by Pj Fiala
Abruptly sitting back in her chair, Sally lowered his picture and looked Tammy in the eyes. “Right.” Clearing her throat and sitting forward once again she waved her hand over the pile of papers. “Where do you want to begin?”
Laughing Tammy lifted the first stack of documents. “Zeke Hamilton was born in – get this Hamilton, Massachusetts, in nineteen seventy-seven. He has one younger brother, Isaiah and two sisters, one older, Jacqueline and one younger, Celeste. His family owns the world; lumber mills, paper mills, trucking companies, newspapers, real estate holding companies, tech companies and more. Last accounting the Hamilton family was worth over three billion dollars. Billion with a B. Holy crap. Why the hell would he want to invest in Stateside?”
Sally, still staring at Zeke’s picture, softly said, “I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t make sense. We aren’t profitable, obviously. We need repairs and the Hamiltons don’t have any other nursing type facilities that I could find. Of course, they could be hidden under other umbrellas.”
Sally finally set Zeke’s picture on the desk and looked over the documents Tammy had placed in front of her. Sally read through a few of them while Tammy sat across from her in one of the two soft brown leather chairs, crossing her legs and swinging her foot while she read. “It looks like this might be something.” Sally pushed a document across the desk towards Tammy.
“They purchased the Farnham Real Estate Holdings in two thousand and twelve. Farnham held about forty nursing-type facilities. Nursing homes, assisted living, and senior housing.”
“And we still have them.”
Tammy swung around as Sally’s mouth fell open. And there he was. Zeke Hamilton in the flesh. Six foot three, broad shoulders, dark hair, steel-gray eyes and a Van Dyke graced his upper lip and jaw. Tammy was at a loss for words. He was simply gorgeous. He stood with the arrogance of a man who knew he was handsome and wealthy and the effect he had on women. He bore into Sally’s blue eyes but made no further move to introduce himself. Sally swallowed the large lump in her throat and slowly stood to her full five foot five height. Briefly wiping her hand against her thigh she rounded the desk and moved toward him. Her mouth quivering to a smile she held her hand out. “Sally Garrison. I’m the director here.”
“I guess you know my name, however, I’ll clarify just in case. Zeke Hamilton.”
Sally nodded and Zeke turned his gaze to Tammy. Realizing she was staring, Tammy slowly rose from the chair and smoothed down the front of the tan and black dress she was wearing. Her black heels made her three inches taller, but she still had to tilt her head up to meet Zeke’s eyes. Pushing her long brown hair over her shoulders she smiled and held out her hand to Zeke. “Tammy Davis. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hamilton.”
He took her hand in a firm shake and as Tammy moved to pull her hand away, he clamped down tighter, holding her hand a bit longer than was comfortable. Tammy’s eyebrows creased then smoothed quickly and Zeke released her hand.
“Call me Zeke.” Looking over her shoulder at the pile of papers on the desk he smirked. “I see you’re studying my family businesses. No need, I’ll tell you anything you need to know.”
Tammy felt embarrassed and looked over at Sally, who quickly tucked her graying blonde hair around her ears as she motioned toward the door. “Why don’t I give you a tour of the building while Tammy cleans up these papers.”
Tammy looked at Sally, her forehead creased. She was Sally’s successor and should be included in the conversations. Sally didn’t look over at Tammy, keeping her eyes securely focused on Zeke. Tipping his head slightly toward Sally, he looked at Tammy. “What’s your position here, Tammy?”
Smiling quickly, Tammy folded her hands together in front of her. “I’m Sally’s assistant and working to become her successor when she retires in a couple of months.”
Sally’s quick intake of breath caused Tammy to look at her. “Well not retire per se, but I was intending to travel for a few years.” Looking Zeke in the eye her smile quivered.
Tammy frowned and looked at the floor. Sally had never mentioned traveling. Though she was young to retire, she’d saved like a demon after her husband died and said she wanted to retire at fifty years old, which was in January, two months away.
Zeke, noticing the change in the room, gracefully slid both hands in the front pockets of his impeccably tailored suit trousers. Firmly but quietly he said, “Tammy should join us if she’s to be the director next year.”
Sally briskly walked toward the door with a rushed, “Of course.”
Zeke turned to the side and motioned to Tammy to walk before him out the door. Tammy smiled as she walked toward the door, desperately wanting Sally to look at her. This sudden change in mood was downright mind-boggling.
Touring the home Tammy felt like an outsider. Sally spoke only to Zeke and only made eye contact with Zeke. She was actually making an ass out of herself at the way she behaved towards him. Clearly she was thinking like a woman and not like the director of this home. Her interests in Zeke seemed personal in nature. Pathetic.
Stopping outside of the activities room Sally motioned with her hand, “Oh, and this is the activities room, but I think they have a counseling session going on in there, so we don’t have to disturb them.”
She turned to walk away when Zeke’s deep voice stopped her in her tracks. “I’d like to see it if you don’t mind.” Turning to Tammy he said, “Tammy, why don’t you show me the activities room?”
Working to hide the surprise on her face, Tammy nodded once and stepped forward to open the door to step inside. Three veterans were sitting at a table having coffee and talking. They all looked up and waved. “Tammy, look at this.” Donald, the oldest of the three said pointing to a picture lying on the table top.
Smiling brightly Tammy walked over to look at the old photograph of a soldier from long ago. “Wow. Who’s this, Donald?”
“That’s my brother, Dennis. This was taken during the Korean War in 1951. He served with the 352nd Communications Recon, Army Security Agency. My daughter found this picture while going through some boxes in the attic.”
Tammy picked up the picture and studied it closely. She smiled as she set the picture on the table and looked at Donald. “I see the resemblance but he isn’t as handsome as you are.”
Donald laughed and pointed to the two men sitting at his table. “I told you she liked me better than you two old cusses.”
“She’s just being nice, Don. Don’t get all full of yourself,” one of the others said.
“Tammy, can you paint him on the wall?” Donald asked pointing to the mural.
Sally’s quick intake of breath caught Zeke’s attention. He looked over at Sally and then to the wall Donald had pointed to. His brows rose as he studied the mural. Sally quickly said, “Well, if you’ll follow me I’d like to show you the nurse’s area in the back, we don’t need to linger in here.”
Tammy’s spine grew rigid as she watched Sally try to ignore all she’d painted on that wall. These men sitting here found that wall a comfort. How dare she belittle what it signified to them? Zeke walked toward the wall across the room, studying the painting. He knelt and studied some of the faces of the soldiers painted there. After long moments he stood back and studied further. Sliding his hands in his front pockets he turned and locked his eyes on Tammy. “You painted this?”
Tammy wasn’t sure how to answer. Of course she painted it, but Sally clearly didn’t want this to be a focus of this tour. When she didn’t immediately respond, Donald spoke for her. ”Damn right she did. We come in here and sit and help her with it. We’ve given her pictures and told her our stories so she can paint those scenes.”
Donald smiled up at Tammy. “Damn good job she did, too.” The others nodded in unison. Tammy cheeks flushed bright red at the praise. She watched the grimace form on Sally’s face. Then she noticed Zeke’s mouth twitch at the corner slightly. He looked at the mural again, seemingly disturbed and proud at the same ti
me. Hard to describe.
“It’s a beautiful mural. You’ve done a fabulous job with it. What’s going on the far side?”
Tammy swallowed while flicking her gaze to Sally then back to Zeke. “I’m going to paint this current war in that section.”
Zeke studied her face. It didn’t even seem as though he blinked. Feeling nervous Tammy balled her fists at her side which caught Zeke’s attention. He watched as she relaxed her fists and then his eyes slowly caressed her body as he dragged them up to her eyes. Tammy could barely breathe. That was a blatant sexual overture if she’d ever seen one. The man simply exuded sex.
CHAPTER 16
“HEY, SEXY, how’s your day going with Mr. Moneybags?” Tammy smiled as she heard Danny’s voice.
“It’s probably the most stressful day I’ve ever had here. Mr. Hamilton is very intimidating and Sally’s behavior is just weird. She’s clearly attracted to him, but she’s trying to leave me out of every conversation and ignores anything I have to say. She’d be happy if I begged off dinner tonight, but, frankly, I’m afraid to do that. I don’t know what she’ll say when I’m not there.”
“For what it’s worth, I would be thrilled if you begged off for dinner tonight. I’d like you to myself.”
Smiling, Tammy leaned back into her desk chair. “I’d like that too. Hopefully tomorrow. I don’t know how late it’ll be tonight. Hopefully not too late, not sure how much more of this tension I can handle.”
“Okay, I’ll wait until tomorrow, but I’ll be thinking of you non-stop until then.”
Oh, the man simply made her tummy quiver. Her smile growing larger, she said, “Me, too” while tucking her hair behind her ears. “How did your meeting with Dog go today?”
“Well, you’re speaking to the new Parts Manager of Rolling Thunder Motorcycles. Ricky and Bear are still there, but neither of them wants the manager’s role, so that’s me.”
“That’s awesome, Danny. Congratulations. I can’t wait to celebrate in person with you.”
“Me, too. I start tomorrow since I don’t have to give notice anywhere. It’ll help me pass the time until I can see you again.”
“How should we celebrate? Did you want me to cook?”
“Nope. I want to take you out like I promised last week. We never went on our date.”
“That’s right, dinner and pool.” Tammy began twirling her hair around her finger.
Heaving out a heavy breath, Danny said, “I can’t wait to see you, Tammy. I’m hard as rock thinking about it.”
The rapid flush rushing up her body as his raspy voice crooned into her ear hit Tammy hard. Her nipples puckered and the instant moisture between her legs made her squirm in her seat. Softly she said, “Danny.” Nothing else would come out.
That feeling you get when someone’s watching you floated over Tammy. She looked up and saw Zeke lounging in the doorway to her office. Straightening quickly, eyes locked on his, Tammy said, “I have to go, Danny. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Danny said before the line went dead. Rubbing his hardening penis through his jeans Danny, huffed out a breath as he set his phone on the table next to his recliner. Woman had him all knotted up. And horny, she had him horny as hell.
“Looks like I interrupted some phone sex.” Zeke smirked.
“No you didn’t. I don’t…I’ve never…” Clearing her throat Tammy swirled her hair around her ear and stood. “I was just talking to my boyfriend.”
Tammy fidgeted as Zeke made his thoughts clear, raking his eyes down her body once more and sensually sliding them back up,.
Sally walked out of her office and watched as Zeke mentally fucked Tammy and straightened her spine while clearing her throat. “Would you like to discuss anything further Mr.…Zeke?”
Removing himself from the doorjamb he’d been lounging against, Zeke stood and walked the few steps toward Sally. “Yes, as a matter of fact I would. I would like both you and Tammy to go over the financials and show me where the issues are. Then, we’ll have dinner at the Washington, where my brother Isaiah will be joining us.”
The drive over to the Washington, an upscale restaurant in downtown Green Bay was the first time in hours Tammy had been able to relax. She had to fight the urge to turn her car toward Danny’s house. Zeke Hamilton made her nervous and had eye-fucked her all afternoon. Sally was incensed that he didn’t pay that same attention to her.
Picking up her phone at a stop light, she swiped her thumb across her phone and located Danny’s picture. Smiling wide, she tapped his nose and put her phone on speaker, waiting for him to pick up.
“Hey, beautiful, on your way to dinner or did you change your mind?”
“Ugh, I’d love to change my mind, but I can’t. Just wanted to hear your voice before I suffer through a couple more hours of this slow torture. How was your day?”
Chuckling he said, “My day was good. I met with my counselor this afternoon and I want to come to Stateside and speak with the veterans there. Is that still good with you?”
“Oh, Danny, that would be fabulous.”
Chuckling into her ear he said, “I’m happy you approve. Who do I line that up with?”
“I can help you with that. You just need to tell me when your schedule will allow it and I’ll set it all up.” For the first time all day, Tammy’s mood lightened.
“Okay. How about I look at my schedule and tomorrow night after I’ve had my way with you, we can discuss it, ‘cause for the life of me, I can’t concentrate on anything else but you right now.”
Tammy’s heart beat rivaled the wild beat of the AC/DC song playing on her radio, fast, hard and pounding. “Stop it. You’ll have me walking into a dinner meeting with wet panties and hard nipples.”
Listening to him groan through the phone indeed made her panties moist. She pulled into a parking space, throwing her car into park. She started to perspire and the thoughts racing through her mind right now were definitely carnal.
“Geez darlin’, what you do to me is sinful. Come over after dinner, I can’t wait.”
CHAPTER 17
“AH, THERE SHE IS.”
Tammy heard this as she walked into the bar area of the Washington. Seeing Sally, Zeke and another man, who looked like Zeke, Tammy walked toward them while letting out a slow, soothing breath.
Zeke stood and motioned for her to join them as the other man, presumably Isaiah, also stood. “Ms. Tammy Davis, meet my brother, Isaiah Hamilton. Isaiah, Tammy Davis.”
As Tammy shook Isaiah’s hand, she noted the smirk on his lips as his gaze bored into hers. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hamilton.”
Isaiah laughed. “Isaiah, please.”
Tammy nodded and looked at Sally, deciding to throw her a bone and change the atmosphere from earlier, Tammy smiled at her. “As usual, Sally, you look beautiful.” She’d changed into a beautiful cocktail dress and was wearing heels. A new look for her. Tammy felt a bit uncomfortable still wearing the same black and tan dress she’d worn all day; there simply was no time to change. She wondered when Sally found the time.
Sally actually preened. “Thank you, Tammy.”
Of course, there was no in-kind offering of platitude. Oh well. A waitress appeared and Tammy ordered a glass of Riesling as she removed her jacket.
“Tammy, we were just discussing some of the issues at Stateside with Isaiah. We’ve heard very little today on your ideas, and as I understand you’ll be taking over the directorship from Sally early next year, Isaiah and I are both interested in your thoughts.”
Trying to hide her surprise and at the same time, calculate the danger in entering into this conversation, Tammy sipped the wine that was just placed before her. Licking the sweet taste from her lips, she said, “Until recently, we weren’t having financial issues. Unfortunately, Stateside is just another casualty of the recent government budget cuts, which seem to happen all too regularly to veteran related initiatives. Once the government is finished with its soldiers and Marines, it seems
to be more than willing to wash its hands of the fact that these men and women risked life and limb to protect what the very politicians, who readily cut them out of their budgets, hold so dear. It’s a grand idea to support veteran causes while running for office, but, once elected, it seems as though the usefulness of the cause is no longer valid.”
Isaiah raised his eyebrows, while Zeke narrowed his eyes. Sally sat stone silent, surprise registering on her face.
“So, you’re a true supporter of veterans’ rights are you?” Zeke all but growled.
“Yes, I’m a staunch supporter of veterans’ rights. Until you spend day after day with the men and women who’ve fought at great risk, I think it’s hard to understand. The bureaucrats who thought nothing of cutting our funding never even came to Stateside to see what we do there. Not a phone interview, not a request for budgets, nothing.”
Isaiah started laughing. “Wow, you’re a spirited little thing aren’t you?”
Zeke sat in stony silence as Sally seemed to fume. Setting her wine glass on the table, Sally jumped into the fray. “You’ll have to excuse Tammy’s exuberance in this area; her boyfriend is a disabled veteran.”
Tammy’s narrowed eyes focused on Sally, her lip curled. “He’s not a label. He’s an amputee, but willing and able to work and is a contributing member of society. While you so quickly want to label him or anyone else as disabled, please remember what he’s given up for you and yours.”
Sally blanched. Tammy’s breathing was rapid, her nails digging into her tightly-curled fist. It was simply too much. A whole day of this crap was more than she could tolerate. If she lost her job, so be it. Sally’s sudden change in demeanor because of a wealthy pretty face was a hard enough blow. But no one was going to dis Danny or anyone else she loved and get away with it. Tammy’s spine straightened. She stared at the slightly beige color of the wine and the simple shape of the glass it was in.
Isaiah chuckled. “Nothing wrong with being passionate about your job.” Taking a drink, he set his glass on the coaster before him and said, “Or those you love.”