Before Josie could react, Laura had already left with her phone in hand.
Josie found it strange. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. She instinctively followed Laura outside.
Outside, there was a lot of activity. Laura took the elevator, and Josie watched as the numbers changed. When she realized Laura was only one floor above, she decided to take the stairs.
Just as Josie reached the top step, she saw Laura being led around the corner by a man with large hands.
Confused, Josie furrowed her brows. Could this be the man who had called her? But why does he seem so familiar?
She stepped forward to get a better view. As she approached, she overheard their conversation. Laura was angry. “Do you care about her that much? It’s just a meal. I’m not going to harm her.”
Josie wondered who the man was.
The man remained silent. There was a sound of objects crashing, followed by Laura’s startled cry.
Perhaps the man was speaking too closely to Laura, so his words were unclear.
Laura’s voice grew louder. “I did it on purpose! I was being petty. I wanted to see how far you would go for her. Are you satisfied now?”
Then Josie heard the sound of a slap.
Josie’s heart pounded with shock. She hadn’t expected Laura to be humiliated in front of others. Who could it be? Could it be the man I saw last time?
She was about to go inside, but then she heard footsteps coming from inside, moving towards the exit.
Josie furrowed her brows, unsure of where to go. However, at that moment, the door to a private room beside her swung open, and a hand reached out, pulling her inside.
“Who is it!” Josie exclaimed in shock, her back against the door. She followed the hand and saw a bandage, and then a familiar face.
“Dexter?” She was surprised to see him.
He was wearing a white shirt with rolled-up cuffs, and he remained composed.
“The door wasn’t closed. I’ve been watching you for a while.”
Choked with emotion, Josie asked, “Why are you here?”
Dexter let go of her. “I have a social engagement, and I just arrived.”
He stepped back, and when Josie looked up, she noticed several middle-aged men and women sitting around a round table. They seemed intelligent and gentle, like people of influence. Instead of being surprised to see Josie, they smiled knowingly.
“What a coincidence. We’ve met before.”
Josie was even more stunned. These were the same people she had seen last time with Wayne. No, that was when Arnold was pretending to be Mr. Dalton.
She greeted them politely.
Dexter casually placed his hand on her waist. “Have you eaten enough? Would you like to eat some more?”
As she approached, a voice called out, “Mommy!”
The voice belonged to Grape. She had been playing with her toys, but when she heard Josie’s voice, she immediately jumped up.
Josie’s eyes widened as she quickly stepped forward. Then, she turned to Dexter and scolded him, “Why did you bring her here?”
Grape ran into Josie’s arms and took the lead in saying, “Mommy, I missed you. I asked Daddy to bring me to see you.”
She spoke eloquently with a whimsical charm. However, Josie felt the need to cover Grape’s mouth because she couldn’t bear the stares from those around her.
But someone jokingly remarked, “No wonder Mr. Russell invited us to dinner in the middle of the night. It turns out it was for his beloved lady.”
They smiled kindly, causing Josie to feel embarrassed and her ears to burn. Why doesn’t he know how to maintain a proper distance in public?
Dexter stood with one hand behind his back, pretending as if no one was watching. He said to Josie, “It’s not just Grape who misses you, but me as well.”
Josie wanted to scold him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it in front of so many people.
The others had already started to create a commotion, even raising their glasses. “Mr. Russell, can we expect good news from you soon?”
Everyone present knew that the woman before them was the Josie they knew from the past.
