While Iknewmy father and Casimira were together, it was a far cry from seeing it right in front of my face. Flora didn’t bother me because I knew Daddy didn’t really care about her, so they lived separate lives. Casimira, on the other hand, she’s had a child with Daddy even though he made sure I knew I’d always be his firstborn.
“Oh, I’ll bet he’s in the public office since he’s been in meetings all day. I suppose he wanted you to join him, hmm?” she inquired, resting a hand on my arm. “Come on, I’ll show you where it is on the first floor. This house is a little tricky to navigate with how massive it is, but I don’t need to tell you that, do I?” Casimira rambled. “I’m sorry, dear, it’s just I’ve been so excited, and if I’m being honest, dreading this day of our meeting as adults.”
I frowned at her as we left the rooms for the main hall. “Why would that be?”
Casimira paused and looked me in the eye. “I need you to know that your mother was like a sister to me. The two of us had been friends since we were twelve years old, and she was my family. There’s no way for me to tell you what to think or how to feel, but I just hope you’ll give me a chance to be someone in your life. A friend, someone who’s cared about you like my own child since the day you were born. More like an aunt, I suppose, not at all looking to compete with the saint who was your mother.”
Watching her as she spoke, I got the feeling she genuinely loved my mother, and she did care about me. I appreciated what she was trying to say, but I hadn’t quite made up my mind how I felt about things just yet.
“Why don’t we give each other some time,” I offered. “It’s a lot coming back here, starting this new role, and finding where I fit once more in this house. It’s been twenty years since I was back home, and a lot has changed. I think I just need a little time to settle in, and then maybe we can work on what we want to be to each other.”
She beamed at me. “That’s a fair request and one I can gladly agree to. Just know that if you need anything, I’m happy to help however I can. It’s hard to know who our friends and foes are in this line of work sometimes.”
“Yes, yes, it is,” I agreed as we headed back down to the first floor.
Casimira led me through a maze of halls, past so many sitting rooms and doors I wasn’t sure where I was in the house. I was going to need a set of blueprints so I could look over them and get a better sense of the layout. Using them for my nightly prowls, I’d found how useful they were once I got used to reading them.
“Here you are,” she announced, stopping at a set of double doors with one slightly ajar.
I could hear voices from inside, but I recognized them as Father’s and Athos’s. “Thank you. It would have been hell trying to find it on my own.”
“You’re very welcome, darling. I’ll see you at dinner,” she said, giving me another smile and pat on the arm before leaving.
Pushing the door open, I entered the office and found Daddy, my uncles, and Ryker all chatting casually together. They looked up, and everyone smiled upon seeing me but Ryker. He just smirked like he knew I’d gotten lost.
“Hi, everyone,” I greeted and sat next to Daddy on the couch. “How’s everyone’s morning been?”
“Oh, you know, one enlightening meeting after another,” Mathis muttered. “Sometimes I wonder how people ended up in the positions they’re in.”
The men laughed, and Athos elbowed Mathis. “Careful, some people could say the same about you.”
“Fuck off. We’ve got one more of these phone calls to get through then we can move on to other issues,” Mathis grumbled.
I looked questioningly at Mathis, but when he didn’t share, I looked at Daddy to see if he was going to enlighten me.
“While we are our own people and run our own business, we still have to inform the motherland about major changes in power,” Daddy explained, rubbing his jaw. “These men are older than the dawn of time. So explaining that you’ve been appointed my heir and underboss has taken some navigation we didn’t plan on.”
Nodding, my gaze fell on Ryker. “What brings you here?”
“Since our meeting got done much faster than any of us expected and Boss still has another phone call, I thought we could do your security intake,” Ryker shared.
“You couldn’t have mentioned that when we ended the meeting?” I shot back.
“Oh, I absolutely would have shared this information, but since you decided to ignore me, I came here. Figured Boss would agree it was a good use of the time while they did the formalities,” he reasoned.
Glowering at him, I crossed my arms. “Right, and it had nothing to do with letting it slip to my father that I blew you off?”
Ryker’s eyes went wide, and he placed a hand on his chest. “Why on earth would I do something so childish as that? We’ve grown up in the last seven years gaining the ability to handle things like adults.”
“Okay, you two had to have dated back in the day to fight like that,” Mathis commented. “Wait, have you slept together?”
“Mathis,” Father snapped. “We’ll not be talking about such matters. While I’m not oblivious to the fact that neither my daughter nor Ryker are still virgins, there’s no need to bring up such matters. What happens in Astin’s personal life is left for Astin to deal with personally. There will be enough people in her life trying to tell her how to do things, and we’ll not be one of them when it comes to this area.”
Mathis looked properly scolded, and I knew he didn’t mean any harm by it. Over the three years I trained with them before they had to return to the estate, we’d developed a rather sarcastic comradery. Poking fun at each other kept things light and easy between us when what I was forced to endure was anything but.
“It’s all right, Father. I’m more than able to put my uncle in his place. I’ve done it many times before,” I reassured Daddy, resting a hand on his arm. “Although I do appreciate you not feeling the need to monitor that aspect of my life.”
Daddy looked at me, his eyes serious, making me sit up slightly straighter, realizing he was about to say something important. “Astin, what I want most for you is to be happy. Selfishly, I want you by my side, working to help me take this empire to the next level. I knew making you the underboss meant it would be much harder for you to have someone special in your life. Find your happiness however it works for you, my dearest daughter, no matter who it might be with. Hell, I don’t care if it’s with a man, woman, or more than one partner, just find what will make you happy.”