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that she was dumb and not experienced enough in the fine art of playing games. Eve had allowed herself to fall in love with David, and that made her vulnerable. Loving was one thing; being in love was another. Being in love was being weak, letting someone else get the upper hand. That wouldn't happen with Stella. No one was going to hurt her again, not ever.
    Stella rolled a sheet of long paper into her typewriter and started to type. Might as well get this will out of the way and have it ready for David to read through when he came back in.
    A few minutes later, she was glad that she had been busy, because her door opened without any preliminary knock and Gloria Reardon walked in, carrying a magazine and some papers.
    "Hello, Stella. David must keep you awfully busy. You're always working, and always so quiet!"
    Stella smiled up at Gloria, but her mind worked fast. Gloria was up to something, but what? Had she heard anything? Had David said anything? David was the only person who knew about Marti....
    "I have some files here that Howard wants David to look over. I'll just leave them on his desk where he can find them, shall I?"
    Gloria went through the door that led into David's office without waiting for Stella to reply; and a few seconds later she came sailing out again, a smile on her face. Stella noticed again, with a stab of envy, that Gloria really was quite beautiful. And her clothes! They were the most expensive that Stella had ever seen anyone wear, close up. Not only did Gloria dress beautifully; she had quite a figure as well. It was no wonder that Howard Hansen was said to have more than just a business relationship with Gloria. How, Stella, wondered, did Mr. Hansen take Gloria's obvious fondness for David Zimmer?
    Stella would have been surprised if she had known that this was exactly what Gloria intended to discuss with Howard Hansen.
    Hansen was a tall, slender, man with piercing gray eyes and sparse blond hair. In his late forties, he was soft-spoken and rather gentle in manner until he stood up in a courtroom, and then he could cut a witness to pieces with the lash of his voice and words. He had once been told that he should have been an actor; diffidently, Howard had replied that the practice of law brought him more money and the knowledge needed to invest it.
    Howard Hansen had been a man of few weaknesses until he had met Gloria, the young English widow of an ex-client. Recently widowed himself, Hansen had been on a European trip to dispel his loneliness, when he met her. They had found several things in common.
    After he had gotten to know her well, he had discovered that she was not only willing but happy to cater to all his secret sexual desires, thus obviating his regular hiring of highly paid call girls. She had introduced him to the orgy scene in London, Rome, Hamburg—she had even taught him a few things he had never heard of. He had wondered why she had not turned her talents into the channels to which they were best suited and become a courtesan, but she had told him, laughing, that she preferred the cloak of respectability, of anonymity.
    Howard had brought Gloria back to California with him—she had said London had begun to bore her. Neither of them felt ready for marriage yet, so Gloria had been given a position in Howard's office, which gave her an excuse to be a part of Howard"s life. They understood each other and had very few secrets from each other. It made for a very satisfactory arrangement, generally.
    After she left David Zimmer's office, Gloria came back to Hansen's plush office and, without asking, fixed them each a martini. Very dry. She saw Howard raise an eyebrow at her, but he said nothing, waiting for her to tell him whatever she had on her mind.
    After she'd brought the drinks over, Gloria arranged her body on the couch that ran the length of one wall. Every movement she made was deliberately seductive, but Howard knew that at this moment she was not trying to seduce