CHAPTER THREE
NATHAN
I DON’T BELIEVE in patterns where there aren’t any. Unfortunately, today was starting to prove me wrong.
First, when I tried to get to the office a little earlier than usual, I got stuck on the fucking elevator.
Then came the story about one of my artists being “poached” by Dauntless Records.
Tom Rossi, CEO of Dauntless Records, fingerprints were all over it.
What irritated me wasn’t the lie, it was the implication that anyone could take something from me.
Rossi knew better. He’d thrown the first punch.
It was up to me to choose how hard I hit back.
Now, thirty minutes after my meeting with the A&R team, I see Dalton Foster waiting for me outside my office.
The last time I saw him was at his eldest son’s little league game, but from the look on his face, I knew this wasn’t going to be a social call.
“Thanks for keeping me company, doll face.” Dalton winked at Elise, who stood idly by her desk, her face lighting up at Dalton’s attention.
“Are you kidding? I’ll never miss an opportunity to talk to one of Mr. Edge’s friends.” Elise put a hand to the side of her mouth, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m beginning to think you’re his only one.”
Dalton was in fact one of the few people whose presence I was able to tolerate for more than five minutes without getting annoyed or feeling like I was losing precious brain cells. Did that make him a friend?
I guess.
But if he continued to smile at my assistant like that, the title would quickly change.
Dalton glanced up at me. “You don’t talk about me? I’m hurt.” He placed a hand over his heart, mock pain lining his features.
“I guess I’m embarrassed,” I replied, coming to a stop beside Elise’s desk. “You want to come in and tell me why you dropped by unannounced, or would you like to continue gossiping with my assistant?”
“I would ask if he’s always like this, but I’m afraid I already know the answer,” Dalton said, glancing back at Elise. “How do you deal with it?”
“I ask myself that every day.” Elise replied cooly.
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 I wouldn’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 is the 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.
“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 fucking wife? 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 discovered Saved by the Bell reruns, 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 with her. 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 against the 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.”
She didn’t seem convinced, but she knew better than to push. “Okay,” she said, pressing her lips together like she was biting back words. “I’ll be at my desk if you need me.”
She hesitated for a moment before she left without another word, and I couldn’t help but watch her go. Damn, she was distracting.
Dalton’s voice jerked me out of my thoughts. “Like I said, it could be worse.”
I shot him a look, my scowl deepening. “Get out of my office. Some of us actually have work to do.”
Dalton threw up his hands, grinning. “Fine. I get it.” He stood up and made it all the way to the door before he stopped and turned. “But just one more thing—put me down for chicken at your wedding.”
“Three seconds,” I warned, but he was already laughing as he turned the door knob. “Oh, and Dalton?”
“Yeah?”
“Find another babysitter,” I said, the warning in my voice sharp and unyielding, leaving no room for argument.
His laughter echoed as the door clicked shut behind him.
The second I was alone, my father’s ultimatum replayed in my head like a broken record. Marry Elise. Or lose everything. My assistant had no idea what was coming.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure I did.