Now that she was suddenly asking about Cindy, everyone at the table was quite surprised.
"Mom, Cindy bombed her final exams. She was feeling incredibly down, so I let her go out alone to clear her head."
In reality, Cindy was just staying in an apartment across town, not doing much of anything.
But Octavia felt it was best to keep her away from the James family right now.
Latham had just found out Cindy wasn't his biological daughter, so he naturally resented the girl.
Furthermore, he had previously entertained the idea of sending Cindy on a blind date with Mr. Clark's son.
Octavia was terrified Latham might bring that idea up again.
"Exams are just one small hurdle in life. Once you get past them, it is fine. You shouldn't put too much pressure on the child."
Latham didn't want to hear Cindy's name at all. He quickly changed the subject. "Mom, try this dish. I remember it is your favorite."
Mary smoothly dropped the subject.
This dinner was supposed to be a trap, but because of Mary's sudden appearance, no one dared to breathe a word about setting Shirley up with Mr. Clark's son.
Octavia shot Latham pointed looks repeatedly. If they didn't bring it up now, Pearce and Patti would just go home.
Were they supposed to invite them back for another dinner tomorrow?
Seeing how Shirley had cleverly brought Mary as a shield, it was glaringly obvious the girl had no intention of getting engaged to the Clarks' son.
Their only option was to lay their financial hardships out in the open, hoping to persuade Mary not to interfere.
Latham knew this, but he had no idea how to start the conversation.
Mary's authority in his heart had remained absolute and unshakable for decades.
"Pearce, did you discuss that matter I brought up earlier with Patti?"
Under Octavia's relentless prompting, Latham finally broke the ice with his brother. Latham glanced nervously at his wife.
He had indeed discussed it, but his wife was violently opposed to it.
After hearing his wife describe the Clarks' son as a literal pig, he didn't want to agree to it either.
And a sham marriage to hide the guy's sexuality? Wouldn't that completely ruin his perfectly good daughter's life?
Pearce wasn't an idiot. He even felt a twinge of resentment toward Latham. What kind of terrible idea was this?
Why didn't Lance just marry into their family instead?
Surely in a massive company like Apex, there was some executive- with an incompetent daughter who desperately needed a capable presentable son-in-law? Content S
"Latham, have you guys actually
looked into the Clarks' son? Pearce
didn't want to reject his older brother
outright, hoping to drop a subtle
hint.
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"I met him once before. He is tall, and while he may not be traditionally handsome,
he studied abroad and now works at the bank."
"With Mr. Clark backing him, his future is practically guaranteed."
"I know Shirley is still a young girl and naturally prefers handsome men. But given our family's current crisis, I have no other choice."
"If there were any other way to secure the funding, I would never ask Shirley to make such a massive sacrifice."
"Fortunately, the Clarks are very well-off, and he is their only son. Even if Shirley marries him, she will never want for anything."
Hearing Latham's ridiculous speech, Shirley couldn't wait another second.
She whipped out her phone and
pulled up the photo she had secretly snapped.
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"Take a look at this. Do you know who this is?"
Latham felt Shirley was being incredibly immature. He and Pearce were discussing
serious business. Why was this little girl interrupting?
But Shirley stubbornly shoved the phone in his face, forcing him to take a reluctant
look.
At first glance, he couldn't recognize the person at all.
He shook his head. "I don't know him."
The man was so morbidly obese that his facial features were practically swallowed
up. Who could possibly recognize someone like that?