Chapter 157 Facing Gabriel's Cold Face
Jessica remained calm. "He offered, but I didn't accept."
Mackenzie raised her eyebrows high. "I see, so you don't want to cut off contact."
Jessica replied, "I'm not like that. I didn't!"
Mackenzie chuckled. "Don't explain to me. What I see is that in this vast Xyleria, where many people can't even get a glimpse of the distinguished CEO of the Harriman Group, it's not entirely at his beck and call. Still, if you send him a message, he will definitely make time to reply to you."
Jessica responded, "It's impossible."
Mackenzie said, "Jessica, he likes you."
Jessica denied. "You wish!"
Mackenzie continued, "Your eyes just flickered. Do you know deep down?"
"I don't. I'm not aware, and it's absolutely impossible."
As Jessica spoke, the image of that night in the bathtub at the Harriman family mansion kept flashing in her mind, unforgettable.
But they were both just drunk that night!
It wasn't just her who drank. Michael's drinks were too strong!
Mackenzie, with a confident look, said, "Do you want to make a bet?"
Jessica glanced sideways. "Bet on what?"
"Do you have his WhatsApp? Send him a message and see if he replies."
" Am I that idle, or does he have too much time? Am I born yesterday?"
"Just send an emoji."
"I won't send it; it's too childish!"
"If you don't send, I will." Mackenzie reached out to grab Jessica's phone.
"Mackenzie, don't be silly!"
Jessica was completely caught off guard by Mackenzie, who was usually much more composed than herself. Before she could even prepare to defend herself, Mackenzie had already stood up and tried to grab the phone.
Successfully snatching the phone, Mackenzie, knowing Jessica's password, opened it without immediately sending any messages. She found Gabriel's name, held the phone behind her back, and then looked at Jessica. "I'll just send one message!"
Jessica replied, "No way!"
Mackenzie continued, "Then how about just sending an emoji?"
"No, no! Give me back my phone!"
"Just one emoji, a smiling face. Since we're betting, there should be stakes. If he really doesn't reply, you'll get a larger share of the next drama's earnings. The studio will take ten percent less, and you'll get ten percent more. How about that?"
"Is the stake that high?"
Mackenzie gave her a look. "You're already taken care of by the Harriman Group. If I don't pamper you a bit, that wouldn't be right. But you must make this bet with me, or I'll take back what I just said!"
"Are you sure it's ten percent?"
"Absolutely."
Jessica quickly withdrew her hand from reaching for the phone. "You send it with just one emoji and not a single extra word, or it's considered cheating."
Mackenzie looked at Jessica's love for money disdainfully before picking up the phone again. She respected Jessica by not scrolling through her conversation history with Gabriel, selected a grinning emoji, sent it, and immediately returned the phone to Jessica.
Jessica took the phone, opened it, and saw that Mackenzie had indeed sent just an emoji.
But she had just faced Gabriel's cold face yesterday, and today, she suddenly received such a silly, grinning emoji.
Wouldn't he think she's a fool?
The Harriman Group, a routine executive meeting.
Gabriel sat at the head of the table in the meeting room, and after the reports were given, he spoke coldly, "The members of the Publicity Department might as well go through the internship training process again with the new interns. If your brain can't function properly, submit your resignation to the HR department. The company doesn't keep idle people. I've given you all a chance, a whole quarter, and this is the final result you've handed in?"
When Gabriel criticized people, his cold and indifferent tone made everyone shiver, as if each person present would face the risk of being dismissed at any moment.
Wayne stood to the side, slightly lowered his body to close the notebook in front of Gabriel, then reached out his right hand to switch off the high-definition screen in the meeting room without a word.
It was easy to see that everyone present was walking on thin ice.
The black screen of the phone lit up on the desk, and Gabriel glanced at the name 'Jessica' displayed on it. Seeing the small grinning emoji on the screen, his expression remained unchanged.
The head of the Publicity Department seemed to be the current manager, but in reality, he was one of the company's elders, George Clark, who had been left behind by Simon for the final project.
George had a close relationship with Simon Harriman, but when Gabriel returned to the company, George was hospitalized due to illness and missed the exciting personnel change meeting. The old staff under George's leadership, who had not been changed, were becoming increasingly indifferent to their work. They apparently intended to continue eating a free meal at the company and keeping a group of useless people in the Publicity Department.
After George apologized and explained a few words, Gabriel didn't even look at him. Instead, he turned to Wayne and said, "George is getting old and can't handle such an important department like Publicity. It's normal for George to handle such an important department like Publicity as he is getting old. After the meeting, Wayne, you informed George to take care of his health and retire from home. He doesn't need to worry about the company's affairs anymore."
Wayne nodded. "Understood."
"Manager Moore has been back in the country for several days, and the project he took over has been proceeding smoothly. Starting today, Manager Moore will fully take over the Publicity Department. As for old directors and employees like George, the company must provide them with the best retirement life."
Upon hearing Gabriel's words, there was a moment of silence in the air.
Gabriel withdrew his gaze, sat at the head of the meeting table, looked back at the company's executives present with a cold and indifferent gaze, and never once glanced at the secretary who had been in the company for years and always inquired about news at the meeting table.
As the meeting ended, Gabriel didn't pause for a moment and went straight back to the president's office.
One of the executives couldn't help but ask Wayne, "What's wrong with Mr. Harriman today? Although he's usually a bit cold, it's not to this extent. It seems like he's in a very bad mood today?"
Wayne also felt it, but where would he know?
Although Gabriel was usually cold and distant, he still had the fairness of praise and criticism and the gentle demeanor of a superior. He had never been as indifferent as he was today, making everyone nervous as if any slight mistake would be severely punished.
"Still no reply?" Mackenzie, with eyes fixated in anticipation, had waited for over half an hour. Observing Jessica's phone resting peacefully, a sense of impending loss of a significant sum of money loomed, threatening the loss of tens of thousands dollars. She expressed her disappointment softly, "Could it be that you've silenced your phone?"
"Yes, no response," Jessica affirmed, gesturing towards her phone. "While it has been here, the screen has remained dormant. Rest assured, there has been no impropriety on my part."
As Jessica's statement lingered in the air, a sudden 'ding' of a message alert resonated from the phone, the screen illuminating simultaneously.
