"Mommy!" Sterling greeted me with a hug as I entered the mansion.
"Hey." I smiled.
"What took so long?" Damon asked with a concerned expression as he walked over to me.
"Um, can we talk about this in private?" I asked.
Damon nodded. "It's about time for Sterling to go to bed anyway. Rose!"
"But I don't want to go to bed, Mommy just got back home." Sterling pouted.
I ruffled his hair with my fingers. "Listen to your father Sterling. We can spend some time together tomorrow. I promise."
"Yes sir?" Rose asked as she emerged from the kitchen.
"Please take Sterling upstairs for bed." Damon ordered. "Kaydence and I will be up there in a little bit to tell him good night."
"Of course." Rose nodded and then looked at Sterling. "Come on."
"But I don't want to." Sterling crossed his arms over his chest and stomped his foot.
"Sterling, it's not up for debate." My tone was stern with him to let him know I meant business.
Sterling was still reluctant to go with Rose but he did. Damon and I both watched as he followed Rose up the stairs. I didn't want to talk if he was still in earshot or had the chance to eavesdrop. I wanted to be able to have this conversation with Damon alone to know his perspective.
Once we heard his bedroom door close Damon directed his attention back to me. "What's wrong?"
I sighed as I took a seat down on the couch. "I found out some things about my father today."
Damon still looked at me with concern as he sat beside me. "Things like what?"
"Apparently he was part of an upper class family in Texas that deals with business in Dallas." I answered.
"What's the name?" Damon looked at me curiously.
"Bushemp. My dad ran off with my mom here after they had a falling out. When they got married he updated the last name to Bush. Common enough that my grandmother wouldn't think about it but also close enough I could find them if I wanted to." I explained.
"That explains a lot actually." He responded.
"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.
He chuckled slightly. "I told you Love, I did my research on you. I could find details out about your mother's side but there was nothing about your father's family. He hid his tracks very well."
"Stalker." I accused him.
A devious smirk crossed his lips. "Only because I wanted you."
I could feel myself blush at his response. I tried to hide it as there was more to discuss. "Back on topic please."
"Okay." He nodded.
"Apparently the announcement of our relationship caught their attention and they discovered the relation with me. My dad's mom sent my uncle to come and track me down. Now that they have my mother worries that my grandmother will be here anytime." I explained further the information my mother had given.
"You said their last name is Bushemp?" He raised a brow.
"Yes." I nodded.
He thought for a moment before speaking further. "I know them. We've handled business together in the past. They've been trying to have us go half and half with them on branching out from Dallas for years. Their president is about my age, I assume he must be a cousin of your's then."
"You know them?" I needed more information. Maybe he had more details.
"Yes, but I don't like them." He responded with a slightly colder tone. "I've turned down their propositions over and over again. They get pissed off and then continue to try. They want to try to become as big as Tipton Enterprises but they can't do it themselves."
"Why don't you like them?" I asked.
"Because they lack morals like a certain someone we know. I'm not sure why, maybe it's the demeanor I have or the fact I was successful so young but people like to pitch unethical ideas to me. Then they get disappointed when I refuse to do business and take away any support they had from Tipton Enterprises." He answered. "I've made companies fall very quickly before because of their lack of morals. When we stopped doing business with your father's family, Bushemp Industries began to decline."
"I see." I nodded.
"I agree with your mother." He spoke as he thought once more. "You need to be careful with these people Love. Your uncle does anything he can to please his mother, I almost guarantee he didn't come here out of the kindness of his heart."
"Do you think they're up to something then?" It seemed that Damon had a better idea of who we were dealing with.
"I don't doubt it for a second. I bet when word got around about the engagement they saw the opportunity to try to get back into your life. If they're in your good graces then you'll be more inclined to try to get me to do business with them again." He seemed to put the pieces together quickly.
"You're probably right." Everything he said made sense.
"The thing is they probably think they're being sly about it. They're underestimating you, they don't think you'll figure it out." His eyes focused on mine. "You have to always be one step ahead when it comes to people. Especially with people like them."
I nodded in response.
"If they approach you again I want to know about it immediately. If they invite you somewhere and you decide you want to give it a shot then you better not go alone. Call me and we will go together." By his tone I could tell I had no real say in the matter.
"Do you not trust me to be able to handle things on my own?" I asked. I was more capable than he made me out to be.
"It's not that I don't trust you Love." He paused. "It's that it's harder for them to feed you lines of bullshit when I'm there. They think you know nothing about them, but they know I'm aware of how they really are."