Chapter 48 That Is A Given
Back in her office, the secretary dropped off some papers. After some chit-chat, she finally got the scoop on why everyone was so hyped.
Bella had thrown some cash in the company group chat, saying it was to celebrate her birthday. She also casually mentioned that Tristan had gifted her a limited edition necklace worth a cool million bucks.
Everyone went nuts over it like they all just got million-dollar gifts themselves.
"A million dollars, huh? That's something folks like us can't even dream of," the secretary sighed. "How many years of grinding would it take for us to make a million?"
Katniss buried her head in the papers the secretary had brought over, her eyes flickering a bit. She couldn't help but think the priciest thing Tristan had ever given her was only worth a few hundred grand.
There really was a gap in how he treated her compared to Bella.
She raised an eyebrow and said, "Take care of your stuff. I'll bring these papers to you once I'm done."
The secretary then left.
Finally, the mountain of work was cleared, and Katniss wasn't drowning in it. She even managed to grab lunch on time.
At a restaurant near Synergy Global Corporation, Bella and her crew, including Jessica, were also there.
Jessica, sitting next to Bella, was sucking up to her. When she saw Katniss, her eyes flickered, and she forced a smile, inviting Katniss to join them.
"Yeah, Katniss, come sit with us. If it was't because Tristan have a meeting and couldn't join me for lunch, I wouldn't have had the chance to hang out with you all."
Bella smiled sweetly and glanced around. Immediately, someone made room for Katniss.
Even though Katniss knew Bella was two-faced, she couldn't refuse and make a scene. She ordered a meal and walked over to sit down.
Noticing the necklace around Bella's neck, she casually complimented, "Miss Astor, your necklace is gorgeous."
"Isn't it?" Bella lifted her chin, making it more visible to everyone. "Tristan gave it to me yesterday. I've wanted it for ages."
Katniss guessed she had already said this a dozen times.
She had heard it once from Nicholas yesterday, once from the secretary today, and now she was hearing it in person.
It was a bit ridiculous, but she listened to Bella finish her story with a calm expression and then naturally complimented, "Mr. Forbes is really good to you."
This left Bella speechless. She turned to look at Katniss, who didn't show the annoyance she had expected, making Bella feel super disappointed.
After Katniss's meal arrived, she quickly finished it and stood up to leave before everyone else. "I'm done eating, off to get busy now."
"Katniss," Jessica suddenly called out, "It's not every day we get to eat with Miss Astor. Why the rush? If you bail like this, people might think you're dodging her on purpose."
Katniss paused. She knew Jessica was just trying to suck up to Bella, and she wasn't about to get dragged into their drama.
She wasn't gonna let Jessica get away with it either.
Katniss calmly said, "Do you need me to suggest to Mr. Forbes to shorten your lunch break? So you won't be sitting here gossiping and your work efficiency might actually improve."
Most of the folks kissing up to Bella were the ones who slacked off and looked for shortcuts.
Katniss only called out Jessica, but it made the others nervous too.
So after Katniss left, everyone else quickly finished their lunch and found excuses to bounce.
Bella was fuming. "How dare you mess with me!"
Katniss didn't know that her warning to Jessica was seen by Bella as stirring up trouble.
As evening rolled around and the workday was winding down, Bella suddenly knocked on her office door, carrying a stack of documents.
She said, "Katniss, these are various data from other departments sent this afternoon. I was busy helping Tristan with meeting notes and forgot to bring them to you. But it's not too late now; after all, you have the whole evening."
Katniss looked at the documents dumped on her desk and raised an eyebrow. No wonder the papers that were supposed to be delivered this afternoon hadn't shown up.
Bella left without another word, and Katniss had no choice but to dive into the files.
After work hours, Tristan came over and saw the pile of documents on her desk, frowning. "You have to work overtime?"
Katniss glanced at him from the corner of her eye and nodded. "Yep."
Bella chimed in, "Tristan, I told you Katniss is swamped. Now you believe me, right? So it's just the two of us for dinner."
Bella stood outside the door, not coming in, holding her bag straps and smiling at Tristan. "Hurry up, we have a reservation, and it would be a waste not to go."
Katniss heard Tristan's response above her, followed by the sound of footsteps fading away.
She looked up just in time to see the backs of Tristan and Bella leaving. Her long eyelashes trembled, and she lowered her eyes to hide her emotions.
She kept working until past eleven at night. By the time she left Synergy Global Corporation and got home, it was already half-past midnight.
Tristan hadn't come home. The big house was empty, filled with his fresh, sweet scent.
Katniss couldn't sleep. She only dozed off near dawn, only to be woken up by Tristan early the next morning.
She opened her sleepy eyes and saw Tristan, dressed in a suit, sitting beside her. Before she could figure out what was happening, his kisses landed on her, from the corner of her eyes to her cheeks, then her nose, and finally her lips.
She slightly turned her head to dodge him, her eyes becoming clearer. "Am I late?"
"No," Tristan said, playing with her hand that was pressed against his chest. "I brought breakfast. After you eat, you'll head to the branch office for an inspection."
Katniss was practically lifted out of bed by him. He carried her downstairs to wash up and then brought her back upstairs to change clothes.
She felt a bit overwhelmed by his attention, especially since he drove her to the nearby city himself, even prepping an eye mask and a light blanket for her to rest.
Two hours later, their car stopped at the branch office in the nearby city. The general manager, Gavin Davis, quickly came forward and opened the passenger door.
Katniss's hand froze in mid-air as she was about to open the door, feeling awkward as their eyes met.
Gavin was surprised, glancing at Tristan in the driver's seat and quickly nodding. "Mr. Forbes, Katniss, please get out."
He then went around to open the door for Tristan.
The inspection was pretty straightforward, with the company's department heads reporting their work. Katniss was mainly responsible for taking notes and correcting errors.
Suddenly, Tristan's phone rang. Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss saw it was a call from Bella. Tristan's expression stayed cold as he hung up and tossed the phone aside.
But it quickly rang again. The conference room was dead silent, and the department head who was reporting didn't dare to continue.
It wasn't until Tristan hung up and put his phone on silent that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Katniss, however, started to feel uneasy because her phone in her pocket kept vibrating repeatedly, automatically hanging up and then ringing again.
She glanced at Tristan, who was also looking at her. Given their close proximity, he must have heard her phone vibrating.
"Let's take a ten-minute break," Tristan said, putting down the documents and walking out of the conference room just as a department head finished reporting.
Katniss took out her phone, and as expected, it was Bella. She stepped out to the end of the hallway to answer the call, hearing Bella's angry voice on the other end. "Katniss, why didn't you come to the office?"
"Miss Astor, Mr. Forbes and I are inspecting the branch office in the nearby city. It's on Mr. Forbes's schedule," Katniss explained.
"Then why didn't you take me with you?" Bella asked indignantly, "Did you do it on purpose?"
Katniss frowned slightly. "Mr. Forbes always leaves directly from home for inspections, so we didn't go to the office. The employee handbook I gave you clearly states this. The accompanying secretary or assistant follows Mr. Forbes's instructions."
So it wasn't that she didn't let Bella come; it was that Tristan didn't call Bella.
Moreover, Bella hadn't even bothered to read the employee handbook and foolishly waited at the office.
Bella was silent for a few seconds, then gritted her teeth and said, "Katniss, I know you did this on purpose. So, are you upset that Tristan bought me a gift?"
"You're overthinking it," Katniss said, a trace of annoyance in her eyes. "It's only natural for him to buy you gifts, so I won't be upset. Likewise, you're overly excited about something that is a given."
With that, she hung up the phone. At this point, her relationship with Bella couldn't get any worse, so she didn't bother listening to Bella's nonsense.
Turning around, she saw a tall figure standing by the window, holding a half-smoked cigarette with his clean, slender fingers. It seemed he had been there for a while.
She pursed her lips and looked at him.
"Don't look at me like that. You're the assistant, and she's the secretary. Your handling of the situation was correct."
Tristan's tone was neutral, neither siding with her nor favoring Bella.
Katniss's eyes showed a hint of doubt. She even suspected that Tristan had deliberately not reminded Bella and only brought her for the inspection.
As soon as the ten-minute break was over, they both returned to the conference room.
Around four in the afternoon, they headed back to Synergy Global Corporation for a video conference. Upon arrival, they found Michael there as well.
Even though it was past office hours, Bella was still at her desk. When she saw Katniss and Tristan come out, her eyes instantly reddened as she looked at Tristan.
Tristan, with his suit jacket draped over his arm and one hand in his pocket, walked over slowly, only to be stopped by Michael.
"Whatever it is, let's talk about it tomorrow. I have a meeting to attend," Tristan said coldly.
Michael's eyes curved as he patted Tristan's shoulder but turned to Bella and said, "What are you standing there for? You haven't done anything all day. Get ready to take notes for Tristan's meeting and let Katniss take a break."
Bella quickly grabbed her notepad and pen and opened the door to Tristan's office.
Tristan pushed Michael's hand away and looked back at Katniss. "In that case, you can go home first."
"Yes, Mr. Forbes," Katniss said, turning to leave.
While waiting for the elevator, Michael approached, his narrow eyes fixed on the ascending elevator numbers. "Katniss, you've been with Tristan for three years. Your work ability must be exceptional to satisfy Tristan. Not everyone can do that."
Katniss nodded slightly. "Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Astor."
"No need to be polite, I just think you're so capable, but your sister Matilda's work ability isn't that great," Michael said casually.
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