NYC, Part II

Lucia’s POV

I’ve been waiting. When Ella told me about the war against Miami, I got ready. I informed my children I was coming for a visit and I was staying at RangeMan for a few days. They’re looking forward to having me and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Miami men respond to me.

 Susan reported that after she ruined pounds of chicken breasts, the men apparently had a fight in the break room, including thrown punches. Antonio has been demoted from interacting with the housekeeper and Mario has taken his place. The men worked with Susan to discuss her usual procedures and they executed their first grocery run, which Susan said was successful, but they need work. Apparently, they fidgeted and non-verbally tried to get her to move faster, which she ignored.

We had our first housekeepers’ call last week. Ella informed us that Stephanie decided to give the housekeepers room in the RangeWorld to digitize our binders. Once she explained how she thought we could use this, we agreed it was a splendid idea. Plus, it resolved the issue of having our binders manipulated. Maria is still furious about that, but thankfully, she has digital copies of everything that was in her binder. ‘Just in case it was ever swept away in a hurricane’, she said. So she’s ahead of us in the digitizing aspect. Lucky woman.

I arrive at Miami International and I’m met by Armando. He’s a cousin, distant on my father’s side, and it’s been years since I’ve seen him.

“Mando!” He grins and we hug. It’s wonderful to see him again.

“Lucy, you look great!” I scowl and he grins. I hate that nickname. “Where’s your bags?” I turn and point them out. We leave the airport and head to my Tía Juana’s home.

“So what’s your plan?” Mando looks over, confused, and I stare at him hard. “With Antonio.”

He sighs and signals to change lanes. “I want the CO to fire him. That way, it’s not personal. No one can say I did it for personal reasons.”

“Primo, you are still his boss. If you want to fire him, fire him. He’s making your life difficult. Document him, show cause, and fire him. Did you tell Ranger that Antonio is a problem?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“I can’t fire him for anything work-related.”

“Except the constant insubordination.” I look at Armando hard. He winces. “That’s fireable.”

“That’s also personally related to me. That’s what I mean.”

“He never disrespected Diego? Thomas? It doesn’t have to be you. Hell, you could fire him for the constant disrespect to the housekeepers!”

Mando is quiet, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Are you telling me that the housekeeper, the woman in charge of the health and welfare of the men in your office, is not worthy of respect?” I ask quietly.

“No . . . no, Lucy, I’m not saying that.”

“But?”

Armando is quiet. “You’ve met my mother’s side of the family before. You might not have remembered Tony, but they’re all like that. They believe in the idea that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and in the bedroom. Tony’s mother waited on my uncle Pedro hand and foot while he was alive.” He sighs deeply. “They truly don’t understand the idea that women should not be subservient to men. Mariela is an anomaly to them because she had a career for years and she only recently quit to raise our daughters. So imagine the hell I’ll catch if I fire Antonio.” He sighs and slumps in the seat. We arrive at Tía Juana’s and sit in the car for a moment.

“What did Ranger say?”

“I can fire him if I choose to.”

“So you told your boss and got your boss’s support to fire him, what more do you want? You need a silver platter? I can probably dig one up.” I’m teasing but serious.

Mando swallows hard. He is the same as a man as he was as a child. He creates his own problems. Too much mercy, which leaves him looking short on common sense. I understand wanting to see the best in everyone but not after they’ve given you so much proof that they’re stupid.

“Mando?” He looks at me. “I’ll assess him for you. Let’s see how much of an ass he is with me, OK? If he acts like a fool with me, fire him. Then you can tell the family you fired him because he disrespected family. I’ll help you figure out a cover. But Mando?” I grasp his hands. Mando is biting his lip and looking close to tears.

“You cannot continue like this. This situation with the housekeepers is highlighting defects in your management. It’s putting you on the chopping block. In trying to save your cousin, or avoiding a headache, you are opening yourself up to being fired. And Mando? I guarantee you that whoever takes over the Miami office will not hesitate to fire Tony. So what will your family say when both of you are fired?”

Mando clenches his jaw and drops his eyes. Finally, I hear a quiet, “Deal.” I nod and we step out of the car.

There’s nothing like a late summer party in Miami. The children laugh and joke, we eat seafood till we pop, and everyone enjoys fresh mangoes and papayas for dessert. It’s the perfect evening and I tell my children to expect to see me a lot during these two weeks.

I have a feeling that some of the Miami men are not quite ready to let go of their arrogance.

---

Armando told me every trick they’d tried on Ella, Rose, and Susan so far, so I think I’m ready. I examine the kitchen and pantry and, when I return to the prep area, there’s a delegation of RangeMen waiting.

“Mrs. Diaz?” I nod. “Hello. I’m Deuce. Welcome to RangeMan Miami.”

No Antonio. Interesting.

“Thank you. It’s good to be here.”

“We just wanted to say hello and welcome.” The men smile. “We are interested in hearing what you need from us and what we can do to help.”

“Thank you.” I smile. I’ve been told that this is as good as it gets. “Well, right now I’m just checking everything out. Who do I need to contact if I need something?”

“Mario. He works closest with the housekeeper. Also Armando. Either one, but you aren’t limited to them. We’re all prepared to help.”

Excellent. The men have gotten the point. I familiarize myself with the pantry and the binders. Everything is in order and looks good. I start by creating granola bars and setting them out for the men while I check health records and determine what’s needed. None of the men has any allergies or any major health issues I need to be aware for, so this is straight meal prep. Excellent!

At 7 the next morning, a man pops his head into the prep area. “Lucia?”

“Yes.” Jesús, has it been that long since my divorce? This man reminds me of Tony Plana . . . Lord, I’m feeling hot. Did I leave a burner on?

“Holá, I’m Raphael, Rafe.” He smiles, showing off beautiful teeth and gorgeous brown eyes. Lord above, Maria loved Armand if she wasn’t jumping this fine specimen of Latin manhood every chance she had. He takes my hands and kisses them then motions to the other seat. I nod for him to sit and he smiles. “Shall I fetch coffee?”

“Oh! I hadn’t started any.”

“No problem. I usually make the coffee when Maria and I chat.” He steps over to the stove before turning around with a smile. “If you don’t mind? I’ve watched you housekeepers lay down the law. Don’t want to misstep in your territory.”

We both laugh and I motion for him to continue. “Since you were so kind as to ask permission, go ahead.”

He begins prep for coffee, using a French press (Thank god!). “Well, I have some building maintenance coming up that I wanted to coordinate with you on, but otherwise, I just need to know what you need.”

I frown. “Well, I haven’t seen anything I need just yet. You need anything from me?”

He shakes his head. “Nope.” He frowns. “What’s your plan?” My eyes widen and he gives me an amused look. “For the boys? I want to participate this time.”

I get up and check outside the room. “This room bugged?” He shakes his head. “I don’t know yet. Our orders are simple. Come do our duties as we do them at home. Respond to them honestly and creatively. If they’re respectful, treat them respectfully. Accept no bullshit. Determine if the conditions are ripe to return Maria. If not, report back honestly.”

He nods. “Good plan. Disgustingly simple. Give respect, get respect.”

I smile coldly. “They keep screwing up. That’s the part I don’t understand.”

He snorts. “Easy.” He brings the coffee over and sits back in the chair. “Antonio is the nucleus of the little group. Little bastard.” I stop mid-stir and look at Rafe. His cheeks redden but he nods. “I’ve heard him talk. It’s the way he was raised. From what I understand, he nearly died as a child, so his family waits on him hand and foot. He’s been told he’s brilliant and special all his life, so he’s a selfish, entitled cabrón. Problem is, Mando never recognized he had a problem until it was out of control.”

“How did that happen?” This is great coffee. Sexy, beautiful smile and he makes a good cup. Wonder what he’s like in the sack?

Rafe sighs. “When Maria first started here, I noticed she had tear tracks on her face but I couldn’t figure out what happened. If you asked her, she denied anything was wrong. Then her wedding anniversary came around.” He swallows hard. “That’s the day I figured it out. She’d been here for 10 months and she was a shell of herself that day. I recognized it.” He adds some creamer and stirs it thoughtfully. He looks at me and I see deep hurt.

“My wife died five years before I took this job. It hit me with the force of a Mack truck that Maria was still in grief. Worse? I recognized that he must have lingered. I didn’t know it was cancer, same as my wife, but I took her out that day. Told Mando that the men would need to fend for themselves. I took Maria to church to pray for Armand’s soul then the beach for some peace and quiet.”

He takes a few sips of coffee while I say a quick prayer for Armand’s soul. He must have been the very best of husbands because Maria is still grieving him after all this time.

“I spoke to Mando when we came back and told him she was grieving her husband. He pulled her file, found out it was her wedding anniversary and went to speak to her. The next day, she was OK and smiling. I’m not sure what Mando said to her but it made a difference. Problem was the men had had 10 months to train her to what they wanted.” He lets out a disgusted snort. “Of course, Mando and I didn’t see that until this op started. Having you ladies cycle through here and lay down the law has opened our eyes to what we hadn’t seen. We hadn’t realized she was still in grief.” He looks at me, pleading. “She never cried. She never mentioned his name. There are no pictures of him anywhere. We had no idea the extent of her grief.”

“How could you miss it?!” I ask, astonished. “The woman oozes grief!”

He looks at me, shamefaced. “Like I said, I didn’t realize it until her anniversary. It was clear that day. It was written on her face. The other 364 days she hid it like an expert and if you saw tears on her face, she denied anything was wrong. How much further could we press?”

“And the constant disrespect? How do you explain that?”

He swallows hard. “How were we supposed to know? Mando and I negotiated my contract like opposing lawyers. The housekeeper’s duties required addendums but the maintenance men were basic. I don’t have addendums to my contract. Everything I do is spelled out. I assumed it was for Maria. Now that we’ve realized that it’s not, that’s been an eye opener. The disrespect to all of you is easy to see because they’re doing to you what they must have done to Maria years ago.

Now that we know what to look for, it’s easy to see. We weren’t around when they were ordering her around or telling her what to do. I was washing windows or mopping floors. Mando was in his office.” He reddens. “Quite frankly, I was appreciative of the fact that she was willing to bring me a cold drink on hot days. I didn’t realize she was doing it for every man in this office. I thought it was professional courtesy, you know?”

He shrugs. “I helped her carry the groceries and I did the grocery run with her on occasion. She brought me drinks, held the air filters, that sort of thing.” He sits up and looks at me. “Every man in this building knows how much Armando loves and respects his wife, how much he loves and respects women as a whole. I do not believe that Armando would have allowed this situation to develop had he known what was going on. By the time we figured it out, the men here had had 10 months to train Maria to be their maid. Mando was caught behind the eight ball.”

I sit back. Lord help. No wonder Ella feels so guilty and has been reviewing contracts with each of us. Luis’s men were covered but Maria wasn’t. Maria was the first hire. They must not have had the addendum then. My shoulders slump.

“True. Mando’s family is filled with women who will speak up at a moment’s notice, but they are all very deferential to their husbands. The men rule. With an iron fist sometimes.”

I look up and Rafe nods. “Exactly. This entire situation has exposed a clusterfuck of mythic proportions.”

I shake my head. “Ranger? Lester? Anyone in Leadership Core?”

Rafe chuckles. “Now, that’s truly interesting. When Ranger or Leadership Core is here the mood is totally different. The boys straighten up when Ranger is in house. They treat Maria much better.”

What the hell?! “Why?”

“Because they know Ranger won’t stand for it.” My mouth drops. Rafe nods. “Let me explain. When Ranger first brought this branch up, if he caught the boys in the club or on the streets getting too fresh or pushy with women, they’d find themselves posted by Ranger the next day.”

“Posted?”

Rafe chuckles. He motions for me to stand then stands so close to me that my instinct is to move. So I move. He moves. I move. He moves. I glare at him and he laughs. “Exactly. He did it to them all day. They got the message: You hate this, so quit doing it. Jason, a former employee, got really fresh with Maria one morning. He turned around and met Ranger’s fist mouth on.” My mouth drops. “Ranger made it very clear that no one would disrespect his housekeeper. Problem is he’s not here to enforce that attitude all the time. He’s in Trenton or overseas. So, when the cat’s away. . . “Rafe shrugs. I slump in the chair. This is unbelievable.

“And when he is here?”

“Then the men are overly sweet to Maria, trying to make sure that he doesn’t see it but like I said, Maria had been trained. She would bring around trays of sweets and drinks. She was in the laundry room doing laundry. She was doing the grocery run.”

Rafe sighs. “Ranger punishes the men every time he sees them at it, but Ranger’s trips to Miami are always short and business related. He was either out in the streets, meeting with clients and suppliers, seeing his daughter, or fresh off a mission. He’s not in the office watching the way the men treat Maria. Last year he was in Miami a total of 16 days that we know of, and I know that part of that was right after he finished a mission.”

“How could you tell?”

“The Lamborghini disappeared. It wasn’t until he was here prepping for his current mission that he caught on to what was going on. He would pop up and watch carefully. He watched the way Maria behaved and the confusion on her face at their attitudes. Next thing I know, Maria’s headed to Trenton.”

I’m stunned. I’m completely stunned and I can’t wait to tell Ella this. She’s been furious about Ranger’s non-response to this problem, but if what Rafe is saying is true, then how could Ranger ever spot this? Even I have to admit that when he’s in NYC, he’s in and out. Les is in and out. I may catch a glimpse of them twice during a trip. If Maria never told him about the problem and he never spotted it . . . Cringe.

I need to hit the church and pray for Mando’s soul. He’s dancing on the line of being fired. I wonder why Ranger hasn’t fired him yet.

“And the men don’t listen to Mando?”

“They listen. Then they see that his cousin gets away with it because Mando won’t fire him. Jason was fired for insubordination. Mando has never fired anyone for insubordination.” He shakes his head, smiling. “Mando is a great boss to work with because he respects the men. He talks to the men and tries to hear them out. Ranger? Ranger won’t say shit until he’s done with you. Then you wish he’d shut up. Example?” I nod. “Bobby during Liam’s exit interview. When have you ever heard Robert Brown say that many words?”

I sit back and think about it. “Never.”

“Exactly.”

---

I continue to think over Mando’s and Maria’s situations as I prep breakfast. I notice a RangeMan standing in the corner so I take out my earbuds and smile.

“Good morning!” I motion for him to come over. “And you are?”

“Good morning. I’m Juan.”

I have to work not to allow my smile to drop. “Hello, Juan. Can I help you?”

He shakes his head once. “Nope. Just watching.” He looks at me coolly. “I’m curious.”

 I shrug and continue making baked eggs nests. I look at the stack of turkey bacon and the tomatoes for fresh tomato salsa and smile.

 “Mind helping?”

 He stares at me. “Excuse me?”

 “Do you mind helping?”

 “Yes.”

 I stare at him. “Well, in that case, get out. You’re in my way and you’re not interested in assisting.”

He clenches his jaw. “And if I were interested in helping?”

I point at the stack of turkey bacon. “Then you could lay that out on baking sheets while I prep the oven. Just take care to make sure they don’t overlap.”

He looks at the turkey bacon and the baking sheets, shrugs, and begins placing the bacon on the sheets. Once that’s in the oven and he sets the alarm, he looks over at me. “Anything else?”

I grin big. “Yes, you can cut the crusts off the bread over there and take the rolling pin …” I walk him through how to make the baked egg nests and breakfast is done before I realize it.

Wonderful! The boys might have gotten the point.

Once everything is finished, we take it to the break room and set it out. The men line up and stare at it carefully. They look at Juan, who nods, so each loads his plate. I’m soon awash in cautious praise and I smile.

“Glad you’re enjoying it.” I leave but stand outside the door, waiting.

“You sure she didn’t poison this?”

“I watched her like a hawk. Nothing was poisoned. New problem.”

“Yeah?”

“If you stand around, she’ll put you to work. You have me to thank for the bacon.”

Silence, then, “You wash your hands before helping?”

I walk away biting my lip to keep from laughing.

---

I have a blast cooking for the men. They’re curious about the standard RangeMan diet and some even stand around and watch me in the kitchen while I cook. Since they assume I’ll poison them, I reinforce that fear by acting suspiciously on occasion and making any man standing in my prep area help. The men here are confused. After I mentioned that Max, Mack, and Hector use kitchen prep time to reinforce their knife skills, the men join me in doing the knife work. To compensate their ‘enthusiasm’, I’ve been baking.

They’re very vocal with complimenting me and assisting me with whatever I ask for.

The amount of vegetables they’re eating lately has confused them, but they haven’t complained. Instead, they’re mentioning how full they are most of the time. I’ve merely smiled and mentioned that nutrient-dense food will do that. I arrange for them to get healthy smoothies and I start a wheatgrass station. That gets a lot of weird looks, including a raised eyebrow from Mando, but after he had a wheatgrass shot he shrugged.

“Tasted sweet.” He looked at me. “Thanks, Lucia. Now I’m drinking grass,” he teased. I punched him in the shoulder and he hugged me around the waist. “Mariela will start feeding me salad again. Sprouts. Alfalfa. Nooooo!” He laughed then turned abruptly and stared at it wide-eyed. “Ranger will love it,” he said, awestruck.

I smiled smugly. “Why do you think I installed it? Les knocks those back two at a time in NYC.”

The men lined up to try it. I’d say about half will stick with it.

I also go through my laundry rules, namely that I only do laundry for the Core Team. I will treat stains for the men, but I will not wash. I give them a checklist on how to efficiently wash clothes and they’re moaning and disappointed but accepting it. I posted information on how to wash their clothes in the laundry room and the men are having fights over whose turn it is to use the washer and dryer.

When Antonio muttered that the men should place a sock on the laundry room door to denote the room was in use, every man in the room turned red trying not to laugh. I retold the ‘joke’ during the housekeepers’ call, trying to figure out what they meant. We had no clue, so Ella called Ram to the phone and asked him. She said Ram turned red and laughed before explaining it to her.

We should’ve known it was a sex joke.

---

Tuesday

It’s time to execute another grocery run and I’m looking forward to it. Let’s see if they try to hurry me along.

“Mario?”

“Yes, Lucia?”

“I need to execute a grocery run. I’d like all volunteers to the prep area please.”

“Yes, Lucia. Right away.”

Ten minutes later I’m looking at 10 RangeMen. As I’m giving my orders, Antonio walks in with four more RangeMen. The room goes silent.

“Hello! Thank you for joining us.” Silence. I’m not intimidated. I simply continue to give orders and, once I’m done, I smile. “Let’s go.”

“You can ride with me,” Antonio says.

“No, thank you. You were late. I’ll ride with…” I look over at the RangeMan next to me and smile.

“Chris,” he replies.

“Right. I’ll ride with Chris. He arrived first.” I beam and Chris smiles at me and escorts me to the car. We leave for the Costco and, once inside the SUV, Chris turns to me.

“Smart lady.”

“Oh?”

“We’ve told Antonio not to step to the housekeepers unless he can be respectful.”

“Then why are you men continuing to put up with him?”

Chris sighs. “We don’t want to. I think this fight he’s had with the housekeepers really opened the eyes of most of the men here. Not being fed, not getting our laundry done, and the building not being pristine really opened our eyes to how much work Maria really did.” He slouches a bit in the seat and looks at me quickly before turning back to the road.

“We used to think that he got it worst around here. Mando went out of his way to show that he wasn’t going to give him any special treatment just because he was family, which we appreciated. But it seemed like that just left Tony open to getting his ass beat on the mats regularly by Diego.

We felt for him. The man is brilliant. He has a lot of good ideas, which Diego implements, and he does his job as head of bodyguard services well. We just couldn’t understand why Diego kept beating his ass. Tony said it was because he’d told Mando he should be given a shot as a strategist and Diego didn’t appreciate the competition. Now, with this thing with the housekeepers, we see why Mando ignored him. He’s an arrogant, selfish asshole. He thinks that because he feels a certain way, that’s how it should be and a lot of us drank that Kool-Aid.”

I sit back and think. Antonio usurped Mando’s authority in this office. That’s clear. Because he’s family, Mando didn’t want to show him any favoritism but he also didn’t want the duty of punishing him. He left it to Diego, which is why the men fear and respect Diego, but not Mando. It’s also clear that it’s widely assumed that Diego is up for the XO position in San Antonio and the men are pulling for him.

That’s great but it also means that Mando will have to reestablish his authority in this office before that happens. It also means that if Antonio is still in this branch when Diego leaves, Mando will have a hell of a time justifying his reasons for not giving Tony the strategist position.

Poor baby. He has a long road ahead of him.

---

The first grocery store was executed just fine, but I run into a problem at the Costco’s. Rico decides he’s had enough.

I’m halfway down a canned goods aisle and I direct him and Pedro to stack 30 cans of tomatoes onto the flat cart. They both look at me as if I’ve lost it.

“Excuse me?”

I’m already moving to the next set of RangeMen, who are waiting near the corn. “30 cans, please.”

I can hear him mutter, “That’s right, bitch. Try please. You got me out here—”

I turn right back around, march back to him, and twist his ear, making him lean over in pain. The RangeMen form a tight circle around us. I let go of his ear and quickly sweep his feet. Once he’s fallen forward, I put my foot in his back. The men look impressed.

“OK, so I see that you’ve forgotten that the housekeepers are also trained to fight and carry just like you men are. So I’ll make sure Armando knows you need a refresher. Now to address your comment. I’m not a bitch. Your momma may be a bitch, but I’m not and I’ll be damned if you ever refer to me in such an impolite manner. You didn’t have to come. I asked for volunteers and your attitude is making me wish you’d stayed in the building.

So let’s be clear between us, Mr. Suarez. Don’t you dare come near me for the rest of my tenure here in Miami. Now get up and pull yourself together. You represent RangeMan right now and the last thing we need is to have the public thinking there’s going to be an incident.”

I remove my foot from his back and march back to the basket where I left my shopping list. I turn back to the men, all of whom look stunned.

“Shall we continue? 30 cans of tomatoes.” I point at his cart and continue down the aisle.

---

I don’t have to inform Armando about the incident when I return. He’s already gotten the update. I watch, along with the majority of RangeMan Miami, as my cousin throws Rico around on the mats for an hour. Armando is furious and he truly delivers a thrashing to Rico to be admired.

Problem is, it isn’t fully.

“Why doesn’t he just fire that asshole?” I hear a RangeMan mutter.

“Because Mando’s nuts are owned by his mami and his tia,” another replies, snickering. “When he finds those bad boys again, he’ll fire him. Problem is, when he finds his nuts, half this office will get fired, so you better hope his mami keeps those suckers locked up.”

I shake my head. I can see the day is coming. After he cleans up, I join Armando in his office.

“You have some work ahead of you, Mando. The men are starting to admire you again, but they want you to fire the sexists in the office.”

Mando looks intrigued. “Really?”

“I think they would respect you more if you did.” I repeat the conversation I overheard and watch him turn pale with fury. Finally, he blows out a breath and leans forward in his chair, rubbing his temples.

“Honestly, I think I’m ready. I’ve had enough.”

I stand and sigh. “I have four days to go. We’ll see.”

---

Armando’s POV

I wish I could just fire Antonio. I would, but then my mami and my tia would be on my ass for months. I brought it up with Mariela and she just stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. She said the same thing Lucia did: Fire him. Sigh. It’s so simple for others to say, but I’d like to see them fire a family member. Every time the words bubble up, I choke. I don’t know why. I just do.

At the end of the XO call, Antonio walks into my office. No knock, no waiting for permission. Sigh. So I’ll take his ass back to the mats for that. He sits in a chair and waits for me to hang up.

“Mando, we have a serious problem here.”

“Yes, I know, but continue. Do tell.” I slide my blank face into place. This should be interesting.

“This little tiff the housekeepers are on is ridiculous. I can’t believe you haven’t put a stop to it, or called Leadership Core to put a stop to it.”

I stare coldly. His jaw clenches but he continues on.

“Look, Armando, you need to set some ground rules. The men are getting sick of it on the floor. This is home office. We should always be a shining example of what RangeMan standards are and are supposed to be. We barely meet them right now and I can’t believe you aren’t reminding these women to do their fucking jobs. If you won’t, or can’t, I will.”

My voice is ice cold. “Wrong. You won’t do it. I don’t ask you to do my job and I don’t need you to do my job. All you’ve done is fuck up. Every time you open your mouth you insert your foot. That’s why you aren’t in charge and that’s why you need to quit trying to do my job. You aren’t capable.

At the moment, we’ve lost Maria to San Antonio. I’m hoping to get a reprieve when I visit the CO at the beach, see if I can win Maria back, but I don’t know if I want to now. You’ve pissed off management. We’ve had four housekeepers cycle through here saying the same thing. Respect, consideration, and assistance will be required for Maria to come home. Actually, Leadership Core has decided that she will report to San Antonio, no thanks to you, so at the moment it’s even out of Ms. Plum’s hands.” Antonio is red and glaring at me now.

I lean back in the chair and stare at him. “Ranger has given me leave to fire you at any moment. You’re family, so I’ve avoided doing it, but the more you attempt to take my authority, the more tempted I am to carry out the order. By the way, you know better than to walk into my office without knocking. I’ll see you on the mats at 1700 for the next two days. Now get the fuck out of my office.”

---

Lucia’s POV—Between Chapters 59 and 60

I’m stuck. The incident at Costco’s tells me that Antonio should go. I report as much to Ella on my last day in Miami and she sighs deeply then makes her decision.

“Maria goes to San Antonio for a month.”

Everyone on the line cheers. Maria isn’t on yet (apparently my boys are throwing her a little party) and we’re discussing the next moves. I’m surprised to hear a knock at the door and I call for the person to come in.

It’s Lester. Everyone in Miami was surprised to see him pop up three days ago and greeted him warmly.

Except Antonio. Les turned a cold look to Tony and said ‘0500’. Tony swallowed hard and nodded. The hour-long thrashing was watched in silence in Miami. Antonio hobbled away needing stitches in three areas. Les didn’t care. He gave Rico two hours the next day for his treatment of me in Costco: one hour for insubordination to management, the second hour for failure to maintain decorum in public.

The second thrashing was more vicious than the first. The blades made an appearance. Rico is on bed rest at home for the next two weeks.

Afterwards, Les gathered the men together for a short speech.

“My patience with your attitudes toward women is completely gone. Zip, zilch, nada. Insubordination to management will not be allowed. That includes the housekeepers, maintenance men, the Core Team, and the CO. One incident and you are looking at “exit interviews”.” Les stared each man in the face before continuing. “Management has made the decision to send Maria to San Antonio. Her return is entirely a decision for her, the CO, and Mrs. Guzman. If she chooses not to return, I suggest that all of you determine how you will explain her loss to Ranger.”

Even I cringed. The men here all swallowed hard and were frightened. They are scared shitless of having to explain Maria’s loss to Ranger.

Shane also got his time on the mats, but no one felt sorry for him. Not even me. I’ve barely spoken to Shane during my two weeks here. He tried to talk to me and I listened, but when he started blaming all his problems on Javier, I stopped him.

“NYC is coming back fast. Their new strategist has no experience in security, but he’s brilliant. He works hard. He supports Javier. He develops Mack.” Shane pales at that. “Yes, Jorge develops all the men around him. It highlighted your faults. Accept a demotion and quit making excuses. You have no future in RangeMan management.”

Shane has been packing his bags and saying his goodbyes to the men around him. He and Lester spoke and he accepted his demotion quietly and is waiting to hear where he’ll be assigned, if anywhere.

Lester grins and hugs me tight. “Housekeepers’ call?” I nod. “Hey ladies! Hey Tía Ella!”

We all laugh and Ella responds, “I’m not making natilla, no matter how charming you are.”

“Damn!” We laugh harder. “Well, anything I need to know?”

“I’m sending Maria to San Antonio with you.”

“Excellent! I’d like to make a suggestion, if you ladies are OK with it.”

“We’re listening.”

“I think we should really press the point home. I’d like to take Rafe with me too.”

“Why?” Rose asks.

“Because the men here believe the housekeeping and maintenance staff work for them. So, I’m going to show them what life would be like if they were required to be in charge of maintenance too. So Rafe will come to San Antonio with me and Maria to assess that branch and determine what kind of housekeeping and maintenance contract we should offer.”

“You mean Luis and I won’t have to do the assessment?” Ella asks.

“Nope. I think Steph’s ready to pass standards, so I’d rather you were in Trenton for moral support when it begins. You think Maria and Rafe could handle the job?”

“I think they can handle anything.”

Les looks at me. “What do you think?”

“Rafe would love it,” I reply. “He spent the month pointing out to them how little they know about him or Maria. He pointed out that he and Maria know every man’s birthday, kids’ names, wives’ names, favorite sports teams and foods. He knew about Mario’s car obsession, Tony’s programming skills, and Ignacio’s fishing trophies. Then he asked the men to tell him what they know about him. The men were stumped. They couldn’t remember his wife’s name, his favorite fútbol team, or what he does in his off time. No one knew his birthday and they know his daughter’s name but only because he’d warned them off her.” Les snorts. “I think it would be great to remind the men of what’s important and how different their lives could be without him.”

Les nods and I hear Rose snort.

“Damn shame we have to teach grown men to be thankful. Some of ’em could be rotting in a jail cell or could still be out there banging. Instead they have good jobs and all kinds of amenities provided.” I nod and squeeze Les’s hand. He gives me a half-smile and turns back to the phone. “The quality of life RangeMan provides is something you don’t see outside Silicon Valley and places like Google and Microsoft, and they’re moaning about it. I think we should strip them of the good life for a while. Let’s see what these men are really made of.”

“Antonio?” I ask Les.

Les leans back and sighs. “My heart and brain say fire him but my instinct says to leave him in place until Steph gets here. Dunno why, but I want her with me when I fire him.” He purses his lips. “First things first. I want Steph’s assessment of Mando first. Leadership Core has its own opinion but we’re waiting to hear what she has to say. That will determine our next move. Then we’ll decide on Antonio.”

“Ranger gave Mando leave to fire Tony,” I tell him.

Les smiles. “We know. That’s why we want Steph’s opinion. I’ve heard about Mando from almost every conceivable source so far. Bobby too. The problems at this branch aren’t just Antonio’s fault. They’re Mando’s too. He has to take responsibility for his own actions or inaction. We want the CO’s assessment before we correct our inaction.”

I make a mental note to go light a candle for Mando. He’ll need it. Thankfully, the leadership recognizes they own this mess too.

The housekeepers were prepared to run a psyop on them too, as payback for Maria’s mistreatment.