“Here’s $100—Can you be my mom today?” a billionaire boss’s son asked—until a shy woman replied, “Keep it. Billionaires pay in secrets.”

Julian measured salt as though negotiating a treaty. Milo dropped an entire egg on the floor. I burned my thumb on the tray, and Julian reacted with such sudden alarm that he grabbed my hand and held it under cold water before either of us realized how close we were standing.