Chapter 232

Jackson had already returned to the city. At this moment, he had just stepped out of a meeting. After answering a call from Sebastian, he couldn’t suppress the smirk on his lips. When Rebecca walked in, the first thing she saw was the gloating expression at the corner of his eyes.

“Mr. Hodge, here are the documents you need to sign.”

Just as the words left his mouth, Jackson’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, and the smirk on his lips deepened. It was Chris. Jackson picked up. “Hello?”

“You’ve already signed the deal with the Lucano family?”

Even through the phone, Jackson could hear the gritted teeth in Chris’s voice. His laughter carried an unmistakable schadenfreude. “What do you think? Should I have waited for you to negotiate first, only stepping in if you failed?”

“You got held up because of a woman—you can afford to drag things out, but I don’t have that kind of patience.”

Chris was already furious and silent. Hearing this, Chris’s breathing grew uneven. He clenched his jaw. “Why did the Lucano family choose you?”

Jackson chuckled. “Obviously, because I’m not in a relationship.”

Chris almost bit his teeth, but couldn’t say anything to fight back. Rebecca was speechless and thought, ‘Seriously, what kind of infuriating answer was that?’ Chris was practically seeing red. If Jackson were in front of him, he’d have ripped him apart already. But Jackson wasn’t done twisting the knife.

“If you ask me, you don’t even have time to worry about the Lucano deal right now. Olivia’s life is way more important.”

That last sentence was laced with pure mockery. Chris was so furious that he hung up on the spot. Listening to the disconnected tone, Jackson shrugged carelessly. “Serves him right.”

How long had Mr. Giovanni been in Long Harbor now? And yet, Chris still had no clue who the guy was. Worse, he had even picked a fight with him, got himself beaten up, and thoroughly offended the man. In other words, he took those punches for nothing.

Jackson glanced at Rebecca. “Go pick out a piece of jewelry—something girls like.”

Rebecca shuddered. “Is this for Miss Giovanni?”

Jackson flipped open a document. “Mr. Giovanni’s little sister—we’d better treat her well.” He had figured it out by now. Stephanie held a special place in Sebastian’s heart.

Rebecca’s lips twitched. “Present again?” Was he serious? She still remembered how awkward it had been the last time they sent Stephanie a present.

Jackson said, “That’s why I’m letting you pick. Don’t get something that could be misinterpreted.”

Rebecca grew even more hesitant. A man giving a woman a gift—no matter what it was, wouldn’t it easily lead to misunderstandings? Before she could voice her thoughts, Jackson’s phone rang again. This time, it was Lilian.

His tone immediately turned impatient. “How did you get your hands on a phone?” This was a critical phase of his collaboration with Mr. Gio. The last thing he needed was for Lilian to stir up trouble with Stephanie again. So he had locked her up and confiscated her phone.

“Jackson, please, just let me out. I swear, I know I was wrong.”

Hearing her apology, Jackson remained unmoved. Lilian pressed on. “I promise I won’t mess with Stephanie again. I really won’t.”

After learning Stephanie’s true identity, she felt utterly unwilling to accept it. That girl they used to look down on… had somehow surpassed her. The Harts treated Stephanie worse than a dog, yet now—