A/N: Y'all are awesome! 'Nuff said.

Thanks to FDM for her beta work. You save my ass more than you know sweetcheeks!

Chapter 3 – Coming Clean

Pam led Sookie down the hall, and into the last door on the left. It was the office from Dawn's memories. Eric's office.

"Have a seat," Pam said, gesturing to the couch. "Eric and I will be right in."

Sookie eyed the couch after Pam left, and opted not to sit. She'd already seen what he did to Dawn on it, and had no idea the amount of women he'd done more with there. Instead, she pulled the chair in front of his desk out and sat on the edge, praying he hadn't done anything sexual on it as well.

A minute later, the door opened, and Pam walked in again, followed by a curious and angry looking Eric. He walked around his desk and stood behind it, an attempt to be intimidating. Pam stood beside, and slightly behind Sookie, effectively making her feel boxed in.

"Pam tells me that you claim to know something about some missing money," Eric said.

"Yes. You have an employee who's been taking money for about six months now. The employee is using it to help pay for their drug addiction."

"How do you know this?" Pam asked.

"That's not important right now. What's important is that I can give you this information, and I will obviously want something in return," Sookie said, her eyes never leaving Eric's.

Eric stared at her like a lion watching its prey. She felt as though he could choose to pounce on her at any second, but the cool, calm expression in his eyes left her guessing. When he finally spoke, she realized she hadn't been breathing deeply.

"I will give you what you want, but there will be a contract, and many stipulations. First, you tell us who has been stealing from us."

"Will you shake on it?" Sookie asked, standing up and holding her hand out.

Eric stared at her hand, and then tentatively reached out and awkwardly shook it.

"Okay then. It's Ginger, the one with the blond bob. She's been taking it from the cash register by the souvenirs. Tonight she hid the cash in her shoe, but she's also hidden it in her bra, and stuffed it into her underwear. You'll have no way of telling it's from that register and not her tips except for counting out the drawer and matching it up with the receipts. She should hold the missing amount. She's feeling very guilty and skittish though, and I think she'll confess if you just find the money and ask her."

Pam immediately started going off about Ginger, calling her all kinds of names and spouting off a number of things she'd like to do to her, but Eric just stared at Sookie. He was trying to figure out how she knew what she knew.

"Pam," he said firmly, getting her attention, but never taking his eyes off Sookie. "Go get Ginger and take her to the storage room. I'll be there shortly."

As soon as Pam left, Eric asked.

"How did you know?"

"I read her mind," Sookie answered, and watched Eric's eyes grow wide. For some insane reason, he believed her, and she could tell that he was worried she was reading his. "It's okay. I can't read yours. I don't know why though. That's what I meant when I said I couldn't hear you out in the hall earlier."

Suddenly, she heard a thought penetrate her mind.

What about now?

It was Eric. He thought at her, and she heard it.

"Yes, I heard that," she said, and his eyes got even wider. "You catch on quickly. Apparently you can think at me, but it's like you have your own shields."

"Shields?" he asked.

"It's what I call the mental walls I put up to block out voices. It's taken me a long time to get them secure, and that's with practice and knowing what I was attempting. You've basically done the same thing, but I assume it's without intent."

Eric was silent, staring at her, trying to figure her out. It was like he didn't even know the silence was awkward for her. Sookie cleared her throat.

"I have to ask, why is it you believe me? Most people would scoff and call me crazy."

"I'm sure it's not a stretch for you to understand that I don't have a problem believing in things out of the ordinary."

Sookie smiled. "No. No, I'm sure it's not."

Eric smiled back at her, and then it faded. "Will you please stay here while Pam and I deal with Ginger? We can make arrangements when I return."

She nodded as Eric left the office. When she finally had the chance to look around and really take it all in, she found the office quite charming. Sure, it had a sex couch, but in addition to the antique-looking desk, there were little things that clued Sookie into Eric's personality. He had a Rubik's cube with three sides done, a worn deck of cards, a framed photo of a couple that she assumed were his parents, and the best thing of all was the red Swingline stapler.

She was holding and admiring it when the door opened and Eric came in with Pam. Sookie set it down quickly and went back to the chair she had been sitting in.

"Are you a fan of the movie?" Eric asked her when he sat down in his desk chair.

"Who isn't?" Sookie asked.

"Pam isn't. She finds it ridiculous."

"It is," Pam said, and leaned onto the front of the desk, facing Sookie. "So it seems that Ginger had some cash in her shoe. She confessed to it all and her employment here has been terminated. I suppose this means we have to hold up our end of the deal."

"That would be good of you," Sookie said.

"Before we discuss particulars, Miss Stackhouse, I'd like to know just how you see this article going," Eric said.

"Please call me Sookie," she smiled.

"Sookie," Eric grinned, and gestured for her to continue.

"Well, first and foremost I think you should know that I don't write the kind of stuff that goes into gossip rags. I don't want this to be about sensationalism, even though it will probably turn into that. There are people all over the world that know about you, Mr. Northman, and they are all curious. You're 'The Vampire.' The human man that is so serious about posing as one at his nightclub, that he stays in character all the time. So much so, that it's become the stuff of legend. The way I see it, we can do it one of two ways.

"One- we show the real you, the human man, not the vampire you play night after night. You tell us about a day in the life of Eric Northman, the most famous human vampire."

"That is unacceptable, so option two better be good," Pam said, her tone brokering no argument.

"Option two would basically be an interview with 'The Vampire,' and it would probably increase your business. If done right, we could even sell it to a major publication, including pictures, and make you a pretty penny that way."

"And you would want a large cut of that money?" Eric asked.

"I'm not going to lie and say that wouldn't be nice, because it would, but it's unnecessary. What I hope to get out of this is a career. I love journalism, but nobody will publish me because I didn't go to college for it, and the things I write aren't things the public wants to read about. But my cut of any profits can be discussed when we get closer to selling."

"That sounds agreeable," Eric said, and paused for a moment. Pam looked at him, nodded her head slightly, and then smiled at Sookie.

"Pam and I will write a list of stipulations and have a contract drawn up to reflect these. If you agree to them, you can read through and sign the contract, and then we'll be able to start the interview process."

"That sounds good to me," Sookie said.

"Do you have a card with a number or e-mail address we can reach you at?" Pam asked.

"No, I don't have a card, but I can write it down," she said, pulling a tiny notebook from her purse. She wrote out her cell phone number and e-mail address, ripped the piece of paper from the book, and handed it to Pam.

"We'll be in touch soon," Pam said. "I'll escort you out."

Sookie stood up, and Eric did as well.

"It was nice meeting you, Sookie," he said.

"It was nice meeting you too, Mr. Northman," Sookie said with a smile, and then followed Pam out of the club. When they were outside, Pam started to bid Sookie a good evening, but Sookie interrupted her.

"He told you, didn't he?" she asked. In response, Pam simply quirked an eyebrow. "About what I can do? Ever since you stepped back into that office you've been playing the same song over and over in your head. For your information, I hate that one. It's annoying, and I used to junk punch my brother for it when we were kids."

"Would you like me to pick a different one next time?"

"There doesn't have to be a next time. Look, I know you know something big about him, and I know that neither one of you want me to find out. I'll admit that I'm curious, but if neither of you want me to know, then I won't ask, and I certainly won't pry into your mind for the information. I've gotten quite good at not reading minds unintentionally, so as long as I'm focused it shouldn't be a problem."

"You'll understand if I don't quite trust you on that one," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I do understand that. I just want you to know up front that I won't be trying to read your mind for secrets."

"I appreciate that."

"When should I expect a phone call?" Sookie asked.

"Soon. Perhaps a few days. It will take time for us to determine how we want this to play out."

"Okay. I hope to talk to you soon then."

"Bye now."

Pam walked back into the club, and Sookie got into her car and started the drive home. As soon as she parked in front of her house she let out a deep sigh, felt a smile slowly grow across her face, and then let out an excited, girly squeal.

She had just gotten her big break.