Bethany Carter pulled up to the gates of Sheraton Farms like it was just another day. Working there almost her entire life, she had opened this gate to start the workday. She was a kid with her father and had done it with him when he was the manager too. Now she felt that this day was like no other.

 

Sheraton farms was the biggest and the best dairy farm in the county and one of the best in the state. At one time it had more cows than any other farm in three states too. Now she was in charge of loading them up to be sold at the auction. She choked back the tears as she felt that this was the last time she would see cows at the farm again. Most likely the bank would come in and sell part of the land to build houses or something else that would be ruining the small town feel.

 

Although everyone called her Beth, she made her name known early on to the most useful hand when growing up. When her father passed away from a heart attack, John Sheraton made her the new manager of the farm. It was an easy choice and she loved how he always had faith in her no matter what when it came to both the business and in life. When others questioned her choices, it was John who eased her concerns saying that she knew what was best.

 

Beth loved John as an older brother growing up and also as a boss that left her alone to get the job done. Her pay was never an issue, nor was how he treated her. She knew that his real problem was that his ex-wife was a spending machine and ran up enough bills to sink any business. Now John was paying the price with paying off his ex-wife's spending spree and money for the divorce.

 

She hated that bitch for other reasons but now Beth downright despised her and would kill her if she ever showed up again. She saw John as her brother and hated that he was a broken and now bankrupt man because of her. He was a great looking guy and could easily find a woman but his desire for pretty cheerleader girls who could be a model now caught up with him.

 

Beth had a few dates and a couple of boyfriends too. At twenty-five, she knew she was still young but hated that she was not seen as a desirable girl. She hated wearing dresses and acting prim and proper. Both loved the country style life and wearing male clothes seemed to make her feel better too.

 

It wasn't the clothes that made her feel bad as she knew that a pair of breasts could make any shirt sexy. Her small breasts were almost boy-like as her nipples were tiny as well. Her ass was flat, and she knew that some strangers in town often joked that she was a boy. Even when they knew she was a girl, they joked about how she was a girl wanting to be a boy. Her voice was normal but her boy-like appearance infuriated her. If it wasn't for her long black hair, she could easily pass for a boy.

 

With the gate unlocked, she pulled up to the main barn and saw the lights in the main house on. The main house was on a small hill and overlooked the fields and then barns below. It was a large house and was over two hundred years old. It was listed as a historic landmark and John's father spent a lot of money restoring the house too. She hated that John could lose it or be left with only the house.

 

With the main stable open, she counted the cows to be loaded up and sold off. It took an hour to get everything setup for the day and then the rest of the crew and John came in to do their job as well. Today was the last day and all of the equipment needed to be labeled and setup for sale too. Beth got the list ready and then helped the other hands move them into the trailers.

Once the cows were loaded John gave the hands their severance pay and told them they could leave early. She saw him hold back his emotions as she did the same. She had been helping her father at the farm since she was six and began working full time at twelve. Going to school and working the farm was her entire teenage life. As an adult, she knew nothing else but the farm. She was so connected to the Sheraton family that she got paid a bonus from the profits too.

 

She hated what became of something she knew was her entire life. It was a job that she could never get fired from as she was like family to the Sheratons and spent all of the holidays with them too. Now it was all crashing down and there was nothing she could do. She headed back in the barn and sat at her desk in the small office that was there.

 

When John came in, she got up and hugged him as she knew it was something they both needed. "I am so sorry. Let's start over. I got money saved up and we can go to an auction and start small."

 

Beth figured she could use what she had saved to help start over again. She knew that it was her career in danger too and that the other farms would only hire her as a hand and not a manager making the money she made here.

 

"We can. I was thinking the same thing. We might have to sell some equipment though. Some land, but it is possible." He smiled as she knew her plan sunk in and that he was not going to give up.

 

"Great! I will make sure we keep what we need and that we can also keep the contracts we have too," she shouted as she knew the few contracts for milk was what they needed to keep the cash flowing.

 

"I was offered a deal with the university too, but I am going to have to turn it down."

 

"What was that?"

 

"My cousin's graduate program is doing testing on cows and wanted me to use their drug on one of the cows. Says it increases milk supply. It came with money for the program, but I figure we get one cow from what we buy and do the program anyway. We just have to keep the milk separate."

 

Beth perked her eyes up as the prospects of saving the farm now seemed possible. "What is in it? I guess we can, need to make sure we have enough gallons of milk to meet the contracts though."

 

"It's in the fridge. I have no idea what's in it. I just know that the university didn't want a cow in their department and my cousin knew I needed the money."

 

"So, we are going to do this? We are going to the auction?" Beth asked all excited as she felt that the farm could be saved.

 

"We have to move quick. The auction is tomorrow, and we need to figure out what we need and get the money together. That means finding buyers for what we need to sell and also calling our clients, so they know that we are still in business."

 

Beth sat in her chair and instantly began dialing. She saw John sit down and do the same. Beth handled the clients and then calculated how many cows were needed to keep the contracts they had flowing with milk. They currently had ten contracts but only two of them were high dollar amount and needed to be kept.

 

John then went to work trying to find buyers for the equipment they didn't need and to sell the one parcel of land that they didn't use that often. As they both worked as fast as they could, time seemed to not be on their side. The counting of the equipment and calling all of the clients took their toll.

 

It was late in the night and Beth was running on fumes. Her body seemed to be weak, and exhaustion had set in. The two clients were still theirs and the money needed for the farm was all dependent on the sale of a few pieces of equipment. The buyer was traveling a long way and was going to meet them in the middle of the night. Normally this could be done the next day, but the money needed to be there for the auction tomorrow morning.

 

Beth waited while John was doing the final numbers. The sky was pitch black and the cold night air was chilling her bones but the excitement of what they were doing kept her going. The sale of the tractor was all they needed to have enough money to make this work.

 

The buyer came with cash and the tractor was sold just that fast. She walked back to the barn with a stack of money only to see John passed out asleep at his desk. She put the money with him as he needed the rest and decided to do the same. There was not enough time to go home, and they needed to be off in the morning for the auction.

 

Her alarm went off as she had enough time to make coffee and wake up John who was still sleeping. It was her second alarm and they only had five minutes to get ready before leaving. She fixed herself and then the coffee as she saw John getting himself up and counting the money.

 

Beth splashed milk in his coffee and then threw the empty container away. John then asked where the keys were as she answered him while grabbing the other container of milk and adding it to hers. The bottle felt smaller, and the amount of milk was off. She was still talking to John as she added it not even looking at what she was doing.

 

She then closed the fridge throwing away the second empty container and hopped in her pickup to follow John who had the truck for hauling the cows. She drank her coffee and drive waking herself up and feeling the lack of sleep affecting her.

 

With all of the coffee drunk, it was still not enough to get her going, but enough to keep her awake. The auction was not packed at all like they normally see but it was still packed with enough stock to buy. John was quick to spot what they needed to buy and made sure everything was ready.

 

John quickly bid on what he could and then stopped as he was talking with another man. As the auction was going on, Beth looked over and saw a big shit eating grin on his face. "What's up?"

 

"Mr. Moore bought half our stock yesterday and wants to unload it. He heard about our problem and is selling them back to us at cost."

 

She then saw him smile and grab her in joy. "We are back in business. We did it."

"Oh my God...Yesss!" she shouted as it felt like a win like none other.

 

On the drive back she knew exactly what needed to be done and who to hire back. It was like a winning lotto ticket at the right time she felt. She also knew that they needed to call back a few more clients and tell them that they can deliver their contracts too.

 

As she pulled into the farm, she ran inside to get the calls done. John walked in smiling wide still as the excitement did not end for him. He opened the fridge and then looked at her. "Oh, shit. Where is the bottle?"

 

Beth turned to him confused. "What? The bottle?"

 

"Beth...the lab study bottle," he answered with a blank stare at her.

 

She stood up in fear that the money for the study could be lost. She then looked at the fridge and only saw a bottle of unopened milk. She then looked in the trash and saw a strange bottle empty inside. She then knew that right before she left, she put something in her coffee.

 

"Ohhh fuck....John...we have. We have a problem," she uttered out and then sank back in her chair.

 

"What, you found it?"

 

"I drank it." Her answer came out as fear now came to her. Was it poison? Was it going to make her sick? Was it going to kill her?"

 

"No...you didn't. It was labeled," he responded, showing her the label after he fished it out of the trash.

 

She felt it was an honest mistake and was more concerned with her health than the lost money now. "I didn't see it."

 

"When did you drink it?"

 

"This morning. Will I get sick? Am I going to get sick?" Her voice sounded desperate. Her mind racing with thoughts of her stomach being pumped.

 

"I don't know...I don't know. Let me call," John answered and then quickly made a dash for his phone on his desk.

 

She heard him talking but felt her head spinning with questions and fears. What was it going to do and what are the side effects? She didn't feel any ill effects and it had been hours and then the idea of it being deadly faded slightly. She knew that if she made it this far through the day, it couldn't be that poisonous. She then chalked it up to nothing more than vitamins, like prenatal vitamins a woman would take.

 

John walked back in after his conversation and had a strange look about him. "Did you drink all of it?"