Sterling
My grip on Isabelle's hand tightened as we made our way to the restaurant doors. I paused for a moment, taking a good look at this building. I proceeded to take in a deep breath and exhale it to help keep me calm.
"I'll go in and sit at the table." I informed Isabelle as I turned to look at her. "I'll have you wait by the hostess, maybe you can use this opportunity to get a little more information out of Alexandra."
"I'll do my best." She nodded. "Is there anything specific you'd like me to try to get out of her?"
My lips pursed together as I thought her question over. We still had to be careful with what exactly we asked Alexandra. One wrong move could really fuck things up with her being the one to pry information from.
"Maybe you should talk about adoptions." I finally answered. "Don't give anything away, maybe just make small talk about a made up client of ours. Watch her body language and see if there's any signs of her hiding something."
"Okay." Isabelle nodded.
Isabelle always had a knack for reading people. Which made her only that much more perfect in this situation. She knew what to look for and I didn't feel like I needed to train her.
She's handled this whole mess like a champ too. She's stuck by me and she's yet to complain once. I don't know very many women who would put up with something like this, especially when it's Elise we're up against.
It just shows how much she loves me. That she's willing to stand by my side through thick or thin. God knows I would do the same for her. She's literally been my everything since I can remember.
I want to thank her for standing by me when this whole thing's over. I listened to my father's advice because clearly he knows how to woo a woman or he wouldn't have landed someone as amazing as Kaydence.
So, I bought the bakery Isabelle used to love. I plan to give it to her once things have calmed down because right now it's best to keep her by my side until our threat has been eliminated. Once that happens I'll give it to her as a surprise and let her go crazy with how she wants to set it up.
"Are you ready to go in?" Isabelle's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "We don't want to be late because we stood outside, do we?"
"No." I huffed. "Just not thrilled to be in her presence again so soon. At least this time though I have the upperhand with all the information we're gathering."
The downside is I still have to be careful about how I bring it all up. Elise can be easily triggered. Depending on my choice of words she'll either cave and leave me alone, or she'll be out for even more blood than before.
That's just how things worked with her and confrontation.
"You've got this." Isabelle placed her lips on my cheek and gave me a gentle kiss.
"No." My eyes met those beautiful grey orbs. "We've got this."
We're a team after all. The moment we stop viewing it that way things will crumble so fast I won't have enough time to even blink.
Isabelle's hand left mine once we stepped inside. It's not that either of us wanted the other to let go, but we didn't want to risk setting Elise off too early into this little meeting. She's made it abundantly clear this relationship between Izzy and I is a trigger for her anger.
I took a good look around, once I noticed Elise still hadn't shown up I took Isabelle by surprise and planted a soft kiss on her lips. When I pull away she looks up at me with a surprised expression.
"The bitch isn't here yet." I informed her low enough that only she and I could hear. "I just needed a kiss for good luck."
I didn't give her the time to answer, instead I turned and went right up to the hostess. The young woman smiled, maybe even blushed a little bit.
"Mr. Tipton, right this way to your table." The hostess motioned for me to follow.
I glanced back at Isabelle and gave her a wink before following the hostess to the spot that had been reserved for Elise and I.
"Is there anything I can get you sir?" The hostess asked as I sat down.
"No, not right now." I answered.
"Okay." She shot me another smile. "I'm sure your waitress will be by shortly and I'll have the other member of your party right with you as soon as they get here."
"Thank you." I gave her a small smile in return.
"No problem." She responded one last time before heading back to the front of the restaurant.
I glanced down at my watch, only five more minutes 'til one. Elise is never early so I shouldn't be surprised she hasn't shown up. She's either always on time or ten minutes late, there's no in between for her.
I waited a few more minutes before the hostess finally came into view with Elise. I could practically feel the feeling of repulsion coil in my stomach as my eyes took her in. I really don't know what I had ever seen in this woman.
"Sterling." Elise smiled as she took the seat across from me. "I must say I was surprised to hear from you, what did you want to meet with me about?"
"Well-" I began but she cut me off.
"Wait a moment, I had the hostess bring us one more guest." Elise's smiled turned malicious.
"What do you mean?" I furrowed my brows.
"Oh come on Sterling." She let out a chuckle. "I'm sure this is a meeting about our situation, correct?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"Then we should have everyone here." Her smile dropped as a small bit of anger took over in her eyes. "Including your little assistant that keeps following you around."
My stomach twisted into knots as Isabelle was now being led over to the table. My eyes met her's, confusion had taken over her expression. This wasn't a part of our plan at all.
I refused to let Elise think that this is something that's going to bug me. In fact if anything it was only a boost to my confidence.
"You know what, you're right." A sardonic smirk made it's way to my lips. "It is a good idea for my girlfriend to be present for this."