Chapter 7: Jack’s plan

Jack

Wednesday morning comes and I am up early. I fed the horses, ate a quick breakfast, and was on my way to the equipment shed when I saw the girls driving up. It is going to be a hot day today so I expect they will be laying out by the pool later. I love the way they put clean sheets on the bed and kissed the pillowcase. I have slept smelling their perfume the last two nights. I am in love.

I tell two guys to clean that muddy backhoe, two more I sent out to check the fencing, two more were sent to check the herd. The cows are starting to calve, and I don’t want any problems. Around noon I go back up to the house and find the girls laying out by the pool just as I thought. I come in through the den and go into the kitchen and watch them for a few minutes without them seeing me. They are truly beautiful. They see me watching them and they put their tops back on and come to the door to kiss me. Not as passionate as last night but really good.

They say lunch is ready and for me to get cleaned up. It will be served out by the pool. As I come back from the bathroom, I see lunch is on the table. It is chicken salad sandwiches served with potato chips and iced tea. We talked about the farm and the cattle for a few minutes as we ate, then I told them I needed to get back to work. I mentioned that I have a couple of guys working on a special project for me and I want to make sure it gets finished today. They do not ask what my special project is and I do not volunteer to tell them. As I leave to go back to work, they tell me they want me to heat up that leftover spaghetti tonight. It needs to be eaten and there is enough for my supper. I worked until about 6pm and when I came back to the house the girls had left. My project is all finished and my plan is in motion. I heat up the spaghetti, drink a couple of glasses of wine and watch a little tv. I go to bed and find clean sheets and lipstick on my pillow. My bed smells just like the girls. I really do love them. I hope this all works out.

THURSDAY

Ginger

OK. Before you ask, YES, we did it again in his bed before we left yesterday! That is so naughty!

As Becky and I drove up to the side door of the house the next morning, Jack came out and walked over to the driver’s side of the car. He said hello and then asked what time I would be back this afternoon.

“I should be back about one or one thirty.”

He said he needed to talk to us both, together. I began to worry. What does he want to talk to us about? All through my classes that morning I could not concentrate on anything else! I did not waste any time talking to anyone after my last class. I rushed home and arrived a little before one.

I found Becky and Jack sitting at the kitchen table drinking iced tea and talking. It did not look like anything is terribly wrong, but you never know. Becky asked if I wanted some lunch and I said, “No. I want to get this talk out of the way.”

Jack motioned for me to sit and I sat down next to Becky. He started talking about how he has really enjoyed being around us these last 2 weeks. He said he loves Becky’s cooking and he feels better about the payroll and the taxes. But he wants to make some changes.

Oh no! Here it comes! He is about to ruin everything we have planned!

He said he has a three-part plan and we have to agree to all three parts. If we do not agree to all three then we will have to work out something else. Becky is squeezing my hand under the table. We are both so nervous we are about to cry.

Jack noticed and said, “Girls calm down. I am sure you will like what I have planned.”

“Part 1. As I see it you girls have three problems. First, I need to start paying you for all the work you are doing around here. Ginger, I know after you graduate you plan on working for the sheriff. That will be a dead-end job. You will be the lowest paid employee on the county payroll.

Becky, you want to go back to the City Café and start cooking and waiting tables. That is also a waste of your time.

What I am offering here is: Ginger, you take over running my business. You do all the accounting, marketing and scheduling for the company. You just tell me where to go and what to do and I will handle the men and the equipment. Becky, you run this house. You plan the meals, buy the groceries and take care of everything else around here. For that, I am going to pay you $300 a week.”

That’s when I opened my big mouth.

“Jack, you can’t afford to take $300 a week out of the company to pay us. You will be bankrupt in 3 months or less.”

“I am not paying $300 for both of you. I am paying you each $300 a week!” “You really can’t afford that.” I shouted.

He looks frustrated and told us to sit still; he would be right back. He pushed his chair back and almost ran upstairs. He was back in a couple of minutes carrying a large brown envelope full of papers. I have never seen this before. “I did not want to have to bring this up right now, but since you know so much about my business, and you are doing my taxes, I guess you should know about this also.

Becky, your dad and my dad were friends all their lives. Your dad is an insurance salesman, and he was damn good at selling my dad on the need to be insured. A couple of weeks after the accident your dad brought me this.”

He handed Becky a copy of a letter with a copy of a check attached. The letter explained how since the deaths were the cause of an accident, the policies on his father, his mother and his sisters all paid double. The check was for $700,000. Jack saw the astonished look on our faces and knew neither of us had any idea of this. Mr. Poff never said a word about it to us. I guess he just thought it was not anybody’s business but Jack’s and if he wanted anyone to know about the money he would tell them.

Jack is not finished. He reached into the envelope and pulled out another stack of papers.

“The day of the funeral Lois Griffin, my attorney, asked me to stop by her office as soon as I could. On my way to the hospital a couple of days later I stopped in. She had me sign a power of attorney so she could handle a lawsuit she wanted to file on my behalf against the trucking company and others that caused the accident. I did not hear anything else from her about this until this past March. Then she sent me this.”

He handed me a settlement letter where they had agreed to settle with Jack for $10,000,000!!! Then there was an attorney settlement letter. Normally an attorney would charge 40%, but Lois had worked for 25% and expenses. Jack’s check was for a little over $7,300,000!! Jack had over $8,000,000 in an account at Merrill, Lynch. Becky said, “You’re a millionaire!”

I corrected her and said, “No he is a multi-millionaire.”

“If I want to pay my business manager and housekeeper $600 a week, my accountant should not have a problem with it. Agreed?!!”

I agreed and he continued as we just sat there stunned. Now I know what Lois meant when she said he is the most desirable man in the state.

“Part 2. When dad had that accident, he was driving his car. Mom and Sissy (Jack’s oldest sister) had their own cars and when I came home, I stored them in a garage at the equipment shed. Yesterday I had my mechanics uncover them and detail them for me. They changed all the fluids and charged up the batteries. I called your dad, Becky, and had the insurance on them reinstated with both of you listed as the principal drivers. All that I need to do is to get to the county clerk’s office in the morning and pick up new tags and then you girls can stop borrowing your mothers’ cars to come out here. Oh! Before I forget, here is a gas credit card, use it to put gas in the cars when they need it. Mom’s car is a Chevy Impala and Sissy’s is a hard-top Jeep. The Jeep has a manual transmission. Is that a problem?”