As the mob dispersed, Evelyn shoved herself away from him, her pride as bruised as her arms. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the only money she had left—a single crumpled hundred-dollar bill—and thrust it toward him. Her distrust of people dripped from every syllable.
“Thanks for saving me. This is all I’ve got. Is it enough? If not, I’ll find a job and pay the rest later.”
Christopher had looked at the wrinkled bill, his lips quirking into an amused smirk. He should’ve walked away, but instead, he lingered, something about her defiance intriguing him.
“Well,” he said, “as it happens, my company’s looking for a clerk. Interested?”
Evelyn frowned suspiciously, snatching the bill back. “You’re not part of some scam, are you? Pretend to save me, then trick me into something worse?”
Christopher blinked, momentarily stunned. “...You’re unbelievable.”
In the end, with nowhere else to go, Evelyn followed him.
What began as an arrangement of necessity gradually blossomed into something deeper.