Kathy looked at her, surprised. "You?"
Gerald chimed in, "Josephine, cut it out."
Josephine stayed calm. "Gerald, I'm not stirring the pot. You mentioned her family's factory went under because they got scammed. Have you thought about tracking down the scammer?"
Kathy shook her head. "It's pointless. That guy took the money and skipped the country. How are we supposed to find him? Plus, my dad handed over the money willingly. Even the cops wouldn't care."
"Why not?"
"Because he was my dad's buddy for decades. My dad never thought he'd get scammed by him."
"Then I'll help you find him," Josephine said. "I'll help you get the money back."
"Seriously?"
Gerald spoke up again, "Josephine."
"Let go of Gerald first," Josephine said. "As a girl, pulling and tugging with him like this isn't good for your reputation, even if it doesn't affect him."
Kathy let go and smiled bitterly. "What reputation do I have left?"
Josephine glanced at Gerald, "Gerald, you go hang out with Mom. I'll chat with Ms. Nelson."
Gerald looked worried, but Josephine nodded at him.
Gerald had no choice but to say, "Call me if you need anything."
Josephine said, "Sure thing."
After Gerald left, Kathy, looking a bit guilty, met Josephine's eyes. "I'm sorry."
Josephine quickly said, "Let's find a place to sit and talk this through."
Josephine knew this whole thing was stressing Gerald out. But given his current position, there were a lot of things he couldn't do. She figured she might be able to help.
After hearing Kathy explain the situation, Josephine felt it wasn't Kathy's father's fault either.
When Kathy was really young, her mom passed away from an illness. Her parents had a great relationship, and after her mom died, her dad stayed single.
The scammer was her dad's long-time friend. No one saw it coming.
He pretended to have an investment opportunity and got Kathy's dad to invest a ton of money, then took off with it.
But all the paperwork for his company was legit, including the project failure and financial losses, which were perfectly executed.
Only Kathy's family's assets were gone, the factory couldn't keep going, the cash flow dried up, and they had to file for bankruptcy.
Kathy's dad was already in poor health and had been depressed for years. If it weren't for Kathy, he might have followed her mom in death long ago.
After such a betrayal by a friend and the death of a worker, Kathy's dad couldn't handle it and ended up in the hospital.
After hearing Kathy's story, Josephine handed her a glass of juice. "Don't worry. Do you have that guy's info?"
"Yeah!" Kathy quickly pulled out a file from her bag. "I've been looking everywhere, but I can't find anyone to handle this. I heard Mr. Clarence was coming here, so I..."
"It's okay, I get it," Josephine said, taking the file and looking it over. "I'll ask my friends to help find him and try to get your money back."
"If that's really possible, I'd be so grateful! I'm also really upset about the worker's death. If we had money, I'd definitely compensate them. But now, all our assets are seized, and my dad needs treatment. I don't have that kind of money.""I get it," Josephine said. "Don't worry. Gerald's team will take care of the worker's family. You just focus on your dad's treatment. By the way, do you know much about your dad's condition?"
"I do, but..."
Josephine cut in, "I'm a doctor. Maybe I can help."
Meanwhile, Gerald went back to Nicole's side. Nicole asked, "Can you check why Josephine hasn't come back yet?"
Gerald replied, "Josephine ran into a friend and asked me to let you know."
"Oh," Nicole said, "Maybe it's a parent from the kindergarten. It's good for her to make more friends here in Celestia Springs."
Seeing Gerald was distracted, Nicole let him go about his business.
On the other side, Josephine learned about Kathy's father's condition and recommended some doctors she knew.
Josephine said, "I should head back now. My mom's waiting for me."
Kathy was very grateful. "Thank you so much. Also, if you see Mr. Clarence, please apologize to him for me."
"No need," Josephine smiled, "If you need to apologize, you should do it yourself."
"But..." Kathy lowered her eyes, "We probably won't have a chance to meet again."
Josephine took out her phone, "I'll give you Gerald's private contact. Add him on WhatsApp."
Kathy was stunned, "Is that okay?"
"Of course," Josephine said. "Gerald may seem cold, but he's got a good heart. Don't mind what he says. Just reach out if you need anything."
"Thank you."
After Kathy added Gerald as a friend, Josephine parted ways with her.
She quickly found Nicole, "Mom, where's Gerald?"
Nicole pointed with her chin, "He's on the phone. He never stops. No wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend."
Josephine laughed, "Mom, don't worry. Gerald won't be single forever. He's so great; he'll definitely find the right one."
"With his schedule, who would date him?"
Just then, Gerald came over. He looked at Josephine, "How did it go?"
Josephine said, "Pretty good. Gerald, check your phone."
Gerald asked, "Why?" He looked down and opened his phone. Josephine leaned over, "Can I see?"
Gerald handed her the phone, "Go ahead."
Josephine took it and asked with a smile, "No secrets?"
Gerald flicked her, "None, look all you want."
Josephine opened his chat app and was surprised, "So many people want to add you on WhatsApp? Why don't you accept?"
Gerald said, "If I accept them all, I'll never have peace."
"Well, I don't care," Josephine opened the app and saw Kathy's recent request, "You need to accept this one."
Gerald looked, "Why? Is it that Kathy?"
Josephine nodded, "Just add her, okay?"
"You asked, so of course," Gerald said. "Go ahead."
Josephine accepted Kathy's request and sent her a smiley face.
Gerald was a bit speechless and took his phone back, "Why are you two chatting now?"
Josephine whispered, "Gerald, what do you think of Kathy?"
"What do you mean?"
"Her as a person," Josephine said. "I think she's very pretty, has a good temperament, is filial, and kind."
"Stop," Gerald said. "She's currently involved in a case. We shouldn't have private contact with her."
"Then contact her after the case is over. No one will care then, right?"
Nicole asked from the side, "What are you two talking about?"
Josephine quickly said, "Mom, I want to introduce Gerald to..."
Gerald pulled her behind him. "Nothing, Mom. What else do you want to eat? Let's go pick some."