Work Text:
@friendlyuser962
guys, one of my friends is a total drama intern, and he said that chris is super homophobic!!!
The situation started with a simple tweet from an unknown user. Simple enough. A tweet that was only 94 characters, 18 words, and could have easily fallen into the cracks of Twitter, never to be seen again.
Except, by pure luck, it blew up in mere hours. By hour three, 8,000 people and counting had seen the tweet, and the comments had started piling in, ranging from complete disbelief to 'omg what the fuck i hate him!!!'. The amount of quotes and reposts were doubling by the minute. Total Drama fan accounts were reposting it, and as of fifteen minutes ago, a popular news site's account had reposted it to their 10,000 followers.
Noah had muted his phone after the first five notifications, and then after his battery started draining, turned the device off, shoving it into the pocket of his cargo shorts as he stopped at a nearby cafe before work, a pep in his step and a semi-permanent grin on his face.
He ordered himself coffee, as well as Chris and Chef's usual monstrosities of drinks, and made the drive to the studio, not feeling the slightest bit guilty for what he'd done. Why would he? Chris had been pissing him off as of late, and while it might be slightly overkill, Noah had gotten his revenge with that tweet.
The hard part would be keeping it to himself.
Stepping into the main building, Noah immediately notices some interns whispering to each other in the hallway, and after nodding in their direction, they both make their way to him.
"Did you see the tweet that was posted this morning?" one of them asks, digging her phone out from her pocket and opening Twitter. She pulls up the tweet, turning her phone around so Noah can see the screen, and he barely bites back a laugh.
It was nearly at a 15,000 views, had over 8,000 likes, and the reposts? Damn. Noah hadn't realized the tweet would get that popular.
"Oh wow," he says, carefully balancing the drink carrier he is holding as he looks at the interns. "Any idea who posted it?"
The other intern, one Noah vaguely remembers from his time at Playa Des Losers, shakes his head, though there is a hint of a grin on his lips. "Nope. The account is pretty new, and that's the only thing they have posted. It's basically a blank slate."
Of course it was. Noah had purposefully created the account a week ago, laying low until Chris pissed him off enough for him to snap.
"Damn, that sucks. Well, good luck with Chris." Before the interns can ask what he means, Noah takes his leave, heading towards the elevator and pressing the button for the floor that Chris was undoubtedly on, because he liked to hole up in his dressing room until he got coffee in his system.
After the longest elevator ride on the planet (merely twenty seconds, if that), Noah steps out into yet another hallway, marching towards the door that has Chris' name in gold letters on the front. Without knocking, he walks in, calling out, "coffee's here!"
Huh. No response. Noah peeks at the couch in the corner, finding Chris laying on it rather dramatically, an arm thrown over his eyes.
Great, he's in a mood. Sighing, Noah sits the drink carrier down on the vanity table, and then stands over his boss, hand on his hip. "Did your fish die or something? What's wrong with you?"
Chris shoots his assistant a glare, before taking out his phone, clicking around furiously and then turning the screen around to show off Twitter. More specifically, the tweet from @friendlyuser962.
"This is what's wrong!" he snaps, shooting up from the couch to look Noah in the eye. "Some dumbass posted this tweet, and people are believing it! Can you imagine?"
"I can," Noah deadpans in response, grabbing Chris' sugary monstrosity and handing it over, hoping it could maybe calm the host down. "It's just some dumb tweet that isn't even true. It'll probably blow over soon."
It does not blow over soon. In fact, while filming an episode of Total Drama Dirtbags, Chris gets pulled into a meeting with the executives, and Noah knows that that was never a good thing.
The director wraps up filming for the day shortly after Chris is called away, and Alejandro, one of the dirtbags they are filming (as well as Noah's kind of friend) walks over to Noah, curious. "Do you have any idea why Chris had to go to a meeting during filming? Doesn't he typically schedule them for afterwards?"
"I'm the one who schedules his meetings, and nope," Noah answers, debating on whether or not he should power his phone back on. Curiosity gets the best of him, and as soon as the device was powered on, he is met with an onslaught of notifications. He quickly turns his phone on silent, shooting Alejandro a smile that screams fake. "I guess I'm popular today, huh?"
"Right," obviously Alejandro can tell that he's lying through his teeth, but he chooses to keep that to himself, looking down at his own phone instead. "Oh, did you see that tweet about Chris? It has over a fifty thousand views."
Fifty thousand. Fifty thousand views. Holy shit. Noah barely stops himself from grinning madly, instead shrugging his shoulders before Alejandro shows him the phone. "Oh, wow. Think someone on set posted it?"
"That's a possibility," Alejandro replies, putting his phone back into his pocket and smiling at Noah. "We could hypothesize over lunch, if you'd like?"
Well, Noah's job might be fucked, but at least he gets to have lunch with a handsome guy.
Over said lunch, after twenty minutes of talking about who could have possibly posted the tweet (their answers range from one of the dirtbags, an actual friend of an intern, an intern themself, or, a total crazy option, Chef), Noah decides to fess up.
"I did it."
Halfway through a bite of a turkey and pesto sandwich, Alejandro chokes, green eyes going wide as he hears the confession. "¿Que? Whatever do you mean, Noah?"
Noah sighs, taking a sip of his third coffee of the day. Black, no sugar, which had gotten him a weird look from the cashier. "I posted the tweet. Chris pissed me off, and I posted it."
Alejandro was quiet for a few seconds, before bursting into laughter, causing the other patrons of the cafe they are at to stare. Not that he notices, with how hard he's laughing.
"Y- you're kidding." He takes a few breaths after his laughter stops, but looking at Noah's serious face has him laughing once again. "¡Ay dios míos, that's priceless! And nobody else knows?"
"Nope, which is why I'm swearing you to secrecy. If this gets out, I'm putting hair dye in your shampoo." Noah smiles through the threat, and Alejandro finds himself strangely enamored, even if his hair was being threatened.
He draws an 'X' over his heart, then makes a motion of zipping his lips, and earns himself a chuckle from the other boy. "Cross my heart, I will keep your secret safe," Alejandro promises, going even further and extending his pinkie finger out for Noah to take.
"A pinkie promise too? What are we, five?" Noah snarks, but wraps his pinky around Alejandro's anyways. "Good. This conversation stays between us."
The two finish eating, both feeling oddly happy about their little gossip session, and as they walk back to the studio, Alejandro guides Noah with a hand on his lower back. They both decide not to mention the touch.
"So, how did your meeting go?" Noah asks, sitting in the chair beside Chris' desk. Why the host has his own office is beyond him. Chris had once said it was so he could focus on writing comedy gold, but Noah knew that half the shit he said was made up on the spot.
Whatever. At some point, Noah learned not to question Chris too much.
The host groans, leaning against his own chair, another sugar abomination that was less coffee and more diabetes in a cup in front of him. He grabs said abomination, taking a chug before slamming it back down, like he was drinking at a bar and not in his office. "Terrible. Apparently, everybody and their mom has seen that stupid tweet, and are hating on me hardcore. Me. Chris Mclean!"
"Uh huh…" Noah's voice trails off, and he looks down at the stack of papers he'd been sorting through for the past twenty minutes. "It has to blow over eventually, right? I mean, people got over Blaineley saying she hated dogs, and that's worse than murder to white people."
Chris groans again, and Noah is starting to believe that he's being over dramatic. "Blaineley literally paid people off for that. Besides, how can I even be homophobic? Chef and I have been together since before Total Drama was even pitched!"
Scratch that—Noah knows Chris is being over dramatic. "Just be patient," he reminds, feeling oddly like a therapist in the moment. Or a parent. Both seem terrible, especially if Chris is involved. "People will forget about this and move onto the next big thing. It's just a news cycle."
"Tell that to the executives," Chris huffs in reply, taking yet another large sip of his drink. "They said if this doesn't settle down soon, then they'll replace me with Blaineley. Blaineley! When I'm the one that made Total Drama what it is!"
That makes Noah freeze, eyes widening a fraction. "Replaced? They're that serious?"
"Apparently." Chris sighs, pinching the bridge of his noise to avoid slamming his head against the desk. He then looks up at Noah, noticing the slight look of panic. "You'd probably get to keep your job, but you'd be working for her, and according to some of her past assistants? She's a total bitch."
Noah has heard the rumors, considering that Blaineley has gone through more personal assistants in the past year than Noah has shoes throughout his entire life. The blonde was downright cruel, according to one of her assistants, who'd claimed that she'd nearly thrown hot soup at him because a restaurant made a mistake. Other rumors had followed afterwards, but Noah tried to keep himself out of the rumor mill, because unlike Chris, Blaineley, and all the other celebrities he's come across, he likes his privacy a lot more than he likes fame.
"Fuck. So either everybody stops talking about the tweet or you're fired?" Noah doesn't like to admit whenever he fucks up, but this might be one of the times that he has to. Or, rather, keep it a secret, but solve the problem himself. Because while he may not like Chris most of the time, the guy is still his boss, and he isn't the shittiest person Noah's ever come across (that award went to his dad years ago).
He would rather die than admit that Chris is like a father figure to him; maybe more like a crazy uncle who pays him? A weird, famous cousin that somehow always manages to get him wrapped up in schemes and situations? A guy that is starting to lose his mind due to the constant pressures of ratings, awards, and executives breathing down his neck? Whatever the case, Noah is too comfortable to let everything get ruined now.
"Or, whoever made the post comes forward and admits it was all a lie," Chris says, and Noah immediately latches onto that as a possible idea. While he wouldn't come forward in person, he can come forward as @friendlyuser962 and admit that he made up the lie because he has some personal vendetta against Chris, and that part wasn't a lie.
Noah hums, trying not to let it show that he was scheming in his head, though he had no trouble with that. Izzy claims he's emotionally constipated. He usually tells her to shut up. "Any chance they'll do that? Admit that it was all a fluke because they hate you?"
Chris shrugs, letting a scowl replace his usual fake grin. "Probably not. Who wants to admit they're wrong?" Not Noah, that's for sure, but he's going to have to through @friendlyuser962. Either that, or fess up that he was the one behind the tweet, and he'd surely be fired if that happened.
Then, Chris turns to Noah, a softer look on his face. Not quite a grin, but something of a half-assed smile that Noah has only ever seen once before from the host. "If I do get replaced, I'll put in a good word for you so you can keep your job. You're a pretty good assistant, even if you are a smart ass." Chris leans forward to pat Noah's arm, before immediately pulling away, probably trying to pretend he wasn't acting soft.
"You won't get replaced, dumbass," Noah quips, but his heart isn't in it. He'll make sure that Chris doesn't get replaced, because if he has to work for Blaineley, @friendlyuser962 is going to be where he posts his final words. "You're Chris Mclean, remember?"
Chris tilts his head, clearly confused, but agrees with him anyways, whether out of hope, or just because he thinks Noah is losing it. "Yeah, I'm Chris Mclean. They won't fire me for Blaineley."
Walking through the parking lot in the evening was never fun, especially for Noah's lack of athleticism, but he is surprisingly in a rush to get to the bus stop. He weaves between parked cars, waving at any intern or other staff member that say their goodbyes to him, not letting himself get distracted from his mission.
Noah's mission? Save Chris' job, and, more importantly, his own sanity.
He has a brief outline of what @friendlyuser962's apology would look like in his head, but he has to wait to type it out whenever he got home to his computer, considering that his phone is probably going to be dead whenever he turned it on. Either dead, or completely fried. Noah reminds himself to look into buying another phone ASAP.
His speed-walking is stopped whenever he spots a familiar figure leaning against a car, yelling at someone inside the vehicle, and Noah tilts his head curiously, looking closer to see who it was. He quickly realizes that the figure is Alejandro…and a guy that looked pretty similar to him. His brother, if Noah remembers from past conversations with Alejandro.
The two were arguing. Loudly. They look seconds away from fighting each other, and while Noah never likes playing mediator, he did unfortunately enjoy Alejandro's company, even when the guy acts like a self-centered dick. So, he makes a detour to the car, standing just a few feet away.
"What the hell are you two yelling about?" he asks, a hand on his hip. His sunglasses, the ones Chris insists he wears, are perched on top of his head, holding his bangs up slightly, so nothing is obstructing his view of the two brothers.
The man that isn't Alejandro shoots him a glare, clearly annoyed from his verbal beat down being interrupted. "How about you mind your own business, hm? This conversation does not involve you."
"Oh, shut up, José!" Alejandro snaps at his brother before turning to face Noah. He clearly looks distressed, and with a small, inaudible sigh, Noah adds another mission to the back of his mind. "I apologize for our behavior. I hope we didn't disturb you too badly, mi amigo."
"Ooh, Al has a friend? And it's this ugly bastard?" José sneers, a loud cackle leaving his lips. He turns to face Noah, deciding that this is a good time to expose his little brother. "Has he bored you to death with his dinosaur facts? Complained about he isn't as good as his devilishly handsome older brother?"
Noah can feel a migraine making an appearance, and as much as he would like to just walk away from the situation, he has another mission to accomplish before he can go home. "I didn't even know he had a brother. Must not be too important then, huh?" He glances at Alejandro, who looks both annoyed and confused, and winks at him.
Of course Noah knows about José—well, he forgot his name, but Alejandro has talked about him before when they had brunch together. From what Noah was given, as well as pieced together on his own, José is a huge piece of shit with an ego the size of North America. Knocking him down a peg will be child's play.
At being told he isn't too important, José practically snarls, stepping towards Noah with a clenched fist. "I'm not too important? If I'm not too important, than you are nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"Cut it out, José!" Alejandro yells, grabbing his older brother's arm so he can't reach Noah. "How would papá feel if you assaulted someone? Surely he would be disappointed in you." Maybe, maybe not, but it would look bad on the Burromuerto family if their second son got charged with assault, and if there was one thing José (and the rest of the family, minus Carlos) cares about, it is their image.
With a huff, José roughly pushes Alejandro off of him, and instead of punching Noah like he clearly wants to, he just glares at him. "Usted no es nada," he curses in Spanish, before turning on his heel and getting back in his car. He says something to Alejandro, once again in their mother tongue, before he starts the car, driving off and leaving his younger brother behind.
Alejandro mutters something under his breath, and then turns to Noah, looking down at him with a conflicted look. "I–I apologize for his behavior. And mine, as well. We should have kept our disagreement private."
"It's whatever, dude," Noah says, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. "Though, your brother is a huge dick. Holy shit."
"Tell me about it," Alejandro mumbles, mirroring Noah's pose, and they look at each other before bursting into laughter. They quiet down after a minute, and then the situation seems to dawn on the Spanish teen. "Mierda. I don't have a ride home."
"You want to go home after that? To him?" Noah asks, raising an eyebrow. When he sees the look of sadness on Alejandro's face, as well as a hint of fear in his eyes, he sighs and steps forward to slightly nudge the other teen. "You can spend the night with me, if you want."
Alejandro stares at Noah with wide eyes, clearly taken back by the offer. After a few seconds of being gobsmacked, he pulls himself together enough to ask, "are you sure? I wouldn't want to disturb you and your family."
"I wouldn't offer if I didn't want you to," Noah says in response, shrugging nonchalantly, though his thoughts were anything but. He wasn't the type to bring friends home, which made his mom worry that he had no social life (apparently his online friends didn't count), so this will hopefully get her off his back. "Besides, most of my sisters are out of the house now, and my mom makes too much food for just the four of us."
Alejandro seems to smile at that, and before Noah can blink, the taller teen is pulling him in for a hug. A clearly needed hug, if the way Alejandro melts against the smaller boy is anything to go by. "Thank you, amigo. I'll gladly spend the night with you."
"Great. You can help me come up with an apology tweet so Chris can keep his job."
"¿Que?"
Noah explains the situation to Alejandro on their way to the bus stop, and reveals that he's going to save Chris' job—and his too—by making @friendlyuser962 apologize and admit the whole thing was a sham. He asks Alejandro to help him come up with what to say, and he somehow agrees, which makes Noah's heart do a dangerous little leap in his chest.
When they step through the front door of Noah's home, his mom is there to greet them, eyes slightly widening at the sight of Alejandro. "Oh, you brought a friend home! That's nice," she says, greeting the two of them with a warm smile. "I'm Noah's mother, but you can call me Munira."
"It's lovely to meet you, ma'am," Alejandro replies, hand reaching out for a handshake. Instead, Munira pulls him in for a hug, patting his back before letting him go.
Noah gazes over from where he's slipping his shoes off, catching the sight of his mom hugging Alejandro, and a small smile creeps its way onto his lips. "This is Alejandro," he introduces, bumping into the taller teen, which causes Alejandro to look down at him. "He acts on one of the shows Chris oversees."
"Oh? An actor? I'm sure you're lovely at it," Munira compliments, smiling at the two before making her way out of the entryway, further into the house. "Dinner's almost ready you two. Please wash up."
"Okay, maa," Noah says, waiting for Alejandro to take his boots off before guiding him to the nearest bathroom. They take turns washing their hands in the sink, the scent of strawberry hand soap lingering on their hands. Afterwards, the two make their way towards a small dining room, where Munira and another woman are waiting.
The woman—one of Noah's sisters, Alejandro assumes—looks up as the two boys approach, and she gives Alejandro an up-down, as if she was surveying him. "Who's this, Noah?" she asks, turning to her younger brother, who takes the seat across from her. Alejandro sits down beside him, hands folding themselves in his lap.
"This is Alejandro. He's a friend from work," Noah answers, staring at her from across the table, before turning to look at Alejandro. "Alejandro, this is Jaya, my older sister."
"It's nice to meet you, Jaya," Alejandro smiles, choosing not to hold his hand out for a handshake. Judging by the way she's looking at him, she wouldn't appreciate that. "Your name is very beautiful."
Jaya grunts, a wary gaze in her eyes. "Thanks, my mom gave it to me."
Noah snorts, turning around to hide his amused grin, and Munira sighs exasperatedly, fixing her youngest daughter with a look. "Jaya, be nice to our guest."
"Fine, fine." Jaya throws her hands up in surrender, though she shoots Alejandro another glare before looking at Noah. "Did you see the tweet someone made about your boss?"
"I prefer staying off my phone when I'm at work," Noah easily lies, burying a spoon into his bowl of curry. He takes a bite, pointing at Jaya with his spoon, and he waits until he's done swallowing to continue. "But I heard of it from some of the interns. It's stupid."
Jaya shrugs, digging into her own food, and Alejandro also takes a bite, delighted in the flavors. It was different than what he was used to; his mother loves to cook meals from Spain, and while they're good, it gets a bit exhausting cycling through the same seven meals. "This is wonderful!"
"Thank you!" Munira smiles warmly at Alejandro, taking a bite of her own. "If you'd like, I could write down the recipe for you. It's pretty simple."
"I would love that." Alejandro smiles back, before taking another spoonful of the curry, taking a bite with a delighted hum.
Dinner is a quiet affair after that. The four eat in a calming quietness, Jaya excusing herself after she finishes. She washes her bowl and silverware in the kitchen, and then heads upstairs to her room, saying she has an assignment to finish.
Once Jaya is gone, Noah turns to his mom, asking, "can Alejandro spend the night? His parents okayed it already."
Munira looks shocked for a few seconds, but she nods, an excited grin on her face. "Of course, honey! You've never brought anybody over for a sleepover before. It'll be nice for a change."
Noah groans at having his dirty laundry aired out, but he leans into his mom's pat on the head, and continues to eat. Once he finishes, he waits on Alejandro, and takes both of their bowls to the sink to wash.
"Come on," he says once he's back in the dining room, gently grabbing Alejandro's wrist to lead him through the house and up the stairs to his room, waving at his mom as he does so.
Noah's room is what Alejandro expected, if he's honest; it's smaller than his own, but it's cozier, bookshelves lining one wall, a desk and a dresser on another, and a bed filled with blankets and pillows shoved in a corner. The walls are painted an off-white, one wall having various gaming posters taped to it.
"Welcome to my humble abode." Noah darts for his dresser, opening a few drawers and pulling out some clothes. After he finds what he's looking for, he tosses them to Alejandro, and he can see that its a t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. "Those should fit, I hope. The bathroom's right across the hall."
Alejandro thanks him before walking across the hall to change, shutting the door behind him. The pants manage to fit, and they're a little short on him, but there is a slight height difference between them. The shirt is tight around his chest, and he silently hopes he doesn't rip it.
After folding his clothes, he makes his way back to Noah's room, discovering the boy has changed into an oversized sweatshirt and a similar pair of pajama pants. He's oddly cute, Alejandro can't help but think, and he quickly shakes that thought away. "So, writing an apology tweet, hm?"
"Don't remind me," Noah groans, sitting down in his desk chair and turning his computer on. He quickly logs into the Twitter account, immediately bombarded by countless notifications, and he's slightly worried that his computer is going to fry. "I'm never touching this damn website ever again."
"This is the price of being petty," Alejandro reminds him, standing beside the shorter boy and successfully dodging an elbow to the gut. "Wow, assaulting your guest? I'm hurt."
Noah rolls his eyes, flipping the other teen off, before he begins to type.
@friendlyuser962
i lied everyone. chris' face is just so annoying lol
"That is the worst apology I've ever seen." Alejandro stares at the screen, biting his lip to conceal a peel of laughter that threatened to spill out. "Seriously, this is shit. You realize that, right?"
"It's not supposed to be good," Noah replies, turning slightly in his chair to look at the other teen. "Do you want to write an apology?"
Alejandro accepts the offer, pushing Noah over slightly so he can take over the keyboard.
@friendlyuser962
i apologize, chris mclean is not homophobic. i was upset and decided to lie, but i realize that i was wrong. please accept this apology.
"Lame!" Noah snorts, ignoring the glare Alejandro sends him. "This just makes it sound like I was threatened with a lawsuit."
"You very well could be," Alejandro snaps back, and the two lock eyes for a few seconds before doubling over in laughter. They're so loud that Jaya bangs on the door, warning them to shut up, and they continue to quietly giggle, having more fun than they should be.
They eventually settle on a shorter version of Alejandro's version, merely sending, "i apologize, chris mclean is not homophobic. i was upset and decided to lie, but the truth is i don't even know an intern."
Afterwards, Noah shows Alejandro the game Dragon Assassins, which Alejandro doesn't really enjoy. However, it's nice to see Noah in his element, so he sits and watches as he plays it, realizing he was comfortable around the other boy. Well, comfortable as he could be, considering his heart was racing.
The two decide to go to bed a while later, laying themselves down in Noah's bed. The smaller teen takes the side by the wall, pulling a few of the blankets over to his side, and Alejandro happily claims the other side of the bed, stretching out and only using a singular blanket. He runs hot, after all.
"G'night, Ale," Noah sleepily mumbles into his pillow, easily falling into a deep sleep, soft snores escaping him.
Alejandro isn't so lucky. Their arms are pressed together, Noah's legs barely touching his, and if Alejandro looks over, he would be face to face with the other boy. He chooses to stare at the ceiling, briefly wondering what his parents would say if they found out about his impromptu sleepover.
Stealing a glance at Noah, he realizes that he doesn't care what they would think. He feels peaceful, for the first time in a while, and he soon drifts off into the best sleep he's had in years.
The next morning isn't awkward, despite Alejandro's fears it would be. The chatter comes easily, and Munira is up bright and early to send them off with breakfast sandwiches and bottles of water, and she kisses the top of Noah's head and gives Alejandro a hug before the two boys leave to head to the bus stop.
The bus ride is uneventful, if you disregard the random man screaming about the end of the world. Alejandro and Noah just give each other a look, hiding chuckles behind their hands.
Arriving at the studio, interns are talking in hushed whispers, though when one, Ivy, spots Noah, she runs over to him, phone in hand. "That tweet was a lie! Look!"
Sure enough, the apology tweet has also gone viral, and Noah just hums in disinterest, though he raises an eyebrow at Alejandro, who simply grins back. "Damn, so Mclean's not as bad as Blaineley after all."
Ivy laughs, before spotting an incoming intern, and she walks over to them to show off the tweet, leaving Alejandro and Noah alone.
"So, do you think Chris will be able to keep his job?" the taller teen asks, hand on his hip as he looks down at said host's assistant.
"I hope so," Noah murmurs, phone dinging in his pocket. A text from Chris, who says to meet him in his office. "I have to meet the devil himself now, so wish me luck."
Alejandro gives him a thumbs up, patting his shoulder before Noah makes his way towards the elevator, hoping that the tweet was enough to make Chris keep his job. If it wasn't, he's already planning a way to pin the blame onto an unsuspecting intern, letting them take the downfall and face Chris' wrath. Better them than him.
When Noah arrives in the office, Chris is smiling. A genuine smile is on his face, and he even hugs his assistant, looking happier than Noah's ever seen him. "I'm still your boss!" he practically yells, a giddy giggle leaving him. "The tweet was a lie!"
"Considering you and Chef have been married for nearly four years, yeah, that was obvious," Noah retorts, but he smiles a bit, glad that he gets to keep his boss, even if the guy is insane. The pay is too good to give up.
Plus, he gets to keep working with Alejandro. A win is a win.