Several months prior, I had tracked down the maker of the dress that I'd worn when I first met Eric, and ordered another one. It had been safely tucked away in a box under my bed since then, and I finally decided to pull it out. My hair was put up in a tight ponytail, and I was wearing white strappy sandals with just a hint of makeup on my face. I looked just like I had when I'd first met him.

He ushered me into his office ahead of him, and closed the door behind us. I see Pam's smirk from the main entrance just as I disappeared through the door frame. Eric plopped down behind his desk, sinking into his chair, and stared at me for a pregnant second. I just stood there with a slight smile, waiting for him to say something.

When he didn't speak a word, I decided to push things along. "So…who am I reading?" The sooner I got done with work, the sooner I could get down to other business.

I wasn't sure if he'd heard me, since he didn't answer for a long second, until finally he said, "Pam." She appeared next to me, and he looked at her with indifference. "Bring in the potential workers."

She nodded, and sauntered off, only to return a minute later with several humans trailing behind her. As soon as she'd gone, he motioned for me to set in a chair next to him, and I did so as the people lined up in front of him. There were two men and three women, all of them looking nervous and out of place. I focused on their thoughts as a whole, listening to the inane chatter, until Eric started to ask questions.

Two of the women were honest enough, only fudging the truth slightly when it came to their past working experience, and would make good bartenders. One of them was fresh out of college, and was only in need of a temporary job to pay for her basic living until she found a better job. The other had lost her last job for always being late on the morning shift, and I smiled slightly knowing that wouldn't be a problem if she worked for Eric.

Then, when I dipped into the head of the third women, Abby, I had to force myself to keep a straight face.

Oh my god he is over a thousand years old! I could live for a few years off of the money I'll get for his blood. I'll be filthy rich! I hope he hires me or Jake. When the bar closes, he's probably the last person out, and it'll be the perfect time to catch him off-guard. Damn, if I could hold him in silver somewhere and keeping taking his blood, then I'd never need to work again. She started picturing suitable places where she could chain Eric down, and how she would keep him from escaping.

I recognized the younger of the two men as Jake, and in his and her minds I could see that they were experienced drainers who had just moved into Shreveport from Mississippi. I was surprised by the trail of truly dead and badly injured vampires that they had left behind them. Eric turned to look at me for a second, probably having heard my increase in heart rate, but I ignored him and continued to focus on the people in front of me.

The man next to Jake, his name was Mark, was slightly older than the rest of them. He was in his mid-thirties, with two kids. His wife had passed away several years prior from cancer, and my heart went out to him. He'd been unable to find work recently, and was struggling to keep up with his bills and other expenses. I promised myself in that moment that he would definitely get a job.

After several more minutes of questions, Pam led the people out of the office, and I turned to look at Eric. "So, who should I hire?" He asked me.

My curiosity got the better of me, and before I could say anything else, I asked, "Why don't you just glamour them all?"

He arched an eyebrow at my impulsiveness. "After too many glamour's it starts to affect the memory and overall intelligence of a human. Just look at Ginger. I want actually useful employees who can think for themselves and aren't only as smart as a ton of bricks. So who do you think I should hire?"

"Well, you definitely shouldn't hire Jake or Abby. They're from Mississippi, where they worked together to drain countless vampires. They plan on doing the job long enough to get you alone before the bar closes, and then they want to silver you somewhere and keep you so that they can live off of the money for your blood."

His nostrils flared at my statement, and even though he didn't seem angry, I could tell he wasn't happy at all. He pulled out his phone, presumably to text Pam, and then looked at me expectantly. I told him about the other candidates, and he agreed that he would hire Mark and give him a slightly higher pay than usual along with benefits.

After I finished he pulled out his checkbook, and issued me a check for my time, then he looked me dead in the eye. "So now that that is settled, what else would you like to do tonight?" His gaze covered me head to toe, and suddenly I felt very self-conscious.

Clearing my throat, I built myself up, "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go on a date with me sometime?" He looked as though he would burst out laughing, and it was all I could do not to run out of there.

"A date?" He asked, and I nodded. He thought for a second, before finally looking resigned. "Alright, how about I pick you up tomorrow at-"

He was interrupted by a crash outside his office door, and suddenly a man came barging in with a shotgun, putting it directly in my face. I closed my eyes as his finger twitched toward the trigger, and when the BANG rang out through the room, my eyes popped open in shock.