The crew at the company decided to hit up a picnic by the creek. Katniss, feeling kinda down after getting a text from Tristan, headed downstairs and saw them haggling with the hotel over picnic supplies.
As soon as she showed up, someone asked her to join in.
"Why not?" Katniss usually skipped out on these group hangouts. She was always swamped with work and didn't have many pals, usually sticking close to Tristan during team events.
But today, she took a rare day off. Stepping out of the hotel into the blazing sun, even the hot breeze felt kinda nice, blowing away some of her headache.
In these group things, the girls were always the life of the party. Katniss got pulled into some juicy gossip with a bunch of them, discussing whether Tristan truly loved Bella.
"Logically, Miss Astor's been back for ages. Mr. Forbes should've divorced and married her by now."
"Totally! Did you see how the news trashed Miss Astor last time? I heard her family had to squash the story, but Mr. Forbes didn't lift a finger."
"Katniss, what's the deal? Does Mr. Forbes not like Miss Astor?"
Katniss was planning to just listen, but after the girls went on and on without figuring it out, they threw the question right at her.
She blinked and bit her lip, saying, "It's Mr. Forbes' private biz, I really don't know."
"Come on, Katniss, you've been by Mr. Forbes' side forever. You must know him well. Take a wild guess!"
"Yeah, even if you're wrong, we won't spill!"
Katniss gave a faint smile and said, "It's not about spilling. I really can't guess."
Her eyes were clear, but there was a hint of bitterness. She truly couldn't read Tristan's mind.
"I bet Mr. Forbes doesn't like Miss Astor," someone whispered.
Katniss looked up slightly. It was Elodie Williams from the secretarial department. She was usually quiet, so her sudden comment got everyone curious.
"Why do you think that?"
Elodie glanced around to make sure no one else was listening before saying, "This morning, I accidentally saw Miss Astor talking to Mr. Astor in the hallway. She was crying, saying that even though Mr. Forbes shared a room with her, he spent two nights straight gaming all night, and they didn't hook up."
Hearing this, Katniss, who was in the know, instantly got why Bella was losing it.
Bella, all excited, had had Katniss book a room for them. Yet two nights had passed, and they had no action.
Judging from the text Tristan sent today, it seemed he had other plans for tonight, leaving Bella likely to be bummed out on this trip.
"I think Mr. Forbes is getting back at Miss Astor."
"Getting back at her for ditching him six years ago?"
"Could be. She thinks she can just waltz back and he'll be all over her? Anyone would hold a grudge, but if he's taking revenge, doesn't that mean he still cares? So, once he cools down, won't he just make up with her?"
Katniss couldn't wrap her head around their chatter. It was messing with her mood, so she decided to bounce. "Y'all have fun, I'm gonna take a walk."
She checked out the resort map and saw a flower field further down the creek. Her coworkers had already been there yesterday, so she figured she'd go solo.
Before she even got there, the smell of flowers hit her. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and the colors were popping. The flowers blended with the blue sky and white clouds, making her feel a bit better.
She spent the whole day chilling in the flower field, skipping lunch. It wasn't until evening that she headed back to the creek and joined the others for dinner at the hotel. From a distance, she spotted Tristan and a few others already eating.
Bella had this sweet smile, sitting close to Tristan, who looked totally indifferent. When she saw everyone coming back, she stood up and greeted them like she was the boss.
Katniss noticed a few employees exchanging looks and raised an eyebrow, then sat down with some senior staff at Tristan's table.
As soon as she sat down, Bella piped up, "You guys must be wiped out after playing all day, huh?"
Everyone agreed, saying they were pretty tired. They'd been playing games on the grass after dinner, which took a lot out of them!
"Then let's all get some good rest tonight. It's the last night, no staying up late." Bella winked and glanced at Nicholas.
Nicholas got the hint and said, "I'm not staying up. I need sleep. Got stuff to do when we get back to Velvet City tomorrow, can't be tired!"
Michael nodded and added, "I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, won't be joining you guys. Super busy, need to crash early tonight."
Bella bit her lip, watching Tristan carefully, and said, "Then, let's rest early tonight."
"I've got plans tonight," Tristan said, his lips barely moving, crushing Bella's hopes. But he looked at her with gentle eyes and added, "You rest early, don't wait up for me."
Their convo was quiet, only those at the table could hear. Katniss had two female employees who'd been gossiping by the creek sitting next to her. They exchanged glances and quickly looked down, pretending they didn't hear a thing.
Bella's face went pale, and she pressed her lips together for a bit before saying, "What could you possibly have to do? This isn't the office."
Katniss glanced up at Tristan, curious about how he'd handle Bella. If he didn't come up with a solid excuse, Bella probably wouldn't let it slide.
But then, Tristan looked straight at Katniss and said in a flat tone, "You should ask Katniss about that."
Everyone at the table turned to look at her.
Katniss's throat tightened, but she quickly said, "Miss Astor, Mr. Forbes has an international meeting tonight. It's been delayed for days, and the foreign party called me several times today to confirm the time. It’s about the recent discussions on Synergy Global Corporation's project to expand internationally, which is a big deal. Mr. Forbes's parents will also be attending the video conference."
"No wonder Katniss was on the phone all morning; she was confirming the meeting details," one of the female employees who had seen Katniss on the phone several times said.
Katniss nodded at the female employee and said, "Yep."
Bella wanted to argue, but Tristan softly said, "Go and urge the kitchen to serve the food quickly. Tristan need to eat before the meeting; don't be late."
Katniss got up to go to the kitchen.
She didn't know what Bella said afterward, but when she returned, Bella's disappointment had spread throughout the dining room. Everyone was quiet, and even the employees at other tables spoke very little.
Katniss felt stifled during the meal and quickly returned to her room to prep for the meeting. Within minutes, Tristan showed up.
Seeing that she had already set up the laptop and meeting materials, his eyes darkened slightly, and his thin lips curled up as he said, "You actually prepared."
Katniss scoffed inwardly. After hearing Elodie say that Bella was crying in the hallway, she knew it wouldn't be easy to fool her tonight, so she proactively called abroad to reschedule the video conference for tonight.
Whether Tristan understood her or was deliberately setting her up, he had thrown this problem at her to solve.
Fortunately, she was prepared, but she didn't dare show her displeasure in front of Tristan. She just smiled and said, "Mr. Forbes, please have a seat. I'll make you a cup of coffee."
Tristan placed the documents he was holding on the coffee table and lazily leaned back on the sofa.
When Katniss returned with the coffee, she was momentarily captivated by the figure under the warm yellow light.
He was wearing a light gray tracksuit, his features deep and cold. The light cast a shadow on his face, making his features appear even more distinct and unique.
He was deep into the materials and didn't notice Katniss staring at him for a few seconds. She quickly snapped out of it, brought the coffee over, and sat down across from him.
"Mr. Forbes, the main focus of this meeting is to report the achievements of the Synergy Global Corporation project and to discuss our confidence in this project..."
When it came to work, they were all business, even though they weren't in business attire and the bed behind them was where they had once been intimate.
Half an hour later, the meeting officially started. Katniss quietly took notes while Tristan did most of the talking with the folks on the computer.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Tristan glanced at her, and she immediately put down her pen and got up to open the door.
It was Bella, carrying a plate of fruit. She squeezed past Katniss and paused behind Tristan. Seeing that he was indeed in a video conference, she put down the fruit and turned to Katniss, whispering, "Katniss, how long will your meeting last?"
"Hard to say," Katniss replied vaguely. "If the foreign party quickly understands and accepts our data, it will take at least four hours. If they have doubts and need to debate, the time is uncertain."
Bella looked a bit disappointed but managed to pull out a smile and pointed to the fruit on the table. "Alright. I was worried you might be hungry, so I brought this for you."
"Thanks," Katniss said. Then Bella sat on the bed, her feet rubbing against the floor, clearly not planning to leave.
Katniss had no choice but to close the door and return to the coffee table to continue taking notes.
Time flew by while they worked. The night sky outside was full of stars. Bella moved from the bed to the window seat, occasionally looking at the scenery and then back at Katniss and Tristan, her disappointment evident before she returned to gazing outside.
Before she knew it, it was midnight. Katniss turned around and saw Bella asleep on the window seat, her legs curled up, her head resting against the window, looking small and pitiful.
She glanced at Tristan, who had finished four cups of coffee. His brows were tinged with fatigue, but he was still talking animatedly with the people on the computer. Sensing her gaze, Tristan looked up.
She pointed to the window seat, and Tristan seemed to understand. He took out his phone, fiddled with it for a moment, and then put it down.
Soon, there was a knock on the door.
Katniss was puzzled but went to open the door at Tristan's signal. It was Michael. He nodded at Katniss and then walked in to pick up Bella from the window seat, carrying her out of the room.
Katniss closed the door and returned to the meeting. Tristan's magnetic voice continued to speak, like a soothing lullaby, making her eyelids grow heavier.