Caroline Forbes is full of light (miss_mystic) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2020-07-26 08:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, caroline forbes, david xanatos |
Who: Caroline and Xanatos
What: A night out at the ballet gets interrupted by a phone call about Caroline's mom
When: Saturday July 25th
Where: Ballet to fancy mansion to helicopter
Rating/Warning: Fairly low. Mentions of sick mother
Status: Complete
Xanatos had spent most of the day preparing for his night at the ballet; as promised, Caroline would finally see him properly dressed up. He’d had his fingers nails manicured, and had his personal stylist over to give him a fresh shave so that the edges of his facial hair were far cleaner and sharper than he could have made them. His hair was trimmed, though he wore it in his usual manner, with it tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, though he’d exchanged his usual dark suits with a finely tailored tuxedo, light black with the lapels a deeper black over an elegant white dress shirt. He wore on his right hand a gold ring with a curious triangle carved into it, and in his jacket pocket he wore a pocket square of the exact shade of blue as Caroline’s dress.
While normally he’d respect Caroline’s decision to drive herself to wherever it was they were meeting, this was a special case and he insisted she allow him to pick him up. And so, at 5:30, his limo pulled in front of her house. He stepped out, standing next to the car door, while his chauffeur approached the house and rang the bell.
Caroline wasn’t sure to make of this whole evening with David. At first she had just assumed it was because he needed a plus one, and he had promised to take her to an event at their last dinner. However he had also sent a stylist over to do her hair and make-up. Hell she even got a manicure and pedicure too. While the pampering was nice, especially with how hard she worked and how little time she had to pamper herself, it was a little… over the top. She didn’t need all this. Especially not for being a platonic plus one. She’d have to have a talk with him about it later. For now she would allow herself to enjoy it.
Her hair was done in an elegant bun with a few curls framing her face, her make-up was flawless, her nails painted a light pink. Caroline wore a blue off the shoulder dress that hugged her curves. She may have bought it especially for this occasion. She had a necklace to go with it but the stylist insisted she leave her neck bare. Caroline thought that was a little odd especially considering when they had gone to dinner, but she wasn’t about to argue. When the doorbell rang Caroline made her way down the stairs, glad her mother wasn’t home to see her all dressed up for someone that wasn’t Peeta. Plus her mom deserved a night out with her friend as long as they took it easy.
She opened the door expecting to see David, only it was someone else, someone she assumed worked for David. “Oh, um hi?” Caroline offered before her eyes fell on David waiting at the car.
“Mr. Xanatos is waiting,” the man said gesturing to him.
“I noticed,” Caroline replied, smiling sweetly even though she thought all this was a bit much. She stepped out of the house locking the door behind her before making her way over to David.
“You clean up nice,” she said smiling at him, her eyes lighting up just a bit. Because yeah he did look pretty handsome freshly groomed and in a full on tuxedo.
Xanatos looked Caroline up from head to toe, and then his lips curled into a satisfied smile. “I could say the same for you,” he said. “You look stunning.” The dress she was wearing was satisfactory as well, which Xanatos had been slightly concerned about. Caroline was beautiful enough on her own that he thought that an off-the-rack dress wouldn’t diminish the effect too much. Still, there was a nagging part of him that wondered if he shouldn’t have had a dress tailor made for her after all.
He opened the car door, revealing the roomy interior, and gestured with a sweeping arm motion. “Ladies first.”
“Thank you,” Caroline said, feeling the warmness of her cheeks at the compliment. “I had some help,” she added her smile turned into a smirk for a brief moment. But then it was back to the usual warm smile that was often found on her face.
“You know,” Caroline said as she carefully slid into the limo not wanting to wrinkle her dress. “I am capable of driving myself.” Even though she hadn’t protested too much she still felt the need to remind him. However, considering this was a ballet where she was a plus one and not a dinner it seemed like a good idea to arrive with David.
Xanatos flared his coattails before he slid onto the seat across from Caroline.
“It’s better if we arrive together,” Xanatos said shortly, not in an especially stern or cold voice, but in a tone that somehow conveyed that it wasn’t up for discussion despite its lightness. He hadn’t met Ivanov before, but it was imperative that he made more than a good impression. Arriving separately from Caroline would not accomplish that.
He pushed a button on the center console of his seat, and with a hiss of air, it opened and a platform, holding a flat, square box, rose up from it. “I was hoping that you would wear these tonight,” he said, opening the box to reveal a sapphire necklace, and a pair of matching earrings, the sapphires cut into tear drops, surrounded by tiny diamonds.
There was no point arguing it. She was indeed arriving with David as he wished. She just felt the need to make it known she was independent, which she had. She wasn’t about to continue on with it.
Her eyes went wide at the necklace and earrings. She had no doubt that the diamonds and sapphires were quite real. “So this is why your stylist wouldn’t let me wear any jewelry,” Caroline commented, her fingers lightly running over the gorgeous necklace. However she tore her eyes away to look over at David. “You know,” she began not making an attempt to put them on just yet “I’m too smart to be seduced by you.”
Xanatos blinked, almost surprised by Caroline’s answer, and then he burst out laughing. “Caroline, my dear, if I was able to seduce you with fancy jewels and a stylist, you would not be worth seducing,” he managed, once the laughter had died down. “No, I’m meeting with a very important business associate tonight. It’s important that I make a good impression, which means that you must also make a good impression. You’ll do just fine with your own natural charm, but you have to look the part too.”
Caroline wasn’t exactly sure what to make of his hysterical laughter. She was pretty sure she wasn’t too far off with his intentions. That was until he explained further. Wow, she was an idiot. Of course a billionaire wouldn’t be trying to seduce her. “So you’re using me?” she clarified. Caroline wasn’t so sure how she felt about that. But then she supposed it was better than this being an actual date, considering she was seeing Peeta.
“Using is such a harsh term,” Xanatos said, waving a hand in the air as if to shoo away her worries. “I’d say our relationship is mutually beneficial, wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t view relationships in terms of how I can benefit,” Caroline countered. Though clearly David did. Not that she was all that surprised. Still the necklace was tempting. She lifted it to place it around her neck, turning her back to him so he could get the clasp. “This will be the last time I’m used for your benefit,” she said pointedly as she clipped the earrings in place.
Xanatos clasped the necklace for her, looking vaguely amused. “What if the benefit is simply your company?” he asked, letting go of the necklace so the weight of it could settle against Caroline’s neck.
She turned back around, facing him. “That’s not so much a benefit as just being friends with someone,” Caroline replied matter-of-factly. She couldn’t help but wonder if David actually had real friends. Ones who weren’t trying to benefit from the relationship as he put it. But she didn’t have time to ask, considering the limo pulled up to the theater. Probably for the best as it was a little bit too rude of a question.
Xanatos checked his watch as they pulled up, pleased to see that it was just a couple minutes before six - though, of course, he knew it would be. His driver was a professional, after all. He offered his arm to Caroline as the usher led them up toward the private balconies.
Standing outside of one of them was the man Xanatos had come to meet - he was easily in his 50s, though his pretty wife looked as though she may have been younger even than Caroline.
Xanatos straightened his tie with his right hand, and a particularly observant witness might have noticed that Ivanov stroked his beard, a ring identical to Xanatos’s on his right hand.
“Thirty-six,” Xanatos said, aware that Caroline would likely not understand but not giving any indication that what he said was strange.
“Twenty-nine,” Ivanov returned, and then his face broke into a smile. “You must be Mr. Xanatos and Miss Forbes,” he said, his voice lightly accented, opening the door to his balcony and waving them both in. “I’m Fyodor Ivanov, and this is my wife Antonnia.”
There was still about half an hour before the ballet started, and Ivanov spent most of that time giving a brief history of Swan Lake and the production company that was putting it on - they had come all the way from Russia, after all, and he was very familiar with them. Xanatos interjected with a couple of polite remarks or questions, shooting Caroline amused looks - no doubt at the expense of the long-winded Ivanov - when he thought he could get away with it without being noticed, and then the lights dimmed.
As the ballet started, Ivanov and Xanatos began a hushed conversation in Russian, Xanatos only peripherally paying attention to the ballet itself - occasionally trying to catch Caroline’s eye so he could all but roll his eyes at her when Ivanov seemed to be going on a particularly long tirade. Antonnia occasionally made remarks to Caroline, though her English was broken and heavily accented, and she stayed mostly silent.
At intermissions, they switched back to English and had more personal conversations - how was Caroline enjoying the ballet, how long had she and Xanatos known one another, how was Ivanov enjoying America so far, could they get some more wine for the balcony - and by the time the final curtain fell, Xanatos and Ivanov had worked out an entire arms deal between Xanatos Enterprises and the Russian mafia.
“I look forward to working with you, Mr. Xanatos,” Ivanov said as they stood, offering his hand. “I hope to see the two of you at our party after this.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Xanatos assured him.
Ivanov turned to Caroline, and gave her a conspiratorial wink. “And I promise not to keep him from you again at the party. I do hope you were able to enjoy the ballet with this old man chatting the whole time.”
Caroline couldn’t help but wonder if it was normal to greet people with numbers. But she was smart enough to know not to question it. At least not in front of David’s business associate. She was supposed to be impressing him and charming him apparently. She listened as Ivanon went over the history of Swan Lake, smiling politely and asking a few questions herself. She didn’t have to pretend to be interested, she genuinely was.
Once the ballet started Caroline turned her attention to it. Or at least she tried to. She couldn’t fully focus with David glancing at her so frequently and Antonnia making a few comments here and there which Caroline politely responded to keeping her voice low.
After the ballet was over Caroline smiled at the couple happy to accept their invitation. David had already told her as much so it wasn’t a complete surprise. “Oh,” she said smiling brightly at Ivanov. “Feel free to keep him off my hands,” she teased. “I did,” she added in reference to the ballet. “Thank you for inviting me.” Of course she knew he hadn’t directly invited her but still. “I look forward to speaking with you more at your party.”
“Well then, in that case, why don’t the two of you ride with us?” Ivanov asked cheerily.
It was an effort for Xanatos to keep the smile glued to his face. Xanatos was used to being the most powerful man in a room, and Ivanov outranked him by a great deal, but not by enough to make getting friendly with him worth Xanatos’ time.
“We would hate to be an imposition,” Xanatos said. “And I would hate to leave our driver waiting for no reason.”
“You say that as if that isn’t half their purpose,” Ivanov laughed, and looked to Caroline as if for backup. “Besides, think of all the gas we’d save. We’re supposed to be worrying about global warming now, no?”
Well Caroline was in an awkward position. She could tell David didn’t want to ride in the other man’s limo. But also wasn’t she supposed to be charming and impressing this man? That was why David brought her after all.
“I left my make-up in our car,” Caroline lied. “Never know when I’m going to need a touch up,” she offered with a sheepish smile. “But next time?”
Ivanov laughed. “Well, we can’t keep you away from your make-up. A woman’s beauty is the most important thing, after all,” he said, shooting Xanatos an indulgent smile that Xanatos didn’t return. Xanatos might be a lot of things, but he wasn’t especially amused at casual sexism.
“We will see you shortly,” Xanatos said, leading Caroline away by the elbow, and once they were far enough away he sighed. “What a bore,” he muttered, leading Caroline outside. His driver was already waiting for them at the door, and when he saw them leave the theatre, he opened the back door for them. Xanatos gave him a pleased smile - he’d managed to secure the most ideal spot out of the door, and Xanatos was pleased to see that Ivanov’s car was a little further down the line - and clapped him on the shoulder as he slipped into the car. “I hope you had a better time. The ballet at least seemed lovely.”
Caroline had to bite her tongue to keep from replying to that comment. But luckily David was leading her away back to their car. “Did you at least get your business done?” Caroline asked as she slid into the car. “It didn’t seem like you wanted to ride with them.” Or she would have gone along with it. But she was sure David already knew as much.
“Yeah, it’s all taken care of,” Xanatos said. Normally there might have been contracts or something, but that would be taken care of at a later date. Xanatos was careful to never leave a paper trail that could lead back to him. “Thanks for the excuse.”
He knocked on the partition separating them from the driver, and the car eased into motion. It was a bit of a drive to the party, though Xanatos was glad for the excuse to relax with a bottle of Champagne and to chat with Caroline on the way there. These things could be exhausting sometimes.
Caroline would never admit it to David, but riding in a limo with champagne wasn’t the worst thing. Though she was still more than capable of driving herself. Especially if they had more of their dinners after this. Before she knew it they were pulling up to the party.
“Do you think we made it here before them?” Caroline asked as she moved to get out of the limo. After all their car had been back farther in the line up after the ballet.
“I can hope,” Xanatos said, his lips curling. That would be a sweet thought. Sure, there were no doubt guests already inside, but managing to beat the hosts from the same venue would be a small, sweet, private victory.
He offered Caroline his elbow again and led them inside where they were greeted by the doormen. As Xanatos had thought, there were already several people milling around; not all of them could have been at the ballet, he knew, and he wondered if Ivanov would be conducting more business at the party. Some staff milled around with trays of dainties and drinks, and there was a massive chandelier shining light onto the lobby. The banisters were polished so they shone like gold.
Caroline walked inside with David, eyes taking in everything. It was impressive, sure. But Caroline was also somewhat used to events like this. Especially lately with all the connections she made doing David’s welcome party. “Not bad,” she commented with a small smile grabbing a drink from one of the trays. It was nice to be at an event and not worried about all the behind the scenes details.
“You could have done better,” Xanatos said, leaning in to give a veneer of privacy. As one of the tray’s walked by, Xanatos reached out and grabbed a flute of champagne, more so that he would have something in hand and to give the impression of relaxing. He wasn’t about to do anything tonight to dull his senses.
It wasn’t much longer before Ivanov and his wife walked in. They didn’t immediately approach Xanatos and Caroline again, instead choosing to greet their other guests while Xanatos chatted with some of the guests he knew, but as often happens at these events, Xanatos was once again made to suffer Ivanov’s company.
“How are you both enjoying the party so far?” Ivanov asked, his cheeks a little red from the drink.
“Oh, it’s fantastic,” Xanatos said. “The canapés are delicious.”
“Yes,” Caroline agreed, “Thank you for-” her phone began to ring mid sentence. “Having us,” she finished before grabbing her phone out of her purse and seeing her mom’s name on the caller ID. Her heart immediately sank. “Sorry,” she said, her demeanor clearly changing. “I have to take this.”
“Mom?” she said stepping away as she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Caroline, hi. It’s Denise.” Caroline had met her a few times, she was one of Liz’s friends. The one her mom had been with tonight. “Your mom doesn’t seem to be doing so well,” Denise went on. “I’m taking her to the hospital.”
“What hospital?” Caroline replied, a lump forming in her throat. “I’ll be right there.” After getting a few more details she hung up and quickly made her way back over to David. Her eyes shone with tears that were just moments away from falling. “I’m sorry. I have to go,” she said, not even waiting for his response before making her way towards the door, already pulling up Uber on her phone.
Xanatos’ expression darkened for a moment when Caroline excused herself from the conversation to take a phone call. She was a business owner, but Picture Perfect Events was still small, and in a field that having a business emergency at ten at night was highly unlikely, and so he couldn’t imagine what phone call would be so important to warrant such rudeness, especially when she knew how important this was.
He continued chatting as if nothing was amiss though, right up until Caroline came back with tears in her eyes, and then rushed out of the hall. “Excuse us,” Xanatos said, placing his untouched flute of champagne on a passing tray and taking Ivanov’s hands in both of his to shake them, ignoring the other man’s look of surprise as he did so. He shook them, and then said “Thank you for having us,” before following Caroline out, not bothering to wait for a response.
He touched her on the elbow as he left the mansion. “Caroline, what’s going on?” he asked gently.
Caroline wasn’t usually rude, nor would she take a call in the middle of a conversation. But when it came to her mom all that went out the window. Impressing David’s business associates no longer matter. Hell she didn’t even care if this reflected poorly on her and her career. She knew her mom wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t an emergency. And this was definitely an emergency.
It was just a few moments after she was outside that David approach. “My mom,” Caroline began. “She’s in the hospital. Or on her way.” Hopefully they had made it by now. “I have to go.”
“I suppose it’s serious then,” Xanatos said. It wasn’t a question; Caroline’s state notwithstanding, if someone was going to be admitted in the middle of the night it wasn’t over a paper cut.
“I can get you there quicker than anyone you might call,” he said, and before Caroline could respond, he had already pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number on speed dial. “I need a pick-up,” he said after a short wait for the other line to be picked up. “I’ll send you my coordinations.” Then, he offered Caroline his arm. “Let’s go around back and find a seat while we wait.” He’d never seen the back of this house before, but judging from the side of it, it no doubt had a large, open yard in the back.
“But-“ Caroline began. “Your business associate? Don’t you have to-?” She didn’t really finish her thought. She did knot this was important to David. It was obvious with how he brought her the jewelry and wanted to make sure she impressed Ivanov. But that didn’t really matter to her right now. She wasn’t going to argue with David, she just needed to get to the hospital.
“Thank you,” she said, swallowing another lump in her throat. She took his arm and walked with him around back, brow furrowing. Why the hell were they going to the backyard? Shouldn’t they be where all the cars were so they could get in as quickly as possible? “I don’t need to sit.” Caroline began to protest. “I just need to get to the hospital.”
“It’s no trouble,” Xanatos said. “We’ve concluded our business. It’s better to leave them wanting more than to overstay my welcome anyway,” he added. He didn’t think he was near to the point of overstaying his welcome yet, but the party would be a lot less interesting without Caroline there anyway.
“There’s nothing we can do now but wait for our ride,” Xanatos said. It wasn’t too difficult to persuade one of the servants working to take them to the back garden, preferably while avoiding the rest of the guests. Caroline was upset enough that the worker knew that she would only upset the other guests if she were to be seen, and they were hurried through on a side hallway. As Xanatos had thought, the yard in the back was large enough for a helicopter to set down without too much trouble. There was likewise a bench set near an illuminated fountain.
Caroline just nodded, not really registering anything David was saying about the party or his business. Her mind was elsewhere. On her mom and what could possibly go wrong. “Yeah, but shouldn’t we wait where the cars are? I don’t want to waste time walking back over there,” Caroline argued, even though she was letting herself be led by David to the bench. It was all she could do really.
"Waiting here is fine," Xanatos said.
Xanatos sat, pulling up his day planner. He would have to get Kara to cancel at least some of these appointments and to move around some others, though he would wait until he was sure. If he was going to be at the hospital until late, however, he would need extra time to sleep.
It didn't take long before he heard the whirl of helicopter blades, and not long after that before the black helicopter, trimmed in red with Xanatos emblazoned in white on the tail appeared over the house, kicking up dust and blowing Xanatos and Caroline's hair in the wind it kicked up. As it settled into the clearing, Xanatos offered Caroline his hand. "Our ride is here."
Caroline tried her best to wait patiently but her mind was racing. She needed to know what was going on. Worry was beginning to take over. It was all she could do to keep the bad thoughts from taking over. Like the possibility that she might never see her mom again. And then suddenly there was a loud noise. A helicopter? What the? Of course David had a helicopter.
The wind from it blew some of Caroline’s hair out of her bun but she really didn’t care right now. She just wanted to get to her mom. “You- a - thank you,” Caroline said not able to manage complete thoughts as she took his hand and followed him over to the helicopter, letting him help her inside.
Xanatos generally preferred to sit next to the pilot in the front instead of in the back, but he would make a special exception this time. The pilot started lifting the craft even before Xanatos had closed the doors behind him, and once he and Caroline were seated, the pilot handed them both headsets so they could hear one another over the whirl of the blades.
Xanatos affixed his.
“Where to, Mr. Xanatos?” his pilot asked.
Xanatos glanced at Caroline, not sure what hospital her mother was in.
“Huntington beach hospital,” Caroline replied to the pilot’s question since David looked to her for it. She hadn’t thought to tell him in all the chaos. This whole thing was overwhelming. Especially the helicopter. “Thank you.” And just like that they were on their way to her mom.