Binding Agreement- Book 1 of the Tipton Dynasty

He Doesn't Seem To Do Things Without Reason

I had barely heard from Damon over the next two days. He was spending all his time at the office and trying to get to the bottom of the situation with Martin. All I knew is he seemed to be taking steps back from his progress every time he tried to get Martin to tell him what was going on. He also didn't want to pressure Martin too much to cause another heart attack.

Justin had apparently seemed a little more relaxed in the office from what Damon said. That was enough to confirm he had to have something to do with this. Damon said whenever he approached Justin on the subject Justin would play stupid. He was under Martin's observation so it wasn't like he could scare Justin into telling the truth again.

I couldn't be much help in this situation unfortunately. I kept myself busy in my work because Damon kept telling me not to get myself stressed out over this. He was confident he would have it handled in a few days.

"What ya doing boss?" Julie came into the work room.

I was working on a few sketches for a spring line. It was months away but it never hurt to be prepared in advance. "Not a whole lot. What's up?" I asked as I looked up from my drawings.

"Why don't you come out here and socialize a little bit. Being cooped up in this back room all the time can't be that great for you." Julie suggested.

I looked up at the clock and noticed I had been in here for at least three hours. I was reluctant to step away from my work but she was probably right. While I wanted to make sure this store was nothing but successful I needed to also take a moment for myself.

"Okay." I agreed as I headed into her direction.

"Yay!" she seemed surprised I was willing to step away.

I followed her out of the room and to the front desk. She was just my assistant but she helped me when it came to watching over the store while I worked on new designs and one of a kinds. It helped that the staff were an amazing team and they all worked together so well. I didn't have to worry about much with them and it made it easy to manage and focus on what I needed to.

"So any more information on Justin and Victoria?" Julie asked. She had been there to witness the bruise on Victoria when I noticed it and she was curious.

"No, I haven't even bothered to look into that. For all I know it could be another plan they have at this point." I rolled my eyes.

I wouldn't be surprised if it had been a plot by them. If I thought Victoria was being hurt by Justin she would obviously get some sort of sympathy from me. That could be what they wanted though. If I was sympathetic to her then my guard was down and it would be easy to use that to their advantage.

"True. Any word from Damon yet?" she knew a little bit of the situation but not all the details.

"Not today. We'll see though." I responded.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Julie suggested. "You look like you could use some fresh air."

"Sure." I nodded. "We'll be back in a couple minutes." I informed the four women of my staff.

"Okay." They all nodded.

I walked out of the front of the store with Julie and we walked along the sidewalk. I took a deep breath of the fresh air. This whole situation with Damon did have an effect on my anxiety. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach and I knew it wasn't going away until this was over.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Julie asked.

"Yeah." I answered.

"That look you had your first night at the spot is the same one you have right now." She glanced at me. "You're worried about something."

Julie's my best friend and she could read me like a book at this point. We had spent so much time together that I knew I couldn't hide anything from her. "What if Justin's really done something this time to help him win? In all the time I've known Martin he's been all about reconciling with Damon. Now it's like they're at square one and not by Damon's choice."

She chuckled slightly. "I wouldn't begin to start doubting your knight in shining armor now Kay. If he thinks he can get this taken care of then I'm sure he has a plan."

"Well if he does I wish he would clue me in." My tone was flat and it didn't hold much hope.

"He doesn't seem to do things without reason. If he's up to something and you don't know about it he probably has done it on purpose." Julie was trying to reassure me.

I let out a slow sigh. "Yeah we'll see."

"On a lighter topic, guess who I've been talking to." She sang lowly.

"Who?" I smirked.

"Cody." She blushed.

"What?" I pretended to be shocked. "Like actually talking?"

"Yes. We're actually talking about going on a date once this whole thing with Damon has been resolved and he has more free time." She smiled.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck on that." I returned with a small smile of my own.

We turned around and headed back to the store. We didn't want to be gone too long in case the girls needed something. I also needed to get back to working on my designs for the spring line. The sooner I got them turned in the sooner I could have the prototypes done.

The store was still in the shape we had left it in when we went for the walk. We had a few customers walking around browsing but nothing too crazy. "I'll be in the back, let me know if you need me." I told Julie before walking into the room and shutting the door.

I sat back down at the desk and sketched on the paper some more. I kept going to help busy myself. I was about halfway done with a new design when I abruptly stopped. I felt my stomach feel weird and nauseous. A migraine seemed to come out of nowhere and hit my like a ton of bricks.

I could feel myself getting dizzy and lightheaded as I stood up. This couldn't be from food poisoning any longer. I supported myself against a wall as I reached for the door of the back room. It was time I cave in to getting checked out. I couldn't go on my own in this condition though. I needed to have Julie come with me.

I opened the door and stumbled to the counter where the register sat. Julie looked me over and I could see her eyes grow wide with concern. "You look like shit, are you okay?"

"I-I need. I need to-" before I could finish I felt myself begin to fall backwards.

"Kaydence!" Julie screeched. It was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.