Fic: Jared Padalecki’s Journal, Part 16 [J2]
A/N: Sorry again for the unexpected hiatus in posting more of this series. My cold, Thanksgiving, and the end of NaNo (yes, I finished!) conspired to pull my attention away onto other things for a bit. I hope everyone that celebrated it had a good Turkey/Tofurkey Day.
For all parts, click on the 'fic:jpj' tag. For rating, pairings and notes, see part 1.
July 19
Bench: none, taking day off
Squat: because it’s my birthday
No. of beers: as many as I want, it’s my birthday :)
Jared squeezed the forearm exerciser a few more times, and then switched hands. He leaned back in his office chair and blew the hair off of his forehead. He was bored bored *bored*. The only reason he was enjoying being in the office was that it had air conditioning. His apartment had A/C too, at least supposedly, but the A/C unit was so old and arthritic that when it was this hot it barely made a dent on the epic heat. The News might be struggling to keep its subscribers, but at least for now it had an office building with an air conditioner that worked. It made up, just a little bit, for having to work on his birthday.
“Padalecki!,” the call came from beside his desk.
“Yes, Tim?,” Jared said, quickly sitting up straight and putting down the squeeze toy.
“Got a scoop for you. You been keeping up on the Morgan case?”
Jared had no idea what Tim was talking about. His blankness must have communicated itself to Tim, because his boss sighed. “You heard of JDM, Inc, the big architecture firm? They’re suspected of paying bribes to the Fort Worth city planners?”
Jared shook his head.
“OK, short version,” Tim said, shaking his head. “The case has never gone to court because there’s not enough firm evidence, just hearsay, lots of rumors. Well, the founder and CEO, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he’s going to be giving testimony today at a special mayoral task force on corruption in local government. He’s notorious for not giving interviews, and he hates the press after they implied he was dirty. But you’re not really press, are you? Spin it as a puff piece, ask him about where he bought his suit, I don’t care, but see if you can get him talking.”
Jared nodded. “Got it. You can count on me, boss!”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Don’t call me ‘boss’ either, you make me feel like Lou Grant. Pick up Matt and Danny, they can do your camera and sound.”
Jared grabbed his iPhone and pulled up Wikipanion before he left his desk. He could look up Jeffrey Dean Morgan, do some quick research on the way.
~
The three of them parked their news vehicle (Matt’s crappy old Jeep) in a loading zone across from the Fort Worth city hall. Matt and Danny started gathering their equipment. Jared spotted a convenience store catty-corner across the street. “I’mma be right back, anybody want a drink?”, he asked.
He jogged across the intersection and grabbed a Red Bull (Jared’s), diet Coke (Matt’s), and V8 (Danny’s, and so healthy Jared barely wanted to touch it). Cradling them in one arm, he pulled out his wallet as he got to the counter. Ooh. “Oh, and a cheese taquito, please.”
The turbaned man behind the counter nodded and went to get the taquito out of the heated deli case.
“Can I have a pack of Camels, please?,” a voice asked from right behind him.
What, whoever it was couldn’t wait for 20 more seconds? Jared turned as he started to speak. “Hey, wait your…” Jared’s voice trailed off as he found himself staring at Jensen Ackles at close range. “Uh, hello,” he said dumbly.
“Hello, Jared,” Jensen said.
“I didn’t know you smoked.”
Jensen wrinkled his nose (cutely, Jared thought, but that’s irrelevant to the matter at hand, right?). “I don’t; it’s for a friend.”
Jared was distracted from his up-close perusal of Jensen’s freckles when Danny and Matt burst into the store. “Jared, we’re screwed. Apparently the session’s over already, Morgan already spoke, and everybody’s gone but the clerks.”
“Fuck. I’m totally getting fired this time,” Jared muttered.
“You were trying to interview Jeff Morgan?,” Jensen asked, an odd tone in his voice.
“Yeah, for the site, just a lifestyle bit, you know, the man behind the headlines, is he the scary businessman at home or what, that kind of thing,” Jared said. He shut his mouth firmly so he’d stop babbling.
Jensen smiled slightly, then stepped up to the counter to pay for everything, including Jared’s taquito, which the poor clerk had been holding for a minute or two now, watching the conversation like a spectator at a tennis match. “Fortunately for you, Jeff’s a colleague of mine. Come with me, I have a plan,” Jensen said. Jared grabbed his taquito and followed.
~
So Jared wasn’t usually into beards (the literal *or* the figurative, for that matter), but Jeffrey Dean Morgan was making him reconsider. He was older than Jared’s usual type, but he totally made the dressed-up lumberjack look work. Jared tried not to blush or giggle during the interview, but he was afraid he was only partially successful.
“So, Mr. Morgan,” Jared said.
“Oh, please, call me Jeff,” the older man said, smiling at the camera - and by extension, Jared - in a totally panty-melting way (if Jared had had panties on, which of course he didn’t. It was only that one time, and it was a dare from Chris, so shut up).
“Everyone knows about your business, of course, but do you have any hobbies?,” Jared asked, after a few general questions had been asked and answered about Jeff’s career and JDM, Inc.
“It may ruin my reputation as a suave ladykiller,” Jeff said, “but I like to cook, actually. I’ve got a huge kitchen full of expensive toys. It’s probably the nicest room in my house. I drove my in-house architects nuts designing and redesigning it when I was having my house built.”
“What kinds of things do you like to cook?”
“I love Italian food,” Jeff said. “I make a mean manicotti. But recently I’ve been experimenting with Asian food. I’m getting pretty good with Thai.”
“I bet there’s lots of people who’d love to taste you. Uh, I mean taste your cooking,” Jared corrected quickly, flushing. He cleared his throat. “So, I have to ask one more question.”
“Yes,” Jeff said, frowning slightly at the serious tone in Jared’s voice. Jared could see Jensen shifting uneasily in his seat to the side of the interview setup. Morgan had only agreed to the interview after Jared had promised no questions on the supposed bribes or the investigation and Jensen had vouched for him. Obviously Jensen was worried that Jared was about to go back on his word.
Jared paused dramatically for a few more seconds. Then he asked, “Are you a boxers or a briefs man?”
Jeff let out a short laugh. “A man has to keep some mystery, don’t you think?”, he replied.
Jared nodded and smiled. “Fair enough. Thank you, Mr. Morgan, for taking the time to talk to us. This has been Jared Padalecki, reporting for the Dallas Morning News, with, let’s face it, a bit of a man-crush, actually.”
Jensen’s soft laugh was barely audible as the sound of the interview footage cut off.
For all parts, click on the 'fic:jpj' tag. For rating, pairings and notes, see part 1.
July 19
Bench: none, taking day off
Squat: because it’s my birthday
No. of beers: as many as I want, it’s my birthday :)
Jared squeezed the forearm exerciser a few more times, and then switched hands. He leaned back in his office chair and blew the hair off of his forehead. He was bored bored *bored*. The only reason he was enjoying being in the office was that it had air conditioning. His apartment had A/C too, at least supposedly, but the A/C unit was so old and arthritic that when it was this hot it barely made a dent on the epic heat. The News might be struggling to keep its subscribers, but at least for now it had an office building with an air conditioner that worked. It made up, just a little bit, for having to work on his birthday.
“Padalecki!,” the call came from beside his desk.
“Yes, Tim?,” Jared said, quickly sitting up straight and putting down the squeeze toy.
“Got a scoop for you. You been keeping up on the Morgan case?”
Jared had no idea what Tim was talking about. His blankness must have communicated itself to Tim, because his boss sighed. “You heard of JDM, Inc, the big architecture firm? They’re suspected of paying bribes to the Fort Worth city planners?”
Jared shook his head.
“OK, short version,” Tim said, shaking his head. “The case has never gone to court because there’s not enough firm evidence, just hearsay, lots of rumors. Well, the founder and CEO, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he’s going to be giving testimony today at a special mayoral task force on corruption in local government. He’s notorious for not giving interviews, and he hates the press after they implied he was dirty. But you’re not really press, are you? Spin it as a puff piece, ask him about where he bought his suit, I don’t care, but see if you can get him talking.”
Jared nodded. “Got it. You can count on me, boss!”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Don’t call me ‘boss’ either, you make me feel like Lou Grant. Pick up Matt and Danny, they can do your camera and sound.”
Jared grabbed his iPhone and pulled up Wikipanion before he left his desk. He could look up Jeffrey Dean Morgan, do some quick research on the way.
~
The three of them parked their news vehicle (Matt’s crappy old Jeep) in a loading zone across from the Fort Worth city hall. Matt and Danny started gathering their equipment. Jared spotted a convenience store catty-corner across the street. “I’mma be right back, anybody want a drink?”, he asked.
He jogged across the intersection and grabbed a Red Bull (Jared’s), diet Coke (Matt’s), and V8 (Danny’s, and so healthy Jared barely wanted to touch it). Cradling them in one arm, he pulled out his wallet as he got to the counter. Ooh. “Oh, and a cheese taquito, please.”
The turbaned man behind the counter nodded and went to get the taquito out of the heated deli case.
“Can I have a pack of Camels, please?,” a voice asked from right behind him.
What, whoever it was couldn’t wait for 20 more seconds? Jared turned as he started to speak. “Hey, wait your…” Jared’s voice trailed off as he found himself staring at Jensen Ackles at close range. “Uh, hello,” he said dumbly.
“Hello, Jared,” Jensen said.
“I didn’t know you smoked.”
Jensen wrinkled his nose (cutely, Jared thought, but that’s irrelevant to the matter at hand, right?). “I don’t; it’s for a friend.”
Jared was distracted from his up-close perusal of Jensen’s freckles when Danny and Matt burst into the store. “Jared, we’re screwed. Apparently the session’s over already, Morgan already spoke, and everybody’s gone but the clerks.”
“Fuck. I’m totally getting fired this time,” Jared muttered.
“You were trying to interview Jeff Morgan?,” Jensen asked, an odd tone in his voice.
“Yeah, for the site, just a lifestyle bit, you know, the man behind the headlines, is he the scary businessman at home or what, that kind of thing,” Jared said. He shut his mouth firmly so he’d stop babbling.
Jensen smiled slightly, then stepped up to the counter to pay for everything, including Jared’s taquito, which the poor clerk had been holding for a minute or two now, watching the conversation like a spectator at a tennis match. “Fortunately for you, Jeff’s a colleague of mine. Come with me, I have a plan,” Jensen said. Jared grabbed his taquito and followed.
~
So Jared wasn’t usually into beards (the literal *or* the figurative, for that matter), but Jeffrey Dean Morgan was making him reconsider. He was older than Jared’s usual type, but he totally made the dressed-up lumberjack look work. Jared tried not to blush or giggle during the interview, but he was afraid he was only partially successful.
“So, Mr. Morgan,” Jared said.
“Oh, please, call me Jeff,” the older man said, smiling at the camera - and by extension, Jared - in a totally panty-melting way (if Jared had had panties on, which of course he didn’t. It was only that one time, and it was a dare from Chris, so shut up).
“Everyone knows about your business, of course, but do you have any hobbies?,” Jared asked, after a few general questions had been asked and answered about Jeff’s career and JDM, Inc.
“It may ruin my reputation as a suave ladykiller,” Jeff said, “but I like to cook, actually. I’ve got a huge kitchen full of expensive toys. It’s probably the nicest room in my house. I drove my in-house architects nuts designing and redesigning it when I was having my house built.”
“What kinds of things do you like to cook?”
“I love Italian food,” Jeff said. “I make a mean manicotti. But recently I’ve been experimenting with Asian food. I’m getting pretty good with Thai.”
“I bet there’s lots of people who’d love to taste you. Uh, I mean taste your cooking,” Jared corrected quickly, flushing. He cleared his throat. “So, I have to ask one more question.”
“Yes,” Jeff said, frowning slightly at the serious tone in Jared’s voice. Jared could see Jensen shifting uneasily in his seat to the side of the interview setup. Morgan had only agreed to the interview after Jared had promised no questions on the supposed bribes or the investigation and Jensen had vouched for him. Obviously Jensen was worried that Jared was about to go back on his word.
Jared paused dramatically for a few more seconds. Then he asked, “Are you a boxers or a briefs man?”
Jeff let out a short laugh. “A man has to keep some mystery, don’t you think?”, he replied.
Jared nodded and smiled. “Fair enough. Thank you, Mr. Morgan, for taking the time to talk to us. This has been Jared Padalecki, reporting for the Dallas Morning News, with, let’s face it, a bit of a man-crush, actually.”
Jensen’s soft laugh was barely audible as the sound of the interview footage cut off.