Daniel Rutledge

Age: 60

CEO, Rutledge/Chow Enterprises

Daniel became a single father twenty years ago when his wife Beverly died in an airplane crash. Not quite sure how to raise four children on his own, Daniel often put a lot of the parenting burden on his then eight-teen year old daughter Emily. Daniel made some mistakes with the kids, but had the best of intentions. He spoiled little Chelsea rotten while putting too much responsibility on Emily’s shoulders, not allowing her to have a life of her own the first couple of years of her adulthood. Daniel couldn’t help but choose favorites. From the moment his first born son Julian arrived in the world, Daniel immediately began making plans for Julian to one day take over the family company. Over the years he ignored Julian’s lack of interest and ambition in the company, always assuming that when the time came, Julian would become more receptive to taking the leadership reigns. Meanwhile, his younger son Bradley demonstrated that he had the drive, ambition, and talent to one day become the head of the company. But no matter how hard Brad tried to impress his father, Daniel wanted no part of it. In his family it was tradition for the oldest son to become the “heir” so to speak and he felt that Bradley needed to accept his position in the family. When Bradley advocated for the position of CFO, Daniel was hesitant because he wanted Julian to show some initiative and try his hand at the position. When Julian didn’t show any interest, Daniel still tried to lobby for Julian to be promoted, but the board voted for Bradley. Daniel eventually got past Bradley’s new rank, thinking to himself that he will never become CEO no matter how high he positions himself in the company. Daniel was slowly starting to warm up to Bradley though when he recognized the excellent work he was doing for the company. But that quickly changed when Brad married Sarah Mooney. Sarah and Daniel had met in a bar the previous year. After engaging in nice conversation and having a few drinks together, they had a one night stand. They never saw each other again after that night and Daniel was stunned when Brad presented her as his new bride after they had come home from Vegas. In a private conversation, Daniel and Sarah agreed to never tell Bradley about their one night together. Daniel had never forgotten Sarah and still found himself sexually attracted to her after Brad had brought her home. He was especially angered by Sarah’s pregnancy so soon after the wedding. Although he wanted heirs to the Rutledge fortune, he was not happy with one of his former lover’s being the mother of his grandchild. Daniel has noticed the distance between Sarah and Bradley ever since the miscarriage and does secretly hoping that they will break up. Daniel has begun dating Helena Scott. The relationship is not serious at this point, but Daniel is enjoying her company.