Hey guys! How's everyone doing? Well, there's a new story! Hope you like it and have as much fun reading it as I have when writing it! Read and enjoy!
Chapter 1
Bubblegum Bitch
"Got a figure like a pin-up, got a figure like a doll
Don't care if you think I'm dumb, I don't care at all
Candy vest, sweetie pie, wanna be adored
I'm the girl you die for…"
"Beautiful! One over the shoulder."
"Fabulous, girl! Maybe lean a little more on the palm tree? Yes, that's it!"
"Come on give me a bright smile! Uh-huh, dashing!"
Damon Salvatore was pleased. Watching closely from his spot a bit away from the madness, a satisfied, smug smirk played on his lips as he rubbed his palms together in delight. He loved his job. From when he could remember himself he was always a people's person, somebody who loved talking to them and who could easily get them on his side with his undeniable charm. So when the time came he made his talent a job. Damon Salvatore was a manager; and a good one of those. He had come to Los Angeles many years ago along with his brother, both of them desperately trying to escape the overprotection of an obsessive father, and lucky for them they made it big.
At first it wasn't easy. Companies couldn't trust an amateur manager with lack of experience and zero references and of course clients threw his curriculum vitae in the trash, moving on to someone with better skills. His luck though seemed to change overnight when he met her. It was a tough day and all he wanted to do was drown his disappointment in bourbon as he took a seat at the bar of the small, unknown pub but immediately his head snapped at the velvet voice that filled his ears. There amongst some lowlifes and their sultry choice of companion a blue eyed-blonde hair angel was singing some old school rock song, leaned on a rusty broken jukebox. Her denim skirt was short and tight on her slender legs and her top forced her rich cleavage up in a surely uncomfortable way. She clearly wasn't meant for that godforsaken place, she was born for more, so much more; and Damon knew it just from a glimpse at her full with spank and determination eyes.
"Hold on there. I need to change the lens." The young photographer's voice brought him back from his reverie. Right on cue, hordes of Lucky magazine assistants flocked around her, straightening her gorgeous dress, putting volume on her always perfect blond curls, fixing her makeup or just asking if there was anything she wanted.
Looking at her now, Damon nearly didn't recognize the girl he took from that pub that night. And how could he? She wasn't some crappy pub singer anymore, she was the Caroline Forbes; world famous singer, entertainer, fashion icon, model, entrepreneur and businesswoman. It still amazed him how she managed to achieve all that in such short notice, barely being twenty four years old, but being here every second of the way Damon knew firsthand the hard work and the late nights and the sacrifices she had to make for the sake of living her dream.
"Ugh, the "diva" is doing a photo-shoot again." a feminine voice scoffed and made Damon drop his eyes from the scene in front of him, only to continue their trail in search for the source. Two high school girls had appeared at the other side of the metal railing providing the people from walking through the shoot and stood there watching, the one appalled with her hands crossed defensive over her chest and the other bewitched, hungrily wanting to capture everything with her innocent eyes. Damon guessed that the annoyed comment had come from the first one.
"I don't get it." The same girl continued. "What do people find good at her?" she scrunched her nose in dismay.
"She is flawless." The other answered maintaining the dreamy stare on Caroline.
"You can't be serious now, Brooke!" she spoke in exasperation. "The woman is a hot mess. She can't even control herself! All she does is party and get wasted. And be honest her songs are just a bad impersonation of Madonna meeting Joan Jet!"
"Oh, don't be so harsh, Peyton!" the brunette snapped at her friend. "She's only twenty four, she's living her life. Plus it can't be easy handling all that stuff at such age; the girl needs her rest."
"Whatever, I don't like her."
"Well, I do."
"Fine! Can we just go now? I'm starving!"
Damon watched them go and felt a frown appearing on his forehead. That was exactly what people were feeling about Caroline Forbes; there were the ones who praised her like a goddess and there were the ones who loathed her like a bad seed. There was no grey, just black and white. However, whatever outrageous thing she'd done no one could hold it against her. In contraction she'd gained more publicity and became more and more famous. It seemed that people even loved to hate her. It was weird but Caroline Forbes had a crazy amount of fans that hated her and worshiped her with equal amount.
His phone vibrated inside the pocket of his dark jeans and caused him to take his eyes off the two girls that now had disappeared in the busy boulevards of L.A. A new text appeared on his screen and Damon flinched looking at the ID. Half-heartedly he pushed the open button and read the imposing and full of unsaid threats message of his boss:
"The pictures from last night are all over the press. Seeing as you can't find somebody to provide proper guidance for Caroline, I will take matters into my own hands."
Well, seemed that the universe decided today to start hating on both him and Caroline Forbes.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" Klaus kept mentally repeating as he took turn after turn in unknown side roads, trying to somehow reach the city center. Any other day that wouldn't be a difficult task, seeing that even traffic couldn't affect him and his small choice of transportation – his bicycle – but today the main street was closed for some ungodly reason, making his life even more unbearable. The day had yet again started with the best assumptions of course; from the awful mess of their house to the usual bickering of his sister and his younger brother and now the huge transportation inconvenience Klaus was cursing everyone and everything, wishing he knew what had he done to deserve such luck.
And the highlight of the morning, he was running late of yet another job interview. Having dedicated seven years of his life in university and his beloved studies, Klaus was now desperately trying to get a job at his area of expertise but all he managed to get was doors slammed into his face. It didn't matter that he was a proud owner of a college and a master's degree in management and social studies, no, he just didn't have the right connections or the needed experience for the job. Bullshit! All he knew was that they were keeping unemployed a man who could give his heart into his job all because he wasn't screwing somebody at the head department. Well then, screw them!
Today was no exception unfortunately. After appearing at the huge skyscraper ten minutes late for his interview, he was forced to talk about optimism and how he wanted to get the spot at a man that focused more on typing on his self-phone than on him talking. It was utterly ridiculous. So when the words "sorry, we can't help you" left the man's lips he wasn't surprised at all; a little disappointed yes, but truth be told he didn't want to work with such robots that called themselves human beings. Just like that, he walked off the marble stairs at the entrance and took off his tie, shoving it into the pocket of his black slacks. He decided to walk to his next destination and leave his bike at the parking lot of the firm seeing as the central boulevard was still closed. They hadn't hired him but at least they could offer their parking services for a little while.
After spending nearly a quarter walking, the familiar glass doors of the small central bistro appeared on his eyesight. It was homey but held an aura of business and class thanks to the quite business people that spent their limited free time there every day. At their usual booth near the back, his two friends were smirking and secretly whispering like high school boys while watching the young businesswoman that just entered the coffee shop seconds before him, clad in a form fitting white pencil dress and designer sky-high pumps. Boys would be boys whatever their age, he thought to himself, raising an eyebrow at their tackless behavior and walking directly to join them.
"There he is!" Stefan announced as long as Klaus slid next to him at the booth, teasingly drumming his palms on his friend's shoulders. "How did the interview go?"
"Isn't it obvious or should I go home and wear my 'I suck' T-shirt?" Klaus replied in full sarcasm making the other man shake his head in defeat.
"Well, maybe that will give you a chance with the ladies." Marcel winked from across them, making the obvious innuendo in which Klaus flinched with no amusement. "Oh come on mate! Stop with the pity-party already!" he laughed.
"Says the man that became CEO of the commercial designing company he's working barely a year after he finished college." The blonde trailed off with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, easy for you."
"Just because luck happened to be on my side doesn't mean that you won't have your shot. With such dashing qualifications anyone that doesn't hire you is a complete moron!" Marcel reminded him with a smile.
"You realize that you called half the Los Angeles firm owners morons, do you?" Klaus spoke his sarcastic response with a clever shrug.
"God, man! We're just trying to cheer you up! Suck it up, get over it and move on!" Stefan groaned taking a sip of his usual espresso.
"Wow, Salvatore, you're always saying the sweetest things to me." The other man half smiled. "I'm definitely offended by your use of words."
"Oh, don't go soft on me now Mikaelson." The younger Salvatore smirked too.
"So how is life in the madness house?" Marcel asked some minutes after, once Klaus had his favorite black coffee in a mug in front of him.
"A madness." He replied instantly making the two men chuckle softly. "You know, Henrik is constantly blabbing about your huge apartment and how you two played pool and video games every night while he stayed with you last weekend." He meant it as a scolding but he couldn't help but smile at how happy Henrik was about it. "You are spoiling him."
"He's my man, I can't help it." The brunette man shrugged with a wide grin. "Bring him over whenever he likes." he added genuinely, considering Klaus' family his family too.
"Um, just make sure to call first." Stefan interfered. "I stopped by the other day and let's just say that I'm still traumatized by the sight of him and a brunette on the kitchen island in a very Kama sutra position." He frowned in mixed shock and disgust, earning a throaty laugh from Marcel.
"I'd like to stay away from the gory details." Klaus shook his head and raised a hand to prevent Stefan from saying more while taking a sip from his beverage. "Another intern for your secretary position?" he turned to the other man whose smug smile was reaching his ears.
Marcel shook his head 'no' in a foxy way, like a child refusing breaking a vase even though getting caught in the act. "She's the sexy lady from the tenth floor. Vicky is a yoga instructor; amazing flexibility." He winked and Stefan whistled in approval.
"Oh that one has a name!" Klaus laughed. "That's a first!"
"She'd introduced herself to me when I first moved in the building but we didn't hit off right away." Marcel informed them. "And now that we're at it, speak for yourself Salvatore! I still remember very vividly the redhead you were full on snogging at the bathroom of Hyde Lounge the previous week!" he pointed an accusing finger at his friend's face.
Stefan shrugged. "Spur of the moment."
"Bite me!" he said back with a fake smirk. "The only one of us with the steady relationship and the right to judge here is Nik."
"That's not just a steady relationship that seems like bounded together for eternity!" Stefan commended in exasperation. "Is it now, eight, ten years you two are together?" he blubbed boringly.
"Actually it's three years next week." Klaus corrected him matter-of-factly, shy smirk intact.
"Man, aren't you bored yet?" Marcel groaned.
"Besides what you two perverts think people do have serious relationships." Klaus nodded in a mocking manner.
"And how can you be sure that every time she's on a business trip she doesn't screw every colleague of hers?" Stefan asked cleverly.
"Because I trust her and because I know that Camille isn't at all that kind of person." Klaus immediately replied, certain about his answer and the girl he saw himself settling down with.
"Can't say I'm surprised that Queen Uptight is strictly monogamous." Marcel murmured inside his own cup of coffee, earning a cold glare from Klaus. "Plus, how much fun can somebody have in book tours and editor meetings?" he smirked and tried to sound like he was joking but his general dislike for Klaus' choice of girlfriend wasn't easy to be camouflaged.
"Enough with that nickname! She's a book editor and knows how to do her job. If you can't be that proffessional, at least don't be bitter." Klaus snapped, a tad of anger coloring his voice, and Marcel raised his hands in defeat, laying back on his seat.
"Let's just talk about something else, shall we?" Stefan suggested sending a warning glare to Marcel who just shrugged.
A commotion of loud voices and bright camera flashes at the central street just outside of the small bistro caused the majority of the customers to turn their attention along with the three friends. Like wild bees, paparazzi were flocking a black limo, snapping photographs in lightning speed all the while as demanding the attention of whoever was trying to approach the expensive car with their desperate, loud pleas. Two tall and masculine guys stepped through the madness, holding back the aggressive photographers, and Klaus finally spotted the person that was all about; hid under a black floopy hat, a sea of golden locks appeared as the woman with the oversized sunglasses made her way between her bodyguards, without spearing a single look around her and quickly sliding inside the impressive vehicle. One of the bodyguards secured the door after her and the car immediately speeded, leaving the disappointed photographers running behind it.
"Who is she?" Klaus asked, his eyes still glued outside.
"You didn't seriously ask that question!" Marcel scoffed with a surprised smirk and Klaus shook his head in confusion. "Mate, she's Caroline Forbes!"
"And I should know her why…?" the blonde man trailed off, narrowing his eyes. Her name did ring a bell but he couldn't really pin-point where he'd heard or seen her.
Stefan and Marcel exchanged a look. "She's the biggest star in like the whole America, if not the globe!" Stefan explained, like talking to a five year old or a survivor of a years' long comma. "High-end singer and celebrity icon, and she lately launched her second personal perfume and started her own fashion line." He added and pointed outside at the opposite wall where a huge poster of her tangled up in white sheets and nothing on, just her perfume as the caption was teasing, was displayed on a billboard.
"Um, yeah, Rebekah is a little obsessed with her." Klaus remembered upon seeing her face on the amount of CDs and posters of her his teenage sister had in her room.
"Who isn't? Even the ones that hate her want to know her every move!" Marcel shook his head amused. "I can't blame them. I've seen her once at a party and I'm telling you the girl is sexy as hell!" he told them more secretly, leaning over the table. "Must be wickedly clever too."
"Well, it seems that she knows what she is doing. I mean she can pull off nearly everything." Stefan agreed, leaning back more comfortably on his seat, rolling the packet of his cigarettes aimlessly under his fingers.
"What do you mean?" Klaus asked with curiosity.
"Caroline Forbes can be anyone people want her to be." He stated seriously. "She can turn from the most dashing American sweetheart, hooking everyone with her charm to the badest rock chick, provoking her fans with her outrageous behavior. She can't be tamed and up until now she was used to get away with everything."
"How do you know all that?" Marcel asked the question that was wandering around Klaus' head too.
Stefan gave them a "you must be kidding me look". "Hello, Damon is her manager!"
"Oh, yeah right. Lucky guy!" Marcel winked and turned his focus elsewhere. "I'll be back in a sec." he announced and stood up, buttoning the jacket of his grey suit and making his way to the lady that all this time was eye-flirting with.
The remaining two men in the table just chuckled.
After some minutes of silence of them enjoying their beverages, Stefan's head shot up wearing an "I just had the brightest idea" expression.
"What?" Klaus asked with a frown.
"I think I just found you a job!" he smiled, proud of himself.
"Where?!"
"Ok, just try to listen and don't rush into saying no, ok?" he started cautiously and Klaus hesitated but nodded. "Right, so as I was saying to you my brother is Caroline Forbes' manager. Now, because of her outrageous behavior – which is now amplified, seeing as everyday there are photographs of her drunk and dancing provocatively on every magazine – the record label wanted Damon to hire somebody to guide her and fix her ruined image. Damon of course didn't and to cut the long story short now the label took matters into their hands and the boss is searching for this person himself." Stefan concluded taking a deep breath. "He called me earlier, before you came to join us."
"I don't really understand; where do I stand in all this?" Klaus titled his head in confusion.
"You can be the image maker!" his friend announced in a triumphal tone, smiling an award-winning smile and opening his arms in a great gesture.
"No way!" Klaus refused like a reflex.
"Why not? You've spent seven years in marketing and social studies; you have all the necessary and more qualifications for the job." Stefan insisted.
"I can plan the social strategy of a company not of a person and especially her!" he made a gesture at the billboard that Stefan had previously pointed and flinched.
"Well, maybe but it definitely worth a try!" he raised his eyebrows at him in a clever manner.
"I… I don't know." Klaus sighed in defeat. That for sure wasn't one of his dream jobs when he proudly held his dimploma for family pictures.
"Just think about it, ok? I can put in a good word for you too." He suggested but Klaus didn't have the chance to answer as Marcel slid on his previous seat.
"Meredith Fell." He informed them with a naughty smile, twirling a little white card around his fingers before titling his head to the direction of the brunette with the form-fitting white dress that he and Stefan were previously drooling over. "She's a law intern."
"And I thought you were finally settling." Stefan commended amused.
"Yes I am. But virility to choose from never hurt anyone." He joked and the three men laughed, even though Klaus' head was already trying to wrap his mind around this unexpected job proposal.
"What do you mean he's overboard angry? Alaric is never angry!" Damon spoke over the sound of water running in the shower as he kept lying on the double bed with a white silk sheet thrown over his naked lower half, one arm bended under his head and icy eyes speed-scanning every celebrity gossip site on his iPhone.
"Well, everyone has a certain tolerance point. And this is his." The feminine voice came muffled from the opened door of the luxurious en suite bathroom.
"Can't blame him." He murmured quietly, his thump stopping its previous scrolling for him to read yet another article that made public another night of shame for Caroline Forbes. Attached to it where a plethora of photographs with Damon's blonde trophy dancing up on tables, her choice of dress way too short and revealing for its own good, and a bottle of champagne attached on her hand, the young diva either drinking from it or showering the eye candy of men that flocked around her everytime.
"Seriously, you have to do something about it; Caroline needs to take it down a notch." the sound of water stopped and the woman joined him in the spacious master bedroom, her well-build body wrapped in a short fluffy pink towel and her honey blonde hair dripping with water.
"Don't I know it, Lexi?" Damon replied throwing his phone on the empty bed next to him. "I tried talking to her and you did too but you know that she never listens to anyone's advice." He sighed running a hand through his messed up hair.
"Yeah, I perfectly experience that every day." She huffed, reaching for her underwear drawer and taking out a set of black lacy lingerie. "But the boss is furious and now he's trying to find somebody to bring her to the good side again."
"Believe me, I pity whoever gets the job." Damon fished his black boxers from the floor and put them on before standing up. "Caroline needs somebody who can understand her on her side; somebody who knows every layer of her character, nice or bitchy. And no one knows her like I do. So Alaric's idea is just bullshit!" he snapped with an annoyed huff.
"Maybe, but he is the owner of Sunset Studios. He does what he wants." Lexi reminded him with raised eyebrows, dropping her towel and putting on her underwear too, making Damon lick his lips at the sight.
He sighed, composing himself quickly. "Can't you say something to him?" he came closer and closed his arms around her waist, bringing her flat against his body.
Lexi let a snorted laugh. "Contrary to popular belief, the fact that I own 20% of the label doesn't make me in charge; promoting the label is my one and only duty, Ric has the final say." She explained and he groaned lightly in annoyance. "But I did throw in some sentences along the lines of "Damon knows what he's doing" and "Damon has it under control, no need to worry" whenever I visited his office for Caroline's matter, not that he seemed to listen to me." Lexi shrugged, caressing his biseps all the way up to his board shoulders.
"Well, it's the thought that counts, babe." He smirked lovingly at her and leaned in capturing her still swollen lips into yet another sensual kiss.
"Don't do that know!" Lexi groaned playfully, pulling back with a naughty smile on her face. "I have to get back to the office. And you should too, now that we're at it." She suggested, closing her hands at the back of his neck. "Make an appearance, show Alaric that you're responsible and you care about the label."
Damon flinched. "I guess I could." He reluctantly agreed. "When am I going to see you again?" he asked sliding his blue eyes sexily over her scantily clad figure.
"I can clear up some things off of my tomorrow night's schedule." She told him deliciously next to his ear, adding a light suck of his earlode for bonus sexiness points.
"Sounds perfect to me! Caroline will be enjoying some beauty sleep, spa and other girly stuff at her villa so she won't be needing me." Damon informed his lover, leaving light kisses on Lexi's neck.
"It's settled then!" Lexi confirmed pecking his lips firmly. "Now, get dressed before I change my mind and jump your bones once again!" she pushed him away and he chuckled.
"I love it when you talk dirty to me, Alexia Branson." Damon commended earning a playful smack on his chest, before gathering his recklessly thrown clothes from the floor.
Klaus closed the white front door of their house with a sigh, throwing his black cardigan recklessly towards their beige couch where it joined Kol's dirty socks and some of Henrik's comic books. It was that rare occasion that the house was silent, without the usual barbaric shouting and overcrowded mess and Klaus couldn't help but let a breath of relief. He liked these peace and quiet moments and, especially today, he thanked the heavens above for whatever his siblings had to do so he could get lost into his thoughts and decide if Stefan's job proposal was actually worth the shot.
Once up the small wooden staircase however, the sound of the girly mainstream music he came to loath many years ago ruined his idea for a distraction free evening. Brown Oxfords brought the blonde Brit with two large steps to the first bedroom to the left – the biggest of the house of course– where the opened door revealed a very colorful and girly room, belonging to his one and only younger sister. The walls were painted a common white but a bright yellow was standing out from the half and down where a fluffy red-violet carpet was hugging the hardware floor. A white double bed with a pale yellow vintage duvet and white and yellow decorative pillows was standing proudly in the middle of the room, whereas a white wooden office desk was attached to the opposite wall and a same color bookcase was surrounding it. Some violet puffs were scattered here and there as well as one in front of a small vanity at the corner near the big window, its surface filled with piles of beauty products and accessories. And there he thought that all the extra money he was giving her was for school supplies.
"At least I hope that our neighbors don't loathe that ear bleeding thing you call music." Klaus commented leaning a shoulder on the threshold, hands buried inside the pockets of his slacks.
"Watch out, brother, your inner geek is showing again." Rebekah replied nonchalantly, continuing with her task of painting her toe nails a dark burgundy. She was sitting on her bed with random body crèmes and nail polishes around her, dressed in a white loose tank top and a pair of oversized grey Nike terry shorts that Klaus recognized as the ones he used to wear at lacrosse practice when he was at high school. Rebekah had always a thing for borrowing his clothes, especially his shirts. Her silk blonde hair was up in a messy bun atop her head with some stubborn strains falling at the sides of her face, occasionally getting inside her eyes irritating her.
"Why are you here alone? Where's Henrik?" he asked ignoring her insult.
"He's at the arcade playing with the guys or snogging Anna. Or maybe doing both." She flinched in disgust for her younger brother and his lame friends, gently blowing on her nails.
"Of course he is." Klaus sighed in a knowing manner and he made a mental note to talk to his sophomore in high school youngest brother later about his curfew and allowances after school. Rebekah let her nails dry and focused her eyes on an open magazine next to her, making Klaus raise an eyebrow in curiosity.
"So what are you reading?" he walked further inside and took a seat across her at the end of the bed.
"Sixty plus one most pleasurable positions." She replied quickly without taking her eyes from her Cosmo magazine and Klaus' eyes practically fell off their place as they widened in surprise and horror.
"What?" Rebekah asked after seeing his expression. "The article is actually pretty enlightening. However, I have some questions now." She made a thinking expression returning back to the magazine. "For example, number twenty five do you have to go all the way up-"
"Say another word and trust me you will not leave this house till you're at least fifty." He threatened her fiercely and in all seriousness.
Rebekah started laughing loudly. "God, Nik, lighten up; I'm just messing with you!"
Klaus closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "Please tell me that you're just joking and you're not, um, you know…"
"Oh, ew, don't make me have that talk with you!" the girl exclaimed, his expression changing from amused to disgusted.
"I just don't want some ass make you do something that you don't want and now that you're a senior things are usually…progressing-" Klaus kept going but Rebekah cut him off.
"God, please stop!" she hid her face in her hands, feeling her skin getting hotter from embarrassment. "I know how to take care of myself, thank you very much!" she spoke with confidence, straightening her back. Klaus just raised a skeptical brow.
Rebekah groaned in frustration. "I'm still… intact! There! Are you happy now?" she sighed.
Klaus sighed too, relived, a small smile creeping on his lips. "Fine. This talk is over."
"Finally!" Rebekah raised her hands in exasperation. "Is there anything else or you just stopped by to eternally humiliate me?"
Her older brother was about to refuse and excuse himself to his much smaller bedroom down the hall, when his gaze stopped at one of the many posters that decorated the wall next to her bed. One of Caroline Forbes was at the center with her lying on an armchair and her slim figure clad in a too short dress and ripped tights underneath it. Her attire along with her overly tousled hair and dark makeup was making her look like a total rock princess, just coming off the rock 'n' roll era.
"What do you know about her?" he titled his head, examining the picture better and his sister followed his gaze confused.
"Why the sudden interest in Caroline Forbes?" she asked curiously.
"Just asking." Klaus shrugged, knowing that telling Rebekah about the possibility of him applying to become her manager was going to earn him a great deal of girly squeal and fangirling questions, leading to him having an unbearable headache for the rest of the day.
"Well, I know everything so it depends; what do you want to now?" Rebekah raised an eyebrow.
"For starters, what kind of songs does she sing? Like Britney Spears girly nonsense?" Klaus narrowed his eyes in question and Rebekah passed him one of her IPod earphones. A sad quite melody started as long as his sister pressed play and an angelic voice mesmerized his ears, making him think that maybe he had underestimated the girl. Suddenly the music turned into a loud rock anthem and so did her voice and Klaus flinched jumping a little at the sudden sound.
"What the heck happened?" he exclaimed annoyed, the song clearly being way out of his music preferences.
"Relax! It's just a rock ballad, Gosh!" she rolled her eyes.
"Are all her songs like that?" he blocked the offensive sound by yanking the earphone off his ear.
"She doesn't actually have a music type." Rebekah started while turning off the small device. "I mean her EPs always contain songs that are so different from each other; old school rock, jazz, soul, althernative rock she can honestly pull everything off. She doesn't do pop and mainstream though."
Klaus raised his eyebrows in surprise; this Caroline girl had actually talent. "So if she is so good at what she is doing why is everyone against her?"
"No one is against her." Rebekah scoffed, like her brother had insulted her. "Some people just can't stand how awesome she is. I mean she can be whoever she wants to be. One day she's killing everyone with kindness and the other she's flipping her finger to the world without a care. The girl knows how to own the place; they will get over it." Rebekah narrowed her eyes with a bitchy, stuck up raise of her head, defending the woman she called her idol.
"So you're like on board with whatever she does?" Klaus opened his arms in exasperation.
"I don't agree with everything, I'm just saying that she's not a phony like most of the so called divas." She put air quotes, underlining the sarcasm in her voice. "She is a diva; she is not faking it to gain attention."
"Excuse me, but all I see is a neglected spoilt little brat." Klaus voiced with honesty.
Rebekah just stood up and grabbed her teal colored MacBook from her desk, coming back to sit next to her brother. She typed the singer's name quickly on YouTube and after some scrolling, she clicked some music video named "Cola". Klaus raised an eyebrow at the inspiring title.
A black fogy room appeared in the screen and slowly a slim silhouette became clear. The blonde beauty was lying on her side on an antique red couch, clad in a black and white bustier that pushed her breasts up in a provoking way and a white skater mini skirt with the lace hem of her black ripped fishnet stockings creeping underneath. Her silky hair was in heavy vintage curls around her face and her makeup was heavy too, with tons of black eyeliner pointing out the sea blue of her eyes and a bloody red coloring her full lips.
"My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola, my eyes are wide like cherry pies
I've gots a taste for men who're older, it's always been so it's no surprise…"
"Did she just refer to her…?" he blurted out not quite believing his ears, eyeing the screen in a state of shock.
"Oh grow up! It's part of the human body!" Rebekah grimaced at her brother's prudery.
"Yeah, but we're not walking around talking about it!" Klaus eyed her angrily.
"Well, she does!" she turned and offered him a fake smile. "Listen to the rest!" Klaus send her another glare but eventually turned his eyes to the screen.
"Come on baby, let's ride
We can escape to the great sunshine
I know your wife and she wouldn't mind
We made it out to the other side…"
"She has confirmed that she wrote that song for Dave Grohl, when they broke up." Rebekah informed him.
"What?" Klaus asked surprised. "We're talking about the Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters?" he flinched in disbelief and she nodded. "He's like a grandpa for her, not to mention married!" he went on in exasperation.
"That's what the song basically says. She said she recorded it because she wanted his wife to know what she'd married into and in hopes to gain his affections back. Of course his wife knew all along – they weren't a very careful couple when they were hooking up, everybody knew – and all the song offered her was great amount of wasted money in trials." Rebekah informed him further.
"Unbelievable!" Klaus huffed surprised, looking at the innocent-like girl on the screen.
"She is." Rebekah nodded. "And she most certainly has the balls to do something like that. That's what I mean when I call her a diva; somebody that isn't afraid to do what her heart desires even if it is "wrong" to people's eyes."
Klaus thought about all the things Rebekah had told him as the song continued like that, with Caroline singing those provocative lyrics and dancing sensually throughout the video. Her slender fingers were sliding over her body in slow motion and cat eyes were sending full of promises glances to all her male fans, making Klaus want to shut the computer and never ever allow his baby sister near that kind of corruption again. Thankfully the song ended a few seconds later, giving him the chance to breathe again.
"Alright, I think I have enough knowledge regarding Caroline Forbes." Klaus admitted standing up and waltzing lazily to the door, hand messing his untamed curls in an attempt to use his overthinking brain.
"But you didn't tell me, why the sudden interest?" his sister asked, putting her laptop to the side. Her brother discussed her music preferances only for him to mock them.
There was a spur of a moment that Klaus actually thought of telling her the truth and asking her opinion but quickly opted for the opposite. "Nothing." He shook his head. "We were just talking about her with the guys so I wanted to be more informed." He gave her a smile and she shrugged, returning back to her magazine.
At that time heavy quick footsteps could be heard running up the stairs and soon enough the boy with the long raven hair and slender Mikaelson physic appeared at the hallway.
"Hi guys! Bye guys!" Henrik greeted them cleverly and tried to pass by them, but Klaus caught him but his black backpack.
"Not so fast, mate!" Klaus offered him a fake smirk. "Care to inform us where you were?"
"Um, at the arcade with the guys?" he offered back in question sending him a sheepish smile.
"I told you he was snogging Anna." Rebekah chipped in, not sparing them a single glance.
"Oh, shut up, Bekah!" the boy snapped back, coal black eyes narrowed at his sister in annoyance.
"Hey watch it!" Klaus scolded him and Henrik let a murmur of protest.
"Well, for your information Bekah is the one eating Galen Vaughn every day behind the school cafeteria!" he blurted in defense, Klaus head snapping to Rebekah in shock.
"You arse!" Rebekah shouted bitterly throwing the magazine at him. "You weren't supposed to tell!" she whined.
"You told on me first!" Henrik accused her back, ready to storm on her if it wasn't for Klaus' strong hold on his backpack.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Klaus eyed them. "I'm off to my room." He announced. "Don't bother me unless the house is on fire or Elijah and Kol are here for dinner. I have some serious stuff to consider." He took a deep breath and walked to his room, his younger siblings starting their bickering again once he closed the door behind him.
"Good morning, Mr. Mikaelson. Nice to see you again." Alaric Saltzman, owner of Sunset Studios, smiled politely at Klaus and shook his hand briefly.
Klaus offered back the same preserved smile and took a seat at one of the black leather chairs of Alaric's office. It was the second time this week he visited that spacious room at the 30th floor of Sunset Studios' huge skyscraper on Sunset Strip and he couldn't say that he felt at ease or welcomed yet. Saltzman's office was huge but client-friendly, painted and decorated in basic earth colors and huge window-walls were showering it with rich sunrays, but still Klaus felt that it was trapped in a one-way ticket situation.
Yes, he had accepted Stefan's job proposal. After seeing Elijah in their dimly lit kitchen huffing and puffing in despair looking at random bills scattered in front of him that night after everyone went to bed, Klaus made the decision that it was high time to contribute to their family. Elijah's basic college professor salary wasn't enough anymore to cover all their house expenses plus his siblings' needs, including Rebekah's and Henrik's school stuff and Kol's college fees. Plus, the money their mother had left them were seriously running low. So when the morning came, Klaus mailed his resume to the famous recording label and waited. An hour ago, he had already scheduled an interview with the owner.
To cut the long story short, the first meeting was great – Alaric was totally impressed by his wide knowledge in the management field – and now the day had come that Klaus would finally meet the lady in question, Caroline Forbes. Most men in his shoes would either be thrilled or scared to come face to face with such iconic figure but for him it was just another business meeting out of the many. Indifference was the only feeling to describe his mood.
A soft knock on the door interrupted the men's idle chit chat and Damon Salvatore strolled into the office once Alaric gave him permission to. He offered a curt "good morning" and nodded to Alaric who straightened up on his chair to make the introductions.
"Niklaus this is Damon Salvatore, Ms. Forbes' manager. Damon this is Niklaus, your new assistant in fixing Caroline's image." The elder man waved a hand back and forth and Damon's eyes acknowledged Klaus for the first time, since he entered the room, scanning him critically from head to toe.
"Nice to meet you." Klaus stood up offering his hand, always polite. "Call me Klaus."
"Likewise." Damon shook his hand but his grimace screamed that he was far from pleased to meet him.
"So where's the lovely Caroline?" Alaric asked, turning to Damon with a deathly smirk.
"She'll be here in any minute. Her limo caught up in traffic." He informed him with a fake smirk himself. There was tension, Klaus noted.
They remained silent for the rest of the minutes that passed, all of them sitting and patiently waiting for Caroline Forbes, Damon never stopping eyeing him with dismay much to Klaus discomfort. The only small breaks of silence were the visits of a tall, well-built woman in Alaric's office – Lexi as he kept addressing her – and Klaus raised an eyebrow at the lingering stares between her and Damon. This Saltzman guy must be blind not to notice them, Klaus thought as he continued talking to her about some company matters.
"Well, hello gang!" an angelic voice echoed from the open door in mockery and all of them turned to face the intruder.
Caroline Foebes was standing flesh and blood in front of them looking gorgeous as always with a teasing smirk curling her coral red lips. Her hand reached up and took off her white oversized sunglasses, revealing two sea-blue eyes which shined cleverly and mysteriously in coordination with her smirk. She walked further inside the room imposingly, with an air of confidence and superiority, her slender, miles long legs balancing on fuchsia pink sky-high sandals and her hips swaying deliciously in a brown form fitting leather mini skirt, pointing out the firm curves of her ass. A white bralet top with blue bird print was leaving bare her toned stomach and a denim boyfriend fit jacket was thrown on top of her shoulders giving a hipster touch to her seductive outfit. Multiple charms were hanging from her porcelain neck and a pair of long blue feather earrings was hiding in the mess of perfect curls.
"Sorry that I'm late guys but traffic is a nightmare!" she commended letting a sigh of relief. "Hey Hot-Stuff, how are you doing?" she greeted Damon with a nudge of her elbow and he smirked foxily at her. She and Lexi exchanged a same smirk too before the latter was out of the door and that's when the famous It-Girl focused her attention on her boss. Of course, she didn't even bother with Klaus.
"Sooo…" she trailed off in a playful manner, taking off her white fedora and placing it along with her designer leather shopper bag on top of Alaric's office. "What's the emergency that got me to leave my precious bed and come all the way down to the city center?" the girl asked like she was actually tired, like she did all that distance on foot.
"Caroline, let me introduce you our new employee, Mr. Niklaus Mikaelson." Alaric pointed a hand at his direction and Caroline lazily brought her eyes to Klaus' face. "We are very happy to have him join our label."
"That's great." She shrugged not even sparing him another glance and of course not even offering the slightest of greeting.
"He's going to work with you so I advise you to be a little more friendly." He went on in a more serious tone and Damon cleared his throat beside Caroline in uneasiness.
She looked at Klaus again, a frown painted on her forehead clearly in confusion. "I don't get it. Are you a songwriter or something? Cause if you are, well, hate to break it to you buddy but I write my own songs." She told him in a bitchy manner, throwing her locks over her shoulder.
"He's responsible to fix your image." Alaric cut her off in an authorizing tone, tired of beating around the bush.
"Excuse me, what?" Caroline scoffed a laugh.
"Caroline, I can endure a wild night of partying or even some more but the thing with you is that you never stop! Every day I fear of what the magazines have yet published about you. You're not just harming yourself with your behavior but you're taking the label down with you." Alaric's temper was running low.
"That's a little harsh, don't you think, Ric?" she spoke in an angry tone now. "I'm putting my ass on the line for this damn company every single time, I make money for you, loads of money, and you're telling me that my behavior doesn't suit the label's image?" Caroline let a sarcastic laugh. "You're unbelievable!"
"You wanna talk profit? Let's talk profit." Alaric challenged her, but still being calm. "Do you know how many of your concerts are not sold out anymore? Or how many of your discs are staying untouched on the record stores?" he spoke in an authorizing tone and Caroline closed her hands over her chest, shaking her head in exasperation.
"So what?! You think a freshly out of college, uptight, dork-looking guy will magically twirl his wand and make me little Miss Popular again?" Caroline pointed a hand up and down at Klaus, who self-consciously looked down at his attire. "He wears a fucking cardigan over his button-up for God's sake!" she flinched in disgust. "Please, I don't need any advice from him."
"Excuse me, but I think you don't know me well enough to judge me." Klaus was beyond angry at her words but managed to keep his tone polite.
"Oh, he actually talks!" Caroline turned at him in surprise. "You could have fooled me!" she dropped him a glance more deadly than a killer's to their victim.
"Alright, that's enough!" Alaric stood up, cutting off both of them. "Klaus is here to help you and that's final."
"You!" Caroline snapped a finger at Damon who took a step back. "Aren't you gonna say something?"
"I…" Damon shuttered, looking between her and their boss. "There's no choice, Care." He gave her a pointed glare and she groaned at his cowardice.
"I do not need anyone showing me what is good for my career." Caroline pointed angrily every word.
"Fine. Then I'm afraid our business will stop here." Alaric announced in all calmness.
"WHAT?!" Caroline and Damon shouted in unison.
"I can fire you, Caroline. I'm the boss and I do what is good for the label and right now the only thing you do is destroy everything day by day." He made it clear with seriousness.
Caroline huffed. "You can't fire me." She shook her head with a laugh. "I AM the label." She announced angrily, placing a hand over her chest. "You keep talking like I'm that annoying vermin that has to be ostracized but you and I both know that the day I set foot out of that label, will be the day your glorious era is over." She pointed a finger at him, speaking bitterly and eyeing him with hatred and Klaus frowned at the woman in front of him. Honestly who did she think she was?
"Maybe so but at least I would know that I did everything I could to save the label's reputation." Her boss shot back but she stood indifferent. "That's the deal, Caroline. Take it or leave it."
Klaus didn't know how much time passed with the four of them looking at each other and staying on edge for Caroline's decision. She was doing it on purpose, he knew it, in order to get their attention and satisfy her girly need of having so many pairs of eyes glued to her lips. Damon was besides her, pleading the heaven's above for her to agree and for them not to lose their jobs, and Klaus watched as his future job was handing by a thread. Not that he loved the idea of working with her – especially now that he caught a glimpse of how much of a demanding little bitch he could be – but still, that was a well-paid job nonetheless.
A sea of curls danced around as she turned and fully faced him, the first time she actually paid attention to him since she had set foot in this office. "Be here tomorrow at ten. If you're going to be my new manager or whatever you have to know what my schedule is like. And what's better than spending a busy day with me?" Caroline gave him a smile that almost seemed sweet and innocent to whoever might watch their interaction but Klaus knew better than to trust a pretty girl with ugly manners. She quickly composed herself, her face turning cold and hostile in a second, before grabbing her belongings and heading to the door.
"Ciao bitches." she offered them over her back and with that she left, leaving the three men trying to figure out what just happened behind her.
Basic rule: Never leave a room without leaving an impression. And Caroline Forbes had already mastered that talent.
"I'm miss sugar pink, liquor liquor lips
Hit me with your sweet love, steal me with a kiss
I'm miss sugar pink, liquor liquor lips
I'm gonna be your bubblegum bitch…"
So what do you say? Yes? No? So-So? Write me a review and tell me what you think! Thank you for reading, my lovelies! :)
P.S. The title and the lyrics at the beginning and the end of the chapter are from the song Bubblegum Bitch by Marina & The Diamonds and the song in "Caroline's videoclip" is Cola by Lana Del Rey. Oh and Dave Grohl's part? I'm just satisfing my obsession for badass guitarists! xD