Chapter 125 Aren't You Going to Pay Tribute to Your and Emily's Child?
Thinking about the remaining matters in her department, Arabella shook her head. "I'll come back this afternoon. I still have some things to handle."
Upon hearing this, Allan immediately spoke up, "No need, Mrs. Sterling. Consider today a day off. You should hurry back and take care of the children."
If he hadn't spoken, it would have been fine, but once he did, he caught Arabella's attention. She seized the opportunity to say, "Actually, Mr. Jennings, about that transfer notice HR sent today—I was just looking for you to discuss it. I have limited abilities, so I won't be joining your executive assistant office. Thank you for your recognition, though."
"Transfer notice? Executive assistant office? What do you mean?" Gabriel didn't know about this yet, and his curiosity was immediately piqued.
Allan's mind went blank with panic, terrified that his ulterior motives might be exposed. He quickly explained, "Oh, that... it's like this, Mrs. Sterling. I really admire your work capabilities, so early this morning, I had HR issue a transfer notice planning to move you to my executive assistant office."
Gabriel looked at Allan's corpulent figure and those eyes that flickered with poorly concealed desire whenever they looked at his wife. Suddenly, everything became crystal clear.
Gabriel asked with a smile, "She's only been on the job for a few days? Mr. Jennings, and she's already earned such high praise from you?"
"This... ability has nothing to do with how long someone's been employed!" Jennings insisted, patting his chest. Then he quickly added, "Actually, this works out well. Having Mrs. Sterling come to my executive office, I guarantee no one would dare give her trouble again. Plus, according to federal law, Mrs. Sterling is entitled to nursing breaks in her situation. To show our sincerity, the company could extend this time even further—she could leave at 3 PM every day. How does that sound?"
Arabella had to admit, this proposal was tempting!
Starting work at 8:30 AM and leaving at 3 PM—she could get home early to spend time with the children. Perfect!
Gabriel seemed to notice her interest, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at her quietly. "What? You really want to be a secretary?"
Arabella understood his meaning.
She was well aware that Allan had no good intentions.
But now that her identity was exposed, Allan's little schemes had probably evaporated!
However, everything had two sides. Once her identity was revealed, there would likely be even more gossip around the company.
No matter how capable she proved herself to be in the future, everyone would assume she was getting special treatment, benefiting from her husband's influence.
This was absolutely not what she wanted to see.
"No thank you, Mr. Jennings." After a moment of temptation, Arabella regained her composure and politely declined.
Gabriel looked at Allan, his smile not reaching his eyes. "Since she's not interested, don't force the issue."
"Uh... of course, no forcing, no forcing..." Allan responded deferentially, just hoping to escape unscathed.
When Gabriel was ready to leave the company, Arabella turned to walk away.
"Where are you going?" His slightly raised tone carried dissatisfaction.
She stopped. "Back to my department."
Gabriel frowned. "Come downstairs with me first."
Nearby, Cody and the others were still waiting.
Arabella didn't want to give people something to laugh about or gossip over, so she had no choice but to turn back and follow him.
In the elevator, he silently took her hand. She turned it twice trying to break free, then looked up at the descending floor numbers, pretending he didn't exist.
Gabriel glanced sideways at her bright, cool eyes, and the corner of his mouth curved upward involuntarily.
After exiting the elevator, Gabriel wanted to have a word with his wife, so he spoke first, "Mr. Sullivan, thank you for your time today. I'll host a dinner soon—please do me the honor of attending."
Cody agreed enthusiastically, but seeing that the couple had things to discuss, he tactfully stopped. "Mr. Sterling, you're too kind. Take care."
Gabriel led Arabella toward the parking area.
Ralph tactfully hung back, giving them space.
After being pulled quite a distance, Arabella finally yanked her hand free. "Gabriel, what are you doing! I told you I'd handle this myself. Who asked you to come? After today's scene, how am I supposed to work here?"
Gabriel stopped and turned to face her, his expression growing more serious. "You still want to stay at this dump of a company?"
"Finding work isn't easy. I think this place is fine."
She mainly valued Ella as a mentor, feeling she could learn a lot from her.
Gabriel was infuriated by her response. He took a moment to calm himself before saying, "If you really want to work, come to my company, or any company under the Sterling Group—why put yourself through this kind of treatment? That department manager of yours is a serial womanizer! And that Mr. Jennings is notorious for his predatory behavior with women! If I hadn't shown up today, do you know what the consequences could have been? You'd end up in their clutches sooner or later, completely taken advantage of!"
Arabella stared at him in disbelief.
His knowing about Allan's reputation was one thing—everyone tacitly understood that.
But Zane was just a regular employee. How could Gabriel know about his hookup habits?
"Gabriel, did you investigate everyone around me?" This was the only explanation she could think of, and the thought was terrifying.
Was this man some kind of psychopath?
His need to control her had reached a disturbing level!
Gabriel let out a disdainful laugh. "I don't have that kind of time. Yesterday that Zane called you, and I answered. His tone when talking to you seemed inappropriate, so I casually had someone look into him."
So that was it—he had answered her phone yesterday without permission, which explained how he knew about Zane's existence.
Arabella grew even angrier. "What right did you have to answer my phone!"
"Well, I answered it. What are you going to do about it?" Gabriel completely dismissed her anger, and his tone became even more dominant. "Arabella, let me tell you something—as long as we're not divorced, you're still my wife. Your every word and action reflects on my reputation and affects my interests, so I have the right to monitor you! You're not doing this job anymore. I won't be embarrassed like this!"
His patience exhausted, he decided to lay everything out clearly.
Arabella was so furious that her hands clenched into tight fists, wanting nothing more than to slap him hard across the face.
Ralph, standing quietly several steps away, saw their confrontational stance and reluctantly approached with a frown, whispering a reminder, "Mr. Sterling, we're on someone else's property. It wouldn't look good if people saw this."
Gabriel was well aware, which was why he was already restraining himself considerably!
Taking a deep breath, his handsome, chiseled features went from cold to colder, then gradually softened, finally settling into an expressionless mask as he looked at her. "Are you coming home or not?"
Arabella was feeling particularly stubborn at that moment and answered without hesitation, "No. I have personal freedom."
Feeling like that wasn't enough to express her anger, she glared at him with reddening eyes and added, "Emily should be done with her surgery by now, right? Aren't you going to pay your respects to your deceased child?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Gabriel's expression instantly darkened.
She knew the words were cruel, but who told him to provoke her first?
She had already said they should part amicably, but he insisted on making it a mutually destructive battle.
In the silence that followed, Gabriel's aura turned ice-cold. Coincidentally, just as both stood speechless in this tense moment, Gabriel's phone began ringing in his pocket.