A/N: So here it is, chapter 10! It's a long one. Thank you to my betas for all their input and assistance.
Chapter 10
Caroline sat at her desk staring at her computer screen, trying to process the information in front of her. She had three new emails, all sent in the wee hours of Monday morning, before she'd gotten to her office at 9am, from three different Mikaelsons. Firstly, Elijah had sent out an email to the entire staff to announce a 10th Anniversary Gala to celebrate 10 years of American expansion for Mikaelson's Auction House on the 15th of July, three months from now. This is not bad news, but the catch was that all employees were invited, and encouraged to bring a date. After all, this was going to be one of the biggest social events of the summer season in New York. There was no way Caroline could keep this hidden form Katherine, which meant she was going to have to go to a public event, full of strangers, and more worryingly: media. It was imperative Caroline did not get her face published in a widely read newspaper or magazine.
Secondly, Rebekah had sent her an email saying she would appreciate assistance in planning an 'Open House' event at the New York branch next month, where all employees would be invited to bring family and friends to an evening event to see the Auction house behind the scenes, and have the opportunity to meet the Mikaelson family. It was an annual event that Elijah had instituted to formally thank all employees and their families. Caroline fully supported the event itself, but she was certain that despite Rebekah's request for assistance with colour schemes and catering choices, this was really another chance for her to try to scare Caroline away from Klaus. And given Caroline's actions on the weekend, she couldn't help but feel that Rebekah may have reason to be more than a little upset.
Lastly, Klaus himself had emailed to say he would be dropping by this afternoon to conduct her one-on-one interview. Caroline could not stop her stomach from churning as she thought about seeing him again for the first time since their night together. She and Katherine had spent time, at Caroline's insistence, role-playing how she should respond to Klaus when she inevitably saw him again at the office. By the end of the role-playing sessions, Caroline had been bent over from laughter at Katherine's exaggerated British accent and her deep 'man-voice'. On the practical side of things, she did have several good options of how to tell Klaus she wanted to have a professional relationship with him and nothing more. But practicing with Katherine was one thing, and talking to Klaus quite another; she never seemed to act as she thought she should when he was around. She hoped today would be an exception.
Lost in her thoughts, she was startled when her office door opened and a handsome young man with a carefree grin strode in and sat down in the chair across from her.
"Mr. Mikaelson." She said, unable to keep the confusion out of her voice.
"Oh, please, drop the formalities, call me Kol. Mr. Mikaelson is my father and the less I think about him the better." He said, lounging comfortably, legs outstretched.
"Is there something I can help you with?" She inquired, still completely baffled by his presence in her office.
"Actually there is." He said with a smile as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You may be aware that I am the head of our advertising division, I specialize in social media networking for the entire company." He explained, flashing her another grin.
Caroline had not actually been aware of Kol's position in the company, not exactly anyway. He was seldom in the office before noon and he seemed to spend more time chatting with Leslie, Ashley, and Anna then he did in his own office working on business matters.
"Yes of course." She said pleasantly, agreeing with him instead of admitted her ignorance.
"Excellent." He exclaimed, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "So I'm going over all our employee profiles and social media accounts and I've noticed your twitter account isn't very personal." He said focusing on her, suddenly more serious.
"I've kept my account focused on the art and promoting Mikaelson's events. I believe that is what it's for: promoting the company." She said, keeping her comments professional, unsure of what Kol meant by being more 'personal' on her work twitter account, which she was uncomfortable having in the first place.
"Yes, all those pictures of the art are wonderful. But you my dear, are rather gorgeous, and-"
"What are you implying Mr. Mikaelson?" Caroline cut in, not at all happy with where this conversation seemed to be heading.
"I'd like you to post more pictures of yourself." He paused and looked her over, scrutinizing her in a way that made her bristle in anger. "Though, perhaps not in your current attire. Something more colourful maybe." He suggested, tilting his head to the side in thought. "Show a little skin, smile; you know sex sells." He ended with a smirk and a wink, his eyes resting on her breasts and then moving up to meet her gaze.
"That's enough." Caroline said her voice flat. "If Elijah tells me I have to make changes to my social media presence I will. But I will not sit here while you leer at me and suggest I use my body to help you sell art! That is absurd and this company is above such juvenile tactics. You can leave. Now." She commanded, motioning to the door.
Kol stood slowly, the smirk still plastered on his face. "You're feistier than I thought Miss James. No need to mention this to Elijah, just consider it a misstep on my part." His smirk turned into a placating smile, as he slipped through the door and left.
Caroline flopped back into her chair with a loud sigh. She wasn't sure if she should mention this encounter with Kol to anyone, or what she would say if she did. Kol had always seemed so immature, reckless and carefree; perhaps this was nothing more than a misjudgment on his part, a youthful error. Either way, she had far too much to worry about already to waste another moment thinking about Kol Mikaelson, he simply seemed harmless, especially when compared to Klaus.
Klaus was sitting completely still in his seat, muscles clenched, and body taunt with tension. When he had arrived at Elijah's office this morning to check in about his plans of the upcoming week his brother had failed to mention that Mikael would be joining them via Skype chat. Klaus was well aware that this small, but vital piece of information had been kept from him purposefully: Elijah was very cognizant of the fact that Klaus would have attempted to duck the meeting if he knew Mikael was involved.
Now he sat beside Elijah, face void of expression as he listened to Mikael's criticism.
"I expected more progress." Mikael spoke harshly. "I shouldn't be surprised at the slow pace, given your poor leadership skills boy."
Klaus felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle in response to Mikael's words, and though he was trying his best to keep his anger in check, he could feel his nostrils flaring in frustration at the unwarranted critique.
"Father, we're proceeding on schedule and as planned." Elijah interjected, keeping his voice controlled and giving Klaus a quick sideways glance.
"Well I hope you have some legitimate findings to report by the end of the week. I have tolerated your incompetence in the past, but will not be so forgiving if you cannot have security under control before your mother and I arrive in three months time. Do you understand me boy?" Mikael threatened.
"Yes." Klaus ground out through clenched teeth.
Mikael cackled at his forced reply. "Temper, temper, Niklaus. When will you learn control? No son of mine would be so weak."
Klaus struggled to keep his eyes on the screen and Mikael's face. It was not the first time Mikael had thrown his illegitimacy in his face and it certainly wouldn't be the last. It bothered Klaus more than he could ever express that his heart clenched with each insult and he was never sure he would fully recover.
"Everything will be resolved well before the gala event. And we can both be glad I am no son of yours." He bit out, unable to prevent himself from rising to the bait Mikael had carefully chosen.
"Niklaus is on schedule to complete the security overhaul well in advance of your arrival." Elijah added, no doubt trying to direct the conversation away from Klaus' bloodline.
"And what will be his purpose when he is done, hmm? I suppose he will just languish around?" Mikael questioned.
"I had suggested Niklaus take a vacation. It has been sometime since he stepped away from the business." Elijah said lightly, obviously hoping not to stir up any more discord.
The truth was Mikael did not approve of his children taking time away from the business, and he was especially harsh on Klaus, dragging his heels until Elijah could convince him Klaus would have a legal case to demand time away from work. Over the years, Klaus noticed that Elijah had become more and more capable of convincing Mikael to allow him vacation time without Klaus having to make threats. It was very helpful, since Klaus avoided interacting with Mikael at all costs.
"Hmm." Mikael murmured non-committally. "I will find a time to connect with you again Elijah. I have pressing matters to attend to hear, I must be off." Mikael finished, effectively ending the discussion.
Klaus watched impassively as the screen went black and he was left alone in silence with his brother. His thoughts were a jumble and his emotions were stirring. Half of him longed for the conversation to have never happened, and the other half of him wished Mikael was still on the screen so he could tell him exactly what a no-good-son-of-a-bitch he really thought he was. Not that arguing with Mikael had ever done him any good at all. All the satisfaction that he felt from initially getting his hatred off his chest and directing it right at the man who had made his childhood a living hell was always destroyed by the way Mikael could turn his words back on him and make him feel like nothing more than a helpless child once more.
The sound of Elijah clearing his throat broke Klaus out of his negative spiral.
"Your work has been exemplary Niklaus." Elijah said, looking up at Klaus cautiously. "He is mistaken in his doubts and his criticism brother."
Klaus leaned back in his chair, swiveled to face Elijah, and tented his fingers carefully.
"You cannot undo the past brother." Klaus said letting his hands fall back to his sides.
"And I am genuine in my sincerity that your work is, and has always been excellent." Elijah insisted.
Klaus pushed himself up from his seat, stood abruptly and crowded into his brother's space. "I don't need your pity 'Lijah. I am more than capable of getting this job done and ignoring Mikael's petty insults without your little pep talks." He growled, irritated by Elijah's obvious concern.
"It wasn't a pep talk, Niklaus, it was the truth." Elijah said, standing, putting them chest to chest.
"Enough of this non-sense, brother." Klaus breathed out in exasperation. "You're lucky Mikael and I haven't murdered each other, the thought certainly crosses my mind frequently." He muttered, striding past his brother and slamming Elijah's office door behind him.
Caroline was sitting at her desk, getting ready to have lunch at her desk, as she attempted to get a start on the itemized list of things Rebekah wanted her to book for the upcoming open house. She only had a month to help Rebekah get everything organized, and she would have preferred to be informed of the event much earlier. However, she wasn't about to give Rebekah any reason to criticize her work, not after their awkward lunch last week.
As she was debating which caterer to call first, she heard a light knock on her door.
"Come in." She called, crossing her fingers she wasn't receiving a visit from another Mikaelson.
"Hey." Caroline watched as Anna poked her head into the office and then stepped fully inside. "I hope I'm not coming at a bad time. I brought cinnamon buns." She said, holding up a white bag as a peace offering.
"From Francesca's?" Caroline asked, her mouth watering as Anna nodded her head. "God, get over here! This morning has been ridiculous and sugar is just what I need. How did you know?" She said, grabbing eagerly at the baked goods as Anna approached, a smile lighting up her face.
"You been so busy lately." Anna said as she sat down and opened her bag of goodies. "I thought maybe a bit of a bribe was the best way to get in here to chat."
"Hon, are you having school troubles again? Because you can always stop by to talk about that anytime if you need me." Caroline said sincerely.
"Actually, aside from still trying and failing to stay awake in my philosophy class, school is going really well. I really wanted to thank you for your help with my paper the other week; you are amazing! I'm pretty sure my prof thinks I'm some sort of tapestry genius." Anna laughed as she passed Caroline a cinnamon bun.
"It was my pleasure." Caroline said pleased to hear Anna's studies were going well and that there seemed to be no hard feelings for her earlier rude behaviour. "So what else brings you here today?"
"Kol's been hanging around." Anna said, scrunching her nose in distaste.
"He's not bothering you, is he?" Caroline asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
This wasn't the first time Anna had mentioned Kol, and though she knew Anna found him attractive, he was a handsome devil, she also knew Anna was very apprehensive about his interest in her. Kol was known for being quite the ladies man, care free with no commitment, while Anna was serious and driven. And if Caroline was honest, Kol was a difficult man to figure out, he never seemed invested in anything, he was always ready and willing to be lead off to the next pursuit. Whether his interest in Anna would last was anyone's guess.
"No, he wasn't bothering me. He hasn't come into to work this early in a long time, so I honestly think he didn't know what to do with himself. He said Gertrude kicked him out of restoration because he was such a nuisance, so he sat down next with me for a half an hour and greeted everyone who came through the door while I answered the phone. It was…strange." Anna said with a shrug. "So how's your day shaping up?" Anna asked, pulling the conversation away from Kol.
"Busy. Rebekah has assigned me a long list of tasks and I'm trying to do some research for a possible upcoming auction. Apparently we've acquired a Strad, and it might be time to have a 'musical instruments' auction. Historic violins aren't exactly my forte, so I've been trying to brush up this morning." Caroline explained, savouring bites of her cinnamon bun between sentences.
"Something Caroline James isn't an expert in? Colour me surprised!" Anna teased.
"Well I did watch a documentary on how Steinway handcrafts pianos around Christmas, but other than that my knowledge of instruments is pretty basic."
"Sometimes you are such a nerd Caroline." Anna quipped, shaking her head as she took a large bite of her own bun.
"It seemed like it might be helpful for the job. And I am compulsively motivated to be the best auction coordinator this side of the Atlantic. Besides I'd run out of sappy Hallmark channel Christmas movies to watch, so I had to pick something." She said with a grin. " I think my favourite this year was this one with a personal assistance who ran into a man in the elevator, sparks flew, and then she found out he was her boss' fiancé. But thankfully, due to the miracle of the Christmas spirit, and her party planning abilities, they ended up falling in love and everyone lived happily ever after." Caroline sighed.
"You are a true romantic." Anna observed.
"I like to think good things happen to good people…eventually." Caroline said frowning slightly as she looked down at her almost finished cinnamon bun. It didn't seem right to call herself a romantic anymore, not when there was no romance in her life: a conscious choice on her part.
"Well I should let you get back to your research, and I should get my butt back to the front desk." Anna said, standing up slowly. "There's another cinnamon bun in there, if you want a snack for later." She said with a wink.
"You are a goddess." Caroline groaned, opening the bag and breathing in the sweet and spicy smell.
"Oh! Before I go, I got a call at the front desk for you earlier this morning. I haven't gotten a call for you before; people who are trying to reach you usually have your direct extension. So I told him I'd check in to see if you were in today, I just wanted to stall him. Is it okay if I just patch him through next time? He said he'd call back, he seemed quite persistent." Caroline could feel Anna's eyes on her, but she wasn't quite sure what to say. "I should have just put him through, shouldn't I? I'm sorry Caroline." Anna said apologetically.
"No, don't worry about it!" She exclaimed. "You said he'd call back and I'm sure he will. I'm not sure who it might be, but for future reference you may, of course, put any calls for me through. I appreciate you asking, but really it's your job, put 'em through." She said cheerfully.
Anna smiled and nodded, walking to the door and slipping outside. Just as she'd almost left, she poked her head back inside the door.
"You know why I didn't put him through? I just remembered! He had your name wrong! I thought maybe he was confused, but he described you and I knew he was talking about you. But I guess it just seemed a little suspect."
"What did he call me?" Caroline asked, feeling uneasy.
"Caroline Forbes."
Klaus leaned forward menacingly, palms planted firmly on Caroline desk, his body taunt and upright, the chair behind him pushed backwards and forgotten. He only had to look down a couple of inches to meet Caroline's gaze, as she'd thrust her body forward aggressively, matching his position. They'd been pushing each other every second of the one-on-one interview, and neither one was interested in backing down now.
"I will not have anyone telling me how to do my job!" Klaus spit out, infuriated that Caroline was refusing to answer his questions.
"You cannot dictate to me!" Caroline cried back, her eyes shining.
"I can and I will. You will tell me what I want to know. Now!" He barked, quickly losing what little control he had left.
"I most certainly will not!" Caroline scoffed, her eye narrowing. "You have no right to ask me about my personal life, this is supposed to be a work related interview, not a personal investigation." Her voice was icy and her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles were bright white.
Though Klaus knew he should back down, he found himself unable to do anything but keep antagonizing her: pushing and pressing. He'd lost all vestiges of finesse some time ago, and he had little hope he'd find it again. When he'd come into her office for her security interview, Caroline had been cool and distant, barely looking him in the eye. When he'd hinted at their time together on the weekend, she'd called it a 'mistake'. His already simmering anger, fueled by Mikael's earlier dismissive attitude, had begun to boil. Caroline's refusal to answer the questions that had been plaguing him all weekend, 'Why had she reacted as she had at the auction? Was something in her life a threat? To her? To Mikaelson's?', had eaten up the last of his patience. He needed answers, and Caroline had thus far refused to provide an iota of useful information. His attempt to be understanding had been fruitless; it was time to demand and take, not cajole.
"I have every right to worm my way into your personal life if I believe it may be a threat to this company." He growled, voice low and deep. "You would do well to answer me Caroline." He threatened.
"Or what? What will you do Klaus?" She challenged, leaning even closer to him, only the desk between preventing her nose from touching his.
What would he do? Her words swam around his mind, as his baser urges surged forward and his eyes locked on her lips and her heaving breasts. What he'd like to do was pull her forward onto the desk, lock his lips onto hers and settle himself firmly between her thighs, showing her exactly who was in control. He was sure Caroline would match him beat for beat, he could almost feel her fingers sinking into his hair and pulling on his shirt, bringing him impossibly close to her, until they were both lying across her desk lost in each other.
"You know," She said softly, leaning away from him, arms crossed over her chest protectively, "you're not the first Mikaelson to rudely interrupt my day. And I'm going to say the same thing to you that I said earlier today: leave. I will not be spoken to so disrespectfully in my own office. You can go."
She motioned with her hand toward the door and Klaus could hear the fatigue in her voice, the exhaustion that he'd contributed to, and the guilt started to creep over him, inch by inch. He pushed himself back and slowly stood up straight. He had no idea what to say; he couldn't, he wouldn't admit he'd been wrong, but her words ate at him nonetheless. The interview seemed to flash in front of him all over again, swiftly and in vivid colour. This time instead of seeing only anger and rejection in Caroline's expressions, he saw how her face became tense and guarded when he began asking about the auction and her personal life. He had plowed forward, determined to have her bend to his line of questioning, and with anyone else he would have thrown out any threat or manipulative tactic he could draw on to get them to loosen their lips. With Caroline, however, her mere presence tilted him off axis and he found his typical threats could not be voiced. He could not lie and threaten her job, because he did not want to her leave. If he had to suffer through these months in New York, under the scrutiny of Mikael and his sibling, then he needed Caroline. He needed a light to guide him and he would not let it go.
"We will continue this another time." He said finally after several moments of silence between them.
He would not give up on her, on this, whatever it was. He frowned as he walked carefully to the door, flexing his fingers and swallowing thickly.
"I thought…" Her voice floated softly toward him as he gripped the doorframe tightly. "I thought we could be friends. This weekend, I thought you were someone who could be my friend, but I must have been crazy. Crazy to think an arrogant, controlling, smug bastard like you was even capable of having friends." Klaus could hear her quiet sigh, even from across the room.
"I'll always be a bastard love." He replied softly, staring at the grooves in the doorframe, stepping into the hallway, and then firmly closing the door.
He stood staring at the plain black office door for several moments, reading Caroline's name on the door over and over, wondering if he would ever get back inside again.
Turning sharply, Klaus sauntered back to his office, pushing aside his melancholy thoughts, determined to do everything in his power to find a way back into Caroline's life; starting with getting to the bottom of her secrets and discovering the source of her fear.
Caroline was staring her phone blankly, unable to stop her mind from replaying her encounter with Klaus. Her first glimpse of his face when he'd walked through her door had filled her with concern; he'd looked so grim and cold. But then she had simply steeled her resolve to stick with the plan she and Katherine had discussed: keeping her distance, establishing boundaries, and ending any semi-flirtatious moments filled with undercurrents of sexual tension that seemed to spring up whenever she and Klaus were sharing a room.
The interview had started out fine: a bit tense and cold perhaps. Caroline has been hesitant about what to say, and where to look, concerned that looking at his face would simply crumble the wall she had built around her heart. He had already made several dents over the past week, what with the water bottle and the tour of the basement. She hadn't wanted to be a complete bitch; she'd just wanted to pull them back into a strictly professional zone. But Klaus had seemed…off. There was something about the way he was sitting that didn't look right, as if he was holding himself rigidly upright, when his posture was usually casually confident. It had put her even more on edge to see him acting differently than normal. And a part of her hated that she was already so certain about what 'normal' Klaus was; how could she possibly feel she knew him so intimately after so little time?
So they had struggled through the first few questions, Caroline offering concise answers about her work duties and her implementation of restrictions in the restoration room, and Klaus sitting impassively in the chair across from her, never reacting to her responses in any way. Then he had asked about her life outside of work, and she had arched her brows at him and refused to answer, but he had pushed, and kept pushing until they were leaning on her desk yelling at each other. He was exhausting and exasperating! However, sitting here now, mulling over their heated argument, there was one small, but very significant positive she could take away from their encounter: she had never been afraid. And that, that lack of fear was a revelation. Angry voices, especially male voices usually caused Caroline to back away, or shiver involuntarily, flooded with unwanted memories of her former life. Today that had never happened: Klaus had been angry, but so had she and she had matched him, step for step, word for word. Despite her continued irritation with Klaus, somewhere deep down, Caroline was feeling quite proud of herself.
Just then, her telephone rang out, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hello, Caroline James' office." She answered, consciously making her voice sound professional, but inviting.
"Hello?" She repeated, but was met with only silence. Seriously? Holding the receiver away from her ear momentarily, she looked down at her office phone to make sure it was still working, and then returned the receiver to her ear. "Hello?" She said on final time, raising her voice slightly.
Again she heard no reply. Caroline shrugged and hung up the phone. She did not have time for random crank calls or wrong numbers; it was past time she got back to work. Caroline sighed, and reached for her notebook, only to be startled once again by her phone ringing.
"Hello, Caroline James' office." She answered, unable to keep her frustration out of her voice.
"Caroline?" A familiar masculine voice replied. "Is that really you?"
Caroline nearly gasped out loud in shock at the voice on the other end of the line. It brought so many memories flashing back: late nights studying at the Bancroft library at Berkeley, delicately thumbing through old manuscripts together, drunkenly being carried home in a pair of strong arms after indulging far too much at a frat party freshman year, and lying on the grass basking in the California sun, laughing as his teased her about her inability to tan.
"Stefan?" She whispered, her voice hoarse and full of emotion.
"It's me Care." He replied softly. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Caroline didn't know what to say. It had been a long time; but she had chosen her new life with great care and there was a very good reason why Stefan was not part of it. She missed Stefan, she truly did. He had been a soothing presence in her life, all calm intellectualism compared to her energetic enthusiasm: they had balanced each other out perfectly. How do you respond to someone you abandoned?
"Care, I'd really like to see you." Stefan said, breaking the silence.
"I…" Caroline struggled, still terrified about the consequences of seeing Stefan again, of dipping her toes into the swirling whirlpool of her past.
"I haven't seen him in years Care. I want you to know that, if it makes a difference." Caroline could hear the desperation in his voice.
He really wanted to see her again. Caroline had always pushed her thoughts away from how people must have reacted to her sudden disappearance five years ago. One day she had been graduating from Berkeley, the happy, hyper-organized sorority queen that everyone thought was about to get engaged to her long-term boyfriend, and the next day, she'd been gone. It had torn her heart apart to spend even a moment thinking about how Stefan, Bonnie and Elena, her best friends, had reacted to the sight of her room, stripped bare, as if she'd never been there. There'd been no goodbyes, no note: nothing. It was how it had to be, because of him, and it had been cruel and calculated. Hearing Stefan's voice, how he sounded so relieved to hear her voice, and yet so pained that it had been years since they'd spoken, Caroline knew what her answer had to be.
"I have some time after work." She answered cautiously. "We could meet for coffee?" She bit her lip: afraid he'd say no, afraid he'd say yes, afraid to see him, and afraid if she didn't take this chance she'd never see him again.
"Where?" He said instantly.
"Umm." Caroline hesitated, running through the cafés that she enjoyed that were not close to her home, since she wasn't ready to give Stefan all the details of her new life. "There's a nice café in the Lower East Side, Café Grumpy, we could meet there?"
Caroline heard Stefan say yes, and the rest of the conversation, her description of the café, her convoluted directions, and his quiet laughter, passed by in the blur. Before she knew it, she was left staring at the phone again, wondering what she'd just agreed to.
Klaus was sitting in his office, a coiled body of rage. It seemed unlikely his day could get any worse. He'd had to tolerate Mikael at 9am, and to compensate for the horrible start to the day he'd then threatened Richard in accounting and had quite enjoyed watching the bespectacled man tremble and shake in fear. Unfortunately any relief he'd achieved from threatening Richard, had been erased when he'd argued with Caroline, despite his good intentions to keep his temper in check, regardless of how it ate at his pride to know she'd snuck away from him in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He was going to try to be nice, and forgiving, two things he wasn't exactly an expert at, all the while trying to subtly, and if necessary not so subtly get information about Caroline's past and personal life. The whole encounter had been a failure of epic proportions.
He'd been far too emotional to continue with any one-on-one interviews, but thankfully he'd planned to spend the last few hours of the day doing paperwork. As he focused on relaxing his shoulders, he turned on his computer, decided to get down to work, and was immediately thrown off course when Kol barged into his office.
"Brother!" Kol announced cheerily as he strode in the room. "Beautiful day isn't it?"
"It's difficult to see the evidence from here brother. Perhaps you'd have more success in Elijah's corner office. It has something mine lacks: windows." Klaus replied drily.
"How do you put up with this dreary little hole Nik? Just being at the office all day is enough to make me want to tare my hair out." Kol smirked.
Klaus leaned back in his chair and studied his younger brother silently. He'd been aware Kol had been at the branch all day, which was quite out of character for him. He also recalled Caroline's comment about tossing another Mikaelson out of her office earlier today. Easily connecting the dots, he smiled wickedly.
"There wouldn't be a particular reason you've been at the office all day, would there?" He commented with false casualness.
"Just a whim." Kol replied, matching his brother's light tone, but failing to control his body language, as Klaus caught him picking at his fingernails and avoiding eye contact.
"Nothing to do with Miss James?" He pressed on, refusing to let his little brother win this battle of wills.
Kol glared at him, obviously quite put out at being discovered, but Klaus merely grinned in response.
"She gave me up did she? That little bitch, what a traitor." Kol muttered.
Klaus leaned forward slowly. "If you ever speak of Miss James in such a way again, I will pull your vocal cords out through your nose." He growled.
"Oh come now Nik." Kol said with a laugh, spreading his hands out in a placating gesture.
"If you think I am not aware that you and Rebekah are plotting something, you are mistaken. I do not appreciate you nosing your way into my life, but since you will both insist on continuing in this pointless pursuit, you will keep Miss James out of it." He directed. "Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal." Kol said, far too agreeable for Klaus' taste.
"Out." He ordered, pointing to the door. "Get out."
Kol turned his back on his brother and happily waltzed out of his office. Between his conversation with Miss James this morning and Klaus this afternoon, it had been a very successful day of investigation. Closing the door with a devilish grin, his pulled out his cell phone and dialed.
"Bekah!" He said, full of glee at this recent turn of events. "I think I've made some progress in the investigation into our dear brother and Miss James."
Caroline was sitting at a small table at Café Grumpy, staring at the man across from her and then quickly dropping her gaze back down to her espresso. After saying their hellos and ordering, she and Stefan had been sitting, surrounded by an awkward silence that seemed to have no end in sight. How do you start a conversation with someone you haven't seen in five years? Someone you've kept so much from and still have so many secrets to keep. Caroline was painfully aware that someone had to make the first step, but she was simply too overwhelmed with fear to take on the responsibility herself.
"So are we just going to sit here and stare at our coffees?" Stefan teased.
Caroline brought her eyes back up to Stefan face and chuckled slightly at his words and the tentative smile on his face.
"I'm sorry." She said, painfully aware that her choices and actions were making this reconnection very difficult.
"So you're working in the art world." Stefan noted, lifting his eyebrows quizzically.
"Yes I am." She replied instantly, happy to talk about something neutral and relatively harmless. "I love my job." She said with a smile. "And what are you doing now?"
"I'm completing my doctorate. I'm studying classics, specializing in governmental structure in ancient Greece. I'm actually at Oxford, but I'm touring a few libraries here in the states. When Damon mentioned he'd caught a glimpse of you the other night, I made a quick trip to the city."
Caroline could feel her anxiety rise when Stefan mentioned Damon's name, and flashes of the fear she'd felt those few nights ago racked through her body. Choosing to focus on Stefan's accomplishments, she continued the conversation apprehensively.
"I'm glad to hear your studies are going so well Stefan. You were always made for the academic life; it sits so comfortably on you. I can totally picture you strolling around Oxford, living the life of a respected professor, wearing one of those jackets with the elbow patches." She said with a grin.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Damon and our father have been less than pleased at my refusal to join the family business and focusing my life on making more money than I know what to do with." He replied wryly.
Caroline shook her head, commiserating with Stefan strained relationship with his family. He had always been the outlier of the Salvatore clan and had struggled to get any sense of understanding and acceptance from his father and brother. Caroline's own struggles with her parents had brought her and Stefan closer; they'd had many late night, semi-drunken talks about the frustrations that come from trying to please someone who just doesn't understand you in any way.
"I'm proud of you for going after your dreams." Caroline said happily.
"It seems you did the same." Stefan conceded.
"I did." Caroline sat up proudly, taking a quick sip of her espresso. "Much to everyone's surprise I'm sure." She added, glancing over the lip of her mug, a twinkle in her eye.
"You kept your interest in art well hidden." Stefan said, sounding more serious than Caroline liked. "You kept a lot of things well hidden actually."
Caroline set her mug down carefully, her body tense and her heart racing. She had really hoped that they would be able to dance around neutral subjects for a while longer before diving into the past.
"Some things need to stay hidden, Stefan." She said, gently swirling the last quarter of her espresso around in her cup. "I have my reasons."
"And it's been five years Care! Five years of me wondering, thinking of all the horrible things that might have happened to you! You could have been dead for all I knew! Can you really blame me for wanting to know, for wanting answers?" Stefan voice was controlled, but Caroline could sense the tight leash he had on his emotions.
Knowing she was going to have to give him something, Caroline chose her words carefully. "On the phone you said you hadn't seen him in years. You must have suspected my leaving had something to do with him, and you were right." She put her mug down carefully on the table and met Stefan's eyes, gathering all her strength as she continued. "I know you want answers. And there's this part of me, this huge part of me that wants to tell you everything. You were my best friend and I would have trusted you with almost anything five years ago, you have to know that. So I need for you to understand me now." Caroline took a steadying breath, and shakily pushed a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "If I could have told you why I was leaving five years ago, I would have. And if I felt I could tell you now I would. But I can't."
Caroline dropped her head down, and gripped her hands tightly in her lap, trying to prevent them from trembling.
"Care." Stefan's voice floated across the table, gentle and beckoning. "Come on Care look at me." He cajoled.
She peaked up at him, seeing his hand resting on the table between them, palm up, inviting her in. She hesitated, but then slowly raised her left hand and placed it in his, feeling his firm grip around her hand. She instantly felt secure, grounded, and safe; her trembling subsided and she let out the breath she'd been holding.
"I'm sorry Caroline. I shouldn't have pushed so hard, so fast. I want to be part of your life again, if you'll let me. I want my friend back." He said, squeezing her hand lightly to emphasize his words.
"If we're going to do this; be friends again, then we have to start fresh. No interrogations about the past, let's just start over from today." She insisted.
"It's a deal." Stefan said with a smile, squeezing her hand one last time before letting go, picking up his coffee and relaxing back in his seat.
Klaus stood silently, staring across the busy New York street at the coffee shop on the other side of the road. He had left his office at the end of the workday determined to stop by Caroline's office and try his hand at another conversation with his favourite feisty blonde. However, she had not been in her office, and he had been lucky to catch a glimpse of her leaving through the front doors. And so, in a move he wasn't exactly proud of, he'd followed her.
As he watched the faces in the glass-fronted window of the coffee shop, Klaus felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chest and ache in his heart. Caroline was sitting with a brown haired man, from this distance it was hard for Klaus to make out the details of his features, but he seemed young, handsome and completely captivated by Caroline. Klaus watched as the young man grasped Caroline's hand on the tabletop and his blood boiled. It ate at him to see her out with some other man, and it burned at his insides, because the truth was that he wanted Caroline for himself. He wanted to her go out in public with him, to hold his hand, and smile up at him from across the table. She was always so reserved, so careful. It seemed impossible that she would be out with a man unless she trusted him; she must trust this man more than she trusted him and it was infuriating.
Feeling his vision turn red, and unable to watch Caroline look so happy in the company of another man for a moment longer, Klaus turned away. His long, angry strides ate up the New York City blocks quickly, and he violently removed his phone from his pocket, punching in the numbers as he travelled. He gripped his phone with white knuckles as he waited for an answer: he was done wondering about Caroline; it was time to find out the truth.
"Alexei? It's Klaus. I have a name I'd like to you run for me." Klaus listened to the voice on the other end of the line carefully, and then continued. "I want everything, absolutely every bit of information you can find. I want to know everything."
So there you have it! Hope you enjoyed all the twists and turns.
My writing pace has slowed a bit recently; life has just been busier. I will try to maintain the weekly updates, but I may have to space things out a bit more, we'll see. I promise to give all you lovely readers the heads up if updates will be happening less often.
Please review! Your input is amazing and so motivating!