A/N I love you guys. Just know that! I'm so flattered by the responses I've gotten from this story. So thank you thank you thank you! It means the world to me. I don't think I've ever broken 100 follows in three chapters. It's amazing. So without further ado, here's chapter four:
Chapter Four: Tete-A-Tete
Days passed, and Caroline kept up with the housework as much as she could. After all, there weren't many places that Klaus went in the house, so any messes were relatively contained.
And thus, a routine ensued.
Caroline would wake up in the morning, throw herself together, and head down to make breakfast. Half the time, she would beat Klaus downstairs and have everything ready for him; the other half saw him already seated at the table, nursing a pair of sleep-deprived eyes and a mug of tea.
Then, the blonde would clean the kitchen, do any laundry that had added up and take her daily rounds of the house. She would go outside and scratch the horses: that was as far as her duties with them were required, as she'd found out that Klaus had hired a trainer named Zach on her fourth day on the job.
The blonde would then go back inside and cook lunch if Klaus wanted it, but more often than not he passed, and withdrew to his room for an afternoon nap. Caroline used that time to go into his office and clean: she straightened his desk, emptied the garbage, and arranged his files on rare occasions.
By midday, Caroline would go upstairs, cleaning the bathrooms and bedrooms. She'd taken the time to sweep the grand staircase once, and was extremely grateful that the time-consuming process wasn't required every day.
Then, she'd make dinner, listen to Klaus talk about his work for a bit, and retire. Caroline was busy but compared to some of the other odd jobs she'd held in the past, this one had its perks.
At night, she'd lay in bed, exhausted. Nearly every night since she'd been there, Caroline had tried to remind herself to set an alarm for early the next morning; she'd been dying to watch the sunrise from the sunroom. However, nearly every morning, Caroline would forget or sleep through her alarm, her tiredness trumping her desire to explore.
Truth be told, Caroline was tired. She wondered why Klaus hadn't hired other people. There's no way he can't afford it, she surmised.
She'd been too hesitant to talk to her boss about the lack of employees on the huge estate at first; complaining on your first day was never fetching, but she felt that her work merited a little input.
"Klaus, why am I the only housekeeper you have?" She finally asked him, one day at breakfast.
He gave a small smile, shifting his tea cup from one hand to another.
"Well you see love; I haven't lived in this house much longer than you have." He replied after some thought.
"And..?"
"And I don't usually get on with people as well as I did with you." He grinned up at her sheepishly.
Caroline scoffed. With those dimples, I bet it's hard to not get along with people, she thought. "What does that have to do with my question?"
"Well," he continued. "You were more of an experiment, to start. Sure, I needed the house cleaned, but I wanted to see if I had the social tact to run an estate."
Caroline raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "So you think that because we get along, you can?"
"Precisely." Klaus raised a finger in emphasis. "But then again, we met under quite abnormal circumstances. Who was I to say that our ability to communicate with ease wasn't due to the forced unusuality of you showing up for an interview looking as if you'd been dragged through a monsoon?"
Caroline blushed and then shivered; the recollections of her cold clothes were still fresh in her mind. "So you were hesitant to hire other people because you might not like the new employee or vice versa?" Caroline connected Klaus's erratic dots.
"More or less."
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you seem to get along alright with people. I mean, you hired Zach to watch the horses, right?" Caroline posed.
"Ah yes." Klaus continued, steepling his fingers in anticipation. "Darling Zachary was my second experiment. I wanted to test the theory that I was, in fact, good with people; and it turns out that contrary to what I've been told in the past, I am."
"Who told you that you weren't good with people?" Caroline asked.
Klaus's face darkened. "That, Caroline is a story for another time." He got up, moving from the stool to put his coffee mug in the sink. "Truthfully, I'm out of practice. I used to be alright, but my profession makes me much more of a behind the scenes warrior; my brother Elijah is quite the diplomat, you should see him. He's all suits and stoic charm."
Klaus paused to take a breath. "Through time, I became the brain of the operation, while Elijah became the alluring face."
"So you used Zach and me as experiments?" Caroline asked him with a teasing smirk.
Klaus met her gaze. "Of a sort, yes. But I think that everything's turned out rather nicely, has it not?"
Caroline nodded. She was grateful that she had the job, and the work wasn't bad either.
"Now Caroline," Klaus started, pulling orange juice from the fridge and setting it on the counter. "I have a full load of work this morning, and will be requiring sustenance. How good is your mimosa?"
XXX
After their conversation that morning, Caroline took it upon herself to go around the estate and categorize different jobs that required personnel.
Groundskeeper, she thought adamantly, adding it to the list in her hand. The driveway is atrocious, and the lawn! The four acres surrounding the estate looked like they hadn't been mowed since the dark ages.
Caroline continued her walk around the house, noting that she needed to hire someone to wash the many outside windows.
"Good day, Caroline!" Zach called out to her as she passed the stables.
Caroline smiled, walking over to the sixty-something trainer. "Good day, Zach!" she called out. "How's it been?"
The kind man smiled at her conversationally. "Same old, honey. Any specific orders from the boss?" He asked, gesturing at her clipboard curiously.
"Oh, no!" Caroline exclaimed. "I'm just looking at places the estate could use improvement. Do you need anything?"
Zach lived comfortably in one of the out-buildings next to the stables, though through their conversations he'd told Caroline that sometimes he preferred sleeping in the stables. Old habits died hard; Zach had been a professional jockey in his youth.
"I wouldn't say no to getting a plumber out here," he said. "The pipes get a bit creaky when it's cold outside."
Plumber, Caroline jotted down on her list. "Thanks, Zach," the blonde spoke. "Can I go in and see the horses?"
"Of course, lassy. They love you, why not?"
Caroline blushed at the compliment. She'd always like the horses, and it had been evident that after her first few days, they liked her too. She walked into the stable, gently clucking her tongue as Cleo came up for a scratch.
"You'll have to come in for a ride one day, Caroline." Zach said.
Caroline nodded. She'd thought about it quite a few times, but had never had the time.
The blonde withdrew her hand from a very eager Henrik, and turned to head back out. "I'll see you around, Zach!" she said as she walked back to the house.
The older man nodded and raised a hand in parting, already distracted by a burr that appeared to have worked its way into May's side.
Opening the front door, Caroline noticed the large marble tiles on the floor. They covered quite a bit of the house, and were duller than they could've been. Caroline quickly jotted floor-waxer onto her list.
Caroline walked into the kitchen, noting Klaus's closed office door. She could hear his voice murmuring through the wood, and decided to knock, wondering if he wanted lunch.
"Klaus?" the blonde called, knocking softly on the hard oak door.
She heard his voice pause. "Come in, Caroline." He said.
She opened the door, noticing Klaus at his desk. He was talking to his computer screen, presumably Skyping with someone. Her suspicions were only confirmed a moment later when an accented voice rose from the computer.
"Is that your new housekeeper, Niklaus? Turn your blasted screen, brother; I'd love to meet her." The voice spoke, ignoring Klaus's petulant gaze.
"It's a desktop, Elijah. I can't very well turn it, can I?" He spoke into the screen, and then turned to her. "Come over here, Caroline. My brother turns petty when he doesn't get what he wants."
Klaus sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Caroline walked over behind him, struggling to fit in the cramped space between his desk chair and the wall.
"Hello," the blonde waved tentatively at the screen.
Elijah beamed at her. "Ah, the lovely Caroline, I presume? I've heard so much about you."
Klaus scowled. "Really, Elijah. You don't need to harass the girl."
"It's all in good fun, brother!" Elijah defended himself as Caroline giggled and leaned closer to the screen.
"You must be Elijah," she stated. "The one with the good people skills, no?"
Elijah tut-tutted and Klaus groaned. "Well, well, Nik. We've been rather chatty, haven't we?"
"Coming from a large family, you come up in casual conversation, 'Lijah." Klaus defended himself distractedly. Caroline's hair was delicately brushing his shoulder from where she was standing beside him, and Klaus was struggling not to inhale the pleasant scent of peppermint that was radiating off of it.
"So Caroline," Elijah continued. "Is my brother treating you well?"
Caroline laughed again, leaning slightly forward to adjust the monitor as she spoke. "I don't have any complaints yet, but I'm afraid it's only my first week!" she replied. Klaus grimaced, trying desperately to repress a shiver as her blonde hair tickled the back of his neck.
Elijah clapped slowly. "Well done, Niklaus. Mother raised you to be a decent human after all." The older brother gave a joking smirk.
"And a large sod off to you too, Elijah." Klaus responded, earning a chuckle from Caroline.
Elijah nodded. "In all honesty though, I'd best be going. Katherine is dragging me to a cake-tasting today." The man on the screen ran his hands through his hair. "Take my advice, brother, and never get married."
Klaus laughed. "I doubt the chances of that happening are very high, but I'll take your word for it."
Caroline couldn't help but laugh a little, remembering what Elena had said about marrying rich and learning to love. Her laugh earned her a raised eyebrow from Elijah.
"Caroline, we must meet in person. Anyone who can withstand my brother is a miracle worker in my opinion." Elijah commented. "If you're ever in New York, drop by?"
Caroline spoke her agreement, and the waved as Elijah logged off.
"He's a charmer, Elijah." Klaus said as he turned the computer off.
"I'm glad I met him," the blonde said honestly, moving to the other side of the desk and out of the cramped space. "Although it's not what I came in here for. I meant to ask you if you wanted lunch."
"Mhmm, depends." Klaus replied, stretching his arms out behind his back. "What's on the menu?"
Caroline drew her gaze from the fabric that pulled tight across his toned chest as he stretched, mentally forbidding her eyes to linger. "Whatever you like, really."
Klaus pulled his wrist up to his gaze, trying to ignore the double entendres his mind was creating. He pushed back the sleeve of his tee. "I'll be damned; it's two o' clock already?"
Caroline shrugged. "You've been working, the time slips away."
"It appears you've been busy too," the man said, gesturing at the clipboard in Caroline's hands. "What's that you've got there?"
The blonde smiled, handing it over into his outstretched hand. "It's just a list of things that I can't fix around the estate. I thought if you were willing, I could handle hiring a few folks to come out and work."
Klaus's brow furrowed as he looked over the list. "Ah, that driveway is rather unfortunate," he conceded. "But a window washer?"
Caroline directed Klaus's inquisitive eye to the window right behind him with her hand.
After perusing the list for a while longer, Klaus looked up at Caroline appreciatively. "I did a rather good job, hiring you. You're a jack of all trades."
Caroline lowered her head at the apparent compliment. "Thank you," she said with a slight blush. "I just thought that you should turn the estate into something magnificent again."
Smirking at the light rosy tint that had appeared on Caroline's cheeks, Klaus stood up and walked into the kitchen. "I see your game, Ms. Forbes. It's not a magnificent domain now?" He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the walls.
"Oh, no. it's not that. It's just that…" Caroline started, not wanting her boss to get the idea that she was overstepping her duties.
Klaus smirked and held out a hand, effectively cutting her off. "I'm only kidding, love. These are good ideas. Necessary, even. But are you sure you want to be the one handling the employments? Elise is my secretary in town, I'm sure she can do it."
Caroline paused, wondering how she should put her thoughts out. "I think I'd enjoy doing it," the blonde said. "It would be a nice… change of pace."
"Ah…" Klaus said sheepishly. "You've been bored."
"No! Not at all, it's just…" she broke off, unsure of how to explain herself.
"You like people, Caroline. It's perfectly normal for you to want others around the estate." Klaus finished for her. "Of course you're bored. I imagine you've been surrounded by people your whole life?"
Caroline grimaced, he was right.
"Let me guess." Klaus continued. "Cheerleader?" He'd always assumed as much. Caroline was light on her feet, naturally bright.
She nodded her consent. "Captain. Four years in high school."
Klaus leaned over the counter, scrutinizing Caroline. Once again he'd managed to bring a light flush to her face. "You were some kind of high school royalty. Small town, of course."
"That's not fair." Caroline protested. "How can you know all of that?"
Klaus grinned as she confirmed his guesses. "I may not be good at communicating to people, but I can sure as hell read them, love." He leaned over the counter with a smug smirk. Klaus had had quite a few assumptions about Caroline ever since he'd met her, but having them confirmed was nothing short of validation.
"Anyways…" Caroline slurred, changing the subject away from herself. "What about that lunch?"
Niklaus smiled and brought his hands together. "Of course, love. Make whatever you like, I've no preference."
Klaus walked away after calling out that he was going to the library to research his latest account, and Caroline made her way to the pantry. It seemed like Klaus had this endless cycle of work; she felt bad for the man. Caroline had quickly discovered that the library on the first floor of the house doubled as an archive. Klaus was antiquated, he'd told her, and using electronic records made him weary. There were, of course, computer archives, but he preferred to leave those to Elijah and his 'squad of lackeys' in New York.
Caroline grinned as she began to pull ingredients from the fridge. She'd grown accustomed to a few of Klaus's unusual ways and was beginning to see why he'd put 'must be respectful of boundaries' on the original help wanted ad. He kept odd hours, preferred isolation, and worked incessantly. She'd lucked out as far as live-in jobs went. The estate was gorgeous, and Klaus's substantial funds didn't leave them lacking for much.
Caroline was slicing cheese for the sandwiches she was making when the doorbell rang loudly through the house.
"I'll get it!" Caroline called in Klaus's direction as she walked to the front door, wiping her hands on a towel.
The doorbell rang again, pealing loudly in the foyer, as Caroline had an odd sense of reverse deja-vu. Not a week ago she'd been standing where whoever was on the other side of the door was, ringing repeatedly and waiting for the massive doors to answer.
Caroline finally got to the door and pulled it open, revealing the figure on the outside.
Young, blonde, and stunning, a woman stood on the other side of the door. Her shoulder length hair was pin straight, and as it swung to the side Caroline noticed the black town car leaving the driveway. The young woman's appearance gave to the exuding feeling that she wasn't denied often. Pouty lips and inquisitive eyes dominated her expression.
Three large suitcases were stacked neatly behind her, as if whoever had been driving the car had labored to lug them up the front steps so that the woman wouldn't have to. She wore knee-high boots, dark jeans, and a cream-colored pea coat that looked expensive enough to have Caroline bashfully covering her own discount jeans.
Before Caroline could speak to the young woman however, Klaus came tearing out of the library and on to the porch. He lifted the woman up in his arms, laughing greetings into her ear over her squeals of delight.
The pair spun a few times, as Caroline processed the ease at which Klaus had lifted the other girl. Sure, she couldn't have weighed much; it was possible that Klaus was hiding his strength from the general public.
"I'm so glad you made it!" he boss was saying, grabbing two of the suitcases and heading inside. "I thought you wouldn't be back until tonight!"
Caroline quickly ran out to carry the other suitcase and shut the door behind the three of them.
"Well, I didn't think I would be, but then Damon decided to stay in Aspen with his brother for another day… So I came here!" The blonde girl said quickly.
Klaus ran his hands through his hair. "Why couldn't you have picked the other Salvatore? He's much more agreeable."
The young woman laughed. "I know your opinions, Nik. My judgment stands." She stuck her tongue out at him in response to his sour face. "Niklaus, we're being completely rude." The girl had seemingly just noticed that Caroline had been standing rather awkwardly, trying to make light of the situation.
Klaus slapped himself lightly on the forehead. "You're right. Caroline, I'd love to introduce you to my baby sister."
The girl smiled, holding out a hand for Caroline to shake. "Hi," she started. "I'm Rebekah."
XXX
A/N I can't thank you all enough. The fact that you're taking the time to read this seriously makes my heart sing (cue Wild Thing). This is the best response I think I've ever gotten to a story, and I'll continue it on!
Note: I got a review a while back from sweetydoe who asked which one of the Salvatores Rebekah was dating. Although I think it's more realistic in the TVD world that she'd be dating Stefan, for the intents of this story, she's with Damon. I think that's more interesting, and I'd mentioned in an earlier chapter that Klaus didn't like who Rebekah was with.
