Chapter 111
Chapter 111
When the early light of the sunrise beamed on Catherine's face, she turned to the right, resting her
head on Rome's chest.
Then she slowly raised her lashes and deeply sighed, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
At that moment, she felt Rome's fingers caressing her hair as his voice echoed into her ear, "What's
troubling you?"
"Today is the board meeting, and I just feel like I should let Richard have the position," Catherine
mumbled, snuggling further into Rome's arm.
"I see. You have allowed Jeff to get in your head."
"Umm…"
Shifting in another position, Catherine rested her chin on Rome's chest and met his eyes.
Then she pouted and mumbled, "What do you mean?"
"It's called mind game. He is playing on your emotions to get you to willingly lose." Rome softly said.
"I know, but…"
"You are so close to gaining it all. Do you really want to quit?"
"No,"
Smiling, he tapped his finger on Catherine's nose and said, "That's what I thought. So go today and be
great."
"Thanks, babe. I needed to hear this." Catherine said, exhaling softly.
At seven o'clock, the table was set for breakfast, and everyone was already seated, except for
Catherine and Rome.
However, a few seconds later, they walked into the dining room, and when Catherine locked eyes with
Jeff, she raised her chin and maintained eye contact with him for a moment before sitting down.
Afterward, Rome took his seat, and they ate in silence.
"So, you found someone to replace us," William mumbled, frowning at his food.
"Yes, and if I could switch you for a better son, I would. I can't believe I have been living under the
same roof with wolves!" Mr. Barlow lashed out in anger, feeling his rage from yesterday resurfacing.
"Honey, you know what Doctor Len advised. You can't get worked up anymore. It's not good for your
health." Madam Rosey gently said.
"Maybe if I didn't have disgraceful children, I wouldn't be in a poor health condition!"
"Are you blaming me for not birthing good sons! Your blood runs through their veins, so maybe you
should be pointing your finger at yourself!"
The sudden rise in Madam Rosey's voice immediately made the dining room fall silent.
Clearing his throat, Mr. Barlow stared away from his wife and focused on his food.
After breakfast was over, one after the other, everyone left the dining hall and headed out of the
mansion.
A while later, Mr. Barlow's car came to a stopped in front of the DreamTeam building, and it didn't take
long for Richard's vehicle to arrive in the parking lot.
Then a few seconds later, Rome slowed down Catherine's sedan a few distances away from Jeff's car
and brought it to a stop.
Within a few minutes later, they all arrived inside the building, and since the was only a few minutes left
for the board meeting to start, Catherine, Jeff, and Mr. Barlow when to the board room while Rome
waited patiently in Catherine's office.
After taking their seats around the oval table, a lady came into the room and serve everyone a drink.
Then she rolled the trolley out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Feeling overwhelmed by nervousness, Catherine picked up her coffee and since it was lukewarm she Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
drank it all in one go.
The was a salty taste on her tongue afterward. But not wanting to complain, Catherine set the mug
down and took in a deep breath.
However, when the meeting began, she started feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
Striving to stay awake, she gently shook her head and sat up straight.
About five minutes into the meeting, Catherine slowly started losing herself, and she could barely keep
her eyes open.
But unlike her, Richard was extremely active in the meeting, and quick to respond to question thrown at
him.
"Miss, Catherine," A lady called out to Catherine after addressing a question to her and she didn't
respond.
"Catherine!" Mr. Barlow shouted, glaring at his granddaughter.
Finally, she forced her eyelids opened and looked at him. Then she smiled and giggled softly before
squeezing her eyes shut for a moment.
"I think I need to take a nap," Catherine mumbled, resting her head on the table.
"What is this! You must be kidding me!" A fellow lashed out with a frown.
Raising her head, Catherine scowled at him and harshly said, "Can you shut up! I need to rest, okay!
So keep your lips sealed!"
"Wow, unbelievable!" The fellow shouted as he watched Catherine rested her head back on the table.
The board members looked extremely displeased by Catherine's behavior, and one of them stared at
Mr. Barlow and firmly intoned, "It seems like your granddaughter doesn't take this position seriously!"
"Right! She knew she had such an important meeting today, and she didn't use last night to sleep!" A
lady said, sneering.
"And how can she turn the conference room into a bedroom!" An olderly-looking man stated.
Putting her brows together in a frown, Catherine stood up and shouted, "Can you all just shut up!"
When the room became quiet as everyone stared at her, Catherine smiled widely and mumbled,
"Thank you!"
Then she sat back down, yawned, and laid her head back on the table.
A stunning elderly-looking woman gazed at Mr. Barlow and softly intoned, "Your granddaughter's
behavior is unacceptable."
"This is not like her." Mr. Barlow mumbled, glaring at Richard.
For a few minutes, he stared at him with one thought on his mind, 'Did he do something to make
Catherine act this way?'
After staring at his grandson for another few two minutes and seeing no reaction of fear or nervousness
from him, he swayed his attention to Catherine, and a frown crossed his face.
'Or is she acting this way to make me think Richard did something to her so I can give the position to
her?' Mr. Barlow thought with a trace of anger in his eyes.
Then he stared at Catherine for a brief while with only one question on his mind, 'Is she playing us as
Jeff said?'
After wandering in his head for a while, he snapped out of his thoughts and realized that the board
members were staring intensely at him.
"Catherine!" Mr. Barlow shouted, slapping the table.
When she didn't respond or get up, he frowned and said, "You guys can go ahead and vote!"
Suddenly feeling uneasy and a bit nervous, Rome texted Catherine, "How're things going?"
When she didn't answer after a few minutes had gone by, he felt his awful gut feeling getting stronger.
So without any hesitation, he woke from the couch and left the office, heading straight for the
conference room.
It took a while for all the board members to place in their votes, and realizing that Catherine had zero
votes, Mr. Barlow stood to his feet and said, "My grandson will ascend to his uncle position."
Then he looked at Catherine and said, "Your cousin has gotten the position so you can stop the act
now."
But when she didn't respond, Mr. Barlow assumed that she was overwhelmed with shame and that's
why she wasn't replying. So he turned to leave, but the room door suddenly opened and Rome walked
inside.
When he saw Catherine's head resting on the table, he scowled at Mr. Barlow and coldly asked, "Why
is my wife like that!"
"Because she still playing her role. Maybe after we leave she will have the face to get up." Mr. Barlow
sarcastically said.
Ignoring his response, Rome rushed over to Catherine, tapped her on the arm, and mumbled, "Are you
feeling under the weather?"
When Catherine didn't reply, he stared back at Mr. Barlow and frowned. Then he placed his finger to
her nose and realized that she was still breathing.
At that moment, Catherine slowly raised her eyelids halfway, stared at him, and mumbled, "I don't feel
good."
Even though the anger Rome felt was causing his heart to pound, he kept it together and immediately
lifted Catherine from the chair, securing his grips on her legs and arms.
Afterward, Rome carried her to the door. Then he stopped looked at Mr. Barlow and said, "Catherine
was fine this morning. She didn't look sick or anything, and now she's like this, and you think she's
what, acting! Are you sick in the head!"
"Who do you think you are talking to, you useless fool!" Mr. Barlow shouted, feeling a bit afraid that he
might have read into things wrongly.
With his icy gaze fixed directly on Mr. Barlow's eyes, Rome coldly uttered, "Pray that nothing happens
to her, or else…"
Then he turned around and walked out of the room, striving to restrain all of his emotions.
But when Catherine suddenly clutched onto his shirt and whispered, "I feel drowsy," Rome's eyes got
wet, and he mumbled, "I shouldn't have let you walk into that room alone."
The conference room was silent for a while since everyone was shocked about how Rome had talked
to Mr. Barlow, but no one was more surprised than him.
"Why did I feel like a lower being just now when he spoke?" Mr. Barlow mumbled beneath his breath.
Then he glanced at Richard and thought, 'Could it be Catherine wasn't acting?'