Dawn tried to pull her hand back, but the memory of his touch still burned on her skin. Her heart was hammering so hard she thought he must be able to see it beating through the thin fabric of her dress.

"Mr. Holcomb," she whispered. "I really have to go. If Lydia finds out I didn't meet him..."

"What will she do?" Gerhard asked. He didn't look concerned. He looked bored, but in a focused way. "Kick you out? Scream at you?"

"Yes," Dawn said. "Exactly that."

"And then you'll go where?" He gestured vaguely with one hand. "To a shelter? Or will you go with him?" He nodded toward the front of the café where Mr. Vane was now loudly complaining about the service. "He looks like the type who expects a return on his investment immediately. Tonight."

Dawn felt the blood drain from her face. The thought made her stomach lurch.

Gerhard reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a black card. It wasn't a credit card; it was a business card. It was matte black with silver lettering. Minimalist. Heavy.

He slid it across the marble table.

"I have a proposal," he said. His tone shifted. The boredom vanished, replaced by the sharp edge of a negotiation.

Dawn looked at the card, then at him. "I don't understand. You don't know me."

"I know enough," he said. "You're quiet. You're desperate. And you have no one else to protect you."

The words stung because they were true.

"I am currently in the middle of a board restructuring," Gerhard said, as if discussing the weather. "The shareholders are nervous. They think I'm too volatile. Too much of a bachelor. They want to see stability. They want to see a family man."

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. "I need a wife. For two years. A contract marriage."

Dawn stared at him. "You want to hire me to be your wife?"

"Essentially."

"Why me?" Dawn asked. "You could have anyone. Models. Actresses."

"Models talk to the press," Gerhard said coldly. "Actresses act. I don't want drama. I want silence. I want someone who will stand next to me at galas, smile, and not say a word to the reporters. You seem uniquely qualified for that."

Dawn looked toward the door. Mr. Vane was leaving. He stormed out, the bell chiming angrily behind him.

"He's gone," Gerhard said. "But he'll be back. Or Lydia will find another one. A worse one."

He checked his watch. It was a Patek Philippe, worth more than the entire building Dawn lived in. "I have a meeting in twenty minutes. You have one minute to decide."

"One minute?" Dawn choked out.

"This is a business transaction, Miss Roth. I don't like to waste time." He looked at her, his blue eyes piercing. "I will pay off your student loans. I will pay off Lydia's debt so she leaves you alone. I will provide you with housing and a monthly stipend. In exchange, you give me two years of your life and your signature on a marriage license."

Dawn's mind raced. It was insane. It was dangerous. This man was a stranger, and he radiated a kind of power that frightened her.

But then she thought of the heat in her bedroom. She thought of the red banner on her banking app. She thought of Mr. Vane's sweaty hands.

Gerhard Holcomb was a shark, yes. But he was a clean shark.

He started to reach for the card to take it back. "Time's up."

Dawn's hand shot out. She pressed her fingers down on the card, trapping it against the table.

"Wait," she said.

Gerhard paused. One corner of his mouth ticked up. "Is that a yes?"

Dawn took a shaky breath. She looked at his face-hard, unyielding, but offering a lifeline.

"Yes," she whispered.

Gerhard didn't smile. He just nodded once. He pulled his phone out and dialed a number.

"Sterling. Get the papers ready. The standard prenup. I'm coming over. Now."

He hung up and stood. He buttoned his jacket.

"Let's go, Miss Roth."

"Now?" Dawn asked, scrambling to grab her bag. "We're doing this now?"

"I told you," Gerhard said, turning toward the back exit. "I don't waste time."

He walked out the back door without looking to see if she was following. He knew she would.

Dawn ran a few steps to catch up. They emerged into an alley where a sleek black sedan was waiting, engine idling. The driver opened the rear door.

Gerhard gestured for her to get in.

Dawn hesitated for a fraction of a second. The interior of the car looked like a black hole. Once she got in, there was no going back.

"Get in, Dawn," Gerhard said softly. It was the first time he had used her first name.

She climbed in. The door shut with a heavy, expensive thud, sealing her inside.

The inside of the car was silent. It smelled of leather and something citrusy. It was cool, the air conditioning humming a low, soothing note.

Dawn sat on the edge of the seat, her hands clutched in her lap. Gerhard was typing on his phone, his thumbs moving with rapid precision. He didn't look at her. He reached into a small cooler between the seats and pulled out a glass bottle of Evian water. He handed it to her without breaking his rhythm.

"Drink," he said.

Dawn took it. Her mouth was dry as dust. She took a sip, the cold water shocking her system.

The car didn't go to City Hall. It stopped in front of a glass skyscraper in Midtown. Sterling Capital.

"I thought we were getting married," Dawn said, her voice small.

"Contract first," Gerhard said. He put his phone away and opened the door. "Then the ring."

They took a private elevator to the 40th floor. The doors opened directly into a conference room. The walls were glass, overlooking the city. A man with silver hair and a sharp suit was waiting for them. He had a stack of documents on the table.

"Gerhard," the lawyer said, nodding. He looked at Dawn. His eyes flicked over her cheap dress and frizzy hair. He didn't say anything, but his eyebrows lifted a fraction of an inch.

"Sterling," Gerhard said. He pulled out a chair for Dawn. "Sit."

Dawn sat. The table was enormous. She felt like a child sitting at the adults' table.

"The terms are standard," Sterling said, sliding a thick document toward her. "Confidentiality agreement. You cannot discuss Mr. Holcomb's business, his family, or the nature of this arrangement with anyone. Not even your aunt."

Dawn nodded. She picked up a pen.

"Wait," Sterling said. "Clause 14. The heirship clause."

Dawn looked at the page. No Issue Clause.

"For the duration of the two-year contract," Sterling recited, "there will be no children produced from this union. Any pregnancy will be considered a breach of contract."

Dawn felt her face burn. The heat started at her neck and went all the way to her hairline. She stared at the words. It felt so clinical. So invasive. It wasn't just a business term; it was a negation of her, of her body, reducing her to a function with strict operational parameters. A cold knot of humiliation formed in her stomach.

"It's asset protection," Gerhard said. His voice was devoid of emotion. "I don't want complications. I don't want anyone fighting for shares of the company."

"I understand," Dawn whispered. She couldn't look at him.

"Clause 15," Sterling continued. "Upon dissolution of the marriage after two years, Ms. Roth will receive a lump sum of two million dollars."

Dawn's head snapped up. "Two million?"

"Tax-free," Gerhard added. "Enough to open your own studio. Or buy a house. Or disappear."

Dawn looked at him. He was watching her closely. He knew exactly which button to push. He was buying her dreams.

Her phone buzzed in her bag. It was a loud, jarring vibration against the glass table.

Lydia.

Dawn reached for the bag, panic flaring. "I..."

Gerhard reached over. He took the phone from her hand. He looked at the screen-Aunt Lydia calling-and then he held the power button down until the screen went black.

He slid the dead phone back to her.

"Sign the paper, Dawn," he said. His voice was low, almost intimate. "Sign it, and you never have to answer that phone again."

Dawn looked at the dead phone. Then she looked at the pen.

She thought of the iron box under her bed at Lydia's. The one thing she had left of her parents. If she had two million dollars, she could build a vault for it. She could be safe.

She took a deep breath. She pressed the pen to the paper.

Dawn Roth.

She signed her name. It looked shaky, but it was legible.

Gerhard watched the ink dry. His eyes darkened. He took the pen from her fingers. His hand brushed hers, and again, that jolt of electricity went through her.

He signed his name next to hers. Gerhard Holcomb. His signature was jagged, aggressive.

"Done," Sterling said, pulling the papers away. "Legally, you are now financial partners."

Gerhard stood up. "Let's go get the license."

Dawn stood up. Her legs felt like jelly.

"Wait," Gerhard said. He looked out the window. The sky had turned a bruised purple. Heavy clouds were rolling in over the Hudson. "It's going to pour."

He walked to a coat rack in the corner and grabbed a trench coat. He walked back to Dawn and draped it over her shoulders. It was heavy and smelled like him-cedar and rain.

"Don't get wet," he said. "Mrs. Holcomb can't look like a drowned rat."

The name hit her in the chest. Mrs. Holcomb.

She pulled the coat tighter around herself. It felt like a shield. Or a cage. She wasn't sure which yet.

The rain started as they pulled up to the City Clerk's office. It wasn't a drizzle; it was a deluge. The sky had opened up, dumping water on Manhattan.

The line outside the building was long, filled with couples huddled under umbrellas. But Gerhard's driver pulled right up to the curb, and a security guard was already opening the door for them.

They bypassed the line. Dawn felt the eyes of the other couples on them-envy, curiosity. She kept her head down, burying her chin in the collar of Gerhard's trench coat.

Inside, it was chaotic. But they were ushered into a private side room. Gerhard spoke briefly into his phone. "Sterling, the waiver came through? Good. Send a copy to the clerk's private email. I want this done in ten minutes."

Gerhard looked at Dawn. She was still wearing the red dress and his coat. He was wearing a three-piece bespoke suit. He looked too perfect. Too rigid.

He reached up and loosened his tie. With a quick, fluid motion, he pulled it off completely and tossed it into a wastebasket in the corner. Then he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

Dawn stared at him. "That was silk," she said.

"It was stiff," he replied. He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up slightly. "Better?"

"You look... human," she said before she could stop herself.

He looked at her, his eyes unreadable. "Don't get used to it."

The clerk was a tired-looking woman with reading glasses on a chain. She looked at their paperwork.

"Voluntary?" she asked, stamping a form.

Dawn hesitated for a fraction of a second. Gerhard's hand moved to the small of her back. His palm was hot through the fabric of her dress. It felt possessive.

"Yes," Dawn said.

"Rings?" the clerk asked.

Dawn froze. "We didn't..."

Gerhard reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small velvet box. He flipped it open.

Inside sat a diamond. It was a pink oval diamond, massive and flawless, set in rose gold.

Dawn gasped. "Gerhard, I can't. That's..."

"It's a prop," he cut her off. He took her left hand. His thumb and forefinger circled her ring finger for a brief, calculating moment, as if testing the fit of an invisible band, before he spoke again. "Wear it."

He slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly. Not a millimeter of space.

Dawn looked up at him, confusion warring with shock. "How did you know my size?"

"I'm good at estimating dimensions," he said smoothly. "It's part of the business."

He put a simple platinum band on his own finger.

"By the power vested in me," the clerk droned, "I pronounce you husband and wife."

There was a pause. The clerk looked up, expecting a kiss.

Gerhard turned to Dawn. He didn't lean in. He took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Mrs. Holcomb," he said.

They walked out of the office. The rain was coming down in sheets now. It bounced off the pavement, creating a mist.

Gerhard snapped open a large black umbrella. He held it over Dawn, ensuring she was completely covered. His own left shoulder was exposed to the rain. The water soaked his expensive shirt instantly, turning the fabric dark.

He didn't flinch. He guided her to the car, opening the door for her.

Once they were inside, safe and dry, he reached into his wallet again. He pulled out a black American Express Centurion card.

"PIN is your birthday," he said, handing it to her. "Buy some clothes. You need a wardrobe that fits the part."

Dawn took the card. It felt heavy, like the business card, but colder. "My birthday?"

"I saw it on your ID," he said. He signaled the driver. "740 Park Avenue."

Dawn stopped breathing for a second. "740 Park? That's..."

"Home," Gerhard said.

"Wait," Dawn said, panic rising again. "I have to go back to Queens. My stuff. My clothes..."

"I'll have someone pick up your things," Gerhard said. "You are not going back there."

"But Lydia..."

"Lydia is the past," Gerhard said. He looked out the window at the rain-blurred city. "You live in the sky now, Dawn."

Dawn looked at the ring on her finger. It sparkled even in the dim light of the car. It was beautiful. And it was heavy.