Greek philosopher Aristotle is quoted as saying "It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom." These famous words are why Quinn Fabray is up before the sun working up a sweat on her treadmill machine. Every morning Quinn tried to keep her routine the same, wake up at six in the morning to workout for an hour. Shower and dress by seven forty-five, breakfast at eight and out the door heading to work by eight-thirty. On the last five minutes of her run, her music is interrupted by an incoming call.
"Good morning Santana." Quinn answers, her breathing slightly heavy.
"You sound out of breath Q, am I interrupting something?" Santana jokes, earning an eye roll from her best friend.
"Yes you did, I was at the end of my morning run and in the middle of an epic Beyoncé vocal run." Quinn informs Santana as she turns down the treadmill a couple of notches, slowing her run to a walk.
"You're so lame Q, one of these days I would like to get a more entertaining answer from you. I want to catch you in the middle of an early morning sexcapade."
Quinn once again rolls her eyes, Santana was always getting on Quinn about her lack of bedroom action. Quinn wasn't a one night stand kind of girl, she would rather get to know someone on a emotional level before things became physical. It was taking Santana some getting use to seeing as Quinn use to be the biggest player Santana knew.
"Look that's not me anymore, my focus is my company and making sure that Good Girl Records stays at the top." Quinn reminds Santana. Quinn looks at her watch and sees her hour on the treadmill is over, she hops off grabbing a towel from the corner.
"And it always will be Q, you're a boss bitch." Quinn smiles at her best friends words, sentimental coming from Santana.
"Anyway I was just calling to make sure we were still checking out that showcase tonight." Santana questions. She'd been bugging Quinn about this showcase for weeks, being the A&R representative for Quinn's company it was her job to find talent and Santana knew she had found the one with this new girl.
"Oh yeah that is tonight..I'll make sure I'm out of the office in time. What's her name again, Alexis Jones?"
"Mercedes Jones." Santana quickly corrects her. "I'm telling you Q, this girl is super dope. She sings, writes her own music, plays the piano, she is the total package. Like a mix of Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys with the soul of Aretha Franklin. She's amazing Q and we need to sign her soon before another label finds out about her."
"Slow down Santana, let me see her for myself before we talk about signing paperwork." Quinn responds, ear pressing against the iPhone as she walks up the stairs of her six million dollar home heading to her bedroom.
"I won't say anything else, just be ready tonight at eight. A car will be there to pick you up and bring you to the club. I'm going to be at the Good Vibes festival all day scouting some new groups so I'll see you tonight." Santana informs her boss and best friend.
"Okay let me know if you need anything while you're down there I'll have Jaime take care of it." Quinn enters her bedroom and begins stripping off her clothing wanting to maintain her schedule by getting showered and dressed by seven forty-five.
"Alright talk to you later Q, love you."
"Love you too S."
Quinn hangs up the phone with Santana then hops into the shower to prepare for her day.
After getting dressed and putting on her makeup Quinn eats breakfast prepared by her private chef Ty before heading to work. A thirty minute car ride to downtown L.A gets Quinn to her true love, Good Girl Records. Quinn steps out of the car and looks up at the building a smile spreads across her face, a since of pride grows inside her knowing that through hardwork and dedication she built her company from the ground up.
Just seven years ago after unfortunate events back home in Lima, Ohio Quinn moved to L.A to chase her dream of owning her own record label. The first year was miserable for Quinn, being broke and having to sleep on friends couches at night while trying to work and startup her company during the day was a long and miserable road. Fortunately for Quinn she was able to endure that miserable road until she was able to sign her first artist and soon after began building her music empire. Now at the young age of twenty seven Quinn is the founder and President of the biggest record label in the country. Launching the careers of the biggest and brightest artists in North and South America.
Quinn takes the elevator up to her office and as soon as she walks through the doors she is immediately approached by her young brunette assistant Jaime, who as always has a big welcoming smile on her face.
"Good morning Ms. Fabray." Jamie greets her boss with a cup of her favorite coffee from Starbucks.
"Good morning Jaime, schedule please." Quinn greets walking swiftly to her office with Jaime following closely beside her keeping pace with Quinn.
"Okay staff meeting at ten to discuss promotion ideas for Rachel Berry's new album. At twelve you have a meeting with Sasha and her agent to negotiate her new contract. Lunch meeting with Richard and Barney at one. At two you have a meeting with Rebecca to discuss tour ideas for Conner Wade. At three thirty in studio B all the executives are going down to listen to MaKayla's new album and you been requested to attend to give the red or green light. Finally at four thirty you have a meeting with Brian from Lionsgate Studio to discuss doing the soundtrack of their new animated movie." Jamie hands Quinn her schedule after she reads off the list. Quinn takes the paper and gives it one last look before placing it on her desk. She walks over to the large office window and stares out at the gorgeous view of downtown Los Angeles.
"Thank you Jaime, I'll call you in if I need anything before my meeting."
"Yes Ms. Fabray." Jamie walks out of the office closing the door behind her.
Just as Jamie closes the door Quinn's cellphone begins to ring, Quinn looks at the number on her phone and the smile on her face instantly goes away. She expected this call at least three times a month but it didn't make answering the phone any easier.
Quinn slowly picks up her iPhone continuing to stare at the number on the screen as she presses the green button. "Hello Judy." Quinn answers through gritted teeth.
"Quinnie, I'm so glad you picked up." Judy's voice quivers on the other end of the phone and Quinn could tell right away that her mother was sick and not the type of sick you get from a cold or the flu.
"I always do Judy." Quinn responds not caring to hide the attitude in her voice.
"Hey stop with all that Judy crap, I'm your mother."
"You stopped being my mother a long time ago so let's just cut the bullshit and tell me what you need this time Judy." Quinn snaps at her mother.
There is a couple of seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Judy finally speaks up.
"I just need a little money, Quinnie. I'm not doing too good out here, I haven't ate anything in two days. If you could send me some money again it would really help me out."
Quinn rubs her temples, she did not need this type of stress before the busy day she has in front of her. "Have you talked to dad?"
"No, I already know he's just going to hang up the phone on me. He doesn't understand me like you do Quinnie."
Quinn curses herself under her breath, she hated the control her mother still had over her. She knew that her mother would only use the money to buy drugs yet Quinn could not bring herself to say no. She'd seen her mother go through withdrawals and it was the worst thing she's ever though she is no longer close with her mother and her father encouraged her to cut all ties with her mother, Quinn just couldn't do it. There was a point in their lives when Quinn and Judy were inseparable, they did everything together. Quinn never thought their bond could be broken but unfortunately Quinn was very wrong about that.
"How much do you need?" Quinn asks gritting her teeth once more.
"A thousand would really help so I could get a place to stay for a couple of nights and food." Quinn knew Judy was lying about only using the money for food and a room but she didn't feel like calling her out on it.
"I'll send you five hundred that's it Judy. I'll get my assistant to Western Union the money to Ohio and you can go pick it up."
"Okay thank you so much Quinnie, when I get back on my feet I'll pay you back every dime." Judy's voice continues to quiver and it breaks Quinn's heart.
"I don't want anything from you Judy except for you to get clean and get off the streets. I've already told you, if you want to get clean I will pay for you to go to the best rehab center in the country. They can really help you get your life back on track. You just have to tell me and I will make the call." Quinn gave this speech every time she talked to her mom and every time the answer was the same.
"I know." Quinn could hear the sadness in Judy's voice and she does the best she can to not let any of the tears building in her eyes fall down her face.
"I promise I will Quinnie, I'm just not ready." Judy says and Quinn knew this was true. You can't force anyone to want help, they have to want it for themselves.
"Okay bye Judy." Quinn replies with no emotion in her voice.
"Bye Quinnie."
Quinn hangs up the phone and quickly flops down in the chair behind her desk. She picks up the phone and calls Jaime to her office.
"Yes ?" Jamie says once she walks through the doors. Quinn pulls her American Express card from her purse and hands it over to Jaime.
"I need you to send Judy some money for me again."
"Okay how much this time?" Quinn knew that the smile on Jaime's face is because she thinks Quinn is just a loving daughter who loves to spoil her mother with money. She has no clue that Quinn is actually supporting her mother's drug habit.
"Five hundred."
"Okay I'll get this done right away."
"Thank you Jaime."
"Of course Ms. Fabray." Jamie exits the office her brunette hair bouncing behind her.
Quinn sits for a moment just to clear her mind and focus on the day ahead. Quinn begins taking deep breaths in and out to relax and get her mind on track. It takes about ten minutes but Quinn finally gets herself centered enough to begin working on responding to emails and phone calls. Like Santana told her earlier, she's a boss bitch and bosses never let anything stop them.
—-
"I can't believe you actually made it on time." Santana approaches her best friend in front of Club Silk. Quinn had just pulled up and was getting out of the car.
"I told you I would." Quinn hugs her best friend and takes ahold of her hand."How was the festival, any groups grab your attention?"
"Not really, all of them pretty much sounded the same. Set after set it was all the same shit." Santana admits already upset that she had wasted her whole day at the festival.
Santana keeps Quinn close to her as they walk up to the club where eager clubgoers were lined up outside. Santana wanting to make sure Quinn kept a low profile called the owner ahead of time to make sure they could sneak in through the back.
"We're cutting through here." Santana guides Quinn to the back of the building were the owner Funny Mike is waiting for them.
"Quinn Fabray it's such an honor to have you here at my club." An older African American man reaches his hand out for Quinn to shake and she accepts.
"Q this is Funny Mike, he owns the place." Santana introduces.
"Nice to meet you." Quinn says politely.
"Oh no the pleasure is all mine Ms. Fabray, I can't believe someone of your status would come all the way down to my little club." Funny Mike says humbly.
"Well Santana tells me you have real talent here so I just wanted to hear and see it for myself."
"I promise you will not be disappointed, Mercedes is the most talented singer I've ever came across. This girl is the real deal." Funny Mike speaks confidently.
"Well I hope you're right, can you show us to our table now."
"Oh yes of course right this way."
Quinn and Santana follow Funny Mike through the dimly lit club. The club is already pack with people standing at the bar and sitting at the table, all of whom were waiting for the show to start.
"You ladies can have a seat right here in our VIP section." Funny Mike tells them. Quinn and Santana take a seat on the lounge sectional, the table already has a bottle and two glasses of champagne waiting for them.
"If you ladies need anything please don't hesitate to ask me or my staff and I will make sure to get it for you right away."
"Thank you so much Mike."Quinn says in appreciation, he just smiles and tips his hat before walking away.
"This is a really nice club." Quinn looks around at the decor, she has been admiring the club since she walked in.
"Yeah it is, you still thinking about opening up a club of your own?" Santana takes a sip from her glass of champagne.
"Yeah I'm still thinking about it, I just don't know if I should start on a new business venture when the record label is doing so well. I don't want the record label to suffer because of my side businesses."
"Whatever you decide to do you know I got your back." Santana reassures her.
"You got my back and I got yours." Quinn raises up her glass of champagne for a toast.
"Always." Santana clinks her glass against Quinn's in a cheers. The two of them have been together through the ups and downs and that was never going to change.
A few moments later they hear people clapping and look up to see Funny Mike walking up to the stage that's in the center of the room.
"Hello my sexy people, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for coming out to Club Silk tonight. Now I'm not going to keep you waiting because I know who you all came to see so without further ado please put your hands together for the beautiful Mercedes Jones." Funny Mike introduces Mercedes and everyone is the club begins clapping and screaming her name.
Quinn stares and watches as an African-American woman with jet black hair flowing down her back walks up to the microphone. The woman's beauty is the first thing that grabs Quinn's attention. She didn't know what image she had of Mercedes but she definitely exceeded her expectation.
"Oh my god, thank you all so very much for all the love. I can feel it coming from each and every one of you. My name is Mercedes Jones and tonight I'm going to be singing some of my favorite songs from my favorite artists and some songs that I wrote myself. You're going to experience a wave of emotions tonight from happiness to sadness, even some laughter but most importantly we are going to have a damn good time." Right off the back Quinn notices Mercedes stage present, she knew how to command a crowd.
"Y'all ready to have a good time?" Mercedes inquires from the crowd and they claps and cheers in response.
"Nah I can't hear you, I said are you ready to have a good time." Mercedes hypes up the crowd again and this time they get even louder.
"Now that's what I like." Mercedes rips the microphone from the stand."Band 1..2..3!"
From the moment Mercedes opened her mouth and began singing Hate On Me by Jill Scott, Quinn was on the edge of her seat.
The power of Mercedes vocals and her stage presence was something Quinn had never seen before. Even though it was only a hundred people inside the club, Mercedes performed like she was in front of a hundred thousand. Everything that Santana had told her about Mercedes was true, the woman standing on stage was special and Quinn knew she would make her into a star.
Mercedes performed for an hour and a half and she kept everyone's attention the whole hour and a half. She killed her performance and Quinn couldn't wait to meet her, she was going to do whatever it took to get Mercedes to sign with Good Girl Records. So after the performance Santana went backstage to get Mercedes to setup a meeting. Ten minutes after Santana went backstage she came back with Mercedes in hand.
"Mercedes Jones I would like to introduce you to the founder and president of Good Girl Records, Quinn Fabray." Santana introduces them and Quinn can't help but think how the stage didn't do Mercedes any justice, she is way more beautiful up close. Beautiful straight white teeth to compliment her gorgeous smile.
"Wow Ms. Fabray I'm so honored to meet you and even more honored that you came to watch my show." Mercedes says excitedly, this was the first time a big time record label came to watch her perform and for it to be Good Girl Records was even better.
"I'm honored that I even got to watch such an amazing performance. Here please have a seat, there is so much I want to talk to you about." Quinn motions for Mercedes to sit beside her, she knew it would be easy to have a conversation if they were close by each other due to the loud music playing in the club.
Mercedes sits beside her and Santana sits across from them, Quinn can see that Santana has a smirk on her face but she doesn't know why. Quinn ignores it and instead focuses her attention on Mercedes.
"Would you like a glass of champagne?"
Quinn offers once they take their seats.
"Yes please."
Quinn pours a glass for Mercedes who takes a nervous sip as soon as it's handed over.
"So how did you even hear about my show tonight?" Mercedes asks curious to how such a big record label would even know about her performance.
"That's because of my genius A&R Rep Santana Lopez." Quinn points to her best friend who raises her glass in acknowledgment. "She's in charge of scouting talent for the label and she has been bragging about you for weeks now. She heard you sing here a couple of weeks ago and she has been begging me to come hear you sing and I'm glad I did because you Mercedes Jones are special."
"You don't know what it means to hear you say that." Mercedes says to both Santana and Quinn.
"It's the truth, you are super talented Mercedes and you are exactly the type of artist I want in my label. I want to sign you to Good Girl Records right away." Quinn announces and Mercedes is taken aback at how forward Quinn was being. Did she really want to sign her after just one performance.
"Are you serious right now?" Mercedes asks in disbelief, trying her best to not get emotional.
"I'm very serious Mercedes, I'm not going to bullshit you. You're immensely talented and with your talent and my knowledge, I am going to turn you into a superstar. I'm talking about billboards, number one singles, Grammys, commercials, movies, I can make that all a reality for you." Quinn doesn't hold back, there is no doubt in her mind that she can turn Mercedes into the next big thing if given the chance.
"Wow I don't know what to say..this is a lot at once and I I wasn't even expecting you to be here tonight." Mercedes begins stammering over her words, both extremely nervous and excited about everything Quinn was saying to her.
"I can see you are a little flustered right now so how about you think about it and give us a call when you're ready to talk. You can even have your people call us." Santana speaks up from across the table, good or bad she didn't want Mercedes making a decision before thinking it over.
"Well I don't really have people, I'm kind of figuring things out on my own. Making my own demos and booking my own performances." Mercedes confesses.
"How about this, you can either hire your own manager and I will pay for it or you can use one of the managers at my company. Santana will give you her number and you can call her to set everything up, how does that sound?"
"It sounds incredible, thank you so much Ms. Fabray. I don't even know how to thank you for this."
"If you sign with me that will be thanks enough." Quinn gives Mercedes a wink and Mercedes smiles back at her.
"Alright well, it was very nice to meet you Mercedes. We should get going we have a very busy day tomorrow." Santana chimes in, she reaches into her purse and pulls out her business card and hands it over to Mercedes. "Give me a call tomorrow and we will figure out this whole manager situation."
Mercedes takes the card then all three of them stand up from the couch. "Thank you both again for coming and I look forward to seeing you again."
"Same." Quinn reaches over and shakes Mercedes hand. "Have a goodnight."
Both Santana and Quinn exit the club the same way they came in and Santana walks Quinn to her car where her driver is waiting.
"You did really good with this one Santana, she's amazing." Quinn admits and Santana just looks at her and smirks, the same smirk she gave her in the club and Quinn can't understand why.
"Why are you giving me that look Santana?"
Santana chuckles before answering. "I saw the way you were looking at her, the whole performance you were like in a trance or something."
"I was just enjoying the show Santana, that's how I am with every artist. I like to study them, Santana you know that."
"Q, I've been your best friend for twenty years you really think I don't know what that look in your eyes is about." Santana continues.
"Santana you know I don't mix business and pleasure. My only focus is getting Mercedes to sign with us and turning her into a superstar."
"Whatever you say Q, I'll see you tomorrow morning. I have to get home to Brittany." Santana knows Quinn isn't going to admit it but as her best friend Santana knew better.
"Okay, give Brittany a hug and a kiss for me. Love you."
"Love you too." Santana and Quinn hug each other before parting ways.
Quinn gets inside the car and directs the driver to take her home. Quinn rolls down the window and as the cool California night breeze hits her face, she can't help but think about Mercedes. The most beautiful woman Quinn has ever seen. Her smooth chocolate brown skin, luscious lips, curvy figure, and cute dimples on her face is all Quinn can think about. Quinn knows under any other circumstance she would definitely try to pursue Mercedes romantically but know it was about business and Quinn promised herself a long time ago that business came first. If that meant she would have to repress her feelings for the betterment of her company then that's exactly what she was going to do..no matter how hard she knew it was going to be.
—
Mercedes gets out of the cab in front of her apartment building. The neighborhood she lives in isn't the best but it's the best she can do for a struggling artist working part-time as a waitress. It's late and all Mercedes wants to do is take a hot shower and hop into the bed. Mercedes approaches her apartment door, takes out her key from her purse and enters her home. On the couch Mercedes sees her neighbor and best friend Blaine Anderson asleep in front of the television. Not wanting to scare him, Mercedes lightly taps Blaine on the shoulder until he woke up.
"Oh hey Mercedes, how did it go tonight?" Blaine yawns, sitting up straight on the couch.
Mercedes flops down on the couch beside him, kicking off her high heel shoes at the same time."It was incredible, I got offered a record deal tonight!"
Blaine mouth drops and his eyes widen at the news." Are you serious?! Mercedes that's amazing, oh my god!" Blaine leans over and wraps his arms around Mercedes, so happy for his best friend.
"I know it's crazy, it just happened out of nowhere."
"So what happens now?!" Blaine asks.
"Well they want me to either hire a manager or use one of the managers from their labels. What makes it even better is they are going to pay for it."
"Get out! They must be the real deal, what record label did you talk to."
"Good Girl Records." Mercedes reveals smiling from ear to ear.
"Good Girl Records! You're telling me that the biggest record label in the country wants to sign you? Mercedes this is life changing news."
"I know! And it couldn't have come at a better time. I just got another eviction letter this morning from John."
"I know I saw it in the trash can, I really wish I could help you." Blaine places a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's not for you to worry about, you have your own life and bills to deal with. I'm a big girl and I'll get through this, I always do."
"Of course you will, plus you're about to become the world's biggest R&B diva and make millions of dollars."
Mercedes chuckles at Blaine optimism, she knew it would be awhile before she would make millions.
"AJ is going to be so excited to hear the good news." Blaine says.
"I know, I can't wait to tell him. How was he by the way, no issues I hope."
"He was a perfect angel like always." Blaine replies.
"Thank you again for watching him Blaine, I really appreciate it."
"Of course, I love watching my godson." Blaine stands up from the couch and grabs his cellphone off the table."Call me tomorrow."
Mercedes stands up and gives her best friend a quick hug."I will, goodnight Blaine."
"Goodnight love."
Mercedes walks Blaine to the door and watches him until he gets on the elevator. After locking up her apartment, Mercedes finally gets a chance to take a hot shower. After showering and getting dressed for bed, Mercedes heads down the hall to her sons bedroom to check on him before she went to sleep.
She slowly cracks the door open making sure to not wake him and walks over to his bed were he's laying on his side sleeping peacefully. A smile spreads across her face as she admires her handsome six year old son. After seeing his chest rise a couple of times Mercedes felt reassured enough to go to bed but before she could sneak back out the room she hears a tiny voice call her name.
"Mommy." Ayden's small voice carries across the room.
"Hey handsome, mommy didn't mean to wake you." Mercedes walks over to his bed and kneels down next to him.
"It's okay mommy, I tried to stay up until you got home but then I got really sleepy."
"You didn't have to do that baby, you have school in the morning."
"I just missed you mommy." Mercedes heart melts, her son had to be the sweetest boy in the world.
"I missed you too baby, so so much." Mercedes gives Ayden a kiss on top of his curly golden brown hair.
"Can you sing me a song mommy until I fall asleep?"
"Of course baby, what song do you want to hear?"
"River." Ayden says and it's no surprise to Mercedes, it was his favorite song.
"Okay." Mercedes clears her throat before she begins to sing.
Been traveling these wide roads for so long
My heart's been far from you
Ten-thousand miles gone
Oh, I wanna come near and give
Every part of me
But there is blood on my hands
And my lips are unclean
In my darkness I remember
Momma's words reoccur to me
"Surrender to the good Lord
And he'll wipe your slate clean"
Take me to your river
I wanna go
Oh, go on
Take me to your river
I wanna know
By the time she got to the end of the song Ayden had fallen back asleep. Mercedes kisses him again this time on his cheek and whispers I love you in his ear. As she turned to walk away she looked over her shoulder one last time at her beautiful son and promised herself that she would do everything she could to make her son proud and signing to Good Girl Records was just the opportunity she needed.