A/N: Alright, apparently the fully summary was too long to fit in the summary box, so I'll have to copy and paste it here. This is my newest creation, "One Condition." I am promising you all now, there is no death of Will Schuester or Emma Pillsbury in this fic, so we can all breathe easily ;) This is an AU fic, though, so expect Emma and Will to be a bit out of character. As always R&R is much appreciated!
Full Summary: Emma Pillsbury just wants to be on Broadway. Will Schuester really wants a job and a date. When Will finds Emma crying in the back of a theater, he offers to help her break into the business if she goes out with him for a cup of coffee. Emma's one condition? Don't lie to me. Will's one condition? Don't fall in love with me. Promises are made to be broken. AU.
Chapter 1: Laying the Foundation
She sat at the back of the theater, staring at the empty, lit stage. She'd been in New York for two years now, working herself as hard as she could in an attempt to break into Broadway. She could sing and she could dance, her acting was much better after the classes she took, but no matter how many times she got up on the stage and auditioned, she was rejected. How is it that no matter what she did, she wasn't good enough? Tears started to flow from her eyes and onto her cheeks, crying quietly in the empty space. The silence was suffocating, squeezing her into a tight spot, while the light on the stage screamed at her that she should just go back to Ohio and give up.
The doors at the back of the huge auditorium opened up and a man walked through, pushing a large bin. He looked about the same age as her, maybe a little bit older. He was wearing a dingy coverall suit with a rag tucked into the back pocket. He started walking towards her and she stood up, clearing her throat in an attempt to stop her tears. She wiped underneath her eyes with a thumb and let out a breath.
"S-sorry, I know I'm not supposed to be here." Her teeth caught her lower lip and she looked down at the ground. Busted. The theater had been closed for hours now after the most recent cast list was posted, but she couldn't bring herself to leave just yet.
"Nah, it's cool. I'm not going to tell anyone. The theater is a magical place," the man took a breath, looking at her, "Happy tears or sad?"
"Sad. Always sad."
"Care to talk about it?"
She looked up at his question, swallowing. Hazel eyes stared at her under messy, curly hair. His forehead was wrinkled and concerned, as if she actually mattered. Her head shook and she sniffled slightly.
"Not really. I'm interrupting your work. I'm sorry." Her hand gestured towards the bin he was pushing and he laughed, gesturing at himself.
"Now do I look like a janitor to you? I'm sneaking in just like you. I just don't have the legs or your big eyes to flirt my way in." He held out a hand. "I'm Will."
She eyed his hand for a moment before extending her own and grasping his lightly. "Emma."
"Emma. It's nice to meet you, Emma."
"You as well."
"So what's got you so sad?"
Taking a breath, Emma gestured towards the stage. She might as well just tell a complete stranger, rather than bottle it up. She had her pepper spray with her, so she saw no reason not to. Plus, there was something about the way he held himself in the brief moments since he approached her that made her want to tell him things, she just couldn't figure out why.
"I auditioned for another show this week, got a call back, got rejected. Again."
Will sat down in the seat next to where she stood and looked up at her. "Tough luck. How many auditions have you been on?"
"This month? Ten. The past two years? I don't even want to do that math." Emma sat next to him and looked up at the stage, shaking her head. "I just don't understand it, you know? I've wanted this for as long as I can remember. It's not about being known or having money. I just want people to feel. I want to use my passion to make people laugh or cry and feel things that they don't know how to feel otherwise. My intentions are pure, so why do I get nothing?" She swallowed and looked at him, laughing slightly. "Sorry, that was…I didn't…I don't usually blurt out my inner monologues to random strangers."
Will let out a laugh and looked over at Emma, gesturing to the stage. "What if I told you that I could help you with that?"
"I would tell you that I attempted the agent thing last year and there's a reason I do it on my own now."
"Come on, I'm serious. I'll help you."
Emma cocked an eyebrow and looked at him, her eyes narrowing. "What makes you want to help me? I am a complete stranger who you found crying in the back of a theater that she snuck in to just to cry. That doesn't exactly scream 'you should help me.'"
"No, you're right. It screams pathetic." He laughed a little, shaking his head when Emma looked offended, "I'm kidding. It's not pathetic. It just shows how badly you want it."
When Emma said nothing, Will sighed. He'd seen her audition for quite a few things under the cover of being a janitor in this very theater. He wasn't a janitor, but he was an agent looking for someone to represent. Instead of walking in all high and mighty like a lot of agents did, Will thought looking like a random Joe Schmoe would help him actually get to know the people for who they were, rather than who they thought he wanted them to be. His most recent client dropped him after they hit it big, starring in some movie alongside Meryl Streep and he was in search of someone new. He had bills to pay.
Emma was brilliant. Her voice was a bit weak by some standards, but the breathy quality gave her a uniqueness that Will was drawn to, and for being so tiny, she was a pretty versatile dancer. He'd been keeping an eye on her for the past few auditions and after seeing she wasn't on the list today, he decided to make a move and try to get her to work with him.
Reaching into his pocket, Will pulled out a business card and handed it to her. "Look, if you want help getting onto that stage, come by my office tomorrow at noon. If you show, we'll work something out. If not, then maybe you don't want it very badly. It was nice meeting you, Emma."
Flashing her a smile, Will stood and walked out of the theater, leaving the bin for the real janitor who'd come by later that night. Emma looked after him before looking down at the business card in her hand. It read "Summer Rain Talent" across the top in dark blue lettering. Dead center was the name William Schuester, followed by two phone numbers, an address and an e-mail. Biting her lip gently, Emma stood and shouldered her bag, pocketing the business card. Whether he was serious or not, Emma would show up as he said, at noon the following day, and listen to what he had to say. For all she knew it would be a complete bust and hoax, but if she never went, she'd never know. She had to take a chance; isn't that why she came here?
-x-x-x-
The next day at noon, Emma stood in front of a high rise building, biting her lip gently, looking up at the building before her. She'd done a bit of internet searching the previous night, trying to figure out all that she could about Will Schuester and Summer Rain Talent. There wasn't much that she was able to find about the agency itself, just that it had gone bottom up a few years ago and was now trying to boost its clientele. As far as Will Schuester, he'd kept his life pretty private. There was almost nothing about him online aside from being a partner in owning the agency with his father and brothers. As far as she knew, she could be getting scammed, but the worst thing she figured would happen is that it's a waste of time and she'd just go home and prepare for her next audition.
Taking a deep breath, Emma gripped the business card in her right hand, marching through the doors to the building and straight to the directory. She found the floor where his office was situated then walked to the elevator, calling it and stepping it. Pressing the appropriate floor number, she shuffled to the back of the elevator, standing in silence as the elevator began its slow creep up to the floor. Stepping off of the elevator, Emma took a deep breath and turned down the hallway, finding the proper office. Clearing her throat, she knocked on the open door gently before stepping in, biting her lip.
Will looked up from his computer screen, a small smirk gracing his lips. He knew she'd come, even if she wasn't sure of it. He could tell just from being with her for those few minutes that she was at least curious about the opportunity he was opening up to her. Standing and smoothing his tie, Will grinned widely and gestured for her to sit across from him.
"Emma," he glanced at the clock on the wall, "Noon on the dot. My, you're punctual."
"It's one of my best qualities." Emma stood nervously in the doorway for a moment before moving to sit in the chair opposite Will, looking across at him, watching him resume his seat.
"So how are you doing?"
"I'm fine, and yourself?"
"I'm doing well, I'm doing well. So what brings you here today?"
Emma's eyes narrowed slightly and she folded her hands in her lap. "Well you invited me here yesterday, and I was curious, since there wasn't much that I could find about you or Summer Rain Talents on the internet."
"Ah, you've been doing your research, then. Smart girl. Except we try to keep things off of the internet as much as possible. It's better to keep things at a one-on-one, personal level. So no, you probably wouldn't find much about us on the internet." Will smiled a little, folding his hands in front of him. "You, on the other hand, you're easy to find on the internet. Surprising how much one can learn from a simple Google search."
"How can you Google search me? You only know my first name."
"No, actually. I know your last name as well. I've seen you audition at least seven times before, slate and all."
Emma's eyes narrowed again and she sat back in her chair, head cocked to the side. Was he serious? So he knew her last name, alright it's not like her identity was exactly a secret, but this was all very weird. Will chuckled and pulled out a couple sheets of paper, clearing his throat before reading a few of his notes out loud.
"Emma Roxanne Pillsbury. Born in Grundy, Virginia, relocated to Ohio of all places. Two parents, one brother. Attended three elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools. No record of college which is interesting, but given your age, you must have come to New York fresh out of high school. Currently, you live in a studio apartment on the Upper East Side with one other roommate and you pay your bills by—"
Sitting up and holding out her hand, Emma's eyes widened, "Stop, stop. I – how do you know all of this? There can't be that much on Google about me."
"I have people. I like to know who I'm dealing with before I offer them my services." Will smirked. This was probably his favourite part about trying to hook new clients. He was sure to know everything about them, and in time, they would know everything about him as well. Often times, new talents wanted to hide things about themselves, hoping it would aid them in finding someone to help them get work. Most times, it just stopped them from getting what they were looking for.
Emma rolled her eyes, reaching across the desk and taking his notes from him, crumpling them up. "That's stalking, and I'm pretty sure it's illegal."
"You're sassy. I'm pretty sure that's annoying."
"So this was it? Get some girl crying in the back of a theater to come up to your office so you can freak her out, making her think you're some creepy stalker, all under the impression that you're some talent representative looking for a new client? I don't know what planet you come from, but on Earth, that's frowned upon and not entertaining." Emma set her jaw and glared across at him, honestly annoyed by this turn of events.
"Oh, don't flatter yourself, red. If I wanted entertainment, I wouldn't go after some whiny girl with big dreams at what appears to be a rather sharp, quick tongue. You want business? We'll do business." Will sat up very seriously and looked across at her. "I've seen you in about seven auditions over the past few months, you're good, but you could do better. My most recent client dropped me and I've been looking for someone to replace him. You've got just enough spunk and more than enough passion to carry yourself far. I would be willing to work with you and get you auditions, so long as you are willing to provide me with a ten-percent cut of any earnings you may receive, should you get a job on the stage."
Emma listened intently as he spoke seriously with her. Nothing that he was saying sounded terribly unreasonable, but she was still mildly creeped out by the fact that he knew so much about her, and still she knew so little about him. "Alright. Let's say that I actually consider hiring you to help me. I don't have enough money to pay you for your efforts. I've got a job, yes, but all of that money goes to paying my rent, my bills, and buying food. How do you suppose I compensate you for your time?"
"Coffee."
"Coffee?" Emma raised an eyebrow.
"Coffee. Once a week, we'll meet up for coffee, I'll let you know of any developments as far as finding you work, and you can let me know of any auditions you may have been on that I didn't know about. We'll go from there." Will's shoulders rose and fell as he looked across at the woman before him.
"Hm." Emma looked him over, biting her lip gently, considering his offer. "And how do I know you're not snowing me? I know nothing about you, Will Schuester, except that you have two fancy mobile numbers, this office, and an e-mail address. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure all the ladies are wooed by the sexiness that is willthesuperschuesterman at gmail dot com, but I'm not as easily impressed." It probably wasn't the best idea to be sassing the man who could potentially be finding her work, but Emma couldn't help it. When she was uncomfortable or nervous, she started to sass people, and it only got worse whenever she was angry.
"Somehow, you sass me and it's just adorable." Will smirked at her and cleared his throat. "Alright, if it makes you feel any better, William Riley Schuester. Originally from California, moved to Ohio for a while, then came to New York about five years ago. This is my father's business and my brothers and I help him run it and are trying to build up a clientele again. I went to NYU for a while, studying economics and theater, and I live in a penthouse overlooking Time Square." Okay, maybe that was a lie. He lived in a rundown apartment in the Upper East Side, but still. If he told her that, she would think he was stalking her, which he wasn't.
"Ohio. Hm. Looks like we've got at least one thing in common." Emma bit her lip and nodded. "Alright, coffee and whenever I get work, ten-percent of my earnings. Now, my last agent was my manager as well, and I got snowed, so I insist on a different manager who is not you."
Will laughed. For still being relatively new to this whole thing, this girl knew what she was talking about. "Alright. I'll set up a meeting for you with my brother, Mitchell. That is, if you get some work under your belt. He'd probably be more than happy to manage you, but he's not going to be interested if you don't have any work to prove that you can pay his ten-percent. He's not as trusting as I am. So we'll wait until you get work before worrying about that. Sound good?" He smiled across at her, resting his head on his folded hands.
Emma moved forward, folding her hands, propped on his desk by her elbows, and rested her head on them, just as he was doing. She returned the smile, "Fine. One condition."
"Are we really in a position to be throwing around conditions?"
Emma raised her eyebrows and looked at him very seriously. Her father always told her to be stern when you want to be taken seriously. Will may be older than her, but she was not about to get pushed around. Making her voice as stern as possible, she made eye contact with him.
"You may be my agent and therefore representing me, but let's not forget that I'll be the one paying your bills, should I get any work. That makes me the boss in this situation, so yes. We are in that position." Her voice was slightly snarky, but she couldn't help it creeping in. She was nervous at times when she had to take control and be somewhat demanding.
Will's eyes widened, taken aback by her words. Maybe she wasn't as naïve as he took her for. "Alright, then. What's your condition?"
"Don't ever lie to me. You lie and I go back to finding work on my own."
"Sounds reasonable. Okay, no lying." Except about where I live, he added mentally.
"Good." Emma smiled, feeling a bit better about this whole thing. She sat back, straightening up. "So we agreed on coffee, right? How's tomorrow at ten? The Starbucks down the street from here." She asked, a smile still on her face.
"Perfect. I look forward to seeing you again."
"Perfect." Emma stood, holding out her hand. "I look forward to working with you."
Will stood, grasping her hand gently, but firmly. Their hands separated after a moment and Emma turned, heading out of his office.
"Oh, Emma?" He called, just as she stepped out of his office.
"Yes?" She asked, her hand on the door jamb as she looked at him over her shoulder.
"I've one condition of my own. If that's alright."
"That seems fair. What might that condition be?"
"Don't fall in love with me."
Emma laughed. Was he serious? There was a bit of a smirk on his face, but other than that, nothing to suggest that he was joking with her.
"I can assure you that won't be a problem. Goodbye, William Schuester." She wiggled her fingers in a wave and walked out of the door, heading back towards the elevator.
"See you tomorrow, Emma Pillsbury!" Will called after her, grinning to himself. She may be able to promise that she wouldn't fall in love with him, but after just under an hour with her, he knew that would be a hard promise for him to keep about her.
In all the times he'd seen her auditioning, he'd been able to gather that she had a great voice and a definite sweetness about her. He never would have guessed, though, that she was so sassy and slightly snarky. Usually, that sort of thing annoyed him, but coming from her it was just adorable. Her eyes were big and beautiful, even narrowed at him, and her smile was gorgeous. He would have been lying if he said he wasn't trying not to melt the whole time she sat across from him in his office. It was very possible that working with someone so heavenly could be potentially problematic, but he'd take that chance. After all, he needed to pay the bills somehow.
Emma got into the elevator and took it to the ground level, exiting and leaving the building. As she walked down the street, headed towards the subway, she rolled her eyes, remembering his condition. Don't fall in love with him? Sure, he was gorgeous with beautiful, hazel eyes and perfect hair, but that didn't mean she'd fall in love with him. He was too smug and smirked too much for his own good. She needed work and he'd find her jobs. That's all this was.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee, Emma Pillsbury or Will Schuester; that is all Ryan Murphy's property. I am also not Jayma Mays or Matthew Morrison, because if I were, I would be constantly staring at myself in a mirror, telling myself how beautiful and perfect I am.
