True to his word, Patrick began working on Ryans', and within a year, he had the company turned around to the point where it began to be a serious rival for Murrays'. Jamie couldn't rightfully sue him, so he chose to let Patrick's success go. The man did have a right to use the lessons he'd learned, but it still burned Jamie up inside to know that his one-time successor was piggybacking off the advice that was never meant to be used as a means of spite.
Iseult, however, refused to be cowed. Instead of fighting fire with fire, she devoted her time to learning all she could about squidding, and as Patrick's star rose, so did hers. But while his was a blazing coment, hers was more subtle and, two years after Ryans' began its astronomical rise, its equally astronomical fall began, and a year later, the company went into administration. Patrick had clearly overreached himself, but instead of seeing reason, he insisted the fault lay with Iseult and not himself. Therefore, he took her to court, and lost spectacularly when Iseult could prove she'd been above-board, and hadn't promised more than she could deliver. Patrick was subsequently laughed out of court, but he still refused to believe he was the reason his former mother-in-law's empire had crumbled.
His next step was to apply to Murrays', but he was turned down. Undaunted, he then started up a squidding company of his own, but it folded before it could even get off the ground; he'd built a bad reputation whilst in charge of Ryans', and no one wanted to deal with him. Once more, he failed to see the light, and Iseult had to wonder if he was delusional, or just plain too stupid to see he'd never make it on his own. She decided it was a bit of both.
Her own company was doing well, and she'd conquered the squidding market in a fashion that would've made her great-grandfather pleased to see it. Liam and Declan - who were now toddlers - had already declared they wanted to help their mam when they were a bit older, and even Calum had come around and thrown his hat into the ring to help his sister. He now captained The Clodagh, and Iseult was inordinately proud of him when he brought in his first catch, beaming with pride as he handed her the manifesto. Jamie was even prouder, and said so that night as they celebrated in the pub.
"You two have made me the proudest man in all Ireland," he said, smiling as he looked at his two children, who were now grown up, and carrying on the family tradition as proudly as he, their granddad, and great-grandad had ever done. "It's glad I am the family business is in such stable hands as yours, and I can retire early knowing there are steady hands at the ship."
"Really?" Iseult was surprised. Even though she knew she had things in hand, she still wasn't entirely sure, even at twenty-six, if she was ready to take the business on fully time. "I mean, I'd be honoured to take over," she added, "but are you sure?"
"As sure as I know my own name," Jamie assured her. "You and Calum have got things in hand better than I could ever have imagined, and your rascals all want a piece of it, young as they are. I can't think of a better time than now to hand the reins over and retire to a quiet country life like my father-in-law did when he handed things over to me some twenty-something years ago."
Calum grinned, looking very like the image of his great-grandfather in that moment. "I think it's grand," he said. "Great-granddad will be chuffed, I'm sure."
Iseult smiled. "I think you're right," she said, giving her brother an affectionate hair ruffle. As he laughed and playfully batted her hands, she added, "If you're sure, Da, then Calum and I will happily take the business off your hands and give you and Mam a chance to have all the sex you've been wanting to have, but couldn't because of all the time you two were devoting to your respective careers."
"Minx," Jamie said, but he had to admit, his daughter did have a point. He and Heather were still young enough and fit enough to engage in a bit of nookie here and there, and he was rather interested to find out if Heather still liked being tied up and ... he cut that thought off quick smart when he saw his children grinning at him. "Stop it," he told them, trying to sound stern and failing. "Alright, you've got me there. We can do the signing off first thing in the morning, and then I shall engage in the pastimes a man of my age has every God-given right to indulge in."
Iseult and Calum shared a grin, and Jamie smiled as he ordered another round. He knew Calum Senior would probably be smiling just as broadly from his squidding boat in the sky, and he looked foward to one day joining his granddad-in-law so they could share just how proud they were of the two young people who sat opposite, making plans to turn Murrays' into an even greater success than before. 103Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgfI3ce3ax
In the meantime, he could hardly wait to see what his son and daughter would do. He had the feeling it was going to be amazing, and he was very keen on finding out what the next chapter in the incredible Murray story would be.
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