by Kim Smart
It was late afternoon. Martin had scheduled the meeting to occur just before Brandon arrived. He felt somewhat responsible and a little fatherly toward Stella. He wanted to be sure Brandon knew he and Clara were looking out for Stella’s best interest. Not exactly like a father with a shotgun sitting on the porch waiting for his daughter to return from a date, but almost.
“You drove up to Rabbit Creek and met with Jed. How did that go?”
“Jed was very open. He showed me around, gave me mounds of information and answered all my questions. He even gave me his cell number so I could contact him if I had questions. I have to say, he also gave me some sage advice, and that was well worth the trip.”
“That Jed has been a good hand. He’s old school so if you take this job, know that Clara and I are open to discuss any suggestions for changes and improvements you may come up with. Don’t get me wrong; I have no complaints about how the operation has been doing. I am mindful that we must always adjust and improve with changing times.”
“Yes, that’s right, and you modeled that here for me in the years I’ve been working with you. I’m grateful for the open door for discussions and, yes, I am interested in the position after meeting with Jed. I would like to hear about the compensation package. I took a little time Wednesday to look at properties around Watson. I wanted to scope the area to see what’s available but, as you said before, this would differ from what I’m used to. I will need to rent or purchase a property and one with enough space for my horses and equipment.”
“That’s right. I’m glad you took the time to look around. I hope you found something that could be suitable for you.” Martin and Clara shared the compensation package. It included built-in bonuses for productivity, incentives for innovation, and what amounted to a housing stipend big enough to cover a reasonable rent or mortgage payment for the properties Stella looked at. She wasn’t certain she would need a mortgage. When she turned twenty-one, her parents gave her the college money they had saved for her. She invested it well and had savings in the bank from several years’ earnings. Her expenses were low, offsetting the modest wages she earned for doing the job she loved.
“Now, before you decide, there is one catch.” Clara had been quiet throughout most of the discussion, but this was her time to impress upon her surrogate daughter the need to care for oneself.
“Okay. What’s the catch?” Stella was ready to sign on the dotted line before Clara’s interjection. Now, she wasn’t so certain.
“Well, we are giving you a mandatory paid one week vacation to go home and see your family before you start this new job. We know you haven’t seen your folks for two or three years and this new job could keep you out of touch more than ever. This is not negotiable.”
“Now that’s an interesting twist. I would love to see my family but don’t want Jed to be hanging on longer than his wife can tolerate and would hate to leave you here without my replacement. Have you thought of when this vacation should happen?” Stella looked to Clara, then Martin, and then to her hands. Her fingernails stood out, showing signs of work. Some dirt didn’t come out with the last cleanup. She needed to make one more pass with the nailbrush before dinner.
“You check with your parents and see what works best for them. It can be next week, the week after, but within the month you should take this trip. If you end up buying a home, it would be a great time to have your parents as a sounding board and such. Now I know you’re a proud woman and I have a lot of confidence in your success, but having your parents in your corner is always a good thing, too.” Clara worried sometimes that Stella didn’t let others in and she may one day find herself in need without a safety net around her.
“I will make that call tomorrow and let you know.”
“That’s right. Tonight you are busy, aren’t you? In fact, from the dust coming up the drive, I think your chariot is on its way. Let’s head out and meet him.” Martin stood up, held his hand out first to help Clara out of her chair, then to shake hands with Stella. “I’m glad it looks like we have a meeting of the minds.”
“Yes, and I think your offer is fair. I haven’t done this exact work before, but as I imagine it, the compensation seems right on.” Stella was more flattered by the offer than she let on. She forced her attention to the meeting as her mind wanted to wander to the upcoming date. Stella was nervous. Dating didn’t come naturally to her. Being one-on-one with the opposite sex with no horse or cow between them frightened her a little.
Brandon saw the group standing on the Drake’s front deck and drove up to the front of the house. By the time he hopped out of his pickup, Martin had reached the front of the truck to greet him. Stella looked at Clara and sucked in her breath, eyes wide as a wave of panic passed through her.
Clara grabbed Stella’s wrist with her petite hand and their eyes locked eyes. “Just be yourself and have fun. You’ll be fine.” Stella nodded and flashed a partial grin.
“It’s nice to see you lovely ladies this fine afternoon.” Brandon leaned in to kiss Clara’s cheek. He turned to Stella and held out the crook of his arm. “You look like you might be ready to hit the town, Stella. Is this still a good time for you to go? I don’t mean to be interrupting anything here.”
“Oh, this is a great time to go. Thanks.” Stella turned to her employers. “Thanks for meeting with me. I’ll follow up with you soon on those dates.”
She turned back to Brandon. “Okay Mr. Cage! Let’s find that restaurant I’ve heard so many good things about, shall we?”
Stella slipped her arm in Brandon’s for her escort to the pickup. Martin wrapped his arm around Clara and with his free arm waved Stella and Brandon off. “You kids have fun now, ya hear?”
“Thanks, Martin. We will.”
Brandon opened the passenger door for Stella. She wasn’t too sure how she felt about that. She never was one to be doted on. Instead, she wanted to be the best version of the guys that she could be. Her mind rotated between her commands to breathe and relax.
Brandon reached his long legs into the pickup and slid in behind the wheel. “It’s nice to see you again, Stella. How have you been?”
Brandon studied Stella’s profile before he turned the key. She was beautiful and complex. Her beauty was that of a princess with refined features, dark hair, a perfect smile and flawless sun-kissed skin. He knew she was so much more than her beauty. He was on guard to measure her response to compliments. He sensed that she needed her tough exterior, given the line of work she was in.
“It’s been a fantastic week. How about for you?” Stella wasn’t ready to share her big news. After all, Brandon was still a relative stranger.
“Yeah, it’s been a good week here, too. Busy, like most are, and there was a lot of travel this week so it went by fast.”
“Where do you travel?” Stella didn’t know much about Brandon’s work and didn’t recall knowing any lawyers on a personal level.
“Usually I travel to the larger Arizona-based farmers and ranchers. This week I went with a partner to some meetings in California and Colorado. They were agricultural meetings, discussing current events and potential lobbying efforts. It was interesting from a big picture standpoint, but there was still the regular work to do in the evenings.”
“I’m not familiar at all with what your work would look like. What is the regular work you had to do on top of traveling and going to meetings?”
“For the lawsuits I’m working on there is legal research to do and a lot of writing for the court, to explain our position and argue on behalf of our clients. Then there is discovery. Are you familiar with that from a lawsuit perspective?”
This was going just the way Stella wanted it to. Keep him talking so she didn’t have to reveal much. “I can’t say I am.”
The trip to the restaurant would take about thirty minutes, Stella estimated. If he kept talking, it would go by fast.
“All the parties in a lawsuit have a right to ask for answers to certain questions to get access
to things like documents, videos and other things that support or refute either the allegations the plaintiffs are making, or the defenses being raised by the other party. If you look at it, discovery brings fair play to the litigation; so all parties can put all the necessary information out on the table, so to speak. Posturing, stalling and ego games often overshadow objectivity. I find it frustrating.”
“Sorry but you need to break it down for me. Can you give me an example?” Stella understood the big picture. It sounded like two ranchers fighting over a fence line, neither of them wanting to be wrong and neither one having any real evidence to support their position.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to do all the talking here.”
“No, that’s fine. This is interesting to me. I’m learning something new.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am.” Stella was certain she wanted him to talk instead of her. The breathe, relax mantra was still floating through her mind. Hopefully it would take effect by the time they reached the restaurant. She knew she couldn’t avoid talking all night.
“With some attorneys, it becomes the classic standoff. They won’t tell you details about their client or their theory of the case. Instead, they put all kinds of pressure on you and your client to produce ridiculous amounts of information. At this stage of litigation, the information being exchanged doesn’t have to be the caliber of information that a judge or jury would make their decision on. The discovery rules allow for wide latitude to share information with limited arguments against sharing. So, the other side buries you in all this discovery that you know will never be relevant in the courtroom but you have little opportunity to fight against.”
“Well, that hardly seems fair. Is there no way to call it to the judge’s attention and have them referee the game?”
“Very good point. When the other side is using the discovery process to harass you or your client, it is possible to go to the court. But generally, they send the attorneys out to the hallway to come to some agreement or they assign a discovery referee to help resolve the dispute. Meanwhile, the parties are spending huge amounts of money because of the gaming going on.”
“Have you ever found it was the right thing to do for your client? I mean to bury the other guy in this discovery? Is it useful to buy time or anything like that?”
“On the rare occasion it has been the right thing to do, but it is so unprofessional and against our code of conduct that we – I - try to avoid it at all costs. I try to be reasonable with the other side. I ask for those things I believe we need to test the case and will meet with opposing counsel who has asked for too much and try to get their justification, but some days it feels like a big chess game that goes on and on with no winner.”
5
“That was the fastest trip to town I’ve ever had.”
Stella meant it. She always made this trip alone, listening to the radio, making lists in her head of things she had to pick up and things she had to complete when she returned home. It was great to have Brandon as a distraction. She had snuck a few glances at Brandon during the ride when she could study his face. He had a strong jaw and perfectly groomed brown hair. Given his striking good looks, she imaged his parents were a beautiful couple.
“I’m hoping the evening doesn’t pass too quickly. I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Stella. I’ve met no one like you before. Now, let’s see if you can get behind the food here at Casa de Francisco. You might find it old-fashioned and I mean no offense to you at all, but my father taught me to open the car door for a lady. I’ve done it all my life. Would you allow me the pleasure of opening the door for you?”
“No offense taken. My father taught my brothers the same and I respect them all for it. Happy to wait for you to open my door.” How nice of him to ask. Breathe. Relax.
Stella had seen smaller restaurants but Brandon was right; Casa de Francisco was on the small side. The owners had repurposed a house as a restaurant with authentic Mexican décor. The host met them at the door and greeted Brandon by name. Brandon introduced Stella to Jose, the son of the owners, who ushered them to a small side room with a private table for two.
“Well Mr. Cage, it appears you’ve been here before. Is there where you bring all your dates?”
“This restaurant is a family favorite. Jose’s parents and mine go back many years. My mother used to buy tamales from his mother when she sold them out of her home. As far as dates go, no. I don’t recall bringing a date here. When I was in high school I had two dates, both for prom, and my mother and the girls’ mothers orchestrated both. I seem to recall a group of us going out to Outback or Chili’s. In college and law school I went out some but didn’t date.”
“What does that mean?”
Before Brandon could answer, the waitress took their drink orders. Stella usually enjoyed a pull on a whiskey bottle after a long day’s work, but she thought refinement in her drinking habits was in order for this evening. She ordered the house margarita. Brandon joined her with the same.
“Well, groups of us would let our hair down at the pub near campus, but I didn’t do any one-on-one dating. It just wasn’t in the cards for me.” Brandon chuckled. “I may seem like a super-smart geek, but I had to study hard to get through school.”
“So, now that you’ve made it through school and you’re out in the work world, are you glad you did it? Go to law school, I mean?”
Brandon looked into Stella’s eyes and smiled. “Yes, if only because it was an entree for me to meet you.”
“Slick, Brandon. I guess I invited that one, didn’t I?”
“What? I mean it, Stella. You intrigue me and you are oh, so beautiful. Now, why don’t you tell me something about yourself?”
“Thank you for the compliment. I don’t hear that much, thankfully. I mean I don’t want my co-workers looking at me that way. If they do, I lose respect. They don’t see me as an equal.”
“So, how did you come to be a cowboy anyway? I think you have to admit that it’s an unusual profession for a woman.”
“It is. And there is nothing I would rather be doing. I grew up on a ranch in South Dakota with three brothers. We were all competitive with one another, so from an early age I learned basic cowboy skills. We were in rodeos and raised rodeo livestock. For me, it’s a natural fit.”
“The girls I knew in school who grew up on a ranch would never have thought to go the cowboy route. They would rather be rodeo queen or a rancher’s wife raising kids. I think it’s awesome that you’ve paved your own way into a world you seem to love.”
“Yes, I love it. I didn’t know what I would do after high school. There was nothing in the college catalog that interested me and the ranch was getting crowded with the boys coming and going and at least two of them planning to start their own places, eventually. I took a road trip and by some circumstance, I landed in New Mexico at a ranch there. The owners took me in and gave me free rein to develop my cowboy skills. It was a real blessing.”
“So, how did you get here to Arizona from New Mexico? And with the Drakes? They are such wonderful people.”
“They have been a godsend, for sure. I outgrew the job in New Mexico and the owners saw that. They introduced me to Martin and Clara and encouraged me to join them at Winding Slough Ranch. It’s been a wonderful three years with them there and I’m ready for a change.”
“Oh? I just met you! Are you looking at leaving already?”
“I’m not going far. Martin and Clara offered me a foreman position up at Rabbit Creek Ranch, up north about eighty miles.”
“Congratulations. That’s quite a promotion for you. Is that on the federal land up there? Martin told me he was running cattle up there.”
“That’s right. He’s had a herd up there for a long time. His foreman has to retire for family reasons, and I feel honored that they would offer me the position. It’s going to differ from my usual experience, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
“I would love
to hear more about it when you get into the position. When do you start?”
Stella laughed. “Well, that’s a funny story. Clara and Martin are requiring me to take a vacation, to go home and see my family before I can start.”
“That’s sweet of them. You are probably one to work constantly and not take the time to enjoy yourself. That’s my guess.”
“You’re not too wrong. I love my job. And I love my family too. I haven’t been home for two or three years and it would be great to visit. I appreciate their position. I squirm a bit at the thought of being forced to do it, but I’ll get over that and enjoy it. Tomorrow I’ll call my mom and see when they are available. They travel some so it could be right away, or not.”
Dinner arrived and was a welcome reprieve for Stella. She had talked more about herself than she wanted already and she needed a breather.
“Look at this plate! It’s overflowing with food. It looks wonderful.” Stella looked at the waitress. “Thank you!”
“Can I get either of you anything else?”
“Stella, would you care to join me in another drink or a glass of wine?”
“Sure. I’ll have whatever you’re having.” Wine didn’t seem the right drink to combine with the meal before her, but another margarita seemed too sweet and overkill. Brandon ordered them each a Paloma. Stella hoped it would be less sweet than the margarita. And it was.
“I hope someday you will invite me up to see Rabbit Creek Ranch. I am interested in learning all the variations on livestock operations. It’s my hope to study and support ranchers of diverse backgrounds with many styles and sizes of ranch operations.”
Brandon secretly dreamed of a higher profile political position. One day… but he had a lot to learn before that and his sophomoric ideas of better ways of doing business needed to evolve and grow through the tutelage of operators and lawmakers who went before him. It also interested him to learn how other countries support their farmers and ranchers, which Brandon saw as the backbone of the American way.