Cody Howards walks into the building as Philip Warren, escorted by the waiter respectfully. Wow, I never thought a day would come when Cody is treated with that much respect. I walk with my hands on his right arm and receive glares and strange looks from the elite people in the restaurant. I get why since we do not exactly look appealing for such a place.
The waiter leads us up the stairs and to a table to the left wall of the grand room. The room is dimly lit to create a calm, relaxing mood. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and paintings and portraits of beautiful women were hung on the walls.
I recognized Kat and Marc sitting a fair distance away from us. She had her back turned to us, yet I could see the sides of her face, where her cheekbones were stretching out, indicating one big smile that reached her eyes. She was really enjoying this, and it would be unfair if we ruin such moments for her.
The waiter motions his hand to a table with men in suits sitting on it. They look at s strangely, like they don't recognize us. I wonder why. They must be that Philip's guests. One of the men chuckles suddenly and says, "We heard you were a young man, but not that young, eh, gentlemen?"
They all nod in agreement and some even laugh along. Cody and I fake a couple chuckles as well and take the empty seats at the table. Looks like they've never met Philip Warren before.
"Mr. Warren, you didn't tell us you'll be getting your lady," on the men with a thick beard and gelled hair speaks. Cody doesn't even answer, focusing his scowl at a certain table in our view. I step on his foot to grab his attention.
"Yeah, yeah," he says hastily.
"Oh, that's Marc Hastings, the biggest businessman and investor in the city," a gray-haired man with piercing blue eyes says after noticing Cody's gaze at Marc. "You know, I've done business with him once. It was quite successful, I tell you. We invested over 20 million dollars in just a few months..."
Alright, apparently, the Hastings are bigger than I thought. The men talk about all the businesses and companies this family had built, and I listen in fascination. I don't understand half of what they're saying--business, business, business--but I do understand numbers, and man, they're huge. I'm starting to learn how big Ryan is by now.
"The biggest business yet is my daughter's engagement to his son," one says proudly, earning my full interest immediately.
"Excuse me?" I ask. Are they still talking about the same person here? From what I know, Ryan is the only son after his brother died of OD, so they must be talking about him. But how?
"Mr. Marc and I are arranging our children's marriage in the near future. We believe it will be great for both families' companies," the man clarifies.
"Do you mean Ryan?"
"Of course," the guy looks so proud like he'd accomplished something huge.
"Isn't this unfair for your daughter to just force her to marry whomever you choose?" I ask in disbelief. I've heard of arranged marriages before, and I always thought of it as bullshit. Parents shouldn't be the ones to choose who you're going to marry; they simply just don't have the right to. Yet, even in today's generation, which claims to be more advanced than ever, old practices as such are still applied.
"Not at all," he puts his drink down, intrigued by my question. "In fact, my daughter is happy to marry Ryan. I mean, he has everything a girl wants in a man. He's young, handsome, funny, and above all, he's incredibly rich."
I can't help the incredulous look I give him. It's still unbelievable to me, especially when I'm the one currently dating the guy they're referring to. I decide to drop it, though. Men like these tend to be stubborn people, and they would argue with you for hours till they make their point and you lose your breath.
Cody's eyes are still glued to his mother when the men say, "Let's talk real business now, shall we?"
"Mr. Warren, you've proposed before to throw a charity gala for the project, am I right?"
"Um, yeah, of course," Cody answers absentmindedly.
A man in a formal suit stood next to the waiter that lead us to the table. Let me tell you, they did not look happy. I'm guessing that cute guy in the suit is the real Philip Warren.
"Excuse me, sir, I would like to kindly ask you to leave," says the waiter.
"Maybe I should introduce myself," the guy in the tuxedo speaks with full authority in his voice. "Philip Warren pleased to meet you."
"Oh," Cody and I say simultaneously.
"Sir, I would have to kindly ask you to leave. I'm afraid you're not allowed here," the waiter addresses Cody.
"I'm sorry but I can't leave now," Cody shakes his head.
"Leave, please, sir, or I will call security."
When Cody refused to leave, buff men in suits suddenly came and held Cody's arms, pulling him away with them. I start punching their alarms to let him go, but then I find another man holding me as well and pull me with him. We were starting to make a scene, attracting the attention of the other guests and probably disturbing their dinners.
Marc and Kat turn their heads towards us and watch as the scene unfolds in front of their eyes. When Kat recognizes our faces, she mouthed something like "oh shit" and rushes to where we practically fought with the guards. She asks them to let us go, but they just refuse and tell her politely to stay out of it, "we're sorry to disturb you, ma'am."
"Is there a problem?" Marc asks, glancing at Cody and then at Kat. He doesn't notice me because if he did, he would recognize me. "Do you know that boy?"
Kat looks at Cody and then puts her head down in what looks like shame, "Yes, that's my son." Marc is immediately alerted and orders the men to let us go.
"Cody, I can't believe you! How could you do that?" Kat asks in disappointment. She was clearly upset and angry at both of us.
"Mom what did you expect me to do? You went on a date with some man, and you haven't even mentioned it to me," Cody objects.
"Well, with that attitude, do you think it would be just fine if I mentioned it to you? You wouldn't even agree."
"Exactly," Cody mumbled.
"Besides, I'm not obligated to tell you anything. I can do whatever I want without your permission; I am your mother, after all, remember?"
Cody sighs in frustration, and I stand there watching them as they argue back-and-forth. Marc did not interrupt either. It just looked like a mother and son moment that we weren't to take part in.
But apparently, Kat would beg to differ.
"And you, what happened to 'I got this, Kat. I'm a good negotiator, Kat'?" Her angry face became even angrier, and her cheeks started turning to a darker shade of red with every second.
"He's really stubborn. You know him," I point my hands at him. "What did you expect me to do?"
"Well, holding him back for one," she folds her arms together and lets out one long sigh of frustration. "You know you could've gotten in huge trouble if I weren't to stop that. You are both grounded for–for–for as long as I decide."
It's Kat's first time to ever ground us, and we can all agree that she's not so good at it. Maybe she just needs practice...or not.709Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxK21JWdUB
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"That's not fair! It wasn't even my fault," I oppose in disbelief. It's all because of Cody, and now I get punished for something he did.
"You did come with him, didn't you?"
"I was trying to stop him."
"Kat, just go easy on them," Marc argues in our favor, attempting to defend our case.
"Please, Marc, just let me deal with them," Kat puts her hand up to stop him.
Meh, he tried.
"You're both grounded and that's settled, but you, young man, you'll be getting the double whether you like it or not," she exclaims in a firm tone, something that I never imagined was in her abilities.
"Whatever," Cody mutters inaudible words--probably curses and a couple colorful swears--and gets into his car. I decide to join him in the ride as well, leaving Kat and Marc alone in front of the restaurant.
We were both quiet on the way home none of us wanted to mention anything about what happened. Things like this had happened more than once before when Kat would mention a colleague in her workplace or an old friend she met in the mall. And every time, Cody would tense up on the topic.
Yet this time, Cody was clearly more furious than ever. I get why he's acting this way, especially when Kat never even mentioned it to him. I understand what he feels at the moment. I'm pretty sure he cares enough about her to worry that much. He just doesn't want his mom to get hurt, and he was only trying to protect her, only in the wrong ways. He needs to understand that she could make her own choices and that she has the right to be happy.
Well, these are words I could use the next time Kat decides to go on a date.
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