First day on the job...

[mini_dean]

Just because it was spring didn't mean it wasn't still cold in the morning. Ben had left early from the apartment, told that he had to be at Mitch's garage by 7am. A bagel and a cup of coffee later, he found the address on the paper he was carrying.

Looking around it was still pretty dead in the place, but there was a car parked outside and Ben could hear some music playing. He walked around the side until he found the back door and knocked.

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[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

Mitch was in the office, going over the the books in front of him. He'd never thought an organizational communication plus business degree would wind up with him managing a garage, but most of his job really has nothing to do with cars and everything to do with managing the talent. Which Mitch had to admit he'd does rather well.

Dean calling him about his son had really thrown him a bone, considering that he had just been forced to fire a guy for a client and needed someone to cover. Right now, though, Ben wasn't on his mind. What was on his mind was appeasing the client on the other end of the phone, when there was a knock on the door. He placed one hand over the reciever, shouting for the person to come in over the music and then going back to the phone call.

"Yes, Mr. Warrington. I will have Howie over there later today to have a look at the car. I'm sure that won't be a problem at all. No, I will make sure that Tito is spoken to. Yes, sir. Well, I'm not sure I can fire anyone at the moment, but I will make sure he has a stern talking to. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you for your business."

He hung up after a moment, letting it sit before picking it up again and slamming it down repeatedly into the receiver. "Motherfucker, it's going to be a long day," sighed as he leaned back in his seat, pinching his nose slightly.

[mini_dean]

Ben opened the door, poking his head in and looking around before he stepped in fully. "Hey, I'm looking for a Mitch. He's expecting me..."

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

Mitch looked up at the sound of his name, looking the guy over as he started to get up from behind his desk. "Ben?" he asked, holding out a hand to him as he made his way across the room. "Mitch Toth. Thanks for coming in. You're saving me a whole lot of trouble."

[mini_dean]

Ben took his head and shook it. "Not a problem. Not sure how I'm saving you but hey, I'll take what I can get. Dean... my dad said you might have use for me around here."

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"Do you know how hard it is to find a guy who knows classic cars in this city?" Mitch said with a smirk, before gesturing for him to sit down on the other side of his desk. "The few that do already have jobs, and they pay a bit better than we do -- though we do pay rather well. Plus -- I talked to your old boss in Indiana, as did Pete, and we're pretty impressed with the qualifications."

[mini_dean]

Ben sat, his hands going into his hoodie's pocket. He smirked a bit, shrugging a shoulder. "It started as a hobby in high school then just because a way of life to keep me going. I enjoy the era, and it seems the trait is genetic. Right now I just need something to do and if I can help, that works for me."

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"Very cool," Mitch nodded, before leaning back in his chair and picking up a pen. "Alright, so the way things work around here you get a client, you're responsible for maintaining all the cars in the fleet -- Pete Stone, the guy you'll start off working for, he's got about five classics that he likes to keep maintained. You'll go out to their garage, take care of what needs to be taken care of, and make sure the cars keep running smoothly. It's not a hard job, and it's probably not the most stimulating, but Pete has a habit of making recommendations, so if he likes your work and likes you? He'll definitely rec you out to his other friends who own classics. Word of mouth is still one of the best forms of advertising around here."

[mini_dean]

"Sounds easy. Any catches I should know about?"

Ben didn't trust easy, not after Jeff.

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

Mitch gave him a slightly exasperated look at that. "For the love of all that is holy, I know the cars are pretty, but don't take them for a joy ride. It's not that Pete is against them being driven -- he takes them out as often as he can, but don't drive 'em around without asking his permission first. That's why he fired the last guy, and it pisses him off to no end. Otherwise, if you do your job and get along well with the client, you shouldn't have a problem."

[mini_dean]

"Don't worry, that ain't gonna happen. I've got more common sense then people give me credit for." Ben chuckled. "That and I don't have a license to drive anyway. Least not a car."

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"Beautiful," Mitch said with a grin, before pushing back from the desk and starting to get up. "So -- got time to go meet the client?"

[mini_dean]

"Lead the way." Ben gave him a smirk and got up to follow, hands back in his pockets.

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"Awesome," Mitch nodded, before grabbing his jacket and his keys. "It's just a couple blocks away. Do you live far from here?"

[mini_dean]

"Two subway stops. Least for now until I can save up money for rent and a security deposit. Not looking to live off my uncle forever."

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"Fair enough," Mitch said with a nod, before heading out onto the street and starting to lead the way towards one of the ritzier sections of town. "How're you liking the city so far?"

[mini_dean]

"I haven't really had a lot of time to explore," Ben admitted. "And it's not like I really have a lot of friends to go visit and hang out with."

In fact, it was probably best he didn't talk to any of the "friends" he had made since coming to NY. They probably wouldn't be the best influences. Well, except Elle but that was a different story.

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

Mitch nodded slowly. "Gotcha. Yeah, making friends in this city isn't always the easiest. Not a lot of people will really take the time to talk. Just a matter of knowing the right people -- or hanging out in the right bars."

He paused for a moment, exhaling slightly as he went through the mental Six Degrees of Separation from Dean to see if there was anyone their age who was worth hanging out with that he would have had the chance to meet. "Have you met Anna yet?"

[mini_dean]

"Heard of her, yes. Met her, no. I know that she's my half-sister's best friend, so I'm pretty sure that when I do, she's already going to have formed opinions about me."

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"She's a bit more open-minded than you think," Mitch said with a shrug. He would know from personal experience. "She's a smartass, but she's generally pretty nice. She also works at a bar, which is a good place to start if you want to meet people."

[mini_dean]

"Well, let's hope so." Ben had a lot of things in his past people would need to be open minded about.

"She sounds like a good person."

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"She is," Mitch nodded. "Through her, you could meet pretty much anyone. She knows too many damn people. And, if you hit it off with Pete well enough, his niece Miranda is about our age. She pops around on occasion, and she knows tons of decent people. But that's more because she would talk to a wall if it was talking back to her."

[mini_dean]

Ben chuckled a bit. "If the wall starts talking back, I'd be worried."

He was grateful for the names of people to talk to, but he wasn't sure he was ready yet to go out and make a load of friends.

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

"Never know with her sometimes," Mitch admitted slowly, before shaking his head. He led them around one of the corners, before coming up up on a very tall building. Mitch waved to the doorman before heading inside, stopping at the front desk and flashing the receptionist a smile. "Can you tell Mr. Stone Mitch Toth is here to see him?"

"Sure thing," the blond said with a peppy smile, before turning back to the phone. She had a brief coversation with someone on the other end, before looking back up at them. "Mr. Stone said that if you'd wait by the elevators, he'll be with you in a second."

[mini_dean]

Ben looked around the place. So *this* is what a building with a doorman looked like on the inside. VERY nice. He had no chance in hell of ever living in a place like this, but still, he'd have no problem working with someone living here.

He gave the receptionist a smile as well, nodding his thanks and just staying close to Mitch and trying not to act nervous.

[med-graysheep.livejournal.com]

Mitch led the way over the elevators, leaning back against one of the walls as he spun the keys in his hand. "So -- Indiana. Drove through there on my way out here. Didn't seem like it really had a lot going on, though."