Chapter 9 The Origin of the "Mansion"
After the shot, the pain started to chill out, and the swelling went down a lot. The doc told her to swing by for another shot the next day to totally knock out the swelling. Popping the meds for a week would get her back on track.
But since she couldn't make it tomorrow, the doc grudgingly gave her meds for a few days.
By now, Bella's wound was stitched up, and she got moved to a VIP room. The whole Astor clan had shown up.
Katniss was hanging by the door with the prescription in her hand, watching a bunch of folks crowding around Bella's bed. She could barely see Bella clinging to Tristan like her life depended on it.
Even though the Astor family had their backs to her, she could feel the tension in the air.
Bella's dad, Henry Astor, was grilling Tristan about the media drama and Bella's injury.
Tristan's chiseled face had this distant smile, his eyes unfocused, making it impossible to read his mind.
Bella's mom, Eleanor Astor, was super ticked off by his attitude. She stepped up, yanked Bella's hand off Tristan, and told Tristan to sort out his marriage mess before coming to see Bella.
Bella kept sticking up for Tristan.
Henry shot Bella a glare and said, "He's trashing your rep!"
Bella blew off Henry's words and hugged Tristan tighter, saying, "I'm cool with it. If I hadn't bailed back then, we wouldn't be in this mess. I owe him, I'm not leaving him."
Henry and Eleanor were about to say something, but Bella quickly signaled to Michael, who had been quiet the whole time.
Michael finally spoke up, "Mom, Dad, Bella's a grown-up. Let her do her thing. Plus, she's right. She left Tristan first, which led to this. It's her call. Chill, I've already shut down the media. Everyone knows Tristan didn't marry for love, so the reporters are just stirring the pot. No one's gonna laugh at Bella."
Katniss couldn't help but grip the doorknob tight. The media would definitely be muzzled by the Astor family's clout.
And in high society, no one would really mock Bella. They'd just mock her, the so-called Mrs. Forbes, for clinging to the title and refusing to divorce.
Once her identity was out, she'd be the joke of the entire upper class.
"I'll handle my own stuff," Tristan said, gently peeling Bella's hand off. "Take care of yourself and bring more bodyguards when you go out. Let's not meet for a few days."
Bella looked at him all hurt and carefully asked, "Tristan, will you come to the hospital to see me?"
Tristan replied, "If I have time." Then he turned to the Astor couple and said, "I'm out."
Katniss stepped aside, waiting outside the room. When Tristan came out, he saw her and couldn't help but frown a bit.
The still-open door let out the grumbling voices of the Astor couple.
"What kind of attitude is that? He doesn't care about Bella at all!"
"Bella, a girl should be more reserved. You're so good to him, yet he treats you coldly."
The door closed, cutting off the rest of the convo, which Katniss didn't catch.
She looked up at Tristan, and he took the prescription from her hand, checking it out seriously. "Got the meds yet?"
"Not yet," Katniss replied, "Need me to handle the media?"
"Go grab the meds first. I'll wait for you in the car," Tristan said, handing the prescription back to her and walking off without directly answering her question.
Tristan's attitude made it clear he didn't need her to deal with the media. She glanced back at the Astor family's room, where Bella was still arguing with her folks.
Katniss turned and trailed after Tristan. She was dying to know what was going on in his head, but she could only discern his desires when they were in bed; at other times, he remained a total enigma.
Katniss grabbed the meds and headed back to the car. Tristan was in the back seat, glued to his laptop. He was always swamped. From her angle, it looked like he cared more about his work than Bella, which is probably why he didn't bother addressing the media drama.
Synergy Global Corporation was knee-deep in planning its biggest project in years, a make-or-break deal for their global expansion.
Tristan was seriously buried in work. Once he hit the office, it was all grind, no chill. All morning, Katniss brought him papers to sign twice and even delivered his lunch.
"Mr. Forbes, you've got an international meeting at 2 PM and a dinner thing tonight you can't skip."
She nudged his lunch towards him. "That dinner's gonna drag. Get some rest after lunch, or you'll crash."
Tristan glanced up at her and said, "If you can handle it, why can't I?"
Katniss forced a smile, feeling awkward. "Alright, enjoy your lunch. I'm out."
She bounced out of the office at lunchtime and bumped into Jessica and a few colleagues.
Jessica ditched the person she was with and ran over, linking arms with Katniss. "Katniss, what a coincidence! Join us. It's my birthday, and I'm treating."
The others crowded around, buttering up Katniss because of her position.
"Yeah, Katniss, come with us. We also wanna pick your brain about the company's team-building plans."
With all the pressure, Katniss had no choice but to tag along to a nearby restaurant.
As they sat down, the convo was all about flattering Katniss and digging for dirt on Tristan.
Jessica, sitting next to Katniss, noticed her reluctance and quickly shut the others up.
Jessica scarfed down her meal and paid the bill, making a big show of her closeness with Katniss in front of everyone. Katniss couldn't be bothered to react.
Back at the office, the receptionist rushed up to Katniss. "Katniss, there's a package for you."
Katniss frowned, taking the package. She didn't remember ordering anything.
"The delivery guy said it was originally sent to Oakwood Hills, but since no one was home, it got redirected here," the receptionist explained.
Katniss felt something was off. She never used her home address for deliveries, and any redirection would have been communicated to her first.
"Katniss, you live in Oakwood Hills?"
"That place is near the office. Even the cheapest house there costs a fortune."
Jessica's colleagues gasped, eyeing Katniss with surprise.
Even though Katniss was Tristan's assistant, a house in Oakwood Hills was way out of her pay grade. Besides, she'd only been with the company for three years.
Katniss pieced it together. She looked at Jessica, smiled, and walked over, shoving the package into her arms. "It's yours. Happy birthday from me. After all, we're family, right?" Katniss raised an eyebrow, her cold eyes locked on Jessica.
She squeezed Jessica's shoulder hard, and seeing Jessica's face falter, she let go, clapped her hands, and headed upstairs.
As soon as she left, everyone swarmed Jessica, dying to know the scoop on Katniss living in a "mansion."
Jessica watched Katniss get in the elevator, suddenly feeling guilty.
If anything happened to Katniss, she'd be toast at the company.
But she just wanted to give Katniss a little scare, not really mess her up.
She knew Katniss's weak spot. What was there to be scared of?
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