A/N: The characters belong to Charlaine Harris. The mistakes belong to me.

Chapter Fourteen - Do Right By Me

"No tie for the boss today?"

I looked up from sending an email from my phone as Sookie walked into the entryway looking like all the sunshine I needed in the morning. Her golden hair was loose today- the way I liked it best- and hung in natural waves over her sun-kissed shoulders. She was wearing a light blue dress with a small flower print on the fabric that managed to be professional, modest, and flirtatious all at once. Her makeup was light and her smile was genuine. I could smell the faint smell of the coconut shampoo she was now keeping in my shower as she moved closer to me, her bright eyes never leaving mine. She looked like an angel, like my angel. I'd spend the day wanting to do very bad things to my temptress while she'd remind me I need to be good.

Sweet, sweet torture. How I love thee.

I felt the smirk on my face and I forced myself to shift my attention back to my phone, to keep her from knowing she succeeded in getting the reaction out of me she wanted to… even if there were other more prominent signs I was sure she was aware of. "I was kicked out of my bedroom before I had a chance to choose one for the day."

She gripped my wrist and forced the hand holding my phone to my side while looking up at me. "If you wouldn't have been kicked out, I never would've finished getting ready and neither would you have." She said that like I should have a problem with it. Even with Stan coming in today and our scheduled meeting at LeClerq, I'd have been far more content to "forget" that and spend the day with her naked in my bed. On my floor. In my shower. Up against the wall. In the backyard in the sunshine… "I thought you'd be better behaved after the wake up call and then the shower. You're kinda insatiable. It's a little ridiculous."

"First, there's nothing ridiculous about it. I'm addicted to you. Accept that now because I'm not interested in any 12-step program, support group, or 1-800 emergency hotline. I can't help it if you haven't been fully appreciated as you should have been, but don't expect me to dial it back because of that. Second, misbehavior is just something boring people accuse interesting people of."

"Accept that pretty soon you're gonna have me walkin' funny," she retorted. I smirked before shrugging and she smacked my shoulder with a laugh. "And are you callin' me boring, mister?"

That was an easy question to answer. "No, you're many, many things, but boring isn't one of them."

She put a hand on her hip defiantly and cocked her head to one side. She wanted to look angry, but the smile on her lips gave her away. "So you're calling me misbehaved then?"

I nodded and her eyebrows lifted in silent question. "Don't think I'm unaware that some of the calls you make while on company time are entirely inappropriate, Miss Stackhouse." Her cheeks immediately flushed my favorite hue and I found my pants felt uncomfortably taut from the reaction. I brushed the hair from one of her shoulders and leaned down, my lips moving to ear. I felt her shiver even before my whispered words. "But if they stop anytime soon, you'll have a very disappointed employer."

She pushed gently on my shoulder, forcing me to stand upright again. Her cheeks were still flushed, a small smile still on her lips, but she avoided my eyes, embarrassed. I found it endearing just how much managed to seemingly embarrass my coy Sookie. I was rapidly familiarizing myself with every single inch of her and she still managed to get flustered and modest. "We wouldn't that, now would we?"

"Absolutely not," I agreed, taking a moment to enjoy the sight of her cleavage while her eyes were down turned. She caught me anyway, but didn't stop my heated gaze. "And anyway, why should I bother with a tie? I'm going in on my doctor ordered time away while feeling constrained enough already."

She knew exactly what I meant. She went from modest to sex kitten in record time. "Aw, poor baby," she cooed, one of her arms lifting to wrap around the back of my neck. Her other hand moved to my shoulder and she dragged her fingertips slowly down my chest, over my dress shirt. When she reached the buckle of my belt, she began tracing her fingers over it and I groaned, incapable of expressing in words how much I wanted her hand traveling just a little lower. "Are you sure you're feeling up to going into the office today, Mr. Northman?" She pouted out her bottom lip and looked up at me. Fuck. "I wouldn't want you exhaustin' or overworkin' yourself… that way, at least."

Fuck. I swallowed loud enough I was sure she heard it. Words- any words at all- seemed impossible. The man downstairs was the only one capable of responding and I was shocked she couldn't hear him screaming at her the way I could.

Force. Words. Northman. Take a deep breath. You can do it.

"Sookie," I warned, and she batted her eyelashes up at me innocently. "You're asking for trou-" I was cut off by a knock from the door behind me.

She lifted her hand from my belt buckle and pressed her index finger to my lips with a smirk on her face. "That will be the car. Can you hold that thought until after work?" Fuck. I groaned and she giggled. Her hand moved from my lips and she gripped the jacket of my suit, her tiny fingers quickly doing up the buttons of it to provide me with some coverage. It wouldn't be enough. She took a step back and checked out her handiwork before lifting her eyes to mine with a grin. "That'll have to do." She grabbed her purse off a nearby table. "Are you coming?"

"Not anytime soon, I fear," I answered begrudgingly, lifting my phone again to try to distract myself with my email.

She threw her head back and laughed while opening my front door. "We'll be right out," she told the driver before leaning against my front door and looking back at me. I might've been pouting. Alright, I definitely was pouting, but that was just mean. "Don't be like that. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that."

Her gaze lowered from my face and she bit her lip. "No you aren't and won't be soon enough." Fuck. I was so done for. How could she go from zero to sixty in no time at all? I really was one lucky asshole, I guess.

I could tell the driver was thankful for Sookie's presence. I had gotten into the backseat mumbling enough curse words under my breath at him to make even Jason proud. Sookie was as bubbly and as friendly as ever, making small talk with the interrupting prick while I continued playing with my email. About three-quarters of the way through the journey, she reached over and took my phone from me, setting it between the two of us on the seat. "Can we talk?"

"I think I'm capable again." I wasn't really. I was still replaying everything from my entryway- and from the shower, and from bed- because I'm a fucking masochist. "Something wrong?"

"How do we want to do this?" She gestured between the two of us and I quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Are you asking for suggested positions? I can demonstrate better than explain and we would both enjoy it more that way."

She smacked my chest and laughed. "I thought you said you were capable of talkin'," she scolded. It was her fault the head on my shoulders wasn't doing any thinking right now. "I mean at work. Do you want to go in first? I could have him drive around the block and then get out. You wouldn't mind, would you?" she asked, looking up to the front seat. The driver shook his head and she looked back to me expectantly.

"Are you concerned about being seen with me? Embarrassed of what the likes of me would do to you reputation?" I teased, almost amused. I avoided being seen with women all the time, but I wasn't used to a woman making the suggestion. "We're two adults who can see one another however we want to whenever we want to and it doesn't concern anyone else. I don't care if people talk," I added. "At least they'd be right about what they're saying about me for once."

She shook her head. "No one will say anything to you when you can fire them, but I'm not so lucky. They'll say it about me and to me. I'm the new girl already trying to blend into a place and make friends and it's already not so easy. You've got a female fan following in the building, whether you know it or not. They already don't like that your new assistant is under sixty. I don't want everyone thinkin' I got my job in a way that isn't true, even if we are seein' one another now."

I had told her I'd be patient in things and let her set the pace, but I didn't really want to conceal my newfound happiness. I was happy, dammit. I couldn't remember ever feeling like this before. I owed that to her. I wanted to brag about it. I wanted her to be credited with all that she deserved.

"We don't have to hide this, Sookie," I countered. "I'd prefer it if we didn't." If it were up to me, I'd put out a full page announcement in numerous newspapers… and I could. Northman & Davis owned a few. The tool's warnings of danger to Sookie still lurked in my thoughts. Real or not, it couldn't hurt to make it obvious to bitchface just how out of Bill's life she was and wanted to remain. "They're going to talk regardless. Need I remind you your ex-fiancé was arrested this past weekend for assaulting me? I don't think anyone will believe he was just ticked about you working too many hours."

She shook her head firmly and I sighed. "Thinkin' and seein' are two different things. If we're flauntin' our relationship, it looks bad. I don't want people thinkin' I'm just tryin' to sleep my way up the ladder."

"Of course you're not. We haven't been doing much sleeping at all."

She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. "Is this funny to you?"

"Not at all," I answered honestly. "And I'm insulted you would even imply that such could be an easy misconception. Are some people going to think you're sleeping your way up? Yes, there will be, but they're going to think it no matter what. There are some who will have thought it from the very first moment they laid eyes on you. You could be married, have children, be uninterested in me, and be perfectly happy and they'd still think it was a goal of yours because they are jealous you are near me and I am uninterested in them. Jealousy brings out the worst in people and, to make themselves feel better, they will always reduce the one they are jealous of to something untrue. Need I remind you I was recently accused of being an immature, unintelligent, stalking mechanic? Whatever they say won't be true and anyone worth knowing wouldn't believe it without getting to know you. If you don't want what is between us to ever go any further than it is now, fine, we can pretend there's nothing there, but if you see this progressing, we're going to have to acknowledge it eventually."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. We had pulled up to Northman & Davis and the driver sat idly in the front seat, clearly unsure what to do. "You're right," she finally said, and even I was surprised she agreed. I could tell it wouldn't be that easy. "But I still don't feel comfortable flauntin' anything. It's our private life. If people realize it because it reveals itself naturally, okay, but we don't need to walk in hand-in-hand or anything. You go inside, I'll go across the street and get the coffee you like."

Not walk in hand-in-hand? Well, I could agree to those terms. "That wasn't so tough, now was it?" She rolled her eyes but smiled as I leaned over to give her a kiss that was much too short before grabbing my phone and opening my door. The driver had jumped out to open her door for her while I was walking up to the building. I slipped sunglasses on before reaching the door, concealing my healing eyes and returned my attention to my phone when I reached security. I had no interest in waiting in the queue and moved around them like they weren't there.

"Welcome back, Mr. Northman," one of the guard's spoke. I couldn't ever remember his name. Chow something? Something Chow? Whatever it was, just trying to remember always made me a little hungry. "We weren't expecting you back so soon."

I nodded without looking up from my phone. "I just can't stay away," I offered sarcastically. "Consider it a treat." I had taken a step toward the elevator, but stopped myself and looked around. The lobby in the mornings was always a clusterfuck of activity and people. Perfect. I turned back to the desk and the guard was still looking at me. "It won't interrupt what you're doing if I stand here for a minute, will it? Once I get into my office, I'll be swarmed and never get this email off," I explained and lifted my phone to indicate my goal.

"Not at all, Mr. Northman." Ass-kisser. "Can I get you anything? It'd be my pleasure." Wow, I'd have to have Sookie check for prints on my posterior later.

I looked back to my phone. "Nope, just help take care of that," I answered, tilting my head toward the line of people waiting. My email was off and sent and I was still looking at my phone and occasionally hitting a button so I didn't look like I got off standing at security, nodding to all the nameless pricks who buttered up to me with fake, cheery morning greetings before making their way to their respective office. I wasn't a very patient man when I didn't want to be, but I was waiting…

When Sookie finally came in through the doors, two coffees in hand, a smirk crossed my lips. "There you are, my angelic Sookie," I announced loud enough to get the attention of those nearest me before moving back past the security desk and to where she was waiting. She looked dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open a little and eyes wider than normal. I had to try not to laugh. I kind of hoped I was in trouble again. I crooked a finger at her and urged her forward and she obliged if only to shut me up. Her face was already reddening. My arm wrapped around her waist when she reached me and I steered her toward the elevators. "You know I'm hopeless without you and my coffee, and we have a very busy day ahead of us."

Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits when she looked up at me after we had stepped onto the elevator with a small group who were all watching us like we were exotic animals on display at the zoo. I refused to remove my arm from it's possessive place around her hips and had the urge to break the silence of the ride. "Have you gotten a chance to talk to your brother?" I asked, even though I was positive she wasn't going to answer me. "He told me yesterday he wants to go out with you this weekend and do some sibling bonding thing. If you haven't spoken to him, you should. I want to make plans for us for the weekend as well, obviously, but I don't want to interrupt Jason's thing."

Silence. The elevator car would stop and a few people would step off, reluctant to leave and a few more would step on, gawking anew. "Which one of those coffees is mine?" I asked. She lifted one of her hands and I took it in my free hand. The less hot coffee I could end up having thrown at me, the better. I wasn't stopping though. When I did something, I didn't half-ass it. I committed my whole ass to the endeavor. "Alcide mentioned Maria-Star would like to have us over for dinner sometime soon," I continued. "I'm the first one of Alcide's friends to be seeing anyone seriously since they married. Since they started dating, really, so she's anxious to meet you."

Silence. I took a drink from my coffee. It was perfect. "She wants to meet my sister as well. Can you picture Pam at any kind of dinner party of couples?" I asked. Silence. "I don't know what Maria-Star might be expecting, but I'm sure whatever it is, it isn't what Pam is."

Our floor. Even though everyone still in the elevator car was emptying out on this floor, no one moved until I did. Directing Sookie out of it, my hand dropped from around her as we entered the waiting room for my office and the offices nearest mine. There was already a woman at Sookie's desk. "Are you the temp?" Even though my face was bruised, cut up, and half hidden by glasses, she looked me over like I was a piece of meat. I ignored it. "Miss Stackhouse, temp-"

"It's Debbie," she interrupted. I didn't like her already.

"Do you have a last name?" She nodded, but didn't actually say it. Wow, excellent. I looked forward to leaving this one responsible for my office when we headed to LeClerq… "Right. Miss Stackhouse, temp, in my office to go over the itinerary for the day immediately."

I was already walking through my door when I heard Sookie just behind me, speaking to Debbie. "Actually, give us just a couple minutes. I need to discuss something with Mr. Northman real quick." I smirked.

I had already discarded my sunglasses and suit coat and had taken a seat behind my desk when Sookie shut my door roughly, sealing the two of us in. Her coffee was still in her hand and her eyes had narrowed into tiny slits as she stalked from the door to me. "What the heck do you think you're pullin', Eric Northman? How dare you-"

"How dare I what?" I interrupted, looking up at her. She was standing on the opposite side of my desk, looming over me as if it gave her some kind of height advantage. I took a drink of my coffee calmly, hoping to hide the cocky expression I wore behind the disposable cup until I could get it under control. "I followed your rules. My hand never touched your hand and we didn't walk in together."

She wasn't amused. "You knew what I meant, but you did exactly the opposite without even consultin' me."

"Yes, I did."

"You can't just decide to do something like that for me-"

"I didn't decide anything for you, Sookie," I interrupted again. "I decided it for me. I didn't force you to reciprocate my attention. I did nothing inappropriate. As I said earlier, people are already making inaccurate assumptions. Some of those should be eliminated when I was the one who showed you attention, and made it clear I take you seriously enough that we know one another's families and you know my friends."

She still looked angry, but her expression had softened now. She set her cup of coffee down on my desk in front of her. "What are people going to think now?"

"At best, that you and I are in the relationship that we are in, that we're comfortable with it, and uninterested in concealing it like one would a tryst or affair. At worst, that I'm a lovesick and delusional puppy chasing after the epitome of professionalism and indifference. It was good for you, regardless."

Her anger and subsided enough that only a frown remained. "I'm a little annoyed you're calmin' me down this much. I should be really angry 'bout you completely ignorin' everything I said like that. You can't just go doin' things like that whenever you want to. We have to talk about this kind of thing."

"Then for future reference, I don't like following rules. I'm even less inclined to follow them when you wind me up and walk away. I warned you that you were asking for trouble."

She smiled a little guiltily now. "That's no excusin' it. I told you I'd make that up to you."

"And you still will."

She smirked at me now, rounding my desk and I turned in my chair to face her. "Oh? After that? You think so?"

I rested my hands on her hips, she put her own hands over mine, and she sighed contentedly. The world felt best when we were touching in someway. I knew she felt that way too. "I know so. You're not the only one of us who can be very convincing."

"You're tellin' me," she grinned before leaning down to give me a quick kiss. "I'll go get Debbie so we can get this out of the way."

"Must you?" I asked as she started to pull away from me, but I held onto her hips a little tighter and leaned forward, resting my head against her stomach. "I guess it's for the best, but once it's through, I'll need you to give a quick rundown of operations here and then I'll need another word with you… alone."

She pushed my shoulders back and though I wouldn't have had to, I sat back in my chair, letting my hands fall to the arms of my chair. "Is it a work matter or are you just tryin' to push your luck?"

"A little of both. It is a work matter, but I was thinking about discussing it with you on my lap."

She laughed and shook her head, moving away from me and back to the door. "You're impossible, Mr. Northman."

"You say that an awful lot, but I've caught on to just how much you love it, Miss Stackhouse." She just offered me a smirk over her shoulder before slipping out the door.

I was counting the seconds before I could get her alone and behind closed doors again immediately.

With Stan arriving to the Shreveport offices before noon, I ran through the day's activities with Sookie and "Debbie" as quickly as possible before collecting the messages that were waiting for me. Even with Sam trying to cover as much for me as possible, three days away had left me with quite the stockpile of things to take care of that hadn't yet been properly addressed. Despite that, I let it sit long enough to put in a phone call to Mr. Cataliades to get his advice on the situation I found myself in with Bon Temps' palest. There was nothing I wanted more than to no longer be haunted by the name Bill Compton.

I was halfway through returning phone calls when Sam stopped in to see how I was doing. "I was expecting worse," he admitted, once he was done taking in the injuries to my head. I was already getting annoyingly used to the silent examinations by people with no medical background whatsoever. I couldn't wait to heal. "You look good."

I snorted. "You're the first one who hasn't felt the need to inform me I look like shit. Either I've rapidly improved or you're being much more nice than I deserve."

He gave me an apologetic smile. "Well, it's good to see you anyway. Claudine thought we should stop in and visit when you were at the hospital, but with the kids still under the weather, I didn't think it'd help to be bringing germs in. I figured you probably had enough going on and wouldn't want to be entertaining company anyway, but you know how difficult women can be once they've got an idea in their head." I didn't know if it had known that before, but I was definitely learning that quickly. "She told me to tell you you're not getting out of our fourth of July party though, just to warn you."

"I wouldn't dream of breaking the tradition," I agreed. "I might actually have a plus one this year."

"You mean you won't be sitting at the kid's table this year? The rugrats will be disappointed. They're always so captivated by your inappropriate stories in between their trips to the coolers to grab you another beer."

"Funny," I deadpanned and he chuckled. "You know Stan's coming in to do a walkthrough of LeClerq this afternoon." He nodded his head, very much aware of the situation. "I'm going with him, obviously, but do you think you could clear your afternoon to join us?"

He looked surprised for a minute before reining the expression in. "I could push a couple things around and make it work, but that's kind of over my head, Eric. I don't know how Stan would take to me tagging along with the two of-"

"You wouldn't be "tagging along," and I asked you," I interrupted. "That is all the invitation you need. Stan has a vested interest in this, but it's going to fall onto this office's shoulders first and foremost. And anyway, after today, he gets to walk away and leave me to deal with Sophie-Anne. I could use the backup."

He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. It was just starting to gray. "You sure?" I nodded. "Then it'd be an honor. I'll have Amelia push things around for me. I wasn't looking that forward to my afternoon meetings anyway."

"Good boy," I smirked and he jokingly held his hands up in front of him as if he was begging for a treat. There was a soft knock on my door before it opened from the other side, Sookie's form appearing in the doorframe. I glanced at my watch. It had been far too many seconds. "Sam, I'll text you when Stan gets in." He recognized it for the dismissal it was and offered me a nod before heading out the door as Sookie slipped inside. "Close the door, Miss Stackhouse."

The smirk on her lips told me she didn't have to be told twice. Fuck. I actually wished this was that kind of a meeting. I really was anxious to bend her over my desk, to have her on my lap in my desk chair, to find out if the artwork hanging on the walls would remain in place when I fucked her up against the vertical barriers, and to christen couch until I couldn't look at it without smirking.

Maybe if I kept those thoughts in my head, I'd be able to get through this little informative session. I stood from my chair before she had the chance to sit down and tilted my head toward the couch. She just arched her eyebrow at me, a smirk still on her lips, before walking to it and sitting down as ladylike as possible, smoothing the skirt of her dress over her tan legs modestly. I had a feeling she knew every time she did that, it made me want to show her how immodest I was and how immodest I could make her.

Focus. You can do that, even when Sookie makes everything hard.

I cleared my throat and sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her and she giggled as I shifted, trying to conceal my discomfort. That wasn't helping. "If you're gonna try to convince me the company is putting some new, mandatory physical examination policy in place and you're the one administering them, I'm not going to believe you, you know."

I laughed. "That's not what I have to say, but I will keep the idea in mind for a rainy day. What is the weather supposed to look like tomorrow?" She blushed before reaching over to slap my arm. "I actually wanted to talk to you about when we go to LeClerq this afternoon." Her face fell slightly. I understood the feeling. I'd have much rather been pretending it was raining. "I've asked Sam to join us, for one, but aside from that, there are a few things you should know-"

"I'm not going to embarrass you," she interrupted and my eyebrow shot up at the words. "I'm going to be the picture of professionalism, quiet and out of the way and available to take notes or make any calls any of you need-"

"Why do you immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion?" I interrupted back. "First, I never get embarrassed. I'm sure I probably should have been a few times before, but when I do really stupid shit I should be ashamed of, I tend to be drunk and then can't remember I should be embarrassed. You are something I will never be embarrassed of or by, Sookie. Accept that now and fucking relax." I wanted to punch the tool again. I had a feeling her insecurity came from things like what I had witnessed immediately after meeting her, when he insisted her behavior hadn't been ladylike. "This is about yesterday."

She reached over and took my hand. I took it she meant she was sorry for assuming I was giving her a lecture on proper protocol. I really, really couldn't lecture on that. "Yesterday? What about yesterday?" Before I could answer, her entire body tensed and she looked nervous. "Do you think Bill is goin' to be there?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "When we talked yesterday, he said he didn't know if he had a job any-"

"When you talked yesterday?" she screeched suddenly, releasing my hand in order to cross her arms over her chest and glare accusingly at me. I internally winced. Yeah, that probably wasn't the best way to break that news. "You spoke to Bill yesterday? After what he did? How could you not tell me that? Why did you do that? Didn't you realize what could have happened?"

I held up a hand to stop her onslaught of questions and sighed. "I'm telling you now. I didn't plan on doing it, it just sort of happened." I wasn't going to sell Jason out by explaining that Tray and I had been forced into playing babysitter to keep him from doing something stupid. "By the time I got home, I just wanted to leave it behind me and assure you everything was fine… which it is. I wasn't in any kind of danger." I tried not to roll my eyes at the idea. I just couldn't be afraid of the tool, no matter if he had been the one who attacked me or not. He was just too pathetic. "Tray and Jason were with me."

She seemed to relax a little, but I could still see the anger and hurt in her expression. Fuck. The one thing I never wanted to do was hurt her. "You better tell me everything now. I've had just about enough of lyin' to last me a lifetime and lies by omission are just as bad as the ones spoken aloud."

I took a deep breath. Jason had told me not to scare her, Tray had agreed, and I had really agreed as well. I didn't want to lie to her, not even by omission, but I really didn't want to scare her either. Maybe the most basic of facts would be enough. "He insists he didn't attack me and that it was really Lorena, attempting to set him up so he has no choice but to rely on her."

"And do you believe him?"

"I'm not in the habit of believing anything that comes out of the mouth of serial liars," I answered easily. "I think he's a coward and that he's afraid of me, but that doesn't mean I don't think he'd take a cheap shot at me if the opportunity was there. Anyway, it doesn't matter," I continued with a shake of my head. "I'm not interested in seeing the charges against him stick. I've talked to my lawyer about having the charges dropped. I just want the whole thing behind us."

She nodded her head slowly and I realized even without her words that she felt the same way as I did. "Okay then," she agreed. "So we might see him there today?"

"I suppose we might, though I fucking hope we don't or I don't know if I'll be able to be as professional as I know we have to be," I answered with a shrug, "but that's not what this is about. It's about Lorena. I don't know much about the woman. I assume you know more." She nodded with a frown. "He was probably just trying to pass responsibility off on her because he is a habitual liar and wants to plant seeds of doubt, but he said he thinks she'll target you next." Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't look scared. At least, she didn't look scared yet. "I don't know if he's planning something and wants to blame her, or if she's planning something, or if he's just trying to get me to walk away from this whole thing, but-"

"Are you thinking about it?" she asked, suddenly looking scared. I looked blankly at her, unsure what she meant, and she read the question on my face. "Are you thinking about walking away?"

That was what scared her? Not that her psychotic ex might be plotting bodily harm, or that his mistress might want to make a Sookie suit out of her? "Nothing could be further from my mind," I answered honestly. "You're a lot of fucking trouble, lover, more than Jason, Alcide, and Tray combined, but if you recall, I'm the one who said there was no going back." She let out the breath she was holding and smiled. I returned the expression. "As long as you do right by me and I do right by you, I'm not going anywhere. It may take surgical intervention to extract me from your side."

She grinned now and slid across the couch to curl into my side. "Then what's the problem?"

Seriously? "Well, Lorena will be there this afternoon, I imagine. She seems close to Sophie-Anne already, so it seems inevitable that we'll encounter her, but I don't want anything to happen. No matter what she may say or do, we can't let her get under our skin or force us into any kind of confrontation. I'll be keeping a close eye on you and I'm sure Sam will help do the same-"

"I'm not afraid of Lorena," she interrupted, resting her head on my shoulder while looking up at me. "I'm not going to hide in the middle of a group of suits or walk around lookin' over my shoulder all the time."

"I've only spoken to her on two occasions, but the woman does seem unhinged, Sookie."

She snorted. "That's puttin' it nicely, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of her. I bet she does want a piece of me, but I've got just as much reason to want a piece of her back. In her mind, I was the only thing between her and havin' a happy family. I get that, even if to me she's a ho; the awful, other woman who had no troubles helpin' an engaged man cheat." She shrugged and pulled her legs up under her, rotating on the couch to face me. "I should say thanks though. The consolation prize for not getting married really isn't so shabby."

I laughed. Consolation prize. She had no problem knocking me down when all others went through elaborate effort to build me up. "Better than getting married?"

She grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, it's a start."

"Why must you wound me?" She laughed and leaned over to give me a kiss, but a knock on my door effectively put a pause to our lips. I glanced at my watch before calling out, "Come in, Stan."

Sookie scrambled off the couch like it was on fire, her face reddening immediately as the cowboy came waltzing into the room like he owned it. Then again, I guess he did. Stan was a Texas tycoon, born and bred, and even when the headquarters had been in Shreveport, it was obvious you could take the boy out of Texas, but never Texas out of the boy. He lifted the black stetson cowboy hat from his head in greeting to Sookie, who just blushed and I got to my feet at a much less suspicious pace than she had, extending my hand to him. "Good to see you again, Stan. How was the trip?"

He shook it firmly while dropping his hat back to his head and unbuttoning the buttons to his suit coat. "Good to see you too, Eric. Trip was short, just the way I like to keep them. You wear a bar brawl well," he added, and I smirked a little. I wished my bruised face had been that much fun to get. "And this lovely lady must be the girl Barry's been talking so much about."

"I'm sure she is, no doubt about that," I agreed. "Stan, I'd like you to meet my new assistant, Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie, this is Stan Davis." The two of them exchanged pleasantries while I shot off a text to Sam, and soon, Sookie was off getting the pair of them coffee, answering phones, and making calls while the three of us went over reports, projections, examining figures, and debating back and forth until my head ached. When all of us were nearly to a breaking point, we decided to throw it aside and make some small talk. For as much as I ridiculed Amelia's chattiness, Sam, Stan, and I were as bad, comparing notes on the branches with enough enthusiasm you would have thought we were swapping secret tricks of our trade.

"You know, your dad wanted to make this trip with me," Stan said from the arm chair to one side of me after taking a puff on a cigar he had just lit.

"What do I owe you for talking him out of it?" I asked, and the cowboy grinned.

"Nothing, but you're going to have to pretend I campaigned hard to get you to the Dallas office." I nodded my agreement. "You should think about it. We really would like you out there with us-"

I had to interrupt his pitch. "I have thought about it." I had. "I don't want to leave." For so many reasons. "I have no interest in letting this office be closed, nor it being in anyone else's hands. I never thought I would say it, but Louisiana is home to me now."

"Fair enough, but the offer is staying on the table. I think your old man is getting lonely. You're all he has…" Stan's voice trailed off as I shook my head. My father had never had me, no matter what he may have convinced himself of. Stan didn't need to plead his case for me either. If he knew how the sperm donor who was my father felt about him, he wouldn't be quick to help his "friend."

Sookie's head poked into my office from the door. "Mr. Northman, Mr. Davis, Mr. Merlotte, the car is downstairs and waiting." I nodded while Stan drank down the glass of whiskey he had helped himself to after his coffee and soon enough, the four of us were taking a much less eventful trip in the elevator than Sookie and I had that morning.

"What do you think of LeClerq's most recent price?" Stan asked once the four of us were settled into the car and on our way to bottle red's kingdom. Sookie was sitting up by the driver and the two of them had already struck up a conversation. I didn't know how she could befriend anyone and everyone in the matter of a single second.

"Sophie-Anne is worried about how this sale is going to look for her. Her vanity is clouding her perception of how sunk her boat already is. She surrounds herself with yes-men, only compacting her problems, so she'll be stubborn and reluctant to believe it's not worth what she thinks it is, but we'd be fools to give her what she's asking for. I think with a little more negotiating, she can be talked down considerably. Her situation isn't getting any better. She needs the money."

"You going to be up to that?" he asked. I had developed a certain knack for negotiations that Stan and my father had taken advantage of from early on. I really could be very convincing and my lack of compassion only made it easier.

"I've been waiting for the opportunity to make it as obvious to Sophie-Anne LeClerq as it was to me how much she fucked her own creation up since the day I first met her."

"I want a transcript," he smirked and I nodded my head.

"Once this formality is out of the way, we'll set up the meeting. I'll want Sam and the lawyers in for it." Stan nodded and Sam looked proud and surprised at the same time. "By the time the ink is dry, we should have made up our mind as to what we're doing with it and can begin taking action and cleaning house immediately. I don't want this hanging over our heads for another quarter anymore than the Dallas office does, I assure you."

"Perfect," he agreed while security was allowing us into the parking lot of the company. Sophie-Anne and her assistant, Andre, were waiting for us out in front of the glass building of LeClerq and greeted us with bright, fake smiles and even faker compliments. This friendly takeover was too friendly. I would have preferred a little hostility.

"Oh Eric," Sophie-Anne cooed as she wrapped an arm around mine. "You poor baby. What happened to you?" She reached up with a hand and touched my cheek with her acrylic nails. I flinched backwards.

"I'm sure you've heard all about it," I answered without elaborating as I clipped the visitor tag to my jacket. I noticed Sookie glaring daggers at our red-headed host, so I offered her a small smile. It didn't seem to help any.

"But I haven't," Sophie-Anne lied as she pouted. "You'll have to tell me all about it over drinks very, very soon."

"You'll have to arrange that with my assistant," I answered, again looking over to Sookie who seemed a little more at ease now. Smug, even. I had a feeling my schedule would just happen to be full any night Sophie-Anne tried to claim. I could deal with that. "Perhaps we should get going with the tour? Stan is a very busy man, obviously, and his opinions of today will weigh heavily on our final negotiations."

As if I had said the magic words, Sophie-Anne extracted her arm from my own and wrapped herself around Stan's instead while Sookie rolled her eyes, Sam snorted, and Andre stared stone faced. "I've arranged for you to have a guided walkthrough each department by its management. They'll answer any and all questions you have for them. Just pretend Andre and myself aren't here."

How the hell was Stan supposed to do that with a ginger wrapped around him like he was a fucking fireman's pole?

I was bored to death within the first ten minutes. Sam, who had only been truly exposed to the ins and outs of our interest in LeClerq starting today was doing his best to take it all in. Stan was in the middle of a geeky wet dream, however. He ate up every word, asked questions, spoke in a language of nerd I wasn't fluent in, and had Sookie taking constant notes and phoning Barry back in Dallas. I don't even think he was aware Sophie-Anne was practically dry humping his side. He was too busy being hard for software.

I was jolted awake from my sleepwalking when we were lead into a department of computer programmers and software developers and were met by none other than bitchface herself. It was the last department we had to visit. What a fine way to end this delightful experience. Sophie-Anne made the introductions, but Lorena was staring intently at Sookie with a look that could kill. It was intense enough it made me wonder if I should check my girl for a pulse. When her eyes turned to me she looked smug.

Maybe even a habitual liar like the tool could tell a truth now and then.

As quickly as the looks had passed over her face, they were gone and replaced with a tight-lipped smile. "Mr. Davis, Mr. Northman, Mr. Merlotte, I hope you can excuse the chaos my department is in right now," she began so naturally, I wondered if I had imagined the hostility. "A member of the new management team has just taken an abrupt leave of absence in order to focus on being a father after he was forcibly absent from his daughter's life for quite a while."

I snorted at how ridiculous that lie was, but I don't think anyone heard me as Sophie-Anne spoke up. "Family is very important to us here at LeClerq. I was happy to give him the time away when it was requested." Because it wasn't like she could make him come in when he had been behind bars for attacking me. "We're really just one big, happy family ourselves." Another lie. With as fast and as hard as they were coming, I could only assume they were on sale somewhere since Sophie-Anne couldn't afford to buy one at full price. "Actually, you should stick around for a bit once we're done here. We're having a little celebration. Lorena just got engaged. We're bringing in a cake."

Lorena held her hand out in front of her, showing off the ring on her left hand. "Wow, that thing gets uglier every time I see it," I thought aloud, not realizing until all the heads around me turned to look at me that I had actually spoken the thought. I shrugged a little. What? It was true.

And so, so tacky. What prick reused an engagement ring? I may not have been very impressed by the whole idea of marriage in general, but even I thought that was a pretty shitty thing to do. I didn't know how he could even consider having his mistress- one he claimed not to want a thing to do with- wear a ring he had selected for the supposed love of his life. Once again, I was happy to be nothing like him.

I turned my eyes towards Sookie, almost afraid of what I would find. Her tiny body seemed to be shaking as she held back tears that were ready to fall from her glassy eyes. Just the sight of it was like a blow to my gut that was strong enough to leave me doubled-over. I wanted to hold her and to reassure her, but I couldn't do that right now, right here. I could do one thing for her though, and that was get her out of here. "Sam, Miss Stackhouse looks a little under the weather. I hate to ask this of you, but could you perhaps take her out to the car?"

He nodded, immediately understanding, and took Sookie's arm. I don't think she was even aware he did, or that we were talking. She was staring intently, numbly, at Lorena's still outstretched hand. "I'm not feeling that well myself. I'll wait out there with her." He guided Sookie like she was an uncooperative mannequin until she had no choice but to turn away.

"Andre will lead you out," Sophie-Anne called after them, and her silent and dutiful assistant quickly jogged to catch up to the pair. The arm that she didn't have wrapped around Stan's arm was promptly wrapped around my own again and she stood sandwiched between a Northman and Davis pillar. Sookie glanced back to us once, but I wasn't sure if she was looking at us or the gloating woman who still was showing off her ring like it was a great, gaudy honor.

I couldn't tell you anything Lorena, Sophie-Anne, or Stan said for the remainder of our "tour." My mind was only on Sookie and how broken she had looked all over again.

I had wanted to be long gone by the time the stupid, cheap sheet cake was brought out celebrating the rushed and possibly forced engagement of a tool and a ho, but Stan actually seemed to be enjoying himself, and he was my boss.

"How long are you going to be in town, Stan?" Sophie-Anne asked while licking her fork like it was something very unlike a fork at all.

He noticed as well. "I leave early in the morning." His own fork covered in cake missed his mouth entirely as he watched Sophie-Anne transfixed. I hoped after this visit, Isabel- Stan's wife- didn't call me to make sure he had behaved himself as she had after other visits.

"We should get dinner after this. Maybe go out for drinks. There's no reason you shouldn't enjoy your brief stay in the great state of Louisiana," she cooed at him before looking to me. "You too, Eric."

My eyebrow shot up. "No thank you." I was so uninterested in that. "Actually, we should both probably be going soon. We did plan on making it back to the office before it clears out for the day."

Stan was still studying the failing socialites forking skills. "I don't think you need me for that, Eric. I can make it back to the hotel on my own."

Sophie-Anne had a look of triumph on her face while I gave Stan a look he missed entirely due to where his focus was. "Don't you think we should discuss what we've seen today before you leave?"

"It can be covered in an email or a call," he decided.

"Alright. Have fun, Stan," I decided. I probably should have done a better job at reminding him of his obligations and marriage, but fuck it. I just wanted to get to Sookie. I couldn't- and didn't- care about his decisions. I handed my uneaten piece of cake over to him, but I don't think he knew it. "I can show myself out of the building." Neither of them were listening.

I was weaving my way through the small crowd of hungry geeks when I realized the "guest of honor" this "happy family" was "celebrating" was nowhere to be found. No one seemed aware except me, however. My heart started thumping in my chest and I took off in a jog toward the front of the building. I was tugging at the visitor badge the moment I reached the front desk and threw it across the empty surface before jogging out the door and into a parking lot catfight.

It would've been kind of hot under any other circumstances.

Sam was sandwiched desperately between the two women, who seemed to be attacking each other around him. He took an elbow to the back of his head from Lorena while I stood in shock. A security guard had an arm around Sookie's waist, tugging her back and away from the fight, but every time he'd pull her back, she'd lunge back at bitchface. I couldn't blame her for that when Lorena had a fistful of Sookie's golden hair locked in her hand, keeping her close. I noticed the driver of our car curled into the fetal position on the ground and had a feeling the girls had fought dirty to get him out of the way.

Ouch. At least I knew to watch out for that now.

Both women had fresh, deep scratches going up and down their arms and across their faces. A strap of Sookie's dress was torn. The professional pantsuit Lorena had been wearing dirty and both of her high-heeled shoes was on the pavement a few yards behind her. I had a feeling she had wounded up on the ground.

Sookie really did want a piece of her.

The trance I was under broke itself as they continued to fight and I ran past Andre who was standing back, just watching it all with a look of amusement on his normally unreadable face. Son of a bitch. It took all my willpower not to take out his knee as I ran past him.

"You're a whore!" Lorena shouted, her hand connecting with Sookie's face with a sickening sound just before Sam gave her a hard shove back and away from her target. "He loved me the whole time, you know! We never stopped being together. You were a meaningless toy!"

"You're the whore," Sookie spat back with more venom than she had ever reserved for me. "The desperate whore. He'll always love me! He'd still be with me if I'd let him! And he'll come back to me whenever I want! He'll always belong to me."

Fuck. I'm not going to lie. That stung.

Lorena went to lunge at Sookie again at those words, but my hand wrapped around her waist and held her back before she had the chance. I didn't want to touch her, but I would for this. When she found she hadn't advanced and was actually being pulled back, both women seemed to register someone else had entered their showdown. Lorena struggled against my hold, but wasn't going anywhere. Sookie looked at me with wide eyes, the security guard having no trouble holding her back now.

I wondered if it was obvious on my face how much her pointy words to the ho had succeeded in injuring me.

I took a deep breath, tearing my eyes away from Sookie to look at Sam, who seemed as relieved to see me now as he had when finding me at the fucking fundraiser. "Get her in the car, Sam," I ordered on autopilot and he nodded, though the security guard didn't fully release his hold on Sookie until she was seated in the car.

The driver slowly got up from the ground, bent slightly at the waist. Yep, one of the women had delivered him a cheap shot. Andre, realizing the show was over, finally came to my side and gripped one of Lorena's arms, letting me release her. "I'll be sure to remember how helpful you were in this matter, Andre," I informed him and he frowned at me. "Am I correct to assume the LeClerq employee started this?"

Andre appeared reluctant to answer, but Sam chimed in front his spot at the car. There was the start of a bruise across his cheekbone. "You've got that right, Eric."

I nodded my head once. "Then we'll be leaving. You know how to contact me should it be necessary."

Lorena wasn't done causing her scene yet, however. She spit at me as I began to walk to the car, lunging away from the grasp of Andre and the guard, without much luck. "I'm not through with her. She'll pay."

I turned back, wondering whether this was the first time she had lunged at me from behind or not. My hand moved to the back of my head, tracing over the stitches near my ear, feeling the angle I thought was so strange before measuring it mentally against her height. "No, you're done. I wouldn't push my luck if I were you." I leaned a little closer to her, hating the proximity, and whispered. "I'm beginning to wonder if Bon Temps bothered checking for finger prints on the stun gun they found in your fuckbuddy's car. I may have to ask them about that."

When I stood to my full height, she gave me a look that could kill. I was too numb to feel it. "It's not over."

"You're right about that," I agreed without feeling, leaving Andre and the guard to help the disheveled woman back to her "happy family" and "party." Sam stood beside the idling car, his hair completely a mess. One of the arms from his coat was torn. Girls fought viciously. I wondered if Sookie learned more than how to shoot a gun from Jason. "You two take the car," I stated quietly once I reached him. "Get checked out. Make sure nothing is broken, cracked, or in risk of infection. Don't let her get out of it. Neither one of you can go into the office looking like this. Stan's getting the royal treatment from Sophie-Anne. I'll just call for a cab."

He looked at me skeptically. "You sure about that, Eric?"

"Yeah, I'm positive. Make sure she calls her brother to let him know about this." He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow unless you luck out and get a day off." He nodded again before getting in the car. It had just pulled away from its spot when Sookie started calling for me from her window. I ignored it. When it pulled out of the lot, my phone began ringing. It was her. I turned it off.

I didn't need a cab anyway. What I needed was a life preserver.

With a million and one thoughts in my head, I started a long, long walk to nowhere in particular and just knew no matter how I tried to drag it out, I'd get there too fucking soon.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who took the time to review/favorite/alert/etc. You know you rock my world.

For once, I actually have a couple of things to include in these notes. First, I thought I'd clear up one thing. While I do have a brother, our relationship sucks. I write a guy "well" because I am one myself. I don't know if I could ever do more than a one-shot here and there from a woman's perspective. I can accept that I'm clueless and couldn't do it justice.

When I started getting comments on the four guys' relationship with one another and found out others enjoyed it as much as me, I started thinking about something that then showed up as a recommendation in my inbox. That felt like fate telling me to do it and I don't want to mess with fate, so I wrote my butt off to get out a chapter and a one-shot at the same time.

"When Four Guys Collide" is going to be a series of one-shots not necessarily connected to the story, but that kind of explore the past and present of the guys. It won't be necessary to read in order to follow this story, but if you like the Eric/Jason/Alcide/Tray dynamic, you'll want to check it out. I may switch between POV's, I may keep it Eric, I don't know, but it'll be out there and updated randomly if you want to check it out. I can't promise it'll be chronological either, but it'll be there. The link is in my profile.