Chapter 102
Gideon rushed over, grabbing the car door's edge before Cedric could close it. "You've been after her all along! When did it start? Was this all planned from the beginning?"
His voice trembled with agitation, his entire appearance disheveled.
Cedric looked at him calmly, his expression completely unruffled.
Then, casually, he closed the car door. The panel made a soft impact sound. Gideon's pupils contracted as he quickly yanked his hand back—lucky he moved fast, or his fingers would've been crushed.
Cedric turned to face him, voice calm but laced with mockery. "Looks like your ex-husband still hasn't learned to respect your choices."
Josephine sat inside the car, watching the two men through the window.
Gideon—furious, out of control, like a child whose toy had been stolen.
Cedric—composed, calm, even carrying a hint of derision.
The contrast was too stark, so stark that Josephine found it almost laughable.
She rolled down the window, voice steady. "Gideon, we have nothing left to discuss."
Gideon whipped his head toward her, hurt and disbelief flashing in his eyes. "Jojo, you..."
"Drive," Josephine said to Cedric. "Don't mind him."
Cedric nodded, walked around to the driver's side, got in, and started the engine.
The black sedan slowly pulled out of the parking garage.
In the rearview mirror, Gideon's figure grew smaller and smaller, finally becoming a blurry dark spot that vanished from view.
The car interior was quiet.
Josephine watched the night scenery flying past outside, then suddenly spoke. "How did you know he'd go to the courthouse today?"
Cedric's fingers tightened on the steering wheel, but his expression remained unchanged. "Guessed."
"Pretty accurate guess." Josephine didn't press further.
The car stopped at a red light.
Cedric turned to look at her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Josephine said. "Better than I expected, actually."
It was true. She'd thought failing to finalize the divorce would leave her irritated and angry, but in reality, aside from feeling like she'd wasted time, she had no strong emotional reaction.
The light turned green.
The car started again, heading toward Josephine's rental apartment.
Behind them, in the parking garage, Gideon still stood in place.
He watched Cedric's car disappear through the exit, his heart feeling like something was viciously squeezing it, the pain making it hard to breathe.
Josephine sitting in Cedric's car—so natural.
Cedric is opening the car door for her—so attentive.
Working late together, leaving together—so in sync.
Gideon closed his eyes. After leaving the courthouse that afternoon, he'd driven aimlessly through the streets for a long time before somehow ending up at the Getty Group Building.
He'd wanted to wait for Josephine to finish work, to talk to her properly.
Even telling himself to stay calm, not to anger her again, the moment he saw her and Cedric laughing and talking as they left the company, rage and jealousy had consumed his reason.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Gideon didn't even look, just declined the call.
He knew who it was—Lorelei, or Briana, or his lawyer.
He didn't want to talk to anyone right now.
The parking garage's dim lights cast gloomy shadows across his face.
Two weeks.
He needed to plan this carefully.
...
Three days later, early morning.
Josephine stood at the conference room door, adjusting her suit jacket collar.
Today was the negotiation between Starlight Group and the Getty Group. She would officially represent them as Project Director to discuss the [Neural Bridge System] project handover with Starlight Group.
Standing behind her were the project's core team members.
Aiden said quietly, "Josephine, I heard Starlight Group's side... Gideon's personally leading the team... You okay with that?"
The question was delicately phrased.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Josephine's voice was calm, even carrying a faint smile. "Today's a technical negotiation, not family mediation."
Emma pumped her fist beside them, looking like a total fangirl. "Josephine's right! Today we'll show them what professional standards look like!"
The conference room door opened from the inside. A woman in business attire emerged. "Ms. Kennedy, Starlight Group has arrived. Please come in."
Josephine nodded and pushed the door open.
On one side of the conference table, Gideon sat with three technical specialists. He wore a dark gray custom suit, expression serious, though the dark circles under his eyes were still obvious.
Seeing Josephine enter, Gideon's gaze flickered before returning to calm.
"Ms. Kennedy. It's been a while." He extended his hand.
Josephine shook it. "Mr. Getty. It has."
But when she tried to let go, she couldn't pull free. Josephine looked up at Gideon, frowning slightly.
Gideon's lips curved as he released her hand.
"Let's begin."
Public setting—Josephine wasn't about to make a scene over it.
The conference room atmosphere immediately shifted to work mode.
Aiden opened the projector and began presenting the [Neural Bridge System] project's data structure and technical specifications. "...Our system uses multi-layer encryption algorithms. The data interface needs to support real-time bidirectional transmission while guaranteeing zero information leakage. Here's the technical documentation."
He pushed the thick file across the table.
A bespectacled man on Gideon's team picked up the document and flipped through it, his frown deepening. "Ms. Kennedy, these standards of yours... aren't they too stringent?"
Josephine looked at him. "Stringent? These are baseline requirements. Our partner hospitals include three public institutions involving patient privacy and sensitive medical data. There's no room for compromise."
"But Starlight Group's existing interface architecture..."
"If the existing architecture doesn't meet requirements, upgrade it." Josephine cut him off. "If the tech can't keep up, there's no point discussing collaboration."
Gideon watched her with something close to admiration as she spoke confidently, only now frowning slightly. "Technically, we can invest in R&D, but the time cost..."
"Mr. Getty." Josephine turned to him, her gaze as neutral as if discussing an ordinary procurement contract. "The [Neural Bridge System] project has entered clinical testing. Time equals patient safety. If our assessment finds Starlight Group unable to complete interface adaptation within three months, we'll immediately seek alternative partners."
She paused, then added, "To my knowledge, Syntrax Technologies and Obsidian Metrics Tech are both very interested in our interface protocols."
Both Syntrax Technologies and Obsidian Metrics Tech were Gideon's main competitors in AI medical technology.
The conference room fell silent.
Gideon stared at her, trying to find even a trace of personal emotion on her face—anger, resentment, vindictive satisfaction... anything.
But there was nothing.
Her eyes were clear and frank, as if she truly was just evaluating whether a technical partner was qualified.
This purely professional approach hurt more than any deliberate obstruction could have.