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Reality is a Bitch, is She Not?
Just under the wire. I had a late night at work and I didn't think that I'd have it edited before Thursday was over but I did it, dammit! I did it! I hope that you all enjoy it. And this is finally Eric's POV. Let me know what y'all think. I hope to get a bonus chapter posted this weekend but I have to work. I get no Labor Day vacation
Goodnight all and I hope that y'all enjoy.
The story idea is mine but the main characters belong to Charlaine Harris.
After leaving Sookie, Eric was in a great mood. It was great to be able to kiss her in front of her assistant. He didn't want to hide that he is in love with her but he understood her reasoning for not wanting to flaunt their relationship in front of others. He would never have kissed her in front of Selah or Quinn. Not even Einin or Niall for that matter. He did it front of Todd because it filled his heart to know that Sookie has shared with her assistant want he means to her. He wanted Todd to know that he feels the same way about Sookie. He wanted them all to know how happy she's made him. And that's what he did. In a subtle manner.
He was whistling when he stepped onto the elevator. He made small talk with the others that were on the elevator. He even cracked a couple of jokes. He patted a few people on their backs. He was laughing heartily when he emerged from the elevator. He was in such a good mood that he winked at Sophie Ann on his way to his office. He was about to ask her how her lunch went but the look of worry that was on her face stopped him dead in his tracks.
Just as usual, when he's not with Sookie or Flynn, the emotion left his face. His eyes were cold and hard. "What's going on?" he asked her.
Pointing at his office, she whispered the words, "Victor's here. He came back."
"How long?" he grumbled.
"He's been here for over an hour," she specified. "I tried to get him to wait out here but he wouldn't listen to me. He inquired of your whereabouts. I didn't tell him that you were with her. Here," she said as she opened her bottom desk drawer. She handed him an aluminum foil swan. "I told him that you had an important meeting with a prospective client. I also remotely shut down your computer before he went into your office. You'd forgotten to shut it down when you met with Niall earlier."
She placed her aging hand on Eric's and said, "Remember to remain calm while you are with him. You know how he likes to agitate you when Niall's not around. Don't let your emotions get the best of you, Eric. It's just something else that he will try to use against you."
"I'll do as you suggest," he said. "I give you my word."
"Good." She patted his hand. "Now make me proud and behave yourself."
Eric leaned down and kissed Sophie Ann's cheek. "I will. You're too good to me," he said. "I don't know what I've done to have you with me all of these years but I am appreciative. You have been a Godsend to me."
She looked astonished at his words. "There's no such thing as being too good to you. I'm good to you because you're a good man. You deserve to be treated as I treat you. Your mom would be proud of the man that you've become."
A look appeared on Eric's face and Sophie Ann rapidly changed the subject.
"And since you believe that I've been too good to you, I want to know if I can have Friday off so that I can go and see Adele in concert. I'd really love to take Peter. It's our anniversary and he loves Adele. I feel that if given the chance, he'd leave me for her." She winked at Eric and asked, "What do you say? Can I get Friday off?"
His bountiful laugh filled the air. "Yes," he replied. "And because you're too good to me and because it's your anniversary, I'll even get you backstage passes. I'll have them sent to your house tonight. How does that sound?"
Sophie Ann cheered as she jumped up from her desk chair. She threw her arms around his neck and thanked him over and over again. "You are too good to me, Mr. Northman! Do you have any idea how much Peter is going to love that?" she exclaimed. "How can I ever thank you?"
That's when Eric's office door came open.
Sneering at Eric, Victor said in his usual self-righteous and oily way, "I see that you're fucking everyone but my daughter." He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at Eric and his assistant. "You can't love my daughter but you can love on a woman that's old enough to be your mother." He shook his head and laughed as he looked down at the floor. "I've always known that you have mother issues but this is just taking things a little too far." He laughed loudly at his attempt at a joke.
Sophie Ann has always been a soft spoken woman and she remained a soft spoken woman even after Victor's comment. She returned to her seat and bowed her head. She began going through files as tears stung her eyes.
Eric placed his hand on her shoulder as he glared at Victor. "She deserves your respect, Victor, and you will give it to her. You will not come into my office and disrespect her or anyone else. You owe her an apology."
Victor only stared.
Eric waited.
Sophie Ann sniffled.
Victor snorted and gave a mock bow to Sophie Ann. "I apologize," he said. "It was all said in jest."
Neither Eric or Sophie Ann believed him but instead of arguing with him, she accepted his apology. "I am fine."
"Will you be okay?" Eric asked her.
She nodded her head as she continued doing her paperwork.
Eric knew that he would get nothing else out of Sophie Ann until after Victor left the building. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before walking to his office with Victor following him.
Once inside, Eric slammed the door behind him. "Sit down," he ordered.
Victor took the seat behind Eric's desk but the growl from Eric helped him to realize his blunder. "My mistake," he said with an emphatic laugh. "I'd presumed that you meant that I could take any seat that I wanted." He decided to take the seat in front of Eric's desk instead. "I can't believe that you've opened a law firm."
"It doesn't matter," Eric replied as he walked to his desk.
He smiled at Eric's words. "What doesn't matter?"
"What you believe. It doesn't matter. It's never mattered." Eric was angry but he remained calm just as Sophie Ann told him to.
His nemesis chuckled at the comment. "I had no idea that you were interested in dabbling in the world of law."
Eric said nothing.
"Is it because of Sookie?"
Eric placed the aluminum swan on his desk as he took his rightful place at his desk. "We're not friends. We don't do idle chit chat. Why have you returned, Victor? Niall has given you your monthly stipend. There's no reason for you to be here. Have you used up all of your allowance already?" He smiled as he cocked his head to the side and stared at his nemesis. "Hookers can be quite costly. Maybe if you were a better man, you wouldn't have to resort to paying for a woman's company."
Victor didn't see the humor in any of what Eric said to him so he ignored it all together. He proceeded to speak on the reason for his visit. "I'm here because of my daughter. She called me not too long ago and she was extremely upset but first I'd like to give my condolencenses on your poor father's demise. I hear that he couldn't afford the medical care that he needed but I believe differently. What about you?"
A slight smile appeared on Eric's face as he remained quiet.
Victor noticed. "I see that you're not torn up over it."
"Freyda?"
He leaned back in his seat as he stared at the young man that sat before him. "Yes, my daughter. My Freyda."
With his voice filled with the distaste and acrimony that he didn't try to hide, Eric asked, "What about her? With any luck, she's returned to Sweden and has a clear knowledge of what she means to me. Is that it?"
Victor crossed his legs as he answered Eric's questions. "She has no intentions going anywhere without you. The problem is that when I went to visit with her this evening, she looked as if she'd been crying. And to my dismay, she had been crying throughout the night. She told me that you are no longer staying at the Peninsula. I've been told that you'd packed up all of your belongings and left." Waving his hands out in front of him, he said, "She said that all of this took place last night."
"It did," Eric established. He decided that he would leave it at that. He wasn't sure of what Freyda had told her father and because of what Victor said next, it was obvious that she'd told him nothing.
"Why?" Victor asked. "Why did you leave her, Eric? If this is about her misleading you, it wasn't her fault. She was against it from the very beginning but I suggested that she do what she needed to ensure that you would fall in love with her. She didn't want to do it but with much prodding and convincing, she realized that she had no choice. She wanted to get to know you before you were married. You have to understand why she did what she'd done. It was a necessity."
He sighed before continuing. "You know how much she loves you. You know that your distance is breaking her heart. Tell me what we can do to make things better for you. What can we do to make you happy?"
That was an easy question for him.
"Let me go," Eric answered with simplicity. "Let me be free of my mother's promise … her mistake. Don't expect me to follow through with what I cannot and will not give you. I don't love your daughter. I will never love her. She will never mean anything to me. She doesn't matter. She will never be mine."
Victor didn't answer Eric right away. He had no intentions to. He wanted the young man to think that he was actually contemplating the simple yet hurtful little speech that he'd just given. He has no intentions of letting Eric go. He can't do that. His family is owed a debt and the Northmans were going to pay it. He was going to do whatever he had to do to make sure that the debt was paid in full.
"Son," Victor began.
Eric's growl and fisted hands made Victor rethink his words.
He raised his hands and shook his head. "I know," he said. "You don't like it when I call you that. Eric, okay? That's what I'll always call you from now on. I'll stick with Eric." He didn't wait for a response. "You will not be free. You owe me. You owe me and my family. I want my debt paid in full."
It took everything in him to remain calm. He wanted to wrap his hands around Victor's neck and squeeze the fucking life from him. He wanted to watch his enemy die but that wouldn't work. He had other plans. Bigger plans. Better plans. Something far better than death.
He stared Victor into his eyes and calmly replied to his statement. "I owe you nothing. All of this is because of my mother. For you to believe that I was a party to any of what happened, shows the type of man that you truly are. Her faults are her own. I have given up enough of my life for her. I have no more to give. I'm giving you this chance to let me go."
Leaning forward in his seat, Victor repeated, "A chance? You're giving me a chance?"
"I am."
Victor laughed. "Oh, dear boy," he said. "Let me let you in on a little secret. Don't fool yourself into believing that you have chances or choices. Everything that you are is mine. You owe me everything. Now, I clearly understand how important family is to you. You love your daughter and you love Sookie."
Eric's face remained emotionless as he stared at Victor. He knew exactly where this was going. Niall had warned him that this was going to happen. And doing as he'd been told, he reached underneath his desk and pressed the button.
Smiling, Victor said, "Don't look all surprised, Eric. I know about your daughter. I knew of her before you moved here. I knew that Sookie was pregnant when she'd first left Sweden."
Eric remained calm and it almost scared Victor. He expected to get a rise out of him. He expected to anger him … to get him to attack him but it didn't work. He decided to keep talking to see what it would get him.
"Your father warned me about the bastard child that was to be born. He was extremely disappointed when he learned that you hadn't protected yourself while sleeping with the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. The girl with nothing to offer but a sweet piece of ass." He smiled at Eric.
Eric returned his smile.
Victor shifted in his seat as he rambled on. "I know about Flynn … that is her name, isn't it?"
Still, Eric said nothing.
"I hear that she's quite beautiful. The spitting image of her mother," he cheerfully stated.
Eric inhaled and asked, "What is your point, Victor?"
Victor continued on. "I know all of this because I have to keep an eye out for my family. It was best that you didn't know of your child. You wouldn't have followed through. You would have denied your obligation and ran off with that Stackhouse girl and I couldn't allow that. She's not worthy of the Northman name. You do understand that, don't you?"
"Your point, Victor," Eric repeated.
"My point is that I'm a father. I can understand your need to be with your child … in your child's life. A child needs its father with them and I'm sure that your daughter is no different. I just wanted to let you know that I know. I also know that you've moved in with Ms. Stackhouse. I know that you are fucking her … probably every night since you've been in New York." He chuckled as he stroked himself. "I'd fuck her. She's quite the tasty morsel. I'll bet that her pussy is as sweet as it was when you two were in high school."
So that Victor couldn't see, Eric placed his hands in his lap as he clenched his fists. Though he remained steady, fury was more than apparent on his face.
Victor smiled at the miniscule reaction that he'd gotten from Eric. "I'll bet that pussy of hers is sweeter than you remembered, am I right? Tell me. Have you compared notes with the other men that she's had in her bed? Do you guys share stories … compare notes … talk to each other about what she likes and what she doesn't like?"
Eric couldn't speak because he knew that if he did, he'd let Sophie Ann down.
Victor was enjoying his presumed tormenting of Eric. "I say all of this because it pains me that you are not loving your wife as you should. You are sleeping with a woman that had another lover not too long ago but my daughter hasn't been with another man in almost six years. She wants only you. It is something that I don't understand. You fucked her before you married her but you won't fuck her now." He shook his head in despair. "Make me comprehend the reasons why you won't make love to my daughter."
Smiling, Eric said, "There's nothing to comprehend. Just as it told your daughter, she was useful for that particular time. I had nothing better to do that night." He shrugged his shoulders. "I could've jerked off and it would have been no different than fucking your daughter."
Victor's anger was strong and unhidden.
Eric smiled.
"Maybe she did bore you in the bedroom," Victor said as he tried to make light of Eric's statements. "I know that she's not much for conversation but she is beautiful. She has a beautiful body. Men have begged for her to be with them. I guess that's not enough for a man like you. You need someone that's from the wrong side of the tracks. Someone that has a bit more experience than my daughter. I'm sure Sookie has had her share of men that we don't know of. I hear that college is the experimental playground."
Any other time, he would've socked Victor in his nose but he remained seated and calm. "I don't understand the reasons why you feel that way about Sookie but she is not as you believe her to be but you know that already, don't you?"
Victor sneered.
"You'd have to since it's more than apparent that you've been checking up on her in the last ten years." Eric steepled his fingers underneath his chin as he stared at Victor and waited for a response.
The elder man stared at Eric as if he wanted to kill him but his smiled hardened. "I don't understand your meaning."
Eric laughed. "Ah, but I think that you do. If you know of my daughter, you know that Sookie doesn't sleep around. She's never slept around. Sookie is not a woman of loose morals. She is a woman of virtue. Now, Freyda," he began. "From what I've heard about your daughter, she has been around the block quite a few times and with quite a few men and women but I'm not one to spread gossip." He leaned back in his seat as he spoke. "When she sucked my … "
Victor sat tall in his seat before Eric could continue on with his sentence.
Lifting his hand, Eric replied, "When she performed fellatio on me, I could tell that she knew exactly what she was doing. She's a pro at it."
"She is my daughter!" Victor growled.
"And Sookie is my lover," Eric countered.
Sarcastically, he said, "And that's fine. I'm sure that Ms. Stackhouse is a lovely woman … sexy as hell if you want to know the truth about it but she's not my daughter. Freyda is the one that you are married to. She is your wife.
"I know that most men have a side piece. You have always been allowed to have side pieces. I've had a few and don't get me wrong, I'm not passing judgement on you. It's fine that you're still fucking your high school sweetheart but come on, Eric. What are you doing? You don't leave your wife for the whore on the side because they're whores. They're all whores that are looking for a handout. Sookie is no different than the many whores before her."
This time, Eric strolled from behind his desk and stood toe to toe with Victor. Anger was seething through him. His fists were so tight in his hands that they were dripping blood. "She has never been a whore. She will never be a whore. You don't talk about her. I never want to hear her name pass through your lips again. I swear on all that I am that if you ever disregard my lover again, you will ..." He didn't finish the sentence. He couldn't finish the sentence. There was too much as stake.
Victor pushed Eric away from him. He stood toe to toe with the younger man and stared him in his eyes.
The corner of Eric's mouth twitched. "Keep your fucking hands off of me," he ordered.
Victor was smiling as he continued to taunt the younger Northman. "Do you want to hit me?"
"Not at all," Eric assured. "Violence solves nothing. I just want Sookie, Flynn, and my freedom."
No longer smiling, Victor glared at Eric. "What do you see when you look at me?"
"Nothing," Eric replied.
That's the answer that Victor expected. "Because that's what you, Sookie, and Flynn mean to me. I only want what is owed to me and my family. You will give it to me. I don't give a fuck about your daughter or Sookie. They could fucking vanish for all I care. I want what is owed."
Eric stepped in closer to Victor and looked down at the much shorter and smaller man. He could have Victor and Freyda gotten rid of. No one would ever hear from either of them again. He would be free of the Maddens and that contract but no. He wanted more. He smiled evilly at his enemy as the images of Victor's downfall played in his mind. To see him begging … crying … being humiliated beyond reason made him very happy.
"What do you see when you look at me, Victor?"
He looked into the young man's eyes and it scared him. He'd never seen the boy look like that. He didn't bother to answer the question. He couldn't. Eric would've known.
"As I said before," Eric began. "I'm giving you a chance to set me free to be with my family. Let me go."
Victor laughed. "I'm sorry, son, but you will never have her or your freedom. Sookie will be nothing more than a side piece for you. You will never marry her. She will always just be something for you to do because you will forever be obligated to my family but I assure you. I would never keep you away from your child."
Eric glowered at Victor. He wanted to rip his fucking heart out.
Smiling, Victor asked, "Reality is a bitch, is she not?"
Eric wanted to kill Victor. He wanted to watch him die but he remained calm.
"Leave Sookie and give me what you owe me," he warned. "I've never been above wreaking havoc on the lives of others. Give me what you fucking owe me. I want the life that your mother ended. Give me my grandson and you can go about your life."
"Get the fuck out of my office," Eric replied.
Victor turned to leave but paused. He pulled an envelope from the inside of his jacket pocket. "Make the right decision, Eric, or you'll regret it." He dropped the envelope on Eric's desk before leaving the office.
Eric opened the envelope and smiled.
"Mr. Northman?" Sophie Ann said as she peeked into his office. She looked at his bloody hands and ran to his bathroom. She returned with a wet, soapy cloth. She kneeled before him and began washing the blood from the palms of his hands. "You didn't hit him, did you?"
"I didn't," he guaranteed her.
"Good," she whispered. "I'm proud of you."
He looked down at her. "Thank you."
She looked up at him and saw a mixture of sadness and joy in his eyes. After she'd cleaned his hands, she said, "You don't have to do this anymore. You don't have to let Victor keep you under his heel."
He chuckled and said, "I know that now. I only did it because it was for my mom. My mom …"
"Was wrong," Sophie Ann finished. She gripped his hands tightly in hers. "What they've done to you was wrong. Their archaic ways are long gone and it's obvious to me that you see that now."
He looked at her and grinned.
Sophie Ann returned the sentiment. "I can see that you are up to something, Mr. Northman and I want in. I'm not going to let you fight this battle alone. I know more than anyone thinks I do. I can help you destroy them."
He shook his head no. "I can't let you do that. I've told you before, Sophie Ann, you have too much to lose and I won't let that happen to you. You'll be putting your family at risk. Your sons. You can't do that. I won't let you do that."
She stood up and was about to say more but he cut her off.
"I need for you to send Ms. Stackhouse an email and tell her that our dinner date is still on and I will meet her at the restaurant at 7:00. I also want you to contact Niall and give him this envelope that Victor hand delivered to me. Also tell him to check his surveillance system. Victor has given us a little extra to use against him." He offered the envelope to her.
Sophie Ann took it. "But, Mr. Northman …"
"Thank you, Sophie Ann," he said as he looked down at some papers on his desk. "Were the papers already delivered to Freyda?"
"No, sir," she said. "Niall said that he wanted to double check them before they go out. He said that they should be ready by tomorrow morning."
"Good," he said.
"I know things," she said as she looked at the top of his head.
"No."
She tilted his face up to hers and said, "You love her, Eric. I've never seen such bliss in your eyes. I like seeing you like this. I want to always see you like this and you can stay like this if you'd let me help you. I need to do this. You've covered for us long enough. Please let me do this."
He took the elderly lady's hand in his and said, "You were young then. Just like my mom. They destroyed her and I will not let that happen to you. We will get me out of this but we will do it without your help."
Sophie Ann gripped his hands tighter. "I can do this. I can handle whatever they throw my way. I'm stronger than you believe me to be. I want you to stay blissful and carefree."
Eric smiled. "And I will remain like this," he promised.
"If you let me do what I should've done long ago, we wouldn't be having this conversation," she said.
He stood up from his seat as he ignored her pleas. "Get all of the information that you can that's concerning the contracts to Sookie. She and Niall will be working on this together. Give them everything that you can find and nothing more than that."
"Will do," she said.
He stared at the elderly lady as he talked to her. "I want you to promise me, Sophie Ann. Don't get involved with this. This is not your fight."
Sophie Ann's eyes and smiled beamed as she looked up at Eric. "You have nothing to worry over. I won't put my family in harm's way. I give you my word. I'm going to stay a little longer to complete the files for the new Cunningham case. I will also finish up the letters of termination and send them out by the end of the day. Severance packages will be sent out as well. I have everything under control. Will there be anything?"
He shook his head no. "There's nothing else."
Sophie Ann kissed Eric's cheek as she ruffled his hair. She said no more as she closed the door behind her. She was going to help Eric regardless of what he said. She was going to be the mother that he never had. She was not going to let Erica's or her actions destroy anymore of Eric's life. They'd taken enough from him already. It was time that she gave something back.