Page 34 of Dirty Dylan: Dirty Dusters

That tenseness he was emanating is superseded by a full-on shutdown on both our parts as I scramble off his lap. My thoughts and feelings are all over the place. Given he doesn’t get out much by personal choice, I fully expected a lack of experience. What I never expected was for him to have none.

Being his first carries way too many emotional risks for me.

We sit side by side in silence. I’m not sure how long passes.

“I think I should go,” he finally mutters.

“I think that’s best.”

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

JESSIE

The Hudson Dusters’ HQ, Manhattan, New York

“Expertly handled. Thank you, Jessie girl.”

“No thanks necessary, Fergal. I was just doing my job.” I smile warmly at him.

I’ve been invited to attend their meeting today. I figure it’s for two reasons.

The first is the IRS has now concluded its audit on Play. The result? The Duster boys earned themselves a slap on the wrist and a ten million dollar fine.

They got off lightly in my opinion, and all because, on my advice, they held their hands up, admitted the error of their ways, reassured the revenue service that valuable lessons had been learned, and vowed it would never happen again.

JAL then subsequently picked up the baton and pled the Duster’s case by insisting the inaccuracies were a result of professional negligence. JAL then successfully managed to negotiate the fine down from ten mil to two by convincing the IRS to go after the named and shamed former accountant for the other eight mil.

Jaine cited this route may be more financially rewarding as, having done a background check on the accountancy firm in question, it turns out several other wealthy clients employed the use of their incompetent professional services. In other words, plenty of other lucrative avenues for the IRS to venture down that wouldn’t see them or their family members having to be fitted for concrete shoes. Obviously, any threats of the mobster variety would have been veiled, made off the record and worded far more eloquently as in I don’t think the word concrete would have been used, merely implied. Then again, it may all be hearsay. Although I suspect not.

“Nonsense. You’ve gone above and beyond.”

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without Jaine. It would have been a far different outcome had she not tied them up in legal knots.”

“Yes, our thanks to the biker too.” It’s said grudgingly. We can all hear it. He makes no attempt to disguise his loathing these days. He hates her guts. It must be over the standing up matter. The wound of disrespect is festering as time goes on as opposed to healing.

“I’m also a biker, Fergal,” I casually remind him.

He nods in acceptance. “Yes, you are, Jessie girl. Please accept my apologies for being dismissive of your colleague’s contribution. I appreciate we needed access to her expertise on this matter. Us O’Connells are grateful for everything you’ve both done for the Dusters. That aside, now we have young Molly working alongside our Paddy, we’ll no longer be requiring Jaine’s services, although we will still be needing access to your skillset.”

“Of course, Fergal. It goes without saying I’m here for as long as you need me.” I smile at him once more, and he returns it with a fatherly one of his own.

For whatever reasons, I’ve been blessed with being able to wrap Da Duster around my little finger. Not sure how it happened. It wasn’t intentional or planned. We just developed a soft spot for each other from the get-go.

I’m not complaining about our daddy-daughter instabond. I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Let’s be honest, it’s better to have Fergal O’Connell on side than off.

“Will you still be requiring Jaine to represent the Duster’s part in the alliance with La eMe, or do you want me to let her know Molly will now be undertaking that commitment? I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to hand the reins over to someone as competent. She’ll still be actively involved, of course, as JAL represents all the other interested parties. I’m sure she won’t mind lending Molly a professional hand if it’s needed.”

“Is Jaine now representing the Sons? If I recall, her relationship with Lucifer didn’t start on the best of footings,” Eoin asks.

I look at him. He was present at the Nevada meeting, so he’ll be aware of what was said by my daddy, and of Jaine’s less-than-receptive reaction and subsequent response.

I smile as I tell a little white lie. “No, you’re right. It didn’t. But that’s all water under the bridge. JAL will indeed be representing Sons of Satan on this matter moving forward.”

“Noted.”

The second reason my presence has been requested here today?

It’s my guess it’s to enable a certain introduction to be made. I look across the table and my eyes meet with the ice-cold barb of who I suspect to be Molly McGrath. Twenty-eight years old, from a well-to-do Dublin family and currently earmarked as the future Ma Duster. She’s extremely beautiful I have to say.

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