Chapter 54 I Didn't Mean To Do That
Tristan's brow barely twitched as he watched Katniss quickly swipe at her eyes inside the car before stepping out.
"Mr. Forbes, got any other orders?" Katniss asked, trying to keep it cool.
She stood there, hands in front, kinda shocked Tristan had come down. But he probably didn't catch her crying from behind the car window.
Tristan's lips tightened. He raised his hand and handed her a voice recorder. "Your stuff."
Katniss grabbed it with both hands; it was her recorder for meeting notes. "Thanks, Mr. Forbes."
People were hustling all around, the place was a mess, but between them, it was dead silent.
Katniss could hear her own heartbeat. Seeing Tristan still quiet, she asked, "Mr. Forbes, anything else?"
"Nope." Tristan pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and stepped back onto the steps. "You go ahead, I'll finish this smoke."
Katniss stood there, the breeze messing with her hair. After a bit, she said, "Mr. Forbes, whether you believe it or not, I gotta explain—I didn't mean to take Miss Astor's call that morning."
Tristan paused and flicked the ash from his cigarette, about to say something.
"I'm outta here," Katniss cut him off.
She turned, got in the car, started it up, and drove off. In the rearview mirror, she saw him standing there, smoking, one hand in his pocket.
Even just standing there, he had this noble vibe, making people look twice.
Even if he was just some regular dude, he'd still stand out.
The car turned the corner, and only then did Tristan glance over. As the car's tail lights faded, his eyebrows furrowed again.
Those tears Katniss shed seemed to hit him right in the heart.
A wave of irritation spread through him, making the cigarette taste like nothing.
The work Katniss brought kept him busy all afternoon. He buried himself in it, dragging it out on purpose.
He worked late into the night. Bella was already asleep when he finally put away the documents, his tired brow furrowed as he lay down on the couch.
Moonlight streamed in, lighting up the whole hospital room. The sound of even breathing filled the air, and Bella suddenly opened her eyes.
She got up, lifted the thin blanket, and walked barefoot to Tristan's side, staring at his chiseled features.
"Tristan." Her voice was super soft, not wanting to wake him. Even in his sleep, his brow was furrowed, like he was having a bad dream.
But even with his brow furrowed, his sleeping face was way more relaxed than his usual stone-cold daytime look, which made her feel a bit more at ease.
She reached out, her fingertips landing between Tristan's brows, trying to smooth out the furrow.
But as soon as she touched his brow, her wrist was suddenly gripped by a strong hand.
"Katniss!" Tristan's thin lips let out the name.
Bella watched as he suddenly opened his eyes, a mix of tenderness and a hint of complex emotions in them.
He had actually called out Katniss's name.
Tristan snapped back to reality, his brow furrowing even deeper. He sat up and let go of Bella's hand. "Why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing here?"
Bella squatted by the couch, looking up at him. "Tristan, my bed's big enough. Let's sleep together. You've been busy all day and must be super tired."
"No need." Tristan's refusal was sharp and clear. Seeing Bella squatting there with a pitiful look in her eyes, he couldn't help but think of Katniss's stubborn gaze.
A wave of irritation surged in his heart. He picked up the cigarette from the table and stood up. "I'm gonna have a smoke. You go to sleep."
"Tristan." Bella called out urgently, but the response was the sound of the door closing.
She bit her lower lip hard, tasting blood but feeling no pain.
So, even now, she couldn't compare to Katniss!
She cried silently, and as if struck by a thought, she hurried back to the bed, picked up her phone, and made a call.
"Michael, I don't want to see Katniss around Tristan anymore! I won't allow Tristan to love anyone but me. I want her gone!"
On the other end, Michael was silent for a long time before a single word slipped from his lips. "Okay."
On the hospital rooftop, overlooking the dazzling city lights, Tristan couldn't shake the image of Katniss from his mind.
Countless cigarette butts piled up at his feet. He had hoped the smoke would clear his mind of Katniss.
But her every expression and movement became even more vivid, seeping into his bones with each drag of the cigarette.
Irritated, he pinched the bridge of his nose, took out his phone, and opened his chat history with Katniss. It was all work-related.
Aside from her respectful questions and his concise replies, the only slightly personal message was from a few months ago when she reminded him to eat on time.
After a while, he pocketed his phone, took a decisive step, and left. Unable to contain his emotions any longer, he finally left the hospital.
Katniss hadn't been sleeping well these past few days. She woke up around four in the morning and decided to go for a run.
She snapped a picture of the rising sun and posted it on Facebook.
Within seconds, someone liked and commented on her post.
It was George: [Katniss, up so early? Is your boss overworking you again?]
Katniss sat on a rock by the roadside, sensing George's hostility towards Tristan.
Katniss: [Nah. It's you who always gives me a hard time, making me memorize hundreds of game characters before you'd leave me alone.]
These past few days, she hadn't even had time to open a game.
George: [If my mom finds out we're not together, she'll break my legs. I'm dragging it out as long as I can.]
Katniss couldn't help but smile. She opened the chat window with George, ready to press her advantage.
Katniss: [Give me a timeline. How long until you can tell your mom we're not a good match?]
George quickly called her back. He said, "When can you recognize all the characters in my game?"
"Until the wedding our moms planned for us behind our backs, I probably couldn't even recognize the characters in your game. So, think about it carefully, are you really going to make it this hard for me?" Katniss wiped her sweat with a white towel and then turned back the way she came.
George grumbled for a while before finally giving a definite time. He said, "One month! No more than a month!"
"Deal," Katniss agreed readily, "To prevent you from getting scolded by your mom, you can come up with any excuse you want, I'll go along with your plan."
George praised her for being a really nice person and was happy that Matilda had such a good sister.
Katniss entered her house while still on the phone, not noticing the tall figure standing around the corner.
Tristan leaned against his car, watching her unlock the door with her fingerprint.
Tristan glanced at the Facebook interactions between Katniss and George on his phone. It was only now that he realized she wanted to get to know hundreds of game characters to distance herself from George.
His thin lips pressed into a straight line, a hint of frustration in his eyes.
Standing in the shadows, he watched Katniss come out in her professional attire and drive away. Only then did he get into his car and follow her out of the neighborhood.
Across the street, Michael sat in his car, eyes narrowed as he watched the two cars. A chilling coldness filled his gaze.
After a long while, he took a deep breath, started the engine, and headed towards the Astor Corporation.
Outside the CEO's office on the top floor of the Astor Corporation, Matilda handed in a resignation letter to Samuel again.
"Mr. Astor won't approve it. No matter how many you submit, it won't work," Samuel said without taking the letter, "Your attitude about resigning is clear enough. Stop doing things that will anger Mr. Astor."
Matilda didn't want to pay the penalty fee, as it was money Katniss had worked hard to earn.
If she could get Michael to approve her resignation, she could return the money to Katniss!
Stubbornly, she placed the letter in Samuel's hand. "Please pass this to Mr. Astor. Thank you."
Samuel, hearing this, didn't argue further and handed the letter to Michael, who had just arrived at the company.
When Matilda brought coffee to Michael, she immediately saw the four resignation letters on his desk.
All of them were hers. Michael rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at her. "You want to resign?"
Matilda put down the coffee and nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I hope you will approve my resignation."
Michael raised an eyebrow, smiling broadly. "I'll approve it, but you need to complete one task first."
"Go ahead," Matilda said without hesitation.
Michael took out a stack of documents from his drawer. It wasn't much, but the densely packed numbers were headache-inducing.
"These are Ascend Global Group's data from recent years. You need to compile a detailed summary and report, and draft a contract between The Astor Corporation and Ascend Global Group. Deliver the contract to Ascend Global Group by the end of the day."
The workload was enormous, and Matilda felt a headache coming on, but she accepted it.
"Okay, I'll get started right away." She took the documents and left.
Her departing figure lingered in Michael's eyes, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow.
That evening, Katniss returned home exhausted. She quickly made herself a bowl of pasta. As she ate, she thought of Tristan sitting across from her, eating the pasta she had cooked.
The entire day had been busy, but whenever she had a moment to herself, Tristan's image would pop into her mind, especially at night.
So after her shower, she changed clothes and thought about taking a couple of sleeping pills.
But then she suddenly received a text from Samuel: [Come to Harmony Hospital immediately.]
Matilda was in trouble! The thought made Katniss's heart race. She quickly changed clothes and rushed out the door.
It took her only half an hour to reach Harmony Hospital. As she got out of the car, she saw Samuel standing at the entrance.
"Talk while we walk," Samuel said, heading into the hospital. Katniss followed closely behind.
"Matilda went to Ascend Global Group to deliver a contract for Mr. Astor. Something happened, and Jasper ended up in the hospital with a head injury."
Katniss jogged to keep up with Samuel. Once they were in the elevator, Samuel pressed the floor button.
He added, "The injury isn't serious, and Jasper didn't call the police. Mr. Astor brought Matilda here to visit, aiming for a private settlement."
But Matilda would undoubtedly have to pay a price.
"I can only take you up there. The rest is up to you," Samuel said after a moment of thought, "If it doesn't work out, call the police."
Call the police? Given the Bell family's influence, if Matilda ended up in jail, she might never get out.
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