Chapter Four- Let The Games Begin

It had been over a week since Damon had blown back into town, and I often found myself wishing that he had stayed lost. True to Stefan's warning, Damon had been making it his mission in life to make mine as miserable as possible, but in very concise and sneaky ways as to not violate his pact with Stefan. He was true to his word and showed me 'respect' in the workplace, but to be honest everything that came out of his mouth had a degrading undertone. Most days I fantasised about stapling things to his head but I knew that wouldn't get us anywhere. No, his cruel and teasing behaviour was generally reserved for the Manor which of course he denied any involvement in. First there was the mysterious disappearance of all of my clothes, then the spiking of vervain in my bottle of scotch. Next came replacing my blood bags with watered down animal blood, the complete removal of my toilet from my en suite, the destruction of my blackberry while I slept, a deer head in my bed and last and certainly worst: a college aged student who knocked on the door late at night while I was home alone with a severely bleeding neck. He had obviously done it in the hopes of tempting me into feeding from them and I think that one had shaken me to the core the most. The fact that he would put an innocent person's life in jeopardy and risk the chance of me losing control showed me just how far gone he truly was. Not only would a young person completely be stripped of their future but I would have an innocent's life on my hands. It was inconceivable, but unfortunately, that's the kind of person I was dealing with. Someone who used others as pawns for their twisted games, and it made me sick to my stomach to see the levels of depravity he was capable of. Katherine had certainly been a horrid mentor to him, and he was using every play in the vicious handbook to break me.

I had taken Stefan's advice to heart, and I had been trying to make more time for myself in the past week, real time, to start healing myself and dealing with my transition in a healthy way, whatever the hell that meant. The more I started thinking about it, the more I realised how much I had been locking away, and if I continued down that path, if I continued masking and hiding my emotions behind work and other commitments, I was in danger of losing my humanity too, and regardless of how much pain I had to work through, that was an outcome I couldn't bear. Although Jeremy was hidden far away from the clutches of the mad wench Katherine, he would be starting college and beginning a new chapter of his life soon, and I knew I only had a handful of years with him before he began to realise that I wasn't aging. I didn't want to miss out on that. I despised the alternative of him being clued in on the supernatural. It seemed the moment this world was opened up to you, the likelihood of your untimely death or eventual transition was inevitable; that wasn't a life I wanted for him. If I couldn't go on and live a normal life, have kids, grow old; then the Gilbert legacy was left with him, and I wanted that life for him. I couldn't see Jeremy like this, I was barely passing as a vampire at the moment let alone a human, so I needed to figure out a way to move forward and spend the remaining passable years I had left with him. Stefan and I had talked at lengths the past few nights, and he truly was becoming a lifesaver for me. I loved Caroline dearly and she really was trying to help but Stefan had a way of explaining things to me so I could understand them. I had found that I was becoming increasingly defensive around Caroline, and I think her insistence of me 'moving on' had something to do with it. Stefan on the other hand knew that I needed to start working through things and rebuilding myself so that I could figure out what type of life I wanted to lead. Right now I barely knew what kind of scotch I wanted to drink, so the thought of determining what I 'might like to do with my eternity on earth' seemed like a bit of a stretch. I chose to start small: begin a journal and start my morning with yoga instead of scotch, and so far, it had been okay. It seemed a little juvenile to be writing 'Dear Diary" at my age, but I figured that even if I began with 'Today I had a meeting with the Dallas buyers and made it through the entire day without staking Damon' eventually the bigger stuff would start to pour out.

On the bright side, I had found a strong and reliable business colleague in Enzo, and as the days went on he was quickly become a comforting friend. I had taken him up on the offer of a hangout session and we had watched a football game at the grill. We decided to make it a Wednesday ritual, which led to a permanent 'Beers and ball" event in my diary. I really enjoyed his company. He was the only person in my life who didn't treat me like a fragile vampire who might break at any second or a scary CEO who you had to watch your every word around. We talked, about anything and everything, and I felt like his move to Mystic Falls was something that was meant to happen. He made me feel normal, and I was thankful to have an outsider who knew nothing of the inner workings at Salvatore & Sons or the Manor. To him, I was just like any other person, and I think that's what I needed at the moment. Honestly, I had been so overcome with all the events of the last year that I think I had forgotten what it meant to simply be human and have fun. Even if it was just for one night a week, it was nice to just be a regular 24 year old girl- despite being anything but. Thanks to him, we were making excellent progress on the merger, and it even looked like we may achieve a deal ahead of schedule. That's if Damon chose to change his role from hindrance to helper, however I didn't see that as a likely outcome. We had a meeting with the sellers and the buyers at noon on Thursday and I was filled with excited anxiety for it. We hadn't all been in the same room together as of yet, and the smooth result of the meeting was vital in this deal going through on schedule if at all.

I hadn't slept a wink the night before in anticipation and I was on my eight coffee by 11am. Caroline entered my office with an arm full of paperwork to go through another important deal, and the grave look she shot me told me I was wearing my weariness a little too obviously.

"Here's the Milwaukee stuff you asked for. New York needs it signed and returned as soon as you can"

"Alright, I'm just going over notes for the meeting then I'll give it a quick look before I go down to twelve"

"You seem nervous" She commented lightly

"How could I not be?"

"It's just business Elena, it's not life or death"

"I know. It's just….important to me that I do a good job with this you know. I want to make sure Stefan knows he made the right decision by giving me this responsibility"

"I think you have proven that you are more than capable Elena" She smiled gently "How was last night? You got home late"

"Yeah I had a good time" I had purposely been giving her as little Intel as possible on mine and Enzo's friendship. I knew she would read too much into it and start putting emphasis on a blossoming romantic relationship. That was not on the cards for either of us.

"He seems good for you" and for once, it surprised me to see there wasn't any innuendo behind her comment "He's a cool guy, it baffles me as to why he's single"

"He's extremely ambitious, I guess relationships tend to take the back seat with people like that" And I could totally understand why. Business was black and white, and relationships were a world of complicated grey.

"Yeah well, don't let that lifestyle brew in your head for too long. You're too much of a catch to be married to a job" My phone interrupted our conversation and I gave her a frustrated eye roll. I quite literally never stopped "Uh uh, you notes and signatures, me, phone!" She lifted the handle to my office phone and greeted the caller ever so sweetly. Her face was soon overcome with concern at the information she was hearing, "Wait Wait Wait, slow down…say that again" Concern turned to anger and I feared for the life of whoever was on the receiving end of that fury. She slammed the received down with brute force causing the contents of my desk to rattle. "You need to get your ass down to twelve…..now"

"What?" I asked confused

"That was Enzo…he decided to get to the meeting early to set up for you and saw all eight of the GMs leaving the conference room"

"What do you mean leaving? The meeting isn't until 12?" Her eyes bulged out at me and suddenly it all made sense.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me!" I roared, flying out of my desk and using vamp speed to high tail it to the elevator as quickly as I could. He wouldn't! As hard as I tried to calm myself on the twenty odd second drop from the CEO floor down to the twelfth floor, the hot burning fire of fury that was igniting in my stomach was moments away from devouring me completely. I had to be collected, I couldn't lose my temper, or I would have my first murder as a vampire on my hands. The doors finally opened, and due to the office workers I had to use my regular human pace to make it the fifty odd steps from the lift into our most extravagant meeting room in the building. I rounded the corner and saw Enzo standing with a grave look on his face leaning against the door, and that one look alone told me my fears had materialised. He could obviously see how irate I was because the unspoken pleading in his eyes told me I needed to calm down before I entered the room. Unfortunately for him, I was going in with guns blazing. I burst through the mahogany doors and saw a smug looking Damon in his favourite blue suit casually typing away on his laptop. I was going to throttle him.

"Elena. I was wondering where you were. Slept in did we?" He asked without looking up from his screen.

"I've been in my office Damon, preparing my notes for the meeting.."

"You mean the meeting you failed to show up to?" He shot back, still typing away "Tisk, tisk, not very appropriate behaviour for our Chief Executive"

"It was scheduled for 12 noon"

"Yes it was, but yesterday it was moved up to 10.30am. Surely you got my email?" A low growl escaped my throat which was enough to draw his eyes from his computer up to me, still wearing his arrogant ass little smile. "I'm guessing you didn't then"

"You son of a bitch"

"You know what, come to think of it, I think I may have accidently sent it to your old PA address. My mistake boss, won't happen again"

"You purposely changed this meeting so I would miss it"

"I did nothing of the sort and I am grossly offended at the accusation Miss Gilbert" He blinked innocently "But you know, come to think of it, it was probably a good thing you weren't here. You see, they're old-school traditional kind of players; they tend to prefer dealing with business men, not…well….little girls dressing up and playing pretend" He was so satisfied with himself in this moment, and I had to remind myself that he was using every opportunity that arose to try and bring me down. But I wouldn't let him, not like this.

"I want you to enjoy this moment Damon" I spat at him, causing a look of confusion to creep over his face "You got me. Congratulations. But mark my words, it will not happen again" He looked more amused then fearful of my threat and I knew I could count on his cockiness. Cockiness led to complacency and complacency lead to mistakes. If you constantly underestimated people then eventually they will get the better of you, and that's exactly what I planned to do. He lifted his feet up to place them on the desk and crossed his arms behind his head to show that he wasn't scared and was in fact, quite happy with himself.

"That's adorable" He grinned. My hands curled into a fist and I knew if I didn't turn my back and get out of that room as quick as possible I was likely to rip a chunk of wood from the door and drive it straight through his heart. I exhaled in frustration and made my way out of the room as quickly as possible. Enzo was waiting for me outside the room and followed as I made my way back to the lift

"What an absolute fucking asshole!" He huffed as we both entered and the doors closed

"I just….cant…..even…" My mind was still lost in anger and the idea of attempting to have a civilised conversation with him was too much for me right now

"Call me after lunch when you're done with the important stuff. I'm taking you out to the Grill and we are going to do the only thing that will make you feel better: eat a fuck tonne of chicken wings and get good and drunk" That did sound pretty great, and I smiled in appreciation at him before waving goodbye as he exited the lift onto his floor. I knew Damon was hell bent on destroying me but this, this, was such a blatant and obvious attack that I was surprised he'd undertake such an endeavour that would threaten his deal with Stefan. He was playing dirty now though, and I, well…I would have to start doing the same.

Caroline was waiting for me when I got back up to her floor and I had managed to calm myself down a little by that point. She looked relieved that I wasn't covered in blood, being just as surprised as I was that I managed to leave the meeting room without Damon's decapitated head in my hands. She followed me into my office, eagerly waiting for me to tell her what had happened.

"The meeting time was changed" I told her as I sat back down in my chair and woke up my computer "He sent me an email"

"Like hell he did!" Caroline screeched as she began pacing back and forth on the spot "The nerve of him. GOD! I could just kill him!"

"I honestly don't know how I didn't" I admitted to her, rubbing my face with my hands in frustration

"And I thought he was bad before. God, he was like a moody little puppy dog compared to this…this….ASSHOLE!" I laughed deeply at my best friend. She truly was one scary woman when she was angry, and I had half the mind to set her loose on him. "That's it….I mean….the stuff at the house is one thing but this is just crossing the line"

"Stefan warned me that this was going to happen Caroline. I just need to step up my game and try to be a few steps ahead of him"

"The only steps that are going to satisfy me are ones over his grave" I laughed again at her murderous rage towards the man formally known as Damon Salvatore before letting my eyes dart to the email notification ding from my computer. Son of a bitch, what did he want now.

Sender: Damon Salvatore

Subject: I'm sorry…

What was he playing at now. I rolled my eyes in anticipation of the content of the email and clicked my mouse on it furiously.

I'm sorry…

To tell you, but I always win.

He emailed me just to…..before my brain could finish the sentence a smiling face bomb type image appeared on my screen before exploding. I jumped slightly at the unexpected image before noticing that my screen had gone completely blank. I clicked the mouse repeatedly and tried turning the monitor on and off but there was…..nothing. Great, it was going to be one of those days….

Caroline and I were completely stumped how Damon had managed to send the type of virus that would completely blow up my computer, but somehow, he had done it. She got Keith from the IT department to set me up with a new computer within the hour but whatever virus he had sent had somehow hacked into the server and completely erased every email and every document I had stored on my account. As angry as I was, a part of me was a little impressed at the little stunt. I never would have thought to do something like that, nor had any idea how to pull it off. Regardless, I simply had to take it in my stride and move forward. There was nothing I could do to retrieve it all, and I just had to put it down to another loss. He had a few too many on the scoreboard now for my liking, and I vowed that today would be the last time he would make a fool of me.

I had given up on the day at around 4.30 and called Enzo to let him know I was ready to take him up on his offer of chicken wings and beer. Caroline had surprisingly decided to tag along and I had a feeling the events of today had frustrated her just as much as they had me. The three of us walked into the Mystic Grill a little before 5 o'clock and decided to sit at the bar because all the booths were full. Ordinarily I liked to keep my alcohol consumption to a minimum when I was in a public place considering my recent promotion to the head of such a large company, but after today, I was ready to break that rule and get as many stiff beverages into my system in a short amount of time as I possibly could. Enzo ordered a beer while Caroline and I both ordered two tequila shots each with a side of champagne for her and a malt whiskey on the rocks for me. Enzo laughed loudly as Caroline and I both threw our shots back and sighed in unison as the burn of the liquor hit our throats.

"Please remind me never to get into a drinking contest with either of you" Enzo chuckled to himself, and these days at the rate I was drinking he'd die before I'd even got half a buzz on

"I think we've earnt it after today" Caroline responded, ordering another shot from the bartender and throwing it back the same as the others. I couldn't quite comprehend how someone could make taking a shot look elegant, but somehow, Caroline Forbes pulled it off. "I am honestly still debating murdering him"

"Who…Salvatore?"

"Hmm hmm"

"I don't really think killing the former CEO and part owner of the company you work for is such a great idea Caroline. But I like the energy you're throwing off" Enzo laughed. "He did pull an absolute doozy with that meeting though"

"And the virus" Caroline chimed in

"What virus?"

"Elena didn't tell you?" Caroline asked while Enzo shook his head. Caroline rolled up the sleeve of her blazer and had her 'girl let me tell you some gossip' look plastered all over her face. "He sent a goddamn virus to her email that not only broke her computer but completely wiped everything from her server!"

"You're kidding me!?" Enzo squawked

"Like seriously what is he going to do next? Unleash a pack of wild dogs in your office to maul you?"

"I think he has a little more tact than that" I chuckled in response

"Really? Because honestly after today I'd call his warfare pretty freaking blatant!" Caroline huffed and took a moment to catch her breath. She really was amazing when she was defending me "Honestly, you wait until Stef hears about this. Damon signed on the dotted line and his employment contract stipulates that he is to treat his superiors with the integrity and respect that their job titles command.."

"I don't know why you're surprised Caroline, it's not like he was ever going to abide by that, especially considering his old assistant is now his boss. His ego is massively bruised. For men like that, power is the most important tool in their arsenal, and when that is taken away, they get vindictive" Enzo told

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience" She teased

"Unfortunately I have come across many like him in my years in the corporate world. It's a particularly nasty type of beast that is quite common the higher you get to the top"

"Alright well, how do we beat him?" Caroline asked

"Beats me" Enzo laughed "I say we revisit your murder idea. Seems like a more viable option now that this beer is hitting my system" We all chortled in unison and for the first time that day, I began to feel the stress lifting from my shoulders. It was comforting knowing that I wasn't in this battle alone, I was slowly building my army up, and by the sounds of it they were more than willing to help me fight. "You seem a little too calm about the entire thing boss lady. What's bouncing around that brilliant head of yours?"

I took a quick swig of my drink before answering "He may have won the battle. But I promise you….I will win the war" Bright smiles crept over both Enzo and Caroline's face at my choice of words and we all cheersed before finishing our drinks. Enzo ordered another round for the three of us and Caroline excused herself to call Stefan, no doubt begging him to fire his brother and give her permission to beat him up. Angry Caroline was a hurricane and I thanked the lord she was on my side.

"So have you at least found out how the meeting went?"

"No. Between my computer dying and losing every document, email and contact on there I haven't been able to. I texted Stefan to see if he could contact the GMs but I hadn't heard back from him"

"Considering it's been us who have been killing ourselves to get this thing pushed through its pretty piss weak of Damon to pull a stunt like this. I bet he's basking in his glory right now. Twat" He commented

"Oh don't take it personally. It's nothing to do with anyone but me"

"He's got balls, that much is for sure. I mean, there is no way in hell I would ever go up against you in a fight"

"What? Come on, I'm nothing special"

"Elena come on. You have one of the sharpest business minds I have ever come across, I knew it the instant I met you at the New York office. Not only are you crazy intelligent but you have killer instincts when it comes to this stuff. You make the job of a CEO look like child's play. I have no idea why you were wasting your talents as a Personal Assistant. You're destined for so much more…you just need to stop doubting yourself"

"Well if it isn't our esteemed CEO Elena Gilbert and her errand boy…..what was your name again…Enya?" I had felt him standing behind me before he opened his mouth. It was almost like a sixth sense I had developed now, and I felt so irate that he seemed to have a sixth sense of his own when it came to me: Find out when Elena was relaxed and enjoying herself, swoop in and ruin her day. Well he'd done enough of that for a 24 hour period and I didn't quite care for him to do anymore

"Damon, we've known each other for about 3 years mate, you know what my name is" Enzo replied calmly.

"Yeah…Enya" Damon repeated slyly. He really was an ass. "Going a bit heavy on the scotch there boss, hard day at the office?"

"An unruly subordinate. Nothing I can't handle" I smiled darkly avoiding his gaze. I would not engage in this. It only fuelled him.

"I'm sure you can't" He hailed down the bartended and ordered himself the exact same drink that I was now clutching a little too tightly in my hands "So you guys are talking shop huh, mind if I join?"

"Actually this is a private conversation Damon…" I shot back at him as calmly as I could manage. There was no way in hell or high water that he was taking a seat at this bar, and if he knew what was good for him he would get out of here before Caroline returned from her phone call. If she caught one look at him this afternoon she was likely to rip his balls off.

"Oh I bet it is" He smirked at me before directing his attention to Enzo "Play your cards right buddy and she'll be sucking your cock by 6. Elena here has a history of fucking colleagues. She might be mediocre in the sack but at least she tries hard…"

"That's enough" Enzo warned immediately. His tone was firm but non-aggressive "I think it's time you left"

"Or what?"

"Or I'm going to be forced to escort you out myself"

"Why? We're just having a friendly chat…"

"No, Elena and I were having a friendly chat….you interrupted us with your overtly patronising and repulsively rude bullshit. I don't care if we're outside work hours and you have a bee in your bonnet about your past relationship, she's still your boss mate and it's about time you show her some bloody respect" I saw the side of Damon's mouth twitch and I didn't like where this was going.

"Who the fuck do you think you are speaking to me like that….do you have any idea who I am?"

"Yeah I do. You're a spoilt little prat who up until a few months ago had a pretty cushy job at his daddy's company until you up and left to go gallivanting around doing god knows what with god knows who. Meanwhile, Elena here stepped up to the plate and took over the responsibility that you ran away from. And now what? Your poor little ego is hurt that your former assistant is capable enough to not only take over your job but actually do it better than you? Get over it mate. You're like a pathetic little kid who didn't want to play with a toy until you threw it away and someone else started having fun with it. And while we're at it, if you ever talk about Elena like she's nothing more than a conniving whore in my presence again; I'll punch your head in" Damon's eyes started projecting the darkness that I knew came before either a bite or a swing, and I immediately knew I needed to defuse the situation before it got out of hand. Enzo was standing up for me, and god love him for it, but he truly didn't know what he was dealing with. Damon could rip his beating heart from his chest in under a second flat and not even break a sweat, and I couldn't bear someone getting hurt because of the vendetta that Damon had against me.

"Alright that's enough. Damon, you're leaving.." It wasn't a question, and as I stood up and grabbed his arm tightly he knew I was serious. I was still quite new and it meant that at the moment I was stronger than him, and now was the perfect time to use it to my advantage. I dragged him by his forearm out to the parking lot and took pleasure in the fact that he couldn't break out of my grip. Once we were outside in the cool air and I felt confident enough that he wouldn't lunge back in at Enzo I let him out of my hold….and boy did he look unimpressed. It was immensely satisfying.

"Don't you ever do that to me again" He growled at me

"It's not nice is it? Call it karma for all the times you've done it to me asshole" I shot back at him "Now get out of here Damon."

"Why? Am I ruining your date with Prince Dickwad of England?"

"Oh grow the hell up Damon" I scoffed turning my back on him but he followed my footsteps, hell bent on stepping on my last nerve

"No I get it. You've already screwed your way to the throne and now you need to secure the crown. Are you noticing a pattern here Elena because I sure am. What next, are you gonna move in on Stefan and start cutting Caroline's grass?"

"So what if I'm screwing Enzo?" He looked at me strangely for a few seconds, almost like I caught him off guard

"You admit it then?"

"What do you care? You left. Was I supposed to wait around patiently for you to flip the switch back on your humanity?" I was a terrible liar, and even insinuating that I was sleeping with Enzo made me feel sick to my stomach. But screw him. He continued to stare blankly at me for a few seconds before regaining his composure.

"Smart girl, cos that's never going to happen" He smirked darkly but oddly avoiding eye contact with me. We stood in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before he finally turned and disappeared into the night.