Page 44 of An Angel’s Share (The Greystone Family: Greystone Brothers #1)

Jonno

Regardless of what she thinks of me or I her, Aoife’s dad is her world, and she is carrying my son. I need to help her.

I could see as soon as her dad made a weird noise, she was losing it. My natural dominance and protection rose to the forefront. I didn't mean to be rude towards Mae, but I could see the noise was distressing Seamus, and it was imperative we kept him calm.

I’m left stood, nose to nose, with fucking Liam and Patrick.

I glare at them both. It’s all their fault in my book.

Clearly Seamus has had issues with this in the past. I could tell from his expressions throughout the whole of Patrick’s fucking ridiculous tale.

It’s probably this that has made him ill.

“Why don’t you all go home. No one wants you here. The board meeting is over, so there’s no further need for you or your family to stay,” Liam spits out.

To his slight credit, Patrick looks a bit shocked by the venom.

Time to address the elephant in the room. “Why don’t you fuck off. It’s totally your fault that he’s ill. Clearly he hasn’t agreed with your little scheme to defraud the Exporters out of millions. Patrick, what the fuck are you thinking, man? Surely you could see how wrong this is?”

He sputters and blusters, but nothing of any note comes out of his mouth.

“It’s not fraud or theft,” Liam declares.

“It’s smart fucking business practice, clearly something you know nothing about.

So go the fuck home, and let me get on with running O’Clerys.

It’s obvious we will need to take over. Seamus passed his Power of Attorney onto Aoife, and she’s fit for nothing.

So as her fiancé, I will step in.” Liam’s disgust at Aoife is showing, his disrespect blatant.

Patrick looks surprised at Liam’s insistence. He knows Liam will have the ultimate say over everything O’Clerys if that happens.

I start to laugh. “If you think for one minute Aoife will not be back to sort this company, you’re deluded.

And I’m going nowhere. I’ve Evie and Marshall’s interests to consider.

And that’s not going to be letting you two land them in fucking prison on an International fraud charge.

” I glare at the two men who have managed to bring a profitable family business to its knees and on the verge of bankruptcy, if not prison sentences for all senior managers.

I point at them. “And if you think my brothers are going to leave now, with this shit storm brewing, you are fucking deranged.”

Patrick tries to defend them both, and insult me at the same time. “Jonno, you’re way out of your league here. You don’t need to defend anyone's interests. We are incredibly capable of doing that for you all.” He gestures between himself and Liam.

That’s it. I have had enough of Patricks delusion.

“Do you think I’m going to let a fucking fraudster run this business?

” I point at Liam. “The fact that you are the finance director and let Patrick believe what you were doing was not theft or fraud says it all. Patrick, he needs to go. Sack him. He’s got you involved and up to your neck. You must?—”

“It was Patrick and Aoife’s idea.” The smugness in Liam’s voice says it all. “They set up the company, I just do as they say. You can’t pin anything on me. It all comes back to them.”

Patrick is staring open-mouthed at him. Clearly he has missed who Liam really is.

“Thank God then you’ve been telling me consistently that your behaviour and smart business practices are not illegal then.

We can all sleep at night. But it does stop now.

And other than the staff, no monies will be paid to any senior management.

Aoife will want a full rundown of the company accounts for the subsidiary companies.

Get them. Or better still, give me the names and I’ll have your staff get them.

” I’m bulldozing Patrick on purpose now. I need access, and I need it quickly.

“No, you need to fuck off back to England and leave this business.” Liam is squaring up to me now.

“Whoa, Liam.” Patrick finally finds his voice.

“Fine, Jonno. I’lll get you the details, everything, and give you access.

” Looks like the penny might have finally dropped for him.

“We can reconvene at a later date once we know how Seamus is.” He looks ashen.

His chickens are starting to come home to roost, his reliance on others who might not have his best interest at heart are being laid bare.

“Jonno, Aoife and Marshall are asking for you.” Christy has come back into the room.

She looks worried, her face pale, but her voice is commanding as she addresses her husband.

“Patrick, I've organised cars for you and Dermot. Can you come and help please? I’ll stay here to sort out the children. Just ring if anything is needed and I can arrange for it to be brought to the hospital.”

I grin at Christy. She is a powerhouse of organisation.

Patrick looks at her as if seeing her for the first time. “Okay, yes, right. Thanks, darling.” He moves like a robot, off to sort his dad.

I go to walk with him to Marshall when Liam shoves in behind me. “I shall be taking Aoife. Stay the fuck away from her. Don’t think I don’t see how you look at her.” He pushes me in the shoulder, his face suffused with anger, illogical hatred pouring from him.

I hit back, both of us having dropped any pretence. “Stay away from me. And I will not be staying away from Aoife. I will not be going home, so get used to it.”

I walk away before I hit him. If he thinks he’s intimidating, he really isn’t. He really doesn’t know my business, my brother's business. But he is about to find out.

My brain is working overtime. I’ve got to sort out the family, plug the hole and stop the thief. Clearly it’s far worse than it looks. Had Patrick not had his little injection of cash for the past four years, they would have posted losses, seriously fucking big losses.

All this just cements my thought process.

She is not responsible. Someone has been very good at making it look like she is.

It’s Liam. I know with every bone in my body, it’s him.

He has had the means, and Patrick in his pocket.

I don’t even think it’s Patrick. He’s just the patsy who gives Liam credibility in the business and the means to steal from them all .

But why leave the money where it is for so long?

Was he that comfortable in their blindness towards him?

Their perceived stupidity? Maybe he had long range plans on her all along, and the baby issue played into his hands, whilst the O’Clerys thought they were pulling the strings.

He thinks he’s so fucking smart. She definitely did not know it was so bad.

He’s had the means to steal. He was in America at the start of the business, and she was distracted with her studies.

He’s used what brains he had, kept it basic but effective.

The motive? Money, pure and simple. They had it, he wanted it.

Probably thinks he’s owed it. But how to fucking prove it.

His hands are nowhere near the till. Hers are.

But what the fuck is going on about California?

She lied outright about that warehouse. The amount of money being paid to it was the best part of two hundred million dollars over the past four years.

And the other company in New York is holding around another hundred million. And money just keeps being billed.

Follow the money, that’s our mantra. Jackson is on it. If you follow the money you’ll find out who is behind it all. I just need time. And although I am willing Seamus back to health, this will give us a little time to set the trap. We’ve already done the hard yards. We just need to wait.

And I need to make sure my girlfriend wants me, regardless of what she thinks about what I’ve said and done. My thoughts are unchanged on her. I wanted her when I was not sure she was the thief, I want her full stop.

I’m even more worried though than I was before.

How to untangle her from this mess? Marshall will not want Seamus to know if any of the family members are involved, even Patrick.

It would kill him. Set him back. No, the O’Clery seniors need to be kept in the dark.

I might need to speak to my brothers and sister about our next steps.

Tommy gets set to drive us to the hospital.

Liam glares at me as he clambers in next to Aoife.

Standing at the side of the car, I see her cringe and look at me through the window.

What can I do? She hasn’t had time to deal fully with Liam.

Or announce the fact she wants to call off the engagement.

To the outside world, he is her rock. He should be beside her.

I have to rein in my ego and think about her right now. Fuck, this is so hard. I turn on my heel and dive in with Dermot and Patrick, sending Marshall along with Aoife.

Patrick is struggling between talking business and not upsetting his dad. In the end, he can’t contain himself.

“Do you really think it’s fraud?” I can see in his eyes, he’s terrified. At last our words have penetrated his mind. He’s clearly been listening to people tell him it wasn’t illegal or immoral. Just smart business.

“Legally, other than maybe the person on the inside, you probably haven’t done anything wrong,” I reassure him.

“But morally, you are in deep shit. Think, Patrick. You’ve taken money for exporting to yourself.

You control the flow, the amounts. It’s hardly a fair fight.

And if they find out you actually never sent some of the stock?

Well, game over.” He looks straight ahead, clearly contemplating his actions.

“Where’s the money? If you’re invoicing all those casks, surely the board of trade would want to verify it? ”

He grimaces. Oh fucking hell, he hasn’t fiddled those figures as well.

“Liam amended the books. As we invoiced the company in the Isle of Man, it then invoiced New York. I’ve seen the figures for the Isle of Man. It eventually was all paid back to O’Clerys to finance my projects.” He’s rubbing his hands nervously.

Well, that’s a lie. I’ve seen the actual Isle of Man bank accounts—the money never moved.

It’s stocked full of money. At least five hundred million euro, all sat waiting to move for a holiday in the sun.

They already did a trial run to see if anyone noticed, the money being electronically moved and then sent back.

James tracked it, which is how we know about the accounts in the Caymans. In her name. Lies upon lies.

Liam has lied to him. Probably in cahoots with his cousin, the export director. All very neat and tidy for a little bit of fraud and theft. Probably couldn’t believe their luck when they realised the amounts of profit to be siphoned off. O’Clerys is a gold mine. Liquid gold.

“Okay, things won’t be traced back then to you,” I tell him.

“But listen, I need access to everything to ensure it. You know I’m working for you.

Last year I sorted out all the IT systems. But I need full access, Patrick.

Yours, Liam’s, Aoife’s, everyone’s. Talk to Marshall if you need to, but we need to ensure this never gets out.

O’Clerys will be finished, and I am not being dramatic.

Your dad, Seamus, and Marshall won’t survive it.

They are men of integrity, don't put them in this position.”

He looks into my face, it’s as serious as it gets. “Liam said you were trying to take over. Get rid of me.” I see the depths of his insecurities laid bare.

I snort. “No. I run a fucking massive company. Have you not looked me up? I don’t have time for O’Clerys.

Not really. I’m happy to check in once this is all sorted, but I want to let you get on with it.

I want Marshall and my sister happy. I want us all in the best-suited positions.

I want to protect O’Clerys, not take it off you.

This is just adding to my issues, not helping me at all.

” I’m being as open and honest as I ever have with him.

He’s watching me closely. He nods, and looks startled when his dad speaks from the front of the car. I think he forgot he was there.

“Patrick, you should only trust your family, no one else. Jonno stopped a few issues last year with updated IT. You know this. It’s time to make a few decisions, son.”

I smile at Dermot. The man is quieter than Marshall, but I know he sees everything. They are all very astute. I nod at him, and look at the hospital looming ahead.

“Let’s support the family and hope for a good outcome for Seamus.

” I hold my hand out to Patrick. He takes it immediately and shakes it.

“But let’s keep this conversation to ourselves for now.

Loose lips sink export ships.” I grin at him, and he smiles.

Dermot nods and we all alight the vehicle in a much better place than when I got into it.