Chapter 109 The Rules Are Set by You
Katniss hung back, watching Jessica with a sly grin.
Even though Jessica didn't turn around, she could feel Katniss's eyes on her, making her a bit tense.
But she still said, "Do I really gotta spell out every single way she messed up? You all know it."
High society's all about that big-shot vibe; Laura had dealt with plenty of tough customers who didn't say much but had a strong presence.
But Jessica was different; she brought that street vendor's feisty spirit to the max.
"We really don't know. We need more details so we can straighten out our staff." Laura's tone wasn't super tough, but it was definitely less respectful than when she talked to Bella.
Jessica noticed Laura wasn't taking her seriously, which ticked her off.
She bluntly brought up Bella, "Miss Astor's been sitting here forever without anyone helping her. Isn't that rude? Who is Miss Astor? How could she be ignored?"
She hyped up Bella, which made Katniss see just how shameless she could be.
Finally, she tossed the ball to Bella. "Miss Astor, am I right?"
She wanted to complain about Katniss to back up Bella, without Bella having to step in, but at least Bella could support her a bit, right?
But Bella wasn't as happy as she expected. Instead, she went pale, her eyes glued to the tall figure at the store entrance.
Tristan's face was dark, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a slowly burning cigarette.
A long ash had built up on the cigarette, and his deep eyes took in everything happening in the store, his expression unreadable.
"Mr. Forbes!" Laura felt a jolt of nerves seeing Tristan.
As the store manager, she should stay neutral when employees are being hassled. But Bella was someone Tristan liked. Whether Tristan would handle this fairly was anyone's guess.
Hearing Laura's shout, Katniss was stunned for a few seconds before turning around, looking at Tristan in surprise.
'Why's he here again?' Katniss thought.
He didn't come in but flicked the ash off his cigarette by the trash can at the store entrance and took another drag.
Seeing this, Ryan cautiously asked, "Mr. Forbes..."
Should he step in? Should he handle this? Who should he handle?
"Are you very idle?" Tristan shot a sharp look over.
The message was clear, and Ryan quickly shook his head. "No, I'll handle it right away."
He walked into the store and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"
Laura quickly explained the complaint, ending with a glance at Katniss. "As for what happened in the lounge, let Katniss explain herself, or you can see for yourself."
The lounge door was wide open, and Ryan just had to glance over to see the chaos inside.
But the other party was Bella, and Ryan was unsure of Tristan's stance—who would he back?
"Isn't it just perfect that Mr. Forbes is here?" Jessica noticed Tristan hadn't come in, which surely meant he was on her and Bella's side!
Her voice got even more self-righteous. "Your store doesn't have a rule that you must buy after trying on clothes. We're not wrong for not buying, right? And I was the one trying on those clothes. Katniss didn't attend to Miss Astor, neglecting her. Am I wrong to complain about her neglecting my friend?"
Laura stayed quiet.
Brenda and Cynthia just stood there, watching the drama unfold, not daring to say a word.
Bella was nervous, biting her lip as she looked at Tristan smoking outside the store, his high eyebrows barely visible through the smoke.
The tension was thick, and as Ryan hesitated on what to do, Tristan finally walked in.
He still had a faint smell of smoke on him, which drifted into Katniss's nose. His deep voice cut through the air, "Aren't the rules set by you? Don't you know what to do?"
This was aimed at Katniss.
Katniss felt something stir inside her, an indescribable feeling welling up. She couldn't help but smile, "Got it, Mr. Forbes."
She looked at Bella and Jessica, nodding slightly. "In our store, if you try on more than ten dresses or enjoy our services for more than two hours without buying anything and then file a complaint, it's considered 'stirring up problems.' We'll charge a service fee of at least $888 per hour. If this happens more than twice, we'll blacklist you."
"What do you mean?" Jessica was dumbfounded.
"It means that from the time you arrived until now, it's been three hours, so you need to pay a service fee of $2,664. This is your first time in our store, so you only need to pay the service fee. As for Miss Astor, this is her second time. Each time she has enjoyed our services for more than two hours without buying anything, so Miss Astor will be blacklisted from our store," Katniss calmly explained.
If Tristan hadn't shown up, she would have said these two rules anyway. But if he really hadn't, Bella certainly wouldn't have accepted it so easily. If Laura doesn't want to offend them, she might not dare to impose these two rules on them. At most, Bella wouldn't dare to come again next time.
Now Tristan came and took the initiative to remind her of these two rules she had personally added.
"Tristan," Bella instinctively glanced at him, "that's not the case. I merely brought Jessica to broaden her horizons; who could have anticipated she would behave so disruptively?"
"I..." Jessica immediately defended herself, "Miss Astor, that's too much! You hinted at it! I..."
She didn't finish her sentence, as Bella's sharp glare shut her up.
Their attempts to shift the blame only got one response from Tristan. "Follow the rules."
Laura immediately took action, giving Brenda a look.
Brenda quickly approached Jessica and said, "Miss, please pay the service fee."
Over two thousand bucks in service fees! She hadn't worked today and had already lost her full attendance bonus and a day's wages!
The kicker was that Bella had thrown her under the bus, and Jessica finally realized how dumb she'd been!
She turned around and grabbed Katniss's hand. "Katniss, I don't have that kind of money. Considering we're family, can't you waive the service fee for me? Just let me off this time, okay?"
"No," Katniss pulled her hand away and said, "Don't try to get close to me. I'm just a small employee; I can't afford it."
"Then..." Jessica bit her lip, shamefully saying, "Can you help me pay the service fee? I don't have the money."
She couldn't even come up with over two thousand bucks in service fees, yet she dared to shop at Grand Era Mall.
Anything here costed at least a few hundred dollars!
Cynthia and Brenda looked at her with disdain. From the moment she walked in, they had noticed she wasn't dressed well, but since she was with Bella, they hadn't said anything.
"Mr. Forbes, can we deduct the service fee from her monthly salary and have the finance department transfer it to us?" Katniss asked Tristan.
Tristan raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Yes."
"No! I..." Jessica was desperate. She spent a lot each month and barely had any money left. She would have to save up to cover the deducted amount, but she had no one to help her.
"Mr. Forbes, it's time to head back to the company," Ryan reminded him.
Suddenly coming here, they were about to be late for a meeting, so he had to remind him.
"Let's go." Tristan turned and walked out with his hands in his pockets, his straight back impossible to look away from.
Watching him gradually leave, a smile suddenly appeared on Katniss's lips.
Ignoring Jessica and Bella still in the store, she turned and went into the lounge to tidy up the clothes.
After a while, Brenda and Cynthia also came in, silently helping her clean up.
The three of them worked together and restored the lounge to its original state in just over an hour.
Cynthia and Brenda didn't pay much attention to Tristan's comment, "Aren't the rules set by you?"
They just secretly wondered if Katniss knew Tristan. They also thought Tristan was fair, not letting his relationship with Bella affect his judgment.
But Laura heard that comment clearly. During lunch break, she quietly approached Katniss, who was eating a boxed lunch.
"Are you Mr. Forbes's executive assistant?" Laura asked.
Previously, when Katniss and Tristan came to Grand Era Mall for inspections, it was always quick, never any close contact.
Laura only remembered that Tristan had a female assistant who was super capable, but she couldn't recall her face!
Who could casually add rules to Grand Era Mall's regulations?
Who could know Ralph, the guy in charge of Grand Era Mall?
And now, Tristan's assistant was suddenly a dude.
She boldly guessed that Katniss was just the assistant.
Katniss paused her eating, looked up, and gently asked, "What?"
Seeing her clear eyes and considering her diligent work since she came to the store, Laura thought she might have guessed wrong.
Someone used to being an executive assistant couldn't possibly endure being a frontline service worker.
"Nothing, just eat." Laura turned and left.
Katniss lost her appetite. She hadn't planned to hide it from Laura. She just hadn't reacted to Laura's straightforward question, and Laura left before she could respond.
She couldn't very well chase after her to tell her she was Tristan's assistant, Katniss.
She tugged at the corner of her mouth, inevitably thinking about Tristan suddenly appearing in the store.
'Could he have come specifically for me?'
Countless fanciful thoughts emerged, impossible to suppress.
On the way back to Synergy Global Corporation, Ryan floored the gas pedal, but he estimated they would still be late for the meeting.
As he was getting anxious, Tristan suddenly spoke up. "Synergy Global Corporation doesn't need employees who don't work seriously and take frequent leave."
"Huh?" Ryan glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
He couldn't understand the sudden comment.
'Employees who don't work seriously? Jessica!' He suddenly realized and replied, "Yes, Mr. Forbes."
He had been worried about Tristan being late for the meeting, but Tristan was thinking about how to deal with Jessica.
It seemed Katniss was very important to Tristan. He learned his lesson and knew what to do next time.
In the afternoon, Jessica hurried back to work, thinking she could earn half a day's pay.
But as soon as she walked in, the manager informed her she was fired, listing a bunch of issues with her work, leaving her no room to argue.
Holding a box, she walked out of the company in a daze, never expecting Tristan to fire her!
'For Katniss?' Jessica pondered, 'No, it must have been Katniss who instigated Tristan to do this!'
'She hasn't even broken up with Tristan yet, but she's already trying to distance herself from us. Is she planning to ignore Rupert and me?' Jessica thought and immediately took out her phone to call Rupert, but thinking of Rupert's uselessness, she called someone else.
"Mom, it's Jessica. You have to do something about Katniss. Not only is she ignoring you, her own mother, but she's also targeting me. I've even been fired from the company," Jessica said.
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