Chapter 1

As he exited his car at the country's club parking lot, Vic Jensen knew it was going to be a hot day. The temperature already was 75 and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Sunny skies were the prediction with only a ten percent chance of rain.

Vic was at his club to play golf in the club's annual four person best ball net golf tournament. This was a tournament where after all the members who wanted to participate and have signed up to play are divided into four classes based on their golf indexes. Names are randomly drawn from each class as to which golfers will comprise the foursomes. It was a way for the new club members to meet other club members and become more comfortable with their club membership.

Vic had been a member of the club for twenty two years. He enjoyed this format since it was more social golf rather than serious golf although you couldn't tell that by how some of the members acted.

Vic had been divorced for twenty four years and was fifty six years old. He had retired from work last year, when the company he worked for had made an offer of early retirement to the older employees. The offer consisted of a beefed-up amount contributed to his pension with no discount applied because of his young age. Group health insurance was offered to those who accepted the retirement offer at the active employee rate. Couple that with his 401K, some stocks he had been successful in investing, and an inheritance from his parents which included 120 acres of land, some of which the State wanted to build a new prison on, all combined to put him in an enviable financial position.

He had put a large amount of his funds into the stock market and enjoyed managing the investments. He watched the total market value of his investments increase in value, despite now taking out some of his living expenses from them. A few of his friends had told him that he was too young to retire at fifty five, but he responded that "It was time to smell the roses."

Taking a look at the foursomes that had been posted for this tournament enable Vic to make a prediction as to whom the winners would be. It wasn't going to be Vic's foursome, but he thought that they wouldn't finish last either. His foursome consisted of Jim Cummings, John Meyers, and Jill Gregory. Vic knew the two fellows and had golfed with them a few times. He also knew Jill, who he had met through her husband Bill, a man he considered to be a friend. Bill was a super guy who unfortunately had succumbed to lung cancer and had passed away about three years ago. The word among Vic's acquaintances was that Jill was having a hard time getting pass her tragic loss.

Vic had thought that Jill was one of the more attractive and classy ladies among the club's members. She was just shy of fifty years of age, about five foot seven inches tall and somewhat on the thin side, with short dark hair. He knew from what Bill had said that she was no shrinking violet and that she spoke her mind when something bothered her. Bill had warned Vic that she usually had a nice personality and was easy to talk to, but you wouldn't want to get on her bad side. Bill had said that she could be a pistol if the need arose.

Checking the list as to which hole his foursome would start play on with this shotgun start, enabled Vic to find the golf cart where his golf bag had been placed. The other golf bag on the cart was a lady's golf bag, which had him assumed he would be riding with Jill. He was correct in this assumption because as he was applying some sun tan lotion, he saw Jill walking to the golf cart. Her attractiveness was pleasing to his eyes and he thought he would enjoy riding in the golf cart with her.

"I see where we are riding together today, I hope you don't mind riding with me?"

"Jill, given a choice of riding with Jim who wants to talk golf all the time, and John who constantly has a cigar in his mouth, I am blessed that I am riding with a smart and attractive lady."

"Oh Vic, you know how to make a girl feel good about herself."

"In looking at the foursomes I don't think we are going to win any trophies today, so let's just have a good time and enjoy ourselves."

They continued to get themselves ready to play golf as were a number of other participants who were gathered around the assembled golf carts.

Jill said, "Take a look at Cindy over there, what do you think about what she is wearing?"

Vic looked and saw that Cindy, who was in her early forties and was wearing what appeared at first glance, to be a very short white miniskirt that was at the very top of her thighs.

He said, "I hope that's a skort instead of a mini-skirt. If it is there are shorts under that skirt, so it is not as bad as it looks. Her modesty will be protected but I will say that, as a man, I can appreciate the nice figure she has. She certainly does have nice legs."

"Yes, she does have a nice figure, but that skirt is just too short even if it is a skort."

Vic could see that Jill was also wearing what he assumed was a skort, but it came down to her mid-thighs and was more respectable wear for ladies her age. He also noticed that Jill had nice legs as well.

The announcement for all the golfers to get into their carts and ride out to their starting holes for the tournament came over a loudspeaker. They followed the line of carts out on to the golf course and stopped when they were at the hole they were assigned to tee off from.

During the round Vic enjoyed talking with Jill. She was very pleasant and apparently well-educated based on how she spoke and her use of words. He had a chance to further observe her physical appearance. Maybe it was the cut of the skort, but from what he could see, she had a small butt with some very nice calves and ankles. What was a little surprising was that when the wind blew against the loose white blouse she was wearing, it showed that her breasts were larger than what he would expect because of her thin frame. Maybe it was the bra she was wearing, but they each appeared to be a more than an ample handful.

They talked about many things during the round of golf. One thing that Vic asked her was how she was doing financially.

"I still work at the clinic two days a week. Walsh Realty manages the two apartment buildings I own which keeps me from being involved too much with the buildings or the renters. The investments we had are handled by a broker that Bill knew and that is one area I wish I knew more about. I just don't have the time or the knowledge to handle the investments."

"Well, you know no one is going to care more about your monies than you. You do need to make sure that the broker is doing right by you. If you feel you can't do it, then you should have someone review your investments and give you an opinion of how your broker is doing."

"Who can I have do that?"

"Well, I do my own investing, but if you were to ask your lady friends I am sure they could recommend someone who is in the business and can do that."

"Thanks, I will do that."

They ended the round with a team score of seven under par. The winning team was sixteen under par. After a few drinks in the clubhouse, it was time for Vic to say his goodbyes.

On the drive back to his condo Vic thought about Jill. She was a nice lady who had been dealt a bad hand. She certainly was pleasant and interesting company. It wasn't that he was looking to date her as he already had a woman that he dated fairly regularly. It was well, just pleasant to be in her company. He hoped things would work out for her.

About two weeks after he had played in that golf tournament he heard his phone ring at home. Vic answered his phone and heard, "Hi Vic, its Jill Gregory."

"Hi yourself, what do I owe this phone call to?"

"Remember when we talked on the course about my investments? I haven't been able to find someone who I would feel comfortable in reviewing my portfolio and commenting on how my broker is doing. I know if I go to another broker and ask for a review he is going to want me to transfer my account to him for his handling. I wouldn't want to transfer my account if my present broker is handling it correctly. I would however like someone to give me a second opinion on his performance. I am wondering if you would be so kind as to do that for me."

"Jill, are you sure you want me to do that? I am not a registered investment advisor. Your financials are a personal matter. Are you sure you want to share them with me?"

"I have thought about it and I know you were friends with Bill. I would think that you would keep what you see confidential. I really would appreciate you doing a review."

"If that's what you want I will do it, but understand that my opinion is only an opinion. You can take it or leave it. When do you want to do this and do you have all the month end brokerage statements?"

"Yes I do, Mondays and Wednesdays are out, because I work then. Thursday or Friday at noon at my house would be fine."

"I will be over Thursday."

At the agreed time, Vic pressed the doorbell button at Jill's home. She answered the door and seemed to be in good spirits. Vic noticed that she was wearing a light blue blouse and a checkered skort much like the one she wore at the golf tournament. Jill thanked him for coming and asked him if he wanted anything to drink.

Vic passed on her offer by saying "Maybe later."

She showed him to a desk on which there was a notebook computer that was signed on to the net and she pointed out where the folders with the brokerage statements for the two accounts where. One of the accounts was an IRA, and the other account had been set up as a trust account. Vic told Jill to do what she had been doing and he would take a look at the statements. He wasn't sure how long this would take.

The first things Vic looked at were the year end statements. The statements reflected a nice increase in the value of the portfolios at the end of the year when compared to the beginning of the year which exceeded the S and P performance for that year. In going through the monthly statements, Vic saw that there wasn't much trading being done in the accounts. It seemed that the broker had a buy and hold philosophy. The specific investments pleasantly surprised Vic. The individual stocks and stock mutual funds were conservative and concentrated on the stocks that had a track record of increasing net income and increasing dividend payments. The income investments were in either insured municipal bonds or in individual bonds of established companies that were rated single A or better. There were also some diversified bond funds. Further income was generated from a smattering of REITs and a preferred stock ETF.

The allocation of stocks to income investments was an even split. In comparing the increases in values of both accounts to an established index balanced fund, Jill's performance beat the fund's performance. Vic had no quarrel with what the broker was doing in handling the accounts. There was no indication that he was churning the accounts or was making investments in loaded mutual funds with high expense ratios or 12b-1 fees. Overall, Jill was in good shape financially.

Vic went to find Jill and found her sitting on a couch in the family room reading a book. He told her of his findings and that he thought that with her wealth, she would not end up selling apples or anything else on a street corner which caused her to laugh. He thought the broker was doing a fine job in handling her investments.

"Who is this broker?"

"Ken Crawford, Bill met him when they were both going to school for their MBAs. We have gone out to dinner with him and his wife many times. We considered them to be close friends."

"The only thing I would suggest is that he needs to secure your approval before he buys or sells anything. When he does contact you, ask him why he is doing what he suggests. If what he is saying makes sense, agree to his suggestion. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is so don't let him do what he suggests. In that way you can learn vicariously about investing and your investments. I won't say it will happen, but there are a number of instances of investors who had invested with people they considered to be a friend only to find out later that they really weren't their friend. Those investors lost most of their money with these so called friends."

"The accounts are already set up that way and he does call me. I do know that when he calls that I sense he wants me to take that sort of an interest in my investments, but I haven't taken as much interest as I should. I will at your suggestion pay more attention. Can I phone you if I have some questions?"

"Yes you can, but again weigh what I or the broker says very carefully. You ultimately make the final decision."

Jill offered and Vic accepted a vodka and tonic. As they were sipping the drinks, Vic was looking around the family room and could see a number of photos of Jill and Bill. Jill noticed that Vic was looking at photos of her and Bill.

"I really do miss him. He was a good man and a fine husband. It is hard to get over his passing, but I am trying. I know he would want me to be happy. I miss his sense of humor but there is another thing I also miss."

"And what is that?"

"To tell it like it is... , I do miss getting laid. Bill was quite a lover and while we didn't go at it every night, we did do it quite often. I really do miss that."

Vic was in shock and he choked on his drink. He was coughing and had to put the glass down. He thought that was a lot of information that he didn't need to know. He wasn't sure of what to say or if he should say anything. He could see that Jill was looking at him waiting for him to give some sort of a response.