Fiction: Jaudon – An American Family (a novel) [23]

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Chapter 23. Oilmen

Unlike Ricardo, who looked upon the oil business as a banker, Claude saw the oil business through the eyes of an engineer. Ricardo wanted to know how to make money off it and Claude wanted to know how it worked.
    The drilling of wells wasn’t something new. The difference for Claude was that before it was for water, and now it was for black gold. The need for oil had increased since the Civil War. The country was growing and needed fuel to power it into the next century, a century where the car he saw at the World Fair would be commonplace upon the landscape of America. Claude saw the boom that was coming, and it made his blood race. Within a few months, he had a complete library of books dealing with oil drilling and refining.
    After he felt well-enough versed in the oil production side of the business, he sat down with his father again to talk about their oil deal with Ricardo. It was after dinner and they were having an evening whiskey in James’ study. “This deal you have with Ricardo,” Claude asked, “is there a contract?”

    James was sipping his whiskey. He looked over his glass at his son. “The bank deal’s on paper – I wouldn’t hand out $200,000 without one. The how-we-divide-up-stuff and who-controls-what, well, none of that is on paper. I guess Ricardo believes he’ll be in charge of the whole shooting match. That was never my intention, but I never voiced it to him because I had yet to speak to you.”
    Claude took a pencil and paper off James’ desk and began to make notes. “So, for your investment in the bank you have a quarter interest – is that right?”
    “That’s what’s on paper.”
    Claude wrote something and looked up. “The way the oil profit is to be divided was more or less a conversation, not an agreement. Is that right?”
    James poured more whiskey. “There’s no money coming in to even call it profit, no less talk about it. The leases are all in my name and I can do as I feel like with them. I like Ricardo. I mean, I really do like Ricardo, and I know you two are like brothers – but this is business. He isn’t family, you are. When I’m gone, the family must carry on and what is ours will always stay ours.”
    “Here is what I propose,” said Claude. He took a long drink before continuing. “We will incorporate two companies. One to handle the leases and one to drill for oil. That way the liability for a bad well will have no effect on our leases. Ricardo will have to eat the loss for bad wells. You’ll be President of the two companies and I’ll run them as Head of Operations. If Ricardo wants to be our banker, he can be, and we will run all our business through his bank. He’ll make a lot of money if he takes the deal. The oil business will be our business. We’ll be gentlemen cattlemen and full-time oilmen.
    Claude spent the next two months completing all the paperwork. He hired an attorney in Austin to file the papers of incorporation, and, to shorten the normal six-month wait, he had the attorney walk the papers through the process. He got word on Christmas Eve that the two companies were incorporated, the day Dominique went into labor.
    The labor was long and hard, and it wasn’t until mid-morning of Christmas Day that the sounds of a crying baby were heard. Claude was in the study with James when they heard them. Claude ran from the study to the east wing and threw open the door. Dominique was holding a bundle wrapped in a blanket. The midwives were removing the bloody sheets. Dominique gave him a weak smile and whispered, “Isn’t he beautiful?”
    Claude pulled back the blanket from the baby’s face. His heart sank. The child was no darker than his sister but he had the features of his grandmother Chassy. Claude bent and kissed Dominique’s forehead. “A most beautiful baby. You did well, my love. Now get some rest while these wonderful ladies clean up.”
    As he walked to the door, he heard her say, “I love you. Will you let me know what to name our new boy?”
    Claude returned to the study, where James asked, “How are Dominique and the baby?”
    Claude poured a glass of whiskey and fell into his chair. “He will never pass as white.”
    James got up and walked to the bar to pour himself a drink. He took a sip and came back and sat down. “Son, I’ve built everything you see from nothing. I would like to believe that if I had had all of this money and power when I came into Texas, I might not have denied that you were of mixed-blood. I wouldn’t have needed to be accepted by the other cattlemen or needed to have my son accepted. I would like to think that, but I’m not sure how I would actually have acted.”
    Claude took a gulp. “He’s a beautiful boy, dad. I just don’t know what to do.”
    James threw back his drink and banged the glass on the table. “By God, he’s a Jaudon, and he’s family. I loved your mother. That is why you’re here, and I will love my grandchild as I loved her and love you. And I’ll kill any son-of-a-bitch that tries to hurt him.”
    Claude walked over and poured another drink, turned, and smiled at James. “Here’s to Claude Napoleon Jaudon III! And from this day forth I will be Claude Napoleon Jaudon II. I will make my son so rich that every white man in Texas will be kissing his ass.”

A week after New Year’s Day, a courier delivered a package to Ricardo from Claude offering to allow Ricardo’s bank, MexTex of Houston, Texas, to become the sole banker for J & J Oil Exploration Company. Claude’s proposal went on to say that, to-date, he and his father had 130 leases and would like to have a line of credit of $1,000,000. The package also contained copies of incorporation and other legal documents.
    Three days later, papers were served on James saying Ricardo was suing him for breach of contract, and stating that James was violating their oral agreement.
    James called Claude into the study. “You have to go to Houston and talk with Ricardo. He and his family go back to the beginning of this ranch. I don’t want bad blood between us.”
    Claude held up his hands. “What did you think would happen once he learned you never intended to give him those leases?”
    “You have to explain to him that there will be enough money to go around for everybody. Once we hit oil and people find out he’s our banker everybody will want to put their money into his bank. You have to sell him on this. My God, my sons are living with his father.”
    “You might want to move my brothers back home. I never understood why you sent them away in the first place.”
    “I did it for their safety. People were shooting at the house, and Juan and Maria were so afraid they told me they were moving back to Mexico. I asked them to take the boys. Hell, I couldn’t look after them and fight a range war at the same time.”
    Claude had yet to sit down. “You found time to go make another baby. What about that? How many other brothers or sisters do I have spread around the countryside?”
    James’ face had grown red. “You listen to me, my son. You get this one free pass, but don’t you ever speak to me like this again. In my house, you will show me respect, or you will get the hell out. You have yet to walk in my shoes. You were in the East fucking coeds while I was building an empire. You know nothing of what I’ve had to do.”
    Claude took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry. The baby has kept me up for the last week crying, and this thing with Ricardo – I don’t want to deal with it. I had hoped he would see the advantage of staying on friendly terms with us.”
    “The weight you are carrying is the weight you asked for, so learn to deal with it, or it will crush you. Weak men don’t do great things. You have to suffer, and most of the time those around you will suffer also. Now is the time to decide if you want to do great things or not.”
    Claude walked around the desk and put his arms around his father. “I’ll catch the morning train to Houston. I will try to make Ricardo happy, but if I can’t – well, he needs us more than we need him.”

The next day, Claude had one of the hands bring out a horse and he rode to San Antonio, where he bedded the horse at a stable. He caught the 8 o’clock train and slept all the way to Houston. The new baby was killing him. Donna had been such a wonderful baby, but he had no idea what he was in for with Trey, which is what they were calling Claude III.
    Houston now had horse-drawn taxies waiting at the train station for customers. He caught one and as he rode to Ricardo’s bank he noticed how few people were riding horses. Most rode in carriages. The horseless carriage would be welcomed with open arms – there was no doubt about that.

    He stepped down from the taxi and admired the outside of Ricardo’s bank. Ricardo had constructed a fine-looking building. Its stone facing and barred windows gave off a sense of security. Inside he was greeted by an armed guard, to whom he gave his name and said he had business with Mr. Rodrigo.
    He was led into Ricardo’s office, which was laid out much like James’ study. Ricardo came from around the desk and grabbed his hand. “It has been too long since we last spoke! In times past we were never apart for more than a day.”
    Claude looked around the office. “Looks like you’re doing pretty good.”
    Ricardo smiled. “Can I get you a drink?”
    “Sure! What do you have?”
    “Believe it or not, I have cognac. It seems somebody’s shipment came to me. It was a wonderful present, but three cases seemed a little much…until I now find you were fucking me out of my leases. Now they seem like puny compensation.”
    “I shipped the cognac from New York before I knew I wasn’t coming back for three years. By the time I returned, I had forgotten about it – until now.”
    “I have drunk only one bottle. Unlike some other people, I can be trusted. If you would like the other bottles back, I’ll have them shipped to you.” Ricardo handed him the glass of cognac and took his seat behind the desk.
    “For one damn thing,” said Claude with some heat, “I never asked for your word not to drink the cognac – which you can keep – any more than my father was asked to give you his word about the leases being yours.”
    “Let’s say you are right. But among friends there are things that shouldn’t have to be ask for, they are just understood.”
    Claude drank the cognac, the first he had had since France. “I didn’t come all this way to debate you about friendship. The fact is, you’ll make more money with me running the company than you would have made the way you were setting it up. I’m ready to offer you a quarter of the drilling company if you will drop the lawsuit.”
    “What if I don’t?”
    “Then you get nothing. We sell off our share of your bank to some asshole and take our business somewhere else. You have no cards to play. Please take this deal and let’s make some money together.”

Copyright © 2019 by Ed Rogers