A/N - Good evening everyone! I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the overwhelming show of support for this story, and for me. It truly means the world to me that so many of you get what I'm trying to do here, for the Bechloe world. As someone who likes to talk, I'm pretty speechless about the whole thing.

I'm actually quite excited to bring you this next chapter :)

Thank you to J, for everything!

.oOo. Chapter Thirty .oOo.

"Morning."

"Hey... good morning to you, how was... whoa, you look like you had a rough night," Luke said in response to Beca's quietly spoken greeting as she came into their small, shared office, a couple of weeks after Chloe's barbecue. "Are you okay?"

"Nope, I'm good. Just was up late sorting out a few things," Beca explained.

"Makes a change from getting arrested, I guess."

"Are you still going on about that?" Beca asked, shaking her head.

"Of course. I plan to use it at every available opportunity for at least the next fifteen years," Luke smirked, good naturedly.

"You are such a jerk," Beca growled under her breath as she set her purse down on the tiny sofa they mostly used for dumping paperwork and discarded coffee cups. "What's on the plan for today?"

"Well..." Luke said, spinning around in his chair to face Beca as she pushed the sleeves of her shirt up to her elbows. "... job number one today is you doing the coffee run."

"Why?"

"Because you look like hell." Luke's words were delivered with his normal jocularity, but Beca could recognise the honest assessment lying underneath.

"I've just been packing up the apartment, going through a lot of stuff. It takes time and-"

"-You don't have a lot of stuff! And I told you I'd help with that."

"It's okay, I can manage. I've got nothing else to do with my time."

"Bec..."Luke waited for an honest answer from his friend.

"It's just with the new Kendrick album, driving back and forth to Studio City to see the girls and finding a place to live, I don't have much time for sleep at the moment."

"Have you ever thought about taking a couple of days off?"

"What?" Beca laughed lightly. "A week before the album debut? Yeah, right..."

"Seriously, I can cover for you," Luke offered.

"Really, it's okay. I'll be fine once I've moved."

"You're going to make yourself ill," Luke chided, turning back to his laptop as a message pinged onto the screen.

"I definitely don't have time in my schedule for that," Beca said humourlessly. She watched Luke type a quick reply to the pop up.

"So you've found a place?" He said, as he pressed the send button.

"For what?" Beca asked.

"To live dummy? Isn't that what we're talking about? I thought you said my brother needed you out by next week."

"He did and I'm... grateful for the time I've had there, really. It beats sharing a bed with Amy full time!"

"Do you need me to have a word with him? Ask him to give you a bit longer?"Luke offered.

"No, honestly, it's fine. Need a fresh start in a new place."

"And to answer my question?"

"About?"

"If you found anyw-"

"-Oh, I'm still looking for a place but I've got some leads and will have something sorted by the end of the week."

"Bec..." Luke muttered.

"Yeah?"

"If you need a place to stay, you can always crash with me for a while. I know it's not ideal but it's a roof over your head and you can save yourself some money."

"I don't need help, I'm good," Beca explained.

"We all need a little help occasionally."

"I know, I know. But I don't want to cramp your style! What about all the ladies you entertain in the evenings?" Beca joked and Luke laughed before Beca noticed a slight pink tinge on his cheeks.

"Right," he mirthed. "Bree and I aren't ready-"

"Who's Bree?"

"What?"

"You said 'Bree and I'..."

"I'm pretty sure I didn't," Luke stressed and Beca could tell he was lying about something but dropped it, knowing it wasn't really any of her business andLuke would tell her when he was ready..

"Besides," she said, steering the conversation back. "I don't want to live with a boy. You're all smelly and gross."

"Right, because all females are delightful fairy cake baking, fruity flavoured-"

"-What the fuck is a fairy cake?" Beca baulked at the thought.

"A small muffin, you heathen."

"Then call it that, you weirdo."

"If you agree to speak English, you should learn our idiosyncrasies too," Luke winked at Beca, nudging her with his elbow, when she didn't come back with her usual, sarcastic retort.

"Yeah, yeah... shut up," She growled slightly at him, looking out toward the window.

"That's more like it."

Beca grinned back at her friend, before lowering her eyes for a second, a look Luke knew well.

"Do you want to come and stay with me for a while? We can make it work quite easily if we put up a screen or two and-"

"-Seriously, thanks for the offer of a place to stay, I do appreciate it Luke, I really do. But I gotta do this on my own," Beca said, unable to meet his eyes. "I don't want to be too far from Chloe's and want to find somewhere in Studio City but the only things I can afford to rent at the moment are a leaky garage space or a psychedelic pink room belonging to a Grandma who had about eighteen cats."

"If you need the deposit for a nicer place-"

"-It's okay, I'm okay. I've just got to find somewhere that isn't miles away from Chloe and here and everything will be fine."

"Not sure if you are trying to convince me or you."

"Me either," Beca mumbled. "But you know me, I somehow always make it work and-"

Their conversation halted as Richie, one of the admin assistants knocked on their office door.

"Sorry to interrupt guys," Richie said, stepping into the office. Both Luke and Beca shook their heads to show it wasn't a problem as Beca reached into her pocket for her phone.

Richie was good at his job and well liked. He was organised, friendly, seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and the senior executives were all keen to keep him on the payroll. He often stopped at Luke's office to ask sensible questions because he'd heard something in a meeting he didn't understand, he remembered people's birthdays and would lend a hand where needed; doing the mail run, picking up a tray of sandwiches for a last minute meeting or act as a sounding board for one of the producers having a melt down in the break room.

"What can I do for you Richie?" Luke asked.

"Actually, it's Beca that I need."

"Oh?" Beca's head snapped up from the text she was reading.

"Mr Samuelson would like a meeting with you at ten thirty, if you have the time in your schedule," Richie paused for a second, before continuing, talking out of the corner of his mouth in a stage whisper. "And I'd consider making time in your schedule."

"Sounds ominous," Luke commented, side eyeing his friend.

"Um, yeah, I can meet with Sammy... Mr Samuelson at half ten." Beca said, casting an eye to the clock on the wall.

"Excellent... meeting room five. Ten thirty," Richie nodded to confirm.

"Ten thirty," Beca repeated.

RIchie bowed his head awkwardly, looking slightly relieved to have delivered his message

"What's that all about?" Beca asked, turning to Luke as Richie walked back down the corridor, towards the coffee room.

"He's probably heard how grumpy you are," Luke deadpanned.

"Don't joke Luke, what if they fire me?"

"They aren't going to fire you," Luke said matter of factly.

"You don't know that. What if they can't afford to keep me on as an intern any longer?"

"Then I'll stand up for you and-"

"-I need this job!"

"Calm down, it might be something else. You might be needed for a special project or something, but whatever happens, I'll be here and if it's bad news we'll work something out."

"Strangely enough, I don't find that comforting."

"Well, I guess you'll find out in a couple of hours."

"Do you know something?" Beca asked, a little suspiciously.

"No. I don't. I wouldn't keep something important from you Bec."

"Unless you were told by the seniors that you had to?"

"Look, you're my best friend and that trumps work colleagues any day in my book."

"I appreciate that. But what-"

"-You'll find out in two hours."

"Should I start looking elsewhere? Maybe I can get some night work in a grocery store instead? I can see the girls during the day and..." Beca trailed off.

"And in the meantime, it's your turn to get coffee and then I want to talk to you about the updates that Maroon 5 want on their new single," Luke picked up the paper that was laying on his desk, changing the subject, knowing his friend was getting worked up over the meeting. "And after that, you want to explain how yet another picture of you and Chloe not only got into the local paper but made fourth page news?"

"Another one?" Beca asked, thinking of the paper that Luke had shown her last week which showed a rather grainy photo of her and Chloe in a park with the girls.

It had been taken the day after the barbecue and showed the two of them talking while the girls played on the picnic blanket. Beca had her arm around Alex who had taken to her other Mom like a duck to water almost overnight. Beca was acutely aware of the look Jessie had sent her way, noting that it was a cross between worry, jealousy and a touch of contentment.

There hasn't been much wording attached to the photograph, as it was in the 'Celebrity Spotted' section, only to say that actress Chloe Beale and female friend were seen at Fullerton Rec Centre with 'their children' and a throwaway comment of how pretty Chloe looked in the company of her friend.

"Yeah, looks like you were waiting outside the Shake Shack with the girls while Chloe was inside. Comments questioning if you were the nanny to the girls but then the journalist mentioned the identical girls in the next sentence."

"This is hardly newsworthy," Beca groaned, taking the paper from Luke's outstretched hand.

"To some people it is. You know how folks gossip and like to dissect every detail about someone famous down to their hair follicles and freckle count."

"You can be quite random at times, you know that?" Beca folded the paper back in half and slapped Luke's arm with it.

"Just be careful, okay?"

"Careful about what?" She asked.

"Don't get caught with Chloe anywhere."

"What the heck do you mean by that?"

Luke sighed heavily and looked thoughtfully at her for a few moments.

"You want to keep the girls out of the public eye as much as possible and the more times you are seen in public together, people are going to start figuring it out."

"Why though, I'm just a nobody."

"You aren't exactly a nobody, but you know as well as I do how much of a big thing Chloe Beale is."

"She's just a normal person," Beca breathed out through gritted teeth.

"But she's not Bec. I know you think she's just Chloe, but to a lot of people, she's not. You can't deny that people hang around her just because she's been in a few movies and want her to be their friend because she's famous. You might know her as the girl who hosts a pretty decent barbecue or movie night in her back garden but not everyone sees her that way. They want to know every detail about her, from what she has for breakfast to the car she drives, where she holds a bank account and what colour her bedsheets are."

"I don't get the devotion," Beca retorted, running her hands through her hair. "She's a public figure, not public property."

"Yeah, that's how you see it but not everyone is like you."

Beca nodded and rubbed at her eyes.

"I'm going for coffee," She stated. "Need anything else?"

.oOo.

Beca stood outside meeting room number five just before ten thirty. She was fiddling nervously with the sleeve of her shirt when she heard her phone ping in her pocket.

Message from chloe.m to beca.m - 10.27 - Hi! How's your day going? C x

Message from beca.m to chloe.m - 10.28 - Just waiting for a meeting with the suits

Message from chloe.m to beca.m - 10.30 - Everything okay?

The door popped open just as Beca was about to respond and she pocketed her phone quickly pushing herself off the wall she was leaning against.

"Miss Mitchell?"

"Yes, sorry," Beca said, smoothing down the front of her shirt.

"Please come in."

"Sure."

Beca entered the room, surprised to see five people already seated along one side of the large conference table. The room itself was one of Beca's favourites to make or take a sneaky phone call as it gave a great view of the busy junction outside and it was a decent place to people watch or just have some quiet time to think.

Beca squared her shoulders as she took in the group in front of her, recognising two people from Human Resources; the manager and the assistant manager as well as Sammy, who she knew quite well. Richie, seated next to someone Beca recognised but didn't know the name of, grinned at her as she stood awkwardly on her side of the table.

"Morning Reggie," Sammy said, picking up the pen in front of him and slotting it behind his ear, before selecting it again and fiddling with the clicker.

"Morning," Beca nodded towards one of the senior managers.

"This is Brian and Sarah from HR," Sammy explained, pointing his pen in their direction. "Richie, you know. And this is Kirk Beaumont, director of operations here."

"Pleasure to meet you," Kirk nodded before standing up, clearing his throat and holding out his hand towards Beca.

"Likewise," Beca said, leaning over the table and shaking his hand.

"Please have a seat." Kirk said, indicating the chair with his hand.

"Thanks," Beca said awkwardly, slipping into the chair in the middle of the table, opposite everyone else. She pulled herself into the table and folded her hands on her lap before looking up, under her eyelashes, at the folk in front of her.

"So... um, why am I here?"

"Huh... well, yes, why don't we cut to the chase," Sammy said, finally putting down his pen. He looked over to Brian and Sarah before continuing. "We wanted to talk to you about your future with Universal Music Group."

"My future?" Beca floundered a little, wondering if her worst fears really were about to come true and she'd need to leave.

"Yes, we were wondering if you liked working here," Kirk interjected.

"Yeah, I mean, yes I do. Sorry, my mouth is as dry as hell... I mean, it's as dry as-"

"-It's okay Beca," Kirk said kindly. His voice had a fatherly tone to it and the kind of pitch that made you want to listen to what he had to say. "This is purely an informal meeting at the moment, so please, take your time."

"Have a drink Reggie," Sammy nodded towards the water bottles just within reach.

Beca reached for one of the glasses in the middle of the table and quickly poured herself some water, before gesturing the jug towards the others, offering to pour some for them too. She couldn't help notice the look that passed between Sammy and Kirk as she reset the jug on the table.

"I enjoy working here," Beca continued carefully after taking a healthy glug. "I've learnt so much while I've been here and I love working with Luke very much. There's nowhere else I want to work right now."

"That's good to hear," Kirk smiled. "Very good indeed. Do you live locally?"

"Um, yeah, about half an hour away."

"Do you have any ties to the area?"

"Ties?"

"Is there anything that keeps you in California?" Kirk asked.

"Um..." Beca glanced towards the two HR representatives, wondering what was going on. They remained expressionless, watching the interaction unfold.

"Family members, special friends, relationships... that kind of thing," Sammy explained.

"I mean, I have a kid, two kids... three if you count... yeah, there are my kids."

"Oh. Right, yes of course. I remember seeing the..." Kirk flustered a little, earning an obvious cough from Brian in HR.

"They live in Studio City right now and I'm moving that way in a week or so," Beca offered by way of explanation.

"You don't own your property?" Kirk asked.

"No, I'm in a rental."

Sammy and Kirk both nodded slowly. Beca's mind was working overtime. Were they asking about rent because they had some weird conscience problem if they were going to fire her in approximately two minutes.

"Rent is expensive around here," Sammy said after a few seconds.

"Um, yeah," Beca cricked her neck a little. "I've noticed that!"

"Do you drive Reggie?" Kirk asked.

"It's Beca."

"I'm sorry?"

"My name... it's Beca, not Reggie."

Kirk shot a confused look towards Sammy who shrugged his shoulders and picked up the pen he was previously fiddling with, placing the end of it into his mouth and nibbling a little.

"Sorry... Beca," Kirk apologised. "Sammy said... maybe I misheard..."

"It's okay, I don't know where Reggie came from but I've pretty much rolled with it from day one," Beca said good naturedly. "But to answer your question, yes I can drive."

"And you have your own vehicle?"

"Yes."

"And you work long hours for us, don't you? I mean, more than the average intern."

"I don't know about everyone else but yeah, I'll put the time in if I want to get something right and if it means overtime, so be it."

"But those hours are unpaid."

"I know, but..." Beca sighed. "... I want the music I produce to be perfect. I listen to jingles all day, and pick apart the set of notes for being too shrill or for fading out in the wrong place. I don't want someone else to ever listen to anything I've put together and think, 'oh, she missed the key change on the down angle of the riff'. So I guess to me, the work takes as long as it takes, and if that means working without pay sometimes, so be it."

"Mmmm," Kirk nodded appreciatively. He looked over to Sammy and nodded again. "It's fine with me."

"Okay," Sammy said, spinning in his chair a little.

"Can I ask what this is about?" Beca asked, more uncomfortable now as she wasn't understanding what was going on.

"I'm sorry," Kirk apologised again, looking around the room at his colleagues. "We'll make this quick."

Beca cast her eyes around the room as if in sync, everyone began to open matching folders and pull out a few sheets of paper. She was then acutely aware that everyone was staring at her intently.

"How long have you interned for us now?" Kirk asked.

"Two years, three months."

"Quite a long time to be an intern."

"I guess. I'm waiting for a spot to open up and there's nowhere else I'd rather work."

Kirk nodded appreciatively. Beca noticed that he did a lot of head bobbing.

"I understand and I thank you for your loyalty. However..." He paused and shifted in his seat and Beca's heart sank. Her mind began to run overtime as she tried to plan her future, firmly believing now that they'd pulled her into the meeting to make her leave. She willed herself to listen to Kirk. "... there are no available positions here at the moment."

Beca felt a rumble in her gut at the news. She didn't want to have to start somewhere else, didn't want to leave working with Luke or some of the artists that she was forming a decent working relationship with. She didn't want to have to go back to working five jobs just so she could afford rent.

"I understand," She murmured quietly, trying to cover up her disappointment. Her mind was racing, wondering if she'd end up back in the van with Amy and her weird collection of smells in jars. "When do you want me to go?"

"Go?" Sammy asked, sitting bolt upright in his seat.

"Yeah, Mr Beaumont just said there were no positions here."

"I'm not letting you go Beca," Kirk said and he lightly chuckled. "No way. I've heard from Sammy that you are one of the best interns he's ever had through his program and the work you've been putting together with Luke Bryant has always been flawless. I very rarely get to hear about the work the interns do; in all honesty, I don't know what you... they... all do except get coffee and watch YouTube videos to find the next Justin Bieber. But I can tell you that your name has regularly come up in meetings, and Bryant would always credit your work back to you, even though he had every right to claim it as his own."

"Oh okay... so why am I here? What do you need from me?" Beca asked.

"I want to offer you a full time job with a pretty hefty benefits package but it's not based at this office."

"What?" Beca blinked.

"We're opening up a freelance sponsorship studio, to encourage youngsters without the means to get demo recordings into the music business. I understand that you came from humble beginnings and felt you could add an edge to the project. We currently have fourteen artists lined up to offer their time to the new studio and more are coming on board."

"I don't understand..." Beca looked towards the two HR reps but they gave no indication of anything.

"What we can offer you is a starting salary of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year, plus a finders fee for any signed artists, the opportunity to work on your own music or with any of Universal's portfolio," Kirk explained.

"There is a housing and expense allowance of five thousand a month, not one but two company vehicles at your disposal. You can choose the make and model of one vehicle and the other is a corporate van," Sammy added.

"There's also a travel allowance being granted to you of twenty thousand per annum. As there will be some high profile parties and award shows to attend, there is also access to the corporate wardrobe department at all times for clothing and beauty treatments," Kirk reeled off some more of the benefits and Beca just sat blinking at his words. "What else am I forgetting?"

"There's a medical insurance package, including dental." Sarah spoke up for the first time. "Pension plan, twenty five days paid vacation each year and performance bonuses. And there's the opportunity to use any Planet Fitness gym if you want to with a heavily discounted gym membership. There's access to the theme parks for a donation to charity, masses of retail discounts, use of the company retreat, opportunity to take part in the recognition and appreciation programs, and all new equipment; laptop, decks, instruments, which will be installed in your home and at the new studio."

Beca blinked for a little longer as the words began to settle around her. Convinced she must have transported herself into another realm, knowing that she wasn't destined in life to be that lucky, she pinched the skin on her right arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"The studio itself will still be under my management team," Sammy continued. "But you will have full control on site. You'll be required to video call once a week for a meeting and I would suggest you select a team of around four, maybe five staff. An office manager is essential, as well as a studio musician but see how you get on and if you need more, then submit the proposal to the board and it will be considered. The building at the moment consists of three studios and offices but there is scope for expansion in the future. Universal is quite prepared to fund this project for the next five years."

"Do you have any questions?" Brian asked as he wrote a few notes down on his paperwork.

"Why me?" Beca said quietly.

"Why not?" Sammy sniggered. "You've proved yourself in the past couple of years."

"But there are people who've been here longer, worked harder for an opportunity like this," Beca breathed out.

"We need fresh eyes on this style of project. If it works, we'll look to open up centres like this across America," Sammy explained.

"And possibly even globally," Kirk said brightly. "I like to aim high."

"So what do you say Reggie?"

"Honestly, I don't know right now. You might have to run all of that past me again."

"We'll let you have a copy of the proposed contract to read through at your leisure before coming to a final decision," Sarah said, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

"I know this might be a little overwhelming so you should take a couple of days to talk it through with people, but please be discreet."

"Yeah, I mean, I will," Beca stuttered, already deciding to fill Luke in as soon as the meeting was over. She was surprised that Chloe's face filtered through her mind and Beca knew she wanted to share the news with her too.

"Anything else you want to discuss right now?" Kirk asked.

"Do I get to name the studio?" Beca said playfully.

Kirk and Sammy exchanged glances before Kirk spoke again.

"I guess as long as there are no copyright infringements, I can't see that being a problem."

"And can I offer to bring Luke with me?"

"I don't see why not, if he wants a change of pace," Kirk smiled. "We'll miss him around here if he wants to go."

"And you would be his boss," Sammy sniggered and a light laugh sounded around the room.

"There must be a catch here!" Beca said, her face flushed with happiness. It was a massive turning point for her and the offer itself was almost too good to be true.

"Well, I guess there is something that could be classified as a tiny wrinkle in the plan." Sammy said, setting the pen he's been fiddling with the whole meeting down on the table. He smoothed his hand over his beard.

"What's that?" Beca asked, ready to agree to anything for the job of her wildest dreams.

.oOo.

A/N - Sorry! I know everyone hates a cliffhanger! I'm finally getting to visit with my family tomorrow for the first time in two years! My poor old mum is about to get the hug of her life! I only booked my flight half an hour ago and I travel tomorrow morning so I'd best go and pack!

Catch you all in a couple of days.

Stay safe everyone :)