Head of the Firm

by Caz Finlay

  Grace remembered the disbelief and horror she had felt herself when she’d been told about Jake and Paul’s affair. How on earth must Siobhan have felt to find out that the man she loved and had committed her life to was not only gay but had been sleeping with a man who was practically his brother? It didn’t excuse what she’d done, not in the slightest, but Grace knew of the pain of loving a man whose very nature meant that he wasn’t capable of loving you in return. She had believed the same things of Nathan, hadn’t she? That she could change him? That her love would be enough? She knew all about realising that the man you love is not who he claims to be, and finding solace in the arms of someone else. Grace herself had embarked on an affair with Nathan’s best friend Ben towards the end of her marriage. Was that any different to what Siobhan had done? And wasn’t Connor just as much to blame? Yet Grace hadn’t disowned him. She was angry with him for the pain he had caused, but she would never disown him – he was her family, and, like it or not, so was Siobhan.

  ‘So, what are you going to do now?’ Grace asked.

  Siobhan looked up at her, tears streaming down her pale face. ‘I don’t know,’ she sobbed. ‘I’ve made such a cock-up of everything. I don’t know how to even begin to fix it.’

  ‘Well, let’s not forget the most important person here is Isla,’ Grace said. ‘We need to try and keep things as normal as possible for her.’

  Siobhan nodded. ‘I know. She thinks her dad is working away, but she’s been asking for him, Grace, and I don’t know how much longer I can keep up the pretence.’

  ‘Do you honestly believe Jake is her dad?’

  ‘Yes. I really do. She has all of his facial expressions and when she frowns, she looks exactly like him. Besides, I just know.’

  ‘But she could be Connor’s?’

  ‘I suppose there is a possibility. But a very small one.’

  ‘You know Jake will need proof. One way or another. Not to mention Isla and Connor. It’s only fair that they all know the real truth one day.’

  ‘I know. I’ve got one of those online DNA kits. It came this morning. I’ve paid for the same-day-results one. But I need a cheek swab from either Jake or Connor. Jake refuses to speak to me, and Connor – well, I’m not sure I’m ready to face him just yet.’

  ‘Well, if you want his DNA, you might have to,’ Grace replied.

  Siobhan sniffed. ‘I doubt he’d even speak to me.’

  ‘Do you have the kit with you?’

  ‘Yes. It’s in my bag. That’s not why I came here though, Grace,’ she said as her cheeks flushed pink.

  ‘Just hand it over and leave it to me.’

  ‘Really?’ Siobhan said. ‘Thank you, Grace. I know I have no right to ask anything of you, and I really appreciate you helping me out.’

  ‘I’m doing this for my family, Siobhan. For Isla, Jake, and Connor,’ Grace said as she took a sip of her tea.

  Siobhan wiped away a tear, feeling an acute sense of loss that she was no longer considered to be Grace’s family.

  ‘And for you,’ Grace added.

  Siobhan looked up and saw the faintest glimmer of a smile on Grace’s face and fought the urge to run around the breakfast bar and throw her arms around her. Grace Carter was a woman like no other she had ever met. Despite everything that life had thrown at her, she had more compassion and heart than anyone Siobhan had ever known. She was fearless and fierce, and with that simple gesture, she had just ensured Siobhan’s continued survival in the Conlon/Carter empire.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Connor cursed as he took his mobile phone from his bedside table. Squinting in the dim light of his bedroom, he saw Grace’s name flashing on the screen. He swallowed. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to this conversation, but he supposed the sooner he had it, the sooner it would be over.

  ‘Hi, Grace?’ he said.

  ‘Hi, Connor,’ she replied. ‘Can you call round this afternoon? I think we need to have a chat.’

  ‘Yeah, of course,’ Connor replied. ‘What time?’

  ‘Two?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll see you then.’

  ‘See you then,’ she said and hung up.

  Connor slumped back against the pillows. He felt like he’d just been summoned to his own execution. He’d only ever let Grace down once before, when he’d been a stupid eighteen-year-old kid and had tried to impress her with a failed attempt on her ex-husband’s life. She had been absolutely furious with him and Paul for it, and they’d been terrified that she’d have someone put a bullet in their heads for the trouble they’d caused her. But instead she had protected them from the fallout and they had been fiercely loyal to her ever since.

  Connor had already spoken to his dad, who had given him a bollocking for the whole sorry mess. But his dad was his dad, and nothing would ever come between them. As much as Grace treated him and Paul like family, Jake was her son, and nothing was thicker than blood. He closed his eyes and wondered what his punishment would be. Exile? Thirty lashes? Whatever it was, he would find out soon enough.

  Grace watched as Oscar napped in his Moses basket, and Belle sat at her small wooden desk drawing pictures of butterflies and dinosaurs. Michael was in the kitchen cooking, much to Grace’s annoyance. She’d told him to go to work, but he’d refused. It was as though he thought she might do a runner while he was out.

  The ringing of the doorbell snapped Grace from her thoughts.

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Michael shouted.

  Belle looked up excitedly from her drawing. She loved having visitors.

  Grace heard raised voices in the hallway and listened as the footsteps drew closer. Belle was on her feet by this point and heading for the living-room door as it swung open.

  ‘Connor,’ Belle shouted as she saw her older brother walking towards her.

  ‘Hey, my little Bella.’ He smiled as he picked her up for a hug.

  ‘Can we do cowboys and princesses?’ Belle asked excitedly, referring to the game her older brothers often indulged her in, which involved her riding around on their shoulders for hours at a time.

  ‘Not today, Bella.’ He sighed as put her back down onto the soft carpet. ‘I can’t stay for long.’

  ‘Aaw,’ said Belle, pouting.

  ‘Why don’t you draw Connor a lovely dinosaur to take home with him?’ Grace suggested.

  It had the desired effect and Belle nodded happily and sat back down at her desk.

  Connor came further into the room with Michael close behind him and sat on the armchair.

  ‘Thanks for coming, Connor,’ Grace said.

  ‘You invited him?’ Michael asked her.

  ‘Yes. I forgot to mention it,’ she said.

  ‘I’m really sorry, Grace,’ Connor said with a sigh. ‘I’ve really fucked up, I know I have.

  I’ll do anything to fix this.’

  Grace stared at him. ‘As much as I’d like to, I’m not going to lecture you, Connor. I can see you’re beating yourself up enough, but I want you to know that you and Siobhan, and your lies, have torn this family apart.’

  ‘I know,’ Connor said solemnly. ‘I can’t say I’m sorry enough. And I’m sorry I caused any shit between you and my dad. I’m sorry if I’ve got you two falling out as well. I should never have put you in that position, Dad.’ He turned his attention to Michael, who simply shook his head and cleared his throat.

  ‘You did put your dad in an impossible position. But never mind us,’ Grace said. ‘What are you going to do about Isla, and Siobhan? And Jake?’

  ‘I don’t know. How can I even begin to fix it, Grace?’

  Grace stared at him. ‘Well, I can think of one thing. That’s why I asked you to call round.’

  ‘What? I’ll do anything.’

  ‘Siobhan has ordered one of those DNA kits, and she just needs yours or Jake’s DNA to send off. So, as Jake is currently wallowing at the bottom of a whisky bottle, it looks like it’s on you.’

  ‘I’d really rather not
see her. But if I have to—’

  ‘You won’t,’ Grace interrupted him. ‘It’s in the kitchen. You can do it here.’

  ‘Let’s do it then,’ Connor said standing up and walking out of the room.

  Grace stood up to follow him.

  ‘Thank you,’ Michael said as she walked past him.

  She shrugged. ‘What choice do I have?’

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Opening the door to his flat, Paul hoped to see that it was Jake incessantly ringing the doorbell. He sighed inwardly when he saw it was his brother, Connor.

  ‘All right, Bro?’ he said as he opened the door wider to allow Connor inside.

  ‘Not really,’ Connor said with a sigh as he followed his twin into the kitchen.

  ‘Beer?’ Paul asked as he opened the fridge to get himself one.

  Connor nodded and Paul handed him a cold bottle of Budweiser. Twisting off the cap, Connor took a long swig before leaning against the doorframe.

  ‘Have you seen Grace or me da today?’ Paul asked.

  Connor rolled his eyes. ‘Yes. Grace phoned me up and asked me to call round.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah. But to be honest, I was going to go and see them anyway, just to get it all out

  in the open. I couldn’t stand the fucking tension any longer.’

  ‘How was it?’

  ‘What do you think? It was fucking brutal, mate.’

  Paul sighed. ‘I went to see Jake yesterday.’

  ‘How did that go?’

  ‘Probably even worse than your visit to me da and Grace.’

  ‘Fucking hell!’

  ‘What are we gonna do, lad? Jake’s barred us from The Blue Rooms. He’s our business partner but he won’t be in the same fucking room as us. We’ve got a shipment coming in next week.’

  ‘I think we need to let him cool off for a bit. Let him handle the shipment. It’s not like we need the money.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘There is no but. I banged his missus, Paul. The kid he’s been raising as his own is probably mine. And you knew about it and didn’t tell him. I think he’s entitled to hold a grudge for a bit. He’ll calm down eventually.’

  ‘You think?’ Paul snorted, wishing that he shared Connor’s confidence.

  ‘He’s got to. We’re family.’

  Paul started to shake his head. ‘You’re a fucking case, Con.’

  ‘What?’ Connor said.

  ‘You’ve asked Grace to sort it, haven’t you?’

  ‘No,’ Connor replied, defensively. ‘But she will. It’s what she does.’

  Paul watched as his twin downed his bottle of lager before helping himself to another one. Connor seemed to have a lot of faith that Grace could fix this whole mess they’d got themselves into. And whilst Paul accepted that she could fix most things, he wondered whether this current disaster was beyond even her considerable skills.

  ‘You fancy doing some work tonight?’ Connor asked, snapping him from his train of thought. ‘An old friend of ours has asked us to take care of a problem for him. He’s prepared to pay a lot of money to get it sorted quickly too.’

  Paul shrugged. ‘Why not? Nothing better to do, have I?’

  ‘You’ll feel better once you’ve done some hard graft, Bro. I’ll nip home and get changed and meet you back here in an hour.’

  ‘Okay, see you in a bit.’

  As Connor left the kitchen, Paul contemplated the fact that not only might he never work with Jake again, but there was a possibility that they might end up in opposition to each other. There wasn’t enough room in Liverpool for all of them to be on top. He hoped that Connor was right and Grace would sort everything out, for all of their sakes.

  Chapter Forty

  Grace closed the gate behind her and walked up the familiar path of her son’s house.

  Ringing the bell, she waited for an answer. A few seconds later, Siobhan opened the door.

  ‘Grace?’ she said. ‘I wasn’t expecting you so soon.’

  ‘Well, you know me. Why put off to tomorrow what you can do today? Can I come in?’

  ‘Of course,’ Siobhan replied as she took the chain off the latch and opened the door wider.

  ‘Is Isla still up?’ Grace asked expectantly, hoping to see her granddaughter for a few minutes.

  ‘No, she went up about fifteen minutes ago and is flat out already. I’d have kept her up if I’d known you were calling tonight. Sorry.’

  ‘Never mind. I suspected she’d be in bed. Just thought I’d ask.’

  ‘You can go up and see her though if you like? She’s a deep sleeper.’

  Grace nodded. ‘Jake was too. He could sleep through an earthquake,’ she said with a smile, before realising the implication of that statement.

  Siobhan cleared her throat and fidgeted with her cardigan.

  ‘I won’t stay long,’ Grace went on. ‘I just wanted to bring you this,’ she said as she took the sealed swab sample from her handbag.

  ‘Oh, that’s great. Thanks, Grace. I’ll send it off first thing.’

  ‘Will you let me know as soon as you hear the results? Whatever they are?’

  ‘Yes. Of course I will. Thanks again for doing this.’

  ‘It was the only way to get the truth,’ Grace said with a shrug. ‘Actually, I will pop in and see Isla before I go, if that’s okay?’

  ‘Yes. Of course, you can. She’ll be so disappointed she missed you.’

  Grace put her handbag down and walked up the stairs and into Isla’s bedroom. She looked at her sleeping granddaughter and felt a rush of love for her. No matter who was her father, Grace was still her nana, and nothing would change that. Bending over Isla’s cot, she reached into her pocket and took out the swab from the testing kit she’d had delivered herself earlier that morning. Grace had already thought about a DNA testing kit herself before Siobhan had even shown up on her doorstep. Gently placing the swab inside Isla’s mouth, she retrieved the desired sample. Isla stirred slightly but, to Grace’s relief, didn’t wake. Placing the sample in its sterile container, Grace put it back in her pocket.

  ‘Goodnight, darling,’ she whispered as she stepped out of the room.

  Siobhan was waiting when Grace reached the bottom of the staircase.

  ‘She’s still fast asleep,’ Grace said.

  Siobhan smiled. ‘She’s been asking for her nana and ganga all day today.’

  ‘She must be wondering what the hell’s going on. Maybe you could drop her off for a few hours at the weekend? Belle will be missing her too. And Michael.’

  ‘Yes. That would be great. Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes. How about Sunday at twelve?’

  Grace saw Siobhan blink back the tears. That was the time everyone would usually arrive for their weekly family gathering. This week, though, there would be no such affair and it made Grace feel like crying too.

  ‘Yes. That would be fine,’ Siobhan said.

  ‘Good. But I’ll speak to you before then?’

  ‘Yes. I’ll let you know as soon as they email me the results.’

  ‘Great. Night, Siobhan,’ Grace said as she picked up her bag and opened the front door.

  ‘Night, Grace,’ Siobhan replied.

  Grace was safely in her car when she took the DNA sample from her coat pocket and placed it carefully in her handbag. She would send hers off first thing in the morning too. With Connor’s sample, all Siobhan could prove was whether Connor was Isla’s father or not. If the results showed that Isla wasn’t Connor’s child, then Grace couldn’t be sure that meant that she was Jake’s either. Given the revelations of the past few days, Grace wasn’t confident about who she could trust any more, and she also knew that Jake would demand undeniable proof. Sending off her own sample would ensure that she could provide both of them with that.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Grace glanced anxiously at her mobile phone while she stirred the pasta sauce on the stove for dinner. Siobhan had told Grace that she�
�d sent the test off first thing the previous morning, and Grace had done the same. They were each paying for the same-day-result service and both tests should have been delivered to the lab earlier today. Grace hadn’t had her results yet either, but surely one of them should have heard by now, she thought to herself as she picked up her phone and opened her messages, just in case she hadn’t seen the notification. She frowned when she saw there was no message. She checked her inbox for the millionth time too, but there was no email waiting for her.

  The call Grace had been waiting for came twenty minutes later as she was serving out helpings of spaghetti carbonara to her expectant family.

  ‘I need to take this,’ she said to Michael as she handed him the pan.

  He continued dishing up while she walked over to the corner of the kitchen.

  ‘Siobhan,’ she snapped. ‘I’ve been driving myself mad waiting to hear from you.’

  ‘The results have only just come back, Grace,’ Siobhan said apologetically. ‘I’ve been driving myself mad too.’

  ‘Of course you have. Sorry,’ Grace replied. ‘Well?’

  ‘She’s Jake’s,’ Siobhan said with a gasp. ‘Isla is Jake’s daughter.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes. The test was conclusive that she’s not Connor’s, so that means Jake is her father. I can forward you the email. Then you can show it to him.’

  Grace felt like the some of the weight that had been sitting in the pit of her stomach all day had lifted. Despite the concerns that had driven her to send a sample of her own, she hoped that Siobhan wouldn’t have blatantly lied to her face.

  ‘That’s great news, Siobhan,’ she said as she heard the familiar ping of an email notification against her ear. ‘Hang on a second, I just need to check something.’ She opened the notification, confirming that she was a match for Isla’s DNA, which meant that she was her grandmother, and Jake was her father. Jake being Isla’s father was the best possible outcome for everyone. It meant that Jake could go on loving his daughter as he always had. He and Connor could get over their differences, she was sure of it.