BTW: Sea World is our favorite theme park. We get annual passes each year. For the record, we feed the dolphins, seals, walruses, sting rays and even the sharks. And yes, we are suckers for the pictures too :) Also, mad thanks to my pimp and all of you who reviewed.

"You want the informal view. So you can go around to the front and wait in line like the rest of the vermin, Ms. Stackhouse." Before I could snap at him or stomp a foot, he was inside and the door was shutting in front of me.

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EPOV

I walked into my office and slammed the door. This woman was driving me insane. Why was every question so difficult to answer? Why did she make me feel like an idiot? Why was I doing a good job of sounding like one? I am pretty sure that if I were still human I would be inebriated right now. I could hear Pam coming down the hall way and then her knock on my door. "Enter," I commanded and she did. Perhaps my posture gave away my frustration because for once Pam didn't try to piss me off.

"Where is the reporter now?" She asked.

"In line."

"Here?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because she told me to bring her here."

"I'd assumed she came willingly if she's waiting in line, unless you glamoured her?"

"I can't glamour her. I've tried twice. Each time she's acted as though it was working and then at the last second pulled back and somehow used it to mock me." My mood was disintegrating at the memory.

Pam all out laughed. "No wonder you've been such a penis lately. That would certainly piss me off as well. Tell me, is this how your meetings have gone thus far?

Damnit. "No." She knew I was lying, but I didn't care. She could go fuck herself too for all I cared and sit in line with Stackhouse to boot. Let the woman drive Pam insane instead.

"So, Eric, why is she waiting in line?"

"Because she said she wanted to observe as an outsider, and I think waiting in line with the vermin will do her some good."

"You mean, waiting in line with the vermin will help you feel better by thinking you're paying her back in kind for not falling at your feet?"

That too. I wouldn't admit that to Pam though.

"Eric, what is your fascination with this woman? You've been intolerable and it is driving me batty and the staff is always on edge. It is bad for business."

Because she is different. "I don't know, Pam."

"You've never given two shits about a human as far as I know, which understandably is only three centuries so what do I know. Why this one?"

Because she makes me work for it.. her. I sighed. "Tonight when I arrived, she turned in her chair and stared across the hotel's bar and met me in the eyes. It was as if she not only knew where I would be standing, but she knew the moment I had arrived. She also mentioned something which occurred at the end of our last meeting, something she could not have known about. When I questioned her on how she knew, she fed me a line of bull shit and began oozing adrenaline so heavily I could taste it. There is something about her. She knows things and I want to know how. Tonight she called me a liar."

Pam hissed, "Is that so? Why did she do that?"

"We discussed my shopping habits. I told her I had picked up my clothing at the local mall. She knew I was lying. How?"

Pam laughed again, "Eric, you're impossible. I am liking this girl already. I can't wait to meet her. Won't you let me have her skip in line so I can meet her?"

"Pam, how did she know I was lying?"

"You're such a man," she retorted.

I spun around and was in her face in the same instant. "Pamela, you put the bag in my closet. She knew I didn't buy it and it began the snow ball effect that ruined my evening. Now, please explain to me how the fucking human knew I did not pick out my own clothing?" I stared hard and waited for her cowering apology to fall from her lips.

Instead she stood still, arms crossed and did her crooked smile which exuded "dumbass" in undertones.

"Pam," I snarled, "if you are somehow going behind my back to make this more difficult for me, I will find out. Now I will ask you again, how did this happen?"

"Because, Master, what you told her was impossible."

"Are you insinuating I am incapable of dressing myself?"

"That too, but if you knew anything about shopping you would know that we don't have an Armani Exchange in Louisiana." Pam tried to soothe me. She even touched my arm. "Eric, it's not a big deal. I'll set her straight. But you have to let me meet her first."

I asked, "How long is the line tonight?"

"Pretty long. Can I text Felicia and tell her to let her in? What does she look like?"

"She is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall. She is wearing blue jeans, a blue shirt, black blazer, cowboy boots and she has long, blond hair." My fangs ran down despite my mental protest.

"She sounds delicious. Does she taste as good as she looks?" Pam asked.

My fangs ran the rest of the way down.

"Oh that's right. You wouldn't know," she giggled. I growled in return.

Pam took the hint. She smiled and pulled out her phone and sent a text to Felicia. Ten seconds later Pam's phone chimed. "She's still out there, Master. I will escort her to a table."

"Get out, Pam."

"Can I play with the reporter?"

I growled again. Pam quietly opened the door, made her exit and closed it behind her. Thankful I'd not have to endure her incessant bullshit tonight anymore, I went to my desk to go through some paperwork. I needed to recompose myself before I could deal with Stackhouse and Pam at the same time.

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SPOV

Fucking vampires. Here I stand in the line formed by sluts. I say this liberally. They are dressed for sex and they look loose as all hell. No wonder Mr. Frosty sees these people as dinner, the kind nutritionists refer to as "empty calories".

The whole crowd gave me the creeps. But, I'm here and I'm working on this damned article and I'm doing it without Northman present, which was a relief in and of itself. He was pleasing to look at, but that summed him up entirely and left him wanting when it came to redeeming value.

I pulled out my phone and began scrolling through email while I waited in line and gave myself a pat on the back for having the presence of mind to ditch my four and a half inch heels before I left the hotel. This entire ordeal was uncomfortable as all hell and I didn't need to make it worse. Once I'd deleted the spam and replied to all of the urgent messages, I looked up to check my place in line. My prospects of getting in tonight didn't look good. The line had hardly moved. I opened up the web browser and began searching for a local taxi company to come pick me up and take me back to my hotel. As I dialed the number of the first company that popped up, a woman began walking down the line, examining each person. Her brow was creased and she looked at each person with scrutiny, kind of like I did when I was picking out produce. Must be another vampire. As she approached me, I knew my assumption was accurate. She was breath taking. She had on a black leather corset with a long, flowy black skirt. She wore black patent leather platform shoes and stood almost a head taller than I was. Her long black hair was sleek and shiny and framed her alabaster face. Her red lips twinkled in the light from the neon sign. I wondered if they were all beautiful. She looked me up and down, smirked, spun around and instructed me to follow her. When I didn't move, she stopped, looked at me over her shoulder and asked, "Did I stutter?" I wondered if the vampires' personalities died with their heartbeat when they crossed over or is this a learned trait.

The entire line of people went silent and watched. I made a grand show of checking out the front and back of my clothing and asked, "I'm sorry. Did you think this was a uniform?" Collectively, the crowd gasped.

The she-vamp turned on me and I wouldn't have been surprised if poisonous darts had shot from her eyes. "Of course not!"

I stepped out of the line and asked, "Then what the fuck made you think I took orders?" A feral snarl erupted from the vampire and the crowd shrank back. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. She wouldn't kill me in plain sight of all of these people, would she? She crouched. Oh shit, she would! She is. She was coiled back like a spring, compressed and ready to be let loose at any moment and I had a pretty good idea of where she would land. I just didn't know where my ass would land once she pounced on me. Just as I was bracing myself for an impact that would most likely end my life, a gorgeous blond stepped between us, hands on hips, looking quite amused.

"Master is always telling you not to play with your food," She told the she-vamp. "At least not in public." She added dryly. Her heels clicked on the cement side walk as she approached me.

"I am not food." I hissed.

"We'll see," she said nonchalantly and began to click her heels toward the entrance to the bar, stopping just short of the threshold to address me. "Ms. Stackhouse, I'd appreciate it if you followed me, unless you would like to spend more time bonding with Felicia?"

My grandmother didn't raise me for a dummy and I knew when to stand and fight and when to bail. I was going with plan b. I tried not to scuttle after her like I was scared chicken shit, but I was, and that was that. This vampire just stopped the pay out process on my life insurance policy and I was willing to bet on her rather than the snarling ball of leather and lace behind me. Granted, she may kill me once we got inside, but at least it would be a more private affair. I could hope, couldn't I?