James Ross - A Character-Based Collection (Prairie Winds Golf Course)

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James Ross - A Character-Based Collection (Prairie Winds Golf Course) Page 21

by James Ross


  On the wall opposite the pile of weapons hung a six by six foot Swastika. The Nazi flag stunned J Dub. It seemed that the references that Lew had made to Hitler in the past carried a little more substance after seeing what was draped on the dark paneling. “What the heck are you into?” he asked.

  “Oh, don’t pay any attention to that. It’s just a little hobby of mine,” Lew said as he brushed aside the question. “Come on down to my lower level.”

  J Dub stumbled down the stairs and entered a dimly lit bar area. The dark, walnut paneling on the walls added to the creepy atmosphere. The macabre setting sent chills down J Dub’s spine. The darkness reminded him of death. Lew didn’t bother to increase the light in the room and the bar remained dark. The air was stagnant. As J Dub pulled up a stool, Lew offered him a soft drink.

  Lew could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. He was a skilled manipulator and effectively disguised his true agenda. The bait had been set in the trap earlier that day. “You know J Dub,” Lew started. “I’ve been looking back on a lot of things that have happened in my life and I’ve come to the conclusion that I am not any good at handling the people part of this business.”

  “I think that we all have realized that for a while,” J Dub agreed.

  “You and Julie have done such a great job of running my business over the years.”

  “Well, thanks. We’ve tried, but it hasn’t come without a lot of hard work,” J Dub conceded.

  “It originally hurt my feelings when the two of you didn’t want me around there,” Lew explained as he watched J Dub’s reaction closely.

  J Dub didn’t necessarily buy into that statement. He knew that Lew had other things going on and had always treated the golf course like it was a secondary investment in his life. “We realized early on that your interests weren’t in being a ‘hands on’ type of partner. Plus, you didn’t know much about golf and let’s just say that customer service isn’t your strong suit. That’s the reason you brought me into the picture.” J Dub’s bluntness surprised even himself, yet, he knew he was speaking the truth.

  “Deep down, I always knew that you were right. I knew that from a long range perspective you needed me to stay away from the customers,” Lew admitted.

  “It’s no secret. We’ve always known that it is probably good if you just stayed away,” J Dub replied.

  There was a momentary pause and Lew asked, “How about forever?” J Dub had no idea what Lew was referencing. “I’m tired of all the BS,” Lew confided.

  “What are you getting at?” J Dub asked as he studied his partner. “What you’re saying is nothing new. You never did care much for golf and all of the camaraderie it provided,” J Dub confessed. He raised his drink and took a sip.

  Out of the blue Lew blurted, “Give me five million and it’s yours.”

  J Dub choked on the drink and spit the beverage across the bar. After all of the years as business partners the news that Lew wanted to finally sell the business to J Dub came as a big surprise. As Lew scurried for a towel, J Dub continued. “Five million dollars? Are you nuts?”

  “It’s time for our buy/sell agreement to kick in,” Lew said.

  “The business can’t be worth that. Is that your pie-in-the-sky offer or something?” J Dub asked skeptically.

  “That’s a helluva deal for you and your family,” Lew pleaded.

  “ . . . Maybe for you! Give me some time to sort through some things,” J Dub said. “There is no way the course is worth that much money. Not to mention all the work I have put into it. That should be considered too. I’ve gotta think this through.” He looked Lew in the eye, got up, and left. J Dub wasn’t sure if Lew wanted to sell him the business or make a good deal for himself. It was hard to tell whether or not Lew had something else up his sleeve, or genuinely wanted to move on with his life.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The first order of business for J Dub was to break the news to Marcia. Finally, after all of these years, the time was near to break away from Lew and get on with their lives. He thought that the perfect time to tell Marcia was, casually, over dinner. J Dub wanted his brother, Curt, to be there also. Curt had been so instrumental in helping the two of them get started. J Dub thought that it would be appropriate for Curt to hear the news at the same time as Marcia.

  He fired up the barbecue grill the next evening. He felt at home when the barbecue grill was throwing off smoke and the flavor of the charcoal was permeating the air. Grilling hamburgers made him feel as comfortable as the driving range. Both places were where J Dub could truly relax.

  The three children were playing in the backyard, well away from any conversation that was about to ensue. Marcia placed a tablecloth on the picnic table. Curt searched the cooler for a beer.

  “Curt, Marcia, he’s ready to sell,” J Dub blurted out. It had been twenty-four hours since Lew had broken the news to him. He couldn’t hold back his excitement anymore. Marcia ran to hug her husband. She had been wanting for her husband to distance himself from Lew for years. Curt rushed to shake his brothers’ hand.

  “It’s what we’ve always dreamed about,” J Dub declared.

  The news hit Marcia hard after the initial shock. She stopped celebrating and cried. “Now I’ll never see you.”

  In a way she was right. If J Dub put in a lot of hours now, then the recent news would mean that her husband would be responsible for running the business during every daylight hour. Of course, he was pretty much doing that now anyway. “Sure you will,” J Dub replied. “We’ll hire someone to help with the hours.”

  Marcia kissed her husband on the forehead. She said, “I’ve always thought that you were in way over your head with that guy.”

  “I learned a long time ago to just let him have his way. Then I could normally get what I wanted from him,” J Dub stated. He felt as if all of the years of playing his cards right were now going to pay handsome gains.

  “I haven’t trusted him for years and I’ll be glad when he stops lording over you” Marcia declared.

  “Get the financial statements and tax returns. I’ll help you out,” Curt offered. Curt had been involved in real estate financing for a number of years and was comfortable providing advice to his younger brother.

  There’s something about that guy that I don’t trust,” Marcia reiterated.

  “I know what you mean, Marcia. We all can see it at the golf course,” Curt added. “None of the guys take him too seriously.”

  “Everything will be fine,” J Dub stated in a reassuring tone, purposely leaving out the price tag that Lew wanted for the place. He had decided to let Curt take a look at the returns and financial statements and deal with the issue then.

  “Yeah, right. I’ll believe that when I’m signing papers at the closing table,” Marcia said cynically. “I’m going to have to see it to believe it.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Unbeknownst to J Dub, another force was hard at work. The Morton heirs, Lucille and Matt, behind the guidance of their new, aggressive lawyer Dennis Sneed, had begun their own investigation into the affairs of Lew Zerrmann. They felt like they had been defrauded nearly fifteen years earlier. Perhaps Marcia’s words were a foreshadowing of events to come.

  Even though the government couldn’t find enough evidence to try and convict Lew Zerrmann and his associates in a criminal proceeding, the heirs and Denny Sneed felt as if they could muster enough support to get a case heard in civil court. One main obstacle stood in the way for them. It was not a small problem either. It was the death of Margaret Morton, who had died shortly after signing the tax form in Walter Hancock’s office.

  ~ ~ ~

  Everyday life continued at a snail’s pace at the golf course. J Dub was naturally excited at the opportunity to finally purchase it. His enthusiasm was bubbling over. A day or two later, the boys were at their back table playing backgammon and gin. Some golfers had just paid and had left the pro shop. While J Dub was fiddling with the register Rollie yelled from the ba
ck of the room. “Hey J Dub, when you get to be our age you should never pass a bathroom without stopping, you should never trust a fart, and you should never waste an erection.”

  All of the boys howled in laughter. “If you don’t get rid of that asshole partner of yours, then you won’t see our age,” Easy Earl chimed.

  “We’re working on that. He finally decided to sell it to me,” J Dub said with a smile that glistened from ear to ear.

  “J Dub, that’s the best news of the week,” BT howled. One by one the guys came up to J Dub and congratulated him on the opportunity.

  A mini-celebration ensued. The accompanying noise summoned Julie out of the office. “What the hell is going on out here?” she asked inquisitively.

  “J Dub is going to buy the place,” Elia stammered in his deep Middle Eastern accent.

  “Maybe now we’ll be able to get the first tee box fixed,” piped in Paco.

  “It’s about time we got an owner that understands the needs of a golfer,” Fred added.

  All of the boys were shaking hands and slapping each other on the back. “Yeah, well, we’ll see about all that. You guys calm down before one of you drops over from a heart attack,” Julie stated.

  “Don’t rain on our parade,” Fred continued.

  “Yeah, this is a day to celebrate,” Elia added.

  “Yuck it up all you want,” Julie said. She turned to J Dub and continued, “I need to tell you something.”

  “Right now?”

  Julie nodded. “I don’t think it should wait.” She turned to head back into the office.

  “Big Shot” boomed through the speakers. Julie stopped in her tracks, glanced at J Dub, and rolled her eyes. Life had been going fairly smoothly in the pro shop. The last thing that the two of them wanted was for Lew to pop in. “Can it wait?” asked J Dub reluctantly.

  Julie let off a frustrated sigh. “It’s going to have to,” she replied.

  Lew and Lois entered the pro shop. It was obvious that they had been out for a joyride on Lew’s motorcycle. Lew hummed the tune of “Big Shot.” He had a wind-blown look and wore his sunglasses. Lois wore a way-too-tight pair of hot pants, a halter top, and a leather vest. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t return to her glory years. She was twenty years too old and thirty pounds too heavy.

  As was his customary procedure, Lew rushed over to the sign-in sheet. He acted as if he and J Dub never had a conversation about the business changing ownership. Lew quickly counted the number of golfers that had teed off. It was hard to predict whether or not he had been on the golf course counting the number of players or if he had been out enjoying the countryside. His unpredictability kept J Dub on guard. With the amount of responsibility that J Dub had, he hated to have Lew always looking over his shoulder. “Our play looks slow today, J Dub,” Lew exclaimed.

  “Is there any wonder?” J Dub was continually frustrated by Lew’s actions to the golfers. “The weather is too hot for a lot of players and the other ones you’ve already run off the course.”

  The boys in the back were still in a jovial mood from the news that they had just received. BT shouted to Lew. “All of the days should be this slow!”

  Rollie continued, “If the weather is as hot as what was just in here, then . . .”

  “Did you see the knockers on that blonde?” Fred butted in.

  “The redhead wasn’t too shabby either,” BT stressed.

  “What are you guys talking about?” Lew’s curiosity had gotten the best of him.

  Elia volunteered, “Two coeds were in here about forty-five minutes ago.”

  “They about stopped three hearts,” Paco said.

  “And made my pacemaker skip,” Rollie added.

  Lew considered himself to be quite the ladies’ man. It didn’t matter if Lois was in his company or not. If there were some young and pretty women that he could exercise his influence with, then he was going to go for it. “Where did they go?” Lew inquired.

  Fred couldn’t stand Lew. They had had several run-ins over the years. Most of their conflicts centered on Fred’s relaxed lifestyle. Lew was a task master and couldn’t stand to see someone that got enjoyment out of life. “Out to play golf, you moron. What the ‘hail’ else do you think they would be doing here?”

  “Was it just the two of them?” Lew asked. His juices were flowing like a teenager. The thought of two college coeds on the golf course sounded terribly exciting to him.

  “No, they had four guys with them,” BT answered.

  Lew immediately scolded J Dub. “Dammit, J Dub. We can’t have more than two people to a cart.” His personality couldn’t help but chastise the very person that looked after him the best.

  “Two of the guys said that they would walk,” J Dub said as he tried to defend himself.

  “I’m sure about that,” Lew replied facetiously. “You know better than that. We can’t have more than two people in a cart because of insurance purposes,” Lew said as his harping continued. “Come on, Lois. We need to see what’s going on out there.” Lew bolted out the door with Lois in quick pursuit.

  Rollie immediately jumped to his feet and recognized that a good time was about to be had by all. “Let’s go guys. It’s time for some fun. They oughta be on hole number four by now.”

  The boys scrammed out the door. J Dub felt as if things might get out of hand. He turned to Julie and said, “Keep an eye on things. We’ll talk later.”

  A miniature caravan traveled down the first fairway. Lew raced across the golf course on his motorcycle. Lois had her arms wrapped around his waist with a death grip. Four golf carts filled with the regular guys bounced their way behind the cycle in quick pursuit. J Dub, with Bogey aboard, gunned the Truckster to keep up.

  Exactly as Lew had surmised, each coed was in a cart, flanked by two college kids. All of them appeared to be in their twenties. As so many before them, they were trying to have a pleasurable time on the golf course. All of that was about to be altered as Lew raced to a stop next to one of the carts. “What do you fellas think you’re doing?” Lew inquired.

  The first college kid was not too impressed. It wasn’t an everyday occurrence to see a guy on a motorcycle while playing a round of golf. “What’s it look like, old man?” he stated. “We’re playing golf.” Every simple question called for a simple answer in his book.

  After peering at the motorcycle the second college kid felt justified about asking for more information from the man that had questioned them. “What are you doing? Who are you and what do you want?”

  Lew felt compelled to stand his ground and wield what he thought would be considerable power to an unruly bunch of college-aged kids. “I’m the owner,” he declared, as if that was going to make an impact on the youths.

  “Is that supposed to mean that we’re in deep trouble?” the first college kid asked facetiously.

  The coeds were stunningly gorgeous. One was a blonde and the other was an auburn-haired beauty. Both were tall and long-legged. Their tanned bodies made every hot-blooded man with a heartbeat salivate.

  Their attire wasn’t suitable for the golf-course but no one had the mettle to suggest that they change even if they had something to change into. Each wore tight short shorts that exposed a little of their butt cheeks, and it was clear their ample breasts had been augmented. They were knockouts and college life had taught them how to handle men. They were both very adept teasers. Their good looks could intimidate most guys, and their brains made it a pleasurable game for them. If Lew thought that he was going to walk into this crowd and use his “bully” tactics on them, then he was about to find out differently.

  As Lew was trying to wield his authority, the blonde sauntered over to the motorcycle with every intention of rescuing her friends from any harassment. She admired the machine. Lois flirted with her. Lew turned his head to admire her figure. His eyes roamed over every inch of her body. She literally stopped the conversation. In a very innocent quality the blonde deadpanned, “Hey, that’s
cool. I’ve never seen a motorcycle on a golf course before.”

  Lew seemed oblivious to the comment. Despite her physical attributes, Lew tried with all of his might to not be swayed by her body language. He was not to be deterred from the task that he had in front of him. “Insurance doesn’t allow three to a cart,” he blurted, albeit a little sheepishly.

  At about that time the boys and J Dub arrived. They had all been present when the college kids had walked into the pro shop. The girls had stopped the backgammon and gin games at the back table a little while earlier. It was their feeling that Lew was going to finally meet his match and they wanted to be close by to witness the sight.

  Lew remained on his mission. He took dead aim at the cooler that was on one of the carts. “Where did you get that beer?” he insisted.

  Again, the blonde felt that it was her job to jump into the fray. She walked over to Lew in an attempt to diffuse the situation. Experience had taught her that the quickest way to calm a man down was to use her breasts to her advantage. She rubbed them up against Lew and answered his question for the group. “We brought it along because sitting between these two studs gets me all hot and sweaty,” she said in an innocent, sex-kitten voice. Her halter top revealed a sizeable cleavage and stretched to contain it.

  She smiled at her friends. They all knew how persuasive she could be. Her body was a great mediator. The blonde reached into the cooler and grabbed a beer. In a convincing way she turned to Lew and pleaded. “Could you help me open this so that I won’t break a nail?”

  The redhead took it upon herself to enter the action. She decided to help her friend. So she walked up to Lew and rubbed her breasts against Lew in a similar manner that the blonde had. She fixed the collar on his shirt. Her breathing was directed toward Lew’s ear. “I bet your bite isn’t as bad as your bark. If you could smile a little, then I’ll take a picture of you two. My girlfriend is a celebrity, you know,” she purred.

  The third college kid ran to the golf cart and fetched a camera. He handed it to the redhead and said, “Here, Raven.”

 

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