Chapter 24

Josie choked on her carbonara, coughing uncontrollably. "Idiot," Sean muttered, shoving a napkin towards her before turning to order another bowl.

Finally catching her breath, Josie asked, "How much is it? I'll transfer the money to you."

"Tell me about your innovation plan," Sean cut straight to business, ignoring her question.

Josie's eyes lit up. "So you agree?"

"Check the group," Sean said, lifting his gaze, his expression cool. "Time's tight. You have ten days. If the proposal isn't written by then, the rest is impossible. Understood?"

Josie nodded eagerly. "Got it. I'll write it. The rest is up to you, Sean." Relieved, she ate faster, nearly choking again.

"Idiot," Sean repeated, adding a few more words this time. "Not competing with you. No need to inhale it."

"I want to get back and start drafting," Josie explained with an awkward grin, putting down her fork. "Thanks for earlier, Sean. I’ll transfer you the money for the carbonara."

Even if Sean hadn't shown, she wouldn't have gone with Vincent, but it would have been messier. Sean's intervention saved her trouble. She grabbed her bag and walked out.

"Impolite girl," Sean grumbled, tossing his fork down. Yet, remembering her icy dismissal of Vincent, an unexpected smirk touched his lips. "This is getting interesting," he thought.

Outside the cafeteria, Josie finally checked the group chat. The message was from Delilah herself: "[Feasible. Write it.]"

Delilah held dual post-docs and had over a decade of professorship under her belt, with significant achievements in both cytology and acupuncture.

Rumor had it she'd even studied clinical medicine in undergrad. If she said the innovation plan was feasible, it absolutely was.

Josie’s understanding of acupuncture was still basic. Her recent reading was only introductory, but that didn’t affect her writing the plan for this proposal.

After all, Claire and Sean would handle the more professional parts later. She wasn’t worried at all.

Back at the table in the cafeteria, Vincent returned grim-faced. Aiden glanced behind him. "Where's Josie?"

"She didn't come," Vincent spat, still seething. "Sean bought her a bowl of carbonara. She seemed to be perfectly enjoying it."

Jaden clicked his tongue. "Bought off by a bowl of carbonara. How classy. Is our whole table worth less than Sean's single bowl?"

"Can't you see?" Gavin adjusted his glasses. "She's made up her mind. She's serious about acupuncture. She's left David's team and doesn't want back in with us."

Kyle still seemed baffled. "And the online stuff? No effect? Everyone knows the difference between a hot major and a dead-end one. She's deliberately going backward. She must be out of her mind."

Aiden hadn't expected Josie to be this resolute either. After the initial anger faded, an uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut.

Aiden said, "What's so great about that Sean guy? Why is she teaming up with him? Is she just trying to piss me off?"

"Aiden, maybe you should talk to her," Vincent urged, looking hopeful. "Josie always listened to you. If you persuade her, she'll come back." Aiden visibly wavered, about to agree.

"Maybe not a good idea," Natalie interjected softly. She thought, 'Damn these idiots. They drove her to this, and now they think sweet talk will bring her crawling back?'

While she doubted Josie would return, she couldn't risk it. This was Aiden, the campus heartthrob. She couldn't let him lower himself to coax Josie back.

Natalie tugged gently on Aiden's sleeve. "Aiden, have you considered the forum? This whole thing is public now."

"If you go plead with her and she does come back, what will people say about Mr. Lawson? They'll accuse him of favoritism. His assessment would look like a joke."

Gavin glanced at Natalie and nodded in agreement. "Josie genuinely can't come back now. Honestly, since she's so set on changing majors, maybe we should just let her have her way."

"Aiden," Vincent pressed, his face dark. "Josie spent years with us. Can you stand by and watch her throw her life away?"

"You saw online abuse. She must know she screwed up now. If she fails to graduate and can't find a job, her life is ruined. Are you okay with that? Are any of you?"

"Enough," Aiden cut him off sharply. "What's done is done. We can't disregard Dr. Lawson's position. She made a bad choice; she has to face the results."

Aiden added, "If you're so worried, reach out privately. Tell her if she ever runs into real trouble, she can come to us. I'll help if I can."

"Exactly," Gavin nodded. "Same here. I'll help if she needs it." The others murmured agreement. Their collective offer of a safety net made Natalie grit her teeth in silent fury.

Natalie thought, 'I knew it! Josie's playing hard to get worked. With these five backing her, even to a useless degree, she'll land on her feet.'

'How is that fair? Their resources, connections, everything – it would serve my ambitions, not Josie's.'

Later that afternoon, after sending the drafted proposal outline to the group, Josie headed out for food. Stepping out of her dorm, she saw Vincent and Kyle approaching, a bag of snacks in hand.

"Josie, about earlier, my tone was off. I apologize," Vincent started immediately, launching into self-criticism.

Josie instinctively took half a step back. Unprompted kindness always meant trouble. Her experiences screamed that Vincent wanted something.

Kyle smiled, shoving the snack bag into her hands. "Aiden and Natalie picked these out for you. Aiden said that even though you've left the team, you're still our friend."

"We worked together for years; we're more than just classmates. If you ever have problems or need help, just ask."

"Honestly, Aiden was furious, but Natalie talked him down. You misjudged her, Josie. She means you no harm."

"When did I ever say she meant me harm?" Josie asked, her smile faintly mocking. "I never said that before."

"And in the future, our paths probably won't cross much. No conflict of interest, right? So why would she have any ill intentions towards me?"

Kyle felt there was an edge to her words, but he dismissed it. Josie isn’t subtle enough for that, he thought.

"Anyway," Kyle said, "let's draw a line under this. Now that you've chosen your path, apply yourself. We hope you don't regret your choice." His expression was one of detached superiority.

In Kyle's view, Josie had chosen a dead end. She held no value to him anymore. If not for Natalie asking him to accompany Vincent, he wouldn't have bothered seeing her at all.