Chapter 60 It's Really You
But seriously, why would a money-hungry guy like Samuel risk ticking off Jasper just to help her out?
Katniss had this nagging feeling something was up. She tossed and turned forever after hitting the sack, sleep just not happening.
Out of nowhere, her phone buzzed. She grabbed it quick, not wanting to wake Matilda next to her.
"Hello, who's this?" Katniss asked.
There was a pause, then a careful voice, "Is this Miss Grey? It's Kieran."
That voice, familiar but kinda distant, made Katniss freeze for a sec before she answered, "Kieran, yeah, it's me."
"No way, it's really you!" Kieran sounded totally shocked. "I thought we'd never talk again."
Back when Katniss was tutoring him, they didn't hang out much, but they clicked. Kieran really leaned on her a lot.
Now, after a couple of years with zero contact, Kieran's sudden closeness threw her off.
"So, how've you been?" Katniss whispered, heading downstairs to crash on the couch.
Kieran started chatting. Even though he was in that rebellious teen phase, he didn't say much, but to Katniss, he still felt like that ten-year-old kid from back then.
They yapped for over an hour. During that time, someone else tried calling Katniss, but she just ignored it.
"Kieran, what's up with your grades tanking?" Katniss finally got to the point.
Kieran snorted, "I knew you'd ask. My dad's been on my case about it, and I haven't told him. If I tell you, you won't snitch, right?"
Of course, she'd tell him. Katniss went quiet, and Kieran got the hint.
In a not-so-happy tone, he said, "I'll only spill if you're on my side. If you're gonna rat me out, then forget it."
"Then don't say anything," Katniss didn't want to get stuck in the middle. "But can I still tutor you? No matter what's up, hitting the books and having a solid future is what matters."
On the other end, Kieran scoffed, "You're too blunt. Can't you sweet-talk me a bit?"
Katniss thought Kieran was being super childish and couldn't help but laugh. She said, "Just tell me if you're in or not."
"Fine, I'm in," Kieran said, "I didn't mean to slack off. It's just hard to catch up now. When are you coming to help me out?"
Katniss thought for a moment and said, "I can only prep some stuff for you. Do a test for each subject over the next few days and send them to me. I'll check where you're at."
Hearing he wouldn't see her, Kieran's voice dropped. "Alright, I'll write them and send them to you."
"Get some sleep; it's late," Katniss said, giving a few more tips before hanging up.
Only then did she notice Tristan had called her half an hour ago, and the call had auto-ended. He'd also sent a message: [?]
Not sure if Tristan was asleep, Katniss didn't dare send a voice message. She just texted back: [Mr. Forbes, do you need anything?]
No reply. After chatting with Kieran for so long, she wasn't sleepy anymore, so she pulled out her laptop and started diving into the 8th-grade curriculum.
She studied until 3 AM. Knowing she had to be functional for work the next day, she finally crashed.
But it was too late. The next day, she dragged herself to the office with dark circles under her eyes, looking beat.
Since Tristan had her car, she grabbed a cab and ended up being late.
When she clocked in at the company entrance and got the "You're late" reminder, a bunch of employees gave her surprised looks.
Among them was Jessica, who exchanged a glance with her colleague before following Katniss into the elevator with some documents.
"Katniss, you look like crap. And why'd you take the bus today?"
Katniss leaned against the elevator wall, not even lifting her head. "Didn't sleep well."
Her cold vibe left Jessica speechless.
The elevator stopped midway, but Jessica didn't seem to want to get out. Katniss pressed the open button and looked at her. "Not getting out?"
"Yeah," Jessica nodded quickly and walked out, glancing back at Katniss, who indeed looked terrible.
She figured something major must've gone down with Katniss.
She quickly pulled out her phone and ran to the stairwell to call Rupert. "Rupert, something's up with Katniss. She must've been dumped by Mr. Forbes!"
Rupert stopped his bike halfway. "What do you mean?"
Jessica said, "I just saw her take the bus to work. When has she ever taken the bus? And she looked awful, with heavy dark circles and a bad mood. She must've been wronged by Mr. Forbes. She barely responded to me. If it's not the case, how could she talk to me like that?"
Jessica sneered, "I was hoping she'd help me buy a house. Now it seems that's not happening. I wonder if Mr. Forbes gave her any breakup money."
She always had a knack for looking down on Katniss, often throwing shade. Rupert was used to it. "Cut the crap. I'll call her later to see what's up."
"Make sure you find out how much breakup cash she got. Don't let her blow it all on something stupid!" Jessica hammered home the breakup money point before hanging up.
Katniss went to drop off a report to Tristan. As soon as she put the file down, she heard him ask. "Didn't sleep well last night?"
She nodded, "Went to bed a bit late."
"Who were you on the phone with last night?" he asked, not looking up but making it clear he wanted an answer.
Katniss remembered his message from last night. "A friend. Mr. Forbes, did you need something from me last night?"
Tristan signed the document, closed it, and handed it back to her. "Just wanted to ask where George lives."
"Huh?" Katniss looked at him, surprised. "Then where did you take him?"
Tristan leaned back in his chair, raising an eyebrow. "Why? Are you worried?"
"No," Katniss shook her head. "I was worried he might have caused you trouble."
Tristan's gaze deepened. He looked at her for a moment before saying, "Not really trouble. Go ahead and get busy."
He pushed the file towards her, and Katniss took it and turned to leave.
She was just surprised that Tristan didn't even know where George lived but still took him away. She wasn't worried about George being in any danger; after all, Tristan wasn't a bad guy.
So when she got back to the office, she just sent a message to Matilda, asking her to check on George.
In the evening, Michael took Bella away first. Katniss barely made it through the day, feeling drained, so when she and Tristan got off work, it was Tristan who drove.
She dozed off in the car.
Her phone, sitting in the storage box, suddenly chimed, lighting up with a Facebook notification.
Tristan glanced down at it.
He frowned, stopped the car at a red light, and was about to reach for her phone when she beat him to it.
"My phone," Katniss's voice was still sleepy, lacking confidence.
If Tristan found out she was tutoring Kieran privately and it was messing with her rest and work, he'd definitely be pissed.
Tristan kept one hand on the wheel, turned slightly to look at her, and after a moment, turned back to face forward.
Katniss opened the Facebook message. It was a voice message from Kieran, which she converted to text.
Kieran: [I'll start doing the test papers now and submit two subjects to you every day.]
Katniss replied: [Okay.] She was about to put her phone back but hesitated and kept it in her hand.
The light turned green, and the car shot forward like a rocket. Katniss instinctively grabbed the handle above her head.
She glanced at Tristan. His profile was tense, and sensing her gaze, he looked over and reminded her, "Hold onto your phone, don't drop it."
"Okay," Katniss tightened her grip on her phone.
But the car sped up even more, and by the time it stopped, Katniss's mind was in a daze.
She followed Tristan into the house, and as soon as the door closed, he pinned her against it.
His cool lips brushed her hair, and his oppressive words came from above. "Dinner first or sex first?"
Katniss placed her hands on his chest, turned her head, and whispered, "Can we eat first? I'm hungry, and I'm really tired today. I just want to sleep, not have sex."
"I'll cook," Tristan lifted his head to look at her. "Now you know you're tired? Why didn't you think of that when you stayed up last night?"
Suddenly, she realized it might be hard to use her after-work time to prepare materials for Kieran. After all, there was still time after work that needed to be spent dealing with Tristan.
Her eyes fluttered, her long lashes like fans, as she looked at him. "I'll try not to stay up late anymore."
"Then sex or no sex?" Tristan's voice was hoarse.
Katniss's throat tightened. It seemed she couldn't avoid it. "Sex."
"Good girl. Go take a shower and change. I'll handle dinner, and then we'll do it together." He smiled in satisfaction, his long fingers threading through her hair, his breath unsteady as he planted a few kisses.
Katniss's face turned red.
After he let her go, she ran into the bathroom, patted her cheeks, cleared her head, and then turned on the water to shower.
Outside, Tristan took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his muscular forearms, and went into the kitchen.
Whatever he was thinking about, a smile played on his lips.
When they got out of the car, one was dazed, and the other had a dark expression. Neither noticed a car following them to their home.
Through the half-lowered window, Michael and Bella watched the door close.
Bella glanced upstairs, catching a glimpse of Katniss's clothes and a man's shirt hanging on the balcony, which Tristan used to wear.
She gritted her teeth, rolled up the window, and pulled out her phone from her bag. "I'm calling a reporter. I'm going to expose their affair!"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
