Jimmy frowned. He didn’t have the time or the inclination to play games with her.
‘Tell our legal team to make the woman an offer she can’t refuse. We’ll double it,’ he said simply.
Alex had wanted him to give him the solution to the problem, well Jimmy had just waved his magic fucking wand. ‘It’s more expense than I was hoping for but at least that will put it to bed a lot quicker and a lot less painfully than trying to battle it out with her. We can’t continue with the build until the woman has vacated, and we can’t build the thing around her either. So it’s our only option. Double it.’
‘She told Reggie that she wasn’t interested. Said you could offer her a million pounds and she wouldn’t budge. He said she was harping on about being born in that flat and the only way she’d be leaving it is in a box. She sounded pretty adamant about not leaving the place. What if it ain’t about the money?’ Alex shook his head now despairingly.
‘Oh come on, Alex. It’s always about the money,’ Jimmy insisted, his voice determined. ‘Everyone’s got a price, find out hers.’ He had yet to meet anyone who couldn’t be swayed by a higher amount of cash.
‘And what if she still doesn’t budge?’ Alex said, not as easily convinced as Jimmy was that the old bird would start playing ball with them.
‘If this Edel Walsh is smart, she’ll bite off our hands for this generous offer,’ Jimmy said, leaning back in his chair, the expression on his face as serious as his tone.
This development of theirs was going ahead no matter what. Jimmy had worked too hard for it to go tits up in the final fucking hour.
‘And if she doesn’t… we’ll just have to find another way of dealing with the problem, won’t we?! There’s more than one way to kill a cat if it won’t be choked with cream. Trust me.’
Seven
‘It’s very quiet in here today, Edel? Is it always this quiet on a Saturday? I thought the weekends were when you did your most trade?’ Nellie Erikson said, peering over the edge of her lukewarm mug of tea at the empty florist, knowing full well that her comments were winding her good friend up, exactly as she had intended.
Not a single customer had set foot in the place in the half an hour that Nellie had been here. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Edel was struggling.
After the dramas of the property developer last week, smashing through the bathroom wall upstairs, Nellie had made her thoughts on Edel selling up perfectly clear.
‘You’re a fool to stay and try and fight them, Edel,’ Nellie had said knowingly. ‘You should have accepted their generous offer with glee and got the hell out of here while you could. This place isn’t going to make you any real money, Edel. You're the only one left in the block. No one knows your even still trading, most of the street has been cordoned off.’
Nellie had never believed there was money in flowers; she’d told her friend that, too, some years ago when Edel had first inherited the place after both her parents had died.
Would Edel listen though? ’Course not. Even now, when she had been offered well over the odds for the place, her friend still refused to sell up. Determined to stay here and continue the legacy of her parents, running this little florist even if it meant that the place was run into the ground.
Edel always thought she knew better than anyone else.
The woman had been doomed to fail from the start, as far as Nellie was concerned, and Nellie had waited for what had felt like a lifetime in order to be able to say, ‘I told you so’. She wasn’t going to pass the opportunity up now it was bestowed upon her.
‘I just don’t understand why you didn’t jump at the chance to get out while you still could. Soho’s gone to the dogs, Edel. All the seedy little shops around here selling those dirty videos, and the sex shops. I mean, come on. The type of clientele nipping into those places is hardly going to come along here and buy a nice bouquet of freesias with their spare change, are they?’ Nellie said, shaking her head in despair, knowing that, regardless what she said on the matter, once Edel’s mind was made up there was no convincing the woman.
‘It’s a sign of the times, isn’t it? How can you compete with all these supermarkets popping up all over the place, selling bunches of flowers for a fraction of the price that you are? Smaller shops like this one can’t keep up with those kinds of prices. You’ll be up to your neck in debt before you know it, Edel.’
Edel bit her lip. Physically bristling at her friend’s words, Edel wished Nellie would hurry up and finish her tea and bugger off, so she could continue her day in peace.
Debt. The woman had no idea.
Edel was already struggling financially but Nellie Erikson would be the last person that she’d confess that to. The woman would only use it against her to rub her nose in it.
Nellie didn’t have a clue about the history behind this shop and flat. About the struggles her mother and father had both been through in order to live here during a time when London had treated people like her parents as outcasts. When other private landlords had signs in the windows stating ‘No Blacks. No Dogs and No Irish’ Edel’s parents had defied all the odds. A hard-working couple from Dublin, they had not only found this place to both live in and make an honest living from, but they’d also dedicated their lives to buying it outright.
Walsh’s Florist had been handed down to her as part of her parents’ will and no matter how hard times were getting, Edel couldn’t just give that up. It was all she had left of her parents. All she had for herself and one day it would be her daughter’s inheritance too. For that reason alone, Edel was determined to make it work. No matter how tough times got, and no matter how much she struggled, Edel had no intention of ever just walking away. To her, this place meant more than just bricks and mortar. More to her than a big fat cheque. Though she didn’t expect her friend to understand any of that, nor did she have the inclination to explain it to her.
‘It’s always quiet this time of day, Nellie, you just missed the lunchtime rush. I was run off my feet earlier.’ Edel Walsh lied through her gritted teeth. As much as she was sure Nellie was trying to dress up her never-ending river of advice, which was really just an ‘I told you so’ in disguise, the woman was slowly but surely doing Edel’s head in.
It was typical of Nellie to side with those fancy-pants property tycoons about their offer of buying up this place along with most of the rest of the street. They wanted to build a new development apparently. Tear all these old buildings down and replace them with a huge block of pokey overpriced apartments that seemed to be all the rage these days.
Apartments the likes of her and Nellie would never be able to afford in a month of Sundays mind.
Of course, Edel had dug her heels in and refused to sell up.
There was no way she’d give up her home, her life’s work, just to line the pockets of some poncy property investor’s pockets, but Nellie wouldn’t let up about it. Especially after she’d just heard how Edel had since had her offer doubled and still had refused it. She thought the woman must be a slice of bread short of a sandwich to refuse the offer and she’d been picking away at her ever since she’d found out.
‘The lunchtime rush?’ Nellie gawked, unconvinced.
Drinking down her now cold cup of tea in one, Edel tried her best to hide her annoyance at Nellie Erikson’s know-it-all-tone. Her friend could be a real cantankerous old goat when the mood took her, and Edel could clearly see that today was one of those days.
‘Right, then. I’m going to have to get on, Nellie. We’ll have to catch up some other time. I have a delivery coming in any minute.’ Having endured enough of the woman’s monotonous company, Edel swiped her friend’s mug of tea from her hand, ushering her towards the door. ‘And it’s just as well it is quiet in here at the moment. All your moaning and negativity would only scare the customers off anyway,’ Edel said, making a point. Seeing as Nellie was clearly oblivious to the permanent twisted scowl on her face, Edel was about to tell her that she’d scare off any potentia
l customers that braved it through the main door with her miserable face greeting them.
But, before Edel got a chance to finish her sentence, the shop door burst open and in walked her very first customer of the day.
Jimmy Byrne.
Edel couldn’t believe her luck.
Beaming at the man as if he was made from twenty-four carat gold, Edel was smug in the knowledge that this little visit would just wind her old friend right up.
‘Well, Mr Byrne!’ Edel chimed. Not only did she finally have a customer, but of all the people to grace her with their presence it was only one of her newest and most well off customers.
Everyone knew Jimmy Byrne. The man was notorious around these parts. Busy making a name for himself with numerous business deals, Edel had no idea how the man made so much money, but rumour had it he was into all sorts. Each to their own, that’s what Edel thought. If the man wasn’t hurting anyone, and he was making good money, then good luck to him. Times were hard and all the while that Jimmy Byrne was coming into her shop and buying up huge bouquets of beautiful flowers, Edel was in no position to judge the man.
‘Afternoon, lovely ladies,’ Jimmy replied, strutting into the shop surrounded by an air of confidence that only a man of his stature possessed, dressed in an expensive-looking suit, which only made him look even more handsome.
‘Will you be wanting some lovely purple flowers for your mam again? They’re her favourite, aren’t they?’ Remembering their conversation last time Jimmy came in to buy flowers, Edel smiled at him as she closed the door, allowing Nellie to loiter around for a bit longer.
Besides, it wasn’t every day that the notorious Jimmy Byrne popped in to the shop, and spoke to her as if she was an old friend.
The least Edel could do was allow Nellie to witness her good fortune.
‘See. That’s what I love about this little florist. Attention to detail. Now that’s real service for you!’ Jimmy grinned. ‘Yes, she loved the last lot I bought her. Said they were beautiful. If you could make a bouquet up like that, only bigger this time. I want to spoil her.’
‘Lovely!’ Edel beamed as she lapped up Jimmy’s praise, unable to stop the huge smile spreading across her face.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the man would have thought her a raving nutcase, Edel could have kissed him there and then for his kind words. Especially in front of old moany bollocks Nellie, next to her. Her friend had been rendered silent now. Taking it all in, and Edel couldn’t have been happier.
To be fair, she was only giving the man the kind of customer care that Jimmy Byrne would expect. People around here went out of their way to ensure Jimmy Byrne was given a first class service. Jimmy was her most valued regular customer at the moment: her only regular customer. Coming in at least once every few days to buy flowers for his mother.
‘Will you be wanting something for your girlfriend too?’ Edel asked, hoping she wasn’t overstepping the line by prying into Jimmy’s personal business as she noticed him scanning the shop as if in search of something else.
Jimmy often bought two bouquets. The second was probably for whatever fancy piece the man was taking out that night no doubt. A man like Jimmy would have his pick of the girls around here, that was for sure.
‘The usual dozen red roses?’
‘I’m not sure. I think I want something a little more… unique,’ Jimmy said. He twisted his mouth as he stared around the florist thoughtfully, as Edel made herself busy gathering flowers up for his mother’s display. ‘I want to make an impression with these ones.’
Excited that Jimmy was putting so much thought into his girlfriend’s flowers, Edel couldn’t help wondering if the man was smitten with whoever it was. He must be, she thought, to go to so much trouble.
‘Give me a minute with these, and I’ll help you find something just right,’ Edel said, determined to make sure Jimmy got exactly what he’d come in here for.
‘Are you on your own today then? Is your daughter not helping you out?’
‘Colleen? Oh yes, she’s out the back, just putting some Christmas bits together. If you’re in a hurry, I can get her to come out and give me a hand.’ Figuring that Jimmy probably wasn’t in the mood to hang around, especially with old Nellie-the-elephant-ears gawping at him, Edel didn’t wait for the man’s answer.
‘Colleen!’ she shouted out towards the back room. ‘Can you come and give me a hand, love?’
A few seconds later Colleen came through to the front of the shop, covered in silver glitter spray; she had streaks of the stuff all over her clothes and her face.
Seeing the embarrassment on Colleen’s face, as she was faced with the rather handsome Jimmy Byrne, Edel couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Wow, what happened to you?’ she said, taking in the sight of her daughter in her scruffy-looking jeans and T-shirt. The apron that covered her clothing clearly doing nothing to protect her clothes from getting filthy. It was moments like this, when a customer as well-known and respected as Jimmy Byrne came into the shop, that Edel wished her daughter would make more effort with her appearance.
‘I was just finishing the last of the Christmas wreaths,’ Colleen said, sweeping a long strand of her hair back behind her ears as she spotted Jimmy Byrne staring at her. She suddenly felt self-conscious.
‘Finishing off the wreaths? Are you sure they weren’t finishing you off?’ Edel said laughing, as she discreetly rubbed her own face trying to let Colleen know that she had streaks of silver glitter running across her cheek, before she pointed at her hair, where Colleen had a couple of leaves hanging. ‘What are you doing back there? Displaying them, or wrestling with them?’
Colleen blushed. Aware that everyone was staring at her, she felt embarrassed at being the centre of attention.
Edel changed the subject.
‘Can you help Mr Byrne here pick some flowers out for his lady friend, while I do the bouquet up for his mother?’
Nodding, Colleen wiped her hands down the front of her apron before she went to serve Jimmy.
‘Please, call me Jimmy.’ Jimmy smiled. ‘Here, you’ve got something in your hair.’
Leaning in, Jimmy plucked the silver sprayed leaf from where it had caught behind Colleen’s ear and grinned as he saw Colleen blush, suddenly shy under his close scrutiny.
‘What were you after Mr… I mean, Jimmy?’ Colleen said, quickly correcting herself.
Unlike her mother she held no airs and graces for the likes of Jimmy Byrne. Her mother might fall over herself trying to impress the man, but to her, he was just another customer and Colleen treated him as such.
Her mother might be blinded by the man’s wealth and notoriety but Colleen had heard about the sort of business that Jimmy Byrne ran. About the girls he had working for him.
Jimmy Byrne was a crook by all accounts. Still, ever professional, Colleen remained polite and helpful as she served him. He was a paying customer after all. Though falling over herself and kissing the man’s arse were not things that Colleen would be indulging in.
Catching Colleen’s curt tone, Jimmy smiled, amused by the way the young woman acted around him. He wasn’t used to females in his company acting indifferently to him. Normally women made a point of going out of their way to impress him. Only Colleen didn’t seem to care one bit about who he was. In fact, she didn’t seem interested in him at all. The girl’s nonplussed attitude only served to intrigue him even more.
‘You know, I’m not sure what I want this time. I have no idea what flowers she likes,’ Jimmy said, eyeing the vases near to him as he tried to make up his mind. ‘Tell you what, I’m going to let you choose. You probably have a better eye for things like this than me.’
Colleen bit her lip, irritated that Jimmy seemed so intent in engaging with her. She’d rather he just picked some red roses like most men did and be done with it. She could have served him in minutes then, and got back to her Christmas project out the back.
‘Okay,’ she said, trying but not succeeding to
hide her irritation at having to appease the man. ‘Do you know what colours she likes? What her favourite flower is?’ Colleen asked, not bothering to hide her sarcasm as she scanned the rows of flowers in the large metal urns around her, guessing that a man like Jimmy probably didn’t take much notice of what the girls he dated liked or disliked. He seemed the type to only look out for himself.
‘Hmm, I don’t really know. We haven’t got that far.’ Jimmy grinned his cheekiest smile now. ‘I was thinking red roses, but I’m not sure. Maybe I should go with something a bit different this time. What are your favourites?’
Colleen wrinkled her mouth, trying her hardest to keep her expression neutral. Jimmy Byrne really did rate himself.
There was something extremely smug about the man.
He was strikingly handsome, but he had an air about him that he was more than aware of the fact. He acted as if he could charm the birds down from the trees, but he was wasting his time if he thought that he could win Colleen over.
She had no interest in flirting with the man.
‘Me? I personally think red roses are lovely, but they are a bit of a cliché,’ Colleen said, purposely ignoring the fact that her mother’s eyes were now glaring into the back of her – which only made Colleen smirk.
Jimmy Byrne was a walking talking cliché, if ever Colleen had seen one. Flashing his money and his killer smile, as he expected people to fall down at his feet.
‘I like something a bit softer. I’d go for cream roses; they look really pretty with some pink chrysanthemums and some eucalyptus thrown in. They are classy and they’ll smell beautiful too.’
‘Classy huh?’ Jimmy grinned. ‘Yeah, I like that. That sounds like exactly what I’m after.’
Staring at Colleen a little too intently for her liking, the girl stepped back. Sensing the flirtation in Jimmy’s words, Colleen felt flustered now.
Picking out a selection of the flowers that she’d suggested, in her clumsiness she dropped several of the stems onto the floor. Bending down to pick them up, she could feel Jimmy’s eyes still burning into her.
The Betrayed: A shocking, gritty thriller that will hook you from the first page Page 5