I leveled my best glare at her, the one that tends to silence entire rooms. It bounced right off. Elise only smiled unbothered, unfazed, and entirely too pleased with herself.
“I gotta go talk to your boss for a second, but are we still on for next week?” Dalton asked.
What the fuck was next week?
“Absolutely.” Elise smiled before she finally sat down at her desk.
The walk from Elise’s desk to my office was a short one. I pulled the door open allowing Dalton to walk in ahead of me.“Long time no see,” Dalton said, taking it upon himself to sit in one of the chairs across from my desk. “How are you?”
“What do you and Elise have planned next week?” I demanded, not wasting a second after the door shut behind us.
Dalton, startled by my harsh tone, paused. “We got to chatting while we waited for you and she mentioned how she’s looking forward to going home in a few weeks to see her niece. I asked if she could babysit my kids while my wife and I have a date night. Figured anyone who can put up with you five days a week has to be able to handle my rugrats. Is that a problem?”
Yes.
Friend or not, Elise alone in another man’s home late at night wasn’t something I was going to allow.
“What are you doing here?” I asked instead of answering. I reached for the decanter on my desk and poured myself a shot of brandy before grabbing a seat.
Dalton was the longtime corporate attorney for Edge Records.
“I could beat around the bush, but judging by the look on your face, I’ll just get to the point.” Dalton reached into his jacket and pulled out a white envelope. Right in the center of the envelope, boldly written, was my name and today’s date in my father’s unmistakable handwriting.
“What is this?” I eyed the letter.
“Your father’s will. Xavier came to me before he died and instructed me to give this to you when the time came.”
A sense of unease clawed at me as I took the letter and ripped it open, the tension escalating with every word I read.
Dear Nathan,
If you’re reading this, it means I’m no longer around, and you’re probably standing at my grave tap dancing. Can’t say I blame you for that. After your mother passed, I became a different man. The grief hollowed me out. It’s something Iwouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, let alone my son. Losing the one person you thought you couldn’t live without does that to a man.
I know I was hard on you. Too hard, maybe. But you’ve always been like me, Nathan. Tough, driven, relentless. You grew under pressure, just like I did. The world doesn’t hand anything to people like us, and I wasn’t about to let you think otherwise.
When I started Edge Records, you were just a kid. Since then, Edge Records has become a titan in the industry, and the name “Edge” became synonymous with power, respect, and fear. But somewhere along the way, I lost sight of the real foundation of this company.
Family. Unity. Innovation.
And then your mother was taken from us, and that loss broke something in me I couldn’t fix. It’s not just the company I worry about, Nathan. It’s you. You’ve become consumed by it all—obsessed with work, ruthless in your pursuit of success, and hungry for power like it’s the only thing that matters. I know where you learned it. You learned it from me. But at what cost?
I met someone. A college intern who reminded me of your mother the moment she walked into the building.
You’d been handling most of the day-to-day at Edge Records ever since I stepped back from full operations the year before, but I still came in a few days a week, enough to see her work. Elise Alexandre is her name. She was assigned to Artist Relations for a semester, and in that short time, she startled me with how much she resembled your mother in spirit. Her kindness, her instinct for people, her belief in what music can do, and more importantly, I noticed how she is around you. For years I’ve seen how women have responded to you and Elise isthe first woman who doesn’t look at you like a dollar sign or a meal ticket.
Her presence brought me back to what Edge Records was meant to be: a family. A place where people worked together and not against each other. She reminded me of why I built this empire in the first place. I don’t want you to end up like me. Staring at a wall of shiny awards and accolades, with an empty house to return to at the end of every day.
Here’s what I’m asking, Nathan. You need to marry Elise. I know you’ll resent me for it, but I’m doing this because I care. She’s the key to bringing you back to your roots. To the man you could’ve been if it weren’t for me, if it weren’t for the loss of your mother.
You have three months. Marry Elise by your thirtieth birthday. Do not misunderstand me, this is not a command she is obligated to accept. Her consent is required or everything I’ve worked for, everything you stand to inherit, will slip through your fingers. You’ll lose your inheritance and Edge Records to the charity of my choosing. I hope you do what needs to be done to continue our legacy.
Sincerely,
Xavier Edge
“You knew about this?” The words came out low, but there was steel beneath them, sharp enough to cut.
Across from me, Dalton didn’t flinch. He simply adjusted his cufflinks like we were discussing quarterly projections instead of my entire life being hijacked from beyond the grave.
