Chapter 3
A cold smile touched Josephine's lips as she reclaimed the briefcase. "Never mind. I'll take it up to him myself."
She rode the elevator straight to the top floor and headed directly to the CEO's office. Along the way, Josephine hadn't spotted Lorelei anywhere. Perhaps it was just someone with the same name. Gideon couldn't possibly be that brazen!
Just as she was thinking this, assistant Harry Scott came running toward her, frantically blocking her hand as she reached for the door.
"Mrs. Getty, Mr. Getty is... he's in the middle of an important video conference. Please come with me to the waiting room—"
Before he could finish, the office door swung open from inside. Lorelei emerged, dressed in a wrinkled black pencil skirt, a white blouse with buttons still undone at the collar, disheveled hair, and smudged lipstick. Anyone could tell what kind of passionate encounter she'd just experienced.
"Lorelei, you... how..." Harry was stunned, his mind racing but unable to concoct any excuse to cover for them.
"How what?" Lorelei showed no sign of embarrassment. With a slight smile that reeked of challenge, she leaned close to Josephine's ear and whispered, "Ms. Kennedy, you must be quite used to this by now, right?"
Indeed. Josephine had witnessed even more explicit scenes than this. What was left that she couldn't handle?
"Jojo?" Gideon heard the voices and emerged from his office. Seeing Josephine, his heart sank. "You... let me explain, I..."
"No need. I believe you," Josephine smiled gently. "Mila was busy, so I brought your documents for her." As she handed him the briefcase, she thoughtfully straightened his tie. "I won't keep you from your work. I'll head back now."
Josephine's reaction was unnervingly calm—so calm it made Gideon anxious. He turned cold eyes to the equally confused Harry. "How long has she been here? What did she hear or see?" he demanded.
Under the intimidating pressure of Gideon's anger, Harry dared not conceal anything. He recounted everything from the moment Josephine had tried to open the office door to Lorelei's exit—their gestures, expressions, what they said, and how they said it—with perfect accuracy.
If all this was true... Lorelei wasn't some innocent, unworldly woman. She was ambitious and greedy. Such a woman would eventually become a liability.
"Gid, don't look at me like that..." Seeing the angry red glint in Gideon's eyes, Lorelei scrambled to explain. "Mr. Scott just confirmed I didn't say anything to Mrs. Getty!"
Gideon had no patience for arguing with her. This forbidden relationship was spiraling beyond his control. He increasingly despised living surrounded by lies.
"Know your place," he scowled. "Don't forget, what we have has always been just a transaction."
After that day, Gideon stopped working late or going out for business dinners for several consecutive days. He reverted to his old habits—taking detours to buy Josephine's favorite cake after work, offering to accompany her shopping on weekends, and even cooking for her.
Gideon's thinking was simple. Even if Josephine had discovered his infidelity, seeing how well he was treating her now, surely she would let it go.
Little did he know, the more he tried, the more repulsed she felt. It was like having your meat stolen by a dog, chewed on, and then returned—with someone else's saliva still on it. Disgusting.
One morning, Josephine found Gideon sitting in the living room, drinking coffee and reviewing documents. "You're not going to the office today?"
Gideon nodded. For several days, Josephine had been neither warm nor cold toward him, leaving him unsettled.
"Things are slow at the company lately," he said, closing his file with a smile. "What would you like for lunch? Or should we eat out?"
Josephine hesitated. She had scheduled her abortion for today.
"I need to go to the hospital for a checkup," she replied flatly.
"Haven't I told you? If we can't have children, we'll adopt. Why put yourself through this suffering..." Suddenly changing his tone to please her, Gideon added, "I'll go with you."
"No, I..." Josephine didn't even get to finish her refusal before Gideon was leading her out the door, hand in hand. She couldn't think of an excuse to shake him off.
"I suddenly don't feel like going for the checkup anymore," she said.
Before Gideon could question her, a red sports car pulled up in front of their villa. Lorelei stepped out wearing the season's latest high-end pink dress, pearl earrings, multiple layered necklaces, bracelets, rings... Rather than looking elegant, she resembled a Christmas tree draped in too many ornaments.
"Mr. Getty," Lorelei feigned distance as she approached. "There are two documents that need your signature, and a project proposal requiring your review."
It had been days since she'd seen Gideon. Her calls and messages had gone unanswered. Lorelei feared she'd become just another disposable plaything. She'd come partly to gauge Gideon's attitude toward her, but also—
Taking a deep breath, she turned to Josephine with a sweet smile. "Mrs. Getty, I'm so sorry. I hope the incident the other day didn't cause any misunderstanding between you and Mr. Getty?"
In that moment, Josephine felt genuinely grateful to her! With a fake smile, she said to Gideon, "Since Ms. Kelly has business matters to discuss, I'll leave you two to it."
After Josephine left, Gideon's smile instantly vanished. He yanked Lorelei inside, pinning her against the wall. "What game are you playing?" he demanded through clenched teeth.
"Gid, I'm not..." Two large tears rolled down her cheeks as she choked out, "You've been avoiding me for days. Are you tired of me?"
Gideon's unspoken answer was yes. He'd wanted to end this absurd relationship with Lorelei multiple times, but—
"Don't overthink it," he said.
"Gid!" Lorelei called out urgently as he turned away. "Will you come see me tomorrow night? Tomorrow is my ovulation day. It would be easy to conceive."
Hearing this, Gideon felt conflicted. After a moment's consideration, he nodded solemnly. "Tomorrow. I'll be there."
With that, he rushed out to find Josephine. When he couldn't locate her and she wouldn't answer her phone, remembering her scheduled checkup, he headed to the hospital.
He easily found Dr. Fallon Butler, who had been treating Josephine for years. "Dr. Butler, has my wife been here today?" he asked.