Chapter 3

I woke up to hear the booming voice of Celine Deon singing "my heart will go on" playing on VH1's greatest hits of the 90's. I had obviously fallen asleep with the TV on. I glanced at the clock it was three a.m. where was Bill? I heard the shower come on and I moved to the bathroom to see his shoes and suit on the floor. I didn't know why he had come back so late, but I couldn't help the sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I went to lie back down switching the TV off. Making it known that I was still awake. He entered the room with only a towel around his waist moving to sit beside me.

"Sookie, I have some bad news I have to go into the city with the investors. There were some problems with the numbers and we have to go hash them out." He said strangely distant.

"I will start packing right now." I said not wanting to stay if he wasn't going to be here.

"Sookie I will be back tomorrow evening. There's no need for you to go with me, just stay and have some fun. I know how much you love the beach." He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

"Who all is going on this trip?" I couldn't resist asking knowing that I was probably being very petty.

"Everyone is going Sookie, so you will have this whole house to yourself for the day. Sophie Ann told me that she wanted you to stay and work on the preparations for Saturday's soiree. You should be honored that she would enlist you with the responsibility." He smiled softly, and slipped on a pair of boxers. After everything that had gone on today I was beyond aggravated by his condescending tone. Why should I fell honored to be left behind? There was also the elephant in the room that he would be traveling back to New York with Lorena.

"Bill, I have to ask is there anything going on with Lorena?" I hated to be one of those girls that were constantly jealous of the ex-girlfriend, but I just had to ask.

"I promise I want nothing to do with her it is only business." He cupped my face with hands looking directly in my eyes. Maybe I was just being foolish. Letting Eric's words that I didn't know everything about Bill get to me. Bill loved me, and I needed to take my own advice and leave the past where it belongs in the past.

"I am sorry I trust you Bill." I said looking at him with my heart in my eyes. He gave me a soft kiss, and began picking out a suit for the next day. I wondered if I should tell him about my other encounter with Eric, but I decided against it. If they had some big meeting tomorrow I didn't want to cause any more problems between them. When Bill was done selecting a suit he crawled into bed with me. Wrapping his arms around my waist like he did most nights. Except tonight he rolled me over tracing my jaw line with his index finger.

"I love you, Sookie" He said with emotion in his eyes almost instantly making me feel better after this long day.

"I love you to." I said smiling sweetly back at him.

"I know that you love me, and if you will just bear with me during this crazy weekend we can go back to the way things were." He said stroking my check tenderly.

"I know that you have a lot of stress on you right now and this drama with Eric can't be making it any easier on you. I just want you to know that you can tell me anything, and I would never judge you." I ran my hand across his forehead pushing back a lose piece of hair.

"You are too good for me you know that?" He said giving me a lopsided smile that I had always found so charming about him.

"No, I am good for you, big difference." I said making him laugh as he snuggled against me. This was the "us" that I had always loved, compliantly comfortable with each other.

"Good night." He said softly still holding me close to him.

"Good night, see you in the Morning." I said as I drifted into a deep sleep.

"Sookie, wake up honey Sophie Ann wants to see you before we leave to go over things." Bill said shaking me slightly. I managed to roll myself out of the bed, and put on a basic pants suit. I pulled my hair in to a small bun, then put on a little mascara and I was ready to go. Bill handed me my morning cup of coffee knowing that I was not really a morning person he kept the conversation brief as we walked together to the main foyer.

Sophie Ann was dressed in her usual black pencil skirt with a matching cream blouse as she stood across the room. She always managed to look so regal with her strawberry blonde hair tucked into a crisp bun and creamy skin. I always felt frumpy when standing next to her like I was standing next someone that had just stepped of the pages of Vogue. People dressed in similar business ware waited patiently around her for their turn to receive their daily orders that they would carry out without comment. Sophie Ann was a demanding woman, but she always managed to keep a kindness about her that I couldn't help but admire. It's was one the reasons that I had jumped at the chance to work for her. That and she hadn't stared at my breast the whole time like most of the men that had interviewed me. Sophie Ann noticed me from across the room, and walked over to me with a quizzical smile.

"Sookie, we have to talk." Sophie said with a burst of enthusiasm that surprised me. She pulled me away from Bill into the next room and shut the door.

"Sookie you seemed to have made a friend out of Mr. Northman. So instead of advising party preparations like I had originally planned for you." She stopped flipping through a couple of files then continued as she shoved them into her brief case. "Mr. Northman has requested your company to show him around the Southampton while we our gone." Sophie raised her eyebrows waiting for my reaction.

"Miss. Rockchester can't you tell him that you had other plans for me. I thought he had to attend this meeting?" I said almost panicking not knowing if I could stand a whole day with him.

"Mr. Northman rarely attends such meetings, and he is one of our biggest clients so he gets what he wants." She said glowering down at me obviously offended that I had dared to talk back to her.

"Plus I thought that you would be excited to be meeting with a big investor. I mean trust me Miss. Stackhouse the higher your friends are the higher you will go. Just take him to a couple of hot spots, how hard could it be?" I wondered at that point if she had ever been in the same room as Eric.

"Did Mr. Northman request me himself?" Wondering if he was even behind this or if it was just a fluke that one of assistants had seen us, and requested me thinking that we would work well together.

"Why, yes he did." Looking at me with an amused look. I was starting to get the idea that she thought that there was something going on between Eric and I. I suddenly thought of Bills reaction to this news, and how it would affect his trip. He was already under so much stress, but this was something that I just couldn't keep from him.

"That will be all Miss. Stackhouse, and good luck." She said almost laughing and made me wonder if she might have something to do with this. I shook the thought away, I was just overly paranoid with everything that had gone on so far, and the weekend hadn't even started yet. As I left Sophie Ann I was so angry at Eric that I could spit nails. I looked for Bill dreading how hard this was going to be for him, but he was nowhere to be found. I went on a search for him looking in all the rooms that surrounded the huge foyer. I noticed a room off the hall way with the door cracked slightly. I could hear people arguing in hushed voices as I peeked through the tiny opening. I couldn't believe what I was seeing as a tall beautiful blonde brushed Bills hair back, and he looked back at her with a meaningful expression.

"Bill" I said unable to say anything else as my heart tore through my chest. All I knew was that I had to get out there. I had to get away from him. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me, but still Bill caught me by my jacket and swung me around to face him.

"Sookie, it's not what it looked like." He said panting from having to chase me down.

"Well I guess I figured out who Lorena is, and I think it was exactly what I think it was. I saw the way you were looking at her Bill."

"There is just a lot going on Sookie right now, and you just have to take my word that there is nothing going between me and Lorena. What you saw was Lorena giving me surprising news. That I can't exactly talk about right now." He ran his hands threw over his face with a troubled expression.

"Look I will be back tonight and I will explain everything to you ok?" He said pleadingly.

"I don't know Bill." I said as tears sprung to my eyes confused, unsure if I should believe him or not.

"Sookie, just give me a chance to explain. I have to go now, but I promise I will explain everything." He said kissing me on the cheek and squeezing my arm gently to comfort me with that he turned and left. I went back to my room trying to collect my thoughts. I wondered what Lorena could have told him? The embrace that I had seen sure didn't seem to be too innocent. Maybe I had made more of it than it was, but as the memory flashed in my mind I knew that wasn't true. I noticed my reflection in the mirror; my mascara had ran giving me raccoon eyes. I washed my face with cold water trying to soothe my swollen eyes from crying, and applied fresh make-up. Right now I had to pull myself together because I still had one huge problem Eric Northman.