Chapter 16

Blaine's POV

I walked into the office the next day and looked around. It was go time for us all, and I knew that requesting vacation time from Andrew was going to be hard. Especially because we were at opening night. I knocked on his office door and waited for him to tell me to enter. And when I heard the affirmative, I knew I'd be in it once I asked. He smiled warmly at me and I sat down at his desk after he shook my hand and told me to.

"What brings you by, Mr. Anderson?"

"Well sir, you see. Rachel and I never had a proper honeymoon when we got married. We really wanted to take a vacation. Rachel's tied up in rehearsals and the only feasible day we can leave is tomorrow."

I watched as Andrew Lloyd Webber looked at me. He was starting to get mad. I didn't want that. I just wanted a vacation with my wife before Broadway and babies took over. I'd do anything to vacation with her before we got busy again. I missed every second with her, and I couldn't believe I had to beg for time with her.

"So, let me get this straight. You and Miss Berry are married. She's pregnant, and you want a vacation? On the biggest night of the year? Are you crazy?"

"No sir, just desperate. I'm burnt out from crunching numbers. Rachel hasn't slept, because we're having twins. She's more stressed about the birth of the babies than the stage show. And we're not asking to leave tonight. I'll work all night to make sure that we sell out. You know that. But tomorrow morning at seven AM, Rachel and myself are going to be in Jamaica for a week."

It was more of an ultimatum. It wasn't meant to be heard that way, of course. And now I was suddenly afraid of losing my job. I felt nervous. I started sweating a little bit, and worried. His answer was going to be yes or no. Most likely no, but I had a resignation letter in my briefcase, just in case he said no. I could get work somewhere else.

"You're right, Mr. Anderson. You can work all night. Though, I'm sure Miss Berry won't like it. You work throughout the night and I'll give you the week you've asked for. Miss Berry doesn't start rehearsals for Funny Girl for another six weeks. You stay till seven am, and I'll ensure that your vacation lasts just up until the rehearsals start."

"You'd do that?"

"Blaine," Andrew said looking straight at me. He had only called me Blaine one other time, and that's when we'd had lunch to discuss my hiring to Webber Productions. It shocked me still.

"Blaine, you're like a son to me. A definite asset to this company. Both you and Miss Berry both are. It'll be a shame to lose her to the Great White Way, but we'll make do. I'm sure you're looking at prospective assistants. So yes. You can have your vacation time. Paid. And congratulations on the baby."

I had to answer him. I had to. I couldn't sit here with my mouth wide open in shock. I composed my thoughts for a moment, and then smiled warmly at him. To hear that I was a valuable asset to the production company was sweet.

"Twins, actually. Boys."

"Wow, you'll have a handful there, Anderson. So go, tell Miss Berry congratulations from me. Break the news. As of seven AM, you're on six weeks paid vacation. Oh, and one more thing. Let Miss Berry know that after she finishes her stint on Broadway, when she comes back she will be updated from intern status to assistant status and take a full on salary."

I nodded and walked out, heading back to my office. I noticed Rachel sitting at her desk, flipping through a baby name book. I got her attention and motioned for her to come into my office. She nodded and walked in just as I sat down at my desk.

"So darling Mrs. Anderson…Christ that sounds so awesome to say. So…I just spoke with Andrew."

"And?"

"He said that we can have our time off. But, there's a catch."

"What's the catch?"

"We've got to work overnight to make sure the numbers are a smash. Andrew guaranteed us that by 7am we're going to be on vacation. Paid. For six weeks."

Rachel gasped. She couldn't believe it either. Six weeks paid vacation if we stayed overnight to make sure that things were running smoothly for the sellout. She sighed and looked at her watch.

"Well, I have a mandatory two hour rehearsal, but that's in like forty five minutes. I know that I have to be there. If you're going to be staying here all night, I'll be with you. Every step of the way."

And I knew just how lucky I was to have Rachel in my life. She stayed with me a little while longer and then stood up to kiss me. She was headed to her rehearsal and I was going to be here by myself. It was just for two hours, and I knew that if I focused on my paper work she'd be back before I knew it. I felt like she was going to be wearing herself thin, but I couldn't tell her that. She was my whole life, and I was okay with that. I just went through a bunch of paperwork when a door opened and a salad and some coffee appeared in front of me. I looked up and saw Rachel wearing a rain hat and carrying a bag.

"I had a suspicion that you hadn't yet eaten. You look like you haven't slept. Let me take over the finances. I am a math major, Blaine. You eat, I'll take over."

I nodded a little bit, and realized I hadn't heard Rachel come in. It was after six, and we needed to be at the offices for awhile. Our vacation was going to be hinging on the fact that we needed to keep things moving. I sucked down my salad and watched as she calculated things. She handed me the file to proofread before I signed off on it. I looked at her a little bit confused, and then grabbed my calculator. I readded it and realized just how right she was.

"Rachel, do you realize that you just calculated how much money this production is going to lose?"

"No, what?"

"Yes. It looks like this production isn't going to sell out. This production is so over the top. This production is absolute fucking madness. Do me a favor, Rach. Get Andrew on the phone. He needs to know this."

Rachel nodded and picked up the phone, dialing Andrew's number. She connected and passed the phone over to me. I waited until I heard his secretary and smiled warmly, knowing that she was an amazing woman. Leona and I had been friends for quite a while, and she was so happy when I found someone as amazing as Rachel.

"Andrew Lloyd Webber's office?"

"Lee, it's Blaine. Listen, it's imperative I speak to Andrew quickly."

"I'm sorry Blaine, he's in production meetings."

"This can't wait, Lee. The musical isn't going to be a sell out. Not by a long shot. The new finances I just came up with are far off the mark. The numbers don't match. Either someone has been skimming money off the top, or my calculations were off. And my calculations weren't off, so someone's been dipping. There's over nineteen million dollars missing."

And that's when I was connected through to him. I listened as he spoke. As he ranted and raved about how I should've found this before opening night, and how I was a let down to him. That didn't shock me, what shocked me was that he was blaming me for the money going missing. I knew it wasn't my fault so I just listened to him go on and on.

"Now, you want to keep ranting, or can I explain how I happened across it?"

"I'm done."

"Okay, Rachel was helping me with some paperwork when she happened across the calculations. She calculated it, triple checked it and then gave it to me to check. I checked it, and there's nothing disputing this. There are funds missing. Funds missing in excess of nineteen million dollars. And the ticket sales aren't going to make up that nineteen million on opening night, I can guarantee that."

I waited for him to speak. Rachel was sitting at the desk, trying to get herself prepared for whatever her role asked for her. I was snapping at her trying to get her attention. She snapped her head up at me, and I pointed at the papers that were at my desk. She handed them to me and went back to reading her script. I was waiting for Andrew to speak and I read over them, to make sure things were right. I wasn't losing my mind. I wasn't trying to lose my job. I was trying to make sure the numbers were right.

"Are you sure that Rachel didn't mess it-"

"Goddammit Andrew, listen! Someone's skimming nineteen million dollars off the top! And you're losing money, quickly! I suggest you pull the plug on this musical, and fast. Because you losing money on this, isn't good for Webber Productions."

And then I hung up. I knew that this was going to go either way. We were either going to be losing our jobs, or making money hand over fist. I'm hoping that things turn out well, but I'm so nervous. I watched Rachel stand up and come over to me. She sat down on my lap and I placed my hands on her belly. I nuzzled her neck and felt peace wash over me. Whatever happened with Andrew and our jobs, nothing compared to feeling our twin boys moving under my hands, and having Rachel in my lap. I nuzzled her neck and the phone to my office rang. Rachel answered it and then handed it back to me.

"It's Andrew."

I took a deep breath and put the phone to my ear. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew it was hit or miss for us. And whatever decision he made, we'd follow it.

"Andrew."

"Blaine. We are going ahead as planned with the show. You are going to stay there and count the numbers. Then you and Miss Berry will go on vacation as planned at 7 am. And then, when you and Miss Berry come back from vacation, we will figure out where that money is."

Andrew said, hanging up. I turned to look at Rachel and sighed. She'd gone back to my desk where she was out of my way.

"Well Rach. Andrew's still going on. And we're here all night to get the numbers."

I said, knowing it was going to be a long night for the both of us. Would our vacation go off as planned?