Bound To Fall

On My Terms

Sterling

Isabelle entered my office and I could tell she was slightly nervous. I furrowed my brows as I studied her to see if I could tell what was wrong. I noticed she took a deep breath in and let it out before stepping closer to my desk.

"There was a call about a meeting." She informed me once she was in front of my desk.

"Okay." It still wasn't something to be nervous about. I deal with meetings all the time. "Izzy you've handled setting up meetings with me before, why are you so nervous?"

"It's not about setting it up." She responded. "It's about who requested it."

I could feel the dread build up in my stomach. That's all she really needed to say for me to understand the situation completely.

"Elise?" I asked softly just so I could clarify.

"Yeah." She nodded.

Elise had been too quiet since her stunt with the tabloid. I don't know what she had spent her time doing and I didn't care. Regardless it was inevitable for her to pop back up again. Killian had made it clear she was hell bent on either getting me back or getting even.

"What does she want to meet about?" I already knew the answer.

"Her assistant didn't say." Isabelle answered.

"Well tell her assistant I politely decline any meeting with that bitch." I sneered.

Isabelle shifted uncomfortably as she bit her bottom lip. There was a thought on her mind. Clearly a thought she seemed to feel the need to hold back.

"What is it?" I raised a brow.

"I think you should do it." Her words slightly surprised me.

"You think I should set up a meeting with my manipulative ex girlfriend? Am I hearing you correctly?" I questioned.

"Yes. You should do it." She seemed even more confident with her answer.

I let out an amused chuckle. "And why's that Sweetheart? So she can continue to threaten my family and I? I don't think so."

"Listen to me." Isabelle sighed. "I told you that the best way to get dirt on her was from her assistant right?"

She had made a valid point the night she brought it up. Elise's assistant went with her everywhere. The poor girl always looked so tired too. I can't say I blamed her, following Elise around daily had to be a tedious task.

My thought was to take an opportunity when she was out on her own to have Killian swoop in to help. He was a smooth talker and somehow could get girls to be like putty in his hands. After a few drinks and some flirting I was sure he'd be able to get something from her.

"Right." I was curious to see where exactly Isabelle would be going with this.

"Set up the meeting. She's more than likely going to want it to be one on one with no assistants in the room. Especially me." Isabelle continued on. "That'll leave her assistant alone with me. I can talk to her and get her comfortable. Then the moment I have a chance I can start trying to dig around for something on Elise."

I was silent as I thought about her idea. It wasn't bad, in fact it was probably better than the one I had. It would be easier to get Elise's assistant comfortable with someone in the same role. To her Isabelle would be relatable, someone who could understand exactly what she deals with on a daily basis.

"Give me some time to think about it. Okay?" While there were pros to the ideas I needed to take in the cons as well.

"Okay." Isabelle nodded. "I'll be outside once you have your decision made."

She exited the office to leave me alone in my thoughts. I stood up from my chair and began to pace back and forth. I stopped in front of the floor to ceiling window and looked out over the city.

While this was a good idea, it could also be dangerous. Elise could do the same thing and use her assistant to get information from Isabelle. Elise is the type to take one little thing and run with it. Anything that could result in blackmail towards me she most likely felt would give her an advantage.

I couldn't just sit here and standby. The longer it took for me to get anything on Elise the more chance she had to try to get ahead. I'd be stupid to take my time. That would be like sitting back and letting her think she was winning.

I needed to take my father's words of advice. I'm a Tipton, I need to act like one. I have my father's blood in my veins, I should be able to be just as ruthless as he is. So that brings the question, what would Damon Tipton do?

Well he wouldn't just sit back that's for damn sure. He'd set up that meeting and make Elise regret even asking for it. So that's what I needed to do. I couldn't let her think she had any type of hold on me.

I walked over to my desk and punched in the numbers to connect me with Isabelle. Seconds later her voice came through the speaker. "Yes Sterling?" She asked.

"I'd like to see you for a moment." I responded before ending the connection on the phone.

She came into my office right after. I could feel those mesmerizing grey eyes study me for a moment. "I take it you made a decision?"

"I did." I nodded.

"Okay. So what is it?" She asked as she stepped closer to me.

"Set up the meeting." I answered. "You're right. This gives us a perfect opportunity to start utilizing her assistant to our advantage. I have some conditions though."

"Which are?" She raised a brow.

"She could use her assistant to do the same thing we're doing. You need to be careful with what you say to her." Isabelle is smart, I trust that she'll have no problem making sure Elise doesn't get anything.

"Of course." She agreed. "I completely understand the situation."

"As for Elise, inform her assistant when you call back that I expect Elise to act civil or this meeting won't happen." I needed to make sure this meeting happened on my terms. " She only gets to have an hour of my time at the most. If she gets out of line in any way I will not hesitate and leave."

"Okay, I'll make your terms very clear." Isabelle nodded. "Is there a day or time in particular you would like it set up for?" "The sooner the better." I responded. "That way we can get this shit show done and over with."

**Author's Note**

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up. There will be a change in covers for both Bound To Fall and Binding Agreement. I've revealed them on my Instagram @lysmarieauthor if you want to check them out! The new covers will updated on Wednesday so make sure to be on the lookout!