“Yes.”
The single word landed like a gavel.
My jaw tightened. “Since when?”
“Since the day your father had it drafted.”
A humorless laugh escaped me. I dragged a hand down my face. The letter crumpled slightly in my grip before I forced my fingers to loosen.
“So this,” I lifted the pages, shaking them once. “Was this always the plan? He just…what? Sat on it? Waited for the perfect moment to ruin my life?”
Dalton’s gaze followed me calmly. “Your father believed it was necessary.”
“Necessary? To what, blackmail me into marriage?”
“To save you.”
I barked out a laugh, sharp and disbelieving. “Save me?” I repeated. “From what, exactly? Success? Stability? Running the company he built better than he ever did?”
Dalton’s expression didn’t change, but something quieter settled in his eyes. Not disagreement.
Recognition.
“From becoming him,” he said.
The room went still. For a second the words hit somewhere deeper than I liked. Somewhere I kept locked down tight. Somewhere I couldn't afford to visit. Not here. Not now. Instead, I turn my thoughts towards Elise. My sweet, doe-eyed assistant. There was no way she knew about the stipulation. Elise wasn’t the type to scheme, not in a million years.
The truth was, I had no clue just how close she was to my father. All I knew was she was one of the college interns accepted to work for the company while he still had a hand on Edge Records, but this was something else.
Dalton leaned forward, his expression serious now. “So, what are you gonna do?”
I felt the heat rise in my chest, the frustration boiling over. “I’ve been asking myself that question for the last 2 minutes,” I snapped. “But maybe what I should really be asking is, do you want fish or chicken at my wedding? Because apparently,that’s the only way I’m getting my inheritance and keeping the company that I’ve been keeping afloat for the last three years!” I stood up, my chair scraping back as the anger took over. I felt my composure crack in clean, dangerous lines, my father’s audacity pushing me to the edge. “A fuckingwife? Are you kidding me?” I snarled, launching my glass across the room. It shattered with a satisfying crash.
Dalton didn’t even flinch.
“He did some fucked-up shit to me while he was alive,” I seethed, my voice raw with fury, “But this? This is on a whole other level.” I paced, fists clenched at my sides. “Do you think I’m husband material?” I let out a humorless laugh. “I’d rather cut off my dick than be tied to one woman for the rest of my life.”
The last time I ever wanted to be with a woman for more than a night, I was thirteen and just discoveredSaved by the Bellreruns, where I was introduced to Kelly Kapowski.
Short of finding a way to jump into that fictional world, no woman was ever going to get me to bend the knee. I’d seen what a broken heart turned my father into after my mother died and I had no interest in following that path.
Dalton shrugged, a lazy smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “It’s not so bad. Could be worse. At least Elise is hot.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My mind instantly flashed back to this morning on the elevator. I hadn’t been irritated by the delay or the Bryce situation. No, I was annoyed because I was stuck withher. Elise.
She was seduction at its finest. That orange dress she was wearing today clung to her curves like it was made for her, highlighting her perfect figure and the warm glow of her brown skin. Her mango scent filled the air, and for a moment, I’d forgotten where I was and how much I had to do. The only thing I could think about was how much I wanted to push her againstthe elevator doors and see if those full lips were as soft as they looked.
As stunning as Elise was, though, I’d never crossed that line. Not only was she my assistant, but she was also one of Edge Records choreographers and she was damn good at her job, too. Elise was smart, hardworking, and passionate about music and dance. But her sweetness? That was where she lost me. She was too sweet, like one of those fairytale princesses.
A relationship between us would never work.
What the hell was my father thinking?
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, and then it opened. Elise’s head popped in, her voice soft and apologetic. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Edge, but you have that meeting with marketing in a few minutes.”
She froze when her eyes landed on the shattered glass. Her gaze snapped to me, concern flickering across her face as she rushed over, checking me over for any injuries. “Mr. Edge, what happened? Are you okay?”
I grunted, trying to brush it off. “I’m fine, Elise. Just an accident, that’s all. Don’t worry about it.”
