Genevieve didn't even smile when Jack, the old doorman, held the door for her.
"Good evening." The man said. "You look very elegant tonight, miss."
"Yes, thank you." She replied while walking to the elevator. "Is Klaus back from work yet?"
"I haven't seen Mr. Mikaelson since this morning, miss." Jack replied.
"Alright, well once he's here make sure no one comes up to his penthouse, alright? I have a special night planned for us and I don't want it to be interrupted." Genevieve instructed as the doors of the elevator opened.
Jack gave her a funny look.
"Oh I'm sure it will be an evening full of surprises then." He replied once Genevieve was inside the elevator. The doors closed before she could ask him what he meant by that, but in a way she guessed he was right. She had a romantic night all planned out for the two of them. Wine, food, candles, sexy lingerie... And she may or may not brought a toothbrush to leave in Klaus' bathroom. Planning that night took days, she had to even steal one of Klaus' keys and get a copy. But eventually it would all be worth it, she wasn't going to stop until she was Mrs. Genevieve Mikaelson.
She felt quite optimistic that day... It was Friday, so if she was lucky, she would get to spend the whole weekend with him.
As expected, the place was quiet and empty. She put her bag on the little table next to the door and was about to take her coat off when she heard a voice.
"My god, Spots! Stop it!"
Frowning, Genevieve followed the sound and found a blonde girl sitting on Klaus' bathroom floor, trying to bath a dog in the bathtub.
"Who the hell are you?!" Genevieve asked, making Caroline jump a little.
"I'm Caroline. Who are you? How did you get here?" The dog shook himself, splashing Caroline with the soapy water -again-. "Spots! No!" She complained before turning back to the redhead.
Genevieve wasn't happy. At all.
"How did I get here?" she repeated sarcastically. "How did YOU get here?"
Caroline pursed her lips and shrugged.
"I'm staying here for a few days. Are you friends with Klaus?"
"You need to leave. NOW!" Genevieve said stomping her foot.
Spots growled and bared his teeth, clearly disliking the way this stranger talked to Caroline. This made Genevieve step away, hitting the open door with her back.
"I still don't know who you are or what you're doing here." Caroline said. "Are you friends with Klaus or not?"
Genevieve recovered from her previous scare and lifted her head high.
"I'm his girlfriend." She replied. At that Caroline arched an eyebrow.
"That's funny, he specifically told me he didn't have a girlfriend."
Caroline could swear she saw smoke coming out of Genevieve's ears. She never saw someone so angry before.
Genevieve stomped back to the living room just in time to see Klaus walking in. He was surprised to see her there and she could tell by the look on his face.
"Who the fuck is she?!"
Klaus sighed.
"I see you met Caroline." He observed.
"I'm serious, Klaus. Who is she? Are you sleeping with someone else?"
"And what if I am?" Klaus asked back, not bothering to deny it. "You and I agreed to be in an open relationship, Genevieve, which means I'm allowed to sleep with whoever I want."
"I thought..."
"You thought, what?" He interrupted her. "That we had some sort of connection?" Klaus asked unaffected. "That I would fall in love with you eventually?" He stepped closer to her. "Oh my sweet Genevieve..." He started while cupping her face in his hands. Genevieve leaned closer, pulled by the sweet gesture and unsuspecting Klaus' true intentions until the man smirked coldly. "You're just a good fuck, nothing more." Klaus concluded.
Genevieve stepped back like she had just been slapped. She quickly walked to the door, grabbing her bag on the way.
"You know what? I'm not surprised you don't feel anything for me. You're a heartless bastard who will never love anyone or be loved back." She said before storming out.
Klaus clenched his jaw. The awful feeling he had whenever Mikael threw an insult -or a fist- on his way suddenly made itself present.
"Klaus?" Caroline called out softly. He turned around and saw her making her way towards him on the hall. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you in trouble with your girlfriend." She apologized.
Klaus couldn't help but smile softly.
"That's alright sweetheart. She wasn't my girlfriend anyway."
Caroline scoffed.
"Does she know that? Because that's not what she said."
Klaus just shrugged.
"What can I say? I'm too good to let go."
Caroline rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say... Now that you're here, I have a bone to pick with you." she said placing her hands on her hips. Klaus raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "Did you tell the doorman to keep me here?"
Klaus let out a small laugh.
"Why yes, I did. Is there a problem, sweetheart?"
Caroline gasped.
"Yeah! I didn't know I was a hostage here!"
"Don't be so dramatic, love. I only did it for your safety." Klaus defended himself.
"I thought the police caught the guy."
"They did." Klaus nodded his head. "But you seem to have very bad luck so I'm not taking any chances."
"Seriously?" she asked annoyed.
"Last time you were here you left pretty quickly. I knew you would leave while I was at work so I asked Jack to keep you here."
Caroline pouted, which Klaus found endearing.
"I can't stay here." she argued.
"And why not?" Klaus asked. "I haven't asked you to leave, have I?"
Caroline opened her mouth a few times but nothing came out.
"And I'm hardly ever here, so your presence could hardly bother me." Klaus continued.
"What about Spots?" Caroline asked defiantly. At that, Klaus looked down to the dog poking his head from behind Caroline's legs.
"Why is he wet?" Klaus asked confused.
"I gave him a bath. He insists on laying on the bed. We can't have a dirty dog laying on the bed."
Klaus smirked.
"See? You're saying "we" already."
Caroline huffed.
"Seriously?!"
"Spots can stay here, and so can you. Besides, the housekeeper already bought some dog food." He concluded. Caroline looked at the dog for a moment and then back at him. She felt out of place, but it was cold outside and too late to get a bed at a shelter. Staying with Klaus was the safest choice.
"Now, what do you say if I order some food?" Klaus asked after a moment.
Caroline smiled and nodded her head again.
.
"So what is exactly that you do?" Caroline asked before taking a bite from her slice of pizza. They were sitting on the couch, a box of pizza laying on the coffee table along with a couple of sodas. Spots already claimed by then the spot beside the couch were Caroline was sitting.
"I work at the family business. It's an investment company, we basically provide companies with the money they need as an investment and then they share their profits with us."
"That sounds... incredibly boring." Caroline said hesitantly. Klaus chuckled and nodded.
"It's not exactly how I imagined my life to be when I was younger, but the money is good and I get to work with my brother."
"How did you imagine yourself when you were younger then?" She asked.
Klaus took a breath. This was a hard subject for him.
"I wanted to be an artist." He confessed.
"What happened?" Caroline asked when Klaus offered no explanation.
He just shrugged and looked at her sadly.
"Like I said, I decided to continue with the family business." Caroline nodded, deciding not to push her luck on the subject.
"Speaking of jobs, I spent all day looking for job offers in the newspaper." She commented.
"Oh that reminds me!" Klaus suddenly said. "You don't have to do that, I got you a job at the company. I promise, it's a lot less boring than my job. It's not a big deal but it's a start."
Caroline looked at him with a frown.
"Wait... what? You got me a job?"
Klaus nodded, a little confused by her reaction.
"Yes. My brother Elijah needs a new assistant. Like I said, it's not a big position, but it's a start. I thought you would be happy."
"I am." Caroline said looking down. "But Klaus, you already let me and Spots stay here. You're doing too much."
Klaus laughed bitterly.
"I think this is the first time someone says something like that to me."
"That's what I thought." Caroline observed. "The other day when your sister came, she pointed out you're not.. well..."
"Kind?" Klaus finished for her and she nodded her head. "That's because I'm not. You heard Genevieve too."
"Then I'm sure you'll understand why I'm a little bit suspicious." Caroline said. "You're not the first guy that offers me help, but usually..." Her voice started to get lower and softer.
"They ask for something in return." Klaus said. "Like a "favor"."
Caroline nodded. She lost count how many times men said "I'll buy you a hot meal if you sit on my lap." to her. It was disgusting and denigrating.
"Don't worry. That's not the reason why I'm helping you." He reassured her.
"Then why do you? Because I helped you once? Really Klaus, you don't owe me anything."
Klaus pressed his lips in a thin line while thinking, but he had nothing.
"Honestly, I don't know. I guess having someone pointing a gun at me made me see things a little bit different. I'm still heartless guy I was before but I guess I'm not comfortable knowing you're out there living on the street."
Caroline smiled softly.
"If that's true then you're not as heartless as you say." Klaus couldn't help but smile back at her. "I still can't accept the job. I have to earn it. I want an interview with your brother."
Klaus looked at her surprised for a moment but then he nodded. She was independent and smart, and that was impressive.
"Alright, I'll tell Elijah."