Binding Agreement- Book 1 of the Tipton Dynasty

Food Poisoning

Damon had arranged for us to stay in the hotel where the black and white event was being held. Being the president of Tipton Enterprises as well as Martin's only son, his job was to greet the guests upon arrival and see them all off when they left. Of course as part of my fiancé duty, that meant I had to as well. He figured staying at the hotel would be much easier than having to drive all the way back to his mansion.

He had finished up what he needed to for the set up and came back to the room to get changed. I was slipping on the dress that I had made especially for this. The corset portion seemed a little tighter than it should've been, I had measured everything correctly before I had started on this dress. It wasn't a big deal though as I could just loosen the lace that tied it up the back. I finished adjusting it but I needed help tying the back.

"Damon, can you come here!" I hollered for him to come out of the bathroom where he had been.

"What do you need?" He asked.

"Can you tie my dress up please?" I moved my hair to the side so he could access the lace.

He came behind me and tied up the lace of the corset. "How's that?"

"Perfect. Thank you." I turned around and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He was dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and bow tie. I expected this is what he would go with considering he didn't own much in white. He had gotten a haircut yesterday so it was shorter but long enough for him to slick back a little bit. He looked so sexy and so handsome at the same time.

I had curled my hair and did my makeup prior to getting the dress on. I pinned a curl behind my left ear with a fancy bobby pin with jewels on it to look a little more elegant. I did a silver and black smokey eye, my go to makeup look. I finished off with nude color lipstick that had a pink tint to it. All I needed to do was slip my shoes on and I would be ready to go.

"You look gorgeous Love." Damon complimented. "Are you ready to go down stairs?"

"Yes, one second." I responded as I finished putting on my heels. "Now I'm ready."

He held his arm out for me to loop mine around. We exited the penthouse of the hotel and got inside of the elevator. It made it's descent and then we walked to the ballroom where everything was set up so nicely. No guests had come yet as it was still a little early. The only ones who were here were members of the Tipton family.

"Kaydence, your dress is stunning!" Martin complimented when he saw us come in. "Damon said you worked on it yourself."

"Yes. My first piece of work for myself since the store opened." I smiled.

"With work like that I can see why the store was a success! I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty to have you seated next to me tonight. I'm just so proud to show off my daughter-in-law!" Martin smiled.

"That works for me, Dad." I responded. He wanted me to be on a more personal level with him so I honored his request of calling him dad. After all this time he practically treated me like a daughter and I was grateful for his kindness. My father had passed when I was young so it was nice to have a father figure in my life again.

"Is your mother going to join us?" Martin asked.

"No, not tonight. She doesn't feel up to attending many events yet." I answered, she was still working to get all of her strength back.

"Well, make sure she always knows she's welcomed." He smiled and strode off to meet some guest that had started to come in.

Damon held my hand tightly as we made our way to meet them as well. I fortunately didn't have to say much as Damon and Martin had taken the lead. We stood there greeting people for a good thirty minutes before making our way back to the table for the meal that was being served. Damon had me sit down as he and Martin went to the microphone that had been put in place.

Martin gave a speech first and thanked everyone for coming to the event and informed them all he was much better. Damon went after and also said his thanks and that they appreciated everyone being so accommodating while Martin was getting better. I sat awkwardly at the table that also had Justin, Victoria, Ava and Robert. I could occasionally feel a glare on me from Victoria and Ava. I ignored it the best that I could, I wasn't going to let them have any effect on this evening.

When Martin and Damon had both finished their speeches they came back to the table and the awkwardness faded. For me it did anyway, it seemed the others were slightly uncomfortable at Damon's presence. I knew the glares wouldn't happen now. Ava didn't want to risk her secret getting out.

The servers that were hired brought out the meal quickly. It was a salmon dish that was served with a side salad and a few other items. I wasn't thrilled at the seafood but I wasn't going to throw a fit about it. It would be disrespectful and it wasn't the first time I had choked down a dish out of respect for Martin. The water I had helped make forcing the food down easier.

After the meal had finished some of the tables had been moved to allow guests to dance and mingle with each other. Damon held my hand in his as he walked us to the dancefloor. His free arm wrapped around my waist as he took the lead. He led us around a small portion of the dancefloor gracefully.

"I needed to make sure I got in one dance with you before the night was over." Damon smiled.

I could feel myself blush. We danced for a few more minutes before he had to go meet an important guest with Martin. I began to make my way back to the table to take a moment to sit down. As I got closer I started to not feel so well.

I could feel my stomach turn in uneasiness. It had to have been from the seafood dish I had eaten as I felt fine before. I ran to the bathroom as I could feel the contents of my stomach want to come back up. I shut the door and didn't care enough to lock it, there wasn't time.

I held my hair in my hand as I hurled the meal we had eaten prior into the toilet. I sat back against the wall once I finished. The only time I had felt like this before was when I had food poisoning. Oddly enough that was because of fish too, which started my aversion to seafood in the first place.

There was a knock on the door. Someone clearly needed to come in and I already felt bad for the smell that they were about to encounter.

"Just a minute please." I hollered as I struggled to stand up.

The door opened anyway and Justin walked in. "Are you okay?" He asked. He looked concerned but I knew better. There was no way he would genuinely be concerned about me.