Kurt picked up his phone as the strains of 'For Good' echoed in his sparsely decorated living room and answered with a roll of his eyes. "Rachel, I love you, but if you're calling to ask me to run lines again, I'm going to be forced to—"

"Kurt," Rachel cut him off with high-pitched enthusiasm.

Kurt pulled the phone quickly away from his ear and rubbed at it before hitting the volume button a few times and replacing it. It was a mark of how far their friendship had come in the past seven years that he didn't choose to comment on or hang up at her squealing.

"Who is your best friend who will always, always be looking out for you, hmmm?" Rachel continued, her voice thankfully dropping an octave so that Kurt's brain didn't feel like it was ringing.

"I assume since you're calling, the answer is 'you.'"

"That's right, it's me," Rachel enthused, completely ignoring Kurt's dripping sarcasm. "So, listen, I was having lunch at that new place The Bistro with some of the girls from the show. That place is beautiful, by the way, a little presumptuous but definitely charming. Their vegan selection wasn't ideal, but honestly I was just happy to have a selection at all. It's so hard to find healthy, environment-conscious options, even in Manhattan and—"

"Rach," Kurt sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Will we be arriving at a point anytime soon?"

"Oh yes, well you'll never believe who happened to be sitting at the table right next to us?"

"Barbara," Kurt asked, unable to entirely keep the bitterness from his voice. Honestly, Rachel had all the luck.

"Don't I wish," Rachel sighed. "No, Blaine Anderson."

"The senator?"

"Well, not yet, but yes, essentially. And this is where it get's really good. He was having a rather heated conversation with two men about his campaign manager getting caught embezzling funds and how he needed to hire someone trustworthy and efficient as soon as humanly possible."

"Yes, Rach, even those of us who are woefully unemployed pick up newspapers on occasion," Kurt grimaced. He'd read all about the disastrous scandal last month as he surfed the paper for 'help wanted' ads. Apparently the embezzling had brought Anderson himself into investigation but despite the slur campaign his opponent had launched in the heat of the whole fiasco no charges had been placed and he'd resolutely refused to pull from the race. It had seriously hurt his numbers though, Kurt was sure, and elections were only eight months away now.

"Right," Rachel said and Kurt could actually feel her nod through the phone. "Well, I figured you were probably keeping an eye on him, given his platform. My Dads have been watching him too and they don't even live in New York."

"Fight the power and all that," Kurt intoned.

Rachel laughed. "Right. Anyway, the point of all this is that after lunch I approached Mr. Anderson and told him that I had a friend who was an absolute magician as an event organizer and that if anyone could bring his campaign together by elections it would be him."

"Oh Rachel," Kurt gasped, "You didn't!"

"I gave him your number, Kurt. Expect a call on Monday."

"Rachel, I love you, but I don't know the first thing about campaign management," Kurt hissed, flying off of his sofa for the first time in the conversation and carding a hand through his hair in dismay. "What were you thinking?"

"Kurt, you once planned an entire wedding, a beautiful one by the way, in a week! During school!"

"Slightly different ramifications if things go wrong, Rach!"

"I have faith in you. You can totally do this Kurt. You were born to plan other people's lives," she teased lightly and Kurt couldn't help but smile a little at that at least. "Do a little studying and just go for it. You're gonna be great Kurt and you're wasting a heap of talent just sitting in that apartment feeling sorry for yourself because you didn't walk out of design school with a 24-story office and a contract in Paris."

"Thanks, Mom," Kurt grumbled.

"Come on, Kurt. What's the worst that could happen?"

I am publicly humiliated or, worse, I cause Blaine Anderson, the Gay Poster Boy Future Senator, to be publicly humiliated.

"Yeah, I guess," Kurt answered instead. He sighed. "Thanks, Rach, for thinking of me."

"Of course," Rachel said, her voice going a little softer. Kurt really had to admire how different she was from the bossy, selfish girl she'd been in high school. "You're my friend, Kurt. I want the best for you."

"Breakfast at Tiffany's as usual tomorrow morning?"

"Bring some notes on Anderson and we'll get you prepped for an interview."

Kurt laughed. "Love you, Rach."

"Love you too, Kurt. Bye!"

After he hung up the phone, Kurt simply stared at it for several moments trying to wrap his head around the unexpected circumstances of his potential employment. Then he drew his laptop onto his knees and, pulling up Google, typed two words that might alter his future.

Blaine Anderson.