A/N: Thank you to all those that have alerted and favorited this story already. I appreciate all of the reviews….keep them coming. I think I have responded to all of the reviews so far, but if I missed anyone I'm sorry! Happy reading!
Chapter 2
Two days later Damon walked into The Grille, a small pub near Columbia's campus that he owned. He wanted to get away from the fast paced chaos of his other clubs. Spotting Alaric at the bar, drink in hand, he perched himself on the vacant barstool next to his old college roommate.
"Behold, the professor. Don't you have papers to grade?" Damon quipped motioning to the bartender for a drink for himself and another round for Alaric. His best friend was a teaching assistant for an undergraduate class while he finished up his last year of his PhD in history at Columbia.
"It's more fun with a buzz" Alaric joked in return before thanking the bartender as he set the drink in front of him.
"Well most things in life are. Sober's depressing" Damon swirled the contents of his glass before taking a sip savoring the burn in his throat washing away the stress and strain of his long day.
"Haven't seen you in a couple of days" Alaric commented.
"Entertaining new investors" Damon winked at this friend.
"I assume these new investors were woman" Alaric shook his head glancing at Damon with disapproval.
"Women need to invest their money too and these women had tremendous assets" Damon said slyly. Being a stockbroker is to a large degree a sales position. New clients need to be continuously found and wooed. Many women investors or the wives of his male investors often only signed with him only after Damon agreed to a night that would forever ruin them for any other man. It's not what Damon pictured for how he would become successful, but business is business and sex is sex.
After a few more drinks, and a hefty buzz Damon slid off the barstool. "We need a better vintage" Damon slurred looking at Alaric. "I'll go see what I have in the private stock." Alaric just nodded as Damon drunkenly walked away and headed to the back of the bar. He entered the private storeroom next to the office he kept there. He closed the door behind him and turned on the overhead light of the closet sized room containing shelf after shelf of alcohol.
"If I were a bottle of really expensive bourbon, where would I be?" Damon drunkenly mused. As he searched through the shelves the door opened behind him and a petite woman with chestnut brown hair quietly entered and strolled up behind Damon. She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his chest.
"Well hellllooooo" Damon said then turned around. Before he could say anything else the brunette reached up and grabbed Damon behind the neck roughly pulling him towards her with one hand. She attached herself to Damon's lips and reached down and started to stroke him through his designer pants with her free hand eliciting an immediate response.
Not able to think in his drunken state he wrapped his arms around the woman and moaned into her mouth angling her head to deepen the kiss as his pants grew tighter under her ministrations. He pulled back for a breath and took a good look at the woman he had been making out with for the past few minutes.
"Shit." Damon scowled at the woman shaking his head to clear the drunken fog from his brain.
"Katherine, what the hell?" Damon tried to step back to put space between himself and his ex-fiancé who, for the second time, had thrown herself at him but she was still tightly gripping him.
"I told you Damon, I missed you." She squeezed and stroked his erection and Damon closed his eyes under her touch. Even after all of these years she knew how to quickly get him hot and bothered.
Damon roughly pushed her away from him his breathing heavy trying to gather his wits. Damon looked at Katherine who stared up at him through hooded eyes a finger grazing across her lower lip. "I have a question. I need the truth, just once. Did you even love me?"
Katherine slowly took a step closer. "You're mine that is all that matters Damon." Katherine reached for him again. Damon shook his head in disgust grabbing a bottle from the nearest shelf. He brushed past Katherine a look of surprise on her face as he left her alone in the confined space.
Damon stormed back into the bar and sat down on the stool next to Alaric and cracked open the bottle. He poured a double shot for himself and a shot for Alaric. Katherine sauntered out after and leaned against the bar next to Damon her breasts brushing against his arm.
"You're stronger, meaner, sexier." She leaned slightly to the side and gave a small smile and wave at a gaping Alaric before turning her attention back to Damon.
"There was a time when I would have believed the lies and manipulation Katherine. That Damon is long gone thanks to you. Go find another ex to bother." Damon set the bottle on the bar with a thud.
Katherine reached out and put her hand over Damon's half filled glass pulling it closer to her. "Damon you know we are meant to be. You're not truly capable of loving anyone, we're a perfect match."
Damon glared at her his eyes full of anger and fury. "Whatever I have become is your creation Katherine…stay the fuck away from me." Damon turned around on his stool and signaled the doorman. The tall muscular man stood before Damon in seconds.
"Please escort Miss Pierce out of the bar and she is not allowed back. Ever!" The bouncer put a firm hand around Katherine's arm and Damon turned away from Katherine quickly downing his shot.
"You're mine Damon" Katherine hissed at Damon's back as she was dragged from the bar.
"She's coming on….strong. What's her motivation to suddenly want you back?" Alaric turned around to watch as Katherine was escorted from the bar.
"I'm on the cover of GQ and she suddenly shows up back up in town…..geez I wonder what her motivation could be." Damon rolled his eyes. He downed his drink filling his glass from the bottle and offering some more to Alaric who shook his head no.
"Hey, are you coming to that book thing at the club tomorrow?" Damon asked.
"I have to go with Jenna to pick up her niece at JFK, but I should be there. Jenna and her niece are going out tomorrow night for family bonding time." Alaric propped his elbow upon the bar and leaned against his palm nursing the remains of his drink.
"You are so whipped" Damon chided. "Is the niece good looking?" Damon quirked an eyebrow at his friend.
"Oh, no, no, no. I like having sex on a regular basis with my girlfriend. If I let the infamous Damon Salvatore break her niece's heart then my days of sex are over. Besides I have never met her and I have no clue what she looks like. But from what Jenna says she had a rough past so don't be a dick and stay away." Alaric lectured.
"Geez, you sound like a dad. I was just curious." Damon laughed.
A red head slowly perched herself on the bar stool next to Damon. She gently touched his arm striking up a conversation with him.
Alaric looked at his watch. "I'm off. Those papers from my undergrads won't grade themselves" Alaric said after being ignored as the red head unabashedly flirted with Damon.
"Yeah I'll see you tomorrow" Damon said distracted as the red head crossed her legs and licked her lips. Damon heard a sound of disgust as Alaric slid off his barstool and walked away.
Katherine's phone started ringing as she walked away from the bar with a huff. She pulled it from her black clutch checking the caller ID.
"What do you want?" Katherine demanded angrily as her heals clicked on the sidewalk.
"I am looking at the newest issue of GQ and see one Damon Salvatore on the cover. Certainly let that one slip away didn't you?" The voice said angrily. "I taught you better than that Katherine. You don't ever sever ties with your whales because you never know when you need to reel them back in."
"Thanks for the advice….mother. Maybe I'm looking for love this time around." Katherine spat back putting her hand in the air to call for a cab.
"Love is for fools" she scoffed. "Landing a rich man is the only way you will be successful in life Katherine. You don't exactly have any marketable skills. Your looks are your only asset and they won't last much longer so use them while you can to land the big payday. That boy was yours, go take what is yours. Go make mommy proud" she said bitterly before hanging up.
Katherine scrolled through her contact list as she sat in the back of the cab. Finding the number she was looking for she brought the phone to her ear.
"Lucy, its Katherine."
"Kat, I heard you were back in town." Lucy replied.
"I need my wing woman. I have one, Damon Salvatore to land. He was mine once and he will be mine again." Katherine scowled as she recalled his rejection from the other night and again this evening.
"Game on" Lucy laughed before Katherine hung up.
Elena Gilbert exited the plane, stretching to remove the kinks from her long flight from Mystic Falls to New York. Straightening her burgundy shirt and smoothing out her jeans, she adjusted her backpack on her shoulders before making her way to baggage claim. She strained her neck looking around for her Aunt Jenna. Elena's thoughts turned to her mother's sister that gave up so much to try and help raise her and her younger brother Jeremy. Jenna was just starting to work on her doctorate when Miranda and Grayson Gilbert were killed and Jenna was named legal guardian. She dropped everything to help raise two teenagers that weren't even her own.
"Elena" she heard and spun around when a strawberry blonde practically tackled her. "I've missed you."
"It's good to see you Aunt Jenna." Elena stepped back to see her Aunt looking at her with a huge smile on her face. Elena looked over her Aunt's shoulder to see a man with brown hair and blue eyes staring at her his jaw hanging slightly open. Elena suppressed a chuckle at his weird expression.
She saw her Aunt give him a weird look and elbow him in the ribs. "You must be Alaric. I've heard so much about you. " Elena stretched out her hand with smile on her face. She watched as his eyes widened a bit in surprise before shaking his head and reaching out to grasp her hand in a firm grip.
"Yeah, I'm Alaric. Nice to meet you, Elena right?" Alaric stuttered.
"Excuse Ric. He hasn't had a drink yet today which causes him to be off kilter." Jenna laughed.
After gathering her bags the three headed out of the terminal to Alaric's car. Elena saw Alaric hanging back as she and Jenna caught up. Despite communicating frequently via e-mail and phone they hadn't seen each since Christmas. Nine months was too long to be apart.
"I thought Caroline was coming as well?" Jenna asked looking around.
"Her dad lives in Brooklyn. She visits every summer so she just extended her visit to help me out with the book signing. She's been here for a while already." Elena explained.
"Any new men in your life?" Jenna wrapped her arm around Elena's shoulder tightly.
"No time for men. Between writing, working and getting Jeremy ready for school things have been hectic." Elena shrugged. Her last two boyfriends hadn't worked out and she hadn't been in a serious relationship in well over a year. Just more people to walk out of her life. She was used to it.
"You saw that new doctor yesterday. What did she say?" Jenna gave her a concerned look.
"Nothing I haven't heard before." Elena gave her aunt a small smile and Jenna squeezed her shoulders her face full of sympathy. She looked over her shoulder and saw Alaric was on the phone. "He's cute. Must better than Logan Scumfell."
"We've been together almost a year…he is definitely a keeper" Jenna winked at Elena and the two burst out laughing.
"Who were you calling?" Jenna asked Alaric once they were settled in the car.
"I, uh, forget to tell Damon something. But he isn't picking up." Alaric stared straight ahead gripping the steering wheel. Elena noticed he seemed tense.
"Oh, probably in bed with some new bimbo" Jenna said flippantly. She turned around to look at Elena in the back seat. "Alaric's best friend, Damon Salvatore, is a man whore. Don't get me wrong though, he's ridiculously hot."
"Don't let him hear you say that" Alaric joked.
"But he can be an ass. He's a heartbreaker. So if tries to make a move on you run for the hills." Jenna laughed turning around to face forward again.
"So what's the plan for while you're here?" Alaric asked glancing briefly over his shoulder at Elena.
"I have a couple of things over the next few days. My friend Caroline somehow snagged me an invite to a party being thrown by a publisher. They are showcasing the books of the authors in attendance. Tomorrow I have a book signing at a really small book store in the Village. Then I am staying on to try and 'drum up business' as Caroline says to get an actual publisher to pick up my book, then I may stay for a while and write before heading back to Mystic Falls. My little brother just started back for the fall semester and I need to be back in Virginia when he is done with school." Elena explained as they drove through the streets of New York.
Alaric carried Elena's luggage up the three flights of stairs to Jenna's apartment. Breathing heavy he flopped down on the couch after setting the bags by the door and immediately pulled out his phone.
"Welcome" Jenna smiled at Elena standing in the middle of the studio apartment. "It's not much but its home."
Elena smiled in return. She was proud her Aunt was almost done with her degree in psychology. Her studies were derailed after her parent's death in a car accident but when Elena turned eighteen she took over care of her little brother and sent Jenna back to New York to finish her degree.
Elena walked around the small apartment. Jenna used some vintage screens to partition off the bed for a make shift bedroom. There was a smattering of furniture, a couch and stuffed armchair. "It's great!"
Jenna and Elena busied themselves getting ready for the evening. Elena put on a pair of skinny black jeans, tall black riding boots, a blue fitted v-neck button down shirt topped off with a leather jacket. Emerging from the bathroom she stopped at the sight of Jenna sitting on Alaric's lap kissing. Elena shifted her weight from foot to foot hoping the pair would remember they were not alone. After a few awkward moments Elena cleared her throat and the pair jumped apart with sheepish grins.
"So where's your party?' Alaric asked as Jenna settled next to him on the couch.
"Some club called Taboo, I think. We're meeting my friend Caroline there in an hour." Elena smiled as she saw Alaric's eyes widen.
"Oh, uh, that's where I am heading tonight as well. We can all go together. I should let Damon know." He pulled out his phone jumping off the couch rushing to the kitchen as Jenna and Elena both gawked at him with curious expressions.
An hour later the three of them walked into Taboo. Elena saw Alaric head straight for the bar while Elena grabbed Jenna's hand and started weaving through the crowd. Elena looked around and saw her blonde friend talking to a man with curly sandy brown hair. As she started to walk over she felt a tug on her arm. She turned around and a smile spread across her face.
"Stefan" Elena exclaimed pulling the green eyed man into a hug. Elena saw Jenna motion that she was heading over to Caroline and Elena nodded in response before turning to catch up with her friend.
"Hey I need to talk to you." Alaric saddled up next to Damon who was leaning against the bar scanning the crowd.
Damon saw his brother talking to a woman. He could only see her profile, but he could see her olive complexion, long chestnut hair and anger immediately started coursing through him.
"Not now Ric. My brother has been cornered by the she-beast. He doesn't know who or what she is. I need to go rescue him and get her the hell out of here." Damon took off in the direction of his brother before Alaric could say anything else. Damon weaved his way through the crowd coming up next to Stefan and the woman he was talking to.
"Brother" Stefan greeted him with a smile.
Damon ignored Stefan's greeting and grabbed the woman and whirled her around to face him. "Katherine I thought I told you…." Damon stopped mid sentence as ocean blue eyes locked on brown and they just stared at each as the world seeming to fall away for a moment. He heard her gasp causing him to break eye contact and his eyes roamed over her body. The woman he originally thought was his ex-fiancé was far from it. This woman was petite and curvaceous at the same time; her outfit hugged all of her curves but still left things to the imagination. Katherine would never be caught in something so conservative. Her breasts were obviously her own whereas Katherine had long ago upped her cup size. Like Katherine, she had long lustrous chestnut hair and brown doe eyes, but where Katherine's expression was cold and calculated this woman's face was open and full of warmth.
"I-I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else" Damon stammered letting go of her arm. Feeling slightly punch-drunk he turned on his heel and left without another word.
"Sorry about that. That was my brother, Damon." Damon heard Stefan explain.
Damon headed straight for the bar and motioned to the bartender for a drink which was quickly set before him. He downed the shot closing his eyes as the liquor burned down his throat bringing him back to his senses. Alaric was at his side a moment later.
"I think I just met Katherine's doppelganger talking to my brother." Damon said shaking his head.
"That's what I was trying to tell you earlier. That's Jenna's niece. I almost had a heart attack when I went with Jenna to pick her up from the airport." Alaric motioned for his own drink.
"Damnit Ric. You could have let me know sooner. I just about ripped that poor girl's head off thinking she was Katherine." Damon ran his hands through his hair.
"I have been calling and texting you nonstop since I picked her up. You, Mr. Dickhead, ignored me." Alaric shot back.
"I just need this party to finish up so I get the fuck out of here and go home." Damon placed in head in his palm.
"Why I agreed to let them hold a party for authors here, I will never know. Did you know that one of the stupid books is about a human vampire love triangle? That's all we need is another Twilight wannabe" Damon scoffed looking up at Alaric whose eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Have you actually read the book you seem to have so little respect for?" A voice asked behind Damon.
"No, who would read this kind of drivel?" Damon asked turning around and froze.
"It's actually a story of self discovery to find true love, overcoming stereo-types and what really defines heroism in the face of adversity." The brown haired woman explained. "Oh, I'm Elena Gilbert by the way. The woman you manhandled while talking to your brother and the author of the novel you were just disparaging despite never having read the work." Elena extended her hand with a sarcastic smile.
Damon accepted her hand stifling a groan. Trying to save face he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her hand gently. "Damon Salvatore, the better hotter brother."
Elena pulled her hand back quickly shocked that the simple gesture lit her entire body on fire. "Looks like Stefan was the only one to receive manners in the family." Elena turned on her heal and weaved her way through the crowd as fast as possible trying to escape those eyes and the feeling that came over her from a simple touch.
Alaric slapped Damon on the back. "Thanks for ensuring I'm not getting any tonight you dick. When that story gets back to Jenna I'll somehow be in trouble since you are supposed to be my best friend. These are the times I regret they made us roommates freshman year at Columbia" Alaric gave Damon a hard look.
"Women love me. I'll win her over." Damon watched the brunette beauty walk over to talk to Jenna the two of talking animatedly and peaking over at the bar from time to time. Damon turned to the bartender and ordered a glass of wine and another bourbon. "Watch and learn Ricky."
Damon weaved his way through the crowd to Elena. Damon draped his arm around Elena's shoulders and presents her with the glass of wine. "Please accept my heartfelt apologies. I'm sure your book is a literary masterpiece. This insensitive dick can provide you multiple ways to make it up to you." Damon wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.
"Please tell me lines that like that do not actually work. If they do I pity my gender." Elena scoffed walking away.
This girl has fire, Damon thought to himself. Challenge accepted. Damon headed back to the bar to stand next to Alaric. "Damon Salvatore failed to get the girl. Hell must have frozen over." Alaric chuckled.
"Have faith my friend. That girl will end up in my bed." Damon smirked at him.
"Please remember, the girl in question, is my girlfriend's niece. I like having sex on a regular basis. Please don't screw that up for me." Alaric pleaded and Damon just smirked in response.
Elena moved through the crowd until she found Caroline. "Car" she said over the din of the crowd.
"Elena!" Caroline cried hugging her friend.
Elena then noticed Stefan approaching her and she waved at him with a smile. "Caroline, this is my friend Stefan. Stefan this is Caroline." Elena smiled at her two friends. She noticed Caroline started to twirl a piece of her blonde hair around her finger.
"Hi" Caroline said enthusiastically.
"Hi" Stefan said shyly. He then turned to Elena. "Sorry about my brother. Damon is….Damon."
"Don't worry. We sort of had another little encounter at the bar. He insulted my book, passive aggressively propositioned me for sex, I told him off and walked away. Good times with your family." Elena said sarcastically.
"Uh, Damon" Stefan groaned. "Now I am really sorry about my brother. Damon tends to act first think later. Bit of a manwhore. I would advise staying away" Stefan shrugged his shoulders.
"Elena there is someone here I want you to meet. He is the reason we got invited to this shindig in the first place." Caroline started to pull Elena away. She stopped and flashed Stefan a wide smile. "It was nice to meet you Stefan."
"It was nice to meet you too Caroline." Stefan grinned back. "I'll see you later Elena."
Caroline and Elena walked through the crowd stopping to introduce themselves to as many people as possible. Elena looked up everyone once and while and caught Damon staring at her and she just shook her head as he seemed to be flirting with a steady stream of woman. Looks like he really is a heartbreaker, Elena thought to herself.
After meeting what seemed like the thousand person that night, Caroline suddenly grasped Elena's hand and started pulling her through the crowd. Caroline stopped abruptly and Elena almost bumped into her friend. Caroline pulled Elena to stand next to her.
"Elena, this is Klaus. We met at a coffee shop. His brother owns a publishing house and when I mentioned my best friend was a writer he was kind enough to invite us this evening." Caroline had a broad smile on her face.
Elena reached out her hand to Klaus. "It's very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here."
"The pleasure is all mine, love." Elena was surprised by the British accent. "You remind me of someone." He cocked his head to the side and stared at Elena keenly.
"I have one of those faces." Elena blushed.
Elena and Caroline chatted with the man for a while. She tried to laugh at his jokes and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, but Elena grew uncomfortable under Klaus's scrutiny as his eyes roamed over her body.
After a while Elena felt a set of arms wrap around her and she tensed. Elena whipped around and Caroline looked up in surprise.
"Mason" both girls called in unison grabbing the dark haired man in a hug.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.
"In on business and I ran into Jenna at the bar" Mason motioned over his shoulder to where Jenna was standing. "She dragged me over to see some more familiar faces from Mystic Falls. I can't believe how grown up the two of you are. How is my nephew? I haven't seen Tyler in a couple of years." Mason crossed his arms looking at the girls.
They chatted and caught up on what had been going on in Mystic Falls in the years he had been building his business in Florida.
Damon watched Elena work the room in between flirting with various women throughout the night. After a while he looked up and realized she had been talking to the same man for a while, tucking her hair behind her ear and laughing at his jokes. This was the longest she had spoken to anyone all night. Elena turned slightly and he saw she had been talking to Klaus Mikaelson. The fucking rich bastard is back in New York, Damon thought.
Then another man was hugging her and she was smiling and talking animatedly. The man had dark curly hair was and tall and muscular. He looked familiar and Damon racked his brain to figure out why he looked familiar. It suddenly dawned on Damon, Mason Lockwood. He had made millions in green technology and had just recently come to New York to expand the business he started in Florida. She seemed to be fitting in with New York's elite already, Damon thought bitterly.
A/N: Our favorite duo is off to a rocky start when it comes to their opinion of each other. I am still nervous about pacing and character development, so please review!
