I had done everything right. I worked hard in high school, volunteered, played sports, and kept myself very busy with all kinds of work. Then when I got to the college of my dreams I again worked hard. I got perfect grades, volunteered, attended the right clubs, played sports, and kept my eyes on the prize.
My goal was to be a lawyer. Not a criminal lawyer or defense lawyer. But a contract lawyer.
I got accepted and completed law school. By the age of 23. Not an easy thing to do.
So, when I was head hunted by the Seattle Seahawks to be a corporate contract lawyer I jumped at the chance. I packed up, moved, and started ASAP.
The work was fun, the career aspects were unlimited, and the pay was amazing. The benefits of the job were amazing. One such benefit was they paid off my college loans the day I got hired. I had agreed to a 5 year contract. As long as I did the whole 5 years. I didn't have to pay it back.
Then there were other benefits. The men. So many millionaires and a few billionaires. But also, the men in great shape. When the Seahawks were playing or scouting or other stuff. I worked for the same business.
It wasn't as glamorous as football. But I did contracts for hockey, soccer, and other sports under their control.
It was only 6 months into my contract when I began to have troubles. One of many bosses. But he was the worst. We will call him Allen.
He was terrible around women. Cracking jokes about their clothes, attire, their attractiveness, and he would loudly boast about which one he thought would be the best at blow jobs. He was a real pig.
I stayed clear of him as best I could. But women made up less than 10% of the workforce. And my job did not overlap with his presence often. But inevitably. It happened.
The first time he saw me he went out of his way to shout at me, accuse me of trying to "pick him up", and then he slapped my ass as I tried to walk away. I yelled at him and cursed him out. He of course laughed and high fived many other bosses and men around.
I made sure to keep a journal of all his exploits. Not just with me. But of the other stupid shit he did around me and the other women.
After over a year. I was finished with his actions. I was at a meeting. 10 people in all when he berated another female employee. I had accidentally left the computer camera on that was used for Zoom meetings and his actions were all recorded. I had hundreds of these meetings saved separately from work.
The last part of him berating this woman was that as she went to walk past him. He reached out and grabbed her breasts with a loud "Honk honk" and Allen rolled over with laughter.
I got pissed. I knew the camera was on. I yelled back that his actions were terrible, inexcusable, and demeaning. He then advised that I did not get my job for my good grades. If I had not slept with him on dozens of occasions, he would not have hired me.
I had heard about him telling everyone at work that I had only gotten the job because I had slept with him. But this was the first time he had said it to me, and I had it recorded.
After telling him that he was a liar and to stop acting this way he only got lewder and cruder. I went to walk out and of course. He approached me the same way as the previous woman. I used my iPad to cover my breasts, but he just grabbed the bottom of my work skirt and pulled it up.
Exposing my underwear and my backside.
"Friday flip up day!" Allen yelled.
I screamed to let go and ran for it crying. An hour or so later two other bosses came into my office to talk to me about the incident. Their offers to remain silent were extra vacation days, use of the private jet, and use of the company suite in Tahoe. I asked them why they let Allen do these things to the women.
Their response. "He had the most money, he was in the highest position of power, and no one speaks up against him." They went on to describe several other women who had tried to sue him, and he destroyed their careers and personal lives.
After they left, I gathered my belongings to leave. Only to have one last visitor.
Allen.
He entered my office without knocking or asking to be let in. He greeted me with "Hey slut. Ready to get another raise or promotion? I saw your old grandma underwear. If we aren't paying you enough to wear sexy stuff, then maybe a few blow jobs to the right guy. That would be me, and I would give you more money."
I of course begged him to stop talking to me that way. That I had become depressed and anxious because of how he was treating me.
His next response was amazing. "So, kill yourself. Two others already have. They couldn't compete. They tried to sue me and look what happened to them."
He then walked out humming or singing to himself. I remained in my office and cried for an hour until I knew everyone in the office had left. I shut off the camera, downloaded all the videos I had and left.
A few extra back ups on memory sticks to friends, family, and the next morning I was off to a lawyer. I gave her the recordings and we discussed the situation.
Unlike the previous women who only had their word. I had recordings and a daily log of his actions, witnesses, and other victims. My lawyer was able to get them to join the lawsuit to. Since I had lots of recordings of things that had been done and said to them.
When all was said and done. I had millions to my name. More than I could ever spend in my lifetime as I had decided I would never work again.
I invested most of it and moved. East side of Washington was calling my name. I rented a house, bought some furniture, and settled in. It took a year, but I met lots of locals, made new friends, and started running again.
It had been a long time, but I ran a lot in high school and college. Seattle did not have any good places to run or stay fit. Not like the open country of the eastside.
One day I met a very nice woman. Maya. She was upset, talking with people at the local co-op. Her father had passed away and she needed to clean out his place. It would be up for sale as an estate sale at first. They would sell his small farm last. But the tractors, equipment, and watering equipment first at an auction.
No one really talked about his place. It was not the best for growing alfalfa or mixed hay. His farm was long and skinny along the base of several large hills. Well over a thousand acres but it was not an easy strip of land to run.
That was why Maya was upset. Even though there were a thousand acres for sale. No one showed any interest in it. She had talked with all the neighbors, but they had large square or round fields that produced a lot more crops since they were easier to water. Maya's farm would not be all that helpful to them.
This was her problem and the people at the co-op weren't much help.
I didn't know how much it was worth or what Maya was looking to sell it for, but I asked to check it out. She dried her tears and asked, "Really?"
"Yeah of course. I can't make any promises, but can I at least come by?" I asked.
"It's the Dilly ranch. 15 miles out of town." Maya explained.
"Oh. I have run past it's gates a few times. I'm renting a small house over a couple of hills from it. 6 or 7 miles away." I explained.
The problem with the eastside is not the wide open spaces. But who owns them? There is National Forest land, leased land, and private land. The normal paved roads run all over the place but don't have many shortcuts. That's because of the National Forest or the leased lands.
Businesses that raise cattle or cut down trees will lease land that is actually owned by the public. But because they are leasing it. They can restrict access "For safety reasons" by adding gates, fences, and even digging huge berms to block roads.
Even though the Dilly ranch was only 6-7 miles away in a straight line. It was a much longer run around. Even more than 15 miles.
The biggest leaser of land in the state is Weyerhaeuser. They lease millions of acres of forest. They cut down, process, clear cut, and plant baby trees to be harvested later. They build thousands of miles of dirt roads through the hills and mountains for this reason. They are also very strict about access and will have people arrested for trespassing and their cars towed.
My goal was to run from my house across the leased land to the Dilly ranch. The people at the co-op and Maya both insisted that was a terrible idea because of Weyerhaeuser, their employees, and the rumors of what they do to trespassers.
I had not heard these stories before. After 30 minutes of rumors and crazy stories Maya and I left for the farm.
The place was very nice. The farm was very long and skinny. The land ran along the base of several hills that Weyerhaeuser leased. And the highway was right out front a bit. And on the other side of the highway were the neighboring farms. All much larger and much broader. They had nice big fields for raising crops.
Maya showed me around the main house. It was 3000 square feet, newly built to replace the old cabin, and there were several outbuildings. Two large barns to store hay, two large garages storing equipment, and then we went for a ride in the ATV.
I had been on lots of motorcycles, three wheelers, boats, and ATV's in my life. I had been hiking, backpacking, fishing, and hunting a few times. So, this wasn't new.
As we rode around the property, I felt like it was rather quiet. There were no houses for miles on either side of the highway. And even the highway wasn't really that close. Most farm houses were 500 yards or more away from the highway. This house was about 400 yards.
I thought if I planted a bunch of trees, I could block some of the noise. Not that it mattered to me. The highway wasn't really that busy or noisy for a girl from the city.
"What are you looking to get for the whole ranch? Equipment and all?" I asked her plainly.
"Well, I started at 3. But no one showed any interest. Somehow my dad had loads of money in the bank. I don't know how as this place ever really produced much good feed. But I could go down to 2.5 million. Everything included." Maya hesitantly advised as she rubbed her neck.
"Okay. Deal." I told her with a handshake.
"Really? You got that? I thought you just wanted to look around?" Maya exclaimed.
"No. I retired with a very nice settlement. I am renting a house for the time being. But this feels like a great place to set down roots." I explained as I looked around my new house.
It took a week to type up the contracts, hire a few attorneys, and complete the sale. Not that it mattered about inspections and everything. Both of us wanted this done quickly.
It was the middle of summer, and I had fully moved in. I left almost all the furniture and affects in the house. Maya took all the family pictures, clothes, and heirlooms. I told her I didn't mind as I intended to clean out most everything that I didn't need.
I had to hire a local for some help. How to run tractors, water wells, pumps, and run the business. This I did not know anything about.
Brad. Brad was my local worker. He was nice looking, 29 years old, a bit short at 5-3, and wiry. He looked like he was a wrestler at one time but now he was a bit too old for it.
My whole idea was for this place to be a quiet sanctuary. I told Brad we would share the profits, and he scoffed at the idea.
I didn't have access to the Dilly' ranch financial records. So, I didn't know where Maya's father's money came from. So, I had not yet known what I was in for.