Weekend came and went in what felt like an eye blink and after seven hours worth of flight and one taxi madness later Caroline was standing in the very middle of her hotel room with her lips parted in a silent awe. It wasn't as if she was expecting to live in a shady motel room, but the spaciousness and the décor of the hotel was definitely jaw-dropping. And it wasn't just the bedroom itself with a bed fit for at least four people, but the office and the living room, and even a small kitchen making the room into more of a presidential suite than a place for an assistant to live. Yet Caroline had no objections, as it was nice to escape her tiny crowded apartment if only for a week.
"Is this your room?" Caroline's open laptop was standing on her bed as she was unpacking and at the same time having a video chat with Elena. "They do take care of you, don't they?"
"I'm pretty sure they could afford to buy a small country, so at this point nothing surprises me." Caroline shrugged while taking out neat stacks of clothes and placing them on the shelves in her humongous closet that was spacious enough to accommodate all of possessions Caroline had over the years and then some more. "But I have a feeling that I won't spend a lot of time in the hotel as the schedule for the next week is plain crazy."
"Well, at least you'll be busy while the boredom is driving me crazy here." Casting a quick look at the screen Caroline saw Elena's lips formed in a pout and her eyebrows furrowed in dissatisfaction.
As far as Caroline could tell, Elena was often reconsidering her choice to stay behind in MysticFalls. The glamorous life with Damon was all nice and dandy on the paper, but in the reality they would barely see each other as his job always kept him traveling and Elena couldn't join him as often as she wanted because she was running her own little publishing company back in MysticFalls. Sometimes it felt that the grown-up life all of them were looking forward to back in high school didn't turn out to be as easy and fun as anticipated for both of them.
"I guess you're right." Caroline answered bluntly, biting her tongue so not to start complaining again. But she wanted oh so much to talk all about the fact that she graduated from the law school to be a lawyer and not the girl who looks after schedules and public events. But then again – she was sick and tired of complaining to anyone who could afford to listen; too much time was spent while concentrating on all the bad things that in the end weren't as bad as Caroline pictured them to be. "Listen 'Lena, I have to run. There's that dinner we have in the evening and I'm far from looking presentable."
"Call me soon?" Elena replied, her wide chocolate eyes making it so difficult for Caroline to refuse.
"You bet. Love you." Smiling widely Caroline ended the video and clicked on her song list just so to fill the room with music that helped her brush the fatigue away.
Unpacking was done with in a matter of minutes and Caroline stood next to the bed, chewing the inside of her cheek while looking at three dresses she laid on the bed to choose from for the dinner. Somehow it felt like her life was spiraling back into the same high-school routine that was all about looking pretty and always getting the attention she deserved. But that wasn't what she wanted anymore; what she wanted was to be a lawyer, help people and stand up for those who needed it in the court. Yet in the reality she was light-years away from her goals and stuck while thinking which bra would go better with which dress.
And she never felt more disappointed in her life.
Caroline shook her head vigorously and instead of spending another moment while feeling pity for herself she made her way to the bathroom and straight into the shower, leaving a trace of clothes on the floor all the way from the bedroom to the edge of the shower cabin. Water was as soothing as she hoped it to be and music coming from the bedroom made her feel ten times better while shampooing her hair and singing along. Even though she didn't have too much time to waste, Caroline chose to rather stand under the steaming hot water for a little while longer instead of going back to the same routine of dressing up, putting her make-up on and playing her part of a girl who did nothing but smiled and nodded while everyone else was talking.
And Caroline would've stood there for an eternity if not for the music that stopped and made her wonder just how long exactly she was there if even her playlist was already over. Stepping out of the shower Caroline wrapped a towel around her body and wiped the mirror covered in condensation just to see her wet-rat looking self staring back from the mirror. Rolling her eyes Caroline left the bathroom, steam following her into the bedroom as she crouched next to the bed and browsed her songs looking for one that would wake her up and get her moving.
"Well, this suite is definitely living up to my expectations." The voice coming from the doorway made Caroline shriek in fright as she jumped up and wrapped her arms tightly around her frame.
There he was, leaning to the doorframe with a suitcase next to him stood Klaus, his lips curved into a widespread grin as he looked at her without a pinch of shame, his eyes roaming freely up and down her very much indecent physique covered in nothing but a skimpy towel.
"Klaus, what the hell?!" She finally yelled after a moment spent trying to pull herself and her thoughts together. "What are you doing in my room?!"
"Your room?" His eyebrows rose in what seemed like surprise but in no more than a fraction of a second he burst into laughter leaving Caroline wandering if he finally lost it.
"Yes my room; now get out!" Caroline was about to have a nervous breakdown and what was even more infuriating was the fact that Klaus seemed to be completely indifferent and even surprised himself.
A sickening feeling that maybe it wasn't her room to begin with was finally dawning on her; what if she was the one to screw up? What if she took the wrong key or didn't make herself clear in the reception? In the end, who'd book a room this fancy for an assistant? Caroline could almost see her expression changing from sheer anger to utter horror and gradually Klaus' expression grew into an almost honest glee.
"Okay. Alright." She murmured after taking a deep breath and ran her fingers through her dripping hair, trying not to snap once again and to rather maintain a calm demeanor that would help her out in a very uncomfortable situation. "Let me get dressed and then we can go to the reception to sort this whole mess out."
She watched Klaus cross his arms on his chest, reluctant to move for as much as an inch. Off course, how could she hope that the man would get the hint and leave her be for at least a moment while she rummaged through the closet, pulling random pieces of clothing out, but honestly – everything was better than standing there with nothing but a towel.
"Wait love, I think you forgot something." Klaus' voice caught up with her just as she was about to disappear behind closed bathroom door and Caroline spun around on her heel with the widest and fakest of smiles just to see her black lace bra hanging on one of his fingers while he was holding his hand mid-air. There it was – swinging like a freaking flag of Shameland where Caroline was about to be deported.
"Thank you." She replied through her clenched teeth, trying her best not to have another temper tantrum while walking towards Klaus and grabbing her bra before literally running into the bathroom and locking the door behind.
Another wave of laughter rang in her ears even through the closed door and Caroline shut her eyes in frustration. A bright red blush finally painted her cheeks that previously were paper-white and with her hands shaking just slightly she started pulling clothes on her body while cursing silently under her breath.
…
"We have to find another hotel." Caroline broke the silence that dawned on both her and Klaus while taking the elevator to the top floor and back into their room.
Twenty minutes of excuses and apologies later the administrator admitted that they've made a mistake, yet there was no way to fix it as all the rooms were already booked and Klaus and Caroline would need to share one for at least couple of days. And while she tried to reason and find another way to sort this out, Klaus was standing silently behind her not even saying a word while the smirk was playing in his features. He didn't object or intercept the conversation and it was even more infuriating as Caroline felt like she was tilting at windmills.
"Do we?" Klaus replied in that monotonic manner of his, tilting his eyebrows just slightly but rather following the floor numbers changing in the display than looking at Caroline. "I do like this one, and I'm not the man who strays from tradition easily."
"Seriously?" Caroline snapped, her voice rising just a tad while she clenched her hands into fists. However it seemed that her rash behavior was nothing if not pleasing for Klaus to witness and the more she was fuming, the wider his grin became. It was if the man was repaying her for that little bravado of hers back at the ball; his ways, however, were a bit more sinister than few words Caroline allowed herself to share with him.
Instead of bothering further to try and reason with him in all the wrong ways Caroline leaned to the elevator wall with her arms crossed on her chest and her gaze glued on the poster in front. And even in complete silence she could feel Klaus gloating while she chewed on her lower lip furiously. Caroline's oath to be more calm and collected was going straight to hell with every moment that passed while around that man; she was considering yoga, but then again – he would be there watching as she greets the sun and does the lotus pose, and so reaching the Zen was out of the question.
Finally the elevator stopped and as soon as it opened into their living room Caroline made her way inside and swung around with one hand on her hip as if ready for a speech. Klaus — who was following after her — was forced to stop himself and look at her with one eyebrow curved in question.
"Not that I'm enjoying this, but we're both grown-ups and I hope that we can manage to share a million square feet suite for few days." She started, keeping her overall calm demeanor, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing her break. Again.
"Too bad you have to share the room with no one else but a pompous ignorant ass." Klaus managed to use Caroline's little moment of weakness for the second time in the row and she wanted to kick herself for not knowing when to keep her mouth shut.
"Fair enough." She finally answered with a sigh, her hand falling from her hip in defeat. "But as a sign that I'm a better person, I will sleep on the couch while you can have the bedroom all to yourself."
It was a very weak blow to try and dispel quite a stifling atmosphere that always seemed to surround them, yet one couldn't blame a girl for trying. She watched his expression, trying to find something that would assure her, yet as always – there was nothing.
"Alright then, it's a deal." Caroline murmured and made her way back to the bedroom. He didn't follow after her and so she could allow herself to drop the act and get back to her sour self while stuffing all of her clothes back into the suitcase. Books, her journal, a laptop and all of the toiletries were tossed on top of her clothes unceremoniously and as soon as she was done Caroline retreated to the living room and dropped the suitcase next to the couch. For one thing she was grateful – Klaus didn't try to fight her or to oppose her choices and even if she wasn't too happy about leaving the bed that was ten times more comfortable than the one she slept in back in New York, there was a slight hope that they weren't incapable of compromising.
"I think the bed is big enough for both of us." Taunting, teasing voice came from the bedroom as Caroline was pushing the furniture around so to make the living room into something she could live and sleep at. His words were what made Caroline stop dreaming about something as blasphemous as him letting her catch a break.
"Is this sexual harassment I hear, boss?" She retorted casually while piling her clothes on the table. "Because I'm pretty sure it's not just illegal but may cost you your business license as well."
"Just an observation, love. No need to overanalyze." Klaus' words were followed by a silent chuckle that made Caroline roll her eyes, but she decided not to answer as she was well aware that with his sharp tongue and her stubbornness they would never stop quarreling.
Time flew by undetected and only once Klaus emerged from the bedroom dressed in a black tuxedo and working on his cufflinks Caroline jumped up with terror plastered all over her expression. She completely forgot the dinner — and everything else for that matter — and there was less than half an hour left until they had to leave.
"Is something wrong, love?" He questioned, but Caroline didn't have time to look at him or to answer as she was ransacking everything around her, trying to put something together that she could wear. The bar apparently was set higher than she expected as Klaus was dressed up to the nines while she was still in her jeans and tousled blonde curls tied in a messy ponytail.
Klaus watched her wreaking silent havoc and Caroline could feel his eyes on her, yet there was no time to stop and start arguing again. Plus she felt as if his presence grew less and less noticeable over the time and even if she didn't appreciate it, she already felt like she lived through the worst of the worst. Anything he had to say she already heard in one situation or the other – from sarcasm to drunken rage.
"It'll take few minutes." She finally murmured while holding a pile of clothes in her hands, looking at him over her shoulder. "How about I meet you down at the bar?"
Watching Klaus nod in agreement was almost ecstatic – even if she didn't care that much, it was ten times better without him around; especially when those few minutes would've consisted of her running around half-dressed and completely mad.
"I do prefer the red dress, love." She heard his voice right before the elevator door closed and he disappeared from her sight. Caroline wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, looking at the same three dresses she did before all this madness came crumbling down, her gaze stopping on the red one just for a second before she grabbed it and stuffed it into the very bottom of her suitcase.
"Black it is."