60 Special Chapter: Dangerous Partnerships

[Diego's POV]

"I want to strangle him. Like this!"

Diego leaned back on his chair and chewed slowly as Quinn gripped her orange table napkin with both hands, teeth still gritting in intense anger at the memory of Johan humiliated her at the pantry. He only heard about it through rumors circulating like wildfire in their company, and Diego hid the smirk on his face as his former Mentor-slash-Co-Department-Head bristled in front of him.

Fucking hilarious.

"How dare he! How dare he insult me like that!" Quinn continued. Her usual stoic, professional-looking expression morphed in what seemed like a mad witch out to eat human flesh. "One of these days! One of these days, I'll make him pay!"

"Why don't you report him to the HR Department if you really want to get back at him?" Diego asked and put down his fork on the side of his plate.

They were at the Spider Lagoon Restaurant, having a conversation masked as business dinner, with the source of their headaches as the main dish of their discussion.

Quinn stabbed him with a glare before she huffed. "It's not as easy as that. He's holding something against me. If I go to the HR to file a report, he'll bring that up."

Oh, right. Quinn's reign in their department ended because of Johan's intervention. Thanks to that, he became the Head of their department. He would be lying if he said he's not curious about what Johan had against the Almighty Quinn to wrap her against his little fingers.

"Calm down. It's so unlike you to lose your cool over something like this. You're a Degree holder. Don't let him get to you," he said.

"Like you're one to talk," Quinn scoffed. She crossed her arms under her huge breast, crinkling the crimson blazer she's wearing. "I bet he's never listened to you. And I'm willing to bet he's never respected your position."

Diego pinched his brows together, begging to disagree. "We were friends."

"Were. Past tense."

"But I'm a guy. He'll warm up to me again, eventually."

Quinn gave a sharp roll of her eyes at the implication of his statement. "Right. Your penis can make a difference," she mumbled, her tone sarcastic.

"Like I'd let him touch me." Grabbing a stack of paper containing information only the Recruitment Department was supposed to have. Diego sneered at Johan's resume.

The twerp's only a Senior High graduate, and he's acting fucking grand. Johan needed to learn his fucking place. And he'll put him where he belonged. Soon.

With a deep breath, Quinn calmed herself and peered at him through her straight bangs. "So when will you get the plan going?"

"How can I do that when the faggots are screwing each other miles away from here? Calm your tits, would you?"

Quinn's nose flared at his last statement but didn't comment on it. "You sure you can expose that they're together? What if you're mistaken?"

"I'm sure of it. You should have seen how Blond Gaylord acted." Diego smirked as he shook his head. "Poor girl. She has no idea her boyfriend's a fucking unicorn shagging someone's ass behind her back."

"How vulgar." Quinn scrunched her face at him. "Whatever. I don't care what you do. As long as you get to expose them, we'll surely get rid of the nuisance in our lives. Two birds in one stone."

"Correction." Diego leaned closer. "It's three birds in one stone. Don't forget our deal. You'll retract your Managerial application for me once I put them in their place."

"I'm not forgetting our deal, Diego. Just make sure my name won't get tangled in this."

"Don't worry. I'll just start the fire. But they'll burn in their own grease." Diego grinned. He grabbed his wine glass and gestured with a toast.

"Oh, correction to your correction." Quinn clasped her manicured fingers around the champagne glass, ruby red lips curled into a smirk of her own. "It's four birds in one stone. Two for each of us, if you know what I mean."

Their glasses clinked ominously, putting a seal to their partnership.

Putting down her glass, Quinn wiped her lips. She grabbed her things and stood. "Anyway, I need to go."

"Okay. Good luck." Diego shrugged and stared outside through the huge glass panel as Quinn trotted to the front door, her heels clicking through the cold of the night like the tick of a mechanical clock.

Not long after Quinn's exit, a plate of Leche Flan was placed in front of him. Glancing at his wristwatch, he still had an hour before work. Diego grabbed a spoon and scooped the sweet dessert.

Johan's absence was a pain in the ass because he had to watch over the rebellious rejects in the opening shift. But granting him a vacation leave was necessary and advantageous in a lot of aspects. Getting Johan to owe him something was just the start.

Diego hummed in delight as the custard mixture melted in his mouth. His indulgence was cut short, however, when his teeth munched into something crunchy.

Pushing the rough substance with his tongue, Diego grabbed it and barfed upon seeing the disgusting crushed cockroach mixed in the dessert. "What the fuck?!"

His unholy shriek caught the attention of the few people inside the restaurant, both the customers and service crews alike. Red from rage and embarrassment, Diego screamed and demanded to see a manager.

"T-this way, Sir." The terrified food server guided him in a spacious kitchen where a man wearing a dark chef uniform stood with his back on him.

"Hey, you—!"

The sudden thump of the chef's knife against a cutting-board cut Diego from his enraged speech. The man turned to him and glared through his eyeglasses. "Can I help you?"

With a squeak, the food server rushed to the Chef's side and whispered about the disaster that happened outside. But instead of an apologetic look, he chuckled, irking Diego more.

What kind of customer service was this?

"Bring him to my office," the young Chef said and continued cutting a piece of meat. "I'll be there in a minute."

Diego opened his mouth, but any protest he had died down at the glint of the chef's knife. Grumbling curses under his breath, he followed the food server to a room located inside the kitchen.

True to his words, the Chef entered just as Diego sat down in front of a white desk. Elegant fingers pushed the eyeglasses up before extending a hand. "I'm Chef Santos. Owner of Spider Lagoon Restaurant."

Diego shot the chef's hand a dirty look. "I'm not here to make friends with you. I'm here to fucking complain that you've done a fuck up job!"

Chef Santos retracted his hand and sneered. "What? You want me to apologize for the cockroach?"

"You fuck—"

"Okay." Chef Santos smiled, adjusting the cuffs of his black chef attire. He sat on his desk chair and grabbed a pen, signing a cheque before handing it to him.

Diego's eyebrows shot up, glancing between the piece of paper and the chef. His lips twitched, but he kept it subtle. "This isn't enough."

"Of course, it isn't." Chef Santos inserted a hand to his pocket and pushed a photograph in front of him. "But if you can give me information about him, then we can negotiate the price."

Despite the fake glasses and brushed up tresses, Diego could never mistake the person in the photo. He narrowed his eyes at the Chef. "And why would I cooperate with a freak like you?"

Light glinted through the eyeglasses of Chef Santos. "It's fine if you don't. But the next time you put food in your mouth, I can guarantee that you'll end up in the hospital."

He gulped when he met the sinister smile. "What do you want to know about him?"

"Glad that we're on the same page, Mr. Laxamana."

Diego's breathing quickened, his heart hammering in his chest. He didn't remember introducing himself. 'Who the fuck is this psycho?'