Stranger

Caroline played with the business card that Mr. Mikaelson had given to her the night before. She felt that the opportunity that was presented to her was too good to be true.

Everything about the mysterious man told her to look the other way, but the problem with that was that she couldn't. For some damn unknown reason she was drawn to the stranger.

She felt familiarity when she saw him for the first time in the private lounge. The thought unsettled her.

A knock on her front door startled her from her thoughts.

Tyler.

She forgot about him. Caroline originally planned on cancelling, but now she learned that she would have to face him.

She quickly tucked the business card away and walked towards the door.

She instantly smelled the alcohol on Tyler's breath. Caroline tensed anticipating any move that he would try to make.

"You didn't show up last night." He commented.

"I was tired." She told him honestly.

She might of left out that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

He unsteadily pushed his way inside holding onto the wall as he moved down the hallway. Caroline led them to the living area and took a seat far away from him.

She would not allow herself to be compromised by him.

"Why don't you come over here?" He asked tilting on his side. His eyes were dilated and Caroline feared Tyler like this. It wasn't often, but he was never rational when he was intoxicated.

"Tyler." She said. "You're drunk. Why don't you lay down and we can talk later?" Caroline tried to divert him from whatever purpose he had here.

But Tyler had other ideas.

He stood up causing the hairs on the back of Caroline's neck to rise. She stiffened as he walked towards her.

"Come to bed with me." His words slurred.

Caroline shook her head.

"Please." He begged her getting on his knees. Caroline backed up on the couch trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"Tyler please lay down." She begged him.

"I need you." He said. "I lost my job yesterday." He confessed.

Caroline wished she could sympathize with him, but she couldn't. The man deserved everything that came to him.

Caroline tried to speak again, but he cut her off. He was suddenly enraged from previous events.

"I manipulated some paperwork at the office." He confessed. "And the boss found out. I swear to god when I find out who turned me into Mr Mikaelson –"

Caroline felt the air leave her lungs.

Mr. Mikaelson was his boss?

"Wait, your boss is Mr. Mikaelson?" Caroline asked not thinking about the consequences of her question.

Tyler gave her a questioning look and Caroline instantly regretted her question.

"Do you know this man, Caroline? Is there something I need to know?" His words became forceful. She knew her simple question would draw out this side of him.

"No!" She answered instantly, but knew that it was a lie. "I just heard of him…" She tried to compensate.

She couldn't believe the man that fired her ex was the same man trying to hire her. Caroline knew instantly that she couldn't take the job. It was too risky.

If Tyler found out that he even offered her a job, Tyler would try to kill him.

She decided that she needed to cut all ties.

Tyler left a few hours later after he sobered up. She still hadn't explained to him that she couldn't see him anymore, but her thoughts were consumed of the impending danger that Mr. Mikaelson had caused her.

She immediately dialed his number when she was absolutely sure Tyler was gone.

"Caroline." He said her name breathlessly. He had been anticipating this phone call.

Caroline got straight to the point.

"I can't take the job."

Klaus had been sure she was going to take it. He wasn't expecting this answer from her.

"I don't understand, Caroline."

"There's nothing to understand, sir. It's just not possible for me to accept your offer."

Klaus kept his lips in a tight line trying to come up with any possibility as to why she would deny the job.

Tyler Lockwood.

He knew that Lockwood must have seen Caroline between when he fired her and today. He cursed to himself knowing that he should have considered the possibility.

He knew now that she wasn't accepting this job out of fear.

He decided that he needed another approach.

He not only needed her out of that strip club. He needed her away from Tyler Lockwood.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He told her. "Is there anything I could do to change your mind?"

"I'm sorry, no." She said desperately wanting to end the conversation.

"Why don't you give it more thought?" He offered. "You can come down to the office this afternoon. You can familiarize yourself with the facility and decided after you see it for yourself."

Caroline knew that was out of question.

She couldn't allow herself to have any more involvement with this man.

"Sir, I don't –"

"Give it a chance." He cut her off. "You have nothing to lose."

Everything. She thought. Everything.

Caroline sighed knowing that the decision she was about to make would cause nothing but harm.

But Caroline never played it safe. She knew that this wouldn't be any different.

"Three." She said. "I can make it there by three."

He could tell that she was struggling with her decision, but he promised himself he would make it worth her while.

A few hours later she walked into the corporate office of Mr. Mikaelson. She found her way up to the top floor and the receptionist escorted her to his office.

His head was buried in work and when he glanced up and smiled at her, she could tell he hadn't slept well.

She felt a small migraine coming on as she took a seat across from Mr. Mikaelson. Caroline soothed her temples as Klaus finished up a few documents.

He was mostly fixing the mess that Tyler Lockwood created, but knowing that man would soon be fully out of Caroline's life was definitely worth the stress.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." He apologized.

She smiled warmly at him as she placed her hands on her lap. He could tell she was nervous and stressed by the situation.

"Are you sure you're okay with being here?" He asked trying to assure himself.

"I'm okay."

Well… it was a half lie. She wanted to be here, but she wasn't sure if she was okay with it. She knew Tyler wouldn't be.

"Well lets get started then." He stood up from his desk and Caroline stiffened.

She inhaled a familiar musky scent that only seemed to cause her migraine to worsen. Caroline scrunched her nose and tried to ignore it as she followed behind him.

He showed her the entire facility and introduced her to various employees that looked eager to meet her. It flew by fast, but when Caroline looked down at her watch she noted that it was near six in the afternoon.

"It's very late." She tried to make a clean break. "I should probably get going." Caroline attempted to gather her things, but Klaus placed a hand on her wrist and stopped her.

It wasn't forceful, but was enough to halt her movements.

"Have dinner with me." He offered, but it sounded more like a demand.

"Mr. Mikaelson I –"

"Call me Klaus." He smiled. "It's the least I can do."

"Klaus." She felt the familiar name roll off of her lips.

Klaus could almost feel his body trembling as she said his name. It had been so long since he heard her say his name with such sincerity.

"What exactly are your intentions?" She eyed him questioninly.

"I just want to get to know you." He said.

He knew the old Caroline. The accident free Caroline, but he wanted to know this one. He knew that she was the same person. He knew that she was there underneath. He just needed to break the spell she was under.

Klaus just needed her to remember.

Her body however was another story.

That would never change and he hardened thinking about her sweet kisses and her soft curves pressed against his body.

Yet he knew it was too soon.

This was all too soon and he was playing with fire pretending like he never knew her. Her family was against it. His family was against it, yet none of them had any idea what he was up to.

The doctors told him that she would never regain the memory that she lost, but he knew that he would prove them wrong.

He had to prove them wrong.

"I'm not looking for a relationship." She told him. "It's the last thing on my mind since my last one. I'm sorry."

"I'm not looking for one either." He replied instantly. "I'm just looking for a friend."

Caroline couldn't deny the pull that she had towards this man, but she knew he was dangerous.

She couldn't be around him.

She also knew that he was most definitely not looking for a friend. A man could never be a woman's friend without wanting something more.

"I don't believe you." She said.

"Then let me show you."

He took her to a private restaurant just a few blocks from his main office. It wasn't overly intimate, but the fact that they were the only two there made it look like a date.

"Why did you choose psychology?" He asked curiously. He had an idea, but wanted to hear the words from her lips.

"I'm not sure." She told him honestly. "I had to go to school and I had trouble finding a major. I sat in on a few general psychology classes and fell in love." Her answers were honest.

"Why did you choose business?" She copied his question.

"I wanted to be successful." He shrugged. "But not for myself." He added and that made Caroline instantly curious.

"For a woman?" She asked.

"You could say that." He grinned.

Caroline felt another small headache coming on. She opened her purse and popped two Motrin in her mouth. She had been getting them more frequently, but she didn't think anything of it.

Klaus noticed her slight distress.

"Are you okay?" He asked her concerned.

"I'm fine." She assured him. "I had an accident a few years ago. It used to give me severe migraines, but I haven't had them in a while. I'm sorry." She apologized again.

He noticed that she did that a lot and it bothered him. Caroline had nothing to apologize for because to him she was perfect.

He knew all about her condition and the fact that these headaches were returning frightened him.

"Do you think you should go and see your physician?" Klaus already knew the answer to that, but he wanted to put the idea in her head.

"I think I'll be okay." She offered him a half smile. "You don't have to worry about me."

Oh, but he did.

And he had been for years.


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