128 In Their Nature

Sterling

"I need you to make this quick." My father informed me as I came through his office doors. "Your mother has another appointment today for the baby."

"I'll do my best." I responded as I took a seat in front of him. "We need to talk about Mr. King."

"What about him? Didn't the contract get signed?" My father raised a brow.

"It did." I assured him. "There's something else though, I don't know if it has anything to do with business or if it may be a personal matter."

My father nodded and folded his hands together on his desk. "You've got my attention, but let's just get to the point shall we?"

"I don't like the way he spoke to, about, or even the way he was looking at Isabelle." I explained. "There's something sinister about it, I started looking into him because of it."

I've done even more since we returned a few days ago. While there may be nothing that seems like a big deal right now it doesn't mean anything. He's a rich man, he can hide his shit just as well as we can if he's really up to no good.

"Did you find anything to justify this feeling you have?" He asked, studying me as he waited for my answer.

"Not really." I exhaled a low breath. "Just the typical things you would find on someone like him. I did find out he seems to like cheating on his wife and while that's not necessarily damning it could be that he was just interested in her."

"I see." My father nodded. He was silent for a moment as he seemed to mull over the information in his mind.

"Look, I know it might sound dumb but something was off." I felt the need to defend my case, to him it might be like I'm overreacting but I know in my gut that this is necessary.

"It's not dumb." My father's eyes meet mine. "If you feel he's a threat you need to trust yourself. You don't need to convince me, I've been in this business long enough to know that if people give you a reason to be suspicious it's because they are indeed up to something."

Part of me felt a sense of relief, I was prepared to sell him on this if I really had to. My father can be a complicated man sometimes and on certain matters he needs the evidence right then and there.

"What do you need from me?" He asked.

"I just wanted to make you aware of the situation and part of me wanted to make sure I wasn't overreacting I guess." I confessed, if I was looking too much into this he would be the first person to tell me.

"I don't think you are." He leaned back in his chair. "I think you're acting the same way I would, if someone took an unusual interest in your mother I would want to know why as well. They could just think they're being nice and it's just coming off wrong, but it could be much bigger than that."

"I'm planning to look more into him." I'm not going to stop until I know what was going through his mind.

"As you should." My father agreed with me. "I've only dealt with his father before he handed the company over to him so I don't have any information to offer. If he is up to something then it's best for us to know, if he's not the type of person we want to do business with then we need to cut him off."

"I agree." I'm glad that we both seem to be on the same page here. "We need to protect Tipton Enterprises as well as our family. I refuse to let anyone else try to come in between Isabelle and me again."

"I understand." He studied me for a moment. "I can offer you some advice if you want it, but I don't want to overstep if you feel you have the situation under control."

I've learned my lesson from dealing with Elise. It's better to work with my father than to accept his help at the last second. I don't know what I'll find here and I can't let my anger take the lead again.

"Of course, I'm all ears."

"Think back to your interactions with him." My father began. "There may be a hint there somewhere as to what he's up to. People like him—if he's really up to no good—will always give away part of their plan."

My brows furrowed together. "What do you mean?"

"It's in their nature to make little hints or sly remarks, they get satisfaction from admitting what they're up to but being vague about it so you don't pick up on it." He got up from his desk and began to walk over to me. "Everyone I have ever had to deal with gave themselves away, they thought they were being smug but once you learn to pick up on these things it's just downright stupid of them."

"I see."

"I think we need to interact with him again." My father suggested. "We need to study him, see what we can pick up on."

"Would a video conversation be enough?" I don't want to meet him in person again until I know what he's capable of.

"It might be." He acknowledged. "We just need a few minutes of his time, we can record it and then watch it back a few times. If it doesn't work then you'll have to go back and you'll have to do it on your own."

"Okay." If I really need to go back I will, with the way I got him to cave into the contract I'm sure he's no match for me.

"I'll have you set up the meeting." This was his way of making sure I was aware that I was still in charge of this. "Just give the details to Stacey and I'll get everything worked out."

"I can do that. I'll use the new contract as an excuse." That way Mr. King will think we're just being efficient and not suspect anything. "It should be pretty easy."

"Sounds good." My father gave a nod. "Is there anything else you need to go over right now?"

"No." I got up from my seat, I knew he needed to get going. "Let me know how mom and the baby are doing."

I know she's strong and she's got this, but I do still worry about her. I just want her to be safe during this whole process. After finding out my biological mother passed away giving birth to me, the whole pregnancy thing makes me uneasy.

"I will." He assured me.

With that, I exited his office and made my way to Eve. The sooner I set this meeting, the better.