Isabelle
"Are you ready?" Sterling asked as he exited his office.
"About as ready as I can be." I responded.
The time had come for this meeting with Elise. I could tell he wasn't thrilled about it and neither was I. She was the last person we both wanted to see. However this was necessary to get her to leave us alone for good.
I got up from my desk and grabbed my bag. "We can do this though. I have my faith in us."
A small smile crossed his lips briefly. "It helps to have someone so amazing by my side." He then placed a soft kiss on my cheek that made me instantly blush.
He took my hand in his and led the way to the elevator. He tapped the button needed for the parking garage and the doors proceeded to close. He pulled me tighter against him as we now had some privacy.
His hand moved away from mine and gave a gentle but firm smack to my ass. "I like this skirt. You should wear it more often for me."
I seductively bit my bottom lip as my eyes looked into his stunning blue orbs. "Anything for you Mr. Tipton."
The elevator doors opened and he moved his hand away from my ass. We walked out and headed for the parking garage. The bright green Lamborghini came into view. He opened my door, which had become a routine for him. He then got inside and started it up so we could head in the direction of our destination.
Elise had been banned by Damon from stepping foot on the grounds of Tipton Enterprises. Even with him being absent for another day Sterling wasn't about to go against his father's wishes. Plus it would probably give Elise the impression that it's okay to push the boundaries. Which to be clear, it's not.
Instead we opted to meet her at a restaurant. That way it was out in public so she had to keep her cool. The chances were high that the conversation wasn't going to go how she wanted it to.
Sterling and I remained quiet on the drive. The silence may have been comfortable but I could tell we both we're feeling a little nervous. We didn't exactly know what all to expect from this meeting. We could plan for it to go one way and it might go a completely different route.
We arrived at the restaurant and both stepped out of the vehicle. I followed behind Sterling. As much as I'd love to rub it in her face that we were indeed a couple it would only provoke her. I didn't need to give her more reason to come after me.
We stepped inside and Satan, as Scarlett calls her, was standing by with a woman who was about my age. She had dirty blonde hair that was pulled into a bun and had a pair of glasses on her. She seemed a little more on the timid side, a little surprising for an assistant.
"Sterling." Elise beamed with delight. "I'm so glad that you finally agreed to meet with me. We have so much to discuss."
In my head I rolled my eyes. I could see right through this bitch. She was using the fakest tone I had ever heard. I knew she was only trying to be polite as again, we were in public and for some reason this meeting was of extreme importance to her.
"Nice to see you too Elise." Sterling's made it obvious he wasn't thrilled about seeing her.
"Let's go get a table." She smiled and then proceeded to side eye me. "The help can stay out here on the bench."
"Whatever." Sterling responded. "Let's just get this done and over with. I have important things I need to be doing."
I watched as they walked away. She glanced behind them right at me with a smirk on her face. This of course should have been expected. In her mind the fact he was sitting down with her was a win. If only that bitch knew I was the reason it was even happening.
I took a seat on the bench outside of the hostess' stand. I glanced over to Elise's assistant who was leaning against the wall. The poor girl looked like she was a little on edge. Like she had to be prepared for anything Elise may call for.
"They could be a while. Why don't you sit down?" I suggested in a pleasant tone.
She nodded. "You're right."
She proceeded to come over and take the seat next to me. She still kept her distance a little bit. She kept looking around as well. Like she didn't know what to do while she waited.
"I'm Isabelle." I held my hand out as I smiled at her. "I believe we spoke on the phone."
She was reluctant but she took my hand and shook it. "I'm Alexandra. It's nice to meet you in you person."
"Nice to meet you as well." I kept smiling as I wanted her to see me as welcoming. It was the only chance I had at getting her to open up. "So personal assistant to Elise Tunt. I'm sure you must be pretty busy."
"Yeah." She sighed.
"I get it." I responded. "Being an assistant to Mr. Tipton hasn't exactly been sunshine and rainbows." Unfortunately for this to work I was going to have to make some stuff up to throw Sterling under the bus.
"Really?" She furrowed her brows. "He's always seemed low maintenance when I've been around. Like he's a lot more laid back compared to Ms. Tunt."
"He seems that way." I pursed my lips together. "But he's been quite demanding. They don't understand the stress they put upon us. I think really the only people who get it seem to be others who are in this profession themselves."
That seemed to open her up real quickly. I continued on coming up with things about Sterling that I knew she could probably relate to. None of them were true but I did draw from some of my past experiences being an assistant to people like Elise. After a little while her assistant finally began to open up.
I didn't get much of course. She still wasn't in a comfortable setting. To really get the dirty details I would need to talk to her when she was off the clock. Somewhere more relaxing. Somewhere like Noami's bar.
"Look, I know not many people get it but I do." I spoke softly. "You have the number to my line in the office. If you ever need to just get out and get away from work I'm more than happy to go out for a drink or something. It's just been so nice to talk to someone who gets it."
"I agree." She nodded and gave me a small smile. "I'll try to see if I can set something up. Lord knows I could use a night away from Ms. Tunt."
It may not be much but it was a start. I had a feeling she'd be calling me soon after this interaction. She clearly needed a break as it seemed like she hadn't had one in a while. Here I was giving her the offer to finally have one.