Chapter 287 Acquired Development
"Mr. Forbes, we're here looking for someone. Sorry to interrupt your fun." The person outside saw Katniss wearing a hotel maid's uniform, disheveled and half-undressed, assuming Tristan had casually picked up a maid.
Recently, there were rumors that Tristan had fallen, and seeing it firsthand, they weren't surprised.
They quickly apologized, then turned and left the floor to search elsewhere.
The door to the suite closed again, and Tristan's eyes, burning with anger, stared at the downcast Katniss.
"Do you even understand what danger means?" he said, his anger evident. "Moving from the danger of the Forbes family to the risk of the White family—what were you thinking?"
Yet Katniss stubbornly refused to look at him, not even giving him a glance.
She had nothing to say, her thoughts consumed by her belly.
Without the down jacket, her pregnant belly was hard to hide. Tristan's hand on her waist moved slightly forward, and he would discover something.
Katniss frowned and said coldly, "Let go of me."
Her delicate wrist was red from his grip. He hesitated for a moment before letting her go.
She thought he had let her go, but the next second he kissed her hard again. Whether it was out of frustration or desire, he seemed inclined to make love to her right there.
He cupped her face with both hands, forcing her to look up and cooperate. When her body finally softened from the kiss, his hand slid down her smooth neck.
For a moment, he paused at her significantly enlarged chest due to pregnancy, stunned.
"Are you crazy!" Katniss snapped back to reality, panicked, and pushed him away hard, picking up the down jacket from the floor and putting it on hastily.
With a protective hand over her pregnant belly, she sighed in relief.
Tristan was a bit confused.
Breast development again?
"Get out!" Katniss couldn't leave yet, so she opened the door and pushed the dazed Tristan out.
Tristan's body hit the hallway wall. He looked around, took a deep breath to calm himself, and only after adjusting his pants did he turn and go downstairs.
The bidding meeting had already started, with Synergy Global Corporation taking the lead, presenting their proposal first.
But Tristan wasn't there. Eudora tried to maintain control, but some minor mistakes still occurred.
When a crucial question was raised, she couldn't answer.
The core of the proposal was set by Tristan, and despite Eudora and Michael's efforts, they couldn't grasp the reasoning behind it.
They hoped to bluff their way through, but unexpectedly, it was brought up publicly.
Fortunately, when she couldn't answer, Tristan appeared. She quickly cast a pleading look at him.
But Tristan didn't even glance at her, sitting down with his legs crossed, savoring the kiss he had been longing for.
Ultimately, Eudora couldn't explain the reasoning behind the point, blushing and stepping down to sit beside Tristan.
Suddenly, she smelled a faint fragrance coming from Tristan.
She glanced sideways and keenly noticed a small smudge of pink lipstick on Tristan's lips.
His satisfied expression with a hint of lingering desire made it clear what had just happened.
Eudora's heart sank, feeling a sharp pain. Who was he with? What woman could be here?
He had lost Katniss, and could be with anyone, but he wouldn't even look at her?
Benjamin was the last to present his proposal, connecting his computer to the big screen. As soon as the proposal appeared, there was a low murmur of surprise in the room.
The core content was almost identical to Synergy Global Corporation's, but the detailed content differed significantly.
However, Benjamin's proposal was more detailed than Eudora's, explaining almost all the points and reasoning clearly.
He spoke confidently on stage, calmly answering any questions raised.
Seeing the increasingly satisfied expressions of the political partners, everyone knew that Benjamin had won over Synergy Global Corporation.
The so-called consideration before giving a response was just a formality, to avoid making Synergy Global Corporation look too bad.
As soon as the bidding meeting ended, Tristan stood up and walked out with one hand in his pocket.
After packing up, Eudora chased after him but couldn't find him.
She encountered Beau's people discussing how they had seen Tristan making out with a hotel maid in the suite.
Gritting her teeth, she rushed to the underground parking lot in high heels, blocking Tristan's speeding car.
She narrowly avoided being hit by his car.
Through the windshield, Tristan coldly stared at Eudora, and his chilling voice came through the half-open window, "Want to die? Get lost."
"Where did you go just now? Which woman were you with?" Eudora walked to the driver's side, gripping the window to prevent him from leaving.
"Is it any of your business?" Tristan didn't even look at her. "Instead of meddling, you should think about how to explain to Synergy Global Corporation's shareholders why you lost the political-business cooperation project due to your mistake."
He rolled up the window, ignoring Eudora's hands still on it. When the window pinched her hands, she screamed, and the window automatically lowered.
Eudora quickly pulled her hands back, and Tristan's car sped away, leaving her covered in exhaust fumes.
Her hands throbbed with pain, and Eudora cried, unable to drive. She called Michael to pick her up.
Seeing Eudora's hands, Michael quickly took her to the hospital. Learning that her hands would take some time to heal, he stormed out, heading straight to find Tristan for a confrontation.
At Synergy Global Corporation, Tristan moved his desk closer to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Every day, instead of handling work, he would sit in his chair and bask in the sun.
Even though the entire company was in a state of panic over losing the project, he remained calm and relaxed.
Suddenly, the office door was pushed open, and his long eyes snapped open, glancing at the intruder.
Michael stormed in, grabbing Tristan's suit angrily and demanding coldly, "Tristan, how dare you hurt Eudora? What did she ever do to you!?"
"She brought it on herself," Tristan said calmly, not minding Michael's grip on his clothes. He added, "I don't know if she wronged me, but she definitely wronged you."
Michael, in his irrational state, couldn't hear a word Tristan was saying.
"What are you talking about? You're ruining yourself over Katniss, and Eudora is trying to save you. If you don't appreciate it, don't blame me for supporting Travis!"
Tristan smirked, "How ridiculous! Do you think the Astor family is still under your control?"
When Michael heard this, his body stiffened and an unnatural expression crossed his face.
The new investor in the Astor Corporation, though never showing their face, remotely controlled his decisions.
However, the investor also wanted the best for the Astor Corporation, so Michael had always complied.
But if he wanted to interfere in the Forbes family's affairs, he wasn't sure if the investor would agree.
He stared into Tristan's mocking eyes, and a sudden thought struck him.
His grip loosened slightly, but he shook his head resolutely, "Impossible, Tristan. Stop bluffing."
"What's impossible?" Tristan effortlessly pushed his hand away. He had been planning to secretly acquire shares in the Astor Corporation for a long time.
"If you were the one investing in the Astor Corporation, you would have already removed me. There's no way you'd keep me around until now!" Michael said confidently.
Tristan slowly straightened his disheveled shirt, "The reason you're still here is because there's something you need to investigate yourself."
Lying wasn't Tristan's style, and Michael's heart sank. He took two steps back, looking at Tristan in disbelief.
"I suggest you investigate Bella's illness and find out how it came about," Tristan said, standing up and grabbing his coat from the back of the chair. He walked out of the office, his long legs carrying him away.
His words echoed in Michael's ears.
Bella's illness? How did it come about?
Eudora had said it was triggered by the shock of Tristan's marriage!
Michael stood there, unable to move, as one terrifying thought after another crossed his mind.
After a long time, he turned and left, pulling out his phone to call Samuel, "Arrange a meeting with Bella's attending physician immediately!"
The day after the bidding meeting, it was officially announced that they would be partnering with White Corporation. A meeting with Benjamin was scheduled to sign the contract and officially start the project.
For nearly three months, White Corporation was busy with the project.
With things settling down, Katniss, aside from reminding them of areas to pay attention to, had nothing much to do in the short term.
Benjamin discussed with Katniss the next steps for White Corporation. He planned for Katniss to take the position of general manager at White Corporation four months after giving birth.
He, on the other hand, needed to go abroad to stabilize White Corporation's overseas branches, which were also significant.
"But if you go four months later, it might be too late," Katniss analyzed rationally. "You should stabilize things domestically and then immediately go abroad to handle the overseas matters."
Benjamin said, "Look, I don't have anyone reliable to manage White Corporation right now, and you need to stay out of the spotlight. I have to focus on matters at home first."
As winter turned to spring, Katniss's pregnancy became quite obvious without the heavy down jacket.
She didn't dare to appear in public, let alone leave the house.
Recently, the Forbes family's attention was all on Tristan, and no one noticed her, but that didn't mean she was safe.
She didn't even dare to go to the mall to buy a newborn's delivery package.
After thinking for a long time, she came up with a solution, "If you trust me, let me go abroad. I can stabilize things in three months, but I need six months before I can return."
As she said this, her heart ached, and Tristan's image suddenly appeared in her mind.
That day at the hotel, he had held her tightly, and the lingering kiss was vivid in her memory.
It even affected her sleep recently, with dreams filled with him.
But she had to leave.
"Of course, I trust you, but in your condition, can your family agree to you going abroad?" The workload abroad was heavy, and Benjamin feared she couldn't handle it.
Katniss said, "If I decide to go, I'll have my ways. My family will be taken care of. All I need is your agreement."
"Alright, I agree," Benjamin immediately responded. "I'll keep the general manager position at White Corporation for you. We'll stay in touch, and I'll prioritize your safety if any issues arise."
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