Free The Love Machine by Jacqueline Susann

had just entered the room, followed by two men. God, she was incredible-looking. They took the front table near the door. The girl looked familiar. Of course—she was on the cover of this month’s Vogue . Ethel looked at the men. She had been so busy staring at the girl that she hadn’t noticed them. One was Robin Stone, the other was Jerry Moss. She had met Jerry at a few agency parties.
She walked over to their table. “Hi, Jerry,” she said with a smile.
He looked up and didn’t rise. “Oh, hello there!” he said offhandedly.
She smiled at Robin. “I’m Ethel Evans… . We’ve met before. I’m with the publicity department of IBC.”
Robin looked at her. He grinned slowly. “Sit down, Ethel, we can use another girl. This is Amanda.”
Ethel smiled at her. The girl didn’t return the smile. Her face was a mask but Ethel could feel the wave of resentment pour across the table. How can she be jealous of me? she thought. If I looked like that, I’d own the world.
Ethel took out a cigarette. Robin leaned across and lit it. She stared at him as the smoke curled toward his face. But he had switched his attention to his drink.
The silence at the table unnerved her. She felt Amanda’s discontent, Jerry’s uneasiness, and Robin’s absorption with his drink.
“I just finished an assignment,” Ethel said. Her voice sounded unnatural. She paused and almost whispered. “And then I stopped by to get a bite.”
“No explanations,” Robin said with the same easy grin. “You’re here, relax.” He caught the attention of the waiter. “What do you want, Ethel?”
She looked at his empty glass. She always made it a point to drink what the man drank. It started them off with at least one thing in common. “I’ll have a beer,” she said.
“Give the lady a beer,” Robin said. “And bring me my glass of ice water.”
The waiter brought the beer and a large glass of ice water. Robin took a long swallow. Amanda reached over and sipped it. She made a face and put it down vehemently. “Robin—” Her eyes were angry.
He grinned. “Don’t you like ice water, baby?”
“That’s straight vodka,” she said.
Ethel felt a surge of excitement as she watched them curiously.
Robin took another long swallow. “So it is. I guess Mike made a mistake.”
“You’ve got Mike trained,” she said coldly. “Robin”—she leaned closer—“you said we’d be together tonight.”
He threw his arm around her again. “We are together baby!”
“I mean …” Her voice was low and pleading. “Together . Not with Jerry and another girl. I don’t consider that being with you.”
He rumpled her hair. “I got Ethel for Jerry. Now we’re a foursome.”
Amanda’s face remained impassive. “Robin, I have an early booking for a color layout tomorrow. I should have stayed home and washed my hair and gone to bed early. But I came out to be with you. And now you’re drinking.”
“Aren’t you having a good time?” he asked.
“I’d be better off home. You don’t need me just to sit here and watch you drink.”
Robin stared at her for a moment. Then the slow grin appeared. He turned to Ethel. “What time do you have to be up in the morning?”
“I don’t need any beauty sleep,” Ethel answered, “it wouldn’t help.”
Robin grinned. “Jerry—we’ve just switched girls.”
Amanda grabbed her bag and stood up. “Robin, I want to go home.”
“Sure, baby.”
“Well?” Her eyes were too misty to be angry.
“Sit down,” he said gently. “I like it here. I want to stay awhile.” Amanda sat down reluctantly, her eyes challenging, awaiting his next move.
Jerry Moss stirred uneasily. “Ethel, maybe you and I should cut out. There’s a swinging party a friend of mine is giving, just a few blocks from here—”
“I want you both to stay.” Robin spoke quietly but it was a command. Then he drained his glass of vodka and ordered another. He turned and looked at Amanda with a tender smile. “She is beautiful, isn’t