The heavy door of the Maybach slammed shut, sealing them inside. The car pulled smoothly away from the curb, merging into the chaotic Manhattan traffic.
Inside the cabin, it was dead silent. The soundproofing was absolute.
Kassie sat pressed against the far door, her knees pulled tightly together. Her mind was reeling, replaying the violent, chaotic destruction of the cafe over and over again. The sheer, unchecked power this man wielded was terrifying.
Jarrod reached forward and pressed a button on the center console. The thick, black privacy partition glided up, completely separating them from the driver and Alex in the front.
The enclosed space suddenly felt incredibly small. The air was thick with the scent of his cedar cologne.
Jarrod picked up the freshly printed prenuptial agreement from the leather armrest and dropped it onto Kassie's lap.
He turned his head to look at her. His dark eyes were completely unreadable.
"Now you see," Jarrod said, his voice low and calm. "Without my protection, people like that will tear you apart like hyenas."
Kassie's jaw tightened. She gripped the edge of the contract. "I don't need to depend on a man to survive."
Jarrod let out a harsh, mocking laugh. It was a cruel sound that stripped away all her defenses.
"You owe three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in medical school loans," Jarrod listed, his voice precise and lethal. "Your credit card bill is sixty days past due. And your uncle, Mitch, is currently negotiating to sell the only heirloom your dead mother left behind just to cover his gambling debts."
Kassie's face went completely white. Her stomach violently cramped.
All her pride, all her stubborn independence, shattered into a million pieces. He knew everything. He had completely dissected her life.
Jarrod reached over and flipped the pages of the contract, stopping at the compensation clause. He tapped his long finger against the bold numbers. "Look at it."
Kassie forced her eyes down.
One million dollars signing bonus upon legal registration of the marriage.
Full clearance of all existing debts.
Unlimited monthly allowance.
A five-million-dollar Manhattan penthouse and one hundred thousand dollars a month in alimony upon divorce after two years.
It was a staggering amount of money. For a girl struggling to buy groceries in Brooklyn, it was a magic wand that could fix her entire broken life.
Kassie swallowed hard, her throat painfully dry. Her rational mind screamed at her to run, but the crushing weight of her reality pinned her to the seat.
She looked up, meeting his intense gaze. "Why are you paying this much? Why me?"
Jarrod leaned back against the leather seat. "The trust fund requirements are archaic and strict. I need a woman with a clean background, no complex corporate ties, and someone my grandfather explicitly approves of. You fit the criteria."
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "This is a business partnership. Nothing more. There will be no emotional entanglements."
Hearing the words "no emotional entanglements" actually made Kassie's chest loosen slightly.
She pointed a shaking finger at the bottom of the page. "I want an addendum. Absolutely no physical consummation of this marriage. No sex."
Jarrod's gaze slowly dropped from her eyes to her lips. He stared at her mouth for one long, agonizing second before his eyes flicked down to her oversized, worn-out sweater.
He let out a dismissive, calculated scoff. "Don't misunderstand, Doctor. This is purely a transactional arrangement. I have absolutely zero interest in tangling my personal life with a temporary business contract."
Kassie's cheeks flared hot with anger. She ground her teeth together, grabbed the cheap plastic pen from her tote bag, and flipped to the signature page.
Her hand shook as she pressed the pen to the paper. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and signed her name.
Jarrod watched the ink dry. The corner of his mouth twitched upward in a dark, victorious smirk.
He picked up the contract, handed her a brand-new encrypted smartphone, and ordered, "Call my grandfather. Now."
