A Billionaire In Disguise

Chapter 16

The smile on Catherine's face kept widening as she and Mr. Ford engaged in further discussions while

Rome stood by, maintaining his silence.

“What is going on here?” Mr. Barlow calmly asked with a hint of anger in his tone when he met up with

Catherine and Rome.

The instant her gaze met with her grandfather's angry eyes, Catherine's self-confidence dropped back

to zero and panic was the only thing she felt.

Inside, Rome was enrage, seeing traces of fear in his wife's expression, yet he kept a calm face.

The rest of the Barlow family met up with Mr. Barlow, and when Chloe's and Catherine's eyes met, she

threw her cousin a hard look then slyly smiled.

None of them said a word as they waited eagerly for Madam Rosey and Mr. Barlow to lash out and

humiliate the couple.

But as Mr. Barlow moved his lips to utter a word, his eyes rested on Mr. Ford cold stare, and his entire

expression softened. Then he focused his attention on him and said, “Mr. Ford, a pleasant greeting to

you.”

“Ahh, Greeting me like a friend, but you have been deceiving me this entire time.” Mr. Ford said with a

frown.

Fear crossed Madam Rosey and her husband's faces as they gazed at each other, then back at Mr.

Ford with a pleading look on their faces.

“I didn't know my good-for-nothing son-in-law was indebted to you until he married my granddaughter.

He and his scheming father tricked us!” Mr. Barlow said, scowling when his gaze fell upon Rome.

“Yes. He's just a nobody who took advantage of our family name and lied to us. He's nothing but a

liability to us. If you don't want him here we can send him home.” Madam Rosey said, throwing Rome a

hard look.

A frown flickered across Mr. Ford's face, hearing them speak of his only heir in such a manner. But he

stared at his son's calmed expression, sighed, and said, “I'm talking about the hidden gem you have

among your grandkids.”

It grew silent between all of them. Then a faint smile surfaced on Charles, Chloe, Jeff, Richard, and

their parents’ lips as they all wallowed in self-proud.

But Catherine hung her head low to avoid the dirty look they were giving her and her parents.

“You have good eyes, Mr. Ford. But which one of our grandchildren are you referring to? Chloe,

Charles, Jeff, Richard…” Madam Rosey said, smiling brightly.

“No, Catherine.” Mr. Ford said with a straight face.

Shock took over the expressions of the Barlow family, including Catherine as they stared wide-eyed at

him.

For a moment, he glanced at his son, then he smirked and said, “She's a diamond in the rust. Why

have you been hiding such great talent all this time?”

No one from the Barlow family spoke for a while as they all eyed each other with a look of disbelief on

their faces.

“Well, I'm honored that my granddaughter caught your attention. To be honest, I haven't been hiding

her, she just hasn't been doing much around the company.” Mr. Barlow said, feeling a bit embarrassed.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Nonsense, I have heard how successful Mr. Jeffrey's project turned out, how can she not be doing

much with such great skills. Is it that you are not giving her the chance to prove herself?” Mr. Ford said,

frowning at him.

“How can that be? Catherine is our precious granddaughter.” Madam Rosey said, grabbing onto

Catherine's hand as she smiled brightly at her.

Feeling lost for words, Elijah gazed at his wife and she whispered to him, “What's going on.”

With a frown, he lifted his shoulder in a half shrug and gazed away from her. Then his eyes rested on

Andrew and William and they and their wives seemed just as shocked as him.

Hate, anger, and jealousy were the only emotions the four cousins felt, and as Mr. Ford continued

praising Catherine, their rage only seemed to intensify, yet they kept their silence.

The frown on Chloe's face softened when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Then she turned, gazing at

the man standing behind her, and her lips curved into a smile.

“Grandmother, grandfather, please meet, Kremlin. He's my date.” Chloe said, taking his hand in hers.

A smile surfaced on Madam Rosey and her husband's faces, staring at their granddaughter and her

date with pride in their expressions.

A frown flickered across Charles's forehead as he stared at his cousin and thought, ‘The mayor's son.

So this was your plan, you sly fox! Having a man from a powerful background as your backing for

tonight.’

Staring away from Catherine and focusing his eyes on Chloe, Mr. Ford scowled and said, “How rude! Is

she your granddaughter, Mr. Barlow?”

The smile on Mr. Barlow's face quickly faded as he eyed Chloe and said, “Yes, she is.”

“Did you raise her to interrupt her elders when they are having a discussion?”

“Not at all. Chloe, apologize to Mr. Ford right now!”

Anger shot through her when she stared at her parents and didn't get a reaction from them.

Feeling helpless, Chloe gazed at her date, but he looked the other way, and she realized that she had

to bear the humiliation and apologize.

“I'm sorry,” Chloe mumbled, staring at the floor.

“Kremlin, you should be careful about the people you date, or else your father might just lose my

support because of that.” Mr. Ford said, giving the Mayor's son an icy stare.

“I understand, sir,” Kremlin said with a humble expression.

Then he gazed at Chloe and mumbled, “Thank you for inviting me to be your date, but I got somewhere

to be right now, so I'm gonna take my leave.”

Words deserted Chloe as she watched Kremlin softly smiled, then walked away.

“What just happened?” Jeff whispered to Richard, striving not to laugh.

“I think Chloe's plan just blew up in her face,” Richard mumbled with a slight smile.

“How did she get on Mr. Ford's bad side?”

“How should I know?”

Anger stirred within Elijah, but he forced a smile as he stared at Mr. Ford, and said, “I'm sorry that my

daughter offended you.”

“If she was half as virtuous as Catherine, she wouldn't be so ill-bred. I'm highly disappointed.” Mr. Ford

stated, gazing away from Elijah.

Then he frowned at Mr. Barlow and Madam Rosey, slightly shook his head, and walked away.

“I have never felt so humiliated in my entire life, and for Mr. Ford to look down on our family upbringing,

a total shame!” Mr. Barlow firmly intoned, glaring at his son.

“Father…” Elijah uttered, lowering his head.

A look of disappointment flared across Mr. Barlow's face as he stared at Chloe.

Then he sighed and said, “Getting the account for the MC group will be handled by Catherine. Chloe is

banned from interfering with the account.”

“Grandfather,” Chloe cried, crackling with anger.

“Shut up!” Madam Rosey said with a frown.

Tears welled up in Chloe's eyes as she stared at her family member’s faces. Then she stormed away,

sniffing softly.

Although Edward and his wife maintained their silence, the smile on their faces grew wider when his

brothers and their wives gazed their way.

“Catherine, can you handle getting the account?” Mr. Barlow asked, gently gazing at his granddaughter.

A feeling of self-doubt seized Catherine as she gazed into her grandfather's eyes. Then she felt Rome

squeezed her hand, and she softly smiled.

“Yes, I can,” Catherine said, lightly squeezing Rome's hand.

“Good, make grandfather proud.”

“I will.”

After faintly smiling at her, Mr. Barlow and Madam Rosey walked away, and a few minutes later, the

rest of the family went their separate ways.

“Do you remember what you told me this morning?” Rome asked, taking Catherine's hands in his.

For a moment, she stared into his eyes. Then she slightly nodded with a soft smile and said, “Yes.”

“Do you still feel that way?”

“Umm... yes!”

“Good, let's go get those accounts.”