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Chapter Six


I don't know what was more breath taking. The view of Los Angeles across the water, sparkling like a million colored stars or Nick's eyes that were a shade of blue that can only be described by a word like azure or some other fancy word. Ultramarine, maybe. He smiled across the table at me and these adorable little lines appeared at the outer corners of his eye lids. I breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of salt and lobster and the waiter returned with a couple menus and a bottle of wine that Nick had apparently ordered. He popped the cork and poured the wine into two glasses on the table. Nick lifted his the moment it was finished being poured and raised it to me, taking a sip as the waiter poured mine.

When the waiter had gone, Nick leaned forward again, put his glass back down, and said, "I don't know how you figured out what was going on between me and Cora last night at the hotel, but you did, and I thought it was really impressive how you did it. With the little clues and stuff."

"Thanks," I said, and I picked up my glass. I wondered fleetingly whether I should tell him about my being in the bathroom the whole time or not. But before I could conclude whether it was a bad idea or not, he started speaking again.

"See, you're officially the only person other than me and Cora that knows about us," he said slowly, "And it's really important that stays that way..."

"Yeah," I said, "I know. It was seven hundred dollars in cash important." I nodded and took a sip of my wine. The taste was heavy and oaky and the alcohol fizzied right to my brain. I felt instantly drunk and put the glass back down, making a mental note that the wine was strong as hell and to drink it sparingly.

Nick nodded, "Yeah... But see, here's the thing... I really like Cora. A lot." He licked his lips and lowered his voice, "And she likes me, too, and we wanna be together, you know? But Hugh Walters is standing in our way and I'm not exactly built to fuck with Hugh Walters." He paused. "You know who Hugh Walters is, right?"

"Who doesn't?" I asked.

Nick nodded again, nervously this time. "Yeah. So you see why I don't wanna fuck with the guy... So here's the thing. If they break up... it's gotta be because of him, because of something he did to offend her. See? Then he can't black ball us in the industry, you know? I just got back to the top after fighting all these years for credibility, you know, I don't wanna get knocked back down..." He leaned back, looking like he'd just explained everything.

I stared at him. "Okay... What's that got to do with me, though?"

"Everything."

The waiter came back and I realized I hadn't even looked at the menu. "Sorry," I said, and I pulled the menu open and looked down at it.

"I'll have the smoked salmon with asparagus," Nick said, "And start me off with a cup of the red pepper soup." He glanced over at me.

"I'll have the same," I said, deciding that I didn't have time to read through every description on the menu. Nick was lounging back comfortably in the wooden chairs and looking out across the water now. He seemed to come here frequently, the way he was acting, so I just assumed he knew what would be best on the menu. The waiter smiled, nodded, and took our menus and swept away.

Nick was still staring off at the city. I cleared my throat and he looked back at me. "It's been less than twenty-four hours and I miss her already," he sighed. He shifted in his seat and picked up his wine glass again and swirled it around, staring down at the dark liquid, then drank the remainder of it. He reached for the bottle in a stand of ice beside us.

"What do I have to do with you and Cora and Hugh?" I asked, trying to reel him back in to the conversation we'd been having.

Nick poured his wine into his glass, closed the bottle again, took another sip, and said, "Like I said. Everything." He put the glass down. "You figured out in just a couple minutes what all was going on with me and Cora," he said. "I need you to figure out what Hugh is doing. Or who," he added.

"You think Hugh Walters is cheating on Cora?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. "Why would anyone cheat on a woman like that?"

Nick shrugged, "Because he's Hugh Walters and he can. The guy is power hungry. He doesn't even really love Cora. He wants her for the image. The most powerful pop artist in the world coupled with the most powerful record label owner?" Nick shook his house, "Unstoppable combination."

"I'm not sure how I'm gonna figure this out, I don't know Hugh or Cora or -- well, even you, really."

Nick licked his lips, "Well, see, that's the thing. I need to get you around Hugh so you can see if he's cheating on Cora so Cora's got a reason to leave him, and then she and I can be together..." He took a deep breath, "Soooo... I want to hire you. As a private investigator."

"A private investigator." I had all I could do not to laugh.

"Yes," Nick nodded.

"I'm not a P.I.," I said, smirking, "I'm a maid, at a hotel..."

"But I'm offering you a job," he said. His eyes connected with mine, and I could feel the seriousness of the words he was speaking. "I'll hire you as my personal assistant, and then you'll have the proximity you'll need - at parties and events and meetings and whatever - to see what Hugh Walters is up to, pick up on your little crazy person clues, and report back to me. And I'll tell Cora. Once she knows what's going on, she'll break it off with Hugh and then me and her can live happily ever after." He seemed quite pleased with this offer and he leaned back, "And you'll have the added bonus of a sizable paycheck increase..."

The magic words. They were spoken.

I hesitated, putting my hands on the edge of the table, feeling the texture of the table cloth. The ambiance of the deck filled my ears. Nick stared at me. "How... sizable...?" I asked.

Nick studied me.

"Fifty thousand dollars," he said.

I tried very hard to stay level. "Fifty thousand dollars," I said calmly. I picked up my wine glass and stared at the liquid, pretending not to be completely floored by this figure. "For how long?"

"However long it takes," Nick replied.

"What if she never breaks up with Hugh, what if you don't end up with her?" I asked.

"She will. I will," he answered confidently.

"But if not?"

He shrugged, "Fifty thousand should cover us through the end of the year. If you're still needed in December, we'll rework the figure and extend the contract accordingly." Nick looked eagerly at me, "What do you say?" he asked.

The waiter returned carrying two bowls of soup. He lowered first one, then the other and smiled, "Your red pepper soups," he said. "Would you like cheese on that?"

"Please," Nick answered, and we watched as the waiter used a grinder to shred cheese on top of our soups. Then he topped off the glasses of wine, and bowed away. Nick looked at me as I dipped my soup spoon into the bowl. He leaned forward again. "What do you say?" he asked, trying to get my attention on him instead of the soup.

I knew I should've waited, should've talked about it with Addison, should've thought it through more, should've asked for a contract, should've done about a hundred thousand things before I agreed.

But I had at least fifty thousand reasons not to wait.