"Coup de Foudre" 143
Yes! A new chapter!
Sorry for the delay and thanks for your patience. This has
been a long ride, but there are only two more chapters until
the end. I hope it will be a happy ending for all concerned!
By Gaedhal
Pittsburgh, May 2017
“Brian, are you sure this is a good idea?” Cynthia asked.
“No,” said Brian, getting up from his desk. “But then everything in advertising is a risk, especially in the creative area.”
“Okay,” said Cynthia. “You’re the boss.”
Brian smirked. “Last time I looked.”
She shook her head ruefully as she walked to the door. “I’ll see you at the meeting. Fifteen minutes, in the large conference room upstairs, right?”
Brian nodded at Justin. “We’ll be there… with bells on.”
After Cynthia had gone, Brian grabbed Justin and bent him over the desk. “Alone at last!”
“With bells on?” Justin laughed. “You heard Cynthia - the meeting’s in fifteen minutes.”
“There’s a lot we can do in fifteen minutes. Or ten. Or five!”
Justin ran his hand down the front of Brian’s trousers. “I thought the rule was: ‘No fooling around in the office’?”
Brian frowned. “Who made a stupid fucking rule like that?”
“You did,” Justin replied. “Although we broke it constantly.”
“Rules were made to be broken,” said Brian. “A wise man said that once. I think it was Johnny Rotten. Or Albert Einstein. Someone like that.”
“So tell me,” said Justin. “Seriously. Did you ever fuck other guys in this office?”
“In this office?” Brian made a face. “Nope. Although to be truthful I wasn’t in this office all that much after you bugged out on me. Especially once I was a married man.”
Justin burst out laughing. “As if that would ever stop you!”
“Ron was very jealous, you know,” Brian offered. “And I always suspected that Cynthia was one of his spies.”
Justin shook his head. “You wreck me, Mr. Kinney!” He wriggled away from Brian and straightened his clothes. “But I do have a serious question for you.”
“So serious today,” said Brian.
“I mean it!” Justin insisted. “For almost as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been talking about going to New York, or opening an office in New York. But you never did. So… why now?”
“I saw an opportunity… and I seized it,” Brian said. He glanced at his watch. “Let’s go. It wouldn’t be polite to leave the peasants waiting.”
They headed up to the large conference room - the old orgy room of the Everhard Baths, as Justin never failed to point out. “The first place we ever fucked in public!”
Brian rolled his eyes. “You can retire that one, Sunshine. I already know and no one else gives a shit.”
“Do you miss those days?” Justin asked. “I mean… it seems such a long time ago, but…”
“Young and foolish!” Brian sighed mockingly. “We could fuck in public… if you wanted to. There are still places. But… I don’t know. It seems a little bit retro, don’t you think? And you may have misty, water-colored memories of the way we were, but this place was always full of fucking trolls and creepy sightseers who were drooling over my cock and your ass.”
“No, I don’t miss that,” Justin admitted. “I never did it in public with anyone else, although I’ve had plenty of opportunities over the years. I guess I really was young and foolish… but so were you!”
“Granted,” said Brian. “But that still doesn’t mean we’re a couple of bonded breeders or dykes in Vera Wangs. If you’re interested in some extracurricular hi-jinx, you don’t need my permission. And if you and I want to… indulge…” Brian raised an eyebrow. “Say the word. Palm Springs, South Beach, or Ibiza beckons!”
Justin winced. “Don’t mention Ibiza. It’s still a sore spot.”
“I never got there, remember?” said Brian. “But it’s not too late to go together.”
“What about Gus?”
Brian shrugged. “Summer soccer camp?”
Justin laughed. “Now you sound like Lindsay!”
The table in the conference room was filled with all the department heads and their assistants: Cynthia sat next to the head seat, then Murph and George from the Art Department, Danielle and Adam from Sales and Marketing, Ted and his assistant Richard from Accounting, then the Account Execs, Thomas, Nicholas, and Ana. And on the other side of the head seat, John and the newest member of the Kinnetik staff, John’s husband, Stuart A. Jones, formerly of Kennedy & Collins in New York, and before that, Manchester, England. Justin quietly slid into a chair against the wall, right behind Murph.
“Friends, vassals, and surfs,” Brian began. “Good morning. I’m sure you all already know about the changes that are about to take place at Kinnetik, but I’m here to make everything official. First, I’d like to introduce the newest member of our little Kinnetik Family… Mr. Stuart Jones.” Brian paused as the Irishman smiled slightly and nodded. Then he glanced slyly at Brian. Justin caught that look immediately and understood what it meant. He knew Brian too well to think that he would have passed up this guy in his prime, which, perhaps, was a number of years ago. But Stuart Jones was still eminently fuckable.
“For a number of years Kinnetik has been eyeing New York City,” Brian continued. “We are, and always have been, a boutique agency, targeting elite clients in the Midwest. Pittsburgh and the Great Lakes Region has been our primary focus. But times have changed. I think the time has come for us to challenge some of the Big Boys in their own territory. Stuart has come to us from Kennedy & Collins and he is well versed in the New York advertising scene. He, along with our Creative Director and Senior Accounts Manager, John Stephens…” Brian nodded at Stuart’s husband, who was beaming proudly. “Will be setting up our new office in Manhattan. Some of you will be given the opportunity to move to the New York office, but we will also be hiring new associates both there and here in Pittsburgh to match our expanding profile. Cynthia Llewellyn Roberts will be taking John’s place as our new Senior Accounts Manager, while Theodore Schmidt will be stepping up from Accounting into the role of Office Manager.” Brian paused, very pleased with himself. “And I will be taking the reins as Creative Director. Yes, full time. I feel that I’m ready to do that now. But it will take all of us to make this work, and I hope I will have your full cooperation moving forward. Thanks for your support over the past year. You’ll never know how much it’s been appreciated.”
Justin jumped up and led the standing ovation as the meeting ended. John leaned over and kissed Stuart. And Brian kissed Cynthia, but his eyes were on Justin.
“There are drinks and food for everyone in the Break Room,” Cynthia announced.
“That’s no longer your job, my dear,” Brian said to Cynthia. He looked pointedly at Ted. “Theodore is now in charge of snacks and birthday cakes.”
Ted cleared his throat. “And I’ll do my best, Bri… um, Mr. Kinney.”
“See that you do, or I’ll have your balls,” Brian said serenely.
Justin slipped his arm around Brian's waist as they walked to the Break Room.
“When did you fuck him?”
“Who?’
Justin smirked. “Stuart, who else?”
“Oh, years ago,” said Brian. “He was a hot, sexy bastard. He’s still not bad. In fact, that’s how I met John.” Now it was Brian’s turn to smirk.
“You… didn’t!” Justin said. “Both? At the same time?”
“Well, first Stuart, then John, then both. At various times,” Brian said nostalgically. “One time even Ron got involved. That was in England. You shouldn’t sound so shocked. The two of us had our share of foursomes back in the day.”
“Yeah, but we never had to see them again!” said Justin. “Or work with them!”
“Mixing business and pleasure has never been a problem for me, as well you know,” said Brian. “I believe fucking the intern was a fire-able offense once upon a time. I never heard you complain.”
Justin sniffed. “But Jim Stockwell sure did!”
“Ah, there’s a blast from the past.” Brian frowned. “I wonder whatever happened to him?”
“He owns a security company in Scranton,” Justin offered. “I googled it once. Just out of curiosity.”
“As long as he stays out of the Pitts, that’s fine with me! Let’s stop in my office for a minute. I need to get something.”
They made a detour into Brian’s office. It was almost as if he’d never left for ten years. His desk was larger, the décor had been spiffed up, and there was a new iMac, but otherwise it was like the day they finally christened the new office at Kinnetik - after hours, of course.
“What did you want to get, Brian?”
“This.” He handed Justin a shiny new nameplate. “It’s yours… but only if you want it.”
Justin stared at the nameplate. “I don’t understand. I already have one on the door of my office.”
“But this one goes on the door of your new office,” said Brian. “Murph’s old office. He’s going to New York with John and Stuart, which means we need a new Senior Art Director. Imagine my surprise when Murph told me that you were the logical choice to succeed him. And imagine my surprise when I agreed with him.”
Justin stared at Brian. “I… I don’t know what to say!”
“Say yes… if that’s what you really want. But if you have any doubts…”
“No, I have no doubts,” Justin said, grinning. “None at all!”
“You’ll still have time to work on your own stuff… I guarantee that. I’ll be hiring more staff. And you’ll have an assistant, too.”
“It’s fine. Why the hell did I keep working here all those years if not to become the head of the department?”
“I don’t know,” said Brian. “I thought it was so you could lie in wait until you could finally get me back!”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Kinney,” Justin said. Then he put his arms around Brian. “But now I have both the job AND the boss!”
Brian sighed. “And I’ll have to look at your fucking Sunshine face 24/7! At home AND at the office! How fucked am I?”
Justin closed his eyes. “Pretty fucked, I’d say. Pretty fucking fucked!”
“Amen,” said Brian. “A-fucking-men!”
Sorry for the delay and thanks for your patience. This has
been a long ride, but there are only two more chapters until
the end. I hope it will be a happy ending for all concerned!
By Gaedhal
Pittsburgh, May 2017
“Brian, are you sure this is a good idea?” Cynthia asked.
“No,” said Brian, getting up from his desk. “But then everything in advertising is a risk, especially in the creative area.”
“Okay,” said Cynthia. “You’re the boss.”
Brian smirked. “Last time I looked.”
She shook her head ruefully as she walked to the door. “I’ll see you at the meeting. Fifteen minutes, in the large conference room upstairs, right?”
Brian nodded at Justin. “We’ll be there… with bells on.”
After Cynthia had gone, Brian grabbed Justin and bent him over the desk. “Alone at last!”
“With bells on?” Justin laughed. “You heard Cynthia - the meeting’s in fifteen minutes.”
“There’s a lot we can do in fifteen minutes. Or ten. Or five!”
Justin ran his hand down the front of Brian’s trousers. “I thought the rule was: ‘No fooling around in the office’?”
Brian frowned. “Who made a stupid fucking rule like that?”
“You did,” Justin replied. “Although we broke it constantly.”
“Rules were made to be broken,” said Brian. “A wise man said that once. I think it was Johnny Rotten. Or Albert Einstein. Someone like that.”
“So tell me,” said Justin. “Seriously. Did you ever fuck other guys in this office?”
“In this office?” Brian made a face. “Nope. Although to be truthful I wasn’t in this office all that much after you bugged out on me. Especially once I was a married man.”
Justin burst out laughing. “As if that would ever stop you!”
“Ron was very jealous, you know,” Brian offered. “And I always suspected that Cynthia was one of his spies.”
Justin shook his head. “You wreck me, Mr. Kinney!” He wriggled away from Brian and straightened his clothes. “But I do have a serious question for you.”
“So serious today,” said Brian.
“I mean it!” Justin insisted. “For almost as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been talking about going to New York, or opening an office in New York. But you never did. So… why now?”
“I saw an opportunity… and I seized it,” Brian said. He glanced at his watch. “Let’s go. It wouldn’t be polite to leave the peasants waiting.”
They headed up to the large conference room - the old orgy room of the Everhard Baths, as Justin never failed to point out. “The first place we ever fucked in public!”
Brian rolled his eyes. “You can retire that one, Sunshine. I already know and no one else gives a shit.”
“Do you miss those days?” Justin asked. “I mean… it seems such a long time ago, but…”
“Young and foolish!” Brian sighed mockingly. “We could fuck in public… if you wanted to. There are still places. But… I don’t know. It seems a little bit retro, don’t you think? And you may have misty, water-colored memories of the way we were, but this place was always full of fucking trolls and creepy sightseers who were drooling over my cock and your ass.”
“No, I don’t miss that,” Justin admitted. “I never did it in public with anyone else, although I’ve had plenty of opportunities over the years. I guess I really was young and foolish… but so were you!”
“Granted,” said Brian. “But that still doesn’t mean we’re a couple of bonded breeders or dykes in Vera Wangs. If you’re interested in some extracurricular hi-jinx, you don’t need my permission. And if you and I want to… indulge…” Brian raised an eyebrow. “Say the word. Palm Springs, South Beach, or Ibiza beckons!”
Justin winced. “Don’t mention Ibiza. It’s still a sore spot.”
“I never got there, remember?” said Brian. “But it’s not too late to go together.”
“What about Gus?”
Brian shrugged. “Summer soccer camp?”
Justin laughed. “Now you sound like Lindsay!”
The table in the conference room was filled with all the department heads and their assistants: Cynthia sat next to the head seat, then Murph and George from the Art Department, Danielle and Adam from Sales and Marketing, Ted and his assistant Richard from Accounting, then the Account Execs, Thomas, Nicholas, and Ana. And on the other side of the head seat, John and the newest member of the Kinnetik staff, John’s husband, Stuart A. Jones, formerly of Kennedy & Collins in New York, and before that, Manchester, England. Justin quietly slid into a chair against the wall, right behind Murph.
“Friends, vassals, and surfs,” Brian began. “Good morning. I’m sure you all already know about the changes that are about to take place at Kinnetik, but I’m here to make everything official. First, I’d like to introduce the newest member of our little Kinnetik Family… Mr. Stuart Jones.” Brian paused as the Irishman smiled slightly and nodded. Then he glanced slyly at Brian. Justin caught that look immediately and understood what it meant. He knew Brian too well to think that he would have passed up this guy in his prime, which, perhaps, was a number of years ago. But Stuart Jones was still eminently fuckable.
“For a number of years Kinnetik has been eyeing New York City,” Brian continued. “We are, and always have been, a boutique agency, targeting elite clients in the Midwest. Pittsburgh and the Great Lakes Region has been our primary focus. But times have changed. I think the time has come for us to challenge some of the Big Boys in their own territory. Stuart has come to us from Kennedy & Collins and he is well versed in the New York advertising scene. He, along with our Creative Director and Senior Accounts Manager, John Stephens…” Brian nodded at Stuart’s husband, who was beaming proudly. “Will be setting up our new office in Manhattan. Some of you will be given the opportunity to move to the New York office, but we will also be hiring new associates both there and here in Pittsburgh to match our expanding profile. Cynthia Llewellyn Roberts will be taking John’s place as our new Senior Accounts Manager, while Theodore Schmidt will be stepping up from Accounting into the role of Office Manager.” Brian paused, very pleased with himself. “And I will be taking the reins as Creative Director. Yes, full time. I feel that I’m ready to do that now. But it will take all of us to make this work, and I hope I will have your full cooperation moving forward. Thanks for your support over the past year. You’ll never know how much it’s been appreciated.”
Justin jumped up and led the standing ovation as the meeting ended. John leaned over and kissed Stuart. And Brian kissed Cynthia, but his eyes were on Justin.
“There are drinks and food for everyone in the Break Room,” Cynthia announced.
“That’s no longer your job, my dear,” Brian said to Cynthia. He looked pointedly at Ted. “Theodore is now in charge of snacks and birthday cakes.”
Ted cleared his throat. “And I’ll do my best, Bri… um, Mr. Kinney.”
“See that you do, or I’ll have your balls,” Brian said serenely.
Justin slipped his arm around Brian's waist as they walked to the Break Room.
“When did you fuck him?”
“Who?’
Justin smirked. “Stuart, who else?”
“Oh, years ago,” said Brian. “He was a hot, sexy bastard. He’s still not bad. In fact, that’s how I met John.” Now it was Brian’s turn to smirk.
“You… didn’t!” Justin said. “Both? At the same time?”
“Well, first Stuart, then John, then both. At various times,” Brian said nostalgically. “One time even Ron got involved. That was in England. You shouldn’t sound so shocked. The two of us had our share of foursomes back in the day.”
“Yeah, but we never had to see them again!” said Justin. “Or work with them!”
“Mixing business and pleasure has never been a problem for me, as well you know,” said Brian. “I believe fucking the intern was a fire-able offense once upon a time. I never heard you complain.”
Justin sniffed. “But Jim Stockwell sure did!”
“Ah, there’s a blast from the past.” Brian frowned. “I wonder whatever happened to him?”
“He owns a security company in Scranton,” Justin offered. “I googled it once. Just out of curiosity.”
“As long as he stays out of the Pitts, that’s fine with me! Let’s stop in my office for a minute. I need to get something.”
They made a detour into Brian’s office. It was almost as if he’d never left for ten years. His desk was larger, the décor had been spiffed up, and there was a new iMac, but otherwise it was like the day they finally christened the new office at Kinnetik - after hours, of course.
“What did you want to get, Brian?”
“This.” He handed Justin a shiny new nameplate. “It’s yours… but only if you want it.”
Justin stared at the nameplate. “I don’t understand. I already have one on the door of my office.”
“But this one goes on the door of your new office,” said Brian. “Murph’s old office. He’s going to New York with John and Stuart, which means we need a new Senior Art Director. Imagine my surprise when Murph told me that you were the logical choice to succeed him. And imagine my surprise when I agreed with him.”
Justin stared at Brian. “I… I don’t know what to say!”
“Say yes… if that’s what you really want. But if you have any doubts…”
“No, I have no doubts,” Justin said, grinning. “None at all!”
“You’ll still have time to work on your own stuff… I guarantee that. I’ll be hiring more staff. And you’ll have an assistant, too.”
“It’s fine. Why the hell did I keep working here all those years if not to become the head of the department?”
“I don’t know,” said Brian. “I thought it was so you could lie in wait until you could finally get me back!”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Kinney,” Justin said. Then he put his arms around Brian. “But now I have both the job AND the boss!”
Brian sighed. “And I’ll have to look at your fucking Sunshine face 24/7! At home AND at the office! How fucked am I?”
Justin closed his eyes. “Pretty fucked, I’d say. Pretty fucking fucked!”
“Amen,” said Brian. “A-fucking-men!”