When We Get Back

I looked over the most recent sketches I made of the dress. I decided to tweak a few things and once it was to my liking I would begin my focus on getting it made. The dress I had drawn up would hug my body tightly and then flare out at the bottom like a mermaid style gown. I also planned for it to be strapless and an ivory color.

"How's it going?" Julie asked as she brought me in a coffee she picked up.

"Good." I responded as I looked up at her and took the drink from her hand.

"So did you guys set a date yet?" Julie took a seat across from me at my desk.

"Not yet." I answered. "What we're doing to make it kind of easier is we're getting things prepared, everything that doesn't need a date anyway. Once it's all done then we'll sit down and make a decision."

"Don't you need a date for a venue though?" She looked at me curiously.

"Jules, he's Damon Tipton." I reminded her. "Either we'll get married at a property he owns or I'm sure wherever we decide will figure out a way to accommodate us."

"That's true I guess." She nodded.

"How are things with you and Cody?" I asked as I changed the subject.

She was hesitant at first but then answered. "We're good"

I raised a brow. "You had to think about it, what's going on?"

She let out a sigh. "We've gotten serious and all, but I don't know if marriage is in the cards for us. With how he runs off and has to help Damon out it just seems impossible for him to have a life of his own sometimes."

I listened carefully as she vented. I understood where she was coming from. Cody was very loyal to Damon and refused to take time off after this shooting had happened. I learned from Julie Cody had felt guilty because the one day he took off was the day something happened to Damon.

Sometimes I think Damon forgot his staff had their own lives. There were times when if something last minute came up and Cody wasn't around he would call him in. It didn't matter what he was doing either, Cody would come as directed. Julie had vented about this a couple times before as well.

"I'll talk to Damon." I responded. It was the only actual thing I could do to help fix the situation.

"You don't have to do that." She seemed a little nervous at the idea. "I don't want to cause any problems."

"I understand that Julie. But there are many members of the security team. There has to be one person who is capable of coming in and splitting the workload with Cody." I was trying to reassure her that this was no big deal.

She nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem." I smiled.

Julie and I sat in the backroom for a while going over more wedding stuff. I showed her the centerpieces I had decided on. They were a small fish bowl that had some white sand on the bottom, then a layer of light blue pebbles and a purple candle that would light up. I then moved on to showing her the designs for the dress I had decided on for her to wear. It was a dark purple strapless dress that went to the floor.

Eventually the hours passed by and it was time to get home. I packed up my things and exited Amethyst. I drove my way home and it appeared that Damon had already beat me here. I parked next to his car in the garage and got out to head inside.

I walked in the door and Sterling rushed up to greet me. "Mommy you're home!" He exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Hello to you too." I smiled as I hugged him back.

Sterling let go and then grabbed my hand. "Come here!"

He pulled me into the living room where Damon was sitting on the floor with Scarlett. He was helping her work on sitting on her own. She smiled as he talked softly to her. He was such a damn good father to these children.

"Daddy, show mommy!" Sterling spoke excitedly.

Damon let out a small chuckle. "Okay."

He helped get Scarlett into a good position and then moved his hands away. Not too far but away enough to show she was supporting herself without falling over. She lasted a good couple minutes before she started to lean a little too much to her right. Damon caught her and I watched her smile.

I came over and sat next to him on the floor. "She's growing so fast."

"I know. It's almost time for another one." He smirked.

"Excuse you?" I scoffed. "Not right now sir! This is a conversation to have later on."

Damon chuckled at my response. "I'm only kidding Love."

"You better be." I glared at him.

He planted a kiss on my cheek. "I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Perfect, I have something I need to talk to you about as well." I promised Julie I would talk to him and I figured the sooner the better.

"You go first." Damon spoke as he positioned Scarlett to sit again.

"I think you should look into promoting someone in the security team to do what Cody does for you. Still keep him over them all but he needs someone to share the work you give him with." I got straight to the point.

"Why?" Damon glanced at me curiously and then looked back at Scarlett.

"He has a life too Damon. I'm doing all this wedding planning and I feel like I'm kind of throwing it in Julie's face. She doesn't think they'll ever get their chance because he's always working." I explained.

Damon thought for a moment. "Fine. I'll work on finding someone within the team but it is going to take a little time to figure out who I can trust on the same level as Cody. I'll get to work on it though when we get back."

"When we get back?" I was confused by his words. "Where are you going?"

"It's not just me. It's you and me." He responded.

"Okay, that still doesn't help clear anything up. Where are we going?" I patiently waited for him to answer.

"We are going to Atlanta. The space has been bought for the second store and I need you to come and look it over. I need you to decide if you like the space as is or what kind of changes are needed to be made." He finally explained.

"When do we leave?" I asked.

He looked back at me. "Tomorrow afternoon."