Chapter 783 A Sense of Crisis, Think of a Way

Chapter 783 A Sense of Crisis, Think of a Way

"If you've got something to say, spit it out. You keep staring at me like that—I'm not interested."

Daniel's tone was cold.

Charles protested silently in his head.

But the second he met Daniel's eyes—

Fine. Better just say it.

Charles cleared his throat. "I was just wondering... maybe you're not very good in bed."

"Get out."

Daniel's glare could have cut glass.

Charles immediately threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Come on, it's a reasonable guess! I mean, you two just had sex, and then she dumped you—seems pretty logical to me. You better watch out. Emily's gorgeous and talented. She's got guys circling her constantly. And you're not even there. Aren't you worried someone's gonna swoop in and steal her?"

How could he not be worried?

That's why Daniel had been running Charles ragged, trying to wrap up everything here as fast as possible.

He'd even dumped some of his workload on Nathaniel.

Nathaniel was set to marry Lily in an arranged match.

The two of them got along well. Next step: engagement and wedding planning.

When Nathaniel told Lily that Emily had advocated for her, Lily's feelings were complicated.

On one hand, she felt guilty for believing those rumors and hurting Emily. On the other, she was touched.

Emily hadn't held a grudge. She'd even put in a good word for her.

Compared to what other people got stuck with in arranged marriages—guys who were either ugly or way too old—Nathaniel was a catch. Capable, good-looking, solid character, and backed by Daniel. He was the best match she could have hoped for.

And he liked her, too.

She'd fallen for Nathaniel, which only made her more grateful to Emily.

Of course, all of that was beside the point.

Daniel knew a bit about how things were going between Nathaniel and Lily, but since it had nothing to do with Emily, he hadn't paid much attention.

Now, after what Charles said, Daniel nodded slowly. "You just reminded me of something. Looks like I need to pile even more work on you so I can get to Emerald City faster."

Once he got to Emerald City, any male creature that tried to get close to Emily wouldn't stand a chance.

If you wanted to win Emily over, you couldn't be too reserved. You had to fight for it. Otherwise, she'd end up with someone else.

Charles nearly cursed out loud.

He slapped his own face. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut? And who suffered for it? Him.

Unfortunately, even if Daniel knew how miserable he was, he didn't care.

"All right. There are two more major projects coming up. Have the project managers send everything to you. If there's anything you don't understand, check in with me right away."

Daniel wasn't here to mess around. He was serious about handing things off. He actually dumped the work on Charles.

And then Charles was left slumped in his office chair, watching helplessly as Daniel passed him the projects and then headed out.

But Daniel was still turning over what Charles had said.

He couldn't get to Emerald City right away, but he needed someone there keeping an eye on things. Someone who wouldn't be too obvious, so Emily wouldn't think he was spying on her.

Daniel thought it over, and one person came to mind—someone who already loved sticking close to Emily: Kaia.

He pulled out his phone and called Gilbert.

"What is it? You never call unless you need something."

Gilbert knew Daniel well. They didn't waste words.

"Is Kaia with you? I need to talk to her."

He wasn't going to contact Kaia directly. Boundaries.

After all, Kaia used to have feelings for him. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea.

And he didn't want Emily to get the wrong idea, either.

Gilbert hadn't expected him to be calling about someone else.

"What do you want with Kaia? She's been behaving herself lately. She hasn't done anything crazy."

Gilbert was protective of Kaia.

Just in case she'd done something he didn't know about—something involving Daniel—he wanted to clear her name first.

"Relax. I'm not calling to settle a score. I need her help with something."

Gilbert, reassured, told a servant to go upstairs and fetch her.

Kaia had finally gotten a day off from the office. When she heard Gilbert wanted to see her, she came downstairs reluctantly.

Her expression was faintly resentful. "Gilbert, I've been so well-behaved. I finally get one day to rest, and you're still going to squeeze me dry? Is our family going bankrupt or something?"

Kaia's mouth ran a mile a minute. At work, she'd learned to maintain her composure—after all, she was a Harvey, and she was Gilbert's secretary. She couldn't goof off there.

But when no one else was around, she was still her usual chaotic self.

"All right, quit whining. You make it sound like I'm some capitalist exploiting the working class. It's not me looking for you. It's Daniel."

Gilbert sighed.

Kaia frowned, immediately annoyed. Ever since those photos of Daniel with another woman surfaced online, her rose-colored glasses had shattered. Any trace of affection she'd had for him was gone.

So her tone wasn't exactly warm.

"I've unilaterally declared us no longer friends. What does he want from me? If you can't handle it, what makes him think I can?"

Kaia raised her voice deliberately, making sure Daniel could hear her on the other end.

Daniel didn't care what Kaia really thought of him.

Besides, he had a pretty good idea why she was acting this way.

So she genuinely cared about Emily. That was one of the reasons he was willing to ask for her help. At least she wouldn't hurt Emily.

"Put it on speaker."

Getting Kaia to take the phone herself? Unlikely.

Daniel spoke directly to Gilbert.

So Gilbert switched to speakerphone.

Daniel's voice filled the room. "Kaia, I need a favor. Do this for me, and I'll grant you one reasonable wish."

Kaia didn't really have a wish at the moment. Well, she had plenty, but a promise from Daniel was valuable. She couldn't just waste it.

Still, if he was willing to offer that much, this probably wasn't an easy favor.

Kaia didn't refuse outright. "Let's hear it. If it's sketchy, I don't want your stupid wish."

Principled.

Good.

Gilbert gave her an approving glance.

Daniel continued. "Emily's back in Emerald City. It's going to take me a little while to get there. I need you to stay close to her. If any guy gets too close, chase him off if you can. If you can't, send me his info and a photo. I'll handle it."

The moment Kaia heard Emily's name, her whole face lit up.

She whipped around to look at Gilbert. "Gilbert, Emily's back in Emerald City? How come I didn't know? Did you know?"

Gilbert had known.

One look at his expression told her everything.

She glared at him, pouting. "You knew how badly I wanted to see Emily, and you didn't tell me? Did you do that on purpose?"

Her cheeks puffed out. She was genuinely upset.

Gilbert sighed. "I wasn't trying to hide it from you. Even if you went to see her right now, she's probably swamped. She doesn't have time to deal with you."

"Excuses. That's all excuses. I don't need Emily to 'deal with me.' I'll just follow her around like a puppy. Wherever she goes, I go."

Daniel listened to the two of them veer completely off track.

He still had business to take care of.