Charlaine Harris is the one that owns these characters. I'm just playing dress up with them.
Chapter 29
An incessant buzzing the background was the thing that woke me up Saturday morning. I was trying to go for the snooze button, but hit the off button by mistake. I knew I wouldn't wake up if the alarm didn't go off again so finally I groaned and rolled out of bed. I looked regretfully back at Eric who, of course, was still in bed, asleep for the day. I was getting used to living vampire hours as that was the time I felt safest and ten o'clock in the morning was feeling awfully early to me.
I did my morning routine feeling much more rested without the normal nightmares, even though the number of hours I'd slept was less. I found the clothes that Eric had bought me the night before and luckily, he'd hung up everything that needed to be. I was really embarrassed as I saw again how much he got for me, but I'd promised myself that I wouldn't make a huge deal out of these kinds of things. Besides, he owned the store, and now that I knew more about his businesses, he definitely had the money.
That got me thinking again about our living situation. I hadn't been planning on staying with him long term. I just wanted to be safe and, possibly more important, feel safe. It hadn't escaped my notice that he'd been casually and subtly referring to it as our home. I doubted that he even noticed.
I was also surprised that I didn't even miss my house. I wasn't completely at home yet in Eric's house, but it was comfortable to me. Eric hadn't actually asked me to move in with him. He'd just asked me to stay with him until we were sure that the threat to me was over. It seemed that the threat was over, except for the threat to me from my own mind and the threat of Eric's own King taking me to be his pet. How's that for ironic?
I found that I really wanted to move in with Eric. I enjoyed spending all this time with him. It was comfortable. It felt right. I loved being there when he woke up. I loved falling asleep curled up against him. I loved that he was there when I had nightmares. Just thinking about how much effort it took him to wake during the day when I had nightmares made me feel loved. Just the idea of living together made me smile. I couldn't believe that I was happy at the thought of leaving my family's house. I loved that house. There were so many memories, but I liked the idea of living with him. I didn't want to sell the house that had been in my family for generations, but I could always rent it out.
'You idiot. He hasn't even asked you to move in.' I thought and sighed. I wasn't about to ask him if I could move in. My perspective on a lot of things had changed, sure, but I wasn't about to ask him if I could move in. I'm not the kind of woman that wants to move in with her boyfriend right away.
Shaking my head to stop dwelling on anything and everything, I started getting dressed. I'd been standing there looking in the closet for a while. I picked out a nice peach colored satin bra and bikini underwear. I picked out a pair of gray pin-stripe pants and a somewhat clingy peach shirt that was very flattering but not slutty. I opened the small pocket on my suitcase that I hadn't yet unpacked and found a pair of earrings and a necklace. I thought I was an idiot for packing jewelry at the time, but now I was glad that I had. It was a finishing touch that made me look put together and professional. I studied myself in the mirror and was proud of the look. I definitely looked like a professional consultant.
I realized that soon I was going to need to start getting business supplies like business cards, a laptop, and probably a better car. I'd never had a nice car, but if I was going to be a professional telepathic consultant, I needed to have a decent car…especially considering that I would be driving a lot since it wasn't like I would be working in an office. The check from Rhodes was large enough to get all this stuff to start my business and still be able to pay the bills until I started making money.
I started wondering if maybe I could turn one of Eric's rarely used rooms into an office and realized again, he hadn't asked me to move in with him. 'Uggghh. What is wrong with me?' I finished putting on just a bit of makeup and went up stairs for the day.
I ate a quick but delicious breakfast. I made up a bowl of vanilla yogurt with granola, blueberries and a banana. It was wonderful and very healthy. Just as I was washing the last of the dishes, I saw Alcide's truck pull up. I watched as he and Tray searched the outside of the house and waited for the signal that it was safe to leave.
"Sookie! How are you doing this morning?" Alcide asked as I was walking to the truck.
"I'm doing well, thanks," I said. I paused and contemplated that for a second and a my lips turned up into a smile. "You know that's the first time in a while that I've said that and meant it."
Alcide looked a little sad and said quietly, "Well I'm glad you mean it." What would make him so sad about the fact that I was actually happy for a change? I just shook it off, determined to have a good day.
"So, we're going to be at my office until 3:00 and then we'll head over to Merlotte's. Is there anything else that you need to do today, errands? I know it's been hard for you to get out, since you have to have bodyguards all the time," Alcide said.
I smiled. "No, that's a really nice offer but I think I'm doing just fine." After a couple minutes, I changed my mind. "Alcide, now that you mention it…I don't want to make a special trip for it or anything, but if we have time today, I'd like to look at computers. I'd like to get a laptop and I don't really know much about computers. If we don't have time, it's really not a big deal." I felt guilty for suggesting it, but he did ask if I had any other errands I'd like to run.
"We'll probably have time so that shouldn't be a problem," Alcide responded.
"You're actually going to buy a computer, Sookie? I've heard Amelia talk about your…computer skills," Tray ended lamely.
I laughed. "You mean lack of computer skills," I corrected.
He smiled. "She might have put it that way. I think I remember her going on about the stone age or something…" he trailed off.
"I didn't do so well when she was trying to show me things on Hadley's computer, but I never really caught on. I wasn't too upset when the thing finally died. I've actually been thinking about taking a computer class at the community college. Actually I'm thinking about taking some business classes and maybe some psychology classes," I explained. I was proud of my new life plan.
Both Tray and Alcide agreed that it was a great idea and gave me some ideas of other things that would be helpful to me.
"So how many interviews do we have today?" I asked, trying to get a feel for how things were going to go.
"Well, I have two interviews with construction foremen. They are both on their second interviews so it shouldn't be quite as long as a first interview would be. Then I have a rep from our lumber supplier coming to finish negotiations on a new contract. I just have a feeling that I'm missing something. I might just be paranoid, but I figured since you were going to be here today, I'd have you listen in on that too," Alcide said.
I watched his face for a second before I responded. "Alcide, why do you look guilty?" I hate being left in the dark and I knew something was up.
"I just feel guilty that I took advantage of your skills in the past and didn't think about paying you for your skills," Alcide said with a chuckle. Okay, so maybe I was a tiny bit paranoid.
"Well, you should feel guilty," I said with a smile. "I told you that today was a freebee, but after today I'm charging, so then I'll be the one that feels guilty. Okay?" I joked.
"Sure thing, Sook."
When we arrived at his office, Alcide and I went into a small conference room, while Tray went into another office to do some work. Although he had his own motorcycle repair business, he'd been doing some work on the side for Alcide. I found a notebook and pen to take notes (another thing I needed to purchase), since my cover was being his assistant.
"Now, I was thinking that we should set up a code or something for when I hear something that you need to know. I'll be next to you 'taking notes' so I can write things down for you, but if I need to talk to you in the other room or something, I'll scratch my cheek, okay?" I suggested and Alcide burst out laughing.
"Scratch your cheek? That could be a little obvious." He saw my…displeased expression and tried to stop laughing. "I'm sorry, Sookie. I just pictured you doing baseball signs during the interview, but I do think that cheek scratching might be obvious. Why don't you just set your pen down on the table when you need to talk to me?"
"Ha ha," I said in a completely un-amused voice, but it was kind of funny now that I was picturing myself doing baseball signs. "That's fine, Alcide. I'll put my pen down if I need something." Just then we heard the door buzzer.
I waited in the conference room for Alcide to bring in the first candidate who, it turned out, was a very loud broadcaster. It was almost as though she was shouting inside my head. Luckily I didn't come across too many people like her. Amelia is a broadcaster, but compared to this woman, Amelia was quiet as a mouse.
The candidate's name was Allison and she was determined to get the job. She was sure that she wasn't going to get the job because she was a woman and thought that the whole business was set up with the whole 'boy's club' mentality. She was thinking about suing if she didn't get the job because she was sure she was the best candidate for the job. As soon as she thought that, though, she wondered if anyone caught the little white lie about her last job because she put down that she was responsible for more than she actually was.
I got all that from her before she even entered the room. I knew it would be an interesting interview. She was a tall, pretty brunette and was wearing a really nice blue suit that I loved, and found myself wondering where she got it. After my extreme shopping trip the night before, I guessed I was still in the shopping mindset.
Luckily the interview only lasted 20 minutes since she, or rather, her thoughts, were so loud and obnoxious. One thing was for sure. If Alcide hired her, I doubted I would ever go to his office again, just to avoid her. I wrote a little note for Alcide to start talking technical details and that was where she obviously was lacking. By the time she left she knew that she wasn't cut out for the job and she shouldn't have lied about the last job.
"Well Sookie, I think you've already saved me a lot of money. She seemed just perfect for the job until we started specifics," Alcide said after she left.
"She lied on her resume a little, or exaggerated, depending on how PC you want to get. She was a little…militant in regards to her feminist views," I said. "I'm just glad she's gone. Her mind was so loud," I complained while rubbing my temples.
"You doing okay, Sook?" he asked. His forehead was creased with concern and was wondering if he should get me some aspirin or a bottle of water.
"A bottle of water would be great. Thank you," I said with a smile. His thought weren't usually so clear, but I figured I might as well go with it. He laughed at me and shook his head, but then went to get my water. We only had to wait a couple minutes for the next candidate.
Again I waited in the conference room. The second candidate was a shifter so was much harder to read. He was an extremely attractive man with dark hair, a dark complexion and a bit of a Russian accent (or something like that since I'm not exactly the expert on accents). I shook hands with Michael politely and we sat down for the interview. I concentrated on his thoughts as I pretended to take notes. After my initial reaction to his appearance and accent (what can I say? I'm a sucker for accents), I was getting uneasy about him. I couldn't figure out what was bothering me. I continued to listen, but eventually the interview winded down. He and Alcide started talking about the recent reveal and how that was going for the various shifter communities. That was when I got a flash of a thought about a fairy.
I started panicking and opened my mouth to ask him what the hell he was doing with a fairy, when I remembered where I was and who's business this was. They both looked at me and with their enhanced hearing probably heard my heart rate speed up. I mentally steadied my self and started rambling on about Sam's mom being shot by his step-dad, trying to keep with the topic of conversation. It was a little awkward, but Michael just thought I seemed a little weird or slow.
Eventually the conversation went on and I started wondering what I should do. I could just ignore it. He didn't seem to know who I was or have any malicious intent as far as I could tell but I had to know what associations he had with a fairy. I couldn't ask him myself because if he is working for Damarion, who last I heard hadn't been caught yet, or a fairy associated with Damarion, I could still be the target. He might just not know yet that I was the target. Finally I decided to wait since I was almost positive that there wasn't an imminent threat. It was also completely possible that I was a little paranoid. Needless to say, I was relieved when Michael finally walked out the door.
"Sookie, what was that? I kept waiting for you to write a note or something. What was wrong with him?" Alcide, again, looked really concerned.
"Alcide, you worry too much. You're going to have a permanent crease in your forehead if you keep hanging around me," I teased. I'd seen that expression on his face too much today.
"Sookie, seriously, what was up with him?"
I thought about it for a minute before answering, even though Alcide was getting incredibly impatient. I started pacing as I thought it through. "Alcide, business-wise he seems like a really nice guy. He's confident in his skill, he seems professional in his mind, but there was something that made me a little uneasy. I couldn't pinpoint what it was until you were talking about the reveal after the interview was already done. His mind flashed just for a second on a fairy. It was only a second and I don't think that he was here on a mission or anything. My impression is that he really wants this job, is qualified and would be a good employee, but it makes me nervous that he thought of a fairy for a split second. I'm possibly just paranoid, but I don't know. Maybe it is a friend. I really don't think he had bad intentions. He didn't recognize me or anything but…it makes me nervous. I almost burst out questioning him, but then remembered where I was, so I'm sorry for acting like a fool for a second. It just caught me off guard. I don't think you should not hire him, but I really want to know what his association with fairies is." I finally stopped my rambling. I could see Alcide trying to jump in during my little rant, but I'd just kept going.
"Sookie, honestly, do you think I should hire him?" Alcide asked. He had stopped me from my pacing and had his hands on my shoulders so I would look him in the eye.
"Honestly, I think he was a good candidate and I didn't get any sense of malicious or devious intent. So I would say that you should hire him, as long as your criteria are met…but, I would like to know what fairy he knows." I sighed. "Alcide, I'll admit that…I think…I'm probably just being paranoid."
"Well, Sookie, I'll think about it. What if I were to hire him to keep on eye on him? Or, I could mention a rumor that a fairy attacked a human in the area recently and wondered if he'd heard anything with his pack."
"What kind of shifter is he?" I asked, anxious to change the subject.
"You can't tell? He's a coyote," Alcide said. We sat back down to talk while we waited for the supplier to arrive.
"I usually can't figure out what kind of shifter someone is, although Werewolves I can usually pick out because your thoughts are…redder. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's how I see it. All shifters generally have snarly thoughts and often I get more of a read on emotions rather than the actual thoughts. Unless I'm really concentrating or physically touching the person, it's hard to really listen in on the actual thoughts. Michael, for example, had relatively easy thoughts to read, for a shifter. I would get some words, but a lot of pictures. It's not like a stream of dialog that I can listen in on."
Alcide was listening intently and he looked really fascinated. It was nice to talk about it. I continued, "You on the other hand are difficult for me to read. You're thoughts are…umm…muted would probably be the word. Unless you think something to me, I get very little from you. Although, honestly, I do my best not to listen to my friends. With you and Sam and Tray that's pretty easy and I don't hear you at all, most of the time, but people like Amelia…she's loud." I laughed as I thought of her father. "When her dad came to visit, it was awful. They both broadcast their thoughts and it was like listening to four people talking and trying to keep straight what they were thinking versus what they were actually saying was just awful."
"Yeah, I could see that," Alcide agreed. We heard a loud knock on the door and as Alcide went to answer the door he mumbled something about using the buzzer.
The final appointment went well. Despite Alcide's concerns that there may be something fishy about the new supply contract, I did not detect any deception. I wrote a little note on my notebook to that effect and the contract was signed by both of them.
We both looked relieved when the supplier guy left.
"So…computer shopping?" Alcide inquired.
I looked at the clock. "It looks like we have time if you're sure that it's not a bother," I said. I was excited to get my new business going, although the three interviews of the day were a bit stressful. Then again, what job isn't a little stressful?
We rescued Tray from his pile of paperwork and left to go shopping. When we walked into the computer store it was a little overwhelming. I talked to the saleswoman for a while to talk about what I would need and I did some pricing. I didn't buy anything, but I was tempted. It would be my first real big purchase and I wanted to make sure I was getting what I wanted and needed, and not just impulse buying.
I wrote down information about the two computers I was leaning toward and took the saleswoman's business card. Then we went on our way. I was excited as we got closer to Merlotte's. "You know, I kind of miss the bar. I've worked there for so long. It was like my second home," I mused as we pulled into the parking lot.
"I understand that," Alcide said, although I could hear from his mind that he was glad I was going to do more with my life than be a waitress. I bristled at that a little, but realized I felt the same way.
We had half an hour before the first interview so we ordered a round of Burgers Lafayette and some drinks (just a sweet tea for me). When the first interviewee came in, I left Alcide and Tray to join Sam in his office. The three waitresses we interviewed were nice and much easier interviews than those earlier in the day. I recommended two of the waitresses since the third had an active drug problem. Sam and I chatted for a little while, but it was still a little awkward for both of us. He'd been my boss for so long. I beamed at him when he handed me a check for my services. It wasn't a large check, but it was still self-affirming. I knew I would need to establish rates soon, but I also knew that I would always give Sam a price break.
We dropped off Tray at his shop and Alcide and I headed back to Shreveport. They'd been trying to keep two people with me at all times, but Tray had to be there to meet a customer.
"Alcide, I wanted to talk to you about something. Actually I should have talked to Tray about it too, but I wasn't really thinking about it earlier." I paused as I tried to figure out what to say.
"What's wrong?" he asked, already anticipating the worst.
"Well, there's no politically correct way to explain it, so I'll just tell you. Eric and I have been summoned to Las Vegas because de Castro thinks that he can keep me safe better there. Or rather he thinks it's a good excuse to commandeer Eric's telepath," I said sarcastically.
"He can't force you to do anything. You aren't a vampire," Alcide said. He was furious.
I rolled my eyes at him, though he probably didn't see since he was driving. "Alcide, you and I both know that he can't force me to do anything in theory. In reality, however, he can. He will threaten my life and the lives of people I care about, including Eric and Pam. I'm not willing to risk their lives in order to protect my independence. We have a plan and we'll do what we can to work it peacefully. If Eric flat out defies the King, he'll get staked so that's just not an option. What I'm trying to do is get my friends together in case we need an Option B. I have been making a list of various Supes that are friends or owe me. Janine, that is, Dr. Whitlock, will be giving you a call. She's contacting you and Calvin and some others. Pam and Felicia are getting lists of vampires, preferably Kings and Queens that I saved in Rhodes or assisted at other times and if Felipe tries to keep me against my will, we're going to bring all these people together as a political move, to pressure him to stay out of my life. We need to keep it from Eric because he's going to be there with me. Felipe is going to be suspicious of Eric, so I want him to have complete deniability if or when Felipe questions him about this. I don't want to make it look like Eric is trying to overthrow him because he's not."
I paused. "I'm rambling again. I just…I just needed a back up plan. If that doesn't work, we'll come up with something else. I just can't risk the lives of my friends. You all mean so much to me and you all just saved my life. I couldn't live with myself if I asked you to risk your lives over something like where I have to live. I just wanted you to know what was going on."
I could see the pain in Alcide's eyes. He wanted to do more, but I couldn't risk his life like that. I desperately didn't want it to come to a fight. It was one thing if Felipe was threatening my life, but it was more like he was threatening my independence. That's not worth the injury or death of a friend. Not to me.
We got back to Eric's house shortly before sunset. I hugged my friend goodbye and went back into the house, my sanctuary. I went down to our room and brushed my teeth before getting into bed with Eric. I was hoping for a little nap before Eric woke up and I was in luck. Almost instantly, I was asleep.
A/N: I was looking through a bunch of my past chapters today and I realized that I very often end a chapter with Sookie falling asleep. So if you've noticed that too, I think it's because I do most of my writing at night right before bed. When I finish a chapter, I'm ready for bed.
The next chapter probably won't be up until Friday morning at the earliest, but I promise that Sookie will have a lot of fun in it, so there's something to look forward to. *hint, hint*
Thank you for all the great reviews! I need a little validation in my life right now, so please keep the reviews coming. If you want I'll even get on my knees and beg. :-)
