Nodded

I never imagined selling myself to a stranger, but desperation changes everything. “My offer is simple,” he said, leaning back in his leather chair, his voice colder than the iced whiskey in his glass. “Help us track down those people you overheard last night and act as bait for a few months” His eyes were steel—sharp, unreadable. I swallowed hard. I was a waitress. He was a billionaire. We lived in different worlds. But my mother was dying, and I needed money fast. “And in return?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. “You get two million dollars as well as protection from the criminal organization looking for you,” he said flatly. My hands trembled in my lap. This wasn’t a proposal. It was a transaction. And I was the product. But I nodded anyway. “Deal.”