Buddswell frowned, looking displeased. “That’s too bad. Makes me wonder if—”
Tam cut him off before he could imply that the deal hung on her agreement to Buddswell’s behavior as alpha dog. “Yes, it is too bad, but you know how it is. You wouldn’t shortchange one product just to baby another along. Eventually both products would suffer. My service reputation is my primary product. If I start neglecting my existing loyal clients to cater to a new and relatively untried client, nobody would be happy, and I’d soon be out of business. I was glad,” she continued. “That TLC could help you out with the itinerary, and I want to assure you that you’ll get the same superior service from TLC that we give to all our customers.” She wore that same easy smile. Confident in her management of Mike’s attempts to manipulate, she walked him to the door.
Mike grinned. “I like you, Tam. You don’t put up with nonsense from anyone.”
She stepped outside to see him to his car. “I wouldn’t be in business for very long if I did. Drive safely. I’ll call a friend of mine, Ava Firesong, and ask her to help out with any translation problems. If she doesn’t know the language and dialect you’re dealing with, she knows someone who does. Susa’s out of school Friday, and we’ve planned an all day outing at Ava’s place. I’d like you to join us. We can sign the contracts then.”
“See you on Friday. You too, Con.”
She shut the door on Buddswell’s retreating form, and before Con could say congratulations, Tam leapt at him, clamped his neck with her arms, wrapped her legs around his hips, and kissed him. Passion flowed from her in waves, dizzying Con so much that he almost lost his balance.
“Lucifer’s chili peppers, Con. I get so turned on by tough negotiations. Thank heaven you’re here.”
His hands had already tunneled beneath the drawstring waist of her modest shorts as he supported her weight. With all the speed he could manage he turned to brace her back against the nearest wall, then attacked her clothing. He wanted, needed her naked.
But Tam was impatient. “I want you inside me. Now!” she growled.
“Careful,” he warned. “We don’t want to wake Susa.”
“Right.” Still she groaned as he tweaked her nipples between thumb and forefinger while giving her earlobe a gentle bite.
“Are you absolutely certain we should do this with Susa just down the hall?”
“I’m certain we shouldn’t, but I can’t wait. Please hurry.”
“You have to be quiet,” he whispered. “Or I’ll be forced to stop.” He shifted away to prove his point while drawing a condom from his pocket.
“No,” her objection rasped. She pulled him back with her legs. “I’ll be good. I promise. Not another sound.”
“Then, I suppose I could do this.” He reached for her waistband, had them both exposed within moments and his penis covered. “I’ll be happy to reward your discretion.”
He thrust into her, pushing all the way to her warm wet core. He wanted to linger in that sweet, damp darkness, but his body had other ideas, withdrawing and thrusting, sinking in, pulling out, faster and faster. Friction and need built to agonizing proportions. He filled his mouth with her taste and reached between them.
He would never forget the cry that vibrated from her, down his throat and through his straining body or the bliss that erupted as Tam’s muscles clamped around him, milking him until he was nothing but an empty, aching husk that without her to anchor him would crumble to dust and blow away at the first breeze.
Later in bed, her hair drifting over her face, her back against his heaving chest, Tam lay cocooned in Con’s embrace waiting to regain both her breath and her senses. She couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted. Right here in Con’s arms was the only place she’d ever found such exquisite heights of pleasure and depths of contentment. More and more she had to agree with Con’s assessment that families were messy and a whole lot more complicated than a business deal. She’d been right to apologize to him after their night at the Fish Hill Creek outlook, but she’d been wrong to allow old fears to resurface. Those barriers crumbled more and more every day Con was in her life. So why hesitate to accept his proposal?
“Tam?” Con’s fingers pulled her hair back behind her ear. He dropped a kiss on her cheekbone. “You remember I’ll be leaving in five days, right?
“Five days?”
“That’s all we’ve got left. Even if we decide to try for the family deal, I’ll have to go back to Chicago for a few days. However, I want something before I go.”
They only had five days left? Her heart sank. It wasn’t enough time to make such an important decision. She’d be fully occupied with Buddswell and the loan approval. Regardless, those short days had to be enough. She couldn’t let the current state drag on forever. It wasn’t fair to Susa or Con. “What do you have in mind, exactly?”
“Nothing very different from the past few weeks. I’ll take care of Susa and the house while you’re busy with the loan approval. All I want in return is one more date with you.”
“It should be obvious to both of us by now that you don’t have to take me out to get me into bed.”
“Maybe I want more than sex. I made it clear before I met Susa that I think we should marry.”
“You think you can convince me with one date when you haven’t been able to change my mind in more than three weeks? You’re awfully confident in your persuasive powers.” And he had reason to be. She was closer to accepting his proposal than ever.
“True, I can be very persuasive in business, but with you I’m less confident in my abilities. All I want is the chance. Let me finish things out the way we planned with the addition of one last date, please?”
His vulnerability touched her as much as the trust he gave by exposing his doubts. “Okay. I’m meeting with the lender Wednesday. I should get verbal confirmation of the loan approval by Friday morning before Buddswell and I sign our agreement. I’ll make arrangements for Susa to spend Friday night at a friend’s house.”
“I think Susa should come on this date and we should start right after you and Mike sign those papers.”
“You want Susa’s company on a date? Why?”
“Let’s just say she should at least be present for any major decision that affects her.”
“But…”
“I’m not saying another word until Friday.”
****
After a day of feverish work to include the Buddswell deal in her loan proposal, Tam entered the loan office conference room followed by her CFO and TLC’s head of Legal Affairs.
Of the two loan officers seated at the far end of the table, she knew one, William Fields.
He rose as she entered and came to shake her hand. “Ms. Donal. How nice to see you again. May I introduce Ms. Appleton, our VP of US Operations.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you Ms. Appleton.” Tam’s mind raced. Why would the loan corporation’s VP of US Operations be sitting in on a comparatively small loan approval? In the past, Tam and Fields had handled things with less formality, though the paperwork was always completed accurately and the loan awarded in a timely manner. The fact that big guns decided to sit in on this meeting added concern on top of the anxiety created by the formal setting.
When they were all seated and the secretary was ready to record the meeting, Fields cleared his throat.
Before he could speak, Ms. Appleton interrupted. “I am here because Fields’s last report on your company and its loan request caused some concern at the corporate offices in New York.”
“I-I’m certain Ms. Donal can allay any concerns.” Fields tugged nervously at his tie and toyed with the corner of the open file before him.
His anxiety did little to boost Tam’s confidence. She smiled. “I need to know the exact nature of your concerns before I can address any of them.”
“Frankly, we’re concerned about the large increase in TLC’s involvement with the Native American markets. Over fifty percent of the profits projected in your proposal are estimated to come from Native American contracts.”
Tam restrained a gasp. She couldn’t be hearing correctly. That a lender as large and well known as this held a corporate prejudice against Native Americans was surely impossible. “I’m not certain I understand the problem. Over the past four years, TLC’s contracts with the Native American nations in the Four Corners area have steadily increased. In fact those contracts consistently produce revenue in excess of projections. My company has an excellent relationship with this customer base, and long-range plans include expanding that part of TLC’s business throughout the US.”
“Yes, we saw that in the five year plan section of the proposal. If TLC is determined to proceed in that direction, I’m afraid we will have to deny your application for approval.”
Tam gripped the arms of her chair to keep from leaping to her feet. “Are you aware, Ms. Appleton how difficult it is to establish a business relationship with the Native American nations? Negotiations for waiver of rights and other contractual requirements can take years. A company must negotiate with each nation separately and then deal with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on each contract. What TLC has achieved is unprecedented in any business sector. Surely that success alone is reason enough to approve our application.”
“I applaud your company’s ability to outshine its competitors, and I am keenly aware of the difficulties involved in business agreements with the Native American markets. Several major corporations that use our services got involved with those markets. The constant changes and resulting amount of litigation caused those companies to default on loans issued specifically in support of Native American contracts. Further, we have, in the past, made loans to those people. However, they have proven to be unreliable risks and much more trouble than the financial returns are worth.”
“How many corporations?”
“Two or thr—” blurted Fields.
Ms. Appleton signaled him to silence. “That information is privileged.”
Tam straightened her spine and spoke with deceptive calm. “I don’t want to know which corporations did business with
those people
, just how many? I would also like you to confirm for me here and now that you speak for your company on this topic.”
Appleton gave a delicate snort. “I assure you that I represent company policy in all matters. I would never allow my personal feelings to enter into any business decisions. Now do you have an alternative plan to make up for the shortfall in projected revenues, since the Native American market totals will not be included in our decision making?”
Tam gathered her papers and stood, signaling to her CFO and head of Legal Affairs to do the same. “No, Ms. Appleton, I do not have an alternative plan. Nor will I do business with a company who clearly has biases against Native Americans.”
“I wouldn’t make that accusation in public, Ms. Donal. You might find yourself prosecuted for slander.”
“A statement is only slander if it isn’t true. However, you need not worry. I would never make any public statement good or bad about your company.” She turned and led her team from the conference room and out of the building. She might not say anything in public, but she had friends who would, in confidence, spread word about the events of this meeting. That word would flow quickly to the Native American communities. Those communities would then look closely at any business dealings they had with Ms. Appleton’s company and might reconsider continuing business relationships with the lender.
However, Tam had more immediate problems. She needed cash to support her expansion plans, and she didn’t have a plan B. She chastised herself for that mistake. She’d thought the deal with Buddswell would cement the loan approval. Instead it was that deal which killed the desperately needed loan.
“I’ll meet you back at the TLC offices in an hour,” she said to her cohorts. “Put the word out to all department heads that in two hours we’ll have an emergency financial meeting.”
“What are we going to do?” worried her CFO. “We need the loan to cement the deals with Buddswell and the new clients, plus pay for the new trucks.”
“I’ll have an answer by the time of the emergency meeting. I want to talk to both of you fifteen minutes before that. In the meantime, go get some lunch, and call your families. We’re in for a long workday today, and probably for the rest of the week.”
They said goodbye. Tam headed for her car. She had a glimmer of an idea. The trick would be putting the deal together on short notice.
Chapter Seventeen
Shortly after eleven Con finally heard Tam’s car in the drive followed by her footsteps on the kitchen stairs. He rose from the table where he’d been working and strode across the room to take her in his arms. She’d called him around lunchtime to tell him she needed to work late. She’d even shared the reason, although she hadn’t given any details about why the approval had gone south.
“Poor baby,” he cooed. “You had a rough day.”
She leaned into his strength. “That’s putting it mildly.”
He took her laptop case from her and set it aside, then ushered her to the table. “Sit. I’ll get your dinner.”
“Don’t go to any trouble. I don’t think I could eat.”
“Try, please, it’s no trouble, everything’s ready. I made some of that chili you taught me to make, and there’s a bottle of merlot breathing on the counter.”
“I didn’t realize you remembered that I love chili, let alone the recipe I gave you.”
He winced. The comment hurt. He couldn’t forget Tam or anything about her. He turned, locking gazes with her before dishing chili from the slow cooker to a bowl. She needed to know he was dead serious, not just mouthing empty words. “I remember everything about you.”
She sucked in a breath.
He smiled. “However, I did need a little help with the recipe from Susa. She got a kick out of ordering me around the kitchen and was tickled to find out that I liked chili. She said it’s her favorite food.”
Tam sank back in her chair. A faint smile smoothed her worry lines. “It is. She’d rather have chili than chocolate. I don’t know where I went wrong.”
Con chuckled. “You’ve done an excellent job. Susa’s a delight to be with and a very thoughtful child. She’s the one who suggested I make the chili in the slow cooker so you’d have a hot meal when you got home.”