Page 28 of Games We Play
“What do you want?”
Sloan hadn’t called this meeting on an early Saturday morning because she wanted Maxine to grill her. So what if she had ulterior motives? Everyone did in business and charity alike! “I want world peace, Woodward. God, weren’t you taught anything on the pageantry circuit?”
“Unlike you, I was never a beauty queen.”
Sloan threw her head back and laughed. “You found out about that? Here I thought I paid those web gurus enough money to scrub those photos from the face of the internet.”
“Everything is forever on the internet.”
They locked gazes. “It sure is.”
Maxine was the first one to crack by looking away.Come on, you can do better than that. Five seconds? Respect yourself, honey.Maxine was lauded as one of the toughest women to crack. Sloan couldn’t figure out how, when she always won the stare-off whenever they met up. It was how they established their hierarchy when they had that torrid affair three years ago.You ate me up like a sundae, Maxine.The heiress claimed that it was her first and only time on the receiving end of a paddle. Sloan had always taken great pleasure in that knowledge.
“Fine.” She acted as if Maxine had finally gotten to her, when in truth, Sloan had planned for her idea to unfold like this. “I need a favor in return.”
“Ah, yes. Buying off a favor from me.” Maxine clicked her tongue. “I can only imagine what you wantthistime.” She glanced at the bodyguard.He hears everything. Go ahead. Say what’s on your mind.“Let me say that I’m in a committed relationship now. I’m afraid a repeat of Vancouver is never going to happen.”
“I’m not interested in your body. I’m interested in your connections.”
“What connections? In the charity world? Don’t tell me you’re looking to get into the game full time like I am.”
“No. I want yourotherconnections.”
Maxine furrowed her brows.
“I want your gay friends in my contact list, sweetie.” Sloan slapped her hand on the table. Nobody flinched. “I may know most of their names, but you’re the one who can make the formal introductions. I’m going to need more women like us on my side if I’m to split later this year.”
“My, my.” Maxine chuckled. “I’m the only one you know well enough to ask? While you grease my fucking wheels with money for one of my foundations?”
“I do what I must.”
“Makes me wonder if Vancouver was you laying the groundwork for this moment.”
“All I remember from Vancouver is pussy in my face. I was hardly laying any groundwork for this morning.”
Flustered, Maxine looked away again, this time for a full two seconds.That’s right. Get in her head. Make her remember that you’re the dominant one in this conversation.Someone who used to be dear to Sloan taught her these techniques. She thought the man a disgusting cad now, but his advice often came in handy when she wanted to get her way.
“You’re not only the woman I know well enough to meet like this,” Sloan explained once she had cemented the upper hand. “You’re the only one who has a sliver of a chance to understand where the hell I’m coming from. I know about your own relationship history. Granted, I’ve never divorced a woman, but I assume some things aren’t that different.”
“You’ve got a lot more on your side, that’s for sure.”
“Yes, but it will be a huge public spectacle, and I need to recraft my image as a patron saint of lesbiandom afterward.”
“That might apply if you were actually a lesbian.”
Silence as sharp as Maxine’s nails sliced through the air. “You know nothing about how I identify.” That was as far as Sloan would go on that subject. “Or how I plan to leverage it in the future.”
“Yeah, see, using words like ‘leverage’ in the context of personal identities doesn’t make you a lot of friends.”
“Suppose you could say I’ve been recently inspired by Erica Mann’s ordeal.”
“Yes, I heard about you showing up at her ranch because you were pissed you weren’t invited to her soiree.”
“Andyouwere! See? I need your connections.”
Maxine shook her head. “You’re the most ridiculous person I’ve met, and that says a lot.”
“So you’ll help me?”
