The two of them were having drinks in a private room. It appeared that the young man was the suitor Catherine's father had chosen for her.
Catherine knocked on the door and pulled me in with her. "Dad, we're here."
Her dad gave Catherine a warm look at first, but when he saw me, his eyes went cold, and his smile vanished.
"Why do you bring a bodyguard?" he said, all frosty.
I knew he was trying to make me feel awkward and get me to leave Catherine. But I wasn't the type to back down.
I spoke up, "Sir, I think there's a misunderstanding. I'm Catherine's boyfriend, David Jones."
"Just you, a poor boy, think you're good enough for Catherine? Can you take care of her?" he shot back, glaring at me.
That question hit a nerve.
Honestly, with my current financial situation, I couldn't really take care of Catherine. Everything I had wasn't bought with my own money.
If I said I could afford it, it would be merely boasting, but if I said I couldn't, her dad surely would be against us being together.
"I can earn my own money. Do I need a man to support me?" Catherine snapped, pulling me to sit on the nearby sofa.
The young guy next to her leaned back arrogantly, legs crossed, swirling a drink in his hand.
He sneered, "With me, you can have Hermes bags, LV bags, without spending your own money. Your money can be for whatever you want. But with this poor guy, you'll have to spend your own money on bags and save for anything else."
"My own money can support me just fine. I don't need you to worry!" Catherine shot back.
Seeing her so determined, her dad slammed his glass on the table. "I just don't get it. There's a handsome, wealthy guy right here, but why do you choose this poor boy?"
"Because he is very handsome and way better than Dennis Gonzalez," Catherine said, giving the guy next to her a disdainful look.
So, that guy was Dennis Gonzalez.
Catherine was right; even though Dennis was in a black designer suit, we looked different in our suits.
He sat next to her dad, looking more like an assistant or secretary than a bodyguard.
But when I sat with Catherine, it was quite clear that we were a good match, and I looked like a successful guy who wasn't short on cash.
Catherine's dad only said that because she had already told him about my situation.
Even after hearing her, he looked at Dennis, then at me, and opened his mouth but didn't say what he wanted to.
I figured he couldn't bring himself to say something insincere.
Seeing this, Catherine smiled, her tone lighter, clearly in a good mood.
"Let me introduce you! This is David Jones, my boyfriend." She held my hand, interlocking our fingers, and raised it to show.
Then she pointed at her father, "Andrew Price, my dad."
Catherine then glanced at Dennis and pulled back the hand she had extended. "The guy next to me is a stranger, no need to introduce him."
"Mr. Price, nice to meet you." I let go of Catherine's hand and reached out to shake his.
After a moment, Andrew finally shook my hand.
"Since you're here, let's start dinner. It's getting late," Andrew said.
He walked to the dining table and took the main seat.
Catherine and I sat next to each other, with her closer to Andrew.
Dennis stood up, put down his glass, straightened his suit, and said, "You guys eat. I have some work to do at the company, so I'll head out."
Andrew nodded, and the spacious private room was left with just the three of us, our voices echoing.
As Andrew cut his steak, he said, "Marriage isn't a trivial matter. Do you know what kind of responsibility you have as my daughter?"
"What responsibility? You're just arranging a marriage for your career! You're merely selling me!"
"If you want to keep living carefree, this is your only way out right now, understand?" Andrew said, tapping the table, clearly angry.
"I want to live carefree, but that should be based on my own efforts, earning through hard work, not relying on men. That's what you taught me since I was young."
Andrew took a few deep breaths, trying to control his emotions. "All this is based on me providing you with a good life. But do you know our family company is in trouble?"
The room went silent, punctuated only by the sound of our breathing.
"What do you mean?"
"The project the company recently collaborated on had issues, causing delays and a penalty of three hundred million dollars for breach of contract."
"But that's only three hundred million dollars. Don't we have a lot of liquid assets?"
"That was before this project. The company wanted to level up, so we launched several projects at once, and all the funds were invested simultaneously."
Catherine frowned, confused. "But hasn't our family always taken one project at a time, waiting for one to succeed before moving on? To prevent this kind of thing?"
"I was impatient, and these projects were all recommended by Dennis. He said if they succeeded, the money invested would double."
Suddenly, I felt like Dennis had orchestrated the Price family's current situation. He wanted to force Andrew to arrange a marriage between Catherine and him.
That way, he could be with Catherine and gain the Price family's wealth and status.
"What does my marriage to Dennis have to do with this?"
"He said if you marry him, he'll invest a large sum of money in our family to help us out."
I thought Catherine might push me away for the sake of the family and admit we were just acting. But without hesitation, she held my hand and said firmly, "It's impossible! I have David. He's my love, and I won't marry anyone else but him."