Chapter 10 – Blur The Lines

As much as Santana hated the idea of having to spend your entire life working just to earn money to live, she had to admit that she quite liked the swanky, upscale Chicago offices of Lockhart-Gardner. All of the decor was polished and expensive, but seemed to be aligned to each lawyer's personal taste. From what she had seen of Diane Lockhart's office from the outside, her taste was refined and classy, like a socialite divorcee. From what she had seen of Will Gardner's office, he presented himself as an eternal bachelor and a ladies man, neither of which Santana thought to be true. Kurt had mentioned something to her about a fling with Alicia while they were both in college, but Santana wasn't sure how a hot piece of badass like Alicia Florrick would even entertain a sourpuss like Will.

She genuinely liked Alicia, something which she thought both incredibly rare and quite disarming. She hadn't come across somebody she had taken to so quickly since she had struck up a fast friendship with Kurt himself. Alicia was quick-witted, fierce, but knew exactly how to leverage every situation she was in. It was part of what made her a fantastic lawyer and an awesome friend.

Alicia reminded Santana a lot of Kurt, if she really thought about it, at least the way Kurt was when they were in school. Smarter than everyone else in the room, but also a genuinely decent person with no huge ego to drag around behind them. It was what a lot of people misunderstood about Kurt and Rachel in Lima. Santana could admit that they had a lot of similarities, but Rachel held her differences like a baseball bat, hitting everyone over the head with them in a way to elevate herself in their esteem, something that failed more often than it succeeded. Kurt managed to be brilliant and humble at the same time, because he always recognised that there was more to learn beyond what he already knew. Rachel considered herself already at the top of her game with nowhere to progress from there, simply because she shined in Glee Club.

Rachel had been furious when Kurt had declared his intention to go to Law school rather than follow her into musical theatre. Kurt had also gone to New York when he went to Columbia, but her lone entry into NYADA had caught her off guard, as well as his intention to move in with Santana, who had studied at NYU.

As she looked around the offices, Santana heaved a sigh at the conversation she would be having with Kurt as well as his impending reaction. She slid into Cary's office, seeing the man hard at work and remembering why Kurt was so into him.

"Is Kurt back from lunch yet?"

Cary shook his head. "I'm expecting him any minute. You're welcome to wait."

"Thanks," she replied before sinking into the chair opposite. "I'm surprised you're not at lunch too."

He grinned over his paperwork. "I need to be at my best if I want to beat Alicia for the position. You know how good she is."

Santana nodded. "Though I think you stand a good chance of beating her."

"Why do you say that?"

Santana smiled. "Because you've got Kurt on your side. He won't settle for anything less."

Cary pursed his lips. "I know that Will and Diane want Kurt's opinion on who should get the position, but I don't want it to feel inorganic. Sometimes I think he won't even be able to recommend me."

"They're not going to accept Kurt's word as law, Cary. They'll still make the final decision, Kurt's just making an impartial decision and you'll see that in him when it comes down to it."

He studied her for a second. "You're leaving."

"What makes you say that?"

He grinned boyishly. "I'm right aren't I?"

Santana sighed, reminded of why she hated lawyers. "I came here to tell Kurt. I need to go home."

"Everything okay?"

She shrugged. "Sure. I just have things to be doing back home. I can't be hanging around Chicago not doing anything."

Cary put down his paper and appraised her once again like he would a client. He felt oddly protective of Santana, of someone who could take care of herself. "I know I don't know the whole truth, but you can tell me whatever you'd like that would stay between us under confidentiality."

Santana narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a client."

Cary shrugged mischievously. "Give me a dollar."

Santana kept her lips tight and fished a dollar bill from her pocket, sliding it across the table.

"Congratulations, you're now a client of Cary Agos. Anything you'd like to say is now protected."

"Even from Kurt?"

Cary nodded. "Of course."

Santana sighed. This was her chance to come clean to someone. Not even Kurt knew the whole truth about what happened, why she's so on edge every time she walks to work.

The moment she started speaking, she knew that it was going to be good for her. The more she unloaded to Cary, the lighter she felt, knowing that her past would be not just festering in the back of her mind, haunting her, but in the mind of someone else, someone who was not going to be judging her or indicting her, but someone who would listen and would defend her if necessary. Maybe lawyers weren't so bad after all, she thought as she spoke.

Cary stayed passive the entire time, not wanting to break Santana's streak. He got the feeling that she had never really talked like this to anyone, maybe not even Kurt. They may have been close, but Santana struck him as the type of person that felt like she needed to protect Kurt, to put up a good front so that he would never feel the pain that he had told Cary he had felt in high school. He only wished that he had had a good a friend as Santana when he was growing up.

A small part of him realised that he didn't really have any friends at all, too focused on his career to spend time on his relationships. It wasn't a mistake or anything, just a decision that he would have to be conscious of. He felt as though he had made the right choice, though he wouldn't lie and say there weren't times when he just wanted to kick back with some friends who knew nothing about the law and have a good time. Every person close to him was in possession of a law degree and Cary thought that said something about the kind of person he was. Hearing Kurt and Santana talk about each other and their other friends in such a manner made Cary more than a little jealous of the relationships they all had, the ones they'd built through tough times and a startling amount of shared history. Kurt had told him a fair amount about his time in Lima, but Santana had provided an outlook that Kurt was missing; a perspective on his own actions.

If there was one thing that he took away from Santana's stories, it was that the more Cary heard about Kurt, the more he loved him.

Alicia looked up from her desk and saw a face that she wasn't sure she wanted to see.

It wasn't that she didn't liked Eli Gold, she actually had quite an affinity for him, but his presence usually meant something she'd end up disliking or resenting. Usually something unfavourable about Peter that she wished she'd never knew, or something along those lines at least.

"What can I do for you, Mr Gold?"

Eli waved a hand in that way he did, the one that got him a lot of reluctant invitations into rooms he wouldn't have been allowed in otherwise. Eli Gold was certainly a lot of things, but he had an unquantifiable charm and charisma that many politicians wished they'd possessed. Peter was much the same way.

Eli grinned at her. "Nothing today, but ask again tomorrow, I'm sure I'll think of something. No, this visit is about what I can do for you."

Alicia studied him carefully. As charismatic as Eli Gold might have been, she knew that he was also shifty and you had to watch him for any signs of double-crossing. It was the way politics worked; Alicia knew enough of that to know better. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

"I won't owe you any favours after this if that's what you think is happening here."

Eli scoffed, as if the mere suggestion of such an exchange offended him. "Oh, Alicia, must we always be so transactional? I like you, you know I like you, so why am I not allowed to help you out every now and then."

"Because your idea of help is questionable at best."

"And at worst?"

"I'll likely have to go before a grand jury."

"No need for flattery, Alicia."

He shot her a winning smile.

"Let's just get down to brass tacks, shall we, Eli? Not that I don't relish your company."

Eli nodded. "Well, your company is precisely what I'm here to speak about."

Alicia studied the bullpen and bit her lip. "Close the door."

"Wise decision."

"Why are you coming to me instead of Diane and Will?"

Eli smirked. "Any conversation with Will Gardner ends in me wanting to pull out my own teeth. And I'd rather not offend Diane with what could turn out to be mere speculation."

"And the other partners? I'm fairly low on the food chain, Eli."

Eli shrugged, perching on the desk by the door. "I like you."

"So you've said."

"It's still true."

"What's happening with the firm?"

"Nothing yet," Eli said calmly, "but there are whispers around the city. Quiet ones, but still audible for those willing to listen."

"Whispers of what?"

"A buyout," Eli said emotionlessly.

"A buyout? But the firm's in good shape…there's no financial trouble here."

"That you know of."

"Will would've told me before I accepted the job," Alicia whispered basically to herself. Eli didn't catch it. Alicia looked up and forced a smile. "Thank you for the intelligence, Eli, really, but what am I supposed to do with it?"

"Whatever you want. Keep it to yourself, investigate it, pass it up the ladder. Really, Alicia, you're smart, you can figure this out for yourself. All I can tell you is what I've heard. Just be on the lookout for anyone who might know too much."

Eli scanned the bullpen and frowns. "Or anyone new and mysterious."

His eyes locked onto Kurt where Alicia couldn't see him and a slow smile spread across his face.

"I'm not sure where you think you're going with that suggestion," Alicia replied swiftly.

Eli shrugged. "Just a tip." Eli opened the door as Kurt passed by. "Have a lovely day, Mrs Florrick. Mr Hummel."

As Eli swept from for the office, Kurt poked his head in. "Mr Gold causing you trouble?"

Alicia kept her lips tight. "No more so than usual. You're familiar?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I find him impressive, but slimy."

"We have the same assessment." Alicia stared at Kurt for a long moment, before the latter tilted his head.

"Is there something I can do for you, Alicia?" Alicia tried to ignore the various layers of subtext in his question, but instead smiled.

"Could you track down Kalinda and have her come see me as soon as she can? Thanks, Kurt."

Kurt nodded and headed from the office.

It wasn't long before he returned with Kalinda in tow. Kalinda walked towards the desk and perched on it as she often did. Alicia liked that she just announced her presence by asserting it. It was something that Alicia herself often wished she could do.

"What's going on?"

Alicia saw Kurt lingering by the door and paused. "Kurt, could Kalinda and I have a second alone?"

Kurt looked up from his phone, surprised at the request. Nonetheless, he painted on a polite smile and nodded. "Of course. Call me if you need something, either of you."

"Thanks, Kurt. Will do," Alicia nodded back at him as he left the room, closing the door behind him. He gave Alicia a long look as he walked past the window over to the bullpen.

Kalinda turned back to Alicia, frowning slightly as she did. "What did Eli want?"

Alicia was glad that Kalinda was following the same lines as she was. "He came with rumours, the usual. Made some insinuations that I didn't like."

Kalinda nodded. "The usual, indeed. Walk me through it."

After being dismissed by Alicia (Kurt chose to phrase it as such despite the politeness and frankness with which Alicia asked him to leave), he met up with Cary for some lunch, both of them not having too long to be away from work before having to return, but they assembled at one of Cary's favourite spots. It was busy enough that nobody was really paying any attention to them, but not cramped to the point of being uncomfortable.

Kurt ripped another chunk off his sandwich, causing Cary's eyes to narrow slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Is there something going on at work?"

"In what way?"

Kurt sighed softly. "Alicia asked me to go and find Kalinda earlier. When I returned, she asked me to leave the room while they spoke."

Cary shrugged. "Maybe it was a personal matter."

"It wasn't. I could tell. I've never been asked to leave while they spoke about a client before."

Cary knew instantly what the real problem was. "This isn't about the firm at all, is it?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Kurt, come on," Cary grinned. "Are you really going to ask a lawyer how he knows something? Plus, it's you, I'm learning how to read you."

Kurt leaned forward, suddenly interested in the game Cary seemed to be playing. "Okay then, Agos, what is it really about? If you get it right, I'll pretend to drop my fork under the table…"

Cary fought off the blush that threatened to completely discredit him. "You didn't like being asked to leave the room. Most of your friends are pretty influential people and you've always had a seat at that table. Now things are being hidden from you and you're feeling powerless."

Kurt stayed completely silent for several long seconds.

Cary began doubting his answer, thinking that perhaps he'd reached too far, until he realised that that was exactly Kurt's intention.

"You do pay attention," Kurt smiled. "You're right. There's little I hate more than not knowing something, especially when the information is being deliberately kept from me. I just thought that maybe if I knew what was going on, then maybe it would be something I could help with."

"I know you're not going to want to hear this," Cary started smoothly, "but if Alicia and Kalinda can't solve a problem with their collective brain power, I doubt there's much that you could do."

Kurt gritted his teeth. "The rational part of my brain knows you're right. The irrational part of my brain wants to stab you with my fork."

Cary smirked. "Speaking of, I still see it on the table as opposed to under it."

Kurt settles into his game face and it was in that moment that Cary realised that Kurt Hummel was not bluffing.

As the fork clattered to the ground, Cary swallowed heavily and adjusted his tie.

"Tell me about high school," Cary mumbled as he stroked Kurt's shoulder, the younger man laying on his chest.

"What specifically?" Kurt tilted his head to look up at him.

They were laying on Cary's bed, home for the day after a relatively quiet day at the office. They had returned to the firm and noticed that everybody else had been acting cagey upon their arrival. Kurt had only used it to further bolster his suspicion that something that was going on, but he was just as in the dark as to what it was. Cary assured him again and again that nothing was wrong, but once Kurt got a sinking feeling in his stomach, it wouldn't go away unless he was proven right or wrong. He was usually right.

"Santana told me some things and I wanted to hear about it from you, see your take on things."

"You want me to talk about…that?"

"No, not if you don't want to. She covered it in quite some detail, so I think I have a good read on it. I…you know it's not your fault, right?"

Kurt shrugged. "Sometimes I'd agree, sometimes not. From a legal standpoint, I know where we stand, but it doesn't make it any easier to reconcile."

Cary nodded, kissing the top of Kurt's head. "Tell me a happy memory."

Kurt smiled. "Our first Glee Club competition. We'd had our set list stolen from us from our competitors and they were performing our songs in the slots before we were going to do them."

"I didn't know show choir could be so ruthless," Cary chuckled.

"Oh, it was war for us. Truly. So we had to come up with some performances pretty much on the fly. It was the most anxious moment of my entire life, but also truly exhilarating. The audience loved us and we ended up winning. Really showed the other teams who was boss."

"Did you sing?"

"No," Kurt sighed. "I never really sang at competition."

"Explains why you guys didn't automatically win them all."

"You're sweet. And so biased," Kurt kissed the hard planes of his chest.

Cary shrugged, moving Kurt's body in tandem with his own. "I may be biased, but I also know how good you are. You have a gift, Kurt. I'm just lucky you didn't pursue it so I got to know you."

"I can always perform in my free time. If I get the chance to really help people, make a difference, then it'll worth giving up one dream for another."

"Would you sing something for me now?"

"You want me to sing?"

"I love it when you do."

Kurt smiled. "What would you like to hear?"

"Whatever you enjoy singing. Something you haven't sang in a while."

Kurt mentally rifled through his repertoire and nodded to himself. "Waiting down at the station I don't remember. I think it was late then."

Cary closed his eyes and just listened to the soft timbre of Kurt's angelic voice as he sang.

Kurt relished the chance to exercise the muscles again, something he hadn't really done in a while. Even just casually, it was nice to do.

"Standing, always so quiet; we're like elevators, filled up with strangers. No sound, no Hallelujahs, still I was prayin' on the train ride home."

Cary wondered what was going on in Kurt's mind as the words slipped from his mouth, and this wonder was magnified when he felt a slight wetness on his bare skin, accompanied by the slight tickle of Kurt's eyelash fluttering against it. He didn't want to interrupt Kurt, but he wanted to make sure he was okay.

"Hey, you all good down there?"

Kurt looked up at him and Cary saw such sincerity there, such raw, unfiltered authenticity, that it took him by surprise. "Yeah. Just haven't sang in a little while, I forgot how much it moves me."

"You and me both. I can hear something in your voice, something you'd never say with words. And I'm glad you can have that outlet. I wish I had something like that. I just listen to other people's problems all day and tell them they're probably going to jail."

"Not all of them," Kurt smiled. "You're pretty good at your job."

"Oh yeah? That mean you're gonna pick me at the end of the run?"

Kurt walked his fingers up Cary's chest and ran them over his lips gently. "That depends on what you in the next ten minutes."

Cary leaned down to his boyfriend and smirked. "Sorry, Alicia. But I've got this in the bag."

Kurt chuckled as his senses were overloaded by Cary's touches and kisses. Even though everyone knew that Kurt was never going to let his personal relationships infringe upon the decision, he was much too diplomatic for that, it was truly going to suck one way or the other. And every second moment that passed until the moment when the last grain of sand dripped obnoxiously into the bottom rung of the hourglass, Kurt dreaded actually having to make the decision.

And now Eli Gold was sniffing around, which turned things from bad to worse. Kurt had promised himself that the next time he went toe to toe with Eli, he would not overplay his hand, and he would win in the ring, total knockout.

He would have to.

Diane would never admit how much she hated Will Gardner's knock. He'd tap on her door and then just saunter in as though he had no intention of waiting for her to respond to his knock. She'd roll her eyes and beckon him inside anyway, waiting for whatever he was going to bring up. These days, it always revolved around Kurt Hummel.

And today was just like any other.

"We need to keep an eye on Kurt," Will rasped, throwing his baseball from hand to hand. Diane struggled to maintain eye contact with him.

"Oh, Will, not this again. I hope you actually have something concrete to bring to him rather than just more unfounded suspicions about his character. I can't bring myself to hear them today."

Will caught his baseball deftly before placing on Diane's desk. "You know how many hunches I've brought to you in the time we've been working together. How often have I been wrong?"

Diane had to admit, it wasn't very often. But Will's hubris and insistence had yet to contend with someone as well-rounded as Kurt Hummel. For a young man with a long future ahead of him, he was already proving to be a worthy adversary. Still, she hadn't known Kurt for very long and felt that she owed Will the freedom to express his concerns to someone who might actually listen to them carefully.

"Okay. Tell me what you've got."

"I think we need to watch him, maybe alert Cary and Alicia to see if they can spot anything."

"Spot what?" Diane stressed. "If you're going to continue this…assault against Kurt, you're going to need to actually share what you know. Or suspect," she added as she spotted Will on the verge of floundering for something concrete.

"He was investigated for tax fraud."

Diane frowned. "Surely I would know if he had been. I read his file thoroughly."

"I had Kalinda do some follow-up checks. Just in case."

Will dashed back to his office, carrying the file. Smirking, he tossed it onto Diane's desk. She glared at him, not caring for the way that he composed himself in such a matter.

Diane flicked through the file, seeing everything that she had looked over before. She came to the end and lifted her head, meeting Will's expectant grin.

"Well…where is it?"

"What?"

Will snatched the folder and rifled through it. "Well, it's not here anymore! But Diane, I swear it was. I wouldn't just make this up!"

"I'm not so sure about that, Will. You seem to really want Kurt gone."

"He must've taken it!"

"So you're now accusing him of breaking into your office and your confidential file cabinet?"

Will clenched his jaw. "I know he did it."

"Okay, Will," Diane waved a tired hand, "you're clearly on some kind of tirade about this and I don't care to hear any more of it. If you find the file, bring it to my attention. In future, digitise it."

Will went to respond, but Diane looked down and returned to her case files. Will sighed but turned to leave. "I'll be expecting a very sincere apology when it turns out that I'm right about this, Diane."

Diane nodded. "In the event that that happens, I'll send a fruit basket."

Will scoffed and walked towards the door. "Just…keep an eye on him."

Diane dismissed the thought entirely and looked over a case file for an upcoming court date. It seemed like a fairly simple kill and run situation, but there was something about the whole situation that was swimming before her eyes. If only she could focus, her mind continuing to return to Will's ridiculous suspicions about Kurt. She knew that Will was grasping at straws, but she also knew that he was smart and didn't often jump to conclusions about people without assessing the evidence. Sighing, she pulled up Kurt's file on her laptop and started to look over it.

If there was anything to be found, she would unearth it. Of that much she was certain. Diane Lockhart never backed down from a puzzle.

If Kurt was holding secrets, she'd have them by the end of the week, with or without Kalinda's help.