Chapter 204
Without a word from Gabriel, Skylar mustered up her courage and walked in, placing the meal on the round table in the lounge area with plans to ask Gabriel to eat.
But as she looked up, she noticed the fever-reducing medicine he hadn't taken since noon was still on his desk. Finley mentioned that Gabriel hadn't eaten breakfast either, and now, after a whole day, coupled with his cold and fever, his complexion looked paler and more strained than ever. Every muscle in his emaciated face was stiff, giving the impression that he was particularly vulnerable.
"Boss, you need to... eat something," Skylar said cautiously.
However, Gabriel remained unresponsive as if she were invisible, deeply focused on his work without sparing her even a passing glance.
Skylar felt deeply worried, yet she was at a loss for what to do.
Although Gabriel, their boss, had been stern and serious with his staff, especially after his marriage to Teresa, scarcely showing a smile, he was indeed a generous and fair boss. As long as the team did their work well, the bonuses he handed out every quarter were much higher than their regular salaries, and he never mistreated any of his employees.
“Buzz...”
Suddenly, Gabriel's phone on his desk began to vibrate. Skylar sneaked a quick glance, the caller ID flashing "Katherine"—Gabriel's mother.
Still, Gabriel acted as if he didn't hear the vibration, not once looking toward his phone, showing no intention to answer it, continuing with his work.
Feeling somewhat helpless and daring not to say anything more, Skylar quietly stood by Gabriel's desk. After a while, seeing no sign of engagement from him, she silently withdrew from the room.
"How did it go? Boss still giving you the silent treatment?" Finley immediately caught up with her as she stepped out, whispering the question.
The other secretaries and assistants had clocked out, leaving just the two of them to keep Gabriel company as he worked overtime.
Skylar let out a deep sigh, nodded in understanding, and then couldn’t help but give in to her curiosity, “So, what happened between the boss and his wife? How did he turn into this overnight? He seemed fine just yesterday afternoon.”
Frowning thoughtfully, Finley replied, “I’m going to give her a call.”
It made no sense. Gabriel had gone out of his way to show up at the school at noon to woo Teresa, a woman who always seemed so gentle and caring. She wouldn’t just turn cold-hearted without reason.
“Yeah, you better hurry. The way the boss looks, I'd bet he’s running a fever; he looks so pale,” Skylar said with a nod.
“Right.” Finley agreed before heading back to their office to call Teresa.
On the other end of the line, Teresa had just changed clothes, washed her hands with Michael, and was getting ready for dinner.
Mid-wash, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took out her phone and gave the child to a housekeeper. It was Finley calling.
Since marrying Gabriel, Finley rarely reached out to her directly; usually, it had to be something important concerning Gabriel. Hesitantly, she answered the call.
“Good evening, Mrs. Garcia!” Finley greeted.
“What’s up, Finley?” Teresa asked.
“Well... Mrs. Garcia, there's something crucial involving Mr. Garcia,” Finley stammered, a tentative tone in his voice.
Teresa’s brow furrowed slightly, “Alright, go ahead.”
“After you went back to River North last night, the boss followed soon after. Not wanting to disturb your sleep, he stood outside the Bennetts' by his car, in the chilly night for hours,” Finley ventured, careful to pick out Gabriel’s better qualities amidst the unknown of what had transpired between them.
“Is that all? If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.”
“Please wait!” Finley called out urgently to Teresa, and continued, “He probably caught a chill last night after being there for so long. He started running a fever this morning, and Skylar had prepared some fever reducer for him, but he didn’t take it. What's more, he hasn't eaten anything since last night. After his visit to your office at noon, he’s been ignoring everyone and locked himself in the office, not speaking a word to anyone. Ma'am, could you come over or at least send him a message or give him a call? Please, just say something to him. He will definitely listen to you.”
As Teresa listened, her eyes unexpectedly stung fiercely with the threat of tears that swelled uncontrollably.
“Why should I go there? Why should I call or message him? Is he a child? Can’t he eat when he's hungry or take medicine when he's sick? If he keeps degrading himself like this, just who is he trying to impress?” Teresa suddenly became enraged at Finley, and she began to cry hysterically as she yelled.
"Finley, tell him, he can do whatever he wants. From now on, I have nothing to do with it. If it comes down to it, I'll just divorce him and take my son with me to start a new life with someone else."
After venting her frustration, Teresa angrily hung up the phone, but her tears continued to flow uncontrollably. Swiftly, she raised her hand to cover her mouth, trying not to let her sobs be heard.
On the other end of the phone, Finley was totally stunned by Teresa's outburst, listening to the disconnected dial tone for a good while before snapping back to reality.
“What did she say?”
Just as Finley came to his senses, a deep, heavy voice came from behind him, causing Finley to jump and turn around abruptly...
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