Caroline stepped into work on Monday and braced herself. Katerina Petrova - known as Katherine to those who were unaware of her colorful history, and Kat by her friends, might've been her friend and partner but she was still a bitch. Which was probably why they'd remained friends.

"I don't care if your ears are still ringing from Enzo's lecture or how impressed he was by those stitches, you go dark on us for twenty-four hours again, and I'll make you miserable."

Caroline handed her the coffee she'd picked up to mitigate this conversation, and she sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. I make no promises, but I'll try."

Katerina stared at her for a long moment before accepting the bribe. Caroline knew it wasn't the last she'd hear of it but they had work to do. Katerina was many things, but mostly she was efficient and crazy crafty, which was why they'd survived that first semester of being roommates. But it really hasn't been until Enzo barged into their lives and wheedled them into cohabiting an apartment with him that they'd become friends. Three years of undergrad in a two bedroom apartment - where Enzo slept on a futon in the living room - had cemented the tentative friendship.

But it was after her graduation, when she lost her mom unexpectedly to cancer, that made them family.

"So gorgeous, just to be clear, this is an intervention."

Caroline looked up from her spreadsheet, eyes tired and blinked at the serious expressions on her friends faces. "Huh, what?"

Katerina frowned at her, sitting down at the table. "I know losing your Mom has thrown you for a loop, but you're worrying us. I hate worrying, it gives me wrinkles."

Enzo shrugged at Caroline's disbelieving look. "Come on doll, talk to us."

"What is there to talk about?" Caroline diverted, gaze wary. "My mom died, I had to rescind my acceptance of the internship I really needed, and I'm freaking out. I'm sure it's fine."

Katerina rolled her eyes. "First, I'd never let you starve. You being hangry is exhausting and I don't have time for it. Second, we've got it all worked out."

"Got what worked out?"

Enzo smiled at her. "I got into med school."

"Of course you did," Caroline said in complete exasperation. "Was there any doubt?"

"More importantly, I got it at the university I wanted," Enzo said cheerfully. "I'm going to need a roommate."

"Huh?"

Kat leaned forward, smiled. "Here is what we are going to do. We're going to move with Enzo, because I'm really tired of this dinky little town. Then we're going to take part of your insurance money and use it as seed money- which I'll match - to start our own planning agency. We'll start small, work for far too cheap, and build a reputation and probably laugh as we watch Enzo study. Then once this dufus gets his Residency, we'll figure out if we have the capital and the patience to move to a bigger city."

"You've what, just decided this?"

"Well, someone had to think of something. You've been wallowing," Kat held up her hand to stop her protests. "It's fine, I understand, but I draw the line at moping."

"Come on gorgeous," Enzo coaxed. "Take a chance with us."

Caroline blinked rapidly. "The answer was always yes, you didn't have to lay it on so thick."

"Great, now that we have that out if the way, can we please talk about how you go weirdly invisible? Is it invisibility? That ridiculous camo-thing. I don't care and neither does Enzo, but you can't freak out the clients."

"Kat!"

"It needed to be said!"

God, that evening had led to all kinds of confessions. Halfway through her hesitant story Kat had left and come back with the Russian vodka she hoarded and shot glasses. There were just some things that moved your friends to family, and that was their defining moment.

"Because I have been understanding and patient, you're handling this next meeting."

"That's fair," Caroline groused. "Rude, but fair."

"Good, because April said that Rebekah Mikaelson brought one of her brothers and I refuse to deal with Elijah again. He either needs to get laid or let someone yank that stick out of his ass."

"I thought you thought he was hot."

"You think Klaus is hot, but you still want to light him on fire," Kat said flatly as they walked into their offices. "There is just no accounting for looks or personality. April has the details for the event, I'm going to go slog through my inbox. Good luck."

She had fifteen minutes to reacquaint herself with the file before heading to meet with the Mikaelson's. The Mayor's Benefit wasn't overly complicated, but Rebekah was a stickler for what she considered good form. She hoped Finn wasn't the brother with her - the oldest Mikaelson creeped her out. There was just something so... flat about him. Knowing now what she did about Mikael, her stomach churned at the idea of being in the same room with any of them. Thankfully, her wound was just an annoying twinge if she turned to fast.

She was halfway to the conference room when Rebekah came charging out, cheeks flushed with rage and eyes spitting. Caroline ground to a halt and blinked. "Are you alright?"

"Count your blessings you're an only child," Rebekah bit out. "I'm very sorry, but Klaus has all the paperwork. I'll schedule a call with April for later this week if I have any questions."

Caroline stared at her, lungs not quite working correctly. Licking dry lips, she stared at the closed door and cursed. She should have expected this. She'd taken advantage of the amazingly comfortable bed she'd been tucked into, and slept for the first twenty-four hours of her enforced bed rest. Klaus had checked in on her to change her bandages, and to watch her eat with that hair raising intensity, but left her be.

Healing herself was tricky and exhausting, and she usually let her system work quietly in the background if the wound was major. But she wasn't a child and she wasn't going to be bullied. So by the time Klaus had been called in to settle an issue with his board on Saturday, she was healed enough for the stitches to come out. She'd waited until Kol was snoring before sneaking out.

And now Klaus was sitting in one of her conference rooms waiting her out. Lifting her chin, she took one bracing breath. Then she marched in, determined to...

"Hello, sweetheart. I'm delighted to see you didn't bleed out," Klaus drawled as she shut the door behind her. Rolling her eyes, she set her folders down and met the burning of his glare with her own.

"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine," she dismissed. "Now, do you actually have an opinion on place settings and floral arrangements, or can I assume you decided to ambush me and that Kol is the reason Rebekah stormed out of here in a fury?"

Klaus stood and she mentally berated him for being so damn good looking. Today, he'd chosen a well worn Henley that was so thin she could just make out what might have been a tattoo behind the pale fabric. Now she was curious. She wondered if he'd file charges if she smacked him with a folder.

"I believe I made it clear we needed to chat," Klaus said firmly. "I was willing to have the discussion in a much more comfortable location, possibly with a good red, but then you went against my express wishes and bolted."

"Your point?"

"If you do that again, I'll spank you." Klaus murmured, eyes glittering.

"I'm not a child," Caroline said icily. "You in no way get to dictate my life."

"Sweetheart, what I'm thinking of in no way includes you being childish."

"What you're imagining will will never happen," she promised him, eyes narrowed. "I don't particularly care for your attitude right now."

"Then we're even," Klaus returned with a shrug. "Take a seat love, we have a lot to discuss."

She was caged in and she knew it. She could walk out, but then she'd have to explain why to Kat and deal with Rebekah. With an aggravated sigh, she sat. "You have forty minutes."

"You wound me," Klaus drawled. "How are those stitches?"

"Enzo took them out yesterday," Caroline dismissed.

"Enzo?"

She rolled her eyes. "Let's not even start pretending you haven't had Kol digging through any personal information he can get his hands on. Since he seems to have a knack for computers - he was far too bitter about MIT to be more than brilliant, I assume that his dropping out had something to do with our illustrious Mayor?"

Klaus eyes narrowed, lips parting but she held up her hand. "That wasn't a request for information. I'm not interested in Kol's secrets, Klaus. I'm just pointing out that I'm not an idiot."

"I'm aware of your intelligence, Caroline. The breadth of your idiocy, well, we'll just have to disagree on. What I can't figure out is how you got involved in this mess." Klaus drummed his fingers on the table, studied her with sharp eyes. "Kol is very interested in figuring out why until your mother received custody after your father's death, there are so few records."

She flinched at the mention of her mom, glanced away to brace herself. When she looked back, Klaus' expression had softened, something like regret behind his gaze. She didn't want his pity or his sympathy.

"Kol can keep wondering," Caroline informed him bluntly. Her childhood was a mess of highs and lows, horrors she'd never confessed even to Kat and Enzo. She had every intention of taking them to her grave. "My parents are not up for discussion."

Klaus tilted his head, but his eyes never changed. "You'll tell me eventually."

"You are the most arrogant man I've ever had the displeasure to converse with," Caroline ground out. "Please just spit out whatever it is you need to say so you can leave."

"I like puzzles," Klaus murmured. "You're stubborn, but strangely charming under the bite. You shouldn't have saved us both if you wanted me to leave you alone, love."

She gave him a tight smile. "Stalking is illegal."

A twitch of his lips, but then his face shifted to a serious expression. "I want you to leave this alone."

"No."

Temper turned his gaze vivid. "No?"

Caroline smiled beatifically. "No. Here's the thing, Klaus - you are not part of my life. We are apparently working in similar fields that require us to socialize over your unnecessary and ridiculous body count, but that's it. I appreciate your help this week as I'm sure you appreciate mine, but you don't get to dictate my life or my choices just because we both occasionally wear leather."

"So certain," Klaus said, something dangerous in his voice. "Mikael isn't a game."

"Thankfully, I've figured that out," she returned.

He arched a brow, studied her and let his dimples just flirt with her. "What are you doing tonight?"

She blinked, thrown by his sudden change of topic. She answered honestly, before she really caught herself. "I have a date."

Both brows arched, the glitter behind his gaze turning predatory. "Oh?"

Caroline frowned, studied that expression. Felt something flutter low in her abdomen. She could have sworn that was jealousy, but that was insanity. "Yes, and if you don't mind, I'm actually looking forward to this Galleria, so if you actually have a comment to make regarding Rebekah's event, please do. I have other clients to handhold today."

The next fifteen minutes were strictly professional, but something about the set of his jaw, that last quick glance as he left sent a streak of anticipation down her spine. Caroline gathered her papers and notations on auto-pilot, trying to decide what about him made her so hyperaware. Dry spell or not, Klaus Mikaelson shouldn't be so interesting.

She could never let Kat or Enzo know.

They knew that she'd figured out the vigilantes identity, that she had decided to keep the secret. For now. But if Kat even caught a hint of the surprising heat between her and Klaus, parkour hardcore or not, she'd find the man tied to her bed.

Best to just avoid that.

"This is so completely boring I may need a lobotomy to save what brain cells I have left."

Klaus swirled his drink, and ignored Kol's muttered complaints. The Art Galleria was full of important and irritating people, but he had to give Caroline credit. The art was well displayed and he saw a few pieces he intended to take home. He wondered if she actually enjoyed art, or if she preferred the socializing.

"Are you certain none of the invitations had her name?"

"As exorbitant as her company's fees are, the buy in for the auction was out if your girl's price range. Do you read anything I send you?" Kol asked as he swiped two drinks, downing one and cradling the other. "Pathetic. You've become pathetic in your old age."

Klaus sighed. "Why are you here again?"

"To watch you crash and burn."

"I appreciate your support."

"Yeah well, you're also blind, because she's standing right there, looking at that hideous landscape."

Klaus turned his head and felt his mouth run dry at the sight of her. Caroline was wearing a dress in shade of dark crimson, which brought out the intriguing gold of her hair. He bit back a groan as she turned, the modest cut of her skirt and neckline deceiving, as the back of her dress was nearly completely bare; showcasing the shift of muscles and line of her spine.

Kol whistled and handed Klaus the drink in his left hand. "Lockwood is a lucky, lucky man."

Gaze leaving the lovely picture Caroline cut, Klaus considered the figure of her date. He imagined one of those things her morals would balk at was financially ruining Lockwood, but watching him slip a hand down the expanse of bare skin, lingering just above the curve of her ass, he was tempted. More importantly however, was the perfectly straight line of Caroline's spine.

For all that she was smiling, she was clearly rethinking her choice of her attire. Klaus might not be completely comfortable with the emotions that she stirred in his chest, but he wasn't willing to ignore them, either. His reaction to finding her missing from the bed she was supposed to be resting in had been a fairly rude awakening. It was one thing to drag her to his lair, sew her up after she'd helped him. To know her identity, see that stubborn chin lift while her eyes spat fire, to sketch the wild tumble of that hair on his pillows...

He'd pity Tyler Lockwood, if he wasn't such an imbecile.

"Kol..."

"Yeah, yeah," Kol muttered, cracking his neck. "I'll play your Girl Friday and distract the moron so you can go off and play seventh heaven in a closet."

"Don't be crass," Klaus said mildly. "Some of us last longer than seven minutes."

"Yeah, well, let's see if we can keep your Lady Luck from finding out what kind of stamina her date has," Kol muttered before sliding into the crowd.

Klaus gave Kol fifteen minutes, moving through the crowd, working a few connections. He didn't care for this type of socialization, but Ansel had insured he could do it.

"I realize you hate Mikael," Ansel said quietly from the door of the room Klaus had claimed as his own. The windows created broken ring of light, the bare hardwood floors covered in splattered sheets. Klaus looked over, paint brush held tightly between his fingers.

This was still a new thing. A father figure who used words and a quiet confidence to investigate, instead of fists and rage. "Yes."

Ansel's mouth twitched but he made no move to enter the room. That was new as well, these allowed boundaries. "I know is the papers are dragging this particular story through the proverbial dirt, but it will pass."

Klaus watched him, wary. "Does it bother you that I kept his name?"

"No," Ansel said, but his eyes were sad. "I understand and appreciate your strategy, from a tactical perspective it's a smart move. I'm just sad that I forced you into such a role. Had I known you were mine before Esther's death, Mikael would never have been near you, regardless of her wishes."

Klaus shrugged. "It's done."

"Yes, for now," he agreed. "But I would like you to remember two things. Regardless of blood, Mikael will always see you as a chess piece, especially once I'm gone. You will need to mitigate this by learning to be even more savvy than he in a political and social arenas, without raising suspicions."

"I'm not good with people," Klaus said, glancing away from those knowing eyes.

"Then you will learn," Ansel said calmly. "You are wealthy, therefore automatically eccentric. As long as you remember that most people are more alarmed when you threaten their wallets than their morals, you'll be fine."

"And the second thing?"

"Loyalty, the kind the does not bend or break, is a rare gift. Protect it."

Klaus snagged two glasses of champagne and approach Caroline's silhouette. Her head was tilted, the soft fall of curls from her updo framing her curious face. "Champagne?"

Wary blue eyes cut over, but Caroline accepted the drink with a sigh. "Kol is an ass."

"I'm far more concerned with Lockwood," Klaus told her, watching that profile carefully. "I can't imagine there is an excuse anywhere worthy of leaving your side."

She snorted, the inelegant noise a direct contrast the faint pink in her cheeks. But she'd hardly be Caroline - either version - if she gave him any ground. Turning to face him, she scanned him unashamedly.

"Well, you do own a suite. That's a bit of a relief, since you've insisted on planning a black tie event."

Klaus ignored her waspish attempt to redirect their conversation, kept his smile to himself. Ms. Caroline Forbes wasn't as immune to him as she'd pretended that afternoon, if the widening of her pupils and the faintest hitch in her breathing said anything. Curiosity, lust, frustrated attraction - he didn't care.

A crack in her armor was all he needed.

"Interested in this one? A tad lonely," Klaus murmured, redirecting her wrath towards the artwork in front of them.

Her expression shifted to exasperation. "It's hideous."

Choking on a laugh, he politely coughed until he got control of himself. "I beg pardon?"

She rolled her eyes, some of the tension easing from her shoulders. "I saw what you kept in your apartment, you can't have appreciated those and still admired this... my eyeballs are offended."

Delight curled in his chest, curved his lips. "You liked the art in my apartment?"

Caroline sipped her champagne, and her gaze turned wary. He wondered if she sensed the trap under his words. Lips compressed, she let her lashes hood her gaze and sidestepped his question.

"I'm surprise that so few of the local artists made into the auction this year," she worried her lower lip with her teeth, something he couldn't read in her eyes.

"Do you attend this event each year, then?" He didn't attend last year, but the year before he had as a favor to a friend. He didn't recall seeing her, wasn't sure he'd have taken note.

"Yes," Caroline sighed. "Tyler was a lifesaver this year, the committee raised the entrance fees and then limited the run. They wanted it to be more exclusive."

Klaus frowned at the scorn in her voice. "I take it you didn't agree?"

Caroline looked at him, clearly judging his expression before she shrugged. "The smaller, local artists need a firm platform to exhibit their work. Established artists, they don't need the publicity. Everyone should have the chance to follow their dreams and exclusivity, bringing in outside names defeats that purpose."

Charmed by the heat in her voice, that biting defense of a community he once knew very well, he caught the fingers drumming against her thigh. Bringing her the underside of her wrist to his mouth, he pressed a kiss there. Lingered until her pulse sped up against his mouth.

"You're magnificent," Klaus murmured against her skin.

The flush that crawled up her throat and to her cheeks left him with a gut-deep hunger to see how far it trailed down her chest. She tugged her hand free and glowered at him. "Stop flirting. It's ridiculous and I'm here with Tyler."

"I don't see him, love."

Caroline leaned close enough he caught the scent of her perfume, and smiled with her teeth. "I will make you regret it if don't stop this foolishness immediately."

"I do like a challenge."

Her eyes rolled and no doubt she was trying to set him on fire with her mind again, but a saccharine sweet voice cut into their conversation, much to his annoyance.

"Klaus! I didn't know you knew Caroline."

Klaus turned, offered his most charming smile to Elena Salvatore nee Gilbert. She was flushed from the champagne, the befuddled expression one she preferred to invite answers. "Mrs. Salvatore, a pleasure to see you."

"Damon will be displeased to have missed you," Elena sighed. "He had some work to do at the Mayor's office."

Caroline stepped next to Klaus, offered the reflective brilliance of her smile. "You did a lovely job with the setup, Elena. How did you steal so many collections for other cities?"

"It was difficult, the board really wanted to stay local, but Mayor Mikaelson agreed we needed to bring in some diversity." She smiled brightly, clearly pleased with herself. "Are you thinking of joining the bidding, Caroline?"

"I'm sure most of the work is too rich for my blood. And I believe I see Tyler," she glanced up at Klaus and the spark of mischief there had his own gaze narrowing. "Thank you for explaining the paintings to me. Mr. Mikaelson is apparently very fond of art, Elena. You should show him some of the highlights from the brochure."

Klaus smiled tightly as Ena latched onto his arm, greed turning her eyes bright. There had been something in Caroline's posture, in her tone of voice, when she spoke of outside cities that niggled at him. She glanced over her shoulder as Elena started to pull him towards exhibits, talking too loudly.

He promised revenge with his eyes.

She bit her lip, laughed at him with her gaze, and disappeared. Klaus let Elena tug him along with a fake, gracious smile and plotted. He'd start with flowers. Something as sickeningly sweet as Elena Gilbert. Nothing flashy, but a subtle reminder that two could play this game.

A game he planned on winning.

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