One

Telephone Call on Early Sunday Morning

It was seven o'clock in the morning on Sunday. Sunday. Whoever on the other end of the line must have lost their minds!

And if it was her brother, Jason, calling from one of the Sheriff Office's jail in the county because an angry husband wanted to kill him, then Jason did not have to worry about those angry husbands anymore, because she would be the one who killed him!

Jason, her brother, was a womanizer. He had all the necessity to be a womanizer, Sookie supposed. He was charming, very athletic - his body was not big, but all muscled, very nice eyes, and beautiful smile. And he smiled a lot. Almost every week-end he had a new girl friend. The last one, Dawn, was the longest girl-friend he ever had. A month. Yep. They had stayed together as boyfriend-girlfriend for a month. What a record.

Sookie herself prefer to have distant with people, especially men. Not so many people know, but she had a little secret, which she considered a curse. She could hear what the people thought in their heads. Telepathist, that's what she would be called, if she made public with her curse. May be some would call it a gift, but for her, it was a curse. Because she could not never be alone. There were always noises around her, which were not always pleasant. And the men who ever wanted to be her boy-friend, mostly they thought only about her body, her breast to be spesific, which had 38 D as the cup number. And it's annoying. As if she would not have existed without her boobs.

"Hello?" Sookie tried to open her eyes.

"Move your ass here."

Worse. It was Arlene. Her boss, her friend. And she sounded cranky. Somebody must have disturbed her sleep too.

"Arlene, it is Sunday."

"Don't you think I know that?! Move your ass here."

"Where?"

"My house."

Click. She hung up.

This would be a damn good week!

Sookie knew Arlene all her life, since her parents died, Arlene was the one who raised her and her brother, Jason. Arlene was the reason why she went to law school and became a lawyer herself.

Arlene Fowler, the shark from The South, that's how some newspaper called her. Tough, and never gave up, if once she ever decided to defend a client, right or wrong, the client was always right. She would make sure that the case in her hand, the one she would defend in the court room, would win. Physically, Arlene was a small woman. Red curly hair, which mostly she rolled, and a very small lips. Actually it was not that small, but she curled them many times, that it looked like they were tiny. And when she curled her lips, any body should be careful. Because it meant she pissed.

But thank God, her lips were normal, when Sookie was standing in front of her door. Almost half an hour later. She looked cranky, though. Her hair was wild, and she was still in her sleeping gown, and bare feet.

"Damn those rich people!" she said.

"Morning to you too, Arlene." Sookie tried to smile, entering her house.

Arlene slammed the door.

Sookie jumped a little.

"Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

Arlene poured the coffee in a jug with "I Am The Best Mama" written on it. It must be from one of her children. She gave it to Sookie. "What do you know about NIC?"

"NIC...as Northman Industrial Company?"

"The one and only."

"Oh, nothing. Only that they have their hands everywhere. Pharmacy, Electronic, Steel, Food, Oil, and who knows what else, and they are the third biggest company in this country."

Arlene drank her coffee. Her hands looked trembling. Something was very serious. Sookie did not know what, but something that made Arlene afraid. And Arlene Fowler did not get afraid so easily.

"The private secretary of Mrs. Northman just called me some hours ago. Damn those rich people! And he informed me, that Mrs. Northman wants to have our advice in her divorce case."

"She is getting divorced?"

"Yep. And she wants you to accompany her in this difficult situation, word by word from the secretary's mouth."

"Me?"

"Yap. I tried to explain to him that it's impossible, since you are only my assistant, and you never have any case before. You are too young, and too inexperience to handle a big case like this."

"What did he say?"

"Either you handle the case, or they give it to somebody else."

Now she was the one who was nervous. "And what did you say?"

"What else could I say? Yes, of course. You would go and meet Mrs. Northman. Today."

"What?! You did not even ask me?!"

Arlene curled her lips. "It is a big opportunity for us. If you can win the case, and Mrs. Northman is satisfied with you, then you know what it means to work personally for Northman Family. Big League, Darling. Big League."

Big League meant big cases from big companies, or rich people, more connections, more money...

Sookie drank her coffee, and tried her best to calm down. She was never ever standing alone in front of the court, or being the main legal advisor. She was always the one who prepared all the necessary paper for Arlene.

"Why does Mrs. Northman want to get divorced anyway?"

"No idea. But what I do know, nobody really knows who Mr. Northman is. Nobody ever saw his face, except very few people. Even Mrs. Northman herself is very private. She has been excluding herself from the world since some years ago."

"How old is Mrs. Northman?"

"Sixty, seventy, give and take."

"And Mr. Northman?"

Arlene shook her head. "I have no idea."

"And I'm supposed to meet her today?"

"Her driver will pick you up in one hour."

"What?! I don't even prepare my cloth!"

"Don't worry. Mrs. Northman has already prepared everything for you. Just make sure you have your lap top with you."

"And where will I go? New York? Washington?"

"Bon Temps."

Sookie looked at Arlene, shocked. Mrs and Mr Northman, from Northman Industrial Company, lived here, in Bon Temps?!

Arlene shrugged. "I tell you, damn those rich people!"

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