Chapter 42 A Man with an Ax to Grind
Oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, Danielle exclaimed, "Mommy, this meat is so delicious!"
Jessica served her more, smiling warmly, "Of course, the beef stew I make is always tasty."
Danielle nearly choked with laughter. Her mouth was so full. She chewed vigorously, trying not to spit out the meat.
"Then eat up," Jessica said as she served the man across from her. "In a few days, the production will start, and I won't have as much time every day to cook at home. I'll be busy from dawn till dusk and won't have time to take care of you."
Gabriel acknowledged her with a grateful look and said at a measured pace, "There was a misunderstanding earlier—children's words shouldn't be taken too seriously."
Jessica looked at him and then burst into laughter, "I know. If you dared to do Something inappropriate, I would have kicked you out a long time ago."
Gabriel's brows twitched as he studied her for a moment, "What if I really had intentions of doing something inappropriate?"
Just as Jessica was about to put a piece of meat into her mouth, her motion of bringing the fork to her lips halted abruptly. She lifted her gaze and glared at him through the steam rising from the beef stew on the table, "Remember the state you were in when I saved you? I'll knock you back to that state and send you right back down that cliff for you to fend for yourself!"
"Mommy, no!" Danielle took her seriously and quickly swallowed her food before speaking.
"Eat your beef stew. Spencer was a man with an ax to grind, and you want to keep him in our house?" Jessica said.
Chewing vigorously, Danielle turned her puzzled gaze toward Gabriel, "What does it mean to an ax to grind? Why would you want to do that to my mommy?"
Jessica and Gabriel both fell silent.
Seeing that neither gave her an explanation for the term, Danielle suddenly reached for the cell phone on the dinner table and called out, "Siri, what does it mean to an ax to grind?"
The mechanical female voice instantly responded, "An ax to grind refers to plotting Something beyond normal moral boundaries. For instance, when a man wants to take advantage of a woman, it means he has ill intentions or is a bad guy…"
Danielle's mouth dropped open wider and wider in shock until Jessica quickly grabbed the cell phone back and cut off the voice, "Danielle!"
Her eyes wide with astonishment, Danielle looked at Gabriel and said, "Wow, so you actually like my mommy to that extent…"
"Danielle, be quiet!"
Jessica knew it was just a misunderstanding. She could see the calm composure on his face; it was clear that the miscommunication was coming from Danielle.
She had only meant to spar verbally with Gabriel to ease the slight awkwardness!
How did Danielle twist things into the current situation?
Jessica glared at Gabriel indignantly, but he showed no sign of embarrassment. His serene and indifferent features were calm, occasionally arching an eyebrow to show a mix of admiration and surprise for Danielle's innocence as if his mood was entirely unaffected.
Seeing that Danielle was completely clueless and Gabriel was as calm as if he were outside the whole topic, Jessica decided to change the subject. "Never mind. I'm in a good mood today, and I won't hold a grudge against a little kid."
Gabriel glanced at her, his dark eyes expressing mild curiosity as he asked, "Something good happened? You seem really happy."
Beaming, Jessica poured juice for herself and the two of them, raised her glass, and said, "Here's to keeping my role and not being replaced by the director, and here's to a smooth start on set in two days! Cheers!"
