Living a CEO life was never Victor's goal in life. He always thought he would be able to lead a carefree life thanks to his oldest brother taking over the family's business. But it never crossed his mind that one day, without a warning, fate would take his best friend away from him. Forever.
In addition to every single unsolved matter he had in his life, his brother, Theo, and sister-in-law, Rose, left him with the biggest concern so far; his nephew Benjamin.
Suddenly, Victor saw his life changing completely. He did not only lost his brother and sister-in-law, but he also had to worry about a little boy who would depend on him for the rest of his days.
It took Victor a while to accept that his destiny was now completely different from what he had planned. Day after day, he became more and more attached to the kid. While grieving his brother's death and trying to adjust to a father's life, Victor also had to learn how to be a CEO.
Their father had died a few years before, which turned Theo immediately into the CEO of one of the biggest technology companies in the country. They won an award for the best creation of ecological batteries for all types of devices and even cars.
But Victor never really got involved in the family business. He was really into the world of art, but that was taken away from him after all those bad outcomes. Losing so many people turned him into a very cold man.
He got out of the car, handed the key to his personal valet, and entered his mansion, loosening his tie after a hard -working day.
That was the best part of his day for sure. Benjamin had become everything in his life. He did everything for the little boy that was now five years old and called him daddy. He was the softest and kindest kid in the entire world, and Victor's heart was always filled with joy for seeing that he was at least doing a good job by raising him.
“Where's Benjamin?" he asked one of the maids that were cleaning a very expensive vase in the living room.
The woman stared at the floor, with a very professional and upright posture, unable to look at her boss in the eyes.
“He's in his playroom with the nanny," she answered, still not looking up.
Victor nodded, even though she couldn't see, and went upstairs, very eager to see his nephew and ask how was his day.
He never had the courage to put the kid in a school. Victor had a few enemies in the business world, so he feared that one of them could target the little boy to get to him. So he decided to homeschool Benjamin and have a nanny taking care of him 24/7. So far, he didn't have a problem with it.
But that night, something changed. As he reached the end of the stairs, he heard a loud voice saying things he couldn't really understand. He frowned.
It was odd that people would raise their voices in the mansion. Especially because there were basically only servants there and none of them would dare to do something that would risk their jobs.
Walking slowly, Victor got closer and closer to the voice, and when he realized what was happening, he halted in the middle of the hallway. It was the nanny's voice. She had been working there for a year now, but Victor never heard her voice when he was at home.
With his heart shrinking, he moved forward, sharpening his audition, trying to understand what was happening.
“Come on, I've explained this a hundred times, Benjamin. How could you not know it already?" she yelled, impatiently.
Victor clenched his fist. How dare she speak to his nephew like that? Who did she think she was?
“I don't know." He heard the little boy's soft voice reply. It was almost inaudible. Victor was by the door now, that's why he was able to hear.
“I'm not going to explain it to you again. And if your uncle asks me how you're doing with your homework, I'm gonna tell him the truth." The nanny continued, her voice filled with anger and a threatening tone.
Victor could feel his heart beating fast against his chest and his hands were trembling already, but it took him much more effort to hold himself when he saw what happened next.
He turned to enter the room, and at the exact moment he put his eyes on both of them, he saw the nanny grabbing a wood ruler and slapping the little boy's hand, making the kid cringe, tears already running down his red chubby cheeks.
“What do you think you're doing?" Victor's voice came out hoarse and low, as he tried to calm himself, repeating the words like a mantra inside his head.
The nanny turned to look at who was the newcomer, and her eyes widened like a scared lemur.
“Mr… Mr… Reed," she stuttered, dropping the ruler on the floor like it was blazing hot. “I was… I was just… teaching him."
Victor took a few steps forward, his imposing figure making the woman seem smaller than she really was. The cold aura around him made the room freeze all of a sudden.
“Do you think that yelling at a five-year-old boy and hitting him will make him learn anything?" Victor asked against his teeth.
He clenched his hand so hard that his knuckles were turning white and he couldn't stop replaying the scene he just witnessed over and over.
“It's… It's… I didn't really hit him. I was just trying to show him that he needs to focus and pay attention to his homework. His teacher said he's not doing well in Math."
“Let me be the judge of that. I didn't give you any authority to hit my nephew. Ever." Victor continued, squatting beside Benjamin and taking his now swollen and red hand.
“Are you okay?" he asked with a soft and calm voice. It was a completely different persona for sure. The boy nodded his head in affirmation and wrapped his arms around his uncle's neck, hugging him tightly.
Victor took him in his arms and got up, looking at the nanny again.
“You have ten minutes to get the hell out of my mansion. And don't expect me to pay you," he concluded firmly, turning his back at her and getting out of the room.
“You know what, Ben? Why don't we skip homework today and watch a movie, huh?" he suggested, trying to take the little boy's mind out of the recent event.
“Cool!" Benjamin answered, with a very sincere smile on his face.
Victor felt his heart warming instantly, feeling happy and relieved that he was able to cheer him up.
“Awesome. And let me just tell you one more thing, okay? I'm going to find someone else to take care of you while I'm working, and you need to promise me you'll tell me everything she does with you, even if she tells you not to, deal?"
Benjamin's eyes looked a bit concerned, but Victor grabbed his hands calmly one more time.
“Look at me," he ordered, his voice still kind.
Benjamin did as he was told, looking at Victor with the same eyes as his father Theo, a little unsure that it was the best thing he could do.
“We are a team, remember? We need to trust each other, right?"
Benjamin nodded, feeling a bit more confident.
“So, we need to tell each other everything. That's the only way we can make bad people stop doing bad things. When the next nanny comes, you will tell me everything she does with you while I'm away. Deal?" Victor stretched out his right hand in order to make Benjamin grab it, as if they were two adults making an agreement.
“Deal, daddy."
On the next day, Victor told the servants that there was an opening position for Benjamin's nanny and he needed the best one they could find.
And he wasn't going to take it easy on this one.
