Mayfield Enterprises Pt. 01

I want to thank Black Randi for creating Legend's Day a few years ago.

I also want to thank her for getting many of my favorite authors to participate. I am looking forward to reading this year's stories.

If you enjoy the stories posted on Thursday, 3/17, please thank Black Randi for putting this event together, and be sure to thank the authors for their efforts.

My entry to the Money Honey event, Mayfield Enterprises, is in two parts. I am posting both parts together, so you shouldn't have to wait long for Part Two. I hope you enjoy the story.

KK

Mayfield Enterprises by KK Part One

Prolog

By 2006 cracks were already starting to show in the US economy although most people didn't see them, or they just ignored the signs. The cause of the 2008 financial crisis was underway. The trigger for the crisis was the sale of unregulated investment derivatives over the last ten years. One of the major contributors to the financial collapse was Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS).

An MBS starts when a bank loans money to a homebuyer. The bank holds that mortgage for two or three years and then sells it to Fannie Mae to get more funds to make more mortgage loans. Fannie Mae then packages several mortgages together and resells them on what is referred to as the secondary market. This bundle of mortgages is called a mortgage-backed security. The value of an MBS is based on the value of the mortgages bundled into the package.

Because of the ease with which the banks can sell their mortgage loans to Fannie Mae the banks have been willing to make higher-risk loans to homebuyers. Many of these mortgages are interest-only or adjustable-rate mortgages and when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates between 2004 and 2006 driving up the interest rates on home mortgages many homeowners found that they could no longer afford their homes. When the number of mortgage defaults reached critical mass the housing bubble burst and disrupted the world economy.

Part One -- Ashville, North Carolina

Chapter 1

December 12, 2006

It was another boring Christmas party. It was my third time at the Thompson and Associates Brokerage and Investments Firm year-end party. The food was great, and the drinks were flowing but the conversation around our table held no interest for me. I am Tom Mayfield, and I didn't work for T&A, I was my wife, Michele's plus one for the party. Michele, who is called Micki by almost everyone that knows her, is my wife of three years and one of the top salespeople at T&A.

"So, Micki, when are you going to start putting your clients into the latest MBS products?" asked Bob Ford, one of Micki's friends at the office.

"I wouldn't invest my money into any of those products and I won't suggest anything to my clients that I wouldn't invest in myself," Micki said.

"Your clients are missing out on an opportunity to make a lot of money," said Mark Henry, Micki's boss. "You should get in on these products now before the profit margins begin to shrink."

"Like that is ever going to happen," said Leon Goldberg. "The MBS market is the gift that will keep on giving." Leon was the top sales performer in the office.

I sat only half-listening to the conversation, but I began to wonder why Micki was holding back on investing our money in something that was paying such high returns. I had no idea what an MBS was, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself and embarrass Micki in front of the people she worked with, so I kept my mouth shut and decided to wait until we got home to ask her why she wasn't taking Mark and Leon's advice.

Let me say here that Micki knows more about financial planning and investment strategies than the professors that taught her those subjects in college. I, on the other hand, know nothing about those things and leave our financial planning and investment decisions to Micki.

When we got home that night I said, "What is an MBS and if they are so profitable, why aren't we investing in them?"

"An MBS is a Mortgage-Backed Security and I have a bad feeling about them. I've been seeing danger signs in those markets, and I think there could be big problems coming," Micki said.

"If that's true, why are Mark and Leon so high on them?" I said.

"They are so focused on the profits they're making that they refused to believe anything bad is going to happen."

"What do you think is going to happen?" I said.

"I think these MBSs are a time bomb waiting to explode and when they do the housing market is going to collapse," Micki said.

"How bad could it be?"

"I think it has the potential to take down the whole US economy."

I thought about what Micki told me for a minute and knew that I would trust her judgment over Mark and Leon's. Then another thought occurred to me. I was a Project Manager for a homebuilder in Jacksonville and I was busy building houses all over northern Florida. "How is all this going to affect my job?"

"All I can say is that you should start looking for a job in a different industry," Micki said. "I intend to do the same. When the bubble bursts T&A will be in big trouble and I don't want to be there when that happens," Micki said.

Micki couldn't give me an estimate of when the housing bubble would burst. She said it could be another two or three years or maybe sooner. Trusting Micki's judgment, I decided not to wait to see if the bubble would burst and I sent my resume out to a headhunter.

For nine months I didn't get any job offers. Bill Ferguson, the agent from the headhunter I hired, told me the job market was already showing signs of a coming economic decline.

In October of 2007, Ferguson called me and said that he had a possible job offer for me. "How would you feel about moving to Ashville, North Carolina?"

"I don't know, I would have to discuss that with my wife. What's the job?" I said.

"The job is with Standard Auto Services Corporation. They are in the auto repair business. They build automobile service centers then they sell the centers as franchises. They need project managers to oversee the construction of their new centers. The starting salary would be about two thousand less than you are currently making but there is room for growth."

"That sounds interesting, but how much travel is involved?"

"Right now, they are building centers in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, so there would be a good deal of travel involved."

"How solid is this company. The economy is starting to look bad, will they be able to survive a recession?" This was a question that Micki told me to ask about any prospective employer. She worries that any project manager position in the construction industry could be risky.

"The individual I spoke with said that these service centers will be necessary if there is a recession. If people can't buy new cars, they will need inexpensive places to get their older cars serviced," Bill said.

I told Bill I would discuss the offer with Micki and call him back in the morning.

When I got home that evening Micki was in the kitchen making fried chicken. The first meal Micki ever prepared for me was her fried chicken. Her grandmother had given her the recipe and that was the first time she had ever tried it. It turned out to be the best fried chicken I had ever eaten and became my favorite meal.

I waited until after we had cleaned the kitchen to tell Micki about the job offer from Standard Auto Services Corporation. I thought that she might balk when I told her we would have to move to Ashville, North Carolina if I took the job.

"Ashville is supposed to be a beautiful area," Micki said. "When would you have to start?"

"They want me to start the first of the month," I said.

"That only gives us three weeks. I'll have to give my notice at T&A and contact all of my clients to tell them that I leaving. It'll take me more than three weeks to be ready to move."

"So you would be okay with going to Ashville," I said.

"As I told you, the troubles that are coming are going to destroy T&A and certainly put you out of work. This job offer sounds good but let me do some research on the company. If the company looks good, I think you should take the job."

Micki spent two hours on her computer that night researching SASC and said that they looked like a solid company with a good business plan and that I should accept their offer.

Chapter 2

October 2007

I moved to Ashville the last week of October and found a two-bedroom apartment for us while Micki stayed in Jacksonville to handle the sale of our house and notifying her clients that she was leaving T&A. Micki told her former clients that they could sign on with one of the other T&A Brokers or transfer their business to another brokerage. Micki was also sending out her resume to brokers near Ashville and managed to land a job with a broker that just opened an office in Ashville.

It took a month to sell the house in what had been a hot market just a few months earlier. We had to lower our asking price by $5,000 to close the deal, but we still made money on the sale.

When Micki finally got to Ashville, I was working on two SASC service centers in western North Carolina, so I was able to be home every night. For the next four months, we had a great time exploring the area.

In the spring of 2008, Micki and I bought a house that was in foreclosure. It was the first house built in what was planned to be a new subdivision eleven miles north of the city of Ashville on the western side of the French Broad River. The house on Chandler Road was on a hill overlooking the river and was the only one built in the subdivision before the builders went bankrupt. The house was a big wood frame colonial, with a walkout basement, four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and a two-car garage. We loved the house and thought it would be perfect for raising a family, but it took a while for us to get used to the quiet, being so far from our nearest neighbor.

Micki's new job wasn't a lot different than the one she had at T&A back in Jacksonville. She quickly grew her client list and even had some of her previous clients look her up. In January, the two projects I was managing were completed so I picked up two more, but these were in Tennessee. So now I was spending three or four nights a week away from home. It was difficult, but the plan was to work this job until the housing market improved so that I could go back to working in the home building industry again. The one benefit of being away so much was the sex when I came home.

After four years with SASC, I was doing well and the company was expanding so I found myself spending more time away from home, but Micki never complained. While I was running all over the Carolinas and Tennessee, Micki was using her skill as an investment advisor to build our wealth with a plan for us to start our family and be able to retire young.

Chapter 3

March 2012

Returning home for a four-day weekend after being away for three weeks, I was greeted at the door by a very serious Micki.

"Tom, I've been thinking about starting our family, but our current financial position isn't where I would like it to be yet. But I have a new investment opportunity that can get us where we need to be in about two years. If we do this, we'll be able to start our family and I will be able to be a stay-at-home mom."

"You know me, I don't know anything about investing, I am just a hammer and nail kind of guy. I trust your judgment when it comes to investing our money. So, what is this big idea, and how sure are you that it's a good opportunity?"

"I don't want to say yet. I met an investment advisor at a seminar I attended a couple of months ago, and we have been discussing this idea for a couple of weeks. He has experience in this kind of investment, and he likes my idea. His name is Dave Nesbit, and he is coming over tonight to discuss the possibility of us pooling our money so that we can grab this opportunity before someone else does."

"Is this your idea or his?"

"Mine. I just ran the idea by Dave to see what he thought, and he got excited about it and thinks we can make a killing. We are looking at the potential to more than triple our investment. It will mean more money, honey."

"It sounds like you want to invest a lot of our money in the deal. Are you sure this is a reasonable risk?"

"Yes, I believe it is. Let's wait till Dave gets here and I will explain the deal and how much we would need to invest to make this work.

I heard the car as it came up our driveway, so I went out to meet Nesbit, as he arrived in a red 2010 Corvette. I was a little jealous because I always liked Corvettes but have always had to drive a truck like my Ford F150 Four Wheel Drive because that was what I needed for my job.

As we shook hands, I sized him up, and I guessed he was doing the same with me. Nesbit was about my height at six-foot-two. His brown hair was shorter and darker than mine and he had a mustache. He had a friendly smile and when he spoke, I noticed a slight accent that I could not place. As we walked into the house, I asked him where he was from.

"I grew up in Pennsylvania, but before moving here I spent ten years in Cincinnati."

"Reds or Phillies?" I asked.

"Pirates."

When Nesbit and I walked into the living room Micki was coming in from the kitchen carrying a tray with two beers, a glass of white wine, and snacks.

"I see you two have already met so we can get started," Micki said.

Micki looked at Dave and said, "I haven't told Tom what our actual plan is yet, so I will do that now.

"A month ago, I was working with one of my clients and he mentioned that he owns a drilling company, and he has been fracking for natural gas in Oklahoma and he told me that one of his competitors wants to start fracking in North Carolina. The legislature here recently approved fracking in the state and they plan to allow companies to start drilling here sometime next year.

"He told me that his competitor would probably start contacting property owners in a few months to make deals with them so that he can start extracting the gas on their property. After my conversation with him, the idea came to me. You can't legally explore, extract, or sell the mineral deposits, below the surface of the ground, and that includes natural gas unless you either own the mineral rights for that property or have a lease agreement with the owner of those rights.

"I did a little research and found that if we could get to the owners first and buy their mineral rights, the drilling company would then have to get those leases from us. If they want to extract the natural gas, they will have to pay us for the privilege. This can be a very lucrative deal for us."

As soon as Micki finished, Nesbit jumped in. "When Micki told me about her idea, I did my own research, and she is right. We can buy the rights to the gas under the land without having to buy the property. I think we could easily triple our investment if we move fast on this."

I trusted Micki's judgment, but I had no reason to trust Nesbit, so I wasn't sure what to think. It sounded risky to me.

"Why would any of these property owners want to sell us their mineral rights?" I said.

"That's the beauty of this. Most of the landowners don't own the mineral rights to what lies beneath their land. Often those rights were bought decades ago. I did a search of public records and found out that the majority of the mineral rights in the area we are looking at are owned by one family. I contacted Daniel Owen, the head of the family, and asked if they would be interested in selling their mineral rights to us. Mr. Owen told me they would be interested in selling the rights to us, for the right price. He said that his great-grandfather's family owned most of the land in that area and when they sold it off the family retained the mineral rights in case oil was discovered in the area, but that never happened," Nesbit said.

I got the impression that Micki and Nesbit were determined to go through with this plan with or without my agreement. Again, I trusted Micki's judgment so I told her I would go along with whatever she suggested.

"If we do this, how much is this going to cost us?" I asked.

"We will put in $500,000 and Dave will match it. That will give us enough to purchase the mineral rights from the Owen family."

"That's a lot of money, are you sure you want to do this?" I said.

"It's too good an opportunity to pass up," Micki said, and Nesbit nodded his head in agreement.

"What do we need to do now?" I said.

"We have a partnership agreement we need to sign, and I need your power of attorney to act on your behalf when you're out town," Micki said as she handed me a stack of papers to sign. I think I signed seven different documents.

Micki must have been exceptionally horny because as soon as Nesbit left, she dragged me off to bed, pushed me down, opened my pants, and took my cock into her mouth. Micki has no hang-ups about giving me oral sex, but it is unusual for her to start by taking me in her mouth without any foreplay. I didn't complain.

Once she had me fully erect, Micki got off the bed and undressed in a provocative and teasing way. When she was naked, she climbed on the bed and stood over me, and slowly lowered herself down until her pussy was only inches from my face. I could smell her musky scent which was not unpleasant. I knew what Micki wanted, so I didn't hesitate. I lifted my head slightly and flicked my tongue over her vulva. I did this a few more times until Micki's lower lips were hanging open. Then I lifted my head farther, accepting Micki's invitation, and pushed my tongue inside her excited pussy. I lay my head back down on the pillow as Micki squatted down over my face and covered my mouth with her wet pussy. As I continued to give my full attention to Micki's love nest, she bent forward and once again took my cock into her mouth.

As Micki began to climb the upslope of orgasm mountain, she let my cock slip from her mouth so that she could let out the moans and cries of sexual satisfaction. As her orgasm subsided, Micki took my cock back into her mouth and worked on my engorged member until I climaxed in her mouth. Micki will let me cum in her mouth, but she doesn't swallow, so as soon as she had taken all I was going to give, Micki headed into the bathroom to get rid of the thick load I had deposited in her mouth.

When Micki returned, she went to the window and opened the drapes and then stood naked as she stared out the window. I walked over behind her, put my arms around Micki's waist, and pulled her back against me. I began kissing her neck, and she turned her head so that I could kiss her mouth. We let our tongues play with each other while I pressed my recovering erection against her soft butt. As we continued kissing, I moved my hands up to Micki's t breasts and played with her nipples.

"We shouldn't be doing this in front of the window, Micki said.

"Why not? No one around here can see us."

I knew it was unlikely that anyone could see us, but just thinking that it might be possible, added to my excitement.

I guessed that Micki felt the same way because she didn't resist as I moved my right hand up between her legs and fingered her clit.

Micki reached back and squeezed my cock, and said, "I want you to fuck me now, right here in front of the window."

Micki spread her legs and I moved between them so that I could work my cock into her still excited pussy, then standing in front of the window; we made love. When Micki had her orgasm, I held her until I climaxed inside her. My legs felt like they turned to rubber, and I had difficulty standing. When my cock was no longer erect enough to stay inside Micki, it slipped out, causing my spunk to leak from her pussy and run down the inside of her thigh. Afterward, we both cleaned ourselves up and went to bed.