“Stop,” she said. “Would a hundred thousand dollars get you through the bad times?”

“Oh, hell yeah!” said Rob.

Trish eyed Callie suspiciously. “We could never qualify for that type of unsecured credit.”

“This wouldn’t be a conventional loan,” said Callie, getting to her favorite part of the story. “It’s what I call a Rumplestilskin Loan.”

Trish’s voice grew sharp. “You’re mocking us. Look, Ms…”

“Carpenter.”

“…I don’t particularly care for your sense of humor. Or your personal assessment of our marriage.”

“You think I’m playing with you?” Callie opened her briefcase, spun it around to face them.

Rob’s eyes grew wide as saucers. “Holy shit!” he said. “Is that a hundred grand?”

“It is.”

“This is ridiculous,” Trish said. “How could we possibly pay that back?”

“It’s not so much a loan as it is a social experiment,” Callie said. “The millionaire I represent will donate up to one hundred thousand dollars to any person I deem worthy, with one stipulation.”

“What’s that?” Rob said.

Trish’s lips curled into a sneer. She spoke the word with contempt. “Rumplestilskin.”

Callie nodded.

Rob said, “Rumple—whatever you’re saying, what’s it mean?”

Trish said, “The fairy tale. She wants our first born unless we can guess the name of her boss.”

“What?” Rob said. “That’s crazy. We’re not even pregnant.”

Callie laughed. “Trish, you’re right about there being a catch. But it has nothing to do with naming a gnome or giving up future children.”

“Then what, you want us to rob a bank for you? Kill someone?”

Callie shook her head.

“So what’s the catch?” Trish said.

“If you accept the contents of this suitcase,” Callie said, “someone will die.”

Trish said, “All right, that’s enough. This is obviously some type of TV show, but it’s the cruelest way to punk someone I’ve ever seen. Here’s an idea for the next one: get a normal-looking woman instead of a beautiful model. And don’t use all the flowery New Age language. Who’s going to buy that bullshit? Okay, so where’s the camera—in the suitcase?”

The suitcase.

From the moment Callie lifted the lid, Rob had been transfixed. He’d finally found something more compelling to stare at than Callie’s chest.