Love at First Hiss

"It's my fault. I didn't train the others properly. They can't tell them apart," the security captain said. "But this time, I checked it myself. Don't worry. I've worked for the Richardsons for years. I'm sure this is the one."

Yes!

I pumped my fist inside my head. The money was locked in.

The security captain took me up to the top floor of the building.

I stepped out of the elevator first.

The moment Roger Reyes saw me, he forced a smile onto his exhausted, serious face.

"Mrs. Rich—I mean, Ms. Dittman, what brings you here?"

[Wow, Roger really slipped up and said what he was thinking!]

[Can't even blame him. Miles trained him into it. Anytime Roger calls her Mrs. Richardson when Miles is mad, Miles instantly cools off and lets him get through his report. It's basically muscle memory now.]

Roger had been through enough moments like this to recover quickly. He smoothly continued, "Are you here to see Mr. Richardson? He really missed you. If he knows you came, he'll be thrilled…"

Before Roger could finish, the security captain walked in behind me and proudly announced, "This young lady found the snake."

Only then did Roger notice the plastic bag in my hand, and the black snake inside it. The color drained from his face, as if his soul had just left his body.

The livestream chat instantly translated his horror.

[Congratulations, you've just short-circuited Roger's brain.]

[Roger must be screaming inside, "If I'd known the boss was with Mrs. Richardson, I would've never gone looking for him! I'm not gonna take him from her. Not for a billion dollars! If he finds out I dragged him away from his girlfriend and ruined his happiness, he's gonna kill me!]

Three seconds later, Roger shook his head in panic.

"No, no. This isn't the snake we're looking for. You've got the wrong one."

I didn't even have time to speak before the security captain jumped in, "No, I'm sure it's this one! I watched Mr. Richardson grow up. There's no way I'd mistake him…"

Roger tried several times to cut him off, but failed.

In the end, Roger had no choice but to reach out and slap a hand over the security captain's mouth.

"Please, shut up."

The security captain still tried to speak, but Roger shoved him into the elevator and smiled coldly.

"If you want to keep your job, zip it."

The security captain left, looking wronged as he pressed the elevator button.

Roger quickly straightened his slicked-back hair and suit, then turned back to me and politely guided me to the lounge area.

"Ms. Dittman, Mr. Richardson would be overjoyed to see you. But he's on a business trip and won't be back for a while…"

A young assistant soon brought over coffee and a few mini cakes.

Roger took the chance to speak up for Miles.

"Mr. Richardson had these prepared for you. Iced caramel latte with extra foam and less sugar. He also mentioned you're allergic to mango, so we ordered a chocolate mousse cake instead…"

Was that really the point?

The point was my six million dollars!

Damn it.

I fished the snake out, trying to make my case.

"Roger, I'm sure about it. This is the snake you're looking for."

Roger waved his hands wildly. "No, it's not!"

I stood firm. "It is. The markings are exactly the same."

Roger kept denying it. "No, it's not!"

What a stubborn old mule.

We went back and forth for ages and ended up waking the black snake.

When the black snake saw Roger, its sleepy eyes snapped wide open.

It closed its eyes, shook its head, then opened them again.

A hint of menace appeared on its face.