Page 53 of An Angel's Share
And then I watch the strangest thing happen. They touch hands, and not in a holding way, but almost a signal. They all do it. It’s as if they’re communicating with each other.
Jackson comes and stands in front of me. He’s huge. He looks the most like Jonno, too. Not quite as tall as Jonno, but built, so stocky, muscles on muscles. He looks down at my tummy. “May I?” He lifts his hands in question. He wants to put them on my stomach, he wants to touch his niece or nephew. My eyes fill with tears again. “Is it okay, Aoife?” he asks gently.
I nod, I can’t get any words out. The smile he gives me is pure Jonno. They’re so similar.
“Hey baby.” Oh God not him as well. No one has talked to my baby for six months. Then this lot lands and hasn't shut up yacking to him or her. “It’s uncle Jackson. I love you, baby, can’t wait for you to come, but don’t come too early, we’re happy to wait. We’ve waited a long time. We can wait another few months.” His face is so soft. His love is flowing into my body. I see tears brimming in his eyes. Where Jonno appears cold, this Greystone is all emotion.
Jude steps forwards, kissing my cheek. “Hey, Aoife, hope you’re both well.” Jude’s voice is soft and gentle. He nods at my tummy. “May I?”
Well why not, everyone else has. Anyone else, roll up roll up. Line em up.
“Hey baby, it’s Uncle Jude. We’ve got everything ready for you. I love you, and I know your daddy loves you. Hehasn’t stopped talking about you. I’ll tell you a secret, he’s a bit crazy. But crazy in love with you.”
Evie is in tears. The men are in tears. Christy lands back at the table just as Jude removes his hands. She’s staring from one to the other, trying to work out what the hell is going on. She only went to the toilet. And now some glorious men have joined our party.
Well when anyone knows, can they let me know. I join the tear festival and sob into my orange juice.
We setoff in the sunshine along the river to the development. Jude is pulling out all the information from Christy. He works with Evie on buildings, his passion is new developments, he tells her. Jackson is carrying Rio. He hasn’t put her down yet. Evie is lightly quizzing him on his appearance in Dublin, but he just keeps smiling at her. I can feel her frustration growing. Tommy just keeps grinning at them all. Valentina has gone for a massage and a full pamper session, at Evie’s insistence.
“Wow, is this it?” I ask Christy when she stops outside Riverside South Wharf. “Are you sure this whole building was only four million? I know you said it had gone up, but still?” I look at Christy, who, to be honest, looks a bit clueless.
“That’s what Patrick said originally. Total cost was three million euros. We handed over five hundred thousand a couple of months ago. And then I transferred one point five to Patrick last month. He was getting the rest from the bonus pot. Originally one million, but now it’s two.” Tears form in her eyes as she looks up at the building.
Evie looks at Jude, their hands touching again. They’redefinitely communicating. But what the hell are they saying?
“Let’s go in and see, shall we? We’ll be prospective buyers today. They always roll out the red carpet if they think you have cash,” Jude confirms.
The building is the height of modern luxury. An old wharf building, not kept enough original features for Evie. She keeps muttering every time the salesman tells us what they replaced with what. But everything has been thought through. Every modern convenience and then some has been installed. Decor to fit anyone’s exacting standards.
They are magnificent homes, yet my heart sinks. With every question and answer the Greystones skilfully extract, my heart stutters and stops. Tommy comes and stands next to Christy, clearly thinking she’s going to break down as the prices on each condo are revealed.
At one point, he takes her elbow and says kindly, “Let’s go get some fresh air. I saw a coffee shop at the bottom of the building.”
He nods to the Greystones as they continue their friendly interrogation of the sales director and then the CEO of the company that owns the building. Turns out, Jackson knows his brother. Gave him a job a few years ago. Before all the building work took off.
We’re smiling and nodding at them all. Once Evie’s identity is revealed, well, it’s as if a celebrity has been plonked on their doorstep. We’re given the VIP treatment, the red carpet is well and truly rolled out. Plans, schedules, costings are all fully revealed. They want her to look at another old building they have. They’ve seen her Docklands work. I thought at one point the man was going to faint with excitement.
Three hours later, we’re all leaving, all smiles, with Eviepromising to call and come and check out the other building tomorrow for them. I look back and see them all high fiving, flushed red with excitement at such a coup. Clearly she is a big deal.
“Well, baby sis, you wowed that lot. Good work. Will you go look at the building?”
Shocked, I do a double take. I would never have guessed from her demeanour with them that she might not be telling them the truth. She grins at Jackson. They know her well.
“Yeah, I’ll go tomorrow. We might need more info for Christy. And Jonno has a proxy for the board meeting. I don't need to be there. In fact, I don’t want to be. But I think we should discuss this before we meet up with Christy. Clearly she knows things are not right. But let’s have a dissection and see what we need to do. Shall I phone Jonno?”
They all nod. I see how they operate as a collective. This is what I want, this much effort, us all working together. I doubt if I could ever reach this level with Patrick. I’m jealous again!
We sit around a table in an empty room, call Jonno on FaceTime, and I listen to what they think has happened. Well I could see, to be honest. Patrick has been taken for a ride. The penthouse is a four million pound property alone. It had been three, but they put it up due to the additional high-end finishes asked for. How could Patrick have fallen for this? Thinking this whole building was an eight million euro building, with all the renovations to do? He doesn’t own anything.
We conclude that Liam—Oh God, why is he such a drag on this family—has told Patrick that his half of the investment is four mil. But Patrick is actually buying thePenthouse for Liam. It’s in his name. The fool purchased the penthouse in his sole name. Mr Liam Figgs-Hamilton bold as brass on the bottom of the paperwork.
We only got to see the paperwork after some sleight of hand by Jackson, and some seriously good questioning by Jude. Christy’s ‘deposit’ was obviously the money down to secure the apartment.
My chest feels tight and I must look terrible, as Evie takes my hand, and I hear Jonno say he’s coming to Dublin.
“No, Jonno, stay there. I’m coming home,” I manage to get out. What has happened to me? To my family? It’s falling to pieces around me. My dad’s illness, Patrick’s potential infidelity, and now the loss of money. All the thieving. Thieving on top of thieving.O’Clerysseems to be a hotbed of illegal activity.
“Brother, we’ve got your wife and child, we’re all coming home,” Jackson states.
