A/N: My first fan-fic, AU and this idea isn't original; I picked it up from a book I read a long time ago called, Under Her Skin, but I have tweaked it to fit Puckleberry.
Just a few things, I don't live in New York and never been, so if something is wrong PLEASE tell me and I will fix it! Puckleberry will take a while to make an appearance and this story will take a while to be completed. My laptop is being repaired and the only internet I have at the moment is at work.
Hopefully in the next couple of months all that will be fixed. Updates will be sporadic at best but I will try my best to update at least twice a month. Also, I don't have a beta so if anybody is interested, PM me please!
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, not mine.
Chapter 1: The Beginning
"It's just a million dollars, that shouldn't be problem; will it Ms. Berry?"
Her attorney looked at Rachel expectantly, while she stared at him in disbelief. She was trying to wrap her head around this information.
Just?
She gripped the armrest harder, her knuckles turning white; while taking a second to compose herself, and speak with little emotion.
"Of course not," She said lying through her teeth. "But are you sure that amount is correct?"
"Yes, Ms. Berry that amount was clearly stated in the contract you signed when you accepted the money to expand your business."
Artie Abrams looked at her sympathetically through his glasses; she came to him when she was desperate to figure out how to save her floundering business. He took her under his wing and helped her out to become a semi-successful studio.
One day he approached her with an investor who wanted to help her out, he researched other projects the investor had done in the city, did thorough checks of legitimacy, and found that the investor had helped out other small business owners with no problems. The investor would lend her the money and she would make monthly payments until the given amount was paid off. If she failed to do so, then the investor would become sole owner of her business.
The only caveat was that it wasn't done directly with the investor, but through lawyers, and it was all done anonymously. Artie could only find information regarding the owners he had helped, not who the investor was.
Rachel was surprised that a stranger was lending her a hand, she was hesitant at first but with the encouragement of Artie, she went through with it. When she found out the amount of money she received, she was ecstatic. It was more than she had ever imagined and she knew that she was going to be of great use.
She had enough money to buy out the hair salon next door, the dry-cleaners behind the studio and the empty space next to the dry-cleaners. She was also able to refinish the floor, paint the rooms and divide her one room studio into several smaller studios. She was able to hire more instructors, offer more classes and advertise around the city.
It brought more business but it didn't make her ridiculous rich; just enough to break even and possibly a little bit more.
Rachel was dumb-founded, where was she going to get that money? She thought to herself, let me go look under my couch cushions, I might have a million dollar bill lying around.
She looked at the painting behind him and noticed that the blue was the same color as Artie's eyes. She got lost in the painting until he cleared his throat uncomfortably.
She jumped in her seat and blushed; her hands were on the desk nervously shuffled her papers; when she suddenly spoke.
"I don't understand, I had everything in order, payment was on time and we haven't had any incidents happen at the studio. What happened that the investor wants all of the money?"
Artie shifted uncomfortably in his seat and tried to piece the sentence he wanted to say without pissing her off even more then she already was.
"I can assure you Ms. Berry; according to the contract he lent you two million dollars, the remaining balance would be divided by however many months you took to pay the first one million. You paid the first million in twenty-four months. This means that since the investor decided to collect the remaining balance now, you have twenty-four days to pay the rest or he will become full owner of your studio."
Twenty-four days? She had a little over three weeks to get all the money or she would lose her business. What was she going to do? She trusted this man with her lively hood and now he was telling her that she could lose it all!
Rachel was going to tear this man apart but her manners got the better of her. She stood up and with a tight smile spat out her afterthought.
"I understand and I very much appreciate your time Mr. Abrams-."
"Soon Ms. Berry, please don't hesitate to contact me with any concerns. You can call me on my cell phone. Do you have the number?"
"Thank you Mr. Abrams, I have it. I will be in contact in the following days. Good bye"
Artie pushed himself back to show her the door, but Rachel practically ran out the door. She walked toward the elevators but then decided to take the stairs and ran down the five flights. Stepping out on the street she took in the crisp autumn air and decided to walk. She needed to think, what could she do? She had no money except for what was invested in the studio; her fathers were not going to help her and in no way was she borrowing.
That was what got her in this mess.
Where did everything wrong? How could her dream shatter into a million pieces and her be powerless to stop it? As she walked, she thought back to how she got the idea for a studio and the conversations she had with her fathers before coming to New York.
oo
"Dad, Daddy could both of you come downstairs for a moment please?" She called her fathers to their kitchen while adding the final touches to her power point presentation on her laptop, ready to be showcased on the white screen set up next to her laptop and her notes placed neatly next to her.
She asked them to have a seat, offered them refreshments, and then enthusiastically revealed her future plans. The white screen then turned on and showed a slide.
She picked up her notes and cleared her throat.
"Dad, Daddy, as you know senior year is coming to an end and I am set to graduate, with honors no less, in less than eight months."
She said this while handing them an outline of her presentation. She eyed them and continued.
The screen changed from "Rachel Barbra Berry: The Beginning" to "Rachel Barbra Berry: The Phases of a Star To Be…"
"Now, as you can see, pages one through fifteen are my goals. I have labeled them by age and the expected outcome for each one."
Page one read: 18: Graduate from William McKinley High school and move to New York to attend The New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts (NYADA).
22: graduate (with honors) in dance, vocal ability and acting. 24: land a Broadway role, (lead no less) 26: sign a recording contract. 27: become a powerful actress with her break through role playing a Barbra Streisand-esque leading lady.
Years 28 and 29 were reserved for falling in love and having children. Age 30: Have a star on the walk of fame. By the age of 35 she would have two kids, win a Tony, a Grammy, and an Oscar. By 45 she would retire from acting but like Barbra, dutifully turn to producing and directing her own movies. (With starring herself of course.)
At age 47, she would write her (authorized) biography and a year later she would sell the rights and then a bio-pic would be made about her adventurous and glamorous life. Starring only the freshest, most talented (after herself of course) actors of their time.
At age 50, retire with many awards and live on her private island overlooking the sunset.
The last slide sprang up, "Rachel Barbra Berry: The Glamorous Golden Years"
With the last slide up, she turned and looked at both of them.
"So Dad, Daddy, what do you think?"
She couldn't read either of them and started chewing on her bottom lip, a habit she did whenever she got nervous. Her Daddy looked at her with a blank expression and Dad was silent. She expected praise and applause; they were her parents, but also her biggest supporters. Rachel wanted to be a star, to see her name in bright lights and a billboard in Times Square; she wanted to be the lead on Wicked or Rent.
Unfortunately her fathers saw that being a dancer or singer on Broadway was something they didn't deem as a solid job.
Her Dad cleared his throat, while she braced for the blow.
"What are you going to live off of?" he asked.
Rachel internally cringed, but as an actress, she kept a cheery face.
"Dad, I would be at rehearsals, thus earning money to be able pay for room and boa-"
He cut her off and she shrank back a little, he never did that. He always let her finish. Always.
"Bunny, don't think that it doesn't break my heart to tell you this, but I don't think this is realistic. How will you pay for college? We agreed on New York but we also said that you would help pay for your education. We want you to achieve and be the best you can be but auditions are far in between, your father and I aren't going to take care of you for the rest of your life. Rachel, that's what being a grown up is all about. Leaving your childish dreams behind and facing reality as it comes."
She closed her eyes and tried to fight the tears threatening to pour out. She heard the chairs scrap across the floor and they walked out to the living room to turn on the TV to watch the news. She stood still, while a lone tear ran down her face.
She collected her things, walked to her room and got ready for bed. She slept horribly that night but she thought of their words.
They were wrong, it was realistic, it was achievable, and she was going to prove it to them. She wasn't going to let a single person tell her no.
Her first dream was NYADA and she dutifully applied, hoping to be accepted early; she turned in her application. She waited weeks, nervously anticipating, but optimistic that her acceptance letter was well on its way.
Finally, 3 weeks later, a lone (thin) letter with the NYADA emblem stamped on the crisp white envelope, appeared in her mailbox one Friday morning. She tentatively pulled out the letter and fingered the emblem. She automatically knew that she wasn't going to NYADA, but she walked into her house, and placed the envelope on her kitchen counter. She stared at it for a little while and decided she needed to go shopping for dinner. She grabbed her purse and her keys, looked back at the table, and walked out the kitchen door.
That night, she cooked lasagna with a fresh green salad and promptly cried the remainder of the day. Her fathers came home to find Rachel asleep at the table and the envelope on the table, the food untouched.
She was devastated when she was turned down from NYADA.
She reasoned that they weren't ready for her star power and that it didn't matter. She was going to be a star in her own right, her way.
She didn't know what other school to apply. Ohio State? No, too close to home. Sure, New York was about an 8-hour drive, but it was another state. She needed to get away from it all, especially the people that made her feel like she was nobody. NYADA was the school of her dreams. Nothing else appealed to her. The next day, she threw away all her NYADA plans and started a new dream board.
In the end, she decided to go to Ohio State, and graduated with a major in business. It didn't make her happy, but it was better than nothing.
Ok, so what do you think? Good or bad please review!