The Rise of David
Copyright© 2025 by RichXpower
Chapter 23: Watch Your Tongue
“Are you saying that I’m not worthy of you?” Xavier questioned.
“What do you think?” Josephine retorted.
All of a sudden, he gave a self-derisive laugh.
“Yes, I’m not worthy of you with my lowly status. But why would you rather date someone who had been to prison instead of giving me a chance? Am I even lowlier than an ex-convict?”
He abruptly became emotional, and his tone turned harsh.
Upon hearing that, Josephine frowned. “Whomever I date has nothing to do with you, and you don’t have the right to question me about that.”
“Do you know the kind of person David is? Not only is he an ex-convict, but he’s also a Lothario! Do you know that he already has a girlfriend? You’ve been duped!”
As Xavier spoke, he fished out his phone and showed her the photos of David with Hilda.
Josephine stared at the photos, her expression turning increasingly grim until her brows scrunched deeply.
Xavier inwardly crowed with delight when he glimpsed her expression and immediately added fuel to the fire, saying, “This girl is known as Hilda Wallace, and she’s his girlfriend. They’re childhood sweethearts and are now colleagues at Sentiment Chemical Limited. It was even him who recommended her to work there!”
Josephine said nothing, merely staring at the two people in the photo silently.
“My feelings for you are genuine, Josephine. I’ll never dupe you. What’s so great about him? How is he better than me?”
Xavier continued pouring out his heart to her.
Slap!
Just a moment after he had finished speaking, Josephine slapped him across the face hard without warning.
That blow blindsided Xavier, and he gaped at her incredulously. He could not fathom why she struck him.
“How dare you take photos of David secretly? Did you think that I’ll accept you by doing so? You’re wrong. You’re so very wrong! I believe that he’ll never dupe me, and you don’t need to come to me with these photos either! You wanted to know how he’s better than you, didn’t you? Fine, I’ll enlighten you—you can’t even hold a candle to him!”
With that said, Josephine shouldered her bag before she got to her feet and left.
As Xavier rubbed his cheek that had turned bright red from the slap, a terrifyingly vicious glint entered his eyes.
“You’re forcing my hand, Josephine! You drove me to this!” he hissed through gritted teeth, enunciating every single word.
When Josephine had exited the restaurant, her brows creased once more.
Although she claimed to believe David and did not care about the photos in the least, she had long gone on the warpath upon seeing them.
Women were enviers, so she could not possibly be unfazed at the sight of her man acting so intimate with another woman.
Taking out her phone, she called David straight away. She had been searching for the medicinal herbs in the past few days, so she had not contacted him. Never had she expected him to hook up with another woman behind her back.
At that precise moment, David was having lunch with Hilda and Maria. Due to the short lunch break, they could only eat at a roadside stall near the office.
When he saw it was a phone call from Josephine, he promptly got up and went to the side to take the call.
“Where are you?” Josephine demanded, cutting straight to the chase.
“I-I’m at home!”
David did not want her to know that he was presently working at her company. Besides, he was not planning to work there for long and would resign after gathering all the herbs and finding the spiritual brush to restore his mother’s eyesight.
That was because he wanted to focus on training as the fifteenth of July was drawing ever closer. If his capabilities did not reach the required standard, he would not be able to go to Nameless Island.
Hearing his answer, Josephine tried her best to suppress the fury blazing within her.
“At home? Okay, stay at home then!”
After saying that, she hung up on him.
Baffled, David went back to his table and continued eating.
Shortly after the lunch break, David sorted out the arrears. He planned to send the information over to Tommy and let him handle it. If the latter could not manage, he would then personally pay the debtors a visit.
Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to do everything himself.
Just as he was doing so, there was a sudden commotion in the sales department. On the heels of that, everyone shot their gazes in the direction of the office and whispered among themselves.
That had David’s curiosity piqued, so he went over to Maria and asked, “What happened?”
Glancing at him, Maria uttered coldly, “Go back to your desk and do your work. Ms. Sullivan has just arrived. She hasn’t been here for some time, and no one knows why she’s visiting the sales department this time. Anyhow, she has now gone into the office. Stay on your toes, and don’t offend her lest you drag me into trouble!”
In response, David frowned slightly.
“Ms. Sullivan? Josephine is here?”
At his question, everyone instantly cut their gazes at him.
Maria shot daggers at him and snarled, “Are you sick of living? Ms. Sullivan isn’t someone you can address on a first-name basis! Don’t make any trouble for me!”
Everyone distanced themselves from him, afraid that they would be dragged into the mess if he said anything to offend Josephine.
“Hurry up and return to your work, David. Don’t talk nonsense anymore!”
Hilda dragged David back to his desk to resume his work.
Right then, Zayne was in his office with his eyes closed, planning to take a nap after having had some wine during lunch. When he heard the click of his office door, he did not open his eyes since he knew no one else would come over at such a time other than his subordinates.
Besides, the only person who dared to enter his office without knocking was Maria. If anyone else dared to do so, they would be reprimanded by him.
“You came at an opportune time, Maria. Come over and massage my temples for a bit. I’ve got a mild headache,” he murmured with his eyes closed.
As Josephine stared at the man, a layer of frost blanketed her face. “Are you asking me to massage your temples for you?”
When her words rang out, Zayne’s eyes popped open at once. The instant he saw Josephine standing in front of him and regarding him chillingly, his expression changed in the blink of an eye.
Thud!
He hastily leaped to his feet, only to trip and fall in his haste. Enduring the intense pain shooting through him, he scrambled to his feet and hustled over to her with an ingratiating expression.
“Ms. Sullivan, w-why are you here?”
“If I don’t come, are you planning to turn the office into a massage parlor?” Josephine remarked icily.
“No, no! Of course not! I wouldn’t dare do that. Please forgive me, Ms. Sullivan...”
Zayne was so frightened that he shook his head profusely, almost going to his knees.
Josephine did not comment further but headed to the desk. Seeing that, Zayne quickly pulled the chair out for her.
After taking her seat, she ordered, “Call David to come in.”
“J-David?” Zayne was startled, puzzled as to how she knew David. Why is she looking for him?
“Did you not hear me?” Josephine frowned as she asked.
“Ah! Yes, I’ll go and get him right away!”
Terrified, Zayne ran out posthaste.
As soon as those gossiping in the sales department saw him coming out of his office, they hurriedly dispersed and went back to their respective desks, feigning diligence. However, their eyes remained fixated on the man. They were all desperate to know why exactly Josephine suddenly came to the office.
The next thing they saw was Zayne striding over to David’s desk.
“David, Ms. Sullivan wants to see you. Watch your tongue when you’re in there!” he said.
David stood up and headed toward the office. He knew Josephine had undoubtedly come over in search of him, so he was not at all surprised.
“Why does Ms. Sullivan want to see him?”
“How strange! She isn’t acquainted with him, so why is she asking for him first thing when she comes over?”
“Could it be that she’s here to look for him because he managed to collect Dexter Murphy’s debt?”
“Come on! Mr. Carlson hasn’t reported that to the higher-ups, so how could she possibly know about it?”
Everyone whispered among themselves, curious as to why Josephine was here to look for David.
“Hilda, do you know if David is acquainted with Ms. Sullivan? Otherwise, why would she be inquiring for him?” Maria asked Hilda, curious.
After all, Hilda had made David’s acquaintance long ago, so Maria reckoned she might know his affairs well.
Alas, Hilda shook her head.
“I don’t know, but he has just gotten out of prison, so he probably doesn’t know a big shot like her.”
On second thought, Maria felt that it indeed made sense. He was in prison for three years, so how could he possibly be acquainted with Josephine?
“I just hope he doesn’t run his mouth in front of her and drag us all down,” she said, fretting.
For some inexplicable reason, she found David highly unreliable.
“He’ll never do that.”
On the contrary, Hilda had absolute trust in the man.
Meanwhile, David awkwardly pushed the door open and walked into the office.
At the sight of Josephine sitting there, he grinned.
“Didn’t you say you were at home?” she demanded coldly.
“Uh ... I’m indeed at home!
I’ve now considered the office my home,” he answered as a light bulb went off in his head.
“Who is Hilda Wallace?” she questioned, going straight to the point.
“Will you believe me if I say that she’s my sister?” David asked in return, his eyes trained on her.
In response, Josephine chuckled coldly.
“Do you think I’ll believe that?”
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