She fought with herself to put off the moment. She told herself sternly that she must forget everything but Jack Colin, everything but what a man in Colin’s exalted position could do for her. She forced herself to remember that she must never lose sight of what she wanted now. What she had left behind could only have led to ruin, could lead to ruin still.

Seven o’clock came.

Five after.

Ten after.

The doorbell rang. Terry, clad in a provocative low-cut dress, ran to answer it, her full breasts bobbing with every step she took.

“Jack!”

“Good evening, darling.” Colin greeted her with his greasy smile, with an enormous cascade of flowers, and with a bottle of the very best Scotch. He set flowers and liquor down and held out his arms expectantly. Terry came to him, but the kiss that she gave him was a sisterly one, and she slid deftly away before he could turn the embrace into something more passionate. If he had noticed her coolness, he said nothing.

“You shouldn’t have bothered with the flowers, Jack. They’re lovely, but I’m always so sad when they wilt.”

“You musn’t be sentimental. Grasp beauty while it’s here, and don’t mourn when it fades.”

“Is that the way you feel about women, too?”

He shrugged. “Could be. But a smart girl will prepare for the time when she isn’t the sexiest thing on earth any longer. A bunch of roses can’t invest in the stock market, you know.” He laughed. “Mind if I use your phone? I want to get dinner up here.”

He phoned down to a restaurant nearby, telling them it was time to deliver the meal, and an elaborate dinner, already prepared, was brought up to the apartment within a few minutes. A bowing headwaiter opened covered trays of sizzling rare steak and delectable vegetables, and before he left he opened a bottle of fine imported Burgundy to go with the meal. Colin tipped him handsomely, the size of the bill making Terry’s eyes pop.

They ate and chatted, and Colin tried to be his witty best and almost succeeded, but that wasn’t much. The wine gone, the dishes cleared away to be done some other time, they sat around and drank the Scotch he had brought. Terry suspected that Colin was hoping that the Scotch would react with the dinner wine to make her more susceptible to his advances, so she deliberately made her drinks weak and sipped them slowly.