MEGAN

Chapter 11

Niklas

Nik watched the streets of LA as the two rode in silence. They had arrived in California two hours before via a private jet that Megan's brother William owned and, from what little Nik could see of the town, hadn't managed to impress him.

This was his first time visiting Los Angeles, which seemed impossible considering how much he traveled, but it was true. Somehow, the famous City of Angeles had evaded him until now.

Peacocks, he thought as they rode through the Rodeo Drive, snorting at the wealthy. It may have been a bit cynical of him since he wasn't exactly poor either, and he had just arrived via a private jet, but he couldn't have cared less. He knew people like the ones that were strutting through the street; he had even worked for some of them since he started his own business, and even though some were honest, good people, the majority were rotten.

It was all about the image: how you dressed, where you went, whom you knew. And considering that more than half of them had come from some hillbilly town in the middle of nowhere, it left a bad taste in his mouth when they pretended otherwise once they got famous.

Nik was a proud man. He had come from a small village in Germany that he doubted anyone outside of his region had heard about, let alone outside Germany. And he loved it. He was proud of his origins, and to even consider denouncing it, denouncing a part of himself now when he was successful, and half across the world was just plain stupid to him.

Everything you were once is what made you the person you are now, and denying it just makes you a liar.

Nik looked away from the window, his eyes falling on the woman sitting beside him. Megan had been silent during their journey there, even more than she had been during the last three weeks, about the time her silent treatment had begun following the incident in the Club.

As a matter of fact, she hadn't uttered more than a few words after her proclamation that they were going to California, back in the house.

She just sat there, first in the jet and then in the car, her face withdrawn and slightly pale, still. To say that Nik was curious would be an understatement, seeing as he was dying to find out what the woman had found on that damn laptop that had her acting so out of character.

Sure, she had been cold toward Nik since the incident, but her behavior, in general, hadn't changed much. She was still the relaxed girl with the devil may care attitude when there were other people around, easy on the smiles and as nonchalant as ever. But something she saw yesterday had shaken her, and Nik was really starting to worry.

She should be smiling; Nik found himself thinking, resolutely ignoring the reason behind his wish even though it was futile by this point.

He liked her; Nik really liked her, even though he knew there was no point. Megan was his boss, and Nik had long ago realized that mixing business with pleasure led to a catastrophe.

The car came to a stop sometime later, and Nik was surprised to notice that they were in front of a police station. He frowned, glancing at the woman who was now standing beside him.

Couldn't she have gone to a station in NY if she needed police assistance?

He stayed quiet, though, following her into the station.

"Good morning," Megan said as they reached the officer sitting behind the counter.

"My name is Megan Jones. I'm an attorney from New York," she said as she passed her legitimation over. Nik looked at her in surprise, though he shouldn't have. The fact Megan no longer practiced didn't mean she was no longer a lawyer.