A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(52)
Grey nodded his agreement. If anyone was after him because of what they perceived as a bad or unfair deal, it would make sense that it was somewhat recent.
“And those are just the ones we know about,” Charlie interjected.
“True,” Grey said. “I’m sure there are three times as many who didn’t show any outward resentment, but felt it all the same.”
That was the nature of doing business. He never dealt unfairly with a competitor, but neither did he back away from doing what he thought was best for his companies. That didn’t sit well with some people.
“I’m sure there are more,” Grey added, “which is why capturing the hit man would have been our best bet.”
“And that didn’t happen.”
There was no accusation in Nick’s tone, but the message was heard nevertheless. Irelyn had killed the one man who might have been able to tell them what they needed to know. Grey wouldn’t reveal that the man was her brother. If and when she wanted anyone else to know, that was her right.
Irelyn released a loud, exasperated sigh. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Nick. If I had wanted to betray Grey, wouldn’t I have let the assassin kill him?”
Not bothering to wait for an answer, she stood and strode over to the screen. She was silent for several long seconds. Grey knew she had reviewed the list earlier and was likely gathering her thoughts as she culled the most likely suspects.
Because of the bruising and cut on her leg, she had made concessions on her clothing again today. Dressed in a pair of black straight-leg trousers and a thin light blue sweater, she managed to look both casually elegant and professional. The woman, more than the clothes, made that happen.
Feeling a bit on the smug side, Grey settled back in his seat to enjoy himself. This was Irelyn in her element. Where he knew the business side of things, could recognize trends, and knew a winning or losing venture, Irelyn knew people. She could read them, anticipate their actions. She wasn’t a psychic, but she was as close to being one as he’d ever seen.
Much of her talent was a natural, God-given ability. Hill Reed had identified that gift early on, then whittled and honed it down for his own evil desires. But she was strong—much stronger than Grey in many respects. She had taken what Reed had taught her, cut the evil away, and through sheer determination, created something good and honorable.
“These three here.” She pointed at a grouping of names. “They headed companies that merged the year prior to Grey’s purchase. The top executive of each company was given only a meager severance package. When Grey took over, he repaired that retroactively.” She turned back to the group. “They need to be removed from this list. They shouldn’t be suspects.”
Before anyone could comment, she went through the remaining names and gave her opinion on each one, showing not only her knowledge of the Grey Justice corporations, but also that she had intimate knowledge of each business deal.
Grey gazed around the room, noting both surprise and admiration. Even Gallagher seemed suitably impressed.
“These three, Bob Donaldson, Miles Petrie, and Joe Morrissey are the ones you should concentrate your efforts on,” she said.
“Why those three?” Kathleen asked.
“What happened with them was while I was away. I wasn’t involved in the meetings, so I don’t know them. The rest in this bunch were pleased, satisfied. They may have not publicly proclaimed their happiness, but in private, they were happy with the deal they made with Grey. Some were even ecstatic.” She threw Grey a laughing glance that looked so much like the old Irelyn, he literally caught his breath. “Remember Mr. Farnsworth, who kept sending you fruit baskets, chocolates, and champagne until you asked him to stop?”
Grey was so mesmerized and focused on Irelyn that he almost missed the shock in Gallagher’s eyes. She rarely let down her guard to allow people to see the real Irelyn. He loved that she had allowed a crack in her armor long enough for others to see the woman beneath the veneer.
An unusual wave of longing hit him. He thrived on challenges, enjoyed the thrill of making deals in the business world and pursuing justice in his private world. But he wanted this over with. The threats would never go away completely. As long as he stayed in the public eye, he would always be a target. That was a risk he accepted. But he and Irelyn needed downtime—they needed time to be alone. She had said last night that she wanted them to be just Irelyn and Grey, just for a little while. He damn well wanted that, too.
He went to join Irelyn at the front of the room. “I agree with Irelyn on the three she’s pointed out.”
She glanced up at him. “Even though I wasn’t involved in the meetings, I remember discussing both the Petrie and Donaldson deals with you before I left. I know nothing about Morrissey, though.”
Grey nodded. “I thought it was going smoothly but the deal went sour a few months ago. I had the choice of backing out and letting a lot of good people suffer or doing a complete takeover.”
“I remember reading about him,” Kennedy said. “Didn’t he use his employees’ pension fund to buy his mistress a house in Italy?”
“He did that and much more. He’s under indictment and will likely go to prison. But there were over four hundred employees who didn’t deserve to lose their retirement.”
Grey had no issues with letting an idiot run his own company into the ground for his own selfish desires. He did, however, have issues with others suffering because of one man’s stupidity.