Isabelle
He continued to keep his grip on me as he led the way to his office. I felt like I was a kid being taken to the principal's office the way he was marching over to it. He opened his door and then finally let go of my arm before I stepped inside.
"What's going on?" I asked as Sterling closed the door to his office and walked over to me. "Is everything okay?"
"No." The emotion in his voice was clear, it's evident that he's worked up right now. "Why did you leave without telling me?"
"Because it was my lunch break." I calmly explained. "I'm allowed to do that Sterling. Killian was made aware of it."
"I don't care what Killian was made aware of!" He snapped coldly. "I don't give a shit that it was my sister you left with. What I do care about is the fact you ran off without saying anything to me."
"Excuse me?" My brows furrowed as I attempted to figure out where this outburst was coming from. "Sterling, in case you've forgotten I don't work for you. I answer to Killian when it comes to my job."
I watched as his face hardened, taking in my words but trying to fight back the words that wanted to slip out. His nostrils flared as he let out an agitated breath, I could tell he's struggling to hold back.
"What Sterling?" I questioned, knowing that whatever's on the tip of his tongue will come out. "What is it?"
"You may be working for Killian, but don't forget he also answers to me." He spoke, coldness darkening his eyes. "Therefore, you still get to answer to me."
"Seriously?" I scoffed as I refused to hide my disapproval towards his comment. "You realize you're not the Tipton in charge still, right? If we've got a problem I'd be happy to go arrange a meeting with your father about this sudden power trip that you're on."
He looked away from me and down to the ground. I could tell he was processing what I just said and actually taking a look at his actions. But when he looked back up, the cold look in his eyes remained.
"Isabelle." He spoke my name, trying to keep himself calmer.
I placed my hands on my hips. "What?"
"I'm not on a power trip, trust me if I were you would know it." He still remained calm, but his brooding stare tells me he's anything but that. "For the time being, I expect you to let me know when you're leaving this office."
And this, this is the moment I lost it.
"No." I stood my ground, refusing to back down from him. "I will tell you one more time and one time only, you are not my boss. You don't get to decide when I can take my fucking lunch break. I'm not here to serve you, get over it."
His nostrils flared again. I could tell he was getting more agitated but I didn't care. He's the one who called me into this office and started freaking out. This would have been a completely different conversation if he had at least calmly spoken to me.
"Fine." His tone is bitter. "If you're not going to do it, then I'll just have a new protocol put in place. Simple."
"You are unbelievable." I gritted my teeth together out of frustration. "The audacity you have is something else Sterling Tipton. You still haven't given me the reason you wanted to talk and at this point, I don't even want to hear it."
I turned around and headed for the door leading out of his office. I could tell that if I stayed in here any longer then things were going to get worse.
"Isabelle." He called out my name, this time his voice sounded defeated which made me turn around to face him. "I'm sorry."
"I believe that you are." I still refused to back down right now. "But I can't have whatever this conversation was supposed to be right now. I need some space."
Turning back around, I left the office and headed back to my desk. I forced myself to take in deep breaths, releasing them to try to help me calm down.
I really had no idea what that was supposed to be about, but I knew in my gut if I stayed in that room I would never find out. Even if he calmed down I was too irritated by his actions to sit down with him.
"Look, my assistant is back." Killian raised a brow as he came out of his office and looked at me. "Everything okay? You look—"
"Everything is fine." I cut him off and forced a fake smile. "What do you need me to do right now?"
I needed to get my mind off of things, I needed to keep myself busy for the next few hours while I try to make it through the rest of my work day. I already suspect it will be hard enough because Sterling will attempt to get my attention, it's how he works.
He does something that upsets me, normally without meaning to, then he tries to chase after me. Honestly, I'm surprised he's not already at my desk waiting for me. Not that it means he'll stay away, he's probably just waiting until he has an excuse to come over here.
"Okay." I could tell by the look on his face Killian wasn't buying my answer, but at least he knows not to push it. "Well, I have a few documents that need to be reviewed. I was going to wait until tomorrow but if you really need to busy yourself you know where to find them."
"Thank you." I responded as I sat down.
Paying no more attention to him, I begin to pull everything up on my computer and go over the documents in question. I could hear Killian's footsteps as he walked away and went back into his office, leaving me alone finally.
I spend the next few hours going over everything and thankfully, it is a decent distraction. I don't even think about the encounter in Sterling's office until I get interrupted by a young man carrying flowers to my desk.
"I have a delivery for a Ms. Avildsen." He announced as I gave him my attention.
I exhaled a low irritated breath. "That's me."
He handed them over and then walked away. As I set them on the desk I glanced over to Sterling's office, noticing he was watching me right away. I broke eye contact as I grabbed the note and began to read it.
'Sweetheart, I'm sorry.
-Sterling'
Looking him right in the eyes, I gave him the finger because he won't be buying me off this easy.