Chapter 322 I'm Calling to Cooperate with You
"Of course," Beau agreed without hesitation.
Seeing his determined tone and the confidence in his eyes, Rowan hesitated for a few seconds before tentatively asking, "Have you come up with a plan?"
"Plans? I've got plenty," Beau said dismissively. "I've been observing White Corporation's movements lately, and with Benjamin back, my focus has been on him. I couldn't be bothered with Katniss and Samuel."
Hearing this, Rowan smiled, her eyes filled with admiration. "Beau, I knew you had a plan. Tell me, what are you going to do?"
Her admiring gaze greatly satisfied Beau's vanity. Beau snorted coldly and said arrogantly, "Even though White Corporation isn't in my hands anymore, it's still easy for me to take someone out."
"What?" Rowan was shocked. "Are you planning to kill them? Won't that cause trouble? That's two lives!"
"Such a naive view!" Beau was particularly disdainful of Rowan's reaction. "There are plenty of people who need money. As long as I'm willing to spend, I can take out not just two people, but ten, and still come out clean! Besides, I'm only planning to deal with Katniss. As for Samuel, he's just a follower. He has some abilities and might be useful in the future."
Rowan pursed her lips, carefully observing Beau's reaction. Once she was sure Beau was serious and confident, she smiled again.
"Beau, you're amazing. I love how capable you are. You're the backbone for me and Orion."
In a room on the third floor, Lila listened to their conversation through a receiver and sneered as she turned it off.
To outsiders, Rowan appeared noble, young, beautiful, and graceful, but in private, she was just a depraved person.
Otherwise, how could she have manipulated Beau into falsely accusing his own son Benjamin of incest and driving him out of the house?
This wasn't the first time Lila had eavesdropped on their conversations. After all, they had already ruined her life for her brother Orion White without any warning.
She had to be cautious; they might try to use her again.
But now, she wouldn't give them the chance. Beau would never make a comeback in this lifetime!
She copied the recording, transferred it to a USB drive, and then called Tristan.
It was already late, but Tristan hadn't gone to bed yet. He was at The Forbes Mansion.
The vast Forbes Mansion was brightly lit. He lounged lazily in a chair, facing a displeased Adelaide.
"It's late. What do you need?"
Adelaide didn't beat around the bush. Knowing he was still close to Katniss, she was filled with anger.
"Can you wake up? How many people in high society can afford to focus solely on love? Look at all the wealthy families; how many have married an ordinary woman?"
Tristan's eyes darkened as he looked up slightly. "Then why did you agree to let me marry her before? And you were the one who found her for me."
"Without any family background, she has to pay a price and take on risks to earn her future wealth and glory. Isn't that obvious?" Adelaide said righteously. She had been more subtle in front of Katniss.
With Tristan, she was blunt and straightforward.
Tristan suddenly laughed, a laugh filled with endless sarcasm and self-mockery. "I'm not a man at all, relying on her to get into danger to save me, and then discarding her when I don't need her anymore."
Adelaide moved her lips.
Tristan's acceptance of Katniss had been her greatest comfort back then.
After all, she thought it was hard to find someone who could both help Tristan and whom Tristan liked.
But now, this love was the hardest thing for her to accept!
Because this love was now the most useless!
Before she could say anything else, Tristan's phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar number.
He took a look and decisively hung up.
Adelaide thought it was Katniss, so Tristan's hesitation showed he still cared about her.
"Tristan, I've spent my whole life for you. Maybe I've made mistakes, but it was all for your good. It doesn't matter if you don't appreciate it. You can hate me or curse me, but you must listen to me!"
Tristan put his phone away and asked, "What if I don't?"
"Then I'll die in front of you!" Adelaide blurted out.
Instantly, the living room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The past harmony between them was gone.
What remained was Adelaide's full-blown threat and Tristan's deep disappointment.
"You won't do that. If you commit suicide because I didn't obey, it would make me an unfilial grandson, and I'd be even less able to make a comeback. Don't use such words to diminish the little gratitude I have left for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang again.
Receiving two calls from an unfamiliar number in a short time was unusual, especially this late.
After some thought, he got up and walked upstairs. "Grandma, take care of yourself. I have the ability to protect the Forbes family and won't let Travis succeed. Don't mess things up."
Adelaide quickly stood up and followed him, seemingly unwilling to give up.
He climbed two steps and heard footsteps behind him. He stopped, turned around, and left one more sentence, "You're not the only one who can threaten with death. I can too. Don't look for Katniss again, and don't interfere with my affairs. You wouldn't want to experience the pain of losing a loved one twice, would you?"
His tone was neither light nor heavy, but it was particularly serious.
Those deep eyes looked at Adelaide, conveying the message: he wasn't joking.
The phone was still ringing. He continued upstairs and answered the call.
"Hello."
"Mr. Forbes, it's Lila."
"Lila?" Tristan paused for a moment, then quickly resumed his normal pace, entering the bedroom. His tone was icy, "Speak."
Lila giggled, "Mr. Forbes, don't be so cold. I'm calling to cooperate with you."
In his quiet room, her voice was particularly clear. The phone, on speaker mode and placed on the table, was the only light in the room.
Tristan was unbuttoning his shirt, his voice growing colder, "Get to the point."
"It's about Katniss. It's not something to discuss over the phone. How about I book a restaurant for lunch tomorrow, and we meet? I promise it will be a cooperation you'll be interested in. Otherwise, you can throw me out of the restaurant tomorrow."
Though her tone was flippant, that was her style. Tristan didn't think she would dare to deceive him.
After he agreed, Lila sensibly hung up the phone.
The busy signal sounded a few times in the room, then disappeared as the screen went dark.
Tristan turned on the bedside lamp and went to the bathroom to shower.
The sound of water trickled down, the warm liquid flowing over his strong body, and Adelaide's words echoed in his ears.
If he felt disheartened hearing them, how much more so for Katniss, the person involved?
A woman without a background marrying into a wealthy family must pay a price, risking her life to gamble for future wealth and glory? Ridiculous.
Yet, it was happening to him.
Ten minutes later, he turned off the faucet, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked out of the bathroom, drying his short hair.
He went straight to the bedside table, picked up his phone, and called Katniss.
It was already past eleven. Evie had just fallen asleep. Katniss's phone was on vibrate. When it buzzed, she instinctively picked it up and walked to the balcony.
Seeing it was Tristan, she frowned and answered, hearing him say in a deep voice: "I miss you."
This was the phrase he had been saying most often lately, but today it felt different.
Even from such a distance, she could sense his emotions through the the phone.
She felt warmth seeping into her heart.
"At The Forbes Mansion?" she asked, sensing his unusual mood, likely after a conversation with Adelaide.
"Yes," he responded with a single syllable. "I haven't touched the wedding house. When you come back, we'll live there."
Katniss was a bit surprised, "You didn't demolish it?"
She thought he would have lost his temper and, if not for arson being illegal, would have burned it down.
"Demolish?" Tristan asked with a bitter smile, "You have a hard heart. That was the home we designed together, filled with wedding photos and things you chose. How could I bear to demolish it?"
Even when he didn't know the truth back then, he couldn't bear to.
It was the only source of warmth and strength for him during that time.
"Wait," Katniss leaned against the balcony railing, looking at the sleeping Evie inside, her gaze softening. "How did we get to talking about the wedding house and where to live? I haven't even said I'm coming back."
The last sentence carried a hint of unnoticeable pride and a little temper.
Tristan's lips curved slightly. He almost revealed too much, but he wasn't in a hurry. He would take it slow.
"Alright, not coming back. How's the plan for The Astor Corporation acquisition going?"
Katniss said, "The plan is ready. We're just waiting to meet with The Astor Corporation people and make adjustments after the discussion."
She felt confident they could secure it, though dealing with Michael was inevitably annoying.
But Michael's opinion didn't matter much now, so she didn't need to worry too much.
Unexpectedly, Tristan said, "At ten o'clock tomorrow morning, I'll have someone deliver the acquisition contract."
"What?" Katniss was surprised, "Deliver the contract?"
That would save a lot of steps and time for her!
"Spend the saved time with me. Conservatively, I've saved you a week," Tristan said. "And promise me one thing: don't meet her in private anymore."
By "her," he meant Adelaide.
"Then I'll reluctantly agree." Not meeting Adelaide was something Katniss had already decided in her heart.
So agreeing to Tristan was quite easy.
But she didn't expect that she would run into Adelaide at the White Corporation entrance the next day at noon.
At ten o'clock, Tristan had someone deliver the acquisition contract. She, Samuel, and Benjamin reviewed it and found no major issues, so they signed it.
Securing the project so easily, they decided to have a small celebration nearby with a few trusted senior staff.
When they saw Adelaide standing at the White Corporation entrance, everyone was momentarily stunned, then all eyes turned to Katniss.
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