Chapter 59 Shall I See You Out?
Tristan's hand hovered over the doorknob for a sec, then he just shrugged and strolled in like he owned the place.
He pulled out a chair and dropped into it; the chair legs made a terrible screech, but he stayed as relaxed as ever, pouring some wine for Cedric. "Mr. Neville, please continue."
Cedric tucked his phone away, shot a grin at Katniss, and kept chatting with Tristan.
Even though Cedric was like a decade older than Tristan, the dude was super chill, and they vibed like there was no age gap, having a blast talking.
"Ugh, shameless," Bella muttered under her breath as she sat back down.
Only Katniss caught it. She shot Bella a quick look but then dropped her gaze 'cause Kieran had just accepted her friend request.
She sent a quick intro, not sure if Kieran would even remember her. The message just sat there, unread, even after dinner wrapped up.
Later, while they were hitting the golf course, Cedric kept trying to get the lowdown from her, but all she could do was shake her head, totally clueless.
Cedric got more and more bummed out, and after getting his butt kicked by Tristan over and over, he was pretty much done by the end of the day.
Leaving the golf course, everyone piled into their cars.
Katniss buckled up and asked Tristan in the back seat, "Mr. Forbes, we heading back to the office or straight home?"
"Home," Tristan mumbled, barely moving his lips. He leaned back, eyes shut. "Take her home."
The "her" was obviously Bella.
Katniss glanced at Bella in the rearview mirror. Bella's face was a blank slate. "To Oasis Residences. I moved out."
"Got it." Katniss set the GPS and drove to Oasis Residences. After dropping Bella off, she sped away.
On the way, she remembered the online drama Bella had been through and brought it up, "The news might be tied to Jasper. I saw him coming from Miss Astor's hospital room last night."
Tristan didn't say a word. She peeked at him in the rearview mirror; he looked like he was out cold.
She kept quiet and drove straight to Oakwood Hills without needing any directions from Tristan.
Her proactive vibe really seemed to please Tristan. She swapped her shoes at the entrance and walked into the house with him.
The whole scene felt kinda awkward, like they were a couple coming home from work. She rolled up her sleeves and asked, "What do you wanna eat?"
Tristan tossed his coat on the sofa, turned around, and started unbuttoning his cuffs. Just as he was about to say something, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"I got it," Katniss said, spinning around to open the door.
Standing there was Matilda, clutching a thermal container. She beamed at Katniss and barged in without waiting for an invite.
"Katniss, I whipped up your fave dish today..."
George was right behind her, grinning. "Katniss, I'm here to snag a free meal."
He strolled in, giving Matilda a nudge. "Hey, why are you..."
Their chatter cut off abruptly, and the air got thick with tension. Katniss tightened her grip on the doorknob, quickly shut the door, and headed back inside.
George and Matilda were frozen at the dining room entrance, while Tristan stood by the open fridge, still holding the door.
Katniss cleared her throat, walked over to the sofa, grabbed Tristan's coat, and handed it to him. "Mr. Forbes, didn't you just come to use the restroom? Now that you're done, shall I see you out?"
The fridge light lit up Tristan's face, but it couldn't hide his growing scowl. His eyes locked onto Katniss.
Katniss flashed a small smile and pushed the coat closer to him.
Even though Matilda was in the loop and George had his suspicions, the whole situation was too messy to be out in the open.
It wasn't cool to be seen together like this.
Tristan took the coat from her hand, slung it over his arm, and brushed past her, leaving a faint scent of smoke and booze.
George looked at Tristan but was really talking to Katniss, pretending to scold her, "Katniss, you're so clueless! Since Mr. Forbes is here so late, just let him stay for dinner."
"Well, Mr. Forbes is such a big deal..." George teased a bit, not really meaning to invite Tristan for dinner.
Tristan's lips curled into a smirk, cutting George off, "It's cool. Since you're so welcoming, I'll stay."
Matilda and Katniss shot daggers at George, silently cursing him for making Tristan stay.
George looked all innocent, his eyes saying he didn't expect Tristan to actually stay.
The three of them exchanged glances, but Tristan had already plopped down in the dining room, pulling out the chair next to him and tossing his coat over it. "What are you waiting for? Come sit down. If it gets any later, will you have to let me crash here?"
Katniss's mouth twitched as she walked over, unsure where to sit.
George quickly snagged the seat next to Tristan and pointed to the opposite chairs. "Matilda, Katniss, hurry up and sit down."
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, and Katniss was practically holding her breath. She and Matilda sat down and started setting up dinner.
Katniss went to the kitchen to grab utensils and had just handed them to Tristan when George piped up, "Mr. Forbes, how about some wine?"
Her hand shook, and the utensils clattered, hitting the back of Tristan's well-defined hand.
"What are you drinking for?" Matilda muttered under her breath, "With your drinking capacity, it's embarrassing!"
George wasn't having it. He caught a whiff of alcohol on Tristan and figured the guy must already be a bit buzzed, which is why he agreed to stay.
Even though George wasn't a heavyweight drinker, he was sure he could handle a half-drunk Tristan!
Once Tristan was plastered, George planned to kick him out and teach him a lesson!
"Come on, Mr. Forbes is Katniss's boss. We'll just have a couple of sips, so it has nothing to do with drinking capacity." He then turned to Tristan and asked, "Mr. Forbes, what do you think?"
Tristan shot Katniss a half-smile and said, "Since Mr. Russell is so keen, let's drink."
Katniss was speechless. Even more surprising, Tristan stood up, turned, and grabbed a bottle of red wine from the upper right cabinet.
He even found wine glasses in the kitchen cabinet, washed them, and brought them over like it was no big deal.
Matilda and George were stunned. Did they just see Tristan, all suited up, washing wine glasses in the kitchen?
To add to the confusion, Tristan explained with a slight frown, "Mr. Russell, don't overthink it. This place isn't big, so I guessed where the wine and glasses were."
Katniss lightly kicked Tristan's foot under the table and then smiled, saying, "Let's enjoy the meal."
She stood up and poured wine for George and Tristan, then got drinks for herself and Matilda.
George was laser-focused on getting Tristan drunk. He barely touched his food and kept downing drinks, while Tristan sipped sparingly. Before long, George was tipsy.
Seeing the juice in front of Matilda, George grabbed it and chugged it, then poured wine for Matilda. "Matilda, you drink with Mr. Forbes!"
Katniss looked at him with a blank expression. He wasn't trying to get Matilda to drink with Tristan. He clearly wanted Matilda to help him get Tristan wasted.
The dining room lights shone brightly, making Tristan's features even more striking.
His narrow eyes squinted slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. When Katniss looked over, he even raised an eyebrow.
Tristan was being cheeky; he was intentionally getting George drunk. But then again, she couldn't really blame him, since it was George who insisted on making him drink.
Matilda, dragged into the mix by George, reluctantly toasted Tristan. She only managed half a glass before she was tipsy.
Seeing Matilda's weak tolerance, George tried to rope Katniss in, but she flat-out refused.
If all three of them got plastered, they'd probably end up on the street. Someone had to stay sober to keep an eye on Tristan.
Half an hour later, George was face-down on the table, and Matilda, after just half a glass of wine, was sprawled on the sofa, out cold.
Katniss barely touched her food, while Tristan enjoyed his meal with a smirk.
"They're just kids. Why mess with them?" Katniss muttered softly, "You're not that young yourself."
Tristan's eyes darkened, his gaze shifting to George, who was decked out in a denim jacket, T-shirt, sweatpants, and running shoes.
He even had a black hat, which he tossed under the table after getting drunk.
And him? Always in a shirt and trousers, even with rolled-up sleeves, he still looked old.
"You're not young either," he replied, a bit miffed, then stood up and walked out of the dining room. But seeing Matilda and George on the sofa, he paused.
Now that they were drunk, what next?
"You drive home. Matilda will crash with me, and George can make do on the sofa for the night." Katniss went to the entrance to grab Tristan's car keys.
Tristan looked at the keys she handed him, stayed silent for a few seconds, then took them and went to the kitchen. He picked up George's hat and put it on.
Under Katniss's surprised gaze, he lifted George and walked out. "I'll take care of him."
With his strong arms, he easily supported George and left.
After cleaning up the dining room and taking a shower, Katniss woke the groggy Matilda and took her upstairs to sleep.
Finally lying down, Katniss grabbed her phone and saw a message from Samuel, sent an hour and a half ago.
She had been too focused on George getting Tristan drunk to notice her phone.
The message was simple. [I've done all I can. We're even.]
The sudden message left her stunned for a few seconds, reminding her of Jasper's situation.
The Astor Corporation and Ascend Global Group had business dealings. As Michael's assistant, Samuel should know some of Ascend Global Group's secrets or shady dealings.
After all, thorough investigation of business partners was a must in the corporate world.
Could it be that Samuel helped her solve the Jasper problem?
After pondering for a moment, she replied to Samuel with a short message: [Thanks.]
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
