I Want To Test Something

Sterling

"Sterling, your father's waiting for you in his office." Isabelle spoke as she stood in the doorway of my office.

"Okay. Tell him I'll be right there." I responded as I got up from my desk chair.

"I will." She nodded and was about to leave but turned around to face me once more. "Is this a meeting I need to attend or is this a private matter?"

"Private." I answered. "While I'm busy will you just proofread through that new contract to make sure it's good to go?"

She gave another nod. "Of course."

The door shut behind her as she left the office. Having Isabelle here as my assistant was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I was graced by her presence frequently. A curse because I've been tempted numerous times to take her into my office just so I can bend her over my desk. Unfortunately I had to focus on my work rather than my urges.

I walked out of my office and went down the hall to my father's. I approached Stacey who was sitting at her desk. "The big guy wanted to see me." I spoke as she looked up to give me her attention.

"Yes." She nodded. "He's in there waiting for you right now."

"Thanks." I gave her a small smile and then made my way over to the office doors.

He was looking out of the window as I entered the room. He turned around the moment he seemed to sense my presence. "Have a seat." He motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Oh boy, hope I'm not getting fired." I sarcastically joked as I sat down.

He let out a low chuckle as he sat down in front of me. "Just because you're my son doesn't necessarily mean your position is safe. Fuck up and I'll have to hand things over to the next in line."

"Yeah right." I scoffed. "Scarlett handle this stuff? You'd be out of your damn mind to give it to her."

"You're right." He agreed. "Fortunately I trust that you wouldn't actually mess anything up here which is why I hired you on. You have a lot of potential at this business while your sister's potential is elsewhere."

It's not that Scarlett wouldn't be a good leader. She had my father's genes so she was clearly destined to be a great one. The business here at Tipton Enterprises just didn't interest her which she made clear multiple times. She was more interested in what our mother did, which is why she was the one next in line to take over Amethyst when my mother retired. That was a long way away though.

"Let's get onto the reason for this little meeting of ours shall we?" My father raised a brow.

I straightened up a little in the chair. "Killian was able to get a few details from his sister but not much. Elise was attempting to see how I would react to this stupid little article she put out to decide whether or not to put Isabelle's information out to the public. On top of that she seems to think her father can start swooping in to steal business from us if I refuse to get back together with her."

"What a vindictive little bitch she is." He mockingly chuckled. "She really thinks her poor excuse of a father is a match for me? How can one be so manipulative but so fucking stupid at the same time?"

"I don't know. But it makes me feel worse that I allowed someone like her to con me into a manipulative relationship." I confessed.

"Don't feel bad. You were still heartbroken when you met her and she used that to her advantage." His eyes looked seriously into mine. "While it was frustrating as hell to watch, at least you've learned from the experience."

"True." I nodded.

"Now, I want to test something. We're going to slightly alter the information she can get on Isabelle. My guess is she'll either use the tabloid again or social media, either way I'll make sure nothing is released." He continued to explain his plan. "If it does though the altered info will help prevent Isabelle from actually being harassed by Elise's sad fan base. We'll also track down who allowed it to be posted and kindly remind them that it's not okay to enable this behavior."

Judging by the darkness in his eyes it wouldn't end well for the one who decided to help Elise. He always thought one step ahead so I'm sure he already was making a list of punishments. I would be right by his side to deliver them as well no matter how dark they got.

I feel like it's my responsibility to take care of Isabelle. Like it's my duty to protect her at all costs. No one was going to get in the way of that.

"Sounds good to me." I finally responded to him. "Did you get any information on your end?"

"I'm still looking into a few things. Whatever the Tunt's are hiding they've got it locked up pretty tightly." He answered. "It only means it's slightly more challenging but I'll find out what it is. I always do."

"You know, Isabelle had a thought actually." I informed him. "I told her some of the details about Elise and that we're handling it, I just didn't give her all the details on how. I know I should've just kept my mouth shut about the whole thing but I just didn't feel right about it. I didn't need a secret to end up causing any damage to the progress I've made with her."

He nodded as he took in my words. "That was your decision to make, not mine. You know what's best for your situation. The article being published definitely didn't help keep it secret, your mother now knows some of what's going on but I'm keeping the more stressful parts to myself."

I was honestly relieved he seemed to be on the same page. The last thing he and I needed was a disagreement to set us back. We had to keep working as a team to get this handled as quickly as possible.

"What was Isabelle's idea?" He questioned.

I proceeded to explain to him the conversation Isabelle and I had last night. I felt like she was really onto something with trying to use Elise's assistant against her. However it's not like the assistant would just meet to talk to me. We had to come up with something to get her comfortable enough to talk.

My father thought for a moment after I finished explaining Izzy's thought. His eyes then met mine. "It's smart, I like it. Seems like Isabelle's going to fit in with us even better than I thought."