A/N: Hi, thanks for the reviews and everything, I really appreciate it :) Here is another, please don't forget to read and review.

Admin Assistant

Chapter 3

"Don't look at me like that," said Caroline as she rolled her eyes and drank her coffee.

Elena stared at her friend intensely and glared without regret.

"I'm upset okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?!" she exclaimed as she slammed her coffee down and crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

Elena sighed.

"I'm worried, Caroline. I just don't understand how this happened..." said Elena as she pulled a piece of hair behind her ear and sat back in leather booth.

Their plates were sitting to the side after a silent meal, in fact, it was one of the most quiet luncheon's they had ever had. Well, before Caroline had her little 'outburst' a second ago.

"I do. Klaus is the CEO and Damon just had to piss him off by making me do all the work as usual and then was all casual about it. Its his fault, Elena. And I'm paying the price," said Caroline as she placed her head in her hands with her elbows sitting on the table as she leaned forward.

Elena looked to Caroline sympathetically.

"What are you going to do?" asked Elena with a frown. "Things are bad, Care. I mean Stefan and Damon are actually talking now and when I say 'talking', I mean 'plotting'."

Caroline moved her fingers so that Elena could see her emerald orbs but she didn't remove her hands from her face just yet. "You're kidding..." said Caroline's muffled voice.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Seriously Care? Talk to me. I hate that you're up there with him."

Finally Caroline let her hands lay on the table as she groaned in frustration. "I know! But the only thing I can do, is work. All Klaus does is sit around and then go to meetings anyway, I don't even know if he's actually working..."

Elena scoffed and sipped on her hot chocolate.

"The thing is, I think that he has some ulterior motive. He actually tried to apologise to me this morning, I think...I don't know. Plus he's a womanising prick and he actually propositioned me when I started last night!"

The browned haired receptionist's eyes bulged and she almost spat out her drink. "I knew he had a rep, but that just proves that everything people have been saying is true."

"Well, I'm not a common whore so I obviously told him where to stick that idea," said Caroline as she finished off her coffee.

"Stefan said they're working on a plan to get you back down with Damon, so just hang tight until then Care, we'll figure something out," said Elena reassuringly as she placed a hand on Caroline's wrist.

Caroline shook her head and stared into Elena's eyes with hopelessness. "No Elena, I don't think anything they do will work. You should have seen them in the meeting this morning. Damon came to ask Klaus nicely to let me go back. They even tried making me sound like a complete incompetant which only served to hurt my feelings, I might add. But, he wouldn't listen. There's nothing anyone can do."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "He did?"

Caroline nodded. "That idiot! I thought they were going up there with a plan, not to...insult you!" exclaimed Elena in an annoyed tone. "I'll have to think of something, please just trust me."

"You're the only one I do trust, Elena."

The sounds of tapping could be heard throughout the top floor. Caroline typed pretty fast and she was focused. She'd decided to shut out all her feelings about her new job and just focus on the work, with as little interaction with Klaus as possible.

"Caroline," she heard a voice in front of her say.

Caroline frowned and looked up to find Niklaus Mikaelson's face staring at her. Why was he out of his office? He didn't have a meeting that she knew of, since he'd already been to the Managers meeting at one.

She simply glared at him. "Can I help you?"

Klaus simply smirked at her clipped tone. "Is that how you should speak to your boss and CEO?"

Caroline had many thoughts of things she wished she could say, but refrained from speaking out.

"Of course not, Mr Mikaelson. There are many other ways I should speak to you, but I thought I was being more polite," she said.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "You wound me Caroline, truly."

"What do you need, Klaus?" she asked in annoyance as she went back to typing the report she had spent half an hour on.

"I need many things, sweetheart. But the thing I want most right now is for your opinion on something," he said as he walked back to his office.

Caroline sighed but not before rolling her eyes. She pushed herself out of her cubicle and got out of her chair. The sounds of Caroline's stiletto's tapping on the marble floor indicated that she was following him.

Klaus was standing in the corner of the room in front of a wardrobe which had magically appeared and she wondered when he got that moved into his office. It was most likely when she had been at lunch and she inwardly applauded him for his skills at organising for a delivery this fast. She looked at the wooden object and noticed how ancient it looked, but at the same time, it had been intricately worked on as if it were a piece of art. The edges had been worked on with care and had pretty wooden curls. The doors were inset with two grooves going along in a rectangular fashion and it appeared to be made of mohogany. Only the best. And it was big!

"You took my advice," started Caroline with a raised eyebrow after she had taken in all there was to see of the wardrobe.

He turned his head and smiled. "Perhaps, lets see what you can do."

Caroline folded her arms over her chest once she stopped in front of the wardrobe.

"Get rid of the pin stripe, it does not suit you."

"I like those-"

"If you want my help, do as I say. Now, what colour ties do you have?" she said bossily.

He obliged and opened the other side of the wardrobe to reveal his set of ties which hung on a coat hanger specifically designed for them. Klaus watched as Caroline's eyes darted to each one with a look of concentration and thought. He began to smirk and as she bent down slightly, he looked at her up and down when she wasn't looking, his eyes lingered a bit on her bottom area with admiration.

She turned and his eyes quickly looked back up to her face.

"Not acceptable," she said. "I'll have to get you new ones, or you can borrow some from Damon for the time being."

Klaus frowned at this. "Why? What's wrong with them? They're just ties, Caroline."

Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Paisley ties demonstrate awkwardness and inexperience. Blue ties show weakness and kindness, qualities which you clearly do not have and shouldn't express to others. Purple is usually what a priest wears, since it's the colour used for Lent and striped, well, that's okay I guess, but maybe would be better with black with white lines."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Its never stopped me before, none of this has effected my work," said Klaus with amusement at her explanation.

"Maybe not, but you'll be surprised how effective it could be if you wore a simple black suit with a red tie when in a meeting to get someone's business. Damon does it every time and comes back a winner. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be back at my desk," said Caroline as she spun on her heel and began to walk away from him.

Klaus narrowed his eyes.

"Caroline," he said, effectively stopping her before she reached the door. He walked over to her slowly with a hand in his pocket. "Get me new ones then."

Caroline glared at him and then fully turned to face him with her arms folded over her chest again.

"Seriously? Now you want me to go and buy new ones when you can just borrow some from Damon?" she asked incredulously, her emerald orbs flashing with annoyance.

Klaus smiled and nodded once, before walking to his leather chair and placing himself in it.

"Firstly, you offered, secondly, I refuse to wear anything that invilid wears and thirdly, I'm the CEO, not some pauper on the street. I can afford to buy new ties," he said simply as he looked into her eyes with authority.

The blonde assistant sighed. "Okay, I'll go in the morning."

Klaus shook his head. "No, we will go in the morning. While we're there, you will advise me on suits."

Caroline frowned. "Why? Just give me your measurements and I'll get them myself. You're the CEO, you will have meetings in the morning," said Caroline in disbelief.

Why was she having this arguement? Surely the CEO just didn't go into town willy nilly with all the responsibilities he had to run the company for gods sake!

"I've cleared my schedule," he said nonchalantly.

"Uh, no you haven't," said Caroline as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm directing you to clear my schedule for the morning," he said as he was beginning to get annoyed. "Why must you argue with me?! I am the boss, Caroline."

Caroline stared at him. Yes he was the boss, and yes she shouldn't be arguing with him but still!

"Maybe because CEO's don't usually go with their receptionists to town to buy suits and ties! God!" she exclaimed in a frustrated tone as she clenched her fists at the her sides.

Klaus pushed himself out from under the desk and got up. He walked toward her slowly with narrowed eyes and she could see he was pissed.

"Clear. The. Schedule, sweetheart," he said menacingly as he stopped about a metre away from her. She stared back at him, trying not to lose her cool or her job.

"Fine! If that's what you want, I'll do it," she exclaimed in frustration as she turned to walk away again.

"Caroline," he said softly, his icy blue orbs staring at the back of her beautiful head.

She stopped and turned her head slightly. Silence enveloped the room for a few moments as they stared at each other with intensity.

"I don't know why I haven't fired you yet, but for some reason, I'm not."

Caroline continued to stare at him for a second then continued out to her desk, the sound of her stiletto's against the floor getting fainter until finally he heard her sit on her chair outside of his office. Klaus stayed in that spot for a few moments before walking back to his desk, but the question kept floating in his mind constantly the whole afternoon.

Why hadn't he fired her?

-OOOOOOO-

"Damon, to what do I owe this pleasure?" asked Stefan boredly. "I'm busy you know."

The oldest Salvator scoffed. "Yeah, so's the rest of the world Stefan," he said as he placed himself onto Stefan's leather couch. He placed his arms onto the top of the couch, either side his head, in a comfortable position and then stared at his brother whom was staring at his computer screen.

Stefan finally looked to his brother, whom was lounging on the couch leisurely, with a frown.

"I thought you would be busy than the rest of us, seeing how you're running the magazine," said Stefan as his eyes went back to his computer screen.

Damon narrowed his eyes as he stared at Stefan in annoyance. "Well, be that as it may, we still have some issues to work out, brother. You know, about Caroline and what exactly Klaus is planning ecetera ecetera, or have you forgotten?"

The younger Salvator brother sighed and got up from his chair. He walked around to the couch and sat himself next to Damon, laying back into it.

"I've been multi-tasking, Damon, which is what you should be doing since you don't actually know what a phone is," said Stefan, turning to his brother with a raised eyebrow.

Damon shook his head abrubtly in anger. "Enough jokes Stefan. You know why I'm here and why we can't talk over the phone-"

"Relax Damon. I've got it under control. I'm looking into something but for now you have to be patient, you know, the thing that you never have," said Stefan with a smirk.

That comforted Damon. When Stefan had a smirk, it usually meant he had a plan.

"Are you going to tell Elena? You know she came storming into my office after her lunch break?" said Damon, back to his normal self.

Stefan started to smile in amusement.

"I don't find it funny Stefan. The temp heard the whole conversation," said Damon rolling his eyes.

"I can't say you didn't deserve it, brother. After all, you are a dick," said Stefan as he moved to get off the couch, knowing that the seriousness of the conversation had ended.

Damon shrugged. "What can I say? I guess you're right, at least I own up to it, unlike some people who go around pretending not to be a vicious backstabbing and scheming individual."

Stefan had reached his desk and sat in his chair but stared at his brother.

"I'm not pretending, Damon. But what people know less of me is for the better. And unlike you, I keep my cards close to my chest. I would have thought you'd learnt that by now."

Damon got up and smirked at his brother with a knowing look in his eyes. "Oh Stefan, I have. The hard way. After all, it was you who started this mess in the first place. If not for you, I wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be here," spoke Damon almost bitterly.

Stefan looked into his brother's eyes, knowing what he was referring to. It was his fault, he knew that, but he was going to fix it. It had always been his plan to fix it regardless of whether Damon would forgive him or not.

"You think I don't know that Damon?" said Stefan quietly as he turned to his computer screen; moving the mouse to get out of the screen saver. "But you were the one who promised to make my life a living hell, and you have up until now which is why we have never spoken to each other, until yesterday. Why can't you let it go?"

The oldest brother looked away from Stefan for a moment and clenched his fists tightly. "I'm putting that aside for now, for Caroline. But that's all. I will never forgive you, not ever, brother," said Damon narrowing his eyes in anger; an anger he thought he had locked away years ago, but obviously it hadn't really left him.

After all, his little brother had willingly sold out their family name to the Mikaelson's for a quick buck and a job. It wasn't something one would easily forgive. And since then they had been living in hell, plus, he had never really got along with Niklaus Mikaelson, the biggest, dirtiest cut throat businessman in the world.

Damon then stormed out of the office, trying to forget his feelings, but as he left he swore he heard something he never thought he would hear his brother say.

I'm sorry, Damon. I truly am.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

She screamed in anger and slammed her hand on her alarm violently, causing the clock to silence. Her emerald orbs scanned her foggy surroundings to find it was indeed 6.30am.

Caroline pulled a slender hand to her face to wipe the sleep out of her eyes and pushed a stray lock of her curly blonde mess of hair away from her eyes. She hated mornings, but she especially hated the fact that every time she woke up since two days ago, she remembered that she had an asshole of a boss and that she was in the worst predicament ever.

She began to get ready for her morning, which included showering, brushing her teeth, washing her face, doing her makeup and then getting dressed. It was all very tiresome and repetetive, but it had to be done. Just like working for an attractive, yet, asshole-ish boss. Yes, asshole and boss just kept going through her mind everytime she thought of Niklaus Mikaelson. It was a habit, but true.

After her morning ritual ended, she noticed it was already 7.30am which meant she had to get to her bus now. She went with her white button up blouse, black stockings and tight grey skirt today, plus red stilettos.

"Care," said a voice from behind her as she pulled open the front door.

Caroline frowned and automatically felt bad for being loud this morning, as she always did and she always felt bad about it.

"Bonnie, sorry for being loud...again," said Caroline softly as her eyes found her room mate's.

Bonnie Bennett smiled tiredly and swatted her hand in front of her to show her meaning. "No sweat Care, but you seemed more vicious with the hairdryer this morning."

Caroline sighed. "Well, its been a tough few days and there are more to come," said Caroline. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'm late as it is."

Bonnie nodded. "Bus safe. Say hi to Elena for me please."

Caroline nodded. "Crunch those numbers 'kay? Love you."

Bonnie nodded and went straight to the bathroom once the door shut. She was an accountant working at the local bank. It paid good but was so boring but she liked the 9-5 hours, unlike Caroline who had to get up at an ungodly hour, work late and get paid about the same, if not slightly more but nothing to write home about.

Something was bothering her about the way Caroline had seemed that morning. She was stressed, that much Bonnie could ascertain, but it was more than that.

Caroline walked down the steps but before moving off toward the bus a block away, she looked at her watch.

It was now nearly 7.45am.

"Excuse me," said a voice from behind her.

Caroline frowned and turned to find a man in a suit standing next to a limousine.

"Y-yes?" she asked hesitantly.

But the man simply bowed slightly and opened the back seat to find Niklaus Mikaelson sitting on the opposite side staring at her. Caroline narrowed her eyes and walked over to the door.

"Seriously Klaus?! You're following me now? You know stalking employees is like against policy or something," she said in an annoyed tone.

She held her handbag close to her side and gripped the handles with more force than necessary from her anger.

Klaus simply smirked in amusement at her comments and clear anger at his presence. "I happened to be driving by and noticed you checking the time. Besides, we're on an excursion this morning, remember?"

Caroline opened her mouth to retort but realised what he had meant. Yes, they were meant to purchase new suits and ties, well, she was meant to point out ones for him to get. She pursed her lips and nodded once before sliding herself in beside him without a word.

She smiled at the limousine driver whom had just closed the door after she had got in and then looked straight ahead at the empty seat across from them; refusing to look at her boss. Her asshole-ish boss, mind you.

"Caroline," purred Klaus from next to her. "You look tense."

But the blonde receptionist refused to look at him. She didn't care if she was tense, because she was.

"Love, you can't ignore me. We are in here together and it will probably be half an hour before we get to the shops since it is now peak hour traffic, how about we get to know each other?" asked Klaus.

The whole time they had been sitting there as his driver was finding the right time to pull out into the traffic, he had been staring at his receptionist's lovely long legs and what she decided to wear this morning. The skirt was particularly short he noted and her blouse defined her 'assets', though he doubted she knew it did.

"Get to know each other?!" she asked incredulously and for the first time since she first spotted him in his stupid ass limo, she looked at him, her eyes lit with fire and anger.

He liked it.

"Are you serious right now?!" she asked angrily, her arms folded against her chest with her bag still on her shoulder as if she were ready to run as soon as the car stopped.

Klaus simply raised an eye brow at her outburst. "Deadly."

Caroline stared at him incredulously. "Why are you doing this Mr Mikaelson?"

Klaus frowned at her question. "What do you mean why am I doing this? Doing what exactly?"

"This," she exclaimed as she pointed at him and then herself. "I mean, I'm just a receptionist Klaus. You chew them up and spit them out on a montly basis. I'm just a girl that was Damon Salvator's PA. I'm sure you've never gone on a shopping trip with any of your previous receptionists, am I right?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her insinuations. "I suppose not, sweetheart. But then again, none of my receptionists before you were as beautiful, were they?" he said with a smirk.

Caroline's eyes widened. "That's it, let me out! Driver, please stop!"

"Don't stop Harry, that's an order," snapped Klaus as his icy blue orbs fixed on Caroline's. "Listen, sweetheart. I make the rules, you follow them. I will fire you if you don't."

Caroline realised she was stepping on thin ice, but perhaps then if she did, she would be free of this fiasco. "Then do it. I'm not like those other girls, Klaus, I won't be toyed with. I'm employed to do my job. And yes, going shopping for my boss is one of those things. Being harrassed and followed by my boss so he can go shopping with me is not part of that task. I don't know what you're playing at but I won't be a pawn in your reindeer games, Klaus."

Klaus stared at her with ferocity. He was so close to firing her he was sure of it. But when he stared into her eyes which were full of determination and no weakness could be found, he realised she really was different. No one had ever spoken to him like that before, well, except for his brothers and sister of course. And what he found in her eyes as she had ridiculed him wasn't fear, as he was used to seeing, it was a mixture of anger and will.

But be that as it may, his plan hadn't changed. He was going to bed her, and he was most definitely going to snuff Damon out of the company as he had first intended. The only difference was, he was going to have to approach Caroline a different way. And if he did what he told himself he was going to do, it would hit two birds with one stone.

He would make her fall in love with him and crush Damon Salvator, well, both Salvator brothers once and for all. He would gain her trust so she would sing like a bird to him about all the gory details about the Salvator's, then he would fire them all.

It was ingenious and cold hearted, but ingenious none the less. Then he would have nothing to worry about. His humanity was in question, but then again, he knew that had been gone a long time ago.

"I don't play reindeer games Caroline. I honestly just saw you on the street and thought it would be a waste for you to get to work and then have to go back out again," said Klaus innocently.

Caroline searched Klaus for a lie, but turned away convinced that she was probably just overreacting.

"Fine, but no funny business. I'll point out what I think and you can decide what you want."

"Very well, sweetheart, what ever you like. But, in the meantime, since we've still got about twenty minutes, how about we have a little chat?" he asked.

Caroline sighed. "Fine."

"Lets go on a date tonight."

"Out of the question," she said with a sigh, knowing he was going to ask eventually.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't date people I work for or with for that matter. Plus, I thought I said no funny business!" she exclaimed angriliy as she snapped her gaze to the window.

"Caroline, come on, you will give into me eventually."

She shook her head and turned toward him with a serious look on her face. "No way."

Klaus was getting frustrated now. Surely she would give in soon, they always did. What was it about this girl? She was very hard to please and very hard to work out. But he always liked a challenge.

"I'm a nice guy once you get to know me-"

"But that's just it Klaus, I don't want to. You are my boss, do you understand that? My BOSS! That's it! That's all you'll ever be," she exclaimed, trying to get it through to him, but it only made him smile.

"Ah, you say that now, love, but you'll change your mind," he said as he scooted a little closer to her, placing one of his arms on the window next to her and his other arm on the back of her chair.

His eyes focused on her face and he realised just how beautiful she was. Her skin was so smooth, he doubted she needed any makeup at all. It was amazing, and rare these days.

"Never and please move back," she said softly, but her eyes also focused on his face since it was so close to hers, despite the fact she had backed as far away from him as possible.

"Why won't you just give in?"

"You don't want to know why, just leave it and go back to your side of the car," she spoke as she glared at him.

"Tell me then, and I'll make sure to beat you down on every point," he said huskily, thinking about kissing her to prove his point.

"You're a jerk, a womaniser and you seem to think that everyone will just do as you ask no matter what they think. And people that do obviously are just as vain as you, Klaus. I know why you do it."

Klaus back away for a moment, not really expecting the explanation she just gave. He narrowed his eyes at her, but allowed her to continue.

"Because you're alone. You think that by using people and doing what you like that you will be safe from harm; from being hurt, well guess what? The world isn't like that. Eventually, someone will hurt you. But at least if you care about people and have someone to care about, you will at least be able to go through that pain with someone else."

Klaus moved away from her as if she were on fire, and he began to shake with anger. He looked away from her and went back to the position he was in earlier.

"You don't know a thing about me, don't pretend that just because I took a liking to you from the beginning that I wouldn't hurl you back into poverty like you were before you came to this city."

Caroline gasped and looked at him as if he were evil. "How did you-"

"How did I know? You think I didn't run a check on you before I decided to have you as my receptionist? I know you lived in a trailer, that your parents were in law enforcement before dying and that you lived in a foster home until you decided to run away. You worked your way to the top. I admire that, but don't think for a second that I wouldn't tear you away from the new life you now have now, because I will, Caroline."

Her eyes began to tear up and she felt silent tears run down her cheeks ruining her make up but it was a bit too late to worry about that now. But her gaze never left his cold, heartless face.

Klaus was easy on the eyes, but under all that, he was a bitter, cruel man whom hated the world and hated everyone who occupied it.

"I pity you, Klaus. You think that bringing up my hurtful past that I will obey you? You may have hurt me, but, I will never give in to you. I'm too smart for that. I've survived poverty, as you say, you think I can't do that again?" she sniffled but opened her bag to find a tissue.

She didn't speak or even look at him for the rest of the journey, but Klaus looked at her. Her words really cut him, but she would never know that.

Did he regret what he said? Oh yes, so much. But its what she got for refusing him and he realised, Caroline Forbes brought out the worst in him and he didn't know why.

A/N: Well that's it, sorry for the wait. Next chapter they go shopping etc to get new suits but something big is coming. This was a sort of filler chapter. Also I can't be bothered going through the whole lot tonight as its late, so I'm just going to post it (sorry if there are errors :S)