So I'm just really enjoying writing this story at the moment. Not so much Finchel in this one, but very Finn centered. This, of course, is a build up for the second part of this story. I hope you all are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it. Let me know what you think!
P.S. - I just turned 30 and I might be experiencing a life crisis. Lol Give me your words of wisdom!
Finn hung up the phone with Rachel, pleased with himself. This boyfriend thing was pretty easy if you asked him.
"What's that smirk about?" Sam said to him from his desk a few feet away, pulling Finn out of his thoughts.
"I'm just the best boyfriend ever." Finn replied smugly, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands together behind his head for a little stretch.
Sugar giggled, overhearing the conversation.
Sam chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? What'd you do?"
Finn shrugged. "Just the usual boyfriend stuff. I may have sent her flowers this morning just because."
"I'd hardly call you boyfriend of the year, but nice job dude. Flowers huh? Does that really work?" Sam asked after a moment of thought.
"Girls LOVE flowers Samuel!" Sugar said, interjecting herself in the conversation and nodding her head. "Happy, sad, mad...flowers always do the job no matter the mood."
Sam nodded. "And where does one get these said flowers?"
Finn narrowed his eyes in on Sam. Well this was definitely new. "You have someone in mind for these said flowers?"
Sam shrugged. "Nah...just curious for the future, you know?"
Mike, Puck and Artie, also a few seats away looked at each other before butting into the conversation.
"Who's the girl man?" Mike asked.
"Your mom." Sam shot back, before adding on. "There's no girl...why don't you guys believe me? I'm just like, doing research."
"Because you can't lie worth shit. So just tell us, man." Puck said.
"Alright alright. But only if these two keep it quiet and not tell their girlfriends." Sam said, looking pointedly at Finn and Mike.
Finn smirked, already having a feeling of where this was going.
"For the record, I'd just like to say Tina is not my girlfriend...yet." Mike said. The rest of the guys, including Sugar, rolled their eyes. Tina has visited the office quite a few times in the last few weeks meeting Mike for lunch. She was basically his girlfriend. You don't just bring anyone to your place of work.
"Okay, okay...well you see...I've been hooking up with, uh...Quinn..."
"What?!" Puck and Artie said.
"Since when?" Artie added.
"Since Kurt's party?" Sam responded sheepishly.
"You fucker! You totally sabotaged mine and Abram's bet." Puck responded, annoyed.
"It's not MY fault if she was more into white chocolate...versus whatever you two were throwing at her."
Finn laughed, amused at the conversation. "Dude I thought she hated you."
"That's the crazy part. I think she still does! She literally just texts me whenever she wants to have sex. We meet, we fuck, she makes me leave. I'm...kind of into it." Sam said, eyes widening as he hit a moment of realization.
Artie rolled his eyes, and turned his chair back around to his desk. "I'll never understand women."
"Maybe she just wants to have fun and she knows you're not relationship material, so she's just having her cake and eating it too." Sugar shrugged.
"What?! I'm not relationship material? Mothers love me!" Sam exclaimed, offended at Sugar's thoughts.
He heard some mumbles and laughs coming from a few of the guys and groaned. "Whatever. Forget I even said anything. But like I said, she doesn't want anyone to know."
The phone rang in the background and Sugar answered while the boys were still engaged in conversation.
"So you're saying Rachel and Tina don't know?" Artie raised his eyebrow finding it hard to believe.
"I kinda feel like Tina doesn't. The girl talks A LOT. She's never mentioned that...and I feel like she definitely would." Mike said.
"Come to think of it, Rachel hasn't said anything either." Finn contemplated. "And yeah, she's kind of always talking..."
"Yeah so keep your mouths shut, will ya?" Sam said.
"So fucking weird you guys are all dating a group of friends." Pick muttered.
"Jealous." Mike coughed as the guys laughed.
"Finn, there's a Sue Sylvester on the phone for you?" Sugar said, a confused expression on her face.
Finn's expression changed from one full of amusement to one of curiosity. Sue Sylvester? Sue owned the largest marketing firm in LA. She was his biggest competitor. Everyone's ears seemed to shoot up at her name. Finn nodded and got up, grabbing the phone from Sugar.
"Finn Hudson here." He answered.
"Finn Hudson. Sue Sylvester. But you already knew that." She smirked into the phone.
"How can I help you Sue?"
"I think the question is...how can I help you Hudson." She responded.
"I'm gonna need you to elaborate there, Sylvester." Finn imitated her tone. He glanced over at Sam who mouthed "What does she want?" to him. He shrugged cluelessly back at him. Why the hell was she calling him?
"Let's be honest Finn. Your small town firm isn't going to last. I'm generously offering to help you stay...relevant."
"And how's that?"
"Well I'm not just going to give away all my little secrets over the phone now am I? Meet me tomorrow at 12:30. Come by the office. I'll show you what a real marketing firm looks like. And for God's sake, wear a tie. I know you boys dress like you're about to be part of a mosh pit."
With that, Finn heard a click on the phone. He handed the phone back to Sugar and sat down in his seat, chewing on his lip and deep in thought.
"Uh hello?" Sam said to him. "What the hell did she want?"
"I have no idea..." Finn said, still confused. "She wants me to come by her office tomorrow..."
"Sue Sylvester?" Artie raised his eyebrow. "I've heard some evil stories about that woman."
"She's not nice to anyone! Everyone who works for her, hates her." Mike said.
"I kinda feel like she was threatening me...whatever. I'm sure it's not anything for us to worry about." Finn shook his head, not wanting to worry the team.
"Has anyone seen Kurt?" Finn said, changing the subject.
"I think him and lover boy...I mean Blaine...are working together at Blaine's office today." Puck shrugged.
Finn nodded. "Ok. I have to step out for a meeting. I'll be back later."
The tension seemed a little thick. Everyone in the office wanted to hear more about what Sue said, but they knew by the way Finn blew off the topic, that it wasn't a conversation up for debate.
Against his better judgement, Finn kept the meeting with Sue and headed over to her office the next day.
He parked his car in the visitor's section and walked into the building. Sue was nothing short of dramatic and it showed. She worked with some of the highest paid athletes, and their faces AND hers were plastered all over the walls. He walked up to the receptionist desk where a short blonde woman was sitting.
"Hi -" Finn began to speak but was cut off by the young woman putting her hand up to shush him.
"WAIT! I'm busy." She snapped without looking at him. The little woman was on her phone and looked deep in concentration.
A few moments went by and she still didn't acknowledge him. Finn noticed her name plate on the desk, and decided to try again.
"Hey Becky? I'm here to meet with Sue...I'm Finn Hudson. She's expecting me."
"UGH! I'm trying to catch Pokemon!" She said.
"Uh...what? Like indoors?" Finn knew all about the Pokemon craze. It was actually a super awesome marketing tool for companies to use. Some of the guys on his team were always talking about it.
"There are 10 poke stops in this building." She said matter of factly. She took a second look at him.
"You're cute. You have a girlfriend?" She winked.
"Uh, yep." He laughed nervously. He did decide to wear a tie after all, just to be respectful. Rachel was definitely a fan of the tie this morning. She pretty much jumped his bones right before they both left his apartment this morning. He definitely made a mental note to wear more ties around her. "So is Sue around? I kinda have to be somewhere soon..." Finn said, looking at the time on his phone.
"Don't get your panties in a twist. I'll get her for you." She huffed as she picked up the phone to let Sue know her visitor arrived.
Finn was super taken aback at the bluntness that seemed to come out of Becky's mouth, and he just had a feeling this was not going to be a good visit.
"She's waiting for you. It's the last office on the right." Becky said, already bored with him.
Finn nodded. "Thanks Becky."
Well, here goes nothing. He sighed and followed Becky's directions to the back.
"Hudson, so happy you were able to join. I didn't think you had the balls to show up." Sue said. She was in the corner of her office, in what was apparently her mini golf section. She was just getting ready to hit the ball when he walked in.
Finn stood awkwardly at the entrance. "Give me one second..." Sue said as she ever so lightly hit the ball into the hole merely 5 feet away. "Alright!" She smiled, looking up at him. "Why don't I give you the grand tour, huh?"
She had a little golf cart parked in the other corner of the room. Sue walked over and sat down in the drivers seat. "Well don't just stand there Hudson. Hop in." She waved him offer.
What the hell is happening...Finn thought to himself. He hesitantly walked over to the cart and sat down next to her. Sue exited her office and drove through the halls, taking Finn through different parts of the building. He had to admit, it was pretty impressive. She had a huge basketball court in one area of the building, because as she told him, "You can't market a basketball player if you don't know how to play basketball." It made his office space seem quite minuscule compared to what apparently seemed to be an amusement park Sue created.
They ended back in her office maybe 10 minutes later, but not without Sue almost running over a few of her employees who were in the way.
"What did you think?" She asked, hopping off the golf cart and settling in the seat behind her desk.
"Uh, it's an impressive space you have here." Finn said, moving over to the seat across from his desk. "So? I'm here, like you asked." He said, leaning back in his chair. He really just wanted to get this over with.
"Straight to the point huh Hudson?" Sue smirked. "I like it."
Finn just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Where do you see your company in 5 years, Hudson?" She asked, giving him a once over.
"That's a weird question to ask." He said.
"Humor me." She was staring at him in a way Finn has seen before on like, the Animal channel. She was a predator marking her prey.
Finn shrugged. "I see it growing, expanding into different markets. Probably the same as yourself."
Sue laughed a little. "Well you see Hudson, I just think that's gonna be hard to do."
"Yeah? And why's that, Sue?" Finn said, getting a little irritated at Sue's coyness. He was never one to play games and right now, he felt like she was taking him in circles.
"Because, Hudson. In 5 years...nah, let's just say even 2 years for fun, you're gonna be gone for. You know why? Because small little companies like yourself don't last with me around. It's only a matter of time before you face your defeat." Sue said, her tone changing throughout the sentence.
Now Finn was definitely taken aback. "So you called me over here to tell me that my company is going to fail?"
"No, you see Finn. I want to offer you and your team something. I've been watching your work. It's impressive stuff. I could use people like you on my team. So, before I end up crushing you, why don't you just sell me the rights to your company? I promise you'll all still have jobs after the acquisition." Sue smiled at him.
What. the. Fuck. Finn felt like he was about to explode. Was this even real life?
Finn laughed trying to hide his nervousness. "While I appreciate your concern for the fate of my team and my company, let me just be the first to say that that's never happening."
"Well, the other option is that I just take it from you." She shrugged. "I heard Schuester's in need of a new marketing team. Seems like his current one tends to mix his business with pleasure." She smirked. "Some people like their business handled by real professionals. It'd be a shame if you just didn't have any more clients to work with."
What the hell was she talking about? Was she talking about his relationship with Rachel? The only person who knew about that was Blaine. It's not like it was a big secret but it was always Rachel's choice not to flaunt their relationship at her workplace. Yeah so he sent her flowers, but who the hell knew they'd be from him?
"Oh you don't think I knew about that, did you? I'd hate for Schuester to think he's getting a lesser quality of work because his team is distracted." She continued to taunt him.
Sue looked down at her watch, confident her words were scaring Finn. "Come to think of it, my team is actually putting something together to show Schuester on Friday. He requested it, actually." She stared at him and Finn did everything he could to not lose his cool. Schuester was his biggest client. If he lost him...well fuck.
Finn got up from his chair and rested his hands on her desk, leaning in towards Sue. "Do you really think you scare me?" He said, super confidently. "I know your type, Sue. It's everything I made sure my company was not. So, go ahead. Make your pitch." He shrugged. "But we're not going anywhere. And you or any of your tactics are not gonna get in our way."
Sue smirked as her nose flared. "We'll see Hudson. We'll see."
Finn rolled his eyes. "Thanks for inviting me to your office. It's been a pleasure." He said and started walking out.
"Oh and Finn? Gender diversity as a marketing campaign? Real original, buddy." She said.
"Think about my offer!" She yelled again after him.
Finn didn't bother to stop walking as he heard her from behind him. He was livid but no way in hell would he let Sue know she got to him. He waited until he got in the car before he let out some aggression. Why the hell was Will talking to Sue? Who else was talking to Sue?
Someone out there was selling out his information and he needed to find out who.
Later that night, Rachel was in the middle of reading a book in bed when she heard the doorbell. It was about 10 pm. She wasn't expecting any company and she knew Finn was just finishing up at the gym with Sam, and was heading home after. They didn't have plans to see each other.
She got up from her bed dressed in her pajama shorts and tank top and walked over to the door, peering out the peephole.
She opened the door quickly. "Finn?"
He gave her a small smile. "Hey baby. Can I come in?"
"Of course..." She moved out of the way. "I wasn't expecting you. Hi." She leaned up for a kiss when he walks into the apartment, gym bag in tow.
"I was on my way home...but I thought I'd make a detour and just see how my favorite girl is doing." He said.
Rachel peered at him. Yes, Finn was usually very sweet and astute to her needs, but something seemed off with him. She figured he'd talk when he was ready.
"Well I'm certainly glad to see you too. Did you shower at the gym?" She asked, walking towards her bedroom.
He yawned, following her into the room. "Yeah I did. What are you up to?" He asked, sitting on the bed and kicking his shoes off.
"I was just doing some reading..." She pointed to the book on her nightstand.
"It always smells so good in here." He mumbled, laying back on her bed, moving himself into his usual spot. "Come cuddle with me baby."
Now Finn wasn't usually a cuddler. He enjoyed some post sex cuddles but other than that, Rachel usually initiated the cuddling. Cuddling with her man was one of her favorite things to do. He didn't need to tell her twice.
She crawled into his open arms in the bed.
"You ok baby?" She asked, after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah I'm just...so tired." He yawned again. He wasn't THAT tired, but he wasn't ready to talk. He just wanted to lay with her.
Rachel gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew he was a hard worker, and this week especially seemed to be a tough one for him.
She pressed a few soft kisses to his jaw line. Finn turned his head down to capture her lips in a soft kiss instead.
"Can I stay here tonight?" He asked.
"Finn, you know you don't even have to ask." She said softly, kissing him again.
He relished the feeling of her soft lips and warm body against his. Even if things seemed to be fucked up at the moment, his girl just made everything seem okay. Even if it was just for a moment.
