Eric's POV.
'Pleased to meet you, do you prefer Eric or Mr Northman?' she replies curtly, her full lips curving into a small smile. She must give excellent blow jobs with those lips.
'Eric will suffice just fine, not that you'll see me often enough to warrant using it much' I reply, a small amount of me impressed at her courtesy to actually ask how I like to be addressed, and the rest trying to remember where I've seen her before, brain waves shooting through my memory bank to find her face and place it to a situation, but failing on the first attempt. I have to have seen her before, she looks so familiar. And she he feels familiar too, which is the strangest thing. There is an instant familiarity regarding her name though, since Boden was my mothers' maiden name (then again Boden is as common a surname in Sweden as Smith in England), and she is of the same nationality as me, but it just isn't either of those things. It's something else. If she wasn't looking at me like she doesn't know me at all right now I'd say I'd probably fucked her at some point, but trying to go down that road is useless. At my age, I've gone through a hell of a lot of women, somewhere in the six figure mark I'd imagine; if I even cared to count. But she's familiar for some reason...and I don't know why yet.
'Well for someone who I won't see very much of, you sure do hang around' she replies lightly yet boldly at the same time. Typical Swede, we see it, we say it. And I can't help but feel slightly humoured by her reply.
'I shall leave you to your work then Miss Boden, which incidentally is how I'd prefer to address you' I reply with a small nod, before leaving the room and moving through the club rapidly to take my seat in my usual place centre stage, scanning the room and watching every single pair of eyes fall right on me, just where they belong. And so they should to, they're looking at the handsomest vampire that walks the earth. And one of the strongest; I enjoy the fact that mortals and vampires alike respect that too. But, as I cast my gaze across the floor of my club, nothing visual manages to stimulate my brain or sway my arduous train of thoughts away from trying to remember where I've seen that woman before. I've had my fill of cheap, forgettable whores who grovel at my feet and beg for me to either bite them or impale them on my cock, but before I even walked into my office this evening I knew the woman waiting on the other side of the door was no castaway piece of trash, I could feel that about her too. And now, now I'm also starting to think about what Godric wrote to me in that letter. I must not fire her or let her leave, and she is more valuable to me than I realize. Did he know something about an IRS investigation that I don't? That would explain perhaps him cryptically telling me he's leaving me a top notch bookkeeper, but that doesn't explain why he fired the existing top notch one, or why her replacement feels so familiar to me.
'So, have you met your new bookkeeper?' I hear Pam say behind me, turning my head slowly to see her walk around to stand to my side.
'I have' I reply, looking up at her and then away, giving a small nod of recognition to an associate of mine who has just arrived over at the bar.
'And what did you think?' she then asks me.
'Should there be something in particular to think Pam? I reply questioningly, raising an eyebrow at her.
'She's got a damn nice ass for one thing' she replies, while obviously picturing the sight in her mind judging by the sudden smirk on her face.
'Well I couldn't very well notice that when she was sat on it behind a desk now, could I?' I reply slowly, watching her pull a small face that says 'ah, see your point' before she heads back off to the entrance, back to do her job greeting and carding the patrons. But at just gone 7pm, when Tyra walks back through the club from the office, I cannot help but notice what Pam did earlier this evening, and notice it with much interest too. That beautiful, hard round ass swathed in the black fabric of the knee length tight skirt she's wearing, clinging to it and her slender, yet muscular legs like shrink wrap over a hot, curved surface. She walks like Marilyn Monroe in slow motion, the legendary blonde actresses wiggle replaced by more of a feline glide though. The way she moves is unlike anything I've seen before; and certainly very pleasing on the eye for I'm not the only one to notice. Pam, put your damn tongue back in your mouth before you fall over it for fucks sake. Also, she's caught the attention of pretty much every other vampire in here too. I watch her intently as she crosses the bar and makes her way to the door, so intently, until she begins to slow down that sensual, deliberate yet delicate walk, until she comes to a stop and then turns around and looks me dead in the eye from across the floor, the very effect I desired. With a quick curl of my finger in her direction I summon her over to me, and once again feel myself become slightly hypnotized by watching the way she moves. There's something very ethereal about it; about her.
'So, I take it everything was in order, figure wise?' I ask when she arrives in front of me where I'm sitting, the only figures on my mind right now being hers if the truth be known.
'Yes, all apart from your invoices for spirits which, for some obscure reason just will not tally up. I planned on coming in earlier tomorrow to give myself a little more time going over them, could erm, someone human be here to let me in say an hour earlier? The associate of yours who hired me on your behalf told me this would be a two day a week set up' she replies, adjusting the strap of the large bag she carries on her shoulder as she looks down at me without even a flicker of...anything. It's like who I am and what I represent means absolutely nothing to her; and I'm not sure if I like that.
'Well at least Godric didn't leave one of us totally in the dark' I mutter in reply, more to myself than her.
'Godric, wow, I haven't heard that name in a very, very long time' she then replies, making my head snap back up and then eye her with acute interest.
'I beg your pardon?' I ask her sharply.
'Oh, nothing, I had an imaginary friend named Godric when I was a little girl. It's nothing' she replies, smiling timidly and waving her hand in a dismissive way.
'How...sweet of you' I begin condescendingly, amused by such a pitiful memory. Imaginary friends, hah. Was she not able to make any real ones? How pathetic. 'I'll see to it that someone is here at 4pm to let you in tomorrow' I then add, before I'm approached by another woman, one with long black hair and too much red lipstick who steals my interest away from the blonde with just the right amount of makeup in front of me with the promise of what she's about to offer me, her neck. And so I pull her down onto my lap, sweep her hair from her neck with my fingers, and then realize Tyra is still standing there.
'You may depart now Miss Boden' I tell her coldly, smiling wickedly at her before sinking my teeth into the raven haired woman's neck, and hearing her begin to walk away. And not only do I hear it, I feel it too, like she's taking a huge part of the energy from the room with her too.
'Who are you? And more importantly, what are you?' I whisper as soon as I've finished feeding.
'I'm Tiffany, and I'm so hot for you its unreal' the woman sitting on my lap tells me, trying her very best to sound sexy. Ladies, desperation is never sexy. Not to a regular man, and certainly not to a vampire either. Take note.
'Not you dear' I reply cruelly, pushing her off me and eyeing her with repulsion as she picks herself up off the floor and starts to cry. I cannot bear it when humans become any more pathetic and snivelling than they already are. I need something to occupy my mind, before I start driving myself crazy thinking about that fucking Tyra Boden, and why she has something about her that's eating away at my brain, why Godric sent her here in the first place, why when she moves it makes me remember what my heart felt like when it's pace quickened at the sight of a beautiful woman, why there's something about her that already just draws me in. Humans don't excite me like that anymore, not after a thousand years. Well...they do to a point. But certainly not like how I feel when I watch that woman walk. Looking back out over the club I attract Kerstin's attention from behind the bar, the useless, clumsy human I begrudgingly employ (she does have her uses, but they all revolve around what she can do for me rather than what she can do for my bar; which isn't a lot) and then sit back and watch her walk over to me.
'You need to be here early tomorrow, quarter to four at the very latest. And if you're a very, very good girl for the rest of the night, I'll see to it that I make it worth your while' I tell her, watching her mouth curl into a smile before she gives me a fleeting wink.
'You got it boss' she replies before I wave her away with my hand and turn my attentions elsewhere. You have to be something pretty special to hold my attention for longer than five minutes if you're a human, which leads me to make a growl of frustrated displeasure when I see the clock and realize that Tyra girl has been on my mind for the last twenty...
Tyra's POV.
I have to confess something; I really am truly and genuinely shocked at myself right now. Well, rather myself a couple of hours ago when I first laid eyes upon my new boss. I'll be the first to say it, I've never, ever thought of vampires to be attractive, I mean they're dead for a start! And cold as stone, and just not human; and I like human. But HIM? Oh my dear lord he was GORGEOUS! Absolutely, totally and utterly gorgeous; but I don't want him though, no matter how attractive he might be the aforementioned reasons given mean I shan't lust after him. As well as the fact that I've always had the sense never to mix business with pleasure, and I definitely do not plan to start now either. No matter how devastating he is. He really does think a hell of a lot of himself too, and arrogance has never been a turn on to me. It amuses me more than anything. And I'd usually pin it down to a fierce, deep rooted insecurity, but that vampire is far from insecure. I got that impression very quickly, right off the bat in fact. Oh no, his arrogance is completely justified, he does look good enough to eat after all...but the fact that he eats us (or rather our blood) is really no turn on to me at all. Uh-uh, oh hell no. When they first came out of the coffin four years ago I was as curious as the next person over their existence, but unlike the many fang bangers there are out there I have no desire to be bitten by one either. I just don't find dead appealing.
Arriving home at just gone a quarter to eight I dump my stuff and strip off my skirt and shirt, throwing the latter in the wash and deciding the skirt is good for another wear at some point, folding it and hanging it back in my closet and pulling my tight fitting sweatpants out, and a plain black cotton long sleeve t shirt, sliding my cold feet into a pair of socks before heading back out into the lounge, grabbing my stuff and then going into the small room that leads off this one, my little office where I probably spend too much time staring at numbers on a computer screen for this client or that, just like I'm about to do now.
'Oh no, you fell again did you pretty lady?' I mutter to my huge African tribal mask, a female fertility symbol that I spent a hell of a lot of money on just a few months ago, money I wont see back if she falls off the wall again and breaks. I must get a more secure fixing to put her back up again, and until I do that I'll just prop her up against the wall I guess. It's supposed to be suspended from the ceiling to walk underneath of; to allegedly rain down energies onto the women of the house she's kept in and ensure their wombs are forever healthy and fruitful. I brought it because I thought it was unusual and beautiful, not because I want a fruitful womb since the idea of having children makes my skin crawl. I'm not the motherly type at all. And so after propping up the mask against the wall I take a seat at my desk and switch the computer on, ready to work into the small hours for yet another night no doubt. I don't know when to stop sometimes; I definitely fit the profile of a workaholic. One who has what others consider to be very weird ways of de stressing, such as the past time I indulge in approximately four hours later as I leave my office, my square eyes hurting, and tie my sneakers up before going for a midnight run through the forest that my home borders on the front of. And I know, I know what you're thinking too. 'Tyra, you're a twenty eight year old woman and you're going for a run through a dark forest all on your own, at 12.20am, are you mad?' And you'd be right to think that too, and to question my sanity.
But, I like the dark and for some reason I have very good vision through it too. I never fall and I never feel scared either, I just run and run and feel my whole body relax as I do it, the noises I hear through the forest never spook me out, never make me feel scared. It's just nature, animals live here and I've always just felt kinda at one with that. I don't assume just because a branch breaks behind me that someone or something is about to jump out and get me. But sometimes, just sometimes, that theory does test me.
'WHERE THE FUCK IS IT!'
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH JESUS LAFAYETTE!' I scream in my ridiculously high pitched girly squeal as suddenly from behind a tree out pops the voice, and form of the tall, handsome (but sadly gay) Bon Temps cook who lives just opposite from me.
'ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!' he screams back, jumping about a foot in the air. 'You tryin' to give a nigga a damn heart attack honey child? Fuck I swear my heart actually stopped beating back there, shit!' he then exclaims, while I feel my own going ten to the dozen inside my chest.
'Sorry, but you were the last person I expected to see out in the forest at this hour!' I tell him, catching my breath as I do. Running for forty minutes flat out and then having the shock of your life tends to make you rather breathless.
'Bitch you in my back yard, the fence blew down in the storm last week' he replies, smiling although he sounds a bit pissed off.
'Well excuse me for trespassing, I really had no idea I'd done a whole circuit of the forest, damn that's shaved at least ten minutes off my usual time' I say, giving the air a little punch in triumph which makes Lafayette laugh a little.
'I guess that answered my question as to what the hell y'all doing out here then, but jogging at a twenty to one in the morning? Are all Swedish people as fucking crazy as you are?' he asks me.
'I can't answer for the rest of them, but you're not the first person to think my night runs are a little weird. I just like how peaceful it is, and I can see well in the dark too' I reply, opening the small bottle of water I've been carrying and taking a few gulps.
'Well I could use someone with sharp night vision right now so it's lucky you came along and scared my spirit clean out of my body, cast your eyes around and see if you can see a silver and red beaded bracelet, I lost it out here while I was tidying up the mess the storm made out of my fence. And if you find it, I might just have to invite you in for a drink as a reward' he replies with a smile.
'Sure, that'd be nice. I mean I live across from you, do the books for the bar you work in and yet I still don't really feel like I know you, but I have a feeling you're the kind of person I'd like to get to know' I reply. And that's true too, I like straight up people who say what they're thinking without reservation, and even though as I stated I don't know Lafayette very well, I do know he fits the mould as a straight up person from what I've seen so far.
'Well then get searching' he replies, casting his eyes down at the ground and picking up the torch he must have been holding before I came along and scared the crap out of him, searching around by his feet while I lift up one of the broken fence boards and look underneath it, narrowing my eyes and then seeing the tiniest of little glints and reaching out to pull a silver bracelet with lots of chunky hexagonal shaped beads covered in mud from the soggy little pile of mulch.
'Here, and mine's a gin on the rocks' I reply, dangling the bracelet off my finger and watching him straighten up to take it and smile gratefully.
'Thank you, and just for that you can have an unlimited supply of my Bombay Sapphire ice princess, shall we?' he says, holding out his elbow and pointing back up at his house with his other hand.
'Lets' I reply with a smile, taking the arm offered to me and walking back up the small yard with him and into his house, which is decorated very similarly to mine. It would appear this is common ground number two; as well as both being very straight up people, we both appear to like having a lot of 'stuff'; from plants to paintings, to carvings to incense, candles and oils burning.
'Take a seat anywhere you please while I fetch some ice' Lafayette tells me as we walk through his small kitchen, him hovering by the freezer while he points out into his lounge. And so I do, taking in the smells of patchouli and vanilla and weed, while I hear him breaking ice cubes out of their tray and then the tinkle of them being dropped into glasses, with him coming into the lounge and over to where his drinks are all displayed, pulling a bottle of gin out and also a bottle of Southern Comfort to fill the ice laden glasses with before joining me on the couch.
'So' he begins, picking up an ashtray containing a large rolled blunt and lighting it up, the air quickly becoming thick with bluish tinted clouds of marijuana smoke. 'The night jogging, how long you been doing that for? And ain't you scared? What with people like Renee and that fucking Maryanne around?' he then continues with, blowing smoke from his nose. Renee was a murderer who slotted quietly into our little community undetected for so long, and Maryanne a Maenad who caused total chaos while she was here, all with the eventual intention of a spiritual wedding using another person as a vessel (Sam Merlotte in this case) to offer herself to her god. That was pretty recent actually; she only met her end a week ago in fact. Yep, our world is a damn strange place since supernatural beings began to show themselves.
'Well, they're both dead aren't they? And besides, I just don't see why I should change the way I live my life just because of folk like them. I could get hit by a truck tomorrow you know? I don't see the point of hiding from life when the reality is, it could be taken from me at any second' I reply with a shrug, taking a sip of my ice cold gin. Ahhhhhh, heaven.
'I feel that, totally baby cakes. I really do get that logic, life is short, why not be and do what you want to do and be? You obviously are, I think that's the first thing I've found that's to really like about you. You are what you are and do what you will, it's refreshing' he replies, squinting through the smoke and smiling at me warmly.
'Same as you by the look of it, I have to say I love your style, dress and house. I'm impressed' I compliment him with, holding my glass between my knees while I give him a casual little round of applause, making him laugh softly.
'True, I am. Ain't no one else I'd rather be. So, talking of doing the things you wanna do I have to ask, what drew you to wanting to do sums for people all day long? No offense, but it sounds like a pretty boring vocation. But then again I ain't very mathematically smart' he inquires, taking a sip of his drink before putting it down on the table, and flicking the ash from his blunt into the blue glass ashtray.
'I've always liked math, I like how no matter what country you're in it's the one thing that's always the same regardless of the language barrier, there's something beautiful about that. I like it when things add up, I've always been good at it too. Grade A math student, pity I sucked at pretty much everything else at school!' I reply honestly. Math, chemistry, biology and physics were all I was ever good at, and always got A's or an A plus. I got C's for English and F's for art and the like. I couldn't even draw you a stick man; I'd probably draw the feet on the head.
'That makes perfect sense, and I like how you phrase it too, it being the same no matter what language you speak, that's a nice way to put it. But doesn't it ever get boring?' he asks me, with genuine interest.
'Tedious at times, especially when things won't add up and you have to sit and trawl through pages and pages of company accounts to find out why, just like I'm going to have to do for a new client of mine who owns a bar over in Shreveport' I reply, taking a sip of my drink and crunching on a half melted ice cube after I've spoken.
'It ain't Fangtasia is it?' he snorts with a certain amount of distaste.
'Yeah how'd you guess?' I reply, impressed.
'I wasn't guessing baby girl, I feared that it might be your answer more than anything. Because you're new boss just happens to be one of the most evil, conniving, dangerous and devious vampires around. That's why, so be careful sugar' he says, suddenly very serious, a fear lingering in his eyes a blind man could detect.
'So what have you got against Eric Northman then? He's not particularly friendly is he?' I reply.
'Not particularly friendly? You don't even know the half of it, he's plain nasty that dude, just plain fucking evil. I mean it, watch yo' self. Because if I've found out anything in just casually chatting to you over the last year, and only getting to know you a bit better now, I've deduced you're way too much of a nice person to get caught up with that motherfucker. And I mean that hooker' he tells me, using the term hooker with affection instead of malice though. And even though Lafayette has told me about my new boss in warning, for some reason I cannot help but to feel curious as to why he has that opinion of him. And yeah, I do know curiosity killed the cat...but as it happens tomorrow I'm going to find out a whole load more about Eric Northman, and why Lafayette thinks what he does about him too.
Authors note - Nice to see it's had a few adds to story lists :) thank you for reading. Reviews are also very welcome!
