Find Out For Sure

(Damon's POV)

"Mr. Tipton, Mr. Moore has arrived." Stacey announced over the phone.

"Let him in." I hung up and waited for him to come inside.

I asked him to come here. After Meredith and the rest of the Bushemp family had been dealt with I spent the last few weeks working on my end of the bargain I had made. I had the four potential men come to my office and I got their DNA. Justin would walk out of this office today knowing who he had come from.

The door to my office opened and Justin quickly approached. "You said this was important. What's going on?" He asked as he took a seat across from me.

"I have some information for you. Nothing bad I think, of course that's up to you to decide." I answered.

"Well, let's get on with it." He started to get a little eager as he realized the matter he had been called here for.

"Not so fast." I spoke in a serious tone. "I want to talk to you for a moment before we get into all of this."

Justin nodded in response. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"You witnessed some dark things in that room." I referred to how he had watched me deal with Alastair and Zachariah. "I just want to see how you're holding up with it. I know you were in treatment before this and I want to make sure I didn't set you back any."

Justin thought for a moment and then finally began to talk. "I'm fine. None of what I saw has had any negative impact. I still feel a hell of a lot better compared to when you fired me."

I let out a small chuckle at the memory. It had been so satisfying at the time to fire him in front of so many people. Had I known it would result in Kaydence being pretty much kidnapped I probably would've done it differently though. That was poor judgement on my part.

My relationship with Justin had always been complicated. The five year age gap we had definitely made things interesting. Instead of uncle and nephew we probably acted more like brothers who had a rivalry. We probably could've had a decent relationship but Ava had raised a spoiled brat and I was resentful that my father took it easy on him while I was put through so much shit just so I could become the head of the company one day.

Justin had changed though during this time. He had multiple opportunities to stab me in the back but he didn't. The man I looked upon right now wasn't the same man from almost two years ago. He still wouldn't be allowed to stay here though. I wasn't stupid, just because he seemed like a decent person now doesn't mean he wouldn't revert back to his old ways.

"Well good." I finally responded to him. "I'd hate for you to start being a prick again because of me."

"Funny." Justin scoffed. "I'm fine though. Let's get on to this and then I can work on getting out of your hair for good."

"So you're not even going to try to convince me to let you stay?" I raised a brow. I did expect some protest but it would seem he had pleasantly surprised me.

"No." He shook his head. "We had a deal. I help you, you help me and then I'm gone. Remember though, you said you would stop black balling me on jobs." He reminded me.

"I'm well aware. I'm a man of my word after all." I didn't forget that I promised as well to let him get on with life. I had been interfering with him getting jobs for far too long at this point.

"Good." He straightened up in the chair as his eyes looked at the file on my desk. "So this is really it then?"

"Yes." I slid it over the desk so he could look for himself. Funny enough a few weeks ago we were in a similar situation but it was he who had brought me information.

Justin opened the file and looked at the information inside. I had taken a peak for myself. I wanted to make sure everything had been accurate and I was curious. I also needed to know right away in case the one who had fathered him realized they were being looked into for a bastard son.

A man by the name of Jacob Stiles turned out to be his real father. Jacob and I had done business together a few times. Nothing too big, just little contracts. He was however Robert's best friend in school. Hell he was even Robert's best man at his wedding with Ava. I wasn't surprised my sister would sink that low.

She only went with Robert because his family was more well off. Jacob's father's company had been in some trouble around the time she got pregnant. They were on the verge of losing it all and god forbid Ava not be able to live a life of luxury. His father's company had recovered but she had convinced Robert that Justin was his and was comfortable enough to leave it that way.

"Wow." Justin spoke as he looked over the test results and everything else I had gathered.

"Your mother was quite the mastermind." I had to give her credit, Ava was far from stupid. If only she had put that brain power into something productive maybe she wouldn't be locked up in a mental institution.

"What do you mean?" Justin's tone was curious as he asked.

"Jacob and your father have remained good friends since school, she was able to have your real father around you and only she knew it." I answered. "She had to have been well aware of how fucked up it was."

"Does he know about me?" Justin questioned. "Do you know if he's known this entire time?"

"I don't know the answer to that. With the money being deposited into an account I'm going to say the odds are he did." I was honest. But I wasn't about to go ask Jacob to his face if he knew it was his child Ava had carried. "We can find out for sure."

"How?" Justin closed the file and passed it back over.

"I'll call him over for a meeting. Just like I did when I got the sample from him. Then I can have you here and we can ask him." I had already thought this through. "He'll have no choice but to tell the truth, especially with the evidence right in front of him."

Justin and I talked a little more before I had to get back to work. I couldn't waste anymore time on personal matters. The Bushemp's had taken up too much of my time and I couldn't make my Vice President take on anymore. It was time to get focused back onto the company all the way.

Justin turned to look at me before exiting the office. "Imagine if we had worked this well together from the start."

I let out a chuckle. "We could've definitely been a force to be reckoned with."