Chapter 37

Jonathan Austin's arrival was like that of an emperor. He was revered and treated with deep respect. His arrival was always warmly welcomed, as if it were a sacred procession that had to be accompanied, providing the warmest accommodation needed for him to feel comfortable in their office. If only Jona knew how many days they had been preparing for his arrival, maybe he would appreciate his colleague, Jose Ramirez, just a little more. But Jona was no different from his usual self. He remained unmoved and uncaring, just moving forward, carrying the weight of a great name on his shoulders.

The arrival of this man was greeted with respect within the depths of the city of Xalapa, Mexico. The place where acres of marijuana plants were cultivated there. He was treated like a god. But this honor was not everlasting. It only lasted for a moment, turning into the threat of rifles that threatened Jona's group. Right when he entered a small pavilion next to the plantation. The place where transactions and shipments took place.

And all of this happened ever since they saw Carlie Eloise's face.

"I apologize for this rudeness, Sir. But what does this mean?"Jose Ramirez, the man, raised his thick eyebrow like a caterpillar. The furrow in his forehead indicated confusion, panic, mingled with anger. There was no one in this world except Jona before meeting who didn't know Carlie. She was the top-tier celebrity who owned one of the world's largest fashion labels. Also the daughter of one of the largest conglomerate families in the world and her mere presence, in the midst of a marijuana plantation, was like a diamond in the rough.

This was not a place where Carlie Eloise should be.

"Why is someone like her here? This was not part of our plan,"Jose gritted his big teeth. "I hope you have a valid reason for this, Mr. Austin."

Carlie narrowed her eyes. They were familiar with the short but sturdy man. 'Wait... where have you seen him before?'Carlie let her mind twist as much information as she could. 'Oh, wasn't he Dad's coworker? The one with the real estate business in Mexico?'Carlie grinned inwardly. 'No wonder his face looked so panicked. He's afraid i'l report his illegal business.'

"Lower your rifles first, then i will explain." But instead of obeying, Jose raised them even higher, this time clearly pointing at Carlie's forehead. "I'm sorry, for this time, we can't just listen to you so easily, Sir."

"Are you trying me?"Jona growled. His aura instantly radiated an invisible, chilling heat. But even though trembling, Jose didn't give up. His fate was at stake here. Because if Heston's daughter were to expose his illegal activities to her father, Jose Ramirez's fate would be sealed.

"Sorry, but even if you wish, i can't-"

"Ramirez,"a single call. But from behind Jona, Carlie could already sense the stiffness in the Mexican man's body. This time, Jona expressed a clear threat. "Let me ask again. Are you trying me?"

Sweat slowly traced Jose's temples and his legs trembled. However much he tried to be brave, opposing Jonathan Austin was still a disaster that Jose Ramirez couldn't afford. With a face still full of scrutiny, full of doubt, he slowly lowered his rifle. Giving a signal to his subordinates to do the same. Deciding to retreat, rather than be consumed by Jonathan Austin.

"Good,"said Jona. In the office that now housed more than 10 people Jona, Devan Carlie, Jose, and 6 of his subordinates Jona took Carlie's hand and led her to sit on one of the sofas. Allowing the woman to place herself next to him. He gave a command, inviting Jose to sit as well and although his legs were still shaking, the man followed suit. He sat sweetly, like a stupid dog.

"Carlie Eloise has the same motive as our goal. You want the glory of your marijuana plantation, i want to eliminate the Emerald family, and this woman,"Carlie was quite annoyed to be referred to so casually, "has a strong feud with the daughter of the Emerald family, Tiffany Emerald. That's why i brought her with me." Jona explained, as briefly as possible, as succinctly as possible.

"But can inserting a stranger into a long-planned scheme be that easy? We can't be sure if Madame Eloise's presence will bring good news or additional disaster,"Carlie was about to reply angrily to the man, but before that, Jona stopped her. He whispered softly to Carlie not to interfere, saying,"you stay quiet." Annoyingly, Carlie knew unwillingly that this was not the time to start a feud.

"What do you want to say?"

"To be honest, even though she has the same motive, i don't trust a woman like her to be involved in our plan,"Jose sneered. "Without going into detail about how selling marijuana and killing people are disgraceful acts that deserve to be thrown into jail,"he stared at Carlie with a reluctant gaze. "I really hate self-righteous people like her."

"How do you know i'm self-righteous?"Jona almost slapped his forehead when Carlie insisted on arguing, even though he had already told her not to.

"Oh, isn't that what you do, the Heston family? Building innocent businesses and establishing charities to help those in need? Even Mr. Heston's close friend, the renowned Rian Andira, is a government lapdog ready to dig up criminal data if ordered,"Jose raised his tone.

But instead of being offended, Carlie flashed a smile. "There are two things in your speech that need revision. First, my uncle has nothing to do with this. Don't involve him. Besides, he always helps willingly, not because he's told to,"Carlie said. "Second, maybe words alone won't be enough to explain it, so would you rather i show you that i'm not the goody-two-shoes woman who would waste her breath lecturing you about how bad it is to have a marijuana plantation?"

Jose raised an eyebrow,"how do you want to show that?"

"Get one of your best subordinates out and have him sit on the sofa,"Carlie said, raising her voice and immediately, Jona and Devan tensed up. Although they hadn't known Carlie for long, they could somewhat guess what this woman intended to do.

"What do you want to do with your subordin-"

"Stop it. That's enough,"Jona interrupted before the argument overflowed. "Instead of causing a commotion, i might as well just tell you. This woman,"Jona pointed his thumb at Carlie. "Won't hesitate to crush a man's balls with 10-inch high heels until they break and he faints. The latest news, the poor guy had to be hospitalized for a few weeks. I think that's what she would do to your subordinates as well." Immediately, the whole room winced in pain.

"And the poor guy is Paul Yones. The eldest son of the Yones family."

Devan's interjection this time managed to widen Jose's eyes. "Th-the alliance leader!? Y-You broke his favorite bone!?"Jose stared at Carlie with eyes as wide as ping pong balls. His mind was shaken. Of course, in the mafia world, anyone who manages to become one of Jonathan Austin's alliance leaders is undoubtedly considered formidable. Because not just anyone can meet Jona's overly high criteria. And imagining this 'holy' woman throwing Paul Yones into the hospital... Jose's opposition slowly receded, ending dimly swallowed by the darkness.

"Sorry, it seems i made a mistake here. Once again, Mr. Jona's colleague, there's no way she's okay, right?"Jose laughed awkwardly, slightly sarcastic towards Carlie and Jona, too deep.

"It's nice to have you in our cooperation, Madame Eloise. W-well then, shall we start the meeting, how?"

Their meeting wasn't too long. Jose carefully explained the development of his marijuana sales, which had now spread to the depths of Africa. Accepted smoothly by one of the merchants there and spread to South Africa by marijuana couriers, smuggled along with agricultural foodstuffs, from hand to hand. Carlie didn't listen to most of it, she was too busy fighting off her drowsiness. Her eyes were rebelling, hearing the boring explanation from the Mexican man. Even his English wasn't fluent. Making Carlie's ears deaf. She was eagerly awaiting the end of this meeting as soon as possible.