Taming Tami Ch 01

Jonathan Grant gazed out of his office window overlooking the Virginia Street Bridge, which was loaded with both foot and auto traffic. When furnishing his office, he had made sure to have the furniture arranged in such a way that the great view was available to him throughout his workday.

Phil Myers tapped on the doorframe to Jonathan's open office door rousing him from his reverie.

"Hey, Jonathan, can I see you for a second?"

"Sure Phil, what's up?"

"We may have a live one for a takeover. I want you and your team to put together a full report and presentation for the board." Phil stated as he handed Jonathan a manila folder.

"Rowe and Brookshire?" Jonathan said, scanning the first page. "Oh, okay, I've heard about their problems."

"The boss is going to want facts, figures and every angle covered."

"I'm sure he does," Jonathan imagined aloud. "What does the third floor have to say about this?"

"Rick thinks that Romine and Goldberg may take a stab at a buyout. Third floor said that you'd be able to get a better handle on it though, just like you did with Corbin."

Jonathan laughed at that. "That was a different situation, pal." He paused. "I'll get my team on it. Honestly, I feel that we've got a better shot than Romine and Goldberg. We have a lot more capital," Jonathan said with confidence.

"I concur," Phil stated.

"Okay, let me get to work on this," Jonathan said, sitting at his desk as Phil turned and left his office.

***************

Jonathan Grant's team had just finished their meeting in the conference room when Jonathan turned to see the tanned and slender legs of Tami Miller emerge from under the conference table as she swung them around to get up from her chair. If he was going to have an office affair, this was the woman he'd do it with. To him she was a stunning beauty in every conceivable way. Her five-foot-six-inch body looked sculpted, a body to die for. He could hardly believe that she had three kids at home with that body. At thirty-four Tami was one of those rare women who seemed to get better with age. She drew men into her orbit without having to bat an eye or even flash a smile. She was gorgeous, classy, friendly and hot all at the same time. She possessed a certain girl next door charm that really made her quite popular around the office.

Her voice matched her face, beautiful, musical. Her eyes seemed to twinkle. Her beautifully curved upper lip resting on a slightly bee-stung lower lip held the promise of sweet, delectable kisses. Her face was framed by shoulder length brown hair.

Jonathan found her undeniably sexy.

Tami was one of those women who gave off a certain wavelength of fuck-me vibrations. Many women in Jonathans experience did that, but that wavelength could only be picked up by certain men who were tuned to the right frequency, which, he believed, was determined by birth or accident or perhaps both, but not by choice. Some women didn't even realize that they were transmitting these vibes; Tami sure as hell didn't have a clue.

Tami was dressed conservatively, as always. The skirt she was wearing was a black mid-calf length and her white blouse was buttoned all the way up to her neck. Jonathan bet that beneath those clothes she had a beautiful body, but she never let it show. When she was at work she remained professional at all times.

Jonathan decided that he was going to find out more about Tami. He was going to get all of his facts together before he made a play for his sexy co-worker. He was one of those men who weren't put off by the prospect of failure. The chance for defeat was always there, but men such as he were of the type who see opportunities where others see danger.

First off, he thought as he watched Tami, he would have to deduce if her marriage was a good one or not. If she was happily married he would back off. He knew that he wouldn't be able to look at himself in the mirror if he broke up a happy marriage, even after his own marriage had dove into the shitter.

And since there were kids involved, he definitely didn't want to split up a marriage and put her kids through that particular hell.

No, he'd only make a move if her marriage was as bad as his.

He wouldn't use his status or power to draw her to him. He would make his play, but it would be her decision as to whether she'd reciprocate his advances, if he decided to make any advances toward her.

Tami walked over and sat down next to her boss, opening up a leather bound folder and extracting several financial statements.

"I've gathered all of those figures you requested, sir," she told him, a tentative smile on her face.

"Great. Hey, uh, Tami? Relax, okay?" She nodded. "And call me Jonathan," he instructed her with a friendly smile.

"Okay, Jonathan," she smiled back at him. He liked the way his name rolled off of her tongue.

"Now then, let's see those figures."

Having Tami sitting right beside him as they worked with the rest of the team gave Jonathan a warm feeling, right in his groin. He couldn't help it. Her small body, close to him, soft and round in all the right places had him thinking that if circumstances were different, he would happily have chased everyone from the conference room and locked the door, push all of the papers off of the table, and banged her brains out right then and there -- he was going to have to work on changing those circumstances.

She smiled and asked, "So, the Rowe situation looks to be under control...you don't think there could be a problem that creeps up, do you?"

Yeah. There could be a problem, he thought. You could find your skirt hiked up and your panties down around your ankles in about five seconds from now.

"No, not really. Obviously we've given Rowe a great offer but you always have to be careful of taking too much for granted. Until the deal is finalized we can't quit working it."

"Understood, sir...I mean, Jonathan," she corrected.

"You've done a great job today," he said, pushing his chair back, gathering his paperwork, preparing to leave.

Tami's glasses slid to the tip of her nose and she pushed them back up as she looked around the conference room. She leaned closer to him placing a hand on his jacket sleeve, looking at him, eyes wide behind her glasses. "Don't leave me alone in here with old man Crofton. He makes me nervous."

"Rick? He's harmless."

"He looks at me like he's undressing me. It's really unnerving."

"Really? I'll talk to him about that," he declared.

"I don't want to cause any waves. I mean, I'm new to the team and all..." Tami said, glancing down at her hands.

"Tami, he's the one causing the waves. Okay? I have to have everyone on my team performing at peak efficiency, and if you are nervous to be around another team member, well, that is unacceptable. Besides, what you described can be construed as sexual harassment."

She nodded at him.

He looked at her and for half a second her heart caught in her throat. She found him incredibly attractive. His intense gaze rattled her, because she saw yearning in his eyes. Or was she simply imagining it? It must have just been her imagination.

"Look, I've got to get back to my office and make a call. I'll have a talk with Rick when I'm finished with the call. Come by my office after lunch and I'll let you know how it went. Okay?"

She smiled at him. "Okay."

***************

Jonathan's personal office was in a corner on the fifth floor, and plush enough, with thick beige carpet. His desk was either mahogany or well-seasoned oak, Tami wasn't sure of which, but it was polished like glass, and probably cost more than she made in a year. Behind his desk was a credenza covered with the usual framed family photos.

When she entered the capacious room, he turned from where he'd been standing near the windows, gazing out at the street below. He had his suit jacket off, draped over the back of his desk chair. She'd heard that he didn't like to wear his suit jacket in his office.

"So, how do you like working on my team, Tami?"

"It's really a nice change of pace. I actually feel like I'm accomplishing something for a change. It's fun," she replied.

She did have a nice sultry voice, he decided as he subtly took in her body. She was wearing a simple white button-down blouse tucked neatly into her calf length black skirt. The cut of the skirt accented her small waist.

Her heartbeat did a little rat-a-tat-tat when his liquid blue gaze settled on her. She was really hoping that he wouldn't notice that her nipples had peaked. Since joining Jonathan's team Tami had noticed that her new boss liked to look at her. It wasn't that he'd blatantly stare at her, or that his glances over her body had been offensive. Quite the opposite. The way he'd casually raked his gaze over her -- more than once -- had aroused her.

"We're sort of the firewall for the firm. We're the ones who make sure that any deal that is made is a sound investment," he stated.

"I like the challenge. It keeps me on my toes," she replied.

Their eyes hooked and he tumbled right into them, the pull was extraordinary.

"I talked with Rick. He won't be a problem."

"Thank you," she smiled.

Jonathan felt as if his throat had constricted and he couldn't breathe. He could hear his heart pounding, and feel his face getting warm. God, he had never known that the smile on a woman's face could be so potent. He wanted Tami more than he ever wanted another woman.

"Look, Tami...I didn't ask you to come to my office just to tell you about Rick. There was something else I wanted to talk with you about."

"Okay," she answered, caution in her voice.

"You're doing a fantastic job; in fact, you've performed so well that I want you to make the presentation to the board on Friday morning."

Tami blinked. "I've never done anything like that before, made a presentation, an important presentation," she nervously replied.

"You'll be fine. I've been watching you, you work well under pressure."

"Well..."

"You'll be fine," he repeated. "You're the rising star on my team. I want you to start taking on more responsibility."

"I'd better start putting my presentation together then, I have less than a day and a half to prepare."

"Look. If I didn't think you could handle it I wouldn't ask you to do it. I have the upmost confidence in your abilities. You're a top notch analyst; you express your views and deliver you thoughts in a clear and concise manner. You're ready."

"Well, since you're building me up to be such a star, I'd better not let you down," Tami said, a vague look of amusement on her face -- the right side of her mouth was pulled up slightly -- but it changed quickly into a wide, knee-weakening smile.

"I don't believe for one minute that you'll let me down," he replied. "If you need anything, let me know."

He watched her eyes as she left the room. The expression was like that of a child who'd expected to be caught doing something naughty, but hadn't. He thought that the look seemed so misplaced on her angelic face, but he also realized that he'd like to find out just how naughty she could be.

Still smiling, she walked out of his office. His last sight of her as she rounded the corner was of her swaying hips.

***************

The bad weather came in overnight on Thursday in the form of a Canadian front. A dark wedge of clouds had piled in from the northwest. You could smell the cold. It wasn't a scent, exactly, but had something to do with the sense of smell: you turn your face to it, and your nose twitches, and you think winter.

The snow started as just a few flakes and gradually got heavier and continued to thicken though-out the night. By the time the storm wound down in the morning there was a blanket several inches thick of fresh snow covering the city.

Tami left for the office an hour earlier than she had planned to give herself extra time to navigate through the sloppy morning traffic. It only took her fifty minutes to reach her destination so she was left with seventy extra minutes to prepare for the presentation. When Jonathan tapped on her office door to walk her down to the conference room she was surprised. It felt like she'd just arrived.

They walked down the hallway, which seemed to Tami as if it stretched out into infinity, her heels echoing with each step.

Jonathan glanced at her. "I made sure that the images for your presentation are already in the computer and set up. Nervous?"

"Yes. I'm very nervous."

Jonathan stopped and turned to her. "Settle down. Take a couple of deep breaths. The CEO has read several of your reports and he's impressed with your work."

She took in a lungful of air and smiled weakly at Jonathan. "Okay."

"Ever meet the CEO?" His deep male voice asked as they started down the hallway again.

"No."

"He's a pretty good guy, pretty sharp, pays close attention to the information given during meetings. All in all you'll find that he's a pretty regular guy. Just be ready when he asks you questions. Don't let the sleepy look fool you. I think he uses that to fool board members."

"They fool easily?" Tami wondered.

That got a laugh. "Some of them."

Tami followed Jonathan down that hall to the elevators. Five minutes later, they were sitting in the firms' boardroom under the harsh glow of the overhead floresant lighting. The room consisted of a long mahogany table in the center with comfortable leather-cushioned chairs around it. There was a telephone, a pitcher of water, and a computer monitor with slide out keyboard underneath it at each station.

One wall consisted of large, plate glass windows overlooking the snow-covered wooded park outside. The other walls held large HD monitors. Tucked into a small alcove was a desk with two secretaries who were responsible for keeping the minutes for the meeting and for bringing up any necessary information on the monitors.

Jonathan noted that Tami appeared a little pale now; he remembered his own first time making a presentation to the board. It could be quite intimidating in this room due to the power that was wielded here.

The meeting was held at mid-morning. Everybody wore a suit. Even the women. Most of the board members had leather folders with yellow legal pads inside.

Tami glanced around the room and her eyes locked on one of the female members, eyeing her expensive, well cut clothing with envy. The woman's business suit was definitely designer and well tailored with a silky texture that was pleasing to the eye. Beautiful expensive clothes were something Tami would love to have but doubted she'd ever be able to afford. She continued watching as the well dressed woman sipped at her coffee and gazed out the plate glass window at the snow covered landscape beyond.

Tami thought back to the beginning of her morning as she'd rummaged through her closet to find something appropriate to wear for this big meeting. She had tried on three separate outfits, tossing each aside before she'd finally settled on the rusty-brown wool-blend suit, with a calf-length skirt that she'd purchased at J.C. Penny. It must be nice to have money enough for great clothes she thought to herself.

The CEO arrived a minute later. Everyone in the room looked up when he entered the room and watched him until he sat in his chair at the head of the table. He said a few quiet words to the woman in the expensive suit, then looked pointedly at Jonathan and Tami.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if we can bring this meeting to order. Mr. Grant's team has the proposal on the Rowe and Brookshire take-over."

Tami slowly stood, feeling every eye on her, appraising her. She took a sip of her water and proceeded with her presentation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Tami Miller. The subject matter that I will cover pertains to the possible take-over bid we may submit on Rowe and Brookshire," she began. "Before I get into the specifics it will be necessary for me to lay down a little groundwork. Please feel free to interrupt me with any questions you may have at any time during this presentation."

And so the meeting went. Tami performed remarkably well, leaving Jonathan to smile. After all of the information was disseminated and the last question asked Jonathan arranged for shuttle transportation and treated his team to lunch.

***************

After lunch, Tami stood and donned her coat, pulling knit gloves and a matching cap from the pockets.

"I need to get a little exercise after all of the food I just ate. I think I'll walk back to the office."

Rick Crofton began to move, but before he could speak, Jonathan said, "Mind if I join you?"

Tami shot him a thankful smile. "Sure, why not."

Jonathan put on his tan trench coat as Tami adjusted her cap and pulled on her gloves as they walked to the front of the restaurant.

Once they were outside she turned to Jonathan and said, "Thanks for talking to Rick. He really makes me nervous."

"Rick makes me nervous," he laughed, "and you're welcome."

After closing the door they walked down the sidewalk together. The sun was warm and bright reflecting off of the fresh snow, but the wind was cold.

"I really have to exercise a lot when I cheat on my diet," she stated, making small talk.

"Worried about your figure?" Jonathan asked a humorous twinkle in his eye.

"As a matter of fact, I am. I've got ten, maybe fifteen pounds I should lose but just can't seem to do it."

"You don't need to lose them, you're perfect just the way you are."

"I'm far from perfect," she protested.

"That's a matter of opinion."

Tami laughed, loving him for telling her such sweet lies.

They strolled peacefully, not talking for awhile, enjoying the crisp fresh air and each other's company.

"My brother has fifty-two acres on a lake down state," he said, ending the silence. "I love to go down there and just walk through the woods on days like this."

She looked up at him, smiling. "Days like this are wonderful. When I was a little girl my father would go for long walks in the country with me."

"I used to try to get my wife to go on walks with me, but she wouldn't do it. She said that the woods were no place for a lady." He laughed and said, "Things like that, it makes me wonder why I married her. We're so opposite."

Surprised by his personal confession, Tami stopped dead in her tracks. "Your wife sounds a lot like my husband. He never wants to do anything that I find interesting. I'm very lucky that my children share many of my interests, so I guess I'm fortunate when it comes to family. Sometimes I wish..." Don't go there, she thought, you don't want to get to personal with your boss.

"What do you wish?" He asked.

"Nothing. It's silly." Tami's expression changed. For the first time, Jonathan saw the sadness that she kept hidden beneath her smile and the longing in her eyes.

"A wish, a dream that you hold is not silly. So what is it?"

Tami laughed. "Okay, but its woman stuff. I want a husband who cares about me. Someone who puts me at the center of their universe. I want to know what that is like. I want to be the movie star instead of the character or supporting actress."

"That's not a silly wish."

"Yes it is. It's not reality," she said. "My husband treats me like a piece of furniture and that's typical for a couple who've been married as long as we have, as far as I know."

"You shouldn't have to settle with being treated like that. I wouldn't tolerate it. In fact, that's kind of along the lines of why I separated from my wife and we're exploring a divorce."

"I couldn't do that, divorce I mean. I owe it to my kids to try to make things work," Tami replied.

Jonathan frowned. "Not that you're asking for my advice, but don't you think you owe it to your kids to be happy? If you're in a miserable relationship then you're living a miserable life and that general unhappiness radiates from you and your kids can pick up on those vibes. I know my kids picked up on it. My daughter told me that she was glad that I split from her mother, she said that she couldn't ever remember seeing me more relaxed and enjoying life."