Chapter 463 Reluctant to See Her Hurt
Emma's face went pale. "Where's Maximilian? I saw you both get out of the car together!"
Lucas didn't look too thrilled either, especially with Katniss's cold reception.
But he quickly pulled himself together and replied, "I'm here to see you."
Katniss turned to Emma and said, "Ms. Kate, if you're not here to see me and don't believe me, you can wait downstairs. Maybe you'll see Maximilian by the time you start work tomorrow morning."
Emma frowned, ready to argue, but Katniss cut her off again, "Ms. Kate, I need to talk to this gentleman. Could you step outside?"
"What do you mean by that?" Emma snapped, her temper flaring. "Are you trying to kick me out?"
Feeling defiant, she plopped down on a chair by the conference table.
Katniss, seeing Emma wasn't budging, said, "Ms. Kate, if you like this conference room so much, then stay here. Lucas, let's talk next door."
Lucas, who had said he was here to see Katniss, had kept quiet, partly to avoid offending Emma and partly out of surprise at Katniss's bluntness.
He hadn't expected Katniss to be so direct with Emma.
Katniss didn't care what Lucas was thinking.
She found him annoying and, after suggesting they move to another room, walked out.
Conrad and the bodyguard immediately followed.
The bodyguard relayed a message to another person, who then went to inform Maximilian.
Lucas waited until Katniss left the conference room before saying to Emma, "Ms. Kate, I need to go discuss some matters."
He hadn't meant to bring Emma up, but she had used his name to get in, so he felt he owed her a favor.
He thought that after his talk with Katniss, he might find a chance to ask Emma what she wanted with Clara.
Emma glared at him, not responding.
Lucas felt puzzled by her glare, and his initial curiosity faded.
Meanwhile, Maximilian had just learned from Chris that Emma had followed Lucas upstairs.
"Emma insisted on coming up with Lucas, and Lucas kept saying they were both here to see Katniss. But Emma's people are all downstairs; she didn't let them come up."
Chris was exasperated. Emma had pulled this stunt at their building before.
Maximilian said, "It's fine. Katniss can handle it."
Though he wanted to go out, he remembered how Katniss had dealt with Emma before, and, seeing she had two people with her, he suppressed his worry.
Chris, seeing Maximilian's confidence, relaxed and brought a stack of documents to him. "Let's get to work."
"Still haven't found the right person?" Maximilian asked as he started looking through the papers.
Chris shook his head. "No luck yet, but we're still hiring. We've had a few interviews, but none were suitable."
He had hoped to promote someone from within, but no one fit the bill, so they had to keep looking.
"Alright," Maximilian nodded.
Chris, noticing Maximilian's calm demeanor, asked, "Do you have to leave?"
Starhaven was thriving, and if Maximilian stayed, they could advance even further.
Maximilian nodded lightly. "Yeah, I do."
"Is it because of your illness?" Chris couldn't help but ask.
He recalled that when Katniss had gone to the Amber District for a test, Maximilian's condition had noticeably worsened, and he had even found injuries on him.
Chris had only heard about Maximilian's illness from Patrick once.
But after hearing that Katniss had mostly cured him, he hadn't thought much of it.
So, he was surprised to see Maximilian deteriorate so quickly after just two days without Katniss, even showing signs of self-harm.
They had been busy, and Maximilian shouldn't have had much time to dwell on things, yet he had still hurt himself.
If he were away from Katniss for longer, his condition might worsen significantly.
Maximilian paused, understanding Chris's concern.
After a moment, he said, "Partly, but mainly because I can't bear to be without her."
He wasn't afraid of his illness, and his chances of relapsing were low, so he rarely got hurt now.
But he didn't want Katniss to worry or feel hurt knowing his condition might worsen without her.
He couldn't bear to be without her or to see her in pain.
Chris nodded in agreement. "Then don't leave her."
Maximilian looked at Chris, puzzled, unaware that Chris had already made up his mind.
But Chris didn't press further about his illness, and Maximilian felt relieved.
In the other conference room, Katniss sat down and gestured for Lucas to sit across from her.
Conrad and the bodyguard stood behind Katniss, motionless like statues.
Lucas glanced at them before speaking. "Katniss, could you ask them to..."
"What do you want to talk about?" Katniss cut him off coldly. "Just get to the point and don't waste my time."
She had no patience left for Lucas.
Lucas's expression twisted momentarily, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.
"I'm here to ask if you know who pressured the police. They won't let me bail Dylan out."
Katniss had heard from Lucas earlier that Dylan couldn't be bailed out, and Lucas had accused her and Maximilian of being behind it.
She had hung up on him, telling him to use his brain to figure out who did it.
But she hadn't expected Lucas still hadn't figured it out.
"How should I know?" Katniss was exasperated.
Lucas came to her for this?
She didn't even feel like mocking him again.
Lucas, still doubtful, asked, "You don't know?"
"If you have nothing else to say, leave." Katniss stood up, ready to show him out.
Lucas quickly stood up to calm her down. "I was wrong to doubt you. I just don't know who won't let Dylan be bailed out. Could you help me find out?"
"Why should I help you?" Katniss found Lucas's request shameless.
Lucas, seemingly angered, slammed the table. "Katniss, I'm your brother! Dylan is your brother, too!"
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