Fiction: Jaudon – An American Family (a novel) [40]

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Chapter 40. Misjudged

Ricardo was waiting in Chicago to be picked up at the train station by his sister and José Jaudon. Ricardo’s attorney had prepared papers to challenge James Jaudon’s will. He was going after JJ Ranch, or three-quarters of it anyway. He hadn’t read the will, but if José and Jésus’ widow and son, Juan Martinez, were mentioned in the will, they would have been notified, and they had heard nothing.
    And then there was Sophie Davis; Ricardo was sure that Clara Davis would want her daughter to have what was due her. The big question, and the most important part of the puzzle, was José.

    Ricardo was in Chicago for meetings with some large bankers who wanted to buy him out. He had no intention of selling, but it gave him a reason to be there other than to strong-arm José into signing the challenge papers.
    A number of carriages for hire were lined up outside the station. Over their tops and toward the back, he saw José standing in a carriage and waving. Ricardo made his way down the line to the carriage, which he now saw also held his sister, Sara, and the couple’s daughter, Maria.
    José shouted over the street noise, “Welcome to Chicago!” He then jumped down and helped secure Ricardo’s luggage on the back.
    “This is my first time in Chicago. It’s a very noisy city.” They stepped into the carriage and Ricardo hugged his sister and his niece. “Maria, you are turning into a beautiful young lady!”
    José told the driver to take them back to the house, where he picked them up, and settled in the seat next to little Maria and across from Sara and Ricardo. “So, you’re meeting with some of our bankers. What’s that all about?”

    Ricardo was wearing a black suit and a black bowler hat and the sun was warm, so he removed his hat and placed it in his lap. “I go through this about once a year – somebody wanting to buy me out. This year I decided to come to see my family and let the bankers wine and dine me before I tell them no.”
    One of the new Modal T’s raced around the carriage as it turned onto Lake Shore Drive and Ricardo was getting his first look at a great lake. “My God, it’s an inland ocean!”
    Hundreds of people were walking along the breakwater wall along the shore or just sitting on its bricks. José laughed and snorted, “It’s beautiful now, but come back here in the middle of winter, when ice will cover the bricks and splash all the way across Lake Shore Drive, and the wind off the lake will cut like a knife.”
    Ricardo looked at José wonderingly. Did he detect some dissatisfaction with Chicago in José’s voice? “I thought you loved it here.”
    José looked dreamingly out across the lake. “I love the work and the people I work with, but the winters are getting to me. I think a lot about the offer J.F. made me. On cold, snowy, mornings here when I’m fighting my way to work, I find myself wishing I had taken his offer.”
    Ricardo tried to measure his words. He had been given an opening, but it might close as fast as it had opened. “All that may be possible.”
    José had been thinking out loud and wasn’t sure what Ricardo was addressing. “All what?”
    Ricardo put his hat back on. “We’ll speak of it later. In the meantime, I wish to enjoy the view – without any ice or snow.”

    No more was said of ice and snow. Ricardo was now regretting that he had waited until winter to approach José. They passed the Michael Reese Hospital, where José was a surgeon, and a block later turned off of Lake Shore Drive and into an upscale neighborhood. On both sides of the tree-lined street were big houses set back fifty feet from the curb with landscaped lawns.
    The carriage pulled into a circular drive that led to a large two-story brick house and stopped at the front steps. The two men jumped out and helped Sara and Maria down. José paid the driver as Ricardo got his bags from the back.
    A butler came running down the steps and grabbed Ricardo’s bags and hurried back into the house. Ricardo stared at José. “You have servants?”
    “It’s a big house. Sara couldn’t take care of it by herself.”
    “So, if there are only three of you, why not live in a smaller house?”

    José put his hand on Ricardo’s back as they walked into the house. “I work at the top hospital in Chicago, if not in the United States. As such, I’m expected to project success. This is all for show. Three more doctors live on this street.”
    At the foot of the staircase, José stopped and pointed up. “Your room is the third door on the right. Our butler’s name is Jason. He will be putting up your clothes. If you wish to freshen up before dinner, he will provide you with linen, soap, and anything else you might need. We’ll be eating in an hour. Maybe after dinner, and over a cigar and whiskey, you’ll explain what ‘all’ you were speaking of?”
    Ricardo smiled. “I look forward to that discussion.”
    At the top of the stairs he looked down, but José had disappeared. He opened the third door on the right and found Jason busy hanging up his clothes. He placed his hat on the table and removed his jacket.

Ricardo had cleaned up and put on more comfortable clothes. After dinner, the brothers-in-law went to José’s study. José poured the whiskey while Ricardo, who didn’t smoke, was trying to light his cigar.
    José handed a glass to Ricardo and took the cigar, clipped the end off, and handed it back. “Try it now; I believe you’ll have better luck.”
    Ricardo rolled the cigar in his fingers and set it on an ashtray on the desk in front of him. “Maybe I should just stick to what I know, whiskey.”
    José kicked back in his chair, put his feet up on the corner of the desk, and lit his own cigar. Ricardo thought, My God, he looks just like J.F.!
    José took a long puff on the cigar. “Now, what is the secret you could not tell me earlier?”
    Ricardo cleared his throat. “I believe I have a way for you to move yourself and your family out of Chicago and become wealthy at the same time.”
    José paused and set his glass down. “Okay, you have my attention. What is your plan?”
    “Before I go into the details, let me ask you something. Are you serious about leaving Chicago?”
    “Yes. I’m hating the thought of one more cold winter here. We’re so close to the lake that, when I step out my door on some mornings, the icy wind takes my breath away. On such days you can never get a carriage, and I end up walking to the hospital in freezing wind.”

    Ricardo removed the papers from his jacket. “My attorney says that you are entitled to a child’s portion of James Jaudon’s estate, which includes some of the best ranch land in Texas. With San Antonio expanding, the land itself is worth more money than any cow could bring.”
    José picked up the papers that Ricardo had laid in front of him. “What are these?”
    “Those are papers that, once you sign them, will be filed in a lawsuit against Claude Jaudon and J.F.’s estate.”
    José looked at the papers in some astonishment. “You want me to sue my family?”
    Ricardo finished his whiskey. “I want you to think about it. It will actually be James Jaudon’s estate that you will be suing. Speak to Sara tonight or tomorrow. I’ll not be leaving until the day after tomorrow. You can give me your answer then. And keep in mind that your bother’s son has a share in this also. If you decide no, Juan Martinez gets cut out also.”
    “Does Sara know about this?”
    “No one but you, me, and my attorney know about this.”
    “I’ll let you know before you leave.”
    Ricardo stood up. “That’s all I ask. I have nothing to gain from this myself, but I’m tired of seeing people I care about getting the short end of the stick.”
    José reflected, “Carmen and my nephew are well taken care of on my father-in-law’s ranch. They’re doing okay.”
    “As you know, I gave up any claim I had to my family’s ranch in favor of them. But they could lose that ranch tomorrow. Martinez is still a young man feeling his way through life. A ranch needs a strong hand at the top, and I’m not sure that Martinez is that man.”
    José laughed. “That sure the hell is not me! Are you looking for someone to run both ranches? I’m no rancher.”
    “Nor am I, but I’m a business person, and we can protect that land if you go along with this lawsuit.”
    José nodded his head thoughtfully. “It’s something to think about.”

The next morning, Ricardo took a carriage into downtown. “He had a nine o’clock meeting in the National Bank of Chicago building. Then they would take him out for a night on the town and put him up in a VIP suite at the best hotel in town. Then at breakfast the next morning he would give them the sad news that he didn’t want to sell. It was a dance he knew well. After breakfast, he would go to José’s and have him sign the papers and then he would be on the evening train home. It was nice to have a plan.
    At the bank, he was taken up to the tenth-floor meeting room by elevator. Inside were three elegantly dressed men. The one at the head of the table came to greet him. “Mr. Rodrigo, I’m Mr. Homer. This is Mr. Carton and Mr. Maron. Please have a seat.”
    Ricardo had expected a warmer welcome. Coffee and rolls at least. These guys were all business. He nodded at the other two, who sat across from the chair he was offered. A stack of papers stood in front of the chair. He looked down at it but didn’t lift a finger toward picking it up.
    Mr.Homer said, “That’s a proposal for buying your bank, Mr. Rodrigo. It may not be the price you think your bank is worth, but it’s what we feel it’s worth to us. I’m guessing you thought you were here to negotiate. There is no negotiation, Mr. Rodrigo. We have tried to buy you out before. This is our only offer. You can either take the money, or we will put you out of business. You don’t have the money to compete with us; it’s as simple as that.”
    The other two men stood, and Mr. Homer moved close to Ricardo and placed a hand on his back. “Sign the papers. It’s your best option. If you leave the papers and walk, the result will be the same for us.”
    Ricardo heard the men going down the hall, and then heard the elevator doors open. He looked at the papers, picked them up, and threw them across the room.

Copyright © 2020 by Ed Rogers