Damon closed the suite's door after accepting the room service he ordered. He had ordered a hot pot of coffee and an array of pastries with his tardy companion in mind. He had received a call from Elena about ten minutes ago. The young woman apologized profusely for running late to their meeting. She had overslept but promised to arrive as soon as she could. Damon told Elena that she should take her time. There was no need for her to speed and risk getting into an accident. The meeting would start whenever she arrived. Damon didn't have to pick up Sarah until 4 o'clock.

In hindsight, Damon realized that he should have scheduled the meeting for later in the day. Elena had hit the bottle pretty hard last night. She had tried and failed to drown her sorrows in colorful cocktails. Damon had cut her off when she started stumbling on the dance floor. Angelo had a hell of a time getting the drunk girl home last night. It would seem that she wasn't used to partying as hard as she did. Frankly, Elena's behavior gave credence to Angelo's concerns about her maturity. Angelo hoped this scheme would work so that he wouldn't be forced to marry her.

Damon would put his cousin's mind to rest over drinks later in the evening. Last night, he decided that Angelo marrying Constanza Parker would be more useful to the family. He wanted to find a way to strengthen the relationship between the Salvatore and Gilbert families but Elena was not the only way to do that. Her younger brother was a much better prospect. Fortunately, Damon had many pretty cousins that would prove to be suitable matches for the boy. His second cousin, Greta, was at the top of the list. She was junior at UCLA and spent her summers interning at their family's construction company.

He walked to the suite's one bedroom and peered inside at his slumbering brother. He had put Victor down for a nap not long after they arrived. Damon was glad to see the animated movie playing on television had helped lull the boy to sleep. Victor was a sweet kid but he could become as cranky as any other sleep deprived toddler. Damon slowly backed out of the room but he left the door open. Victor was still skittish about waking up alone. It was fortunate that he was able to share a room with Nico at the manor. Damon's nephew and niece had taken Victor under their wing immediately. He was glad to see that Sarah was fond of him, too. Victor deserved to be surrounded by the family Giuseppe had denied him.

Damon walked back to the couch and sat down. His blue eyes roamed the paper stacked neatly on the coffee table. He had studied the information carefully and was not pleased with what he found. Damon's suspicions had been right. The Bennett family had been buying up voting shares whenever they became available. If the board could not appoint a new CEO by an absolute majority, the shareholders with votes would make the decision. There was a slim chance that the Bennett family would not vote as a bloc but Damon couldn't take that risk. He could roll the dice and hope that the board was able to come to a decision or he could present a compromise to Bonnie. Zacharias would be CEO because Damon would not cede control of the company...even to his beautiful wife. However, he would not oppose Ayana becoming the chief operating officer.

Damon collected the papers and returned them to his briefcase. He locked the black case made of italian leather and slid it beneath the couch. He would talk to Zacharias about strategy later tonight. His uncle was his consigliere, and Damon planned to make good use of him. Zach could be as ruthless as the next man, more so in some cases, but he was also levelheaded. Moverover, he had the mind of a tactician. Perhaps the Salvatores and Benedettos were not at war but their alliance was certainly in jeopardy. Worse yet, Bonnie had a hell of a head start on Damon. He couldn't fathom how long his wife had been plotting against him and his family.

He stood up when someone knocked at the suite's door. Damon peered out the peephole to confirm it was Elena before opening the door. He flashed a charming smile. "Good afternoon…"

Elena wore large sunglasses to hide her bloodshot eyes. Her dark brown hair was arranged in a simple chignon style. She had also taken the time to put on makeup to mask her unhealthy pallor. Elena's mother, Miranda, had taught her to always look her best in the presence of the don. She smiled timidly at Damon. She apologized, "I am sorry for being late. I just collapsed into bed last night without setting an alarm."

Damon ushered the younger woman into the room and then closed the door. He motioned to the couch and said, "You don't need to apologize any further, Elena. I have been in your shoes more times than I can count."

Elena took off her sunglasses and tucked them into her designer bag. She hoped the eyedrops had worked their magic. Then she nervously smoothed her slender fingers over the plum colored dress she chose for this occasion. She didn't know what to expect from Damon but everyone knew about his proclivities. She feigned a confident smile. "Thank you."

Damon brought over the refreshments that he had ordered from room service. "Coffee? I thought you might be needing a cup or two."

Elena prepared a cup of coffee for herself. The piping hot coffee smelled delicious. "You would be very right. I still have a headache."

Damon motioned to a bottle of aspirin on the table. "I always keep a bottle handy for this sort of occasion. I was in bad shape this morning, too."

Elena asked, "Would you like a cup of coffee, too?"

"You don't need to trouble yourself," he replied.

She shook her head and assured him. "It is no trouble at all. How do you take your coffee?"

Damon watched as Elena prepared his coffee. He knew that the girl was trying to appease him because she wanted out of the marriage arrangement. However, it also spoke to how she was raised. Elena knew the proper deference to use in the presence of the don. He said, "Black with two sugars, please."

Elena placed Damon's cup of coffee in front of him and then sat back on the couch. Both of her hands cradled the cup as she took a sip. She was pleasantly surprised by the taste.

He smiled at her expression. "The kitchen roasts the beans in house. I think the Claiborne has the best coffee in the city."

"I might have to agree with you," Elena replied as she took two aspirin.

Damon said, "It is probably best if we get down to business now."

She nodded and looked at him expectantly. Elena hoped that he was serious about what he said last night. However, she realized that Damon's proposition could have been spontaneous. He couldn't have been happy to see Tyler and Bonnie together. Elena had certainly been irritated by the sight. "Okay."

"I doubt that I need to tell you this, but anything we discuss today does not leave this room. No one can know about this if we have any hope of success."

She nodded and picked up a scone from the tray. Normally, she tried to stay away from carbs but she needed something to soak up everything she drank the previous night. She said, "I understand. I didn't tell anyone where I was going when I left my parents' house this afternoon."

"I am glad to hear that." Damon took a sip of coffee and continued, "I will admit that I proposed a marriage between you and my cousin, Angelo, to get under Tyler's skin. However, antagonizing the little bastard was not my sole reason. The Gilbert family holds a very important place in the organization. Your uncle's unfortunate death weakens that connection."

Elena clutched her cup of coffee nervously. Her father had given her the same explanation when she first learned of the arrangement. It gave Damon the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. It was the first time that Elena had been asked to make payment on the lavish life she had been afforded. She asked, "But you think I can be of another use now?"

Damon nodded. "The Gilbert family is very important, but my relationship with Bonnie is more important. I am sure you have heard the rumors about my wife by now…"

She kept her expression impassive but she had heard the rumors. Whispers of Bonnie taking over her family's smuggling operation had begun weeks ago. At first, Elena had not believed it because Bonnie was just a young woman. However, it quickly became obvious that the rumors were true. She nodded.

"Our two families are strongest when we are united. If I have any hope of winning back Bonnie, I have to get Tyler out of the picture."

Elena immediately tensed because she feared that Damon might hurt Tyler. She was angry with her ex-boyfriend but she didn't want him hurt or worse.

Damon read her expresion perfectly. He smiled. "I am not interested in hurting Tyler. It is an action that would only further harden Bonnie's heart against me. They are...close."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Yes, they are."

He was surprised by her reaction. He wondered if Elena knew something about the couple that he didn't. "Please, speak your mind…"

For a moment, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She said, "I only meant that Bonnie cast a long shadow in my relationship. Living up to their friendship was difficult."

"How do you mean?" he asked. He wondered if Stefan was wrong about when this affair started.

"Tyler was heartbroken when Bonnie married you. He had a rough time of it in the year that followed. He kissed a lot of frogs trying to get over her. I guess in some ways you could call me the rebound. I was his first serious relationship. When we started dating, I didn't realize they were such close friends. Tyler and Bonnie would call or text each other all the time. In the beginning, I was suspicious. I thought maybe he was cheating on me with her. I broke into his phone and read his messages. I felt so stupid. They were talking about normal stuff."

Damon had never been particularly close to Tyler because of the age difference. However, he did remember the year span when the younger man tried walking on the wildside. Stefan spent many nights at clubs being Tyler's wingman and designated driver. It had been a small source of conflict in Stefan and Caroline's marriage. He asked, "What kind of stuff?"

"They talked about family, TV shows, music, and sports." She rolled her eyes skyward. "They talked about sports all the time...all of the sports. I realized it wasn't anything romantic. They were just two friends that had almost everything in common. It also made me realize that I didn't have very much in common with Tyler. I guess that's why I wasn't surprised when they finally got together."

Damon didn't know what to think about Elena's revelation. "Tyler broke up with you to start dating Bonnie?"

She nodded and confessed, "But it was more than that. Our relationship had been in a bad place for awhile. He accused me of cheating on him with a friend."

"Were you cheating on him? You won't get any judgment from me…"

Elena sighed a little. "Yes, I was cheating on Tyler. It wasn't anything I planned. It just happened, you know? We were studying together and hanging out. Tyler was working all the time."

Damon nodded. "And one thing led to another…"

"Right," she acknowledged. "Tyler didn't seem particularly mad about it. He just said that we weren't right for each other. He is right about that. We want very different things. When we first started dating I didn't know that. Tyler was in college, too. I thought…"

He finished her thought, "You thought he wanted to be a civilian."

She nodded sheepishly. "I guess that was naive of me. I mean his whole family...even his sister are, you know."

Damon guessed that he was guilty of the same naivete where Bonnie was concerned. He had always assumed that she was meant to be a civilian. However, the truth had always been staring him in the face. She came from a long line of women that were in a word...dangerous. Even Abby, the free spirit of the family, was a hardened killer. He said, "I understand that your relationship with Tyler is over. However, you will have to keep him occupied for a few months."

Elena would rather spend a few months with a man that she knew cared about her than a stranger like Angelo. However, she had some doubts about how this would play out. She said, "I don't think that I can fake a pregnancy for that long. My body won't change in the ways that he is expecting. I mean Ty and I haven't been together like that since around Thanksgiving."

Damon winced because they would be threading the needle at this rate. He said, "You would still only be about a month pregnant. You wouldn't be showing just yet. You'll have a miscarriage before Tyler starts to get suspicious. We'll blame it on the stress...that's at least another couple months of him feeling guilty."

Elena's eyes went wide. She obviously hadn't thought this plan through because of course she would have to fake a miscarriage. She wasn't actually pregnant. However, she wasn't sure that she could hurt Tyler that way. He would blame himself for the miscarriage.

She looked at Damon with uncertainty burning in her eyes. She asked, "Does it have to be that way? Miscarriages are fairly common in the first trimester."

"We can't have him running back to Bonnie," he argued.

Elena said, "Tyler wouldn't abandon me if he thought I just lost our child. He is going to be heartbroken enough without thinking it is his fault. I know that you are probably angry with him but I don't want to hurt Ty more than necessary."

It seemed that Elena was willing to devastate Tyler but only to a certain point. Damon had hoped that any residual feelings for him had faded. It was a small setback but Damon could still make it work. He said, "We'll work out the details once we have a doctor on board. Angelo is working to find someone that will help us. Lab reports are easy enough to fake but we're going to need ultrasounds as well. We need a doctor that is willing to use another patient's lab work and scans. The name and vital information can be changed in the computer."

Elena nodded in agreement. Only a few keystrokes would be necessary to produce duplicate records with Elena as the patient.

Damon continued, "For this to work, you can't suddenly announce that you are pregnant. You need to start dropping hints with your family and friends. The gossip will start making the rounds soon enough."

She added, "Tyler will definitely confront me if he hears rumors that I might be pregnant. He'll want to know if he could be the father."

"That's when you will agree to see the doctor we find. You'll insist on going alone since you are still angry with Tyler. A few days later, you will present him with lab results. Preferably, you will catch him while he is at Abby's house."

Elena knew that revealing the fake pregnancy this way would yield the biggest reaction. The news would immediately cause a rift between the new couple. However, she was worried about angering Bonnie. Last night, she had been bold because she was drunk. Elena wouldn't want to antagonize Bonnie regularly. She also realized that rejecting Damon's demands wasn't smart. He was offering her a way out and she had already tried to weasel out of wounding Tyler any deeper than necessary. She said, "Okay. I can do that."

Damon flashed and indulgent smile. He picked up a large manila envelope and said, "This is for you."

Elena put her cup of coffee on the table. She opened the envelope and eyed the cash contained inside. Elena noted the 10K bands around the money. There was $30,000 in the envelope. She shot a questioning look at Damon.

"I just want to make sure that you are adequately compensated for your work in this, Elena. I know that I am asking you to step outside of your comfort zone."

Elena was already thinking about what she would do with the money. She grinned at him. "Thank you, Damon."

Damon managed to suppress his shark like grin. He had taken a gamble on Elena being swayed by money. However, he knew her type well. She loved the trappings that organized crime afforded her. She just didn't like looking at how the sausage was made. "You are welcome, sweetheart. I take care of my people. I know my father had quite the reputation but I am not him. I have found that you get more flies with honey.'

She was still staring at the money. "This is a lot of honey."

"There is more where that came from. Once you and Tyler are back together, I might have other favors to ask of you."

Elena's expression changed at the mention of other favors. "What did you have in mind?"

He smiled and took her hand. "You don't need to be afraid. I have no interest in hurting or killing Tyler. Bonnie mourning for him or nursing him back to health doesn't help me reconcile with her. No, I need him alive and out of my way. However, I might need some information. I am sure you have heard that the Lockwoods work for Bonnie's family now."

Elena nodded. People outside of the inner circle wondered how it came to be. There were rumors that the Lockwoods had been traitors but people generally dismissed the idea. They assumed Damon would have killed anyone that dared betray the family. It seemed more likely that the Lockwoods were meant to be a peace offering to clear the debt Giuseppe incurred for his family. "What would I have to do?"

Damon said, "It would be simple tasks, sweetheart. I might need you to place a bug in his phone or copy documents from his laptop. I have a tech that will walk you through all of that when the time comes."

Elena felt the hair on the back of her arm stand on end. Damon was smiling and speaking in comforting tones. However, the smile didn't reach his eyes. His eyes were as cold and dead as her uncle's used to be. She feigned ignorance and said, "That doesn't sound too difficult."

"It won't be. I promise," Damon assured the girl. "Tell me about your younger brother."

She was caught off guard by the abrupt pivot. She said, "Jer is a good kid. He is smart and doing well in school. He is popular with all his friends. He participates in a lot of intramural sports at UCLA."

"I heard that he has been known to fly off the handle," he replied.

Elena had to bite her tongue. Damon had a lot of nerve criticizing someone's temper. She said, "He's had a few scrapes but it hasn't been anything serious. You know how boys act when they are teenagers. Anyway, he's been having a rough go of it lately. He was close to Uncle John."

Damon wasn't surprised that Jeremy was grieving for his uncle. John had played a large part in the boy's life. In fact, he had been angling to get Jeremy paired off with a Salvatore girl for awhile. He said, "Since you won't be marrying Angelo, your brother will be marrying another of my cousins. I would like for you to make the introductions. You have met Greta before, right?"

Elena felt guilt churning in her stomach. She hadn't realized that Jeremy would have to take her place. She nodded. "Greta and I are friends."

He smiled. "Good. Jeremy is still young. I don't intend for the two of them to marry right away. However, it would be good if they took a liking to one another. You can help me with that. I am sure you want what is best for your brother."

She swallowed thickly. "Yes, I do. Jer is hosting a back to school party this weekend to celebrate the end of Winter Break...not that he really needs an excuse to throw a party. I'll invite Greta."

Damon said, "Thank you."

"Anything I can do to help," she replied.

The longer Elena was in Damon's presence, the more nervous she became. He was all smiles and charm but his sharp edge was just below the surface. She did not want to learn how easy it was for his other side to make an appearance. She tried to rationalize the things that she was doing. Jeremy had always wanted to be part of the "family". Surely he would understand why a relationship with Greta was important for him. Perhaps he wouldn't even need to know that he was taking her place.

Of course, Damon was playing Elena like a fiddle. He made the girl believe that she was compromising herself. However, he had planned to arrange a marriage between Jeremy and Greta since before his father's funeral. The boy was already climbing the ranks of the Salvatore family. John had gotten Jeremy involved as a teenager. He had put all his hopes into the boy since he never had a son of his own.

Victor walked out of the bedroom with his thumb in his mouth. In his other hand, he clutched the arm of his teddy bear.

"Come here, buddy," Damon said from the couch.

Victor toddled over to his brother and climbed onto his lap.

"As-tu eu une bonne sieste?" he asked in a soft voice.

The boy nodded and rested his head on Damon's shoulder.

Elena looked at the boy with curiosity. Everyone had heard that Giuseppe had another child. In fact, she had seen Victor at the Salvatore Manor after the funeral. However, it had been brief.

Victor stared back at Elena for a moment and then hid his face against Damon's neck.

Damon said, "He's a little shy…"

Elena nodded. "He's cute."

"Thanks," he replied. "Do you have any questions about what I expect from you, sweetheart?"

She shook her head. "No, I think that I can handle everything. I really appreciate you helping me out of this situation, Damon."

"It is my pleasure. You shouldn't have to pay because Tyler doesn't know his place. Well, I don't want to take up more of your time. I am sure there are other things you would like to do with your day. Just do the things that we talked about. I will call you once Angelo has found a doctor. And you can call me if you need anything."

Elena slowly stood. She picked up her purse and the envelope. "Okay."

Damon stood with Victor in his arms and then walked Elena to the door. He kissed her cheek. "We'll talk soon."

She nodded and then walked out of the suite. Elena couldn't help feeling as if she had been released by a scorpion.

He closed the door and looked down at his little brother. "We've got another hour before we need to pick up Sarah. What should we do, huh?"

Victor looked up at Damon. "We play?"

Damon smiled at him. "Yeah. Let's go get your bag."

He walked over to the couch and placed Victor on the floor. He unzipped the bag they brought from home and started taking out the toys. "What do you want to play with first?"

Victor held onto his bear as he looked at his options. He walked over to the bucket of blocks. "Dis."

"Good choice," Damon said. He moved the coffee table aside to give them more room. Then he sat on the floor with Victor.

Victor took the top off the bucket and dumped his blocks onto the floor.

Damon chuckled and said, "Either you will have to take your thumb out your mouth or put your bear down, kiddo."

The boy glanced at his bear for a moment. Then he placed it gently on the couch before sitting down on the floor with Damon.

The man shook his head and smiled wryly. Victor had definitely inherited Stefan's dedication to thumbsucking. It used to drive their old man crazy. Then again, it never took much set off Giuseppe. Damon looked at the doll that was still in the bag. Giuseppe would have lost his shit at the prospect of his sons playing with dolls. Damon hoped that he could be a good father figure to his brother. He wanted to know that Victor would have a good life.

Victor started sorting the blocks by color.

When all the blocks were sorted, Damon asked, "What should we build?"

Victor started stacking the red blocks into a column.

Together the two brothers separated by more than 28 years built a lopsided structure. Victor then took great pleasure in knocking over the entire thing.

It caused an unseemly amount of noise but Damon didn't care. He enjoyed seeing the bright smile on Victor's face. He asked, "Go again?"

Victor nodded and started sorting his blocks again.

Damon reached for his phone on the coffee table when it began to ring. He glanced at the number of the incoming call and saw that it was Zacharias. He answered the call. "Hey."

Zach said, "Hi. Are you busy, Damon?"

"No. What's going on?" he asked.

"We think Jamie might have run away from home."

Damon was surprised by the information. He asked, "When is the last time anyone saw him?"

"Bonnie took him breakfast early this morning. Then he locked himself in his bedroom again. No one has seen him since and he left his phone at home."

"Shit. Get some of our guys out looking for him. I'm surprised that Abby asked for our help," Damon admitted.

"She didn't. We probably wouldn't know if the Bennetts were in such an uproar over Jamie's disappearance. They're making noisy moves and it attracted some of our guys' attention. I called Abby to confirm," he explained.

Damon asked, "What are the chances this is more than a preteen running away from home?"

"It isn't common knowledge that Jamie is Ric's son. If this is about the business then it would probably be about whatever Bonnie has been doing. But kidnapping her kid brother would be overkill. No one that either family does business with would involve civilians."

He said, "But some of our enemies upstate don't live by the same rules that we do. Could Bonnie have done anything to piss them off?"

"You know that I have been digging into her business moves. I haven't noticed anything that would deserve this reaction."

Damon said, "Until we know different, you treat this as a kidnapping. Put pressure in the right places to find him. In the meantime, I want our people watching Abby's house as a safety precaution. I was going to head over there soon to pick up Sarah. Looks I will just leave now."

"Where are you anyway? Stefan said that you had lunch with Bonnie but that was over hours ago," Zach inquired.

"I am at the Claiborne."

Zach sounded disappointed. "Are you out of your fucking mind? You have been bitching about your relationship with Bonnie for weeks and this is what you do? And isn't Victor with you?"

"I am glad to know that you have so much faith in me, Zio. I was here for a meeting. The last person I fucked was Katherine. She's the last person I intend to fuck that isn't my wife."

Victor was looking up at him with big eyes.

"And now you've got me cursing in front of Victor. Just find Jamie…"

Zach said, "In this family he is bound to hear much worse. And I am sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion, nipote. I only want good things for you. I'll touch base with you again soon."

Damon ended the call and sent a text to his driver. Then smiled at Victor. "We've gotta put away your toys, buddy. We need to go get Sarah. We're going to take her home with us."

Victor perked up at the mention of his niece. He started putting away his blocks as instructed.

Damon helped his little brother since he refused to take the thumb out his mouth. Then he made quick work of collecting everything they brought to the hotel. Traveling light was out of the question with a toddler.

As Damon made his way down to the car, he hoped that Bonnie would see his presence as the olive branch it was meant to be. Jamie was her brother, but he was also Ric's son. He was family and Damon would make sure he was returned safely.