The Man in Black
Caroline Forbes: Recently graduated from New York University, Caroline works as an exotic dancer to pay off her debt. Klaus Mikaelson: A self-made billionaire, forced to watch the woman he loves continue tear her life apart. She doesn't know him. She doesn't remember him. Yet, Klaus Mikaelson knows her. He knows everything about her. He wants her to remember. He has to make her remember.
With his hands in his pockets, Klaus Mikaelson stood on the balcony of his New York penthouse. He anxiously waited for Alaric to call him back.
He was on business in Chicago and another one of Caroline's antics drew him back. He wanted to see the damage himself, but he knew he had to wait for Alaric's call.
His phone buzzed.
"Alaric." He said coolly. "Is she on the schedule tonight?"
"No." He told Klaus. "But I called her in. She'll be here before midnight."
"Remember to request a private audience with her." He reminded him.
"She won't see you man."
"I know!" He snapped. "Just do what I say." He slammed the phone shut. She outright refused to see him every time.
He just needed a few minutes with her.
He had to make her remember him.
For years he had watched her in the shadows. After the accident, Caroline suffered from amnesia.
She lost every memory that she shared with Klaus. The doctors told him it was as if he never existed for the three years that they were together.
The news hit him hard.
He drove himself away from it all. Away from her.
He couldn't deal with the fact that she didn't know who he was. He hated all the memories he had and that she forgot.
It hurt him deeply.
He kept tabs on her, never fully willing to let her go.
For the past four years he watched her life turn into a downward spiral. She went through with college, had several boyfriends, but not once did Klaus intervene.
He knew the time wasn't right.
Not until now.
Once he got word that she had taken a job at Rosy Cheeks a high-end strip club in the Upper West side, he had to see it for himself.
The first night he saw her, he prowled in the back.
He had been to strip clubs before, so he could tell that she was new at this. Innocent. His entire body went rigid the first time she exposed her creamy breasts to the men before her.
She was his, his!
He was disgusted that he allowed Caroline to even go through with this. This one time he should have intervened. He didn't
Within forty-eight hours of stepping into the place, he owned it. He couldn't bear to let Caroline work at a place that he couldn't protect her from.
He kept the girls, but hired new staff. He placed his best bodyguard, Alaric in charge. He was given specific instructions regarding Caroline.
She was not allowed to give private dances and was only allowed two dances a night. She was also given weekly paycheck that the other girls didn't receive.
He kept his distance for two weeks before he caved in.
He had to speak with her.
When Alaric went to her the first time and asked for a private audience Caroline refused him.
Caroline refused him for every weekend following that for the past two months.
Tonight would be different.
He didn't want to control her, but he didn't want to watch her destroy her life.
He wanted to offer her an out. He couldn't bear the site of Caroline any longer on the stage.
Her body was for his eyes only. Too many times she was exposed in front of these men. He wouldn't allow them another glance after tonight.
Caroline placed her four inch black heels on her feet in hopes of earning double of what she made the night before. Last night had been a complete waste of a Friday night. Caroline was almost ecstatic when her manager Alaric called her in to replace a shift.
She hated her job.
She hated the way the men watched her with hunger and lust.
She hated that she even needed the money, but this was the only way to pay off her school debt.
Her bachelor's degree in psychology was absolutely worthless. To get any type of job in New York, she needed a master's degree. How naïve she had been follow her dreams.
Now she was paying immensely by taking her clothes off for almost five nights a week.
"Caroline, you're up in five." Alaric called from his office.
"Thanks." She told him glancing at herself one last time in the mirror.
Caroline liked Alaric.
He treated all of the women that worked here well and never did one thing to disrespect them. He made sure all the girls were taken care of without being taken advantage of by the men.
She only prided herself in the fact that she wasn't working just at any strip club. The only people that had access were wealthy men who wanted a night away from their wives.
They tipped heavily, yet Caroline's monthly payments were a big sum of it. NYU was not cheap after she lost her scholarship.
"Oh, Caroline?" Alaric called out once more.
Caroline stood up and fixed the straps on her corset to face Alaric.
He gave her one of those looks.
"Is he here again?" She groaned. "Can't you tell him to leave?" She begged.
"No can do my dear. He said he would triple his offer for a private audience with you." Alaric said convincingly.
"You can tell him that I'm going to stick my heel in his ass the next time he asks me." Caroline stomped her feet on the ground.
Alaric chuckled at Caroline. She was as stubborn as a mule.
"I'm serious." She said. "He really freaks me out. He just sits there in the back and smokes." She cringed. "I've never even seen his face."
"He's a private man Caroline. A very important private man in case I haven't told you." Alaric reminded her.
"Is that why you can't tell me his real name?" She placed her hands on her hips. "Because he's that important?"
"I say nothing." He put his hands up in defense.
"Oh come on Alaric! No one names their trust fund baby Angus and sleeps peacefully at night."
"He's very discreet, Caroline."
"He's strange and has kidnapping tendencies."
"Just get your ass on stage before I fire you." He warned her.
She rolled her eyes at him and headed towards the entrance of the stage.
"You would never fire me." She reminded him. "I bring in too much profit for you to let me go."
He waved his hand shooing her away. What she said was true, but it was also much more than that.
Caroline walked to the middle of the stage and placed her hands on the iron pole. She kept her head down and took a deep breath.
When the music started, she lost herself. She didn't think of anything other that what she was doing.
She began her dance like she always had, slow and seductive. She waited until halfway through the song before she started removing her clothes.
Caroline always loosened them up in the beginning to make the men squirm and it worked almost every single time.
She accidentally looked up once her corset was fully removed. Her eyes connected with the mysterious man in black. He was watching her as he always did on Saturday nights and she found herself loosing balance.
Something in his intense gaze unnerved her. He made her feel uneasy and she felt completely exposed in front of him.
Not in the sense of her clothes being removed because they already were, but like he could see right through her.
His eyes.
All she could see was his shadow and his eyes and the silhouette of his body.
She knew practically nothing about him. All that she knew about him was that he was a very important man who had taken interest with her when she started the job two months ago.
Caroline finished her first performance and quickly removed herself from the stage.
Alaric met her halfway.
"He really wants an audience with you Caroline. He keeps pushing. His offer tripled again." Caroline's eyes bulged.
"Is this man a serial killer or something?" Caroline was appalled. "Tell him I said NO." She stormed away from Alaric.
Caroline grabbed her robe and wrapped in around her body. Sitting in front of her vanity, she began to remove all of her make-up. All she wanted to do at this point was count her tips, go home and sleep.
She had enough of this man stalking her every single weekend. She knew that if he insisted again, she would tell him yes just to kick him in the balls.
Who did this hot shot think he was? She slammed her washcloth on the vanity and quickly picked her last outfit out for her final performance.
She was completely on edge and knew she needed to loosen up. She pulled the bottle of Vladimir.
It was cheap alcohol, but it would work fast.
She took two shots before slipping the black lace panties and matching black bra on her body. It was her nicest piece and she hoped to take home at least a thousand tonight.
She took another shot in between re applying her makeup and two more before Alaric ushered her back to the stage. When she stood up, she definitely felt the after effects.
"Are you alright?" He asked her.
Caroline nodded slowly trying not to give away her drunken state.
He eyed her suspiciously but let her continue to take the stage.
Klaus sat in the back with a glass of bourbon in hand.
Caroline was due any minute to take the stage and he knew he had one last chance to meet with her after her performance.
He put out his cigarette as the music started blaring from the speakers.
He balled his hands together as Caroline became visible in the spotlight. The men sitting towards the front were ogling her as they threw fifty-dollar bills at her feet.
He downed the rest of his drink and ushered his waitress to bring another. He sat up straighter as noticed a difference in Caroline's performance.
She stumbled a bit and it only took Klaus seconds to realize that she was intoxicated.
He slammed his fists down on the table. He motioned his assistant over towards him.
"Stop this performance right now." He screamed at him.
His eyes quickly darted back to Caroline. She had already removed her top and was going for her panties.
That was a rule breaker. She was not under any circumstances allowed to be fully nude on the stage. That only put Klaus over the edge.
The men were howling at her and Klaus was trying his best not kill every single of one them.
Seconds after Klaus demanded her performance stopped, the lights went out. Alaric removed Caroline from the stage.
He quickly sent out her replacement to keep the men happy. They were drunk so they hardly noticed.
Klaus stood up and walked backstage.
She was drunk, but she was far from getting her stomach pumped.
"Alaric." He called out sharply.
"I need that private audience now." He commanded. "I don't care what you have to tell her."
Alaric knew convincing Caroline to meet with him could cost him his job. He went over to Caroline who was furiously brushing out her curls.
"What the fuck was that?" She asked him. "You ended my song early. Now I will never be able to pay my bills for the month!" She screamed at him.
"I have to ask you one more time, Caroline." He begged with her. "He doesn't want anything from you. He just wants to sit down and talk. Please, Caroline."
She groaned and her head fell into her palms.
"I don't want to do this, Alaric."
"And I don't want to fire you for being intoxicated on stage, Caroline. If you don't do this, I will fire you."
He had her there. She sighed knowing that she was overpowered.
She stood up and removed her robe leaving her in the black lace panties and bra she wore on stage.
"Where does he want me?" She said defeated.
"In the back room." He extended his hand and led her towards the private room.
She took a deep breath before turning the doorknob and facing the mysterious man in black.
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