A/N: Okay, so I've planned out everything I want to write about Beca's past, and we'll meet some new characters very very soon! But before we get to that, there are still a few things that need to fall into place first… ;)

[And as always, thanks so much for all the reviews/following/favouriting guys! xx]

Chapter 27

"Oh shoot! I'm gonna be late! Em, can you lock the door when you leave? I need to go now, I told Beca I would be at the bar tonight!" Chloe asked as she hurriedly went to pick up her coat and bag, fish out the keys and hand them over to Emily with a hopeful look.

"Of course. You've already been stuck here for the past two nights, I wouldn't want you to miss this one. Now go, I've got it here." Emily chuckled, taking the keys from Chloe.

"Oh god! Thank you thank you thank you, you are a lifesaver!" Chloe quickly went to hug the younger vet and offered her an apologetic smile before dashing out of the clinic and driving to the bar.

When she finally arrived, Beca was nowhere to be seen. She took a quick look around the room but still failed to find the brunette. So she figured she'd go and say hello to Amy first.

The blonde spotted Chloe and exclaimed happily, "Finally, ginger! You are a bit late you know."

"Hey Amy! Yeah, I know I know, I got a little carried away at the clinic." She then turned her head to look at the stage again, still no Beca. "Where's Beca?"

"Oh, some guy came up to her earlier and wanted to speak to her. They are in that booth over there." Fat Amy pointed at a booth located on the other side of the room.

Chloe looked over in that direction and found Beca sitting there in the booth with a stunned expression on her face, her mouth slightly open. The guy sitting opposite the brunette had his back to Chloe so she couldn't see his face.

Chloe was a little confused, but seeing that they seemed to be having a conversation, she decided not to interrupt and wait till they were done. She watched the guy give Beca a small card before standing up, which prompted the brunette to immediately stand up as well. They shook hands before the guy turned around to leave.

Chloe frowned when she finally saw his face. He looks a little familiar… Chloe thought hard but couldn't remember where she saw the man before. Shaking her head lightly, she decided to let it go for now and go talk to her girlfriend.

"Hey babe, sorry I'm late." She bounced over to the brunette who was still standing near the booth and looking down at the card in her hand.

Beca looked up at her and smiled, "That's okay Chlo, everything all right at the clinic?"

"Yeah, just boring quarterly inventory check and filing. Hey… who was that guy earlier?" She asked curiously.

Beca looked down at the card again before showing it to Chloe, disbelief on her face, "You know Tornadic? The record label?"

"I think so… Didn't you just mention it a few days ago? It's the one that has the most best-selling artists in New York right?" Chloe took the card and saw that it was actually a business card which read:

Tornadic Records

Theo Douglas

Executive Music Producer

The redhead's heart was suddenly racing, "Wait, Beca? He's a music producer? Why did he give you his card? What were you guys talking about?!" She held her breath, almost too afraid to move or make any more sounds.

Beca stared at the card in Chloe's hand for a few seconds before looking into Chloe's wide eyes, "He said that he liked my songs and asked me to go to his office on Friday with some demos."

"Oh my—"

"Yeah I know! But you know what's weird?" Beca cut off her girlfriend's screaming and looked back at the business card, a little confused.

"What?"

"He said that he had heard me sing before and that he agreed I sound better with a microphone and a keyboard…" Beca knitted her brows together, "I know I've started sending out demos again lately, but I never sent one to Tornadic since I didn't think I'd have a chance there… so I thought he just happened to be in this bar tonight, but then he said a fan of mine told him to come here—"

"Oh my god Beca!" Chloe suddenly remembered why the guy looked so familiar, "He's… he's the guy from the other day… Oh my god!"

Beca's head snapped up, "What? What are you talking about?!" She watched her girlfriend's lips slowly curl upwards into a giant grin and urged, "Chloe? Do you know him?"

Chloe squealed, "Do you remember like a week ago you went to the clinic during my lunch break and played a street concert for me?" Seeing the brunette nodding, she excitedly continued, "Well, he was there that day! He was standing next to me and he asked about you, so I kind of bragged about you a little and gave him the address of the bar."

"Oh my god! You…" Beca was stunned, "Wait, let me get this straight… so it was you that basically got me a meeting with an executive music producer at one of the most successful labels in the country?!"

"No babe, I didn't get you the meeting, you got it yourself! I just guided the way. Oh my god, I'm so thrilled! This is definitely worth celebrating! We should totally celebrate!" Chloe couldn't even stand still now. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, barely containing her excitement.

Beca laughed, "Don't you think it's too early to be celebrating? It's just a meeting."

"No, it's a meeting that will most likely change your life Beca!" Chloe leaned in and kissed Beca hard for a few seconds before pulling back, "Whether you like it or not, we are celebrating tonight! End of discussion!"

Beca rolled her eyes playfully, "Fine. But only a small celebration okay? I need to start picking the songs and I only have 3 more days to—"

"Uh-uh, you'll worry about that tomorrow! Now go finish the last few hours of your shift before we can start celebrating! I need to go tell this amazing news to Jesse and Amy!" Chloe squealed again, placing another peck on Beca's lips and sprinting to the bar to talk to Amy.

Beca smiled. She watched her girlfriend talking animatedly at the bar with Amy for a while before going back to the stage, feeling as if she was dreaming even with her eyes wide open. Her heart was still drumming loudly in her ears, while excitement and hope rushed through her veins. After all these years, she finally felt like she was taking a step closer to what she had always been chasing, and it was all because of Chloe.

"Well, what do you think?" Beca paused the current track on her laptop and turned to look at Chloe expectantly.

"I think it sounds great babe!" Chloe beamed.

Beca whined, "But that's exactly what you said about the last two sets of demos that I played for you!"

The redhead laughed, before moving to sit on her anxious girlfriend's lap, "Hey, that's because they all sound amazing Becs!" She planted a kiss on Beca's cheek, "And you need to relax, I'm sure he'll like it no matter which one you decide to use."

Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist automatically and slightly threw her head back, "I just feel like it's not good enough… ugh, why did I write so many songs?! I really need to find the best combination you know? I think the second set is okay, but it mostly contains my newly-written songs… do you think I should put more of my old songs in there? I could—"

"Oh my god! Stop Beca!" Chloe chuckled while shaking her head a little, "Don't be paranoid okay? If you think the second set is good, then just use that one! The meeting is tomorrow, so you need to sleep now, not make more changes! I know you haven't slept much in the last three days and I didn't say anything because I knew you were trying to prepare the perfect set of demos. But now you have three of them babe! Three! So right now you are going to sleep. I'm not letting you stay up late again to put together a fourth set!"

Beca pouted, "Fine, but do you really think the second one is good enough? Do you like it?"

"I love it Beca! It sounds really really great." Chloe reassured.

"Okay." Beca sighed, "Then I guess I'll use the second set tomorrow." She reached out to close the laptop on the coffee table and shrugged, "But I don't think I can sleep anyway, I'm way too nervous so…"

A smirk crept into the corner of Chloe's lips, "Oh don't worry, I have an idea to help you relax and sleep." She brushed Beca's brown locks back from her shoulder, leaning closer and beginning to trail lingering kisses along the brunette's neck.

Beca's breath hitched a little, "Oh, so this is your idea?" She chuckled but tightened her hold around Chloe's waist, pulling her girlfriend even closer.

"Mm-hmm." The redhead hummed against Beca's pulse point, "Are you relaxed now?"

"Well… not so much. But keep going, we'll find out."

Chloe smiled, slowly kissing her way up Beca's neck while enjoying the feeling of the brunette's fingers soothingly running through her hair. She moved her attention away from her girlfriend's neck after a while, giving Beca a soft peck on the lips before looking deep into those steel-blue eyes, "Don't worry, babe. You are going to nail this, and I can't wait to tell everyone—"

"Chloe…" Beca sighed, averting her gaze from Chloe's firm eyes and looking down.

"Hey," Chloe brought up a hand to stroke Beca's cheek, brushing a few strands of hair from the brunette's face as they fell across her eye, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just…" Beca closed her eyes, "I just don't want you to get your hopes up you know? And I'm not… I'm not exactly nervous, I just… I'm just a little…"

"Scared?" Chloe finished the sentence for Beca softly.

Beca let out a long sigh and whispered, "Yeah… scared." She took Chloe's hand and linked their fingers together, "I know this is a big opportunity, and I'm really excited. I really am. It's just that I haven't been this hopeful for a long time, what if in the end it just turns out to be another failed attempt? What if I'm never good enough to be in this industry? I'm just… I'm scared to think about all the potential outcomes or to have any expectations, only to get slammed into the ground again…"

"Then don't." Chloe said gently, tilting her head down a little so she could look Beca in the eye, "Don't have any expectations and don't think about all those 'what ifs'. A legit music producer wants to listen to your demos Beca, he wouldn't do that if he thinks you are no good. You are exceptional actually. And right now, don't overthink it or worry about the unknowns. Just have a good sleep and then go to the meeting tomorrow, you'll deal with whatever comes then okay? And I'm going to be there with you as well."

"You are?" Beca looked up at her girlfriend.

"Of course!" Chloe smiled, squeezing Beca's hand, "Of course I'll be there. And whatever happens, I'll be right by your side so you don't have to face it alone. Now how about this, no matter what the outcome is, I'll just grab you and kiss you hard right on the spot. However, I'm very confident that it'll be a celebratory kiss." Chloe finished with a mischievous smirk and winked at the brunette.

Beca laughed, "Well, that's definitely something to look forward to." She gazed at the beaming redhead and lifted their intertwined hands to press a gentle kiss to the back of Chloe's hand, "Thank you."

Chloe grinned, "Ready to go to bed now?" She tried to stand up from Beca's lap but was tugged back down by the brunette, "What?"

"I thought you were trying to help me relax, well I'm still a little tense." Beca smirked.

Chloe giggled and leaned in to capture Beca's soft lips with her own again. "Better?" She asked between kisses, amused.

"Much better." Beca hummed happily, all her previous doubts and fears completely swept away now.

"Chloe, chill out. Why are you suddenly so nervous anyway? I'm the one that's about to go in and play my demos for a highly respected music producer." Beca teased her girlfriend in amusement, eyes following the redhead's every movement.

They were now in the waiting area outside Theo's office. Beca was sitting in an armchair flipping through a magazine while Chloe kept pacing back and forth in front of the brunette restlessly. Ever since they walked into the label's building, the redhead got extremely jittery all of a sudden for some unknown reason and now Beca had to be the one to calm her girlfriend down.

"Seriously Chlo! You are starting to make me nervous too!" Beca chuckled.

"Sorry, sorry babe." Chloe bounced back to sit down on the chair next to Beca, "I'm just really excited, this place is amazing! And I think this could be it Beca! This could be IT!"

"Chloe, what did we talk about last night? Don't get your hopes up okay? It may not be it." Beca warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know but… I just have this feeling… like I can already see you work here every day from now on Becs. I really think this is it."

Before Beca could reply, a lady who looked like an assistant walked out of Theo's office, "Beca Mitchell?" She called, looking back and forth between the two.

"Yes, I'm Beca." The brunette immediately stood up, waiting for further instructions.

"Great," The lady smiled, "Mr. Douglas is waiting for you." She finished and started to walk away, leaving the door open for Beca.

"Well," Beca turned to look at Chloe, "I'm going in."

"Good luck babe." Chloe quickly stood up as well, leaning in to peck Beca on the lips, "You've got this."

"I've got this." Beca took in a deep breath, offering her girlfriend a small smile before turning around and disappearing into Theo's office.

It had been nearly an hour since Beca went in and Chloe felt like she was going crazy waiting outside. She spent the first 20 minutes pacing around the waiting area and then went to sit down for about 15 minutes, before standing up and resuming her pacing again. She didn't understand why she was so nervous. Seriously, she wasn't even this nervous when she was waiting for the call-back for her first internship application!

The redhead groaned, "Why is it taking so long?!" She went back and threw herself into the armchair that Beca was sitting in not long ago. Well maybe it's actually a good thing to take this long. At least it means that they have a lot of things to talk about, and that's good, right? Chloe thought, staring at the closed office door in front of her warily while trying hard to calm her pounding heart.

After another 20 minutes, Beca finally walked out of Theo's office and closed the door behind her softly. But instead of walking back to Chloe, she just stood there for a moment with an unreadable face, a little transfixed.

Seeing the brunette step out, Chloe immediately jumped out of her chair and rushed to her girlfriend.

"Well?" She urged, searching Beca's eyes but failed to gain any clues or any hints.

Beca blinked, she looked up at the redhead's eager eyes without saying a word. Then finally, she opened her mouth, "I got signed." She whispered.

Chloe's heart almost stopped right there, "Come again?" Her voice was shaking a little.

"I got signed." Beca repeated a little louder this time, her own eyes filled with astonishment. She looked deep into Chloe's baby blue eyes, "I got signed."

"Oh my god… OH MY GOD! BECA! OH MY GOD!" Chloe exclaimed, while her hands shot up to cover her mouth, "OH MY GOD!"

"I know!" Beca swallowed, "OH MY GOD!"

Neither of them said a word after that, they just stood there a few feet outside Theo's office, staring at each other without any movements, as if time had stopped and the world just simply froze.

Tears started to emerge in Beca's eyes, her lips beginning to tremble a little, "Chloe… I got signed."

"I know baby, I know." Chloe dropped her hands, her own eyes brimming with tears as well, "You got signed." Then without any hesitation, she pulled the brunette closer and wrapped her arms around her tightly, instantly burying her face into those brown locks.

Beca hugged Chloe back just as tight, sinking into the redhead's strong yet soft arms and finally failing to hold back her tears. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of Chloe's body pressing against hers, smiling when she felt Chloe squeeze her arms around her a fraction tighter, if that was even possible.

They didn't know how long they stood there, clinging onto each other, nor did they care. When they finally parted, Chloe gently wiped away the tears on Beca's face, and gradually, a wide smile spread across her face, so bright that it could almost rival the sun itself.

"I'm so proud of you." Chloe whispered slowly, before crashing their lips together and tasting the saltiness of those remaining tears on Beca's lips. Unconsciously, she pushed Beca against the office door with a soft thud and started kissing her using all her strength.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, the door that Beca was leaning against suddenly swung open, which almost caused her to topple backward onto the ground. Luckily, Chloe caught her just in time. And the brunette quickly turned around to find Theo standing there with an amused face.

"Umm… ladies, you might want to take the celebration outside the label, you know we sort of have surveillance cameras everywhere." He chuckled, "And Beca, I'll see you next week, yeah?"

Beca's face flushed crimson instantly, "Y-yeah, sir, I'll see you… uh next week. Monday, 9am, on the dot. I won't be late, not that I've ever been late to anything, I… uh I'm very punctual I swear, and… dammit, I should stop talking now."

Theo laughed, and turned to look at Chloe, "Well, better get your girlfriend out of here. I wouldn't want my artist to die of embarrassment not even 20 minutes after she got signed."

Chloe giggled, before growing a little more serious, "Thank you. So much." She said sincerely, looking up at the British music producer.

Theo smiled, "Don't thank me, I should be thanking you actually, for leading me to a brilliant artist. Now, get out of here you two, go celebrate while I go back to my boring paperwork."

Chloe smiled and nodded, watching Theo wave at them and close his office door again.

"Well," Chloe turned to look at the blushing brunette, "You heard your boss, let's go home and celebrate!" She squealed excitedly and took Beca's hand, starting to drag her towards the elevator.

"Okay… but why are we going home to celebrate? Don't you want to go to a restaurant or something?" Beca asked, a little confused.

Chloe turned around and gave Beca a meaningful look, then the brunette instantly got the message, "Ohhh… right…" She grinned, "Yeah, let's go home."