Chapter 209 You're Just Leaving Like That?
"Hey, come over here," Tristan said, putting down his phone and waving Katniss over. He pulled out the chair next to him.
Katniss snapped out of her thoughts and nodded at Eudora, "Miss Savoy."
She walked over to Tristan and sat down, looking confused. She thought Tristan had called the lawyer, not Eudora directly.
Eudora was just as surprised to see the people behind Katniss. She thought Tristan had called her to discuss giving up on repaying Aaron's debt. But to call her directly for negotiations?
After Katniss sat down, Tristan glanced at the men who had followed her in. He pointed at Eudora and said, "This is Aaron's sister. If you want money or anything else, talk to her."
Katniss had thought about discussing this with Eudora, but given her and Aaron's strained relationship, it might lead to another argument.
The men were stunned, standing in the large private room, staring at each other. After a moment, the tattooed man realized Eudora had brought this upon herself. He signaled to his subordinates and then sat down, directly asking Eudora, "Are you prepared to give me the money or hand over Aaron?"
Eudora's throat tightened as she realized what was happening. She turned to look at Tristan. He held a cigarette between his left fingers, the rising smoke enveloping him and Katniss. His eyes were filled with affection as he looked at Katniss. His right hand held Katniss's clean, soft hand, and he gently rubbed the back of it with his thumb.
Noticing Eudora's gaze, Tristan frowned, tilted his head past Katniss, and looked at Eudora. "What? Are we interrupting your negotiations?"
With that, he stood up, the chair legs scraping the floor with a dull sound.
Katniss had to stand up, her fingers intertwined with his as they walked around the long table.
"Wait!" Eudora stood up abruptly, staring at Tristan's departing back. "You're just going to leave like that?"
Tristan walked past the tattooed men, his imposing presence causing them to instinctively move closer to Eudora. He paused, turned back, and said seriously, "Do you need something else?"
After speaking, he saw Eudora standing helplessly among the men. He frowned and added, "Don't worry, there are cameras here. They won't dare do anything."
After a warning glance at the men, he left with Katniss. The door to the private room opened, and the light from the hallway shone in, briefly illuminating Eudora's eyes before it dimmed again. The noise outside was cut off, and Eudora clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, but she seemed oblivious to the pain. "Half a million dollars is here. Take the money and leave."
After a long pause, Eudora placed the card she had prepared on the table and pushed it toward the tattooed man.
The tattooed man smiled, his face wrinkling, but he didn't take the card. "Miss Savoy, I didn't expect our first meeting to be under such circumstances."
"Cut the crap. Take the money and leave!" Eudora snapped, her tone dripping with impatience.
The tattooed man's smile only grew wider, contrasting sharply with her anger. "Don't be hasty, Miss Savoy. Although the loan is for half a million dollars, you told me that with another agreement to take Aaron with me, even if it exceeds half a million, you can't do anything about it."
Eudora's face darkened, and she gritted her teeth. "What do you mean?"
The tattooed man held up one finger. "Miss Savoy, you're a straightforward person, so I'll be direct. One million dollars, and we're square. Otherwise, I'll go out right now and tell those two outside that it was your idea, and you forged Aaron's signature and fingerprints."
"Shut up!" Eudora was furious, and the more angry she got, the more confident the tattooed man felt.
Downstairs, the café's large floor-to-ceiling windows let the morning sunlight stream in, shining on Katniss and Tristan.
Katniss leaned lazily on the sofa, holding a cup of coffee and taking a small sip. She opened her red lips slightly and said, "Isn't it a bit unfair to dump this on Eudora?"
"What's unfair about it?" Tristan replied. "Eudora is Aaron's sister. It's only fitting she handles this. Besides, she said she'd take care of the money when she left that day."
But Tristan didn't tell Katniss this before. Katniss thought Eudora had decided to wash her hands of Aaron after their argument that day.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Katniss complained softly. "I barely slept last night trying to figure out a solution."
Tristan interlaced his fingers on the table, his indifferent eyes looking at her. Just as he was about to say something, Eudora and the others came down from the second floor.
The men, led by their leader, greeted Katniss and left the café.
Eudora walked over with her bag and sat down next to Katniss. "I thought you had left."
"We needed to know the outcome to put her mind at ease," Tristan said, referring to Katniss.
"Miss Savoy, I think there's a problem with the terms of their agreement. You could..." Katniss started to share her original plan to resolve the matter with Eudora, but Eudora interrupted her. "I've already given them the money. I don't want too much contact with such people; it damages my reputation. Besides, half a million dollars isn't much."
Hearing this, Katniss was taken aback and forced a smile, "Miss Savoy, you're very generous."
Eudora raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "So if I hadn't come, were you planning to tangle with them to the end? Don't tell me you can't even come up with half a million dollars?"
Katniss could come up with half a million dollars, but it was the working capital for the entire educational institution. Taking out this half million would affect the normal operations of the institution. Even if it wouldn't, she was determined not to pay.
"Does it matter whether she can come up with it or not?" Tristan said indifferently. "What were you thinking? Just handing over the money? Is foreign education teaching you to solve everything with money?"
He didn't expect Eudora to give the money directly. From Tristan's eyes, it was clear he thought she was foolish. That look made Eudora's chest tighten, almost suffocating her. She gritted her teeth and glared at Tristan.
Tristan was very disappointed. He stood up and grabbed his coat. "Anyway, it's resolved. Let's go."
He walked over to Katniss, placing his warm hand on her waist, and they left the café.
"I didn't expect things to be resolved so smoothly. I can go home and spend time with my mom. I'll buy some of her favorite pastries on the way." Katniss fastened her seatbelt and glanced at Eudora, who was still sitting there. She frowned and said, "I'm a bit surprised she just handed over the money."
Eudora had always given her the impression of being overbearing, smart, and decisive. Eudora compromising and giving money to the thugs was out of character for her.
Tristan didn't understand either, but he didn't bother to guess what Eudora was thinking.
They stopped halfway to buy pastries for Sophia, and Tristan also bought some snacks according to Katniss's taste.
Katniss got out of the car at Sophia's place, carrying the pastries inside. As she changed her shoes in the hallway, she heard Juno talking. She was helping Sophia with her pronunciation, and Sophia could now say simple words.
Katniss handed the pastries to Juno and sat down to update Sophia on Matilda's situation in Velvet City. "Mom, Matilda has grown up so much. She found a store and started renovations within two days. I thought she would rent the cheapest place in Velvet City, but guess what?"
She massaged Sophia's legs, smiling with satisfaction. "She chose a mid-range school district to live in and printed a lot of flyers to hand out. In just a few days, many clients in Velvet City have inquired about student online courses."
Thinking of Matilda's cautious explanation about her rented place, Katniss couldn't help but laugh. "Mom, she's so smart. We might all rely on her in the future."
Sophia nodded excitedly, and after a while, she said with effort, "Good."
Matilda's remarkable growth could be attributed, in no small part, to the confidence Katniss instilled in her. The two of them helping each other was something Sophia never dreamed she would see. Matilda successfully established herself in Velvet City, and everything was progressing smoothly.
Katniss spent her time either with Sophia or busy with work, inevitably neglecting Tristan. However, Tristan's sudden busyness made her realize that she wasn't the one neglecting him. It was Tristan who started neglecting her. Sometimes, he wouldn't come home until two in the morning, smelling faintly of smoke and alcohol.
She remembered Tristan and Daniel talking about a new project. Later, when she went to the Wilson Manor for tutoring, Daniel mentioned that Tristan planned to get involved. Maybe he was busy with that new project.
As the holidays approached, Katniss took Saskia and a few teachers from the educational institution out for a meal. The main purpose was to select a responsible person among the teachers to manage the Nightfall City educational institution after she moved to Velvet City.
"I'll be going to Velvet City around August. Saskia is a shareholder in our institution, so you can go to her with any issues. As for the work distribution, we need to promote someone with excellent work and emergency handling skills," she said.
In other words, Saskia's position was entirely supervisory in nature, with no expectation for her to perform actual work. The teachers were instantly motivated and eager to compete for the position of the person in charge.
"Katniss, I think I just saw Tristan," Saskia suddenly leaned over and said.
Katniss was stunned and followed her gaze. Outside a closed private room on the second floor, a waitress was standing there.
"Where?" Katniss asked.
Saskia pointed to the private room. "When the waitress was serving food just now, I saw a back that looked a lot like him."
They were having a regular meal in the first-floor hall, and the environment was a bit noisy. After hearing her, Katniss dismissed it, saying, "Maybe you saw wrong."
"Whether I saw wrong or not, there was a nearly naked woman next to that man. If it really is Tristan, we need to check it out!" With that, Saskia pulled her up. "You guys keep eating. Ms. Grey and I are going to the restroom."
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