Chapter 83: The Power of a Woman
Diego’s POV—Friday Morning
Stephanie’s been walking around with an evil smile on her face for the past 18 hours.
Hal is terrified. Thomas, Pat and I are confused. Mack’s amused. He can’t wait to see what she comes up with.
“Diego, I’m telling you, that smile is trouble!” Hal hissed as we left the CO’s office at 0800. “That smile contains all the evil and mischief she can come up with.” He stopped dead in the middle of the hall and shuddered. “That smile was the last thing I saw before I was stunned.”
I froze. Whatever the CO had come up with, it was guaranteed to be the work of an evil genius.
I need to go light a candle.
Right before the 1000 branch meeting to discuss the results, Stephanie pokes her head into my office. I’m there with Hal, Pat, Mack, and Thomas and we’re assessing weekly numbers for Miami. Again, everything except bodyguard services is growing. If I can’t fire Antonio, can I demote him? Can I bust him down to armed guard? Anything?! I’m aiming for NYC’s bodyguard services first. I’m tired of Jorge and Mack talking shit to me!
“Diego, I need you to have two men pick up a very special VIP at the airport at 1500. This VIP will be staying with me until I return home and I want a round the clock guard on her comprised of every man in RangeMan Miami. Each one gets to guard her at least once, and please make certain each of the bodyguards guards her first, starting with Antonio and Jozen.”
This caused every man in the room to look up. VIP? I reach for my notebook. “Name?”
“Edna Mazur.” She smiles and leaves the room.
Mack and Hal immediately fall on the floor laughing. Every time they die down, they look at each other and start laughing again. They’re both turning purple and wheezing. Thomas, Pat and I are watching them in confusion.
Finally they get themselves under control and Hal pokes his head out the room. “Someone find the CO and ask her to come here, please.”
Mack’s still wiping tears from his eyes. “Homie, that’s just wrong.” He looks at Hal. “Yo, sharing is caring, son. Who do we call first?” Mack is bouncing in the seat, grinning big.
Hal, choking on laughs, nods. “Trenton. They need to know so they know to remove her security detail.” He grins big. “My men will toast Miami.”
Thomas, Pat and I still have no clue.
Steph pokes her head back into the room. “Yes, Hal?”
“Just for clarification, Miami men are picking her up, right?”
“Correct. You do not have any responsibilities toward her except to ensure her security is at my level.”
Hal grins. “Thank you, Steph.”
She leaves then sticks her head back in. “Hal?”
“Yes, Steph?”
“If I get monitor duty again, she’s yours.”
Hal swallows hard. “10-4.”
By now, Junior, Ram, Hector, Javier and Jorge are on the line. “What’s up, Mack?”
“Yo, Boss Lady got raw on Miami.” Mack’s grinning like he can’t wait to share the punch line on this one.
Chuckles. “And?” Jorge asks.
“Granny Mazur is coming for a visit!”
The hysterical laughter is not a good sign. We can hear Javi mutter, “Jesus, Mack, I nearly pissed myself. Give some warning, partner.”
Meanwhile, we hear a roar of laughter in the background. Hal wipes away tears. “That was Trenton,” he says, looking at us.
“Diego, on behalf of RangeMan Trenton, we sincerely thank you and RangeMan Miami for your dedication to the cause. We’re about to see what you men are made of,” Junior says, laughing the entire time.
“What the hell does that mean?” Thomas asks.
“Trenton tradition. Any man who can survive Granny Mazur is kept,” Hal says, smiling. “Hey, why didn’t you guys tell me?” He’s typing on his cell phone.
“Steph said not to ruin the surprise.” We hear the line beep.
“Yo!”
“Please tell me that was a joke,” Danny says. “Miami earned Granny Mazur?”
“Yeah,” Hal replies. Danny starts laughing and calling for Jase.
“Does the Leadership Core know?” Hector asks.
“Not yet.” Mack grins.
“I want to be on the line when you tell them,” Hector says.
Hal dials Tank and asks them to join our call for a moment.
The LC joins our call and they’re informed. I’ve never heard the Leadership Core laugh like that. I’m starting to get a very bad feeling about this.
“Evil,” Tank says. “Fuck.” Two words from Tank? This has to be a fucking disaster.
“That went beyond ‘inventive punishment’!” Lester chokes out. “Jesus Christ, how badly did you piss her off?”
“OK, will someone please explain who the hell Granny Mazur is?” Thomas asks, frustrated and glaring at Mack, who grins. I want to know too. This person is considered a punishment and is evidently well known to the Trenton and NYC men . . .
“Holy Shit!” I’m pale. I know it. “Is this the grandma that shot up the funeral home? The same one that goosed Javi and Mack?” I turn to Mack, who is nodding, a huge grin on his face.
“Yes. Edna Mazur is Stephanie’s maternal grandmother,” Bobby explains between choked laughs. “Let’s be clear: Do not let anything happen to her. It will not be forgiven and she’s old, but not senile, so you don’t have much leeway in the way she’s treated. Just wear a cup and hope for the best.” I hear him turn away from the phone. “Ches? Get me a new bottle of tequila. Granny Mazur is going to Miami!“
I hear Ches laughing in the background.
Wear a cup?
At 1000, the Miami men gather in the conference room to hear the results of the review. Thomas and Mack look amused and Armando is on the phone. I’m standing at the back of the room, my normal spot, watching everyone.
“Well, I can say this. I’ve summed up Miami,” Steph says cheerfully.
“Really?” Braulio asks, looking pleased. “How?”
“You can always count on the Miami men to do the right thing—after they have tried everything else.”
Pat, Hal and Mack immediately turn red trying not to laugh. The Miami men immediately put their blank faces in place. I can hear Mando start laughing before he mutes his phone. Thomas is smiling and Maria and Rafe have to leave because they’re laughing so hard.
Me? I’m gonna toast her ‘balls’ and go light another candle.
“After one week here, I’ve learned that you men truly believe you don’t need any help. You believe you know everything. You believe I’ve nothing to teach you and that I’m just playing at this job. This isn’t my first stop. This is my fourth.” Steph turns to Mack. “I assume NYC didn’t have problems with me doing my thing?”
“Hell no! Shit, we owe the branch to the Boss Lady. She found out Liam’s sneaky ass, got rid of Shane, hired Jorge, and we’re going gangbusters. We just got the August numbers.” Mack grins. “We’re number two in the company.” He looks at Hal. “We aimin’ for you, son.”
Everyone looks shocked. Hal and Pat immediately start sending emails back to their offices.
“Pat? Boston?”
Pat sighs. “Steph highlighted numerous deficiencies in our operations.” The Miami men are shocked again. “Mark and I reviewed the assessment, realized she was absolutely right in everything she dinged us on, and we’re fixing everything she highlighted.” He turns to her. “Victor wants to talk to you, desperately. He’s managed to get discussions going with law enforcement in Maine and Vermont. $6 million in work.”
She smiles. “Hal?”
“Steph hasn’t reviewed us yet but I’m cleaning up everything I can find. I’m determined the CO won’t find much in my shop to ding us on.” He flips Mack off. Mack grins and takes a picture of it.
Steph turns back to the men. “Everyone seems to be giving you men quotes to think about so I spent some time trying to find one for you. Here it is: ‘If a guy is intimidated by a woman in leadership, he has real problems with his own concepts of masculinity.'”
The room is silent. There’s a lot of shuffling and blinking going on. I’m lighting three candles.
“You should really think about that. This is a black ops company and your top leadership is comfortable enough with themselves to put me in charge. They put the person they felt was best for the position in charge, regardless of sex.”
I look at all of them. Some are embarrassed, others are nodding.
“You’re so determined to treat me like some pet that you refuse to consider this: Ranger does not make mistakes when it comes to his business. At the moment, thanks to Atlanta, NYC, and Trenton, the company has grown 15%. You’re looking at sweeter bonus checks due to my work than you’ve ever had before. But you men will do anything to show that your ‘he-man woman-haters club’ doesn’t need my opinion.”
She shrugs. “OK. My grandma taught me to never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.” Again, the leadership is choking back laughs. “So I’m not going to argue with you. You had your chance to work with me on this assessment. Now I’m going to run the true assessment, without you. I don’t actually need to talk to you men to do an assessment of the branch, but now that I have, you failed. Now I can review everything else in peace.”
She turns and whispers something to Hal, who pales and shakes his head. They have a whispered conversation and finally he nods. Steph turns to me, smiles big and nods.
Plum worship: because she gets things done.
I leave the room and grab my keys. I’m ready when she is and I’m lighting those candles on the way back to the office.
Steph’s POV—Monday Afternoon
I missed the start of Grandma’s campaign of terror but Hal and Mack say that it’s been effective. The Miami men don’t know what to do. Antonio runs from the very sight of her. Each one knows he has to guard her but the stories are getting around. Calls have been made to Trenton about what to do, but the hysterical laughter and inventive toasts that they’re getting from the Trenton men discouraged repeat calls.
The hysterical laughter from Atlanta and NYC leadership convinced them they were on their own. San Antonio leadership, i.e., Tank, Lester and Bobby, just reminded the men to make sure nothing happens to her. Hector made a call of his own. Apparently, he told the Miami men that if any harm came to Edna, he would commence slicing. They are to make Edna happy and keep her busy doing whatever she wants in Miami and not complain.
Pat called Mark and told him about Granny Mazur. Mark called on behalf of Boston. His men are prepared to accept any punishment, including hour long mat thrashings, in lieu of my grandma.
I’m smug. The men are afraid of two fingers on an 80-year-old woman’s hand. They’re afraid to apply sun block. They’ve had enough of the nude beach, where Grandma has apparently picked up a following.
That’s power.
Don’t tell me I can’t do my job. Just shut up and let me do it.
I don’t need to take anyone down on the mats. I can leave that to Hector when he arrives, although I have to admit, mat time here is vicious. It’s decreased since I returned because the Miami men know that Mack and Hal have no mercy. Bobby called and told Mack to dial back a bit. Ten percent of Miami was on the ‘injured and disabled’ list at one point. Mack and Hal don’t take challenges or insults to me lightly.
They certainly didn’t appreciate the fact that Antonio and Jozen managed to lose my grandma. Mack gave Tony a concussion in fury. According to Hal, Mack’s words to Tony were, “That woman felt me up for an hour and I took that shit like a man. You got a problem with it? Call Diggy. Call Hal or Hector. Call the Boss Lady.
But you don’t stop doin’ the job just because you don’t like the client! You handle business like a boss. You ain’t a boss cuz you can’t handle shit with boss moves! Now get yo’ punk ass up!” He crouched over Tony, who was laid out on the floor. “If Edna Mazur had been some 20-year-old feeling you up and chillin’ naked on the beach, you wouldn’t have had the problem.”
The rest of the bodyguards got the idea. If they ran into problems, they called Hector or Mack.
Hal was chuckling as he was telling this story while I stared at him in shock. Mack demolished a punching bag to stop himself from breaking Tony and Jozen into pieces.
“Should I worry about anger issues?” I’m thinking of making Mack the new Miami strategist, which I’ve shared with Diego privately. I really want him to get Mack acclimated to Miami and prepared to take his position. Diego thought about it and agreed that Mack really would be the perfect person for Miami, although Thomas and Mack together could be dangerous, in his opinion. I asked why.
Diego grinned. “Both of them are too smooth when they want to be.”
I laughed. I thought so. Les and Bobby, the Dominican version.
“Nope,” Hal replied. His face got serious. “Mack pointed out that you’d been kidnapped and held just one week earlier. Now those idiots not only managed to lose your grandmother, but they took three hours to inform the rest of the branch that she was lost. Only the fact that Diego and I saw Maria scramble the cameras alerted us to the fact that Edna was back. Maria had already informed us that Edna was going to attempt to ditch them, so we were prepared for it.” Hal raised his phone. Grandma’s tracker showed she was already at the beach.
“Do you think Mack could be a good strategist?”
Hal looked at me, amused but serious. “I think that once Javier and Jorge are done with him, I might have to worry about Mack trying to take me down. He understands men, the Miami men already fear him, and he understands the numbers. Mack would be a really good strategist. He does things because they have to be done. Did you know he managed to land two more contracts for Miami Friday afternoon?”
My mouth dropped and he chuckled. “Yeah. After Diego demoted Tony, Mack stepped up to fill in the spot until you returned to give Diego permission to name someone to the job. The bodyguards and armed guards accepted his authority immediately.” I smiled. Perfect. “His accent could be an advantage as long as he doesn’t sound street all the time. He has a good sense of humor to go with it, so clients like him, and Miami is full of NYC snowbirds.”
I sighed in relief. That’s exactly why I thought he might fit here. My only concern now is his boys. I know he’s serious about staying in his sons’ lives.
I don’t need studies and experts to refute this “Men are superior” nonsense. My grandma is putting fear in the heart of every sexist in this office. They run the other way at the very sight of her.
Grandma is the perfect weapon. She doesn’t fit into any categories they’re comfortable with except ‘old’ but she doesn’t act like an old lady. She does exactly what she wants to do, and I’ve ordered them to escort her and allow her to do exactly what she wants. They’re forced to jump through her hoops and no one can give them a clue on how to handle her because she can’t be handled.
The only person they can appeal to is me and I’ve made it clear that my grandma is free to do what she wants. Worse, the Leadership Core made it clear: you have no leeway in how she’s treated. Do not let anything happen to her. It will not be forgiven.
So the Miami men have to suck it up and protect her. She’s their worst nightmare.
She’s treating them the way they treat women and they don’t like it.
An old lady who won’t act like an old lady, has no respect for personal boundaries and is treating them like they’re the sex objects. She’s made them her personal servants. She’s putting them in uncomfortable situations. She’s embarrassing them in public and they have to suck it up.
I did ask her to walk a fine line. Don’t ruin RangeMan’s name but feel free to embarrass them. So she compromised by making every man who escorts her to the nude beach strip naked too. Because they’re so buff she’s thrilled, but they aren’t. I’ve heard comments like ‘cock shriveling‘ and ‘emasculating‘ from them.
This from men who feel no guilt in saying nasty things about naked women or women in bikinis. Assholes.
My call with Ranger Monday afternoon leaves me shaky and scared. I can’t believe this. Assholes! I take a few minutes to pull myself back together then walk to the break room, where Grandma is attempting to feel Braulio up under the table.
I love my grandma. She’s persistent. No matter how many times he removes her hands, she’s back at him two minutes later. B stares at me pitifully, clearly pleading for me to help him. Mack and Hal are in the break room too, laughing silently, so this will be extra amusing for them.
“Hey, Grandma! What’s on the schedule today?”
“Well, I thought I might hit the beach again. I have a monokini and I wanna try it out.” I’m trying desperately not to make a mental picture. “Your boys are really nice about putting the sunblock on me at the beach. I’m getting so many admirers.”
“Any hot prospects for a date?”
“Yes, but I need to know what a ‘fag hag’ is.” Mack is literally crying at this point and Hal’s turned purple trying not to laugh. I know the feeling; I really want to laugh too. Even Braulio is hiding a grin at that statement. “Plenty of offers for a roll in the hay, too. I’m thinking about it. Having your hot young stud muffins around is encouraging all the men to come talk to me but the slightly older ones are leaving me alone. I like it because it’s like saying ‘colostomy bags need not apply at Edna’s’ but the younger men are sometimes intimidated by them too.”
“I heard you had a hot date at a hookah bar and an interesting morning,” I tease.
Grandma laughs. “Maybe. Larry keeps calling. I might go out with him again.”
She sighs, then grins and pats Braulio’s leg. Well, close enough. He sighs, leans back, and accepts that he’s been beat. “Never mind. For one week I have hot young stud muffins eager to help me”–Hal and Mack are turning purple trying not to laugh and I’m having to bite my lip–”so I’m going to take advantage of it.”
“Ah well, it sounds as if you have a full agenda. I had an idea but no need.”
“I’m listening baby granddaughter. So far, this trip’s been perfect. Whatcha got?”
I unfold the obituary and slide it in front of her. “Thought you might like to attend a viewing or two.”
At this, Hal rushes from the room, beet red. Mack stands there quietly, confused but grinning. I hope Hal makes it to an office before he starts laughing. Cowards.
“Anything interesting?”
“I have three sets of obituary columns. We can pick and choose.” I motion for Mack and Braulio to leave. B pats me on the back, shaking his head. Grandma and I have the break room to ourselves. We grin.
“How’s it going? Are they treating you OK?” I whisper.
“Stephie, those men are the biggest bunch of cowards I’ve ever met. I thought the Trenton men were fraidy cats but these Miami boys?” She snorts. “A firm hand, a no nonsense attitude, and a complete disregard for bullshit. That’s all anyone needs in order to pull these boys back into shape.”
“Well, do whatever you feel is right, Grandma. They’re running scared.”
She grins. “I’m thinking some shopping is appropriate. Each man has to guard me once, right?”
“Yup.”
“Well, once all of them have guarded me at the beach, I think we’ll start shopping.” She looks at the obituary columns and sighs. “I’ll pass on those. I don’t know anyone here, so I wouldn’t be paying my respects. I would just be a spectator and that’s morbid.”
I stare at her in surprise. My grandma has a limit. Who knew?
Diego’s POV
Steph came back from her weekend relaxed, energized, and ready to hit the ground running. Ranger must have had one hell of an effect on her. She looks amused by the men again, instead of pissed off like she was last week. She’s meeting with our former clients, with individuals whose bids for service we lost and with our current clients. She looks tired and a bit stressed each evening but she’s sticking with it.
Hal and Mack have looked murderous each night. Anyone with any sense at RMMiami, i.e., damn near every man except the league of assholes, has given them lots of space. Neither bothers to hide the blades anymore.
Steph came back from her weekend and Antonio wanted to meet with her. No idea what went down but he walked in as management and walked out not. My demotion stood! Finally! I partied and called Mando immediately to tell him.
Steph walked out and asked me to place someone I trusted in his position and get them up to speed. I immediately placed Lawrence, Ren, in the position. He serves most of his time as an armed guard, but he’s quiet and smart. He immediately took over Antonio’s office and had a meeting with Stephanie about the current state of the bodyguard team at RMMiami. I don’t know what they have planned between them but now Ren’s looking amused.
His response when I asked him about his meeting? “Prepare to fire half the branch. She’s gonna sink ’em.”
Tony’s been walking around stiff and angry. His demotion has pissed him off and he attempted to contact Leadership Core. I got a call from Lester.
“Antonio is calling me. Is there any reason I should accept this call?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Thought not.” Silence, then, “Don’t fire him. Steph wants him left in place for a moment. I think she intends to allow your boss to execute that standing order very soon. Bobby’s moaning. He was looking forward to conducting another “exit interview”.” Click.
I grinned. Lucky bastard! If Les had not told me to stand down, I would have immediately fired him for going over my head. I emailed him a mats invitation and gave him a sound thrashing for insubordination. Jackson had to help him to the infirmary.
First Mack gives him a concussion, then I thrash him. You’d think he’d learn to keep his mouth shut.
Everyone in the branch was stunned. They know I’m ready to fire him but I explained nothing. I looked around. “Anyone want to question my decisions?” Heads shook. “Then get back to work.”
I went back to my office and Thomas and I took a celebratory shot then called Armando. He was thrilled and he’s ready. The moment the order goes out he’ll be on a plane down here. The CO is cleaning house. I pull the files of men Armando and I thought would be good hires and some of the new files.
I’m ready to call them the moment Steph says I can.
RMMiami leadership is not a bunch of fools. We take hints from the other branches. We know Steph’s fond of flowers, dancing, and food and we aim to please. Maria was given the task of keeping track of who has been delivering flowers to the CO, and no amount of pleas and questions will force her to tell us what the CO has planned. She’s just smiling and shaking her head.
The men were confused by the Maria they received back from Trenton. Having the infamous Ella in house was not the experience they thought it would be and they were grateful to get ‘our’ Maria back. They truly did not understand that ‘their’ Maria had been corrupted, never to return.
It began, innocently enough, with the break room snacks.
Two weeks ago
Maria’s been back for one week and I’m watching carefully. Long gone are the delicious papas rellenas and empanadas. No more homemade pepitas. No more tropical fruit salads. Now we have granola. I’m cool with granola and yogurt. Nice healthy snack but, for the gang of five, it was unacceptable.
“Hey, Maria, when are you going to put out the pepitas and fruit salad?” Nacho asks.
Maria’s arranging two different types of granola on the side board. She turns around and smiles. “I’m not.” She leaves without another word.
So the league of assholes (much easier than trying to keep count of the quickly dwindling number) is silent for two days, watching her, assessing her, before they ask again. They get the same answer. Finally Nacho comes to me as the representative of their ‘concerns’.
It takes everything I have not to say ‘windows’.
“Diego, we don’t know what’s up with Maria, but she’s not cooking like she used to. It’s almost like having Ella here. Can you find out what’s wrong?”
I wait, fingers pitched. Nacho clenches his jaw. “Sir.”
“I already know what’s going on.” I smirk then point to my door.
He leaves in a fury and I call Maria to my office. “I take it Armando hasn’t signed the new contract?” I know he hasn’t. He wants Maria to work under the standard RangeMan contract for two weeks. Just to drive the point home to the men. Maria’s contract, with the addendums, will go into effect the Monday after Steph arrives in Miami.
Maria’s thrilled. She wants to see if the men appreciate her, not just what she does. So far, they’re failing miserably.
“Nope.” She grins, doing a little step in my office. I smile and take her into my arms. We dance a few tango steps before she pops me on the arm and leaves. Maria has been so happy and carefree ever since she returned. Miami leadership, the core and those on the housekeeping committee, are getting laundry service and decent meals cooked in her apartment, but the rest of the men are suffering.
I laughed when I saw how that fell out. Every man on the housekeeping committee is leadership except Jackson, but she decided to include him once he removed his head from his ass. She also included Ryan, Marco (head of the bonds office), and Silvio since they’ve made it clear they want to help, committee or not. Antonio is leadership but he’s not on the committee and he’s not putting forth any effort to help so he doesn’t get any service.
So the men who spearheaded the effort to treat Maria right are getting meals and service and we’re grateful for it. We’re helping Maria with whatever she wants. We’re laughing at the way Maria is ignoring requests for food, drinks, and snacks. We’re reminding the men that Maria is not their servant and she’s under standard contract. When the addendums go into effect, she still won’t run drinks and meals to them like a waitress.
It’s my psyop being executed with Maria’s help this time and Thomas and I are insanely grateful. We sent each of the housekeepers a bouquet of roses as a thank you.
I walk to the break room later that day, but on the way there I overhear something interesting.
“Yo, let’s call Trenton. They had her first. They should be able to tell us what’s up.” Antonio. Hmm …
“OK, sounds like a good idea.” Ignacio. I’m betting the rest of the gang’s all there. I stop and listen.
“Yo!”
“Yo, Ram! This is Nacho.”
“Wassup?”
“Maria.” I hear chuckles. “Yeah man. We don’t know what the fuck’s wrong.”
“Describe.”
“She don’t cook, she don’t clean, she don’t do laundry—”
“You pissed her off. Fix it.”
Silence, then, “She’s happy.”
“Could be a front. Women do that. But I’ll tell you this. You got two options. One, she’s pissed and you’re paying for it. Solution? Find out what you did, apologize, and fix it. Two, she’s going from contract. Everything you just said sounds like this is possible. She making granola and pressing suits for leadership?”
“Yeah.”
“Contract. In either case, you fucked up somewhere. Fix it.”
“How?”
Silence, then, “How do you apologize to your mom when you fuck up?”
“I stay away until she stops being mad.”
Ram laughs. “Good luck. While you’re staying away, another RangeMan is pissing her off. Get together as a group and fix the fucking problem. Don’t let her poison all of you at once.”
“Has Ella ever threatened to poison Trenton?”
Ram’s voice is hard and serious. “We’d never fuck up and treat Ella the way you guys were treating Maria. You might have thought I was joking earlier, but it’s no joke. Somewhere along the line, you guys fucked up. Now go fix it and don’t call me about this kind of bullshit.”
CLICK.
I laugh my ass off mentally and wait to see what they would do next.
“Asshole. I swear, New Jersey just turns people into assholes.” A couple of snickers. “Let’s call Teddy. She was just in San Antonio.”
“Yo!”
“Yo, Teddy G! How’s Texas?”
“Under Armour can’t handle this. Wassup?”
“Fucked up, you little pansy. Anyway, Maria. We got a problem.”
“En serio? What’s up? She OK?” Teddy sounds genuinely concerned. I file that away to examine later.
“She won’t cook or clean.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean?”
Silence. “Nacho, please don’t tell me you guys are really that fucking stupid. Did you ask the woman what’s wrong?”
“She’s ignoring us.”
“Dumbasses. Look, this shit is simple. Treat her with respect, she’ll treat you with respect.”
“We respect Maria—”
“No, we worked her like a slave. No respect at all. I’m telling you, the woman who just left here knows her value. She won’t accept that bullshit. And the future Mrs. Tank was clear: You go back and let them disrespect you like that and she’ll show up to whoop Maria’s ass and yours. And she meant that.”
Snorts of derision. “What’s she gonna do?”
Silence, then, “First thing you need to understand: Lula Jackson is no joke. She will bust your ass down and make you feel small. So don’t fuck with her. Second, if Lula busts your ass open, Tank will complete the action by making you wish Lula had killed you. He don’t play about his wifey. Third, Maria and Lula got along like I hear the CO and Ella do. And Lula and the CO are best friends. So the Lula will hear about it.”
Groans at that. I smile.
“Lula will be quick to defend Maria. Maria liked it out here and Tank made it clear that the job was hers. So you need to think about it. You know how Rafe feels about Maria. You lose Maria, you lose Rafe, and Ranger’s gonna want to know how he lost his handyman and his housekeeper to his partner. Can you explain that shit to him?” Click.
Even after all that advice, the dumbasses still haven’t learned. Between Maria’s open amusement at them and Armando’s decision to hold off on signing the contract, they’re pissed but they’re trying their old tricks. They still believe they have the right to run Maria around like a maid. We were willing to thrash them but Maria said to let her handle it. She would let us know when she needed help.
OK. We’re nervous but watching closely and, at the moment, she’s handling them just fine.
They didn’t count on getting a new Maria back. This Maria told Patrice that there was nothing wrong with his legs. If he wants a drink, the break room is open. If there’s nothing in there, enjoy free water. This Maria makes granola and slices fruit. This Maria doesn’t answer calls in the middle of the night for Tylenol and water.
Maria got smart. All calls from the league of assholes are being rerouted to Antonio’s office or his cell phone after hours. Maria put in the request to Mrs. Guzman, who approved it and kicked it up to the CO, who approved it and kicked it over to her partner. Hector had Silvio execute that immediately and he wasn’t allowed to say a word to them. Silvio can’t reverse it until Maria gets approval from her boss.
Antonio was being driven insane and Silvio was laughing at him. I’ll need to tell her that Antonio’s been demoted so Ren isn’t driven crazy.
With Steph in-house, snacks for guests are kept in the CO’s office and only leadership is allowed to be in there. Hal’s in there most of the time and the Miami men saw what happened to King.
That was over donuts. They’ve decided not to chance it.
Besides, Steph’s shown herself not to be a lightweight and the room still has this aura of Ranger. Not even hunger will drive the men into Ranger’s personal space.
More and more of the Miami men are seeing that the new Maria is here to stay. She’s learned some lessons from her colleagues. She’s not accepting their bullshit. I’ve accepted that Maria will probably move to San Antonio and I’m grateful. She’ll still be my housekeeper, so I’m making sure we have a tight relationship. Maria and I are ace kool.
Sigh. Mack’s gotta go. I sound like Brooklyn again instead of Miami. If I start calling things ‘major’, I’m shipping his ass home.
Steph’s POV—Friday afternoon
The info on the ground has been very interesting. While the men of RangeMan Miami have been attempting to avoid my grandmother’s groping fingers, I’ve been out interviewing our former clients, trying to determine why we are losing so many. I knew, even before I left, what I was likely to hear, and actually hearing our clients say it time and time again was discouraging and disheartening.
Worse, I couldn’t even promise it wouldn’t happen again.
Hal had to give me a big bear hug after the third meeting and after the eighth, Pat, Mack and Hal were hugging me after every meeting. They looked just as unhappy and angry about what I was hearing as I was.
Diego and I are meeting every night to compare notes and Diego is pissed that he didn’t catch this. He looks embarrassed and upset and I keep reminding him that no one would have said this to him. They wouldn’t have trusted him. Why should they? But I’m another woman. They’ll talk to me but not him. Not unless he already knew what the problem was and was ready to discuss it head on, like I did.
The sexism affects him too, but in reverse. He wasn’t able to fix the problem because our clients treated him and Armando the way we treated them. They assumed that if they complained to a man, it wouldn’t have been treated with respect. The clients who did complain were treated very respectfully and appropriately.
After my call with Ranger Monday afternoon, I realized I needed to speed my timetable up. He gave me until Friday to do what I needed to, but he has five disloyal RangeMen he needs to ‘speak’ to. After listening to the recordings he sent me, I wasn’t really inclined to stop him.
I’ve been kidnapped and tortured enough in my life. Diego’s orders to the branch were very clear last Sunday. They didn’t listen to them. I’m not getting between Ranger and them. I’m not pleading for their lives. They put mine, and Ranger’s and Hector’s, at risk. And why? Because I’m a woman. A bitch. A cunt. No other reason.
I draw the line at cunt. Always.
I was angry. Really really angry. It’s one thing for their medieval attitudes to affect me and Maria, another for them to affect business. It was time to make this very personal. I gave Maria a new assignment on Tuesday and she reported the findings were disturbing. I should be prepared to be angry when I review her information and tapes. I told her it couldn’t be any worse than what I was hearing in person.
She assured me that some of it was. Once I listened, I had to agree. I was tempted to take all of the men to the mats.
I spent Monday afternoon surfing the internet, looking for a survey that would measure what I needed. I finally found one, a good one, and took it myself. I was surprised at my own score and I printed the results for further study.
I emailed Hector and asked him to recreate the survey and the scoring mechanism. I provided a link to the original so they could see it. By the end of the day, Nate from Atlanta emailed me back and provided a link within the new RangeMan site for me to review it. I retook the exam, careful to give the same answers, and got the same results. Good. I asked if I could get copies of each man’s individual responses and the branch total score, which they also provided. I also asked that they ensure that the RangeMen were not able to access the internet while taking the test, so they couldn’t Google the questions. Finally, I asked if this were ready for me to roll out and they responded that it would be a good test for them also.
I sent it to Candy and the housekeepers first. Their scores were disturbing, so I asked Hector to check and make sure the survey was calculating correctly. He and Nate triple checked and confirmed that it was. I resent the survey and the scores were the same. I asked Hec to make a link for the XO wives to take the survey and they also took it. Lula’s score was fine but the other scores were scary.
The women’s brain trust had a lot to talk about Monday night.
I emailed every man in RangeMan and provided the link to the survey. I gave the Miami men until Thursday close of business to take it, and we were going to discuss the survey results Friday in a branch meeting. I informed the rest of the men around the company that we would discuss their scores at a later date.
I also called Armando and told him I wanted him here on Friday. He hopped on a plane Thursday night and is staying with Diego. He looks a thousand times better. Mando wasn’t fat, at all, but he’s dropped weight. His face is relaxed. His entire body is relaxed and he’s in a much better headspace. Tank and I have been keeping an eye on Charlotte and Mando’s bringing the branch up even faster than Tank expected. I think he plans to do another drop in visit on Mando soon to check on the status, but it’s clear that moving Mando away for a while was the right thing to do.
I quietly asked him if he were going to go visit his father’s grave while he was there. I checked his HR records; the anniversary of his father’s death is approaching and I wanted to ensure he had enough time to go pay his respects. He smiled, squeezed my hand, and said he’d definitely planned on it.
Hal and Mack reported that the survey had been the subject of much discussion in the branch during the week. I knew this; thanks to Hector, I was able to spend time eavesdropping on the men in the break room and I could understand most of their complaints. As usual, they complained that they didn’t get the results at the end. They complained that what this survey was measuring wasn’t explained to them in advance. They complained that this survey was going to be the topic of discussion on Friday and they had not been told what this survey was about.
They complained. As usual.
Finally, Juan burst into the break room Thursday evening. “I googled one of the questions at home. It’s a survey on sexism! It’s a test to see how sexist you are.”
This was met with silence. The Miami men now knew they’d been set up.
A/N: 1. Of course you’ll get a side-story of Edna’s Miami campaign! 2. Next Main Chapter: Ranger’s call to Steph and the view from the other side. 3. Also, the women’s brain trust tries to figure out how to correct the ‘boys’, all of them. I have a link to a survey on sexism on my profile. Take the survey in advance of the next few chapters. It will help you understand the numbers that will be flying around.
