Chapter 46 You're Not Even Worthy to Shine My Shoes
Katniss wasn't sure if Isla's drama had anything to do with Bella; she just knew the ruckus was already getting some serious side-eye from the crowd.
If Bella's birthday got trashed, would the Astor family be cool with that?
She had no clue what was up between Isla and the Astor family, but she really hoped Isla would chill out and realize today wasn't the day to start beef.
But nah, Isla was gunning for her. Isla sneered, "Big talk. Can you back it up?"
"Alright, I'll make it right. After the party, we can sort it out," Katniss sighed.
"Make it right?" Isla thought for a sec and said, "I don't want your money. I just want my outfit back to how it was."
Katniss frowned a bit and said, "Fine, after dinner, give me the dress, and I'll get it dry-cleaned."
"Nope." Isla twirled her hair, making it clear she was here to be a pain.
Katniss asked, "So, how do you wanna fix this?"
"Apologize." Isla glanced at the crowd. "On a big day like this, you messed up my outfit. Isn't it normal to say sorry?"
Some folks in the group looked annoyed, thinking Isla was being a pain, while others watched like it was prime-time TV.
Bella stood by her parents, cool as a cucumber, just watching Katniss without stepping in.
Her eyes, all dolled up, had a hint of sarcasm. See, no need for her to get involved.
Katniss couldn't afford to tick anyone off here!
"I'm sorry, miss. I accidentally messed up your dress and shoes. Hope you can forgive me." If it came down to cash, Katniss would be a bit bummed, but if an apology could fix it, why argue?
Katniss had apologized so many times before to keep the peace that it was second nature now.
Bella pursed her lips, not expecting Katniss to apologize so quickly.
Isla was caught off guard, blinking before she snapped out of it. "That's it?"
Katniss raised an eyebrow and smiled at Isla.
"Isla." Isla's mom stood next to Bella's mom, Eleanor, noticing Eleanor's annoyance. She got mad that Isla was ruining Bella's birthday and ticking off the Astor family.
"It's cool, it's just a little thing. The party must go on. Let's not kill the vibe," Bella chimed in.
With Bella's silent nod, Isla felt even bolder and got more cocky. She turned to Katniss and said, "I reject your apology."
Katniss took a deep breath, looked at Isla's smug face, and said, "Then I'll compensate you."
"I said I don't need money!" Isla hiked up her dress a bit, showing off her scuffed high heels.
"Kneel down and clean the dirt off my shoes, then maybe I'll forgive you."
Even though the wine had splashed on them, it wasn't that noticeable.
Katniss furrowed her brows, her gaze darkening. "I suggest you don't push it."
"Push it?" Isla rolled her eyes. "What if I do? If you don't let me vent today, I promise you won't leave this place!"
"Enough?" A cold, clear voice came from the doorway. Tristan, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, strolled over, his long legs moving with ease.
He raised an eyebrow at Isla. "How exactly do you plan to stop her from leaving? Enlighten me."
His tone was calm but carried an undeniable authority that was impossible to ignore.
Isla's throat tightened, and her scalp tingled under Tristan's gaze. She was at a loss for words.
She glanced back at Bella for help. Bella smiled and walked over, saying, "Tristan, don't be mad. Isla really loves her dress. It's normal for her to be upset if it gets dirty."
After speaking, Bella discreetly squeezed Isla's hand, signaling her to drop it.
Isla, not wanting to be humiliated by Katniss, snapped, "You're not even worthy of cleaning my shoes. I'll let you off today!"
Tristan's eyes were intense, and the smoke from his lips couldn't hide the sharpness in his gaze.
Katniss thought Isla was really pushing her luck. How dare Isla say in front of Tristan that Katniss wasn't even worthy of cleaning her shoes? After all, Katniss was Tristan's top assistant.
"Ridiculous!" Isla's father, Grant Tudor, stepped out from the crowd, annoyed that he hadn't recognized Katniss as Tristan's assistant earlier.
"Mr. Forbes, don't take it to heart. Isla is spoiled by me. Please, for my sake, don't hold it against her."
Tristan, holding a cigarette between his fingers, flicked the ash and smiled, "Mr. Tudor, don't stress out. Of course, I'll give you face. After all, I have to consider its owner even when I'm kicking a dog."
Wasn't that calling Isla a dog?
Katniss almost burst out laughing, lowering her head to hide her amusement. Luckily, Tristan was in front of her, or she would have been noticed.
Grant didn't dare to contradict Tristan and could only awkwardly change the subject, inviting them to take their seats.
Only then did Katniss notice that Tristan was holding a small gift box, which looked like jewelry.
It was probably an early birthday gift for Bella.
Tristan glanced back at Katniss, his eyes briefly sweeping over her shirt that clung to her waistline. Before taking his seat, he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Go fix your clothes. There's a small garden on the hotel's rooftop. If you get bored, head up there and wait for me."
"Okay," she replied, realizing it wasn't the best idea to stick around. She didn't have time to ponder what he meant by "wait for me" and turned to leave, heading straight to the top floor via the elevator.
The hotel's unique feature was its semi-open rooftop garden, offering a panoramic view of Velvet City's nightscape, with its myriad twinkling lights.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, the cool night breeze cleared her mind a bit. Surprisingly, the garden was empty, except for a uniformed attendant by the elevator.
She found a slightly dim spot to sit down, a warm orange light above her adding a touch of warmth to her presence.
Taking out her phone, she saw several messages from Matilda on Facebook. After she left the hospital, Sophia had complained about forgetting to ask about George.
Sophia impulsively called George's mother. Not sure what they talked about, but Matilda saw Sophia so happy, it was as if Sophia thought Katniss and George were about to get married.
Matilda: [Katniss, you better be prepared. I'm really afraid Mom will plan the wedding behind your back.]
This was Matilda's well-meaning advice.
Katniss smiled and replied: [Got it.]
Katniss decided to talk to George. With their mothers being so supportive, it was time to reconsider their current relationship.
So she sent George a message: [Are you there?]
As soon as the message was sent, she received a reply from George: [Log in.]
It took her a moment to realize George wanted her to get on the game, so she logged in.
As soon as she was online, George pulled her into a room, where another player named "Little moon" was also present.
"Katniss!" It was Matilda.
"From now on, I'm doing nothing but teaching you two how to play. I can't stand having friends who are so bad at this game."
George was quite dissatisfied, issuing orders, and then asked, "Katniss, did you need something?"
With Matilda there, Katniss couldn't bring up the matter directly and said, "No, nothing."
"Then get ready. I'm going to teach you how to play."
George clicked start, and within seconds, they were matched with teammates and opponents.
Katniss was as bad as ever, not getting the hang of the game at all. She didn't even know which characters to choose, and after George suggested two, she still couldn't find them.
In the end, the system auto-selected a character for her, and before she knew it, George was already groaning.
"Good grief, you two! Let's have dinner sometime, and I'll teach you the game characters."
Katniss sniffed and said, "It's okay, right? You're really skilled. We'll just follow you."
George almost spat blood, choosing an assassin to fight jungle monsters, with Katniss and Matilda's support characters beside him.
The two chatted idly while half-heartedly pressing skills to help the assassin fight.
Three minutes later, the other two teammates suddenly went offline.
Five minutes later, the game ended in a loss.
George fell silent. He began to doubt himself, losing to an ordinary player! And losing so quickly!
"You two, come into the room, especially you, Katniss. I'm going to teach you the game characters."
After a while, George regained his confidence, suppressing his humiliation, and began teaching Katniss step by step.
Katniss learned the basics, but when George asked her to find a specific character, she went through all of them and still couldn't find it.
"My boss needs me for some work. I'm a bit better than Katniss, so I'll leave first. George, you teach her." Matilda left in a hurry.
Katniss got the chance to bring up the matter. "My mom is too invested in our relationship. If we keep pretending we're still getting to know each other, it's probably going to get messy. Shouldn't we just say it's not working out?"
George held back his immediate refusal. His mom had just agreed that he could keep playing games as long as he was with Katniss!
But how should he convince Katniss to keep pretending?
After thinking it over, he said, "When you can play this game at a high level and recognize all the hundreds of characters, I'll tell the truth!"
Katniss frowned. She didn't have much time to play games, and learning all the characters would take who knows how long.
"Can I..."
"No, unless you do as I say, there's nothing to discuss. I'm logging off now!" George, afraid she would back out, hung up immediately.
Katniss stared at the empty game room on her phone, feeling a headache coming on. She could handle all sorts of people in the business world, but dealing with someone like George was a different story.
Following his instructions could take forever, but not doing so might lead to more trouble.
As she was worrying, a familiar, clear voice came from above. "I told you to come up here to enjoy the view, not to play games."
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