The rain had been falling for almost three hours.
Elena Carter stood beneath the narrow roof of a closed bakery, clutching the strap of her old brown handbag while watching the water swallow the pavement.
Her cream-colored hoodie was slightly damp around the sleeves, and her beige cap was pulled low over her face.
She checked her phone again.
11:47 p.m.
Three missed calls.
One voicemail.
And twelve unread messages.
She already knew what most of them said.
Payment overdue.
Final notice.
Please contact our office immediately.
Elena locked her phone and exhaled slowly.
"Everything is fine," she whispered.
It was a lie.
Nothing was fine.
Her father's funeral had been six months ago, but Elena still hadn't figured out how to breathe normally after losing him.
Her father had been the one person who always made impossible problems feel small.
Now he was gone.
And he had left behind something Elena had never expected.
Debt.
A mountain of it.
She had sold almost everything valuable in the house. Her mother's old jewelry. Her father's watch. Even the small car he had left behind.
Nothing was enough.
The bank had already sent a warning about the house.
If she couldn't make the payment by Friday, she would lose it.
And Friday was tomorrow.
Elena closed her eyes.
"Just one more day."
She needed a job.
A real job.
Not another temporary position that paid barely enough to buy groceries.
She opened the email she had been staring at all afternoon.
BLACK HOLDINGS — INTERVIEW CONFIRMATION
The salary attached to the position was more than she had ever earned in an entire year.
There was only one problem.
The company belonged to Adrian Black.
Everyone knew who Adrian Black was.
At twenty-eight, he was one of the youngest billionaires in the country.
His name appeared in newspapers, business magazines, television interviews and gossip columns.
Some called him brilliant.
Others called him ruthless.
Elena had heard worse.
She didn't care.
She needed the job.
Her phone buzzed.
A new message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: If you don't pay by Friday, the house will be seized.
Elena stared at the words.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Then she looked up at the rain.
"Fine," she whispered.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
---
The following morning, Elena arrived at Black Holdings twenty minutes early.
She stopped outside the enormous glass building and looked up.
It seemed to disappear into the clouds.
People in expensive suits walked through the revolving doors, carrying designer handbags and phones that probably cost more than Elena's monthly rent.
She looked down at herself.
Cream hoodie.
Dark jeans.
Clean white sneakers.
Her clothes weren't ugly.
They were simply old.
She adjusted her beige cap and walked inside.
The receptionist looked up.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. I'm here for an interview."
"Name?"
"Elena Carter."
The receptionist typed something into her computer.
Then her expression changed slightly.
"Mr. Black is expecting you."
Elena blinked.
"Mr. Black?"
"Yes."
She had expected an HR manager.
Not Adrian Black himself.
"Is there a problem?"
"No."
The receptionist smiled politely.
"Take the elevator to the thirty-eighth floor."
Elena swallowed.
"Thank you."
The elevator doors closed behind her.
As the numbers climbed, her heart beat faster.
Thirty-five.
Thirty-six.
Thirty-seven.
Thirty-eight.
Ding.
The doors opened.
A woman in a black suit was waiting.
"Ms. Carter?"
"Yes."
"Follow me."
Elena followed her through a quiet hallway.
The office was beautiful.
Everything was glass, marble and dark wood.
Nothing looked cheap.
Nothing looked ordinary.
Finally, the woman stopped before a pair of enormous black doors.
"He's inside."
She opened the door.
Elena stepped in.
And stopped.
A man stood with his back toward her, looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
He wore a perfectly fitted black suit.
One hand was in his pocket.
The other held a glass of water.
He didn't turn around.
"Close the door."
His voice was deep.
Calm.
Commanding.
Elena slowly closed it.
"Sit."
She sat.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he turned.
Elena's breath caught.
Adrian Black was younger than she had imagined.
And far more intimidating.
Dark hair.
Sharp jaw.
Cold gray eyes.
There was something about the way he looked at people—as if he could see through every excuse they had ever made.
He walked toward his desk and sat opposite her.
He didn't look at her résumé.
He didn't ask about her education.
He didn't ask about her experience.
Instead, he simply stared at her.
Elena shifted uncomfortably.
"Mr. Black?"
"You're twenty-three."
"Yes."
"Your father died six months ago."
Her face immediately tightened.
"How do you know that?"
"I know everything about the people who enter this building."
Elena frowned.
"That's a little disturbing."
For the first time, something almost resembling amusement flickered in his eyes.
Almost.
He opened a folder.
"You've applied for seventeen jobs in the past four months."
Elena's cheeks warmed.
"Yes."
"You were rejected by sixteen."
"Yes."
"And the seventeenth?"
"I haven't heard back."
"So you're desperate."
Elena looked directly into his eyes.
"I need a job."
"That's not what I asked."
Silence.
Adrian leaned back.
"Are you desperate?"
Elena swallowed.
Then she answered honestly.
"Yes."
Something changed in his expression.
He closed the folder.
"I have a different proposition for you."
Elena frowned.
"If this is about another position—"
"It isn't."
He stood.
Walked around the desk.
Then stopped directly in front of her.
Elena looked up at him.
Adrian reached into a drawer and pulled out a document.
He placed it on the desk.
"Read it."
She stared at the document.
Then at him.
"What's this?"
"My proposal."
Elena picked it up.
Her eyes moved across the first line.
Then stopped.
Her heart seemed to stop with them.
MARRIAGE AGREEMENT
She looked up slowly.
"I'm sorry?"
Adrian's expression remained completely serious.
"I want you to marry me."
Elena stared at him.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then she laughed.
It was a nervous, confused laugh.
"You've got to be joking."
"I'm not."
"You're proposing marriage to me?"
"Yes."
"We've known each other for approximately five minutes."
"Six."
Elena stared at him.
"This isn't funny."
"I didn't say it was."
She looked back at the document.
Her eyes widened when she saw the amount written inside.
$5,000,000.
She looked again.
Five million dollars.
Her fingers trembled.
"What is this?"
"Five million dollars."
"I can see that."
"Then you understand the offer."
Elena pushed the document away.
"No."
Adrian's eyebrows lifted.
"No?"
"I came here looking for a job."
"And I'm offering you something better."
"A fake marriage?"
"A legal marriage."
"For one year?"
"Exactly."
Elena stood.
"You're insane."
Adrian didn't move.
"My grandfather's will requires me to be married before my twenty-ninth birthday. If I fail, I lose control of Black Holdings."
"So marry someone you actually know."
"I don't want someone who knows me."
His eyes settled on hers.
"I want someone who has no interest in my money."
Elena almost laughed.
"You just offered me five million dollars."
"And you're still considering leaving."
That made her pause.
Adrian continued.
"You need money."
Elena's jaw tightened.
"And you need a wife."
"Correct."
"Why me?"
He was silent for a moment.
Then he said something that made the room suddenly feel colder.
"Because you're exactly what I'm looking for."
Elena stared at him.
She didn't know why, but there was something strange about the way he said it.
As though this wasn't the first time he'd heard her name.
As though he had been waiting for her.
"What's the catch?"
Adrian walked closer.
"There are rules."
"Of course there are."
"No public scandals. No discussing the contract. No interfering in my business. You live in my house while we're married."
Elena's heart pounded.
"And love?"
His eyes hardened.
"There will be no love."
The certainty in his voice almost hurt.
He picked up the contract and held it toward her.
"One year, Elena. You get five million dollars. I get a wife. At the end of the year, we divorce."
She stared at his hand.
Then at the contract.
Five million dollars.
Enough to save her house.
Enough to clear her father's debts.
Enough to start over.
But marrying a complete stranger?
A man who looked like he could destroy someone with a single phone call?
It was crazy.
Absolutely crazy.
Elena slowly reached for the contract.
Adrian watched her.
"Think carefully."
She looked up.
"I already have."
She took the pen from the desk.
And signed her name.
Elena Carter.
The moment the ink dried, Adrian's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
For the first time since Elena had entered the room, his expression changed.
His face became unreadable.
"Excuse me."
He answered the call.
"Yes?"
He listened.
Then his eyes slowly moved toward Elena.
"What?"
A pause.
"Are you certain?"
Another pause.
His jaw tightened.
"Don't tell anyone."
He ended the call.
Elena frowned.
"What happened?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he picked up the contract she had just signed.
His fingers tightened around the paper.
Then he looked directly at her.
"The man who caused your father's death has been found."
Elena froze.
"What did you say?"
Adrian's eyes remained fixed on hers.
"Your father wasn't killed in an accident."
The room suddenly felt silent.
"He was murdered."
Elena's face went pale.
"And the person responsible..."
Adrian paused.
"...is connected to my family."
Elena stared at him in horror.
She had just signed a contract to marry the man whose family might have destroyed hers.
And she had no idea what she had just gotten herself into.