The next day, I woke up in a panic next to Eric's dead form.

I was due for the lunch shift in an hour and a half, and I didn't have my car. Plus, I was in Shreveport.

I grabbed my phone and called Sam.

"Merlotte's"

"Sam, it's Sookie. I can't come in."

I heard him leave the bar area and shut his office door.

"Cher, is everything OK?"

"Yeah, yeah. I stayed at Eric's last night, but I don't have my car. It's at Fangtasia."

"Oh, do you need a ride? I could come after the lunch rush." That's my friend.

"Sam, it would be an inconvenience twice for you – me not working and then you having to get me," I told him. "I'm really sorry, Sam."

"I'll call one of the back-ups. Just don't let it happen again," he said with a laugh.

"Bye, Sam."

I pulled Eric's shirt over my head and padded through the house to the kitchen.

Eric had gotten a top-of-the-line do-it-all magic coffee maker for me so I could do my morning ritual when I stayed over. I'd had to have a lesson from him on how to make it brew a few cups, because he'd memorized the manual in one reading.

As long as it spit yummy hot liquid out, I didn't care.

I made a Pop-Tart while I waited for the coffee. Not the best breakfast, but it would do until I got home to real food. And it couldn't go bad if I wasn't here to eat it.

My phone was ringing when I went back to Eric's room. Good thing he was dead to the world.

"Hey Sam."

"Sook, Em is heading to Shreveport for a little shopping, and she said she could swing and drop you at your car. Plus, I could really use you for the dinner shift. I forgot about the semifinals being on. The bar will be packed."

"I'm not sure how Eric will feel about a stranger knowing where he lives." I heard him groan. I didn't really want to leave Eric, but Sam needed me, and I had screwed up once today. "But there is a grocery two blocks or so away. I could meet her there, I guess."

Sam gave me Em's number, and I told him the address. I heard her tell him she'd call when she was 15 minutes away so I didn't have to wait too long outside.

I figured I had about 45 minutes before I needed to leave, so I hit Eric's opulent (a word from March) shower. When I was dressed and ready, I climbed back into bed with a notepad.

I curled up next to him while I wrote a note about me going home. Twenty minutes later, my phone rang, and I answered

"Sookie? I just hit the city limits," Em said.

"OK, I'm leaving in just a minute. Thanks for doing this for Sam."

She laughed.

"It's no big issue. Anything for my friends."

I dropped it into my purse and kissed my Viking once more before leaving and locking up behind me.

The short walk was sunny and pleasant, though my feet weren't too happy with me. I needed to put some shoes and clothes at Eric's so I won't be doing the walk of shame the next day in a red dress and high heels.

A few minutes after I arrived and found a welcoming bench, a black Corvette with tinted windows pulled in front of me and stopped.

When the window went down, I saw Em smiling at me inside. I had to laugh as I got in.

"What is so funny, Sookie?" she asked.

"Eric drives a Corvette, too. Boys in Bon Temps won't know what to do with themselves with two of these prowling the streets."

We both laughed at that.

"Ah, it is quite the man magnet. But there's nothing like driving down the highway with this roaring beast beneath you." Em looked like she was wishing she could be back doing just that, then she came out of her vision. "So, which way to Fangtasia?"

I gave her the address for the GPS. She drove fast, but thankfully not like Eric. I told her as much.

"So, Sookie, this is a good thing, no?"

"Yes. Riding with him is still terrifying," I confessed.

She was quiet – in every way.

"So Em, did Sam give you the note?" I asked.

"Yes, Mr. Compton was over last night. He is quite delightful, in an old-fashioned sort of way. And he has a keen eye for restoration. He had quite a few pictures printed up from the Internet," she said. She shook her head. "He is … quite eager to help. Why is that, you think?"

Hm, how much to say.

"Well, he's back with an old flame, and they just have to adjust to each other again, you know?" I said and shrugged.

Em nodded.

"Sam said you were getting things for the house the other day. More of that today?"

Em pressed her lips together and took a breath before answering.

"No. I have some arrangements to make before my staff arrives."

"You have staff? Wow. What for?" Curiosity was burning in my soul.

"Well, I am in upper management of a … multinational organization. I have associates nearly everywhere. So I have assistants to … help me insure actions are swift and smooth. The restoration is a hobby." She nodded at me.

"So you're a big wig corporate woman? Wow. Don't get those in Bon Temps, well, ever," I told her.

"Sookie, I adore Sam, and when actions forced me into Louisiana, I naturally wanted to be near him. I have dealings in New Orleans, but I'd prefer to stay in the northern part of the state. Too many tourists there." She shrugged. "And I find the city distasteful."

"Yeah, no so fond of it myself. Bad experiences there, you know?" Sophie-Anne, Hadley, Bill's betrayal – that was enough to turn me off the Crescent City.

"Yes, I do." The light changed and we were nearly to the bar.

"Well, I appreciate your help. I have not worked on a home of this type before. Who knew vamps coming out would be so helpful?" Em winked at me as she made the turn onto Industrial Drive.

Em wrinkled her nose a bit when she saw the shopping center.

"There it is. Thanks again, Em."

"Sure. It is no thing," she said, pulling up next to my car.

As I opened the door, she said my name. I turned to her.

"Do you want to get lunch one day? I adore Sam, but he is not a woman."

Wow, I couldn't remember the last time someone wanted to get lunch with me.

She interrupted my hesitation.

"Of course not at your work. What fun is there in that?" She smiled. Again.

"Sure, Em. We could do that."

"Drive safe, Sookie."

Em waited until I was stowed inside my car before she zoomed away.

The drive to Bon Temps was uneventful outside my head. Inside was a whole other story.

A multinational organization? Assistants? Who is Em? And I still want to know what she is.

Maybe I could ask Eric to swing through Bon Temps to glimpse her before he went to work.

When I got to Merlotte's, I'd ask Sam if it would be all right for my break to be at sundown – I needed to call Eric.