The polished silence of the Atlas Defense Group's top-floor office was a stark contrast to the holiday chaos brewing outside. Damian Blaine, CEO and mastermind, reviewed schematics for his latest missile, a silent testament to his global power.

He had just left a high-stakes meeting, the kind where generals bowed and world leaders listened, when his phone rang. It was Iris Olson, a woman he barely knew, calling with a bizarre proposal: a contract marriage. He, a man who could buy and sell entire nations, was being offered ten thousand dollars to play a poor salesman.

A faint smile touched his lips. This Christmas was about to get interesting. He accepted, intrigued by her audacity and the challenge of a life disguised. Now, he found himself pulling up to a sprawling, ostentatious mansion, the kind of place where money was clearly on display, but perhaps true worth was not. He took a deep breath, adjusting his simple suit, ready to play the part of the struggling, unremarkable man. The Christmas dinner awaited, and with it, the first act of his grand charade.