Meg rose early the next morning, showering and dressing and signing on to her laptop before John and his family stirred.
She researched airline fares for a full half hour, writing out a list of flight possibilities to present to John.
Then she e-mailed Zeedo once more, positing meeting times and scenarios.
The best bet was to hold off meeting Zedkov until after John and his family left for Seattle, when her time would be her own for a few days. But Meg was impatient, wanted to push the meeting forward to his earliest possible convenience. She had to know what he knew and set her plan in motion.
But what about John?
He'd been discreet with his protectiveness, but it had become obvious to Meg that he would not be likely to allow her out of his sight long enough for her to meet with Zeedo.
Meg hit upon a plan, which she now signed onto her e-mail account to offer to Zedkov. Hopefully he would go along with it. If all went well, she could have her meet and keep John just as oblivious as he was intent on keeping her.
She had her answer before John stirred some thirty minutes later.
Meg greeted John as he emerged from his shower, wielding antibiotics and dressing materials. John smiled broadly and submitted to her ministrations. Meg prattled on as she checked his wound, healing beautifully, telling him about the airfares she had researched. After some consideration, he agreed to a suggested flight leaving in two days.
Meg shifted the subject away from the departure, the thought of which filled her with a kind of dread. She forced herself to be as lighthearted as possible as she couched her next comment.
"Your mother and sister haven't seen much of LA, so what do you say--shall we show them the sights today? Disneyland? Universal Studios, or better yet, LA's Chinatown and Farmers Market? The beach? Rodeo Drive?"
John looked at her thoughtfully, as though weighing the risks against the enjoyment his mother and sister could gain from the expedition. Then a sparkle grew in his eyes and he smiled at her, dazzlingly.
"I would love for them to see all those places. But perhaps some of them could await another visit. Let us concentrate on seeing the most that is nearby. Chinatown, yes, beach, yes, Farmer's Market, yes. Rodeo Drive, definitely. Perhaps we can do some shopping," he suggested.
"John, let's try to keep some of that money of yours in your pocket, okay? I'll go make the airline reservations, you announce our excursion to Lee Ma and Liu Shen." Meg announced brightly as she finished placing a wound dressing on John's shoulder, and watched him down the medication with a glass she'd brought in for the purpose.
She turned to leave the bedroom, only to have her arm caught by John who pulled her close.
He was still clad only in a towel from his shower.
She yielded to the pressure, initiating a deep soulful kiss before he had the chance. Then she pulled away, extracting herself from his arms.
"Later. We want to get going soon!" she chastised, grinning at him, then escaping out the door to where her laptop sat on the coffee table near the couch.
First, she made the airline reservations for the three of them, then she sent an e-mail to Zedkov, confirming the time and place for their somewhat unusual meeting.
Meg smiled in delight as she watched Liu Shen and Lee Ma move through the Farmer's Market, John in tow, engaging in a lively discourse about the variety of produce and goods before them. Meg had managed to hang back from them a bit, allowing time for Zeedo to make contact as they'd arranged.
Still, she was startled when she was approached by a small boned Asian woman of indeterminate age who held out a pair of earphones attached to a Walkman. She nearly politely declined the offer to "listen" until the woman smiled and identified herself in a stage whisper, flashing a police ID. She handed the headphones to Meg again, making a great show of going through a pantomimed sales pitch while Meg put the phones on and played along.
"Discreet enough for you?" Zeedo's voice came over the earphones. "I'm in a van down the street from you. Officer Williams is a member of my task force. We've got you, your friend and his family in sight."
"Good to talk to you Zeedo. What have you got for me?"
"Now, let's just wait a minute, Miss Meg," Zeedo's radio transmission crackled over the headphones, "I want you to promise before I tell you anything that you're going to work with me on this. Not go off on your own tear with what I tell you. Cooperate, we nail the guys after your friend, and I can make your record go away. Give you a fresh start. Hopefully in another jurisdiction."
Meg smiled, noting that Zeedo's gruff demeanor remained undiminished for all the months that had passed since she'd last seen him. "Sounds good. Who do you know in Seattle? Anyone?" Meg replied.
"I want the promise couched in stronger terms than that first." Zeedo warned.
"I agree, I promise to work with you. Okay? I don't have all day here, 'my friend' and his family will be missing me any minute now."
Meg glanced in the Lees' direction. John was turning, looking at her, wondering, no doubt, why she was hanging back. She smiled and waved merrily in his direction, pantomiming
between the earphones and Zeedo's undercover officer. John smiled and nodded. She'd bought a few more minutes at least.
"That's better. I've got some good friends in the Seattle police department. Why do you ask?"
"My friend and his family will be arriving in Seattle in two days time. I need to be assured of their protection from the second the plane lands. My friend is settling his family up there, and then he will be returning to LA temporarily. I don't want to get a phone call about something happening to any of them while they are up there."
"Give me flight numbers and times. I may be able to arrange protection from this end on up. We've got a detective going up to Seattle to bring back an extradited felon. He's on a similar flight schedule. One of my Seattle friends ought to be able to pick up where he needs to leave off."
"Beautiful. Check your e-mail, I sent the flight information to you just before we left to come here. It should be waiting for you. He's traveling under the name of Alan Chin, his sister as Mei Ling Li and his mother as Sung Ju. These are not their real names."
"Figured that. Okay. I'll take care of it." Zeedo responded. He then rattled off the information he had promised Meg in a staccato burst. "Here's what I've got. Off the record, mind you. Word is that a big name in the Chinese triads is coming to LA next week. He's some sort of distant relation to Wei, second cousin, nephew once removed, not sure. He's looking to see if there is anything salvageable of Wei's business. But word on the street is that he's also looking to settle a score. With someone who barely got out of China with his life a few days ago. Sound familiar?"
"Yeah..." Meg looked in John's direction. He was looking at her once again, she could tell by his demeanor he was concerned and would soon be coming to fetch her, "Look, I've got to cut this short. I'll send you an e-mail detailing this idea I have. I don't think you'll find too much to fault it. After all, you used me as bait once before as I recall. Gotta go, my friend is coming to see what is taking me so long...."
"MEG, I never agreed--" Zeedo started to protest. Meg said a rushed goodbye over the cop's objections and handed the earphones back to the undercover police officer, picking up the pretense of an adamant refusal of her sales pitch without missing a beat.
Just in time. John was at her elbow, touching her arm, looking first at her and then to the 'saleswoman' with an air of determined curiosity.
"Sorry John, she has a hell of a sales pitch. I almost fell for it." Meg smiled artfully, as John continued to look at the woman for a minute longer. "Come on, she's harmless. If we lose Lee Ma and Liu Shen in here, we'll never find them again."
John spared a final glance at the undercover policewoman, then shook his head and looked at Meg.
"I must never take you to Hong Kong," John commented. "You would end up no money whatsoever."
Meg smiled and took John Lee's arm companionably, "Smile when you say that, mister."
Chuckling, they went off to find Liu Shen and Lee Ma.
Meg had been mildly surprised when John indicated their final destination of the day.
She'd driven up Rodeo Drive into Beverly Hills, pointing out some of the flashier dwellings to the astounded Liu Shen and Lee Ma. Meg found herself embarrassed by the conspicuous consumption that surrounded them, remembering the difficult life John and his family had known in their homeland. She drove as far into the realm of the filthy rich as far she could stand and as she dared, driving her serviceable but not very glamorous sedan. They stuck out like a sore thumb in this part of Los Angeles and would probably soon attract the attention of the Beverly Hills police.
She found a place to make a discreet turn around and proceeded back down to the commercial district of Rodeo Drive. She was just pulling even with a ritzy woman's clothing shop when John, sitting beside her, gestured her to pull over.
"Here??" She protested. John's only reply was a smile.
The valet parking attendant had sniffed at the car, until John had waved a large bill under his nose. After a moment of taking John in, dressed as he was in an Armani suit, the attendant smiled and hopped into action. Amazing how quickly an attitude adjustment could take place with the right currency denomination and window dressing in evidence.
John reached for Meg's hand as he shepherded his mother and sister into the swank women's clothing shop. He squeezed her hand reassuringly as she paused, overwhelmed. No matter how lucrative her document business might be at times, shopping at an address like this had always been a pipe dream.
"Perhaps you will assist my sister and mother to pick out a few items. I could not buy them everything they needed," John was saying, slipping her a wad of bills that would have choked a draft horse.
Meg refused to allow herself to be intimidated by the surroundings, and set about shopping with her companions, enjoying their awe and delight over the store's upscale merchandise. Eschewing the help of the ubiquitous sales staff, Meg turned Liu Shen and Lee Ma loose to make their selections among negligees and lingerie, moving back to where John stood, in the man-safe realms of the shop.
John was, she noted, showing some of the strain of the day's exertions. He was still feeling the drain on his energy from being injured, and from being far more active than he should have early on. She worried that with the Lee's departure for Seattle set for two days from now, that he was really not up to the course he'd set himself upon.
She slipped her hand into his, "You look tired. I can hurry your sister and mother along. It has been a long day, we should be getting back to your loft."
John smiled at her, shaking his head, "No need. Let them enjoy themselves. We have not shopped for you, yet." he responded, looking at her levelly.
"There isn't anything I need, John. I've got closets full of clothes at home." Nothing this fine, of course, but then she'd always dressed more for comfort and her own sense of style, anyway.
"Indulge me. I want to buy you things." John replied.
"John, you need to be watching your money--saving it for your family's needs and comfort. Not spending it on me."
"As I have told you, Meg, we are provided for. I want to do this. Please?"
Meg shook her head, realizing that she could deny this man nothing when he looked at her like that, his dark eyes warm and loving.
"I would never have taken you for a spendthrift, John Lee. All right. But just one thing."
John cocked his head at her, as though he wished to say something, but had decided against it. He was looking more worn out by the minute, perhaps he lacked the energy to argue with her.
"First though, you're going to sit down. And I'm going to speed shop, because you really need to get home and get some rest."
Meg put on her most imperious air and gestured a hovering sales lady over to where they stood.
"My husband," Meg stressed the word, noting how the young woman eyed John appreciatively as she approached, "has not been well and needs to sit down."
All fluttering eyelashes and flashing smiles, the woman--apparently not put off by Meg's stated relationship to John--took his left arm and urged him into an area near the fitting rooms which sported several overstuffed chairs. Meg followed in their wake, suppressing the urge to kill the young woman for her flagrant forwardness. For his part, John was polite, but reserved with the young sales lady, looking over his shoulder at Meg while suffering her blandishments.
Once John was seated, the young woman disappeared, promising to return with tea. Meg took the opportunity to kneel down in front of John.
"You'll be all right? I won't take long," Meg asked, reaching out to touch John's face, hoping that the young sales clerk was watching her stake her claim.
"No rush, Meg. I am fine. Please proceed." John said quietly.
Meg lingered for a moment, studying John's face. Determined to find the least expensive thing in the shop as fast as she could, she moved away.
Meg walked through the displays of lingerie quickly, until her eyes fell upon a negligee of breathtaking beauty and color. She imagined herself modeling it for John in the privacy of his bedroom...
Meg approached it, fingering the silk fabric, glancing at the price tag. She gulped, moving away. A quick check of surrounding items revealed them to be no less expensive. Only one thing. She could justify only one item.
By serendipity, the negligee that had caught her eye was her precise size. Biting her lip, she took it off the rack and moved back to where John sat. He was balancing a cup of tea in his hand, even as the sales clerk moved a small table next to his chair and proceeded to fawn over him.
Meg's irritation flared. The woman was showing all the subtlety of a cat in heat.
But then, John was catnip, sitting there looking devastatingly handsome, if a bit pale.
"So, darling," Meg announced her return loudly, "What do you think of this one?"
John seemed oblivious to the sales lady's behavior, to his credit. He sat the tea cup on the table and turned to give Meg his full attention.
"Lovely," he said, "Miss, please wrap this," He ordered the young woman without so much as sparing a glance in her direction, his eyes instead engaging Meg's and communicating quite clearly his delight and pleasure in her choice.
"Well, then, as soon as she gets that ready, we can go. If Liu Shen and Lee Ma are ready. Please drink your tea though, she went to such trouble to get it for you." Meg threw a scowl at the saleswoman as she scurried off
"Please, Meg. Continue. There is no rush." John responded earnestly, bringing the teacup to his lips and taking a sip.
"I said I agreed to one thing, John. And you should probably have looked at the price tag on that before ordering her to wrap it up."
"Price does not matter. And while you may have agreed to Ôjust one thing', I did not. I will not leave until we are finished."
"And you will decide when that is, I take it?" Meg responded, arching an eyebrow at him.
John nodded solemnly. "There were some lovely dresses over there. Please, have a look."
Meg sighed. If the man was so intent on doing damage to his pocketbook, who was she to argue? Never mind that she worried that John did not fully appreciate the cost of items at this address, fresh from China as he was--it wasn't in her to take advantage. She liked money and fine things as well as the next woman, but she preferred to make her own way in life, living within her own means. She had never allowed a man to buy her much more than a meal, preferring her independence and self sufficiency.
And she had far more serious things on her mind than shopping.
But John...when he looked at her like that...it was difficult to deny him anything.
Meg forged ahead, skimming through racks of dresses dispassionately. Surely if she said she had found nothing to catch her eye, that would suffice?
Her eyes chose that moment to fall on a rack of cheongsams, a veritable rainbow of silken treasures. She had always admired the cut of the asian dresses, always wanted to own at least one. But had never been able to find anything to match her fantasy in her usual
shopping places. Now she was faced with a rack of them. Her breath caught in her throat.
She snatched three of the most interesting colors in her size, and marched back to where John sat, sipping his tea and trying to ignore--bless him--the hovering sales girl.
His eyes lit up when she returned, taking her breath away once more with how alive he always seemed to come when their eyes met.
"Try them on," he urged when Meg held the dresses up for his perusal.
Meg paused for a moment, then gestured the saleswoman to show her to the fitting rooms.
It would, at least, get the cat away from John for a moment or two.
Meg slipped into the first cheongsam, luxuriating in the feeling of silk against her skin. The dress fit beautifully, clinging in all the right places. Meg admired herself for a moment or two, smoothing the dress down. She reached up and pulled the clip out of her hair, allowing it to cascade down to her shoulders.
Damn, she looked good, if she had to say so herself.
She opened the fitting room door, and fixed John with her best seductive stare, then walked towards him in her best imitation of a catwalk slink.
His eyes were on her, immediately appreciative, eyes lingering on the long side slit that seemed to go up almost to her hip.
"Yes," he said simply, his eyes saying much more.
Meg returned to the fitting room and repeated the action for the other two garments. Each was met with similar approval. He stopped her before she went back to remove the last dress.
Before Meg knew what she was about, John was ordering the sales lady to search out matching shoes for each dress, insisting that Meg go back to the rack and choose at least two more colors. Soon, the young saleswoman, accompanied this time by one of her colleagues returned with the shoes, several pashimi shawls and other complementary accessories. Meg was overwhelmed.
John on the other hand, seemed to brighten with each offering. He seemed to be vastly enjoying the shopping experience.
Still, Meg was uncomfortable with the outlay he was intent on making on her behalf. She called a halt to the proceedings, agreeing after some discussion to the array of dresses, two shawls of neutral hue that would go with all of them, and similarly, two pairs of shoes that would suit. She waved away all the jewelry except for a coordinated necklace, earring and bracelet set in a Chinese theme and a wristwatch to replace the one the shower had killed the other day. The financial damage done to John's bank balance by these items was substantial enough, her conscience moderately assuaged by deducting out the items she turned away from what the damage might have been.
Meg was turning away to finally don her own clothing once again, when John reached for her hand, pulling her towards him.
She eased herself onto his lap, meeting his eyes.
"Wear that one," John said, pulling her closer until their lips met, the kiss deepening until Meg felt quite dizzy and not a little self conscious. Moving her head back, she glanced at the sales girl, who looked at her with intent envy.
Meg concentrated on throwing the hussy a look that proclaimed, unabashedly, her own possessiveness of John. Then she leaned in to give John a kiss of her own.
Meg threw the last of the shopping bags into the trunk of the car, shaking her head once again at the sheer number of bags and their estimated cost between herself and the two Lee women. She shuddered, then walked to her side of the car. She cast a glance at Liu Shen and Lee Ma, happily chatting in the back seat in Cantonese, then turned an appraising look to John.
"You're exhausted. Time to get you home," Meg commented.
"You look beautiful, Meg," John said, his eyes looking her up and down appreciatively.
"And you look bankrupt. Really John, you need me around just to help you manage your money. That was totally unnecessary, back there. I should go in and return everything."
"But you won't?" John asked, his voice a question and a demand all at once.
"I won't. If you promise not to do this again. You really can't afford shenanigans like this, and I can't quite get my brain around being a kept woman. I'm not used to this sort of thing, John."
"You are not a kept woman," John said solemnly as she put the key in the ignition.
"Thank you for your incredible generosity, John. I am truly very grateful. But by accepting these beautiful things, by living in your apartment, I am a kept woman. You're paying for everything, I'm not used to that. I'm not very comfortable with it. That is one of the reasons I don't want to stay in the loft while you are gone to Seattle."
"I meant no disrespect, Meg. Quite the opposite." John replied as Meg negotiated the traffic, turning the car away from Beverly Hills proper and toward John's condominium building. "And I would still prefer you to stay in my home."
"I know, John," Meg reached out and squeezed his left hand. "You make me feel cherished and adored. I've never felt that way before. This is my problem, up here, in my head. It will take some getting used to, is all."
John nodded. He was silent for a moment, then smiled, "I liked it, back there, when you referred to me as Ôhusband'," he admitted quietly.
Meg smiled in return, "I had to do something to throw that shameless hussy off the scent. For all the good it did. I don't think you appreciate the devastating effect you have on women."
"I care about only one woman and the effect I have on her. You." John countered.
"I rather enjoyed calling you husband, too," Meg admitted. It was true, but why was she admitting this, now? When danger loomed so close?
"Marry me, Meg," John asked.
Meg almost crashed the car.
End of Chapter 15
She researched airline fares for a full half hour, writing out a list of flight possibilities to present to John.
Then she e-mailed Zeedo once more, positing meeting times and scenarios.
The best bet was to hold off meeting Zedkov until after John and his family left for Seattle, when her time would be her own for a few days. But Meg was impatient, wanted to push the meeting forward to his earliest possible convenience. She had to know what he knew and set her plan in motion.
But what about John?
He'd been discreet with his protectiveness, but it had become obvious to Meg that he would not be likely to allow her out of his sight long enough for her to meet with Zeedo.
Meg hit upon a plan, which she now signed onto her e-mail account to offer to Zedkov. Hopefully he would go along with it. If all went well, she could have her meet and keep John just as oblivious as he was intent on keeping her.
She had her answer before John stirred some thirty minutes later.
Meg greeted John as he emerged from his shower, wielding antibiotics and dressing materials. John smiled broadly and submitted to her ministrations. Meg prattled on as she checked his wound, healing beautifully, telling him about the airfares she had researched. After some consideration, he agreed to a suggested flight leaving in two days.
Meg shifted the subject away from the departure, the thought of which filled her with a kind of dread. She forced herself to be as lighthearted as possible as she couched her next comment.
"Your mother and sister haven't seen much of LA, so what do you say--shall we show them the sights today? Disneyland? Universal Studios, or better yet, LA's Chinatown and Farmers Market? The beach? Rodeo Drive?"
John looked at her thoughtfully, as though weighing the risks against the enjoyment his mother and sister could gain from the expedition. Then a sparkle grew in his eyes and he smiled at her, dazzlingly.
"I would love for them to see all those places. But perhaps some of them could await another visit. Let us concentrate on seeing the most that is nearby. Chinatown, yes, beach, yes, Farmer's Market, yes. Rodeo Drive, definitely. Perhaps we can do some shopping," he suggested.
"John, let's try to keep some of that money of yours in your pocket, okay? I'll go make the airline reservations, you announce our excursion to Lee Ma and Liu Shen." Meg announced brightly as she finished placing a wound dressing on John's shoulder, and watched him down the medication with a glass she'd brought in for the purpose.
She turned to leave the bedroom, only to have her arm caught by John who pulled her close.
He was still clad only in a towel from his shower.
She yielded to the pressure, initiating a deep soulful kiss before he had the chance. Then she pulled away, extracting herself from his arms.
"Later. We want to get going soon!" she chastised, grinning at him, then escaping out the door to where her laptop sat on the coffee table near the couch.
First, she made the airline reservations for the three of them, then she sent an e-mail to Zedkov, confirming the time and place for their somewhat unusual meeting.
Meg smiled in delight as she watched Liu Shen and Lee Ma move through the Farmer's Market, John in tow, engaging in a lively discourse about the variety of produce and goods before them. Meg had managed to hang back from them a bit, allowing time for Zeedo to make contact as they'd arranged.
Still, she was startled when she was approached by a small boned Asian woman of indeterminate age who held out a pair of earphones attached to a Walkman. She nearly politely declined the offer to "listen" until the woman smiled and identified herself in a stage whisper, flashing a police ID. She handed the headphones to Meg again, making a great show of going through a pantomimed sales pitch while Meg put the phones on and played along.
"Discreet enough for you?" Zeedo's voice came over the earphones. "I'm in a van down the street from you. Officer Williams is a member of my task force. We've got you, your friend and his family in sight."
"Good to talk to you Zeedo. What have you got for me?"
"Now, let's just wait a minute, Miss Meg," Zeedo's radio transmission crackled over the headphones, "I want you to promise before I tell you anything that you're going to work with me on this. Not go off on your own tear with what I tell you. Cooperate, we nail the guys after your friend, and I can make your record go away. Give you a fresh start. Hopefully in another jurisdiction."
Meg smiled, noting that Zeedo's gruff demeanor remained undiminished for all the months that had passed since she'd last seen him. "Sounds good. Who do you know in Seattle? Anyone?" Meg replied.
"I want the promise couched in stronger terms than that first." Zeedo warned.
"I agree, I promise to work with you. Okay? I don't have all day here, 'my friend' and his family will be missing me any minute now."
Meg glanced in the Lees' direction. John was turning, looking at her, wondering, no doubt, why she was hanging back. She smiled and waved merrily in his direction, pantomiming
between the earphones and Zeedo's undercover officer. John smiled and nodded. She'd bought a few more minutes at least.
"That's better. I've got some good friends in the Seattle police department. Why do you ask?"
"My friend and his family will be arriving in Seattle in two days time. I need to be assured of their protection from the second the plane lands. My friend is settling his family up there, and then he will be returning to LA temporarily. I don't want to get a phone call about something happening to any of them while they are up there."
"Give me flight numbers and times. I may be able to arrange protection from this end on up. We've got a detective going up to Seattle to bring back an extradited felon. He's on a similar flight schedule. One of my Seattle friends ought to be able to pick up where he needs to leave off."
"Beautiful. Check your e-mail, I sent the flight information to you just before we left to come here. It should be waiting for you. He's traveling under the name of Alan Chin, his sister as Mei Ling Li and his mother as Sung Ju. These are not their real names."
"Figured that. Okay. I'll take care of it." Zeedo responded. He then rattled off the information he had promised Meg in a staccato burst. "Here's what I've got. Off the record, mind you. Word is that a big name in the Chinese triads is coming to LA next week. He's some sort of distant relation to Wei, second cousin, nephew once removed, not sure. He's looking to see if there is anything salvageable of Wei's business. But word on the street is that he's also looking to settle a score. With someone who barely got out of China with his life a few days ago. Sound familiar?"
"Yeah..." Meg looked in John's direction. He was looking at her once again, she could tell by his demeanor he was concerned and would soon be coming to fetch her, "Look, I've got to cut this short. I'll send you an e-mail detailing this idea I have. I don't think you'll find too much to fault it. After all, you used me as bait once before as I recall. Gotta go, my friend is coming to see what is taking me so long...."
"MEG, I never agreed--" Zeedo started to protest. Meg said a rushed goodbye over the cop's objections and handed the earphones back to the undercover police officer, picking up the pretense of an adamant refusal of her sales pitch without missing a beat.
Just in time. John was at her elbow, touching her arm, looking first at her and then to the 'saleswoman' with an air of determined curiosity.
"Sorry John, she has a hell of a sales pitch. I almost fell for it." Meg smiled artfully, as John continued to look at the woman for a minute longer. "Come on, she's harmless. If we lose Lee Ma and Liu Shen in here, we'll never find them again."
John spared a final glance at the undercover policewoman, then shook his head and looked at Meg.
"I must never take you to Hong Kong," John commented. "You would end up no money whatsoever."
Meg smiled and took John Lee's arm companionably, "Smile when you say that, mister."
Chuckling, they went off to find Liu Shen and Lee Ma.
Meg had been mildly surprised when John indicated their final destination of the day.
She'd driven up Rodeo Drive into Beverly Hills, pointing out some of the flashier dwellings to the astounded Liu Shen and Lee Ma. Meg found herself embarrassed by the conspicuous consumption that surrounded them, remembering the difficult life John and his family had known in their homeland. She drove as far into the realm of the filthy rich as far she could stand and as she dared, driving her serviceable but not very glamorous sedan. They stuck out like a sore thumb in this part of Los Angeles and would probably soon attract the attention of the Beverly Hills police.
She found a place to make a discreet turn around and proceeded back down to the commercial district of Rodeo Drive. She was just pulling even with a ritzy woman's clothing shop when John, sitting beside her, gestured her to pull over.
"Here??" She protested. John's only reply was a smile.
The valet parking attendant had sniffed at the car, until John had waved a large bill under his nose. After a moment of taking John in, dressed as he was in an Armani suit, the attendant smiled and hopped into action. Amazing how quickly an attitude adjustment could take place with the right currency denomination and window dressing in evidence.
John reached for Meg's hand as he shepherded his mother and sister into the swank women's clothing shop. He squeezed her hand reassuringly as she paused, overwhelmed. No matter how lucrative her document business might be at times, shopping at an address like this had always been a pipe dream.
"Perhaps you will assist my sister and mother to pick out a few items. I could not buy them everything they needed," John was saying, slipping her a wad of bills that would have choked a draft horse.
Meg refused to allow herself to be intimidated by the surroundings, and set about shopping with her companions, enjoying their awe and delight over the store's upscale merchandise. Eschewing the help of the ubiquitous sales staff, Meg turned Liu Shen and Lee Ma loose to make their selections among negligees and lingerie, moving back to where John stood, in the man-safe realms of the shop.
John was, she noted, showing some of the strain of the day's exertions. He was still feeling the drain on his energy from being injured, and from being far more active than he should have early on. She worried that with the Lee's departure for Seattle set for two days from now, that he was really not up to the course he'd set himself upon.
She slipped her hand into his, "You look tired. I can hurry your sister and mother along. It has been a long day, we should be getting back to your loft."
John smiled at her, shaking his head, "No need. Let them enjoy themselves. We have not shopped for you, yet." he responded, looking at her levelly.
"There isn't anything I need, John. I've got closets full of clothes at home." Nothing this fine, of course, but then she'd always dressed more for comfort and her own sense of style, anyway.
"Indulge me. I want to buy you things." John replied.
"John, you need to be watching your money--saving it for your family's needs and comfort. Not spending it on me."
"As I have told you, Meg, we are provided for. I want to do this. Please?"
Meg shook her head, realizing that she could deny this man nothing when he looked at her like that, his dark eyes warm and loving.
"I would never have taken you for a spendthrift, John Lee. All right. But just one thing."
John cocked his head at her, as though he wished to say something, but had decided against it. He was looking more worn out by the minute, perhaps he lacked the energy to argue with her.
"First though, you're going to sit down. And I'm going to speed shop, because you really need to get home and get some rest."
Meg put on her most imperious air and gestured a hovering sales lady over to where they stood.
"My husband," Meg stressed the word, noting how the young woman eyed John appreciatively as she approached, "has not been well and needs to sit down."
All fluttering eyelashes and flashing smiles, the woman--apparently not put off by Meg's stated relationship to John--took his left arm and urged him into an area near the fitting rooms which sported several overstuffed chairs. Meg followed in their wake, suppressing the urge to kill the young woman for her flagrant forwardness. For his part, John was polite, but reserved with the young sales lady, looking over his shoulder at Meg while suffering her blandishments.
Once John was seated, the young woman disappeared, promising to return with tea. Meg took the opportunity to kneel down in front of John.
"You'll be all right? I won't take long," Meg asked, reaching out to touch John's face, hoping that the young sales clerk was watching her stake her claim.
"No rush, Meg. I am fine. Please proceed." John said quietly.
Meg lingered for a moment, studying John's face. Determined to find the least expensive thing in the shop as fast as she could, she moved away.
Meg walked through the displays of lingerie quickly, until her eyes fell upon a negligee of breathtaking beauty and color. She imagined herself modeling it for John in the privacy of his bedroom...
Meg approached it, fingering the silk fabric, glancing at the price tag. She gulped, moving away. A quick check of surrounding items revealed them to be no less expensive. Only one thing. She could justify only one item.
By serendipity, the negligee that had caught her eye was her precise size. Biting her lip, she took it off the rack and moved back to where John sat. He was balancing a cup of tea in his hand, even as the sales clerk moved a small table next to his chair and proceeded to fawn over him.
Meg's irritation flared. The woman was showing all the subtlety of a cat in heat.
But then, John was catnip, sitting there looking devastatingly handsome, if a bit pale.
"So, darling," Meg announced her return loudly, "What do you think of this one?"
John seemed oblivious to the sales lady's behavior, to his credit. He sat the tea cup on the table and turned to give Meg his full attention.
"Lovely," he said, "Miss, please wrap this," He ordered the young woman without so much as sparing a glance in her direction, his eyes instead engaging Meg's and communicating quite clearly his delight and pleasure in her choice.
"Well, then, as soon as she gets that ready, we can go. If Liu Shen and Lee Ma are ready. Please drink your tea though, she went to such trouble to get it for you." Meg threw a scowl at the saleswoman as she scurried off
"Please, Meg. Continue. There is no rush." John responded earnestly, bringing the teacup to his lips and taking a sip.
"I said I agreed to one thing, John. And you should probably have looked at the price tag on that before ordering her to wrap it up."
"Price does not matter. And while you may have agreed to Ôjust one thing', I did not. I will not leave until we are finished."
"And you will decide when that is, I take it?" Meg responded, arching an eyebrow at him.
John nodded solemnly. "There were some lovely dresses over there. Please, have a look."
Meg sighed. If the man was so intent on doing damage to his pocketbook, who was she to argue? Never mind that she worried that John did not fully appreciate the cost of items at this address, fresh from China as he was--it wasn't in her to take advantage. She liked money and fine things as well as the next woman, but she preferred to make her own way in life, living within her own means. She had never allowed a man to buy her much more than a meal, preferring her independence and self sufficiency.
And she had far more serious things on her mind than shopping.
But John...when he looked at her like that...it was difficult to deny him anything.
Meg forged ahead, skimming through racks of dresses dispassionately. Surely if she said she had found nothing to catch her eye, that would suffice?
Her eyes chose that moment to fall on a rack of cheongsams, a veritable rainbow of silken treasures. She had always admired the cut of the asian dresses, always wanted to own at least one. But had never been able to find anything to match her fantasy in her usual
shopping places. Now she was faced with a rack of them. Her breath caught in her throat.
She snatched three of the most interesting colors in her size, and marched back to where John sat, sipping his tea and trying to ignore--bless him--the hovering sales girl.
His eyes lit up when she returned, taking her breath away once more with how alive he always seemed to come when their eyes met.
"Try them on," he urged when Meg held the dresses up for his perusal.
Meg paused for a moment, then gestured the saleswoman to show her to the fitting rooms.
It would, at least, get the cat away from John for a moment or two.
Meg slipped into the first cheongsam, luxuriating in the feeling of silk against her skin. The dress fit beautifully, clinging in all the right places. Meg admired herself for a moment or two, smoothing the dress down. She reached up and pulled the clip out of her hair, allowing it to cascade down to her shoulders.
Damn, she looked good, if she had to say so herself.
She opened the fitting room door, and fixed John with her best seductive stare, then walked towards him in her best imitation of a catwalk slink.
His eyes were on her, immediately appreciative, eyes lingering on the long side slit that seemed to go up almost to her hip.
"Yes," he said simply, his eyes saying much more.
Meg returned to the fitting room and repeated the action for the other two garments. Each was met with similar approval. He stopped her before she went back to remove the last dress.
Before Meg knew what she was about, John was ordering the sales lady to search out matching shoes for each dress, insisting that Meg go back to the rack and choose at least two more colors. Soon, the young saleswoman, accompanied this time by one of her colleagues returned with the shoes, several pashimi shawls and other complementary accessories. Meg was overwhelmed.
John on the other hand, seemed to brighten with each offering. He seemed to be vastly enjoying the shopping experience.
Still, Meg was uncomfortable with the outlay he was intent on making on her behalf. She called a halt to the proceedings, agreeing after some discussion to the array of dresses, two shawls of neutral hue that would go with all of them, and similarly, two pairs of shoes that would suit. She waved away all the jewelry except for a coordinated necklace, earring and bracelet set in a Chinese theme and a wristwatch to replace the one the shower had killed the other day. The financial damage done to John's bank balance by these items was substantial enough, her conscience moderately assuaged by deducting out the items she turned away from what the damage might have been.
Meg was turning away to finally don her own clothing once again, when John reached for her hand, pulling her towards him.
She eased herself onto his lap, meeting his eyes.
"Wear that one," John said, pulling her closer until their lips met, the kiss deepening until Meg felt quite dizzy and not a little self conscious. Moving her head back, she glanced at the sales girl, who looked at her with intent envy.
Meg concentrated on throwing the hussy a look that proclaimed, unabashedly, her own possessiveness of John. Then she leaned in to give John a kiss of her own.
Meg threw the last of the shopping bags into the trunk of the car, shaking her head once again at the sheer number of bags and their estimated cost between herself and the two Lee women. She shuddered, then walked to her side of the car. She cast a glance at Liu Shen and Lee Ma, happily chatting in the back seat in Cantonese, then turned an appraising look to John.
"You're exhausted. Time to get you home," Meg commented.
"You look beautiful, Meg," John said, his eyes looking her up and down appreciatively.
"And you look bankrupt. Really John, you need me around just to help you manage your money. That was totally unnecessary, back there. I should go in and return everything."
"But you won't?" John asked, his voice a question and a demand all at once.
"I won't. If you promise not to do this again. You really can't afford shenanigans like this, and I can't quite get my brain around being a kept woman. I'm not used to this sort of thing, John."
"You are not a kept woman," John said solemnly as she put the key in the ignition.
"Thank you for your incredible generosity, John. I am truly very grateful. But by accepting these beautiful things, by living in your apartment, I am a kept woman. You're paying for everything, I'm not used to that. I'm not very comfortable with it. That is one of the reasons I don't want to stay in the loft while you are gone to Seattle."
"I meant no disrespect, Meg. Quite the opposite." John replied as Meg negotiated the traffic, turning the car away from Beverly Hills proper and toward John's condominium building. "And I would still prefer you to stay in my home."
"I know, John," Meg reached out and squeezed his left hand. "You make me feel cherished and adored. I've never felt that way before. This is my problem, up here, in my head. It will take some getting used to, is all."
John nodded. He was silent for a moment, then smiled, "I liked it, back there, when you referred to me as Ôhusband'," he admitted quietly.
Meg smiled in return, "I had to do something to throw that shameless hussy off the scent. For all the good it did. I don't think you appreciate the devastating effect you have on women."
"I care about only one woman and the effect I have on her. You." John countered.
"I rather enjoyed calling you husband, too," Meg admitted. It was true, but why was she admitting this, now? When danger loomed so close?
"Marry me, Meg," John asked.
Meg almost crashed the car.
End of Chapter 15