3650 Days//New Hope Club.

Mother Reece.

The one thing Evie wasn't expecting was to get a visitor at the Chleo household, one who wasn't Alick, anyway. That morning, Chloe had walked into her room and told her that some middle-aged man had requested to see her, causing a frown to fall onto Evie's face. My dad's in prison, she thought I have no idea who this could be.
Nevertheless, she made her way down the stairs to see Leo face-to-face with Lance O'Brien, Evie's dad's biggest competitor. Hell, he was Evie's biggest competitor when she took over the business. What did he want from her?
"Ah! Miss Carter-Green!" Lance exclaimed, smiling at the blonde, extending a blazer-clad arm to shake her hand. Evie felt very underdressed in her ripped jeans and white off-the-shoulder top, seeing as this man was dressed in a suit and tie and looked as if he were about to go and have dinner with the queen. "Are you busy? I would really like to have a chat with you about some things." He stated, causing Evie to frown. Why would he need to talk to her? She wasn't a business woman anymore, her business didn't exist anymore - there was literally no reason for him to talk to her.

"No, I'm not, Mr. O'Brien. Come in, please." Evie stepped back from the door and led the man into the lounge, smiling awkwardly when they were both sitting down on different sofas. "Do you want tea or coffee?" Questioned Evie, but he shook his head.

"No no, I'm not going to be here long. I just needed to run something past you quickly." Lance explained, giving Evie a thoughtful look.

"Okay."

"Now, I know how much of a good businesswoman you are. You demonstrated that in the few shorts years you were in charge of your parent's business." The man paused and narrowed his eyes slightly, as if analysing Evie, who shifted and started to fiddle with a bit of her hair, uncomfortable under the man's gaze. "I know that this proposition might come as a bit of a shock, but I want to set a business up for you."

"What?" Evie blurted, mouth hanging open slightly.

"I want to fund a business, of your choice, and help you get it up and running, for a certain percentage of your profits. I believe that you can create a successful business and I want to see you get back on your feet." Lance explained to a slightly dumbstruck Evie, who wished she had something more intellectual than 'what?' to say.

"I- I have no idea what to say to you, Mr. O'Brien. Honestly, I just-"

"Let me explain. Evelyn, you know very well that your father and I didn't get along, being business competitors and all. It may come as a surprise to you that once upon a time, before either of us managed to make it big in the business world, we used to be best friends. Shocking, right? Well, we did. When you were born, your father was overjoyed-" Evie interrupted the man with a scoff.

"Are you sure you know who you're talking about? My dad couldn't have been-"

"He was! He and your mother were truly happy that they had you. Your mother used to say that it was the best thing which had happened to her and your father called you his lucky charm, as that's when the business managed to take off. Lacey, my daughter, was born around the same time, but my business hadn't grown yet. Your father and I, we promised each other that we'd be there for each other, because we had been since we were boys. But, when my business started to overtake his, he got jealous, especially when I was priority over him at business conventions. After a few months, your father and I had a massive falling out because I was earning my money fairly and he, well, I found out that he'd committed fraud. I asked him why and he said that the company wasn't earning as much as they should be because he and your mother had to take time off to look after you, seeing as your mother refused to hire somebody else to do so. You got the blame for the business not excelling how your father wanted, and it wasn't your fault. After that, I was nothing more than a competitor to them both."
It was weird, for Evie, to think that her father had once called her a lucky charm, when all she could remember of her childhood with him was rude comments and arguments.
"He really did love you, Evie. He was a good man once and your parents loved you so much. Both of them cried once you were born, many different times, but all of the tears were happy tears. They'd already planned out what schools to send you to and where you'd go on your first holiday as a family. They had planned everything before your mother was even pregnant. I can't tell you how excited they were when they found out your mother was pregnant-"