Chapter 3

People boarded one after another. A guy in a knit cap walked toward me, and I stared straight at him. Not because he was handsome, but because he felt like one of my kind. He stopped in front of me wearing sunglasses, so I couldn't be completely sure.

Then the handsome guy said, "Could you let me through?"

Turns out I was blocking his seat. I pulled my legs back so he could get in. He sat down beside me and took off his sunglasses. We succubi can recognize our own by their pupils, and sometimes by appearance too, but going by looks isn't reliable. Yep. I'd gotten this one wrong.

"Hey, handsome, I'm Mia Berry. What's your name?" I greeted him like we'd known each other forever. Simple reason. His energy was strong too. One more meal ticket meant a few more mouthfuls for me.

He wasn't surprised. With a face like his, he probably got flirted with and asked for his number all the time. Besides, I'm a little succubus. Other than Assistant Lee, pretty much everyone gives me at least a little smile.

Not only did we hit it off, we even exchanged contact info.

After we got off the plane, Shawn Evans and I kept chatting. He knew so many places, so much good food, and so many cute little milk drinks. My eyes practically sparkled when I looked at him. My whole face was asking, Will you take me there sometime?

Shawn was super nice about it. "Riverdale has a lot of good food too. Since we're in the same place, if you're not busy, once we've settled in, I'll treat you."

I have no idea what being polite is supposed to look like. I looked at him with shining eyes and nodded eagerly. Shawn smiled back at me. "Then it's a deal. Don't stand me up."

"I won't. I'll buy you milk then."

I always share my favorite things with my good friends.

"Mia Berry!"

The boss's voice suddenly came from beside me. The wind at the airport was pretty strong, but his voice still sounded low and heavy, like I'd wronged him somehow. What was that about? Why was he being so fierce?

But he was the one paying me, and I still needed to feed off him, so I had no choice but to back down. I waved goodbye to Shawn and went over with a bright smile.

It's hard to stay mad at someone who's smiling.

The look in Ryan's eyes shifted from dark to helpless. "Boss, Assistant Lee," I said, greeting both of them. Assistant Lee gave me a nod. Ryan's gaze landed on my face, and when he spoke, it sounded almost like an interrogation. "Who was that?"

"My good friend."

"Your friend?" Ryan's eyes turned dangerous.

"Yeah."

I was so open about it that he couldn't really press any further. He only said, "What a coincidence," in that cool, flat tone before getting into the car.

The hotel had been arranged by the local branch. It was a huge two-story presidential suite, but there were only two bedrooms for the three of us. Was a place this big really meant for just the boss? Wouldn't all that empty space feel creepy?

"You take the second bedroom." He said that to Assistant Lee.

I followed the boss around for a bit, but he didn't say another word to me. I strongly condemned this hotel. The place was huge, so why only two bedrooms? There were bathrooms everywhere too. How many people were they expecting to use them?

The only good thing was that there were two living rooms, and both had giant couches. If they hadn't booked me a room, I'd just sleep there. I'm not picky. If I can sleep, I can sleep. It was only half a month anyway.

Since The Boss wasn't giving me a bedroom and I wasn't about to keep trailing after him, I picked the living room I liked best, opened my suitcase, and started hauling out drink after drink. Then I ripped the packs open and lined them neatly across the coffee table.

Once I was done tidying up, I grabbed a carton of milk and stuck in a straw. I was just about to take a sip.