Chapter 44 This Is Not the Company
Since it was the weekend, Katniss didn't have to drag herself to the office. She slept in till almost noon, only to get jolted awake by a call from Matilda.
Matilda wanted her to swing by the hospital in the afternoon to check on Sophia.
After hanging up, Katniss just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to piece together what went down last night.
All she could remember was those two cocktails she had—grape and grapefruit flavored, sweet and sour with a bit of a kick. They were pretty good.
Suddenly, she sat up, wincing from the soreness in her waist and legs, then flopped back onto the bed.
"Awake?" A clear, pleasant voice cut through the room.
Katniss turned her head to see Tristan lounging on the sofa, tapping away on his laptop, his well-defined hands flying over the keyboard.
After a few seconds of being stunned, she immediately sat up, ignoring the soreness, and asked, "Mr. Forbes, have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet, I ordered takeout. It should be here soon." Tristan stood up, set down his laptop, and looked down at her. "This isn't the office."
Her calling him Mr. Forbes made him feel weird.
Katniss was quiet for a few seconds, grabbed some clothes, and headed to the bathroom to change, not bothering to respond.
Even though Bella's words yesterday stung, she had to admit they made sense.
The gap between her and Tristan was just too big. She really shouldn't be having any more silly daydreams.
The doorbell suddenly rang, and she said to Tristan, "That might be the takeout. I'll get it."
She went downstairs to open the door. Outside, Rupert took off his mask, flashing a goofy smile, and asked, "Katniss, is Mr. Forbes here?"
Katniss saw Tristan's name and number on the takeout receipt and nodded. "Yeah, is this your new gig?"
"Yeah!" Rupert glanced inside and whispered, "I won't come in, don't wanna embarrass you. As soon as I saw your address, I grabbed the order!"
Katniss took the takeout and noticed Rupert's frayed sleeves and sweaty face. She frowned slightly and said, "Hold on a sec."
She went back inside and brought out two bottles of chilled drinks. "Watch out for heatstroke, drink these on the way. This job's tough but pays well. Save up for a couple of years and start a small business."
"Yeah, that's the plan!" Rupert nodded, then noticed Katniss's pale face and slightly swollen eyes. "Katniss, you don't look so hot, and your eyes are kinda puffy. What's up?"
"Nothing, just didn't sleep well." Katniss's eyes were indeed bothering her. She noticed her eyelids were a bit swollen when she washed her face, not having a clue what she did after getting drunk last night.
Rupert seemed to think of something, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "No one giving you a hard time, right?"
"Nope." Even though Katniss hadn't seen Rupert in over a decade and their recent run-ins were rare, his eyes always showed concern.
Katniss felt a bit comforted. "Alright, get going."
"Okay!" Rupert responded and took off quickly; he had two more orders to deliver.
Katniss watched him ride away on his electric bike, then went back inside to set the fancy breakfast on the table. Just as Tristan came down, she said without looking up, "Wash up and dig in."
Tristan headed to the kitchen to wash his hands and then sat down next to her.
"Are you heading to the office later?" Katniss asked while munching. "There's a meeting at 2 PM."
She was trying to figure out if Tristan would leave right after eating or wait until the afternoon.
Tristan replied, "I'll take you to the hospital in the afternoon, then head to the office. I'll pick you up from the hospital in the evening; I have a social event." He had overheard her chatting on the phone.
Tristan paused and asked, "Do you have a relative in the hospital?"
"Yeah." Katniss didn't want to say more, feeling a bit guilty.
But Tristan pressed on, "Who's in the hospital? Is it serious? Why haven't you mentioned it before?"
Katniss paused her eating, then said after a while, "Cancer."
Tristan looked slightly shocked and didn't ask further, suddenly recalling her crying last night.
After finishing the meal, Katniss put the leftovers in the fridge. By the time she cleaned the table, it was almost noon. It seemed they wouldn't need lunch, so she changed into casual, clean clothes and got ready to leave.
On the way, Tristan stopped at a fruit store to buy some imported fruits and also grabbed two boxes of nutritional supplements from a nearby mall.
When they got out of the car at the hospital entrance, Katniss realized those things were for Sophia.
"Mr. Forbes, this isn't appropriate." She hesitated to take them.
Tristan furrowed his brows and placed the fruit basket and supplements in front of her. "What's wrong with this? As your boss, it's only natural for me to buy some gifts as a gesture of goodwill when I know your family member is sick, especially considering our current relationship," he remarked.
What was their current relationship?
Katniss stayed silent, the sense of distance she exuded was palpable, and Tristan easily noticed.
It was probably because of what Bella said last night.
He took a deep breath, his tone softening slightly. "Katniss, you don't need to keep your distance from me; you can't anyway."
After saying that, he turned and got into the car, started the engine, and drove off.
As his car gradually disappeared from Katniss's sight, she sighed softly. Even if she couldn't keep her distance, she had to try; it's easy to step back physically but tough to do it emotionally!
She carried the fruits and supplements into the hospital room. Matilda was already there and looked surprised to see the stuff in her hands.
Sophia was stunned for a few seconds, then her face lit up with joy. "Did that boy I introduced to you buy these? Is he here? Where is he?"
She spoke while peeking towards the door.
Usually, Katniss would bring some loose fruits when she visited. This kind of fruit basket was pricey, so Sophia immediately guessed it wasn't from Katniss.
She thought it was from George.
Katniss was worried that if she said the gifts were from her boss, Sophia might get the wrong idea. Coincidentally, Sophia mistakenly thought they were from George, so Katniss just went with it.
So she said, "He bought these while passing by. He didn't come up since we haven't confirmed our relationship."
Sophia looked very disappointed and glared at Katniss. "Such a good young man, so considerate. What's there to hesitate about? I heard from his mother that you two went to Kingstone together, and he even got hurt because of you?"
"Yeah, I was handling some work and happened to meet him. The injury was an accident." Katniss put down the fruit basket and supplements. Seeing that Sophia wanted to discuss George further, she quickly changed the subject. "How's work going for you lately, Matilda?"
Matilda immediately replied, "Not bad, and I got promoted early. I've been transferred to the executive office on the top floor!"
She looked very happy and said, "My salary increased by two thousand dollars too!"
Katniss frowned slightly and asked, "Executive office? What will you be doing there?"
"I'm not sure yet. The order came in the middle of the night, and I just saw the notice this morning. I'll report to the executive office next Monday."
Matilda hesitated for a moment and asked, "The executive office isn't related to my major, and I don't really understand it. Katniss, do you have any advice?"
Katniss was silent for a moment and then said, "When you first start, it will probably be small tasks like making tea and printing documents. Confidential company files usually won't be given to you until at least six months later, so don't be too nervous."
Sophia nodded quickly and said, "Listen to Katniss on this. She has experience. Matilda, you must work hard and learn from Katniss."
"Got it, Mom!" Matilda responded cheerfully. The two of them chatted, making Sophia completely forget to ask about George.
Around 5 PM, Katniss got a call from Tristan; he had arrived at the hospital.
"Mom, I have some things to do tonight, so I'll head back now. I'll come to see you another day." She grabbed her bag and walked out.
Matilda saw her out and whispered as soon as they got into the elevator, "Katniss, the person who sent the fruit basket wasn't George, right? Was it Mr. Forbes?"
Katniss looked at her in surprise and said, "You are quite sharp ."
"Of course. But why would he send a fruit basket to Mom? Does he know about her illness? Doesn't he suspect you're his wife?"
Such coincidences do happen, but Matilda, like Katniss, felt guilty and couldn't help but worry.
Katniss shook her head and replied, "He doesn't suspect."
After all, she hadn't said who was sick.
"When you start at the executive office, you'll probably see Michael every day. Be careful."
Matilda nodded quickly and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do. If it gets too difficult, I'll quit."
No matter what, as long as she was under Michael, if it made things difficult for Katniss or posed any threat, she would quit immediately.
Matilda saw Katniss out of the elevator, and Katniss told her to go back. As soon as she stepped out of the hospital, she saw the car by the roadside.
Tristan got out of the car to wait for her, leaning lazily against the car door with a cigarette between his fingers. When he saw her, he took a deep drag and quickly stubbed it out.
He threw it into the trash can and opened the passenger door for her. "Get in."
Then he walked around to the driver's seat, acting as if he were her chauffeur.
Katniss's legs were quite weak, so she didn't argue with him. She climbed into the car and fastened her seatbelt. "Where are we going?"
"It's Bella's birthday. We're going to a hotel. After dinner, we'll probably go to D.V. It will be late." Tristan explained, started the engine, and merged into traffic. He stopped halfway to buy some food for her.
Katniss hesitated for a moment before accepting it. She wasn't qualified to sit at the table for this kind of dinner, so if she didn't eat now, she'd be hungry later.
He took Katniss to a nearby mall to buy a somewhat formal outfit, then headed straight to the hotel.
On the way, Tristan received a call. Adelaide's voice on the other end sounded very angry. Katniss couldn't hear clearly, but Tristan's face grew darker and darker. He hung up after a few words.
Bella's birthday party wasn't extravagant; it felt more like a family gathering. She booked a few private rooms at a hotel, invited a few close families, and some of her friends.
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