Chapter 766
Jackson received Mike's message while he was still having lunch in the office.
But unlike the simple meal he had photographed for Lillian, there were clearly more exquisite dishes on the table outside the camera's view.
Served in fine dishes, they made the simple cafeteria meal next to them look even more plain and monotonous.
Jackson was sick, and as an all-purpose assistant, Terry definitely wouldn't let Jackson just eat a staff meal for lunch.
He had specially ordered a light and nutritious meal from a private restaurant to help Jackson recover.
Who knew that when the exquisite meal was placed on the table, Jackson asked him to get another staff meal from the company cafeteria.
Terry thought Jackson had prepared it especially for him, but it turned out Jackson was just staging a photo.
Terry felt a bit heartbroken.
"Do you think Lillian will respond and show concern when she sees the photo?" Jackson crossed his legs, his long fingers sliding back and forth on his phone.
Previously, he saw Mila take a photo of Max's hospital meal and send it to Lillian, and Lillian was very concerned, and she even gave diet recommendations to Mila.
When Lillian was still working at Star Group, she personally arranged all Jackson's meals.
If he coughed even a little, Lillian would be so worried that she would rush back to the Peace Mansion to make medicinal food for him, afraid he would get sick.
This morning he had a severe fever, so Lillian should still be thinking about him and would take the initiative to show concern, right?
"She definitely will! But why hasn't she replied yet?"
Without waiting for Terry to answer, Jackson concluded on his own.
He wouldn't accept any other answer.
Terry quickly said, "Mrs. Frane must be busy and hasn't seen your message yet. Didn't she say earlier that she had something to do at noon and couldn't have lunch with you?"
Jackson's thin lips pressed together, "But what exactly is she busy with at noon?"
She was busier than him, so busy that she doesn't even have time to reply to a message?
"Maybe Mrs. Frane is video chatting with her grandparents in Seaspring Valley City? Or visiting Max in the hospital? Or perhaps she's just started working and needs to put in some extra effort and work overtime. In any case, it must be something important."
Terry comforted Jackson, thinking that Jackson now seemed like a concubine waiting for the emperor's favor.
He couldn't even eat, spending the whole day waiting for Lillian's attention.
"Video chat? Max? Overtime? Are you saying these things are more important than me?"
Jackson's eyes lifted slightly, and Terry swallowed hard.
"Mr. Frane, if you don't start eating, the food will get cold."
If Lillian never replies, is Jackson planning to keep staring at his phone and not eat?
Jackson, unable to get Lillian's concern, had no appetite.
Jackson's thin lips pressed together, and just as he threw his phone aside, it chimed with a notification.
Terry breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Mrs. Frane really does care about you..."
But before he could finish his sentence, he noticed that Jackson's expression had changed after looking at his phone.
Terry was about to muster the courage to glance at Jackson's phone when Jackson stood up with a grim face and walked out.
His steps were filled with anger.
Terry didn't dare to ask and quickly followed.
Jackson suddenly stopped and turned around, causing Terry to almost bump into him.
He stumbled back, "Mr. Frane?"
Jackson ignored him, walked over to the sofa, picked up something, and then headed out again.
Terry was about to follow when Jackson instructed, "You eat the food, don't let it go to waste."
With that, Jackson's figure disappeared through the wide double doors of the office.
Terry looked at the untouched, fragrant dishes on the table and suddenly felt he could work for Jackson for another twenty years.
Jackson got into the driver's seat and was driving out of Star Group when Mike sent a second photo.
This photo was even more outrageous than the last.
In the previous photo, the man was just standing next to Lillian, handing her a rose.
But now, the man was sitting across from Lillian, chatting happily.
Even worse, Lillian's hand was reaching out and being held by the man!
[Jackson, this atmosphere looks like Lillian is on a date, and it seems to be going well. Did Lillian agree to let you pursue her just to mess with you?]
Mike also sent a shocked emoji.
Jackson turned off his phone and threw it onto the center console, his eyes cold.
Restaurant
Three minutes earlier, Lillian saw the rose presented to her and turned her head in surprise.
A tall young man with light-colored eyes stood beside her.
Under the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, his eyes shone with a translucent light brown hue. He looked at her with a smile.
Lillian was surprised, and the man also seemed momentarily stunned upon seeing her face.
Lillian was puzzled. Even if Ambrose didn't send Shirley's photo to the man for the blind date, Shirley was a minor celebrity. If the man was serious and reliable, he should have done some research.
She frowned slightly, but the man smiled apologetically and said. "Sorry, ma'am, I mistook you for someone else."
He nodded, straightened up, and looked around, his eyes showing some confusion.
Seeing this, Lillian smiled slightly and stood up. "You must be Miguel, right? I'm Shirley's friend, here with her. She went to take a call and will be back soon. Please have a seat."
Ambrose had introduced this blind date to Shirley, named Miguel Jimenez, a plastic surgeon.
He owned dozens of plastic surgery clinics, with many celebrities as high-end clients.
Ambrose probably thought Miguel's social circle overlapped with Shirley's to some extent, so he introduced Miguel to Shirley.
Miguel was very talkative, wearing a dark gray casual suit, speaking politely, looking refined and gentle, and knowledgeable about women's most concerned issues like appearance maintenance.
Sitting across from Lillian for a short while, he was already chatting with her comfortably and happily.
"The cheekbones are an important standard for bone structure. Many people have high cheekbones, which makes them prone to nasolabial folds and aging, especially if they like to sleep on their side. It's a disaster. Ms. Kelly, you and Ms. James don't have such worries; you both have very good bone structure."
Lillian nodded and smiled. "So, between Shirley and me, whose bone structure is more resistant to aging?"
Lillian was clearly throwing out a tricky question, wanting to test Miguel's character.
He was Shirley's blind date. If he flattered another woman just because Shirley wasn't there, Lillian felt there would be no need for Shirley to continue seeing him.
Miguel raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Honestly, Ms. James has a face that doesn't show her age. She should have a long career in the entertainment industry. Ten years from now, she might still look believable playing a high school student.
"And your bone structure and skin are both excellent. In ten years, your appearance will be even more graceful and beautiful. In twenty years, you two will surely still be youthful friends."
After saying this, Miguel took a sip of water and then pretended to ask nervously, "Ms. Kelly, does this answer mean I passed the test?"
Lillian smiled and nodded, "Your answer was very objective."
Miguel looked relieved.
Lillian continued chatting with him and learned that Miguel's family was also in the medical field, with his grandfather being a skilled doctor.
This reminded Lillian of her request for Beck to help with Oberon's acupuncture, so she couldn't help but ask Miguel a few questions.
Miguel did know Beck and shared some of Beck's preferences with Lillian, for which she was grateful. When she heard that Beck liked young people who understood medical principles, Lillian asked Miguel to recommend two books and talked about pulse diagnosis. Miguel, having been influenced by his family, knew a bit about it and took Lillian's hand to feel her pulse while explaining the pulse patterns.
From a distance, it looked like they were holding hands.
Jackson rushed to the restaurant as quickly as possible and saw through the floor-to-ceiling windows that Lillian and the man were still holding hands.
Jackson instinctively glanced at his watch, his face darkening further.
"It's not that mysterious. The important thing is to feel the pulse more, practice more, listen more, and compare more. Simple pulse patterns can be quickly identified..."
Lillian leaned in slightly, listening intently to Miguel's explanation.
Suddenly, she felt something soft and fluffy rub against her cheek, blocking her view.
Unable to see Miguel across from her, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity and fear.
Instinctively, Lillian withdrew her hand from across the table.
Then, she focused on the object blocking her view.
To her surprise, she found that the thing obstructing her vision was very familiar.
Soft and fluffy, it carried a hint of the unique woody scent she associated with a certain man.
It was the cream-colored teddy bear.
At that moment, the teddy bear's big head moved again, squeezing further between her and Miguel, completely separating them. The bear's nose even nuzzled against Lillian's face as if greeting her.
Lillian's heart skipped a beat. She didn't need to turn her head to know who had arrived.
Sure enough, following the bear's body, she saw Jackson's broad, straight back.
He was tall, his business suit perfectly pressed, fitting snugly around his broad shoulders and tapering down to his narrow waist.
The large teddy bear tucked under his arm had been carried around by him for the past few days, and Lillian no longer found it incongruous. Instead, it seemed to blend in seamlessly.
"Excuse me, sir? Could you please move a bit? You're disturbing us."
Miguel's gentle voice came from across the table.
But Lillian still couldn't see Miguel, and she felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.
Jackson remained standing by the table, his back to them, the teddy bear under his arm.
Since he wasn't looking their way, it seemed as if he hadn't realized the bear had crossed the line.
Miguel apparently hadn't realized Jackson was doing it on purpose.
Hearing Miguel's voice, Jackson finally turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Miguel.
Jackson's expression was cold, "How could you be upset with such a cute bear, sir?"
Miguel and Lillian fell silent.
At this moment, a waiter quickly approached.
The waiter was probably stunned by Jackson's incongruous appearance. When Jackson entered, she had been frozen at the door, unable to react.
Now, she quickly composed herself and respectfully asked.
"Hello, how many of you are there? Do you need a private room?"
Jackson withdrew his gaze from Miguel and looked coldly at the waiter.
"Just me. No, wait, there's also my bear. It's just the two of us. So, we don't need a private room; sitting here is fine."
As he spoke, Jackson finally took the teddy bear from under his arm and placed it on the sofa chair at the adjacent table.
The teddy bear sat right next to Lillian, while Jackson took a seat diagonally across from her, facing her directly.
Lillian felt both amused and uneasy.
She looked at Jackson, her eyes questioning.
However, Jackson still didn't look at her. Instead, he asked the waiter.
"What did they order?"
The waiter glanced at Lillian and Miguel's table and then turned back to Jackson.
"Sir, they ordered Mexican food."
But eating Mexican food alone would be too sad. The waiter looked at the cold and aloof yet lonely Jackson, who was accompanied by a bear, and instantly imagined several romantic drama plots.
It was too sad. How could such a handsome man end up eating Mexican food alone?
"Sir, our Mexican food is actually quite average. Why don't you take a look at the menu..."
Before the waiter could finish, Jackson interrupted her.
"Mexican food is fine. I'll have Mexican food too."
The waiter hesitated, looking at Jackson with even more gentle eyes, as if afraid of saying something wrong and hurting the cold and melancholic man in front of her.
Lillian couldn't stand it any longer, and she suddenly realized that Shirley had been gone for an unusually long time.
She started to worry and abruptly stood up, saying to Miguel.
"Mr. Jimenez, I'm going to the restroom."
She quickly walked towards the restroom, her steps getting faster.
Before she reached the restroom door, she heard familiar footsteps behind her.
Lillian stopped and was about to turn around when Jackson grabbed her shoulder and pressed her into the corner.
Lillian's thin back pressed against the cold wall, but Jackson's large hand protected her head, preventing her from getting hurt.
Lillian looked up, "Jackson, what are you doing?"
Jackson lowered his head, his eyes deep and seemingly hurt.
"Seventeen minutes and fifty-three seconds."
Lillian was puzzled, "What?"
Jackson's thin lips pressed together, his eyes filled with undisguised displeasure and jealousy.
"The time it took me to drive from Star Group, the time you were holding hands with that man."
Lillian was stunned, thinking back to the scene earlier, and realized that Jackson had misunderstood.
She and Miguel weren't holding hands; no one holds hands by the wrist.
She felt both amused and exasperated, about to explain when Jackson took her hand.
Then, Jackson pulled out a packet of alcohol wipes from somewhere and took out two, starting to meticulously clean her fingers.
Jackson's actions were incredibly detailed, even separating her fingers one by one to thoroughly disinfect and clean them.
Lillian watched Jackson's lowered brows, seeing the deep gloom between his eyebrows, and suddenly couldn't find the words to say. A sour and bitter feeling spread in her heart.
Until Jackson finished cleaning and suddenly brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingertips, sending a tingling sensation through her, making Lillian's fingers curl.
"Jackson."
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