"It's nice to hear that. I'm looking forward to working with you, Mr. Monteriel." Solana then offered her hand to Kenzii, which he took to shake.
"The pleasure is mine, Miss Andariel." Kenzii offered a tight smile.
After the woman left, Kenzii glanced to his side to check on Cariz, who had been silent throughout the entire meeting. She had only spoken when directly addressed.
"You okay?" he asked.
Cariz merely nodded with a subtle smile. "Yes. Are we leaving?"
In truth, Cariz had felt uncomfortable because the Solana woman was openly flirting with Kenzii, and Kenzii had simply let it happen. She knew it was none of her business since she was just his personal assistant, but she couldn't help it.
"No, it's lunchtime, so we should eat first before heading back." Kenzii sat down again and signaled for a waiter. "Why are you still standing?" he asked, looking directly at Cariz. She immediately shook her head and sat across from him.
"You can go straight to our department; I'll check on something," Kenzii said the moment they stepped into the elevator.
Cariz nodded and was about to press their floor button, but Kenzii reached out ahead of her, pressing their floor along with another one—which she assumed was his destination.
"Hey cuz, what brings you here?" Kenzii rolled his eyes as he was immediately greeted by Alas's energetic voice.
He hadn't expected Alas to arrive at Sota's office before him. His cousin was comfortably lounging on the single sofa, reading a thick document.
"Mission," Kenzii replied simply. He walked over to the long sofa, sat down, and leaned back.
"Dianne, inform Jerick that I need the file I keep asking him about by this afternoon. If he can't keep up with my demands, he better say goodbye to his position!" The cousins turned toward the office door as Sota's stern voice echoed from the hallway. He looked… well, pissed.
"Y-yes, Sir," Dianne replied, quickly making her exit.
Sota glanced at his two cousins and let out a heavy sigh. He walked straight to his desk and began flipping through a stack of papers.
"You good? You look like you're about to blow up," Alas laughed, completely unfazed by Sota's mood. He was used to getting on his nerves anyway.
"That is none of your business, brat." Sota didn't even look in Alas's direction.
"Hahaha! Seems like you're very irritated with Jerick, huh? Isn't he your Chief of Staff? What did he do to make you look like shit?" Alas pressed further.
"He is, and that moron is getting on my last nerve. He keeps making mistakes and he is about to be replaced. I can't keep up with his stupidity." Sota dropped the papers he was holding and massaged his temples, as if recalling every single one of Jerick's mistakes.
"Sucks to be you. That's what happens when you're the COO of the group—you handle everything. I honestly can't believe you manage all of it. Being at the top of every subsidiary? Infrastructure, Logistics, Finance, Healthcare... Bro, you are the boss of bosses!" Alas shook his head, prompting Sota to look up at him.
"Yeah, making me wish I had been as stupid as you, so I could just be happy-go-lucky and totally useless," Sota shot back, eliciting a slight chuckle from Kenzii.
"You piece of—"
"Shut it. Why are you guys here anyway?" Sota asked, his brows furrowed.
"To make a plan. I thought you weren't busy, so I decided to drop by. Guess I was wrong," Kenzii replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh right, you have another target." Sota paused to think for a moment before speaking again. "7:00 PM. I'll be home then; let's just talk there." He then turned back to Alas. "So leave me alone."
"Psh. I come to visit you and I'm still the bad guy? Ungrateful asshole. Be thankful that even though I'm sick of your face from living together at Kenzii's condo, I still thought to visit you." Alas grumbled under his breath, but Sota ignored him, already buried in the paperwork on his desk.
When Alas turned back to look at Kenzii, he was surprised to see that his other cousin had already left.
"Why are you guys even my cousins," Alas muttered, looking like he was about to cry, before stepping out of the office.
.
"Here's the plan," Sota said. Kenzii turned to look at him once they settled onto the sofa at Kenzii's condo.
Sota let out a weary sigh, judging by his appearance, he was completely drained from how his day had gone.
"Grandfather met with me earlier before I came here and gave me the info on Santiago. The plan is simple: our branch in Mexico will hold a meeting there, and we will invite all potential investors—including him, of course," Sota began, handing Kenzii a profile of Santiago.
"We will lure him in with the meeting, and after that, you will shadow him back to his place."
"Why not just kill him instantly at the meeting?" Alas suggested, making Sota sigh again.
"You really don't use your brain, do you? That would taint our company's reputation. Imagine the news spreading that someone died at a corporate function of ours?" Sota rolled his eyes. "And it certainly can't be done on the street either, because Kenzii's identity might be exposed, and I don't want innocent people to be involved."
Kenzii nodded in agreement. He already knew that, and it matched his own initial assessment.
"I'll come with you," Sota added.
Kenzii paused, staring at his cousin over the sudden proposal. "Why? You don't need to. I can handle the mission alone."
"No worries, I'm not getting involved in your hit. I'm only participating because I'll be holding a private placement offering meeting for wealthy individuals showing interest in the company who want to invest," Sota explained. "Five powerful individuals total, and we will include Santiago among them."
"Great idea, cuz! I'm coming too!" Alas beamed with a wide grin, only to be met with a cold glare from Sota.
"You can't. You need to stay. It will look suspicious if we bring you along as well," Sota said, turning his attention back to Kenzii while ignoring Alas's protests.
"We'll fly to Mexico tomorrow morning. The meeting will be held on our second day there. We will make it look like I went to Mexico alone without you, Kenzii, while you lay low. Then, on the fourth day, you strike."
"Why?" Kenzii asked, confused. He didn't fully grasp his cousin's reasoning yet.
"Interpol and international law enforcement agencies are watching too closely right now. We have to be careful; your whereabouts cannot be linked to our family. If our family travels to Mexico and Santiago dies immediately after, they might draw a connection." Sota typed away on his laptop before looking back at Kenzii. "We need to be cautious at all times."
"Can I really not come?" Alas whined. Sota glares at him again.
"Stop being stubborn. There are plenty of cases in the department that need your attention, and you're needed there. Don't meddle," Sota said, handing a photograph to Kenzii.
"I got the plan. Leave the kill to me." Kenzii looked at the picture of the man and raised an eyebrow.
What an ugly asshole.
"And by the way, cuz," Sota spoke up again just as Kenzii was turning away.
"What?"
"Grandfather has a demand." Sota stared intently at Kenzii, prompting him to sit up straighter.
"What kind of demand does that old man have now?" Alas but in, intrigued, as he picked up the coffee that had been sitting on the glass table.
"He wants you to drain every cent you can get from Santiago."
Kenzii was taken aback by Sota's words. His grandfather had never asked for something like this before.
"Huh? Are you serious?" Alas blurted out in shock, nearly choking on his coffee.
"What do you mean?" Kenzii pressed.
"Grandfather suspects that Santiago, being tied to a drug cartel, hoards a vast stash of gold and diamonds, and he wants you to seize it." Sota sighed heavily, seemingly baffled by the old man's demand as well. "He also wants you to retrieve important documents from Santiago—anything that might link him to other cartels, which could eventually point us toward Cobra."
"Ha! Isn't what the old man want's illegal? And what is he going to do with all that money anyway?" Alas questioned.
"I don't know; he just instructed me to relay it to Kenzii. As for it being illegal, my guess is that Grandfather plans to launder whatever we seize from that drug lord."
Kenzii lowered his gaze, falling deep into thought. He could deduce a clear reason behind his grandfather's scheme. It was likely tied to the internal power struggle— the someone who was attempting to take Don Hidalgo's position.
The old man needed a massive influx of capital to maintain the upper hand against his rivals. His grandfather was a ruthless strategist, and Kenzii knew the old man would never allow the empire he built to be ripped from his grip.