Chapter 122 - The Worries of a Father

Alex thoroughly enjoyed the time she spent on her first day working with the design department. At dinner, the artist gushed to her mother about what she learnt.

Orita listened to her daughter talk about paint brushes, clipping and masks even if she understood none of it. On the other hand, Jasper looked like he was severely in need of rest. Scarlet looked pensive and the heiress looked over to her husband who was zoning out. What exactly happened at the company today?

The meal ended earlier than usual with Jasper quickly excusing himself. Wilmer decided to go for a smoke break, something he rarely did with the children around. Scarlet decided to practice playing the keyboard and her sister also decided to grab her guitar. Elfie left early to work on some private project.

"What happened at the company today?" Orita asked her husband once the children went upstairs.

Wilmer was standing on the balcony when his wife appeared. The CEO sighed, sounding severely stressed.

"Carol told me that the children were overly eager. After dismissing Collins and Lawrence, the admin department is unstable. The new girl is good at her job but isn't doing well at dealing with the old foxes of the admin department. Carol heard it from Scarlet who went down to the admin department to look for work. We're busy preparing for the new product's launch at the start of next year. It might not be a good idea to have them interning now."

Orita smiled and massaged her husband's stiff shoulders. "Scared that they're overwhelmed? While it is true that I've never seen Jasper look so drained, I think this is actually a good thing. Compared to him, the girls are doing well. Elfie is just doing what he normally does although I don't know how their classmates are coping."

Wilmer laughed without humour. "Jasper will be fine, he's handled worse things. On the contrary, I'm afraid that with the eagerness of these children, they might put more stress on the managers, especially that new girl. It wasn't easy to find a good replacement for Lawrence."

Orita laughed. "You worry too much, darling. If anything, you can treat this as an opportunity to learn more things from these children. They are able to see things from a new perspective that us jaded a.d.u.l.ts cannot."

Wilmer thought about it. "You might be right. However, it's only the first day. Most of the boys would be gone by the time school starts again. We have less than two months and they don't report to work every day. It's three to four days in a workweek at the moment."

Orita thought about it. "How about creating a special project group for the interns? They can report to the respective departments that they work in and work on whatever assignments they'd been given but when they don't have much to do, Carol can give them some projects to work on. I know that you are having trouble with the design and development for new innovative products. Danny spoke highly of these children, there isn't much to lose now, is there?"

Wilmer nodded and kissed Orita. "What will I do without you?"

The heiress laughed and kissed her husband back. "That's why you have to properly cherish me, dear husband. Still, don't think that I don't know the main reason for your worries. Handling ten interns cannot make you falter. Tell me, it's something related to Anastasia, isn't it?"

Wilmer neither confirmed nor denied it but his face was stiff. Orita knew better than to push her husband for details when he was in one of these moods. Instead, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and told him not to stay out for too long before returning indoors, most likely to check on the children.

Danny had returned with some news about his investigations. Elfie was not informed about it because both men wanted to keep their families out of the matter. The reason for the sudden rush and expansion of the Wilde empire was because the CEO needed more power and resources to deal with the empire that Anastasia controlled. Jasper was proving to be a very reliable boy who not only took good care of his daughters but also was a capable leader. He was naturally smart and mature in his thinking. With enough training, the boy could take over the reins of his empire.

Wilmer exhaled another cloud of smoke and looked up into the night sky. As much as he was proud of his children, Wilmer didn't want to rely on them. As the father, it was his duty to protect them. Orita had already lost too much, he couldn't take the innocence of his children away at such a young age and expose them to the horrible world of grown-ups. Children should enjoy their childhood to the fullest while they still can.

His wife had hardly the chance to become a mother because she had been busy supporting him from behind the scenes using her social connections. Orita might not say it aloud but Wilmer knew she felt guilty for not being there for her daughter when she was younger. Jasper was a friend that Orita wanted for her daughter because Alex had been home-schooled for many years without any kids of her age to socialise with. Wilmer knew that his daughter was a very mature child. Although she was often lonely, she would never cry and complain. Her smiles were the brightest when the whole family came together and she treasured the gifts her parents gave her.

Scarlet's introduction to the family only made things harder for Alex and it was the first time Wilmer ever saw his daughter throw a tantrum. After Scarlet broke her leg, Alex seemed to have set aside her jealousy and started to accept her new sister, sharing her parents with the equally lonely girl. Wilmer couldn't be more thankful for having such wonderful children. Seeing them mature by the day and finding a path that they could walk on brought joy to his life. He wanted this to last for as long as it could and eliminate the underlying threat to this beautiful family.

Having Claire work for them was probably one of Wilmer's greatest blessings. If it wasn't for the capable ex-soldier, Wilmer would never have been able to put his mind at ease and focus on building his empire. Danny's latest report made the CEO anxious. As a father, he wanted to spend more time with his family now that Orita was here. However, it appears as if he would have to leave very soon again. It hurt him to know that the family he wanted to protect was almost always never within his reach.

The night was getting chilly and Wilmer snubbed out the last of his cigarette. His wife should be tucking the children in now. The CEO headed back indoors and sighed heavily. How should he break the news to his wife? He still had a little less than two months before he had to leave for America to expand the business. It might take him six years to complete the project. Six years is a very long time. Even if his wife and children visited during every holiday, it still wasn't the same as living together.

Jenna prepared a glass of whisky for the troubled CEO when she saw him come in. "Penny for your thoughts, sir?"

Wilmer shook his head but accepted the glass. After taking a sip and enjoying the burn of the liquid sliding down his throat, Wilmer looked at the loyal butler.

"Where do you think these kids will be in six years?"

The lady butler was slightly surprised by the question but she thought about it. "It's a little hard to say, sir. Scarlet has been with us for only a few months but a lot has changed already. It was like a spark when the young miss was still following behind Jasper like a lost puppy and not knowing what to do out of the things she was familiar with. Just yesterday, she was teaching herself one of the more difficult guitar chords even if her fingers were wrapped in bandages. I may not be certain of where these kids will be in six years but I can assure you that they will become very successful individuals. After all, they have each other."

Wilmer smiled. "That's right. They have each other. I guess I should head to bed early, you shouldn't sleep too late either. Please continue watching over them like you always have."

Jenna smiled with a small bow as Wilmer emptied his whisky and headed upstairs. The lady butler didn't say anything but she understood the shadows underneath the CEO's eyes. Orita was right, the burden of this empire might be too heavy for any one person to bear. For twenty years, Wilmer shouldered this heavy responsibility all by himself. Wilmer doesn't like to talk about it but Jenna hoped that the day will come when the CEO can openly share all his burdens with someone else even if it wasn't his wife.

As for now, she would continue to stand beside her mistress and watch over the family like a guardian angel like the loyal butler she was.