Chapter 3: Such an Eventful Event
"I've been calling like 20 times and you're here ignoring my calls?"
Caroline stop jotting down her A4 notepad checklist and turn around to meet the sizzling short petite figure woman in a simple sleek, clean cut black dress that falls just above her knee paired with a gray blazer. Caroline can smell the anger from a mile away with that almond brown eyes glaring at her and the angry clicking of that gray heels.
"I can't do this right now. I'm trying my best to manage this circus right here! I mean, you should have seen where they put the bar. Outrageous!"
"You know what else is outrageous? Bumping up on silverware on the last minute and went $100,000 over budget."
"You're in Marketing and Branding, not Finance. Why are we even talking? Can we just discuss this later?"
The tilted head and raising eyebrow says no. Caroline huffed in defeat, "Look Bonnie, today is Wednesday. Thursday. Friday is the main event. And I need to make sure everything is perfect."
The other shake her head and Caroline gave up. "Fine, we'll talk. But we're not talking in the office. I need a drink."
The girls left in Bonnie's car and stopped by Little Italy - a restaurant and pub on Madison street near Louboutin boutique where Caroline was organizing for the event all day. Once Caroline's Mozzarella stick, shrimp cocktail, pasta and a glass of red wine were laid on the table, she quickly dig in, not saying anything.
"You're going to finish all that?"
"I have one single slice of bread since morning, Bonnie." Caroline said after gulping down her food. Hearing her colleague side of the story seem to bring a little sympathy to the other girl.
"I know you're a control freak before big events, but this is nuts. You alter all your set option, you upgrade everything, you don't eat and from the eye bag I know you didn't sleep either."
Caroline just nodded. She finished the shrimp on her hand before started talking. "You know that meeting where Stefan asked if Mikealson group is signing with us?"
Bonnie frowned, already can tell the end of that sentence is not what she gonna like.
"Yeah, I didn't really get the deal... exactly."
"What?"
"He wasn't sure if coming to us is the right choice. And I'm going to give him a preview."
"and you're going all out at the last minute? Did you even consult with Christian about the details you change?"
"I did. The time difference video call at night is the result of this" Caroline point at her dark circled eye, tired face overall. "He's very pleased with the change, don't worry. Of course he will. He doesn't need to pay us more and we're just giving him all these over the top "royalty treatment" "
"Did you talk to Stefan? This is going so far to get one more client."
"He told me himself he want Mikealson in our circle, Bonnie. I get it, i get it. They're the big fish from a far away land. If we get them hooked first, one comes the hotel, then the real estate developing. Their mother run a cosmetic company too and it's exclusive in the UK. Do you know what that means if we somehow can tap that to America?"
"That's ... very fat fetch to be honest."
"It doesn't do any harm to get on their good side. The Salvatore is an advertising agency. We don't make enemies, we just need to keep building connection."
Bonnie raise her glass and drink to that. After Caroline finish all her food and several more wines down, she started to loosen up alittle and lose the up tight neurotic control freak attitude.
"I just have to really impress him, you know?" Caroline down another glass, "We got on the wrong side, have a little spat along the way. And now I need to make sure, I give him good. Like make sure he can't have any excuse I screw up somewhere in the event."
"What kind of spat can you have with a man barely have his feet in America for an hour?"
"We flirted."
Bonnie wiggled her eyebrow but Caroline shook her head. "he thought I'm with those 2 idiots."
"EWWWWW"
"I know."
"Eww still. You guys are... what again, cousins?"
"We just say that cause it's hard to explain. Not blood related but we're like siblings level you know." Caroline said followed by a yawn. "I still need to get up early tomorrow." A headache pounded in the middle of her head, "I don't think I can drive home."
"I'll drive you home."
"My car is still at Louboutin."
"Just call Matt."
"At this rate, I'm not surprise if he quit." Caroline giggles.
It's finally Friday. And to everyone's astonishment, Caroline is not hyper crazy at all to go around bossing everyone. In fact, she did the one thing she never do before a big event.
She sleep in late.
Both Stefan and Damon were confused when she told them the night before that she's taking the day off. She's going to have a stress-free day at home and only going to enjoy the main event like any other guest. According to Caroline, the last few days she did her best already to put everything together and now she's just going to sit back and reap her rewards. Damon did not believe it at first but when he was not woken early by Caroline's heel clicking upstairs, he finally accepted that Caroline was not going to go neurotic control freak-ish on the event day. He wanted to go wake her up just one last time before marking this day down in history but Stefan got enough of Damon's commentary and drag him to work.
"I call people. She's not here working and she's not there organizing. She really took the day off, Stefan."
Stefan sighed. Damon has been storming in and out of his office throughout the day to rant about Caroline absent and it's starting to get annoying now. Looking down at his paperwork, there are still so many things to get down. Unlike Damon, he acutally need to work to get this company running.
"She said she's not working today and she's not. What's hard to accept about it?"
"Am I crazy or you just don't seem to care about our little sister?"
"Did you see her latest report ? She went all out on this one. She's tired and now she need to relax"
"First thing first, crazy is suppose to stay crazy. There's nowhere she's just slugging off like that, Stefan. That's what I do. Also, we're missing on something. There's no reason for her to bump up everything in the last minute."
"She's Caroline, She want the event organized under her name to go on perfect."
Damon shook his head slowly, "Mark my word. You're wrong brother."
Stefan just rolled his eyes and go back to work as Damon was leaving.
It's not even 5pm properly when Damon dragged Stefan out of the office. He's anxious to get home and see what Caroline has been up to. Stefan didn't protest much. It's one of those non-productive days resulted from his brother bothering him nonstop.
Stefan understand they have to go home, get ready and come to the event with Caroline. As her escorts as per usual. What he did not understand is why there is a strange white van parking in their gate.
"Caroline?" Stefan's voice boomed through the hallway while Damon was already making his way to her room on the second floor. The door was unlocked and when it was swung open, it look like the whole place had been ransacked but there was nobody there though. Damon rushed to the other door that open to Caroline's closet and inside hold much more a shocked than her bedroom.
There, sitting on a white cushion stool in front of a giant vanity table was Caroline. She was sitting down, looking quite relaxed.
But that's not the shock. The real shock was that there are 3 complete strangers moving around in their house. There is one girl with red dyed hair, dressing in all black clad with holes-filled pink fish net stockings. She was sitting on the floor doing Caroline's pedicure. Another was a black guy that's at almost a foot taller than Damon in a pink tight pants. He was holding a sponge that was rubbing some sort of green cream off Caroline's face. The last dude was short, thin, in a fitted black suit and black tie. His hair is black and slicked back, not a hair out of place. He was hanging out all the dresses of their plastic hanger .
"Who the hell are you people?" Only when Damon spoke out did anybody took notice of the 2 men appeared in the girl's room.
"My get-ready team." Caroline shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"So you don't work all day... to get ready?'
"Stefan, I'm taking it easy like you advice me too. I woke up at 10, have brunch, get a big jumbo cup of coffee and instead of going to the salon," Caroline point to everything around her, "I bring the Salon to me."
"I was wrong about all those time I call you crazy, blondie. THIS is the real crazy."
Caroline cross her arms on chest, "Say whatever you want, but I'm gonna look hot, like I can run a successful event without breaking a sweat hot. That's the look i was going for."
The 2 brothers was confused but Caroline's phone rang and they both look at Caroline with questioning eye. Is that duty call?
Caroline pressed the botton to recieve the call with the bluetooth on her ears.
"Hey... WHAT?" Caroline snapped and the dude in pink pants dropped his sponge. She pull her foot back from the girl's that was cutting her toes. The red haired girl flinched and retreated, as if knowing what to come when Caroline snapped on the phone like that. On one hand, if she had been spending this day with Caroline, Caroline might have lost her cool in front of her "get-ready team" a few times already. Caroline stood up and she took a remote control on her vanity table and turn on the television on her room. Only it doesn't show any TV channels but several divided screen of what the Salvatore brothers believed to be cameras at the event.
"CAROLINE! what did you do?"
Stefan asked her but she has other things to do right now. Zoooming on one of the table that the brother see no flaws in, she sizzles in anger.
"I told you to use the new French Bisto wine glass that had just arrive! Those set are selected like 50 emails ago! REcheck everything properly and reminds me again why I hire you!"
Somebody is probably answering something that Caroline doesn't like because she has one of those smile like she's about to explode soon, she nodded her head and licked her lips, "Listen to me little girl. Don't EVER talk back to me, especially when we're doing the planning and the stake is high like this one. Also, Check on area 52, I see another handkerchief fold wrong and I'll break your arm"
Caroline harshly ended the call and turn around to see the two men, looking ready to explain.
"I'm being carefree-Caroline while being responsible Caroline?"
"..."
"..."
"It's no big deal. I spend like a few hours getting the guys to setting up some cameras so I don't have to be at the event. I have way more productive being all carefree and relax while at the same time make sure goes wrong. Genius? I think so."
"How many cameras did you exactly put up there?" Stefan snatched the remote control and press next button, and another 9 divided screen pop up. He did the same thing several times but there's no end.
"20s?"
"Not even close," Caroline shook her head.
"50?" Damon chipped in.
"56 to be exact."
"Caroline!" Stefan exclaimed like mama hen trying to find her chicken egg.
"And how many dress are you planning to wear in one night?" Damon gestured to the side where the guy in slick hair had a least 20 dresses laid out, each with their own pair of shoe, clutch, and accessories to choose from.
"That's the latest couture dresses this season."
"No more talking. The suits you need to wear is already laid on the bed now leave me to do my thing and go change, chop chop!"
"You're dressing me up to?"
"Not me. HIM." Caroline pointed to the guy with the black hair slicked back in perfect poised suit.
"And you call this version of yourself.. the carefree version?"
"You don't give me much of a choice. None of your suits are in the season and you can't properly fold the pocket square!"
Stefan was about to say something but Damon already cut in, "Caroline, you're a controlling person, and even more controlling when you're not controlling!"
"Not. Another. Word." Caroline hissed. She still needed to get her hair and make up done, "Go change boys."
The brothers look at each other.
It was 7 - another 2 hours - when Caroline is done with all her make up and hair. Her face was contoured and bronzed for that natural perfection, save from that gold flecks on her cheeks that reflect the lights and the bombshell red lips she had on. Her has was long and wavy pass her shoulder. She selected the rose gold silk long dress with a deep v plunging neckline that reveal her cleavage. The dress itself has a slit that cut up to her thigh, giving a peek of her long leg whenever she walks. She paired it with a gold studded louboutin pointed toe heels. The red flashes of the shoe's heel match exactly like the red of her red lipstick.
Stefan and Damon are both handsome in their Armani suit - Damon in the blackest black suit Caroline can find and Stefan's suit was black with a hint of blue when reflected in the light to match his eyes. Both have the perfect pocket square match their undershirt as Caroline requested. Even their hair is in place as Caroline insisted the stylist to blow dry their hair and make it all perfect for tonight. Caroline would have insisted for a little foundation and concealer for the undereye but Damon looked like he could set the make up team on fire.
"What is this? I see another empty glass in a guest hand tonight I'll make sure you'll never get into any good job here in New York, you understand me?" Caroline threaten through the phone as she watch how the event fair so far from her iPad. It's 7 o'clock, which means the red carpet event is already over and right now guests are waiting in the main hall, drinking and eating finger food before the main product launching event and other performances take place.
Damon flip Caroline's iPad close and when she protested, he simply said, "we're here now." His gentle not-so-sharp-not-so-snarky voice is strange to Caroline's ears. As far as she remember the last time he was that gentle was when he made her cry in grade school. Brushing off the thought aside she take Damon's hand as he help her out of the car. Stefan followed right behind.
"Guess who decide to be the gentleman today?"
Damon doesn't let Stefan teasing remark bother him. The two men fix their posture one last time before Caroline hooked her either arms with them, and both her escort make the grande entrance inside.
The last time Klaus saw her, she seemed like a sweet likable girl. She was in red but with the conservative design that hide most of beauty from all the eyes at the ball, and to with a nice shy smile, she looked so innocent. The Caroline in front of him look nothing but innocent right now. Her dress snug on her like second skin, that golden color look so similar with her skin tone it made her look almost bare and the cleavage and tone legs that showed when she walks is not doing anything good for his heart. She look like a temptress right out of the succubus book. Her eyes are sharp and when that red lips curved into a smile, Klaus was lost with words to say. She was beautiful.
She spotted him too since she came to say hi briefly before the main event star, Christian Louboutin come to whisk her away. Klaus can only look from behind as she made her way inside, talking with her clients, the Salvatore brothers tail behind her today more protective than usual like they were some bodyguards.
If there's one thing Klaus won't understand is why is she with them for so long. Yes Caroline is a very attractive woman but the Salvatores is not known to be in a long term relationship and most likely enjoy a one time treat.
He should pull his head out of that gutter. It doesn't matter who she is with. He is supposed to be strictly business around with her. May be it's the scandalous lifestyle of those men that make it felt so damn hard not to be mad at her.
God, he has no good reason to hold all these thoughts against her. She was right, whatever she does doesn't concern him. It's just hard to stomach that kind of beauty tarnish or with the wrong kind of guy, he guess.
So he's the right kind of guy for her?
As soon as that thought stuck in his brain, his hand look for a drink to swallow that thought. He's going crazy.
He was not kept to his thoughts for long, however. Soon people surrounded him and come to greet him. Unfortunately for him, this time there is no Elijah to abandon to do the business talk nor is there a balcony he can escape to. The sound of the MC announcing that the main event will start soon and escort them to the next room. The host escort everyone to their seat in the next room, where the stage is already set. The theme color as Klaus could see is Red and Gold - very much like Caroline's dressing theme today. It suit the name of the event well, "Regal Reign", as everything in here look majestic and royalty with impeccable details.
Once everyone was seated properly, he notice the seat beside him is empty. When he looked up the stage, Caroline was giving a small opening remark before Christian Louboutin made his way up the stage and give a speech about this brand anniversary and their journey, and whatnot.
"Wait for it. Here comes the runway show."
Klaus almost got a heart attack when he was suddenly been assault by that perfume as she leaned so close to whisper in his ear. He wasn't even sure if she doesn't want to be rude and talk out loud or did she just do it on purpose.
It's hard to keep a clear head when she wear that dress around him. Caroline lift up her legs and crossed them. The one second Klaus saw that porcelin fleshed he looked away, swallowing the bile that rise up his throat.
Sweet Jesus, and she's going to sit right next to him the whole event.
"We know quiet a lot of agencies around here. I handpick ever models that walk this run way." Caroline told Klaus.
And then it started. The lights went out and there's the usual smoke filled the stage. The background behind was flashing "CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN REGAL REIGN" in red with gold glitter everywhere. There's trumpet playing as if there's a Victorian queen is to be welcomed. The light dimmed brighter and there are people lining up at the entrance of the runway, waving the flag 'Regal Reign'. When the lights all turned up, one after another each model in their A line dress model different louboutin signature heels, boots and handbags saunter down the runway like the true royalty theme of the event. But that's not all. The light then went out once again and the black ground screen showed the picture of a woman, in a gold bathtub. One of her leg was dangling out of the tub, her fully make up faced look bored and her red lips strained. She has this chic and out of this world attitude. One by one, maids line up, each holding one tray that carry different louboutin bags and shoes and accessories. Looking unimpressed she swiftly push aside the one she doesn't like and point at the ones she will wear. The maid come around and wrap a towel around her body as she walk out of the tub and make her way to the vanity table - large, shiny gold. The maids carry each cosmetic product on that same gold tray earlier. She pick the strange looking dagger and smiled as one of the maid was at her feet painting her nails with the strange looking nail polish brush.
And then comes the product launching announcement that Louboutin will now branch out, his journey now going further creating a new line of lipsticks and and nail polishes for the women who appreciate rare luxurious item.
"I can do that, and a lot more." Caroline told him after a while when several performance was over and girls are now running to the exclusive store to get the first louboutin cosmetic line before anyone else.
"This is quiet... creative."
"And at the same time this is happening, we are launching live on the big screen of time square. I believe that is more than ... quite creative."
When she saw Klaus smiled she asked, "Do we have a deal now?"
"I'll see you tomorrow morning." Klaus simply said.
"You mean Monday morning right? Tomorrow is a Saturday-"
"When we will get brunch together and discuss business." Klaus eyed Damon that's making his way toward Caroline. He kept eye contact with Damon as he reached for her hand and kiss it like a gentleman, "By then may be you don't have to bring your bodyguards around."
Damon was by her side in a second, "What the hell was that?"
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