Chapter Text
Patrick grinned as he watched David slink out of his office. This was not at all what he was expecting when he had been given David’s information that morning. Patrick had been an employee of Rose Video almost fifteen years ago. He knew a little of Johnny Rose, he’d seen the corporate videos. He’d expected David to be similar: smooth, assured, collected. Not the skittish, insecure, avant garde mess he’d experienced today. No, David Rose was nothing like he expected.
But to Patrick’s surprise, he’d found himself delighted. Delighted with David’s nervous word salad from their initial meeting. Delighted with David’s hysterical and almost incoherent series of voicemails. Delighted with the mortified courage it took for David to come back and ask for a second chance. And most of all, delighted with David’s actual business plan. The name deserved the good-natured ribbing Patrick gave him about it, but the idea itself was nothing to sneer at. He was actually pretty impressed and hoped he’d be around to see David turn it into something real.
Patrick shook his head briskly to clear David Rose from his mind, get him back into focus for the rest of the day. But as he sat back down at his desk, he noticed David’s discarded form. He smiled to himself as he looked it over, breathing out a short chuckle at David’s scribbles and arrows and edits.
David Rose was like no one he had ever met before. And after just one day, Patrick knew he needed to know more of him. Schitt’s Creek was a small town. It wouldn’t be hard to run into that ridiculously endearing man again. With a determined nod, Patrick stuck the form in David’s file and set it aside.
Oh yeah, Patrick thought. This was gonna be good.
David let out an agonized groan as he threw himself face down on his bed. This day could not have gone worse. The first meeting had just gone terribly. He knew what he wanted to do with the store. He’d gone through it with Stevie so many times. Why had that presumptuous little man gotten him so flustered he couldn’t get anything remotely articulate out? Hell, he would have settled for just getting something remotely human out.
And then the voicemails. Jesus Christ, those voicemails! He shouldn’t be allowed to talk to people anymore. He blamed Stevie entirely.
And then? The second meeting? Even more embarrassing than the first, and he hadn’t thought that was possible. Patrick had actually listened to all the voicemails. And while he’d given David such a hard time about them, he’d still painstakingly gone through them all so he could fill out David’s form for him. David squirmed himself face up on the bed, squeezing his eyes shut against the little feeling of warm pride he got in his gut when he thought back to Patrick actually complementing his business plan. He didn’t know why – he’d only met the man today – but David really wanted him to think his idea was good.
But who did this Patrick Brewer think he was anyway, to be giving David such a hard time? With his department store clothes and his un-manicured nails and his un-styled hair and his trim waist and his bright brown eyes and his soft looking mouth and… David clapped his hands to his face and groaned again.
Oh fuck, David thought. This was gonna be bad.