A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait! Things have been very hectic lately and I just never seemed to get the time to write or wasn't inspired when I did have a free moment. However, things have calmed down now so updates should be more frequent. Thank you so much for all of your kind reviews and please continue they the best source of motivation! I hope this at least partially makes up for the wait!

Disclaimer: Do not own Glee.

20-year-old Rachel Berry started scrubbing her last tub of the day. Pausing to wipe the light layer of sweat that had gathered on her brow, Rachel turned up the volume on her iPod and adjusted the earphones, as one of her all time favourite Meatloaf songs came on. Returning to her scrubbing Rachel thought back on the long day she had had. She had started her day with an early shift at the little coffee shop she worked at and then had come straight to the hotel to her second job as a maid. Her back and feet ached, reminding her that she had been working and on her feet for more than 12 hours. The thought of a shower and being able to fall into bed motivated Rachel to start scrubbing furiously at the tub until it gleamed.

After finishing with the tub Rachel turned to the vanity. Grabbing the designated cloth she began to wipe down the counter top and allowed herself to hum along with the song as the tempo started to pick up. Finishing cleaning the counter and sink with a speed and thoroughness that could only be achieved with much practice, Rachel turned to where her many different cleaning utensils and fluids rested on the floor. Setting down the cloth and spray bottle she had used for the vanity and grabbing the paper towel and glass cleaner needed for the mirror Rachel prepared for her favourite part of the song.

She loved hearing the powerful and sudden belt of the woman, as she demanded answers and promises. As the song progressed closer to the female solo Rachel became more and more caught up. Just as the female voice began Rachel quickly whipped around to face the mirror, holding the spray bottle like a microphone and began belting out the lyrics along with the woman singing in her ears.

Stop right there

Rachel thrashed her head from side to side and shook her hips with attitude, getting lost in the song and watching herself perform in the mirror.

I gotta know right now

She stuck out her chest and shoulders, shooting a demanding look in the mirror.

Before we go any further
Do you love me
Will you love me forever
Do you need me
Will you never leave me
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife

Rachel continued to sing along with these quick lyrics, seductively running her hand over her body and shaking her hips.

Do you love me
Will you love me forever

Do you need me
Will you never leave me
Will you make me happy for the rest of my life
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife

As the quick tempo continued Rachel began to dance and move in frantic short movements, really feeling and expressing the woman's desperation for answers.

I gotta know right now
Before we go any further
Do you love me
Will you love me forever

On the final line Rachel stuck out her hip and shot the mirror a challenging look, daring it to refuse to love her forever.

As Meatloaf's voice comes back on Rachel looked at herself in the mirror and softly laughed at her self, incredulous that she had just belted out a song like that in the middle of this hotel room bathroom. She didn't consider herself to have much talent when it came to singing, but she had always loved listening to music and would often sing along, it was fun to just let go and get lost in the song. Looking around the empty bathroom Rachel figured that she wasn't disturbing anyone so she allowed herself to once again sing along, although in a much quieter voice, as she wiped down the mirror.

Once finished the mirror Rachel took one last look around the bathroom, making sure that everything was clean and restocked, before picking up her cleaning supplies and exiting the bathroom still humming along as the song continued to play through her earphones.

As she stepped out of the bathroom Rachel immediately noticed the man standing in the room staring at her. She immediately froze and had to will herself not to drop all of cleaning products she was holding.

From the look he was giving her Rachel knew that he had heard her belting out the song earlier in the bathroom. Deeply blushing at the realization that her earlier "performance" had had an audience, Rachel stood there unmoving staring at the man, whom she assumed was the guest staying in this room.

Oh my god! I cannot believe that a guest just heard me singing while cleaning their room. No doubt they will complain and I will probably lose my job. I can't get fired! I NEED this job to pay my rent. Oh my god, what am I going to do? This is horrible – wait why is he staring at me like that? Oh my god, I haven't even said anything yet. I've just been standing here like an idiot! Maybe if I apologize enough and offer him free soap and shampoo he won't complain. Yes! That's what I'll do. I'll just apologize, profusely and offer him free soap and shampoo. All of these thoughts flew through Rachel's head in a matter of seconds, before she quickly put her plan into action.

Pulling out her earphones, careful not to drop anything, Rachel began to apologize, profusely.

"I am so sorry, Sir. I assure that this is not how we normally treat our guests. I have never done that before and I will never do it again. I truly apologize for any discomfort it may have caused you on behalf of the hotel and myself. The hotel does not approve of displays such as that and I never should have partaken in such an act while at work. I cannot convey to you how truly sorry I am for any disruption I caused to your stay here, but I assure it was not intentional and it will not happen again. Your comfort is the most important thing to this hotel and its employees and I apologize if I ever detracted from the enjoyment of your stay. Please -"

Rachel was so caught up in her apology that she didn't notice the smile that had broken out on Will's face.

Will had finally been broken out of his stupor once Rachel had started her long-winded apology.

Once he realized that this woman was not going to stop talking anytime soon Will cut in before she could continue any further.

"Oh, no. Please stop apologizing," Will said with a gentle smile, trying to calm the woman's obviously frazzles nerves.

"It was no problem at all. Really, you were amazing," he continued, "Better than anything I've heard in weeks. Actually, you could be the answer to the rather large problem I've been having."

Relieved that her job seemed to be safe, Rachel took a moment to reflect back on this man's last statement.

"Well I'm glad that I haven't disrupted your stay and I would be happy to be of assistance, but I don't understand how I could be the answer to one of your problems," Rachel questioned, while shooting Will a small and relieved, yet confused smile.

Sensing her confusing Will decided to introduce himself and tell her about his search for a female opening act – a search that would hopefully be over tonight if this woman agrees to go on tour.

"Oh, I apologize. My name is Will Schuester; I own the record label New Directions. I'm visiting from LA, actually," Will said, while sticking out his hand for the woman to shake.

"Rachel. Rachel Berry," Rachel introduced herself, while shaking Will's hand awkwardly as she tried not to drop all of the cleaning supplies in her arms.

She was still quite confused about how she could solve any problems of this obviously important and wealthy man. Couldn't he just pay someone and get whatever he needed done? What on earth could she possibly offer Will Schuester, owner of a record label?

Will could clearly see the confusion on Rachel's face and decided to answer her unasked question.

"One of the bands signed to my label is Needless Addiction. And as you may know they are set to start a world tour in less than a month," he started. "However, I have yet to find an opening act. My team and I have spent months searching for the right voice, but up until now haven't found anything suitable. It is extremely difficult to find a female performer that can cut it as an opening act for a rock band. Rehearsals are set to begin as soon as the band and my team return to LA, which is meant to be any day now, but I refuse to go back without an opening act. However, after today I don't think that I will have to worry about the opening act any longer. I think I've found exactly what I was looking for," Will said, smiling widely at the powerhouse he now knew to be Rachel Berry.

"Well I'm glad that you have found what you were looking for," Rachel said with a small polite smile, "But I don't understand what any of this has to do with me?"

Smiling widely at how clearly unaware this amazing young woman was of her talent, Will couldn't help but be proud of himself. He was the one to discover this truly amazing talent that without him might never have been recognized or utilized to its full potential.

"You have an incredible voice, truly like none I have ever heard before. I don't think that you even realize what a talent you have, but I do and I want you to be the opening act for Needless Addiction," Will said, giving Rachel an encouraging look.

After hearing her belt out that song, he just HAD to have her as the opening act. No one else would compare now, they would all be second rate – and that was just something Will did not do. He was known for the best and in this case Rachel Berry was the best. He could already picture the amazing hype she would generate after a year on tour with one of the world's biggest rock bands and then the amazing albums, all reaching number one that he could make with her. This was going to be better than any best case scenario he had thought of, Will just had to get Rachel to agree.

Rachel stood there truly shocked. Singing was just something she did for fun, while cleaning her apartment or cooking. She never thought of herself as having any talent. She just liked how free she felt when she would goof around singing and dancing, letting go of all the stress and pressure of life for those few minutes and getting lost in the song.

"Um…I…Well…Ah," Rachel stumbled over her words, something she never did.

Realizing that this must be quite a shock for the young woman standing before him, Will gave her a moment to collect herself before cutting in.

"I know that this is probably shocking for you, but trust me. I am one of the best in the business and your voice is one of the most powerful and unique female voices I have heard in years. You have something special and I think this tour could lead to a great career for you," Will said trying to entice Rachel into agreeing.

"I – I don't have any training. I've never even sung in front of a crowd before – friends sure, but never a crowd. What you heard was just me getting caught up in the song. Singing? Performing? As a career? For me? I don't think so. While I appreciate your compliments, aren't there girls who are trained and audition for this kind of thing? Why not pick one of them?" Rachel asked, completely overwhelmed by this man's proposal.

"You're right there are many girls who have trained their whole lives in hopes of making it in the industry. And I have heard many of them audition to be the opening act," Will admitted, "But none of them have wowed me in the way that you have. From the first moment that I heard you I knew that you would be perfect for this."

Rachel simply stood there. Eyes wide, trying to process everything that Will was saying. She felt like she was in some sort of weird dream world. It was almost as if she was having an out of body experience. Rachel could see and hear everything Will was saying, but she couldn't react.

"Now I know that this is a lot to take in and you probably want some time to process everything, but unfortunately the one thing we do not have is time. And by no means am I going to force you into anything, but I will do anything to make sure that you don't walk out that door without saying yes. So, what do I need to do to get you to agree?" Will asked.

Still shocked, but realizing that this WAS really happening to her, Rachel some how pulled herself together enough to start asking questions.

"So…you really own a record label?" Rachel asked, curious about how legitimate this guy was.

"Yes, I do. Here," Will responded, pulling a business card out of his wallet and handing it to Rachel.

Sure enough, stated in black ink was: Will Schuester, CEO of New Directions. Rachel knew about the record label, it was one of the biggest in the country and some of her favourite artists were signed to it and the name Will Schuester sounded familiar, so she decided to believe that Will really was who he claimed to be.

"And you want me to open for Needless Addiction on their upcoming world tour?" Rachel questioned, still trying to grasp all that was happening.

"Yes! You would be perfect," Will said, nodding his head encouragingly.

"Ok. And how long would this tour last?" Rachel asked, looking for as much information as she could get about the situation.

"A year. The tour is set to last a year. It is mainly a North American tour, but a few months will be spent in Europe towards the end," Will quickly answered.

He was hoping that all of this curiosity meant that Rachel was seriously considering his proposition. Will was willing to share any information Rachel wanted as long she was considering his offer.

"A year. Wow. What about my jobs? I mean, I don't think either would be too pleased if I asked for a year off," Rachel wondered.

Since moving to New York she was always more aware of money and she was not in a place where she could just leave her two jobs to travel the world performing for a year.

"Well, you wouldn't need the jobs anymore. You would be paid to go on tour – probably more that what you would make in two years working here," Will replied, "And after the tour I would like to sign you and start to produce records."

"So I would be paid to perform even though I have no training and you want to sign me to your record label?" Rachel asked incredulously.

"Yes, you will absolutely be compensated for your work on tour and if things go well on tour, which I have a feeling they will, then yes. I would be thrilled to sign you and start working on producing albums," Will said, rather enthusiastically.

He was sure that Rachel was going to walk out the door as Needless Addictions new opening act.

"What will happen to my apartment during the year," Rachel wondered, "And you said that you were from LA. How could you produce an album for me if I am here in New York? Do you have an office here or something?"

Smiling at the fact that Rachel had just basically agreed without actually saying the words Will knew all that was left was formalities.

"Well, I would intend for you to move to LA. And as for your apartment I would have some of my people put it up on the market and once it sold I would have them transport all of your things to the LA apartment they found for you, so that it could all be waiting for you upon your return for the tour," he replied calmly.

Rachel was speechless for a moment.

"Move. To LA. You want me to move to LA?" Rachel questioned.

"Yes," Will said simply.

"Just give up my apartment and life here and move across the country?" Rachel continued.

"Well, yes," Will replied, "What's holding you back? Surely you can't want to be a maid forever."

Rachel thought about her tiny studio apartment. It was cramped, but she was proud of it, as it was the first place that was her own. She thought about her two jobs, neither was a career and they didn't make her happy.

"No. No, I don't want to be a maid – or a waitress forever," Rachel answered, as all these thoughts passed through her mind, "And your company would handle my apartment and the move?"

"Yes. Everything would be taken care of for you. However, you would be able to approve the new apartment they found for you, just to make sure you like it for when you return," Will said.

Rachel had come to New York looking for something better than the opportunities offered back home. After a final moment of deliberation she finally admitted to herself that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that she would forever regret giving up. And who knows, maybe this would be the something more she had been searching for.

With a firm nod of her head and a wide smile on her face Rachel announced her decision.

"I'll do it."