"Yes, you have to ignore him." He didn't know what he was going to do, but Kenneth couldn't be linked with whatever it was that he would ultimate do. "And good." Stamford started to chuckle. "You know that I will be telling your family what to do, which I don't see that as a problem, except when it comes to you. We'll have to learn to separate this friendship thing you like and everything else, and when I say we, I mean you."
Stamford reached over and smoothed Kenneth's lip with his finger. "Stop that. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have brought all of this up with your father. In fact, I would have with anyone but you, not to hurt them, but because I like for things to be out in the open with the candidates. I'm- I'm going against my own rules by keeping this from your father." He took a deep breath, and put his container away, this discussion making him even less hungry than before. "We should have stayed away from each other. It would have made things so much simpler."