Binding Agreement- Book 1 of the Tipton Dynasty

You Are Nothing But Strangers

Damon drove me to the store after we had gotten ourselves something to eat. I didn't ask anymore questions about his phone call. He made it clear he wouldn't have told me what he's done to Ava anyway. It was probably for the best and I knew that. But I couldn't help but feel slightly curious about the whole thing.

I finished stitching the last little details I had for the dress I was working on. A customer had come in to request a one of a kind gown for an event that she would be attending. The material was silk and a bright purple. It was strapless and there was a slit at the bottom that went all the way up to the upper thigh.

"Kaydence." Julie spoke through the door.

"What is it? I'm kind of busy." I responded.

She opened the door and peeked her head in. "I know. I'm sorry for bugging you but that guy's back to see you and he has someone with him."

I froze for a moment. I knew she was talking about my uncle who had come into the store weeks ago. After hearing nothing from him more I was hoping that maybe they decided against bugging me. Clearly I wasn't as lucky as I thought.

I took in a deep breath and let it out. "Here we go. Might as well get this shit show started." I mumbled to myself.

I headed for the door and Julie moved out of my way. As I made my way to the counter his eyes met mine. There was a lady standing beside him. She was older, probably even a little older than Martin. She was dressed nicely in a pink blazer and a skirt to match. Her silver hair was pulled up tightly into a bun. A smile grew across her lips as she looked me over.

"Is it really you?" The woman asked. "I can see some of your father's features. Oh goodness."
"Hello." I greeted the woman I assumed must be my grandmother. "How can I help you?"

"It's nice to see you again." Alastair, the man who introduced himself as my uncle spoke. "Kaydence, this is your grandmother Meredith."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." It really wasn't. I was just being polite to them. "Is there something I could help you both with?"

"Kaydence, I was hoping that maybe we could take you out to lunch where we could talk?" Meredith spoke with a smile.

Part of me wanted to jump on the offer. I wanted to get to the bottom of this whole thing. But I promised Damon that I wouldn't do that. I wasn't about to defy him on this, he clearly didn't want me alone with these people for a reason. He knew them better than I did.

"I'm sorry, I don't really have the time to go to lunch right now. I honestly don't feel comfortable about going either." I answered.

The smile on Meredith's face fell. "We're family Kaydence, you can trust us."

My gut told me I couldn't trust them one bit. "You may be my father's mother but we've never met and I haven't heard of you until recently. I'm sorry if it seems rude but to me the both of you are nothing but strangers."

They both nodded in response to my words. They seemed to come in here and think I would jump for joy to see them. This clearly didn't go as they had planned it, but that was their problem not mine. I had my own family to protect and from all the things I've heard these two should be viewed as a threat.

"Kaydence, please let us have the chance to explain our side of things." Alastair began to plead with me.

"At least agree to come to lunch with us." Meredith spoke up once more. "It'll be in a public place, you won't have to worry about anything and we can get to know each other."

"I'm sorry, but I can't come to lunch today." I really was busy right now. The dress I was finishing needed to be done by tomorrow.

"How about tomorrow then? Or the next day? Our schedule is really flexible." Meredith responded.

My curiosity was beginning to get to me. I wanted to know what was so important that they came all this way and practically begged for me to meet with them. Damon said if I wanted to do something like this I could. I just had to have him with me.

"How about we do dinner tomorrow night?" I suggested. At first I wanted to mention Damon coming but I decided against it. If they were going to ambush me at the store then I was going to ambush them right back.

"That would be wonderful." Meredith smiled in delight.

I took out a paper and wrote down the number for the phone Julie had been provided when she took on the assistant job. Damon didn't want either of us using our personal numbers. It was much safer having a device dedicated to just business, and it was less annoying as well.

I slid the paper over the counter. "This is the number for my assistant, set up a reservation then call and give her the details."

Meredith nodded. "Absolutely. Have a wonderful day." She still had a smile on her face when they left the store.

"So that's your grandma then huh?" Julie asked once they were gone.

"Apparently." I answered and headed for the backroom. "I need to finish this dress up. Let me know if anyone else needs anything."

"Okay." Julie responded.

I shut the door behind me and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I brought up Damon's number and placed my call to him. I needed to let him know that they came to the store to speak with me. I also needed to let him know we were apparently joining them for dinner tomorrow. It took a few rings but he answered quickly.

"Hello Love." He greeted in a pleasant tone.

"Hey." I responded.

"What's up?" He asked.

"My father's mother and brother came into the store. They just left actually." I got right to the point.

"What did they want?" His tone was now more serious.

"They were begging me to go to lunch with them but I refused." I reported back. "I did however agree to meet them for dinner tomorrow. They'll be giving the details to Julie." I bit my lip from being slightly nervous on how he would respond.

"And did you let them know I would be joining?" He asked.

"No." I answered. "I figured it was best to keep that between us."

"Good. Let's keep it that way." He spoke with a slight coldness to his tone.