Taming The Tiger Man - An Urban Dark Fantasy Romance Genetic Engineering

4

"In addition to compensating for the damage, they also offered you a job?" The question made Angelina switch her attention from the morning news on television to her husband as she cooked. Her attempt to make perfectly round sunny-side-up eggs for breakfast resulted in scrambled ones.

Her attempt to make perfectly round sunny-side-up eggs for breakfast resulted in scrambled ones.

"Yeah," Angelina replied, staring at the eggs' transformed state with a hint of resignation.

Cooking wasn't her forte. "Do you want sweet soy sauce?"

Turning toward her husband, Angelina found Paul dressed in his office attire, seated in the dining room with a minimalist counter separating it from the kitchen. Sunlight poured in from the windows behind him, illuminating his hair with a soft glow.

"Sure," Paul replied, taking another sip of his coffee. "Maybe you can try a recipe from the internet."

Angelina responded with a quick smile, then added sweet soy sauce to their egg-topped rice.

She wasn't particularly keen on following her husband's culinary suggestions.

As she served breakfast, the fresh scent of Hugo Boss perfume mixed with pomade filled the air. Angelina sat down across from him. Her eyes lit up as they settled on their small garden beyond the glass of the large window framed in white-painted aluminum. A three-tiered fountain, flowing into a freshwater fish pond and surrounded by greenery and white lilies, caught her attention.

A fleeting image of the gray and white striped wild cat flitted through her mind, causing her lips to curl into a smile.

I wonder if Maw-Maw will come to see the fish once more, as she did yesterday.

"So, when are you going to quit?"

"Uh, what?" Angelina blinked, momentarily taken aback. "Huh?"

"Angel..."

"Oh, no. I'm not interested," Angelina replied, a touch of exasperation in her voice. "I like my job."

"Becoming a vet for dangerous animals for just a little over the minimum wage?"

Angelina gave her husband an incredulous look and said, "They're not dangerous. They're sweet and obedient."

However, Paul's expression remained unimpressed. His black eyes narrowed as he countered her words. "Sweet, as in when the gorilla bruised your hand poking it or when the python decided to escape its cage out of boredom?"

Angelina pursed her lips in response. "Accidents happen. It's part of the job. It's normal."

"Angel, you know it's not that simple. I'd rather you didn't work at the zoo. It's risky. Remember when you mentioned the incident where the tiger almost killed its mate?"

Paul continued expressing his concerns. "Now, you've got a job offer at a human hospital. It pays better, and your role involves assisting researchers. Why are you hesitating about accepting?"

"Yeah, I can't just quit my job like that. And besides..."

"Besides?"

"I don't know." Angelina frowned. "I have a bad feeling about it."

"Bad feeling?"

Paul paused mid-sip, his puzzled gaze meeting Angelina's. Their eyes locked before Angelina shifted her attention to the street view visible through the window behind her husband.

Largely vacant, as usual. The neighborhood was relatively new, with many houses still unoccupied.

"Angel...," Paul began.