Chapter 183
Josephine didn't ask, didn't wonder—just pretended not to notice her colleagues' unusual behavior. She habitually had a cup of coffee before starting work each day. She returned to her office to grab her mug and headed to the break room.
As she approached the door, she heard voices in conversation inside.
"I'm telling you, Mr. Getty carried Ms. Kennedy back in his arms. I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Really? What a shame I missed it."
"If you ask me, Ms. Kennedy getting together with Mr. Getty right after her divorce—her methods are pretty impressive."
"I don't think you can say it like that. He's single, she's single, isn't that perfectly normal?"
"But Ms. Kennedy's been married before!"
Kenneth came up from behind. Hearing the conversation in the break room, he pushed the door open forcefully. The two employees inside jumped in fright. When they turned and saw Kenneth and Josephine, their faces immediately fell.
Kenneth's expression was stern. "During work hours, instead of being at your workstations, you're here in the break room gossiping and talking behind your supervisor's back. Do you not want your jobs anymore?"
"No, you've misunderstood." The employees hastily explained. "We were just talking nonsense. We absolutely didn't mean to gossip about our supervisor..."
"Right, we know we were wrong. We won't do it again."
"This is the last time. If I catch you discussing your supervisors during work hours again, you're all fired." Kenneth's expression didn't soften at all. He was normally an introverted person who didn't talk much and was known in the company for his good temper and easy-going nature.
His sudden anger carried quite a bit of weight.
The two employees quickly nodded in agreement before hurrying out at a faster pace, not daring to lift their heads.
Josephine walked into the break room and filled her mug with water. Kenneth followed behind her, looking at her as if he wanted to say something but hesitating.
"If you have something you want to ask, ask. If not, I'm leaving." She glanced at him, unfazed.
His gaze was so obvious that Josephine couldn't possibly not notice. Without turning around, she placed coffee beans in the coffee machine and pushed the start button.. The sound of grinding filled the air.
Kenneth pressed his lips together and poured himself a cup of hot water. He took a sip first and burned himself slightly. He was too nervous and had things he wanted to ask but didn't know how to bring them up.
But if he didn't ask, it would gnaw at him. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to begin.
Finally, he took a deep breath, his interest outweighing his hesitation. "Have you and Mr. Getty started dating?"
Josephine felt utterly helpless. She abruptly set the mug down next to the coffee machine and turned to look at Kenneth. "Why would you all think that?" She tilted her head, puzzled.
"Many people saw you both get out of the same car, and Mr. Getty was carrying you when he came into the company..."
Kenneth had witnessed it himself. He'd seen with his own eyes how deeply Josephine had slept in Cedric's arms, and he'd also witnessed how gentle Cedric was while carrying her, every step solid and steady.
Josephine glanced at Kenneth, her expression unfazed.
Kenneth felt inexplicably unsettled under her gaze, thinking he'd said something wrong and upset her. "Actually, I don't mean anything by it... I'm just concerned about you. Plus, you heard those two people gossiping just now. Being with him... will bring you a lot of trouble." He drew in a breath, as though bracing himself.
"I know you're concerned about me." Josephine turned to lean against the counter. "But I think you've misunderstood something."
She glanced out the window. The view was nice. The depression she'd felt hearing those two employees gossip about her seemed to dissipate. She adjusted her sleeves before continuing.
"Haven got into trouble. To save her, I dislocated my arm. Mr. Getty was just being kind by bringing me back. That doesn't represent any change in our relationship. He's a good boss, and I'll be a good employee."
Kenneth quietly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren't together yet, he still had a chance. "Don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything by it either. I'm just worried about you. You haven't had it easy getting to where you are today. Women in the workplace already attract a lot of unnecessary controversy..."
They both understood that once Josephine became entangled in any relationship with Cedric beyond employee and supervisor, all her efforts would become irrelevant to her own merit.
Josephine was naturally meticulous about this point herself. "Don't worry. I won't let myself fall to that level."
The coffee machine finished brewing and turned off.. Rich coffee aroma immediately filled the entire break room.
Josephine held her cup and glanced at Kenneth. "Don't overthink things. Focus on work. Just like me right now, I don't think about anything except work and family."
She left after saying this.
Kenneth stared at the doorway for a long time. Was she hinting at something with those words? He thought as he replayed the words in his mind.
She had no interest in Cedric, and probably none in him either.
Josephine returned to her office and opened her computer. While waiting for it to boot up, she took a sip of coffee. Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
Emma walked in carrying a document and proceeded to hand it over to her.. While Josephine reviewed it, Emma sidled up to her sneakily. "Looks like I need to congratulate you."
"Congratulate me for what?" She replied without looking up.
"Congratulate you two for finally getting together." Emma winked suggestively. "Really not easy. Actually, I've always thought you and Mr. Getty were well-matched..."
Josephine closed the document, looked up, and stared at Emma without saying a word.
Until Emma couldn't continue speaking.
Josephine asked in return, "Who told you that?"
"...Did I guess wrong?" Emma could tell something was off from her expression. "I just got back. I saw a few colleagues chatting about this, and also..."
Emma took out her phone and pulled up the employee group chat.
"See for yourself."
The employee group was already discussing this matter extensively, far beyond what Josephine had anticipated.
[I think Ms. Kennedy will be fine. Even though this incident blew up and Mr. Getty will definitely hold people accountable, given Mr. Getty and Ms. Kennedy's relationship, there's no way it'll be her turn to take responsibility.]
[Haven's the one who's screwed. She'll definitely be the scapegoat.]
[Can't help it. That's how workplace politics work. Who told her someone else has better backing?]
[Actually, I think they're pretty well-matched.]
[Well-matched? Ms. Kennedy is divorced. Plus, their unusual relationship coming out at this critical moment—it's obviously Mr. Getty protecting Ms. Kennedy. I think this is meant to tell everyone that someone needs to take the fall for this, but it absolutely won't be Ms. Kennedy.]
This employee group had far fewer people than the main company group. Josephine, Cedric, Kenneth, and other leaders weren't in it, everyone inside was a department employee.
But even this small group of only a few dozen people was discussing fervently. Compared to the quiet main group, this one was far more active.
Seeing how increasingly absurd their speculation became, Josephine asked, "When was this group created?"
"Just a couple of days after the department was first established," Emma answered honestly. "The main group has leadership in it, so everyone feels constrained chatting there. Someone suggested creating a small group for complaining about leadership and making private plans..."
Originally, everything had been normal, but once this incident happened, everyone started discussing it in the small group. Emma never participated in such matters, but she was close with Josephine and really couldn't ignore these discussions.
Josephine set down her phone and stood up to her feet with a distant, emotionless look.
Emma's heart sank. With that posture, she was probably about to go demand an explanation!