Chapter 156 Did She Offend Him
"You seem to be very protective of her, afraid that she might be embarrassed," Gabriel said in a tone devoid of warmth.
Jessica was at a loss for words for a moment.
She coughed. "After all, she is my agent. Mr. Harriman is generous, so I have to save her some face."
Mackenzie stood outside the door in a daze for a while, only realizing what Jessica had mouthed to her just now.
She picked up her phone, Google Gabriel Harriman.
Initially, she hardly noticed it when she keyed in the search, but as the webpage buzzed with related info and snapshots, her gaze suddenly zeroed in the name sitting in the search bar.
Mackenzie couldn't believe it as she swiped her finger across the screen until she saw the photo at a conference table. Then, she turned to look at the door that Jessica had already closed.
Inside.
Jessica was afraid that Gabriel would be angry with Mackenzie. After all, what Mackenzie said just now was not very pleasant, and she couldn't be sure if Gabriel were really angry.
But for some reason, Gabriel's expression was really devoid of any warmth.
It must have been just a misunderstanding; he wouldn't really have been that angry, right?
But if not, what's with that expression as if someone had provoked him?
"Are you hungry? I prepared breakfast for Danielle. She hasn't woken up yet. Would you like to eat first?" Jessica said, pointing toward the dining table.
She couldn't care less about her insincere attitude of serving a simple breakfast to someone. Jessica quickly walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and made a 'please' gesture towards Gabriel, smiling broadly. "Come and try it. Although it's just a simple sandwich, you must be hungry after working all night."
Gabriel glanced at the time, then looked at her with a smile that was even more radiant than usual. "No, I still have things to do. I need to go back to the company."
Seeing that he was about to leave, Jessica wasn't sure if Mackenzie was still standing outside in a daze or had already left. She hurriedly ran to the door and stood in front of him.
When Gabriel lowered his gaze to look at Jessica, she didn't have time to understand his indifferent demeanor deeply. She continued to smile and said, "Then finish your breakfast before you leave. Danielle will be very happy if she knows you're still here. Let's have breakfast together when she wakes up. I’m gonna make some sandwiches! Or toast some bread."
At that moment, the door to the next room opened, and Danielle, rubbing her sleepy eyes and yawning, came out.
Jessica rushed over to pick up Danielle, who was still half-asleep as if she had seen a savior. Danielle looked surprised at Jessica until she noticed Gabriel, who hadn't left yet, and suddenly brightened up. "Uncle Spencer!"
Just as Jessica brought Danielle over to Gabriel, Danielle reached out her arms with a look that made her want Spencer to hold her, shaking her little arms towards him. "Uncle Spencer, let's have breakfast together!"
Jessica's heart was touched.
Indeed, although her daughter often helped others, she was still heart-to-heart with her mother at critical moments!
Gabriel took Danielle's outstretched hand and gently squeezed it as if to comfort her. "Uncle Spencer has something to do. I'll have breakfast with you next time. Be good, okay?"
Danielle nodded understandingly, with a slight hint of disappointment, but still obediently replied, then smiled with big eyes. "When will it be next time, tonight?"
Gabriel didn't answer, just lightly patted her hand before leaving. Although he politely glanced at Jessica's face as he left, that glance was extremely cold.
Jessica was bewildered.
What's going on?
Wasn't it Mackenzie who upset him? But his expression suggested a deep offense, as if it was her who had wronged him.
Did she say something wrong?
Sure enough, after Mackenzie disappeared in front of Jessica for a whole day, she angrily dragged Jessica to the studio.
"He is Gabriel? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Mackenzie's anger and frustration was so palpable, it felt like it could blow the roof off the studio, slowly simmering into a smoky haze.
Life was not easy, Jessica sighed. "Mackenzie, this is a long story."
"Then make it short!" Mackenzie forcefully placed a glass of water in front of her as if to start a long tug-of-war.
It wasn't that Jessica was dishonest with Mackenzie, but she deliberately concealed things that could be explained clearly for so long.
It was because when Gabriel was brought back home by her initially, the situation he encountered at that time might have been related to the disputes within their company or family, possibly involving many ins and outs that she was not very clear about. She wasn't sure if revealing this to the public would bring trouble to Gabriel.
However, Mackenzie was her agent after all, and every step she took in the industry in the future had to be planned according to her own situation. Recently, The Harriman Group had been intervening frequently, and it was indeed not good to continue hiding this matter.
After pondering for a moment, Jessica spoke, briefly explaining the situation without going into details, only mentioning that Gabriel was brought back home by her after an accident, and he had to stay at her house to recuperate due to his injuries.
As for why he didn't contact his family immediately after waking up or why he didn't return to the Harriman Group and the Harriman family immediately, she was also not sure, and she instructed Mackenzie not to ask or inquire further about these matters that were unrelated to them.
After listening to this, Mackenzie sat across from Jessica in amazement, as if she could finally connect the dots between past kindness and consequences. Then she looked at Jessica thoughtfully, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jessica picked up the glass of water that Mackenzie had just brought her and took a small sip, only to realize that it contained only plain water, no coffee.
Feeling deceived, she raised her eyes to glare at her, questioning after being tricked so blatantly.
Such indifference, disregarding her patient explanation just moments ago!
"Where's the coffee?" Jessica glared at her, a glaring interrogation following the blatant deception.
Mackenzie cleared her throat and shamelessly said, "Didn't you take the several packs of coffee back home before? There's none left in the studio. Drinking plain water is the same; it won't affect every word you're saying now."
Jessica fell silent.
"Jessica, I'm asking you a serious question." At this point, Mackenzie leaned in close to Jessica, looked into her eyes, and lowered her voice. "You knew exactly the kind of person Gabriel was. Why does he keep stepping in to solve problems for you?"
After a moment of silence, Jessica met Mackenzie's probing gaze and smiled. "Probably because I saved him, and he's repaying me?"
Mackenzie snorted and leaned back, sitting back in the chair opposite Jessica. "For a person of his status, does he need to handle those matters to repay a debt personally? Just throw millions or tens of millions dollars at you; there would be enough reason to cut off contact with you and make you keep his secrets for him, but he didn't."
