"What the fuck do you think you're doing you goddamn bitch!"
"Nice to hear from you too sweet thing," I replied to Zack's raging greeting. I sat down in my chair and propped my feet up on my desk. This was going to be the interesting part to see if he would cooperate with me. He better. If not then all of this was going to go to waste. Well, maybe I could figure a way around it, but it was going to be difficult. After all, how was I supposed to talk to Logan about how bad I was and how I was going to corrupt Max?
"You took her," Zack said coldly. If he were here then I probably would be in serious physical trouble. I could hold my own against him usually, but in that kind of rage, I might be in trouble.
"As usual Zack, your deduction skills are only eclipsed by your bedroom skills," I replied teasingly.
"The great whore couldn't pull off nailing Cale, huh?" he taunted me. "All that big talk. How did you get her out of Seattle?"
"And I thought the whole point was to get her out of Seattle," I reminded him, ignoring his insults. I needed his cooperation for now. He didn't know the rest of the story. He'd get his for all of the little insults later.
"For what, a vacation?" he asked furiously. "She'll be back here and even more entrenched then ever after dealing with you."
I laughed softly, enjoying this. Zack was normally so confident, so in control. Seeing him flailing about was a pleasant change. "Zack, darling, Max is here because she caught Logan in bed with another woman." His stunned silence had me choking back laughter.
"But…you said that you…"
I decided to explain a little more. "No, if you'll remember, I said that Logan would have an affair. I never said with whom. You assumed. And we know what happens when you assume."
For a moment I caught a flicker of respect and admiration in his voice. "You got her away from Cale." Then it hardened again. "You should have told me."
I sighed. "Zack, I know you far too well. There would be no way you would have let me take her to New Orleans, and there's no way to insure they stay away from each other unless she's here. Logan has no idea why she left."
"What did you do?" he asked, the respect back in his voice. He knew I was trained in strategy and planning just as he was. I don't think he knew how to adapt it to real life like I did.
"I set things up for you to complete the kill," I replied. He didn't respond, waiting for me to say more. Zack knew I would tell him eventually after I was done playing. "See, he has no idea that he was drugged and put to bed by a sweet little thing that looked like Max. And he doesn't know that Max had to go back to his apartment later. All he knows is that Max is gone."
"You are the biggest bitch that ever walked the face of this planet," he said. High praise from Zack. "But she's going to calm down and want to see him again."
"And that, my darling, is why you are going to complete the mission," I replied, taking my feet off of the desk and sitting up straight. "See honey, I admit that you are nothing short of a brilliant military leader, but you don't know shit about men and women. Logan will track Max down and talk to her, and she might just believe him and go back to their little love nest. But you're going to make sure that Logan doesn't ever want to talk to Max again."
I paused there. I could almost feel Zack wanting to ask how, but not wanting to let on that he was clueless. It was funny in a demented sort of way. It was also what I was counting on. If he really did understand, then he would already know that I was not exactly as I appeared to be. Selflessly helping Max despite what she had done was not in my personality. Zack saw what he wanted to see, because he wanted it to be true. He was seeing what he thought were the results of the game. He didn't know. The game was just beginning.
"No," he said sharply. "I'll be there in a couple of days to get her away from you."
"Very well," I replied airily. He had to say that to save face. He wasn't going to ask for my plan. "That's your choice of course. And when Logan calls, she'll go running."
"She hates him now. Max can't stand to be betrayed."
"Never underestimate the power of a woman's love. It overcomes all. Especially good judgment and common sense." I gave him a moment to let that sink in. He knew that already from Max's behavior with Logan before. "The deal is that Logan shouldn't ever want to talk to Max again. Her pride won't let her call, and if his pride doesn't let him make the call, then it's over. All you have to do is show up and ask where Max is. Find out that I was there. Say a few things about me. I'm such a bad influence, you know. Max abandoned his precious work just so she can go out and have a good time."
"His work is his weak spot," Zack mused.
"And we talked about her coming here for fun several times," I added. "It's nothing but fun here from what they heard. And once Logan reads that letter, well, it's all over then."
"Letter?" Zack blurted before he could contain himself.
"Honey, out of all of us, who can copy handwriting the best?" I asked. I didn't need a reply. He knew. "Tomorrow morning, our dear savior of all that is underprivileged is going to get a letter from Max telling him that she can't take the stress anymore. She had a fun, unrestricted life before, and being with me reminded her of that. She's tired of ending up covered in mud when she could be out dancing and partying."
"That isn't going to keep her from going back to Seattle," Zack pointed out. I think he was more than slightly impressed by my sheer deviousness.
"No, sweetheart, you're going to do that," I replied. "You're going to be the knight in shining armor. You're going to show up here in a few days and act all self-righteous about how you knew Logan was scum. You needed to talk to Max, and when she wasn't home, you went to Logan's, and there was some girl there that looked like her, doing something homey. Be creative. I know you can when it's worth it to you. She's going to get upset, and that's when I'll let you know what happened. Then it's up to you. I step out, and you comfort her. Tell her you're still there for her. You still care. You won't abandon her. Tell her what she wants to hear right then. I know you remember psy ops training."
"And then you encourage her to leave with me," he said, figuring out the rest of the plan. Impressive for Zack. He actually used intuition for once. Not enough, but any more and that would ruin the surprise. "She'll have been there a few days and you'll use them to get her in the right frame of mind to go somewhere else and start over."
"More or less," I replied. "Depends on if you want me to have her willing to start over in a new place, or start over with you. That's two very different trains of thought there, Zack. What do you want to hear her say? That she wants to be in a different city? Or she wants to be with you?"
"I think I'll just want her away from you," he growled. I almost laughed. He had no idea how easy he was making this.
"Why?" I teased. "Scared I'll seduce her before you can?"
"You're not that good."
"Maybe not. But, I did get her out of Seattle in two weeks and you've been trying for months." My voice changed to a sensual purr. "You know Zack, I do so love a challenge. Ever had a threesome before? I guarantee it'll be an experience you'll never forget."
"Just make sure she's ready to leave," he snapped, and slammed down the phone. I hung up the phone and rubbed my temples, trying to coax the headache that was forming into going back to wherever it had been hiding earlier. Hanging up the phone. How infantile. That was Zack though. Always had to get in the last word. Oh well. It was the last laugh that counted. And that was all mine.