Silver Spoons and Pitchforks

By Sam Venable

Juliana Jones (JJ) inherited millions of dollars, but paid a huge price by losing both parents when she was only fifteen. She moved in with Jeb, Ann and Carla Conrad. JJ was naive about the ways of the world, but Carla who was the same age was savvy to sex. She introduced JJ to sex with girls. Work became JJ's first passion, but partying with girl's was a close second. Her wealth continued to grow because she was able tp separate the two. Every time something good happened in her life, it seemed the pitchfork wielding devel was not far behind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984538727

Sam Venable

Silver Spoons and Pitchforks is the author's first book, although he has had several short stories published. He has a vivid imagination and a creative story telling ability that makes for good entertainment for the open minded younger or older generation, alike. A second book titled ' Who Can You Trust' will be published soon, with more to follow.

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Sam Venable.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2018907890

ISBN:   Hardcover          978-1-9845-3874-1

              Softcover           978-1-9845-3873-4

         eBook               978-1-9845-3872-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/17/2018

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Contents

Chapter One: Bill Jones

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Final Chapter

JJ and Andi got to the courtroom five minutes before the proceedings were to begin. They sat near the door so they could escape if it was too much for them. The bailiff entered through a door behind the judge’s bench and told everyone to have a seat. When things settled down, Jeb, along with three others, was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles. Although it had been less than two weeks since she had seen him, JJ couldn’t believe how Jeb looked. He was unshaven, frail looking, slumped over, and he walked with an obvious limp. The girls immediately looked at each other and Andi mouthed, What the …? She didn’t need to finish, JJ understood and agreed with her. Jeb looked years older than he did just two weeks earlier. Tears were streaming down their faces. They held on to each other for emotional support. They stood when the judge entered and asked the solicitor to read the charges against the first defendant. He rose, walked to the microphone, and uttered the words that JJ and Andi didn’t want to hear, Your Honor, case number 17-23459, State of Georgia versus Jeb Louis Conrad, on the charge of first degree murder. The words made it all real. Both girls whimpered on hearing the words of the charge. Before today, Jeb seemed so strong and virile, almost invincible, but now he was frail, weak, and oh so vulnerable. He needed their help, their support to cope with this. Where in the world was Anne?

Chapter One

Bill Jones

Bill Jones Jr. knew in high school what he wanted to be when he grew up: rich. Many people called him arrogant and greedy, but he considered himself self-assured and ambitious. His father recognized these attributes in his son and encouraged him constantly. A month before his graduation from high school, his father told him, When you’ve made the money that I think you’re capable of, be frugal with it—not cheap, but know where and when to spend it. Two months later Bill Jones Sr. had a heart attack and died. From that day forward, Bill Jr. never answered when someone called him Junior. It was Bill or Mr. Jones.

The first thing he did was sit down with his mother to set up arrangements for her financial needs. For the first time in his life, he was glad that he didn’t have any siblings. His mother gave him full control of Bill Sr.’s estate. Six months later, he had almost doubled it delving in the stock market. He rode the wave with his dad ’s broker, doing whatever he was told, until the day they took a big hit and lost $50,000. That day was when he decided that he would never invest in anything intangible that he couldn’t control. Real estate, that’s how he wanted to invest his money. A month before his twentieth birthday, he purchased his first house with cash.

Robert Bartlett, his father’s banker, now his banker, told him about an incredible deal on a house and acreage in Alpharetta over coffee. They discussed the options Bill had with the house that he had just bought. Bill wanted to rent it out, but Robert said he had a better idea. Because of the escalated interest rates, he said it would make more sense to sell the house and finance it himself for thirty years at a cheaper rate. At first, Bill thought he was crazy until Robert explained why. The current rate was 17.5 percent, so if he offered 12 percent money to a young couple, locking them in for ten years, Bill would ensure future income with a very handsome profit when the interest rate went back down. Robert was convinced that the rate had peaked and would get as low as 6 to 8 percent in a year’s time.

Bill was intrigued and wanted time to absorb what Robert had told him. Okay, let me think about that for a day or two. Just then, Bill looked over Robert’s shoulder to see a gorgeous girl approaching with her eyes focused on Robert. She put her hands over his eyes and said, Guess who. Startled, Robert turned and said, Hey, honey, I wasn’t expecting you until this evening. Robert stood, embraced her, and kissed her on the cheek. He turned to Bill and said, Bill Jones, this is my daughter Elizabeth.

Bill stood, reached out, and shook her hand. As he touched her, his knees almost buckled. He was in awe of her beauty. Bill finally uttered, Nice to meet you. So you’re Bill Jones. My father talks about you all the time. I thought you would be a lot older. Bill was at a loss for words. He nodded and sat down, finally muttering, I’m old for my age, drawing a little chuckle from Elizabeth.

Daddy, I came by to get some money to go shopping. I need a couple of sweaters, it’s getting cooler. Not hesitating, Robert reached in his wallet and produced a credit card saying that he would get it back that night at home. Elizabeth kissed him and turned to leave. After a few steps, she turned and said, Nice to meet you, Bill Jones. Bill knew at that moment that he wanted to marry that girl.

Bill’s head was in the clouds the rest of the day. It wasn’t a very productive day, because most of his thoughts involved Elizabeth. Bill’s opinion of Robert was boosted by the meeting. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his ideas or because of Elizabeth. At any rate, Bill had a little more zip in his step. Robert told him that he had a distinct advantage over a lot of people because of the nice nest egg his father had left.

The next morning, he sat down with his mother and shared Robert’s ideas with her. She agreed with most everything but wanted Bill to leave a 10 percent cushion in a separate account so they would be able to sustain their lifestyle if anything went haywire.

The first order of business was to buy the house and 56 acres in Alpharetta that Robert had told him about. Alpharetta was a rural area about 25 miles from downtown Atlanta. The area had no sewer, but the potential to make money was there. Bill met with the realtor that afternoon, agreed with the asking price, and closed the deal two days later. He finally understood the cliché money talks and bullshit walks. Without the dependence on a bank for the money, the deal was expedited and closed right after the title search was complete. Within six weeks, he had bought and sold four more houses. Bill was going to deposit the monthly payments in a separate account as a payback for the investment. His mother was very happy.

Bill was enthralled with Alpharetta as well as Roswell. There were thousands of acres that were undeveloped and prime for the picking as Robert would say. He drove around the area making notes. He noticed an elderly gentleman sitting on his front porch every day on the same road as his land. The old man would throw up his hand and Bill would wave back. After several days, Bill decided to stop and talk to the man, maybe pick his brain to see what he could find out. Howdy, the old man said as Bill approached. Hey there, Bill responded. Just wanted to stop and introduce myself. I’m Bill Jones, just bought the farm down the road. So you’re the one that bought old man Prescott’s place. You’re not one of ’em land whores, are ya? Bill was impressed by his bluntness. Nah, my wife and I just wanted a place to raise kids and a few horses. The old man laughed and said, I’m Joe Willis, come on up here and sit a spell. Okay I have some time before I have to meet my wife. Yeah, ya don’t wanna piss Mama off. Both men laughed and enjoyed their conversation about whatever came to mind for the next two hours. Upon leaving, Bill said he would stop by again. Joe said, Yeah, you do that and bring that pretty lady of yours with you." Bill knew then that he made a very good decision by stopping.

Bill couldn’t wait to fill Robert in on what he had learned and about the plan he was already formulating. He asked Robert if he could take Elizabeth with him when he went back to see Willis and pretend they were married. He didn’t tell him that he had been calling on Elizabeth and had gone to Athens where she was a senior at the University of Georgia since they had met almost a year earlier. Robert said it was up to her. After getting Elizabeth’s approval, the three sat down and Bill told them about his plan.

Joe Willis owned almost 2,000 acres of farmland, with a 20-acre pond, a creek running through it, and gently rolling hills. Bill was taking Willis’s word, but it sounded beautiful. The land had been in his family since 1904. Joe’s father originally bought 600 acres and added to it over the years. Joe bought 500 acres in 1959 and inherited the balance to make him the second largest landowner in Fulton County. He said he turned down offers from Mobil Oil, who was the largest, because they were land whores. I figure if we get Willis’s land, in ten years we all will be very wealthy just by selling land off in pieces. But I want to develop it and build on it. Elizabeth was getting excited listening to Bill. She loved his enthusiasm, and she realized just then that she loved Bill.

Robert brought them both back to reality with, How much money would it take and how would you get it? That’s where my friendly banker comes in, you tell me. Robert sighed, Give me a couple of days. Let me get your assets together, my assets, and even Elizabeth’s. Everyone laughed, and that seemed to break the tension that was building.

The next morning Bill picked up Elizabeth in a Ford Focus instead of his Mercedes. She didn’t ask, and he didn’t offer an explanation. I figure we would eat lunch on the way and get there around 12:30. What about Mr. Willis’s lunch? Wouldn’t we be interfering with his lunch? Nah, as early as that guy gets up, he probably eats lunch at 10:00. They went over details of things that might be brought up in conversation to make sure they were on the same page.

Joe Willis met them in the yard when he saw them pull up. He was looking at Elizabeth, so she extended her hand. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him saying, I don’t shake a pretty young girl’s hand, give me a hug, sweetie. Welcome to the neighborhood. They walked up the steps to the porch and sat down. Elizabeth sat listening intently to their conversation, admiring Bill’s vast knowledge about everything Joe Willis brought up. After a while, Bill nodded toward her and said, Lizzy always wanted a spread like this to raise horses, cattle, and young’uns. She smiled and agreed, noticing Bill’s choice of words. Both Bill and Elizabeth were excited about how the meeting was going. When Willis went inside to get more iced tea for everyone, Elizabeth leaned over toward Bill, smiled, and said, Bill, honey, if you ever call me Lizzy again I will walk away. Bill got the message.

After several more marathon meetings over the next several months, Bill threw a number out that was in the middle of the range that Robert said he could afford on his own. Joe Willis scratched his bushy white beard and said, That’s a lot of money. Where’d a young fella like you get that kind of money? I told you that my father passed away. He left it to me, Bill responded. Yeah, yeah. Okay, let me dwell on that for a spell, Joe muttered.

On the way home, Bill was thinking since Thanksgiving was the following week it would be nice to get away. He was thinking of asking Elizabeth if she could go to Cancun with him, but he just didn’t know how. What if she didn’t like him enough, what if she thought he was crazy for even asking … his thoughts were cut short when she asked, What’s wrong? What are you thinking about? He answered before he could even think about it, Well, next week is Thanksgiving and I was wondering if you would go to Cancun with me. He panicked and quickly added, I’ll get two rooms. She calmly said, That sounds like fun. Let me check with my parents. His phone was ringing when he got home. It was Elizabeth saying that she was in. Bill’s heart started pumping 90 miles an hour; he was sure his face was red as a beet.

After an awkward start, they had a wonderful time in Cancun. He had made reservations for two rooms but didn’t know how to ask Elizabeth if that was what she wanted. As they walked into the atrium of the five-star hotel she said, Rooms in this place must be very expensive. It’s a good thing that you only reserved one room. She winked at him and after that he relaxed and had a great time solidifying his feelings for her. They lay on the beach, snorkeled, swam, played tennis, and drank margaritas all week together, always together.

When they arrived back in Atlanta the following Saturday they drove straight to his mother’s club to have a late Thanksgiving dinner. Elizabeth had told her parents that they would have Sunday dinner with them. Bill usually didn’t like anyone making plans for him but he enjoyed the idea of Elizabeth doing it. As they were escorted across the dining room, Bill could see the grin on his mother’s face. Okay, Mom, what’s up? What’s so funny? Why nothing, dear. The two of you walking across the room hand in hand reminded me of your father and I coming home from our honeymoon. My parents were sitting at this very table. Just then Robert and Barbra Bartlett approached the table. They greeted Miriam and started to sit down without being asked. Miriam noticed the confused look on her son’s face and said, I asked Barbra and Robert to join us to celebrate a belated Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, Mom, that’s great, Bill said. Robert piped in, Also, we are celebrating something else after dinner. We thought it would be fun to share dinner together rather than separately, so ya’ll are off the hook tomorrow

Bill’s excitement level was piqued, but he waited until after dinner. When the waiter brought dessert to the table, Bill looked at Robert and asked what the news was. Robert told them that Joe Willis had accepted their offer and was ready to finalize the deal when Bill was. Bill started to shake; he was so excited. He hugged Elizabeth and excitedly shook Robert’s hand, saying, We are on our way! He looked at his mother and she gave him the boost of confidence he needed by smiling and blowing him a kiss.

After dessert, Robert offered to drive Elizabeth home saying they were probably tired of each other by now. Both turned him down and walked out with their arms around each other’s waist. They had not talked about how they felt about each other. Bill was so happy and content being with her all of the time but he wanted to know how she felt. After a few bumbled attempts by Bill, at a red light Elizabeth looked him in the eye and said, Bill Jones, I love you. He asked her if she would marry him on the spot. She looked at him and said, Of course I will, you silly boy. The next day they surprised their parents with the news. They were thrilled. Miriam didn’t want to spoil their excitement, so she waited a day to tell Bill that she had stage-four lung cancer and didn’t have long left. She had found out for sure while they were in Cancun but had known something was wrong for a long time. Bill cried through the night, and when he woke up at noon he called to tell Elizabeth, and then cried some more.

They set the date of the wedding in three weeks because he and Elizabeth both wanted her to be a major part of the festivities. Bill overheard Elizabeth telling Miriam that she wanted her to help Barbra and her find a chapel, pick out the dress, and choose the flowers because she wanted lots of flowers. Miriam cried and said she would love to. Bill turned, left the doorway where he had stopped to listen, and cried, thinking about what a beautiful and thoughtful woman he was going to marry.

Bill called Joe Willis the next morning to set up a meeting to iron out the details. As they were talking Joe detected something in Bill’s voice and asked what was wrong. With that the floodgates opened and Bill started sobbing. He managed to tell the older man about his mother and even told Joe that he and Elizabeth weren’t married but were going to be in three weeks and he would like Joe to be there. Joe told Bill that as far as he was concerned the deal was made and he wouldn’t back out if Bill wanted to wait. He also said that he knew they weren’t married. Bill asked him how he knew, and Joe simply said, Rings, there were no rings. Bill managed to laugh and said, Oops.

The meeting went smoothly, as well as the closing. Bill was now the second largest landowner in Fulton County with his sights set on being number one.

Miriam passed away a month after Bill and Elizabeth returned from their honeymoon. She entered the hospital on Friday and died in her sleep Saturday night. For that, Bill was grateful. He took a week to grieve.

He dove into his work, trying to keep his mind occupied. He promised Elizabeth that he would not be a workaholic, but she understood. He promoted his assistant Jeb Conrad to vice president of operations, running the construction part of the business, and finally talked Robert into running the office. Bill was excited to get home to tell Elizabeth, but she had bigger news. We’re pregnant! Elizabeth bellowed as soon as Bill opened the back door. That’s fantastic! Bill responded. He was already thinking about which room to convert into a nursery. They had moved into his parents’ home after his mother passed. It was too big for them, but like his mother, he didn’t want to sell it because his father built it. He shared his news with Elizabeth and she thought it was great, because now they could have more time together. At dinner that night, Elizabeth said to Bill, You really like Jeb Conrad, don’t you? Sure. He’s honest, hardworking, conscientious, and he’s loyal. Why do you ask? I was thinking about inviting him and Anne over for dinner sometime, but I didn’t want to interfere with your business relationship. Thanks for that, but I think inviting them over would be nice of you.

Calls started coming in, and all of them started with something like, My friend Joe Willis said that you might be interested in my place. Joe likes you, and I’d rather sell to you than that oil company. He got four calls like that the first week and made appointments with them the following week. He needed to talk to Robert first to find out about their finances. He had given Robert access to everything he had even before he came onboard. Robert suggested that Bill meet with all of them, get all of the particulars, and then they would sit down and sort it all out. Bill agreed and kept all of the meetings he had set up. By Tuesday, he had received a half dozen more calls similar to the first four. The total of the four parcels was just under twelve hundred acres.

When he got back, he went to see Joe Willis to thank him but asked him to stop referring him to people. Joe asked why, and Bill told him that the well was going to run dry. He couldn’t afford to borrow money for such a long-term investment from the bank because of their high interest rates. Joe scratched his beard and said, Young fella, I ain’t got no family and don’t need to buy anything. And I got all that money sitting in your daddy-in-law’s bank. Bill tried to interrupt, but Joe continued, What about I give you the money and charge you, say 2 percent interest? After all, you let me stay here, so we could say it’s rent money. Bill tried to buy time to digest Joe’s offer. That’s a very generous offer Joe, but … Joe interrupted, No buts and no strings, young man. That’s my offer and you’d be dang crazy to turn it down. Of course Joe was right, but he still wanted to run it by Robert and Elizabeth. Thank you, Joe. Let me call you in the morning.

Bill asked Robert to come by his house that afternoon without telling him why. They sat at the kitchen table while Bill told Elizabeth and Robert about Joe’s offer. Robert spoke first, saying, Well, there you go, problem solved. That’s a great deal. Better than that, it’s amazing. You must’ve made quite an impression on Mr. Willis. Bill nodded toward Elizabeth, She made the impression. I don’t understand your hesitation accepting the money. Daddy’s right, it’s an amazing deal, Elizabeth finally said. I’m not sure, Bill said, I think maybe it’s because I’ve never borrowed any money before and I’m afraid. Robert said, That’s understandable, but sometimes it’s necessary, Bill. This is a situation that the old adage ‘it takes money to make money’ comes into play. Your company is solvent. We could pay the loan back and still have plenty of working capital. Hell, you could afford 10,000 acres in Alpharetta and still function. Still looking sullen, Bill stood and said hesitantly, Let’s do it! He smiled at Robert and winked at Elizabeth, adding, Mr. Bartlett, I trust your opinion. Let’s make some money for your grandson. Or granddaughter, Elizabeth said loudly. They laughed.

The Conrads arrived promptly at six. Jeb knew that Bill would appreciate that because he was a stickler for people being on time. It seemed like Anne was trying to make them late, because she tried on everything in her closet. I just want to look my best, to impress, she retorted every time Jeb told her to hurry. You would look good with no clothes on, Jeb said. She came back at him with, Well, I could handle that too, as she stepped out of the third skirt that