"Now that we're seated, we can discuss the plan if you'd like," Evans said, motioning for Theo to continue.

The three of them were seated in a pastry shop, in a corner away from the rest of the world so as not to be overheard. Evans had ordered all kinds of sweets at the request of the young girl, who was eating as if she had never eaten before.

"I need a fake fiancée," Theo started to say with his arms crossed.

"Oh, now I get it! You want me to pretend to be your fiancée," said the young girl stuffing herself with a strawberry tart, "But why?"

Theo looked at her expressionlessly, while Evans smiled, pleased that the girl was beginning to understand.

"They're pushing me to get married, but I don't want to. So my trustworthy and intelligent secretary here has come up with a plan: find a fake fiancée," he said almost nonchalantly.

"To be precise, Miss..." said the secretary, "This is no ordinary request. You must look so incompatible with him that his parents will be shocked by his choice and abandon the idea of marriage."

The young woman stopped chewing and blinked. 

"Ah, I see," she said and after swallowing, she put her fork down on the plate, "So you're going to use me to convince them not to marry. Kind of an 'it's her or no one else' thing, right?"

"Exactly, that's what we want!" said Evans, clapping his hands excitedly.

He was thrilled that they'd found such a smart girl. Then he leaned forward slightly, trying to hold back his smile and said: "So, do we have a deal?"

The girl wiped the crumbs off her fingers and looked at them in turn.

"I don't know yet," she said, smiling mischievously. "We haven't said anything about my payment yet."

Theo now looked more annoyed than before.  

"We'll pay you well," he said.

"That's not enough for me. I want to know the exact amount and when I will get it. I also want us to write a contract to make sure this whole thing isn't a scam. What do you think?"

"If you don't want to do it, just say so," Theo said annoyed, "Don't waste our time when we need to-"

He stopped talking and gave an almost silent cry of pain, rubbing his leg. Evans had nudged him under the table to get him to stop talking and turned with an innocent smile to the young girl. 

He told her they agreed and as they couldn't stay any longer, they made an appointment with the young girl for the next day at the same time in the same place. 

"Ah! I almost forgot," said Evans, turning to her again, "What is your name?"

"My name is Lynn. Just Lynn."

So they parted and the two men went back to work. Theo let out a heavy sigh as soon as they returned to the office. He sat down in his leather desk chair while Evans stood across from him, his arms crossed.

"I don't like her," Theo said coldly and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. 

"What do you mean, Your Grace?"

"I don't know if it will be believed that I like someone like that. I don't like the way she talks, her confidence, her sly smile. I find her quite suspicious. The girl is not... not my type at all."

That was an absolute lie. Lynn was very close to his ideal type and that's why he'd noticed her from the start. And Evans knew that too, but he couldn't let his laughter escape him. 

"Miss Lynn is quite clever, she'll come in very useful," he said coughing to hide his laughter.

Theo looked at him in disbelief but he looked confident.

"Trust me, Your Grace. It will work," Evans said at last.

The next day, Lynn showed up at the bakery as they had agreed. She wore a dress that didn't exactly fit the aristocratic setting - simple, comfortable, quite drab in color.

"How are you, my dear future husband?" she said playfully, sitting down across from Theo, who sighed in annoyance.

"You're right on time," Evans said with a smile as he sat down.

"Of course! Talk about a very important partnership," Lynn said and smiled broadly. 

Theo looked at her expectantly. He observed her from top to bottom, from her seemingly unkempt hair to her hands rough from the cold. Then his gaze returned to her face, specifically her smile. Something about it bothered him.

"Well, let's start by looking at the contract," Evans said, producing a piece of paper and a pen.

Lynn seemed impressed. She picked up the pen and began to work on it. The handle of the pen was gold and had a brown feather on it and Lynn seemed to like it a lot.

"Very nice! I see you are well prepared," she said and set the pen back down on the table.

Then she took the contract paper in her hands and looked at it carefully.

"If you can't read it, let me-" Evans began to say, but Lynn interrupted him

"The contract looks pretty decent. But I want to add my terms too," she said seriously.