Bound To Fall

The Devil Works Hard, But Damon Tipton Works Harder

Sterling

I still hadn't heard anything from Elise. She definitely wasn't going down without a fight. Fortunately I would be ways away from her for the weekend. That was one of the perks of this business trip with my father.

The other perk was being around Isabelle. We haven't talked since I walked her home from the orphanage the other night but things were in a decent place it seemed. I was hoping that maybe this trip would help give us a chance to talk about things without the looming threat of Elise.

The car pulled into the lot and parked next to the Mercedes that contained my father. There was a car that had followed behind with Isabelle. My father had asked for us to meet here to get on his private jet. Once aboard we would take off to our destination and get this deal handled.

I stepped out of the car and approached my father as he got out of the car. There was a look on his face but I wasn't sure what it was. I furrowed my brows as I studied him. There was something on his mind which was never good. The man could be really mischievous when he wanted to.

"Hello son." He greeted me. "Thank you for meeting me here. I have some news though."

Here it is. "What's up?" I asked.

"Something has come up. I won't be able to attend the business trip with you." He informed me.

"Why? What's going on?" I raised a brow.

We come from the same family. If something were really wrong I would know it by now. He was clearly up to something. I wanted to try to make him admit to whatever plan he had come up with.

"It's Kaydence." He responded. "I'm just nervous about leaving her alone this far into the pregnancy. With how things went with your sister I really don't want to leave her on her own in case something happens."

He was full of shit. Kaydence was fine and at no risk of preterm labor again. The reason she had Scarlett early was because my parents were in a stressful situation at the time. Not that I knew what it was all about after so many years, they didn't really talk much about it.

"Are you sure?" I decided to push it a little further. I was never afraid to call my father's bluff. Ironically something I had inherited from him. "I can stay here and we'll reschedule with the client. I'm sure it's no big deal."

"No." He shook his head. He was clearly not backing down. "Everything will be fine. This just gives you the opportunity to let me see what you can really do. Besides, how am I supposed to have a Vice President that can't confidently close a deal on his own?"

Well played old man, well played. I could have kept this back and forth going but I'll let him slide this time. This would only give me more time with Isabelle to get things sorted out.

"Okay." I nodded. "Please keep me updated on mom though. If anything happens I can be home quickly for support."

"Of course." He responded. "Have a safe trip and let me know when you land. I've already got everything set up when you arrive."

Of course he did. Damon Tipton seemed to always be prepared for anything. The fact he was suddenly not coming wasn't a surprise to me. He made it clear he was trying to bring me and Izzy together. This was the perfect opportunity to do just that.

I watched as my father got back into the car and was driven away. I heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Isabelle. She looked confused as she watched him drive away as well.

"Where is he going?" She asked.

"Apparently something has come up with my mother." I answered with the bullshit reason he gave. "We'll be doing this one on our own."

I noticed she instantly got slightly uncomfortable. The pleasant exchange when I walked her home wasn't enough to take away what I had done to her in my office. I hated that she clearly didn't like the idea of being alone with me. I had to use this trip to prove I could contain myself around her. To prove to her we could have more pleasant exchanges and maybe, just maybe we can get back to where we were four years ago.

"Relax." My tone was gentle as I spoke. "We'll have our own separate rooms. This is just a business trip and we'll treat it as such. I promise."

"Okay." She nodded.

We boarded the jet and sat on opposite ends. I wanted to be as close as I could to her, but I needed to respect her boundaries. If she decided that she wanted a move to be made I would let her come to me.

I spent the next few hours on the jet going in depth through this contract. I had to make sure I got this done just how he wanted it. While it was his main plan to get me and Isabelle alone I knew he also wanted to see how well I could close this deal. The company was going to be mine one day and it was important that he knew it was going to fall into good hands.

After four hours the jet landed on the runway. Isabelle and I both got out of it and into the car. As the driver took us to our hotel I sent my father a message to know we had made it safely. Just as he had asked me to.

"Here you are Mr. Tipton." The driver spoke as he stopped at the hotel entrance.

"Thank you." I responded before getting out of the car.

I led the way inside as Isabelle followed behind me. I was greeted immediately by the hotel manager who walked us to the elevator. This is one thing that has never stopped. No matter how many times I met one of the managers of a Tipton hotel they always strived to leave a good impression.

We reached the very top of the building. This is where the penthouse was for either my father or I to stay in. We stepped out and the manager handed over the key to me. "Here you are Mr. Tipton."

"Will you show my assistant to her room?" I asked him.

"Oh Mr. Tipton, your father asked for the both of you to be in the penthouse." The manager responded.

Of course. Another play of my fathers. I didn't expect this but I should have seen it coming with him sending us alone.

"Thank you. That will be all then." I dismissed the manager and opened the penthouse.

The devil works hard, but Damon Tipton works harder. This was going to be one hell of a fight to contain myself.