Chapter 40
"No, last night Noah posted in the group chat about this morning's meeting. Josephine, didn't you see it?"
Josephine's heart sank. Last night Gideon had been drinking and barged into her room, insisting they sleep together. She refused, of course. During their struggle, her phone got knocked to the floor and wouldn't turn on afterward.
This morning, she'd taken it to get fixed, then rushed straight to the office, only to learn about the meeting now.
Everyone else was already filing into the conference room. Josephine couldn't delay any longer. "Let's just go in."
Soon the research department filled the room. Then the door opened and Cedric walked in, taking his seat at the head of the table.
"Report on your work."
Josephine froze. Others were already presenting, but she had no clue what work they were talking about.
Emma whispered, "Since you didn't come back yesterday, we all stayed late. Mr. Getty gave us a project to practice on. He said if we do well..."
Suddenly she felt an intensely oppressive gaze. Emma looked up, her voice cutting off abruptly.
Cedric said coolly, "Should I pause the meeting so you two can finish your chat?"
Emma dropped her head, not daring to make a sound.
Josephine responded evenly, "Apologies, Mr. Getty. I didn't make it back yesterday, so I'm unclear on today's work. Emma was worried I'd mess up and was explaining the workflow."
"Why didn't you come back?"
Josephine hesitated. A simple apology should've been enough. Why press the issue? Especially when he knew the reason. She chose her words carefully. "I had some family matters come up."
"Sit down." Cedric seemed to suddenly let it go.
Josephine quietly exhaled in relief. For the rest of the meeting, neither she nor Emma dared whisper again.
When it ended, Cedric gave no further instructions. Everyone gradually left. Josephine was about to leave too when Cedric suddenly said, "Ms. Kennedy."
"Is there something else, Mr. Getty?"
Josephine turned around. But Cedric brushed past her, leaving only a single sentence hanging in the air.
"Don't mix business with personal matters."
Josephine stared at his retreating figure, stunned. What did that mean? Was he criticizing her for choosing to go back to Evercrest Manor with Gideon yesterday?
But she had her reasons. And she'd confirmed there was no urgent work yesterday before leaving. Though... she hadn't successfully found out where the marriage certificate was.
Working in the same research lab, Aiden and Emma quickly noticed something was off. They exchanged glances, whispering, then used rock-paper-scissors to decide who'd ask Josephine what was going on.
Emma shuffled over hesitantly. "Josephine, did you and Mr. Getty have a fight?"
"Why would you think that?" Josephine was reviewing documents without looking up.
Emma mumbled, "Yesterday, whenever something came up, you dealt directly with Mr. Getty. But today when you two need to communicate, you make us relay messages..."
They'd been scared out of their minds doing it. Terrified they'd forget a word and somehow trigger a conflict between Cedric and their supervisor. Then they'd be the ones to suffer.
"Nothing like that. Don't overthink it."
What could they possibly be at odds about? Honestly, they barely knew each other. Sure, they'd known each other for years, but their conversations could be counted on two hands. It was only recently they'd been in more contact.
Emma trudged back looking dejected. Aiden asked, "How'd it go?"
"Not great." Emma's face fell. "I think we better be extra careful lately. Don't piss off our supervisor, and definitely don't piss off Mr. Getty."
Cedric was like a walking disaster. Who'd dare provoke him?
Aiden's mouth twitched. "Don't worry, even without you saying it, I'm keeping my distance from Mr. Getty."
Unlike Gideon's outgoing nature, Cedric seemed unwilling to waste time talking. He'd just stare at people with those deep eyes until they broke out in a cold sweat. That quiet intensity was truly terrifying.
With both bosses acting weird, the lower-level employees worked anxiously, extra careful not to screw up and get fired. Even a phone ringing made everyone jump.
Josephine felt somewhat helpless as she picked up her phone and saw a message from her teacher.
Oscar had sent a string of photos—all shots of Josephine and Cedric from abroad. She didn't even know when they'd been taken, but they seemed like casual snapshots. Too bad Cedric was so ridiculously photogenic. Even random shots had amazing atmosphere.
Josephine thought about sending the photos to Cedric, but then reconsidered. They hadn't spoken all day, trapped in some weird cold war. If she sent the photos first, wouldn't that be admitting defeat?
Driven by this strange sense of competition, she ultimately didn't send them.
---
Cedric looked down at his phone.
Oscar: [I sent all the photos to Jojo. Remember to ask her for them.]
Oscar: [That thing you mentioned before—I agreed to it.]
Cedric wasn't surprised at all. He'd been certain Oscar couldn't refuse. But these photos...
He pondered for a moment, then placed his phone face-down on the desk.
When quitting time came, Josephine had finished all her work. She planned to take the Hera System materials home, shower, and keep working.
Aiden and Emma left together. "Josephine, we're not waiting. We're carpooling."
"Be safe on your way home."
"Will do. See you tomorrow."
Then Kenneth came over. He'd driven himself. "Let me give you a ride," he said quietly.
"Nah, I'll just take the bus. I want to grab dinner at a place along the way anyway."
She'd already mapped out her route, knew exactly which bus to take back to Evercrest Manor. Yes, she was going back there. She'd been observing—there was still one place she hadn't searched.
Kenneth left too. Just Josephine remained. She waited at the bus stop downstairs for nearly ten minutes. Finally she saw her bus approaching, but before she could board, a deep blue Rolls-Royce slowly stopped in front of it.
The window lowered, revealing Cedric's face. "Get in."
His voice was cold as a stone dropped on ice, cracking the smooth surface. A car like that attracted attention. Not wanting to waste time, Josephine got in decisively.
"Thanks, Mr. Getty."
"Send me the photos." Cedric pulled out his phone and opened their message thread.
Their chat history still stopped at a few days ago, when they were abroad. Josephine had gone grocery shopping, and Cedric had sent her a list of items per Oscar's instructions. She'd replied: [OK.]
Since Cedric had made the first move, Josephine naturally wouldn't keep up the act. She sent the photos one by one.
"The count's off, isn't it?" Cedric frowned as he looked through them.
Josephine checked. "No, my teacher took twelve total. Three are your solo shots, four are photos of us together. I sent you seven."
"Twelve photos, you sent seven?"
Josephine was silent for a moment. "...Mr. Getty, the remaining photos are my solo shots."