Chapter 175
When Josephine returned to the office, a department meeting was already underway. The conference room was fairly full—Cedric sat with the department heads, and Emma, Kenneth, and others were all present. The two employees who'd made the mistake that day stood off to the side.
Emma pulled Josephine down to sit beside her, whispering, "Mr. Getty says he's holding people accountable..."
The moment Josephine arrived, those two straightened as if a savior had appeared. Especially Ryder, the male employee—he shot Haven a venomous glare before turning to Josephine with wide, pleading eyes. "Ms. Kennedy, please help me. This really isn't my fault! It's all her problem! She was the one who was careless. If anyone should be fired, it should be her!"
Haven immediately shot back, "What does this have to do with me? You're a man—can't you take some responsibility?"
"Responsibility doesn't pay the bills! I've got kids, a wife, and a mortgage to pay! How can you even compare yourself to me? You're a woman!" Ryder's words dripped with malice.
Josephine hadn't spoken yet, but hearing this, she suddenly looked up. No one noticed that Cedric's gaze had also settled on Ryder.
Ryder didn't think there was anything wrong with what he'd said and kept going. "I don't have a choice. I've got elderly parents and young children at home. I need this job. I need the money. I can't lose this position! She's different—she can just marry, have a couple of kids, and be a housewife. No pressure at all!"
Haven was breathing so hard with anger that she couldn't speak. How shameless!
Josephine tapped her fingers on the table, her gaze calm as she looked at Ryder. "You think women only belong at home, getting married and having children?"
Ryder froze, only now realizing that Josephine stood before him was a woman too. "That's not what I meant. I'm just saying I'm under a lot of pressure and can't lose my job. She's different from me—she doesn't have..."
"How do you know she has no pressure?" Josephine looked at Haven, whose face was flushed red, glaring daggers at Ryder's back.
Finally given the chance to speak, Haven immediately burst out, "Bullshit! I have parents to support too! I have a younger sister who needs to go to school! How do I not have pressure? Just because you're under pressure, you think you can morally blackmail others? Have you no shame!"
"You're the one who—"
"Enough." Ryder was about to go on endlessly, his face red, ready to get physical, Josephine slammed her hand on the table.
The conference room fell completely silent.
Haven took a deep breath and said something that surprised everyone. "I admit I share responsibility for this. I can bear part of it. But you..."
Haven's gaze pierced sharply into Ryder. "But you can't escape either. If I take responsibility, then you absolutely must too!"
Ryder still wasn't satisfied. "Why should I? I only—"
"It's settled." Josephine made the final call, and Ryder lost his chance to object.
Women protecting women—Ryder thought this was unfair. He looked at Cedric. "Mr. Getty, you're also a man, you should understand me! They're all in this together..."
He'd only just begun, with a whole bellyful of complaints still unspoken, when he swallowed them back down.
Because of Cedric's gaze. Cold. So very cold.
"Get out."
Ryder didn't even dare meet Cedric's eyes. He left the conference room reluctantly.
Haven looked at Josephine with bitterness. "Ms. Kennedy, whether it's termination or salary deduction, I accept it, but... could you..."
She found it hard to put into words.
She admitted she'd been careless in this incident, but more than that, she'd been dragged into it. She really didn't want to be fired.
Her younger sister's school tuition needed paying. Her parents' health was poor—they needed her income...
Josephine patted Haven's shoulder. "Go back to work."
Haven froze, feeling that Josephine's expression didn't look like someone about to fire her. Thinking of how Josephine had always taken good care of her employees, she ultimately didn't ask further questions.
After she left, Emma and the others were also dismissed by Josephine.
Josephine finally looked at Cedric. Neither of them spoke. Finally, Cedric broke the silence. "Want to protect her?"
Josephine admitted frankly, "Yes."
"Tell me your reasoning."
Everyone knew Cedric was exceptionally strict with employees. Anyone who made a mistake, whether deliberately or passively, had to be punished. This was how he maintained strict control.
Of course, punishments varied in severity.
But for something like this—something that nearly caused a project shutdown—his standard practice would likely mean neither person could escape consequences.
Seeing Josephine remain silent, Cedric said coolly, "You should know that while the female employee seems less responsible, she was indeed negligent."
Josephine took a deep breath. "To be honest, I'm their supervisor. When the project has this kind of problem, I bear responsibility too."
"So?"
"I think both of them should have salary deductions, and I'm willing to take the bulk of the responsibility."
Cedric suddenly smiled. "How clever of you."
They'd addressed it promptly. It hadn't caused any major impact yet.
Josephine blinked, a sly gleam in her eyes. "In any case, I'm willing to take responsibility. It just depends on whether Mr. Getty agrees."
"Using the emperor to command the nobles?"
Josephine was completely stunned by that.
What was he even talking about? She'd never thought about coercing Cedric. Most importantly, she didn't consider herself an "emperor" who could threaten him...
Cedric glanced at her and said flatly, "You've already decided. Why are you asking me?"
Did that mean he agreed? Josephine hadn't expected it to be resolved so easily.
Cedric stood and walked toward the conference room door. Looking back, Josephine still stood frozen in place. "Not leaving?"
Josephine snapped back to reality. "Yes, leaving!"
Back at the office, Haven was waiting at Josephine's door, standing there in anxious distress.
"Ms. Kennedy! Mr. Getty didn't give you trouble, did he?" After leaving, she'd figured it out—Josephine had dismissed them all to handle the aftermath for their.
Josephine opened her office door. "Come in first."
Haven hurried inside but didn't dare sit down, standing anxiously in front of the desk. "Ms. Kennedy, you didn't need to plead my case. I've thought it through—this was my oversight. Whatever punishment the company gives me, I'll accept it."
Josephine poured her a glass of water. "Don't be nervous. You're not being fired."
Haven stared blankly. "Not fired?"
"No." Seeing how tense she was, Josephine didn't have the heart to tease her and spoke honestly. "Mr. Getty said this wasn't primarily your responsibility, so no termination. But you were negligent, so there'll be a salary deduction as punishment."
Haven was overjoyed. "Thank you, Ms. Kennedy! I'll repay you for this—I know it must have been you who helped me!"
Josephine found herself suddenly pulled into a hug so tight she could barely breathe. She felt rather helpless.
Just then, urgent knocking came from outside the door. "Ms. Kennedy, something's happened!"