Written for Klaine AU Fridays over on Tumblr. Today's theme was vintage. Enjoy!
Kurt fussed with his new vest. While the cut was flattering, he was extremely unsatisfied with the stitch work on the inside. He'd have to have a talk with the tailor. It was his first solo day at Ohio Trust and he would not give Mr. Karofsky any further reason to find issue with his work.
When one looked professional, one was professional. And since Mr. Karofsky seemed to find fault with almost every aspect of Kurt, he didn't want to give his manager any further ammunition.
Kurt stared into the mirror that hung in the hallway of Kurt's home. His father was probably at the office while his new stepmother at the local orphanage doing good works. He tugged at his collar he straightened his shoulders. No one pushed the Hummels around.
Three hours later Kurt took his place at his station behind the bars at the front till. After a particularly lovely lecture from his boss and then having to recite procedure before he was allowed to start the day, Kurt was beyond irritated. The man had made slurs against Kurt and his personal life. The man was such a hateful person.
Another two hours into the work day and Kurt knew this wasn't the life for him. The monotony was excruciating and his boss was a horror.
But this father had been the one to arrange and secure this position for him. With his father now in office, Kurt was afforded privileges with this new direction life. He supposed that he would, as all gentleman did, next secure a wife and then after that children.
The most likely candidate would be Miss Rachel Berry, a close friend who would love to break into high society but was held back by her Jewish heritage. Marriage with Kurt would help people overlook that. And they'd grow. Up together, bonded by the traffic absence of their mothers, Rachel would understand that the marriage would be of convenience. She was still in love with his step-brother Finn. Who was married to his childhood sweetheart, Quinn Fabray and with a child on the way. It had been a bit of a hasty marriage, but impeding fatherhood seemed to suit Finn. Rachel would also understand about his lack of...passion for the flesh.
Kurt ran down the ledger that kept his tally of the till, he was determined to be perfect at this perfectly boring job.
"Hello there, lovely day we're having."
Kurt looked up and fell deep into a pair of warm hazelnut eyes and a wide smile. He sat forward a bit, "Hello and welcome to Ohio Trust. My name is Kurt, how can I be of assistance to you on, yes, this lovely spring day." No one would ever fault Kurt on being polite at least.
"Hello Kurt, my name is Charles and I'd like to cash this cheque." Kurt zeroed in on the man's fingers as he slid the paper under the gold bars that separated them.
One hundred thousand dollars. That's what the amount on the cheque said. Kurt's eyes widen briefly and his hand twitched, this was the most money he'd ever dealt with before. "You'll understand sir that I'll need to get my manager for this transaction."
"Because of the amount?" Charles asked.
"Because of the amount," Kurt confirmed with a smile.
Kurt excused himself and walked over to the manager's office. Knocking on the already opened door, Kurt said, "Mr. Karofsky there's a gentleman here with a large withdraw amount. I'll need your authorization."
"First day solo and you're already coming to me to hold your hand. Can't handle it pansy? You only got this job because your daddy is the mayor. You should be glad the owner hired you; you wouldn't have made it through the interview with me. Now seeing as I'm busy, you go take care of business like a man and don't screw it up." Mr. Karofsky finished his tirade with a fist on his desk that echoed.
Kurt knew that everyone in the bank and just heard their conversation, even the customers at the till.
"Yes sir." Kurt pasted a fake smile on his face and made his way back to the till.
"I'll have that ready for you in a minute." Kurt started the procedure to have the money taken out of the vault. "May I see your identification sir?"
Charles D. Winn handed over his credentials with an apologetic smile. Kurt even had the man escorted out of the bank and had a taxi flagged and waiting for him.
As Kurt shook the man's hand he imagined where Mr. Winn was off too. Some exotic location perhaps, Paris or Italy. He pictured himself in each setting and his heart clenched at the brief flicker of the life he would have with this man by his side. He let Charles's hand go when he realized that he'd held it a bit too long.
Kurt stayed quiet the rest of the work day and it flew by. Finally allowed to punch out, he was glad to be walking out the door. Unfortunately he ended up walking out the front door with Mr. Karofsky. They paused outside, Mr. Karofsky eyeing Kurt in a way that made his skin crawl.
"Tomorrow I'm going to have you help me out on a special project. Things may get a little dirty, but it's something I'm sure that with your personality that you'll be able to handle. It's a bit confidential, but you'll be glad to work with me behind closed doors," Mr. Karofsky put his hand low on Kurt's back. "We'll just have a ball."
The conversation made Kurt's stomach upset all night. He could barley eat his dinner because of his nerves. He dreaded going to work the next day.
And he was right only it was for a different reason. The President of the bank had come down from the top offices and enclosed himself in Mr. Karofsky's office. Fifteen minutes later and the presidents's secretary had come over to Kurt and invited him into the meeting. The President had sent down a memo alerting about a master thief in the area forging cheques. He and Mr. Karofsky where promptly fired for gross incompetence. They were then escorted out of the bank after being let to gather their things.
There they were again, standing on the sidewalk in front of the bank again. Kurt never saw Mr. Karofsky's fist come flying at his face. So it took a moment for him to realize he was on the ground looking up at the man.
"I'm going to kill you for this," Karofsky's face was red and he was shaking.
Kurt tried to stand, but Karofsky kicked him down again.
"Whoa Pal! Why don't you start walking the other way? Or do we have to get the coppers involved?" Standing over Kurt was Charles Winn, dressed to the nines and shoes shined bright.
The thief got right up into Karofsky's face, daring the man to start further violence, but Karofsky backed away after noticing the growing crowd of people.
Charles turned and offered his hand down to Kurt.
"Thank you," he said as he was lifted effortlessly up right.
"Well I suppose it's my fault really," Charles looked around, "Can I interest you in brunch?"
"There's nowhere in this little town that does brunch on a Tuesday." Kurt replied, not really knowing why he hadn't immediately turned this man in. Or why he hadn't let go of his hand yet. "And I wouldn't eat with someone whose name I didn't even know."
"My name is Blaine," the man tugged Kurt's hand and they started walking down the street away from the crowd. "We could always book a passage to Paris. I hear their food is amazing."
Kurt tilted his head and a little breathlessly said, "I'd love too."
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