The Meter

In other words, Joe had taken the bait that Brandon Myles had discarded. Struck by astonishment, the usually smooth-tongued Joe found himself at a loss for words, managing only a faint "Yes" in response to Brandon's question.

Brandon calmly glanced at a screen embedded next to the inner side of the gate before turning his gaze back to the two guilty-looking individuals before him. His expression remained impassive as he uttered, "3,000 dollars, cash or transfer?"

"For what?!" Joe exclaimed in disbelief.

Brandon pressed a switch button on the screen, making it flexible and adjustable. He then maneuvered the screen to face Joe and Sienna, allowing both of them to see its contents. With a pen in hand, he pointed to the complex, color-mixed diagram displayed on the screen and began, "One unit costs 2 dollars, and you've used it for five hours, totaling ten units, which amounts to 20 dollars. However, judging from the thickness and length of the cable you've used, it's clear you're powering multiple devices, such as your laptop, mobile phone, and pad. This also explains your usage of my Wi-Fi. Fortunately, my Wi-Fi operates on a different power source, priced at 5 dollars per unit, so ten units would be 50 dollars. Altogether, you've consumed 70 dollars'' worth of my electricity."

"That's only 70! You asked for 3,000!" Joe protested. "And what kind of electric meters do you have that use so many units in such a short time? It's outrageous!"

"In response to your first question," Brandon replied calmly, "the remaining 2,930 will serve as a fine for theft. According to the nation's laws and regulations, the minimum penalty for theft is 3,000 dollars for a first offense. If I report this to the police, you'll face the same amount, so you might as well pay it now and save us both time and trouble. As for your second question," Brandon's lips curled slightly, possibly amused, "you're mistaken if you think I'm never home. This is actually a frequent resting place for me. However, I avoid using electricity from the public meter because I noticed, shortly after moving in, that the Property Management Office had tampered with the meter, causing it to run excessively and lead to high fees."

Both Sienna and Joe were stunned. Sienna, because she had never known Brandon could talk at such length.

But Joe's thoughts were elsewhere. He snapped angrily, "That scheming office! How ridiculous and unfair! I'm going to talk to them now and expose their scam!"

"No need, I already did," Brandon said quietly as he checked the time on the adjustable screen. "They should come and change the meter in about five minutes."

"WHAT?!" Joe's attention snapped back to the issue of electricity fees. "So you intentionally refused to wait until they changed the meter to charge me?"

"It was intentional," Brandon replied without changing his expression. "To prevent you from using any more electricity from this meter."

"By cutting my favorite cable?" Joe's face fell.

Brandon remained silent for a moment before replying, "That cable costs 930 dollars. You can give me 2,070 instead, so we're even."

Joe felt like he might pass out. True, 2,070 dollars were just a drop in the bucket for him, but he still felt incredibly reluctant to give Brandon more than he had initially intended.

"I will pay half," Sienna's voice arose as she took out her phone, ready to make the transfer. "I am also involved in this."

Joe brushed aside Sienna's offering hand, saying firmly, "No way you are paying for this." With determination, he took out his phone and turned to Brandon. "Show me your transfer code."

Brandon clicked the screen, and Joe quickly scanned it, completing the transfer within seconds. He shot Brandon a displeased look before turning to Sienna with a gentle, reassuring expression. "It's okay, Sienna. We had achieved most of the result we wanted, didn't we?"

Sienna returned a warm smile to Joe, offering her consolation in return.

"I have one more clue in reserve to solidify our investigation, and I believe it will be instrumental once we acquire it."

"Cool!" Joe beamed brightly once again, feeling as though the 2,000 or so dollars he had paid to Brandon were already a distant memory.

Brandon observed the heartening exchange and felt a brief moment of unease wash over him. He had never seen Sienna smile at him like this before. More precisely, the warmth and friendliness Sienna displayed towards him were only found in the text messages they had exchanged since morning.

Also, they mentioned that they had an investigation something together. What could that be? For some reason, Brandon felt an itch to explore the secret between them, a sensation he had never experienced in his territory before.

"Should we move?" Joe's tone regained its cheerfulness as he turned to Sienna.

Sienna, unable to bear facing Brandon any longer given the situation and their past interactions, nodded enthusiastically.

Brandon's frown deepened. Was she in such a rush that she couldn't wait to leave? What on earth were the two of them up to?

At that moment, a group of men ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s, about five of them in total, emerged. Dressed in suits, they all wore very flattering smiles as they approached Brandon Myles.

"Mr. Myles, I am truly honored to see you here," the leading man, evidently much older than the rest and likely the Senior Director of the Property Management Office, said as he passed by Joe and Sienna, attempting to take Brandon's hands.

However, Brandon subtly sidestepped, avoiding the insincere gesture.

"Mr. Myles, we received your feedback and investigated the issue you raised. It appears that one of our employees contacted an unreliable electricity supplier, resulting in the installation of subpar meters for the residents of this community. We have fired that employee and reached out to a different supplier for new devices. Would you please allow our technician to enter your remarkable home to install the new meter? You are, after all, the first and foremost owner of our villa community..."

Brandon paid little attention to the man's rambling, instead, his eyes shifted to a figure dressed in grey behind the Property Management staff. This person, wearing a technician's uniform and holding a heavy tool case, waited patiently for instructions from the leading man.

To Brandon's surprise, the figure turned out to be none other than one of the cheaters sneaking into the print office the other night, Liam Collins. 

Brandon noticed the big logo of an art font "C" above Liam's chest pocket. Suddenly, he recalled that there was an electricity supplier in the city with the surname Collins. However, the Collins family had never enjoyed a good reputation within the business circle and had faced financial troubles not too long ago.

So why would the Property Management office choose Collins to replace the old devices?

"How much does this meter charge for electricity?" Brandon inquired of the leading man, who responded with a bright smile, "Standard fees, I assure you!"

"What company is it?" Joe interjected. The leading man's smile tightened upon seeing Joe. Unaware of Joe's identity, he assumed he was an outsider and replied, "We don't typically disclose our supplier to those who are unrelated."

"It's Collins, Mr. Sullivan," Liam replied, causing the leading man to feel as if he had been shocked. He had heard from the agency that the heir of the Sullivans had recently purchased the villa, and he had not yet had the chance to meet the extraordinary young man. Unexpectedly, here he was, confronting him with such a fierce attitude. "Damn," the leading man wished he could slap himself in the face for being caught off guard. "This young man was visiting Mr. Myles, and how could Myles' friend be ordinary?"

The leading man changed his earlier facial expression but had no idea how to ease the awkwardness when Joe interrupted him directly, saying, "I need electricity desperately. You can install it in my home first."

Feeling even more awkward and completely lost in how to handle the problem, the leading man found himself at a loss. In comparison, the Myles family was always the wealthiest and most powerful, with the Sullivans following closely behind as the second tycoon. However, he didn't want to offend either of them, knowing that doing so would only worsen his already miserable situation.

Brandon wouldn't mind having the meter installed after Joe, theoretically speaking. However, he intended to test Collins' meter to understand why their devices were chosen and what made them special. If any issues arose, he could terminate the meter supplier directly.

However, Joe, on the other hand, had similar thoughts. He was deeply involved in his family business and often served as the face of the company at many high-profile banquets and social occasions. With a deeper understanding of Collins' enterprise issues than Brandon, he also wanted to test his suspicions.

In the eyes of bystanders, the two appeared to be contradicting and competing with each other for something. Well, wealthy families always had complicated riddles that could not be interpreted by outsiders, and they were not something commoners were capable of meddling with, thought they.

At that moment, Sienna spoke up, "I have an idea, though."