Chapter 214
That evening, when it was time to leave work, Josephine tidied up and headed out. She didn't want company people to see her leaving with Cedric for dinner, so she deliberately left early.
She drove her car and waited not far from the company.
But just then, she spotted a car that seemed somewhat familiar, though she couldn't quite remember where she'd seen it before.
Cedric's call came.
Josephine opened her car door and waved at him.
Cedric had just walked out of the company entrance. Seeing her wave, he came over. After getting in the car, he unhurriedly fastened his seatbelt. "Why the secrecy when treating me to dinner?"
Josephine gave a dry laugh. "It's not really secrecy. I just don't want to cause any trouble. You know how the company colleagues are—idle gossip is their favorite pastime."
"Nothing better to do?" Cedric pondered. "Then they're not busy enough."
Josephine's mouth twitched. Was he getting the idea to increase everyone's workload? As the one who brought up this topic, wouldn't she become the villain? She quickly changed the subject. "I booked a restaurant. I'm not sure if it suits your taste. The place we went to last time had no availability, so..."
"Anything's fine. I'm not picky."
Hearing this, Josephine breathed a sigh of relief. When she'd decided to treat him to dinner, she'd considered this issue. He came from privilege, a golden child who'd experienced all the finest food and entertainment.
Rather than trying to repay him with expense, she'd focus on finding genuinely delicious food.
This restaurant was newly opened. Compared to others, the dishes were fresher with more varied flavors.
Most importantly, the prices were reasonable.
Entering the restaurant, a server led them to a pre-arranged private room. Just as they sat down, the server accidentally spilled water on Josephine while pouring.
She removed her coat. Her dress was immediately soaked through.
Though she wore thick clothes for winter, the wet fabric clinging to her body was uncomfortable. The server apologized hastily. Josephine had no patience to deal with it. Holding up her damp dress, she left for the restroom.
Unfortunately, the dress was completely soaked. There was no way to dry it quickly. She could only continuously blot and wipe with paper towels. In her busyness, she didn't notice someone approaching from behind.
"What a shame about that dress."
Josephine slowly looked up, seeing in the mirror a woman standing behind her—Lorelei.
Her belly was already quite large. Even wearing a thick coat couldn't conceal the bulge. Seeing her look over, Lorelei deliberately thrust out her belly. "The doctor says this pregnancy is going very well. Just two more months until delivery."
Josephine lowered her head again to wipe her dress.
No jealousy or anger as imagined. Lorelei felt rather disappointed. Her gaze fell on the stain on Josephine's dress—stubbornly set into the fabric, impossible to wipe off.
"Ms. Kennedy, are you here eating alone? Isn't that a bit lonely?"
"What's your point?" Josephine casually tossed the used tissue into the trash, meeting Lorelei's eyes in the mirror.
Lorelei smiled sweetly. "I just think it's rather lonely for you to come eat alone. I'm different—Ms. Hughes and Gideon came with me today. Even going to the bathroom, I had to desperately stop Gideon from following. He's extremely nervous about this baby, extremely attentive to me. I'm actually glad I didn't let him come. Otherwise, seeing it would probably make Ms. Kennedy uncomfortable."
She rambled on with all this. Josephine's expression remained bland.
"So? What does that have to do with me?" Was all this long-winded speech really necessary?
The provocation landed like a punch on cotton—no impact, stuck awkwardly, extremely frustrating.
This woman was so hard to deal with!
Lorelei cursed internally but kept smiling on the surface. "If Ms. Kennedy doesn't want to hear it, I'll stop. But you haven't answered my question—are you here alone?"
"Is that important to you?"
"Of course. After all, everything I have now should have been yours." Lorelei smiled, feigning guilt. "I now have a happy family, a blessed life. But if you're all alone, I'd feel rather guilty."
"Then you're really overthinking it." Josephine turned toward the restroom door.
Lorelei followed closely behind, determined to get an answer. "Ms. Kennedy, don't rush off. Are you that afraid of me?"
"Just a few words and you're fleeing?"
"I really don't understand what you're afraid of. I'm not going to hit or scold you..."
From inside the restroom to outside, Lorelei's mouth never stopped, chattering endlessly. Josephine found it increasingly irritating. Rounding a corner, she suddenly stopped.
Cedric stood ahead. Seeing the two women approaching one after another, he frowned slightly, walked to Josephine, and lowered his voice. "Everything okay?"
Josephine shook her head and replied equally quietly, "This restaurant's hygiene isn't great. There's been a fly buzzing in my ear constantly. Very annoying."
Though both kept their voices low, at this moment the corridor was empty—just the three of them. In the silence, every word was crystal clear.
Lorelei's expression stiffened.
Josephine was calling her a fly?
"Should I call a server over for pest control?" Cedric had clearly caught Josephine's subtext but still played along.
Josephine's lips curved. "Never mind. Annoying flies are everywhere. The servers are busy. They don't have time to deal with her."
"Then let's go back to eat."
The two completely ignored Lorelei and headed toward their private room. As they entered, their conversation drifted out.
"I'll have the server come disinfect later."
"Focus on the restroom."
"Okay."
Their back-and-forth continued until the door closed. Lorelei stomped her foot in fury, then laughed coldly. Today she hadn't planned to interfere. If Josephine and Cedric were together, Gideon could finally give up completely.
But now she'd changed her mind.
Making Gideon give up was one thing, but Josephine absolutely could not marry back into the Getty family, much less be protected by Cedric.
Who knew if they were natural enemies? Either way, Lorelei would never let her have peace.
She returned to her private room, where three people sat.
Gideon and his mother, and David.
Today they'd originally planned to eat at Getty Manor, but David had a sudden whim to go out. Lorelei looked at David's stern, rigid features and slowly revealed a smile.