Chapter 94 Why Are You Afraid of Him?
Katniss shot Kieran a look, got up, and strolled over to the window to take a call. It was Daphne, needing to clear up some work stuff.
They yapped for a good half hour before everything was sorted out.
Finally, Daphne asked, all careful-like, "Katniss, when you coming back?"
"Probably not," Katniss said, straight-up. "If there's any doc you can't handle, just hit up Mr. Forbes."
There was a pause, then Daphne sighed. "Since you left, Mr. Forbes has been scary as hell. I'm too freaked to go near him. He booted a bunch of senior execs this morning, and now everyone's on edge."
"His mood's got nothing to do with me leaving. It's probably 'cause of Miss Astor. Let everyone know to be extra careful with their work, or it's gonna be rough."
Katniss rarely saw Tristan's mood mess with his work. Whenever he was in a funk, she always prepped in advance.
So, she could always handle his mood swings like a pro.
"Katniss, is it true about you and Mr. Forbes? I can't wrap my head around it!" Daphne blurted out.
Katniss sniffed, her eyes on the blue sky and fluffy clouds outside, and chuckled. "I can't believe it either."
Not being with Tristan now, the past three years felt like a dream.
Hearing this, Daphne knew it was true. They chatted a bit more about work before hanging up.
Given the situation, Katniss saw no point in hiding anything, so she calmly hung up and went back to teaching Kieran.
After wrapping up Kieran's lesson at noon, she turned down Cedric's lunch invite.
"I'll just teach him in the mornings. In the afternoons, he should review. Once he's back in school in a few days, I'll come over every evening," Katniss said.
These past few days lined up with a short holiday, so the school was on break, giving her the chance to teach Kieran daily.
Cedric was a bit taken aback and asked, "Katniss, aren't you swamped with work these days?"
"Not really." Katniss smiled faintly.
Cedric was super curious. 'How could Tristan's special assistant be so free?'
Unable to keep Katniss for lunch, Cedric watched her leave, then quickly called Tristan.
The call was picked up in seconds, and Cedric's questions came pouring out, "Mr. Forbes, did you give Katniss time off to help Kieran with his studies? If so, I feel really grateful. Are you expecting me to give you a discount on the new project? We can talk about that anytime."
"If Mr. Neville wants to throw in a discount, I ain't saying no," Tristan replied in his deep voice. Then, like something clicked, he asked, "How's Kieran doing with his studies?"
Talking about Kieran's progress, Cedric sounded pretty pleased, "Katniss is a rockstar. In no time, Kieran's made huge strides. But, you know, health matters too. The kid's kinda lazy; he needs more physical activity."
By the end, he sighed again. "I'm getting old and don't know much about this stuff. I wanted to get him a sports coach, but with his quirky temperament, he doesn't warm up to people easily."
"We'll hash this out when we meet," Tristan said, hanging up. He looked up at the suited guy standing in his office. "Go on."
The guy nodded slightly and said, "Mrs. Forbes sent me. Your assistant's on suspension, and I can handle the small stuff. Name's Ryan Gray."
Tristan set his phone aside, his gaze sharp. "Not everyone can jump straight to being an executive assistant. Many confidential docs are only for staff with years of experience."
"But Mrs. Forbes sent me. I've been with the Forbes family for years." Ryan smiled slightly. "Of course, if you're worried, I can start with minor tasks."
"Then start by managing my schedule," Tristan pointed outside and continued, "Go find Ms. Reed; she'll give you tasks."
With all this chaos, Bella's position was also axed.
Having no one around was a pain, but this guy was Adelaide's pick. His gaze deepened.
The afternoon sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the room. A gentle breeze blew in through the half-open window.
Katniss sat at a low table by the window, a teapot of flower tea steaming in front of her.
The steam rose, but she seemed oblivious, staring blankly at a button from a man's shirt in the corner.
It was a button from Tristan's shirt, each one custom-made. She didn't know when it had fallen there.
She got up, picked up the button, and gently rubbed its smooth edge with her thumb. It felt cool.
She had often dreamed about having some free time when she was busy, but now that she had it, she felt anxious and suffocated.
She sniffed, opened her phone, but found no one to talk to.
Suddenly, she saw that Daphne had added someone to the company's senior group chat. She clicked in and saw everyone welcoming the newcomer.
Daphne: [Let me introduce Ryan to you all, the new executive assistant. He'll be handling Mr. Forbes' schedule for now. If you have any issues, report to him promptly.]
It mentioned that Ryan would temporarily handle Tristan's schedule, but other confidential tasks would still need to be kept under wraps.
So, Ryan wasn't exactly trustworthy yet, but it was clear he was here to take over Katniss's spot.
Katniss pressed her lips together, her brows furrowing tightly. After a long sigh, she put down her phone and continued to stare blankly.
Even though Ryan had joined, the decision regarding Katniss's resignation has not been finalized yet.
Every morning, she went to school to tutor Kieran, and in the afternoons, she would go home and zone out. After her hand injury healed, she occasionally went to the hospital to hang out with Sophia in the afternoons.
It had been ten days, and she hadn't seen Tristan, but she had seen countless reports online.
All the news was about Tristan and Bella dining and shopping together, causing quite a buzz.
It was obvious that Tristan was doing this for Adelaide to see, so he didn't even bother to suppress the media.
Katniss didn't expect to see Tristan at the Neville family residence.
He was rocking a white athletic suit, with a bespoke logo on the chest, and his cropped, efficient haircut lay tousled over his forehead.
It made him look more approachable than in his usual suit, but his noble aura still made people hesitant to approach.
Holding a book for Kieran's lesson, she stood in the hallway, staring blankly at Tristan, who was chatting with Cedric in the living room.
"Katniss, why are you standing there?" Cedric was the first to notice her and waved.
Tristan, however, didn't lift his head at all, gently fiddling with a teacup, his gaze deep and unreadable.
Katniss took a deep breath, walked over slowly, and nodded slightly. "Hello, Mr. Neville, Mr. Forbes."
"Just feel at home. Go upstairs and start Kieran's lesson. I've made some new plans for his curriculum. He'll show you in a bit." Cedric smiled and waved Katniss off.
"Okay," Katniss responded, her gaze lingering on Tristan for a moment.
He remained motionless on the sofa.
Katniss tightened her grip on the book and turned to leave.
Kieran was already waiting at the door. Seeing her, he eagerly pulled her to sit down and said, "Ms. Grey, let's finish this lesson quickly! Mr. Forbes is gonna play basketball with me later."
Katniss paused as she placed the book down and turned to look at him, asking, "Why is he playing basketball with you?"
Kieran replied, "My dad said I need to get in better shape. He found several coaches, but I didn't like any of them. But I know Mr. Forbes is great at basketball. As soon as I heard my dad got him, I agreed immediately! Oh, and here's the new schedule."
Kieran handed over a schedule, with only minor tweaks.
Monday to Friday stayed the same, with her coming every evening to tutor Kieran.
Saturday and Sunday switched from half-days to full days, with two lessons and one PE class in the morning, and the same in the afternoon.
This meant she'd be seeing Tristan at the Neville family home two days a week.
Her calm mood from the past few days suddenly got all jumbled up.
Tristan was super busy, often working weekends, yet he agreed to come and tutor Kieran.
A thought flashed through her mind.
She felt she was overthinking it, but she couldn't find a better reason.
The fifty-minute lesson flew by, and before Katniss could even react, Kieran had already dropped his pen and bolted out.
She got up and followed downstairs, faintly hearing Kieran's excited cheers from the stairway.
From a distance, she saw Tristan's well-defined hand holding a basketball, walking outside, with Kieran bouncing along behind him.
"Katniss, thanks for the lesson. Come have some tea," Cedric called her over, pouring tea into a brand-new cup for her.
Seeing this, she quickly went downstairs, sat on the sofa, and politely thanked him. "Thank you, Mr. Neville."
Cedric smiled, "No need to be so formal with me. Kieran's grades have improved a lot, and I can't thank you enough."
For the Neville family, money was never an issue. As long as Kieran's grades improved, Cedric was immensely grateful.
The air was filled with the fresh, pleasant scent that Tristan always carried. Katniss was sitting where Tristan had just been.
In front of her were Tristan's cigarettes and lighter, the same brand, evoking a sense of familiarity.
"Stay for lunch. You still have two more lessons in the afternoon," Cedric said. "I've asked the kitchen to prepare dishes that you and Mr. Forbes like. From now on, every Saturday and Sunday, you can eat here."
Katniss couldn't find a reason to refuse, especially since Cedric had already made arrangements.
Her gaze fell on the two figures on the sunlit lawn. Kieran only reached Tristan's chest, so Tristan had to bend slightly to accommodate him.
The fifty-minute lesson was just a basic intro and ended quickly.
"Let's take a ten-minute break before the last lesson. Kieran is exhausted and won't be able to focus on the lesson right now," Cedric suggested to Katniss.
As they discussed, Tristan and Kieran returned. Katniss quickly stood up beside the sofa. "Okay."
"Why are you standing?" Cedric laughed and pointed to the spot next to Tristan. "Sit down. This isn't Synergy Global Corporation. Why are you afraid of him?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
