“I can’t choose a daddy for you just because he’ll help you take care of a dog.” Tam had doubts that with his busy schedule Con could follow through on dog care, even should he want to. She wrapped an arm around her daughter and hugged Susa. “There’s a lot more to deciding who your daddy should be.”
“Like what?” Con spoke from the doorway. He dried his hands with a small towel.
“This discussion should wait for another time.”
“Why?” Susa looked up, doubt clear in her features.
“Yeah, Tam, why?”
“Because I’m tired and hungry, and I’ll bet you are too.” As she stood, she ruffled her daughter’s hair.
At that moment Susa’s stomach rumbled, and though she frowned at the delay, she couldn’t argue with the evidence.
“Go wash your hands, fairy girl. I’ll help Con get dinner on the table.”
Susa started to leave. “Will we talk about getting a daddy at dinner?”
“Not tonight, Susa.” Tam groaned inwardly. She wasn’t ready to deal with this. She doubted she’d ever be ready.
Susa’s frown turned petulant. “When?”
“When Con and I together decide we should. Now go wash your hands,” Tam snapped irritably. Instantly she regretted the tone. She was stressed by situations at work and at home, but that was no reason to be sharp with Susa.
“Yes, Mother.” Susa hung her head and left the room.
Tam sighed and stood.
“Was that really necessary?”
“No.” She passed Con on the way to the kitchen. “Speaking to Susa like that was completely unnecessary.”
“Then why do it?” He followed.
Tam gave him a long look. The memory of the two of them locked together kissing, making love, absorbed in each other flashed through her mind. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“Is it work? How are the client negotiations progressing?”
“Fine.” While she set the table, she tried to smile but felt worry wrinkling her brow. “We worked out a draft agreement. The clients are taking the draft back to their boards for approval. We’ll meet again next week to hammer out the details.”
Con pulled the roasting pan from the oven to the counter, then moved the pork loin to a platter. “So what’s the problem?”
“Did I say there was a problem?” She shifted her gaze from the table to Con.
“You didn’t have to.” His hands, filled with carving knife and fork, paused over the roast. “I can see it in your face, hear it in your voice.”
She pondered a moment. Wasn’t it bad enough that he had her personal life all tied up in knots? Did she really want Con mucking about in her professional world? He was an expert not only on the distribution business but also on the art of negotiations. She’d be a fool not to at least listen to his advice, regardless of their personal issues.
She set the last napkin in place, then went to assemble the side dishes and drinks. “The meeting was great. All participants are eager to see this get off the ground. One of the prospective clients, Al Shiner—he owns a chain of local grocery stores—stayed after. He wanted to discuss a second deal. Something he says is outside my usual client agreements.”
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
Tam basked in the glow of talking business with Con and started to relax. “Perhaps, but I know Shiner. He has a well-deserved reputation for shady ethics. He’s never stepped over the bounds of legality, but if he sees an opening to set back the competition without sending himself to jail, he’ll do it. I put him off until Monday morning, but I’m afraid that he’s going to ask me to join him in undercutting my other clients.”
“That would be incredibly stupid on your part. Any business deal is based on trust. You’ll find yourself without clients or suppliers if you behave unethically.”
“True, and I don’t know how Shiner gets away with it. Regardless, I don’t want to be party to anything that will put TLC on shaky footing.”
“So turn him down.”
Encouraged that Con’s thinking was similar to hers, she continued. “I wish it were that easy. Thing is, he hasn’t made any kind of proposal yet, so I can’t be certain of what he’s going to suggest. What I can be certain of is he will make his side deal appear very lucrative. So lucrative that I might risk that loan approval if I turn him down. If I do, the remaining clients won’t be enough to satisfy the lender.”
“That’s a tough call. Does Shiner know about your loan problem?”
“He might. Loan terms are supposed to be confidential, but we do business with the same lender, and as I said, Al’s not above doing the unethical, if it will serve his bottom line.”
Con studied her for a moment. “So what will you do if his proposition is an unethical one?”
“I’ll turn him down.”
Con hefted the serving platter and a bowl of roasted red potatoes. Tam followed him with a bowl of salad in one hand and a dish of green beans in the other.
“No profit is worth losing my reputation or that of my business,” she continued.
Con smiled and went back for the drinks. When he returned to the table he gave her a speculative look. “That’s what I would have suggested. What will you do to cover the shortfall if Shiner pulls out of the co-op?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“You will.”
“I don’t know, but I’ve got all weekend to think about it. Now I’d better go find out what happened to Susa.”
“I’ll start serving.”
Tam walked away. Con waited until she was out of earshot before he pulled out his phone. He punched in a number but was shunted to voice mail. So he left a message. “Call me tomorrow around ten mountain time.” He ended the call just as Susa barreled into the room followed at a more sedate pace by her mother.
Chapter Thirteen
Monday morning, Tam greeted Al Shiner in the small conversation area of her office. She listened carefully as he laid out his proposal for their companies to join forces in a new chain of healthy snack convenience stores, starting in Phoenix and gradually expanding throughout the nation. The scale of the proposition was much grander than she’d expected, but the idea still undercut all of her other retailer clients. If successful, Tam would be a very rich woman. She’d never again have to worry about approval on a loan. However, the investment was considerable. She would be putting her entire company and therefore Susa’s wellbeing at risk.
“I’m sure you’ll want your legal department to go over the agreement papers.” Shiner pushed a thick folder across the coffee table to her.
He was right, but she was certain what her legal team would find, so why waste their time? “Thank you, Al, but no, I won’t need to have the papers reviewed.”
A smile of crafty satisfaction replaced his momentary surprise. He produced a pen and held it out to her. “I’m glad you came to such a quick decision. We can get started immediately.”
She ignored the pen, looked him in the eye, and shook her head. “You misunderstand. I’m declining your generous offer.” She gave the folder a small push in his direction.
Sputtering, he backed up in his chair and pocketed the pen. “You realize I won’t sign our other deal without this side contract.”
“Yes. I’m aware of that.”
“Several of your present clients may choose to stop doing business with TLC in view of your, shall we say, unwise decision.”
“I wouldn’t want any client who didn’t have full confidence in TLC’s ability to meet all commitments.” She stood, then walked to her desk.
Picking up his folder, Shiner stood as well. “You’re making a big mistake. I thought you were a smart woman.”
She gave him a dismissive glance, pushed the intercom button on her desk phone, and asked her assistant to join them. “My assistant will see you out.”
As he left, she turned to study the view of Phoenix outside her one window. She’d shown a face much more confident than she felt and wished for some way to keep her ethics and accept the deal.
Within the hour her situation was twice as bleak. Shiner worked fast. A good third of her present clients called with doubts raised by rumors they’d heard. Most of those retailers exercised the opt-out clauses in their contracts. The others stayed despite doubts. Now she was left with a very short lead before the loan came up for approval and not one idea on how to show evidence of her company’s growth potential to the lender.
At eleven Tam swallowed two antacid tablets, then took a call transferred in by her assistant. “Tamsin Donal speaking.”
“Hi, Tamsin, Mike Buddswell here.”
She nearly dropped the phone. Buddswell was the last person she expected to hear from.
“How nice of you to call.”
“I’ll be in Arizona on business, about two weeks from now. Thought I might stop by Phoenix and take you to lunch. I read your proposal, and I’d like to discuss your ideas for getting Buddswell’s into the Four Corners Native American market.”
A contract with Buddswell would be the answer to her prayers. She worked hard not to sound too eager. She didn’t have a contract yet.
“I’d be happy to discuss options with you. When will you be in Phoenix?”
“I expect to arrive the first Monday of the month. I’d like to see you first thing.”
Tam had promised time to Susa that Monday and planned to work from home. However, a lunch appointment was doable. Then she’d have twenty-four hours to revise her report for the loan company’s review. “Lunch it is.”
“Done. I’ll pick you up at noon.”
“Only if you allow TLC to get the check.”
“I suppose if I argue, you’ll insist on doing business in your office.”
“True.”
“Then I agree to your terms. See you in June, Tam. Say hi to Con for me.”
Buddswell ended the call, and Tam hung up her desk phone. That was odd. How could he know Con was here? Unless her interfering ex had called Mike. So Con was trying to help her keep TLC afloat. Was that a crime? He wasn’t making the deal for her. Or was he? She’d just have to wait and see how agreeable Buddswell was, or how eager Con was to involve himself in the deal. If Mike didn’t dicker, or agreed too easily, then she’d know she had Con to thank and not her own efforts.
The idea that Con was arranging her life ate at her all day. She didn’t mind seeking his advice, then deciding her course of action for herself. She drew the line at being managed. She left for home that evening, determined to confront him. If she asked him directly, he wouldn’t lie. He didn’t operate that way.
When she got home, the house was silent. Where was everyone? She found a note propped on the kitchen table.
Took Susa to the Doll Museum. Back around 7:00. We’ll bring pizza and salad, so enjoy some quiet and indulge yourself.
Love, Con
Tam had been spoiling for a fight. What was she supposed to do with herself for two and a half hours? She wasn’t in the habit of self-indulgence, except where Susa was concerned. Time with her daughter was an indulgence that Tam guarded carefully. Now someone else was taking Susa’s time, which made Tam grumpy. Con had every right to take Susa on an outing. They agreed that he would provide parental care while Tam was at work, so he had implicit permission. She wasn’t at work now. She missed her daughter’s eager smiles, her welcome home hug and sloppy kiss.
Tam tried to shake off her irritation by going to her bathroom and starting the water for a long soak. She didn’t want a bath; she wanted her daughter. She wanted Con to stop interfering in her life, and she would tell him so at the first opportunity. She didn’t appreciate having Susa’s routine disrupted this way, nor did she want him messing around in TLC business. Meanwhile, Tam would take that bath and pamper herself, arming herself for the coming confrontation with creams, powder, a killer pair of shorts, and a tiny tank top that she usually wore under a V-neck shirt and suit jacket. Tonight Terrence Connor O’Neal wouldn’t know what hit him. When she finished with him, he would know exactly where they stood. Then, even if he became a fixture in Susa’s life, Tam would never be bothered by him again.
****
Salads and sodas balanced atop a large pizza box, Con followed Susa into the house.
“Mommy, look what Con got me. She’s an AN-TEEK. Her name’s Flordora, but I’m gonna call her Florie.”
Con set the food on the kitchen table before trailing after Susa. What he saw when he got to the living room rocked him to the core. It wasn’t that Tam was hurt or doing anything odd. She was just admiring Florie. No, what rocked him was the outfit Tam wore, or rather was barely wearing. The very short shorts clung to her hips and only skimmed the tops of her thighs. Her breasts nestled so snuggly within the skinny top that no bra could possibly fit underneath. He choked back the question of whether or not she was as nude beneath her shorts as she obviously was under that top.
As he approached, the aroma of peaches filled his senses. An image of her in a bathtub surrounded by bubbles and candlelight flashed into his head. She must have taken one of her long soaks. The kind he used to interrupt to their mutual delight.
“That’s a beautiful doll, Susa. Antiques are very special. Did you thank Con?”
“Yes, Mommy, and of course Florie’s special. Con gave her to me. I had a real good time at the museum. Can we go back?”
Their daughter’s voice poured cold water on the fantasies distracting Con from the conversation.
“Maybe in a few weeks, best of girls,” said Tam. “Now go put Florie with your other dolls and wash up for dinner.”
“All right.” Susa left at top speed.
Tam lifted her gaze to his. Her teeth were clenched, and her hands fisted on her hips. Her eyes threw enough daggers that had those knives been real he’d be dead three times over.
“Uh, here’s the certificate of authenticity and a letter of provenance.” He held out an envelope.
She snatched the envelope between thumb and forefinger of one hand. “Thank you. You shouldn’t have,” she muttered, her teeth still clenched.
“I enjoyed it. Susa fell in love with Florie at first sight.”
Kind of like I fell in love with you.
Tam tapped the envelope against her shoulder. “I’m serious, Con. You shouldn’t have given Susa such an expensive gift.”
“She doesn’t know or care how much that doll cost.”
“Well I do, and Susa will know someday.”