No, you're not dreaming. I am indeed updating this story! I had to take a bit of a hiatus from writing but I didn't intend for it to be a year long one. I'm so, so sorry. I read every review and noticed every Story Alert and felt guilty for not taking the time to work on this story but life got in the way. When Cory died it completely broke my heart and shifted everything around for me. He meant so much to me as he did to many of you and I felt like by continuing to write I can honor him and Finn and keep both of their memories alive. It's an incredibly difficult situation to not only lose such an incredible human being but to also lose this character that he brought to life and that we have loved so dearly for four years. That's why I wanted to get back to writing. Finn and Rachel may not get their happy ending on the show but through our stories they can live on in our alternate universes in different walks of life as doctors, teachers, actors, music recording artists, post apocalyptic survivors, a broadway star and a fireman, or in this case, a C.E.O. and an assistant. I hope you continue to enjoy my version of Finn and Rachel and the little world I created for them. I'd like to dedicate everything I write from here on out to Cory who will remain in my heart forever. 3
"No, Finn! That's where I'm drawing the line. I'm NOT going to go buy you condoms! That was definitely not in the job description. Now excuse me, I'm going to go pick up your suit from the cleaners and drop off the rest of your clothes, like a normal assistant."
She then storms out of the room in true Rachel Berry fashion, leaving behind a laughing Finn as she makes her way through the building and in to the lobby.
"The nerve of that man. He is so infuriating sometimes."
Sugar giggles and offers her a candy from the bowl sitting on her desk.
"Huddy driving you crazy again, Rach?"
She takes a couple jelly beans and throws them in her mouth.
"You have no idea. It's like he comes in every day and asks himself: 'How can I annoy Rachel and make her day impossible?' And here I was thinking I was going to be working for the prestigious Mr. Hudson everyone had spoken so highly of, but turns out the apple fell far away from that tree. Miles and miles away."
She chews angrily and sits on a chair next to Sugar, fiddling with the leaves of a potted plant placed beside it.
"He just asked me to go buy him condoms knowing that I have a 'no sexual duties' rule. It's bad enough that I have had to send flowers to his one night stands for him last month. Did you know he once tried to get me to track down his favorite Rolex by calling a list of girls he had slept with that week? It was so degrading."
The bubbly receptionist laughs loudly and puts a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.
Rachel glares at her.
"Sorry Rachel, but it's too funny to not laugh at. Hey, at least you weren't one of the girls on that list. You're probably the only girl in this building who hasn't been inside Hudson's pants. Well, out of all the hot girls. I doubt he'd be desperate enough to get with Patty from HR. Ugh."
"Sugar! That's incredibly rude. Patty's a very nice girl."
Sugar just rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, a nice girl with one too many cats."
"I love cats!"
"Yeah, but you're a hot girl who likes cats. You may wear weird clothes with reindeers and owls on them but you're hot. I would know. I'm hot too."
Rachel can't decide whether or not to be mad at the fact that her clothes were called weird or flattered that she was considered hot.
"Wait a minute. Since you said you're hot does that mean you've slept with Finn too?"
Sugar smiles at her and begins to file her nails.
"Oh, there wasn't any sleep involved." She says with a wink.
"Oh my God! Are you serious? Why?! And when? You two act like nothing's ever happened."
"Calm down, Rachel. It was when I first started. Actually it was the day after I started, come to think of it. He came to sit in on some board meeting and I was in the copier room trying to reach some printer paper on a high shelf and he… let's just say he 'helped' me out if you know what I mean."
Rachel grimaces.
"Ew."
"Don't be a prude. It was nothing. I mean, it was so hot and he's super sexy but it didn't mean anything. And don't say 'Ew' and act like you don't think he's sex on legs. I've seen the way you stare at him sometimes."
She can feel her skin burning and her face flushes.
"I- I- I don't know what you're talking about. I don't stare!"
Sugar laughs out loud.
"Yeah right. He may annoy you sometimes but I know you've imagined his head between your legs once or twice."
"SUGAR!"
Rachel looks around making sure no one was within ear shot and whispers harshly to her obnoxious co-worker.
"There are people around! And I've never done such a thing! He is my boss and I'm a professional. Yes, I may think of him as an attractive male but that is simply because I'm a woman with functioning eyes. But I will NEVER act on it. I'm better than that."
Sugar raises an eyebrow.
"We'll see about that. By the way, your phone's been vibrating for the past couple minutes."
"Shoot! I have to go pick up Finn's dry cleaning. See you later, Sugar!"
Rachel gets up and quickly walks out of the building waving goodbye behind her, making her way to the cleaners down the street when her phone rings for the second time.
"Hello?"
"Rachel! Hey!"
"Blaine! Oh my god, I feel like I haven't heard your voice in forever!"
"Well if someone wasn't so busy with their glamorous assistant job I'd be able to see and speak to my roommate now and then. Feels like I live with a ghost sometimes." Blaine says teasingly.
"I'm so sorry, Blaine. I didn't expect to be working such long hours, sometimes I feel like I live at the HP tower. How are yo- Excuse me! Either walk or get off the sidewalk!" She yells at a group of high schoolers standing in her way.
"Umm…Rachel?"
"Sorry! I'm just on my way to the dry cleaners and some kids decided to stop and pretend to be statues holding cups of Starbucks."
"And there is a perfect example of what happens to someone after living in Manhattan for five years." He laughs.
"Got to have something to show for it, right? Anyways, I'm glad you called. I really do miss you despite the fact that I haven't been around."
"I know. I miss you too. Why don't we go grab dinner tonight? What time do you think you'll be getting off work?"
Rachel looks through her checklist on her phone really quick to see how many things she has left to do.
"Hmmmm. Oh! Looks like I don't have much today! I should be getting off at about six o'clock at the latest. Does that sound good?"
"Sounds perfect. I'll stop by the building and wait for you in the lobby and we can just grab a cab from there."
"Yay! I'll see you in a bit then."
She hangs up just as she walks into the dry cleaners and quickly picks up Finn's clothes from the clerk and heads back to the office building before he calls asking what's taking her so long. God forbid he actually spends a full hour without her during the work day. Not to toot her own horn, but sometimes she doesn't even know how he got any work done before she started there. She reminds him to eat on time, walks him to all his meetings, keeps track of his work schedule (and personal schedule), and even tells him to switch his tie when it doesn't match his suit properly. All while he groans, complaining that she treats him like a child sometimes. Which, yes she does, but only because he chooses to act like one.
Her phone buzzes, signaling a new text message.
"Speak of the devil." She says to herself.
Rach, I'm starving to death. Can you get me a burger and fries? Please?
God, this man was like a human food disposal. How was he not 500 pounds yet? She quickly typed out a response as she waited to cross the street.
No. There's a turkey club wrap in the fridge with your name on it. Literally.
Come on! I'll buy you anything you want from any store on Fifth Avenue. ANYTHING.
No.
There was no immediate reply so she smiled to herself, happy that she won this battle.
Until her phone vibrated again.
The tortilla is GREEN. Fuck no.
It's made out of spinach. It's good for you and you won't even taste the difference.
Bacon cheeseburger and fries from Shake Shack. That's all I ask. I'll let you color code my entire office like you wanted.
No. The last thing you need to eat is bacon. It's the wrap or nothing at all. Unless you want some of my tofu stir fry.
This tastes like shit. I'm a full grown man. I need food that fills me up.
She decides to ignore his texts and instead pops in her headphones, making her way through the city.
As she enters the lobby to the building she pulls out her phone again and scrolls through the ongoing, one sided conversation.
Rach…
Come on.
I know you're reading all these texts. You always have your phone with you.
Please, Rachel. I'm begging you. Show me some mercy.
Rachel just laughs to herself as she reads the pleading text messages. It's cute how Finn thinks she'll back down easily.
After making her way up the twenty floors in the elevator to the top floor she marches into his office towards the back, hanging up Finn's dry cleaned suits and ignoring the child like pout he's sporting while sitting in his chair, feet propped up on the desk.
"No burger?"
Her eyebrows furrow.
"I told you 'no', didn't I?"
"Yeah, but I thought you'd make me eat your vegan shit then reward me for doing so."
She laughs humorlessly and pushes his feet off the desk.
"You'll scuff the wood. Also, I will not reward you for taking care of yourself by buying you a greasy, artery clogging, heart attack causing burger. And it isn't vegan if there was turkey in it. Learn the difference."
Finn rolls his eyes.
"Dramatic much?"
She notices him watching her as she walks over to the plants on the window sill and spritzes them with a spray water bottle.
"I'm sorry, Finn. I'm sorry for looking out for you and making sure you live past 40."
"I'm pretty sure my 24 year old heart can take it." He says, a grin spreading across his face.
"Yeah, well you can eat whatever you want at home. But as long as you're here with me, you're eating whatever I bring you. It isn't like you bring your own lunch anyways."
"I don't remember that being in your job description." He grumbles.
Rachel turns around and gives him a dirty look.
"Well, looks like I'm doing a lot of things that aren't in the job description. Aren't I?"
Finn just sits there looking confused for a couple seconds.
"What?"
She slams the spray bottle down on to a shelf.
"Picking out birthday gifts for your mother and Kurt. Canceling dates at the last minute for you and dealing with the poor idiot girls that agreed to go out with you. Also, that one time just a week after I started you asked me to call up all the girls you had been with that month because you forgot your favorite watch at one of their apartments. Oh! And don't forget this morning when you asked if I could buy you condoms, which I absolutely refused to do! So excuse me if in exchange for all the horrendous things you have me do, I have you take care of yourself and not treat your body like a garbage disposal."
Finn throws his head back and groans loudly.
"God, you can be such a pain in the ass you know. 'Horrendous things'? You act like I had you bury a body for me or something. If you weren't so damn good at your job I probably would have fired you already."
She puts her hand on her hip and glares at him.
"Oh really?"
He counters back with his own glare or at least his poor attempt at one.
"Really."
"I'd love to see what you'd do without me. Three months on the job and I know I'm already a necessary asset to you and this company. Also, Kurt would never let you fire me."
Finn slowly gets up and stands inches away from her, arms crossed, head leaning down towards hers. His cocky side grin on full display. She can smell the musky scent radiating off him. It was so…manly, intoxicating even. She almost couldn't focus on anything he was saying.
"There's just one thing, Rachel. Kurt isn't the boss. I am."
Rachel holds his stare. Whiskey, amber eyes boring into her deep, russet brown ones. She imitates his stance and crosses her arms ignoring the fact that his assertive attitude was slightly attractive. Maybe more than slightly.
"So, what? You're going to fire me?"
She stands there challenging him, not even flinching at his intimidating height or broad shoulders.
"No. But you're going home. Right now."
At that he walks away from her and sits back down at his desk, logging in to his computer.
She is so confused then becomes very worried that he might be having a stroke. His terrible eating habits are finally catching up to him, she knew it!
"Excuse me? I'm going home? Oh my god, it's actually happening. Quick, what's that acronym people use to check if someone had a stroke? FACE, FACT, FAD? Oh! FAST! Finn, let me see your face really quick and move your arm."
Finn looks at her weirdly and slaps her hands away that keep trying to grab at his cheeks.
"What are you- Stop! Rach! I'm not having a stroke! And yes. You have the rest of the day off. I'm gonna show you AND Kurt that I don't need you here at all times. So go home and come back tomorrow morning."
She just scoffs and tries her hardest to not stomp her foot.
"But it's only three in the afternoon! You have a meeting in an hour and we need to work on the quarterly budget for GQ. There's no way you can do that without me."
This time he doesn't even bother looking up at her anymore. He just replies while continuing to type on his keyboard.
"I can and I will. I'll see you tomorrow, Rachel."
"But-"
"Goodbye Rachel. Don't make me call security." He looks up once more and points his head towards the door.
He's serious and she can't believe it. Finn Hudson is actually being serious and taking charge.
With a final huff she grabs her bag and coat and walks out, phone in hand already typing a text message to her roommate.
Hey, Blaine! Turns out I have the rest of the day off, so I'm going home and washing off this terrible day in the shower. Want to get drinks after you get off work? I don't think I can wait for dinner. I need to let off some steam.
"And then he told me to go home! Can you believe that? He sent me home just like that, the son of a bitch."
Rachel swirled the wine in her glass before taking another drink.
"Whoa there. Swearing already? Looks like Tipsy Rachel is starting to make her appearance and it's not even 6pm." Blaine says, laughing.
"I'm not tipsy! Just slightly buzzed is all. You'd swear too if you had to deal with what I do every day."
"Then why don't you look for another job? Looks like you've gained enough experience in three months that could count for a lot. I'm sure being the assistant of the C.E.O. of one of the richest and affluent publishing companies in the country would get you plenty of offers."
He waves over at a waiter asking for another round.
"One of the partners at my firm is looking for a secretary; I can put in a good word for you if you want."
"No. I can't just leave, it'll look like I give up and that means Finn will win!" She says, her eyes wide and slightly crazed. "I'll stick it out until he either fires me or he admits that I'm the best assistant in all of New York City! Then after he says that I'll render my resignation then walk the hell out of there! He can buy his own damn condoms. Though I would miss Sugar, she was the only little bit of sunshine in that tower of terror."
Blaine nearly snorts from laughing so hard.
"Oh my god, I forgot how much more dramatic you get when you drink. This is great."
Rachel balls up a napkin and throws it at his head.
"Are you laughing at my misery?!"
"No. Just being a little bit entertained by it."
"Just you wait. Karma is a relentless bitch and she's going to destroy Finn Hudson."
Blaine scrunches his eyebrows.
"Wait, since when is karma a girl? Or a human at all?"
"Hold that thought, Blainey. I need to go to the restroom. My bladder can only hold so many glasses of wine. We'll continue this important discussion when I return."
"Ok, as long as you never call me Blainey again. Ever."
She giggles and pats his cheek.
"Oh, Blainey. Not a chance. Be right back!"
Rachel takes her time in the bathroom, touching up her makeup, taming any frizz in her hair, and practicing a few red carpet poses in the mirror she will never be able to use in real life.
After perfecting her signature 'over the left shoulder' pose she decides to walk back to their table only to see that her seat is taken. A man in fact, is sitting in her chair but since his back is facing her she can't see his face.
"Ummm…excuse me?"
The man turns around and she is pleasantly surprised to find her boss' step brother.
"Kurt!" They both squeal like school girls and wrap their arms around each other.
"Rachel! It's so good to run into you! And your friend as well."
She does not miss the slight blush and weird affectionate tone in his voice as he says that last part.
"Oh my goodness, this is perfect! A night out with two of my current favorite people! Hey, waitress! Can you get a drink for my dear friend here?"
She walks to a nearby table and drags an empty chair to their spot and wraps an arm around Kurt's shoulder.
"Drink up! Tonight is all about trashing people you hate and not giving a fuck!"
Kurt's eyes widen at her language and looks over to Blaine who just smiles and raises his glass.
"I'd like you to meet Tipsy Rachel. She has the mouth of a sailor and claims that everything tastes like pink. Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Suddenly a loud buzzing sound can be heard, making the table shake faintly.
"Oh my god you guys, I think that's an earthquake!"
Kurt laughs and points towards Rachel's phone.
"Not quite, sweetie. I think you just got a phone call. Answer it!"
Rachel picks up her phone and glances at the caller I.D. then gasps.
"It's Finn! The bastard is calling!"
Kurt tilts his head in confusion.
"The Bastard? Did I miss something?"
Blaine chuckles and takes a sip from his drink.
"Your brother is now the bane of Rachel's existence."
"Huh. Welcome to my life."
Rachel's phone keeps buzzing and buzzing while she just stares at it.
"Just answer it. Maybe it's important."
"No! He said he didn't need me so he's just going to have to deal with what he caused."
Kurt gives Blaine an amused look, finding Rachel's stubborn personality quite comical.
"But if you think about it, Finn calling you means HE is giving in. It means he needs you. Therefore he loses this weird game going on in your mind."
She taps her chin a few times, thinking over Kurt's words.
"You're right. This shows weakness…I WIN!" She immediately grabs her phone and answers the phone call.
"I WIN!"
"…uh, what?"
"You called, so I win. You do need me."
"Look, Rachel, something came up and you have to come back to the office. I know I sent you home but I just really…"
"Go on. Say it, Finn."
"I…need…someone to come in to the office and help me. Like right now."
"Do you even know what time it is, Finn? It's six o'clock in the evening and I'm on my third glass of wine. There's no way I'm going back to work, especially after you sent me home early."
She hears him grumble under his breath and shuffle around papers.
"God damnit. Fine. I need you, Rachel. I need my assistant right now cause one of our biggest magazines is about to go out of business unless we think of a way to save it. Now get your ass over here immediately."
"Wait, what? What are you talking about?"
"I'll explain it to you when you get here. Hurry up."
Rachel is startled when he ends the conversation and she's left listening to a dial tone. She instantly starts gathering her things, her wine buzz quickly disappearing being replaced with worry.
"I'm so sorry Blaine, but I'm going to have to bail on our dinner. I have to go back to work, there's some kind of magazine crisis going on."
When she notices a lack of response from Blaine she looks up and sees him and Kurt huddled together giggling like school children about god knows what. They didn't even hear her.
"Ummm…guys. Guys!"
"Oh, Rachel! Sorry, Kurt was telling me a funny story that happened at work. Tell her, Kurt. It's hilarious, you're so good at telling stories."
She has never seen Blaine look so smitten over someone. His cheeks all red from blushing. Or drinking. Or both.
"Maybe next time. I really have to go back to work. But I'll see you later at home, ok? Sorry for cutting our night short."
"Don't worry about it. We'll be fine." Blaine says, not even looking in her direction, too captivated by Kurt.
She just shakes her head and laughs then heads out of the restaurant, stopping at the curb to hail a cab.
"Ok, Hudson. Where's the fire?"
Finn looks up from the piles of folders and binders at his desk, looking completely overwhelmed. His hair is all disheveled probably from running his hands through it so much, his tie had been loosened and the first two buttons of his blue dress shirt were undone and the sleeves were rolled up. She sensed that the past few hours have been nothing short of stressful.
"Thank god you're finally here! Jesus, how slow was that cab driver going?"
She takes off her jacket and puts down her things on an armchair roughly, agitated by his sharp tone.
"Sorry, there was a lot of traffic. I even had him drop me off two blocks away 'cause it would've been faster for me to just walk the last stretch. So you're welcome. I nearly got one of my heels stuck in a grate running over here."
He seemed to have realized his error and managed to look apologetic.
"Sorry. Thanks for doing that. But seriously, there's a bit of a shit storm brewing right now and it looks like we're the ones to stop it."
"Ok, what's going on?"
"So I was working on the quarterly budget for GQ when I noticed some low numbers, which lead me to their quarterly profits and their annual projections from the past few years. Then I saw it. I kept running the numbers in the calculator over and over thinking it was a mistake. But it's not."
Rachel, more confused than ever, walks over to his desk and sits down.
"Finn, you're not making sense. What did you see? What are you right about?"
He takes a deep breath and hands her a notebook opened to a sheet full of numbers and dollar signs, several numbers crossed out and others circled with bright red circles.
"They're going bankrupt and they didn't even notice."
She freezes.
"What?"
"Yeah. They have like two quarters left, tops. Six months and they're done."
She rifles through more papers on his desk and sees a bunch of pie charts and bar graphs and even more numbers.
"How? How did this happen? They seem so successful. I mean, aren't they?"
"They are, or were, for a men's fashion magazine. But I guess guys aren't really buying these anymore. Looks like they've been spending more than they should on extravagant photo shoots and on all the A-list actors they can get their hands on without noticing that their piggy bank is almost empty."
"So now we have to find a plan that'll cut costs yet increase their profits to avoid bankruptcy."
Finn runs his fingers through his thick, messy hair for what seems like the millionth time.
"Exactly."
When she goes through her bag to grab her phone a thought appears in her mind and she looks up at Finn.
"Wait. Why isn't the magazine staff here? Shouldn't they be dealing with this?"
"Yeah, but the editor in chief is on vacation and I can't seem to get a hold of anyone else, they all managed to fucking fall off the face of the Earth so it's pretty much up to us right now. We, as the publishing company, can't just leave it like this."
Rachel closes her eyes, breathes in deeply and lets out the air slowly.
"Ok. This is ok. We can do this."
She gets up and stands directly in front of his desk with her hands on her hips, a look of intense determination on her face.
"I need pens, a calculator, post it notes, a notebook, at least three different colored highlighters, and coffee STAT!"
Finn can't help but laugh for a second.
"Are you a doctor all of a sudden? There's a fresh pot of coffee over by the mini fridge."
Minutes later after they're both settled side by side at the desk, cups of coffee at hand, they look at the stacks of binders and office supplies in front of them.
"So we need to brainstorm a way to save this magazine and form it into a valid plan that we can pitch to the board members," she glances at her watch, "And we have 15 hours before the quarterly budget meeting takes place. No pressure."
"Yeah…no pressure."
*10 HOURS LATER*
"Finn. It's your turn to get more toffee."
He lifts his head off his desk and looks at her confusedly.
"Toffee? You mean coffee? And I went last time."
"Ugh. It's 4:30 in the morning right now, don't blame me if I can't speak right. Also, I got coffee the first two times. So GO!"
Finn just manages to adjust himself in to a more comfortable position in his arm chair.
"Mmmm. This chair is too comfy. I'll go in a –"
After several seconds of silence Rachel looks over to where he is at and throws a pen at him.
"No! You will not fall asleep on me Finn Hudson! We have five hours left and we have nothing except for about five hundred balled up pieces of paper, ten empty cups of coffee, and a blank whiteboard!"
He throws back the pen she aimed at him which she playfully swats away.
"I feel like my brain is fried. Is that possible? To think so much that your brain just…breaks?"
"I don't think so."
Finn stands up and stretches up his arms over his head, causing his un-tucked shirt to ride up and reveal a sliver of skin above the waist band of his slacks. Rachel tears her eyes away, her cheeks burning at the sight.
"God, I feel like it's right under our nose. Like the solution is right in front of us but we're over thinking it too much to notice." He walks over to the window overlooking the city and stares out at the buildings and at the pedestrians navigating the streets in the early morning light. "My nightmares are coming true. I'm really screwing this up. Just like they all thought."
Rachel looks at him confusedly.
"Finn, what are you talking about? See, this is why we need coffee."
He grabs a small basketball toy sitting on a shelf and starts squeezing it in his hands.
"Do you know why I spent so many years just acting stupid and drinking and why I wasted away all those college years partying and throwing all my parents money down the drain?"
She silently shakes her head, not knowing where he was going with this but shocked at his serious tone.
"So I could avoid all of this," he waves his hands around him. "So that I wouldn't have to live up to my dad's legacy and disappoint everyone."
"Oh, Finn. You're not-"
He puts his hand up silencing her.
"No. You don't know, Rach. You didn't know him. My dad was a good man. The best. He was born to be an entrepreneur and lead an empire like this. He had so many colleagues that spoke wonders of him and he donated buildings to colleges and entire wings to hospitals in the city. Hell, he was featured in Forbes magazine as one of the top business men in the nation a dozen times. This whole damn country admired him!"
Finn sits back down in his chair beside her.
"When he died it was tough, yeah, but then everyone looked to me. Already picturing me as the next head of the Hudson empire. The next cover of Forbes. Do you know how fucking terrifying that is? How am I supposed to follow up all that? How am I supposed to fill my father's shoes?"
He runs his fingers through his hair once again. She quietly wonders how it hasn't fallen out by now before he begins speaking again.
"I was scared. So I started to just act stupid in high school and all throughout college in hopes that after I graduated the board would see that I wasn't fit for the job, that I was too much of a risk. But nope. Graduation day came and I got my degree that I somehow bull shit my way through along with a letter stating the effective date of my new position at the company. I'm pretty sure I spent that whole weekend drunk out of my mind, but not in celebration like everyone else thought."
Her heart begins to break a little bit seeing Finn so vulnerable and defeated.
"I'm sure it's just self-doubt. That's perfectly normal, Finn."
He shakes his head.
"No. I was terrible my first few months. I hardly got anything done, I slept with half of the girls in the building, came in late all the time, but did they fire me? No way. Instead I got you, assistant extraordinaire. So that's when I finally accepted it. I accepted the fact that I'm here and that I am my father's successor and that my job is to lead this company and lead it successfully like he did and I've failed to do that already. I actually try to do my job and bust my ass at it and I completely failed. One of the country's biggest men's fashion magazines is going bankrupt, making us lose millions of dollars. And it's all on my watch."
He places both elbows on his knees and rests his head in his hands, completely defeated. Seeing this new side of Finn pulls at her heart strings as she kneels down by his side and rubs his knees softly, hoping it will comfort him.
"Oh, Finn. You haven't failed. This is obviously bad financial management on the magazine's part and it wasn't your fault. This probably started before you were even appointed C.E.O. and you're just the first to notice. There's a solution to this, I just know it and we're going to figure it out together. That's what I'm here for. But you have to stop putting so much pressure on yourself, ok? Yes, your father was a great man from what I've read and what I've been told. He built this great company, donated many things, and helped raise you. But no one expects you to be just like him. You are great in your own way. It's true, we have spent the better part of the past few months bickering and butting heads about everything but despite all that, I truly believe you can be great at this. I believe you can be a great leader, Finn. That's why I get so frustrated with you, because you have so much potential, a truly incredible amount, but you choose to waste it."
He looks up at her, the side of his mouth softly curling up into a small grin.
"You really believe in me that much?"
She nods.
"You are not your father and no one expects you to be. And if anyone expects you to be like him, well they can go to hell."
He starts to laugh.
"Did you just say 'hell'?"
She smiles and shoves his arm a bit.
"I prefer to save that kind of language for when it's necessary and also for the occasional dramatic effect."
"Well, for what it's worth, thank you Rachel. All that stuff you said, it means a lot to me. I don't wanna sound cheesy or anything but, no one's ever said that to me before. That they believe in me and stuff."
Rachel reaches over and squeezes his forearm.
"I meant every word."
They both somehow just keep staring at each other, caught in some kind of trance before Finn snaps out of it and breaks the silence.
"You wanna go down the block to get some coffee and bagels? My treat. Maybe that'll boost our brainstorming skills."
She nods her head and gets up to grab her jacket and purse.
"Sounds good!"
As they walk side by side down the dark empty hallways of the building she looks up at him and smiles.
"You know, you're not so bad Finn Hudson."
He looks over at her and grins, bumping his hip against hers.
"You're not so bad yourself, Rachel Berry."
Hope you guys liked it!
Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think!
I've got about half of the next chapter written, hopefully i'll be able to get that finished soon.
And if I start to take too long to update and you want to yell at me for it you can also leave me a message on tumblr. My URL is the same as my FF username. :)