Chapter 37 I'll Handle Her Spot
"All her cash is hard-earned. She helps me out of kindness, not duty. I'll pay her back," Rupert grumbled.
Jessica rolled her eyes, practically steaming. "Can you even pay it back? We haven't even sorted the house yet, and you've already blown a chunk of cash. You think you're loaded? I'm telling you, if you don't get us a house soon, I'm divorcing you!"
At the mention of divorce, Rupert quickly said, "I'll get it, I swear. Stop bringing up divorce."
Even though he wasn't the one his mom ditched back then, his life after his parents split wasn't great either. What he wanted most was a stable home and life.
He might not be rolling in dough now, but he was willing to hustle and could still make a decent living. If he lost his delivery gig, he could still do food delivery or even manual labor if he had to!
After hanging up, Katniss figured there was no way Rupert could leave the police station that easily.
Rupert wouldn't be able to leave as long as Synergy Global Corporation and Horizon Innovations Group didn't settle the remaining $80 million payment.
No matter how connected Jessica's helper was, they couldn't cover an $80 million debt with just a few grand.
So how did Rupert get out?
She couldn't wrap her head around it, lying in bed half the night without a clue.
The next morning, halfway through her breakfast, she got a text from Tristan asking her to pick him up. She scarfed down her last bite and rushed out.
As usual, she picked up Tristan and headed to the office. They stepped out of the elevator, and there was Bella, sitting at Katniss's desk.
Bella, all dolled up in her light pink dress, flashed a bright smile at Tristan but dialed it down when she saw Katniss. "Katniss, weren't you supposed to be off for a week? Why are you back so soon?"
Katniss glanced at her occupied desk and said respectfully, "The company's swamped, and I can't just take time off for small stuff."
Hearing Katniss call caring for George "small stuff," Tristan raised an eyebrow and a smirk tugged at his lips.
"I see," Bella said with a slight smile. After a few seconds, she walked over and linked arms with Katniss. "From now on, we're colleagues. I can help with some of your work, but I need to be available for Tristan at all times, so you'll need to change your desk."
Bella glanced at the secretarial office, where everyone was watching. "Why don't you move to the secretarial office?"
"I'll handle her spot, you just focus on your own stuff," Tristan cut in before Katniss could say a word. He shot a look at the stone-faced Katniss and said, "Follow me," before heading into his office.
Katniss pulled her arm away from Bella. "I'll go in now."
Bella watched her walk into the office, biting her lower lip hard.
Inside, Katniss stood in front of the desk, watching Tristan shrug off his suit jacket and drape it over the chair before sinking into his armchair.
"From now on, you just need to handle work stuff and be my driver. Leave everything else to Bella," Tristan said, pulling a key from a drawer and placing it in front of her. "The office next door is yours now."
The office next door had a full view of the secretarial office and was meant for the executive assistant.
Katniss had the outside workstation before to make it easier for Tristan to reach her at any time, so she wasn't placed inside the office.
Katniss took the key. "Got it."
After a moment of silence, she asked, "Did you cover George's and my medical bills at Kingstone?"
"Who else?" Tristan replied, "Or do you think Oliver suddenly grew a conscience and paid for your medical expenses?"
"Then..." Katniss started to ask about Rupert's release from the police station, but Bella walked in with coffee before she could finish.
"Tristan, I made you some coffee. See if it tastes better than the one from a few days ago," Bella said, placing the coffee on the desk and leaning over with a smile.
Tristan frowned slightly, his eyes darkening. He instructed Katniss, "Go pack your stuff."
"Yes," Katniss replied, turning to leave, her gaze briefly sweeping over Bella.
She clearly saw the determined look in Bella's eyes.
Katniss didn't have much to move, and with some colleagues helping her while chatting about work, she finished in less than five minutes.
Her new office was nearly half the size of Tristan's, simply and modestly decorated in a style similar to his.
The head secretary, who helped her move, looked around enviously. "Katniss, this office is really nice."
"It's just a place to work. Doesn't matter where it is," Katniss said, organizing a pile of documents. She had been away from the company for five days, including her time at Kingstone.
Her work had piled up, so she grabbed a file and looked up at the head secretary. "What do you need?"
"This document needs Mr. Forbes's signature," the head secretary said, handing her a file.
"It must be done before the end of the day. It's a contract for urgently needed resources. Once signed, fax it to the other company immediately so they can hold the order."
Katniss glanced outside, seeing Bella still in Tristan's office. "I'll take care of it later. You could handle other tasks first."
"Okay. Oh, by the way, Miss Astor is treating us to dinner tonight. Are you coming, Katniss?" the head secretary asked, looking hopeful. "We're not very familiar with Miss Astor, but she seems close to you. If you come, we'll feel more at ease."
Hearing the head secretary think she was tight with Bella, Katniss gave a bitter smile, shook her head, and said, "I've got too much work piled up. Probably won't make it."
The head secretary looked bummed out but said, "But Miss Astor has invited a couple of high-level folks from each department, so there'll be a lot of people. It shouldn't be awkward."
The company had over a dozen departments, and inviting at least two or three people from each meant a big crowd.
Looked like Bella was really trying to make some connections in the company.
Before long, Bella came out of Tristan's office, and Katniss had almost finished organizing. She was about to take a document to Tristan for his signature.
But as she reached Bella's desk, Bella stopped her. "Katniss, what do you need him for?"
Katniss pointed to the document in her hand. "I have a document that needs Mr. Forbes's signature."
"Give it to me," Bella said, taking the document from Katniss. "From now on, leave these small tasks to me. You focus on your work."
Though she was smiling, her eyes were full of caution and defensiveness.
Katniss forced a smile. "Alright, make sure to get it signed quickly. It's urgent."
"Okay," Bella said, watching Katniss head back to her office. Bella was about to get the document signed when her phone rang.
It was a call from Bella's mom, Eleanor Hamilton. Bella placed the document on the desk and went to the hallway to take the call.
"Bella, You are the jewel of our family. Why would you choose to work as Tristan's secretary?" Eleanor was clearly not happy about Bella's decision.
"Mom, don't worry about it. I can make my own decisions!" Bella insisted.
"I'm just concerned for you. Tristan may be great, but you're a girl. Being so forward could backfire!" Eleanor said.
"I messed up back then. If I don't take the initiative now, I'll lose him. Mom, if you really care about me, let me do what I want!" Bella said, hanging up the phone.
Eleanor's loving and concerned voice contrasted sharply with Tristan's cold demeanor in her mind.
Tears welled up in her eyes. Tristan could only be hers, and he must be acting cold because he was too angry.
Katniss was swamped with work, with countless documents and data to organize. She realized that Bella's role was limited to serving Tristan coffee, reminding him of his schedule, and other minor tasks.
What really got under her skin was that twenty minutes before the end of the workday, the head secretary came rushing over. "Katniss, where's the contract I gave you this morning for Mr. Forbes to sign? I totally spaced on it, and we're running out of time!"
Katniss remembered the contract and glanced outside to see Bella touching up her makeup at her desk. She got up and walked out.
"Miss Astor, has the contract I gave you this morning been signed?"
Bella paused, her eyes falling on the document behind her computer. "I forgot."
She had been upset after the phone call and had placed the document in an inconspicuous spot, completely forgetting about it.
"What? You forgot?" The head secretary slapped her forehead. "We're running out of time!"
Without a word, Katniss grabbed the document and headed towards the office, but Bella ran over to stop her at the door.
"You can't go in. Tristan is in a video conference and specifically instructed that no one is to enter."
"Except for urgent matters," Katniss said.
Bella looked at the head secretary, who was visibly anxious. If something went wrong, it would be a big problem.
She bit her lip and extended her hand. "Give me the document. I'll get him to sign it."
Katniss frowned slightly but quickly handed the document to Bella, carefully reminding her, "Open the document to the page where he needs to sign. He'll understand."
"I don't need you to remind me," Bella said, annoyed, and walked into the office.
Inside, Bella saw Tristan communicating with someone on the other end of the video call.
Five minutes passed, and Tristan hadn't paused his conversation for a moment. He only glanced at Bella when she entered and then ignored her.
Outside, the head secretary was getting anxious. "Katniss, Miss Astor has been in there for five minutes. Why hasn't she come out yet? We're running out of time. The order might be taken by someone else."
There were only fifteen minutes left until the end of the workday!
Katniss checked her watch, hesitated for a moment, and then knocked on Tristan's office door. After three urgent knocks, she didn't wait for a response and pushed the door open. She saw Bella standing there, not moving.
Frowning, she walked over, took the contract from Bella's hand, opened it to the page that needed signing, and placed it in front of Tristan, pointing to the signature line.
She also handed Tristan a pen.
The whole process took only five or six seconds. Tristan, wearing a Bluetooth headset, continued his conversation but watched Katniss's every move.
Understanding her intent, he took the pen and signed the document without even looking at it.
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