Friday, October 27, 2017

Jack Halverson



 Writing is still one thing I do well and probably always will. I decided to give it another shot at posting a story on the blog here and will continue adding to it as I have time.


Jack Halverson looked up from his expensive desk that sat in a windowed office on the 12th floor of Bennington & Saks marketing firm to see a man dressed in jeans and a long sleeved patterned shirt. Usually his potential clients were much better dressed and he had some idea of what they needed before hand, but this man Sam Wellers, hadn’t bothered to provide much information on why he needed to see Jack or what this meeting was all about. He was clean although still a little rough around the edges and Jack could see right away that he wasn’t one to beat around the bush.
   “you are Jack Halverson, son of Travis Halverson?” Sam asked
   “I am but I am under the assumption you already knew that before you booked the appointment to see me”
   “Yes but I am still required to verify Mr. Halverson and you are not an easy person to track down at all” Sam said opening a soft black leather briefcase and reaching inside.
   “What is this all about?” Jack asked concerned
   Sam walked up to Jack’s desk and held out a sheath of folded papers.
   “Your uncle Ray Halverson left the Red Star ranch and all it’s holdings in your name and your name alone. His lawyer Warren Jones hired me to track you down and make sure that you have a copy of the will. He would also like for you to call him at your earliest convenience”
   “He did what??” Jack asked stunned. He immediately opened the papers that had been handed to him and began to read what was inside. His heart began to pound as he read the will very carefully then reread it again. He was the owner of a fifty thousand acre ranch and there would not be any selling it in any way, shape or form.
   “I don’t know the first damn thing about running a ranch” Jack said running his fingers through his hair and trying to breathe. He’d had to deal with many hardships, deadlines, impossible tasks and everything else with this job but absolutely nothing compared with this.
   “There are still employees managing the day to day aspects but something will need to be decided soon. Warren would be really happy to hear from you”
   “I imagine he would” Jack said still in shock. He said letting the papers fall to the desk and putting his head in his hands.
   Sam took that as his cue to leave and moments later Jack was pacing at the floor to ceiling windows behind his desk that looked over the city below him. If he was being truly honest with himself this came almost as an answer to an unspoken prayer. He was getting weary of this job. Tired of dealing with his mother and her family who owned better than half of this firm.
   Jack knew he wasn’t in any shape to deal to deal with his remaining clients and quickly strode to his desk pressing the intercom button on his phone.
   “Maria I am going to need you to reschedule my remaining appointments for today”
   “Mr. Halverson Joel Hemming is scheduled for two o clock. Your mother will have a fit if you don’t get the deal on that one”
   “She’ll just have to take a breather” Jack said used to dealing with his mother’s tirades and attempts to control him.
   “I will reschedule them for you” Maria said almost laughing.
   He quickly gathered up his coat and whatever else he needed and left the office locking it behind him and passing by several cubicles to the elevators. In record time he was firing up his sleek black audi and driving it out of the parking garage and towards the interstate. He needed to get to somewhere where he could just think and thank heavens it wasn’t rush hour yet.
   Jack was a man who dressed well from head to toe sporting an expensive haircut and wearing some of the most expensive suits there were. He was dark haired and dark eyed, traits that came from his father, and things his mother never failed to remind him about. At thirty two and single he could have had his pick of beautiful women but he’d already been young and a little stupid realizing soon enough that most of them were only really good as arm decorations. They had started to leave  sour taste in his mouth long ago.
   After forty good minutes of driving Jack pulled off the interstate and soon found himself on a quiet back road where he pulled over and shut off the engine. He pulled out his phone and the papers that Sam had given to him but hesitated, taking a minute to think back to the last time he had been out to the Red Star. He’d been ten years old and had stayed out at the ranch for the summer learning how to ride, how to rope and even how to brand a cow. His mother had never allowed him to come back after that and he’d purposely forgotten much of it so that he wouldn’t miss it so much. In all of these years he’d refused to think about it, to think about hearing that his father had died when he was only fifteen and he wouldn’t be allowed to go to the funeral because it was just too far away.
   Learning about this now was a shock, he’d not even been aware that his uncle had died. But then he’d lost contact long ago.
   Taking a deep breath he called the number to the attorney’s office and waited for Warren Jones to pick up.
   “This is Warren” Came the brief answer
   “Warren this is Jack Halverson”
   “You don’t know what an absolute relief it is to hear your voice”
   Jack just took a deep breath wondering if he really wanted to hear what Warren had to tell him.
   “Is everything as cut and dried as in the will?”
   “For the most part but the foreman Riley Cauls doesn’t have the authority to make some of the very big decisions regarding the ranch. The ideal situation would be to have an owner in place at the Red Star. I’m not too sure where this fits in with your life right now”
   Jack wasn’t so sure either. Could he truly just walk away from Bennington and Saks where he had been for the last nine years? Did he even really want to at this point in his life? He would be leaving something that was stable and secure for a very big unknown.
   “Maybe the better question is does it even make good business sense? A ranch is still a business anyway that you look at it and I don’t know the first damn thing about running one”
   “I can’t argue that but I can assure you that Riley and the other men there would help you. It’s a lot to ask but for whatever reason Ray was convinced that you would keep the ranch going even when his two boys wouldn’t”
   Jack’s phone buzzed and he pulled it away from his ear for just a moment to find out who was trying to call him. Not surprisingly it was his mother and he let it go to voicemail.
   “I’m…going to need a couple of weeks to give this some serious thought” Jack said finally
   “Perfectly reasonable” Warren said “Just let me know what you decide to do”
   “I will. You’ll know as soon as I make a decision”
Jack hung up looking off into the distance grateful for the small breeze that blew in through the open windows of his car. This was just too much to think about right now and he was glad it was Friday. A weekend at his parent’s cabin would do wonders and hopefully clear his head.

That's it for now. I'm kind of curious what Jack decides to do but then there wouldn't be much of a story if.....

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