Chapter 47
"I accidentally dropped it."
Josephine glanced at her bare wrist.
Gideon pressed, "Where did you drop it? Did you go back to look for it?"
"It definitely fell somewhere in the hospital. You know how crowded hospitals are—someone probably picked it up already. Even if I went back to look, I wouldn't find it."
On her way back to Clearwater Ridge, Josephine had noticed the emptiness around her wrist. But she hadn't gone back to search for it.
There was no point. Sure, losing it felt strange at first, but it only took her two hours to completely forget the bracelet had ever existed. Turns out, nothing is truly irreplaceable.
Besides, that bracelet was so cheap and poorly made. Josephine had tried every trick in the book to keep it from tarnishing, and wearing it still gave her a rash.
Honestly? Losing it was probably for the best.
"Are you sure you just lost it?" Gideon asked.
Josephine frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Gideon studied her face. Seeing her genuinely confused expression, he suddenly smiled. "Never mind. If it's gone, it's gone. It wasn't worth much anyway. It's my fault—back when I was broke, I gave you cheap jewelry. Now that I have money, I should be buying you new stuff, expensive stuff. I've been thoughtless."
The truth was, he'd bought Josephine plenty of jewelry over the years. Designer bags, designer clothes, expensive gold and silver pieces that filled an entire walk-in closet.
But Josephine didn't like any of it. She wasn't a Christmas tree—why would she want to hang herself with all that metal?
"Look."
Gideon pulled a bracelet from his pocket.
"Where did you find this?" Josephine was surprised he'd actually retrieved it.
But holding the bracelet in her hands, she immediately noticed something was off. This one looked identical to her old bracelet, but the texture and material were completely different.
"This one's silver."
Josephine wasn't interested. "I don't want it. I've been wearing bracelets for years—I'm sick of them. You keep it."
Or give it to someone else.
Gideon's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't push. "I'll hold onto it then. When you change your mind, I'll give it to you."
Outside, the sky had already darkened.
Josephine glanced out the window. "It's getting late. I should head home. Get some rest."
"It's freezing out there. Just stay the night."
Gideon caught her hand—not roughly, but with a firmness Josephine couldn't resist. She frowned at him but eventually nodded.
"I'll sleep in the guest room."
"You're sick right now. I don't want to catch whatever you have."
Gideon had no choice but to let go. "Of course I wouldn't want to get you sick, babe. Sweet dreams."
Josephine paused. "Could you please stop calling me that?"
He used to call her that during their most intimate moments. Usually, it was just Jojo. Lately, though, it was 'babe' this and 'babe' that. So cloying.
Now, when she heard it, her heart didn't skip a beat anymore.
The next morning, Josephine woke up in the guest room to find two bracelets on her wrist—the new silver one Gideon had bought yesterday, and the old one.
When had they ended up back on her wrist?
As Josephine tried to unfasten them, Gideon pushed open the door and leaned against the frame. "Like them?"
"Where did you find it?" Josephine asked.
"Guess？"
Josephine's expression turned cold. "Whatever. Don't tell me then."
Seeing her anger actually made Gideon smile. "I found it at the hospital. In Cedric's possession, actually."
"How did he have it?"
"That's exactly what I'd like to know." Gideon had spent the entire night puzzling over this. He walked to the bed, bracing his hands on either side of her as he leaned down. "How about you tell me why you and Cedric were meeting at the hospital?"
"You know perfectly well why I was at the hospital."
Josephine pushed him away and got up to freshen up.
Gideon watched her retreating figure. "If there's really nothing going on between you two, then prove it to me."
"What do you mean?"
What does she have to prove?
Gideon spoke each word deliberately: "Quit your job. Right now. Prove you have nothing to do with Cedric. If you want to work, you can pick any position at my company."
Josephine laughed. "What if I want your position?"
"Jojo." Gideon smiled helplessly. "Don't be ridiculous. Even if I gave you my position, you couldn't handle it. The board would never approve."
If he didn't want to give it up, he should just say so instead of making excuses.
Josephine rolled her eyes and headed into the bathroom. Gideon started to follow, but she shut the door in his face.
Gideon stood outside the door for a long time before finally leaving. When Josephine emerged, he was gone. She changed clothes and left for work.
At the office, Kenneth handed her an invitation.
"Mr. Getty had this delivered this afternoon. He said we should attend together tomorrow."
"AI Exchange Conference?"
"Right. Everyone attending this conference is a major player in the AI world. If we could get some valuable insights from them..."
Josephine took the invitation. "Let's go together."
"Sounds good."
Kenneth smiled at her meaningfully.
"What?" Josephine felt puzzled. Was there something wrong with her outfit today?
"Nothing."
Kenneth just smiled mysteriously.
So weird...
Aiden called for her, so Josephine didn't have time to figure out what Kenneth was thinking.
...
Gideon was drowning his sorrows, one drink after another.
Lorelei watched from beside him, her heart aching. "Stop drinking. Too much alcohol will hurt you."
Gideon shot her a cold glance. "Who asked you to come?"
He showed no appreciation whatsoever.
Lorelei pressed her lips together. "Your mother sent me. She said you were in a bad mood and drinking heavily. She was worried about you, so she asked me to keep an eye on you."
"You're keeping an eye on me?" Gideon took another sip, his eyes cold as ice. "Think you can handle me?"
Lorelei felt deeply humiliated but forced herself to smile. "Even if you won't consider me, think about the baby I'm carrying. This isn't good for the child's development."
Gideon couldn't be bothered with her.
Lorelei's eyes shifted cunningly. "Your mother mentioned you received an invitation today. You're attending a banquet tomorrow, but don't have a female companion. Why don't I accompany you?"
"Whatever."
Gideon would have preferred to ask Josephine, but the Getty Group had definitely received an invitation, too. Knowing Josephine's temperament, she'd never agree to attend with him.
Lorelei lowered her gaze, a triumphant smile playing at her lips.
She'd heard that a certain distinguished guest would be attending tomorrow—someone with remarkable achievements in the research field. Her brother had been fired by Gideon because of Josephine, but if she could win over this distinguished guest...
Her brother could return to the company.
...
Josephine put on her evening gown and attended the banquet with Kenneth.
She was a natural socialite—whether she knew people or not, she could strike up friendships within minutes, laughing and chatting as she moved through the crowd.
Kenneth was her opposite—not much of a talker, but blessed with a good father. As a rich second-generation heir, he just had to stand there, and people would flock to him.
The two made an excellent team at the banquet, both in their element.
"Let's go check out that area over there," Kenneth suddenly said, seeming eager to pull Josephine away.
This was strange.
Naturally, Josephine wasn't about to leave. She looked past him to see a couple entering through the doorway.
Gideon and Lorelei.
The pair had obviously spotted her too, and they walked straight over with complete confidence.