of his slump. Paul looked exasperated.
“Listen,” Nina said sharply to the girl. “Do you realize what you’re saying? You stand to lose a fortune simply by refusing to give your name. Give your name, take the money, hire lawyers and bodyguards, and live behind an electrified gate.”
“He’ll find me within twenty-four hours. He’ll do worse than kill me.”
Her chilling words ratcheted up the tension in the room. What could be worse than death? Nina asked herself. Was this person a sexual predator?
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Paul said, his voice crisp, professional. Nina had watched the way his body hardened before her eyes, tensing at the first whiff of violence. That was the trouble with both of them, Nina thought. They were always trying to fix everybody’s problems, even the impossible ones. Paul’s methods were very different from hers, though. She chased away that uncomfortable thought.
The girl shook her head and closed her eyes. Against tears? When she opened them again, she looked dry-eyed and resolved. “It’s our only hope, pretending we’re married. Him getting the money and me getting it from him.”
“No,” Nina said. “You’re not married and you can’t get away with pretending.” What had just occurred to her was too far out to say out loud, and certainly went beyond her charter as a legal adviser. Why, here they were smack in the middle of the land of easy marriage and divorce. . . . Just a few miles from an instant, prepackaged, lifetime commitment. “Pretending will just get you in trouble. Too bad you aren’t really married. That would make things easier.” She crossed her leg and examined her shoe, wondering who in the room would be first to reveal a mind as twisted as hers.
A pause, while the words sank in. The girl picked up on it first. “What if—what if we don’t pretend. What if we actually got married?” She turned to face Kenny, who was shaking his head violently.
“The normal world of love, marriage, and children is mine only in fantasy. There’s a church in the City of Gold, and a synagogue, and a mosque, and a Buddhist temple. Sanctuaries and celebrations everywhere . . . but not for me. I can’t marry you like this. I am not worthy. I can perpetrate a fraud, yes, certainly, I can die for you—would you like me to die for you? Just say the word—and my mother would be furious with me, how could I do it to her, Tan-Mo is never going to get married, I was supposed to carry on the family name . . .”
They all stared at him. Was he still drunk? He went on in this vein for some time, spouting irrelevancies.
“Well, that’s real useful,” said Paul. “But I am impressed that you’re turning down the money. As well you should.”
“I didn’t mean that. Just not—not a real marriage. Use of my once-proud name, that’s what I signed up for—”
“Got any more coffee around here?” the girl said, rising. Nina pointed toward the empty pot.
The girl went into the next room and ground coffee, interrupting Kenny’s filibuster with the noise. “Look,” she said when she came back in. “Show some courage, Kenny. At least show some greed. I’m not paying you otherwise. I’ve decided. It’s our only chance. We could go right away. It’s only forty-five minutes to Reno.”
“Are you proposing to me, Joya?” Kenny said, finally focusing. He stood up. “But your timing is so bad. I can’t get married now. I’m a dead man! And anyway, my mother would want to be there. . . .”
“Not a real marriage,” the girl soothed him. “Just a formality, Kenny, a kind of fantasy. Like—like the City of Gold. Something beautiful but—temporary.”
“Marry you right now? A virtual marriage?”
“In name only, just until we get the money.” She lost patience. “You know, I’m offering to pay you extremely well. You haven’t earned anything yet, buddy.”
Kenny folded his arms in front of him. “I don’t know. This is not as simple