She’s Poking the Tiger, and I’m Enjoying the Show Chapter 03

She’s Poking the Tiger, and I’m Enjoying the Show Chapter 03

The tigers were still some distance away, and sunlight spilled across the grass, making the scene look like footage from a nature documentary.

Aria wasn’t impressed.

“They’re way too far away.”

She pressed her phone to the glass and frowned.

“All I’m getting is glare. My followers can’t see anything.”

Ryan chimed in with a grin.

“Then work your magic, animal whisperer. Call one over so we can get a better look.”

“Knock it off.”

Aria said it, but she couldn’t hide her smile.

Apparently, they were all in a hurry to die.

Aria suddenly looked at me.

“Emma, are you already cussing me out in your head?”

Without looking at her, I asked Daniel evenly.

“Are all the doors locked?”

Daniel paused and met my eyes in the rearview mirror.

“I think so. I hit the master lock before we came in.”

“Check again.”

My voice hardened.

“One careless mistake in here could put someone in serious danger.”

Ethan frowned immediately.

“Emma, ease up. We’re here to relax. Daniel already has enough to focus on without you breathing down his neck.”

I held up the park’s safety rules.

“It says every door and window has to be closed and locked before we enter the carnivore enclosure. You organized this outing, Ethan. You should be the one making sure the rules are followed and everyone gets out safely.”

I really was trying to save them.

If things played out the way they had before, keeping my own door locked wouldn’t be enough. Aria would simply turn to someone else for help.

Ethan’s expression tightened.

He hated being corrected by a subordinate in front of everyone, especially while Aria was livestreaming.

The live comments were already pouring in.

[That coworker is such a buzzkill.]

[Why is she acting like everybody’s boss?]

[Ignore her, Aria. Show us the tigers!]

Aria glanced at the comments, and her smile grew even sweeter.

“It’s fine, guys. Emma’s just cautious. She’s like this about everything. You’d think she had to fill out a risk assessment before doing anything.”

The van filled with laughter again.

Maya lowered her voice.

“Emma, don’t be so uptight. Hundreds of cars come through here every day, and you never hear about anyone getting hurt.”

I looked at her.

“That doesn’t mean we get to break the rules.”

Maya had no answer. She pursed her lips and looked away.

Ethan’s voice turned stern.

“That’s enough. Aria, livestream if you want, but don’t do anything reckless. Emma, quit killing the mood.”

He had framed my safety warning as half the problem simply because he didn’t want me interfering with Aria’s content.

He had used that same tone the first time around.

“She’s only making a video.”

“Stop acting like everything is life or death.”

After I died, their story changed.

“No one could’ve seen it coming.”

“Emma was partly responsible, too.”

I opened the company group chat. Sure enough, someone had already shared a screen recording from Aria’s livestream.

[Live from the company outing: Professor Emma is giving everyone another safety lecture.]

More messages appeared beneath it.

[LOL. Isn’t she always like this? World’s biggest buzzkill.]

[Aria’s adorable. What’s wrong with interacting with an animal?]

I didn’t respond. I took screenshots of the conversation and backed them up to the cloud along with the park’s reply.

At my insistence, Daniel finally pressed the master lock again.

The locks clicked into place.

So he hadn’t locked them the first time.

Aria gave me a patronizing smile.

“Happy now, safety cop?”

I looked up and stared straight into her camera lens.

“Don’t get out of the van.”