Rodney snorts after he hears Zaijan. He never believes in such a thing.
"There is no forever! I'll just hire someone to give me an heir, that's all!"
On the other line, Zaijan is shaking his head. "Are you thinking of following Vincent's footsteps?"
"Why not? He's okay to be married to someone else all these years! Do they live under the same roof?"
"Alright, fine. But if your mom hears all of this? She's going to have a heart attack."
Rodney stopped on his track. His parents have been annoying him nonstop to appear on his blind dates, in which he has no interest in looking for a wife.
"I don't care. I don't need to marry someone. All I need is a perfect surrogate mother to conceive my heir. Or maybe if she deserves it, I will make a deal for a contract marriage. How was that?"
"Are you insane? You were copying Vincent," said Zaijan.
"Why not?" Rodney spoke innocently. Honestly, he is too tired of this system. Their parents arrange their life for them. If they plan to get married, it should be someone from high society. It's best if the daughters of their business partners can merge their companies and have eternal ties, which makes him sick.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zaijan remained silent. He is not the right person to give Rodney advice about marriage when he is trapped in this crap system.
"Alright. Suppose you are determined to pursue your brilliant plan. Prepare to be kicked out of the family."
Rodney twitches his mouth after pondering what Zaijan had said to him. The rough tone he was using earlier was now replaced with gentle.
"You are not abandoning me, right? You will take care of me after dad kicked me out of the family?"
"I'm just the CEO of Lopez Conglomerate, not the chairman."
Rodney shudders upon remembering his aunt Hilda, the head of the Lopez Clan. There is no way he can win against his aunt.
"Well, I can ask Vincent then."
Zaijan chuckled on the other line. He thought, 'This guy looks determined to go against our family.'
"Vincent is already in a big fight with aunt Hilda, and then you will add to his worries?"
Rodney had rendered speechless on the other line. He resumed walking and took another hallway. He pondered what the guy had said, and Zaijan was correct.
"Well, if I found a girl as beautiful as Vincent's girlfriend. I might also fight my parents."
"You're crazy. Alright. Where are you now? I am waiting outside the door of our private room."
Rodney stopped in the middle of the corridor and looked around. He turned his head to his left side and found Zaijan waving his phone at him. He pressed the end call button and put his phone back in his jeans pocket. "Hey, Zayn!"
"What took you so long?"
"There is an accident on my way, and I have to navigate to look for shortcuts," Rodney explained. Fortunately, he is a little familiar with Mainland City's streets.
"Alright."
Zaijan pushes the door open and steps inside; Rodney follows behind him. Immediately, someone called out to the guy.
"Yo! Rodney! What took you so long?"
"Matthew Lawrence?" Rodney raises an eyebrow after recognizing the man cozily lounging on the long leather sofa. "Where have you been, dude? I thought you'd already drowned in the middle of the ocean!"
"Shut up!" Matt sneered at Rodney, but this is how they spoke to each other. Rodney stretched his arm and threw his fist, which he immediately met with his knuckle. "I have been on a critical mission lately."
"I see. Can I hear a little info or something completely confidential?"
"Nah. It was confidential, but it was open to all Mafia Lords."
Even if it was a confidential job, Matt trusted these men. He may not be close to Zaijan Lopez as he is only a common friend because of Rodney, but he knew the Lopez family very well.
He has enough information, as Rodney is a mafia lord from the Northern territories of P Country.
"What's going on?" asked Rodney while he poured his glass of cognac.
"I have been tailing someone in the past couple of years. The reason I stop hanging out with him." Matt tilted his head across the room.
Rodney followed Matt's gaze. His eyes landed on a man who was busy instructing his assistant on something.
"Hey, Christian Dale! Are you still working?"
Christian just nodded at Rodney, then resumed talking to his assistant. Since the guy ignores them, Rodney and Matt continue chatting while Zaijan only listens silently in his seat as if he could care less about whatever these two men are discussing.
"So?"
"So, this man vanished from my sight. I can't locate him yet. While my men are trying to spot him, I take the chance to visit my parents."
"He seemed so dangerous," Rodney uttered between sipping his liquor. "Who is it? Maybe he will appear in P Country."
"It was the Huo cousins, and the Emperor wants to apprehend them as soon as possible."
"The who, what?" Rodney looked at Matt and waited for him to spill more information.
"The HUO cousins are bothering someone close to the emperor."
"I see. You should send me their…." When the door opened, Rodney didn't finish his words, and more men stepped inside the room.
"Hey, bro! Sorry, we're late!" They called out to Matt, and Rodney didn't know these men, so Matt introduced them to each other.
Across the room, Christian Dale was instructing his assistant, Hobert Lee. He glanced at his wristwatch and made a quick calculation on his head.
"After half an hour, visit Miss Michaels and get the contract. You know what to reason out."
Hobert Lee pressed his lips to his boss' lies. They were actually already at this hotel one hour before the representative from D Company arrived.
But his boss is putting him into a difficult situation, and that is to continue telling lies! His boss is unwilling to meet Miss Michaels, so he has to make up a story.
'Dang. Why do we assistants always have the toughest role?!'