Blaine looks up. The office building is huge, although Blaine knows his dad’s company only occupies a couple of floors. The New York branch isn’t as big as the one in LA.

“Okay, I can do this,” Blaine says to himself. He has his dad’s recommendation, and Tadeja also offered to put in a good word for him if needed. He’s told Tadeja what he’s planning and she’s also hoping for him. Quinn is also rooting for him today.

Blaine goes inside, rides the elevator to the right floor, and tells the person behind the reception that he has a meeting with the executive.

“Please wait, Mr…” the receptionist does a double take when he confirms Blaine’s last name, “… Anderson?”

It’s a common last name, but Blaine looks like his dad and the receptionist notices.

“Yes,” Blaine has his ID in case he needs it, but the receptionist just gives him direction to the right office.

And after a short wait, Blaine is asked to come in.

Mrs. Bauer is an intimidating woman. Blaine’s heard a lot about her. People call her a bitch, but Blaine also knows people are quick to judge. His father always speaks highly of her, though. She does great work and she’s a great boss.

“Mr. Anderson,” she extends her hand.

“Mrs. Bauer, thank you for meeting me on such a short notice,” Blaine says.

“Ah well, your father requested it,” she says and the two of them take a seat, “You are interested in transferring to the New York office.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

After that, it’s a relatively small interview. Blaine talks about what he’s achieved in Ljubljana. He also brought his resume. Blaine tries to come off as professional, yet charming.  

“That’s all neat, but what is your true motivation?”

“Pardon me?”

“All I hear is a polished sales pitch.”

“Well…”

Blaine wants to argue that every job interview is basically that, but he holds his tongue.

“Give us one reason to hire you.”

Blaine doesn’t really know what to say to that, but that is of course something he cannot say.

It’s not like he can say the truth either.

‘Turns out I am gay and my secret boyfriend lives here, so I want to move to New York to be closer to him and this gives me a great excuse to move across the country’ probably doesn’t cut it.

When Blaine remains silent, the executive scoffs.

“Thought so.”

Blaine frowns.

What does she mean?

“I am going to be frank with you, Mr. Anderson,” the executive says, “I respect your father and this company a lot, but I am not a fan of nepotism.”

And that’s the moment Blaine knows for certain that he will not get this position.

“People work hard to climb the corporate ladder,” she continues, “And I don’t like it that your father basically asked me to meet with you, just because you’re his son. I am not here to coddle you.”

Blaine likes to argue that he also works hard, because he thinks he does, but he cannot deny the fact that being the CEO’s son has already given him more opportunities, like fucking off to Ljubljana for half a year.

“I… see,” Blaine says slowly.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but your efforts to the Ljubljana branch have been, uhm, nihil.”

Mrs. Bauer then goes on to list more reasons why Blaine isn’t qualified. At least she seems pained to say it. She really doesn’t want to hurt Blaine’s feelings, but it’s harsh.

The worst part is that she’s right, in a way. Blaine’s always known that his time at the Ljubljana branch didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. He was there to shake hands on his father’s behalf.

Which definitely doesn’t negate the nepotism accusation.

“I see,” Blaine says again, trying to keep himself composed, “Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you for coming in,” Mrs. Bauer says, after she just rejected him. The professional world is insane. “I wish you luck in your career, even though it won’t be here.”

After a brief, professional, but awkward, goodbye, Blaine leaves as soon as possible. He says bye to the receptionist on his way out and rushes out.

Once the New York city air hits his face, the realisation sinks in.

This did not go as planned. He didn’t get a reason to move to New York.

Obviously, Kurt is the main reason and Kurt’s still here. For a split second, Blaine imagines himself uprooting his entire life just for Kurt. He can leave. Apart from some friends and colleagues, there’s nothing left in LA for him. His family is doing alright. Quinn has Denise. He can just go.

But then Blaine shakes his head.

He cannot just do that. He does have things to arrange back in LA, and even though he thinks his relationship with Kurt is extremely strong and solid, it’s a bit much to just move across the country for him. What will Blaine be doing here?

His phone rings and that pulls him out of his thoughts.

Speaking of his life in LA…

“Hey, how did it go?” Quinn asks the moment Blaine picks up.

“Not great, Quinnie,” Blaine sighs.

He proceeds to tell Quinn everything. Quinn listens attentively. After all, he can’t tell Kurt, and it’s evening in Ljubljana, so he doesn’t want to bother Sunil and Tadeja.

It’s nice to be able to tell Quinn.

“Blaine, can I be honest with you?” Quinn says.

“Always.”

“Was this ever a great idea to begin with?”

Blaine blinks a couple of times.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what were you going to do there? The same as in Ljubljana?”

Blaine had hoped that Mrs. Bauer or another higher up would just tell him what to do, which in an instant proves Quinn’s point: what is Blaine doing?

“Blaine, don’t you think it’s time to look past your dad’s company?”

Honestly, Blaine’s never considered it. Just like Cooper, it was almost his great destiny to work for his father. His dad has worked hard to make this company work. He started out at Blaine’s grandparents’ attic and now he’s branching out to Europe. Blaine’s proud of his dad and wants to continue that work.

So he’s never thought of something else.

“Blaine?” Quinn says after a while. Blaine’s been silent.

“I will think about it,” he says, and he means it.

“Okay,” Quinn replies. Then, after a small beat: “By the way, my mom will come to visit next week.”

That stops Blaine in his tracks. He’s glad to move subjects, since he doesn’t want to dwell on his interview, but this is another big thing. He didn’t expect this, and based on the tone of Quinn’s voice, neither did she. Quinn tries to sound casual, but he can hear the hint of nervosity in her voice.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. She got some extra vacation days saved up, so she’s first going to see Frannie in Chicago and then come to LA.”

“That’s sweet,” Blaine says honestly.

“It is,” Quinn says, “But also unexpected. Blaine, I think we should tell her that we’ve broken up.”

Blaine hums in agreement. It does sound like a smart choice, but do they want that? Blaine asks Quinn that.

“… I don’t know, to be honest,” she replies.

“We don’t owe anyone-”

“I know,” Quinn says quickly, “I know, but also, this… this must be a sign, right? My mom and your parents in the same place.”

Blaine wouldn’t call it a sign, but it does help. Now they can tell their parents in person and at the same time. That’s ideal, or at least better than their original plan of telling Quinn’s mom on FaceTime.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Blaine says, “We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

They chat a bit more. Blaine tells Quinn what he’s been doing and Quinn also talks about Denise. After that, they say goodbye, because Blaine is meeting Kurt at one of Kurt’s favourite shopping locations.

The job interview did not go as planned and Blaine’s bummed out, but he is still in New York. He definitely has to savour it for now.