The Investor

Billie Bob Jones

It had been a week since Delilah's car had come back from the mechanic, which was a blessing for me. She was more than happy to have her car back since she could actually be on time for work. I had no idea what she was talking about since being a minute early for work counted as being early for work in my eyes.

It had also been a good week since I had last seen the three mysterious men at the café and I was grateful. Of course Ronaldo and I had a few conversations since the first conversation which were always filled with chuckling and good humor. His grumpy boss still glared at me every now and then.

This time though I paid no attention to him as I did not want Delilah to give me another lecture on why it was a bad idea to give her boss dirty looks. It calmed my soul though to know I would never run into them again. I had never been friends with extremely rich folks since it felt like we were from two different worlds.

Realistically we were.

When I woke up that lovely Wednesday morning it felt good to know that I was back to my normal routine. I hopped in the shower, got dressed, had breakfast then walked to the main house. Ma was out with friends today which meant my choice in clothing would not be nit-picked this lovely morning.

With my first step into the house I called out for Clyde who told me he was in the kitchen.

"I'm making coffee, would you like some?" he smiled as he finished grinding the coffee beans in the electric grinder.

"Yes please," I nodded as I sat down by one of the kitchen island chairs. I had spent countless mornings here after Clyde and Ma got married when I was twenty-one.

I had stayed with them during college since I was not sure what I wanted to do. I had started participating in the rodeo as early as twelve and even though I knew ranching and riding was what I wanted to do with my life Clyde insisted I get a degree to back me up.

I found no use in it but I was grateful he had insisted, especially now that I could help him when it came to the business side of the ranch. At least I was not just a pretty face but smart too.

After I had graduated I moved into the second house and luckily for me I had met Delilah and Rob which did not make living alone all that boring.

"I have some great news for you," Clyde smiled after he handed me my cup of coffee.

"You're making me executive," I joked making him roll his eyes.

"You wish," he laughed, "A potential investor will be coming in a few days."

"Really that's amazing Clyde! Who is it?" Do not take my excitement lightly. Since I had met Clyde when I was nineteen he had been looking for a serious investor to help him build the ranch. He had all the right ideas but needed the financing. We were the third biggest ranch in the area and if we got a good investor we could easily rise to number one.

It had been a huge struggle to get people interested and once in a while we had someone who was interested but in the end they were simply pulling our leg.

"His name is Benedito Pereira, he's a huge business man in Texas he works with NASA actually."

I wanted to keep up my excitement but I had no idea who that was. The name rang no bells to me, but I did live under a rock. I just minded my business and worried about the things around me.

"You have no idea who that is," he burst out laughing at my confused facial expression, "What kind of twenty-six year old are you that knows nothing about today's billionaires?"

"The one who rides bulls and broncos," I grinned, "He's a billionaire?"

"Yes, trust me I was shocked as you were. Someone like him didn't strike me as the kind to be interested in ranching," he shrugged and leaned against the kitchen lower cabinets.

"Maybe he grew up ranching or something. Where is he from?"

"He's originally from Brazil from what I know."

"Maybe he just has an interest in it then. Anyway do you need anything from me before he comes?"

"Just make sure Willie, Cody and Ben are nowhere near. Just the sight of them will probably make Benedito climb back in his car," he chuckled.

"I'll do just that," I laughed.

We spent the next three days sorting out all the financials for the ranch and preparing the business plan for the potential investor. Pitching a business plan was something I thoroughly enjoyed. If participating in rodeos did not work out in the future I could have a very bright career in business if I tried.

With Clyde's direct instructions I made sure to dress in semi-formal attire which consisted of black straight leg jeans that were perfectly stacked over my black boots, with a white short sleeved button up shirt and a black hat. I made sure to shave to look fresh.

I really wanted this deal to go through for Clyde, if there was one person who deserved it, it was him. He had done so much for me the least I could do was make his dream into a reality.

We had breakfast together with Ma, Delilah and Rob. I had sent Cody, Willie and Ben to town on a long list of errands I knew would keep them busy for a few hours whilst we were busy.

We had an office that took up the third smaller house in the ranch. We had two admin ladies, Brittney and Roxanne who were absolutely lovely in my eyes.

Clyde and I nervously paced up and down the front entrance of the office. Exactly as eleven a.m. we saw a long convoy of black GMC Yukon Denali cars; which consisted of six cars in total.

"Are you sure the president ain't coming to see us?" I raised my eyebrow at Clyde who looked equally as shocked.

"This isn't the time for jokes Bobby," he hissed. Two out of the six cars waited by the entrance gate which was a mile away from the office. The next two cars stood half way and the final two cars stopped in front of the office.

Their stops were all perfectly coordinated, men in black suits and sunglasses climbed out of each car, I counted eighteen in total. Whoever this Benedito was he must have been extremely important to need so much security.

One of the guards opened the back door of the car. My breath hitched in my lungs when my eyes met dark hazel eyes and a blank stare. If I was confused before I most definitely was now.

The man in front of us was the same raven haired man from the café. He was dressed in a navy blue suit, formal black shoes, and a white button up shirt once again without a tie. His long hair was casually pushed back and an expensive gold watch reflected the light of the sun.

A tall woman behind him who truly looked like she could be a super model with her long legs and slender body. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt, a white blouse, black blazer and matching heels. Her blonde hair was brushed back into a low bun exposing her tanned skin, high cheek bones, plump pink lips and brown eyes.

"Mister Pereira, so lovely to meet you," Clyde climbed down the stairs and shook the cold man's hand.

"Mister Taylor, same to you. This is my assistant Rosalia," he introduced the blonde woman who shook Clyde's hand.

"This is my son Bobby," Clyde indicated to me.

"Nice to meet you," I softly smiled as I shook Benedito's warm hand; I expected it to be cold. "Ma'am," I raised my hat out of respect as I shook Rosalia's hand. She obviously blushed which made Benedito give her a cold stare.

"Shall we head inside?" Clyde asked.

"Of course, lead the way," Benedito slightly turned the corner of his mouth up in attempts to smile. It was obvious it was not something he did often.

He did not mention to Clyde that we had met before and neither would I. I already had a lovely impression on what type of person he was but I was not the type of person to ruin this for Clyde. If I had to kiss his ass so he would invest in the ranch then so be it but the whole situation made no sense to me.

In the three weeks I had seen him each time he came to the café he was in a brand new luxurious sports or super car. He was always dressed in designer clothes and often looked at me like I was gum under his shoe. I could not find a solid reason why he would want to invest in the ranch and that concerned me.

What was his end goal?