You Know Him Better Than Anyone Else

"Victoria!" I called for her to enter the back room so she and I could talk.

She hurried in and sat down in front of me at my desk. "What's wrong?" She asked with a slight confused look on her face.

"I just received a phone call about you." I smirked.

"Okay?" The confusion on her face only grew.

"There's a company that is looking for a model for a new product. They saw your pictures for Amethyst and they wanted to know if you were available." I finally told her the information I had.

"But don't you need me here?" She questioned. "I may have modeled the clothes on the site but my main job is still to help out here."

"To be honest since becoming the face online you haven't done much around the store. There's been too many shoots with all the new items that are going to be coming out. I think modeling would suit you better anyway so why not?" I smiled.

"Thank you Kaydence." A smile of her own crossed her lips. "What do I need to do?"

"They have to go through Damon so we can make sure everything is legit but all the details are being worked on. They'll give you a call and let you know when to come in." I answered.

"Awesome." I could tell she was excited. "Is there anything else?"

"No." I nodded. "You can go back to work now."

She stood up and headed for the door. Before opening it she abruptly stopped and turned around to face me again. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you actually. I just haven't had the chance because you've been so busy." Her smile was gone as she looked at me seriously.

"What is it?" A concerned look had taken over my face.

"Justin left Nashville right?" She asked.

"Yes. Martin sent him back to where he was once his treatment had finished up." I answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I thought I may have seen him." I could tell she was beginning to get a little anxious. "It was just one time in town and I didn't get a good look. I caught a glimpse of him, or whoever it was and then I ran."

She fully had my attention. "Just once? Is there anything specific on why you thought it could be him?"

"No. It really could've just been my mind playing tricks on me maybe." She sighed.

"Let me know if you think you see him again." I instructed. "If he is here still then we need to be on top of it. I'll have Damon see if he can confirm Justin's whereabouts. If he's still here I trust that Damon will have it handled immediately."

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll let you know."

Victoria left the back room and Julie entered right after. She noticed the change in Victoria's demeanor when she had walked past her. She had a puzzled look on her face as she sat down in front of me. I could tell she was itching to know what was said. Finally she asked "What was that all about?"

"I guess she thought she saw Justin around." I answered.

"Oh." Julie responded. "Well has she?"

"She thought she did but she's not sure. Let's be honest with brown hair and brown eyes, that's pretty common I think." I spoke as I pulled up a screen on the computer to look at an order that had come in.

"Okay, but not everyone with that has a missing hand." Julie reminded me of the one thing that would make Justin stick out.

I looked up from the computer and over to Julie. "That's right. Either way though I'm going to have Damon look into it. Just because Justin behaved on Martin's watch doesn't mean he didn't get any ideas."

"Speaking of your knight and shining armor, he's why I'm in here actually." Julie responded.

"What does he want me to do?" I asked.

"He said to tell you he got off early and you're supposed to leave here at four. Not any earlier and not any later. He has a surprise planned for you." She smirked.

"A surprise? This should be interesting." My tone was unintentionally flat.

"You okay?" Julie observed me. "I thought you'd be really excited about this."

"I am." I sighed. "I just don't know how to explain it right now."

"Try." Julie crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back. This was her way of making it clear she wouldn't budge until she knew the details. "I've been around long enough to know when something is on your mind, so spill. I have all day."

"Well I apparently have only til four." I smirked as I tried to joke with her.

She nodded. "Well, I have until four then. So talk."

"It's Damon." I confessed.

"What about him?" She was still clearly determined for me to go into details.

"I don't know is what the problem is." A sigh of frustration escaped my lips. "He goes from seeming fine to being distant and a little irritable like he had been before he seeked treatment."

"Do you think he's being set back or do you think it's just off days?" She asked.

"I don't know." My frustration began to come out in my voice. "When I ask him he says he's fine and that it's just an off day. I don't want to bug him too much because he is allowed to have bad days, we all do. But I feel like there's more he's not being open about something again."

"Do you want to know what I think?" She was being polite and asking before she went away and gave her opinion.

"Sure." I was a little nervous. Julie didn't really hold back when it came to delivering the truth to someone. She was very blunt but that was one reason why I loved her.

"I think you already know the answer but you're waiting for confirmation from him." She spoke honestly. "Without his confirmation you're doubting yourself and part of you would rather be wrong than right."

I nodded. "I can't say that you're wrong there."

"I know. But Kaydence you're the only one who has ever been this close to the man, you know him better than anyone else." She was right. No one else had really been let into Damon's life like I had been. "You know how he truly is and how he handles things. If your gut is telling you something else is going on I think you should listen to it. Try to get to the bottom of it."