The Contract: Chapter 14
XxX
I hope everyone is enjoying his/her holiday!
It has taken longer than I anticipated to finish this chapter but the travel and all of the Hollywood Life voting took a ton of time from my writing.
I apologize for the Plea to Caroliners (some people seemed to be a little peeved) but the outcome was worth it!
Things I've learned from my travels:
From Singapore - Durian fruit tastes and smells like trash. Festering wet trash. Or as my tour guide put it - "It's like eating custard in front of a toilet."
From Siem Reap, Cambodia – Massages are awesome. A couple's massage with someone you aren't dating is super awkward.
From Bangkok, Thailand – Thai hookers are much prettier than the ones I've seen in New York. Oh, and the food is great.
From Chang Mai, Thailand – I will eat anything if it has been friend. Specifically, worms and cicadas.
From Hanoi – Tall women freak out the locals. I'm a 5'10 blonde and I sent a group of Vietnamese teenage girls scattering at a temple. One started patting my arm before calling me Big Bird.
I also want to apologize for this chapter being so long and disjointed. I've basically written everything over the course of the last two weeks, so it has been written on planes, trains and automobiles; parts written on my laptop, iPad and even phone and then patched together. It may seem thrown together but I needed to get in a lot of background info and do the set up for events that will be coming up shortly.
XxX
"You're late," Klaus said lightly to the blonde on standing in his hallway.
"Seriously?" Caroline scoffed. "Are those, like, the first words the Mikaelson's are taught as children?"
"Actually" Klaus smirked while gesturing for Caroline to enter, "I'm almost positive our first words were 'mine' shortly followed by 'EBITA', but who can remember these things?"
"Figures," she muttered, walking past him into the spacious but somber apartment.
"But onto more pressing matters…did you find a dress?" he asked, noticing she was only holding one small gift bag in her hand.
Caroline saw that his eyes had settled on the gift Bonnie and Kat had given her that morning. She clutched the shameful collection of goodies safely to her side and replied, "In fact I did but it will remain at Bergdorf for the fittings. And then, as shocking as this may sound, Rebecca and I went for a quick bite, which is why I'm running a little late."
Klaus adopted a serious expression and a placed his hand to lift the woman's chin to the light. He tilted her face from side to side, as if to inspect her face.
Caroline scowled and lightly pushed his hand away. "What are you doing?"
"Checking for claw marks," he said matter of factly. "I assume my sister is the worse for wear?"
"Actually," Caroline began with a small, proud smile, "I think your sister and I may have reached a détente of sorts."
Klaus quirked his eyebrow before stating, "Miss Forbes, if you have somehow managed to declaw my sister then I believe your talents should be put to a greater service. Perhaps instead of finance you might consider brokering peace in the Middle East…"
"Haha," she said with a roll of her eyes, "I just said we called a truce. It's not like we're going to be braiding each other's hair and exchanging friendship bracelets any time soon but I do think we'll be able to coexist over the next year without any bloodshed." Caroline's face adopted a worried expression. "However, I'm sure all bets are off as soon as we're separated." Although, Caroline had only just begun tackling all that came with the engagement announcement, she was already nervous about the inevitable fall-out from separating in a year's time.
Klaus pursed his lips slightly. "Yes, well we've quite some time before we begin worrying about that. No sense in agonizing over it now," Klaus responded dismissively. "Now, love, shall we sit and begin our little study session?"
"Sure," she said walking down the stairs to the recessed living room.
"May I offer you something to drink," he asked, following her to the sitting area. "A glass of wine perhaps?"
"No, thanks," she said, placing her bag and purse beside her on the leather couch.
Klaus sat on the couch across from her and picked up the glass he'd abandoned when answering the door. "Maybe something harder then – scotch?" he asked, shaking the ice in his cut glass tumbler.
Caroline screwed up her nose and shook her head, "Nope, I stay away from the hard stuff. It took me a while but I've learned that it only takes about two of those before I'm waking up with a lampshade on my head and absolutely no memory of how it got there."
"Is that so? How unfortunate," Klaus said tersely, taking a long sip of the potent amber liquid.
"Oh, before I forget," Caroline said, foraging in her large purse to retrieve a single folded piece of paper. "I couldn't sleep last night so I went ahead and wrote up my guest list," she said passing the list to Klaus. "I included mailing addresses, email addresses and phone numbers, just in case the wedding planner needs all of that information."
"How thorough," Klaus drawled, taking a cursory review of the list. He furrowed his brow and flipped the page over to find the back blank. "This is it?"
"Yeah," Caroline responded simply.
"You've no more than 30 names here and that includes some of the wedding party," the Brit stated. "Surely you know more than 30 bloody people!
"Yes but I only included the people closest to me; people everyone would expect me to invite to a spur of the moment wedding, if you will," she said. "God forbid there is any glaring omission that might make this seem like a fake marriage," she said, her sarcasm thick.
"Surely you know more people who would want to see you walk down the aisle, sweetheart," Klaus said, recognizing most of the names on the list as Caroline's friends and colleagues. "What about family?"
He watched as Caroline tensed up, "I don't have any family, Klaus."
Klaus sensed her discomfort and wished he had been more tactful in his questioning. From Connor's background check he knew that she had no immediate family, save her deadbeat father; however, he assumed there must be some distant relative who could be there for her on such a momentous, albeit staged, occasion. While he hardly appreciated the nuisance that is his family, he could not help but feel sadness that this girl had no one. He could not help but feel some small amount of anguish at the thought of her ever feeling alone.
"No worries, love," he said, in a reassuring tone. "I'm sure there will be more than enough people clamoring for an invitation once the announcement is made in the New York Times this week. And as for family, you'll be lousy with it come May 18th."
"Great," she said, nodding her head slightly. "should make for an interesting year."
Caroline began to fidget, not knowing how to proceed with "getting to know" a man she's be acquainted with for nearly 8 years. She actually knew a great deal about Klaus – the way he strategically tackled complex issues, the way he could be ruthless and dominating with competitors, beguiling and charismatic with investors. She knew he favored small boutique hotels; he liked his wine French and red, his steaks grass fed and rare and his women blessed with certain ample physical attributes. However, she knew most of this through their day-to-day interactions at work as well as the business travel she so frequently accompanied him on. She realized that most of the personal information she knew of Klaus she gleaned from Stefan or Kol. "So…," she began, "how do you propose we begin?"
Klaus reclined into the rich leather cushions and splayed his arms across the back of the couch. "Why don't we start with you, love. I want to hear all of it: your hopes, your dreams… everything you want in life."
Caroline scoffed. While she understood that they would need to share a great deal of personal information to avoid being exposed to INS, she was more than a little hesitant to expose anything as intimate as her hopes and dreams to someone who would potentially use such details to mock her. "Yeah, I vote 'no' on that. Why don't we just focus on the basics?"
"Such as?" he asked.
"I don't know…," she said, sliding her flats off and tucking her legs underneath her, "I guess the basics. Like what's your middle name? What are your hobbies and passions? What are the things you can't live without? I mean, I know a lot about you already – I know you're one of six kids, you grew up in London… I know you were an equestrian but no longer ride… I know you went to Oxford and then LSE and that you like expensive scotch," she said pointing to the glass he currently had balanced on his lips, "but I don't know the little things INS would expect your fiancée to be aware of."
Klaus sipped at the aged liquid before placing the glass to rest on his knee. "I don't have a middle name," he stated simply, as if that answered the litany of questions she had just asked.
Caroline looked up to study his face, sure he was trying to be being difficult. "What do mean you don't have a middle name? Everyone has a middle name."
"As neither I nor my siblings have one, sweetheart, I must beg to differ. So, based on the fact that until this moment you have lived under the delusion that everyone has a middle name, I assume you have a simply grand one."
"It's Dargan," she replied, almost defiantly.
"Caroline Dargan Forbes?"
"Yes, Dargan was my mother's maiden name," she explained, noting his confusion. "It's somewhat common in the South for parents to use the mother or a grandmother's maiden name as a middle name."
Caroline gave a tender smile as she thought about the simple Southern traditions that set the region of the country apart; the small things that made it so homey and unique. "I used to hate the name Caroline when I was little. I thought it was too generic, too plain. So, on my first day of kindergarten I walked to the front of the class and announced to my teachers and classmates that I would be going by 'Dargan' from then on."
Klaus could easily conjure an image of a young and precocious Caroline marching into school with her blonde hair in pigtails, making demands.
"I take it that did not go over well."
"Not at all," she said, issuing a small chuckle. "The jig was up when my dad came to pick up 'Caroline' and not 'Dargan'. The teachers thought my little attempt at a coup was cute but my parents were none too pleased by the stunt."
Klaus watched as Caroline's eyes wandered to the window, obviously recounting the event in her mind. He assumed based on the small smile she still wore that it was a happy time for her.
"I tried everything to get my way – pleading, pouting. I explained in a way that only a 5 year old can that I was sick of being Caroline; I wanted to be different… special like Elena or Bonnie. I probably could have gotten my mom to bend to my will but my dad remained firmly against the name change. He said that if I got any more extraordinary that it wouldn't be fair to the other kids. He always had a way of saying things like that…," she continued before trailing off.
Klaus had never heard Caroline mention her father save one dinner when they first met. He was tempted to ask more but he lost his chance when he heard Caroline clear her throat. She was rubbing her hands over her arms, looking chilled.
"Actually, I think I will take that glass of wine," she said hurriedly, slightly embarrassed to be caught wandering off into her memories.
"What is your pleasure, love? Red or white?" he asked, recognizing this as her attempt to change the subject.
"I'm a little cold so maybe red would be better."
"As you wish," he said rising from his sofa and reaching out a hand to pull her up to join him.
She looked to the hand he offered confused. "Come," he said determinedly, "I'll show you part of my wine collection. Technically, fine wine qualifies as a passion, one of my favorite things and something I cannot live without."
Caroline hesitantly took his hand and was surprised by the ease with which he lifted her from the sofa. He guided her through the open kitchen, past the walk-in pantry to a heavy door complete with a digital thermostat. With his eyes trained on Caroline, he opened the door to reveal hundreds of bottles carefully arranged on the lacquered racks. Situated in the center of the room was a tasting table replete with wine wheels on either side, playing host to even more bottles. Over the table hung a large Tiffany light fixture, which cast a warm glow on the dark wood of the room. Klaus watched Caroline take in the sight before her and he was not disappointed as he watched her eyes widen in appreciation and wonder at the room and all it contained. She slowly walked around the room; her eyes excitedly running over the labels, some dated from this decade, others worn with time. She reached her hand forward to touch one of the older labels but immediately halted her hand and looked back to Klaus for permission.
Wearing a satisfied expression, Klaus gave her a small nod before moving from his perch against the doorframe to stand behind her, interested in the bottle that caught her attention.
"Ah, the Jean-Louis Chave Cornas. One of my favorites," he said picking up the bottle. "Excellent choice," he said before taking a wine key from a drawer to open the bottle.
A few moments elapsed before Caroline realized his intentions. "Klaus, no. I didn't mean for you to open it for me," she said, slightly flummoxed that he would open such a bottle for what was essentially an after dinner drink. "I was just curious because I've read everything Kermit Lynch has written about Rhone and the Chave family…"
Klaus raised an eyebrow at her, curious about her reaction. "So why not have a glass, love?"
"I don't know," she said, finding it difficult to express her hesitance, "I guess it just seems like a waste of a good bottle."
Klaus shook his head and against her wishes continued opening the bottle. "The only waste, sweetheart, would be to keep it hidden away on a shelf instead of enjoying it properly." He pulled out a delicate Riedel glass and filled it with a generous pour. "You will want this to breathe for a bit," he said, handing her the glass.
Caroline eyed the glass almost warily before taking hold of the stem, just above Klaus's hand. She pulled the glass towards her but noticed Klaus did not relinquish his hold. Confused, she looked up to meet his gaze.
"Caroline, you are to be my wife soon and with that will come all you desire and more. You will be offered the best of everything and not only will you accept it, you should come to expect it." He leaned in towards her and she found herself frozen in place. Klaus's face was so close she could feel his breath on her cheek as he spoke lowly, "you may even learn to enjoy it." He slowly elevated the glass to his lips and Caroline found her focus was pulled to that tinted pout. "Delicious," he murmured seductively before releasing it into her hand and walking back to the sitting area.
Caroline felt dazed, unsure of what exactly just transpired. She'd seen Klaus work his magic on many a woman but he'd never made such attempts with her - he knew she was too smart to be seduced by him. She wasn't sure what his game was but she knew he was up to something.
"You may feel free to spend more time reviewing the selection of wines at another time, love. I also have a catalogue of the wines I keep in storage, which you may pull from as you wish. My only request is that you refrain from opening the Petrus or the Le Pin I have stored here. It took me quite a bit of time and money to procure those bottles and I am waiting for just the right occasion to enjoy them." Klaus looked back to see that Caroline was still standing in the place he left her. Relishing in the knowledge that his small act of seduction seemed to leave the girl unbalanced, a devilish smile broke across his face. "Caroline, love, are you coming?" he asked in mock concern.
Caroline shook herself from her ruminations and returned to her seat on the sofa opposite Klaus. Again, she tucked her long, lithe legs underneath her and, again, found herself wrapping her arms around herself from the chill.
Noticing this, Klaus left the living room and returned with a soft yellow blanket that he handed to the blonde. Caroline was at first taken aback by the gesture of kindness but offered him thanks before asking, "anything else you would like to share about your hobbies? I know you used to paint..."
Klaus's shoulders went rigid and he picked up his glass and drained it. He went to the bar and, instead of refilling his glass, he returned with the bottle. He refilled his glass before responding.
"I still dabble upon occasion," he said evasively, "but I guess my newest passion would be racing cars. I've been purchasing vintage Porches and refitting them for the racetrack. I strip the interior to lighten the body, fit it with the standard security braces and rebuild the engine… Marcel and I occasionally take my cars to a track in Pennsylvania to race them. I took Kol once or twice but realized my folly after he wrecked not one but two of my vehicles." Caroline had to suppress a chuckle. She knew all too well Kol's shortcomings as a driver. Apparently, driving on the right side of the road was just one more rule that he refused to follow… "Elijah is far too safety conscious to enjoy racing but Stefan has joined me and Marcel once or twice."
"Really?" Caroline asked. "I thought Stefan couldn't stand Marcel. I can't see him voluntarily spending his free time with him."
"Marcel is an acquired taste, sweetheart –" he began.
"He's a scumbag," she finished for him.
Klaus nodded in agreement but continued, "be that as it may, he is a friend and you will likely see him here upon occasion."
"Super," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Which reminds me, I will be accompanying him on a trip to Dallas on Thursday. Marcel is having a difficult time wooing Texas Teachers pension group to invest and thought I may be able to help. I will be back on Sunday for our next prep session."
"You and Marcel unleashed in the land beauty pageant contestants for 3 whole days," Caroline mused. "I can only imagine the damage you'll do."
Klaus wagged his finger at the blonde and tisking. "Miss Forbes, how dare you imply any untoward behavior on my part! I will have you know that I am spoken for."
"Is that so?" she asked, entertained by this uncharacteristic display of playfulness.
"Indeed I am. She's an impertinent little thing and has quite the temper. I wouldn't so much as look at another woman for fear of the repercussions…" he finished, his dimples creasing his cheeks.
"She sounds terrible, now can we stop wasting time?" Caroline asked looking at her watch. "It's already getting late and I have to be at the gym early tomorrow."
"Of course Miss Forbes, back to business… I suppose other than wine and race cars, I enjoy playing racquet ball. In fact, Stefan and I had quite the exhausting match this morning at The Core Club. Which reminds me – I've added you to my membership so you should feel free to use the gym or spa as you wish. The facilities aren't extraordinary but it is an excellent place to network. I've probably brokered 5 deals in the steam room alone," he finished casually.
"How to Close The Deal While Surrounded By A Bunch of Naked, Overpaid, Middle Aged White Guys… I must have missed the day they covered that in my Business 101 class," Caroline said with a roll of her eyes.
"That's too bad. I'm sure you could get quite a bit accomplished in such a scenario, love," he said with a lascivious grin.
Before Caroline could supply a retort to wipe that look off of his face, Klaus continued. "Shall we move on to more mannered subjects?" he asked.
"Such as?"
"Such as you, of course," he smirked. "What are your passions; what can't you live without?"
"Hmmmm, my passions…, "she hummed, tucking the throw around her small frame. "I guess it would have to include anything involving food, wine, travel or music. I am a cookbook addict – I collect them and read them cover to cover like novels. I have so many that Stefan and I had to fashion stacks of them into a makeshift coffee table just to save space in our college apartment. It is virtually impossible for me to go into a bookstore without buying one. Stefan and Damon would have staged an intervention had they not benefitted from my obsession. I think I single handedly ruined Damon's six pack within the first two months after he moved in my Junior year with all of my cooking.
This elicited a reaction from Klaus. "Was the elder Salvatore frequently in some state of undress?" he asked, his displeasure evident.
Caroline furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"For you to track the lamentable deterioration of his physique I would assume you would have to see him shirtless on more than one occasion, correct?" he asked again through a tight smirk.
"Damon isn't exactly used to women asking him to keep his clothes on but it wasn't like he was walking around naked all of the time. That being said, I don't know," she said with a slight shrug, "when you live in a small space with a good friend long enough, you're bound to see some... stuff," she responded almost dismissively, her cheeks lightly reddening.
"Is that so?" the Brit asked, again curling his mouth into a seductive smirk.
Understanding where his thoughts were leading, Caroline quickly added, "this," she said gesturing to the wide expanse of his apartment, "isn't exactly a 600 square foot converted two bedroom and you and I aren't friends. Remember, you will confine your nakedness to your bedroom," she finished, narrowing her eyes and pointing and accusatory finger at him.
Klaus raised his hands in surrender, "I've every intention to comply with that edict, Caroline."
"You better," she huffed, taking a long sip from her glass. "God this is so good!" she groaned in surprise and pleasure. She looked over the rim of her glass to see Klaus studying her, an inscrutable expression on his face. Feeling embarrassed with her unladylike reaction to the exquisite taste of the wine, she quickly continued, "sorry, where was I?"
"You were recounting what you most enjoy. You've added enough detail on your love of cooking and the elder Salvatore's washboard abs so why don't we move on to travel."
Caroline chose to ignore Klaus's jab and reached into her purse to retrieve her passport. "This is definitely one of my most prized possessions; it's at least in the top 3... And, in fact, my visit to the UK was my very first stamp. Most of the others are from work trips, which I guess I have you to thank for. But I hope to fill every page eventually," she said, flipping through the pages to reveal a colorful assortment of stamps and visas.
"Do you carry your passport with you everywhere?" he asked, taking the book from her hand to review the document.
"Everywhere," she confirmed. "I guess I always want to be prepared to leave for some faraway adventure at a moment's notice. I love the idea of being able to just take off for some exotic locale with just a couple of credit cards and my passport in hand," she said wistfully.
Klaus erupted into a fit of laughter.
"What?" Caroline snapped. She moved to rip her passport from his hands but he would not relinquish it from his grip.
"Caroline Forbes, you may be many things but spontaneous you are not. I'm sure you've dreamed up some idyllic circumstance in which close your eyes, spin the globe and choose a destination at random. Then you walk off of the plane and directly into paradise but the reality is that you are a person who cannot survive without an itinerary."
"That's not true," she said, crossing her arms and twisting her mouth into a pout. "I can be impulsive," she finished, sounding petulant.
"Oh come now, love, there's no need to get angry. Some of us are comfortable flying by the seat of our pants and then others," he said nodding his head at her, "well, others are planners, natural rule followers. Like it or not, you, my dear, are a planner. And an accomplished one at that," he said as he continued to peruse her passport, looking for something. Once located, he held up the page for her to see her Thailand stamp. "Take this trip for example. You did a wonderful job organizing the Bangkok conference – you selected the perfect space… great speakers… an unheard of turnout for an international meeting. Plans, schedules…they're in your blood sweetheart," he finished with a smile.
"Yeah, I guess it did turn out ok…," she muttered reluctantly, still smarting at the realization that she probably was deluding herself with dreams of spontaneity and adventure.
"It was much more than 'ok', Caroline. It was a resounding success."
"The Siam was the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in…" she said, still sounding a little defeated.
"You could not have made a better selection, love. And the entire event went off without a hitch due to your careful attention."
"I wouldn't say that's entirely true," she said, looking up to glare at her boss.
"How is that?"
"Well, I happen to remember a certain Brit showing up at my door past midnight on the last evening of the conference, drunk as a skunk and begging to hide in my room so he could evade a certain redhead…"
Klaus's face fell at the memory and he leaned forward, his expression deadly serious. "That woman was demented, Caroline. She practically set up a tent in front of my villa… I had no other recourse but to hide. She was certifiable."
Caroline could not help but give herself over to laughter at Klaus's reaction. In truth, she'd never seen this self-possessed man look as out of sorts as he did that night.
"The only crazy thing she did was sleep with you immediately after meeting you and expect you to be there the next morning," she argued.
"Caroline, she changed the seating cards at the dinner the night after our tryst so she could sit beside me and threaten to kill me," he said, his voice raised dramatically.
"Oh please," Caroline said, sipping her wine and waving him off, "I threaten to kill you at least once a week and I've never seen you run away like a scared little girl before."
"Perhaps that's because you've never effectively held me captive in public and then spent an entire meal whispering in my ear all the details of demise; specifically going into minute detail of my castration."
"I knew I liked her when I met her…" Caroline said wistfully. "Perhaps I should invite her to the wedding?" she suggested.
"I would imagine that woman has too many restraining orders against her to allow for travel to the states," he said. He gave an involuntary shudder at the memory of the fiery redheaded mistake before adding, "You know, as I recall, you and I both benefitted from my temporary exile."
Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Really? How do you figure that?" she asked.
"If memory serves, when I arrived you were quite distraught and mooning about your room…"
"I wasn't 'mooning about my room' – I was just disappointed that Stefan's flight was cancelled. He and I were supposed to tour Bangkok for my birthday the next day."
"You were positively maudlin and had I not come to you for sanctuary you would have spent your birthday on your own. So, as I said, we both benefitted," Klaus finished.
"I guess I do have to admit that you didn't completely ruin my birthday. In fact, you were almost tolerable."
"Tolerable?" Klaus cried in disbelief. "I was an outright saint. First, you force me to watch that bloody awful movie that night –"
"The King and I is a classic and what movie could be better to watch before seeing Bangkok?" she interjected.
"Virtually anything else," he countered sarcastically. "Then you made me sleep on a sofa that required Cirque du Soleil inspired contortion so I could fit –"
"You weren't getting bed with me!" she barked.
"Yes, you were very clear about that, love… Then you wake me at the crack of dawn and force me to visit every wat, eat ever bit of street food and float down every random canal the city had to offer."
"Don't pretend you didn't have a good time," Caroline challenged. "I think I even have a picture of the great Klaus Mikaelson smiling like a real human being," she said sardonically.
That got Klaus's attention. "Do you?"
"I think so," she said, her focus now on appreciating another long sip of her wine.
"Do you have any of us together?"
"I'm almost positive that the guide took several. Why?"
Klaus leaned back into the sofa lost in contemplation. "Collect every picture of us you can find. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have some photographs prepared for INS. And, should they ask, we can say we began our relationship on that trip." Klaus's face broke into a look of complete self-satisfaction. "It's quite perfect, actually."
"Except for the fact that you slept with another woman on that trip," Caroline said, countering with a very obvious fact that would undermine his story.
"If that bit of information every comes out, and I doubt it ever will, I'll just have to say that being with another woman only served to confirm my suspicions that you were the one my heart desired. The night I went to your room I confessed my love for you, we shagged like rabbits which effectively ruined you for all other men," he said glibly, and enjoying the look of disgust on the blonde's face.
"Real romantic," she scoffed. Suddenly, her face went straight and Caroline drew her bottom lip between her teeth. She gave Klaus a contrite look before beginning, "About the whole 'shagging like bunnies' thing. I may have accidentally told the girls today that we haven't slept together." She braced herself for his reaction.
Klaus carefully rested his glass on the arm of the couch, his face stony. "Accidentally, you say…," he sucked in his cheeks and pursed his lips. Caroline could tell from experience that he was steadily getting more and more wound up.
"And how does such an accident occur, Caroline?" he asked. His voice was quiet and controlled but anyone familiar with Klaus would be able to feel the undercurrent of emotion that coursed just below the placid façade.
"It wasn't intentional," she argued, trying to assuage his anger. "I just had Katherine and Bonnie accusing me of basically being in some kind of 9 & A Half Weeks sex haze and then they tried to intervene in a really weird, and verrrrry inappropriate way…," she rambled. "And don't even get me started on your sister who kept accusing me of casting some kind of vagina spell on you and getting knocked up to trap you. And I don't know… I guess I just got overwhelmed and frustrated and I just kind of blurted it out without thinking." Her ramble finished, Caroline looked up to gauge Klaus's reaction.
Without giving her a second look, he drained his glass and quickly poured another. His silence only served to spurn Caroline to continue with her pressured speech. "Klaus, I know you aren't happy but this could be a good thing."
That got a reaction. "A good thing? Really? We are trying to sell ourselves as a happy couple weeks away from marriage and you think that revealing that we've never had sex can somehow be a good thing? Caroline, while you may not care about all I have to lose, need I remind you that you could actually be looking at jail time should our deception be discovered?"
"Klaus, just listen to me. I know that it will surprise anyone who knows you to think you'd wait more than a couple of minutes to jump into bed with someone but anyone who knows me wouldn't think it's completely out of character – especially being with a guy like you. And it would explain why we aren't that comfortable with each other."
"Are we not comfortable with each other, sweetheart? I mean, by your own admission, you feel more than comfortable enough with me to threaten my life on a regular basis…"
"I was referring to being physically comfortable. We don't exactly come off as touchy feely young lovers, you know? And if people think we're waiting until marriage, it may come off more like the awkwardness that comes from sexual tension instead of the discomfort we actually feel," she argued, upset that she had to defend herself for telling the truth.
Klaus allowed his eyes to rake over the blonde in a way that she would only describe as obscene. She tightened the throw around her shoulders, attempting to shield herself.
Klaus gave her a lewd grin, "so, my virgin bride feels uncomfortable when she's close to me. Is that correct, love?"
"What I feel is repulsion but to an outsider it might look more like discomfort…" she said smartly.
"Well…, we will have to find a way to fix that, won't we" he said, still wearing that damn smirk. "Until then, please refrain from discussing our love life or the lack there of with your knitting circle."
"Fine."
"Now, let's continue, my frigid little shrew." Klaus had to quickly duck to avoid the throw pillow that just narrowly missed his head.
XxX
It was one hour and several drinks later and the two had come to an agreement on the details of when their relationship began – a business trip in Thailand, why they kept it a secret – they did not want to be subject to media scrutiny and harsh office gossip, and how Klaus proposed – over a simple candlelit dinner in his apartment.
In an attempt to learn more about each other, the contentious topic of music came up. Both pulled out their respective iPods and the great debate began.
This required another bottle of wine.
"I'm assuming I should prepare myself to be assaulted by Katy Perry," Klaus mocked, as he scrolled through Caroline's music, "or perhaps that atrocious girl with the tongue," he said, searching for the name.
"Leave Miley alone and do not bad mouth Katy Perry," Caroline warned, stabbing a tipsy finger at him,. "I think she single handedly got me over the finish line of New York marathon last year," she said before bursting into song. "Cuz baby you're a firework!"
"If that little show is in any way indicative of what is to follow, perhaps we should talk about something a little less theatrical," Klaus deadpanned, slurring ever so slightly with the effects of the scotch he had consumed.
After sticking out her tongue, Caroline decided to defend her song choices. "While I have some guilty pleasure workout music, most of what I listen to tends to be more old school."
"Such as?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Caroline gave a slight shrug of her shoulders before she began, "I dunno…I grew up listening to Motown, beach music, the crooners like Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin, country, classic rock… I will basically listen to anything."
"Obviously," he retorted, reading through her playlists. "How can one person have so much Journey and REO Speedwagon? Please tell me this isn't what you consider to be classic rock."
"I most certainly do," she shot back. "But I'm assuming you don't?" she challenged.
"I wouldn't consider this rubbish to be music, much less classic rock," he scoffed. "Classic rock is Led Zepplin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who…"
Caroline crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow, shocking – you only chose British bands."
Klaus offered the blonde a condescending curl of his mouth, "Love, I cannot help it if we have produced superior music…"
Caroline lurched forward on her seat, so infuriated by Klaus's British snobbery. "Are you fucking kidding me? While I will concede that I love every band you named, there are just as many, if not more, influential American artists."
Klaus moved to refill both glasses, absolutely reveling in getting underneath Caroline's skin. There were so many sides to this woman but only he could bring out the "You infuriate me to no end and I refuse to lose an argument to you" version of the blonde dynamo. "I'm all ears, love," he said, gesturing with his hand for her to continue
"Oh, I don't know…," she said sarcastically, "maybe Buddy Holly or Chuck Berry… And then there was that guy…," she said, tapping her finger on her lips as if searching for the name. She snapped her fingers and said triumphantly, "Oh, yeah Elvis freakin' Presley!"
"We had The Beatles, sweetheart."
"We had The Beach Boys – they basically helped pave the way for The Beatles. And when you intimate that we didn't have classic rock? All I can say is Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Aerosmith…"
"The Sex Pistols."
"The Ramones."
"Elton John."
"Billy Joel."
"Dusty Springfield."
"Aretha 'The Queen of Soul' Franklin!," Caroline practically shrieked.
The back and forth seemed to go on for ages before Caroline suggested Klaus use their respective iPods to play selections from contested artists. Klaus sat on the floor beside his stereo system, acting as DJ as Caroline stood on the sofa, glass in hand, bouncing up and down to emphasize any point she wished to make.
"Are you honestly going to argue that Prince is more than a little man in platform shoes?"
"I really don't need to," she replied. "Play Little Red Corvette."
The Brit complied and watched with a smile as Caroline began to sing along.
I guess I should have known by the way she parked her car sideways that it wouldn't last…
"See? He's basically saying that he understands that this is just a fling because this woman only lives in the moment; she doesn't think about the consequences of her actions. Not everyone has to lift from Tolkien to be deep," she finished, giving him a teasing smile.
Klaus narrowed his eyes at her, immediately understanding her reference. "Don't you dare speak ill of my beloved Led Zeppelin," he warned.
"Ha!" she responded, jumping up and down in celebration, "you knew exactly who I was referring to! And, I mean I love them but if there's a bustle in your hedgerow? What does that even mean?"
Klaus pursed his lips and continued to look for ammunition against the superiority of American music within Caroline's playlists. He quickly noticed one entitled "Now" and could see by the indication that the songs within this list were 'favorites' that she must listen to this particular collection more that any else. He was hoping to open the Pandora's Box of poorly written teenage angsty drivel but was surprised by what he found. Radiohead's There There, Rufus Wainwright's Go or Go Ahead, Gone Away from Me by Ray LaMontagne, Ryan Adams's Why Do They Leave and Adele's Don't You Remember to name a few… Klaus was sure that he had just stumbled upon the soundtrack to Caroline's heartbreak and he was stunned that a woman who radiated such light could ever be steeped in such dark sorrow.
He came across one artist he was unfamiliar with and without thinking asked aloud, "who is Solange?"
He looked up to see Caroline freeze in place and immediately regretted his loose tongue. He chastised himself for drinking so much but he had been having so much fun…; he'd been so enjoying this lighthearted time with the woman he was soon to call his wife but he ruined it. I am such a fool, he thought, mentally berating himself.
"You can play it," Caroline said softly before soberly stepping down from the couch. She resumed her prior position; her elbow resting on the arm, her legs tucked underneath her.
Tell me the truth, boy, am I losing you for good?
We used to kiss all night but now there's just no use.
I don't know why I fight it, clearly we are through.
Tell me the truth, boy, am I losing you for good?
"What was the worst part?" Klaus asked.
Caroline looked down at her hands, which were placed in her lap. At first, he believed she was engrossed in the song and did not hear him, but then she looked up, her expression somber.
"Probably being so out of control," she said.
"How so?"
"I don't really know how to explain it properly," she began with a sigh. "I've never been really good at anything," she said. When she saw Klaus open his mouth to protest, she raised her hand to cut him off. "I'm not a natural at anything is what I mean. I always had to try harder than other people. I'm not like you who can basically pick something up at your first attempt. So, I worked harder, studied more, woke up earlier to practice and eventually, whatever it was would come to me."
There's nothing more I know you're taking it away from me
I gave you everything and now there's nothing left of me
"I think that because of my past experience that I just always that that if I tried hard enough, I could do anything; I could effectively control my destiny. Which was pure hubris on my part because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make my relationship work. My best wasn't good enough. I couldn't make Matt happy."
I'm not the one that you should be making your enemy
I'm not the one that you should be making your enemy
"I knew he was unhappy but convinced myself that it was because he was having a hard time transitioning from life in Boston to the New York so I introduced him to people and collected information on football and running clubs. When that didn't work I reasoned it was because he was having difficulty finding a job. So I set up an account for him on LinkedIn and scoured through job postings. I even sent him to interview for an account rep spot at one of our portfolio companies. I thought he'd be perfect for it," she said with a sad smile, embarrassed to reveal the lengths she went to for a boy who would eventually leave her.
Tell me the truth, boy, am I losing you for good?
Baby you know I tried
"But, soon I found that the more I tried, the more unhappy he got. When he didn't get the job at Edelstein & Associates he decided to leave. He went back to Mystic Falls and told me to stay here. He said it was for my own good…, that I would be miserable there."
We used to kiss all night but now there's just no use.
Can't lose you from my life
"He was right," Klaus said, finally speaking up. "Small town boy, small town life…it wouldn't have been enough for you."
I don't know why I fight it, clearly we are through.
Baby you know I tried
She raised her head and her eyes met Klaus's probing gaze. "It guess I'll never know," she said in a small voice.
Tell me the truth, boy, am I losing you for good?
How could you waste my time?
"Do you still love him?" he questioned.
"I think that if you truly love someone, you never really stop," she said sincerely.
Klaus nodded at her answer.
The song ended and Klaus looked down to his iPod, seemingly lost in his own thoughts before he glanced up to Caroline.
"Let's try something," he said before plugging the cable into his iPod and queuing a new song.
Caroline immediately recognized the voice and gave Klaus a curious look. "Ella Fitzgerald?"
"Yes," he said standing. "Perhaps we should work on becoming more comfortable with each other."
With Easy to Love playing softly in the background, Klaus settled the iPod on the stereo and pushed the large glass coffee table against the wall to give them more space. He moved to stand before Caroline. Her eyes closed and wearing a dreamy expression, she hummed the first few bars before she felt Klaus remove the wine glass from her hand. She opened her eyes to see him place it carefully on the end table before he returned, his hand extended towards her. "Dance with me."
She paused briefly, contemplating this gesture, considering this moment. She'd been much more open with Klaus than she ever intended to be. She'd recounted painful memories and shared her underlying insecurities with someone she knew would offer her no sympathy. Things she never admitted to her closest friends. Oddly enough, Caroline did not feel exposed by her admissions, in fact she felt some form of relief at finally saying it all out loud without the subsequent guilt of burdening someone she loved with the knowledge of the pain she'd felt so keenly. She knew with great relief that she would see no pity in Klaus's eye and he would not feel compelled to offer her words of sympathy that, to the grieving, so often sound stale and hollow.
And with her admissions came clarity. What she told Klaus was true - you never stop loving someone. She'd loved Matt as a child, as a teen and she loved him when they found their way back to each other late in college. He was her friend, her lover, her champion and her savior. He was the last connection she had to her home. He was her first love but she was slowly coming to accept that maybe he would not be her last. The passage of time was allowing her to gradually heal, work and travel allowed her some relief from wallowing in her own grief and the incessant thoughts of "what if?" that plagued her tired mind but it wasn't until she began this wedding hoax that she recognized that her heart had been gradually stitching itself up without her ever being the wiser. Trying on dresses had not gone without incident; Caroline found herself staring at her image in the mirror more than once, her heart clenched with the memories of studying wedding magazines with Bonnie and Elena not so long ago for a different event. And listening to one of the many anthems of her heartbreak just now served to unearth some of the feelings that once haunted her but Caroline was curious to find that these experiences produced mere pangs now, not the gut wrenching pain that used to overwhelm her not so long ago. So, yes, Caroline still loved Matt and she knew she always would. But maybe someday when she was healed fully, maybe if she was lucky enough to find someone who would accept her fully, maybe then she would be ready to love again.
Tentatively, Caroline stood and placed her delicate hand in Klaus's and he lead her to the center of the room. He moved a hand to the small of her back and held her firmly against him while cupping her right hand and moving it into position towards his shoulder. They slowly began to move to the music, swaying gracefully against each other while Ella crooned.
Caroline continued to hum along to the tune.
"Do you like this song, love?" he asked, his eyes eagerly searching her face for something.
"Mmmm," she replied in the affirmative. "I used to stay with my grandfather for a few weeks each summer. Just the two of us. He'd put on Ella and bring out old photos of my grandmother. She'd died years ago - when my mom was still young - but you wouldn't know by the way he talked about her."
Caroline began to play absentmindedly with the seam of Klaus's shirt at the shoulder when suddenly she could feel his thumb running over the base of her spine, as if in response. She tensed slightly at the intimacy of his touch.
He leaned in, his breath scorching her ear. "You have to relax, sweetheart," he breathed. "As you said, you must become comfortable with my touch. Now, finish your story."
Caroline steadied herself before continuing, trying desperately to ignore the heat rising from the base of her back. "Every visit he'd tell me how they met. He'd go into minute detail describing how he ended up at the church dance, who he was talking to when he first saw her, what she was wearing, the way she wore her hair… And this was the song that was playing when he finally built up the courage to ask her to dance. She'd been dead for decades but he was still madly in love with her," she finished with a sigh.
"Is that all you think of when you hear this?"
Caroline gave Klaus a quizzical glance, taken aback by the question. However she was quickly becoming accustomed to Klaus's more probing queries. "I know the song is about unrequited feelings but whenever I hear it, all I think about is the kind of epic love my grandparents had."
The two continued to sway in perfect rhythm around the living room, their eyes locked and their moves in step with the music and with one another.
"You're quite the dancer," Klaus murmured, his eyes intent on her visage.
"I had training," she replied simply. "I was Miss Mystic Falls."
Klaus gave her an inscrutable smirk, his dimples on full display. "Yes, I think I recall hearing that once before," he said before easily leading the blonde into a slightly quicker step, punctuated by a languid spin.
"And, of course, this is just one more thing that you probably perfected without even trying," she teased with just a hint of bitterness in her tone.
Caroline noticed that Klaus's expression had turned intense and she worried misunderstood her.
"You know, because everything just seems to come so naturally to you..." She elaborated.
Klaus readjusted his hold on her, gently pulling her body flush against the hard planes of his chest and entwining his fingers with hers.
"I think you will find that there are a few things that do not come naturally to me, Caroline. Things that I cannot master despite my best efforts..."
Caroline could feel the air become oppressive with tension and she swallowed thickly.
"Well, from my experience, if you really want to accomplish something you have to keep working at it...practicing. And if that doesn't work, you just have to try even harder."
"Believe me, love," he said, his voice a hoarse whisper, "I'm giving it all that I've got."
"Then it's only a matter of time," she said simply, hoping to end what had become an uncomfortably serious conversation.
Caroline felt herself drowning in the intensity of his heavy gaze and had to look away; to occupy herself with something that wasn't the piercing blue eyes of her boss/fiancé/soon-to-be-husband/soon-to-be-ex-husband. Desperate for a distraction, she looked around the room and pretended to study her stark surroundings. She traced over the dark wood and leather of the angled furniture, the oppressively lonely paintings, the colorless, small accent pieces placed here and there more for their uniqueness and beauty than any connection to a memory or experience. Caroline's gaze moved over the shelves of one of Klaus's bookcases, attempting to engross herself in the titles she found there when her eyes settled on a familiar object.
"Caroline," Klaus asked, his voice straining with emotion, "do you think you could ev-"
Caroline whipped her head to face Klaus and pushed herself out of his embrace. "What did you do?" she questioned, moving to the object that caught her eye on the bookcase.
Klaus, disappointed that the moment was broken, cringed as he realized to what she was referring.
"Sweetheart," he began in his most placating tone.
"Don't you dare 'sweetheart' me Klaus!" she said, inspecting the picture she recognized so well. "Why do you have the picture I keep on my bedside table in your apartment?"
Her eyes frantically searched the rest of the living room for signs when she came upon another artifact from her home.
"You son of a bitch," she breathed, taking the yellow throw that had offered her such warmth and comfort not so long ago. The pads of her fingers ran across the frayed stitched initials 'C.D.F' on one of the corners. "You stole my stuff," she accused.
"I did not steal anything, Caroline. If you recall, you and I agreed that you would move in with me. You seemed overwhelmed with the details of the move so I took it upon myself to help move things along… I hoped this would relieve you of the burden of packing."
Caroline shot him a deadly glare and just shook her heard at him, her nostrils flaring. She was so angry that she could not even articulate a sentence. Unwilling to even consider Klaus's pathetic rationale, she stomped to the guest room they'd agreed would be hers.
She walked to the threshold of the room, her arms bracing either side of the doorway.
"What happened to the bed that was in here?" she gritted out between clenched teeth.
Adopting the most innocent expression, Klaus explained, "I had it removed and replaced with a beautiful Regency rosewood desk I found. I thought you would appreciate having a home office."
Caroline took inventory of the room and noticed several moving boxes stacked in the corner. It was obvious that he had somehow packed and moved over most of the contents of her apartment over the course of the day.
"How did you get in?"
Klaus poured himself another glass of scotch – this time filling it to the rim before answering hesitantly. "Of course, I knew that someone as undependable as Damon wouldn't be your only key keeper so I assumed Stefan would have one… I may have convinced him that you tasked me with your move but forgot to give me the key. And of course, I would never disturb you and the girls while shopping for your wedding dress."
Caroline made a mental note to eviscerate Stefan before continuing, "we agreed that I would have my own bed," she said, finally turning to shoot daggers at the man whose one act had quickly erased all of the goodwill he had earned over the course of the evening.
Klaus quirked his head and raised a hand in protest. "Love, we agreed you would have your own bed and you do," he finished, pointing to his bedroom.
"No," Caroline stomped, "the contract explicitly states that I get my own bed!"
Klaus walked to the entrance of his room and waved her forward, smiling. "Sweetheart, if you come in I think you will find that you do have your own bed."
Hearing the barely concealed mischief in his voice, Caroline rushed past him into the room and suddenly halted, her breath caught in her throat.
"Wha…how…this is wrong!" she finally got out.
"Actually," Klaus retorted, trailing a hand over the simple IKEA headboard, "this is exactly what you requested, love. You wanted your own room and your own bed… You have your own room," he said gesturing to the office he set up for her down the hall, "and you have your own bed," he finished, patting his hand on the full sized mattress.
"You stealing my bed from my apartment doesn't count, Klaus. You know that isn't what I meant," she argued, her voice laced with frustration.
"But sweetheart," Klaus began, now lazily lounging upon the topic of their debate, "you will find that it does. Feel free to call Damon if you wish but your desire to have your own bed and your own room were listed separately. Therefore, housing your bed within my bedroom falls fully within the confines of our contract."
"I will murder you," Caroline breathed.
"Hold that thought, love," Klaus said, bounding from the bed and leading her into the shared walk-in closet.
He trailed his hand over the long racks of clothing, most Caroline noticed still had tags.
"What is this?" she asked, her arms folded across her chest.
"I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of getting Belinda to pull some pieces for you after she took your measurements."
"Yeah, I mind," Caroline bit out. She walked to one of the racks and began to search through the clothing roughly, examining the tags for names and prices. "Let's see," she said before pulling out a dress and throwing it to the floor, "Lanvin, McQueen," she huffed tossing another garment down. "Oh and I'm sure this is a limited edition Chanel bag," she said, knocking it off the shelf. She turned to face Klaus, her eyes blazing with fury. "Did you really think you could just buy some designer clothes like this is Pretty Woman and I would be cool with you invading my privacy and manipulating our agreement? "
"Caroline, please be reasonable."
Caroline ignored him and continued to search through the drawers and shelves of the walk-in.
"You've already unpacked my clothes?" she cried in frustration and slammed a drawer closed. "How dare you go through my things!"
"To be fair, sweetheart, I had my housekeeper Maria come in and organize most of your things. However, anything that did not have an obvious place she left in the boxes in your office for you to go through at your leisure."
"Am I supposed to thank you for having a stranger go through my personal belongings instead of you, you perv?" she practically shrieked.
"Caroline, you are getting yourself worked up for no good reason. You were going to move in sooner than later… It just happened to be sooner than expected."
Caroline leaned against the wall of the closet and slid down to the floor, distraught and tired. She looked around at the mess she made and thought about her next move. She couldn't go back to her place because she had no bed and all of her belongings had been removed. She checked the time and realized it was too late for her to drop in on one of her friends for shelter. She could always go to a hotel, she considered…
Her decision made, Caroline lifted herself up and began to calmly search through the drawers once again.
"Where are my pajamas and robe?" she asked.
Klaus gave a relieved sigh, believing she'd conceded to his logic and was now willing to share his apartment and bed.
"I believe Maria kept them packed in some of the boxes, love, but you will see that Belinda provided several sleep sets and robes for you." Klaus opened one of the tops drawers, obviously familiar with the placement of Caroline's new belongings.
The blonde reached in and pulled out a cornflower blue silk Myla slip with white lace embellishments. The rest of the items in the drawer were similar delicate, romantic pieces.
"I want my stuff," she growled, tossing the chemise back in the drawer. "Did you tell her not to unpack it so I would have do walk around in this, looking like an idiot?"
Klaus sucked in a breath and gave her a sheepish look. "Actually, love, you will find that Maria has a mind of her own. She took it upon herself to keep certain items packed away for your consideration."
"My consideration?" she asked, confused.
Klaus moved his hands behind his back and began to rock on his toes. "Umm, yes, it seems Maria thought some of your items were quite worn and that you might consider donating them to Goodwill…"
Caroline's jaw dropped open in shock. Even Klaus's housekeeper was a snob.
"Get out," Caroline snapped in a low growl.
"Sweetheart," Klaus began to plead.
Clenching her fists to her sides, she continued. "Get out before I fashion one of these hangers into a dagger and stab you!"
"Fine," Klaus said, backing out of the closet and towards the bedroom door. "I will give you time to get sorted."
Klaus picked up his discarded scotch but nearly lost his hold on the glass with the force of the slam that came behind him. He looked back towards his bedroom door, surprised it was still on its hinges.
"Well, that went better than expected," he mumbled to himself.
XxX
Caroline sat on the bed, her head in her hands. How could she have been naïve enough to begin trusting Klaus? She'd been open and honest with him and, once again, he'd found a way to abuse her trust. She contemplated her next move. Unfortunately, the wheels were already in motion and she couldn't get out of the agreement. She couldn't move out without raising suspicions… Her options were limited but she would be damned if she allowed him to get away with what he did today with no retribution.
A slow, devious smile crept onto the blonde's face. She pulled her cell out of her pocket and sent a quick text to Rebecca. She figured the other blonde had some hand in today's little betrayal, which meant she owed Caroline a favor.
With her retribution plotted out, Caroline perked up and walked back into the closet.
XxX
Klaus was sitting on the sofa, nursing his drink when the bedroom door opened. The man practically spat the liquid back in his glass as he took in the sight before him.
Caroline leaned in the doorway, wearing a short silk robe that remained untied and exposed the matching jade chemise that was underneath. Her long blonde hair cascaded down one shoulder and Klaus's eyes traveled down the waves to where they fell, just below the curse of her breast. He felt his face grow hot as he realized there was no barrier between her ivory skin and silk of the garment. He made himself to look away, embarrassed to be caught gawking. His eyes inadvertently settled on the long line of her toned legs. He forced in a deep intake of air, realizing that for a moment he had stopped breathing.
"Klaus," Caroline said in a throaty whisper.
Klaus looked back to her face to see her eyes soft.
"Yes, love?" he croaked out.
"What are you doing all the way over there?" she asked with a coquettish batting of her long eyelashes.
It took only a moment for Klaus to understand her and he flew from his seat to stand before her.
"Are you ready to go to bed?" she murmured.
"I am," he responded, reaching to take one of her golden curls between his fingers.
Before he knew it, she'd moved away from him, bending to pick something up.
"Good," she said harshly, shoving a pillow and blanket into his hands.
Klaus looked down dumbly, trying to process the last sequence of events. He looked back to Caroline who was slowly closing the door and then back to the items in his hands.
"Oh and Klaus," Caroline began, opening the door wider, "before I forget."
Crack!
Klaus dropped the bedding to the floor before clutching his cheek, which was throbbing from the force of Caroline's slap.
"What in the bloody he-" he began angrily before abruptly stopping. "I assume that was for the kiss last night?" he asked.
"Yep," Caroline clipped out before slamming the door the in the Brit's face.
Klaus continued to massage the side of his face, feeling the heat emanate from his cheek. He picked up the bedding and arranged it on the sofa.
"I should probably invest in a sleeper sofa," he muttered before settling himself for what would likely be one of many long nights spent just outside of his bedroom.