Binding Agreement- Book 1 of the Tipton Dynasty

It's Important That I Teach Him

Sterling and I spent a couple hours at the orphanage before returning home. Damon was still working on some things at Tipton Enterprises and had yet to come home. Usually Saturdays he was home before dinner, but not today. Rose was keeping everything warm as we waited for him to get back.

I relaxed on the couch while Sterling was up in his room. I heard the pitter patter of footsteps come from the kitchen. "Are you sure you don't want to go ahead and eat Kaydence? I don't want Mr. Tipton upset because you haven't yet."

'"I'm sure." I sat up as I answered her. "Besides it's my choice to wait. The only person he can get upset with on the issue is me."

It was as if he knew he was being spoken about. The door that led to the garage opened and Damon came inside. I could tell by looking at him something had irritated him today. He didn't say anything as he went directly for the stairs.

"Rose, if you'd like to get everything prepped we'll be ready to eat in a moment." I spoke as I got up from the couch and followed behind Damon.

I followed him directly to the bedroom where he shut the door. He let out a frustrated sigh as he sat down on the bed. I took a seat next to him and he wrapped his arm around me to pull me as close as he could. He placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Rough day?" I asked to try to find out what was bugging him.

"Something like that." he answered.

"Would you like to discuss it?" I looked him over with concern in my eyes.

"Not right now. I've kept you and Sterling waiting long enough for dinner. Let's eat and then we can talk late." He suggested as he stood up from the bed.

"Okay." I nodded.

We exited the bedroom where Sterling had met us in the hall. "I heard your door so I thought daddy had come home. Are we ready to eat now?"

"Yes." I answered. "Go meet us down stairs."

"Okay!" Sterling answered before scurrying off.

"How was the orphanage?" Damon asked as we walked together down the stairs.

"It was good." I smiled. "Sterling got a present from his friend there."

"What did he get?" There was a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"His friend Isabelle gave him a bracelet she made that matches hers. He was very excited about it and has informed me it will never be coming off of him." I explained.

"Well, that's nice." Damon spoke as we finished the descent down the steps.

We walked to the dining room where Sterling was seated next to Damon. Damon and I took our seats across from each other. Rose brought in the meal and we began to eat.

"How was work daddy?" Sterling asked as he took a bite of the steak that had been prepared.

"It was alright." Damon responded in a dry tone.

"That doesn't sound very good." Sterling spoke as he had picked up on the tone Damon had in his voice.

Damon paused and turned himself to look at Sterling. "There were just some frustrating things that happened today son."

"Like what?" Sterling looked at him curiously as he tried to be nosey.

"Business that's not for little kids." Damon answered. "What happened is between adults. On to something better, how was the orphanage Sterling?"

"It was good. I played with Isabelle a lot." I could see Sterling start to blush a little.

Damon looked the boy over as he was clearly thinking something. He leaned over and whispered something in Sterling's ear. Sterling nodded his head yes in response to something. Damon whispered in his ear once more, Sterling nodded again as he listened intently. Once Damon finished his obvious private conversation he went back to eating.

As we finished the meal we talked here and there. Just going through aspects of our day and week that we wanted to share with each other. Life was so busy for us sometimes but we always made it a point to eat dinner together. The only times we didn't eat with all of us here is when Damon had something important that he had to stay late for but that wasn't as frequent thanks to his helpful vice president.

Rose came to clear the plates once we were all done. Damon directed Sterling to go play in his room until bedtime. Sterling didn't protest as he was more than happy to go play a while longer. Damon then stood up from the table.

"Come on." he spoke as he began to head for the hallway.

I followed behind as we walked to his study. He shut the door once I was inside. We had important conversations here since Sterling moved in. Damon made it clear if we were in here and the door was shut Sterling needed to get Rose or Cody if he needed something.

"What were you whispering to Sterling in the dining room?" I asked as I sat down.

Damon sat in the chair on the other side of the desk before answering. "As my son he's going to inherit the company and people are going to know who he is. It's important that I teach him to go for the woman he wants, not to go for the woman he can have just because of who he is. I was just making sure that he knew if he wanted this Isabelle to be in his future it's not too early to take care of her now."

"I see." I nodded.

"Now, we need to talk about a couple things. I'll start with the more minor of the two things and then we'll move on to the actual issue currently." He spoke and then proceeded to look me up and down. "You're going to be twenty-nine weeks pregnant, which means she'll be here soon. I want you to spend the next month and a half getting the line and store ready for your leave. I don't want you working past thirty-six weeks."

"Why thirty-six?" I asked.

"Because after the thirty-six week mark she's considered full term and can come at any point. Besides newborns are rough I've heard, it's important to get all the rest you can. It's going to be a lot different than having Sterling here. Scarlett can't do anything for herself at first." he explained his reasoning. "I'll make sure Amethyst runs smoothly."

I thought about his request for a moment. "Fair. Just let me know weekly how the store is please."

My response left a smirk on his lips. "What a good owner you are." The smirk then disappeared. "Now onto the other matter. After arguing with my father, he's extended Justin's stay for another week." It was now clear why he was so annoyed coming home.

"What? Why?" I knew there was a puzzled expression on my face.

I could tell he was not pleased. "He wants to see if Justin's changed at all apparently."