Chapter 66 His Mood Soured Even More
Matilda's quit fee from Astor Corporation was covered by Katniss, so her excuse was pretty solid.
Katniss didn't think much of it but still said, "No rush to pay me back; no need to mess with your salary advance."
"I'm worried I'll blow it all. Getting my salary in advance keeps me on track. Just take it," Matilda insisted, then asked, "Katniss, you dealing with any crap lately? Michael giving you grief again?"
"Nothing; I can't handle," Katniss replied, though she wasn't sure she could handle Michael's antics.
But spilling the beans to Matilda wouldn't help, so she kept it zipped.
She was deep in the convo when a car zoomed past, and she realized it was Tristan's ride.
In the rearview mirror, Katniss froze, her eyes flickering as she stared ahead.
Tristan's face was all serious as he glanced at her phone while she was chatting, trying to figure out who she was talking to so early in the morning. 'Who the heck is she talking to?' Tristan wondered.
His mood soured even more.
As soon as he hit Synergy Global Corporation, he got the news that Katniss had taken half a day off.
He tossed his coat on the chair, yanked at his tie, and plopped down at his desk, looking seriously ticked off.
Suddenly, the office door swung open, and he frowned. It was Michael.
"Dropped Bella off at work and thought I'd swing by for a chat." Michael plopped down in the chair across from him and casually slid a file on the desk toward Tristan.
"Honestly, I don't really dig Katniss, probably 'cause of Bella. So I did some snooping on her," Michael added.
Tristan's eyes narrowed at the file. He'd never dug into Katniss's past. He raised an eyebrow at Michael. "Is this really necessary?"
Michael shrugged. "Totally necessary. Katniss knows her place, but you're the only one who doesn't see she's just an assistant. She's all about the money. If you don't believe me, check it out yourself."
Money had always been a touchy subject for Tristan, and hearing Michael link Katniss to money made him instinctively recoil.
"Scared to look?" Michael opened the file and shoved it toward Tristan again, "Let me help you out. As a friend, I can overlook a lot, but I can't watch you get played."
Inside were Katniss's account transactions: Cedric sent seventy grand, George sent fifty grand, and there were records of the cash Tristan had given her.
"Maybe 'cause Bella's back, she feels her spot's threatened, so she's looking for other options. But the prices are all over the place," Michael said.
'The card I gave Katniss has two hundred grand on it, but to others, she looks pretty cheap!' Tristan thought.
Anger bubbled up inside him, and it took everything he had to keep his cool. "Doesn't matter. She's just a woman. As long as she's useful, who cares if she's playing me?" he said.
Michael stood up with a smirk, one hand in his pocket, and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. "You care."
Tristan laced his fingers together on the table, staring hard at the transaction records in front of him. "My business is none of your concern. If you still want my help, stay away from Katniss."
Michael stiffened at Tristan's firm words. "I did this for your own good. If you don't like it, I won't do it again."
Michael left the office.
Outside, Bella rushed over and asked, "Michael, how'd it go? Is Tristan super pissed?"
Michael replied, "Why? You happy he's mad?"
"Of course," Bella said. She'd been waiting for the day Tristan would hate Katniss for ages!
"If he's mad at Katniss, it means he cares about her. That's not a good thing," Michael said. He'd never seen anyone get under Tristan's skin like this before.
Bella's face fell, and she muttered, "Then what was the point of all this?"
'What was the point?' Michael raised an eyebrow and squinted, leaving everyone guessing his intentions.
Bella's question hung in the air. After seeing Michael off, she sat at her desk, feeling like she couldn't just sit and wait.
She pulled up Jessica's Facebook and immediately set up a lunch date with her.
Since she was already late, Katniss decided to take a half day off.
She gathered all the money she had, which totaled four hundred and fifty grand. She was still short fifty grand, but she could make up the difference with her next paycheck in two days.
She went to the hospital and deposited four hundred and fifty grand into Sophia's account, telling Damon she'd cover the remaining fifty grand in a few days.
She got to the company just before lunch. As she got off the bus, she saw Jessica and Bella arm in arm, heading to a nearby restaurant.
She paused for a few seconds before heading into Synergy Global Corporation, took the elevator straight to the top floor, and dove into work without even grabbing lunch.
She planned to wrap up her work early to meet Kieran, 'cause they had some study stuff to hash out in person.
They'd set up a meet at a restaurant for seven o'clock.
But just before the end of the workday, her phone rang.
Tristan's deep, magnetic voice came through, "Get the car, we're leaving."
She felt a bit jittery, not expecting Tristan, who'd been going home solo for the past few days, to suddenly ask her to drive him.
But if it was just to drop him off, she still had time. She grabbed her stuff and headed out.
First, she swung by Tristan's office to grab the car keys. He was so busy he didn't even glance up.
Then she drove the car up from the underground parking lot and waited at the company entrance for Tristan. She ended up waiting for half an hour.
As dusk settled, Tristan's tall figure finally appeared, his coat draped over his arm.
He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, looking all elegant and stuff.
Katniss was momentarily dazzled until he reached the car and tried to open the door but couldn't.
She snapped out of it and quickly unlocked the car. Too late to get out and open the door for him.
Tristan got in, his long legs stretching out comfortably. After closing the door, he lit his cigarette without saying a word.
The car was filled with an awkward silence, making Katniss feel suffocated. She couldn't help but floor the gas pedal.
After running two yellow lights, she finally couldn't make the third one at the intersection leading to Serenity Estate and Oakwood Hills.
She took a deep breath, lightly tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.
"In a hurry?" Tristan's voice from the back was calm but carried a sense of authority.
Katniss instinctively straightened up and softly replied, "No."
Tristan rolled down the window halfway and flicked the cigarette butt into a roadside trash can with precision.
"Go to your place," Tristan said.
Katniss' voice was noticeably more flustered. "Why are we suddenly going to my place?"
"What? Don't want to make money?" His large hand rested on the driver's seat, his body leaning slightly forward.
The smell of smoke was strong, making Katniss feel like she was being choked.
When the light turned green, she turned the steering wheel to the right.
A dim streetlight illuminated the entrance to her apartment, with a few insects buzzing around it.
Katniss walked up the steps slowly, head down as she entered the code, and the door opened with a click.
She opened the door wide and stepped aside to let Tristan in first.
His clean scent mixed with the smell of smoke was oddly pleasant.
Katniss took a deep breath, but before she could cancel her meeting with Kieran, he called her first.
With one foot just inside the door, she quickly stepped back and said to Tristan, "I need to take this call."
Then she went back to the car to answer Kieran's call.
"Katniss, I just got out of school and am on my way to the restaurant. Do you want me to pick you up?" Kieran asked.
Katniss quickly said, "No, no need. Something came up, so I can't make it today. Can we reschedule?"
Kieran immediately sounded unhappy. "Ms. Grey, how can you break your promise? I've been looking forward to dinner with you all afternoon."
Kieran had lacked maternal love since childhood and was quite stubborn and hard to appease.
When he got upset, Katniss had to coax him, especially since she was being paid by Cedric to tutor him and needed to show the right attitude.
"Don't be mad. This is an emergency. I promise I won't break our next appointment," Katniss said.
Her voice was soft and gentle, and her apologetic tone finally made Kieran relent with a huff. "If you break your promise next time, I'll have to punish you!"
That meant he wasn't angry anymore. Katniss couldn't help but smile. "Good boy. Make sure to review the materials I sent you tonight, and we'll talk later."
After hanging up, Kieran still felt upset and immediately called Cedric.
"You asked Katniss to tutor me, but she has her own job. Isn't that going to exhaust her? You need to find a way to reduce her workload. I might not learn well, but Katniss's health will definitely suffer," said Kieran.
Cedric was still in a meeting, but he spoke to Kieran in a flattering tone in front of a group of executives. "You're right. I'll find a way to make sure she isn't overworked. Anything else? Okay, I'll get back to my meeting."
After hanging up, Katniss turned around and saw a figure not far away—it was Tristan.
He was leaning against the car, his shirt untucked from his pants.
The white light shone on him, the smoke swirling around him, giving him a dreamy handsomeness.
His deep eyes looked at her through the smoke, his lips curled in a mocking smile.
"Had plans?" he asked.
"Yes," Katniss was momentarily stunned but nodded, "But I canceled them."
Tristan walked over, the smell of smoke hitting her face. "Regret it? I'm not planning to sleep with you tonight, yet I'm still taking up your time."
Katniss looked at him in shock, finding it hard to believe such words came from his mouth.
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