Chapter 33 What Do You Want
Tristan's eyes dropped a bit, watching the cig burn down between his fingers, not saying a word.
Bella forced a smile and said, "She came with you, so it's natural you'd worry. Just make it up to her later. Don't stress too much; you've got a ton on your plate."
Tristan's brow furrowed. He took a drag, snuffed out the cig, and tossed the butt in the trash. "You head back to the hotel. I got stuff to handle."
Before Bella could ask where he was off to, he was already gone.
His leaving figure had this chill vibe that made people step aside without thinking.
Bella pressed her lips together, watching him go. After a bit, she saw Katniss head back to her hospital room and followed her.
Katniss had just moved from the wheelchair to the bed when Bella walked in, looking tired but smiling.
"Katniss, you really gave us a scare."
Katniss figured it was the ambulance that brought them to the hospital and then contacted Tristan, which is how they found out she was there.
Thinking about last night's call, her lashes trembled. "Sorry for the trouble."
"As long as you're okay." Bella sat down, pulled a card from her bag, and handed it over. "You came with Tristan, after all."
"We should make it right. There's $100,000 on this card. It's not much, but take it."
Katniss frowned. Was this Tristan's idea?
$100,000 was a lot.
Her heart ached a bit as she pushed Bella's hand back. "Thanks, Miss Astor. This was my fault for not handling things well."
"No need for compensation. I just need a few days to rest."
Bella grabbed Katniss's hand and forced the card into it. "Tristan's always good to his people. If you don't want money, what do you want?"
Katniss's throat tightened, sensing the deeper meaning behind Bella's words.
She looked at Bella, meeting her probing eyes. In that moment, she saw the turmoil beneath Bella's calm exterior.
So Bella asking for the hotel address yesterday wasn't to have a friend send something but to come from Velvet City to surprise Tristan.
Her luggage was still in Tristan's suite.
Was this a warning and reminder?
The day her identity would be exposed was bound to come sooner or later. Although the thought pained Katniss deeply, it was better than living in constant fear and anxiety.
So she didn't explain anything, keeping her expression calm and composed.
She handed the card back, looking at Bella calmly. "Miss Astor, if you really wanna compensate me, just have Mr. Forbes add it to my next paycheck."
Bella's smile was faint, giving nothing away. "Alright, I'll let Tristan know and make sure you get some extra."
"Tristan and I are heading back to Velvet City this afternoon. You don't look like you can travel, so take some time to rest. How about a week?" Her tone was more of an order than a suggestion.
The meds would wear off in 24 hours, and she could be discharged. Why would she need a week off?
Katniss figured Bella was suspicious. She nodded.
"Alright, I'll take a week off. Could you pass the message to Mr. Forbes for me?" Katniss said.
Bella stood up and waved. "Okay. Take care and rest up. I'll be going now."
Katniss smiled faintly and nodded, watching Bella leave before grabbing her phone from the cabinet.
Aside from news notifications, there were no messages.
Tristan hadn't even called to check on her, just sent Bella in his place.
She took a deep breath, put down her phone, and lay on the bed. Thanks to the meds, she soon drifted off to sleep.
In the private room of Azure Palace Hotel, a bunch of guys were drinking and chatting. Oliver sat next to Owen, socializing.
Suddenly, the door to the private room swung open, and Tristan's tall figure appeared.
His cold eyes locked onto Oliver, who immediately felt like he was in an icebox, standing frozen.
Owen, about fifty years old, immediately guessed why Tristan had come the moment he saw him.
He shouted, "Oliver, what are you standing there for? Make room for Mr. Forbes!"
Oliver snapped out of it, quickly stood up, and made way. Tristan walked over, his intense gaze still fixed on Oliver.
Seeing that Tristan didn't sit down, Oliver bent over and wiped the chair with his sleeve.
He looked up with a flattering smile. "Mr. Forbes, please have a seat!"
Tristan adjusted the chair's angle with his foot, sat down, and leaned back, accepting the cigarette Owen handed him.
"Mr. Forbes, you're here for the $80 million balance, right?" Owen passed the lighter. Despite his age, his presence was nowhere near as powerful as Tristan's.
He spoke to Tristan in a flattering tone, "I just heard about this from Oliver. We won't shortchange you on the $80 million balance. I'll have him draft a new contract."
Tristan took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a thick smoke ring, and responded, "Hmm."
Owen breathed a sigh of relief and introduced Tristan to the others. "This is Mr. Forbes from Synergy Global Corporation. You all should have heard of him."
Everyone in the room was a businessperson and had heard of Tristan's rep. They all raised their glasses, trying to butter him up.
"I've heard Mr. Forbes is young and promising, but damn, I didn't expect him to be this young!"
Tristan's cold gaze swept around the room. He didn't touch the drink Oliver poured for him and said, "Sorry, I'm not here to talk business today."
Seeing Tristan ignore the drink, Oliver's heart skipped a beat. He thought, 'Is he here for Katniss?'
Katniss was just a junior assistant, and he hadn't even slept with her. Tristan didn't need to make a scene for her in front of everyone.
He relaxed a bit and was about to place the drink in front of Tristan when his hand was suddenly empty.
Tristan grabbed the glass and splashed it in Oliver's face. The liquid dripped down Oliver's cheeks.
As Tristan stood up, the chair screeched. Oliver was kicked into the corner.
Oliver clutched his stomach, groaning in pain, squinting as he saw Tristan approaching.
Terrified, he immediately shut up.
Tristan stepped on his hand with brutal force, making Oliver's face go pale with pain, unable to speak.
"Was it this hand that touched her?" Tristan's cold words struck fear into Oliver's heart.
Oliver couldn't believe it, but he had to accept that Tristan was here to stand up for Katniss!
Everyone in the room was stunned, watching Tristan like an enraged lion. Not understanding the situation, they didn't dare to intervene.
Owen was stunned for a few seconds before reacting. He quickly got up and walked over, pulling on Tristan's arm.
"Mr. Forbes, what are you doing? What Oliver did was wrong, but she's just a mere assistant. There's no need for this. Just do me a favor and let him go."
"You dare touch my people?" Tristan turned, shaking off Owen's hand, his sinister gaze still fixed on Oliver.
Owen opened his mouth, seemingly understanding something. It's not uncommon to find inappropriate relationships between superiors and subordinates.
He gave Oliver a look. Oliver didn't dare to pull out his hand from under Tristan's foot; he only dared to twist his body and kneel.
"Mr. Forbes, I didn't know Katniss was your person! If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to touch her even if I had a thousand lives!"
His pleading eyes were hideous, and Tristan couldn't imagine the lecherous expression on his face when he unbuttoned Katniss's shirt last night, nor how helpless Katniss must have felt.
Tristan lifted his foot off Oliver's hand but then kicked him hard in the stomach.
"Mr. Forbes! I know I was wrong! I'm truly sorry!" Oliver, unable to fight back, could only beg for mercy.
Owen's face was grim, but he couldn't afford to piss off Tristan and could only try to mediate. "Mr. Forbes, he's my nephew after all. For my sake, spare him this time. We still have future deals. I'll make sure to cut all the profits to the minimum."
Tristan finally stopped and turned to look at Owen.
Owen thought his words had swayed Tristan and quickly added, "Rest assured, in future deals, I won't make a single cent!"
"From now on, Synergy Global Corporation will cancel all collaborations with Horizon Innovations Group," Tristan said coldly.
Yesterday afternoon when Katniss returned, she had clearly sorted things out with Oliver. However, Oliver suddenly changed his mind, which must have been influenced by Owen behind the scenes.
How could Tristan not see through it?
He adjusted his tie, glanced at Oliver, who was now bleeding from the mouth, and sneered before leaving the private room.
He didn't care about the looks from others, leaving only a cold, indifferent figure behind.
Owen, having lost face and money, angrily ended the dinner.
Back at the hotel, Tristan walked in to find Bella packing.
"Tristan, you're back. We should head to the airport."
She had packed not only her things but also his.
"I went to see Katniss before coming back. She's worried about her boyfriend's injury and wants to stay to take care of him for a few days."
"I agreed. You won't be mad, right?" She walked over to Tristan, looking up at him. "After all, her boyfriend got hurt for her. We can't be too harsh on her. Don't you think?"
Tristan's eyes darkened a bit. He stepped aside and entered the room to pack the rest of his clothes. "Then let her rest for a few more days."
Bella came back to take the clothes from his hands, but he avoided her.
Her hand hung in the air for a few seconds before she returned to normal. "Of course, she should rest for a few more days. But she must care a lot about her boyfriend, saying she wants to rest for half a month. I had to persuade her to agree to just a week. After all, you're very busy with work. If she doesn't come, you'll be very tired."
Tristan felt somewhat dissatisfied. George's hand injury wasn't too serious, probably just a week to recover. However, she insisted on taking care of him for half a month?! How would she take care of him? Feed him, change his clothes?
He looked back. "Not coming?"
Bella responded, grabbed her luggage, and followed. "Of course, I'm coming. Katniss stays to take care of her boyfriend, and I leave with mine!"
At the hospital, Katniss had slept groggily all afternoon. When she woke up, she saw George in her room, with the small table beside her filled with food.
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