Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created by L.J. Smith, as portrayed in the TV series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. All rights to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: I am sure I 've read this story (or something like this) on a Mills & Boon's novel (No copyright infringement intended). I had this idea into my head but I believe it is because I read something like this (or maybe something exactly like this) in one of the novels. The thing is I have read hundreds Mills & Boon's novels, so I am not sure which one is that. Did I make sense? Probably not. Anyway, this is my first attempt to write AU. I hope you will enjoy it and I hope you will let me know what you think about it. So... enjoy

Elena Gilbert stopped and listened, her heart beating wildly. Had she heard an elevator stop? She waited in the gloom of the empty room, but she didn't hear another sound. She was all alone in an executive office at Salvatore Inc., and it was definitely after hours. The building was deserted.

She squinted into the dim light. Did they call this breaking and entering? Well, entering, anyway — entering handsome director of legal services Damon Salvatore's office when she shouldn't even be on this floor.

"Oh, Katherine," she muttered, half in despair, half in amusement. Her irrepressible sister always managed to put her into sticky situations like this. It happened all the time. Katherine got into messes and Elena got her out of them.

"Just look for a green folder with a plastic clip at the top," Katherine had told her, anxiously wringing her hands. "If you can manage to bring that folder to me, you'll save my life!"

"And risk losing my own in the process," Elena murmured after bumping into a sharp corner and bruising her knee. She clicked on the little flashlight she'd brought along and shined the feeble beam around the walls, looking for the filing cabinets. A ray of light fell on a picture of Damon Salvatore with Alaric Saltzman, the owner and president of the accounting firm and she paused for a moment, studying it.

The two had been college roommates, from what she'd heard, and they looked like men who had a strong bond of affection between them. They were both tall, dark-haired, and good-looking, but something in Damon appealed to her in an inexplicable way. Something in his blue eyes, something in the way his mouth twisted, something in his face, all told her he didn't trust life to be fair — that he didn't give his heart easily.

But it was silly for her to be thinking that way. She'd seen the man from a distance, but she didn't know him at all. And from what her sister, who had worked as his administrative assistant for a short time, had told her, he was as vain and arrogant as they came. Still, there was something in his eyes.…

A small clicking sound made her jump, but it was just the air-conditioning system coming on and she collected herself. She had to get this done!

Quickly, she moved toward the wooden filing cabinet, hoping the drawers weren't locked. The first drawer pulled open with no problem, but the orderly files didn't include any hint of green. She tried the second drawer, then the third, and finally hit pay dirt. There it was, right at the back behind the tightly packed folders.

She reached out to take it and her fingers actually touched the clip for a fraction of a second. And then a larger, darker hand grabbed hers. Her flashlight went flying and she let out a shriek.

"Looking for something, Katherine?"

The lights came on and the room spun as she whirled. Her gaze rose, taking in the impeccable Italian suit, the crisp white shirt, the extravagantly wide shoulders, the smooth, tan skin…and finally stared up into Damon Salvatore's cool blue gaze.

There was certainly nothing appealing in his eyes now!

The beautiful intruder had stunning brown eyes and Damon saw the startled look in them change with quick intelligence as she got her bearings.

"Katherine?" she said innocently, blinking at him. "Sorry, I'm not Katherine. You must have the wrong office." And she turned to go, head in the air.

His flash of original anger faded, replaced by a sense of grudging admiration for her cheek. But he wasn't about to let her get away with it. She brushed past him, leaving a trail of rose-flavored scent as she moved, but he reached out and took possession of her upper arm before she got out the door.

"Nice try," he said, pulling her back and speaking in a low voice very near her ear. "But not quite good enough."

She glanced up at him and he noted once again that she did look a lot like a certain Katherine Gilbert who had worked in this office with him for a couple of months. Where Katherine's beauty had been all flash and no substance, this one had a softer, quieter charm; still, they looked very much alike. He had no doubt that had been Katherine's file she had been reaching for. Most likely, she was cut from the same con-artist cloth.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

She hesitated, gaze flickering toward the doorway and escape. "I'm not accustomed to giving my name to strangers," she began, but he cut her off with a rude oath.

"I just caught you burglarizing my office."

"I was not burglarizing your office," she said indignantly, her eyes shining with offended innocence. "Now please let me go."

"Not so fast," he murmured, his gaze trailing down the graceful curve of her neck and back again.

Her eyes were wary, hiding any emotions behind a calm facade. The thick curls of her brown hair were rebelling against the professional twist she'd tried to tame them with and wiry strands were escaping all around her pretty face.

Despite everything, she had a look he liked. For just a moment, he almost felt as though a part of him yearned for something he saw in her. But that was pure fancy and he shrugged it away. Sentiments like that didn't fit with his cynical view of relationships. "Yearning" was for chumps.

Still, he knew she was more his type than the women he was going to be meeting tonight at the cocktail party his father had arranged. Giuseppe Salvatore wanted his son married and he was sparing no expense. He was also forcing him to deal with an endless string of eligible yet unappealing women and demanding he choose one to spend his life with. If only more of them looked like this one.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to wait here while I contact Security." He reached for the telephone with his free hand. "I'm sure they'll want to notify the police about an intruder in the building."

She caught her breath, her eyes luminous, visions of her job going down the drain creating nightmares in her head. "Please…please don't."

He gazed at her coolly. "Give me a reason not to."

She hesitated and he shrugged and resumed punching in the number. Mercy wasn't in the cards, no matter how much her soft curves and pretty face appealed to him.

Elena grabbed Damon's hand, stopping him before he'd finished the number. "I'm not an intruder," she insisted. "I…I work here."

He cocked a skeptical eyebrow. A face like this he would have noticed. "Identify yourself."

Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze. "I'm Elena Gilbert. I'm a designer, doing the decorating in the new day care center. I just started this week."

"Ah." He replaced the receiver, his blue eyes scanning hers. "You're related to Katherine, aren't you?"

She nodded, looking stubborn but resigned. "She is my sister. I know she worked for you."

"For a few weeks, yes." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes. They were still filled with the wary cynicism she'd noticed in the picture. "I suppose you were just sightseeing then? Taking a look at where your sister once worked?"

She looked into his face with hope, but immediately saw that he was mocking her. "I've told you who I am. You can see that I'm not a threat to you in any way. Why don't you let me go?"

The fingers that held her arm moved, feeling more like a caress than a punishment. A tiny shiver slithered down her spine. Suddenly his smile seemed dangerous in a whole new way.

"We're all alone, you know," he said softly. "The night cleaning crew hasn't even arrived. Except for Security down on the first floor, there's only you and me."

"That's exactly what's worrying me," she retorted, giving him an impudent frown. "You do have a reputation, you know."

He stared at her for a moment, and then he laughed aloud. "I have a reputation," he said, chuckling. "You're the one I caught rifling through my files." He grinned at her. "Are you trying to say we're a pair of reprobates? Birds of a feather?"

She wasn't trying to say anything at all. She was still too busy trying to recover from the stunning effect his laugh had on her nervous system. He was just too sexy for his own good…well, for her good, at any rate. She could see why her sister had been tempted into having an affair with the man. But that very fact made it doubly imperative that she not do the same.

"Well, don't worry, my fastidious little burglar," he said, his laughter dying away. "I'm not attempting a seduction. I'm only considering a little blackmail."

That startled her. "Blackmail?"

"Yes." His hand slid down to catch hold of her fingers. "Here's how it works. Do what I want you to do — or go to jail."

She scoffed at him. "No one is going to throw me in jail for visiting your office uninvited," she told him, tugging to get her hand free but having no success.

"You think not? Even though the local authorities happen to owe me a favor?"

Her shoulders sagged. She knew very well he came from a wealthy and influential family and she had no doubt what he said was true. If he wanted her inconvenienced for a while, she would be inconvenienced.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Nothing very terrible," he said soothingly. "All I need is that you come with me to a party I have to attend tonight."

She searched his eyes, looking for the catch. "That's it?" His slow smile reappeared. "No. There's one more thing." He raised her fingers to his lips. "You have to pretend to be in love with me," he said, just before he kissed them.

AN: So that was it. Should I continue? Thanks for reading it!