Chapter 343 Spent a Lot of Effort to Find You
Hazel's heart skipped a beat, and a cold sweat broke out on her back as she looked up abruptly.
"Ms. Carter?" Ryan was sent by Katniss. "Ms. Grey asked me to remind you to take care of your health."
Hazel let out a sigh of relief, took a deep breath, then stood up and smiled at Ryan. "Thank you, I will. Are you Ms. Grey's new assistant?"
Ryan didn't recognize Hazel. He might have seen her a couple of times around Katniss before, but he didn't remember.
He nodded and said, "Yes."
He wanted to ask about Hazel's relationship with Katniss, but seeing Hazel's pale face, he decided not to say more.
Katniss and Warren were outside discussing the bottom price for the acquisition.
Even though she knew Warren, Katniss still pressed down on Warren's bottom price, as a capitalist would.
It was ten thousand dollars lower than the original plan.
But Katniss was good at gauging the situation, only offering eighteen thousand dollars more than the highest bid from the group in the private room.
Warren almost cried, "Ms. Grey, you must have learned mind-reading from Mr. Forbes. How did you know their bid?"
He thought he could at least make an extra ten thousand dollars from Katniss.
"Mr. Dobbins, you flatter me. I don't need to guess their bid, just how much you would add to their highest bid."
Katniss understood Warren's thoughts.
Warren sighed and waved his hand, "Fine, I accept it. I won't go back to negotiate with them. I trust you to be honest, and it will make future discussions easier."
Initially, Warren had Katniss guess the bottom price like a riddle, wasting quite a bit of time.
When they returned to the private room, half an hour had passed.
Ten minutes earlier, Eudora had casually remarked, "Mr. Dobbins has been out for quite a while, and he left with Ms. Grey. I think I saw Mr. Dobbins receive a message before he left, probably from Ms. Grey asking to talk privately."
Her words were loaded with meaning.
"I think we should all stop hoping. Ms. Grey has probably already secured Mr. Dobbins privately. Let's just enjoy the gathering today."
Eudora raised her glass to the group, "It's a pleasure to meet you all here today."
The group raised their glasses in agreement, half-believing her words.
But when Katniss and Warren returned to the private room, Warren announced, "Everyone, I'm very grateful and honored that you could come, but after much consideration, I think it's better to work with Ms. Grey. We've known each other for a long time and are familiar with each other's work..."
"Mr. Dobbins, you don't need to explain. It's your choice who to work with. We all wish you a successful collaboration," Eudora interrupted Warren and was the first to toast.
The others were silent for a few seconds, then raised their glasses to join the toast.
But they stopped talking, starting to ponder the meaning behind Eudora's words.
Katniss glanced at Eudora, then looked away, ignoring her sarcasm.
She arranged to meet Warren the next day to discuss signing the acquisition contract and then left.
She actually had a good tolerance for alcohol, but since becoming pregnant, she hadn't touched it.
This was her first time drinking, and after just two glasses, she felt a bit dizzy.
Ryan drove straight to the basement, and after Katniss said goodbye to Warren and the others in the elevator, she waited at the entrance of the entertainment club.
The night breeze was gentle and comfortable as it blew on her. She leaned against the pillar at the entrance, texting Tristan that she would be home soon.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her. She thought it was Ryan and instinctively put away her phone, stepping down the stairs, but she missed a step and fell into a somewhat uncomfortable embrace.
The strong scent of men's cologne hit her nose. She was stunned for a few seconds before quickly pushing the person away and standing up straight.
"Thank you." She stepped back onto the stairs and took a closer look, realizing it wasn't a man but a boy.
Did he look twenty years old?
He didn't seem much older than Aaron.
His eyes were a bit blue, with long, curly eyelashes, seemingly a mixed-race.
His chestnut brown hair was slightly curly, and his every move exuded the aura of a foreign noble prince.
His speech was a bit unclear, probably from speaking a lot of foreign languages.
"You're welcome, Miss. Could you lend me a hundred dollars to take a cab home?" The boy took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. "My name is Lucas Hagen. This is my card. I lost my phone and didn't bring any cash, so I can't get home. I'll pay you back later."
Katniss instinctively patted her pocket. "Sorry, I don't have any cash on me."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ryan's car approaching. She added, "I'll ask my assistant if he has any."
She stepped down the stairs and quickly walked to Ryan's car. "Do you have any cash on you?"
Ryan quickly opened his wallet. "How much do you need?"
"A hundred dollars will do." Katniss took the money, turned around, and handed it to Lucas. "Here you go."
"Thank you." Lucas took the money and smiled at her, looking very innocent and lively, though a bit malnourished. "Miss, could you leave me your contact information so I can pay you back?"
Katniss was about to leave when she heard him and smiled, refusing, "No need."
But Lucas was persistent, "Miss, are you afraid I'll disturb your work? Just give me your Facebook. I'll transfer the money to you as soon as I get home and then delete you immediately. You don't want me to go around asking about you and wasting a lot of effort to find you, do you?"
Hearing his rambling, Katniss realized that if she didn't give him her contact information, he would still find a way to return the money.
So, Katniss handed him a business card. "My Facebook is on here. Just add me later."
Lucas took the card and insistently handed his card to Katniss.
Katniss accepted it and sneezed before getting back into the car.
The scent of Lucas's cologne was too strong for her.
His blue eyes watched her get into the car and drive away, disappearing around the corner before he turned and walked to a car parked by the roadside.
His phone rang in his pocket, and he hung up without even looking at it.
He got into the car, started the engine, and merged into the traffic. Among the few names on his Facebook list, someone sent him a voice message.
"Why didn't you contact me when you returned? Didn't we agree that you would come back after I settled everything here?"
"I know you can't understand why we're doing this, but your father's identity is special. He can never be in the spotlight. We want you to live a legitimate life!"
The other person's tone was urgent, speaking in a foreign language.
Lucas listened and decisively replied.
【Don't bother me.】
Half an hour later, it was almost ten o'clock.
Katniss had just opened the door to her house when she saw a man walking downstairs.
His tall, slender figure was elongated by the moonlight, and his chiseled features were bathed in a layer of bright moonlight.
It made him look both cold and desirable. He walked up to her, took her bag, and said, "Do you want some late-night snacks? You..."
The scent of men's cologne on her was too strong for Tristan to ignore.
His words stopped abruptly, his eyes deepening as he watched her hang up her coat and wrap her arms around her waist.
"Then could you make me some pasta, Mr. Forbes? I'll go upstairs and take a shower. The scent of men's cologne is too strong; I can't stand it."
Tristan lowered his head, as if just noticing, "The entertainment club was crowded. Which man was carrying cologne that got on you?"
It's not unusual for men to wear cologne.
What's unusual is that the scent on her was very pure, not mixed with other colognes.
So, she must have met that person alone.
Katniss had no idea he was already in detective mode. "Just someone insignificant."
She struggled a bit and freed herself from his embrace. "Is Evie asleep?"
"Yes," Tristan replied, parting ways with her at the dining room entrance.
She went upstairs to shower.
He went into the kitchen.
While cooking, he sent a message to Ryan, subtly probing for information.
"You had a prior conversation with Mr. Dobbins, so the collaboration went smoothly... No one caused any trouble, just ran into Miss Savoy, who made some snide remarks, but Ms. Grey didn't care! Besides the people we met tonight, she didn't see anyone else... There was a girl named Hazel who seemed unwell. She probably knew Ms. Grey from before and asked me to check on her... How could she have men's cologne on her?"
Ryan was confused and directly asked, "Mr. Forbes, what exactly are you trying to say?"
"Nothing." Tristan hung up, tossing his phone aside and stirring the pasta in the pot.
Ten minutes later, Katniss came downstairs.
The scent of men's cologne was gone, replaced by the familiar fragrance he knew. He pulled out a chair for her to sit.
"Tomorrow you have a follow-up appointment at the hospital," Katniss said while eating. "My mom called earlier and said she'll be back in the afternoon. After your appointment, we can go buy some things. It's like your official visit to her after we got back together."
Tristan poured her a glass of water and casually asked, "Do you have time to accompany me to the hospital tomorrow?"
Katniss paused, a forkful of pasta halfway to her mouth.
She looked up at his serious expression.
Something felt off.
She finished the pasta in her mouth before saying, "I worked overtime today to handle some tasks, so I don't need to go to the office tomorrow. I planned to accompany you to the hospital."
Tristan's lips curved slightly, a hint of a smile on his face. He pushed the bowl of pasta closer to her. "You've worked hard. Eat more."
Katniss's phone suddenly lit up.
Before Tristan could see, she quickly picked it up. It was a Facebook friend request.
She remembered lending a hundred dollars tonight and accepted the request.
The other person immediately transferred a hundred dollars.
And added a message: Thank you, Katniss. You're beautiful and kind!
Katniss didn't reply, just took the money and put her phone aside.
She had instinctively picked up her phone quickly, thinking it was work-related.
At the time, she didn't think anything was wrong, but when she put her phone down and saw Tristan's hawk-like dark eyes, she realized something seemed off.
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