THE SECRETARY'S REVENGE

The coffee shop on Fifth Street is busy at six o'clock. Office workers grab drinks before heading home. Students are seated at compact tables using their laptops. The aroma in the air is that of coffee beans and vanilla treats.

I find a corner table away from the crowd. My hands shake as I order a latte. Not from the caffeine I haven't had yet. From nerves.

What are we doing? A few hours ago, I thought Nicholas was my boyfriend. Now I'm planning to destroy him with two women I barely know.

Alexandra is the first to arrive. She switched from her red dress to a pair of jeans and a sweater. Without her ideal office attire, she appears younger. More humane. Like someone I could genuinely befriend rather than feel envious of.

She sits down towards my back with a coffee that is more expensive than my lunch. Even when she's trying to dress simple, everything about her speaks about money.

"This feels unreal," she admits.

"Tell me about it." I wrap my hands around my warm cup. "This morning I hated you. Now we're supposed to be partners."

"You hated me?"

"I thought you were snatching my boyfriend."

Alexandra laughs, but it sounds unreal. "I thought the same thing about you. Every time Nicholas mentioned his secretary, I wondered if something was going on between both of you."

"But you never asked him?"

"He was so good at making me feel secure. He would complain about work stuff and mention you, but always in a way that made you sound... I don't know. Safe. Like a sister or something."

A sister. That stings, but not as much as it would have this morning. This morning I thought I was his secret lover. Being compared to a sister is actually an improvement.

She carries her laptop bag and appears to be serious about her work. She orders a black coffee, unsweetened, and takes a seat at our table

"Apologies for my tardiness." "I needed to complete a few reports prior to the meeting tomorrow."

Even now, she's thinking about work. About doing a good job for the man who's been lying to her for eight months.

"Maya," I speak softly. "You realize you no longer need to put in so much effort for him, correct?"

She blinks as if she hadn't considered that. "I suppose I'm simply accustomed to it."

We remain quiet for a brief period. Three women who barely know one another, united by the direst of circumstances.

"So," Alexandra says finally. "Where do we start?"

"With the truth," Maya says. She opens her laptop. "All of it. If we're going to do this, we need to know everything about Nicholas and his lies."

"What kind of everything?" I ask.

"When did each relationship start? What did he promise you? Where do you meet? What does he say about the other people in the office?"

Maya approached this as if it were a business meeting. Perhaps that's what we require. Someone to help us stay focused rather than merely lamenting over our shattered hearts.

"I'll take the lead," I suggest. "My connection with Nicholas began half a year ago." We were staying late, and he kissed me in the parking structure. He mentioned that workplace relationships were complex, so we needed to keep it confidential.

"What did he promise you?" Maya asks, typing notes on her laptop.

"That someday we could be open about our relationship. That I was special because I knew the real him, not just the boss version." The words taste bitter now. "He said I was the only woman who really understood him."

Alexandra snorts. "He told me I was the only woman who understood his world. The social side of business."

"And he told me I was the only woman who matched his ambition," Maya adds. "The only one who could be his true partner."

She keeps typing. "When do you see him?"

"Late nights at the office mostly. Sometimes we order dinner and eat in his office after everyone leaves. He walks me to the elevator and kisses me goodnight."

"Weekends for me," Alexandra says. "Fancy restaurants, charity events, art gallery openings. He introduces me as his assistant, but we hold hands under the table."

"Business trips," Maya says without looking up from her laptop. "Client meetings in other cities. We fly together but sit separately on the plane. Share hotel rooms but register under different names."

I watch Maya type everything down. The pattern is clear when you see it all written out. Nicholas compartmentalized our relationships so we would never overlap.

"What does he say about us to each other?" Alexandra asks.

"He calls you the ice queen," I tell her. "Says you're beautiful but cold. Only interested in social status."

Alexandra's face tightens. "He calls you mousy. Says you're sweet but not very exciting. Just a good worker."

They both gaze in my direction. I'm not looking to echo Nicholas's comments on Maya, but this concerns truthfulness

"He says Maya is too ambitious for her own good. That she's smart but doesn't understand that business isn't everything."

Maya stops typing. "He said that?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Maya's voice is tough. "I want to understand what type of man I've been in a relationship with."

We dedicate the following hour exchanging anecdotes

All the little details that seemed romantic at the time but now feel like calculated moves.

Nicholas gives us all the same gifts, just at different times. Jewelry from the same expensive store. Flowers from the same florist. Even the same restaurants, just on different days.

He tells us all the same stories about his childhood. His dreams for the company. His fears about commitment. Word for word the same.

"It's like he has a script," Alexandra says.

"He does have a script," Maya realizes. "Think about it. He's been perfecting his approach with each of us. He figured out what worked, then used it again."

"But why three women?" I ask. "Why not just pick one?"

Maya closes her laptop and looks at both of us. "Because he doesn't want a girlfriend. He wants employees who sleep with him. I handle his business deals. Alexandra handles his social life. Sophia handles his personal affairs. He enjoys all the perks of having three wives but lacks any of the obligations.

The reality strikes me like a blow to the gut. I was not his girlfriend

I was just another employee with extra duties.

"He's been treating us like employees with benefits," Alexandra says, echoing my thoughts.

"Literally," Maya agrees. "And we have been putting in extra hours without pay."

A young pair at the adjacent table begins to loudly quarrel over finances. The girl weeps, while the boy appears furious. I wonder if he's deceiving her as well. If she is unaware of any competition.

"Alright," I reply, attempting to concentrate. "Thus, we understand that Nicholas is a deceitful, unfaithful schemer."

Now what?"

"Now we make him pay," Alexandra says simply.

"How?"

Maya reopens her laptop. "By using the same tactics he used on us. Compartmentalization. Misdirection. Making him trust us while we destroy him."

"You want to lie to him?"

"He lied to us for months," Maya points out. "Turnabout is fair play."

I think about this morning. About booking the hotel room for Nicholas and Alexandra's date. About buying roses for the woman I thought was stealing my boyfriend. About that text message where he laughed about how clueless I was.

"What did you have in mind?" I ask.

Maya's smile is sharp and cold. "Nicholas thinks he knows us. He thinks Sophia will keep being his perfect assistant. He thinks Alexandra will keep being his social butterfly. He thinks I'll keep making him money."

"And we will," Alexandra says, understanding. "Until we don't."

"Exactly. We keep playing our roles while we gather information. Learn his weaknesses. Figure out how to hit him where it hurts most."

"His business," I say.

"His reputation," Alexandra adds.

"His ego," Maya finishes.

I look around the coffee shop. Normal people having normal conversations about normal problems. A month ago, my biggest worry was whether Nicholas remembered to eat lunch. Now I'm planning to destroy the man I thought I loved.

"Are we really doing this?" I ask. "Are we really going to take down Nicholas Blackwood?"

"He destroyed three relationships," Maya says. "Three women who trusted him. Three hearts that believed his lies."

"He used our feelings against us," Alexandra adds. "He made us compete without even knowing we were competing."

"And he's probably planning to do it to more women," I realize. "This won't stop with us. There will be others."

The thought of Nicholas finding another naive secretary to manipulate makes my blood boil. Another young woman who will think she's special while he laughs about how easy she is to fool.

"So we stop him," Maya says firmly. "We make sure he can never do this to anyone else."

"How do we start?" Alexandra asks.

Maya takes out three business cards and jots down a note on the back of each

She hands one to me and one to Alexandra.

"These are our personal phone numbers. We stay in touch outside of work. We coordinate everything. And we never, ever let Nicholas know we're working together."

I look at the card. Maya's tidy script reads "For emergencies only" beneath her number.

"What is considered an emergency?"

I ask.

"If he gets suspicious. If one of us starts to crack under pressure. If we discover something big about his business or personal life."

Alexandra tucks her card into her purse. "What about tonight? "He's waiting for me at the hotel that Sophia reserved."

My stomach is in knots. Even aware of the truth, the image of Alexandra with Nicholas makes me feel nauseous.

"You need to leave," Maya says. "If you fail to appear, he will sense that something is amiss."

"I am unable to." Not after all that we've just discussed. "I can't act as though I love him when I understand who he truly is."

"You must," I whisper. "Otherwise, he'll realize that we're aware." "And then we miss our opportunity to make him suffer."

Alexandra's complexion turns pale. "You expect me to spend the night with him?" "Understanding what I understand now?"

"I need you to do everything necessary to prevent him from becoming suspicious," Maya states. "Only for a short time."

Until we can put our plan into action."

"What plan? We don't even have a plan yet."

Maya's smile gets wider and scarier. "We will buy tomorrow night. Trust me."

She closes her laptop and stands up. "I have to go. Early morning meeting with a client. Sophia, your job is to keep being the perfect assistant. Don't change anything about how you act around Nicholas."

"And me?" Alexandra asks.

"Your job is to survive tonight without strangling him. Can you do that?"

Alexandra takes a deep breath. "I think so."

"Good. We'll meet again tomorrow after work. Same place, same time."

Maya leaves first. Then Alexandra. I sit alone in the coffee shop, staring at the business card with Maya's phone number.

Twenty-four hours ago, I thought I was in love. Now I'm part of a conspiracy to destroy the man who broke my heart.

My phone buzzes with a text from Nicholas.

"Hope you have a good evening.I appreciate all your assistance with the preparations once more. You're incredible, Sophia. "Not sure how I'd manage without you."

I gaze at the text for an extended period

Then I type back:

"You're welcome. Sweet dreams."

But as I hit send, I think about what Maya said. About how Nicholas has probably done this before. About how there might be other women we don't even know about.

My phone buzzes again. Another text from Nicholas.

But this one isn't meant for me. It's another sync error, showing me a message he sent to someone else.

Someone whose contact name isn't Alexandra or Maya.

It states: "Looking forward to seeing you this weekend, gorgeous." "Hope you're okay with keeping our relationship private for a bit more time."