Binding Agreement- Book 1 of the Tipton Dynasty

Are You Sure You Can Afford This?

"Love, are you ready to go yet?" Damon asked as he finished tying his silk grey tie. He chose to wear an all black suit for tonight. His hair was slicked back and the stubble of his beard had been trimmed down.

"Yes." I responded as I sat down on the bed to get my shoes on. I chose a ruby red long sleeve dress that went to my knees. I pulled the black strappy heels onto my feet, heels weren't ideal at this point but they were fine for occasions like dinner or special events.

He turned around from the mirror he was standing in front of and looked me up and down. "You look stunning." he complimented.

"Thank you." I blushed slightly.

"We better get going though. We can get this done and over with." He spoke.

I stood up and followed him out of the room. We went down to the garage and got into his car. We drove ourselves so Cody could have a night off to himself. By how it sounded it seemed he would be spending the time with Julie.

Damon pulled out of the garage and headed for the restaurant that my grandmother had chosen. They chose one of the nicer restaurants here in Nashville. It was one of those fancier five star places. I only had been there once before with Damon but it was a pretty decent place.

I could feel myself start to get slightly anxious. They had no idea Damon was with me, I hoped this wouldn't blow up in my face. I also was anxious because I wanted to know their answer to things. I wanted to see if they were going to be at all truthful. I wanted to know exactly why they were here because I didn't believe it was just to reconnect with me.

"You seem tense." Damon glanced at me and then back to the road. He placed his hand on my thigh. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just nervous about all of this I guess." I confessed. "Maybe even a little stressed out about it."

We came to a stoplight and his eyes looked into mine. "Don't be. You have no one to impress, they do. You have the upper hand here."

I nodded in response. "You're right."

"Plus, I'm there to have your back." He squeezed my thigh gently as a way to give me some reassurance.

He continued driving until we reached our destination. He let the valet park the car and we headed inside. Damon held my hand tightly the entire time. We approached the hostess who gave us both a smile. "Hello, how are we tonight?" The young woman asked.

"Good. I'm here to join the Bushemp party." I responded.

"Right this way." She smiled once more and led us to the table that sat my uncle and grandmother.

My grandmother had a grin on her face that quickly faded when they saw Damon coming their way with me. The color seemed to drain from both her and my uncle's faces momentarily. They really didn't expect him to be here with me. Seeing how his presence affected them made my anxiety disappear. As long as he was here there would be no trouble.

"Here you are." The hostess smiled.

"Thank you." Damon spoke and the woman headed back to her spot.

Damon pulled my chair out to let me sit and then sat right next to me. It took a moment but the two people in front of us finally collected themselves. My grandmother, Meredith was the first one to speak.

"Damon, we didn't expect that you would be joining us tonight." She tried to play it off as if she had been pleasantly surprised.

"You didn't expect me to come to dinner with my wife? Especially under these circumstances?" His face was stone cold and held no expression.

"I just thought you were a busy man. It's a pleasure to have you join us." Meredith smiled.

"I'm sure it is a pleasure for you both to be here with my wife and I. I'm surprised you picked somewhere so nice Meredith. Are you sure you can afford this? If not it would be no trouble to spot you a twenty." His words were unwelcoming as he took a jab at them for their acts towards Tipton Enterprises.

"I can assure you we have no trouble paying our bill." The smile had disappeared from Meredith's face and her tone wasn't as sweet.

The waiter came up before anyone else could say anything. The tension was there as we ordered, it felt thick and heavy. The poor waiter probably felt it too. He grabbed our orders quickly and hurried away to go place them. We were left in a thick silence.

"So, did you really now know about me?" I asked, trying to start the process of getting my answers.

The stern look that was on Meredith's face faded as she seemed to fake being a concerned grandmother. "We didn't honey. If we would have, I promise we would've been here long before now."

"How did you figure out my existence then?" I wanted to know how they found me.

"Well, you got engaged and married to one of the most well known men. Seeing your photos you have a resemblance to your father. So we got curious and looked into your background, then when we found out the details of the name change and what happened to Sam." She answered.

"Did you even look before then?" I questioned.

"Well no." Meredith bit her lip. "After your father left with your mother his trail ran cold. I didn't even know where to begin to look for him. I figured after so long he really didn't want to see us so I left it at that. I was unaware that we had lost him completely. I'm so sorry he passed when you were so young."

Damon let out a small chuckle which caught us all off guard. I looked at him curiously as I waited for him to explain what was so damn funny right now. "Meredith, really?" He asked.

"Really what?" She scoffed, she was clearly annoyed he had interrupted the conversation.

"I remembered something from our first meeting." He answered.

Meredith looked puzzled at his words. "What are you talking about?"

I studied her face as Damon stared her down. She seemed to be getting nervous. She knew something. He clearly knew it too but didn't say anything before. Alastair shifted in his chair uncomfortably. What did they all know that I didn't?

Do you really want to start a relationship with your granddaughter on your lies?" His face was cold as he looked at her. "I suggest maybe you should tell Kaydence the truth now."