Written for Steph [babyvampelena on Tumblr]. Hope you all like it! :)
"Stacy, will you send in Miss Forbes please?" Stefan called out to his secretary while glancing over the last details of the paperwork for her impending appointment.
He looked up as he heard the door to his office creak open and closed as a young blonde came in. She was dressed in a blue and yellow floral print sundress with white sandals and a rather large purple handbag thrown over her shoulder. "Please take a seat, Miss Forbes," he gestured with his pen to the seat in front of his desk.
"Caroline," she said quickly with a little smile.
"Excuse me?" he finally met her gaze as she nervously adjusted the sunglasses perched on top of her golden locks.
"You can call me Caroline," she clarified. "I'd prefer it, actually. I mean, cause this is my first time in one of these meetings, you know? I've never been in this kind of situation before and, I'm just...nervous."
Stefan smiled warmly at the girl in front him as her words trailed off in discomfort. She slumped slightly in her seat, her fingers fidgeting with the straps of her handbag. "Don't worry, it's really not as big of a deal as you think it is. We'll keep it light if it makes you feel better, though. You can call me Stefan, okay?" he cocked his head toward her with a grin.
"No Mr. Salvatore necessary?" she joked weakly, gesturing toward the gold plated name plaque on his desk.
"Nope, not today," the accountant laughed. "So how about we talk about why you're here? My paperwork says you've asked for a meeting because you're inquiring about potential loan options?"
"Yes, I am," she straightened, getting down to business. "Nothing to large or hard to manage, it's just there's been ... a series of unfortunate events that have recently occurred in my life that have cost me more money than I had anticipated and I'm just a bit behind."
"...A series of unfortunate events? Isn't that a children's book series?" Stefan furrowed his brow.
"What? Yes, but that's so not the point," she snipped, losing her professional air. "The point is my cheating ass of an ex-fiance left me a month before the wedding after everything had already been booked, so now I have to pay off the caterers, the venue, the flowers, and everything else on the salary of my failing boutique and...God! Sorry, too much information, right?"
She huffed in exasperation, throwing her hands in the air. Stefan's eyes softened as he took in the vivacious girl in front of him. There was just something about her that he was drawn to. Yeah, he could definitely tell she liked to gossip and shop more than she should, but he saw through her brave front to the broken heart she was hiding. He just felt this strong need to protect her.
"I'm sorry, Caroline. About your fiance," he pursed his lips together, deliberating how much he could professionally say. "He obviously didn't deserve you if he couldn't see what an amazing person you are."
"You just met me," she murmured, suddenly shy. A small smile crept up on her face that he thought was the most beautiful thing he had seen all day.
"Well, I have great intuition," he joked, locking eyes with her. Gathering up his paperwork, he took a second look at his proposed financial plan for her. "Luckily, your situation isn't as bad as you think it is. You have a pretty good credit score, and you've always been in good standing here at Chase. I'm just gonna go ahead and sign off on your loan, and Stacy out front can take care of the dirty work."
"Are you serious? Oh my god, that's amazing!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together and jumping up from her seat. "I swear, I'll be on time with my payments. I'll be a model banker."
"I'm not worried at all, Caroline," he smiled, his ballpoint pen gliding across the forms in his loopy signature. He looked up to see her eyes travelling all around his office in fascination. He wondered what was running through her thoughts about him when suddenly her movements stopped, and she pointed to a frame on his bookshelf.
"Do you know him?" she asked, her voice lilting curiously. Turning around to the picture in question, Stefan sighed in frustration.
"Look, I kind of don't want to talk about my brother right now, if it's okay with you," Stefan grumbled, leaning over to hand her the finished forms. Of course, the one girl that had truly captivated him since his break up with Rebekkah a few months ago was interested in his brother. How typical.
"That's your brother? He looks almost exactly like my best friend's new boyfriend. Is his name Damon?" She whipped her head around to face him, obviously on the hunt for important gossip.
"Yeah, actually. Wait, you're Elena's best friend?" he asked her in astonishment and relief. Everything was seemingly falling together like a puzzle.
"Yes! I can't believe we've never met before!" she cried happily, a wide grin spread across her features. She placed her hands jokingly on her hips. "Please tell me you're going to their Fourth of July barbecue this Saturday."
"I am," he nodded in amusement, "Would you like to go with me, Caroline?"
"Mr. Salvatore, I thought you'd never ask," she cocked her head coyly, her eyes sparkling.
"Hey, I thought we said none of that 'Mr. Salvatore' stuff!" he chuckled teasingly, flipping his pen between his fingers and leaning back in his chair.
"Alright, Stefan," she quirked her eyebrows at him while leaning over to write her number and address on the stack of Post-its on his desk. "4 o'clock on Saturday?"
"I'll pick you up," he called, as she slung her bag over her arm and flounced out of his office with one last look at him over her shoulder.
Stefan let out a breath in admiration at her retreating figure. He was in awe of her. She was just someone so warm and caring and beautiful and … simply so alive. He knew that if he kept after her, she would consume him until she would be all he wanted or needed. She would simply be the death of him. But in that moment, that didn't seem so bad. It might actually be the best way to die.