Sophia's Point of View

"She is unaware of what is truly happening."

The words sear in my thoughts like poison. Nicholas believes I'm foolish. He believes I'm merely his assistive little secretary who schedules hotel reservations and doesn't inquire.

Perhaps it's time to demonstrate to him just how mistaken he is.

I gaze at my computer display, yet I fail to notice the emails or the calendar. All I perceive is red

Red anger. Red hurt. Red rage that fills every part of my body.

He used me. Not just as his secret girlfriend on the side. He used me to plan his real romance with Alexandra. He made me buy roses for the woman he actually loves.

And he laughed about it. "Sophia took care of everything just like I knew she would."

Like a good little dog who does tricks on command.

My hands ball into fists.I feel like walking into his office and hurling his coffee cup against the wall. And I feel like shouting out in the building for everyone to understand the type of person Nicholas Blackwood truly is.

However,I couldn't do this by this time. Initially, I must understand the reality. Everything.

I glance over at Alexandra in the office. She's typing on her computer, appearing serene and attractive. Her golden hair sparkling under the fluorescent lights. The red dress she wore for lunch matched her flawlessly. She appears to be a woman who recently enjoyed a lovely romantic dinner with the man she cherished.

Because that's exactly who she is.

Does she know about me? Does she know that Nicholas kisses me too? Or does she even think she's the only one he kisses, just like I thought I was the only one too?

I need to find out about this .

At three thirty, Alexandra stands up and walks toward the bathroom. This is my chance.

I wait two minutes, then follow her.

The restroom is vacant aside from Alexandra. She is positioned in front of the mirror applying lipstick

The same lips that kissed Nicholas at lunch. The same lips that probably whispered sweet things to him while I sat here working.

I lock the door behind me.

Alexandra looks at me in the mirror. "Oh, hi Sophia. Busy afternoon?"

Her voice is friendly and normal. Like we're colleagues sharing the restroom at the same time. Like she didn't know that my entire life was falling.

My voice sounds strange. Too calm. Too quiet.

"I know the feeling." Alexandra caps her lipstick and turns to face me. "Nicholas has been assigning everyone a lot of additional tasks recently."

Nick. She pronounces his name as if it holds no significance. I observed how excited she was when she expressed it. I notice the smile that reflects like fear at the edges of her lips.

"On the subject of Nicholas," I speak deliberately. "I have a question for you."

"Sure. What is it?"

I inhale deeply. After I pose this question, there's no turning back. As soon as I learn the truth, everything will transform.

"Since when have you been intimate with him?"

Alexandra stops moving. Her complexion turns ashen beneath her immaculate makeup. The amiable facade fades, revealing something different beneath. Terror. Remorse. Fear.

"What are you saying?" she murmurs.

"I viewed the text messages," I respond

"I know about lunch today. I know about tonight at the hotel."

Alexandra's lips part and shut like a fish struggling for oxygen. She clutches the rim of the sink to balance herself.

"Sophia, I can clarify"

"How much time?" I say again. My voice is becoming louder. More furious.

Alexandra surveys the bathroom as if she's searching for a way out. However, there is no place to go. Only her and I, with the truth looming between us like a bomb ready to detonate

"Six months," she finally admits.

Six months. The same time Nicholas started our secret relationship. We began at precisely the same moment.

"You believe you're unique, don't you?" I speak. "You believe he has feelings for you."

"He really loves me!" Alexandra's tone becomes protective. "You don't grasp what we share."

"What do you have as a group?" I chuckle, yet it resembles weeping more. "Would you like to find out what you possess collectively?" There is a man who tells identical lies to a pair of women. Perhaps even more.

"That isn't correct." However, Alexandra no longer appears to be confident.

"He's calling you baby," I say. "He brings you to upscale dining places." "He kisses you as if you are the sole woman in existence."

Alexandra nods slowly. "Yes. He does all of those things."

"Well, guess what? He does all of those things with me too."

The words struck Alexandra like a blow. She stumbles backward until her back collides with the bathroom wall.

"Not at all," she whispers. "That cannot happen."

"It's highly likely." I have been in a relationship with Nicholas for half a year. The identical six months you possess. Every night you believe he's at home longing for you, he's with me. "Whenever he says he loves you, he's expressing the same to me."

Alexandra descends the wall until she finds herself seated on the floor. Her costly gown gathers around her like spilled red wine.

"However, he stated..." She halts and glares at me with large eyes. "He mentioned that I stood out."

Special. He said the other women in the office were just employees."

"Other women?" My heart stops. "What other women?"

Alexandra realizes what she just said. Her hands fly to her mouth.

"Alexandra." My voice is deadly quiet. "What other women?"

She moves her head side to side. "I never intended to express that." "I spoke incorrectly."

"Actually, you did not." I lower myself to my knees in front of her. "Who is Nicholas having an affair with?"

Alexandra begins to weep. Genuine tears that spoil her flawless makeup. "I believed I was the only one," she cries. "He assured me I was his sole interest."

"Who else?" I grab her shoulders. "Tell me!"

"Maya," she whispers.

The world tilts sideways. Maya. Smart, professional Maya who handles business development. Maya inquired about my well-being this morning when she saw me at Alexandra's desk.

"Are you certain?"

"I spotted them together last month." In his office during the late hours. They were... She gulps forcefully. "They were exchanging kisses."

Three females. Nicholas is seeing three women simultaneously

Three women who all think they're special. Three women who all believe his lies.

I settle on the chilly bathroom floor beside Alexandra. We both gaze at the wall quietly.

"How were we unaware?" Alexandra inquires at last.

"Since he excels at this," I say. "Since he understands how to make each of us feel as if we're the sole one that counts."

"However, we are not."

"No. We're not."

We sat there for a few more minutes. Two women who thought they were rivals discover they're actually victims of the same man.

"What should we do next?" Alexandra inquires.

Before I respond, someone attempts to open the bathroom door. The handle rotates, yet the door remains shut since I've secured it.

"Hi? "Is anyone inside?" It is the voice of Maya.

Alexandra and I gaze at one another

Maya. The third woman. The one we didn't even suspect.

"We should let her in," Alexandra whispers.

"Are you certain?"

"If she is experiencing what we are experiencing, she has the right to know the truth as well."

I rise and move towards the entrance. My hand suspends above the lock briefly. As soon as I open this door, Maya will get involved in this chaos. A piece of our collective sorrow.

However, Alexandra is correct. Maya has a right to understand what type of man she has been seeing.

I unbolt the door and swing it open.

Maya is positioned in the corridor appearing impatient. Ultimately. I truly have to" She halts upon noticing our expressions. "What's the matter?"

You both look terrible."

"Come in," I say. "And close the door behind you."

Maya steps into the bathroom. I secure the door once more.

"What is happening?" Maya inquires. She glances between me and Alexandra. "Why are you two in tears?"

"Maya," I say softly. "We have something to ask you." "We need you to be entirely truthful."

"Alright." Maya folds her arms. "What is that?"

"Do you have a relationship with Nicholas?"

Maya's face goes white. Then red. Then white again.

"How did you know?"

Sophia POV

"How were you aware?"

Maya's inquiry lingers in the atmosphere like fog. Her complexion is wan and frightened.

Her confident business woman mask has completely fallen away.

Alexandra lets out a bitter laugh from where she sits on the floor. "Because we're all in the same boat, Maya. We're all dating the same lying man."

Maya looks at us as if we've just announced that the world is about to end. In a sense, we accomplished that.

"That's not possible," Maya murmurs. "Nicholas and I have been a couple for eight months." He cares for me.

He tells me I'm the only woman who understands his business mind."

Eight months. Longer than both Alexandra and me. My stomach twists into knots.

"He tells you that you understand his business mind?" I ask. "What else does he tell you?"

Maya's eyes darted between Alexandra and me. "I don't have to answer that. This is crazy. You're both just jealous because-"

"Because what?" Alexandra stands up, her expensive dress wrinkled from sitting on the bathroom floor. "Because he chose us over you? Maya, wake up. He picked none of us. "He's been treating all of us like fools."

"Negative." Maya vigorously shakes her head. "You are not being truthful." Nicholas would never treat me that way. "We possess something unique."

"Unique." I chuckle, but it resembles more of weeping. "That's what he said to me as well." That's what he mentioned to Alexandra. Each of us is unique, Maya. "Only we truly understand him."

Maya's expression falls apart. She grabs the sink to prevent herself from tumbling.

"But he said..." Her voice breaks. "He said the other women at work were just employees. That I was different because I could match his ambition."

"Different." Alexandra uses a paper towel to clean her smudged mascara. "He said I was unique because I comprehended his world." "The societal aspect of commerce."

"And he said I was unique because I was aware of all his secrets," I include. "Since I was continually present for him."

The three of us are in the tiny bathroom, looking at one another.

Three successful, smart women who were all fooled by the same man.

"How long is it for you?" Maya asks me quietly.

"Six months."

She looks at Alexandra. "And you?"

"Six months too."

Maya sits down heavily on the closed toilet seat. "Eight months for me. I was first." She talks about it as if it's a form of reward.

"I suddenly understood that you weren't the first." "You were merely the trial version." He discovered what resonated with you and then applied those same tactics on us.

"What are you trying to say?" Alexandra inquires.

"Consider it." Maya enjoys discussions about business, so he expresses that she recognizes his aspirations. Alexandra enjoys social gatherings, so he informs her that she grasps his reality. I manage his private affairs, which is why he says I know his secrets. He customized his deceit to align with what each of us hoped to believe.

The restroom is silent, with only the buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead. Three women confronting the same harsh reality.

"I can't fathom how foolish I was," Maya murmurs.

"We were not foolish," Alexandra asserts confidently.

"We were in love. Love makes people believe things they want to be true."

"Were we in love?" I ask. "Or did we just love the idea of being chosen by someone like Nicholas?"

It's a hard question. But looking back now, I wonder if I loved Nicholas the man or Nicholas the successful billionaire who made me feel important.

"I thought he was going to leave his other life for me," Maya says. "He always talked about how complicated his situation was. How he needed time to figure things out."

"He told me the same thing," Alexandra admits. "That office relationship was complicated but someday we could be open about it."

"He told me we had to be secret because people would think he was giving me special treatment," I say.

We all used the same excuses. The same reasons why we had to hide. We all accepted it without question, believing we were receiving something that the others weren't.

"When will you meet him?"

Maya asks suddenly. "I mean, when are your dates?"

"Late nights at the office mostly," I say. "After everyone goes home. Sometimes we have dinner together."

"I see him on weekends," Alexandra says. "Fancy restaurants and charity events. He tells people I'm his assistant, but we're really on dates."

"Business trips," Maya adds. "He brings me to client meetings in other cities. We share hotel rooms, but we have to pretend it's just for work."

Different days. Different times. Different places. Nicholas has our whole lives scheduled so we never cross paths during his romantic time with each of us.

"He's been planning this," Alexandra realizes. "This isn't just him being weak or making mistakes. He deliberately set up three separate relationships."

"But why?" Maya asks. "Why not just pick one of us?"

"Because he doesn't want to pick," I say. "He wants all of us. The business collaborator, the social friend, and the personal aide who manages everything. "Why settle for one option when you can enjoy everything?"

The door knob shakes once more. Another person requires the restroom.

"Alexandra suggests we leave this place." "Everyone will begin to realize that we are all absent."

"What happens now?" Maya asks. "Do we tell him we know?"

"Do we break up with him?" Alexandra adds.

I think about Nicholas sitting in his office, probably texting one of us about tonight. Likely thrilled about his hotel rendezvous with Alexandra as he arranges his upcoming covert encounter with Maya. Likely relying on me to manage every detail while remaining entirely unaware.

"Not at all," I responded deliberately. "We haven't informed him about anything so far."

"What are you trying to say?"

Maya asks.

"I mean Nicholas thinks he's smarter than us. He thinks we're just silly women who will do whatever he wants. He thinks he can juggle three relationships without any consequences."

"So?" Alexandra asks.

"Perhaps it's time to prove to him he's mistaken."

The two other women gaze at me with curiosity. I notice a transformation occurring in their expressions. The pain persists, but another feeling is developing as well

Something harder. Angrier.

"What are you suggesting?" Maya asks.

"I'm implying that Nicholas Blackwood isn't aware of who he's up against," I state. "He believes he can manipulate our emotions to his advantage." He believes he can have us rival one another as he relaxes and watches the performance.

"However, we are no longer in competition," Alexandra remarks, a realization dawning in her tone.

"No, we aren't." At this point, we understand the reality.

And now we can use that truth against him."

Maya stands up, her business mind clearly working. "You're talking about revenge."

"I'm talking about justice," I correct. "Nicholas has been playing games with our hearts. Maybe it's time we played some games with his life."

The three of us look at each other in the bathroom mirror. An hour ago, we were rivals who didn't even know we were rivals. Now we're something else entirely.

"He thinks he knows us," Alexandra says. "He thinks he can predict what we'll do."

"He thinks I'll keep being his perfect assistant," I add. "Booking his hotel rooms and buying his roses."

"He thinks I'll keep giving him business advice and making him money," Maya says.

"And he believes I'll continue being his eye candy at upscale gatherings," Alexandra concludes.

We're all contemplating the same idea.

We all have access to different parts of Nicholas's life. His business, his social world, his personal affairs. Separately, we were just girlfriends he could manipulate. Together...

Together we could be dangerous.

"Should we proceed with this," Maya states cautiously, "we must approach it wisely." Nicholas didn't become wealthy by acting foolishly. If he discovers what we're up to...

"I doubt he'll solve it," I state with greater assurance than I truly possess. "Since he believes we're too sentimental to collaborate."

He thinks we'll be too jealous of each other to cooperate."

"Are we?" Alexandra asks. "Too jealous to work together?"

I look at her. Really look at her. An hour ago, I despised this woman. I believed she was taking my boyfriend. Now I realize she was merely another casualty of the same falsehoods.

"I don't feel jealous of you," I say to her sincerely. "I'm upset with him."

"Me too," Maya says. "He made us think we were enemies when we should have been friends."

"So we become friends now," Alexandra says. "And we make Nicholas pay for what he did to us."

Someone pounds on the bathroom door. "Hello! Is everything okay there?"

We looked at each other one last time. Three women about to make a decision that will change everything.

"Are we really doing this?" Maya whispers.

"Are we really going to take down Nicholas Blackwood?" Alexandra adds.

I think about the hotel room I booked for him. The roses I ordered. The text message where he laughed about how clueless I was. The way he used my love for him to help him romance another woman.

"Yes," I say. "We're really doing this."

We unlock the door and file out of the bathroom. The woman waiting outside gives us a strange look, but we ignore her.

Back at our desks, we all pretend to work normally. But everything has changed. Nicholas has no idea that his three secret girlfriends just became his three biggest enemies.

My computer pings with a new email from Nicholas. "Remember tonight." You've been incredibly supportive with all the preparations.

I owe you dinner soon."

He owes me dinner. After I helped him plan his romantic evening with Alexandra.

I type back: "Happy to help. You can count on me for anything."

And I mean it. He can count on me. Just not in the way he thinks.

A message from an unfamiliar number makes my phone buzz. Upon checking it, I noticed it's from Alexandra.

"Coffee shop on Fifth Street. After work. We need to plan."

A few seconds later, another text appears. This one from Maya.

"I'll bring my laptop. Nicholas has no idea what's coming."

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."