Chapter 76.5: I’m not the same person
Armando’s POV—Wednesday
Tank and I are reviewing the third option the Atlanta guys have chosen for a Charlotte headquarters. The first two were busts. Tank didn’t like the locations or the setup inside. This building is more promising, but the longer we walk it, the more flaws I point out. Tank merely nods in agreement. The listing agent is looking at me as if he’d like to choke me now.
“Mr. Cortes, for the needs of your company, this is the perfect setup. Centrally located, priced to sell with excellent potential. This place is perfect.”
My back stiffens. I’ve had enough condescension to last a lifetime. I turn my coldest look on the real estate agent, who goes pale.
“Mr. Law, are you in security?” Head shake. “Have you ever worked with a security company before?” Another no. “Then please explain to me how you know what is perfect for the needs of our company?”
Silence.
“The COO and I are not impressed by this building. We are looking for specific things, which are not present here. If you are unable to find us space that meets our needs, as we have expressed them, then we can certainly take our business to another agent.”
He looks horrified. “No, no, I’m sure I can find something.” He walks off and I continue to stare out the windows.
“This place has fixable flaws.” I look over. Tank is smirking. “I can see the potential, but I’m interested in your thoughts.”
I nod. “It would be perfect with about three more floors. As it is, it’s not a bad location. More big and spread out than anything. Like everything in the south seems to be.” The real estate agent returns with a few more listings. We leave and review each new option, but I think building three is the winner, with some rehab. We decide to take the night and think about it.
“You’re welcome to come to dinner at our home tonight, sir,” I say to Tank, who nods. Mari was insistent. Tank is leaving in a little less than two weeks to move Lula to Texas, and Mari thinks it’s sad that he’s living out of a hotel right now. I shrugged. She invited him to stay with us, but he declined with a smile.
“Family time is important. I don’t want to intrude.”
So, getting him to come to dinner is Mari’s new objective. She doesn’t want him isolated in Charlotte. “He should be with RangeMen sometimes,” she says, “and enjoy a home cooked meal.” Tank agreed, so we can count on him popping up at least twice a week.
Mari and the girls love Charlotte. There are so many things for them to do and so much fun for them to get into. The family worked to get Mari and the girls packed so fast that they joined me in one week instead of two. I love coming home every day to a happy wife and happy family. This move to Charlotte has been the best thing for my entire family. Steph insisted I rent a house and do it as a corporate rental. That way, when we left, whoever took over would have a place to stay.
Mari greets me with a kiss at the door. “How did it go?”
I shrug. “Not bad. I think Tank’s going to go with the third building the Atlanta guys suggested. It’s in a good location and it has promise. He might come to dinner tonight.”
Mari smiles. “Great. I’m grilling skirt steaks for dinner.”
I grin. “I’m grilling skirt steaks for dinner.” Mari rolls her eyes, but I kiss my girls and run to take a shower. By the time I’m setting up the grill, Tank walks into the backyard. I pass him a beer and we sip, enjoying the warm Charlotte evening.
“How’s it going so far?”
I look over. Tank doesn’t speak often, so what he asks is always serious. “Pretty well, so far. The Atlanta guys hired good men, although it’s time to get someone in here to really do training and enforce discipline.” I grin. “My muscles are getting a workout. I’ve been on the mats with men daily.”
Tank grunts. “I heard.” My smile disappears, but he nods. “Good to see you enforcing discipline.”
I nod and concentrate on the steaks for a while.
“Steph tells me she told you to stop assuming Ranger was coming home anytime soon.” I look over at Tank, who is looking at me levelly. “It’s true. 45 at the earliest. Maybe not even then. The corporate plan was to bring up branches in Detroit and Memphis. We didn’t look at the interior, but Bobby, Les and I are starting to think about it.” He takes a sip of beer and looks at me. “I expect you to keep that to yourself.”
I nod and remove the steaks from the grill. Tank passes me the aluminum foil to tent them.
“Miami is yours. It is your office to run. Even when Ranger moves back, he will not be involved in the day to day. That’s what you’re for. Do you feel it’s your office?”
I clench my jaw and knock on the door. Mari takes the steaks and I smile tensely at her. She looks at Tank, nods at me, and disappears back inside. I sit and sip my beer before answering.
“No. I don’t. The time at the beach with the CO helped me understand how I lost control of my office.” Tank nods. “I know what I need to do there. Honestly, I love that she’s giving me this opportunity to show that I’m a good XO, but I wish I’d had a chance to go back and clean up Miami first.”
It’s silent on the patio. Tank waves me in the house and we enjoy dinner with the family. He does a great job of entertaining Alyssa and talking to her. Elena is curious about his bald head. She stares at it all through dinner. After dinner, we return to the patio where Tank passes me a cigar. We light up and I enjoy myself. The cigar is strong but smooth.
“The CO moved you for a few reasons. One, because you’re clearly burnt out. I’ve been here for five days and the man I’m looking at away from Miami is a different man than the one I usually see there. That tells me she was right to move you. Two, because if you had gone back, fired up as you were, you would have fired the entirety of the branch for every slight and irritation they’d ever dealt to you.”
I snort. He’s right. I was ready.
“Exactly. You needed time to reach equilibrium. Fire men because you must, not because you can.”
I nod.
“Third, Diego thinks he can be an XO. We’ll see. I’m watching him carefully.” I look at Tank, who is smiling faintly. “Do you think he’s considered the fact that San Antonio will be my home branch? That he will be under my supervision all the time?”
I lean back and smile. Nope. I know Diego hasn’t considered it.
Tank sobers. “I have said this to Hal, Javi, and Danny. Now I’m saying it to you. What happened in NYC will never happen again as long as I live.” I look over. Tank’s looking directly at me. “I consider what happened there a personal failure of my own. I am the Chief XO. You should always feel free to bring problems to me. I know Ranger will take oversight of your office, but I am always available to you.”
I nod and clench my jaw. An apology? The CO is the most powerful woman I’ve ever known. I know that’s where this is coming from.
“I know that I do not talk. This is probably the most words you’ve ever gotten from me.” He grins and I laugh. So very true. “I am never so remote, never so silent, that you cannot reach out to me. Harass me, if you must, to get the help you need. Let me know when you need support. Let the CO know until you feel comfortable talking to me. She and I work together closely. We talk . . . well, she talks. I agree.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. That sounds about right. Tank grins.
“Now, I have a subject I would like to discuss with you.” I look over at him, intrigued. “Another discussion I had with the CO.” He grins again and I chuckle. In other words, she said something, he’s been thinking about it.
“She told me about your reluctance to take men to the mats.” My jaw clenches. “She understood and respects that. So do I. Your reasoning was sound but flawed in my opinion.” I lean forward, curious about his meaning. Tank sips his beer and continues. “Your daughter knows that to disobey Daddy has consequences. You and she can discuss how she misbehaved and come to an understanding of why the behavior is inappropriate and that’s good. Your thoughts?”
I think about how to articulate my feelings on this. “We need another level of discipline in this company, sir. Especially since we’re floating the idea of hiring disabled vets.” I look over at Tank. No emotion there. “The CO did mention that, right?” He nods. “This company is mats or nothing. It reminds the men of the consequences of stupidity, but is every action mat worthy, sir? After a while, it almost loses its fear factor, especially in Miami.”
I sit back and think.
“Hal has the situation I envy most. Hal has two levels of discipline. Minor is monitor duty and apparently it’s hated in Trenton.” Tank chuckles. “After that, mats, and we’ve all seen that a mat session with Hal is going to be painful. The men respect that and they know that Hal is not to be questioned. He’s to be obeyed. Immediately.”
Tank is silent. “This almost has a feeling of you saying that you don’t believe that you are a good boss.” I clench my jaw. “Do you feel you are the right XO for Miami?”
I sit back. Honestly, I don’t know anymore. I’m tired of dealing with Miami’s shit.
“The CO told you to put your Core Team back in check. She’s right. That’s part of your problem.” I look over at him and he’s sober. “You allowed Diego to handle mat time at Miami so you wouldn’t have to take your cousin to the mats. You made business personal and that contributed to your problem, but you also allowed your Core Team to supplant you in the men’s fear ranking.
That’s why Diego supplanted you at the top of the pecking order in Miami. The men feared him. You explained and reasoned, but you avoided giving mat time so they lost their fear of you. The men should always fear your response. Ranger is my partner and brother and I still don’t want mat time with him. He doesn’t want mat time with me.” My eyebrows rise and he nods again. “It’s a waste and it’s useless, but the men get to see that we hold each other accountable. That why mat time in Trenton was at a minimum. The men never wanted Ranger to take them to the mats.”
I’m nodding. That’s deep. Ranger still takes Tank to the mats. Wow.
“Take the men to the mats. Thrash them thoroughly, not in the half-assed way you were probably doing it in Miami.” I wince. “I thought so. If done correctly once, maybe twice, you’ll never have to take the men to the mats again. That’s how Hal managed to gain complete control of Trenton. He thrashed King once and he did it so completely that King loves and fears his XO. He would never move against Hal and the rest of Trenton got the message. Hal supports his men, encourages them and ensures they have all they need, and the men respect it by respecting his orders. Hal’s only taken men to the mats twice since becoming XO. Fear and love. Understood?”
I nod. I see his point. I’ve never had to spank Alyssa again because she knows that spankings hurt and Daddy gives extra time out time if he has to spank. Fear of the spanking did not decrease her love of Daddy. It simply deters behavior Daddy finds unacceptable.
“I see it here in Charlotte. The men love and fear you. Do they question your orders?” I shake my head and sit back. “So, you see how it works?” I nod. My muscles are aching but discipline is not a problem.
“Now, for Miami, come up with a secondary punishment, as Hal has done. Monitor duty works in Trenton because those men hate to be inactive. NYC? Anything that requires the men to be in a car, especially during rush hour. Atlanta? Same thing plus security installs. Men hate them there. Boston? Active work.” I laugh but Tank smiles. “Trenton hates monitor duty, Boston loves it. Got an idea yet?”
I grin. The Housekeepers’ War was brilliant. “Manual labor with the housekeeper. Washing windows, mopping, food prep, women’s chores.” Tank smiles. “They find it demeaning, which is a damn shame because they like to eat.”
“Good choice. Reminds them to appreciate the housekeeper and that this is what they could be doing if they fuck up.”
I sit back and smile. I need to get a list of chores from Maria. I’m sure she’d love the extra help. I’ll call Diego tonight.
“I like what I see happening here. The men are good and you’re making good choices in securing contracts and making connections. You’re doing a good job reviewing Atlanta’s work. This is why the CO moved you here. Men you don’t want to kill, a Core Team you don’t have to body check to stay in their lanes, and your family around you to support you. You needed time to find yourself again.”
I smile. “Yes, this has been great. Mari and the girls are happier here, I’m happy, and I’m enjoying the work again. I noticed yesterday that I hadn’t rubbed my temples in days.” Tank laughs. “I cleaned house, starting with my family.” Tank looks intrigued, so I tell him what happened, ending with “Mari won’t leave me, but I am starting to see how not having them around is good for me. Not having them around means Mari and I have actually met with and gotten to know our neighbors here. We do things as a family. My family isn’t always in the way.”
Tank nods. “Antonio?”
My smile drops. “I’m of two minds. I hope Diego fires him but then, I hope he doesn’t. I want the pleasure. Most of my problems circle back around to him so I want to fire him. It will be the final break for me, personally and professionally. My family will have proof that I’m not to be messed with and the men will see that I’m willing to fire family, so of course I’ll fire them.” I lean back and stub my cigar. “So far, he’s toeing the line. Diego’s pissed. He’s ready to fire him. He’s ready for me to fire him because I’ve asked for the pleasure. He’ll call me when he’s ready. I’m making a special trip back to Miami just to do it.”
Tank snorts then smirks. “Men like that won’t be able to maintain for long. He’ll give Diego a reason to fire him. You won’t have to wait long.” Tank’s looks at me. “The LC wants to know. Make sure you tell us. Steph’s insistence on holding off until she meets him has us intrigued.”
I stare at him, as intrigued as they are. Why? I really want to know why she asked me to hold off. I planned to fire him the moment I walked in and the body slam had to suffice. “Diego wants the branch clean before the CO visits. He’s desperate to find our leak and plug it before she gets there.”
“No idea?”
“None.”
It’s quiet on the patio for a long time before Tank speaks again. “If he can’t find it, Steph will. No shame in that.” He looks at me. “Ranger couldn’t find the source of the burglaries in Trenton. Steph did.” My eyes are wide. Wow . . . Tank nods. “We were stunned. She has good detective skills and motivation. That’s all that she needed to figure it out.”
I lean back. “Please tell me she’s staying beyond one year, sir. She has to.”
Tank looks at me. “You want to keep her?” I nod frantically. “Talk to Hal, Danny, and Javi. Join their ‘working group’.” He grins. “We’re working on ways to keep her.”
I nod. That will be my first email tomorrow.
Maria’s POV—Thursday
I’m met at Miami International by Diego and Thomas. They both hug me on sight.
“Maria, it’s good to see you again,” Diego says, smiling.
“I agree. You’ve been missed,” Thomas says.
The sight of my Miami boys makes me cry. As much as I’ve enjoyed my trip around the company, Miami is home and it’s good to see them again. Rafe arrives next week. He decided to take some vacation before coming home and diving back in.
The boys grab my bags and escort me to the SUV. Once inside, they disable the audio monitoring and call it in to the office. Thomas turns to me.
“There was a revolution in the office when you left,” he says. “We realize that we’ve not been very good to you, Maria, not nearly as good to you as you’ve been to us. Please reach under your seat.”
I reach, puzzled, and draw out a wrapped gift box. Thomas grins. “Just so you know, Armando thought it up and Diego and I are going to execute it.”
I unwrap the box and it’s a gift certificate for Latin dance classes at a local club. I look at Diego and Thomas, who are smiling.
“We thought long and hard about this,” Diego says, “and we realized that we didn’t want to get you a cooking or kitchen gift. That’s work related. Instead, we wanted to get you something that represented you, the fierce mamí of our office.”
“And we realized that every time we’ve walked in while you were doing prep, you had the radio on and you were tapping your feet to the beat or swaying in front of the stove.” Thomas grins. “Mamí’s got rhythm!”
I laugh and lean forward to kiss both of them. They blush and grin.
“Armando was the first to suggest the lessons, but since he’s in Charlotte right now we will be your gentleman escorts for the evenings. We’re hoping that perhaps he’ll make it one night, and he and Mariela can join us and we’ll all dance together.”
The tears are running unchecked down my face. “Thank you,” I whisper. “This is a wonderful ‘Welcome Home’ gift.”
Diego smiles. “Just so you know, we mean that, and this isn’t a bribery gift. This is a small something to begin repaying the four years of wonderful care and attention you’ve given us.” He sobers. “The men have things they want to say to you too but understand, not everyone understood the lesson.”
I smile. “So you boys caught on to what Ella was up to?”
Thomas nods. “Ella asked us to stay out of it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t affect us. We saw ourselves for the first time and we didn’t like it.”
“We understand the power you hold now,” Diego adds. “Literally not having you around has made a difference to the majority of the men.” He starts the SUV and we head toward RangeMan. “However, expect that they will try to test you.” He looks at me through the rearview. “I’m the acting XO in the office. I’ve made it clear, crystal clear, that insubordination to you will result in painful mat time with me and Armando has backed that up from Charlotte. You need only tell me when you don’t feel respected and I’ll take them to the mats for it.”
I sit back and nod. This is the kind of welcome home I wanted.
Stephanie is scheduled to be here in nine days. Again, I’m acting as spy, a position I’m enjoying. This time, she wants to know everything she can find out about the Miami office. The boys’ attitudes mostly. She says she can get everything else from RangeWorld.
I grin. This will be child’s play.
I’m met in the garage by a delegation of RangeMen, headed by Mario. The moment the SUV stops, they open the door and pull me out to hug me. I’m passed from man to man, all of whom tell me how much they missed me and are glad to see me home.
The ‘old’ delegation, as I’ve termed them, are standing in the back, watching everyone. Now that I’ve been away for almost four months, I can see that they are clearly trying to determine exactly what about me has changed. I smile mentally. Not much on the outside, boys, but inside? Whole new Maria.
Finally, Antonio walks forward, followed by Ignacio, Patrice, and Pedro. He smiles.
“Maria.” He kisses my hands and hugs me. “It’s good to have you home. You’ve been missed. Our lives have not been the same since you left.” The other men have gotten quiet and are watching carefully.
I smile. “You had some of the best housekeepers in the company. I’m sure your lives sped along just fine.”
He snorts. “The best housekeeper in the company was gone. We were unhappy. Don’t leave again.”
I laugh and start walking toward the door. “Well, I’m back. I’m taking the rest of the week off and I’ll resume on Monday.”
His smile drops (Thomas and Diego grin). “You’re taking the week off?”
I nod. “I just got off a plane. I’m tired. I need to rest and relax before diving back in. Besides, I hear my binders were manipulated?” I arch an eyebrow and watch the boys blush. Antonio merely stares at me. “I’m hoping that’s not true but if it is, I’ll need to reprint those pages and add them back in.” They look horrified. “I’ll see you boys on Monday. Diego, my bags please.”
“Right away, Maria. Right away.”
It was a quiet weekend. I didn’t respond to calls about upset stomachs or laundry. On Monday, I walk into my prep area and find Mario waiting.
“Maria.” He stands and I grin. Better.
“Mario.” We cheek kiss and I sit. “I love the improved manners around here. I must admit, when I went around the rest of the company, the manners of the men were the first thing that struck me.”
Mario blushes deep red and I grin inwardly. First point to Maria!
“Yes, we have been bad,” he admits, shamefaced. “That’s why I’m here today. In the time that you were gone, we kinda put together a committee to work with the housekeeper and determine what you need from us and what we can do to help you.” I nod. “So that’s why I’m here today. To work with you on getting some policies and standards in place.”
I smile. “Where’s the rest of the committee?”
“Coming.”
We wait 10 minutes and Deuce (good), Jackson (good), Braulio (hmm . . . is it too early to tease him about his mother’s ‘white glove inspection’?), Juan (hmm, that could go either way) and Diego walk in. I smile and wait.
“Well, the biggest thing we learned is that every other housekeeper has particular procedures for shopping and laundry,” Mario says. “I’m sure you got a chance to execute their procedures .” I nod. “So we’d like to go through this with you.”
“Maria, I must admit, I’m surprised that you feel you need this assistance. You’ve always done a great job with the shopping and laundry. Every man here has always been pleased with your service. You don’t feel that this is a bit intrusive?” Jackson laughs. I’m surprised. I didn’t expect Jackson to be the man to test me. The other men, except Braulio, are stone-faced. Braulio is watching very carefully. “I mean, you really want an armed escort to the grocery store?” he asks, a bit mockingly.
Juan cuts in before I can say anything. “Whether or not she wants an armed escort to the store, she’s going to get one.” He stops and looks at me apologetically. “Sorry, Maria. Didn’t mean to cut you off.”
I’m thrilled. “No please, continue.”
He smiles and turns back to Jackson. “I fed your ungrateful asses for a month. I did the shopping by myself since you bastards were too lazy to help. Well, everyone except the men here. And that taught me that the housekeepers need help executing those grocery runs. If Maria is willing to make three squares a day for us then we should be willing to push the heavy carts and load the van. Every man should be ready to make Maria’s life easier.”
I’m mentally dancing a rumba inside! Juan got it. I’m glad I allowed him to use my binders to cook for a month. Having done my job, he sees how hard it is. I sit back and smile. “Thank you, Juan. Jackson, I’m not falling for that.” His face drops. “I’ve seen the respect my colleagues are given. If you are unprepared to give me the professional courtesy I deserve, I can always go straight from contract.”
Diego hides a smile. The other men are confused. I pull a piece of paper from my new binder and slide it to the middle of the table.
“That, gentlemen, is the very minimum of what I’m required to provide you. That’s the RangeMan contract and, as of this moment, it’s my official working document. I’ve been working outside of my contract for the past four years and Ella says it must cease. What we discuss and agree upon today will go to Armando for review, since it affects his budget, and after that it will go to Ella and the CO for review and approval.
Only once I’m legally bound to cook at the levels that I used to can I even begin to prepare extra food. So at the moment, I’m only contractually obligated to make you granola and wash the uniforms of the Core Team. Anything extra will be what we agree upon this morning.”
There’s complete silence in the room. The men look stunned. Diego is hiding his amusement well. Mario and Deuce immediately pull the contract closer and read it. They pass the contract over to Jackson, Braulio and Juan, who pale.
“So…” I pull the Trenton and Atlanta laundry procedures. “This is what I think is appropriate for this branch, given what I’ve seen around the company and based on what I know about the men here. I am prepared to render full laundry service to the Core Team only. That includes washing, drying, ironing, pressing suits and stain removal. The rest of the branch will be self-service, with my advice, if needed. I will ensure that the laundry supplies are kept up to date and well-labeled, but I will not do anyone’s laundry.”
I can see Deuce open his mouth to protest and I shake my head. “I’ve been taken advantage of in the past. You men have dropped off loads of laundry for me when you were down to your last clean socks and boxers. Well, no more. No other location has full-service laundry for the entire branch. I’m bringing Miami in line with the rest of the company.”
I smile mentally. I’ve gone from 80 different loads to 2, Diego and Thomas.
“OK. That will be a change for the men, but if that’s in line with the rest of the company, we can’t say anything,” Deuce says slowly. “Grocery procedures?”
Jackson has grabbed the Atlanta grocery procedures and is reading it carefully. “So, you want at least four volunteers when you go shopping?” He looks confused. Braulio is reading the Trenton ones and nodding thoughtfully.
“Yes. This is a large branch, second largest in the company, well, at the moment.” The men look up sharply. “Anyway, I think that’s acceptable. Standard in every other office is between two and six, depending on what I’m shopping for. When you add in the Miami heat, it’s imperative that when I grocery shop, the food is brought back to the office immediately. That means four men minimum if I hit two stores, and I always go to more than one store. When I go grocery shopping, we can take a van and an SUV instead of me attempting to do it all on my own. After all, it’s not as if you’re unfamiliar with the procedures. I understand that you executed grocery procedures with Lucia while she was here.”
Braulio is grinning. Mario, Deuce, and Diego are hiding smiles. Jackson is silent.
“Yes,” he says slowly. “It was an interesting experience.”
I smile pityingly and pat his hand. “Well, I’m sure that was the newness of it all. Don’t worry. After we’ve done it a few times, you’ll be right at home shopping.” I sit back and smile. “Now, let’s discuss the shopping procedures for non-grocery items.”
At the end of the discussion, I’d gotten everything I wanted, but Diego pulls a surprise.
“Because of historical attitudes in this office, there’s one last thing I want to codify in your contract, Maria.”
I look over. “I’m listening, Diego.”
He nods. “I’m making this suggestion with the support of Mando. We want to spell out in your contract what the procedures will be for reporting misbehavior, misconduct, and insubordination towards the housekeeper.”
I blink and sit back, stunned. The rest of the men are astonished. Diego calmly gets up and retrieves a pitcher of water and glasses.
“Simply put, the past four months without you here has had a profound effect on management here. Never again will we stand idly by and allow the housekeeper, who has the charge of maintaining the health and welfare of the men in this branch, to be disrespected and/or misused. So I want to talk about procedures for reporting insubordination—”
“Insubordination?” Jackson says.
Diego looks at him coolly. “Mats, 1700. 30 minutes. You will not interrupt me in the middle of a sentence. I don’t care how upset you are.”
The men are silent.
“Yes. Insubordination. I talked to each XO in this company. In every other branch, the housekeeper is considered and treated as management. Therefore, misconduct is treated as insubordination and punished accordingly. I intend that Miami will join the rest of the company in this.”
Diego passes me two sheets of paper. “These are the procedures from Atlanta and Boston. I liked those the best. Essentially, you simply need to inform me within 24 hours of the infraction, in writing, but I’ll accept verbal as long as you follow it up. Report what happened, in detail, and give it a level of severity from 1-5, one being it made you uncomfortable or unhappy and five meaning you’re ready to quit.” I giggle and nod, still reading.
“Level 1 and 2 infractions get monitor duty or something you dish out, like manual labor under your supervision.” Braulio and Rico look horrified. “Anything Level 3 and higher is mat time with management in addition to manual labor. If you feel that we are not handling the infraction properly, you should report it up to Ella and Ms. Plum for a judgment.” Diego grins. “We recognize that sometimes it’s hard for us to judge disrespect to you properly, so we’ll accept a woman’s opinion on it.”
Mario and Deuce are nodding slowly, reading the Boston printout while Braulio and I read the Atlanta one.
“So,” Juan says slowly, “you’re going to allow the women to tell you what to do?”
Again, Diego looks at him coolly. “I’m going to allow my boss, Ms. Plum, or Maria’s boss, Mrs. Guzman, to tell me what to do. Ms. Plum is no idiot. She’s a sharp woman with little tolerance for disrespect.” He smiles coldly. “You should prepare for that. And we’ve all seen that Ella doesn’t tolerate disrespect.”
Mario looks up. “I agree with these procedures. Diego’s right. We never want you to leave again, so if we’re making you unhappy, we need to know.”
“Besides,” Deuce snorts, “we’re well aware that we haven’t really gotten you back yet.”
I nod.
“What do you mean? She’s here. Of course she’s back,” Jackson says.
Deuce looks at him. “You need a Q-tip.” Diego snorts. “Lester said that Maria was going to be reassigned to San Antonio when the branch came up. It’s not up yet, which is the only reason she’s not there. If we want to keep our Maria, we need to show her we’re willing to change.”
I nod. “I enjoyed my time in Texas.” Diego, Deuce, and Mario all clench their jaws. Juan looks afraid. “I’m here because I told Lester I wanted to go home first, see if there were any changes. Plus, I wanted to be here for Stephanie’s visit. I’ll make my decision before she leaves.” I sit back and smile. “The Texas men were unhappy with that, Tank especially. He’d grown accustomed to the idea of snatching Ranger’s housekeeper from him and Lula and I were getting along quite well.”
I stand. “So you men have about six weeks to prove to me that you care about me more than the Texas men do. And don’t think my head can be turned with gifts and treats and bribery. Those are nice, and welcome, but respect and consideration are high on my list.” I look each man in the eye. “From every member of this branch. I was never disrespected, not once, in any branch I visited. Those men were appreciative of the housekeeper and they treated me like a valuable member of the team. That’s what I want here, the same thing I give all of you. Respect, consideration, and love.”
“Just out of curiosity,” Mario says slowly, “did you get our anniversary present?”
I reach into my purse and pull out the iPad. I hold it to my chest and smile. “Thank you,” I whisper, and each man grins. Mario stands to hug me and each man gives me a quick hug and kiss. I pull a handkerchief from my purse. “This was a magnificent present. Who scanned my wedding photo?”
The boys look at each other. “Well, I retrieved it from your apartment, and I’m sorry for invading your personal space, Maria,” Diego says. “But we definitely wanted to get that on there for you.”
“No,” I reply. “That made the gift perfect.”
I turn on the iPad and smile. Armand’s gorgeous face and he’s smiling at me.
I return to my apartment and stretch out. Diego said he would fax the results of today’s meeting to Armando for review then he and Thomas needed to speak to me in my apartment. Thirty minutes later there’s a knock at the door.
“Maria,” Thomas says, smiling. He has a little box, which he activates. After a few minutes, he grins. “Good, no bugs.”
I’m flabbergasted. “Bugs? They bugged me?”
“They bugged the other housekeepers. We thrashed them for it and started a new checkout procedure with Silvio and Core Team. Any bugs put to purposes not signed off on by the management will gain you one week on the mats. No exceptions.”
My eyebrows lift to the ceiling. Wow.
Thomas takes a seat and lets off a frustrated breath. “We got sick of it. Absolutely sick of being embarrassed to have to admit to each housekeeper coming in that there was a possibility that her temporary living quarters might be bugged just because these men were pissed about that they might not follow their orders.”
His jaw clenches and he looks at me. “We thrashed 10 separate men, put new procedures in place and Hector backed it up from Trenton. Told the men, office-wide, that if there was one more incident of improper use of equipment, he would make a special trip to Miami. And he told Silvio that he expected complete compliance with the new policy.” He grins wryly. “The men are afraid to go anywhere near the Electronics and Communications office now.”
I laugh. Hector is such a scary man . . . if you’re a man.
There’s a knock at the door and I call for the knocker to come in. It’s Diego and he’s smiling.
“Armando is a different man. Don’t know what Steph did to him at the beach but he’s coming back.”
He motions for permission to use my phone and I nod. Moments later, Mando is on the line.
“Armando!”
“Maria,” he replies warmly. “Wonderful to hear your voice and wonderful to know you’re back with us for a while. Settled in?”
“I have, thank you.” We make small talk for a few moments. I can tell Diego and Thomas are curious about the purpose of this call. “OK, Mando, you have us all here. What’s going on?”
“Two things. One, I just wanted to hear your voice.” I smile. “Two, I had a discussion with Tank last night that got me thinking.” The men lean forward, curious. “Essentially, we discussed my behavior on the mats. Namely, my dislike of taking men to the mats for everything and the consequences that action has had on my leadership.”
Diego is already nodding and looking at Thomas curiously.
“Tank pointed out that Miami needs a secondary punishment. Something for light infractions. For example, Trenton has monitor duty. Hal only has to suggest it and every man immediately comes to attention.” Diego and Thomas stifle laughs. “The opposite is true in Boston. Those men hate active work. Atlanta and NYC hate rush hour in the car. So I thought about what Miami hates most—”
Diego and Thomas are openly chuckling and I’m laughing. “Manual labor!” we all crow.
“Exactly,” Armando replies, sounding amused. “So, I was wondering if you’re open to being the arbiter when the men are set manual labor as a punishment. I understand Diego did this to outstanding success earlier.”
“This is true,” Diego says, grinning. “They did your job and Rafe’s and hated it. I only had to suggest that the windows needed washing and the men shut up.”
“Exactly. I think that needs to be a more permanent punishment. First, it will remind them of how hard Rafe and Maria work around here. Second, they will find it demeaning, which I don’t understand since it’s honest work, but hey, there it is. Third, it will allow you, Maria, to relax a little. If we set vacuuming an entire floor or scrubbing toilets or washing windows as a punishment, then they’ll understand that when management calls you to the mats, it’s going to be extremely painful. Finally, it will remind them that this work has to be done to standard. If we order them to wash the windows, then you judge the work as improperly done, they can’t argue. You’re the expert. You know when the windows are clean. It will rebuild respect for you and your position and remind them that they can’t slack the duty simply because they find it demeaning.”
I’m smiling. I love it already. “I agree, Armando, and you have a deal. I’ll come up with a list of chores that can be used for punishment immediately.”
“Excellent. Diego, Thomas, do you have suggestions?”
“We’ll work with Maria on this,” Thomas replies, grinning. I can see that he and Diego are scheming to use it immediately.
I’m thrilled. Management in Miami understands how hard I work and they’re going to make the men understand and respect it too.
Ella is a genius.
