the yard from the main farmhouse.
?I won?t be kipping here,? Shannon said. He put a big arm around Brooke?s shoulders and pulled her tightly against his side. ?Us two are booked into the Cour du Ch?teau. This little lady deserves a bit more luxury than this old place has to offer.?
?That?s miles away,? Ben said.
Shannon grinned. ?Don?t worry, I?ll be here bright and early in the morning. Always punctual.?
?Nice wheels, Rupert,? Jeff said dryly, motioning towards the Porsche.
Shannon?s eyes twinkled. ?Oh yes. I?ve hit the fucking jackpot this time.?
?So this would be the contract you were telling me about,? Ben said.
Shannon nodded. ?You don?t know the half of it, Benjamin. Steiner Industries. Protecting the head honcho himself, Maximilian Steiner.?
?Kidnap threat??
?One attempt so far,? Shannon said. ?Failed, but only just. What d?you expect? The guy?s a billionaire, for Christ?s sakes. Have I hit paydirt, or what? He?s paying one point two million for this gig. And there?s a shitload more to come. You should see the place we?re going.?
?Congratulations, Rupert,? Ben said. ?Looks like this new business venture of yours is really taking off.?
?You bet your arse it is. And this is just the beginning, pal. I?ve been looking at new offices. Docklands, right on the river, three floors. PA, receptionists, you name it, the works.?
?Here?s my advice, though,? Ben said. ?I know you?re flush from getting this Steiner contract. That?s great. I?m pleased for you. But take it easy. Don?t go mad with it. This is a tough business, and you never know what?s round the corner.?
Shannon reddened. ?Listen to this guy. Are you for real, Hope??
?I just meant, be careful, that?s all. Don?t go spending it all at once, before you?ve even earned it.?
Shannon laughed and slapped him on the arm. ?You sound like my fucking nanny. You know what your problem is? You?re getting old and slow.?
?Forty next birthday,? Ben said. ?Be dead soon.?
?Fucking forty,? Shannon guffawed. ?Five years from now you?ll be just another flabby-arsed, ulcer-ridden businessman sitting behind a desk.?
?You might be right,? Ben said. Now he could sense indignation radiating from Jeff in waves. Couldn?t say he blamed him.
Shannon grinned down at Brooke and squeezed her to his side. ?Now why don?t we see about heading back to the hotel and grab some nosh??
?Any plans for tomorrow?? Ben asked her.
She shrugged. ?Not really.?
?We?ll be doing kidnap simulation exercises in the morning. How d?you feel about coming along and playing the principal??
?Sounds fun,? she smiled. ?Looking forward to it.?
Chapter Three
The Sheldon Hotel, Dublin
The next morning, 10.15
The audience broke into enthusiastic applause as the speaker brought his presentation to an end. Up on the low stage, Dr Adam O?Connor smiled from the podium, thanked them all for listening and started gathering up his notes. People rose from their seats and started filtering out towards the exit. Adam folded up his laptop, walked over to the projector and turned it off.
He was pleased with himself. The last fifteen minutes of the talk had been a Q and A session and, judging by the level of interest, he was pretty sure he?d get back home to find some new orders coming in. ?The smart house is the home of the future? had been his closing line. It looked as though his audience felt that way too.
As he wound up the cable from the laptop to the projector, Adam cast his mind back, thinking about the last eighteen months and how well things were going. His academic colleagues at City University NY had all thought he was crazy, giving up a plum academic position to go off and start up a new business from the ground up. Back to the old country, they?d joked. But Adam was serious about his Irish roots ? virtually the first thing he?d done on hitting these shores was to change his surname from Connor and reinstate the missing ?O? that the English had forcibly removed from the names of his ancestors. Adam O?Connor
?I won?t be kipping here,? Shannon said. He put a big arm around Brooke?s shoulders and pulled her tightly against his side. ?Us two are booked into the Cour du Ch?teau. This little lady deserves a bit more luxury than this old place has to offer.?
?That?s miles away,? Ben said.
Shannon grinned. ?Don?t worry, I?ll be here bright and early in the morning. Always punctual.?
?Nice wheels, Rupert,? Jeff said dryly, motioning towards the Porsche.
Shannon?s eyes twinkled. ?Oh yes. I?ve hit the fucking jackpot this time.?
?So this would be the contract you were telling me about,? Ben said.
Shannon nodded. ?You don?t know the half of it, Benjamin. Steiner Industries. Protecting the head honcho himself, Maximilian Steiner.?
?Kidnap threat??
?One attempt so far,? Shannon said. ?Failed, but only just. What d?you expect? The guy?s a billionaire, for Christ?s sakes. Have I hit paydirt, or what? He?s paying one point two million for this gig. And there?s a shitload more to come. You should see the place we?re going.?
?Congratulations, Rupert,? Ben said. ?Looks like this new business venture of yours is really taking off.?
?You bet your arse it is. And this is just the beginning, pal. I?ve been looking at new offices. Docklands, right on the river, three floors. PA, receptionists, you name it, the works.?
?Here?s my advice, though,? Ben said. ?I know you?re flush from getting this Steiner contract. That?s great. I?m pleased for you. But take it easy. Don?t go mad with it. This is a tough business, and you never know what?s round the corner.?
Shannon reddened. ?Listen to this guy. Are you for real, Hope??
?I just meant, be careful, that?s all. Don?t go spending it all at once, before you?ve even earned it.?
Shannon laughed and slapped him on the arm. ?You sound like my fucking nanny. You know what your problem is? You?re getting old and slow.?
?Forty next birthday,? Ben said. ?Be dead soon.?
?Fucking forty,? Shannon guffawed. ?Five years from now you?ll be just another flabby-arsed, ulcer-ridden businessman sitting behind a desk.?
?You might be right,? Ben said. Now he could sense indignation radiating from Jeff in waves. Couldn?t say he blamed him.
Shannon grinned down at Brooke and squeezed her to his side. ?Now why don?t we see about heading back to the hotel and grab some nosh??
?Any plans for tomorrow?? Ben asked her.
She shrugged. ?Not really.?
?We?ll be doing kidnap simulation exercises in the morning. How d?you feel about coming along and playing the principal??
?Sounds fun,? she smiled. ?Looking forward to it.?
Chapter Three
The Sheldon Hotel, Dublin
The next morning, 10.15
The audience broke into enthusiastic applause as the speaker brought his presentation to an end. Up on the low stage, Dr Adam O?Connor smiled from the podium, thanked them all for listening and started gathering up his notes. People rose from their seats and started filtering out towards the exit. Adam folded up his laptop, walked over to the projector and turned it off.
He was pleased with himself. The last fifteen minutes of the talk had been a Q and A session and, judging by the level of interest, he was pretty sure he?d get back home to find some new orders coming in. ?The smart house is the home of the future? had been his closing line. It looked as though his audience felt that way too.
As he wound up the cable from the laptop to the projector, Adam cast his mind back, thinking about the last eighteen months and how well things were going. His academic colleagues at City University NY had all thought he was crazy, giving up a plum academic position to go off and start up a new business from the ground up. Back to the old country, they?d joked. But Adam was serious about his Irish roots ? virtually the first thing he?d done on hitting these shores was to change his surname from Connor and reinstate the missing ?O? that the English had forcibly removed from the names of his ancestors. Adam O?Connor
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