A Mutually Beneficial Arrangement

Untitled Part 2

    "You were supposed to call me after your meeting with Chuck," your best friend, Ryan, didn't even bother with saying 'hello' when she answered her phone.

"I know, I was a little stunned by the whole thing. Chuck was a dick and then something else happened and I ended up having a weird meeting with a customer. I..." you trailed off.

"Start with Chuck. What did the shyster say?" she asked.

"No." The word was bitter on your tongue. "He said I could work for him for another year or two, but it would be under contract, or I can leave. He gave me to New Year's Day to figure it out. Sign or I'm gone."

"That prick! What did you say?!"

"I don't remember. I think all I did was nod. But as soon as I walked out of Chuck's office, he was there, and my day got weird," you said.

"What? Who was there?! A creep customer again?"

"Impala Guy," you said simply and ignored the flip your stomach did.

"Holy shit!"

Over the last few years, you'd been hit on, in some way by almost every male customer and a few ladies. Impala Guy, as you called him to Ryan, was among the very few who hadn't, and he stood out. You'd always assumed he either wasn't interested or was taken.

"He asked me for a favor..." you were unsure of how to continue, it was all so strange and unbelievable. "We went to Donna's for what he said was a business meeting."

"He's cute, right?" Ryan interrupted.

"Yeah, I guess, focus," you heard Ryan snort on the other end. "He asked me to be his girlfriend for a week. Show it up for the family so he can get the family businesses from his dad. If he gets it, he'll give me what I need to get my shop going."

"And what do you get if he doesn't? Your time is not free, (Y|N)," she added. "You need to get something out of it."

"He did mention needing a dress for a party and I told him I needed jewelry. He didn't say no."

"That's the least he can do. Make him pay for it, then sell the jewelry after you're done playing house. Milk him for all you can, and at least you'll have something to show for it."

"No, it's crazy."

"You're going."

"What?! No, it's insane...who does that?" you were riled.

"You do. It's the fast track to getting your shop open in a much shorter time. You're going," she ordered.

"Ryan..."

"Don't Ryan me. You've wanted your own shop since Ford. You left Tesla for this," she paused to choose her next tac. "Chuck is a distant relative, at best, and he never gave two shits about you until you won that design award and realized he could do business on YOUR good name. You don't owe him a damn thing! Take Impala Guy's money and run."

"I can't believe I'm even considering this," you ran your hand through your hair.

"Give me his name and call me back on Skype. I'm going to cyber-stalk the shit outta him, make sure he's not some weirdo," Ryan told you.

You laughed a little, but you were also grateful. You gave her his name and called her back on Skype video. Ryan always thought of the things you would never, and she would do anything to help. After an hour of solid research, you had an astonishing amount of info on Dean Winchester and you seriously considered using an alias after. Ryan's research let you know that his family was a big deal where he came from and that was partly why it was so easy to research him. His dad ran a successful brewery and his mother had a few small franchises of car dealerships in the area of Lawrence, Kansas, until her passing when Dean was 20 years old. The dealerships were run by his father's friend, Bobby Singer. Dean had gone home after his mother passed and worked for his father before eventually leaving and making his own name in the brewing business. He wasn't married, and it seemed like a long string of gold-diggers caught his eye, but none of them ever lasted. Ryan noted, it was always a different woman in the pictures with him.