Sterling
"Mr. Tipton, your father is ready to see us now." Isabelle spoke to get my attention.
I clenched my fist tightly on my desk. Even after the Thanksgiving dinner she was still a little standoffish towards me. The kiss had made things more awkward than before. I tried to talk to her about it when she came in this morning but she refused.
"Better not keep him waiting then." I stood up from my chair and headed out of my office.
Isabelle followed by my side as we took our short walk. Stacey gave a small smile as we approached but I wasn't in the mood to return it. She let us into the office and we both took a seat at my father's desk.
"What did you want to see me about now?" I asked.
His icy blue eyes shifted between both Isabelle and I. "We'll be going on our first business trip a week from today, next Monday." He finally informed us.
"Okay, where to?" I questioned.
"Seattle." He answered. "There's a deal with a company of developers. They intend to put a hotel up and would like to partner with us on it."
"Same deal that was in the contract you were having me look over a few days ago?" It would have been the same day that I had kissed Isabelle in my office.
"Yes, that would be it." My father nodded. "We won't be gone very long, just a day or two so we can get things finalized."
We spent the next thirty minutes going over the rest of the details. Isabelle would be going as well as Stacey. My father didn't want Kaydence to do any traveling because of the pregnancy. He didn't want to add any stress that may cause her to go into labor early again like she did with Scarlett.
"Isabelle, will you go back to your desk please?" My father asked after the conversation about the trip was over. "I just have a private matter I would like to discuss with my son."
"Of course." She nodded and left the room.
Once the door had shut all the way his blue eyes looked at me intensely. "Have you talked to the leech attached to you since dinner the other night?" I knew immediately he was talking about Elise.
"Not really." I answered. "She's tried calling but I've ignored her."
The truth was Elise was getting on my last nerves. She was really pushing it before but the fact she had the audacity to show up to my family dinner was not okay. Especially with the way she treated Isabelle and Scarlett. The whole damn thing was unacceptable.
Scarlett definitely didn't help the situation. She was clearly provoking Elise on purpose. She's done it before many times, Elise usually kept her cool and just complained about it later. This time she went too far though, she didn't say anything but by her demeanor and expression I could tell she wanted to harm my little sister.
I have always been protective of Scarlett, sometimes she hated me for it as she was confident she could take care of herself. With her personality I didn't doubt it for a second. She is still a teenager though and teenagers do stupid things, so I feel it's only right for me to watch out for her and step in when she really needs it.
"So what are you going to do about it?" My father raised a brow as he spoke.
I thought for a moment. I was seeing Elise for how truly horrible she was, she was vile and toxic. I know what I wanted to do but I needed to be careful. She was the type to seek revenge and hold grudges. I thought that maybe if I got her to be the one to end things then it would save a lot of drama, but I can't keep living this way.
"I'm going to end things." I was confident in my tone. It felt like this was going to be the right decision for myself.
His eyes studied me yet again. "Good. It's about time."
"You still didn't have to bring Isabelle in to make this all happen." I responded. "There were other ways."
He leaned back in his chair. "So are you saying you want Isabelle gone then? I can make that happen if you truly wanted it, she did come in here this morning and asked me again to let her out of the contract. I told her no. I thought maybe keeping her here would help repair things between you, considering you blame me for why they ended."
"She asked to leave again?" I was taken aback by his statement. She hadn't mentioned it to me. Then again she refused to talk again unless it was work related.
"Yes." He nodded. "She came in before you got here. I reminded her of the terms and the agreement that if she stays for a year I'll help get her into any assistant position she wants."
I stood up from the chair. "I have to go."
"Where?" He asked in a curious tone.
"I just have to handle a personal matter." I answered as I walked out of the office. The last thing I wanted to do was to admit to him that she and I had a moment a few days ago.
A moment that seemed to have only complicated things even more between us. Instead of actually coming and talking to me she would rather try to leave without a word. If she wasn't willing to talk to me then I was going to make it happen. She was my assistant after all, her literal job was to cater to my needs.
This time my need happened to be settling this. To have a conversation where she doesn't treat me like we have no history. Where she can for once acknowledge that there is still something between us. No matter how hard she fights me on it I know she has to have some sort of feelings for me.
Isabelle looked up with a puzzled expression as I came marching her way. "Is everything alright Mr. Tipton?"
That only fueled my frustration about the situation more. We may be at work but I still would rather have her call me by my first fucking name.
I stopped in front of her desk and leaned over so my lips were near her ear. My tone was dark and dominating as I spoke to her. "Get your pretty little ass in my office. Now."