Prompt: kc+ I was walking down the street and wasn't looking where I was going and SHIT I SPILLED COFFEE ALL OVER MY BOSS

Today had really just not been her day. She'd already broken her favourite pair of heels on the way out the door and had to switch to flats, her hair was so not cooperating, and she'd already broken a nail between her apartment and her favourite coffee shop.

At least the interior was warm and homey as always, a complete contrast to the absolute shit storm outside. Winter had well and truly shrunk its claws into New York City, and she had so not been prepared for it.

She'd grown up watching Sex and the City, but she never thought she'd be one of those PR girls. And yet, 7 years later here she is, stressed, depressed, and well dressed and working in one of New York's up and coming, full service PR agencies.

She had become one of those people, the ones constantly glued to their phones, almost obsessively checking their emails, and trying to field constant phone calls from clients who all insisted that their campaign or project was the most important, and she should dedicate all of her time and energy towards that instead of whatever else she did all day long.

The barista at least is on the ball today, a friendly smile in place and a tray of four coffees ready to go. She sweeps her eyes over the tray briefly, making sure that the right quantity and packets of sugar are all there. There's a latte for her, skim, half the foam, extra hot. For Stefan there's black coffee just like his soul apparently. Katherine gets a cappuccino, and for Elijah, their crazy as hell managing director there's an espresso shot. Just the shot, that's it.

It's with a grateful smile that she hands over a twenty, motioning for him to keep the change. It's their routine every morning, and Matt gives her a wink and a jaunty salute as she picks up the coffees and fishes around in the pocket of her coat for her cell.

She's elbowing open the door, eyes glued to the screen when of course, everything goes to hell. She shrieks as she bumps into someone else, the coffee goes flying, and a very loud expletive is uttered by someone that is most definitely not her.

Her eyes flick towards the spilled coffees scattered across the pavement before landing on her victim. She really doesn't have time to notice how gorgeous he is beyond the sandy blonde hair, broad shoulders beneath the jacket of his suit, and his striking blue eyes.

"Oh god I am so sorry." She blurts out immediately. "Are you okay? You're not burnt are you?"

She cannot afford to pay for this guys medical bills.

But she does notice the fact that he is pissed. He's plucking at his button up shirt in obvious disgust, fingers quickly moving to unbutton the shirt before the coffee can do any more damage.

She's almost disappointed when she sees he's wearing a heather grey t shirt under the button up.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking, eyes glued to your phone while you come out into a busy street?" The man directs towards her with obvious annoyance, frown creasing his brow. He looks young, around her age or maybe a few years older.

Okay, British accent. Concentrate.

"Okay, no need to be so rude about it. I've already apologised, let me pay for the dry cleaning." She volunteers, bending down with a sigh to pick up the discarded cups before tossing them in the trash. They were past the point of no return.

"Don't bother, this shirt is ruined." The man continues in disgust. "I start a new job today. I'm not exactly making a good first impression by turning up late."

She just sighs, finally finding a business card and handing it to him. She watches his eyes sweep over the stock, committing her details to memory before he slides it into the pocket of his pants.

"I'm really sorry again. If it's any consolation, I'm running late for work today as well. I'm sure your new boss will understand. Please let me know if there's anything I can do in the meantime."

He just nods absentmindedly at her, shrugging out of the shirt and balling it up to fit into his satchel.

She takes the opportunity and makes a break for it.

She tries to ignore Stefan's murderous glare as she pushes open the heavy glass door to the office. He gets testy without coffee. She's willing to open a betting pool to see just how long it takes before he goes into withdrawal over the whole lack of caffeine thing.

"Where the hell have you been?" Katherine hisses as the brunette grabs her by the wrist and yanks her downwards.

She deposits herself onto her desk chair, kicking her handbag under the desk as she logs into her emails. She suppresses a groan at the hundred or so that fill up her inbox, and she wonders if Elijah would murder her if she puts in some time for extended leave to just get away from it all.

"There was an accident involving coffee okay? I'm sorry." She replies with a sigh as Katherine stares at her blankly.

"Caroline, I don't give a shit about the coffee, although Stefan might think otherwise when he tries to murder you in the bathroom later. Elijah has been freaking out this morning and you haven't been here?"

She glances at the other girl for a moment.

"Wait why is Elijah freaking out? Elijah never freaks out. What have I missed?"

Katherine refrains from cracking her head against the desk, but she certainly comes close.

"Where have you been for the past 72 hours? Elijah managed to convince Niklaus Mikaelson to come on board as our creative director. We're having a meeting in like ten minutes so he can introduce us all."

Niklaus Mikaelson was legendary in the New York PR industry. He'd been the man behind half a dozen viral campaigns in as many years. He was literally the authority on creativity in the industry, and he'd been awarded dozens and dozens of accolades in his short career.

She'd thought him to be a little overrated to be honest, and hadn't really cared enough about him or his work to find out more about him. She'd never even seen a photograph of him, even though he was Elijah's brother and the two apparently had quite a good relationship.

Their last creative director had resigned suddenly and cited the need for a sea change. He'd then gotten on a plane and flown to fucking Australia, and no one had seen or heard from him since. Elijah had been working around the clock to replace him, so the fact that he'd convinced Niklaus Mikaelson to sign on was a massive coup.

Katherine clicks her fingers in front of her face a few times.

"Pull yourself together, you're an absolute mess. Come on, we're going right now." Katherine murmurs in a low voice as she stands and grabs her a little roughly by the upper arm.

Elijah smiles at her pleasantly enough as they both enter the boardroom, but she knows him well enough by now to be able to pick out the slight hint of panic that she can see in his eyes. Seeing the usually unflappable Elijah like this was odd.

"No coffee this morning?" Elijah asks a little mournfully as she shakes her head as a way of reply.

"Sorry, I had a bit of a spill and didn't have time to get some more." She replies regretfully as Katherine just rolls her eyes, steering her towards a seat and taking the one beside her.

Elijah just folds his hands in front of him as the rest of the team files in and takes their seats at the table. As if by some unspoken agreement they leave the other seat at Elijah's side empty. Stefan makes a slicing motion across his throat, eyes a little manic as he stares her down.

"Thankyou all for coming. Niklaus seems to be running a little late but I'm sure that he'll be here soon."

As if on cue they all hear footsteps echo from the corridor outside before they spot the figure framed by the doorway.

And she has to stop herself from openly gaping because no fucking way. The guy that she'd spilled coffee all over, the guy that she'd made late for work was Niklaus Mikaelson.

And technically, he was now sort of her boss, since the creative director usually acted as the 2IC whenever Elijah wasn't around.

Shit.

She can see the moment his eyes land on hers, and she tries to ignore the dangerous smirk that's written across his features. Very slowly he moves, languidly settling into the chair directly opposite hers as he looks around the room.

She tunes out as Elijah does the introductions, because she is nothing short of mortified right now, and she tries to keep her hands and eyes busy, pen tapping against the notepad in front of her.

And she can still feel his eyes on her, sizing her up, taking stock of her.

Karma could be a real bitch sometimes.