Chapter 7%
Sure enough, when the bill came, Zack froze. He hadn’t expected the number to be quite that highl
The wine I ordered was easily the most expensive bottle on the menu.
As the server approached with the check, I could see Zack hesitating, clearly stalling for time. But just as he looked up, something made him pause.X
“Ms. Hammond,” he asked, eyes narrowing slightly, “your bracelet… it seemed to be gone?”
“Oh,” I said lightly, as if it were nothing. “I saw a little girl crying by the restroom earlier. She looked heartbroken and she really liked it. So I took it off to cheer her up.”
I smiled, waving it off like it was nothing.”
just remembered I have to take a quick call–be right back.” Zack’s expression shifted instantly. He muttered something vague and bolted like his seat was on fire.
Just like that, he vanished for over thirty minutes.
“Ma’am.. here’s the bill the server said nervously, holding out the check. “Would you prefer to pay by card or in cash?”
The restaurant wasn’t the type to let guests linger–two–hour dining windows, strictly enforced. Judging by the tone, we were on borrowed time.D
Right on cue, Zack finally returned
What he didn’t know was that the only card I had in my purse held exactly eight dollars and ninety cents–left over from grocery shopping. Zack’s eyes didn’t leave mine. He wasn’t just watching–he was evaluating. Waiting for me to slip up. To reveal something. When he handed my card back, his face was unreadable, but his eyes–those eyes were stormy.
I met his gaze with a warm smile, looking calm and unbothered.
“I couldn’t possibly let you pay, I told you this one’s on me.“!
I took the card back gently. Just as I expected, he never actually tried to swipe it. Because he’d gone off chasing the story behind my bracelet.
He had tracked down the little girl I supposedly gave it to. Pulled out a thousand bucks to try and buy it off her.
But her mom wasn’t having it.8
“Shame on your” she snapped. “A grown man trying to snatch something from a little kid? 5 can just wave cash around and take it?”
She said the bracelet was mine! You think you
The woman had instincts like a streetwise fox. If someone’s throwing that much money at a kid’s toy, it’s probably worth way more than that!
So she clutched it tighter. Too many people in this world think they’re clever
“Forget it. I don’t care how much you offer, we’re not selling its
At the show, I leaned back, smiling to myself as I watched the video Naharel had just sent me. A perfect little piece of theater. “Arlene, how did you know he’d go confront that little girl?” Naharel asked
She added, still in disbelief. “Good thing you had a second bracelet ready, But how were you so sure Zack wouldn’t notice the one the girl had was fake?”l
How were I so sure?
There was a conversation buried deep in the Sneaky Affairs Club chat–someone had once asked Zack how to seduce a high–value” woman. How to climb the social ladder
Zack’s first rule was this:
[One and a half million dollars–never let her think you’re cheap.
I had to admit–Zack gave good advice. As far as theory went, he was a masterclass.
So I took a gamble. I gambled he wouldn’t actually swipe my card when I handed it over without a blink, knowing full well there was less than ten bucks on it.
I gambled he wouldn’t dare snatch that bracelet back from the little girl–not if it meant losing face X [You’ve gotta play the long game] Zack once wrote in that group. [Cast a wide net to catch a big fish Too bad he never realized: quoting strategy doesn’t mean you can play the game.l
This little dinner show of his had all the right set pieces–fine wine, subtle compliments, polite attention–but his heart wasn’t really in it. I could tell B
Because while tired housewives might be easy to outmaneuver, bright
it young women with ambition? They were a whole different level of challenge.
“TI drive you back,” he offered, already halfway unlocking the passenger door for me.
I smiled and got in-this time, behind the wheel.
“Ms. Hammond,” he started, “Arlene told me you recently split up with your boyfriend?”
“Young guy…” I said with a shrug. “Didn’t know how to appreciate a woman with ambition.”
“A woman like you… someone who lights up a room and knows how to take control of her life.” he trailed off, voice full of implication.
“Arlene mentioned you’ve been running businesses overseas all these years?”
“What a coincidence,” he added casually. I’m in pharma myself…”
His tone was thick with suggestion. Subtle enough to be deniable, clear enough to be understood.
Just to top it off, he unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt–just enough to expose his collarbone and Adam’s apple, like some kind of primal advertisement !
9:19 AMI
