Kate

by Dwight W. Hunter

Chapter21 - Buck Makes a Play

  Activities at Cactus Copter was anything but busy letting Ted enjoy his favorite resting position, leaned back in his chair with heels on his desk when a series of rings from the telephone interrupted his slumber. Unfolding himself and scooping up the telephone in one practiced motion,

  "Cactus Copter, this is Ted."

  "Hi there, handsome, would there be a possibility of working a little charter run into your busy schedule? Asked Rita.

  "I'm kind ah overbooked for the next fifteen minutes, but for a pretty lady like you, I'll see about fitting you in. Where will we be going? Back out to the rock pile per chance?"

  "I'll have you know that desert paradise is now semi-officially known as RockPile Estates."

  "Ooops, sorry about the downgrade," chuckled Ted. "Come on out, I just detected a sudden lull in business, your presence would go a long was toward brightening up my day."

  "Thank you. You'd better not let too many people hear you talking so pleasantly or they'll accuse you of becoming a romantic. I'm bringing an architect along so you can give him a close up view of property. I'll bring you up to date when we get there. Oh yes, better get me on your calendar for dinner tonight before any other offers come along."

  "Roger to all the above, me and the copter will be waiting for you.

  Thirty minutes later, Rita and Sam arrived at Cactus Copter and Sam was introduced to Ted.

  "What are the prospects of you having a workable aerial mapping camera?" Ted asked.

  "Pretty good as a matter of fact, I've got an old Mark 20 I mount on the copter frame and use a remote trip in the cockpit. It's sort of crude, but it gets the job done provided you're not overly fussy about resolution. It should show rocks bigger than a wheelbarrow."

  "I have a working acquaintance with Mark 20's and it will do just fine. Let's get it hooked up and go take photographs of some horny toad and sidewinders. While on the subject, where and how long does it take to get films processed and printed in this part of the world?"

  "Most times it takes about three or four days. A lot depends on the mail service. Or maybe in a day if you want to hand carry the films to Mesa and wait."

  "Can you check with Mesa to see when they have a window to develop and print the film? I'd like to have two sets of twelve by fourteen prints if possible."

  "Sure can." Ted answered, looking through his business card files. Finding the number he placed a call to the film processing lab in Mesa and was told they could start processing the film upon arrival, if no later than eight o'clock each morning. A montage arranging room was also available should a composite photomap be desired.

  Sam began thinking out loud and counting time on his fingers.

  "We shoot this afternoon. Julie and I can drive to Mesa after we get back from the flight, the pictures will be ready tomorrow afternoon and if the quality is good we can do a montage and have the map made in, hopefully four days."

  When Sam finished all eyes turned to Rita.

  "I think the best thing for us to do, is to just do it." Rita nodded.

  With Ted supervising, the camera was quickly attached to the copter and RockPile Estates was photographed. By late afternoon Sam, Julie and the RockPile Estate films were on their way to Mesa. After dining at the Prospector Restaurant, Rita and Ted adjourned to the condo for the night.

  Rita and Ted were each discovering their monogamous relationship in which each partner was able to enjoy independence and mutual respect for each other's feelings and each person's need to be alone. When Rita suggested a shared activity, she picked up the tab and when Ted extended an invitation, he paid. All helicopter related business associated with RockPile Estates was billed to RPE Development at the going rate.

  After a night filled with snuggling, talking, lovemaking and segments of sleep, Rita delivered Ted to the airport and continued on to the bowling alley coffee shop for a conference with Nellie. Entering the coffee shop Rita found Nellie waiting for her while putting away a cup of coffee.

  "You have the look of a lady recently out of bed, where she enjoyed the night with a man able to do his duty," greeted Nellie.

  I'll have to confess Ted was a major contributing factor. Having a man in my bed all night takes some getting used to. It's great stuff once in awhile, but I doubt if I'd care to put up with it on as a full time project. Too many years of having the bed all to myself has taken its toll."

  "I understand how you feel and agree completely." Nellie nodded. "When the horns start getting in the way it's nice to have a man in bed for a night or so, but for the long term, I prefer to sleep alone. How is Ted anyway? I only asked because it's interesting to learn if one of the sacred sisterhoods is being satisfied. You don't have to answer, unless you're up to reveling your inner most secrets."

  Ted was a little nervous at first and I'm very impressed with the way he cares and desires to please. He didn't and hasn't come on like a super stud. As you would expect from most men stuck on the range for a while. Ted actually surprises me with his tenderness and caring. The first night he was sort of nervous as we got acquainted. Since then, each night we've spent together it keeps getting better and better. He's gaining assurance and becoming one hell of a lover and very sensitivity to me. I have to admit I was pretty uptight in the beginning, but he has definitely found ways to relax me and I enjoy him more each time. At the rate he's going, he'll dissolve my protective shell leaving me dependent on him.

  After a lifetime of seeing men as an irritation, I'm sort of enjoying my change of view. As a matter of fact, I think I'm falling in love with this guy. I'm also fairly sure; the beginning of my new way of thinking began with John Henry. John was so different and I have felt like a fool ever since for trying to make him notice me. I have kept going down the same track with Ted? only this time with wonderful results."

  "Well, good for you," Nellie encouraged. "It's about time you came out of the cannonball you've been living in for most of your life. You may accidentally find it's a nice place to be out here in the wide-open world where you can be cuddled, caressed and be told you're a special person. One of these days I may decide to settle down and look for a man such as you have hopefully found. Having covered the latest installment of ongoing love affairs in our lives, perhaps we should switch over and get some work done.

  "O.K. Master." Rita smiled and began her report.

  "RockPile Estates has been aerial photographed and the films were taken to Mesa last evening by Julie and Sam with process supposing to have begun this morning at eight o'clock. The pictures should be all printed by this afternoon so Sam can fit them into a collage and then construct a pictorial map. When the map is completed he can begin laying out house locations, roads and that sort of thing.

  All of this will probably take about a week. In another week or so Sam will have preliminary house elevations drawn in. When the artwork is completed, give or take two or three weeks from now and a scaled map completed I can go to the county planning commission and apply for a planned development authorization.

  After the county blesses my request with its special blend of christening water, I plan to call a press conference and announce the birth of RockPile Estates. The publicity should give your friend, Buck, something to think about since neither he nor Gus could see any potential in rocks and cacti. Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you. The other day when I visited the real estate office, Buck offered to buy me lunch. If I was to revert to my old ways of thinking, I'd have reason to believe good Old Buck has designs on getting into my knickers. After he extended his lunch invitation, I told him about hearing he carried around a special potion claimed to be a sure cure for menopause. The last I saw of him as I was walking out of the office his mouth was hanging open."

  "You do have a way of getting to the tender parts of a man by using a minimum amount of words. Speaking of dear Old Buck," Nellie continued. "I'm thinking about taking your suggestion of slowing down the lan
d sales for a while. I would sort of like to have the full crunch of RockPile Estates hit him at about the same time of the major financial crisis I'm cooking up strikes. We may as well let him have it all at once rather than dragging the crash out piecemeal, maybe by having his ego flattened it will teach him to lead quicker."

  Rita nodded her approval. "It's O.K. by me. After visiting the lion's den and watching Buck's reactions, I've been wondering how long Gus will put up with Buck's bumbling. Gus came across as being a pretty savvy guy and he presents a good demeanor for dealing with customers. It's kind of hard to believe Gus is able to take a steady diet of Buck. When it comes to Buck learning to lead, you had better be careful. Breaking him to lead may cause the world to split in half."

  "I've sort of been thinking the same thing. That's one of my reasons for slowing things down. I don't want Gus to throw in the towel while trying to drag Buck along. All Buck can see is dollar signs without having the foggiest concept of all the steps involved in pulling off a deal of this magnitude."

  Within a few days Gus received a fax from Land Investment Ltd., asking about his client's intentions concerning buying the land. Gus in turn fired off a fax to U.S. Resorts requesting a milestone schedule of their intended development plan.

  While waiting for responses from the seller and potential buyer, Gus continued to prod Buck to make up his mind on how much money he was willing to put at risk. As time passed it became more apparent Buck was getting in over his head and he was finally realizing land trading required more capital than the discretionary cash he had laying around, as many snowbirds all ready learned to their lasting sorrow.

  The next question Gus was forced to face amounted to making a personal decision as to whether he should cut his losses and let Buck stew in his own juice. Buck' over inflated ego and so little knowledge it was getting harder to deal with by the day. Or perhaps it was Gus' fear of not living up to his own false self-expectations that were clouding his judgment. As Gus sat pondering the Buck problem, his fax machine came to life. The incoming fax came from U.S. Resorts, stating:

  A hold has been put on any further development for the next seven to eight months. However, Cactus Junction remains number one on our list of expansion locations. This fax is to serve as our letter of intent to purchase subject land within the next six to eight months.

  As Gus sat re-reading the U.S. Resort fax, his fax machine once again clattered into life as it regurgitated another paper. This fax came from Land Investment Lt. reiterating their sales conditions.

  Minimum down payment is ten percent (10%) of the selling price with interest on the unpaid balance at four point one percent (4.1%) with a ten (10) year payoff. Yearly payments are to be one-tenth (1/10) of the initial unpaid balance, paid on or before the sale anniversary. If the anticipated sale cannot be consummated within the next two (2) weeks, Land Investment Ltd. will entertain the issuance of a transferable option to purchase said property at thirty-nine thousand dollars ($39,500) per acre for a period of eight (8) months. The cash price for this option is one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) that will be credited to the down payment asking price at the time of sale.

  As Gus sat studying the two faxes and he was caught with how each condition fed into the other; once again the little voice in the back of his head began to question. 'Why is there such synchronicity of these two events, unless a common hand is at work? The buyer is now on hold while the seller cut the asking price and offers a fixed price option for close to the same duration as the buyer is on hold.' After thinking for a while Gus decided to call Buck and put him to the test.

  With Buck sitting across the desk, Gus explained the significance of the two recent faxes and summarized his position.

  "Buck it looks like the jig is up. The time has finally come for you to make a decision. In my opinion I have done my job as fully as possible and there is nothing more I can do. You are faced with making a decision within the next two weeks. As your broker I feel it's my duty to tell you there's considerable risk involved, especially with the hotel outfit not giving any more assurance than they have."

  "We have their letter of intent, don't we?"

  "Sounds like you're back on this 'we'shit, White Man. Buck, let me remind you once again, you have an unsigned fax as a letter of intent that isn't worth a fiddler's fart. You don't see where they have put any of their money at risk, do you?"

  "No I guess I don't," Buck mumbled. "Can't you get the hotel outfit to buy an option, like the Land Investment Company is asking me to do?"

  "Buck, ever once in awhile you amaze me," Gus chuckled. "Sure I can ask. It sounds like a reasonable thing to do, provided we're living in a perfect world. Next question, 'What do you think is going on here'?"

  "Kind ah sounds like the city boys are testin' to see if us Ol' Country Boys know how to get out ah bed of mornin's."

  "Could be you're right Buck. How much do you think we ought to charge the hotel folks for the option?"

  "How about the same amount Land Investment wants up to pay?"

  "Think you may be getting a bit greedy with an uncommitted buyer and you're holding the bag."

  "O.K., go for seventy-five thousand," Buck wavered. That should wake 'em up.

  "With all this fracas going on with Land Investment, you haven't the foggiest notion how much U. S. Resorts will pay for the land. If I send them a request for buying an option without knowing their side of the deal, they will think both of us don't know how to get out of bed."

  "Ya, Buck mumbled. "I guess you're right. How much did you say they were willing to pay?"

  "U. S. Resorts quoted a fifty to sixty-five thousand range. Since Land Development lowered their price to thirty-nine five per acre I suggest we not get outlandishly greedy and go down the middle with sixty-two thousand at five percent with a ten year payoff and a seventy-five thousand buy option good for eight months."

  "O.K. if you say so." Nodded Buck.

  "Buck, you do realize if U. S. Resorts reneges on the deal you are going to be at risk for twenty-five thousand dollars?"

  "Ya, I hear you. I can handle that size of a hit if need be. I kind of think that's a fair risk on a gamble to make over two and a half million."

  "Buck, I want to remember over one-third of million of this illusionary deals goes to treat my ulcers."

  Within a week U. S. Resorts agreed to Buck's price on the proposed building site.