Chapter 210 Would you mind if my girlfriend took this seat?
The restaurant had this fancy vibe, and the hallway was pretty empty. Katniss and Saskia were originally eating on the first floor but suddenly decided to head up to the second. A waiter quickly approached them, asking, "Can I help you with something?"
Saskia flashed a smile and said, "We saw a friend and just wanted to say hi."
The waiter looked a bit surprised and glanced at the empty hallway. Their "friend" was definitely in one of the private rooms.
"I'm sorry," the waiter said, "but the private rooms on the second floor are reserved for guests confidentially. We can't let others come up and disturb them. You can contact your friend."
Katniss tugged on Saskia's arm, "Let's go."
Even if they were right, Tristan was probably here for work.
"Alright, let's go." Surprisingly, Saskia didn't argue and turned to leave.
Katniss had only taken a couple of steps when she suddenly felt Saskia's grip loosen. Without turning around, she heard Saskia exclaim and fall to the side.
The private room door, which had been tightly closed, instantly swung open, and Saskia grabbed the door frame with both hands to avoid falling.
Inside, the room was filled with smoke, and people were drinking and chatting. The man at the head of the table looked over, a cigarette between his fingers.
In his black shirt, he had this cool, alluring vibe.
His relaxed posture stiffened slightly, and he locked eyes with Katniss through the open door for a few seconds.
Beside him, a girl who looked to be in her twenties, wearing a light-colored dress, gave off a pure and clean vibe.
She was holding a tissue, wiping a wet spot on his chest. The sudden opening of the door startled her, and the tissue fell to the ground.
Saskia spoke first, "Sorry, I lost my balance. Isn't this Mr. Forbes? What a coincidence!"
The waiter's mouth twitched. 'Coincidence? Yeah, right.'
"Sorry everyone, they..." The waiter looked at the guests at the table with difficulty.
Saskia had mentioned Tristan, so the others knew they were there for him and signaled the waiter to leave.
"Mr. Forbes, do you know them?" The girl next to Tristan asked cautiously.
Tristan took a deep drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out, and was about to stand up when someone beat him to it.
"Katniss, Saskia, what are you doing here?" Eudora stood up from a corner seat and walked over.
Katniss then realized that not only was Eudora there, but Daniel and Nicholas were also present.
"Mr. Owens, these two are our friends," Eudora said, giving a vague introduction of Saskia and Katniss.
It was clearly a business setting, and Katniss was a bit annoyed at Saskia's recklessness. But she had to admit that seeing the girl next to Tristan made her feel a bit uneasy.
But she kept her cool and didn't explain her relationship with Tristan, letting Eudora summarize it as 'friends.'
"Sorry to disturb you all. We were just downstairs having a meal with the staff and came up to say hello." With that, she grabbed Saskia's wrist and started to leave.
But the next second, Saskia pulled her into the private room. "Look, Mr. Forbes didn't bring Mr. Gray today. You should stay and wait for Mr. Forbes' instructions. I'll take care of the staff downstairs."
Nicholas opened his mouth, wanting to ask Saskia to stay, but knowing her temper, he decided against it to avoid losing face in front of everyone.
"In that case, please stay," Eudora invited, gesturing to the empty seat beside her. "There's room right here."
Katniss's gaze fell on Tristan. Since she arrived, he hadn't said a word. She didn't know if he was feeling guilty or something else.
Seeing that Tristan had no intention of speaking, she guessed he didn't want her to stay.
She was about to say something when Tristan suddenly turned to the girl next to him and said coldly, "Miss Owens, would you mind if my girlfriend took this seat?"
His clear and pleasant voice echoed in the quiet room, reaching everyone's ears.
Sean Owens looked at Katniss in shock, taking a moment to react, "So you're Mr. Forbes' girlfriend. My apologies. Anna, come sit over here."
The empty seat next to Eudora was next to Sean.
But Anna Owen ran to sit next to Tristan, her intentions clear to everyone.
Since learning that Katniss was Tristan's girlfriend, Anna's eyes hadn't left Katniss.
Interrupted by Sean, she reluctantly walked around the table to sit next to Sean.
Saskia pushed Katniss to sit next to Tristan. Tristan's grand introduction made her feel embarrassed.
It made her seem petty, so after sitting down, she didn't look at Tristan.
"Everyone, please take care of Katniss. I'll head downstairs." Saskia playfully ended the 'farce' and went downstairs.
The waiter brought Katniss a new set of utensils. After a few pleasantries with her, they resumed discussing work.
Daniel and Tristan were working on a project together and wanted to attract Sean's investment.
Although Daniel had initially approached Tristan, once Tristan joined, he became the leader, and Nicholas also got involved.
During the conversation, Sean mostly chatted with Tristan, and his words were full of admiration for him.
At first, it seemed like Sean respected Tristan because of his connection to the Forbes family. But as they talked more, it became clear that the Forbes family's reputation was actually because of Tristan, not the other way around.
Throughout the conversation, Tristan was super attentive to Katniss, making sure she got the dishes she liked.
Seeing this, Sean smiled and said, "Mr. Forbes is not only highly capable at work but also a considerate man. Miss Grey is very fortunate."
"Mr. Owens, you're too kind," Tristan replied politely, tilting his head to look at Katniss.
Since she came in, she hadn't spoken or even looked at him, but her gaze seemed to linger on Anna.
For some reason, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"What does Miss Grey do for a living?" Anna suddenly asked.
"Tutoring," Katniss replied politely.
Anna was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, "So you're a tutor. I thought you were some rich heiress."
After saying that, she turned and whispered to Sean, "Dad, you should invest in Mr. Forbes. I have a good feeling about him."
Her lowered voice was still clearly heard by everyone in the quiet, private room.
"Miss Owens, you must be joking," Daniel said jokingly, "Mr. Owens invests in our project based on the project itself, not the people."
Anna nonchalantly said, "I decide based on the person. My dad listens to me. As long as I'm happy, he'll do as I say."
"That's not necessarily true," Nicholas chimed in to ease the situation, "Miss Owens is young and judges people for projects. Mr. Owens has to be cautious to prevent Miss Owens from encountering bad people someday."
Sean scrutinized Katniss, who sat quietly beside Tristan.
She didn't seem to care about Anna's high-profile affection for Tristan.
He said meaningfully, "My daughter has a good eye for people. I always listen to her."
Katniss's hand, resting under the table, suddenly tightened as Tristan's large hand grasped hers.
His hand, with clear veins and distinct joints, played with her slender fingers. His indifferent eyes looked at Sean. "Mr. Owens, it's understandable to listen to your wife and daughter. After all, I always listen to Katniss. It's pretty much the same."
Katniss felt a warmth in her heart, her eyes reflecting Anna's darkened expression.
Sean, with an unreadable expression, said, "I see. The food is getting cold. Let's eat."
The dinner continued, but everyone spoke much less.
The dinner ended around ten o'clock. Before leaving with Anna, Sean indicated that he would seriously consider investing in the project. "Mr. Forbes, I heard you are currently not on good terms with your family. I still think this project is promising. Once it's successful, it won't matter if you return to the Forbes family or not. You'll still be powerful in the business world."
"Mr. Owens, you're too kind," Tristan said, waving goodbye. Without waiting for Sean to say more, he wrapped his arm around Katniss and headed to the parking lot.
Sean's car slowly left, and when Eudora looked back, Tristan and Katniss were already by their car.
Without hesitation, she started walking over, but Nicholas grabbed her, "Where are you going?"
"Tristan brought me here, so of course, I'm going back with him," Eudora tried to shake off Nicholas's hand but was grabbed again.
Nicholas smiled at Daniel and shook his head, "Mr. Wilson, have you ever seen someone with such impeccable timing?" Then, he turned to Eudora, "The couple is having a moment, and you're tagging along? Can't you see Katniss is jealous? Tristan will definitely have to comfort her. How will he comfort her with you being there?"
Daniel laughed and agreed, "Makes sense. Miss Savoy, if you don't mind, I can give you a ride."
"I'm heading the same way," Nicholas grinned.
Eudora pulled Nicholas's hand away, "I'm not an outsider. Why can't he comfort Katniss in front of me? Besides, even if I don't ride with him, I need to tell him."
"Young couples in love don't need words to comfort each other. It's hard for you to understand, given you've never been in a relationship at your age," Nicholas said, opening his car door, "Come on, I'll take you home."
In the dim night, Eudora's face showed a hint of loneliness, but Nicholas couldn't see it in the dark.
Seeing her standing still, he went over and grabbed her, "Hurry up, don't dawdle."
He forcibly got Eudora into the car, then said goodbye to Daniel and drove off.
They passed by the parking lot, and Tristan's car was still there.
Katniss and Tristan were probably already in the car but hadn't left.
"He drank a lot tonight. I bet he's apologizing to Katniss right now," Nicholas imagined the scene and couldn't help but laugh.
Eudora, with a stern face, said, "He wouldn't do that. He's not the sentimental type."
As soon as she finished speaking, Nicholas suddenly slammed on the brakes, made a U-turn on the empty road, and sped back, afraid of missing something. "Don't believe me? I'll take you back to see. Their car hasn't moved. I also want to know what they're doing in the car in the dark."
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