Chapter 58 You Can't Pin This On Me
Katniss's waist smacked into the table corner, making her face go ghostly white from the pain. She couldn't even get a word out to answer Bella's question.
Ignoring the gawking coworkers, Bella stormed over to Katniss. "Katniss, you shameless piece of work!"
She swung her hand down, aiming to slap Katniss right across her delicate face.
But Katniss caught her wrist like it was nothing, staring her down.
"Not my fault. You can't pin this on me! This is the office; keep it together!" Katniss said, cool as a cucumber.
She was just too easy to push around, so instead of taking their issues to Tristan, Michael and Bella kept dumping their drama on her!
Bella yanked at her wrist a few times but couldn't break free, her eyes blazing with anger.
"What's the big deal about the office? Scared? Scared people will find out you hooked up with the boss, scared they'll call you a homewrecker?" Bella yelled.
Katniss looked at her with a bored expression and said, "I'm more worried about you making a fool of yourself."
She let go of Bella's hand, straightened her messed-up clothes, and headed back to her office.
Everyone in the secretarial pool had seen the spat, so as soon as she got back, the chief secretary came over with some papers.
After a quick chat about work, the chief secretary hesitated, like she wanted to ask something.
But seeing Katniss looking so rough, she decided against it and walked away.
The rumor mill was in overdrive, making the office vibe super tense. Katniss couldn't concentrate, her mind spinning about what was really going on between Tristan and Bella.
'Does Tristan not love Bella?' That thought popped up, and Katniss started replaying all the drama between Tristan and Bella. She couldn't say for sure that Tristan didn't love Bella, but she also didn't feel like he was head over heels for her either.
The office door swung open, and she looked up to see Michael strolling in, hands in his pockets, looking all chill and lazy.
After his chat with Tristan, Michael had a soft smile back on his face. But his eyes were cold as ice when he said to Katniss, "You got two days left."
"Jasper's out of the hospital, and he's not pressing charges against Matilda," Katniss said, not sure if Michael was testing her or what, but she wasn't in the mood to chat about it with him.
Michael raised an eyebrow, his smile fading a bit, and leaned against her desk.
Pointing towards Tristan's office, Michael said, "Bella's in there, and Tristan's soothing her. They'll end up together eventually. Right now, Bella can't kick you out, but when she does, it's gonna be ugly for you. Might as well bail now."
"Thanks for the heads-up, Mr. Astor," Katniss replied, keeping it cool. "But I'm Mr. Forbes's assistant. Whether I stay or go, that's his call."
Michael had never seen someone so chill in the face of power. He raised his hand and gave Katniss's shoulder a pat.
What looked like a casual pat was actually pretty heavy, making Katniss's shoulder feel like lead and causing her to lean to the side.
"I've known you for years, and I respect you, but if you don't know your place, don't blame me for not giving you a break." With that, he got up and walked out.
Dressed in sportswear worth more than most people's rent, Michael oozed wealth and power.
Even his back was intimidating. But Katniss had already crossed him, and she knew that to keep her life on track, she had to stay tight with Tristan.
Without Tristan, her life would be like living in the dark, making every step a struggle.
She watched Bella come out of Tristan's office, looking like a whole new person. After a few words from Tristan, she didn't seem upset anymore.
To her surprise, Bella didn't leave but stayed to work.
So at the lunch meeting, she and Bella were both by Tristan's side.
Cedric Neville from Apex Holdings Group was no stranger to Katniss. Pushing forty, he was a widower with a ten-year-old son named Kieran Neville, who used to be a real handful.
When Katniss first joined Synergy Global Corporation, she was working on a partnership with Cedric. Back then, Apex Holdings Group was at the top of its game, and getting him on board wasn't a walk in the park.
It was crucial for her to move from intern assistant to a full-time gig, so Katniss went all out, meeting with Cedric multiple times.
Cedric threw her a curveball: get Kieran's grades into the top ten of his class, and he'd sign the deal.
That semester, Kieran ranked third, and Cedric signed the contract without a second thought.
Since then, Cedric had praised Katniss more than once, so later, Tristan kept her away from Apex Holdings Group's projects.
It's been almost a year since Katniss last saw Cedric.
At the lunch meeting, Cedric praised Katniss again, "Mr. Forbes, I compliment your assistant, and you don't seem thrilled? Lately, Apex Holdings Group's projects have been handled by nobodies. What, are you keeping her away from me?"
The topic was blunt. Tristan flicked his cigarette ash, his expression unreadable, not exactly pleased.
He glanced at Katniss. Her bright eyes and white teeth, combined with her delicate features, glowed under the light reflecting off the red wine, making her look absolutely stunning.
Even though she was dressed simply, not nearly as polished as Bella beside her, she was even more captivating.
Tristan replied, "Mr. Neville, you're kidding. Our collaboration with Apex Holdings Group is already rolling, and Katniss has a ton of other stuff to handle."
The reason was solid, so Cedric didn't push it, but he just wanted to chat a bit more with Katniss.
However, Tristan, though lounging lazily, exuded a powerful aura, with his casually unbuttoned shirt giving off an air of arrogance.
Cedric spoke with caution.
"Katniss, since Mr. Neville thinks so highly of you, you should have a few drinks with him." Bella, who had been quiet all along, chimed in. Without waiting for Katniss to agree, she handed her a glass of red wine and said, "Go pour Mr. Neville a drink."
Tristan's gaze darkened slightly. He flicked away the cigarette butt and reached to take the drink from Katniss's hand.
But Katniss agreed, "Bella's right. It's only proper for me to pour Mr. Neville a drink."
She gave Tristan a subtle smile, then got up and walked around the table to pour Cedric a drink.
She knew Cedric was interested in her, but he was a gentleman and only expressed his admiration.
Initially, he had asked her out a few times privately, but after she refused, he never bothered her again.
If she were to intentionally keep her distance from Cedric now, it would make her seem too petty.
Bella glanced at Tristan, who had one hand in his pocket, his foot on the chair leg, his eyes lowered, making it hard to read his emotions.
"Mr. Neville, I hope your collaboration with Synergy Global Corporation continues to be pleasant." Katniss poured the wine and also said a few kind words.
She always had a good sense of propriety, which Cedric appreciated even more. He happily remarked, "Of course, it's delightful! Mr. Forbes is straightforward, and you're so capable."
Setting down the bottle, Katniss turned to grab her own glass and clinked it with Cedric's. "Well then, here's to a smooth collaboration between Mr. Neville and Mr. Forbes in the future," she said.
"Good!" Cedric raised his glass and drank it all, adding, "In social settings, young ladies should drink less. Just take a sip for show; I'll drink with Mr. Forbes later."
Katniss smiled but still drank all the wine in her glass, then returned to her seat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Tristan seemed a bit unhappy. After glancing at her, he was pulled into drinking by Cedric.
For some reason, she turned to look at Bella, who was also looking at her, eyes full of resentment. "Katniss, you're quite the social butterfly."
Bella's words dripped with sarcasm, making Katniss furrow her brow. "Mr. Neville is a good person. Don't lump everyone together."
She gave a low warning, then turned away, ignoring Bella.
Bella was sipping on juice, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cedric glancing at Katniss from time to time, making her sneer. She didn't believe there were any good men in the world.
During the meal, Tristan went to the restroom. As soon as he left the room, Bella stood up and followed him.
The room was left with just Katniss and Cedric.
"Katniss, I might need to ask you a favor." Cedric looked a bit embarrassed.
Katniss quickly set down her utensils and said, "What is it? Please, go ahead."
The dazzling light in the room illuminated Cedric's face, making his embarrassment clear.
"Kieran's grades had improved, but recently, they've been tanking. I don't know what's going on, and I'm really worried."
He wiped the sweat off his forehead with a napkin, looking helplessly at Katniss. "I asked him why, but he wouldn't say. I hired a few tutors, but he chased them all away. I might need you to tutor him again."
This made Katniss a bit troubled. She said, "Mr. Neville, I tutored Kieran before for the sake of our collaboration, with Mr. Forbes's approval, using work hours. But now I'm swamped with work and can't tutor him like before..."
She didn't finish her sentence, feeling it was a bit like burning bridges. When they needed to collaborate, she would tutor Kieran. Now that the collaboration was established, there was no time for tutoring. But that was the reality, so she felt quite helpless.
Cedric quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I get it. I didn't expect you to tutor him every day like before. Just talk to him, see why his grades have dropped, and if he agrees, help him with some study materials."
He spoke while observing Katniss's expression. Knowing she often worked overtime, he wasn't sure if she'd be willing to make study materials after work.
Thinking of this, he quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll pay you!"
"No need." Katniss quickly refused, not wanting it to seem like she was only doing it for money. With the conversation at this point, she could only agree. "I can try, but don't get your hopes up too high."
Cedric immediately took out his phone and opened Facebook. He said, "Here, add him on Facebook."
Katniss, without Cedric's Facebook, had to search for Kieran's account by entering his phone number and then sent a friend request.
"Done, the friend request is sent," she said, turning back to her seat, only to see Tristan standing at the door.
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