Megan despised piers, she thought as she stared out at the filthy water. They were dank and disgusting and she usually ended up throwing away whatever clothes and shoes she wore afterward because she couldn't get the smell out. Unfortunately, they were a necessary evil in her line of work and a woman didn't get to where she was today by avoiding the unpleasantries. When she heard footsteps behind her, her hand automatically reached for the Daringer in her stylish Coach clutch as a precaution.
"There's my favorite 'reporter'." When Megan heard the familiar voice, she released the gun, closed the clutch and turned around.
"Hello, Julian. It's been a while. It is Julian and not Derek, right?"
"Yes, it is. The truth came out nearly a year ago thanks to Corinthos," he remarked angrily.
"Ah, I see." Megan said, as understanding dawned. "How's Ava?"
"She's Ava." Julian said with a smirk. "She continues to boink Sonny's son, Morgan, as her own personal brand of torture for Corinthos."
Megan chuckled. "A woman after my own heart..."
"What heart? Last I knew, you didn't have one. Motherhood hasn't changed you, has it?"
"No," Megan said emphatically. "The brat is with the nanny most of the time. She is a means to an end, nothing more."
"You always were a woman of vision."
"Yes, I am. Vision… and power. And, thanks to you, I now have both."
"The City operation is running smoothly, I presume." Julian asked in an all business tone.
"As smoothly as ever. " Megan boasted proudly. "How could it not with a population desperate for money and power and people like us willing to give it to them? For a price, of course."
"Of course." Julian echoed. "Revenue has grown exponentially under your watch. I'm very pleased."
"Thank you. I will be expecting a bonus in line with growth," Megan declared unabashedly.
"And you will get it." Julian agreed. "You will get an even bigger one if you have the information I've been waiting for."
"I'm still working on it. I have two new cops who are now more than willing to assist me in retrieving it." Megan smiled like a cat with cream. "And, I didn't even have to persuade them with my usual methods. For them, it's personal."
"Ah, I see. Speaking of cops and personal, how is our mutual friend?"
"He was none too happy to see me. He is still very angry." After a dramatic pause, she continued, "And we both know that anger is a motivator like none other."
"So it is, my dear. So it is. Thankfully, after the sage advice of his goody-goody wife, he dropped the matter."
"He did?" Megan was surprised that he would drop it. When Nathan left New York, he was angrier than she'd ever seen him and more determined than ever to solve the Clay case.
"If he'd waited any longer, I would have had to take matters into my own hands." Megan, who'd worked hard to leave her emotions out of her expressions, must've slipped because Julian added, "You know how it works, Megan. He's a liability."
"Yes, I know. But then my months of hell would have been for naught." She looked at Julian with a deadly glare and said, "And you know how much I dislike doing things for nothing."
"Well, then you should be thankful that he was once again blinded by the love of a beautiful woman. "
Julian was right. Nathan was an astute cop who was too smart for his own good, but the man was blind when it came to women and she'd preyed on his weakness to the very end. He thought she was a reporter who'd callously used him to get information on his cases for her stories, but he didn't know the half of it. She was just that good of an actress.
When Julian ordered her to get close to Nathan to further his agenda, she did so and was rewarded handsomely for her efforts and loyalty. Now, she was running the largest Jerome territory all on her own and using her cover as a well-known crime reporter (thanks to her Pulitzer story on the high-profile botched murder case Nathan unwittingly spoon-fed her) to gain entrance into events and meetings with high rollers the Jeromes could only have dreamt about before. Under her watch, the territory and its connections expanded at an unbelievable rate, putting Julian and Ava, her inspiration, in her debt. The only true thing about her liaison with Nathan, and the reason she lost her cool when Julian mentioned eliminating him, was the sex. The man was ah-maz-ing in bed; and, when they were together, his undivided attention made her forget for those few hours (yes, hours) that their entire relationship was a lie.
Coming out of her reverie, Megan told Julian about her meeting with Sabrina at the hospital. For a goody-goody, the woman had steel in her veins in facing her down the way she did. Even though that Robin person came in and ruined things, Megan had accomplished her goal. Little Miss would run home and tell her hubby all about his long-lost daughter, which would successfully distract him from the real reason Megan was in town. She disliked being away from the city, but she needed to be in Port Charles (where she knew Nathan was the whole time thanks to Julian) in order to implement the next phase of their plan, which included unloading the brat. If Nathan was too busy engaging with her in a custody battle for their daughter, he wouldn't finish putting the pieces together and realize that his botched homicide, the Clay case and the Jerome's were all interconnected. And, once Bennett and Cole came through with the evidence she required for Julian, all hell would finally break loose.
As Megan walked away from their meeting, she was on a high over her years of preparation finally paying off; but, she crashed as Julian stopped her with a warning. "Oh, Megan," he said, casually (too casually), "be sure to let me know as soon as you have the evidence I need to take Corinthos down once and for all. Without that evidence, none of what you've done matters. I'd hate for you to disappoint me."
Understanding Julian's undertones, Megan swallowed convulsively, nodded and continued walking, vowing to succeed no matter what the cost.