Chapter 97 Not Sure Exactly Where
"Oops, my bad." Katniss's mop accidentally brushed against the guy's suit pants, and she quickly apologized.
"No worries," came a voice with a chuckle.
Katniss glanced up to see a dude around forty, rocking gold-rimmed glasses and giving her a once-over with slightly creepy eyes.
The store had a specific uniform for employees, but since it was her first day, she was still in her usual business getup.
Her skirt almost hit her knees, but when she bent over to mop earlier, anyone looking could see up to her thighs.
She frowned a bit, ready to bounce.
Then the guy said, "You're new here, huh?"
The mall wasn't open yet, so the only person cleaning had to be a newbie.
The guy thought for a sec and then said, "You're Katniss from the formal wear department, right?"
"Yeah," Katniss figured this guy had some clout, maybe from HR or something.
The guy straightened up and said, "I'm the floor manager for the eighth floor. You can call me Mr. Wright."
All new hires sent their resumes to the main office, so Katniss kinda remembered him—Tyler Wright, who had joined Grand Era Mall as a manager a year ago, was a grad student.
She nodded slightly. "Hey, Mr. Wright."
Tyler squinted and smiled, two wrinkles popping up at the corners of his eyes. "I heard you got transferred from headquarters. I'm pretty tight with the HR manager there. You know him?"
"Yeah," Katniss replied.
Tyler wanted to chat more, but seeing Katniss's cold look, he said, "Alright, get back to it."
Katniss then left, feeling weird with Tyler's eyes glued to her back.
As the new hire, she had a ton of work, almost all the dirty and tiring stuff got dumped on her.
This included organizing the back warehouse, and she didn't even get a chance to be out front greeting customers all day.
Because she was so swamped, she didn't have time to think about Tristan.
After work, the sky was already dark, and the stars were twinkling above. She was beat and sore.
She sat by the spring pool in front of the mall to chill for a bit. The night wind was chilly, making her pull her coat tighter.
If she sat any longer, her recently recovered cold might come back, so she got up and walked to the bus stop.
A black sedan pulled up in front of her, the window half down, and Tyler leaned forward, looking at her. "Katniss, heading home? Need a lift?"
"No, thanks, Mr. Wright." Katniss politely declined and walked around the front of the car.
Under the streetlight, her shadow stretched long, and her black cashmere coat perfectly outlined her figure.
She had this unique vibe, and her cold brush-off left Tyler feeling a bit awkward.
After mulling it over, he pulled out his phone and dialed Keith Richardson, the HR manager at headquarters. "Hey Keith, gotta ask you something. What's the scoop on the new girl, Katniss, on the eighth floor? Come on, man, I'm not gonna blab. I just think she's really hot."
Whatever Keith said on the other end, Tyler quickly shot back, "With our history, you think I'd spill? Just give me the lowdown, what's the harm!"
In the car, he looked frustrated, watching Katniss hop on the bus. He wished he could tail her to see where she lived.
He rarely came across such a stunning woman!
The bus rolled past countless streetlights, their reflections flickering in Katniss's eyes. She looked down, messing with her phone, scrolling through Facebook.
She hadn't checked Facebook in ages, skimming through it quickly, when she suddenly saw several posts from Bella over the past few days.
They were either having dinner with Tristan or Tristan tagging along while she shopped. Most of the photos Bella posted were of Tristan's side profile or back.
But no matter which one, Katniss could spot him instantly, even if some were taken from a distance in a crowd.
Each post had a ton of comments and likes, mostly from colleagues, which Katniss could see.
This included Jessica, who had written some generic comments, but Katniss could imagine the suck-up look on Jessica's face as she typed them.
Jessica was probably thrilled about her leaving, as she didn't have to quit anymore.
Bella replied to each comment.
But Katniss noticed that Tristan had no interaction with Bella at all. His Facebook was as clean as ever.
Taking a deep breath, she turned off her phone and closed her eyes to rest, but Tristan's side profile lingered in her mind.
At the Forbes Mansion, Ryan opened the car door, and Tristan got out, striding into the villa.
Adelaide was sitting in the living room and glanced at him. "What? Not stirring up drama with Bella to tick me off today?"
Tristan paused, then turned and walked into the living room, plopping down beside Adelaide. "If you agreed to let me get a divorce sooner, you wouldn't be so pissed."
His tone wasn't bad, even pretty chill.
Adelaide raised an eyebrow and said, "You two can play your games all you want. I want to see who cracks first. The Astor family's daughter is constantly labeled as the homewrecker by the media. She might put up with it now, but I don't believe she can handle it forever."
She let out a cold laugh and kept sipping her tea.
Tristan wasn't in a rush; he just smirked, "As long as you're happy."
"By the way, where did you send Katniss?" Adelaide shot him a look. "You're pretty slick; even Ryan won't spill where she went."
She had clearly placed Katniss by Tristan's side, but at a crucial moment, something went down. She had no idea what Tristan did to get Ryan to switch sides on this!
Tristan shrugged. "I sent her to a mall. Not sure exactly where; HR handled it based on the situation."
With all the malls, hotels, and other properties under Synergy Global Corporation, it wouldn't be easy for Adelaide to track her down if Tristan was playing hide-and-seek.
She slammed her teacup down hard. "Get out of my sight!"
"Alright." Tristan got up and left.
Adelaide rolled her eyes in frustration, but she knew there were only two reasons for not finding Katniss.
Either Tristan didn't care at all, or he cared way too much.
Tristan had dinner with Adelaide but didn't stick around for the night. He drove away from the Forbes Mansion.
Not far from the mansion, he noticed Ryan's car tailing him. He clenched his jaw, his face dark with anger.
After driving around the city center, he eventually headed back to Serenity Estate. From the second-floor bedroom, he could still see Ryan's car parked downstairs.
Ryan was on the phone with Adelaide, giving her the lowdown. "Mr. Forbes is at Serenity Estate and hasn't gone anywhere else. Don't worry, he can't shake me off."
After hanging up, Ryan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Adelaide was a tough cookie, and Tristan could easily ditch him. Stuck between these two, he had to play it smart to survive.
For instance, as long as Tristan didn't ditch him, he could keep Katniss's location under wraps.
Katniss had been grinding for four days, working from dawn to dusk, but hadn't made a single sale.
She was either helping measure sizes or getting sent on various errands, without even a chance to greet customers.
But her main goal this week was to get a read on Brenda and Cynthia's personalities, so she wasn't stressing.
On Saturday, she had no chance to sleep in. After getting up, she grabbed her teaching materials and headed to the Neville family. Just as she stepped out of the community gate, she spotted Tristan's car.
The sleek luxury of the Range Rover was quietly parked by the roadside. Through the tinted windows, she could vaguely see Tristan's chiseled profile.
She hesitated for a few seconds, standing there, unsure whether to approach.
It wasn't until he honked that she realized he was indeed there to see her.
Clutching her bag strap tightly, she walked slowly toward his car. As soon as she stood by the passenger door, it opened.
His voice followed, "Get in."
"Uh..." She hesitated, seeing Tristan's cold eyes and the low pressure in his expression, she bent down and got in.
After fastening her seatbelt, Tristan had already started driving toward the Neville family.
The car was super quiet, so quiet that Katniss felt uneasy. She glanced sideways at Tristan.
Why did he come to take her to the Neville family?
"Just happened to be passing by." Tristan seemed to read her mind, his thin lips parting to say.
"Thanks, Mr. Forbes," she said softly.
The conversation ended, and it was quiet again.
Upon arriving at the Neville family, she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, turning to see Tristan already out of the car and entering the Neville family villa.
Cedric was waiting at the door, and Kieran seemed more excited to see Tristan than her, apparently fond of sports.
Maybe it really was just a coincidence. Her thoughts were unnecessary.
Clearing her mind, she followed inside, taking Kieran upstairs for his lesson.
Just like last week, there was a PE class with Tristan in the middle, and the two of them stayed for lunch.
At the table, Tristan brought up a matter. "Kieran already knows the basic rules of basketball. To get him into the groove faster, it's best to find a few people for practice."
"I don't have many servants at home, only five including the chef, and four of them are over fifty. We can't gather enough people," Cedric said, looking troubled.
"Four people are enough," Tristan said calmly.
Cedric frowned even more, "Four people still aren't enough. You..."
His worried expression made Kieran sigh. "Dad, aren't there four of us here?"
At the table, weren't there four people?
Katniss paused her eating, looking at the three of them in shock. "Do I count too?"
"Why not?" Tristan retorted, "Aren't you a person?"
Katniss was at a loss for words, awkwardly pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I don't know how to play basketball."
Tristan responded with silence, glancing at Cedric before lowering his head to eat.
Cedric seemed to understand something and quickly said, "Kieran and I aren't very skilled. You and Mr. Forbes, one completely inexperienced and one highly skilled, aren't these just perfect pairings?"
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