Disclaimer: Glee does not belong to me.
"She can't see the way your eyes light up when you smile. She'll never notice how you stop and stare whenever she walks by. And you can't see me wanting you the way you want her, but you are everything to me."
– Taylor Swift, "Invisible"
Allie strode out of her therapist's office, swinging her handbag happily. Today had been a particularly good session, and for the first time since she'd been transferred from Finn's office to Design's, she felt like her life was actually going somewhere.
She strolled down Fifth Avenue, window shopping at each store she passed on her way to Barnes and Noble, anxious to pick up that new romance novel she'd read the review of. Pushing open the door, she made a beeline for the romance section, prepared to quickly grab the trashy novel and race to the register.
She glanced at the shelf, scanning the titles as she searched for the one that she wanted. Allie had started reading trashy romance novels back in high school and had quickly become addicted to them. She'd become ingenious at hiding the embarrassing novels, and had long since mastered the art of finding the novel she wanted and racing to the register before anyone could see what was in her hand. She loved the romanticism of the cover art, with the strong handsome male and the beautiful female captured in some sort of seductive position.
Quickly, Allie found Lady Margaret's Lover and pulled it off the shelf eagerly. Opening the cover, she examined the cover art critically. Her eyes raked over the strong chiseled man lowering a beautiful woman with a large chest onto a couch in front of a roaring fire. Both were looking deep into the other's eyes. Allie sighed, wishing that for once, that would be her. She walked slowly, letting her mind wander.
"Allie, I've been waiting forever for you. I love you," Finn said as he lowered her onto the couch. Allie stared deep into his eyes, feeling the deep connection they shared surging through her body. He brought his head down and began kissing her passionately; letting his strong hands roam over her body. "I'm leaving her, because I'm madly in love with you."
"Excuse me, are you on line?"
"Huh?" Startled, Allie looked around, noticing that she had walked over to the register line without even realizing. Her daydream was interrupted by a tired looking woman holding several books and a crying toddler, staring at her impatiently.
"Look. I don't have all day. Are you on line or not?"
"Uh, you can go ahead of me." Allie stepped aside to let her pass, her eyes falling on a brightly colored book on a "New Release" display. Automatically, she started gravitating towards it. From working at Schuester's, she knew what bright colors in a book store meant.
Chick Lit.
Happily, she picked up the bright pink book, examining the cover. "How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days," she read aloud, thinking this could be a good book to read in the bathtub. The picture on the cover made her laugh. It was a drawing of a girl holding a small dog trying desperately to hold onto a guy who was walking right out of the picture.
Her eyes scrolled down to see who the author was. Rachel Berry. She was sure she'd never read anything by Rachel Berry, although the name sounded very familiar. She opened up the book, prepared to read a page or two to see if she'd like it. Quickly flipping through the first couple of pages, she paused when a word caught her eye on the dedication page.
"For Finn, who rescued me from myself, helping me find everything I never knew I wanted, including him, and didn't laugh when I told him I secretly wanted to be Canadian."
Finn.
Rachel Berry.
Finn and Rachel.
This book was written by her. The one who'd stolen Finn from Allie.
Dropping the book as if it was the plague, she quickly got out her cell phone. "Hello? Dr. Richards? I think I need to schedule an emergency session."
"So Allie, tell me why you're here."
"I saw a book written by her," Allie said quietly, looking down at her hands. "The one Finn is in love with."
Dr. Richards adjusted her glasses before speaking. "Alright, why don't we try a different tactic today? Why don't you tell me about the day you met Finn? Maybe we need to look at this in a new angle."
"It was 4 years ago this June 2nd. I'd just started working for Schuester's and Will had been showing me around…" Her eyes drifted off into space, lost in the memory of meeting and falling in love with Finn.
"So that's about it. This is your work area. Finn won't be in until later, he's at a meeting with a client, but I'm sure you'll have no problem working for him. He's an easy-going guy. His last secretary just loved him like a son. She made him food right up until the day she retired. Why don't you get familiar with your area and then head down to security to pick up your ID? Oh, you know what? I have some files being copied for Finn that need to be picked up from the photocopy room. Maybe you should pick them up and introduce yourself to the people there."
Allie nodded enthusiastically. She'd been wondering about her new boss. The interviewer had simply told her it was a secretary position, detailing the job responsibilities. At the time, she couldn't care less, she was just happy to get the job. She'd been forced to get a new job, since waitressing part-time wasn't earning her the money she needed to pay both her rent and her college tuition. This job would be paying more than enough to cover her expenses and she'd be able to quit waitressing altogether which would allow her to go to school at night. It wasn't until she'd met Will Schuester that she'd heard anything about who she'd be working for though. "Where can I find the photocopy room?"
Will, distracted by a man in a wheelchair rolling towards them, smiled at her before answering her. "Allison, I'd like you to meet Artie Abrams. Artie works closely with Finn, so you'll be seeing a lot of him. Artie, this is Allison Larson, she's taking Sofia's place as Finn's new secretary."
Allie smiled at Artie as she shook his hand. "Call me Allie."
"Artie, did you and Finn finalize that new Nike Ad? I know they had some concerns about it," Will cut in, concerned.
"I was just coming to talk to you about it, actually," Artie replied, holding up a design copy of the ad.
"Let's go talk about it in my office. Allison, I'll leave you to get to work." Allie stared as Will walked off with Artie, realizing too late that Will had never told her where the photocopy room was. She looked around, trying to figure out who to ask. Her eyes fell on two women nearby. One was a tall exotic looking Hispanic woman talking on a cell phone, while the other was a classic blonde looking through a file.
Tentatively, Allie walked over to them. "Excuse me?"
The one on the cell phone ignored her, while the blonde's eyes flickered to Allie for a second before going back to her file.
"Um, I'm new here and-" Allie began, stopping as the Hispanic woman held up a finger, still speaking into her phone. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. It's just that I need to know where the-"
"Who are you?" the blonde asked coldly.
"I'm Allie Larson. I'm the new secretary for-"
"Look New Girl. Let me give you a breakdown of how things work around here." The Hispanic woman finally ended her phone call, shutting the phone with a snap. She gestured to herself and the blonde. "We are Executives. We have important things to do. We can't be bothered with little things like where to find a box of staples. If you need something, ask another secretary," she said, belittlement dripping off the word secretary.
"I..I'm sorry, I, uh," Allie stammered, unsure of what to say as the Hispanic woman rolled her eyes and started to walk away. The blonde offered her a small smile before following her.
Allie stared after their retreating figures, slightly shocked. She stood still, looking around the room, afraid to ask anyone else where the photocopy room was.
"Don't mind her, she's just a Bitch." Startled, Allie looked to her right to see a tall Asian man standing next to her. He was smiling at her in a friendly manner, so she gave a small smile back.
"Are you a secretary too?" she asked, figuring since he was talking to her, it was a good bet.
"No, I'm a Creative Director. Mike Chang," he replied, holding out a hand.
Allie shook it, her face crimson from embarrassment. "I'm Allie Larson. I'm sorry; I just assumed since you were talking to me, you must be a secretary."
"No problem. Ignore Santana. Everyone's nice around here except for her. Whose secretary are you?" he asked, trying to put her at ease.
"Um, Mr. Hudson's," she said, relaxing a little.
"Oh! You're working for Finn? We'll be seeing a lot of each other then, I'm part of Finn's team. You'll love him, he's really great," Mike said, smiling.
"Can I ask you something?" Seeing Mike nod, Allie continued quickly. "Mr. Schuester said that I need to pick something up from the copy room, but he left before he could tell me where it was. Um, where is it?"
"It's down on the 1st Floor. Most offices in this building have their own copy room, but they're not with the office. Ours happens to be all the way down on the 1st floor, which is a pain. Just get out of the elevator and make a left. Ask for Vera."
"Thanks, Mr. Chang," Allie said, relieved. She'd had horrible scenes running through her head about her new boss ripping her a new one for being inept on her first day and firing her.
"Call me Mike."
"Thanks Mike," Allie said as she scurried off to the elevator.
Thanks to Mike's directions, she'd quickly located the copy room and picked up the necessary documents, introducing herself to Vera and the rest of the copy staff.
She was just making her way to the elevators, her arms loaded with documents, when she noticed an elevator open, waiting for passengers. "Hold the elevator!" she called to a woman stepping into it. She hurried a little, struggling to run with all the documents in her arms.
Allie was so focused on trying to get to the elevator that she failed to see a man walking and talking on a cell phone until it was too late. They crashed into each other, Allie's documents falling all over the place as she fell to the floor. The man on the cell phone simply gave her a dirty look as he picked up his cell phone and kept walking towards the elevator. Allie stared after him for a moment before looking in dismay at all the documents scattered around the floor. Frantically, she got on her knees attempting to gather them up.
"Are you ok? Can I give you a hand?"
"I'm fine. It's my first day here and I-" Allie looked up to see a tall handsome man staring down at her, making her lose the ability to speak. He bent down to start picking up papers, allowing Allie to get a better view of him. His suit jacket was draped over one arm and as he reached out his arms to start gathering the papers scattered everywhere, she could clearly see the muscles under his sleeves. "You really don't have to help me."
He looked up at her, giving her a lopsided grin, making Allie blush. "It's no problem. That guy was a jerk."
She stared at him for a moment, taking in his kind, whiskey colored eyes and messy brown hair. The hair contrasted with his expensive looking suit, but Allie decided that it added to his appeal. She snuck a peek at his left hand, registering the lack of a wedding ring. Forgetting about the papers, she continued staring, not even noticing that she'd stopped picking up the papers, only snapping out of her stupor when the man handed her the last of the papers.
"There you go," he said cheerfully, handing her the last of the papers. "Everything accounted for?"
"I..I think so," Allie said, reluctantly tearing her eyes from his face to scan the floor, looking for any stray papers they might have missed. "Thank you for helping me. My boss needs these. They're very important."
"I'm sure he'll understand if something's missing. Accidents happen. And don't worry, I didn't read any of them, just in case they're confidential," the man said, standing up and holding out a hand to help Allie up. She eagerly took his hand, noticing immediately how large his hand was and how strong of a grip he had.
She was about to introduce herself when his cell phone beeped. He glanced at the phone for a second. "If you have everything, I'm gonna head up to my office for a meeting. Good luck on your first day." He gave her a final smile before starting to walk away.
Allie stared after her Knight in Shining Armor with stars in her eyes, unable to move.
"And that was it. I went back upstairs, only to find that the man who helped me was my boss. Right from the start, he was so sweet," Allie said, snapping out of her reverie to look at her therapist.
"I see. Now how was your working relationship with him?" Dr. Richards asked, scribbling furiously on a notepad.
"He was the best boss. Finn was so funny and kind. Santana treats her secretary like a possession, but Finn never did that. He always brought me flowers on my birthday or Secretary's Day and often asked my opinion about things." Allie smiled, thinking of the petals she'd saved and dried from those bouquets hidden in a box in her apartment.
"Why don't we fast forward a few years? So he brings you flowers, but did you ever see him with anyone?"
"No," Allie said firmly. "I'd hear him talking about a date with Artie and Mike once in a while, but there was never anyone serious, except for Crazy Claire."
"Who's Crazy Claire?"
"Crazy Claire was someone he was set up on a blind date with. She was insane. She'd call constantly, every few minutes actually, wanting to speak to Finn. I filled up a whole memo pad with her messages and she kept coming to the office. Finn finally asked me to help him. He needed me to run interference for him, which I was only too glad to do. Claire certainly didn't deserve anyone as wonderful as Finn." She shuddered at the memory, remembering all the lies she told Claire. "Finn was so grateful, he bought me lunch."
She looked at the therapist, her eyes slightly misty. "And that's how it always was, he needed me."
"So all this time you're working with him, he's always single," the therapist said thoughtfully. "When did you first hear about Rachel?"
Allie gave an involuntary shiver at the name, not wanting to talk about that day. Knowing the therapist was going to keep questioning until she got the story out, she reluctantly thought back to that Friday. "Well, it was a Friday and Finn had had a big meeting the night before…" Her eyes lost focus again as she recalled the memory of that day.
Allie watched enviously as Mike and Artie went into Finn's office, wishing she had an excuse to go in there too. Finn had been in a particularly cheerful mood this morning when he'd arrived at the office, whistling softly as he greeted her and strolled into his office, turning around to ask her to call Mike and Artie to his office. She knew he'd had a meeting at McKinley's last night, she assumed it must have went well and wanted to tell them about it. Her eyes had followed him as always, noticing that he was wearing her favorite suit, the grey one with the deep blue shirt and matching tie. The sight of the expensive looking suit had made her wonder once again what he wore when he wasn't working. He was such a good dresser, she was sure that extended to his non-work clothing also.
From the vantage point at her desk, she could see the three of them staring at something, although she couldn't hear what was being said. She continued watching out of the corner of her eye, while typing Finn's letters and answering the phone. She was just taking a message when she noticed Artie knock something off the desk, causing Finn and Mike to scramble to the floor, picking things up. She smiled, enjoying the view of Finn's rear in her direct line of vision. She momentarily forgot about the person on the other end of the phone call as she traced the outline of his butt through his pants. The sound of the person screaming hello through the phone brought her back to reality, and she finished taking the message, all the while keeping her eyes on Finn's butt as he discussed something with Mike and Artie. She began wondering what was under those pants, wishing she knew for the thousandth time if he preferred boxers or briefs. She had a suspicion that he preferred boxers, because she thought she'd seen a waistband once, but she couldn't be positive.
"Allie! Get me the number for Rachel Berry at Maquillage ASAP!" Finn's voice broke through her daydream, and she looked up to see Finn through the doorway, still on the floor and holding an envelope in his hand.
"Of course Finn." She immediately turned to her computer, wondering why Finn needed this number. Maybe it was a new account. He hadn't mentioned a new account to her, but he was such a good Account Executive, Will was always giving him new clients. She scrolled through her contacts, not seeing anyone associated with Maquillage. She tried their website, but it was just a general website for readers of the magazine.
"Allie, do you have it yet?" Finn called frantically. "I really need it. Just get me the number, I'll call myself."
"Not yet, I'm working on it," Allie called back. She quickly called information, getting the number for Maquillage. She dialed the number information gave her, asking for Rachel Berry's extension. Scribbling it on a piece of paper, she rushed into Finn's office. "Here it is."
She glanced at the three men, who were all staring at the envelope in Finn's hand. Her eyes quickly registered a woman's clutch on the floor. She shrugged, figuring it was for an ad campaign.
"Thanks Allie, you're the best!" Blushing at his praise, she watched as Finn eagerly took the paper from her hand, staring at it excitedly.
Hearing her phone ringing, she reluctantly rushed back to her desk to answer it, waving at Mike and Artie as they walked past her desk. Since the person on the phone was Finn's contact at Under Armor, she connected him to Finn immediately, thoughts of Rachel Berry and Maquillage leaving her brain as she multi-tasked, daydreaming about going out with Finn and doing her work at the same time.
She was just picturing Finn seated at her mother's Thanksgiving table, when she saw Finn emerge from his office. He paused at her desk, fiddling with the candy jar she kept well stocked with his favorite candy on her desk.
"Hey Allie?"
Allie looked up, noticing a tentative, almost shy note in his voice. She watched as he stopped fiddling with the candy jar, beginning to play with Halloween decorations she'd placed around her desk instead. "Yes, Finn? Do you need something?"
"When someone sends you flowers, what kind of flowers do you like to get?" Finn asked, the words coming out in a rush.
Allie was surprised by his nervousness. He'd had her send flowers to clients before, always letting her pick out the arrangement, since he claimed he was flower illiterate. The only time he dictated the flower choice was when it was for his mother. She mentally ran through important Finn dates in her head. His mother's birthday wasn't for another 3 months, so she was stumped as to why he was asking. He continued playing with the objects on her desk, picking them up and putting them down quickly, as he waited for her answer. "Well it depends on who they're from, I guess. I like tulips or lilies, but roses are pretty too."
"What about from a guy? What do you like then? " Allie's head snapped up in surprise. Was Finn sending her flowers? "What's this about?" she asked, a note of excitement in her voice.
"I need to send flowers to a woman, but I'm not sure what to send." A blush suffused over Finn's face as he said these words. Allie stared at him, her mind going blank as she registered what he said.
I need to send flowers to a woman.
A woman.
He had to be sending flowers to her. He was just trying to figure out what she liked. This was different from the bouquets he gave her for her birthday or Secretary's Day, this was much more personal. Smiling, she got out the catalogue of floral arrangements the florist had given her for easy reference. "Well, why don't we look at the tulips?"
Finn glanced at the tulip page, his eye roaming critically over each arrangement. "No. None of these," he said with a note of finality in her voice. She wasn't too upset; lately she'd been liking lilies better anyway.
She was surprised when he rejected the lily arrangements also, as well as the orchid arrangements, muttering something about fun facts and British TV. "Why don't we look at the roses?" she asked, watching as he grabbed the book from her and started flipping through the book to the roses section.
"There. Those. I want those," Finn said determinedly, pointing to an arrangement. She peered at the book, seeing that Finn was pointing to a bouquet of purple roses.
"Are you sure, Finn?" she asked. She really didn't like purple roses, so she was confused about why he was insisting on them. She liked pink roses or classic red ones. "They're purple."
"That's why I want them, they're perfect for her. I don't like that arrangement though. The vase is too professional looking. Ask the florist for something smaller and daintier. Maybe something like that one," he said, pointing to another arrangement's vase. "Or maybe forget the vase and just sent the flowers." He ran his hand through his hair, stressing. "What would you want?"
"I like that vase," she said shyly, pointing to a low square one with a ribbon wrapped around it.
"Hmm." Finn studied the vase critically, getting the same look on his face as when he was discussing the layout of an ad with Mike. "Do you think it would look good with the purple roses?" he asked; a worried look on his face.
"Oh, yes," Allie said confidently. She'd always admired that vase. When Finn had her send flowers to client contacts that she liked, she always picked this vase to send the flowers in. Contacts that annoyed her or were rude on the phone got an ugly vase. Pleased that he was so worried about getting the perfect bouquet for her, she smiled at him as he once again stared at the book.
"You know what? I like that one," he said, pointing to a tall oblong vase with a ribbon wrapped around it. "Could they put a purple ribbon on it?"
"Ok, so you want purple roses, in that vase with a purple ribbon." She emphasized the word purple, checking to make sure he really wanted purple. She didn't know where he got the idea that she was loved the color purple, she was more of a pink kind of girl, but if he was sending her flowers, she wasn't going to complain. "How many roses?"
Finn ran a hand through his hair again, pulling on it slightly, making it even more messy than usual. "I don't know, what's normal?"
"I think a dozen or two is good," Allie said, smiling at how cute he looked with his messy hair.
"Then I want three dozen. No, make it four dozen," Finn said thoughtfully.
Allie's mouth dropped open. Four dozen roses! No one had ever sent her that large of a bouquet before. "Are…are you sure?"
"Positive. Give me a few minutes to think of what I want the card to say, then you can call it in." Finn ran into his office, shutting the door, leaving Allie to stare giddily at the picture of the roses.
He emerged about 15 minutes later, handing Allie a piece of paper. "Here. This is what I want the card to say, and this is the address the flowers need to go to. Remember, four dozen purple roses and the ribbon vase. It's got to be purple roses, nothing else."
"Got it. It'll be beautiful," Allie said, smiling at him as he thanked her and headed to Artie's office, thinking that he must be sending the flowers to her apartment if he'd written an address down on the paper.
Still smiling, she glanced down at the paper. Her smile faltered as she read the address.
Rachel Berry
Maquillage-32nd Floor Suite 1289
4 Times Square, Broadway between 42nd and 43rd
She dropped the paper in disbelief.
They weren't for her.
"So that was the first time? Did you know that he had romantic intentions?" Dr. Richards asked.
"Not until I heard the phone call. I walked in to give him a message as he was on the phone with her. The purse that was on his desk was hers and he was making plans to go out with her to a baseball game." Allie's eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at the therapist.
"And how did that make you feel?"
"I couldn't believe it. Right before she happened, I felt like he was being more affectionate towards me, like he was on the verge of asking me out."
"Meaning what?"
"Well, one time, he placed a hand on my arm to get my attention," Allie gushed. "And another time, he stopped Quinn from commenting on my outfit."
"What happened next? When was the next time you heard about Rachel? And incidentally, I'd like you to start saying her name, instead of her or she," Dr. Richards instructed.
"Then next time I heard about her-" Allie started, pausing when she noticed the look Dr. Richards was giving her. "Fine. I mean, the next time I heard about Rachel was when she called the office and Santana told me her plan the next day."
"Hey Allie, have you seen that contract for Adidas? The one from last year?" Finn asked, emerging from his office and yawned. "I hate working Saturdays, don't you?"
"Yes, it really sucks, especially if you were out late the night before," she said teasingly as Finn yawned again. "What were you doing?"
"Oh, I went to Game One of the World Series. It was awesome. Now, where's that contract?"
"Try the filing cabinet. If it's from last year, it'll be in that one," she said pointing to the cabinet on the left. She knew perfectly well what he'd done last night. She'd stayed home last night just to watch the game on the off chance he'd make it on TV. She was rewarded during the 4th inning when he was shown just after a commercial break. Her joy was short lived when she realized that he sharing a pretzel with a brunette, a beer in his hand. She was glad she'd thought to record the game, this way she was able to pause it and stare at both him and her. She was tiny, with long dark hair and a large nose. She was clearly ill matched for Finn; she would barely come up to his chest. Allie smirked, feeling her own 5'8 frame was a much better match for him. He clearly liked dark hair, so she was good there, although that girl's hair was longer than her own. And her nose was much better than that girl's.
She'd spent a long time watching and rewatching the clip, trying to analyze their body language. She grudgingly admitted that they were sitting closer than normal, their shoulders touching as they shared the armrest, but she rationalized that by figuring they needed to be that close to share the pretzel. They didn't speak to each other during the clip, but she could see Finn's eyes flicker over to stare at her twice.
Suspecting that this was the Rachel Berry of the purple roses, she'd gone to the computer to find out everything she could about the competition. She'd spent hours reading all of her "How to" articles, thinking that if Rachel wasn't her competition, she'd probably really like reading her column. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw an image of Rachel at a charity event Maquillage hosted.
She stopped her musings long enough to watch as Finn strode over to the filing cabinet, enjoying the view of his backside, today clad in the beige colored suit that she didn't particularly care for.
"Could you be more obvious?" Santana had hissed in her ear, startling her as she'd stared longingly at Finn, who was now bending over looking through a drawer of the cabinet. She'd been so engrossed in her musings and ogling, that she hadn't even realized Santana was there.
"What...what are you talking about? Why are you even talking to me?" Allie had stammered. Santana had never talked to her before, Allie didn't even think Santana knew her name. Ever since that first day when Santana had been rude to her, she'd never spoken to Santana. She didn't really have a reason to, since Finn very rarely dealt with Santana, but she did enjoy talking to Santana's poor secretary, since it gave her a reason to talk and brag about Finn and how great he was.
"I mean the fact that you have a thing for Finnocence over there," Santana had stated in an almost bored tone as she examined her nails. "I'm talking to you because I like you and want to help you, even if you have horrible taste in men."
"Do you think he knows?" Allie had asked in horror, looking from Santana to Finn, who was still looking for that contract. She thought she'd done such a good job concealing her feelings for Finn. She wanted him to realize his feelings for her and act on them before she displayed her own emotions.
"The whole office knows, except for Finnegan and his even stupider colleagues." Santana continued examining her nails before wiping an imaginary speck off of her immaculate blazer. "Fortunately for you, I'm in a position to help you."
"How's that?" Her gaze had shifted from Santana back to Finn, who was now busy texting someone on his phone, a smile on his face. She briefly wondered if he was texting her.
"I've seen the way he looks at you. Think about it. Finnegan is trying to win the Puckerman account. If he wins that account, he'll be so busy, he'll never have time to go to those little softball games he loves so much, let alone date you. If we can get rid of the Hobbit, he'll be free to date you and I'll gladly take the account off his hands if it will help the two of you get together."
"Really? He looks at me?" Allie was beyond thrilled. She knew those highlights she'd gotten would get his attention. She'd debated for weeks about getting highlights vs. dying her hair with Christina, finally deciding on the highlights because it would be more subtle. She figured he would notice something was different, but would be unable to pinpoint what, forcing him to stare at her for long periods of time.
"Quinn and I have both noticed him staring. We were just talking about what a great couple you and Finn would make," Santana said. Allie stared, feeling as if she was about to float away. She knew it. It wasn't just her that thought they'd be good together. Santana was conceited and totally into herself, but even she'd noticed.
"Here's what you need to do. Do whatever I tell you from now on, and he'll be yours. I'm going to the meeting now, but I'll be back. If Rachel or anyone from Maquillage calls while we're in there, make sure you interrupt, ok?" She gave Allie's shoulder a squeeze before heading off to the meeting.
"Got it," Allie said, still in a daze from Santana's news.
Turning on her iHome, she set her iPod to play the playlist of songs she was considering to be her and Finn's First Dance song at their wedding. The first song began playing as she sat down to start her typing. Humming softly to herself, she mulled over the song trying to decide if it was worthy of being her and Finn's song. Deciding it wasn't, she moved onto the next song, resuming her work amid her contemplation.
The phone interrupted her thoughts. Still thinking about the song, she picked up the phone. "Finn Hudson's office, Allie speaking."
"Hi, this is Rachel Berry. Is Finn available to talk by any chance?" a high pitched voice asked through the phone.
Allie bristled at the voice of the enemy, annoyed at the way Rachel asked for Finn as if they'd known each other forever. She was about to say no he wasn't available and hang up, when she remembered Santana's instructions. "Hold on one moment. He's in a meeting right now, I'll see if he can leave it."
"Oh no, you don't need to do that if he's in a meeting. He can call me after the meeting," Rachel said hurriedly.
"Nonsense. I'll go get him." Quickly, before Rachel could say anything else, Allie put Rachel on hold, heading down to the conference room.
"Excuse me, Mr. Schuester?" Allie timidly made her presence known, knocking softly on the door. She hated interrupting these kinds of meetings, when all the partners and executives were there. Her eyes immediately found Finn, sitting on the far side of the table next to Mike. Santana was seated on the same side of the table, staring at Allie, encouraging her to go on.
"Yes, Allie what is it? We're very busy here," Will replied, clearly irritated, which just made Allie more nervous.
"It's just that there's a phone call for Finn," she stammered, watching as Finn stared up in surprise. She could tell by the way he raised his eyebrows that he wasn't thrilled she'd interrupted the meeting. She knew as well as he did that Will did not like anyone taking phone calls during meetings.
"Allie, take a message and tell them I'll call back later," Finn said, throwing a glance at Will before turning his attention back to her.
"It's Rachel." At those words, the entire conference room went silent. Santana and Quinn exchanged glances, as did Mike and Artie. Finn himself looked at Will, silently asking permission to take the call. Allie, confused by the reaction her announcement got, simply stared at Finn.
"Fine. Take the call, but be very quick about it." Will turned his attention back to the rest of the group, ready to carry on his meeting. Unfortunately for him, everyone was focused on Finn, who had just reached for the telephone.
Allie, wishing she could stay and hear the conversation like everyone else, managed to hear him say hello to Rachel before she shut the door and headed back to her desk, ready to resume picking out a song for her and Finn.
She knew the meeting was over when she saw Mike, Artie, and Finn head into Mike's office, discussing the game last night. She watched them pass, staring at Finn's retreating figure as she finished her typing.
"You really need to stop staring at him. It's just desparate." She jumped as she heard Santana's voice in her ear.
"I..I wasn't staring."
Santana rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Wipe the drool off your mouth and look at this." She shoved a piece of paper into Allie's hand. "Here's what you need to do. Go to this address tonight, and do everything that I wrote on this card. You do this, and Rachel's gone by tomorrow."
"What was on the card?"
"Hmm? Oh, directions to a Karaoke bar and instructions on what to do once I got there," Allie said, drawn out of her reminiscing.
"And what were the instructions?"
"I needed to go over to their table and start talking to them. Santana was going to call to distract Finn and I had certain things to say to Rachel. Things that didn't work," Allie added bitterly. Sighing, she continued her tale.
Allie had stayed by the bar, nursing a beer. She wasn't really a beer drinker, but she'd noticed that Finn always drank this kind of beer at office parties, so she decided to try to like it for him. She'd seen Rachel come in and settle at a table, sending death glares in Rachel's direction. Finn came in about 15 minutes later, looking handsome in a pair of jeans and grey, man version of a cowl-necked sweater. He looked around for a moment, scanning the bar area. Part of Allie hoped that he'd notice her and come over, immediately forgetting about his plans with Rachel, so she wouldn't have to go through with Santana's plan, but she knew that wasn't realistic. His eyes continued scanning the room, lighting up when he noticed Rachel sitting at a table.
Allie seethed; Rachel hadn't even noticed that Finn was here yet. He was clearly excited to see her for some reason, and she didn't even know he'd arrived while Allie had noticed him instantly. She gave them a few minutes before she went over and interrupted them. She quickly texted Santana to let her know to call in a few minutes before getting off her stool and heading to their table.
"Finn? Is that you?" Allie asked, as if she didn't know.
"Oh, hey Allie. Ray, this is Allie, my secretary. Allie, Rachel." Allie got her first up close and in person look at Rachel, pleased to see that her earlier observations from the TV were spot on. She eyed Rachel's white dress with green, yellow and blue stripes on it, a blue cardigan over the dress, feeling that Rachel looked like she was getting ready to take her school photo. Allie had spent hours agonizing over what to wear tonight, finally deciding that a trip to Forever 21 was in order. The skirt she'd bought showcased her legs perfectly and the halter top showed just enough cleavage, something she was never able to do at work. She was pleased to see cleavage was another area where she had Rachel beat.
"Hello, Allie, it's so nice to meet you in person. I think we spoke on the phone today. Would you like to join us?" Rachel gestured to the empty chair next to her.
Ugh. This girl was so fake. She was glad Finn didn't pick her vase now. She totally wasn't worthy of Allie's favorite vase.
"Oh, I couldn't impose. I just came to say hello on my way to the bar. It's so rare to see Finn out and about. He's always working," Allie punctuated this statement with a roll of her eyes, just like Santana said to. She wasn't going to tell Rachel that she liked when Finn worked, since it meant that she had to work too, and then she could spend time staring at him, especially since Santana had called her a freak after she'd shared that info with her.
"I'm not always working!" Finn protested. As if on cue, his cell phone rang. She watched knowingly as he glanced at the ID screen. He smiled apologetically at Rachel and stood up. "Rachel, I'm sorry, but I have to take this, it's work. It'll only be minute." Rachel nodded and smiled.
"Don't worry Finn. I'll keep Rachel company." Allie made herself comfortable in the chair Finn had vacated, thrilled that it was still warm from him. Already preoccupied with his phone, Finn nodded and walked away, Allie discreetly checking him out.
She turned her attention back to Rachel, completely forgetting what Santana said she should say.
"So, how long have you worked with Finn?" Rachel asked, trying to start a conversation. Rachel's lame comment jarred her memory and she gave her a phony smile.
"Oh, about 3 years. Everybody just loves Finn." That was 100% true. Other than Santana, she couldn't think of anyone who didn't like him, which was understandable, considering how perfect he was.
"I could see that, he's very easy to get along with," Rachel said smiling, her eyes watching Finn speak on his cell phone outside, while throwing his hands in the air. Allie watched Finn outside also. Could he get anymore adorable?
"Oh, he's very popular around the office. Especially with the ladies, if you get my meaning. I can't tell you how many times I've had send flowers, sometimes to different girls on the same day. I've got the florist on speed dial." Allie laughed; purposely leaving out that the only females she'd ever sent flowers to were clients or his mom. She launched into Santana's script, which she'd memorized that afternoon. "Funny, I thought he was seeing Ana. I just made dinner reservations for them Thursday night at McKinley's. God, she's beautiful. I wish I had her body." She peered at Rachel, noting with satisfaction that she'd paled. "Are you okay?" she asked with false worry, just like Santana had coached her to.
"I'm fine," Rachel said, although Allie noticed she was gritting her teeth.
"Oh, there's my date! I have to go. It was so nice meeting you, Rachel." With that, Allie jumped off the stool and disappeared into the crowd. She smirked as she walked away. Her job was done. Now all she had to do was sit back and wait for Finn to come running into her open arms. She settled back into her seat at the bar, watching as Rachel downed her drink and then drank Finn's beer before talking to the waitress. Allie pulled out her cell phone, texting Santana and Quinn that Rachel had fallen for it. She watched happily as Finn came back, able to tell by their interactions that something was off, and that Finn was confused.
A moment later it was her turn to be confused, as Finn was suddenly up on the stage singing "It's Raining Men" instead of in her arms. At first, Allie noticed he was mortified and she tried to send him support with her eyes from where she was sitting. Unfortunately, he didn't look in her direction, choosing instead to look at Rachel.
Allie listened to the song, proud of Finn and his strong singing voice, but her confusion grew when Rachel greeted him after the song by jumping into his arms and kissing his face all over. Rather than be repulsed by her kisses, like Allie was, Finn seemed to be enjoying it, picking her up and carrying her over to their table while she continued to kiss him. She watched as Rachel sat back down in her own seat, talking animatedly with Finn for a few minutes before he got called to the stage to perform again.
She continued to stare at Finn as he performed Barbie Girl, unsure of why he was picking such weird songs to sing when she knew he favored classic rock. Her confusion about his song choices was forgotten the second she saw Rachel attack him and jump into his lap to kiss him when he returned to his seat. From where she was sitting, Allie could tell that Finn wasn't reciprocating, since he was pulling his face away to say something to her and his hands were at his sides. She smirked, happy to see that Rachel was practically throwing herself at him, and he wasn't interested.
Her smirk quickly turned to a frown when she saw his hands come up and wrap around her waist. Her frown grew deeper as he leaned in close to her neck. She strained her eyes, wishing she had binoculars, because she couldn't tell if he was whispering something to her or kissing her neck. Rachel, the bitch that she is, must have known Allie was watching, because she turned her head at that moment, allowing Allie to clearly see that Finn was in fact kissing and sucking on her neck.
That was enough for her. Grabbing her purse, she ran out of the bar, not even bothering to stop the tears from falling. She tried calling Santana every few minutes, but she never answered. She hurried home, ready to cry herself to sleep.
"What did you feel when you saw them kissing?"
"I've wondered for years what his lips feel like, and she finds out after knowing him for a day and a half? That's not fair," Allie said bitterly. "Santana said it was my fault that her plan didn't work, saying I'd clearly screwed it up somehow. That's why she decided to go to the softball game. Well that and the fact that I had a class on the night they play softball, but that really was a mistake on my part. When I made my schedule for the fall semester, I forgot which days softball was. If I had remembered, I never would have scheduled my class for then, so I could support him at the games."
"Alright, so Santana went to the softball game. You didn't see Rachel until the Gala then?" Dr. Richards asked, trying to get Allie back on track.
"No, she came into the office that morning," Allie said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
"Why?"
"I don't know. Finn had been talking with Mike in his office…"
"Now you know why she's driving me crazy." Allie watched as Finn headed into the Break Room, calling that over his shoulder to Mike, who followed him into the Break Room. She wasn't sure who he was talking about, but she hoped it was Rachel. It would be understandable if it was, Rachel had been driving her crazy since the first time she'd heard her name. She typed a little faster, punching the keys harder, pretending that the keys were Rachel's face.
She was just proofreading her typing when she heard the elevator ding and looked up to see who was coming in. She grimaced as she recognized the annoying figure of the one and only Rachel Berry. Her eyes followed Rachel's every move, watching as she stopped to talk to Quinn's secretary, probably asking where Finn would be. Allie's suspicions were confirmed when Jeannette pointed in her direction.
Quickly, Allie went back to proofreading, hoping that if she looked busy, then Rachel wouldn't talk to her. No such luck, since Rachel bounded over to her.
"Hi Allie! Can you tell me where Finn would be?"
Reluctantly, Allie picked up her head, taking in Rachel's pretty red dress begrudgingly. She stared at the large bag slung over one shoulder, wondering what she could possibly need a bag that large for. It was practically the size of her. "Finn's not in his office right now, he's taking a break," she finally said.
"Oh! Well that's just perfect timing then isn't it? Where would he be?" Rachel asked cheerfully, shifting the large bag on her shoulder.
Allie thought fast. Finn had just walked into the Break Room, saying a female was driving him crazy. She knew it wasn't her, and it probably wasn't his mom, which left Rachel as the most likely suspect. If she sent Rachel into the Break Room, Finn could get mad and dump her, which would be good for Allie. On the other hand, if it wasn't Rachel who was driving him crazy, she'd be giving Rachel the opportunity to get kissed by Finn again, which would be bad for Allie. She decided to go with option one. "He's in the Break Room with Mike and Artie," she replied pointing the way, wishing she could be a fly on the wall to see what happened in there. She rolled her eyes as Rachel bounced happily over to the Break Room door.
She looked up a few minutes later as Mike and Artie emerged from the Break Room, hysterically laughing as they ran to their offices. Finn and Rachel emerged a minute or two later, Rachel now holding a little Chihuahua in her arms. Envious, Allie watched as Finn placed his hand on the small of Rachel's back, guiding her toward the elevator.
"I really need to get back to work now, but I'll see you at the game, right?" Finn asked as he pressed the down button and rubbed the head of the Chihuahua.
"Of course Finn. I can't wait!" Allie saw Rachel glance in her direction. Allie ducked her head down, embarrassed at having been caught staring. Her head still down, she peeked over in their direction again, just in time to see Rachel pull Finn down for a kiss before stepping into the elevator.
"Bitch."
"Excuse me?" Dr. Richards asked.
"I said, Bitch. I meant Rachel was one, because I know she kissed him in front of me on purpose. She looked at me just before she did it," Allie explained, crossing her arms.
"How do you know that she just wasn't checking to make sure no was looking? Maybe Rachel didn't want to embarrass Finn at his workplace," Dr. Richards pointed out.
"I doubt it. Rachel's not that thoughtful," Allie insisted stubbornly, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
Dr. Richards glanced at the clock. "You know, I think that's enough for today. Next time we'll talk about what happened at the Gala. Why don't you go home and get your mind off of Finn? I want you to focus the energy that you would normally use to think about Finn on a new hobby. Didn't we talk last time about you joining a dance class and meeting new people? You went the other day right? Did you meet anyone?"
"Well, there was this guy named Joe at my last class. He seemed ok, although he used a really lame pickup line that Finn would never ever say."
"Don't compare every guy you meet to Finn, remember? Did you talk to Joe?" Dr. Richards encouraged.
"He gave me his number, but I haven't called him," Allie admitted reluctantly.
"Then maybe you should consider doing that tonight," Dr. Richards said, scribbling something on her notepad.
"But what if Finn needs-" Allie started to say, but was immediately cut off by the therapist holding up a hand.
"No. If he needs anything, he's going to ask Rachel, you and I both know that," Dr. Richards said firmly. She looked at Allie's crestfallen face, continuing in a gentler voice. "Maybe Joe will need you like Finn needs Rachel."
"Maybe," Allie said thoughtfully as she stood up. "Thanks, Dr. Richards. I'll see you next week."
Allie walked out the door, considering the possibility of calling Joe.
Maybe, just maybe, she could be his Rachel.
A/N: A lot of people asked for the backstory of Allie and what she was thinking during the 10 Days, so here's part 1. These one shots are going to be jumping around in no particular order, just whatever I feel like writing about I guess. I have two more ready to go, but I want to update Serendipity and Puffygate first.
