The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22

“Yesterday, every single zoo staff member quit, leaving only one intern behind—a college senior named Liam who’s here just to fulfill his internship requirement,” Nina said, suddenly recalling that she had promised to stamp Liam’s internship certificate today.

“That’s right, Liam!” Simon chimed in enthusiastically. “When I dropped off your stuff at your dorm, he was the one who showed me around. I even verified his work badge myself.”

Nina’s curiosity was piqued, and she quickly dialed Liam’s number. “Hey Liam, it’s Nina. I’m at the hospital now, but I wanted to talk about your internship certificate…”

“No rush on the stamp, Ms. Summer,” Liam replied cheerfully. “We can handle it once you’re done there. By the way, I brought a few classmates over today. They want to help out at the zoo in exchange for certificates. What do you think?”

Putting the pieces together, Nina realized that those cage helpers Simon had mentioned were probably Liam’s classmates. She raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Just a few?”

There was an awkward pause on the other end. Finally, Liam admitted, “Uh… twenty-two.”

Nina nearly choked on her drink. “Twenty-two?! Why on earth would so many people want to intern at a zoo that’s on the verge of shutting down?”

Liam laughed softly. “Most internships these days completely drain us college kids. But here at Forest Isle Zoo, there aren’t many animals, we get free housing, and honestly, you’re a pretty cool boss—even if you’re new to all this.”

“I’ve been here three months now, and it’s surprisingly laid-back. The zoo’s been short-staffed for a while, so I told my friends about it. I didn’t expect it to blow up like this.”

Nina was taken aback. She hadn’t anticipated that the staffing issue might be resolved so quickly. Still, she knew this was only a temporary fix. Experienced workers would be needed to properly train all these new interns. “Okay, start by making a list of everyone interested,” she instructed.

Most of Harold’s million-dollar donation would have to go toward feeding the animals. She hesitated before adding, “Money’s tight right now, so the internship pay will be at Jelasburg’s minimum wage. Is that okay with everyone?”

Liam’s voice brightened immediately. “Wait—you’re offering free housing plus actual pay? Ms. Summer, you’re seriously amazing!”

Nina thought to herself, ‘Wow, college students these days are way too easy to impress!’

Liam added excitedly, “By the way, Ms. Summer, could you share the password for your video account? My classmates and I want to film daily life with the animals and help boost your page. Your account just hit 10,000 followers. We can’t let that momentum fade!”

Nina was stunned and a little skeptical. “10,000 followers?” She quickly checked her homepage. Indeed, the follower count had just reached 10,000 and was still climbing steadily. Refreshing the page showed even more people flocking to her profile.

Apparently, someone had uploaded clips from her livestream, and those clips had gone viral. Now her inbox was flooded with private messages.

Most of the messages were just playful banter, but a few genuinely seemed to be seeking help. Nina responded to some, letting them know she’d be streaming again at 8 PM and inviting them to join the live chat.

With little else to do, she figured she might as well relax during the afternoons and stream in the evenings—offering consultations and earning a bit of extra cash on the side.

That afternoon, Simon headed to the Jelasburg Police Department headquarters to begin his new job.

Meanwhile, Nina settled into the hospital room. After enjoying a hearty meal kindly brought by a nurse, she went live. As soon as her stream started, viewers flooded the chat with messages.

[Can this streamer really talk to animals? Ask my husky if he says “3, 2, 1, go time!” before wrecking the place.]

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