Chapter 149
Josephine wanted to slap herself. They were boss and employee, an employee voluntarily offering to massage the boss's head was inherently overstepping.
But the words were already out. It was too late to take them back.
She could only try to explain. "My mother used to have headaches frequently, so I specifically learned massage. I'm a professional in this area."
Cedric watched her somewhat flustered explanation and couldn't help smiling gently. "If other employees all treated their boss with such attentiveness, that would be my blessing."
Seeing that he didn't seem angry or misunderstood, Josephine relaxed, her mood becoming more open. "Others wouldn't dare say such things."
She walked behind Cedric and placed her two middle fingers lightly on his temples, gently kneading.
Cedric comfortably narrowed his eyes. "Why wouldn't they dare? Am I that frightening?"
"Want the truth?" Perhaps because Cedric had his eyes closed now, head tilted back, allowing her to knead his temples, having shed that oppressive coldness, appearing more approachable, Josephine wasn't so constrained anymore.
Cedric made an affirmative sound. "I don't like hearing lies."
"Actually, they are a bit afraid of you, but that's employees' natural fear of their boss." Josephine had more than once heard colleagues discussing behind his back that Cedric was like the ocean, calm and waveless, extremely pleasing to the eye and captivating, but when undercurrents surged, inexplicably frightening.
Cedric chuckled. "Then they're quite timid."
Josephine smiled, her fingertips gently kneaded his temples. Watching Cedric's expression gradually ease, she felt quite accomplished.
"Are you also afraid of me?" Cedric suddenly asked.
Josephine paused, her movements stopping as well.
Cedric urged her, "Continue."
Josephine quickly resumed, answering as she worked. "Actually, I'm okay..."
"I want the truth."
Josephine probably didn't know herself, but when carefully choosing her words, her speech slowed. Cedric caught it instantly.
Josephine could only tell the truth. "I've never been afraid of you."
"Then you're quite bold." Another soft laugh erupted from him.
He'd laughed more times today than in the past twenty-plus years.
Josephine pressed her lips together. Of course, she wasn't afraid of him. More accurately, she was quite bold. Even when facing the Getty family's collective dislike, she'd only suppressed her temper for Gideon's sake, not arguing with them. But that didn't mean she was timid.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared scold Cedric. "I just feel you're reasonable."
Cedric adopted an attentive posture. "Elaborate."
Josephine's hands didn't stop, her voice soft. "I scolded you before, but you still hired me, gave me a chance, let me rebuild my career."
Her movements became gentler. Her gentle voice sounded behind Cedric. "I've always been very grateful to you."
Cedric opened his eyes and lightly patted the back of her hand, signaling her to stop.
Where their skin had touched felt slightly itchy. Josephine instinctively withdrew her hand, clasping it behind her back, only to see Cedric turn his head.
Their gazes met perfectly, one light and limpid, one deep and dark.
"You know I don't like hearing thanks, and I don't need your gratitude." Cedric stood and slowly walked to sit behind his desk, his finger lightly tapping the surface. "I don't want to be your benefactor."
Josephine smiled. "Of course you're not. I'm just grateful you gave me a chance, but at the same time, I won't let you regret this decision."
The words 'thank you' sounded weighty but were actually light.
Words were meaningless. She preferred expressing it through actions.
For example, Josephine produced a document and placed it on the desk, precisely the technology they'd bought from Daryl. These past days, staying at her parents' home, she hadn't been idle, constantly researching it. "We've now preliminarily mastered this technology. We're just waiting for my junior colleague to analyze it in more detail. Also, I contacted Daryl. This afternoon, he'll come meet with our department colleagues."
To master a technology, you couldn't just rely on their group puzzling over it alone. The developer who created the technology understood it best.
Cedric rapidly scanned the document's contents, not at all surprised. Rather, he felt this was exactly as it should be. Josephine had always been exceptional.
However, she said, "I'll audit this afternoon."
"Sure, always welcome."
After Josephine left, Noah entered with a pained expression. "Mr. Getty, you have two meetings this afternoon. Are you really going to audit a department meeting?"
These two meetings had been postponed for days. The overseas branch was waiting for Cedric to issue directives. The usually workaholic Cedric was now being bewitched by beauty and becoming irrational.
Of course, he could only hold back his complaints, not daring to say it aloud.
Cedric glanced at him. "Postpone them."
Noah immediately showed a pained expression. "Okay."
He turned and left the office, frowning and sighing, not noticing Josephine was right there talking to a secretary.
Seeing him, Josephine was surprised. "Why does Mr. Reed look like that? Did Mr. Getty scold you?"
Seeing her, Noah looked like he'd found a savior. He grabbed Josephine's hand. "Help me! Go in and talk some sense into Mr. Getty!"
"What?" Josephine looked completely confused.
At 1 PM, Cedric glanced at the time, it was time for the R&D department meeting. He was about to leave when Josephine arrived.
Her expression was serious. "Mr. Getty, do you not trust my abilities?"
Cedric was startled. "Why would you think that?"
"If you trusted me, you wouldn't need to audit. If you want to know the meeting content, I can take notes."
After hearing Noah's words, Josephine had pondered for a long time and finally reached a very reasonable conclusion, Cedric would rather postpone urgent meetings to audit, which must mean he worried they couldn't fully master this technology.
A feeling of frustration welled up inside her. She didn't even know why. She just felt belittled by him.
She'd been underestimated by many people before but never cared. Others' gazes and comments never affected her.
But today, she cared very much.
Cedric quietly watched her. "Did someone say something to you?"
"No, I heard it myself." Josephine frowned. "Mr. Getty, I came to work at your company to help you complete projects, not create trouble. If you don't trust my abilities, or during our meetings we can record everything..."
"I don't." Cedric interrupted her.
As Josephine stood stunned, Cedric said quietly, "I've never doubted you."