A Billionaire In Disguise

Chapter 14

The taxi stopped at the old railway on lane street, and Rome got out of the car. Then he waited for the

driver to drive off before he approached the black Land Rover Defender and got in.

“Good morning, young master.” Mr. Orlando said, gazing at Rome from the front seat.

“Morning,” Rome absentmindedly replied because his entire thought was on getting Catherine those

accounts and figuring out a way to go about it.

The driver drove off, and a few minutes later, they made a stop at “Entourage Men Wear,” and Mr.

Orlando and Rome headed into the building.

The clerk rushed over to them and slightly bowed. Then he raised his head and said, “Your father had

already made a call to us. Your outfit is in the VIP room. Please follow me, sir.”

“This is Jerry. He has been responsible for master wearing for a long time, including yours, when you

were little.” Mr. Orlando said, staring at Rome.

“I can remember.” He replied, smiling at Jerry.

Then Rome followed him, and he led him into a luxury room in the back of the boutique.

After a few minutes had passed, Rome came out wearing a dapper grey suit with a black t-shirt, and

designer shoes without socks.

“Why is that old man making me dress up?” Rome mumbled, staring at his reflection in the mirror in the

corner of the room.

“I don't know, young master. But we should get going.” Mr. Orlando said, gazing at his watch.

They said their goodbyes to Jerry, left the store, and got back into the car.

A few minutes later, Land Rover drove into the BlackStar’s parking lot and Rome got out.

Then he followed Orlando into the building, and without speaking to the fellow at the counter, they

marched directly into the VIP area and entered a room.

The moment Rome's gaze met with his father's eyes, he smiled, but all he got was an icy stare.

“You can leave the room.” Mr. Ford said, glaring at Mr. Orlando.

He slightly bowed and hurried out the door, shutting it close behind him.

“Son!” Mr. Ford said, beaming at Rome.

Feeling speechless, all he did was stare at his father's face with confusion in his eyes.

“Why have you abandoned your old man? I barely see you these days. Do I need to schedule a

meeting before seeing my son?” Mr. Ford mumbled, frowning at Rome for a second.

“I am sorry, father. But I can't be seen with you just yet.” Rome said, taking a seat on the couch.

“Why, is it because of your wife's family and the way they treat you?”

“How did you know?”

“I'm Mr. Ford. There's no secret hidden from me in this country. Say the word and I can have the entire

Barlow family crumbling to dust.”

Staring at his father’s serious expression, Rome drew in a long breath, slowly exhaled, and said, “It will

hurt her, and I don't want that. I have my plans, and that doesn't include her losing everything, instead,

it's about her gaining it all.”

“Do you love her that much?” Mr. Ford mumbled, stroking his beard.

“It's not about love. It's because she deserves it. After all, she's the only Barlow with an innocent soul

and pure heart. Our first encounter made me understand that.”

“Wow, my son is so wise. You takes after your mother. She had a better judgment of people. Ahah, I

miss her so much.”

“Me too.”

The two of them sat in silence for a while, then Rome huffed and said, “So, breakfast? I'm starving.”

“Do the Barlows not feed you? You sure you don't want me to destroy them!” Mr. Ford said, slamming

his hand on the table.

“Yes, I'm sure. I am only hungry because I was looking forward to having brunch with you, and I didn't

want to be full when I arrived.”

“Really?”

“Yes, dad.”

After doubtfully staring at Rome, Mr. Ford tittered, and said, “I was looking forward to us having

breakfast too. But this is not only a father and son brunch.”

“What do you mean?” Rome asked.

“I have a few guys that I want you to me.”

“Father, I…”

“I know what you about to say, but all these guys owe me huge debts and are hungry to offer services

for the new 2.5 billion resort that I'm planning on building. So they are under my control.”

“Fine. Since that's the case. Let's meet your buddies.”

In excitement, Mr. Ford clapped his hands together and said, “Great, I can wait to rub the fact that I novelbin

have an heir in the faces of those old geese!”

“Is this about you showing me off?”

“Since I can't celebrate your birthday openly and the party has a secret theme, I think it's only best that

some top-notch know that I'm not just celebrating, but I'm celebrating my son.”

Standing from the couch, Rome faintly smiled at his father, and said, “Let's go then. We don't want to

keep your guys waiting.”

A few minutes later, Mr. Ford and Rome arrived in a huge, fancy dinner hall and every eye focused on

them.

All the twenty-five men around the table looked older and filthy rich.

“Hey, isn't this Lady Catherine worthless husband? Mr. Ford, why are you hanging out with such a

loser? From what I heard, he's less than the servant in the Barlow household because of how useless

he is.” One of them said.

“Robert, it seems like you a chattering bird who likes to spit out garbage. Well, I hope you can be able

to explain to the media why your construction company suddenly lost millions of dollars investment.”

Mr. Ford said with a frown.

“But… What did are do?”

“You can leave now. Also, I will be collecting my Fifty million dollars debt tomorrow. Your deadline had

been up two months ago.”

When Rome gazed at Mr. Ford, pure anger was the only thing he saw in his eyes, and he finally

understood what he meant to his father and why everyone fears him.

“B-ut Mr. Ford, you say that you were going to give me additional time to pay up the loan. You know

how tight money is for my company right!” Robert cried, lifting his shoulder in a half shrug.

“Don't worry. After tomorrow, when your company becomes mine, money will not be its problem.” Mr.

Ford coldly said, jamming his hands in his front pockets.

“Please, Mr. Ford. Give me other chance and I promise that I wouldn't be a chattering bird who spit

garbage.”

“Now leave! My mind is already made up! Now get out, or you will get dragged out!”

The dinner hall became extremely quiet as everyone watched Robert walked out of the room with his

head hung low.

When the door shut, Mr. Ford looked at the faces of everyone around the table and asked, “Does

anyone have anything else to say about my son!”

A loud noise quickly aroused around the table, and the fact that the lost heir of the Ford family was the

useless son-in-law of the Barlow family shocked everyone, and it took a while for them to come to turn

with it.

“You found your son?” One of the men asked, gazing wide-eyed at Rome.

The sudden attention, he was getting from his father’s associates was a bit overwhelming because he

could already tell from their expressions that they were ready to suck up to him.

“Yes. Actually, we found each other. But he's not really to acknowledge me, so I hope his identity can

remain in this room.” Mr. Ford said, maintaining eye contact with his associates.

None of them uttered a word, but he knew from their expression that their lips were sealed.

Then his gaze swayed away from them and stared at Rome, and he patted him on his back, pulling him

closer.

“Let me introduce you to my colleagues.” Mr. Ford said, staring at the faces around the table.

As Rome listen to his father called out the names of the twenty-four men and their company, four

particular names caught his attention.

“Bill, chairman of MC group, Elon, chairman of Roadland INC, Francis, chairman of Skylight company,

and Benjamin, chairman of Fine wine industry.” Rome said out loud, staring at the faces of the four

men.

Their attention got drawn to him as they waited on him to say something, but Rome maintained his

silence. Yet he could see the curiosity in their expression.

“As you all know, I am hosting a party this weekend. But what I didn't state in the invitation is that it's

my son's birthday.” Mr. Ford said.

It grew noisy again as everyone tried to congratulate Mr. Ford and offer their birthday greeting to Rome.

It took a while before total silence fell in the hall and everyone settled down.

“He might not be ready to openly take over my business, but as my heir, his words and judgment are

mines, and anyone who messes with him will find fault with me.” Mr. Ford intoned.

Then he coldly gazed at everyone's faces and said, “Now that that's said, let's feast!”

A few minutes later, the table was crowded with exquisite cuisine, and everyone focused on their foods.

After breakfast was over, they all indulged in conversations about business while sipping on the finest

wines.

Then Bill, Elon, Francis, and Benjamin approached Rome with smiles on their faces.

“Hello, fellows.” He mumbled, adjusting the lapels of his coat.

“Well, you mentioned our names a while ago and we were wondering if there's anything you need of

us,” Elon said, gazing at Bill, then Francis and Benjamin.

“I heard that you guys are interested in my father's new resort, and it is turned out that my wife is

interested in you guys' accounts. Am I making sense?” Rome intoned, casually staring at the four of

them.

“Well, yes, we do understand what you are saying.” Bill uttered, eyeing the others.

“But we need to know how you want us to go about it,” Benjamin mumbled.

A smirk surfaced on Rome’s lips. Then he threaded his hand through his hair, and said, “Stay put and

wait on my order.”