The mate of his nanny

Chapter 24: Pup Scuffle

Edrick

I returned to the party with Moana, trying to quell my anger over seeing Moana and Ethan together. I wasn't quite so much mad at her, although she should've been more professional, as I was mad at him. I knew that he was up to something... Always.

"There you are, darling," my mother said, reaching out and squeezing my hand as Moana and I approached.

"Edrick," my father suddenly said, pushing himself up from his chair. He didn't like to admit it, but he was getting older and was starting to have some difficulty with sitting and standing. "Come with me. I'd like to talk to you."

I knew where this was going, but I also knew that I didn't have a say with it as I watched my father walk away. My mother, who also knew what he was about to say, gave my hand another squeeze before I followed him.

We walked over to the bar, where he ordered us each a glass of whiskey.

"Here," he said, shoving the glass of whiskey in my hand.

"Thank you," I replied, swirling the brown liquid around a bit in my glass before taking a sip, steeling myself for what was about to come.

"Now... I'm sure you know why I wanted to speak with you," my father said, fixing his icy gray eyes on me.

I nodded. "I know, father. It's time to find a mate. You've been saying this for years."

"I only say it because I worry about you," he said, stroking his white beard with his hand. "You've already had one illegitimate child. It's only so long before you have another, given your track record."

"I'm not worried," I replied tersely. "Besides, marriage is a distraction."

My father scoffed. "So is dealing with illegitimate children."

I watched as he slowly turned his head to look at Ella and Moana. I had tried my best for the last eight years to keep Ella a secret from the public, and it had worked so far; but my father wasn't entirely wrong. Not only was it taxing on such a little girl to be kept cooped up and hidden away, but it also became me ntally taxing to work so hard to hide her. Many journalists and papa raz zos had been paid off with hefty sums of money, not to mention her mother, who occasionally showed up demanding more. But despite all of that, Ella was mine, through and through. I didn't consider her to be any less worthy than if I had a legitimate child with a future wife.

"You really don't want to end up like me," my father said then, gesturing with his glass as he referred to Ethan. "It's too much of a bother, and it's bad for the company's image. Do something about your love life, and then you can claim that Ella is your wife's child. Why not Kelly, after all? You know she'd keep your secret."

I felt the anger start to bubble up inside of me, and I tried to quell it with another hefty swig of my whiskey.

"We've been over this," I said, setting my glass down on the bar. "I'm not interested in Kelly like that. And the more you entertain that idea, the more you'll stoke the fires of that fantasy in her head."

"And?" my father said. "I don't suppose you think you'd have a better chance with a human girl?" He nodded his head toward Moana, who was crouching in front of Ella and brushing a bit of hair out of her face.

I shook my head. "You don't need to worry about that. She's a human, and she's just a nanny."
Without another word, I stormed away from my father. Ella looked up as I approached, softening my demeanor, although I still felt the fires of rage inside of me from my conversation with my father.

"What's wrong, Eddy?" Kelly asked.

I didn't answer - and thankfully, I didn't need to, because the orchestra suddenly began to play Vivaldi's Winter. I glanced up to see a dreamy smile beginning to spread across Moana's face; she appeared to know the song.