The Boss

‘Yeah, okay.’ She nodded. Intrigued and bemused. What possible business proposition could he have that might involve her?

Once the pub was locked up and Grace had checked on Jake, she and Patrick sat down with their curries while he poured two glasses of wine.

‘So, what’s this about a business opportunity, Pat?’

‘Well,’ he cleared his throat and smoothed back his hair – looking very pleased with himself, ‘do you remember that guy in Manchester I told you about? The one I used to work for? Solomon Shepherd?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Well, he told me he’d been hearing whispers of a massive upset with the dealers in Liverpool and he asked me to look into it. It’s not good for his business either. Well, it turns out that they’ve all been under surveillance for a massive police operation. The biggest in Liverpool for years, Grace. Even bigger than when Nathan and my lads went down. So, there is basically a massive gap in the market for someone to take control of things and everyone who’s anyone, is or has been, under surveillance, so none of them can fill it.’

‘Yet?’

Patrick nodded. ‘Exactly. So, we have to move fast.’

‘What?’ Grace laughed. ‘Us? Are you serious? What the hell do I know about drugs?’

‘I can teach you the basics. And you don’t need to know everything straight away. That’s what you’ve got me for. You can learn the business as you go. You’d have to provide the capital, obviously, but this will make you a very rich woman. You’d make more in a week than this place takes in a year. I’ll take all the risks, Grace. You won’t have to get your hands dirty if you don’t want to. And with Sol’s backing we’re already off to a great start.’

Grace shook her head. ‘You’re talking crazy, Pat. Me and you drug kingpins? You’re almost a pensioner and I’m a pub landlady!’

‘Hey, you cheeky mare,’ he laughed. ‘There’s still life in this old fella, you know. And don’t sell yourself short either. You might not realize it, but you’ve picked up a hell of a lot from Nathan about this business. Mostly, how not to do things. The lads that come in here all listen to you. They respect you. Partly because you’re your dad’s daughter and Nathan’s ex-wife, but mostly because there’s something about you, Grace. People trust you.’

Grace took a sip of her wine. ‘How would I sleep at night, Pat? Besides the obvious fact that drugs are a mugs game, and are responsible for far too much misery in this world, it’s just too dangerous. I have Jake to think about?’

‘If we don’t step in, Grace, someone else will. Besides, we won’t be at the coal face doing the grunt work. That’s the beauty of being the boss, you can pay other people to do that for you. And what better way to be able to protect Jake? You would be one of the most powerful players in Liverpool. Come on, Grace. What do you say?’

Grace considered his proposal. Was there a better way to protect Jake? Or herself? Particularly from Nathan. Was the only way to defeat the monster to become one yourself?

‘I’ll think about it, Pat,’ she said. ‘About funding you, at least. I wouldn’t want any part in the actual day-to-day operations.’

‘That’s all I ask, boss.’ He grinned at her.

Chapter Five (#ulink_cbc9cbc8-303e-5591-a716-155a9202b424)

Present Day

It was midday when Grace heard Jake emerge from the crypt that was his bedroom.

‘Do you want anything to eat, son?’ she shouted up the stairs.

‘A fry-up, Mum. The full works,’ he called back jovially.

She envied him his cast-iron constitution, and his body’s ability to burn off all that alcohol and avoid a hangover. She supposed that was what came from being eighteen. She remembered her life as an eighteen-year-old and how different it was to Jake’s. She’d had so much responsibility, yet so little experience of the world. It had been a dangerous combination. One that had left her open to the likes of Nathan – who’d seen her as the perfect target.

How easily she had allowed herself to be taken in by him. How quickly she had given up everything to him. He’d moved in within two months of their first meeting, had his name above the door within six, and they’d married just three months later. At the time, she’d thought it was true love – a whirlwind romance, just like Baby in her favourite film, Dirty Dancing. What a naive little girl she’d been. Now that she saw it for what it truly was, it made her cheeks burn with shame and anger.

Jake tucked into his breakfast with the voracity of a man who hadn’t been fed for weeks.

‘This is gorgeous, Mum,’ he mumbled, his mouth full of toast.

Kissing him on the top of his head, she sat at the table with him. ‘So, any plans for today?’

‘Dad’s going to show me his club and then we’ll probably grab something to eat,’ he replied, and her heart sank.

‘Is he coming here?’ she asked, trying to hide her uneasiness with that arrangement.

‘Yeah, he’ll be here in a bit.’

Grace got up from the table, telling Jake she needed to start getting ready for work. She hoped that she could be out of the house before Nathan arrived.

Nathan’s timing was as inconvenient as ever and he was ringing the doorbell as Grace was changing into her work clothes. She heard Jake let him in and the two of them fell into an easy banter. She wondered what reception she’d get from Nathan and whether he would still be annoyed about her rejecting his advances the night before. She hoped that they could put it behind them and at least maintain a degree of civility, if only for Jake’s sake; although knowing Nathan she didn’t hold up much hope for that.

Grace walked into the kitchen to find Nathan helping himself to some toast and coffee. He was dressed in a suit again and she marvelled at how fresh he looked given the state he’d been in the previous night. How typical of him that he’d been there less than ten minutes and was already making himself at home.

‘Grace!’ he said with a smile on his face. ‘You look lovely today.’

‘Thanks,’ she replied, not buying his nice-guy act for even a second. ‘You look very smart. Off anywhere interesting?’

‘Just some business to sort out. I’m taking Jake to The Blue Rooms. Got to show the boy the ropes, haven’t I?’

‘Sharon McNulty’s place?’ Grace asked.

‘No, my place,’ he snapped. ‘In all but name anyway. I’ve ran it since Tommy died, haven’t I? Besides, I’m buying it off her. I’m just waiting on my solicitor to draw up the paperwork and then it will all be official.’

Jake looked up at him with pure admiration in his eyes, and she had to physically stop herself from shaking some sense into him. She tried to appear indifferent in front of her son, but her stomach was churning. Jake would be off to university in a few months and then he’d be far away from his father’s grasp, but knowing Nathan, a lot of damage could be done during that time. There was no way Grace was going to allow Jake to get sucked into his father’s nefarious dealings.

Jake’s chair scraped across the kitchen floor as he stood up, interrupting Grace’s train of thought. ‘I’ll go and get ready, Dad. Be back down in a bit.’

And then there was just the two of them. Nathan’s presence in the room was, as ever, pervasive and suffocating. Every fibre of her being was aware of him and on edge. The incident from the previous night remained unmentioned, and she wondered how his anger might manifest itself.

Striding across the kitchen, head held high, Grace was not shaken by his presence; this was her house, her territory, and he was the intruder. Picking up the cafetière, she poured the remaining contents into a travel mug before spinning around on her heel, careful not to have her back to him for too long. He was up off his chair and standing in front of her before she could move another inch. He was so close that she could smell the expensive soap he’d used that morning. She glared at him. What the hell was he up to?

‘Anymore of that coffee?’ he asked, his voice low and calm. Reaching behind her to lift the pot; he almost pinned her to the kitchen counter as he did so.

‘No, all gone.’ she said, placing her free hand on his chest to create some distance between them.

‘No worries. I’ll make a cup of tea instead,’ he said before moving to the sink to fill the kettle.

‘You do realize Jake’s going to uni in a couple of months, don’t you?’ she said.

‘So?’ Nathan shrugged.

‘He doesn’t need you filling his head full of crap about how wonderful your life is in the meantime,’ she snapped.

‘I can’t help it if the kid idolizes me, Grace,’ he smirked. ‘I have that effect on people. You should know.’ He winked.

‘Ha,’ she snorted. ‘You haven’t had that effect on me for a very long time, Nathan.’