Chapter 224 Poking Holes in the Condoms
Early in the morning, Katniss noticed the marks on her neck in the bathroom mirror and started thinking about what to wear. Her head was pounding, and the relentless late summer heat was expected to reach its peak by noon, making the thought of wearing anything too thick unbearable.
Tristan, on the other hand, acted like everything was perfectly normal and made breakfast for her.
Even though she was annoyed with him, she wasn't about to skip a meal. She planned to eat her fill and then head back upstairs to pick out some clothes.
Tristan got a call from Daniel and rushed out without even touching his breakfast. With the house empty, she hurried to finish eating.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
She stuffed the sandwich in her mouth and dashed to the door, muttering, "Why are you back again? Is it..."
Before she could finish, she realized it wasn't Tristan but Adelaide standing outside.
Adelaide's eyes lit up when she saw her. "So Tristan's living here now. Took me a while to track him down."
Caught off guard, Katniss realized that she was only wearing one of Tristan's shirts, and the marks on her neck were totally visible. The shirt barely covered her thighs, and it was inappropriate to stand like this in front of Adelaide.
Feeling a bit uneasy, she stepped aside. "Mrs. Forbes, please come in."
"Having breakfast?" Adelaide glanced at the dining room as she walked in. "I came a bit early. Hope I'm not disturbing you."
Katniss quickly shook her head. "Not at all. Have you had breakfast?"
Adelaide nodded. "I have. You go ahead and eat. Don't mind me. I just dropped by because I had nothing else to do."
There were a couple of messy clothes in the living room. While Adelaide was talking, Katniss quickly picked them up and stuffed them under a cushion.
Feeling inexplicably awkward, she added, "Tristan had to leave for something."
"No worries. I'm not here to see him. Doesn't matter if he's here or not," Adelaide said indifferently.
'Not here to see Tristan? Then she must be here to see me?' Katniss felt a bit troubled. "I have some work to do later."
"That's fine. You go ahead and do your work. I just came by because I had nothing else to do. It's a bit tiring to come all this way, so I'll rest here for a while before leaving. Is that okay?" Adelaide asked for Katniss's opinion.
Katniss quickly nodded. "Of course."
She went back to the dining room to clean up and told Adelaide to rest well. If anything came up, she should call her or Tristan.
"Go ahead. If I need anything, I'll contact you," Adelaide said with a smile that was even brighter than when she first arrived. As the elevator doors slid open, Katniss had a weird feeling but didn't have time to dwell on it.
She quickly changed clothes and headed to the educational institution with Matilda.
Meanwhile, downstairs at Tristan's place, Adelaide made a beeline for the main bedroom where the big double bed was a mess, with one pillow at the foot and the other at the head, suggesting a restless night or an unplanned morning.
She glanced at it and then walked over to the bedside table, opening the drawer to find it packed with condoms.
Adelaide's mouth twitched, and her eyes sparkled. The next second, a needle reflecting the sunlight appeared in her hand. She started poking holes in the condoms with a 'ferocious' look on her face.
After squatting and poking for a while, Adelaide was out of breath. "There are too many."
Katniss found an outfit that matched a scarf, ensuring it covered the marks on her neck, and went to the educational institution with Matilda. It was her first time at the Velvet City educational institution's physical store.
The receptionist was a young woman, about twenty-five years old. Seeing Matilda, she quickly stood up. "Matilda, you're here!"
After warmly welcoming Matilda, she smiled and nodded at Katniss, not recognizing her.
"This is..." Matilda was about to introduce Katniss when Katniss raised her hand and said, "Just call me Ms. Grey."
The receptionist immediately responded, "Okay, Ms. Grey."
Besides the receptionist, there were two tech staff members handling the software issues for the online courses. The institution's rapid expansion had also necessitated the hasty hiring of a few teachers, but they were far from enough for the upcoming flood of courses.
Matilda gave Katniss a quick rundown and then swiftly started prepping for the interviews.
The interviews kicked off at 9:30 AM, with each of the twenty-plus teachers getting ten minutes. By noon, the interviews were done, and Katniss decisively kept fifteen teachers.
Eight elite teachers could start physical classes right away, four could handle online courses, and the remaining three had potential and were temporarily designated as assistant teachers.
"Katniss, I was thinking of having them sign a labor contract when they come to work tomorrow. Do you have any suggestions for the contract details?" Matilda brought up another issue during lunch.
Katniss spoke while eating, "Tell me your thoughts first."
Matilda thought for a moment and said, "An 80% salary during the three-month probation period, full insurance coverage upon joining, and various holiday benefits after becoming permanent..."
She detailed the benefits, clearly stating them in the contract.
"In addition, the eight elite teachers should have a three-year contract, the four online course teachers two years, and the assistant teachers one year," Katniss added.
Matilda looked surprised. "A three-year commitment, isn't that too long?"
"Our educational institution isn't a short-term gig; it's a long-term project. Constantly changing teachers isn't good for us," Katniss explained, focusing on the institution's best interests.
It wasn't that she didn't consider the employees' feelings; the benefits Matilda proposed were already pretty generous.
"Katniss, you really think things through," Matilda said, enlightened.
In the afternoon, they reviewed the online course materials. Katniss picked one capable online teacher from the four. "From now on, let Mr. Moore handle the online courses. He used to be an online teacher and knows his stuff. For one-on-one tutoring, we can assign staff from the eight elite teachers..."
By 4 PM, Katniss and Matilda had agreed on these matters, and Katniss left the educational institution.
Tristan and Daniel were busy organizing a business event, so Katniss had to go solo today.
Tristan had already prepped her dress, another high-necked gown. She was naturally beautiful and didn't even bother with makeup.
Just as she finished changing, Ryan arrived to pick her up.
"Ms. Grey," Ryan said, opening the car door for her. She thanked him and got in, holding her phone and chatting with Saskia.
Saskia was in Nightfall City, and Nicholas still had some work to finish.
With both Katniss and Tristan gone, Nicholas pestered Saskia all day, and Saskia complained to Katniss. "Everything's business as usual at the educational institution, but I'm at my breaking point. I have to get out of here!"
Katniss sent a voice message to comfort her, "Running away isn't a solution. You need to resolve your issues. You're not young anymore, and avoiding problems isn't a skill."
"Your Tristan acts like a man. He chose you over Bella and Eudora, even severing ties with his father to be with you. He fought his way to you, and of course, you're moved. But Nicholas? He's surrounded by women and still says he loves me. Shameless!" In the car, Saskia's ranting filled every corner, making Katniss a bit uneasy.
Saskia sent a few more voice messages, but this time, Katniss didn't listen to them; she converted them to text.
A string of harsh words, all directed at Nicholas.
Katniss realized that Nicholas indeed had some issues, as he hadn't cleared things up with Isla.
After thinking it over, she sent Nicholas a message with just one sentence: [Each to their own.]
When Nicholas got Katniss's message, he was just about to see Saskia. He stared at the message for a long time, trying to figure out what it meant.
The business cocktail party kicked off right at 6 PM, and Katniss showed up a little after six.
"No worries. Mr. Forbes said you're considered family, so there's no such thing as being late," Ryan said as he parked the car and opened the door for Katniss. "Besides, it's my fault for not checking the traffic and picking a congested route."
Katniss got out of the car, smiled, and waved at Ryan. "No need to comfort me. I'm not in a rush. You go ahead and do your thing."
As night enveloped the city and the lights flickered on, the hotel entrance became a beacon of luminescence. Katniss walked out of the darkness and into the light.
Entering the hotel lobby, she was surrounded by brightness, and a waiter immediately came to guide her.
The entire third floor was reserved for the business seminar. Tristan's ability to gather a diverse and influential crowd was on full display, especially now that he had patched things up with Travis.
People were pouring in. As soon as Katniss stepped out of the elevator, she felt the crowd's pressure.
The elevator doors faced two intricately carved wooden doors. Several well-dressed men and women stood at the entrance.
"Thank you. I'll go in by myself." After thanking the waiter, she walked slowly towards the hall.
She vaguely heard a man and a woman arguing in low voices. The man glanced at her and said, "Look at her. She doesn't look like she's from the business world, but she's here for Tristan. Why can't you come?"
"I just think if you want me to get close to Tristan, this isn't the place. A chance encounter would be better. There are so many women here; I can't even get near him. I think it's a waste of time!" the woman said.
"You're right. It seems like all these women want to take the chance to meet Tristan." the man complained.
Katniss didn't recognize these two people. But their conversation made her raise an eyebrow. 'So many women?'
She walked to the banquet hall entrance and took a look, feeling a bit dizzy.
The men's suits were mostly black, white, and gray—simple and monotonous. But looking around, these colors were rare. There were more women in various colored dresses, all dressed to the nines, with a mix of perfumes filling the air.
Standing among them, Katniss remained unblemished and serene. Her dress and natural beauty didn't make her stand out less; instead, they made her even more prominent.
Not far away, Michael watched her coldly and then lowered his head to speak to the woman in the black dress beside him. "Miss White, that's Katniss."
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