Chapter 193 - Daddy Concerns

Danny didn't know how to break this news to his old friend. He also didn't know if he should be telling Wilmer about it. His wife wasn't saying anything yet so the CEO's assistant was feeling very conflicted about it since morning. Nothing boded well when Elfie called and although he was happy to hear from his son, it wasn't always a good thing.

Wilmer came into the office that morning looking tired as usual and Danny greeted him. "Would you like a cup of coffee to start the day? We have a lot to deal with by eleven. EZ Express tried to send in another spy to our top management."

Wilmer nodded numbly, placed his bag down and sighed. If word got out that even the charming CEO of the Wilde empire could slouch in his chair with an air of defeat, Anastasia would have changed his tactic to kill Wilmer by mailing him paperwork to his doorstep instead of sending spies and sabotaging the cars.

"So, what's new? I know I have to look through twenty reports before the meeting at eleven, I'll get to it after some coffee. You look like you have something to say."

As expected, Danny wasn't able to hide it from Wilmer. The CEO still had it in him and his sharp observation skills were not dulled even with fatigue, stress and a mountain of responsibilities. Wilmer's kind heart shone through despite the adversities stacked against him. No wonder Orita is still very much in love with Wilmer even though they haven't seen each other in person for six years.

"I guess you won't let the matter rest until I spill the beans," Danny smiled awkwardly and Wilmer trained his eyes on his assistant until Danny threw his hands up in defeat. "I get it! I'll tell you but you must promise me to remain calm."

"How bad is it?" Wilmer narrowed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of him like an evil overlord brooding over which city he wanted to destroy. "On the scale of Catwoman stealing an Aztec Cat Statue to Joker shooting Batgirl, how bad is this?"

Danny swallowed, thinking of what kind of damage this news would do to Wilmer's world. After thinking for a while, he looked at Wilmer fearfully and replied. "Batman losing his memories and Robin apprenticing for Slade as Joker takes over Gotham if it ever becomes canon."

Wilmer sucked in air and closed his eyes. "This is about them, isn't it? My family."

Danny didn't answer and Wilmer prepared for the worst. "Let's hear it," the CEO said with finality in his tone, resigning to fate.

The assistant nodded. "Your daughters changed their relationship statuses."

The sentence hung in the air and Wilmer blinked. "Are you sure the one changing the relationship statuses are my daughters and not my wife? Didn't you mean that Orita found another man and decided to email me a divorce form?"

Danny blinked. How did Wilmer get to that conclusion? "No?"

"B-but you said Batman losing his memories like me not going home. Robin apprenticing for Slade is like my wife leaving me for another man and Joker taking over Gotham as in Anastasia toppling the Wilde empire? Wasn't that what you meant?"

If this was an anime, crickets would be playing in the background as two grown men stared at each other with an uncomfortable silence at the terrible misunderstanding. Danny wanted to jump out of the window and fall to his death. How should he explain to Wilmer that he wasn't being literal?

"No. That wasn't what I meant. I didn't think that deeply when I gave you the example, it was simply the worst-case scenario I could think of because I don't watch or read anything about Batman."

The crickets flew away and the crows replaced them as they stared at each other before turning away with awkward coughs to clear the air.

"As I was saying, both your daughters have graduated from the single ladies club and are now happily in a relationship with boys. One of them you already know of but the other... I have no idea how they met or who he is."

As soon as the news sunk in, Wilmer's eyes changed into one of a fierce papa lion. Danny knew that was going to happen and braced himself when Wilmer roared, demanding a background check on the unknown boy Scarlet was dating. At the same time, no reports were dealt with that morning and the CEO spent it demanding answers from his wife.

"Darling, Scarlet isn't picking up her phone! Is she out with that little bastard she's dating? Why didn't anybody tell me? It has been two days! TWO DAYS! I'm sure I told Claire strictly to get rid of the flies hovering near my girls. Why are there flies beside Scarlet?!"

Wilmer Wilde was usually a calm and collected man, steady like the mountain. However, for those in his inner circle, they knew better. This calm and steady mountain was like a volcano if there was something concerning the girls in his family. Danny closed the door and put up the "Do Not Disturb" sign before leaving the shared office to deal with the meeting that Wilmer wouldn't be attending. Private matters were extremely important and if Danny wanted a productive CEO for the rest of the week, it was better to let Orita handle the hysterical man.

Orita was an expert when it came to dealing with her husband. Jenna who was serving tea and scones left quickly and shooed the other attendants out of the room. It didn't happen very frequently but whenever Wilmer was on a meltdown, Orita would be the one to talk him back to sanity. The entire Wilde estate was expecting some kind of natural disaster to befall them ever since Lady Scarlet's relationship status was made public on her social media. Even to date, the media hasn't stopped trying to get an interview opportunity with the Wildes. Nobody knew who the mysterious lover was but the name Edward had gotten around in the estate.

Scarlet didn't put the name of her boyfriend and the media had gone wild, cooking up storms and scandals. Past photos about Scarlet's interaction with any male celebrity were pulled out of their dusty boxes but the hottest trending speculation was Scarlet's ambiguous business relationship with CEO Zhu Ming Yang.

Shipping wars have started between those who support Scarlet's love life and those who hated it. Nobody understood how such a thing could happen after her hiatus and some even wondered if this was the reason why Scarlet announced her hiatus at the peak of her popularity. The media company had nothing to disclose and the Wilde household remained tight-lipped. Still, their every action was watched by the vulture-like paparazzi.

Claire struggled with keeping the paparazzi away from the girls and had to deal with investigating the strange stalkers that Alex noticed hanging around the apartment. Eventually, the head maid made her decision. They were too high-profiled in Brooklyn Heights. Continuing to stay here was a bad option and they had to split up.

Alex had no issues. She decided to live with Jasper and Orita allowed it. Wilmer had no objections about it when his wife informed him about it. However, when she broke the news about where Scarlet was currently staying, he flipped.

"How can Scarlet live alone with Edward?! Who is he? I don't know him and I don't approve of him even if he is Elfie's friend. What was Claire thinking when she suggested it? Do you know how dangerous it is right now? Scarlet needs the best protection she can have. Why can't she stay with Jasper and Alex?"

Orita raised a brow. "The idea is to minimise the risk. On top of the media vultures, Claire is dealing with a stalker issue. If we don't split them up, how do we know who the stalkers are targeting and what their purpose is? This is a vulnerable time and the stalkers would definitely take advantage of the confusion to strike. You trust Claire with her skills to handle the security so don't question it. Also, I met Edward on a video-voice call. He seemed trustworthy and Elfie spoke highly of him. They've worked together on cases before, he's not your ordinary boy."

Wilmer still hesitated. When Danny got back, he was going to give the man a piece of his mind. How could Elfie introduce a friend that Wilmer didn't know about to his precious daughter? Was this Scarlet's way of revenge because Wilmer didn't keep his promise to grant the girl her wish? Scarlet did send Wilmer a father's day message and asked if she had been a good girl who accomplished great things in the six years he was away. He asked if he could grant her a wish to see him come home for the wedding anniversary he shared with Orita but Wilmer couldn't agree to it.

"But Daddy is still concerned... you know how boys of that age are. They're all wolves! How can Scarlet stay alone with a boy like that... how do I know that he can be like Jasper and treat my precious girl like the princess she is?"

Orita groaned. Her husband was being dramatic again. "Did you think we would let them live with boys without doing a background check and getting some form of insurance? Claire had already taken care of that so the daddy who doesn't come home can shut up and focus on work. Edward is a good boy and our girls are strong. They can take down men armed with knives in three seconds and Claire taught them well. There will be guards patrolling those areas and living nearby to watch them around the clock. We set the ground rules and made the boys sign an agreement so you don't have to worry."

"But-"

Orita gave her husband a stern look. Defeated, Wilmer whined and complained. "Would you change your mind and bring the girls back if I came home right now?"

Orita's heart skipped a beat and ached when she heard it. They both knew the answer to this question.

"If you could really come back even just for a week, you know we would do anything for you. It's been six years, Wilmer. I'm not getting any younger. Do you really have to take down Anastasia? Can't we enjoy the bliss that we have now and forget about him? I do like the current life we have and our children are growing up too quickly. You've missed six years of their lives already, how many more years will you miss? Will you miss their weddings too?"

The question struck Wilmer in the most painful spot and the CEO looked away. "I'm sorry, Orita. You know that I love you and the girls. I want to go home too but I have to do this. Anastasia might come for you and our daughters, I don't want that to happen. Scarlet suffered enough, I don't wish for Alex or you to be involved too deeply either. How is her PTSD and depression?"

Orita smiled and told her husband all about how Scarlet was coping with school. She added in the back story about how Edward met Scarlet and helped her with her mental condition. Wilmer's opinion of Edward changed slowly but surely. Yet, the man was serious.

"I know what you're trying to do, darling. But I won't relax until I meet Edward face to face. Could you arrange a meeting with Edward for me and keep it away from the girls?"

Orita smiled in defeat. "Sure. I better leave you to your boring management meetings or Danny is going to complain. Love you lots and don't ever forget that you have a place to come back to. I'll always be waiting for you."

Wilmer tried not to choke up and smiled, blowing her a kiss before they ended the call. The hole in his heart that had been plugged when he saw his wife's face was now bigger than ever. They were both dating and Wilmer was still nowhere near taking down EZ Express that had started gaining leverage on them by stealing big contracts from underneath their noses.

The CEO swallowed and looked back at the reports. His wife and daughters were strong, they were still fighting. As the man of his family, he couldn't disappoint them. Downing the coffee in one go, Wilmer turned his focus onto the reports. There were still ten more minutes before the meeting and he was going to weed out the moles in the upper management.