Another Flashback

**** 21 months ago ****

You're running down your list of items to do before the doors open tonight. With Avenged Sevenfold headlining, things are sure to be more rowdy than normal. You check your watch and see that it's about time for your meeting with Mr. Edwards.

You briskly walk to his office, double checking things as you walk by them. You approach the familiar red doors and as you're about to knock, the door swings open and one of your waitresses, Nancy, exits, nearly bumping into you.

"Oh, sorry William, I didn't see you there." She says, her breathing ragged and her clothes disheveled.

"It's alright Nancy." You assure her. "Please make sure the VIP guest list is sorted out for Ingrid."

"Sure thing." She answers.

"And Nancy, you may want to change your skirt before we open." You inform her.

She looks down and a large white stain is clearly visible. Turning beet red, she scurries away as you enter Mr. Edwards' office.

"Ah William, on time as always." Mr. Edwards greets as he zips up his pants. Despite being in his 60's, Mr. Edwards has proven capable of continuing to live life as if he was 21 years old. "Please, my boy, take a seat."

You do as he says and open your checklist to go over things for the night.

"Please, son, no work talk just yet." Mr. Edwards urges. You hated when he called you 'son' but admittedly, he was the closest thing to a father figure you've had since your parents passed away when you were 6.

He pours himself a scotch, offering you a glass, which you decline. It's been a sort of tradition since he hired you 6 years ago, he offers you a drink and you refuse then you talk business. But this feels....different.

"You know William, you are the hardest working person I have ever met."

"Thank you Mr. Edwards." You reply proudly.

"That wasn't a compliment my boy." He says while gulping down his scotch. "You've been here, what, 6 years now?" You nod. "And in 6 years, how many days off have you had? Don't worry about answering, I already know the answer is zero." He pours himself another glass of scotch. "6 years and not one single day off. You've worked almost 2200 consecutive days. You put in upwards of a hundred hours a week and have done so for nearly the entirety of your time here. I have just one question for you; why do you hate yourself?"

"Excuse me Mr. Edwards?" You ask, not knowing where he's going with this.

"It's the only explanation I can come up with." He says. "I've seen many types of people in my time but you, my boy, are special. Only someone who truly hates himself would drive themselves into the ground like you do. The sick part is, you seem to enjoy it. Someone your age should not be putting themselves on the expressway to ****'s Door just for fun. You should be out having fun, drinking and fucking everything you can. My god man, have you seen the way the women here look at you? Yet you do nothing about it."

"I love what I do here." You defend. "I love everything about this place and I would never do anything to jeopardize that."

"I know you wouldn't." He assures. "And I love that you love it here. But you need some balance in your life. I'm not suggesting you abandon this place altogether. However, you will one day wake up and realize you have wasted your life for something that you may in fact love but in the grand scheme of things, does not love you back. Do you know what I mean son?"

You shake your head, confused with this conversation.

"You are a bright young man William but you can be denser than a boulder sometimes." He laughs. "I know you are probably wanting to get down to business but we aren't going to do that today." He takes a deep breath. "I hate prolonging things so I'm going to get straight to the point. I'm leaving William."

Your jaw drops.

"It's time for me to move on and retire." He informs you. "It's been a long time coming. And honestly, I'm relieved to leave. Your work hasn't gone unnoticed, obviously, but you're commitment to Carpe Diem is on another level. Since you've taken over as my bar manager, business has been booming. You've allowed me to step back and enjoy the little things, like Nancy."

He reaches into his desk and pulls a folder out of the drawer. He hands it to you and you begin reading.

"You can read it later." He says, sitting on the corner of the desk. "They're ownership papers. As you know, I don't have any kids, at least none I'll admit to." He winks at you, laughing at his favorite personal joke. "I'm transferring ownership over to you. Not all of it but 80% will be yours. I'm going to keep a 20% stake as a sort of 'retirement package'. I'll keep the 20% until I inevitably pass on and once that happens, you'll receive the remaining stake."

You're shook. This has completely blindsided you.

"You may not live the life that I do or live up to the name I've given this place." Mr. Edwards continues on. "But William, you are and have been the heart and soul of this place since the day I hired you. Despite my objections to how you handle your own life, I know that there is no one on this planet I trust more to run and care for it more than I have."

"Thank you Mr. Edwards." You say wholeheartedly.

"Ah ah, wait, there is just one thing you need to agree to before we continue with this." He says.

"What is that?"

"It's a condition, the only one I have and it is non-negotiable and it must be followed or so help me God I will haunt your ass in the afterlife." He informs you. "When the time finally, hopefully, comes and you find that one thing in this life that you love more than this place. When that day comes, you have to promise me that you will do as I have done and move on. You are the closest thing I have to a son and the absolute last thing I want to see is you killing yourself for this club. It isn't nor will it be worth it. You agree to this lone condition and we can go forward and finalize this transfer. Do you agree?"

"I do."