If I let her react, if I let her go without calming her down, she will set off the chain reaction I predicted. Perfect, I thought. “Hey, and you know what’s the worst part: she actually asked if she was better than you during intercourse, I heard,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder for emphasis. She took the bait; she’s no longer an immediate concern.

“Don’t get angry; it happened alrieady,” I added, for good measure. She stormed off, setting off the carefully planned trap. As I walked away, a slow smile crept to my face. It worked; my secondary targets will fall and I can concentrate completely on the primary. All obstacles are out of the way, and Adam will fall.