raphael.” He smiles, kissing her hand. Her eyes widen and she grins at him.
“Smooth.” Her grin is wicked. “You and I may get along after all.”
“Or Rafe could go back to Miami,” Tank mutters. Rafe and I look at him, but he’s back in ‘stone statue’ mode. We look at each other and I giggle. Les is smirking.
Lula pops him. “Go on. I know y’all have super-secret RangeMan stuff to do. I’ll take ’em to their apartments and get ’em settled in.” She ushers us back to the elevators, taking my bags from Tank. “They’re still working on this place, so the apartments are boring as hell.” She makes a face. “Everything is white. No color at all. I’m dying for Tank to tell me I can shop for accessories for those apartments. I need something to do.”
I like Lula. She’s up front. “Well, maybe we can go shopping. Rafe and I will need to get familiar with the area and we can decorate the apartments while I’m here.”
Lula looks at me and grins. “You and me will get along just fine, Ms. Maria.”
Lula and I become fast friends. She’s a good person, bold, upfront and loud. I’m the exact opposite but I like her attitude. She and I scope out the kitchen prep area and I make notes on nice amenities for the apartments. I send a survey out to the San Antonio RangeMen about their favorite meals and food preferences. Bobby and I set up time to go over health and fitness when he gets back from the Jersey Shore. While Rafe takes one truck and starts scouting professional supply companies, Lula and I take another truck and investigate grocery stores and local ranches.
“So what you think you’ll need for Texas, Ms. Maria?” We’re headed to the local Sam’s Club to investigate.
“Well, these men love rice and beans, so I see us buying 25 pound bags of both. I’m thinking we need to get two or three refrigerators retrofitted into the kitchen. I told Rafe to work on getting some serious UV blocking window tint in the kitchen.”
We spend the week making professional contacts, contacting kitchen supply places to get professional refrigerators and cooking supplies. We return to the building every day with pots, pans, baking sheets, mixing bowls–everything a housekeeper could ever need. We start stacking essential pantry items and making lists of other things we need.
This is when I realized I might need to take on a little of Lula’s attitude. The moment I stepped onto 5, I was confronted by Miami RangeMen. Benjy, Teddy, Russ, and Mario G. Most of the time they weren’t bad, but I now recognize disrespect when I get it.
“Maria!” Mario G comes over and hugs me. “I’m happy to see you. How are you?”
Surprised. “I’m fine, Mario. How are you?”
“Missing you and Miami like crazy.” He grins. “Never realized how good we had it until you weren’t around.”
“Got that right,” Benjy says, elbowing in to hug me. He’s echoed by Teddy and Russ. “We hear Miami’s been missing you too,” he grins.
“Yes, they have. I’ve been moving around the company.”
“Well, we’re thrilled to see you. Are you going to set up a housekeeper’s committee?” Teddy asks. “If so, I want to be on it.”
“Are you staying out here?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, but I’d like to serve on it out here so when I go home maybe I can join it in Miami.” He smiles. “I’m ready to help.”
Hmm …dilemma. I don’t want any of the Miami men on the committee, but I want to see how the attitudes have changed. “OK, Teddy. You can join the committee.” I look at the others. “Just Teddy. The rest of the committee needs to be made of San Antonio RangeMen.”
The men groan but nod.
I have my first meeting with the San Antonio men on Thursday. Tank and Les sit in on the meeting, but Teddy, Ches Deuce, Arne, Slick, Rodrigo, and Gonzo make up the committee. I smile and motion for everyone to sit. I pull out the Trenton housekeeper’s standards and walk through them. I decided to use these since Tank would be familiar with them, and I see him nod once in my direction. Ches Deuce takes the lead in ensuring the men understand that whatever the housekeeper asks for needs to be obeyed or fulfilled immediately.
I’m surprised to see Teddy nod.
“You men don’t understand, but right now, Miami is going through hell. Maria is our housekeeper and we didn’t appreciate her like we should have. At the moment, we’re being told she’s transferring here. I don’t want you guys to be in the same position Miami is in. Right now, the men are desperate to show her they’ve changed.”
He sips his water while Les and Tank watch him closely.
“Treat the housekeeper right from the beginning and you won’t have our hell.” He looks directly at me. “It’s like being in the middle of a bad divorce and watching your wife being courted by a new man. Right now, Miami is desperate to get our Maria back. The power of the housekeeper is no longer in dispute.”
San Antonio is a wonderful location! The men are excited about the possibility of having a housekeeper, so doing the grocery run was a breeze. Amazingly, my Miami boys are the ones leading the brigade and keeping everyone in line. I’m allowed to shop in peace and take as long as I need. It’s like being at every other location.
Lula comes along to do the grocery run and she’s impressed. “Damn, this is a job!” she says, laughing. I have half of the grocery list and she has the other half. I called ahead and asked for the Sam’s Club to pull the items I faxed in advance, so we just had to pick up the things I thought of at the last minute. We also picked up the items my prep area will need in order for me to function. The men installed my printer and computer, phone lines, and basic office supplies, but I pick out other nice things for the housekeeper to have.
We haul our bounty back to the building and we’re met by nearly every off-duty man. I stare but Lula snorts.
“Humph. Good. They got sense.” She turns to me. “OK, Ms. Maria, I don’t know what your plan is, but I’m thinking you wanna take point in your pantry. I’ll direct what’s going on down here.”
I love Lula! She’s so sweet and desperate for something to do. “Excellent idea!” We hop out of the car and I walk inside.
Over the next two hours, I direct the men on how I want the pantry and refrigerators set up. Lula takes over setting up my prep area and getting that organized and joins the men in helping me organize the pantry. At the end of the day, I’m exhausted and uninterested in cooking.
“I say we get a bucket and call it a night,” Lula says, fanning herself.
“I agree.”
Tank does the dinner run and Texas leadership dines on fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and biscuits for dinner.
The men are told that food service will begin the next day.
Armando’s POV
My orders from Ella were clear: You’re on your own.
OK. I have a wife. I won’t suffer like the rest. Diego and I are sitting pretty right now. Mariela brings my lunch every day and she knows how to cook healthy meals. Diego asked her if she would mind making extra for him. He was willing to compensate her but she declined. He offered to babysit the girls and she accepted that.
Diego’s no fool. He knows to respect my wife. She doesn’t have to feed him.
The rest of the men are looking confused. Mario asks me if the branch is getting another housekeeper. I shake my head and wait.
“OK.” He bites his lip and thinks about it. “Then what should we do? Are we clear to contact Ella for directions?” My eyebrow shoots up and I motion for him to take the phone. He leaves and returns with Deuce. They close the door and dial Ella.
“Mrs. Guzman?”
“Yes?”
“This is Mario Ruiz at RangeMan Miami. How are you?”
“I’m fine. How may I help you?”
“Well,” Mario looks at me for guidance. I have my blank face in place. “Mando has informed us that we will be without a housekeeper for the next month. I was wondering if you had any advice for us.”
Silence on the other end. I’m sure they’ve shocked Ella.
“What do you men need?”
“Food.” They look at each other. “Umm …you know, I’m still not sure about everything Maria did. We know she cooked. We know she and Rafe cleaned. We’re unclear after that.”
“Well, perhaps you should ask Armando to get the housekeeper’s binder and look for Maria’s list of duties. Write them out and organize the men to fend for themselves.”
“OK.”
“In the meantime, perhaps you men should call around the company and find out what standard procedure is when the housekeeper is unavailable.”
“OK. Thank you, Mrs. Guzman.”
“You’re welcome.” Click.
I sit back and smile.
This is going to be interesting.
Mario calls a meeting of the housekeeping committee. I attend with the list of Maria’s duties and, as he explains the situation, I project them on a screen. The men are pale.
“We’re responsible for all that?” Braulio asks, gaping at the screen.
“No. Maria’s responsible for all that,” Nacho replies coldly. “Mando, hire someone for the month.”
Everyone stares at him. I’m sitting back with a small smile on my face.
“Fine,” Deuce says. “Let’s say Mando hires someone for the month. Who’s paying?”
“It can come out of the branch budget.”
“Says who?” Rico replies. “Our housekeeper has been poached by leadership and we’ve been told we aren’t getting a replacement. No way they agree to that.”
The men are silent. I decide to twist the knife.
“The CO is contemplating new procedures for new hires so, with the exception of NYC and Atlanta, we’re in a hiring freeze.” The men look at me, stunned. “Until she decides otherwise, I can’t hire anyway.”
“Is that why you’re sitting on three bodyguard candidates?” Nacho asks angrily.
“Tony didn’t tell you?” I respond with a smile. Asshole.
“We checked around the company,” Deuce says. “SOPs in other branches are clear. When the housekeeper and/or maintenance man leaves, the men are on their own. In every other branch, the in-house medic works closest with the housekeeper and takes point on her duties and the man in charge of the building takes charge of maintenance.” Deuce looks at his notes. “Max works closest with Ms. Rose, so he and Chase share the duties in Atlanta and Nash organizes the maintenance. Bobby used to organize the food in Trenton and Lester was in charge of organizing the maintenance. Vince and Zero have taken on working with Ella and Binkie is in charge of the building. Same in Boston and NYC.”
The men are quiet.
“Other thing we learned is that the in-house medic is always part of this committee, so Nacho, we’d like you to drop in favor of Jackson.”
Now this is a bombshell. If Nacho drops, Antonio won’t have anyone on this committee that’s in his little gang. I’m curious to see how this will work out.
“No.”
Deuce snorts. “OK, perhaps we didn’t phrase that correctly. Nacho, thank you for your time and commitment, but we’re requiring your spot be filled by Jackson.”
Nacho clenches his jaw and looks around. No one else can drop. Mario and Deuce took this responsibility jointly, so they’re permanent. Rico is in charge of the building. I’m the XO. The only other person is Braulio and he was handpicked for this. Braulio is the weak link.
“Braulio can drop.”
“Braulio was never rude to any housekeeper. He stays. You go,” Mario says coldly.
B looks nervous. He knows that Antonio’s group will immediately begin harassing him. Jackson shows up and Nacho finally stands. He shoots a look at Braulio but I suppose that Braulio, like me, has found his balls.
“Fuck you.” Everyone’s eyebrows shoot up. “Tell your boys I’m not reporting back. They want info about this committee, talk to the head. I’m not your mouthpiece either. You got a grievance? Follow SOPs.”
Nacho stalks out and everyone looks at Braulio, who blushes. “I’ve had enough of their shit too. Business stays in committee. I won’t be the weak link.”
Mario and Deuce smile at him. “Located your balls?”
Braulio snorts. “More like, my momma ripped them bitches off when I told her about this. I thought it was funny at first. She didn’t.” His jaw clenches. “She asked me how I’d like it if the rich families she worked for in Cocoanut Grove treated her the way we treat Maria.” He looks ashamed and we all nod.
“I know,” I tell him quietly. Every man looks at me and I give a wry smile. “Oh yeah, like you guys haven’t said stuff about my balls being owned by my Momma and Tía.” They laugh. “Well, they didn’t see the problem, but my wife did. Lucia did. My grandmother did.” I lean forward. “So let’s divide up the work and put the men on a schedule. Let’s make them appreciate Maria and Rafe.”
Week Two
Diego’s POV
Mando’s packing for his trip to the beach, so I’m taking point in the office. We’ve been through this, so it’s no biggie. Thomas and I are ready.
Week one without a housekeeper was interesting. We’ve learned that the biggest sexists in the office, with the exception of Juan, can’t cook worth shit. No surprise there, really. Juan does a good job with breakfast stuff and he’s taken point on those egg nests things he learned from Lucia. He’s also taken point on shopping and, now that it’s his duty, he gets pissed when his own boys don’t show up to help shop. He’s been throwing evil looks at Nacho and Patrice all week. On the other hand, he got on the phone, apologized to each housekeeper and asked for breakfast recipes. We were grateful; until he did, we had cereal and yogurt every morning.
We’ve learned that Braulio is a beast with a grill and Rico and Julio can steam seafood and veggies, but no man could bake.
Until I showed out. I can bake. Yeast and I are friends.
The men are stunned. I turn out perfect loaves of bread, Cuban, French, Italian, hearty wheat bread, dinner rolls, corn and flour tortillas, everything. I bake sweet potato empanadas and, as Juan scrambles eggs and chops up turkey bacon, I wrap it in empanada dough and we made breakfast sandwiches.
I make pitas to show off.
“Where did you learn this?” Juan asks, working his way through a sandwich.
“Pop’s a baker. I’ve been baking since I was old enough to understand how to stir ingredients.”
He nods. “Nice.” He smirks. “Your Pop cooks?”
I stare at him before answering. “My Pop bakes. My mom cooks. My folks came to this country in debt to coyotes. They saved every penny. We didn’t buy shit we could make.” Juan slides his blank face into place and nods. I look around and the room has filled with RangeMen who look solemn. “Most of you men don’t know what poverty means. I do. My family immigrated here from Guerrero. Poor would have been several steps up. We worked hard to get what we have.”
Braulio snorts and bites into an empanada. “Don’t assume that shit so fast. I’m half Haitian, half Dominican.” The men stare. Basic Caribbean primer: Haitians and Dominicans hate each other. His conception is a fucking miracle. “Exactly. We lived on the Haitian side of the border. I would have welcomed poverty.” He clenches his jaw. “It’s why I hate a dinner of rice and beans, and don’t get me started on yucca. As a kid, I had some combination of that every night for 14 months at one point.”
The break room is filling up with men who are quietly eating and staring at me and Braulio. Braulio stands and looks around the room. He swallows hard. “Some of us have gotten the point. This shit isn’t about meals, or laundry, or taking orders. It’s about simple respect. It’s about consideration. It’s about appreciation.” His nostrils flare and everyone is looking at their feet. The gang of five has shown up and is staring at him.
“I’d bust your asses open if you guys treated my mother like we’ve treated Maria. Now that she’s been gone for so long, I’m embarrassed to admit that we ever gave her a moment of grief. This woman arrived while she was still mourning her husband. She was prepared to cook and clean and take care of us and we ran over her.
I look now at the shit we did and I’m ashamed. I’d never treat my mother like that and I wouldn’t want her treated like that. If Maria were anything like my mom, she’d have quit, filed an EEOC complaint on us, and RangeMan would have been sued for sexual harassment. This place was the definition of ‘hostile work environment’. It still is.”
The men look at him in shock, but Braulio is staring at the gang of five.
“That’s why I joined the committee. If Maria is allowed to return, I will be the first to tell her I won’t stand for her to be disrespected as she was. My simple rule for Maria now is this: Is this behavior something I’d welcome toward my mom? If not, commence thrashings. That’s how I’m going to approach Maria from now on. She wants something? She gets it. She needs help? She just needs to tell me.”
Braulio places his dishes in the dishwasher. The men are nodding. He straightens up and looks around at them.
“Maria’s wedding anniversary is in a week. Seems to me we should get her something to commemorate the husband she still mourns. A love that deep should be celebrated. If you have ideas, email me.”
Braulio leaves. I give him a mental standing ovation.
On the other hand, the maintenance is slipping. I’ve had to step in to reinforce standards. I laughed my ass off the first time Patrice and Nacho complained about having to wash windows.
“There’s no fucking point, Diego! It’s gonna rain again at 2 p.m., so why are we washing windows at 7 a.m.?”
“Because it has to be done. That’s what Rafe did.”
“Well it makes no sense. We need to change procedure,” Nacho grouses. I smile coldly.
“And whose job is it? Whose decision to decide when the windows need to be washed?”
They stare at me. Since it’s Rafe’s job, they can’t pull the ‘silly woman didn’t know what she was doing’ card. Rafe’s a man. Of course he didn’t need someone to check behind him.
“If those windows aren’t spotless at noon, you two can meet me on the mats at 1700.”
I walk off. Patrice and Nacho have been on the mats damn near every day since Mando left.
Come on, guys. Give me a reason to fire your ass. I can’t wait for Rico to come back from bed rest. Antonio’s little group is breaking up. Juan’s out. All it took was him not getting the respect and doing the shopping trips with only Mario and Deuce helping him for him to understand what Maria was going through. Braulio’s finally chosen his side of the fence and he’s serious about it. He’s been collecting money and ideas for a gift to send to San Antonio. Mario and Deuce have accepted him in their clique due to his actions. Antonio, Patrice, Pedro, Rico and Nacho are the only ones left.
I decide to point out the stupidity of their attitudes and I ask Braulio to ask his mom if she’ll help.
Mr. and Mrs. Crevecouer immigrated to this country, worked hard, and eventually started a cleaning service. She services high-end homes, but until the business got off the ground and was profitable, everyone in the family worked like crazy to make it a success. They were thrilled when B started working here, because he gave his mom half of his salary when they were in a tight pinch. They made it through and Mrs. C is considered a huge success in Little Haiti.
B is definitely a momma’s boy and he was thrilled to show his mom’s expertise. Mrs. Crevecouer arrives at 6 a.m.
“Mrs. Crevecouer,” I smile and kiss her hand, “thank you for agreeing.”
“Well, my son has told me about what’s been going on here,” she replies, smiling. God, I love her accent. You can’t help but smile. “I’m glad to help. I brought de white gloves.”
Perfect!
She begins the inspection in the lobby and she tsks the entire time. “Humph. You men bedda be glad you can shoot de guns. You’d never work for me. Look at de mud! You cannot mop? You just pushed de mud around! Did you ‘member to sweep de floors before you mopped?”
Mario and Deuce are making notes. Miami Leadership is following and paying close attention.
She pulls on the white gloves, turns around so we can see that they’re spotless, and starts running fingers along the floors. “Dese baseboards need dusting and a wet sponge wipe. Same with de chair rail.” She shakes her head. “If you have trim, you have to keep it clean. Dis Miami. Gotta clean at least once a month. Mebbe more.”
I nod. I remember watching Rafe moving along the floor in knee pads, but I never knew what he was up to.
“And you boys been opening doors with yo’ feet!” She turns and pops B, who grins. “See all de black marks? That’s yo’ boots! Either paint that or put in a door kick to hide it.”
I turn and look at the rest of the men. They’re moving in close, taking pictures, making notes and staring at each other in shock. This is the pattern for the entire morning. By the time we finish on the 7th floor, Mrs. Crevecouer has scoured the building and pointed out each speck of dirt.
We meet in the conference room and Mrs. C gives us a report.
“You men aren’t grateful for your help,” she says, tsking and shaking her head. “If I had dis building as an account, I’d put at least four people on it, three times a week, four hours each time. That’s 48 man hours a week. You have two people working 40+ hour weeks trying to keep it clean for you, but de lady is also feeding you, keeping up with the important things in your life, and helping your maintenance man. If either of dem is paid anywhere under $100K, then you men are getting dem for a steal.”
The men are looking at each other quietly. I hide a smile. Point made.
“They also have fully furnished live-in apartments, free health care, and other perks to the job,” Pedro says coolly. “Those are non-taxable benefits that bring their effective salary up to $100K.”
Mrs. C stares at him coldly. “That just means that dere on site to be at your beck and call 24 hours a day. When was the last time you told Maria and Rafe you ‘preciate dere hard work? Give her a birthday card? Asked her ’bout her family? Same with Rafe.”
She looks around the room. “I run a cleaning service. I get tired of people coming to my work thinking they can do my job with no skills. Cleaning is hard work, as you boys are learning.” She smirks. “I fire as many people as I hire because I don’t accept excuses and shortcuts. Do it right the first time. If cleaning was as easy as people think then dis wouldn’t be a major business.”
She pulls a piece of paper and hands it to me. I look and nearly choke. Mrs. C would charge RangeMan Miami nearly $12K a month for her services. I look up and she nods. “I give you a cut rate because B works here. Otherwise, add another $2000.”
I sit. Shit! That’s nearly Maria and Rafe’s combined salaries just to clean. The men are looking at me, waiting for me to say something, but I know I’m pale. I pass the sheet to Mario.
“Shit!” he yells in shock. Mrs. C. laughs and he looks up. “Seriously?” She nods smugly. Mario hands the paper to Deuce, who curses in Portuguese, turns to the men and runs his hair through his hands. “OK. So now we know. Mrs. C would charge us nearly $12K a month for this building.”
“She’s padding that,” Antonio says, shocked.
He doesn’t even see B’s fist headed in his direction.
Maria’s POV
I’m thinking seriously about staying in Texas. The men are thrilled to have a housekeeper. They actually meet with me every morning to determine what else needs to be done. The local boys contact suppliers they know in the area and I’m negotiating beef, pork, lamb, and chicken contracts in days. They contact wholesalers so I can get items at wholesale prices. They hip me to foodie spots I might want to try.
Rafe is also thinking of staying. The janitorial suppliers were set the first week and he spent his time setting standards on building maintenance. The men now see the difference in the building. Rafe also set the standards on landscaping around the building. Tank wasn’t a huge fan of installing landscaping until Rafe got started. Once Lula finished gushing about the pretty flowerbeds, Tank thanked him for the work and asked him to write it up. Low maintenance plants that wouldn’t obstruct views were fine by him.
Bobby’s back and we meet with each RangeMan one on one about his health and weight. The transfer RangeMen are just fine because they know the standards, but the new ones have occasional issues. I create meal and diet plans for each one. Lula catches me at the end and, hesitantly, asks for a meeting with me and Bobby. We’re stunned.
“Is everything OK, Lula?” Bobby says, gently guiding her into the room.
“Yeah.” She fiddles with her shirt for a few minutes before blurting out, “I hate the wedding dresses for big bountiful women like me. I ain’t trying to hit Tyra Bank’s size, but I wanna be able to buy what I want.”
“What do you want?” I ask gently. I know that feeling. I didn’t appreciate how beautiful I looked in my wedding dress until I saw the pictures months later. Bobby has his blank face in place, so I kick his shin. He looks at me, astonished. I glare. No blank faces!
Lula passes me her wedding planning album and I look. Each dress would look . . . questionable on Lula. I look at Lula and nod.
“OK. I see you in these, but . . . “I look at Bobby, who has a faint smile on his face, “here’s the deal: You’ll need to flatten your tummy for these. I think we can Spanx everything else and make you look smooth and sexy, but you need a flatter tummy. Also, I think you’d look better in something with a mermaid hem.”
I turn to my computer and find pictures of what I’m thinking. “The advantage of a mermaid silhouette is the versatility. You’re all sexy curves and soft places for a man to love,” I wink and Lula laughs. Bobby stares at the door longingly. “Time to celebrate that.”
“Yeah, Tank loves the soft places,” she laughs.
Bobby stands. “And I think that just made me surplus to the discussion.” I yank him back into the seat and I get another astonished look.
“We need you here. Lula will need to eat different things to get the results she wants, but we need to craft her an exercise plan that will get her where she wants to be.” I grin at him. “Besides, aren’t you a groomsman?”
Bobby nods, laughing. “True.”
“OK then. Let’s get started.”
