Winner Takes It All (12 page)

‘
Look if I
offend you that much why don’t you just pull out of this deal?’ she
snapped. ‘I thought we could help each other, but all I seem to be
to you is a joke.’

‘
I’m sorry
Alex,’ he replied, although he hardly looked it. ‘You’ve got to
excuse my sense of humour.’

‘
I know you
think I’m some sort of rich bitch but I’m not. I have a lot resting
on my shoulders, like the future of my family’s company for
example. Also, if I get the job as head of Sheridans, there’s no
telling what opportunities I might be able to present you
with.’

‘
I’m not
banking on working for Sheridans Alex. I’m helping you with this
hotel and that’s it. I’ve got me own living to make.’

His working class chip on
the shoulder was highly irritating and Alex was beginning to regret
involving him in this. But she knew she had no way out, she
couldn’t spend all her time in Liverpool and she needed someone who
was permanently based there to keep an eye on things. Besides, he
knew the city far more than she did. She so wanted to berate him,
remind him that her grandmother was just as working class as he
was, that her great grandfather Mick was a poor Irish man who’d
spent most of his life serving others; that she wasn’t some rich,
chinless wonder. But she needed Jack too much to risk upsetting him
and decided to remain silent.

Jack’s base was a penthouse flat
in a development in the Albert Dock. It was a beautiful warehouse
type apartment with high ceilings, original brick walls and a
balcony that looked out over the Mersey. He made Alex a drink and
they settled in the small office he’d put in on the mezzanine
floor. The flat was very tastefully decorated and although Jack
prided himself on being the working class man made good, he
obviously had big aspirations.

They set up the laptop
and Alex logged onto the website where she’d seen the designer she
intended to use for the hotel. They specialised in traditional
designs, using wood and brass. Alex wanted an Edwardian feel to her
hotel, with old fashioned fittings, etched glass and rich carpets.
Too many hotels these days felt like airport lounges.

‘
Isn’t it a
bit quaint?’ Jack asked. ‘Would you be thinking so quaint if this
was London?’

‘
There you go
again!’ she spat. ‘That fucking chip on your shoulder.’

She was interrupted by
the phone ringing. With a sigh, she got her mobile from her bag and
when she saw it was only Julie, her stepmother, she felt tempted to
ignore it. Much as she loved Julie, she normally only rang when
juicy gossip was on offer. Alex then thought again, she needed time
out from Jack before she hit him!

‘
Hi Julie,’
she said.

‘
Alex,’ Julie
sobbed. ‘Alex can you come home? It’s your dad.’

Alex’s blood ran
cold.

‘
What’s the
matter with daddy?’

‘
They think
he’s had a stroke. Please come home Alex, he’s in the Chelsea and
Westminster Hospital.’

‘
I’ll be home
as soon as I can. How bad is he?’

‘
He’s
unconscious. Oh Alex I’m so scared.’

‘
Just hold on
Julie. I’ll be right with you.’

She ended the call and
found herself shaking.

‘
What’s the
matter?’ Jack asked.

‘
It’s my dad,’
she uttered. ‘He’s had a stroke. I’ve got to get back to
London.’

Numb with shock, Alex
stood up and stumbled around, not quite sure what she was doing.
Jack got up with her, gripping her by the shoulders to steady
her.

‘
Do you want
me to drive you to Lime Street?’ he asked.

‘
Yes. Yes,
please, thank you very much.’

Leaving her laptop
behind, Alex grabbed her bag and coat and practically ran out to
Jack’s car. She could feel the tears prickling her eyes and fear
gripping her heart but she was unable to cry. She adored her father
and refused to entertain the thought that anything serious could be
wrong with him. It probably wasn’t even a stroke, it was probably
just his angina. He’d suffered with that for about ten years and as
normal Julie was making a big fuss over nothing. Strokes happened
to old people and Christian was only fifty six.

Jack drove at speed all
the way back up to Lime Street Station and ignored her protests
that she could cope on her own. He followed along behind her as she
stumbled around, looking for the ticket office, even though it was
staring her in the face. Realising Alex was too shocked to do
anything, he took the lead, striding over to the booth, with Alex
wandering behind him.

‘
Can I have a
ticket for the first train to London mate?’ he asked the man behind
the counter.

‘
Trains to
London are suspended,’ the elderly man said. ‘There’s a tree on the
line just outside Runcorn.’

‘
How long will
it take?’ Alex cried.

‘
Sorry luv, no
idea.’

‘
Well what am
I going to do?’

‘
Wait and see
what happens.’

Alex couldn’t take this.
Liverpool may have only been two hundred and fifty miles away from
London, but it may as well have been the moon. All she wanted was
to be with her dad. She scurried away, gripping her face, trying to
stop herself from crying. Jack followed her.

‘
It might not
take that long Alex,’ he pleaded.

‘
I want to get
back to daddy,’ she whimpered. ‘How far is the airport? Perhaps I
could get a plane.’

‘
Why don’t you
let me drive you? By the time you get to the airport and we find a
flight, you could be half way down the M6.’

‘
I can’t
expect you to do that for me.’

He smiled that hapless
smile, reaching out and stroking the side of her face.

‘
We’re
business partners aren’t we? Come on.’

That four and a half hour
journey down to London changed Alex’s perception of Jack. He’d had
no need to be so gallant and had remained quiet for most of the
time, accepting that she wasn’t in the mood to talk. Alex had spent
the journey fretting about her father, recalling how devastating it
had been when her mother had died of breast cancer back in 2003.
She couldn’t face becoming an orphan and she certainly couldn’t
face losing her beloved daddy.

It was only as they
pulled up outside the big, modern hospital in the middle of Fulham
Road that Alex remembered Jack was miles away from home without any
luggage or possessions. She turned to him, embarrassed at what
she’d made him do – even though it had been his
suggestion.

‘
What are you
going to do?’ she asked. ‘You can’t drive home.’

‘
I’ll book
into a hotel. Don’t you worry about me, just go in and see yer auld
fella.’

Alex couldn’t just leave
him to the mercy of London, she took out her phone and scrolled
through to find the number of the Mandarin Hotel. Sheridan’s owned
a suite there where they put up guests who were visiting the UK on
business. As far as she knew, there wasn’t anyone there at the
moment. She asked to be put through to Christopher, the manager and
when he found out it was her, he started the usual grovelling and
scraping.

‘
It’s so
lovely to hear from you Ms Cusack, what can I do for
you?’

‘
I’m sending a
guest over, a Mr Jack Byrne. Put him in the Savannah Suite on
account for as long as he wants and he’ll want a change of clothes
as well so can someone pop out and get him some when he
arrives?’

‘
Very well Ms
Cusack. I await Mr Byrne’s arrival.’

Alex ended the call and
hesitated. Part of her didn’t want to get out, too frightened of
what might be awaiting her inside.

‘
I feel like
Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman!’ Jack laughed. ‘Honestly, you didn’t
have to do that Alex, I could have found somewhere on me
own.’

‘
No, please
accept it. You’ve been so kind to drive me down here. We’ve a suite
at the Mandarin Hotel we keep for guests. Can I ask that you stay
around for a few days? I don’t know how ill daddy is and I need
someone to keep things ticking over, there’s everything at the
Mandarin to make sure you can do your own work.’

‘
Okay,’ he
smiled. ‘Although I will have to get back to Liverpool after a
while. You know what it’s like, commitments and all
that.’

‘
Yes of
course, and once again, thanks Jack.’

Alex got out of the car,
waved goodbye to Jack as he drove off and braced herself for
whatever she was going to face. She had no idea where her father
was and had to ask an endless stream of people before she was
directed to the right ward. Her hands shook as she pushed the
double doors that led onto it, and when she spotted Julie sitting
beside a bed, she knew she’d come to the right place. Her
stepmother was always a frail looking girl, but today she looked
even thinner, worry lines aged her and her thin hand trembled as it
held onto Christian’s. It took all Alex’s strength to look at her
father. He lay in the bed looking as if he was asleep except for
the various pads and wires attached to him that fed into monitors
nearby.

‘
Oh Alex,’
Julie gushed, standing up and embracing her. She pulled away,
brushing her straggly brown hair from her eyes. ‘Alex I’m so
scared.’

‘
What
happened?’

‘
I got a phone
call from his secretary to say he’d collapsed in the middle of a
meeting. The doctors think he’s suffered a stroke.’

‘
Will he get
better?’

‘
I don’t
know.’

Julie started to cry and
Alex felt selfish because she couldn’t bring herself to offer any
comfort; instead she rushed round to the other side of the bed,
squeezing Christian’s hand, willing him to wake up. Instead he
slept on, his chest gently rising and falling.

‘
Have you let
Mike and Jo know?’ she asked.

‘
Yes, they’re
both on their way.’

‘
What’s
Michael been doing?’ Alex snapped. ‘He’s been in London all along.
I’ve come all the way from Liverpool.’

‘
I think he
had a meeting, I’m not sure.’

‘
I’m sorry
Julie,’ she sighed. ‘I shouldn’t have snapped at you.’

Julie went to fetch them
both a cup of coffee while Alex sat down beside her father. He
looked so helpless and this made her cry. Her daddy had always been
so strong, keeping the family together
and
running
Sheridans. He’d been looking forward to his future - travelling at
sixty, maybe even having another baby with Julie. He had a whole
future ahead of him and it would be so unfair if illness ripped it
apart.

‘
You can’t
leave us,’ she urged quietly. ‘I’m not going to let
you.’

She lifted his hand to
her lips and kissed it, remembering as a child how big his fingers
felt when he’d pick her up and twirl her round. She started to cry,
the enormity of it all getting to her. Suddenly she heard a
gurgling sound and looked up, Christian’s eyes were flickering – he
was trying to wake up.

‘
Daddy?’ she
gasped. ‘Daddy, are you awake?’

His eyes snapped open,
but she could see they weren’t focused. More to the point, the left
one was drooping horribly.

‘
Alex,’ he
gasped.

‘
Daddy,’ she
cried. ‘Oh Daddy I was so scared.’

He couldn’t seem to move
his eyes towards her, so she rushed round to the other side of the
bed, taking his hand, letting him know she was there. He managed to
look at her and tried to smile, but it was not much more than a
twitch.

‘
My darling,’
he whispered.

Alex broke down, relief
flooding through her. He was going to be okay; she didn’t care if
he could never walk again or had to have his arm cut off or
anything else. He wasn’t going to die and that was all that was
important.

Julie returned and she
too started to cry on seeing her husband was okay. Alex rushed off
to fetch the doctor who asked them to leave the room while he
examined him. The two women went to the cafeteria on the ground
floor and caught sight of Michael as he walked in. He joined them
and when Julie went off to the toilet, Alex started on
him.

‘
Where the
fuck have you been?’ she hissed. ‘Daddy could have
died.’

‘
I was in a
meeting, I couldn’t get away.’

From his dishevelled
appearance, Alex knew exactly what sort of meeting he’d been in.
Her brother had a habit of visiting prostitutes when he was feeling
stressed. Just as a woman might go and buy a pair of shoes when she
was upset, Michael would indulge in some no-strings sex.

‘
You disgust
me,’ she snarled. ‘You left Julie to cope with all this while you
were getting your end away.’

‘
Well what can
I do? I’m not a doctor.’

‘
Your attitude
stinks Michael. Daddy could have died and I would have been the
only one of his children there with him.’

‘
Well that
would suit him. You’ve always been daddy’s little
princess.’