“Why the hell are you here?” I groaned as my father walked right into my office without any warning. It wasn’t enough I had to deal with the assholes in London and the major merger, I had to deal with my father who was my biggest pain in my ass.
“Two words, Clara Stevens.” The moment he said her name, my body cringed. The girl had some serious issues, none of which I wanted to know about. I only paid attention to her in high school because she would threaten Addie. I made sure she never once touched her. Clara did all she could to be around me. I even suspected at one point she had followed me. The girl was relentless and was everywhere I went.
“Do you know why I inherited the company instead of you?” I asked my clueless, dimwitted father. My grandfather never once liked the way his son turned out, and trusted him even less.
My grandfather was proud of me when I graduated university with a business degree. He took me into our company and trained me from the bottom up, telling me I had to know everything that made this company work. That way, no one could take it away from me.
“I got it because I understand business and you don’t,” I hissed.
“Daimon, just marry Clara Stevens, and then you’ll make more money,” he spat out. This man was seriously oblivious. I had tripled our company size, let alone its revenue since my grandfather made me the CEO.
“I don't mix business with my relationships, plus if anything, the Stevens family will be coming to me soon enough,” I bit out, knowing I was buying out their properties without their knowledge.
“Marry for money, Daimon, not for love. Didn’t you see what happened to your mother and me?” What a son of a bitch.
“You didn’t love my mother. You used her and then threw her away. If you loved her, you wouldn’t have done that to her,” I hissed.
“Your mother never once fit into our world. So don’t make the same mistakes I did,” he spat out.
“Trust me, old man, the one I’ll marry will be perfect for me, not our world. Now, if you don’t have anything else to say, get the hell out of my office,” I snapped.
I hated the man. Yes, he was my father, but impregnating my mother didn’t mean I had to like him. The man made my life shit, taking away the one thing that ever mattered to me, my mother. I grew angry with her too, leaving me behind with a man who was a son of a bitch. The only gift she left me was her gift of music. I played the violin, thinking like a stupid kid, she would hear it and come back.
“Where did you just go?” Addie’s voice startled me as she sat at my feet.
“Remembering.” I placed my hand on her head that was now on my knee.
“Remembering what?” Addie asked as she gazed out the window with me.
“My grandfather. He died after the first year I took over the company.”
“I’m sorry,” Addie said sadly.
“He would have loved you,” I remarked.
“You think?”
“I know.”
“You miss him,” Addie noted, looking back to me.
“Every damn fucking day.” Leisurely, I stroked her hair, smiling at her. My heart ached just a little thinking about him and how much I missed him. He was my real father figure; he was the one I looked up to. He protected me and guided me. He nurtured my music and was hard on him when I fucked up. Yeah I missed him. I missed him a lot.
“What was his name?” Addie continued looking at me.
“Stephan Evans.”
Saying his name aloud made me realize how much I wished he was here to meet Addie and see how well I’d done. It wasn’t just about me, but I wanted to prove to him he was right; that I was meant to be his successor.
“Do you want to play?” she asked, reaching for my violin that sat in its case on the coffee table in front of us. “You haven’t played in a while.” She smiled, giving me my case.
I was so lucky to have her. She knew…she knew playing would help me alleviate my sudden grief. Damn, I missed that old man. Taking the violin, I stood, while Addie sat up on the couch behind me. I brought the instrument to my chin and let his favorite song play through; it was “Requiem” from Mozart.
He loved it when both my mother and I played it for him. I would accompany while she played the piano. I closed my eyes and the song came to life as I played it. I could see him sitting down on his old leather brown chair watching me, a large proud smile on his face. I let the music take over, the world around me completely melting away. I played with a mad frenzy, the music dark and ominous as it echoed all around me. I played on and on, time ceasing. The arrogant sound of Mozart flowed through, until finally the song ended. I stopped, dropping my violin to my side. A faint sniffle reached my ears. I turned to see Addie crying.