Chapter 145
Looking at her father's back, Josephine let out a deep sigh. Not wanting him to dwell in past shadows, she rushed over and linked arms with him. "Dad, that classic rock band you loved when you were young is performing here in a couple of days. I asked a friend for two tickets. You and Mom should go together, okay?"
Preston no longer felt the anticipation and enthusiasm for everything like in his youth, but he couldn't bear to refuse his daughter's good intentions. "Whatever you say."
Gemma watched from the side, feeling melancholy. Unable to bear seeing her husband caught in emotional turmoil, she forced a smile. "Our daughter is so thoughtful. How long has it been since you took me on a date? You're not as good as our girl."
Preston felt wronged. "When have I not taken you? You're the one who doesn't want to go."
Gemma glared at him. "Just because I don't go, you can't invite me?"
"You invite me, and I refuse, so you give up? Seems like you're the insincere one."
Preston fell silent.
Forget it. He couldn't win against her—never could in this lifetime.
Before bed that night, Josephine lay sprawled on her mattress and posted on Instagram.
[Does anyone have tickets to the classic rock band concert? Please save me two! Thank you!]
Before posting, she remembered to block Cedric.
Even she didn't know why she did this—normally, she and Cedric only discussed work matters. Better not let him know about such personal things.
That's settled!
She fell asleep contentedly.
The Getty Group.
Noah pushed open the office door to report work to Cedric. After finishing the business discussion, he glanced at Cedric, hesitating.
"If you have something to say, say it." Cedric didn't like people hemming and hawing.
Noah studied him carefully. "Should I help Ms. Kennedy get two concert tickets?"
"Why get tickets?" Cedric looked up, his deep eyes landing on Noah, narrowing slightly. "Why would you get her tickets? Is your relationship already that close?"
Noah keenly sensed danger. Alarms blared instantly. The truth tumbled out in a rush. "I was thinking if Mr. Getty wants to pursue Ms. Kennedy, you should cater to her interests. Since Ms. Kennedy said on Instagram she wants concert tickets, naturally, it would be best if Mr. Getty delivered them!"
He finished in one breath without pause, then gasped for air.
But Cedric frowned. "Instagram?"
Noah nodded blankly, not daring to ask why Cedric had this expression. He quickly pulled out his phone to find Josephine's Instagram post.
"It's this one..."
Cedric looked down at it, his expression unreadable.
Noah suddenly felt something was off. Wasn't this meddling? Cedric also had Josephine's contact info! Why did he butt in?
Cedric set down the phone with an indifferent expression. Noah really couldn't tell what he was thinking. Not daring to ask about the tickets, he grabbed the signed documents and turned to leave.
But Cedric's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Get two tickets. I'm giving them to a client."
"Okay..."
The moment Noah pushed open the door to leave, a phrase popped into his head.
Saying one thing, meaning another.
Josephine stayed home for two straight days. She had to admit—being with her parents, she always felt secure and at peace. Since that incident with Lorelei appearing at the door, Gideon, perhaps feeling ashamed, hadn't shown up again.
The next morning, Josephine received a phone call and mysteriously answered the door.
The weather was getting colder. Josephine wore the coat her dad bought and the scarf her mom knitted. At the neighborhood entrance, she spotted Cedric's car.
She opened the door and slid in with a gust of cold air.
The warm heating was on inside. She exhaled in relief. "It's so much warmer in here."
"Want to come with me then?" Cedric asked.
Josephine blinked. "No thanks. I want to stay with my parents a couple more days. Don't worry, I won't neglect work."
Was that what he cared about?
Cedric pressed his lips together, deciding not to argue with her. He pulled out two tickets and handed them over.
Josephine had thought she came down to discuss work. She hadn't expected this pleasant surprise. "How did you know I needed these?"
"A friend gave them to me. I don't want to watch." Cedric answered calmly.
"I see."
But either way, Josephine was very grateful. She'd been so stressed about these two tickets these past days that she was nearly pulling her hair out. The classic band's tickets were especially hard to get—too many fans, tickets sold out instantly. "Thank you so much. My dad really loves this band."
"What a coincidence." Cedric nodded slightly, perfectly composed.
Noah, in the driver's seat, pretended not to exist, gripping the steering wheel and turning to look out the window.
How would Cedric ever win over Josephine like this?
Who knew who'd called the concert organizers several times these past days, urging them to rush over the VIP tickets.
Noah really couldn't watch anymore. Following the principle of becoming the boss's trusted confidant, he dropped a hint. "Ms. Kennedy, didn't you post something on Instagram a couple of days ago?"
Josephine examined the two tickets repeatedly, not even looking up. "Yeah, I thought I'd post on Instagram and see if anyone had connections to help me get two tickets..."
"What a coincidence."
Seeing Josephine's expression, she didn't seem to catch on. Noah was speechless.
Her reaction really was slow...
The moment those words left Josephine's mouth, she regretted them. Her neck went stiff, and she didn't dare turn her head. Sure enough, Cedric asked, "When did you post on Instagram?"
"Just a couple of days ago..." Josephine licked her dry lips, shooting Noah a resentful glare.
She'd blocked Cedric!
She hadn't suspected Cedric's words at all because he couldn't possibly know she wanted tickets.
Noah was dumbstruck.
In this moment, he deeply understood what "the more you say, the more mistakes you make" meant. He shouldn't have opened his mouth!
No wonder Cedric's expression had been so strange then—turns out that Instagram post wasn't visible to Cedric!
Cedric said flatly, "You blocked me?"
Josephine's heart jumped. "No, absolutely not! We still need to communicate about work, and you're my boss—how would I dare block you?"
Cedric made a noncommittal sound and slowly pulled out his phone to open Instagram.
His movements were slow enough for Josephine to see everything clearly.
She quietly pulled out her phone with her right hand and rapidly unblocked Cedric on Instagram.
After completing these actions, Cedric had already navigated to Josephine's Instagram.
Sure enough, a post suddenly appeared.
He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Then why didn't I see this post a couple of days ago?"
Josephine licked her lips. "Maybe the network was lagging... Software has bugs. Sometimes not seeing posts is normal."
Cedric looked at her with an expression somewhere between a smile and not. "So the software won't have bugs anymore in the future?"
"No, it shouldn't." Josephine clutched her phone, nodding firmly.
Cedric nodded along. "But I'm still a bit worried. Why don't you post something on Instagram right now so I can see?"
Josephine looked at the tickets in her left hand, then at the phone in her right, and suddenly had inspiration.
A fresh Instagram post was born.
[Boss is so generous, gifting two tickets for free. From now on, I'll devote myself wholeheartedly to serving my boss until death!]
She even photographed the tickets and posted them on Instagram.
Cedric refreshed his phone. That Instagram post immediately appeared on screen. He nodded slightly. "Seems the software really did have issues."
Josephine nodded vigorously. "Of course! Good thing the software didn't keep having problems..."
She sneaked a glance at Cedric.
Maybe it was her imagination, but Cedric's mood seemed to have improved.
Josephine wiped the sweat from her forehead. That Instagram post caused all this trouble. She quickly got out of the car. "I need to go back and have dinner with my dad. I'll head out now. Thank you, boss. Bye."
She turned and ran—ran very fast, quickly disappearing through the building entrance.
Cedric watched her retreating figure, lips curving slightly. His finger gently brushed the screen where that freshly posted Instagram message still clearly displayed.
His finger moved lightly—he liked it.