New Home, New Job

The real work began the following day, at least for Grace and Michelle. The former had to move on to the next stage of the paperwork required to establish the business formally, as well as putting in a normal days work. She worked through it quickly, and by close of business, she had submitted all the necessary papers to the authorities, thus making it possible for the legal side to be signed off. The process would take at least two weeks, and so it would be February before they could actually complete the sale of the business with Gunther, not that this was a big issue for either of the parties concerned.

Michelle had returned to Boston, and had sat down with her parents, to inform them that she was leaving, and give them a date as to when it would be. The news did not come as a surprise to them. They had been expecting it, and although it made them sad, they fully understood why she had to go. They had after all mourned the death of their youngest nephew as much as she had, and had been equally upset about the way that things were handled. There was a respect for family traditions and for family values - and then there was an acceptance that times had changed, and that for your child, their friends were far more important than a cold, distant immediate family. They had to strike a balance though, and remember that their livelihood was dependant on the stake that Wes' family had in the business. So they had applauded all of their daughter's actions in private; in public, they had to chastise her. The fact that she was now being harassed for her actions was risking driving an even bigger wedge between the two parts of the family. That did not stop them feeling that Michelle had been hounded out of Boston; and in time, they had resolved that they would make the other half of the family rue the day that they had taken the actions they had.

Michelle also had to find a new home in New York. She had a reasonable budget, but even that would not be enough to find something really nice in the neighbourhood around the Spotlight. She had to admit that it was very tempting to live somewhere close to the majority of the others in Bushwick, but the idea of sitting on the subway for hours every day did not appeal to her. So she spent her time browsing the net; had the others looking about, asking around to see if they could find something, even if it was only someone in search of a roommate. In the end though, it would be a chance encounter that would lead to a solution of the issue, at least in the short term.

It was near the end of that first week when the door to the diner opened to reveal a face that was familiar to Sam, though at first he could not recall their name. Then he heard a slight whoosh, and felt a familiar draught on his face. He turned round to see Kurt and Blaine standing at his side. Kurt almost at once stepped away, and headed over to say hello to Isabelle Wright, his former boss and mentor. He had seen her only once since Wes had died; when he had gone to her office, knowing that she was the only one working so late, and had made her a coffee, as he had done so many times before. He had taken it to her, and she had actually started drinking it before she realised the impossibility of such a thing having just occurred, given Kurt's status. She had cried and hugged him for hours, and then the two of them had worked together, talking through everything until the early hours of the morning.

Work had kept them both exceptionally busy since then, so when he had spotted her walking into the diner, he had left his apartment in the heavenly New York, where he and Blaine had been relaxing together for a catch up. Her face lit up the moment that she saw him. She had been having a bit of a week, and was feeling in need of something to cheer her up. Sam swiftly made her a large hot chocolate and cut her a generous portion of Angel Cake that had been made that morning - no charge. He had winked at her as he had said that, and when she demurred, he explained that he nearly owned the place now… Kurt took the time to give her the full story as she ate her cake. She was pleased for them all, and glad that the Spotlight was not going to change like so many other establishments. Then she proceeded to tell Kurt all of her troubles, as she had done before. It turned out that her biggest headache was finding a new tenant for the tiny apartment she had bought when she had first moved to New York from Ohio. By some luck, it turned out that it was only three blocks away…

Kurt could only smile at his former boss. "Isabelle, what would you say if I told you that I had the solution to your problem? I know someone that is looking for a place here in the city; she is arriving here next month when she starts her new job." He laughed as Isabelle regarded him with curiosity. "You remember Wes? It's his cousin. She is going to be managing this place for the guys. Obviously, you would need to check her out for yourself, but from what I have seen, she is a lot like Wes in her manner, actions and behaviour. I am also sure that as you will be doing the Spotlight partners a favour by considering this, you will be able to have all the coffee and cake you wish free of charge…" Isabelle laughed out loud at that, and the fact that once more, as he had always done for her when he was her intern assistant, Kurt had found the ideal solution to her problem. They sat after that and chatted for a little while - in time, Blaine joined them, and when he heard what they had been talking about, he beckoned Sam over. Isabelle duly passed her phone number to Sam with instructions to pass it on to Michelle. He hurried away, and only a few minutes later, Isabelle was shocked to receive a call from an unknown number in Boston. The conversation was short, but by the end of it, the deal had been done. Michelle had a new landlord; Isabelle had a new tenant and the promise of freebies, whenever she wished, once she was in charge. And of course, if Isabelle felt like mentioning the Spotlight on the Vogue website...

So it was that as January drew to a close, everything was more or less sorted. The money was in place, all moved into the one account to ensure that the transaction was faster. Setting up that account had not been as easy as they had expected; in the end, Santana, Sebastian and Nick had to attend a meeting with a bank manager to set it up. From the moment that they walked in, her attitude had been awful - they could all see her looking at them as if she was thinking 'too young and far too inexperienced for this.' As the meeting went on, it became clear that Santana was nearing the point where she would go all Lima Heights on her; Sebastian was on the verge of reverting to snarky bitch; and Nick was wishing that he was there with someone else - like calm rational Artie. This went on until she requested to see the recent bank statements of the partners; the moment that she saw the six figure sums in all of the accounts, not to mention the seven figure one in Nick and Jeff's joint account, little dollar signs seemed to appear in her eyes. She was suddenly all smiles, and they could all feel the warmth radiating from her. It was for that reason that they decided to walk out and head for another bank, where they received a warm welcome right from the start, and not just when the level of their wealth came to light.

It was also around that time that three people worked their first shift at the Spotlight. Elliot had been offered a job, and had accepted it at once; Trent and Rory for their part had decided that they needed to start sometime, and the sooner, the better. Elliot had worked in a restaurant before; for him the job was no great stretch, the only big difference being that here, he could jump up on the stage and sing his heart out whenever he liked. The first time he did so he reduced the entire diner to silence, and then when he stopped, deafening applause. He made the task of singing whilst waiting on tables seem like a piece of cake even to those of the staff that had been there for years.

For the other two, it was nowhere near as simple. Rory had worked in a small café back in his home town one summer, doing so to raise money to help pay for his flight to the United States on his exchange trip. It had been nowhere near as hectic, and even then, he had been relegated to the kitchen very quickly, mainly because it was still so close to the incident where he had accidentally set fire to the priest at Sunday mass that everyone still stopped and pointed at him. On the day he first worked at the Spotlight, he shadowed Mike: Trent was shadowing Jeff. It was nowhere near as easy as it looked, and to say that both of them made a few mistakes on that first day would have been an understatement of epic proportions. No-one really minded though, not after they both turned on the charm with the customers. Also they all had to agree that when the two of them got up on the stage and sang together, their voices blended in a most beautiful way. At the end of the shift they were both tired, but happy - and not nearly as bad at the job as they had been at the start.

By the time that the first week in February rolled round, Trent and Rory were not the only partners that had taken their turn at working in the diner. Beats and Flint had arrived one afternoon, stepped behind the counter and asked where they could start. It turned out that Beats was a natural waiter, as they had all guessed in any case from his previous job as a busboy. Flint struggled more with that side of the job, but he found handling the coffee machine much simpler than any of the others ever had, overcoming its temperamental eccentricities in minutes, to provide the most perfect cappuccino that one customer claimed that she had ever had. As they would always be working at the same time, they decided to divide the work between them, with Flint remaining at his position behind the counter except for those moments when he jumped up to the stage to sing with Beats accompanying him on the piano. Santana walked in on them that first day just as they started on their second song of the day, to find Dani smiling broadly. "So, these guys make quite the team - and better yet, Flint figured out the coffee machine in less than a minute. I have to say, they sing well and they have the moves too."

'More than you know,' thought Santana. She had 'stumbled' on the fact that the 'Preppy Boys' were the newest and hottest strippers on the New Jersey gay scene on Twitter - and when she had seen a candid snap, she had not expected to see the two ex-Warblers in it for a moment… In the old days, she might have felt obligated to cause them both the maximum embarrassment by letting them know that she was aware of their new job. Now she did not. She clapped as loudly as everyone else when they finished their song, greeted them warmly, and then recalling what Dani had told her, asked Flint to prepare her a particularly complex coffee; one that she herself usually needed a few minutes to make. He had it to her in half the time, and it tasted divine. So it was that Flint was assigned counter duties on a full time basis, whenever he was on shift.

The following day saw Kitty and Marley arrive - they both acquitted themselves well, and promised that Ryder would arrive the next day. He did so in the company of Artie. They were already prepared for this moment. He had requested a tray that could fit comfortably on his lap in his chair - they had taken the necessary measurements and had one built, which now fitted perfectly. This meant that he could carry far more than any of the others in one time; his ability to bring a whole table's order at one time was a cause of satisfaction for all. It was still such an uncommon thing to see in a restaurant that much was made of it on social media. Artie did not mind about that one bit; it was good publicity for the business that he had invested in, and raised his own profile at the same time. When it came to his turn to sing, he made his way onto the stage via a ramp that had been built for just such an occasion. He proceeded to wow the diner just as much as the others had on their first performances.

Finally, on the first Saturday of the month, it was the turn of Sebastian and Dave. When they arrived, Sebastian had already worked an early shift at his job at the Strand bookstore, and Dave had played a game that morning too. This meant that they were both a little tired, and in the latter's case, a little bit sore too. Nonetheless, they both donned an apron and started to help serve the Saturday crowds. Sebastian proceeded to charm and delight a group of French tourists by talking to them entirely in his fluent French, and then took to the stage to sing in the same language. He was not unhappy about the huge tip that they left either. Dave was recognised by a group of students from his college, and initially feared being ridiculed. When he pointed out to them that he was only there because he was about to become a part-owner, they had scoffed, until Sam had come over to confirm that what he said was true. That changed their attitude entirely, and they told him he was pretty cool - although he still refused to give them a discount. As their shift went on, both of them felt less tired, and in the end they sang together on stage, delighting the customers, and surprising many with the fact that Dave had a pretty good singing voice. By that time, all of the partners were aware that they would officially take over next Saturday. All that was left now was to finalise their plans for Valentine's Day.