The Heiress CEO

Chapter Six

Walking into the DaLair estate, Caden’s eye was immediately drawn to the large painting of soldiers hunkered down in the rain. It was one of many that decorated various rooms. All were painted by his maternal grandfather. Though he had never met the man, Caden heard countless stories about him.

Augustus had been his biggest patron and still proudly displayed his artwork, not only at home but throughout the DaLair offices. Recently, his grandfather and father had been diligently collecting all of his maternal grandfather’s paintings as they came up for sale. He and his siblings were encouraged to choose the paintings that most interested them. Caden had chosen two. Both of which now hung in his new apartment.

Over Christmas, Augustus announced his partnership with Miles Avery to build a treatment center for veterans. Not only would it offer medical treatment for physical ailments, but also programs for those suffering with PTSD and other issues requiring psychiatric intervention. The programs would include various therapy options, including counseling, support groups, art and animal therapy. It would also serve as a permanent home for many of his grandfather’s paintings. He also intended to build a gallery that would only display artwork by veterans.

Caden shrugged off his coat and hung it up before following his aunt to the dining room. There, he found his grandfather with Jessica and his little cousin patiently waiting for their family members to arrive.

“Grandma!” Toby exclaimed, hurriedly climbing down from his hair and running to Rose.

She scooped him up, kissing his cheek. Giggling, the five-year-old looked at Caden and held out his arms. Caden happily hugged the toddler, accepting the raspberries Toby blew against his cheek and returned them before carrying him back to the table where Jessica had been entertaining him with a coloring book.

“Mommy! It’s Caddy,” Toby laughed.

“I can see that,” Jessica chuckled. “How are you doing, Caden?”

She stood up, giving him a hug as he answered, “I just got in, so I’m a little jetlagged. How are you? Has your morning sickness calmed down?”

Jessica sighed as she sat. Over the holidays, she and Jude announced they were expecting their second child. Toby spent the entire Christmas season telling everyone he was going to be a big brother. At the time, Jessica had been struggling with acute morning sickness and spent most of the holidays in bed, so they hadn’t spent as much time with her as they would have liked.

“It comes and goes.”

“How about you?” Caden asked, looking at Toby. “You still want a little brother?”

“Yes!” Toby declared without hesitation.

Caden chuckled. Toby was insistent that he would have a younger brother and denied any possibility of a sister. He sat the boy back in his seat before joining him and coloring alongside him. Jessica watched them both with a smile. Caden had a natural way with kids. Perhaps it came from being an older brother himself, or perhaps it stemmed from the fact he had a difficult time connecting to adults most of the time. Caden always said kids were easier to understand.

She wasn’t the only one watching. Augustus presided over the table and watched his grandson and great-grandson with pride. Now in his eighties, his mind was as sharp as ever and nothing brought him more joy than seeing his family together. He had finally retired ten years ago, turning over all control to his sons and grandson. March and Jude ran the company together from their headquarters in New York, while Julius handled their foreign branch with Coda learning from him the same way Jude learned from his father.

“We’re here,” Jude said as he and his father arrived.

“Daddy!” Toby squealed, running to him after Caden helped him down. “You’re late!”

“Sorry, little man,” Jude picked him up and hugged him tight.

“You’re late too, grandpa,” Toby scolded March.

“It’ll never happen again,” March laughed, giving Rose a peck on the cheek before sitting down. “Hey, Caden.”

“Hello, oncle,” Caden greeted.[1]

“How was the flight?”

“Long,” Caden shrugged as he helped Toby put away his crayons before dinner was served.

March chuckled at his nephew’s bluntness. Aria would have taken a half hour to regal them in all the trials of the flight. With Lyra’s help, they might have been gone an hour. Caden and Coda were far more succinct with their answers.

“How’d you like your new place?” Jessica asked.

“It’s perfect,” Caden brightened. “Exactly as I pictured it.”

“Oh good!” Jessica smiled with relief. “When Rose asked if I would help decorate and furnish it I was worried you might not like it. I still think the walls are too bare. We only had a couple paintings you chose from your grandpa’s collection and some of your mother’s photos.”

“That’s fine,” Caden assured her. “I have more artwork coming. We shipped everything in crates before I left, so they should get here any day.”

Jessica nodded.

“Is there a reason you insisted on your own place?” March asked. “I mean, there’s plenty of room here or even at your parent’s place since they are still in Paris.”

“Honey, Caden is a young man and he needs his own space,” Rose admonished. “And what if he brings a girl home? Do you think he wants to introduce her to his parents and siblings on their first date?”

“Well, that would save a lot of time,” March said, earning a playful swat from his wife.

“You stop it. It can be intimidating for a woman to meet one of you DaLair men, let alone the whole gaggle of you.”

“I can attest to that,” Jessica agreed. “When I started dating Jude I didn’t have any idea about his family until I actually googled DaLair for myself. Even then, I don’t think I was prepared.”

Jude blushed, reaching over to kiss her hand. In truth, he was intimidated by his own family name. It meant he would never be able to trust anyone, not completely. Anyone and everyone who approached him might have ulterior motives, especially girls.

It had been difficult in high school, but when he went to college it got easier since he was out of state and away from New York. Not everyone was familiar with his family name, which honestly surprised him. In high school, every girl wanted him because he came from such a prominent family, but in college most barely batted an eye at him. It took months for him to get used to it.

He had always been jealous of his cousins. Growing up in Paris allowed them to escape most of their notoriety that came with their name. In fact, more people were impressed with their mother rather than their father, which tickled Julius to no end as he himself had grown up with much the same fears as Jude.

“Since we’re on the subject,” Augustus said, “do you have a young lady, Caden?”

Caden suddenly stiffened, a slight blush colored his cheeks, as he spoke, “No, grand-père. I’m not seeing anyone.”

“And why not?” Augustus asked. “Surely, there is at least one young lady that has caught your eye.”

“Grand-père,” Caden sighed, “when there is, you will be the first to know.”

Augustus frowned, sensing his grandson was hiding something, but before he could speak again, Rose said, “Jude, you have the weekend off, don’t you?”

“Yeah, the next few days too.”

“Good. Jess and I were going to go baby shopping. You should show your cousin around, catch up.”

Jude gave Caden a curious look, “Mom, Caden has been to New York before. He doesn’t need a tour guide.”

“I’m not talking about site-seeing. He just moved here. He’s going to need a car and groceries and until his things get here all he has for clothes fits inside one duffle bag.”

“Oh,” Jude nodded. “Right. Yeah, we can do that. Up for it, Caden?”

“Sure,” Caden nodded. He enjoyed spending time with his cousin, although he sensed an ulterior motive from his aunt for making the suggestion. Perhaps, she thought he would confide in his cousin.

“What about me?” March asked, feigning hurt.

“I think the boys can mind themselves,” Rose said, “besides, someone needs to watch Toby while Jessi and I have our girl’s time.”

“Spend all day with my grandson?” March smiled, “I don’t know…what do you think, Toby?”

“Yeah! I like grandpa day!”

The adults chuckled and fell into casual conversation. Caden was grateful for the spotlight to be moved off of him. He wasn’t ready to talk about certain things, especially with his grandfather. Eventually, he would tell them…just not yet.

“…Oh, make sure you stop at Reagan’s,” Rose said, bringing Caden out of his thoughts and he realized he lost the train of conversation.

“Reagan’s?” Caden repeated.

“Yes. You’ll need a couple of suits,” Rose said. “I’m sure the Philharmonic has a dress code, not to mention you’ll be attending events with us.”

Caden frowned. Was that really necessary? He had no interest in business and kept himself out of the media for the most part. Aside from his mother’s art shows and events he attended with his family, he managed to keep his life private.

“Mom has a point,” Jude agreed. “The media is going to figure out you’re here eventually. It’s better to announce your presence on your own terms. It’ll be mostly charity events and the like, so it won’t take up too much of your time.”

Caden nodded. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised and he didn’t really mind, as his mother often said: when you came from a prominent family you had responsibilities toward society. At least, he didn’t mind charity events.

“I’ll swing by your place tomorrow,” Jude said. “Say ten?”

Caden nodded. That was fine with him.