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Hannah glared at his retreating back ‘Yes, sir’ She gave the nightgown one last, condelance, then stuffed it into the box and sla it open A girl was co towards the erown louder ‘Here,’ Hannah said, shoving the box into the girl’s arms, ‘take this’

‘What is it?’

‘It’s Betty’s gi——’

‘Miss Lewis!’ The voice roared out from behind her and Hannah flinched

‘Just take it,’ she hissed, and then she shut the door, snatched up her pad and pencil, and hurried into Grant MacLean’s private office

It was a large room but it was not furnished with the profusion of Oriental carpets and priceless antiques that filled the other partners’ quarters A pair of black leather couches faced a low glass table to her right; to her left, acabinet hid stereophonic equipainst a backdrop of darkened glass, stood a rectangle of burled walnut that served as MacLean’s desk, flanked by a pair of leather chairs that complemented the one behind the desk

It was a room almost spartan in its simplicity, yet it had an air of power and authority al at the , his back to Hannah, staring out at the Golden Gate Bridge resplendent in the last rays of the afternoon sun, but one glance at his rigid spine and stiffly held shoulders suggested that he was not ad the scenery

Hannah ran her tongue over her lips as she moved towards him ‘Mr MacLean?’ She waited for a few seconds ‘Sir? You askedyou my notes on Gibbs’

‘Are you sure you have the ti around to face her ‘Perhaps you’d prefer to attend that fashion shon the hall’

Her chin lifted ‘That’s not necessary, sir, thank you’

MacLean looked at her in silence, then jerked his head towards the door

‘Close that,’ he said sharply ‘My skull already feels as if there’s so to listen to the noise co from that—that female victory party!’ Hannah’s brows lifted, but she said nothing, only turned and did as he’d asked Then she htly knit cream Berber carpet MacLean motioned her to a chair as he loosened his tie and sank into the one behind the desk ‘That stupid woree to the settlement’

Hannah was puzzled, but only for a moment ‘Mrs Gibbs?’

‘Yes’ He leaned forward and folded his hands loosely on the desk top ‘We offered one million five, but she won’t take it’ He shook his head, the harshly handsome face twisted into lines of disbelief “‘I love hi Can you i, certain voice, ‘it’s all crap’

He looked at Hannah It was clear he aiting for her to say so

‘Is it?’

‘Sure She’s just setting hi more money out of him Hell, they were married, what? Five years? What’s that worth in dollars?’

Hannah frowned ‘I’h the file, I——’

‘Well, Gibbs will pay What choice has he got? But he’ll be twice as se so easily’

‘Mrs Gibbsher?’

That s that you’re single, Miss Lewis You’ve no way of knowing that e is never a man’s idea’

Hannah’s brows lifted ‘Is that right?’ she said politely

‘Soht, and whaed to the altar’

‘Really,’ she said, even more politely ‘How remarkable I saw Mr and Mrs Gibbs the day they ca; she seemed rather small to have accomplished such a feat’

MacLean’s head caure of speech,’ he said

‘Ah’ Hannah bent over her notepad and scratched so on it ‘I should have realised’

‘The point is, the bitch wants blood!’

‘Another figure of speech, of course,’ she muttered before she could stop herself She sed hard What wa

s wrong with her? She felt as if the devil were pulling her tongue

MacLean’s eyes narrowed ‘Did you say so, Miss Lewis?’

Hannah took a breath ‘Yes, sir I said that you’re wrong about what Mrs Gibbs wants She’s not after more money She’s still in love with her husband’

He stared at her for a moment, then shot froone straight to the telephone after the rasped the arms of Hannah’s chair ‘What did she say, exactly? I want to know every word’

Hannah wet her lips ‘She—she didn’t’

‘Didn’t what?’ MacLean’s dark brows drew together ‘Surely you can remember’

‘I mean, she didn’t telephone’ Did he have to stare down at her like this? He was so close that she could see that his eyes weren’t really grey at all; they were a co lines radiating out from the dark pupil

‘She was here, then?’ He shook his head ‘But she couldn’t have been I caht back; if she’d come by——’

‘She didn’t do that, either’ Hannah took a deep breath ‘I was—I was just saying what I thought, sir’

‘What?’

‘I was—I was only offering my opinion’

A h the closed door punctuated her hurried words Silence fell between them, and then MacLean let out his breath

‘Your opinion,’ he said softly ‘Your highly trained opinion as a paralegal, that is’ A muscle knotted in his jaw ‘I see’

Oh, God, Hannah thought She forced herself to look directly at him, as if her heart hadn’t just plummeted to her feet

‘I thought that’s what you…’ She sed ‘I was reading through the case,’ she said, ‘as you asked me to do, and——’

‘Ah’ He srimly ‘As I asked you to do’

‘Yes, sir And—’