Two Steps Beyond
Part 114
Wednesday morning when they Brittany and Rachel met up for breakfast before heading to meet up with Tasha's friend Rachel looked at her across the table. "Are you sure you brought one of Jeff's ties?"
"Yes." Brittany replied before pulling it partially out of her bag. "I've also got one of his vest as well as a pair of pants."
"Why pants?"
"Santana said the boys aren't sure if they're wearing the gray pants again, or if they're going with navy blue. They won't know more till Tasha meets with Blaine and Sebby tonight. So, if they go with the gray, Santana wants to make sure our skirts would be the same shade."
"Okay, now that makes sense. I'm still surprised the guys brought them with them."
"So were we, but it seems all of them brought at least one full one with them. But I think that's because most don't plan on moving back to Ohio once they're done with school. And being a Warbler meant a lot to them."
"I know you spent a lot of time with them last year, but did they work that hard last year as they did this past weekend?"
"They did. All of them felt they had something to prove last year. And having Blaine back was part of that."
"You don't have to answer, but how did everyone at McKinley treat you considering all the time you spent with the Warblers?"
"Most were okay about it, especially once they saw how happy I was with Jeff. But…Mr. Schue wasn't happy. He felt I cared more about them doing well than us."
"Did you?"
"Maybe, but it just wasn't the same anymore. The Warblers cared what I thought and didn't treat me like I was…" Brittany's voice fell off as she didn't want to finish her thought.
"You don't have to say it Britt, I get it." Rachel said as she reached across and took ahold of one of Brittany's hands. The one thing she remembered all too well was how Brittany felt whenever anyone called her stupid. That whole thing that happened with Artie was too hard to forget. And while some might feel the Warblers were using Brittany back then, Rachel knew full well that Blaine never would've allowed that to happen.
"Thanks." She replied as she looked across at Rachel. "It was like they didn't trust me to make my own decisions."
"I know that feeling all too well. I think they're all still waiting for us all to come running back to Lima."
"I don't want to go back, I like New York."
"I feel the same way Britt." As Rachel answered, Brittany's phone went off. "Santana?"
"How'd you guess?"
"Because she was pissed last night when I talked to her. She really wanted to be here for this today." So while Brittany spoke briefly to Santana, Rachel managed to get their waitress's attention so that they could get their check and be on their way. Once Brittany ended the call, Rachel told her what her share of the bill was so they could leave. After that was taken care of the two of them were on their way. "What did Santana have to say?"
"We're supposed to call her when we're done and give her a full report. And take pictures if necessary."
"I think that's something we can do." Brittany nodded in agreement. "So, how's Jeff?"
"Good, he had an early class today but Wednesdays are always good for him."
"How so?"
"He's got a couple of classes with Blaine. He said it's nice to have someone to talk to that's not an idiot." Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "What?"
"I just think it's cute that Jeff thinks some of his classmates are idiots."
"From what he's told the rest of us, they are. Nick always laughs at the stories Jeff has to tell. How's Brody?"
"Good, he was jealous that I don't have morning classes today while he's got a full class load."
"Does he have class with that bitchy lady today?"
"Ah, so he's told you about Miss July?"
"He has. Santana says her name sounds like she should be a Playmate."
"You know what, Santana is right about that. I'd never thought of it that way before." The closer the girls got to their destination, Rachel asked Brittany for the card with the address on it one more time as she was surprised to see they were heading towards the heart of the theater district. "Did Tasha say who we were meeting exactly?"
"She just said that the woman is a friend of hers and that she'd be able to help us out with what we need." Rachel shrugged her shoulders as they continued walking realizing Brittany was as in the dark as she was. When they reached the stage door at the Gershwin, Rachel felt her stomach doing flip-flops. "You okay Rach?"
"Um, I'll be fine." As Rachel replied, Brittany rang the bell outside the door. While they waited Brittany glanced over at Rachel and smiled. The next thing they saw was a rather large man standing in front of them.
"May I help you ladies?" After he spoke Brittany looked at Rachel and when it became clear Rachel wasn't going to say anything Brittany spoke.
"We're here to see Susan, we have an appointment." Slowly a smile crept to the man's face as he looked at the girls.
"Follow me, she's waiting for you." Brittany smiled again and looked at Rachel before they followed the man inside. As they made their way through the back of the theater Rachel's eyes grew wider each time they came to a new area. Once they reached an area just off the stage the man asked them to wait while he went to go get her.
"Do you realize what show is performed here Britt?"
"Uh huh, Wicked. Jeff took me to see it a couple of weeks ago. We saw it with Santana and Nick. It was really cool!"
"Glad you thought so." Rachel's attention moved from Brittany as a woman walked closer to them. "You must be Brittany and Rachel."
"We are." Rachel replied.
"Tasha said you girls were beautiful and she wasn't kidding. You can call me Susan."
"Thank you. I'm Rachel and this is Brittany." Once they all shook hands, Susan spoke.
"Now, what can I help you with as she only gave me the basics?"
"We need help creating outfits for an upcoming show choir competition." Rachel replied. "We have an idea of what we want the outfit to look like. The problem is we can't buy skirts that give us the look we want, while still allowing us to dance."
"Do you have a picture?" Rachel looked up at Brittany who was pulling her phone out of her bag.
"We do." Brittany found the photo on her phone and then handed it to Susan. "Do you think you can help us?"
"I can. So, why don't you follow me and we can see what we can do." They both smiled and followed her down a hallway till they reached her office. When they walked in Rachel's eyes went wide again as she looked at some of the costumes from the show that were inside.
"Did you design these?"
"I did. I must say, it's some of my best work."
"It's beautiful."
"Thank you. Now, was I told correctly that there are two other girls as well?"
"You were. Tasha told us to make sure you had all our measurements." Brittany replied before handing her a piece of paper.
"I should've known she wouldn't have sent you girls ill-prepared." Susan replied before pulling out her sketch pad. The girls each took a seat as she propped Brittany's phone up in front of her and went to work. As she sketched, she asked the girls numerous questions about what they were going to be doing while wearing the outfits. "Do you want the same color scheme as is in the photo?"
"Yes." Rachel replied. "Brittany actually brought parts of the guys' outfits with her. What she wore in that picture were actually parts of the boys' uniforms."
"Wonderful." After she responded, Brittany took the pieces out of her bag. "Are you girls only needing skirts and vest or will you need ties as well?"
"We've got the ties covered." Brittany replied. "All the boys have more than enough to share with us." It was only a few minutes later did Susan showed the girls the sketch.
"How'd you do that?" Rachel asked. "That's what we wanted but weren't sure how to put it together."
"It's not much different than the picture you showed me, but it's also what Tasha told me you girls wanted in that you wanted a sexed up version of the original outfit. It's not pushing the envelope too much, is it?"
"Not at all. People wore riskier outfits at the high school level so this is more than alright for college." Rachel told her. "Now, how do we go about getting them?"
"I owe Tasha a favor, so I've agreed to make them for you which is why I needed all of your measurements."
"Are you serious?" Brittany asked.
"I am. But I'd like one thing in return."
"Anything." Rachel said quickly.
"That you let me know when it is, so I can see you all perform. I'm a bit of a sucker for vocal performances. And according to Tasha, you're all pretty good."
"We can do that. Um, do you mind if we take a picture of the sketch to show the other girls?"
"Not at all. Once you show it to them, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if they feel any changes need to be made."
"Alright, thank you so much." With that said the girls took their picture, before gathering what they'd brought except the tie and heading on their way. "I can't believe she's making them for us." Rachel beamed as they walked out of the theater. Once they were outside Brittany sent the picture to both Santana and Hailey before looking at Rachel. "So, are you heading to Lexi's?"
"I am. Are you going to school?"
"I am. So, I will see you this weekend then."
"See you then." Brittany replied before giving Rachel a hug, then hailing a cab to take her to Lexi's. On the ride over she ended up hearing back from both Santana and Hailey who loved the sketch she'd sent. And neither of them could think of anything they wanted to change. During her conversation with Santana, Brittany was asked to give Tasha a call once she arrived at Lexi's so that she knew how things went during their appointment.
When Brittany came bounding into the house, Lexi could tell that her morning must've gone well. "You seem happy." Lexi said after saying hello.
"I am. Susan is going to make our outfits for us. Do you want to see what they're going to look like?" Brittany's excitement was evident in the sound of her voice.
"I'd love to." Lexi replied and soon Brittany was pulling her phone out of her bag once again. "Those are amazing." She said as she looked at the sketch on the phone.
"We think so too. Do you mind if I call Tasha before I get to work? I'm supposed to call her and thank her for setting this up for us."
"I don't mind at all. Go make your call. I'll be upstairs when you're done." It was about ten minutes later when Brittany went walking up the stairs and into Lexi's office. "Is everything alright Britt?" Lexi asked once Brittany took a seat across from her.
"No." She replied, with a slight pout on her face.
"Want to talk about it?"
"If I say something, you won't get mad, will you?" Lexi shook her head. "Kurt's a bitch!" It took everything Lexi had not to look shocked when the words came out of Brittany's mouth as she'd never heard her curse before.
"What's wrong?"
"He wouldn't put me through to Tasha. Said she's too busy to deal with whatever my little issue is."
"He said WHAT?"
"That he…"
"I'm sorry Britt, I heard you I'm just surprised that he said that. What brought it up?" Lexi asked while she tried to calm down as she could tell her reaction startled Brittany.
"Well, I made my call like you told me I could. And when Kurt answered, I asked to speak to her and he asked what it was in regards to. But since Blaine and Sebby asked us not to really tell anyone what was going on I told him I just needed to talk to her."
"And?"
"He asked if it had something to do with you and I said no. And that's when he said she didn't have time to deal with whatever my little issue was as she's a very busy woman. He then hung up on me."
"Get your coat Britt."
"Why?"
"We're going out."
"Do you want me to help you get Braeden and Jocelyn ready?"
"No need, Cooper is upstairs in our bedroom running lines. So, go downstairs and put your coat on and I'll be downstairs as soon as I tell him we're going out."
"Okay." Brittany said as she got up from her seat. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
"What gives you the idea that I'm mad at you?"
"Just the way you reacted. I'm sorry if I did anything wrong."
"Sweetie, you did nothing wrong, okay. I'll be downstairs as soon as I talk with Cooper."
Once Brittany left the room, Lexi took a deep breath before getting up from behind her desk to head upstairs. When she walked into their bedroom, Cooper was sitting in the chaise by the window while the twins took a nap. "Didn't expect to see you, though I'm not complaining." He said as he reached out for her. But once he took a good look at her he realized something was wrong. "What's going on Lex?"
"Britt and I are going out."
"Care to tell me why?"
"I have something I need to take care of."
"Lexi, tell me what's going on."
"It's not important Coop, plus you'll think it's silly." Lexi said as she started to put her shoes on which had been sitting near the chaise.
"Nothing you could say to me could be silly. Plus judging from the look on your face, it's something." After she had her shoes on Cooper reached out for her and this time she allowed him to take her hand. Soon she found herself sitting between his legs on the chaise. "Talk."
"Did I tell you Rachel and Brittany had a meeting with that costume designer friend of Tasha's this morning?"
"You mentioned it, why, what happened?"
"Their meeting was successful and I can say the girls are going to look fabulous, but…" Lexi paused as she took another cleansing breath. "Britt went to call Tasha once she got here to tell her how it went and Kurt wouldn't put her through to him."
"I'm sure there was a good reason for it."
"When he knew she wasn't calling for me and she told him that she needed to talk to Tasha. Kurt told her Tasha doesn't have time for her little issues as she's busy and then he hung up on her."
"He did what?" Lexi just glanced back at Cooper with an exasperated look on her face. "Sorry, I just can't believe he hung up on her."
"Me either. While I get Tasha is busy, he didn't have to be so rude to her. You and I both know Britt doesn't have a mean bone in her body. So she didn't deserve that. If Tasha was truly busy he should have said she was without being flippant and taken a bloody message, not hung up on her."
"I take it you're going over to see her."
"We are."
"Promise you'll call her first, because if she is busy you'd feel horrible for bothering her. And if she is, maybe she can find time to squeeze you two in."
"Alright I will. Now, us leaving isn't going to be an issue for you, is it?"
"Not at all. I wasn't planning on going anywhere so we're good. And if I do need to go anywhere, I'll take them with me."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, now go. You don't want to keep Britt waiting."
"I love you Coop."
"I love you too! You're more than welcome to show me how much you love me later on."
"I just might do that." She then got up and gave him a kiss before heading on her way.
Realizing what time of day it was, they headed for the subway as Lexi didn't really have the patience to attempt to hail a cab at that time. So, while they waited for their train, Brittany filled her in on the rest of the meeting and her exuberance slowly returned. By the time they reached Tasha's office building Lexi couldn't help but wonder what Tasha was going to come up with for the boys considering what the girls were going to be wearing. "Lexi, Kurt said Tasha was busy."
"I know he did, but I called her and she said she had time to squeeze us in. So you'll be able to tell her all about the meeting as well as show her the picture of the sketch." The smile that came to Brittany's face calmed Lexi's anger a bit, but she knew it would flair up again the instant they walked into the office and saw Kurt. As he'd done so many times, Kurt said hello the instant he'd heard the door open without fully lifting his head to see who'd walked in. "Would you please tell Tasha we're here?"
"Ms. Saunders is busy at the moment but if you'd like to take a…"
"She's expecting us." Lexi said rather bluntly. The look she had on her face was one that looked all too familiar to Kurt as it's one he'd seen on Sebastian numerous times. As he got up from his desk, there was no doubt in his mind that she was unhappy.
"Excuse me Ms. Saunders, Mrs. Anderson is here. She said you're expecting them but I didn't see it on your calendar." Kurt said as he walked into the office.
"It wasn't, but I was able to squeeze the time in-between video conferences. Show them in."
"Very well." When Kurt walked back out into the outer office Lexi and Brittany were talking as they flipped through the newest issue. "Ms. Saunders will see you now."
"Thank you! " Lexi said with a smile. "Come on Britt." As they walked passed Kurt, Brittany just looked at Kurt and scrunched up her nose before they walked into Tasha's office, closing the door behind them. "Thanks for this." Lexi said as Tasha walked towards them.
"You're welcome. Glad I was able to squeeze you guys in. Take a seat." Once they got settled on the couch, Tasha took a seat in a chair opposite them. "So, is it safe to presume you wanted to see me because of your meeting this morning?"
"It is." Brittany replied. "It went really well. She came up with a beautiful sketch which turned out exactly how we wanted. It looks like the outfit I wore for Jeff, but it's sexier." She said with a smile. "So, thank you so much!"
"It's my pleasure. I'm glad she was able to help. I'd love to see it once you girls get it." Tasha told her.
"I have a picture of the sketch if you want to see it."
"I'd love too." As Brittany reached for her phone, Tasha looked across at Lexi and could tell she was irritated. "You okay?" She mouthed and Lexi shook her head. But before she had a chance to inquire more Brittany was handing her, her phone. "Wow!"
"I said the same thing when she showed it to me when she arrived at the house. Safe to say the boys are going to be very happy with what she came up with."
"No kidding! Susan really out did herself. It's sexy, but not trashy. Guess I've really got my work cut out for me sprucing up the guys outfits so the girls don't completely outshine them."
"While I love Bas, Blaine, and the rest of them Tasha, the girls will outshine them regardless." Lexi said with a smile. "But I'm sure you'll have them looking stunning as well."
"I think you're right, but thanks for the boost of confidence. And while I love seeing you both, you know you could've just called and sent me the pic." Once she spoke, Tasha noticed a change in Brittany's expression. "Britt?"
"I tried to call, but Kurt wouldn't let me talk to you."
"Excuse me?"
"I called and he said you were busy and didn't have time for my little issues."
"Okay, we'll I've had a pretty busy morning so I could've been in a meeting when you called. Let me check my messages."
"He hung up on her Tasha." Lexi said. "He didn't even bother to take a message because she wouldn't tell him what the call was in regards to."
"Is that true Britt?" Brittany nodded.
"I didn't tell him because Blaine and Sebby asked us not to talk about what we're doing."
"It's okay Britt; you don't have to explain yourself to me. It wasn't any of his business what you were calling about since it wasn't work related. Now, while I'd love to talk to you both more I have to take care of a few things before my next meeting."
"Thanks again Tasha." Brittany said as they all got up from their seats. "We really appreciate the help."
"It was my pleasure. Now, can you do me a favor?"
"Anything." Brittany replied happily.
"Would you ask Jeff and Nick if they could go over to Blaine and Seb's tonight?"
"I can do that."
"Wonderful." Tasha replied before giving her a hug. "We'll talk later." She said to Lexi before giving her a hug as well.
"I figured as much. Bye." Once they walked out of Tasha's office and through the outer office doors Tasha leaned against her doorway.
"My office, now!" She said before walking back inside. Kurt gulped audibly because he could tell she was pissed. And for the life of him he didn't know what it could be about. As he walked into her office she told him to close the door behind him. Once he walked up to her desk she got out of her chair and just glared at him. "What the hell gave you the right to hang up on Brittany when she called to speak with me?"
"Um…ah…I…."
"Collect your thoughts because this better be good." Kurt took a deep breath before speaking.
"When she called you were on a conference call." Tasha nodded. "So, I asked what she was calling in regards to and she only said she needed to speak to you. Since she wouldn't clarify I assumed it was just a silly Brittany matter and she'd try back again later."
"Sit." Kurt did as he was told as Tasha walked around her desk. "For your information, I was actually waiting for a call from Brittany today. And did you ever think that what she was calling in regards to wasn't any of your business."
"No ma'am, I…I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"Damn right it won't happen again! I don't care who it is that calls for me you will be polite and you will take a message if I am busy, do you understand? You will treat everyone that calls here with respect! And not take it upon yourself which calls are of importance to me."
"Yes ma'am, I'm so sorry. As I said, it won't happen again."
"You better see to it, because if it does happen again, you will no longer have a job. Now get out, I need to get ready for this next call."