Chapter 4: The Proposition

Café Luna was the kind of place Sophie normally couldn't afford—all exposed brick and artisanal coffee, where a simple latte cost more than she used to spend on lunch. She arrived fifteen minutes early, partly from nervousness and partly because she'd been too anxious to sleep and had been pacing her apartment since dawn.

She chose a table in the back corner, somewhere she could see the entire café without being too conspicuous. At exactly ten o'clock, a woman in an impeccably tailored suit approached her table.

"Sophie Chen?" The woman was tall, elegant, with sharp cheekbones and dark hair pulled back in a severe bun. She looked like she'd stepped out of a legal drama—all business and barely contained intensity.

"Yes, that's me."

"Elena Vasquez." The woman extended her hand, her grip firm and confident. "Mrs. Martinez said you might be interested in a unique employment opportunity."

Elena sat down without waiting for an invitation, setting a leather portfolio on the table between them. She signaled the barista with the casual authority of someone accustomed to being obeyed immediately.

"I'll be direct," Elena said, pulling out a tablet from her portfolio. "My client requires the services of a woman who can fulfill certain social obligations. The position is temporary—one year exactly—but the compensation is substantial."

Sophie felt her palms grow damp. "What kind of social obligations?"

"Public appearances. Charity functions. Business dinners. The role would require you to present yourself as my client's... companion."

The word hung in the air between them, loaded with implications that made Sophie's cheeks burn. "I'm not that kind of person."

Elena's expression didn't change. "I'm not asking you to be. This is a legitimate business arrangement, nothing more. Think of it as... extended acting."

"Who's your client?"

"Someone who values his privacy above all else. Someone who needs the appearance of a stable relationship for professional reasons." Elena leaned forward slightly, her dark eyes studying Sophie intently. "Mrs. Martinez spoke very highly of you. She said you were intelligent, desperate, and trustworthy."

"Desperate. That's flattering."

"Desperation isn't an insult in this context—it's a qualification. My client needs someone who won't develop unrealistic expectations about the nature of their arrangement. Someone who understands that this is purely transactional."

Sophie thought about her father lying in that hospital bed, about the eviction notice, about the interview she'd had yesterday where she'd been told she was "overqualified" for a position that paid half what she'd been making. Desperation was starting to feel like her most marketable skill.

"What kind of compensation are we talking about?"

Elena slid a piece of paper across the table. Sophie looked at the number written there and felt the world tilt slightly on its axis.

"That's... that's impossible."

"It's quite possible. It's also non-negotiable." Elena retrieved the paper, tucking it back into her portfolio. "The amount would be paid in installments over the course of the year, with a substantial bonus upon successful completion of the contract."

Sophie's mind was racing, trying to process numbers that seemed too large to be real. It was enough to pay her father's medical bills, enough to buy a small apartment outright, enough to give her the financial security she'd never had.

"What's the catch?"

"Several catches." Elena pulled out a thick document. "First, absolute discretion. You would sign a comprehensive non-disclosure agreement. Second, you would be required to relocate and live in close proximity to my client. Third, your entire life would be subject to scrutiny and guidance—how you dress, how you speak, how you present yourself in public."

"You want to change me."

"I want to enhance you. My client moves in very specific social circles. You would need to be able to navigate those circles convincingly."

Sophie stared at the contract, its legal language swimming before her eyes. "This sounds like something out of a movie."

"Life is often stranger than fiction." Elena's phone buzzed, and she glanced at it briefly. "I need an answer, Sophie. My client is... impatient."

"Can I ask why he doesn't just find someone from his own social circle? Someone who already knows how to navigate these situations?"

Elena was quiet for a long moment, her fingers drumming against the table. "My client has specific requirements. He needs someone with no preconceived notions about what this arrangement should be. Someone with no connections to his world who might complicate things."

"Someone with nothing to lose."

"Exactly."

Sophie thought about her father's words the night before: Sometimes the craziest thing you can do is play it safe. She thought about Dr. Patel's kind but worried face, about the stack of bills growing higher every day, about the future that seemed to be slipping away from her no matter how hard she tried to hold onto it.

"If I say yes, when would this start?"

"Immediately. There's a car waiting outside. My client would like to meet you today."

"Today?" Sophie's voice pitched higher. "I haven't even said yes yet."

"Haven't you?" Elena's smile was sharp but not unkind. "You're here, listening to an offer that sounds too good to be true from a stranger who's connected to your neighbor. Either you're desperately curious, or you're desperately desperate."

Sophie looked around the café, at the other patrons living their normal lives, drinking their expensive coffee and checking their phones without a care in the world. None of them were sitting across from a mysterious lawyer discussing a contract that could change everything.

"What if we don't get along? What if this doesn't work?"

"Then you walk away with enough money to solve your immediate problems and the knowledge that you tried something extraordinary." Elena leaned back in her chair. "What if it does work?"

Sophie thought about her father, about the bills, about the small, safe life she'd been building that had just crumbled around her. She thought about her mother dancing in the rain, about taking chances and embracing the storm instead of hiding from it.

"I want to see the contract first. All of it."

Elena's smile widened. "I was hoping you'd say that."