A/N: God… I can't believe how cheesy this turned out… This was supposed to be an office romance but Harry and Kurt didn't cooperate with me!
Anyway, this was inspired by the last month which I've worked as a secretary. Most of the work was actually done via email and phone and electronic calendar. Sure I had to scan a couple of documents for my boss but that was basically all the work that had to be done at the office. Had I been given a laptop with the right settings, I could have done it anywhere. On a good day I would see my boss a couple time a day and on not so good days I would see him once or not at all… :S Don't know whether to be happy or sad about it…
Seventeen reviews for the last chapter! OMG! People! I thought it was one of my more boring ones!
(Can't wait for the next Glee episode! Prom-a-saurus indeed!)
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Kurt liked his job well enough. The hours were flexible and the pay was around double that of Rachel's (including tips and she waited tables six nights a week). And the work didn't take much to do: he just needed the iPad his employer had given him for it. Of course he needed to learn to use a couple of programs to effectively do his job but having grown up in the late 90's, early 2000's, it wasn't a problem.
Sure, he didn't intend to be a secretary for the rest of his life but it was better than most of his class mates did. The best part of the job was that he could hold his job until he was done studying at NYADA (up to his PhD if he so wanted). He could even work whenever he liked as long as he got his tasks done on time (and he didn't have to stop for summer vacation since most of it was done via email and internet).
The only thing he didn't like about his job was that he hadn't met his employer face-to-face (or seen a picture of him), ever. Even his job interview had been done by Professor Harold Potter's last secretary who had graduated the spring before (Ben had been nice but he had warned that Professor Potter was an incredibly busy man and that Kurt wasn't likely to see him often if at all).
So Kurt did his job, scheduled meetings for Professor Potter, arranged his schedule (and remembering that Professor Potter was human and took at least half an hour around noon for Professor Potter to eat), made sure there was no overlapping in his calendar, reserved locations for said meetings and chatted with other secretaries about their bosses' quirks.
To tell the truth, he really wasn't sure what to expect from Professor Potter when the email came two weeks before the fall term began. Professor Potter wanted to schedule them a meeting and talk about how Kurt felt his job could be improved, how he felt he had improved during his employment, etc. He assured Kurt it could be done over lunch or dinner if he wanted and that the University would be paying for it (there was no actual limit for the meeting, money vise, but Professor Potter apparently didn't like formal dinners…).
When Kurt entered the restaurant he told the hostess he'd reserved a privet booth for Professor Potter and himself and could someone please show him there, using his best demanding yet polite voice (it had taken him years of practice but it was one of his best weapons when dealing with a new situation). The hostess told him Professor Potter had already arrived and signaled for a waiter to show him to the booth.
Kurt swallowed nervously. The man he was being led to was the reason he could afford his newest scarf and the reason he could still eat organic stuff. Would he be an old man, needing Kurt to shout everything? Or would he be a middle aged man with a wife and a couple of kids he never saw because he was always so busy? Would he be dressed in a tweed suit? Would he have glasses and melasma? Would he be balding or would he have crazy Einstein hair?
The man sitting in the booth he was led to wasn't anything he'd expected.
Firstly, Professor Potter was young, barely thirty if even that, maybe twenty-eight would be a better estimate. He had black hair so much like Blaine's when he hadn't gelled it down, expect shorter from everywhere else but his bangs covered his forehead. Startlingly green eyes stared up at him and thin but pink lips were stretched into a friendly smile. Kurt would estimate the man to be a couple of inches taller than himself and he clearly was more toned than him, not that Kurt minded. Professor Potter's hands (quite large, mind you, Kurt noted in the back of his mind) rested easily on the table.
"Good to finally meet you face-to-face, Kurt," Professor Potter said and rose to shake hands with Kurt. The handshake was unexpected to Kurt (who shook hands these days?) but the shake was firm and Professor Potter smiled. "God handshake, I like that in a man, tells me the man isn't disinterested, a coward or a brownnoser."
Now was Kurt's turn to smile. "My dad always said you can trust a man with a firm handshake as long as he only used one hand. If he used two, he would either be controlling or needed to seem strong when he is in fact about to break his deal with you. Also, the second hand would be in a perfect place for quick murder… Sorry, I'm rambling," he blushed as he sat down and looked at the table.
Professor Potter laughed. "It's quite okay, I used to ramble in front of people all the time but it's something you can grow out of."
"Good to know, because I really have no control over my mouth when I ramble. Sometimes I start to ramble on and on about Lady Gaga's newest album or my classes or Rachel's wardrobe which I still should burn. It's a crime against people everywhere, those animal sweaters of hers are horrible not to mention knee socks and plaid skirts," Kurt rambled on about Rachel's horrible fashion choices and Professor Potter just smiled at him, like he was amused by Kurt's ramblings. "If I bore you, you can just tell me to shut up because I really can go on forever Professor Potter."
"Harry, please," interjected Professor Potter. "Call me Harry."
Kurt blinked a few times. "Sure thing Harry."
"Tell me about yourself," said Harry as he picked up his menu. "Where are you from? What about your family? Any siblings? Boyfriend? How you're liking New York so far?"
"Well, my whole name's Kurt Elizabeth Hummel and I'm twenty and going to my second year at NYADA in the fall. Originally I'm from Lima, Ohio and I left behind my dad and step mom. Currently I'm living with my brother and sister-in-law, Finn and Rachel Hudson. I've had one boyfriend, Blaine, and we broke up when I came to New York because he's a year younger than I am and he had to stay in Lima for another year and we didn't want to try a long distance relationship. I'm liking New York very much and have no plans of moving out of the city after I graduate." Kurt took a deep breath after he explained all that quickly. He took a sip from his water to moisten his throat.
"You have almost as big lungs as my friend Hermione," Harry chuckled. "When I met her, she talked for about thirty seconds very fast and in one breath. She was eleven then and her lungs have only grown since. Fortunately I don't have to listen to her and Ron's shouting matches anymore now that they're married but school was hell because both of them have explosive tempers that can simmer for a surprisingly long time. When we were thirteen, Hermione's cat seemed to have killed Ron's rat in November and they didn't properly reconcile until spring. Anyway, Ron and Hermione are my best friends and their daughter Rose is my Goddaughter. My Godson Teddy lives with me because his parents were killed when I was seventeen and Teddy had just been born… I'm originally from Godric's Hollow in England but when my parents died I was left with my mother's sister in Little Whinging in Surry. My school was in Scottish highlands and I studied in University in London. Then I came here. Umm… I've just turned twenty-nine… Merlin, I'm almost thirty! …Umm… I've had three girlfriends and one boyfriend which kind of cemented my sexuality as gay. The three girlfriends I'd had before had all ended badly when the girl became a little too dependent. Don't get me wrong, I like to spoil my partners and I like to be wanted and needed but when they began to require me to tell them where I was for the evening or they cut into my study time, it just couldn't carry on. Brian really was the perfect first boyfriend but then he went and enlisted in the army. Six months later he got shot… What else… Ah! I hope to have a big family one day and a fortune teller once told me I'd have a dozen kids but I'd be more than happy with five, maybe seven, kids."
Kurt had listened with wide eyes. Being compared to a friend was a good thing, right? Being told important facts of his life was a good thing, wasn't it? "I'm sorry for your losses," he finally choked out.
"Yeah, but that was a long time ago," shrugged Harry. "And if you're talking about Brian… well, people die in wars, I've come to accept it. Hopefully I'll find someone in the next five to ten years and get married so that I still have some energy left for the kids…"
The wistful smile on Harry's face made Kurt's heart pound and suddenly he hoped he was the man Harry would share his future with which was bizarre as he didn't even properly know the man. And last he'd checked, Blaine had been the only one who'd ever qualified as Kurt's life partner before, even in his own mind, no matter of his crush on Finn because Finn had never passed the Kurt's test for Life Mate. The Test had five parts: The Handshake (which both Blaine and Harry had offered), The Prospects (Blaine had been a student at Dalton, a prep school, with straight A's in his report card. He had a future. Harry was a Professor at an University and a damn good one too. He could afford to have a secretary. That meant his pay was more likely at least five times that of Kurt's.), The Family (Blaine had wanted kids too, not as many as Harry but at least three.), The Character (Blaine had courage and determination, humor and creativity. He was still charting Harry.) and The Voice (Blaine could sing. No one could deny that. Kurt didn't know about Harry yet.). But Harry was quickly fulfilling all of Kurt's requirements for Life Mate.
Deciding to distract himself from his thoughts he began to flip through his menu. They were here to discuss his job, not on a date, and he would act professionally even if in the back of his mind he had began mapping out the next three years of getting to know Harry and deepening their work relationship into one of friendship so that Harry would want to keep him in his life after he left his post as Harry's secretary.
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Three years later:
Kurt sighed as he handed Harry the contract of Harry's new secretary.
"What's wrong Kurt?" asked Harry as he signed the contract, releasing Kurt from his.
"Harry, now that I'm no longer working for you, I have to tell you something," answered Kurt simply. "For three years I've tortured myself being close to you and not saying a word. At first it was because I didn't know what it meant but then I got to know you more and realized it would have gone against your morals. So I kept quiet. But I have to say this… Harry, I'm in love with you."
He saw the moment Harry registered what he'd said and closed his eyes, not wanting to see the rejection in the green eyes he'd come to adore. He braced himself for the gentle let down he was sure would follow.
A relieved laugh escaped from his past employer and Kurt peeked at him behind his lids. "Kurt, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. Because the moment I saw you walk into that restaurant where we met for the first time, I've wanted nothing more than make you mine. Of course the fact that you were my secretary was put a wrench in things but…" he opened a desk drawer and took out a ring box. "It's not an engagement ring but a promise ring. You don't have to wear it if it clashes with your outfit but I bought it two years ago, this day in mind, that should you ever want it, my heart is yours."
Gingerly Kurt took the box and opened it to find a fairly simple silver bad with a heart shaped diamond, a gold crown above it and surrounded on one side by emeralds and on the other side by a glasz gem Kurt had never seen before. He glanced at Harry with wide eyes. It must have cost a fortune. "Will you put it on me?" he asked and offered his right hand and the ring to Harry.
With a chuckle Harry took the ring and put it on Kurt's right ring finger. "Now Kurt Hummel, will you accept my request and accompany me on a date?"
"Yes Professor Potter, I believe I shall," giggled Kurt as Harry brought his lips to the back of Kurt's hand.