*Caroline's POV*
I took a deep breath as I took in my appearance in front of the full length mirror in my New York apartment.
"Care, you look fine." Bonnie, my best friend and next door neighbor said from behind me.
"And even though it's completely off topic, your bed feels like a cloud!" She squealed as she laid down on the queen size bed.
"Bonnie, focus!" I demanded stomping my foot.
"Care, you're a temp! It doesn't matter how you look." she insisted.
"No. This is important. First impressions might as well be the only impressions and I'm working at Mikaelson Technology. That's huge!" I explain.
"Well then, it's important to not be late. Go now and you can stop for Starbucks!" She smiled.
I took a deep breath before grabbing my purse and rushing out the door.
I stepped into the elevator pressing the button that would take me to the lobby.
I was a few minutes early. I should be able to dodge-wait... why is the elevator slowing down? And on his floor? 'Please don't be him. Please don't be him. Please don't be-'
" Caroline." came his stoic voice interrupting my thoughts.
"Stefan." I replied. "Look, Care, I-"
"No. You cheated. Its-" I said before the elevator made a dinging sound as I quietly thanked God for ending a sure to be awkward moment.
"I have to go. Goodbye, Stefan." I said before practically sprinting out of the elevator as fast as my six inch black stilettos could carry me.
Despite my indecision that morning, I actually looked good in my white blouse and black pants. The black belt that I wore helped to accentuate my curves in all the right places.
After flagging down a yellow cab, I gave the driver the address to my latest job and told him to take me to the closest Starbucks.
Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped. I looked up to realize that I was right in front of a Starbucks only a block away from my destination. I sauntered in at a very fast, yet very human, speed. Sometimes the hardest thing about being a vampire in New York was the fact that someone was always watching and it was imperative that no one see anything abnormal.
I stood in line tapping my foot impatiently waiting for the three people ahead of me to make a decision.
"Seriously? How long does it take to make a beverage choice?" I muttered under my breath.
"Rather impatient, are we, love?" laughed a handsome stranger who had turned to look at me.
He was gorgeous. He had icy blue eyes, curly dirty blonde hair, and raspberry tinted lips that were pulled into an amused smirk. He had to be at least six feet tall and was dressed impeccably in a black suit and hot pink shirt that had the first two buttons undone.
The man cleared his throat, obviously noticing my eyes roaming his body.
"Ummm...no. I just...it's my first day at this company. I mean- I'm not really working there. Well, I am but only for a few weeks. But I'm not quitting! I'm a temp and-" I explained.
I stopped and took a deep breath to collect myself.
"I'm sorry. I just get nervous before starting a new position. Especially when I'm in danger of being late. I'm Caroline." I said extending my hand.
He shook it before bringing it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on my knuckle. "Klaus." he said, introducing himself in a beautiful British accent.
" It looks as though it's your turn to order." he smiled as a blush crept up onto my cheeks.
" Oh, no. You were here first. Go ahead." I said snapping myself back into reality.
"I insist." He offered.
I thanked him before walking to the register and ordering a vanilla bean Frappuccino.
"Is that all?" the woman behind the counter asked. I opened my mouth to answer before someone else's voice spoke from behind me.
"No, actually. May I have a hazelnut macchiato?" asked the voice politely.
It was the British guy...Klaus.
I turned to give him a look that said 'What the hell', but he held up a hand before whispering in my ear, "Its on me, sweetheart."
I shook my head in protest before he cut me off. "Please." he smiled before slapping down a metal American Express card in front of the cashier. So he had money... Of course.
"Thank you." I whispered as we moved to the side to wait for our drinks.
"You're very welcome. Now, where are you supposed to be working today?" he asked politely.
"Mikaelson Technology." I answered as I reached out for my drink that had just been placed in front of me, as he did the same.
He nodded knowingly, a smile on his face as we walked towards the exit.
"What?" I inquired.
"Oh, nothing. I just heard about the CEO. That must be who you are temping for." he smirked.
I nodded. "What did you hear?" I asked quickly.
"He's terrible. A real jerk, so I've heard. You'll hate him." he assured me.
"Oh, God. And I only have five minutes before I need to be at my desk!" I panicked.
"Allow me." he grinned before grabbing my hand and calling a cab over. We stepped in and arrived in front of a large building with three minutes to spare.
Klaus got out and blindly handed the driver a hundred dollars before following me through the revolving door and into the lobby.
"What are you doing?" I inquired, taking large strides across the room.
"Did I forget to mention that I work here as well?" he smirked.
"Apparently." I breathed with him still tagging along.
"Hello, Mr. Mikaelson!" a receptionist called. I looked around to see which of the men in the large lobby could be the man.
I continued running through the lobby until a guard stopped me. "ID?" He requested. My eyes widened.
"Shit! Umm... I'm a temp. I don't-"
"It's okay, James. She's with me." Klaus declared.
"Yes, Mr. Mikaelson. I didn't see you there. My apologies, sir." the guard, James, apologized.
My jaw dropped.
"Well, come on, love. Wouldn't want to be late." Klaus chuckled.
I ran towards the elevator with him still following closely. When we were in the elevator and on our way to the seventy second floor, the highest floor, I took the opportunity to speak.
"You're..." I began.
"Niklaus Mikaelson. CEO. I was hoping to reveal my identity in an even more shocking way but due to the ID issue- remind me to give you one of my spares- I suppose the secret is out." he smirked as I struggled to close my mouth.
The elevator dinged as it came to a stop. "Follow me." he instructed.
The walk to his office was full of 'Good morning Mr. Mikaelson's' from people who looked... almost as if they were scared of him.
When we approached an office encased in glass, he turned to look at me before holding the door open and ushering me inside.
"After you, love." He insisted, walking in behind me.
He sat behind the large, cherry stained wooden desk in a comfy looking black leather chair. He leaned back propping his feet up on the desk. "Mrs..." he started.
"Forbes." I answered. "Miss Forbes." I corrected.
His eyebrows shot up as if he were surprised before he composed himself. "You're single?" he asked before catching himself and shaking his head. I couldn't help but smile a little at his reaction."Nevermind. That was out of line. My apologies." he apologized. "It seems that you will be my personal assistant for the next few weeks until I find a more...permanent replacement for Mrs. Blackburn." he explained, changing the subject.
"I trust that you have been a PA before?" he guessed.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Mikaelson." I nodded.
He laughed quietly. "There will be none of that, sweetheart. I introduced myself as Klaus because I'd like you to call me Klaus." he said.
I nodded. He smiled. "Now, filing cabinets are here, your laptop and desk are here next to mine, I am providing you with a blackberry for you to keep my appointments, answer emails, and make calls. All of my contacts are programmed in. Those are the people who I run ideas by, who produce the products, who clean the office, and even cut my hair. My number is on speed dial if you ever need anything. Understood?" He prompted.
"Yes, Mr.-" I started, but was cut off by his glare. "Klaus. Yes, Klaus." I answered. He smiled.
"Thank you, Caroline. I have a meeting that I need to be heading to. Accompany me and take notes, please?" he asked more than instructed.
"Of course." I nodded, grabbing a notepad and walking out of the office to follow him to a conference room.
UNDER STRANGE CONDITIONS
"We've got five minutes until everyone else should begin arriving." he announced.
I nodded my head slowly.
"What do you say we get to know each other a bit?" he suggested.
Weird request, but I nodded anyway."Yeah. Sure." I agreed.
"How long have you been a vampire, Caroline?" he asked, wasting no time on introductions.
My jaw dropped...again. "How did you-" I began. "No heartbeat." He responded simply with a straight face, but amusement dancing in his eyes.
"About 4 years..." I admitted. " You don't have a heartbeat either. What are you?" I inquired.
"Are you really curious?" He asked. I nodded. "A hybrid." he replies, the amusement gone.
"How?"
"Well, love, I'm an original." He smirked although it was still evident in his eyes that he was anything but pleased to be talking about this.
I cocked my head to the side in confusion.
"An original vampire. My mother had an affair with a wolf, and here I am. Long story short, I'm both a vampire and a werewolf. And it seems that you're part of my bloodline." he explained.
"What does that mean?" I wondered aloud.
"In essence, I turned someone who turned someone who turned someone who turned you. If I die, you die. We're connected in a sense." he whispered.
"How can you be so sure?"
"It's the mark on your wrist. To the human eye, it looks like a scar, but to a vampire, it is an identity. It tells you where you've descended from. The same crescent shape mark can be found on my wrist." He explained, rolling his sleeve up to show me.
"Every original- Finn, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, and myself- has a different mark. Though we are not sure why, every vampire of our lineage has the same mark as the original they are descended from." he shrugged.
"I'd always wondered about that." I smiled.
He returned the smile. "We'll, now you know, sweetheart."
Until this moment, I hadn't realized how close we were to one another.
"How long-"
" Have I been like this? Over a thousand years."
"And how-"
"Do I refrain from the public realizing that I'm not human?" he smiled at this. "Every decade or so, I fake a tragic death letting one of my brothers take over my position until the time is right for me to resurface as my own son, the spitting image of my father."
"And no one ever suspects anything."
"That's the beauty of humans, Caroline. They're unobservant. Ignorant to the possibility that there may be something else, something unnatural- supernatural even, roaming this earth." he said, almost as if he were in a state of awe.
We just stood there for a moment, staring at one another. "The prophecy." he whispered so low that I couldn't tell if he'd really said it. I cocked my head to the right.
"What?" I demanded.
"Nothing. I said that the marketing team should be here soon." He said, moving towards the end of the long table just as the group of men came through the door.
I plastered a smile on my face, greeting all of the men before sitting in the chair right next to Klaus just in time to start taking notes.
This had to be the start of the craziest, most unorthodox temp job anyone had ever heard of, and it was just beginning.
*So this is a new idea I had and I was sooo excited to get it posted so please favorite, follow, and review. I know this chapter was kind of slow but starting in the next chapter, the drama is gonna just keep coming! Let me know if you like it and if I should continue or not and as always, thanks for reading :)
