Page 27 of An Angel’s Share (The Greystone Family: Greystone Brothers #1)

“No, they’ve gone to LA. When I spoke to James, he was telling Jonno how bad they were. Begging Jonno to go fetch Evie.” She pulls that face again. “What gives, Christy? That’s twice you’ve pulled a face when I’ve said that.”

“Well, I don’t think that’s the only reason why he’s gone to fetch her, that’s all.

You know they’re still trying to find the thief?

Well, I heard Marshall telling your dad that Jonno had to call in somewhere to check things out.

They think they’re getting near to whoever it is.

” Her voice is low, her eyes flicking around the room.

She couldn’t look more conspicuous if she tried.

I sit back, completely gobsmacked. A fucking thief. Really? At O’Clerys ? My mind is reeling. He’s not mentioned that.

I try to keep my face as neutral as possible to not alert her to the fact I did not know. “How do you know about the thief?” I ask in a tone that deflects my lack of knowledge.

“Last year, when Jonno came over, I heard him talking to your dad in the small library. I didn’t mean to overhear, but there’s a toilet in there and I was in it when they came in. I didn’t want to go out, so I stayed, and listened.” She looks ashamed of herself.

“Did you tell anyone what you heard? Patrick?” My brain is spinning off in tangents, my cogs whirring at warp speed.

She shakes her head. “No. I know you might think that’s a lie, but it isn’t.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I joined this family, it is not to repeat things other family members say.

I’m only telling you as it was your daddy who was talking, and I know you’ll know.

He shares all his business issues with you. ”

I nod at her. “Yes, he mentioned it last year before I came home. But he hasn’t recently, so I thought things had sorted themselves out a bit. I know Marshall and Daddy don’t want any dirty laundry washing in public.” I’m a genius at the nonanswers, and the fibs .

“Yes, but I don’t think it is sorted. The numbers, according to Jonno, are worse than last year.

Whoever it is has ramped up the thefts. I hope they catch them.

Your dad is not taking it well. I think he got worse this year because of it.

Well that and the business going south. None of it would be helping your blood pressure or heart.

” She stops, taking a drink of her prosecco.

“Even Patrick is starting to fret. This development he’s invested in with Liam in Dublin is due for full and final payment in a few weeks.

We need a good dividend from the company to pay for it. ”

The hackles on the back of my neck rise, but I keep it cool. “Oh wow, that sounds exciting. Which development is it? Not the riverside ones? They’re amazing.” My voice does not belay my shock or anguish.

She nods proudly. “Patrick showed them to me when we went for dinner for our anniversary. He was so excited. It’s the first time he’s invested outside of the company.

It’s on his own, not his dad or Conor involved, none of the family.

He showed me around. The apartments are ridiculously well done, all high end.

They own a whole building, thirty apartments.

I’m so proud of him. Finally something is working out for him.

” She glows under Patrick’s achievements.

Oh my god. This cannot be happening. How the hell has Liam afforded that?

And in all fairness, how has Patrick? There must be millions of Euros in that building.

We are rich, sure, but as a family, we are uber rich.

Not individually. And there is no way Patrick has taken enough money out of the company to cover those costs.

“Do you think you’ll have an apartment there? City apartment, you are so city, Christy,” I joke with her, trying to maintain my charade.

She shakes her head. “No, they'll all be rented. We talked about it. It would be nice to have a city bolt-hole. To go shopping and party a bit. But as we haven’t got any loans on it, it’s all savings and Patrick’s wages.

We need to replenish our monies. I told Patrick to get a business loan, but he didn’t want to.

He said Liam wasn’t, so he didn’t want to show he was worse off.

Which is why this bonus he thinks is coming is so important. ”

Bonus. A fucking bonus. They are delusional. We are not even making a profit, how can he be expecting a bonus to cover that sort of cost?

And then it hits me. Jesus Christ. Patrick is the thief.

Oh my god, my cousin is the thief. No wonder Jonno has not said.

He thinks it’s him. My brain has spun off into overheard conversations, ones where Jonno has been conversationally questioning them.

Everyone in fact, including Liam and Patrick.

I stop dead. Oh my God . He’s been doing it to me as well. Entirely focused on the business, all the questions, his attentiveness to my answers. Question after question. Gentle probing, joking, carefully working his way in. The bastard thinks it’s all of us.

I sit seething in the booth. What the hell?

The man is a professional liar. I looked him up, well what there was on the internet.

Not much. I know he is a CEO of a tech company, a billion dollar business.

But there’s not much on him. More on his brother in celebrity security, and his sister obviously with her relationships.

But the man who supposedly runs a massive tech company—hardly anything.

I know he upgraded all the security at O’Clerys last year.

Cyber security was also listed as one of his top businesses.

My heart misses a beat. He’s been watching us for ages.

Probably installed some cyber crap on our computers, keeping tabs on what was going on in the company if he was looking last year for the thief.

I shake my head as pennies start to drop.

Well, I wasn’t even here then. I was still doing my doctorate, and looking in on the American set up when I could, but not a lot, to be honest. I just didn’t have the time or, if I’m totally truthful, the inclination.

Anyone could have been stealing and I wouldn’t have known.

In fact, I clearly did not know. Daddy never said.

But he wouldn’t. No one said a bloody word.

Typical O’Clery brothers, Daddy, Dermot, and Marshall.

Keeping it on the down low. And certainly not the snake in the grass Jonno Greystone.

We sit in silence as more cake, coffee, and prosecco arrive. I suddenly see Christy stiffen and duck down slightly into the corner of the booth. I look at her in amazement, but she waves her hands at me to slouch down, putting her finger to her lips to silence me.

I’m just about to do the opposite, when I hear the voice of Patrick’s assistant drift over the coffee shop.

“So, have you picked out your décor? Those furnishings were beautiful,” she states.

Another voice answers. “No, Liam has gone today to sort them all out for me. I couldn’t get the whole day off. I gave him a list. And besides, it would look so suspicious if we keep being off together. I’m sure she’ll notice. I mean, he can’t keep his hands off me.”

My eyes are so large, Christy looks at me in panic. We both look at each other and I crouch down further into the seat. Listening. My heart rate picking up. I need to remember to breathe.

“Patrick’s the same.”

My heart sinks to my flip-flops. Christy has gone pale, and looks like she’s going to be sick.

The other woman chirps up again. “Liam said I can have the penthouse suite. He’s taking it for himself, for us.” She’s so smug, her elitism oozing from her voice. “Has Patrick decided to take a suite for you both? Or…?”

I grab a hold of Christy’s hands and shake my head at her, begging her with my eyes not to do anything.

“No,” the second woman sighs out. She sounds disappointed.

A third woman pipes up. “Well, Chris said I can have an apartment in the new block they’re going to invest in. And it’s in an even better location.”

Fucking hell. Chris? As in Liam’s cousin? The export director? How the hell has he got money for that? Dublin is a fortune on property.

“Did you talk about the engagement?” Patrick’s woman asks.

“No, Chris said he’s not bothering with an engagement. I mean, look at Liam’s. Not worth the cake they ate. A complete joke. So no, we’ll just go straight for the wedding. But he wants to get us settled financially first.”

What the fuck is going on with these three? It crosses my mind it’s the same three that were having lunch at my fucking family dinner table. Patrick’s secretary was definitely there. The other two, I’m not entirely sure, but it certainly does fit these three would be out and about together.

“Has Liam said if he is leaving her?” Again Patrick’s secretary is the questioner. “I mean she is pregnant. Aren’t you worried that if he’s capable of cheating on and leaving his pregnant fiancée what will he do to you?”

Oh I love the bitchy infighting. Strange bedfellows these women.

She tuts. “Next month. He’s getting everything set up first. He gets the keys in a week I think.

And it’s not cheating if you don’t love the person.

And he doesn’t.” She pauses for a second then carries on.

“I’m resigning and moving into the penthouse.

Then he’ll have to break the news gently.

But he intends to look after the baby, so I suppose I’ll have to deal with her and them. ”

I practically laugh. He’s even lying to his fucking girlfriend. At least he has stuck to the lie.

“And to be fair, he’s told me everyday he doesn’t love her. He even told me on their engagement night. We had a tryst in the downstairs loo. He’s always loved me, but felt obligated due to the baby. So it shows how good a character he has, the fact he hasn’t just dumped her.”

She even sounds like she believes that. What a sucker. I stifle a laugh and Christy stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.

Liam’s girlfriend then starts on Patrick’s assistant. “You need to put more pressure on Patrick. He needs to dump the frump.”

I look sharply at Christy, who has tears in her eyes. I grab a hold of her hands and shake my head aggressively again.

“He’s oblivious. I’ve tried to pin him down since the night at the hotel, but he just sidesteps me. I think he’s getting bored of my flirting. It seems a bit of one way traffic.”

She sounds downhearted. Dejected. Fucking good. And Patrick is a dead man.

“Oh my god, what time is it? We need to get back before anyone comes back and finds we’ve gone.

Having an affair with the boss has its perks, and I know most of the office staff will keep their mouths shut.

But if they come back, especially Christy, different story.

She monitors my hours, the stingy witch.

If Patrick would just give in to me completely, I could pressure him into getting rid of her.

I want to swan around, not doing anything, pretending to work. ” They all laugh in agreement.

We hear the chairs scrape on the floor and hunch down, practically climbing inside the pink leather. As the door swings and their voices ebb away, I stare at Christy. Her eyes are full of tears, and when she blinks, they start to pour down her face.

What a disaster. Mine, I don’t give a shit.

But my friend, this woman who has done nothing other than love my cousin, love my family, has been shaken to the bottom of her heart.

Tears fill my eyes as I get up and sit next to her, pull her into a hug, and we both cry. Her for her marriage, me for her.