Head of the Firm

by Caz Finlay

  ‘Grace?’ Siobhan said on the other end of the line.

  ‘Sorry,’ Grace replied, holding the phone back to her ear. ‘I was just thinking. Like I said, this is great news. Thank you for letting me know so quickly.’

  ‘Will you tell Jake for me?’ Siobhan asked.

  ‘Of course.’ Grace replied, wondering about the reception she would get from him, but knowing it would be a damn sight better than any Siobhan would.

  ‘For what it’s worth, Grace, I’m really happy that he’s her dad,’ Siobhan sniffed.

  ‘I know. So am I,’ Grace said softly. ‘Bye, Siobhan.’

  Grace walked over to the kitchen table where Michael and Belle were now eating.

  ‘So?’ Michael asked. ‘What’s great news?’

  Grace sat down. She still hadn’t forgiven him, and she wasn’t sure if she ever could. But he deserved to know the truth too.

  ‘Siobhan did a DNA test,’ she said coolly. ‘Jake is Isla’s dad.’

  Michael sighed and put his knife and fork down. ‘So all this was for nothing? There was no need for Siobhan to tell anyone about her and Connor after all?’

  Although she couldn’t help but want to agree with him, the fact was that she would still be in the dark while almost everyone around was keeping secrets. ‘No, not for nothing, Michael! At least now everyone knows the truth. At least we all know where we stand, and who we can trust,’ she said quietly, conscious that Belle was present and watching her.

  ‘You can trust me, Grace. You know that,’ he said.

  Grace stared at him. ‘But I don’t know that. Not any more.’

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Grace walked down the corridor of The Blue Rooms. She hated this place. It held so many painful memories for her – of her ex-husband, Nathan, and also from when she was kidnapped while walking through the car park outside. She’d phoned Jake and asked him to come to the house to talk, but he’d refused to go anywhere near Michael, whom he seemed to hold as responsible for keeping the truth about Isla from him as she did. Grace could have asked Michael to make himself scarce for a few hours, but that would have probably started another argument that ended with him pleading with her to forgive him, and she didn’t have the energy. She felt like she was living in some trashy soap opera. If only she was, at least then she could skip ahead twelve months, and hope that by that time this whole awful mess would be behind the lot of them.

  Walking into Jake’s office, Grace saw that he was drunk again. He’d never been much of a drinker in the past, but whenever he had troubles, he seemed to turn to the bottle for an answer, or for some comfort – just like his father had before him.

  ‘What do you want, Mum?’ Jake asked.

  ‘I wanted to give you the DNA test results. They came back yesterday.’

  Jake shrugged. ‘I don’t give a fuck, to be honest.’

  ‘Yes, you do. And you should. Isla is your daughter.’

  Jake stared at her. ‘What?’

  ‘It’s true. I have the results here.’ She handed him the printed piece of paper she’d brought with her.

  He snatched it from her and glanced at the paper. Then he threw it back onto the desk. ‘All this says is that Connor isn’t the father,’ he spat. ‘She could be anyone’s. Siobhan could have been fucking half of Liverpool for all I know.’

  ‘I thought you might say that. So I did a test of my own and the results came back today too.’

  ‘What test? You can’t test if she’s mine without me, only that she’s not his.’

  ‘Oh, but I can. Did you know you can do a test with a grandparent?’

  Jake glared at her.

  ‘I sent off my own sample with Isla’s, and we’re a match. I am most definitely her biological grandmother, and that means you, my son, are most definitely her father.’

  Grace handed him a second piece of paper from her handbag and watched as Jake read it. ‘So she’s mine then?’ he asked. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes.’ Grace smiled at him.

  Jake ran a hand through his thick dark hair. ‘I need to see her then.’

  ‘Not stinking like an old brewery, you don’t,’ Grace snapped. ‘Why don’t you go sleep this off, freshen up, and you can see her tomorrow.’

  ‘And where am I supposed to go? I can’t go to my own house. My best mates turned out to be a pair of lying cunts, and your husband isn’t much better,’ he spat.

  Grace stood up. ‘Go to a bloody hotel then. Just fucking sober up, Jake. And then you go and get your daughter back.’

  He nodded at her and she was suddenly reminded of him as a small child, when there had just been the two of them against the world.

  ‘I know you’re hurting, Son,’ she said softly. ‘But this will all work out in the end, I promise you.’

  ‘And if it doesn’t?’ he asked.

  ‘Then it’s not the end,’ she said with a smile before crossing the room and kissing the top of his head. Over the stench of whisky, she could still smell the faint aroma of his favourite expensive shampoo, the one he’d used since he was a teenager, and it broke her heart. If only she could protect him now the way she could back then. The truth was that she didn’t know when things would be okay again, but she was sure in her heart that they would be. One day they would all be a family again. She would make sure of it.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Arriving home, Grace walked into the kitchen where Michael was washing some of Oscar’s bottles. She watched him carefully packing the steriliser and was reminded of what a good father he was to their children.

  ‘He seems to be okay with the powdered stuff,’ Grace said.

  ‘Yeah. He seems to like it. He guzzled the last one and fell fast asleep.’

  ‘Well, now that’s he’s settled and we know he’s okay with the formula, I think I’m going to go back to work.’

  ‘Oh? When?’ Michael said as he placed the clean bottles in the cupboard.

  ‘Tomorrow.’

  ‘Tomorrow?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve already spoken to your dad and Sue and they’re going to watch the kids for us. I thought I’d just do two days a week for now.’

  ‘Well, you’ve been thinking about going back to work for a few weeks, so if that’s what you want to do then you should.’

  ‘I’m going to base myself at the restaurant so I won’t be in your way.’

  ‘You wouldn’t be in my way,’ Michael said with a sigh.

  ‘It makes sense for me to work from there. It will give Sean a break too. Saves him having to be there seven days a week.’

  ‘You’ve spoken to Sean about this?’ Michael asked.

  ‘I mentioned it to him earlier today.’

  ‘Oh,’ Michael said as he closed the cupboard door, a little louder than he’d intended. ‘He never mentioned it.’

  ‘Well, I only spoke to him a couple of hours ago. He probably hasn’t had time. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. I’m going to head to bed and watch a film,’ Grace said.

  ‘Okay. I’ll see you in the morning.’

  Grace walked out of the kitchen. She was looking forward to going back to work and having something to distract her from this awful situation with Michael. He’d moved into the spare bedroom the same day she’d told him she’d needed some space, and although she missed waking up next to him, at the same time, she couldn’t bear to be in the same room as him. She knew she was being unfair on some level. He’d been in an awful position and she didn’t know what she would have done had it been the other way around. But she couldn’t get past the fact that he’d kept such a huge secret from her, and she wasn’t sure if she ever would.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  ‘Thanks, Dad. We’ll be home in an hour,’ Michael said before ending the call to his father, Pat, who was looking after the kids for the day. Michael had been neglecting work for the past week, ever since the whole Jake and Connor thing had exploded and he’d spent the afternoon trying to regain some sort of order.

 
Grace had just gone back to work two days a week. She’d been thinking about it anyway, but Michael was sure that recent events, as well as her desire not to be in the same room as him for very long, had expedited her return. They’d always looked after different aspects of the business, so while they’d worked together for a long time, they weren’t always in the same place. It wasn’t unusual for him not to see his wife during the course of their working day, but nevertheless it still felt like she was deliberately avoiding him.

  Michael walked into the office at the back of Sophia’s Kitchen and saw Grace sitting behind the large oak desk, with the hulking figure of John Brennan leaning over her shoulder as she showed him something on her laptop. Grace and John had known each other for a long time. He’d once worked for her ex-husband, Nathan Conlon, but now he worked for her. The two of them had also become good friends since John had helped her out with a scumbag named Reuben McBride a few years earlier. But there was something about their familiarity, the closeness between them, as he walked into the room that rankled with Michael. Perhaps it was because Grace was barely acknowledging his existence lately. He wondered whether they would ever share any kind of intimacy again. He felt the anger bubbling under the surface of his skin and admonished himself for thinking there was anything untoward going on.

  John leaned in closer to Grace and said something, which Michael didn’t hear, making her laugh. Fucking hell! He frowned. They hadn’t even noticed him come into the room. The anger surged in his chest and he cleared his throat, causing the pair of them to look up from the screen on the desk.

  ‘Michael?’ Grace said as her head snapped up, and the smile disappeared from her face. ‘Is everything okay?’

  ‘Sean told me the garage had kept your car to sort the brakes, so I thought you’d need a lift.’

  ‘Well, John was going to drop me off. But seeing as you’re here,’ she said with a shrug as she closed her laptop. ‘I just need to nip to the ladies before we go.’

  She stood up and walked out of the office. ‘I’ll phone you later with the details of that job, John.’

  Once she had left, Michael watched John as he started to put on his coat. ‘You two looked very fucking cosy when I walked in. So, what are you up to?’ Michael asked.

  John shrugged. ‘This and that.’

  ‘This and that? And just what exactly does “this and that” entail?’

  John walked over to him. He was a few inches taller than Michael, who had to crane his neck slightly to look up at him, something he wasn’t used to and which only pissed him off more.

  ‘Just work, Michael. Nothing cosy. Grace is my boss.’

  Michael brought his face closer to John’s. ‘Yeah? And she’s my fucking wife,’ he snarled. ‘Don’t ever forget that.’

  John shook his head. ‘You’re barking up the wrong tree, mate.’

  After a few seconds facing off, Michael stepped aside to allow John out of the office. ‘I better fucking had be, John,’ he said as John walked past him.

  A moment later, Grace popped her head through the office door. ‘Ready?’ she said.

  Michael nodded and followed her out, trying not to think about how good she looked in her pencil skirt and blouse as she sashayed through the busy restaurant.

  John Brennan shuddered as he walked along the Albert Dock to his parked car. The last thing he needed was to come between Grace and Michael Carter. He and Grace were good friends. He enjoyed working for her. She was a beautiful woman, and he could see why men looked at her when she walked by, but she was also married to Michael fucking Carter. John had a lot of respect for Michael. He had always been a reasonable man. He wasn’t a man who would fuck you over for nothing. But if he thought John was carrying on with his missus, he would cut him into tiny pieces and feed him to some pigs. There was obviously something going on between the pair of them, which was odd, because they’d always seemed like the perfect couple. Whatever it was, John hoped they sorted it out, and fast. He couldn’t stand to be caught in the middle – it wasn’t good for his health.

  Sitting in the car on the way home, Michael tried to concentrate on the road but he couldn’t get the image of Grace and John out of his mind.

  ‘What job have you got John on?’ he asked her.

  She turned her head to look at him, probably deciding whether to answer him or not. She had barely said more than a dozen words to him since the previous night.

  ‘He’s looking into a new security contract for us. The previous firm have made an absolute balls-up of the job but despite that, they’re refusing to roll over.’

  ‘I could have the lads handle it?’ Michael offered.

  ‘No need. John will sort it out.’

  ‘Oh, will he?’

  ‘Yes,’ she snapped and turned her head back to looking out of the window.

  ‘How long are you going to punish me for, Grace?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m not punishing you,’ she said with a sigh.

  ‘It certainly fucking feels like it.’

  ‘I knew I should have just let John drive me home.’

  ‘Really? You’d rather be with him rather than your own husband?’ he shouted.

  ‘I’d rather not have to go through this again, Michael,’ she shouted back. ‘I told you I need some space to think.’

  ‘Think about what, Grace? You either want to be with me, or you don’t.’

  ‘It’s not that fucking simple, is it?’

  ‘It is from where I’m sitting.’

  Grace shook her head in frustration. ‘Everything is just so black and white for you.’

  He pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned in his seat. ‘How do you not see that it is? You either love me and you want us to work this out, or you don’t, Grace. Which is it?’

  Grace shook her head. ‘I honestly don’t know. Of course I love you, Michael, but I don’t know if I can get past this.’

  Turning back to the wheel, Michael restarted the engine and pulled the car away from the kerb. He swallowed the lump in his throat and focused on the brake lights of the car in front of him. His world felt like it was crumbling around him and there wasn’t a single fucking thing he could do.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Bradley Johnson walked into The Kings Arms with his brothers Ged and Craig as though he owned the place. It was a dive bar near Bootle’s Dock Road, but it was frequented by cousins, Neil and Davey Parkes, who operated their lucrative business from the corner near the toilets.

  ‘All right, Neil? Davey?’ Bradley said as he and his brother approached and took a seat at the table.

  ‘All right, lads,’ Neil replied. ‘Don’t usually see your ugly mugs round these parts.’

  ‘Well, we have a unique business opportunity for you,’ Craig said with a grin.

  Neil and Davey shook their heads. ‘We work for Jake Conlon and the Carters,’ Davey said. ‘There’s no business to be had with us.’

  ‘Haven’t you heard?’ Bradley laughed. ‘They’ve had a falling-out. They’re no longer in business together.’

  ‘Yeah, they’ve gone into liquidation.’ Ged joined in with Bradley’s laughter.

  Neil shrugged. ‘I’ve heard rumours. But until I hear directly from the horse’s mouth, we’ll be sticking with what we know. Thanks though, lads,’ he said as he took a mouthful of his pint.

  ‘They’re not going to be able to get you any gear any time soon from what I hear,’ Bradley went on. ‘It will disrupt your supply chains no end. We can get you some of the finest quality marching powder money can buy, and we can get you it today. Shouldn’t you be trying to keep your customers happy?’

  ‘I’d rather keep my knob attached to my body,’ Davey said with a shudder.

  Neil put his pint down on the table. ‘Like I said, Bradley, I appreciate your offer, but we work for Jake, Paul and Connor.’

  Bradley gave the nod and before Neil or Davey knew what had had him them, Craig and Ged had the two of them by their throats with a knif
e pressed against their ribs. ‘Now, listen to me, you pair of fuckwits. This is the perfect opportunity for you two to branch out on your own a bit, isn’t it? Fuck Jake Conlon and the twins! They’re too busy fighting with each other to give a shit about anyone else now. You’ll start selling our gear from today. Okay?’

  Despite their threats, Neil and Davey didn’t respond and Bradley knew they would take more convincing.

  ‘I saw those lovely birds of yours on their market stall at the weekend, lads,’ Bradley added. ‘Some nice gear they’re flogging there. I hope they’re careful driving home with all that money?’

  Bradley noted the anger and terror flash across Neil and Davey’s face before Neil spoke. ‘Okay. We’ll sell your gear.’

  ‘Brilliant,’ Bradley exclaimed as Ged and Craig released their grips and Neil and Davey rubbed at their necks. ‘Drinks all round, Ged,’ Bradley said, indicating for his brother to go to the bar. ‘And then we can agree terms.’

  ‘What did I tell ya? Like taking candy from a baby, lads,’ Bradley said with a laugh as he drove him and his brothers to his house in Kirkby.

  ‘Fucking result,’ Craig added. ‘If we can get Jimmy Kelly and his lot onside as well, we’ll be fucking quids in.’

  ‘Too right.’ Bradley laughed.

  ‘Jimmy won’t be as easy to persuade as Neil and Davey,’ Ged warned them.

  ‘Jimmy’s a fucking quilt,’ Bradley snorted. ‘He should have given up the ghost years ago.’

  ‘That may be so, but his nephews are as hard as nails, Brad. And they’re all loyal to the Carters. They’ve worked for them for years.’

  ‘Everybody’s loyalty has a price, Ged,’ Bradley replied. ‘We just need to find out what theirs is, that’s all.’