Tum carefully placed the sandalwood ship onto a display cabinet near the entrance. The faint, sweet scent of the wood drifted through the room, a subtle contrast to the heavy atmosphere of the desk where Gawin sat, buried under a mountain of files.
Ding! Ding! Gawin's phone chirped. As he answered, the tension on his face vanished, replaced by a bright, genuine grin.
"They're here? Send them up immediately!"
Minutes later, the door to the luxury executive suite swung open. A man in a flamboyant delivery uniform stepped in, lugging several heavy bags of food. Ohm dumped the cargo onto the center table. Gawin gave him a double thumbs-up, shedding his "Big Director" persona in an instant. He tore into the containers with the excitement of a child. As the lids popped open, the sharp, aromatic fragrance of Green Curry and Beef Panaeng exploded through the office. Gawin closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of a home he hadn't tasted in far too long. He scooped a large spoonful of curry over steaming jasmine rice and took a massive bite. His eyes lit up with pure, unadulterated joy.
"This is it... the taste I've been dying for," Gawin mumbled through a full mouth, flashing another thumbs-up.
Ohm scratched his head, watching the spectacle. "Relax, Mr. Gawin. You're eating like you haven't seen food in a week." He chuckled, then turned to Tum with a raised eyebrow. "So, is the mission here going smoothly?"
Tum shrugged, gesturing toward the sandalwood ship. "Smooth enough, but it seems there's an old, territorial dragon around here looking to snap at us at every turn."
Ohm's expression sharpened instantly. "Actually, I have something critical to tell you both." His voice dropped an octave, turning the lunch break into a clandestine briefing. Gawin stopped chewing and set his spoon down, sensing the gravity of the shift.
"Yong Chang has defrauded multiple board members in this very building. Worse, he's using the CK Group's reputation as a shield to build his own shadow empire in Thailand."
Gawin's brow furrowed. "Yong Chang alone... there's no way he could pull off something that massive. Someone is backing him."
"Exactly," Ohm nodded firmly. "Embezzling those amounts and using the company name so brazenly without a single report reaching the Chairman? That means a high-level executive is 'covering the sky with a single hand.'" Ohm held up five fingers to emphasize the point.
Gawin narrowed his eyes, staring out at the sprawling Shanghai skyline. "A mole in the ranks... and these parasites are boring holes through the company's foundation. If we find the puppet master giving Yong Chang the green light, we can trigger a total internal collapse within CK Group."
Gawin turned to Tum, his gaze cold and decisive. "Mr. Tum, find out exactly which department Yong Chang reports to and trace every move he's made in Thailand."
"On it," Tum replied without hesitation.
"And Mr. Ohm..." Gawin looked at the chef. "Keep digging into Directors Feng and Zhenhao. Find out what businesses Yong Chang has in China and if his family is involved. The more we know about this parasite, the better we can use him."
Ohm gave a sharp salute. "Consider it done!"
Gawin looked at his team with renewed confidence. CK Group might be a titan, but it was a titan riddled with cancer. And that was their greatest opportunity: to excise the rot before they moved in to seize the crown.