Chapter 201
Inside the office, Josephine and Cedric were discussing project details. Without realizing it, they'd leaned in rather close. Josephine didn't notice, but Cedric's gaze fell on her face.
When Josephine looked up, Cedric lowered his eyes.
"I think we should adjust the data here." Josephine, oblivious to anything unusual, continued speaking. "I'll hold a meeting with the team. After we make the changes, I'll bring the proposal back to your office."
"All right." Cedric cleared his throat lightly and sat back down in his chair.
Josephine glanced at the time. Lunch break was approaching. She gathered her files, preparing to leave, but...
She sneaked a glance at Cedric.
Cedric seemed to sense something and looked up. "What is it?"
Josephine pressed her lips together. "Mr. Getty, isn't your birthday next month?"
Cedric paused, then nodded. "How did you know my birthday's next month?"
Everyone who'd spent any time at the Getty family knew. Every year his birthday was celebrated with great fanfare.
David wouldn't allow anyone to overlook Cedric. He valued Cedric highly, so naturally everyone else had to show him respect too.
"Will you come to my birthday party?" Cedric didn't usually care for birthday parties—he didn't like crowds. But this year felt different somehow.
Maybe she could come, in a different capacity than before.
Not as Gideon's wife, but as...
Josephine shook her head regretfully. "I probably can't make it to the party."
Cedric's expression didn't change. "All right."
"But..." Josephine smiled, bright as the morning sun. "I can give you a birthday gift early."
Cedric raised an eyebrow, feeling a rare curiosity. "You're preparing my birthday gift this early?"
"Don't misunderstand—this is purely out of a subordinate's care and respect for her superior. Definitely not a bribe!" Josephine walked over and opened the office door.
An enormous box sat beside the door, looking like it had been parked there for quite some time.
Cedric looked at the box, his eyes narrowing slightly. "That's quite a large gift."
"To express my admiration for Mr. Getty..." Josephine said half-heartedly, then pushed the huge box into the office. Only then did Cedric notice there was a small cart underneath, its four wheels rolling diligently into the office.
She'd come prepared.
He stood up and discovered the box reached his shoulders—it was genuinely tall. He walked around it and tapped it with his finger.
Just tapping couldn't reveal what was inside, of course.
"Don't keep me in suspense. Open it." Cedric said.
He'd lived nearly thirty years. Every birthday, he received countless gifts. Countless gift boxes filled entire rooms. There were globally limited, handcrafted vintage remote-control race cars, building block castles inlaid with crushed mother-of-pearl.
When he got older, the family trust fund gave him permanent ownership of a private island, complete with a dedicated yacht and management team. On his eighteenth birthday, his grandfather had even given him a private jet.
Then there were overseas wineries generating hundreds of millions in annual profits, company shares, and countless other expensive gifts. Each one priceless.
He'd gone from initially looking forward to gifts to becoming increasingly numb. This was the first time he'd felt some anticipation again. He had a feeling she wouldn't take the conventional route.
"Who opens a gift in front of the person who gave it?" Josephine clasped her hands behind her back, smiling. "Anyway, the gift's been delivered. I might as well give you the birthday wishes early too. Happy birthday. I hope every day ahead brings you happiness."
The blessing was refreshingly simple and sincere.
But Cedric thought it was fine. "Thank you. When your birthday comes, I'll give you a gift too."
"You're too kind. I'll be going now. Take your time opening it." Josephine made a quick exit.
The moment the office door closed, Josephine leaned against it and let out a quiet breath of relief. When she looked up, Noah was standing across from her, giving her a strange look.
"Ms. Kennedy, did you do something bad?"
Why else would she look so flustered?
Josephine instinctively touched her face, then turned to see her reflection in the glass.
She did look... a bit guilty.
She cleared her throat and rearranged her expression. "What bad thing could I have done? Mr. Getty's right in there. Who'd dare do something bad in front of him?"
That made sense. Noah couldn't argue.
Josephine walked away with her head held high.
Inside the office, Cedric finally grabbed scissors and carefully removed the outer packaging. But as he cut through the inner ribbon, he suddenly noticed the ribbon had creases.
New packaging ribbons were always pristine. Only second-hand use created creases.
Cedric frowned slightly and pulled the ribbon loose.
The box opened, revealing its true contents—a white leather chair.
It looked comfortable. And sitting in it confirmed it was indeed comfortable.
Cedric pushed his black chair aside and rolled the white leather executive chair over, then sat down and picked up his coffee for a sip.
Today's coffee seemed to taste even better than yesterday's.
Josephine was still a bit nervous, but after a couple of days, she noticed Cedric didn't seem dissatisfied with the chair at all. In fact, his mood seemed quite good.
Even after the next day's meeting, Emma said, "Is Mr. Getty celebrating something good?"
"Could he be dating someone?" Aiden stroked his chin, looking amazed. "Today when that supervisor got the data wrong, I was sweating for him. I thought Mr. Getty would lose it—he doesn't tolerate mistakes, after all. But he didn't get angry! He even patiently let the guy repeat it!"
Kenneth frowned slightly, glancing at Josephine.
Josephine didn't notice. She responded to Emma, "Don't speculate. That's our boss's private life. Aren't you afraid Mr. Getty will hear about this?"
Clearly, Mr. Getty's name carried serious weight. Emma and Aiden immediately shut their mouths.
At noon, Josephine was about to head downstairs for lunch when she was told the Starlight Group was coming today to hear the project report.
Only then did she realize it was already reporting day.
She didn't want to see Gideon, so she handed the task to Emma and Aiden and prepared to slip away first.
The escape went smoothly. Most colleagues had gone out to eat during lunch break, and the few who stayed behind working overtime didn't notice her.
But just as she reached the company entrance, she was blocked.
Gideon looked straight at her. "Going out for lunch? Want to join me?"
"I'm just buying coffee."
Eating with him? No thanks. Josephine decisively chose to turn around and head back into the building.
Gideon followed behind her. "Not getting coffee anymore?"
"Suddenly don't feel like it." Josephine stepped into the elevator. Before she could press the close button, Gideon had already stepped inside.
Gideon stood behind her, smiling slightly. "I know what coffee you like."