Chapter 79
Josephine waited for a car at the school entrance. Her vehicle was in the shop for maintenance, so she'd been taking cabs for the past few days.
In the distance, a deep blue Rolls-Royce glided smoothly down the street toward her.
The car stopped right in front of her.
Cedric rolled down the window. "Get in."
The weather had turned cold, and waiting for a cab could take forever. Josephine got in.
Cedric had a laptop balanced on his knees. He seemed to be working every waking moment.
Josephine asked curiously, "What brings you here, Mr. Getty?"
Cedric glanced at the seatbelt. "Put it on."
Josephine quickly buckled up.
Only then did Cedric ask in a gentle tone, "How'd the exam go?"
Josephine thought for a moment, scratching her chin before answering cautiously, "I think it went okay."
"That cautious?"
"Of course I'm being cautious." What if she'd bombed it? How embarrassing would that be? She wasn't about to estimate prematurely. "Anyway, I think it was all right. But really, it depends on what my professor says."
It had been years since she'd felt this nervous.
Cedric pulled a box from his pocket. "For you. A reward."
"Studying hard comes with rewards now?"
This boss was too good to be true!
Josephine took the box and opened it to find a bottle of perfume. Even with the cap still on, she could detect a faint scent—something like lavender.
Fresh and pleasant.
"Like it?" Cedric asked.
"I do, though I think gardenia smells better."
The words were out before Josephine realized her mistake. Too late to take them back now. Between the exam stress and mental exhaustion, her mouth had stopped cooperating with her brain.
Silence filled the car.
Just as Josephine's anxiety peaked, Cedric spoke. "I agree. Gardenia has excellent taste."
Josephine laughed awkwardly.
"Dinner tonight. We'll celebrate."
"Okay."
Josephine studied Cedric's expression carefully. He didn't seem suspicious. She relaxed slightly. Of course, plenty of people liked gardenia.
He couldn't possibly identify her as his one-night stand from that alone.
The car headed toward the restaurant.
When they arrived, Josephine practically jumped out. "I'll head in first. Don't take too long, Mr. Getty."
She hurried away.
Cedric followed at a leisurely pace.
In the private dining room, everyone had already arrived. The moment Josephine walked in, she was swarmed with questions about her results and whether she'd become the top student.
The barrage of questions left Josephine breaking into a sweat.
"I honestly don't know. Let's just wait for the announcement. Besides, whether I become the top student doesn't really matter—what matters is how much I've learned."
When Josephine went to sit down, she noticed everyone else had already taken their seats. Only three adjacent chairs remained. She chose the leftmost one.
Cedric naturally took the middle seat.
Josephine sipped her water slowly, glancing at the empty chair. "Someone still coming?"
"Prof. Carter will be here soon," Cedric replied.
Josephine blurted out without thinking, "Then why didn't you bring my professor with us from the school?"
Cedric glanced at her, countering, "What do you think?"
What the hell was she supposed to say!
Josephine's anxiety spiked again. Was he still suspicious of her...
Soon enough, Oscar arrived.
The only remaining seat was to Cedric's right, which Oscar took naturally.
Cedric offered him a glass of red wine. "Prof. Carter, I've taken note of all your help with the company lately. The project's smooth progress is thanks to you."
Oscar waved dismissively. "It's nothing, really. Actually, I should be thanking you, Mr. Getty. Your willingness to give Josephine this opportunity genuinely surprised me. But rest assured, I know her well—she's the most talented genius I've ever encountered. She absolutely won't disappoint."
He poured himself a glass and downed it in one gulp.
Cedric matched him, finishing his own glass. "You're too kind, Prof. Carter. Her success comes from her own talent."
Oscar smiled warmly. Josephine was both his greatest hope and his greatest worry.
"Jojo, make sure you work hard for Mr. Getty."
"Don't worry, Mr. Carter. I won't let you down." Josephine nodded earnestly. Her professor disliked social occasions—he had a researcher's pride. That he'd said such things tonight was entirely for her sake.
Oscar was in high spirits tonight, setting aside his professorial dignity to drink and enjoy himself with everyone.
Cedric, too, seemed to relax his usual restraint, chatting and drinking with Oscar.
By the end of the celebration, Oscar had successfully gotten himself drunk.
Seeing Oscar weaving unsteadily, Josephine rushed to support him.
"Honestly, if you can't hold your liquor, don't drink so much."
Oscar slurred, "I'm happy! You know that? Happy! I'm happy you're successful... I always thought you were most likely to inherit my..."
Josephine waited for him to continue, but he trailed off into incoherent mumbling.
"Let's get him home first." Kenneth came over to help support Oscar. Together with Josephine, they got him out of the restaurant and into Cedric's car.
"I'll drive him home. You come along and look after him," Cedric said to Josephine.
Josephine wasn't comfortable letting Oscar ride alone either, so she agreed. Kenneth tried to come along too, but Cedric stopped him.
"Not enough room. I've arranged another car to take you all home."
Kenneth could only watch as they drove away. Aiden came up behind him and clapped his shoulder.
"What're you thinking?"
Kenneth shook his head. "Nothing."
He just felt uneasy. Something about Cedric tonight seemed... off.
...
In the car.
Josephine sat in the back seat, occasionally glancing at Oscar, who was leaning back with his eyes closed.
She worried he might throw up from the car's motion.
Fortunately, he made it home without incident.
Cedric helped Oscar into the bedroom while Josephine rushed to turn on the lights. When she turned around, she found Oscar lying on the bed, somehow awake now, face flushed and wearing a silly grin.
"I'm so happy today!"
Josephine's mouth twitched. "Yes, yes, you're very happy. I'll go make you something to help with the hangover."
She went to the kitchen to prepare some soup. As she carried it upstairs and reached the doorway, she heard Oscar's slurred voice from inside.
"Josephine's perfect in every way, except she's way too uptight for someone so young—more serious than I am... I know her parents are strict. In all these years, she's only been to a bar once, and that was because I practically dragged her there... If you ask me, she should go out more, meet more men. Then she wouldn't have gotten fooled by that punk Gideon..."
Cedric's voice floated through, dangerously quiet. "Oh? She's been to a bar?"
"Yeah... that bar... what was it called again?"
Cedric's eyes narrowed as he looked at Oscar sitting on the bed, his voice dropping lower. "Paper Moon Bar?"
"That's it!" Oscar answered without hesitation.
Outside the door, the soup bowl slipped from Josephine's hands and shattered on the floor.