You can say Frank is a mess—but you can't say he's useless.
When Frank personally stepped in and turned on the charm, talking circles around everyone, it didn't take long at all.
Abby dropped the whole thing and left with the two FBI agents.
"Son," Frank grinned at Lip once they were out the door, "you're smart, but you really suck at talking to people."
"Fxxk you!" Lip snapped back, unconvinced.
Frank ignored him, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and turned on the TV like nothing had happened.
Seeing that—
"Whew…" Fiona let out a long breath, her whole body relaxing as she collapsed onto the couch.
"It's finally over," she said with deep relief.
Carl, completely ruining the mood, asked, "So… what about the dead body?"
Fiona really didn't want to move. "We'll take her back later."
As if on purpose, Carl pushed again. "Then what about Aunt Ginger?"
Fiona: "..."
"Alright, kid, stop yapping," Frank chimed in. "Those little details can wait. Right now, let's celebrate. Go grab some beer."
Then he turned to Kevin. "Kevin, how about some green stuff?"
Kevin didn't even blink. "Where's the money?"
"Kevin, why are you always thinking about money?" Frank started flailing his hands, launching into nonsense again. "Friendship is priceless, don't you—"
Kevin straight-up ignored him.
"Kevin," Dexter grinned and teased, "the way you're talking, you sound like a drug dealer."
Kevin froze. "Huh? No way! How could I be a drug dealer? I just have a little green stuff, that's all—don't get the wrong idea."
Veronica quickly chimed in, laughing. "Dexter, you scared him."
"Haha, is that so? Then my bad." Dexter pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to Kevin. "I'll cover it. You all look exhausted—you really need to relax."
Kevin didn't take the money right away. He smirked and looked at Fiona. "Fiona, what do you think?"
"Okay," Fiona hesitated, then nodded. She looked at Dexter. "Thanks."
Only then did Kevin take the cash. "Alright, wait here. I'll be back."
"Hurry it up," Frank said excitedly, suddenly energized. Remembering his earlier idea, he immediately waved Dexter over. "Dexter, come sit closer. That great idea I mentioned the other day—I'll tell you all about it."
"Frank, don't talk," Fiona cut in instantly. Then she turned to Dexter. "Don't listen to him. He never has good ideas."
Dexter just smiled and didn't move.
Frank, of course, didn't give up. Ignoring Fiona, he leaned toward Dexter. "Trust me, Dexter. This is really a great opportunity."
"No rush," Dexter said calmly, changing the subject. "I'm actually curious about something. What exactly are you guys doing? I don't really get it."
That did it.
Lip already didn't like Dexter, and now he snapped. "None of your business. Best not to ask."
Sigh.
That mouth of his.
"Sorry, I was just curious," Dexter said politely, still smiling. He'd seen enough and didn't feel like sticking around. Standing up, he said goodbye to Carl, Fiona, Veronica, and the others. "I need to head to the store anyway. See you around."
"Don't go!" Carl panicked. "I still wanted to play paintball with you!"
Fiona felt Lip's earlier comment was out of line. A little embarrassed, she tried to keep Dexter there. "Stay a bit longer. We can grab lunch together."
"Kevin's coming back any minute—you already paid," Veronica added.
"I can't smoke because of health reasons," Dexter said sincerely. "You guys go ahead and celebrate. I really do have stuff to take care of—need to buy supplies for the shop. Sorry, I've gotta go. Carl, we'll play another day."
With that, he turned and walked out.
Carl, Fiona, and Veronica said a few more things, but seeing how firm he was, Fiona gave up and walked him to the door.
Outside—
"Lip can be really irritating sometimes," Fiona said apologetically. "Don't take it personally. He's not a bad person."
"No worries," Dexter smiled. "I'm not going to get mad at a kid."
"That's good. Oh—and before your restaurant opens, let us know. We'll come support you," Fiona said.
"Deal," Dexter replied. Then, casually, "Speaking of the restaurant—even though it's small, I still need servers. Do you know any young, pretty women looking for work? If you do, introduce them to me. If it works out, I'll give you a referral fee."
Those words hit Fiona—
And she froze.
Naturally, she thought of herself. She almost blurted it out, but stopped. It felt… awkward.
After thinking for a second—
"Okay," Fiona nodded, flashing a playful smile. "What's the pay like? I can't let my friends get ripped off."
"Of course not. Five thousand dollars a month. No medical benefits for now, but if the restaurant does well, I'll add them later."
Five thousand a month.
And maybe benefits later.
Thump.
Fiona's heart skipped.
The next second—
Screw 'awkward.'
Money came first.
"Boss!" Fiona beamed, her smile downright sneaky. "What about me? I've worked as a server before—I've got experience. I guarantee I'll do a great job!"
Heh.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Dexter felt pleased but put on a surprised face. "You? Don't you already have a job?"
"I have a lot of jobs—mostly part-time," Fiona said quickly. "The burger place pays minimum wage. I only work there because I have to. If you hire me at that pay, I'll quit all my other jobs immediately!"
"I see…" Dexter pretended to think. "Let me consider it."
"I'm really good at this," Fiona said earnestly.
"I can tell. Anyone who can take care of that many kids can handle this. I'll think about it. I should go."
"Okay. Drive safe."
Dexter left.
Fiona went back inside and walked up behind Lip, smacking him lightly on the head.
"What is wrong with you? Why do you have to talk to him like that?"
The slap barely had any force.
Lip didn't care. "I just don't like him."
"You'd better be nicer to him," Fiona warned. "There's a good chance he'll be my boss before long."
Lip: "???? What?"
Veronica was confused too. "What did you talk about outside? Did he offer you a job?"
Fiona dropped onto the couch and shook her head. "Not exactly. He asked me to introduce servers, mentioned the pay—five thousand a month—so I said I could do it."
"He didn't say yes. Just said he'd think about it."
After hearing that—
"Damn! Five thousand a month?!" Veronica exploded. "Fiona, we have to get this job! That's a ton of money!"
Fiona blinked. "??? We?"
Veronica nodded hard. "Yeah—we! That much money? I want in too! I can be a server!"