Chapter 30 She Had Already Rested
George puckered his lips, eyeing Tristan, who was half-dry and showing off his chiseled chest in that robe.
"Thinking of taking her out for dinner. If you don't mind tagging along, you're welcome."
Tristan arched an eyebrow, "We've already eaten, and she's crashed out."
"Anything else?" Tristan's tone seemed to scream, "Get lost."
Tristan's lazy yet regal vibe, with those squinty eyes, reminded George of a lion his colleague once mentioned—commanding respect without even trying.
Out of nowhere, George felt a chill run down his spine. He shook his head, "Nah, nothing."
The door closed, not with a slam, but enough to send a breeze across George's face. His throat tightened, and he couldn't shake the image of a wolf cub cowering before a lion.
Katniss vaguely heard George's voice, clutching the blanket with a tense expression as she looked at Tristan. She asked, "Did he leave?"
Tristan strolled over, a smirk playing on his lips. "Scared? Maybe we should break up, so you won't feel guilty later."
She protested inwardly, 'Doesn't he feel any guilt? Why doesn't he break up?'
Her protest was suppressed by Tristan's undeniable actions.
But before her robe could be removed, the phone on the bedside table rang.
She pushed him, but he didn't budge, kissing her intently, already in the moment.
The ringtone automatically hung up and quickly rang again. After several repetitions, he finally lifted his face from her embrace, breathing heavily as he picked up the phone.
The phone was picked up, and he said, "Hello." His voice unusually hoarse and deliberately subdued.
"Tristan, did you go to Kingstone? Why didn't you tell me? I came to Synergy Global Corporation and found you weren't there. I had to ask around to find out," Bella's voice was filled with disappointment and dissatisfaction.
Tristan adjusted his breathing and said, "Something came up suddenly."
"You should have told me. I could have gone with you. How long will you be there?" Bella thought for a moment and then asked softly, "Who did you go with?"
Although the speakerphone wasn't on, Tristan was still positioned over Katniss, and Bella's voice was clear to both of them.
Katniss lowered her eyes, pursing her lips quietly.
Tristan's deep gaze lingered on her for a while before he got up to leave the room, replying, "I came with Katniss."
Katniss didn't catch the rest of their conversation, but she could tell Tristan's voice grew increasingly tender and affectionate.
She sighed in relief, her exhaustion easing, but a tinge of sadness spread from her heart through her veins, draining the color from her once rosy cheeks in seconds.
Turning over, she covered her head with the blanket to block out the sounds from outside.
When Tristan returned after finishing the call, he found Katniss already asleep, with stray strands of hair on her forehead pressed against her cheek, her brows furrowed.
He pulled the blanket down a bit, ultimately deciding not to tease her, and lay down beside her, holding her gently as they slept.
After a solid night's sleep, Katniss felt like a new woman. She was already suited up in her business attire, ready for a nine o'clock meeting to renegotiate a contract. It was creeping up on eight.
She glanced at Tristan, still knocked out on the bed, his upper body bare and a thin blanket barely covering him from the waist down. He looked like he was wrestling with some bad dreams, his brows all furrowed.
She scribbled a quick note and stuck it on the alarm clock by the bed before heading out of the hotel.
Only the big dogs got to work with Synergy Global Corporation, and today Katniss was meeting with Horizon Innovations Group, a big name in Kingstone.
When they heard the contract had issues and needed a redo, they were quick to set up a meeting. But Katniss ended up cooling her heels in the reception room all morning, downing three cups of coffee without a single finance department person in sight.
She knew this was gonna be a grind.
While waiting, she got a text from George asking if she wanted to grab lunch. She gave him the lowdown, and he didn't push, suggesting dinner instead.
Just before lunch, she finally met Oliver Smith, the finance manager.
The guy was in his thirties, short, a bit pudgy, and looked like he was gonna be a pain.
"Didn't think a contract hiccup would bring you here in person," Oliver said, glancing at his watch instead of sitting down. "I'm swamped. How about we chat over lunch?"
He was angling for lunch with Katniss. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and said, "Sure thing."
They picked a spot near Horizon Innovations Group. As soon as they sat down, Oliver ordered a strong whiskey.
She remembered the last time she was here for a deal, their president tried to get her drunk, only to get disgraced by Tristan.
And Oliver was the president's nephew. Was he looking to settle the score?
She kept her cool, smiling, "Mr. Smith, don't you have work this afternoon?"
"You don't come around often, I gotta make time for you," Oliver said with a sly grin, then ordered a few dishes and handed the menu to Katniss.
"These are fine, thanks," Katniss said, not even glancing at the menu, and took a sip of water.
"I heard the returned contract got lost by the courier?" Oliver said, "That's on the courier. You can sue them."
Katniss pursed her lips, "Even if we sue, they can't cough up eighty million dollars. The legal process will sort out the compensation."
"But our finance department sticks to the contract. If there's a hiccup and you can't get the final payment, do we have to chase you down?" Oliver chuckled. "What if you whip out another contract later and demand another eighty million? Then what?"
Katniss said, "We just need to sign a contract nullification statement. Mr. Smith, you should know this after all these years in the biz."
"Why should we give you a declaration to nullify that contract?" Oliver's eyebrow shot up, his tone getting sharper. "This is something you can discuss with the courier company directly. No need for you to get involved."
Clearly, Oliver was wondering why Katniss had shown up in person.
If Katniss were repping Synergy Global Corporation, Oliver wouldn't dare mess with her.
But once Oliver found out Rupert was her brother and she was handling this for him, things wouldn't be so simple.
So Katniss kept quiet, not sure what to say.
But Oliver broke the silence, "When you reached out, I had someone look into it. That courier, Rupert, is your brother."
"Yeah," Katniss admitted, "So, Mr. Smith, could you do me a solid and re-sign the contract?"
"I don't owe you any favors; we've only met twice. Why should I help you?" Oliver's intent to make things difficult was crystal clear.
Katniss smiled, "Since you came out for this meal, it means there's room to negotiate. Why not just tell me what it'll take to get this done?"
Oliver's smile turned sly, "Katniss, you're not just efficient at work but also quite savvy in private matters. I like that. And you're beautiful too. Women like you are rare."
"I'm flattered," Katniss replied, keeping it polite, "I've heard Mrs. Smith is also very beautiful."
"She is," Oliver said. "But you have a different kind of beauty. You have a wild side that makes me want to tame you."
Oliver's meaning was clear—he wanted to sleep with Katniss.
Katniss stayed calm, "Mr. Smith, aren't you afraid your wife will find out?"
"We'll keep it a secret. How would she ever know?" Oliver said, placing his hand over Katniss's.
His clammy palm made Katniss feel nauseous.
She couldn't help but think of Tristan's warm, broad hands, whose rough touch could stir her heart.
She pulled her hand back, took a deep breath, and said, "If you're trying to make things difficult for me, how could I not speak up?"
She pulled out a black recording pen from her pocket. After years with Tristan, she'd seen all kinds of people.
Although Oliver looked respectable, she could see the greed and sleaziness in his eyes.
Seeing the recording pen, Oliver's face twisted, "You dare trick me!"
"This meal's on me. I hope you can draft the new contract soon and contact me," Katniss said, standing up and heading to the front desk to pay the bill before leaving.
The method was a bit underhanded, but there was no other way. Besides, Oliver wasn't a good person; otherwise, she wouldn't have caught him off guard with his Achilles' heel.
Watching Katniss leave, Oliver angrily swept the cup off the table. A waiter quickly came over, intending to ask if Oliver was hurt.
But seeing Oliver's angry face, the waiter realized it was intentional and quietly cleaned up the broken cup.
To renegotiate the contract, they needed the signature of Owen Smith, the President of Horizon Innovations Group and Oliver's uncle.
Oliver had no choice but to call Owen and explain the situation.
"Why are you afraid of your wife? If you can save the company eighty million dollars, I'll give you half. Take forty million dollars home, and what can your wife say?" Owen's meaning was clear.
Oliver's eyes lit up. His wife was notoriously tough, but she loved money. However, his annual salary was only a few hundred thousand dollars.
Katniss returned to the hotel around two o'clock, opening the door to find Tristan sitting on the sofa working, with lunch for two on the coffee table.
Seeing her, Tristan glanced over and said, "Later than I expected. Your methods are still lacking."
"Naturally, I'm not as good as you," Katniss said, changing her shoes and putting her bag aside. She opened the lunch and pushed it towards Tristan, then asked, "Weren't you supposed to be negotiating a deal?"
Tristan closed his laptop and said, "It's done."
Katniss, holding her utensils, looked at him thoughtfully. She knew Tristan's schedule and that he had no recent collaborations in Kingstone.
"Did you come here on purpose?"
Tristan's mischievous eyes looked at her as he asked, "Reason?"
Katniss was stumped, unable to find a reason.
George's texts that morning had hinted at anger, but he hadn't asked deeply about her relationship with Tristan. After all, sharing a suite was unusual.
So Tristan had come to deliberately provoke George, to assert his dominance.
But she couldn't find a reason and shrugged, giving up the thought.
"Forget I said anything."
They started eating lunch. After finishing, Tristan continued working on his laptop while she cleaned up the dishes. Sitting back down, she saw a message from Oliver.
He asked to meet at a restaurant at eight o'clock, saying the contract was ready. After replying to Oliver, she looked at Tristan.
"Mr. Forbes, I can re-sign the contract tonight, and we can leave tomorrow. Should I book the tickets in advance?"
Tristan didn't look up and said, "Okay."
There were only two flights back to Velvet City, one at ten in the morning and one at eight in the evening.
Katniss said, "If you has no other plans, I'll book the ten o'clock flight."
"George has a match at nine tomorrow morning. He just sent over two tickets." Tristan took out two VIP tickets for a domestic gaming esports competition.
He placed them on the coffee table in front of Katniss and said, "The competition won't end until noon. So, do you want to stay and watch the rest of the games and go back in the evening, or head back directly?"
"Do you want to watch?" Katniss remembered he used to play that game and might be interested. "I can accompany you."
Tristan leaned forward, his fresh, pleasant scent filling Katniss's nose. "What about you?"
"Me?" Katniss wasn't interested in the game, but she could tell Tristan was testing her with the tickets.
She smiled, her eyes curving. "I'll follow your lead. If you're interested, we'll go. If not, we'll return to Velvet City. After all, I have a lot of work to do."
Tristan leaned back, his body exuding a lazy aura as he reclined on the sofa. "Aren't you afraid he'll be angry?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
