The Devil Behind Me (3 page)

“
What do you mean you’re getting a job?” my father yelled. I knew it wasn’t going to go over well with him. 

“
Well, we need extra money and right now a friend of mine offered me work at his bar for a few hours a week. It’s for Sofia, Dad. We need the money,” I finally admitted. Thank God, the store was relatively full and my dad couldn’t really yell at me. He did go one up and look at me with such sad eyes; it nearly broke my heart as I looked at him. 

“I'm so sorry
, Addie,” he said softly. “If I wasn’t sick, I would have been able to run the diner and you could have found another job.” I knew my father. He was sorry, so sorry that it broke him. He ached that he couldn’t help us. He was raised to believe a man takes care of his family and here he was sick and unable to.

“Dad
, it’s only a couple of hours at the end of the night. Nothing more, nothing less,” I smiled.

The only thing annoying me
now was Daimon appearing at my restaurant every fucking day. 

“Can’t you go away?”
I snapped, annoyed at his mere presence.

“
Not until you admit who I am,” Daimon said smoothly with a wide smile. I seriously wanted to smack him.

“
You know, Addie, I'm surprised,” he continued. “I never thought you’d be a meager waitress in a loser restaurant. I really thought you had more drive in you, I thought you’d be an executive or even a doctor,” he said frankly. I couldn’t believe after all this time Daimon Evans could still get to me. 

“
Screw you, Daimon. Just go screw yourself,” I said, my throat burning as I spoke. I could feel the anger inside me growing. “Now that I remember the prick you were, you can leave and never fucking come back,” I said in a hushed voice, worried the clients would overhear me.  Daimon narrowed his eyes and watched me carefully. His face wasn’t elated, but it was rather angry.

“Get out!” I
hissed as I shook uncontrollably.

Daimon
leisurely rose up from his seat and stood in front of me. He reached his hand up, but I pulled back. He stopped his hand and eyed me carefully, then he continued. He lightly touched my cheek, wiping off a tear I didn’t know had fallen. Daimon left without saying another word.

I hadn’t seen
him since that day. I felt relief wash over me. I hated him and his arrogant ways.

At lea
st my new job was easy for me. I took to it like fish to water and I'm not going to lie, I loved it. The only thing I hated though was the uniform Darren had me wear. All the girls had to wear it. It was a black short cocktail dress with high heels. Thank God, I kept up with my running so at least my legs looked good. 

“Addie?”
Jace, the young sexy blond bartender, called out to me. “Darren wants you at table four.”

“
Okay.” I took my tray, pad, and headed there. 

The
song “Mellow” was playing from Tricky. I loved this song, it was sexy and cool. I couldn’t help but walk to the beat of it as I made my way to table four. The crowd cleared a little and I saw Darren as he waved me over. I waved back as I got closer, but my smile disappeared. Fucking Daimon was next to him with a few others. I rolled my eyes the moment he saw me. 

“Darren
,” I offered and bowed a little to the rest. 

“Oh my G
od, it’s Addie and she’s all grown up,” said one of Daimon’s friends. I remembered him. He was in high school with us. Rafe was the nicest one, if you could believe it.

“
It happens,” I said rather annoyed. 

“
So what can I get you fellas?” I asked, bringing my tray up to write on my pad. 

“
Bring a bottle of Macallan 39,” Darren said over the music.

“Not a problem,
” I smiled at him, but damn if my eyes didn’t drift to Daimon. A dark smile was etched on his face as he watched me. I rolled my eyes again and left. 

I was at the bar waiting for
Jace to get the bottle and my glasses ready, when Daimon appeared next to me. He leaned into the bar and looked over at me. 

“Answer me this
, Addie, why the fuck are you working here?” He peered down at me. 

If
Daimon hadn’t been such a prick, he would have been the perfect man. Tall, muscular, slim and with a deep voice which made you wonder how low it could go. The kicker was his clear, sky blue eyes. They were simply iridescent. It was a shame all his attributes masked his sadistic behavior. The guy was an ass and only cared about himself. I looked over at him and laughed in his face. 

“Here
, Addie.” Jace handed me the tray. I took it with both hands, but Daimon grabbed my wrist, making me drop it on the bar. Thankfully nothing broke.

“What the hell is your problem?” I glared at him. 

“I asked you a question, Addie, the least you could do is answer me,” he seethed.  Holy shit he’s crazy!

“You listen here
, crazy, the least I could do is ignore you. So how about this? I ignore your annoying presence and you do the same for me?” I picked up the tray again and left him at the bar. I wanted to distance myself from Daimon. Being around him brought out old memories; ones I didn’t want to remember.

By the end of the night
, I made some good tips, which made me feel a whole lot better. Sofia didn’t know I was working here and I didn’t want her to. Not that I was embarrassed, but Sofia always felt guilty, like she had chosen herself over us. I didn’t want her feelings to interfere with her future. She had the right to one. Sofia was young and felt like it was her fault Dad had become sick. She thought if she had worked more Dad wouldn’t be the way he was now. But the truth was and I told her repeatedly, it all started the day mom died. Dad not only lost his best friend, but he lost his partner and lover. It was only natural for him to get sick. My father was a strong man, but he was a sensitive and an emotional person. He loved my mother immensely and losing her scarred him.

***

It was Sunday morning and Sofia came to work with me. We always had a good time when we were together. But today wasn’t going to be one of those days.

“I don’t want to go,” s
he pouted.

“
Why?” I laughed. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime. Look Sofia, I love you. But seriously, kid it’s not like you have a choice in the matter.” I stuck out my tongue at her, trying to make the conversation light and funny.

“I want to stay
,” she said louder.

“And what
, Sofia?” Now I had become angry with her, resentment started to spew forth. “What? Stay here? Live this wonderful life? What? Work day in and day out in here?” I could feel my blood rising. “No, Sofia! You are going to leave here and go off to Yale. So help me God, I will drag you there myself if I have to,” I spat out.

“Why are you
being so stubborn?” she huffed. “Why can’t I help you? You do everything for us,” she began to cry. Seeing her tears, melted away all the bitterness I felt.

“Ah come
on, Sofia, don’t you cry. Today is Sunday. It’s Addie and Sofia’s fun day,” I pleaded. I wanted to spend some more time with her, but every time we did, she would bring up school and how she wasn’t going.

“Well
, it doesn’t look fun.” The moment I heard his voice, my shoulders sunk and my head fell back. Could this day get any worse?

“What is it that you want?” I asked
exasperated as I turned around and saw Daimon.

“Food
,” Daimon said, smiling. 

“We don’t have food here
,” I snapped. 

“Seriously?”
He sat himself down. “Hey, smaller version of Addie, can you get me a menu?” he said to Sofia. “I see you’re plenty busy today?” he looked around. Not one customer had come in today. Thanks, asshole, for the salt on the wound. 

Sofia handed h
im a menu and stood behind me. “She looks just like you when you were in high school,” he noted.

“Stay the hell away from my little sister
,” I barked.

“Catty.
You’ve always been a fighter, Addie,” he chuckled.

“I'm glad I entertain you,
” I grimaced.

“
See, that’s the thing, Addie, you entertain the hell out of me and I don’t know why.” He peered at me like I had the answer. 

“
Trust me if I knew why, I would gladly change my personality to have you stop appearing in my life,” I said bitterly.

“See
, a fighter,” he smiled pointing at me. “So is that why?” He asked putting the menu down and folded his arms. His muscular arms rippled through his long sleeve, light blue shirt which seemed a little too tight for him. 

“What
?” I asked. 

“
Why you’re working at Darren’s bar? Is it to pay for your sister to go to school?” He waited for my answer.

“You’re what
?” Sofia shouted. “Addie, you’re not working another job are you?” she looked at me with her eyes wide. Damn! There was the fucking guilt I didn’t want her to feel. 

“Go in the back
,” I said calmly to her.

“Addie?
” She challenged. 

“Go in the back now
,” I snapped, my eyes now zeroing in on Daimon as she left.

“What the fuck is your problem? What is it to you what I do? Why
do you fucking care?” I screamed, questioning him. At that very moment, I was happy not one customer was in the place. He sat there, not moving an inch, as he watched me. “For fuck’s sake what do you want?” I gave up and asked. 

“Sit.” He nudged his head to the seat in front
of him. I sat down and waited. “I’ll pay for Sofia’s first semester, if you do me a favor,” he smiled softly.

“
Which is?” I hissed.

“You hang out with me
, whenever and however I want,” he said bluntly. 

“What?” I asked incredulously. 

“I'm in a bit of a predicament and I think your temperament is perfect for what I want,” he admitted.

“Which is what exactly?”

“Well, you act like you like me and we pretend we’re dating. You see, having a lot of money doesn’t allow you the freedom you think it does. Try as I might and you know how much of an asshole I can be, my father is insisting I marry Clara Stevens. You remember her, right?” he asked still watching my intently. 

Of
course, I remember her. She tormented me in high school. She claimed to love him beyond anything and that I was in the way. Clara’s family was big in real estate and owned most of the waterfront properties.

“Yes
. She sounds faintly familiar,” I muttered.

“I'm glad
you remember everyone but me,” he pretended to pout. 

“You can’
t be serious? You’re almost thirty-years-old,” I laughed. “Mommy and daddy get to choose who you marry?” I mocked. 

“Yes
actually or else I get cut off. The thing is I'm trying to break out on my own so I still need my father for now. Once I have what I need, I'm gone and my father trying to control me is over,” he bit out. “It’s only until my company gets off the ground, once it happens, they are gone and I'm gone from your life. Just say yes and I’ll make your life easier,” he said bluntly. 

“And if I don’t? What then?”
I asked knowing there was always a catch with him. 

“You will or else I’ll make your life a livi
ng hell,” he said in a severe tone. 

“I'm going to have to think about it.” I hated myself for even considering it
, but the tips weren’t nearly enough to get my sister into Yale. 

“Okay
, let’s pretend you’re thinking about it,” he said in air quotes, “and then come to me tomorrow with your answer.” His barely there beard made his chiseled face seem like he was a model. Too bad he was Lucifer in designer clothing. 

“Your cell,” he extended his hand.
I reached in my back pocket and gave it to him.  “What the hell is this?” he laughed.

“My cell phone,” I said proudly.
I couldn’t afford a smart phone and there was no shame in it.

“It looks like the one you ha
d in high school.” His smile disappeared as he looked over it. 

“So?” I looked at him bitterly.
He punched in his number and handed it back to me. 

“
Tomorrow,” he smiled.

“
We’ll see,” I bit back.

“
Sure, Addie. We’ll see.”

Tomorrow was upon me. I spent the whole of last night thinking about what he said. I left my room and a sleeping Sofia and went to the bathroom. I began to sob quietly. The stress of everything was getting to me. I took the towel and bit down on it, afraid I might make a sound. Why? Why was everything so hard? I hated Daimon. I hated him and how miserable he made my life in high school. Now here he was again, ready to do the same thing to me as an adult. I kept crying, knowing he was right and that I would accept his proposition.

I took a shower,
trying to wash off how dirty I felt. This was for Sofia, I kept saying to myself, as I got dressed in a pencil skirt and black pumps and a white button down. I headed down to Evans Towers in Lower Manhattan. There I stood in front of the large skyscraper. The sun reflected brightly off the all-glass exterior, making it glisten. I watched as people walked in and out of the building. My feet were cemented onto the ground, afraid to take that one last step. I was worried, nervous. Who was I going be at the end of this? I was selling myself and I knew it. It was for Sofia, I said to myself again. I headed inside and walked over to security.

“
Yes,” an older man in a grey security suit said to me.

“I'm here to see
Mr. Daimon Evans,” I said in a defeated voice. 

“Very well
. I’ll call his secretary.” He picked up his phone and dialed. 

“
Yes, a Ms…” he leaned in toward me.

“Ms
. Addie,” I said quietly. 

“
Yes, a Ms. Addie is here.” He waited and nodded.

He extended his hand and let me pass through
the security area. He led me to an elevator and put in a key. He turned it and the doors opened.

“
Mr. Evans is upstairs,” he noted. 

I walked through and watched as the elevators doors slowly closed on what was my
simple life. Moving forward everything was going to be complicated and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

I rod
e the elevator until it reached the top floor. The doors opened to a slick black hallway with a long grey carpet in the middle, which led to a secretary at the far end. I nervously made my way, looking around. The tall cathedral ceilings had huge skylights letting in the sun’s rays. I continued to walk while basking in the sun’s golden glow. The only sound I could hear was the sound of my heels as I walked down the carpet.

“This way
, Ms. Addie,” the secretary said annoyed, probably because I took my time to get to her. She stood up from her seat and headed toward Daimon’s office. She was middle aged, but still stunning. Her blond hair was perfectly coiffed, her skirt suit was designer and so were her thick black-framed glasses. She reached for the double dark mahogany wooden doors and opened them. Daimon’s office was enormous as I slowly walked in. His secretary closed the door behind me, leaving me alone with Daimon. I stood not knowing what to do first. I looked around his office; he had floor-to-ceiling windows, which overlooked the Hudson River. He was on the phone as he sat on his leather office chair, leaning backwards. He was playing with his pen, much like he did in high school, meticulously twirling it around his fingers. His large desk was long; one end held his computer and some files.

“
Yeah, do what you have to do to get it done!” he seethed and hung up. 

“Addie.” He stood from where he was sitting
and walked over to me. He wore a simple three-piece light grey suit and a white shirt. He smirked as I looked at him. “I look good I know,” he shrugged knowingly. 

“
That’s not what I was thinking,” I lied.

“
Really and what was Addie thinking?” he asked as he sat down on one of his brown leather couches, at the other end of his office. He watched me, waiting for me to join him. 

“I was thinking how
the hell did you get this job, but then again you do have your family,” I laughed. His face changed and he grew annoyed.

“Let me tell you this much. This
building is mine and I earned it, not because I was born with money, but because I worked hard for it.” he sounded insulted by my comment. “Satisfied?” 

I guess my
comment must have hurt his ego. I made my way to the couches and sat down across from him. He reached for a file and placed it on the coffee table. He then slid it over to me. 

“Open it up and read i
t. You can only do this here, simply because this relationship will only exist in front of others. Behind closed doors, we can be who we normally are. I want no one to know about this. So take your time. Oh, but don’t you need to work, right?” The way in which he said only made this decision harder on me.

“No
, Sofia and my father are working today,” I murmured as I looked through the papers. Words such as control and ordering kept popping up. I looked it over in disgust. Basically, he wanted to control every aspect of my life, telling me when and where he wanted me, as if I were a doll, he’d dress up and I would act accordingly. I threw the papers on the coffee table and glared at him.

“
Well that was fast,” he mocked.

“
You want a slave,” I snapped. 

“
And? A slave does what I want, when I want. I need to have control, Addie. It’s important to me,” he stated coldly. 

“You want control because you can’t
trust. So don’t give me that bullshit,” I snapped. Daimon’s eyes narrowed and his face changed. 

“You need me
and I need you. It’s a win-win,” Daimon said. 

“I will act the part of your
girlfriend when you need me to, but I'm not jumping through hoops for you. I have a family to take care of,” I fired back.

“Yes and I'm providing
for you and said family,” he growled. 

“I know
, but still, you can’t think I'm just going to hand myself over to you,” I hissed.

“
Then what, Addie? You get the money and I get what in return? I need you to be believable. I want them to think we are so in love that I would never consider marrying that bitch,” he seethed. “You want to talk about control? Do you have any idea how it feels for a man to be told to marry someone because his father wants him to? I hate the very thought of it. The notion someone can tell me what do to and use me, I fucking hate that, Addie. I'm not going to allow you to have any power over me,” he said irritated. “Get that through you head already.” He glared at me from across the coffee table.

“I don’t know if I can do this
,” I breathed.

“
Fine,” he groaned. “Let’s make our own contract,” he gritted through his teeth. He took out a pen and paper. “I want you to go out with me three times a week around Manhattan,” he stated.

“Once
, I can only do it once,” I said honestly. 

“You have to be kidding me?
Addie, if you’re dating me, you need to go everywhere I go,” he barked.

“I have a restaurant
to run,” I admitted.

“
What? That dump? Come on, Addie, give me a fucking break…” Before I knew it I began to cry. I stood up and headed to the door. “Addie?” he rose up and grabbed my arm.

“Get yourself another girl to pla
y your girlfriend,” I bit out and yanked my arm way from him.

“Addie
, all I meant to say…” I held my hand up and stopped him. 

“I can’t stop working because you have some sort of twisted r
elationship with your parents. That
dump
is what kept my family out of the streets. That
dump
fed us. That
dump
is all we have,” I cried. Daimon watched me closely, his features softening. 

“Addie…”

“No, this was a mistake. God, I'm so fucking tired of everything being so hard,” I seethed in frustration. “Yes. I need the money. I want my sister to have the future I wanted for myself. The future I lost. I don’t want Sofia stuck with me in my hellhole,” I screamed, my tears now falling uncontrollably.

“
Addie, I'm sorry. That’s not how I meant it. Fuck! I sometimes don’t realize the stupid shit I say. I meant to say you’re better than that place. You shouldn’t waste anymore of who you are in there,” he said softly. I wiped my tears and still stood by the door, wondering what to do next.

“
Addie, we’re negotiating. If you can only come out once then once it is. How about late at night?” he said as he stood close behind me.

“I work at the bar,
” I said quietly.

“Every night?”
he nearly snapped. 

“No, not every night,
” I admitted.

“Fine then
, after work. I’ll take you out for an hour, make sure others see us,” he said. “Plus, I’ll make sure you have a new wardrobe,” he said in passing.

“Why?” I asked insulted. 

“Addie, if I'm in love with you, my money is mine to shower you with. My woman will have everything,” he said in a stern tone. “This is non-negotiable.” The power of his words shook something inside me. Who knew Daimon could be so passionate? 

“Come sit
. Let’s work out the rest,” he offered; taking my elbow and making me sit on the couch across from him.

We spent a few more hours yelling at each other
, but in the end, we found a few compromises. It was mostly in his favor, but I was able to gain back some freedom he wanted me to give to him. Once we were happy with our ‘little contract,’ Daimon asked me for my account number. He said he’d put half now and half later. He called it an insurance policy so I wouldn’t run out on him. Daimon had serious trust issues.

“Here
, take this.” He gave me a white box.

“What
is it?” I asked opening it up. It was a brand new iPhone.

“
Think of it as a gift.”

“I can’t afford this.” I felt shame for admitting it.

“It’s a gift, Addie. I can afford the bill.” He smiled faintly. “So, I’ll see you soon.” He nodded, dismissing me.

“
Soon,” I said quietly, wary of what was to come.