"Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
Need I even ask for your decision?" Chris spoke nonchalantly as he entered Eric's office and slid into the chair where Tara had been seated. "Might I add, she is certainly a beautiful one, "He paused for a moment, inhaling the sweet fragrance that lingered in the air, "with the most intoxicating scent."
"No need to ask, and yes, my doll is just as fragrant and lovely as the day we met." Eric raised his eyebrow at his brother, but did not look up at him, he was too busy creating an offer letter for Tara.
"It is obvious she doesn't remember any of it, you saw to that."
"It was for the best," Eric muttered as he finished creating the employee file.
"If you say so." Chris retorted and with a course rolled of his aqua blue eyes, he stood from the seat, turned away and slowly stepped towards the door, he stopped at the entrance and turned to face his brother again.
Eric had slouched back in his seat, his furrowed brow indicating he was deep in thought.
"I don't believe in coincidence, I believe in fate," Chris added.
Eric nodded showing as a gesture of agreement.
"And I believe in feeding and fucking at least twice a night." Charlie approached the office door with the speed that only a vampire possessed, "I imagine you will too, now that your bronze goddess has returned." he added with a hearty chuckle.
A sigh of discontent escaped Eric's throat, he tented his fingers, "Charles..." Eric began, but Charlie was not finished.
"Well-Well-Well!" Charlie's voice boomed, "Seems I was wrong," he puckered his lips in fake contemplation, "given your dismal disposition, I suppose I'll continue to bear witness to more melancholy for several more decades."
"No one is forcing you to remain a partner," Eric replied as he reclined further back into his seat. "You are free to take your share and part ways with the business at will."
"And you know that shall never, happen," Charlie snickered at his brother's audacity, "I'd simply like to be in control of staffing again, so why don't you just leave the hiring up to me for the next round of interviews."
Chris wagged his finger at Charlie, "And that shall never happen, have you forgotten little brother...the last time you were in charge of staffing; it was nothing short of a disaster."
"I think it all turned out well..." He smirked, thinking back to the memory of his three favorite fang bangers Ginger, Dawn, and Yvette. "Quite well for me," he slid his tongue across his fangs. "Everyone got fucked, sucked and killed."
"Savage," Eric hissed behind gritted teeth. "If our father was with us what would he think of your reckless behavior?" Eric snapped at his insufferable brother.
"He'd be just fine, Eric," Charlie spat out his brother's name like it was a curse word. "We're fucking vampires, that's what we do!"
Charlie's glare wasn't intentionally cold; his face somehow lacked the mobility others had. His eyes would rest on a point, and he'd stay like that. Others would alter their paths not to cross his. It was like the elongated eye contact demanded a greater degree of physical separation. It wasn't something he ever noticed himself, but to his brother, Eric, it was obvious and he felt a spark of contamination by association he wasn't proud of.
What he was proud of is how well Tara handled him. She has always been a strong human, much stronger than most, both in body and mind. Eric's nostrils engulfed the delicate hint of vanilla in the air, and with it, his brain flooded with pictures of her. Her face is just as pretty as the first day he saw her, her eyes twinkling with laughter and her teeth glistening as she smiled. So much time had passed since then, and all Eric had left of her was the occasional fleeting memory. Until last night, he had lost the sound of her voice and the touch of her skin. His chest ached as he thought of what he had lost. No one had ever replaced her, and no one ever would. Eric stood from behind his desk, as he did, he scooped up the file and placed it in the file cabinet, "My dear brothers, Tara shall never know about our past or there shall be consequences." He clenched his jaw, "this is my chance to start anew and I won't let anything ruin that."
Eric towered over me and looked at me so intensely. I felt like, if he wanted to, he could swallow me alive." Tara chatted with her best friend as she sipped her coffee, Pam listened intently, hanging on to every single word. "I was afraid, that excited me... sexually excited me...GOD, that's so fucked up."
"I told you that those three blonde vampires are the sexiest fucking men in all of Louisiana!" Pam exclaimed, her smile morphed into a full-blown giggle, "Did any of them flirt with you?"
"Yes!" Tara smiled, thinking back on the strange interview, "All three of them actually..."
"Really, all of them?!" Pam's brows arched in sheer awe and curiosity. Tara was not at all pleased that she was so astonished by the fact.
"Well don't sound so damn surprised," Tara groused, "You're the one who said black dresses and red lips drive vampires crazy."
"Oh chill out T, I didn't mean it that way," She smiled at her friend tenderly, she will never understand why Tara cannot see how beautiful she is. "It's just when I had my interview with Eric, he was strictly business; very basic generic interview questions, nothing like what you said he asked. I didn't even see Charlie and Chris until several nights later. All three were cold and disengaging to me for months." Pam stood from her seat, grabbed the coffee pot and refilled both of their cups. "The first time Eric and I had a conversation was when he promoted me to a bartender, nowadays Chris compliments me when I wear certain outfits and Charlie," she made a face indicating her distaste, "At least once a night he invites me and several other girls to his dungeon for sex."
"Oh hell no!" Tara's brow furrowed, "I knew from the jump he was a nasty pig, I'm still not sure what to make of Chris, although it sounds like he may have a crush on you."
"Nah," Pam smiled and took a sip of her hot beverage, "He could have had me a long time ago, but he's never made a move." Her expression marred with disappointment, "So what did you think of Eric, to me, he's the one no one can figure out..."
Tara let out a deep thoughtful sigh, "It's strange, although he's this completely intimidating vampire, I felt this familiarity... like I knew him... he could tell I was nervous and he gave me a look... and it relaxed me, still, I don't know how I managed to answer any questions," Tara sat back in her seat, "When it's all said and done, I hope I got the job, I'm fucking broke." She added with a wry chuckle.
"Based on what you said, I have no doubt that you got the job," at the same time, thinking about her friend's experience with the three men she'd work with the last five years. It seems she'd seen a different side of the cold-old vampires, a slightly warmer, semi-vulnerable side, "It's Wednesday night so Eric will call you tonight and ask you to come in for a trial run." Pam added.
"So I'd better be ready to work tonight then..." Her stomach began doing summersaults at the thoughts of what was to come, "I gotta find something hot to wear, I need those tips!"
"I've got this crazy-hot bustier you can borrow, come check it out!" Pam let out a high pitched squealed as she leaped out of her seat to her bedroom closet, this caused Tara to squealed too and she was fast on her heels.
Pam dashed over to her closet, yanked the garment off the hanger and handed it to her roommate.
"Damn, this bustier IS fucking perfect!" Tara palmed the material of the black and red D&G bustier, the garment was soft with a silky rigid underwire. Tara pulled off her tank top and slipped on the garment. The top fit her perfectly, the floral print mesh panels and hook-and-eye closures are at center back, were stylish and sexy, "Oh wow! Thank you, Pam!" she added, now she was full-blown nervous, she felt like she was getting ready for a date instead of getting ready for work. "I've got some leggings and boots to go with this."
"Of course hun, feel free to borrow whatever you want."
"I'll only need to borrow a few tops and just for a little while, I'll get my black, red and sexy wardrobe on point once I start making money again."
"Sounds good to me hun," Pam nodded, I'm going to have lunch with mom at Broussard's in a couple of hours, want to come with?"
"No thanks, I need to rest up this afternoon, I plan on giving it my all tonight."
"Good idea, I'll bring you back your favorite cobb salad," Pam winked at her friend and grabbed her cellular phone from her nightstand.
"You're the best Pam, I love you." Tara hugged her.
"I know and, love you too hun," Pam replied, plopped on her bed. She began texting on her phone.
Tara smiled as she left the room with her borrowed garment.