Jacob pursed his lips in a joking manner and glanced down at the girl like an old woman looking over her spectacles. Well young lady, I don't really know about how much you need to be intelligent about cars. You have to be intelligent in general, yes. But, more likely, if you can familiarize yourself with car parts and our merchandise that would be great. If someone comes in saying they need new brake pads, then I would expect you to know where they are, what the differences are between the brands, and people like to get recommendations before they decide on a particular product. That's what would be expected of you. You don't have to worry about working on cars right away. As I've said, if you show promise, we will fund professional training courses for you so you can get certified and working on cars. But that's all in the future anyway.

Jacob felt his eyebrow arch dramatically as the teen began to pour open her heart. 'Not quite sure when I signed up for this... but let's see what the final point is. I don't remember calling her an idiot...it wouldn't make sense for me to hire someone whom I openly thought was an idiot.' Jacob would have liked to interject, but she continued on.

Jacob stared blank faced at the two women in the room. Cautiously his eyes shifted from Leah to Christine and back to Leah. This was crossing dangerously into the realm of female drama... rather rapidly. Jacob got used to being Leah's favorite target for harassment, but beneath the surface the two were actually really close. She was the only person in the pack who could ever relate to how he was feeling and what he was going through with Bella. On top of that, when he broke away from Sam and formed his own pack, Leah was the last person he expected to have his back.

But Christine, blood related or not, was in no position to call Leah bitter and live. This was starting to look like a very very bad idea. He had enough drama going on with his wife, the last thing he needed was a disturbance in both his pack and his business.
See, Jacob would have liked to calm Leah, hire the girl and end this caustic nightmare right before Leah shifted and killed someone... but he didn't get the chance.

Jacob let out an exasperated sigh as the girl rushed out of the door and made herself scarce. "Okay Leah... I know you're going to want to kill me but I promised her father I'd give her a chance. I had no idea she was gonna turn out like some super emotional..." Jacob looked up at Leah with pleading eyes, hoping to garner some sort of sympathy from her. "teenager? She must be super emotional since she just recently started changing. We all were. Please just bare with her. I’m not going to hire her, but I think I’m still going to try and give her some coaching on the side. If she really can’t stand things with us, she’ll probably end up in Sam’s pack instead."

Dealing with an angry Leah was like walking on eggshells. He wanted to fix things with the distressed teen, but he needed to make sure things were clear with Leah first. He didn’t want to cone off as some hot head that spent his spare time bullying teen-agers. On the other hand, she seriously offended Leah, so he had to make sure she knew he was on her side. Otherwise there would be hell to pay. Anxiously he bit at his lower lip as he rubbed her small doll like hands in his. He waited a moment to read her response, hoping she understood his situation and was willing to forgive him, and her cousin.

Slowly he felt his brilliant smile sneak onto his face as he delivered what he hoped was good news. "You can take the day off. Just meet me at my house at five-o-clock. I’m closing shop today at 3:00. We can go over what we’re doing tonight… and maybe we can stop by a local sports bar and grab a few drinks? Blow off some steam? I'm sure I can manage re-opening by myself for the rest of the day. I just need to make a few calls and straighten things out with the Engels." Jacob almost turned away before he doubled back and stared back at her. "And Leah, thanks."

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Briskly, Jacob walked over to his desk and grabbed the phone. He felt like some teacher calling up Christine's father. He might have matured from becoming a business mogul, but he still felt ridiculous because, well his body was forever 17, and so was part of his mind. Plus, people never liked hearing unpleasant news about their children. He was going to have to sugar coat this to keep the conversation pleasant.

Jacob: "Hello [Insert first name of Christian's Father]? So I interviewed your girl today."
"Yea, she's a witty one!"
"Well, of course she has promise. mmm hmmm."
"She couldn't really take Leah though. You know how Leah is. I'm sure she didn't really mean anything. But Christine got pretty upset. I'm worried. I have to mind the shop but you should probably send someone to go look for her. Maybe the job will work out next year. After she’s adapted to the change, I think all of these new circumstances plus work PLUS dealing with Leah might be too much for her right now."
"Yea, I understand. No Problem. Tell her to come in bright and early two days from now on Tuesday to get her car part. It’s on the house. The least I can do."

After hanging up the phone, Jacob sent a text to Seth to meet him at his house at 9:00. He gave him a later time than he told Leah because he was hoping to spend some time alone with her. Leah has always, in her own strange way, been there for him. It was rare that someone had the nerve to insult Leah to her face. Somehow, not being the source of the harassment made him… uneasy. Solemnly he stuffed his phone into his pocket and headed out of his office to reopen his shop. The day had already been as easy as swallowing broken glass. The fact that he'd be closing early today was of little consolation to the fact that he'd have to under go a co-op mission to spy on the leeches this evening.

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