Making it Through the Summer: Chapter 1 [Pt 2/2]
Making it Through the Summer & Making it Through Another Summer
by Kim
Making it Through the Summer
Chapter 1
[Pt 2/2]
Wednesday Evening, May 8th
Justin & Daphne's Apartment
Justin stood in front of the group he had invited to his place for a family meeting. It was an unusual group to say the least. It isn't often one finds a room filled with an attorney, a college professor, an accountant/internet porn entrepreneur, an artistic blond twink, an African-American college student, and, last but not least, a disco-clothing couturier. Justin could tell the selected family members were dying to know why they had been summoned to his apartment, and had been sworn not to tell anyone where they were going. Before he explained the circumstances to them, he first needed to have a few items agreed upon.
"I know all of you are dying to know why I've invited you here tonight," Justin began. "However, before I begin, I first need to establish a few things." He reached in his pocket and took out a few dollar bills.
He approached Melanie first and handed her a bill. "Melanie, I am hiring you as my attorney tonight. I don't really need your legal services, but I would like you to invoke your attorney-client confidentiality privilege. If you accept, I would like anything I say tonight to remain in this room. That would mean not telling Lindsay. Do you think you could accept?" he asked, hoping that she would.
"For you, honey, of course I will," Melanie replied, taking the dollar from him. She had a feeling this somehow involved Brian. If it did, he would need her help, and sometimes Lindsay was not the most rational person when it came to the father of her child.
Justin then approached Ted with another bill. "Ted, I am hiring you as my accountant tonight. I don't really need your accounting services, but I would like you to invoke your accountant-client confidentiality privilege. If you accept, anything I tell you tonight cannot leave this room. This would mean not discussing this with anyone other than those assembled here tonight. Do you accept?" he asked, hoping Ted would be curious enough to accept.
"You know I will, since I'm dying to find out what all this secrecy is about," Ted smiled as he took the dollar from Justin.
Justin now approached Emmett. "Emmett, I know you are hopeless at keeping secrets, but you are one of my closest friends, and I really want to tell you. I also know Ted's not good at keeping secrets either and wouldn't be able to keep this from you. All I'm asking is that if you think there is no way you can keep tonight a secret to let me know now."
"Baby, for you I promise I will try my best not to tell a soul. Besides, as long as Ted and I both know, we can police each other. Isn't that right, Teddy?" Emmett smiled at his lover.
"Don't worry Justin, I'll make sure Em keeps his mouth shut," Ted assured.
"Thanks guys," Justin smiled. "Daphne already knows what this is about as does Ben," he explained. "Most of you know that I am responsible for my own tuition now that my dad refuses to pay it. I decided that this summer I would apply for an internship through PIFA, in hopes that I could save money from it for tuition. I also thought it would be a good way to gain job experience. Anyway, I hadn't had much luck until last week..."
"So, that's what the suit was for," Emmett realized.
"Yeah, I'm sorry if I was a little vague about it," Justin apologized, hoping Emmett wouldn't be too hurt.
"That's alright, sweetie. Now continue with your story."
"Last week I had an interview with a local firm. It's an amazing place, and I would be working there as a graphic artist. The art department is out of this world, and there are so many talented individuals there," Justin enthused, forgetting for a moment about the Brian issue. "I interviewed with the owner, and he is totally cool. He's not gay or anything, but he's from Britain. He said that I would be working for one of his senior managers designing artwork and layouts. Nick, he's the senior manager, is really nice, and seems like he would be very supportive, and Matt, the art department director, even graduated from PIFA."
"God, Justin, that sounds like a great opportunity," Melanie remarked, although she sensed he was withholding a very important detail.
"Trust me, it is," Justin smiled.
"Did you receive an offer yet?" Ted asked, wondering where this was headed.
"Yeah, I received a formal offer yesterday, and it is out of this world. It's more money than I ever imagined, and the owner may want to keep me on part time when I go back to school if I do an outstanding job," Justin smiled proudly, again forgetting about the Brian issue for a moment.
"Oh, sweetie, that's wonderful!" Emmett exclaimed as he jumped up to hug Justin.
"Honey, you're going to have me read it over before you sign anything, right?" Melanie asked, a little worried.
"Of course I will, Mel. I'll have you look at it in a minute."
"Justin, this sounds great so far, but if you called all of us over and swore us to secrecy, there must be a catch," Ted pointed out.
"Yeah, uh, unfortunately, there is... I... I don't even know how to say this..." he cringed, and then sat down on the futon between Ben and Daphne, putting his hands over his face. He was just so damn disappointed.
"Do you want me to tell them?" Ben gently asked, sensing his frustration, as Daphne put a supportive arm around Justin's shoulders.
"Could you?" he asked.
"Sure," Ben answered as he took Justin's hand and squeezed it.
"As you can see, this is an amazing opportunity for Justin. It would allow him to gain professional experience, and at the same time, challenge his creativity. However, there is one rather large problem standing in his way. The offer he received was from Vangard," Ben stated simply.
"Vangard?" Emmett repeated in a puzzled voice. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
"Em, Vangard is Brian's firm," Ted explained.
"Oh, my goodness. Princess, how terrible!" Emmett cried.
"It fucking figures. Just when you finally get a break, he has to somehow fuck it up," Melanie muttered.
"He was very rotten to me for the few days I worked there. Hell, I had to pretend I didn't even know him," Ted recalled, shaking his head. "I know it sounds tempting Justin, but trust me, you absolutely do not want to work with him. It would be a horrible disaster."
"Teddy, maybe we should think this through a little. I mean it's not like Brian had anything to do with this," Emmett remarked, trying to lighten the mood up a bit.
"He didn't, did he?" Melanie inquired, slightly suspicious.
"Fuck no. I'm positive he doesn't even know. His partner, Vance, was the one who made the offer. According to him, I wouldn't even be working for Brian. Apparently, he is not even involved with Vangard's intern program," Justin answered.
"Yeah, he probably got caught fucking an intern, and is no longer allowed near them," Ted snickered. He then asked seriously, "Uh, Vance doesn't know about your uh, how shall we say, "history" with Brian does he?"
"No, I highly doubt it. Vance is really very surprising, though. He's actually quite pleasant. I think Brian hates him because they are too much alike," Justin commented.
"So he's hot then?" Ted asked, somewhat curious since he had worked at the firm while it was still under Ryder's ownership.
"God no. He's bald, overweight, and way too old. Besides, he's straight!" Justin smiled. "What I meant was that he's intelligent, talented, and ambitious."
"This is quite the dilemma, isn't it?" Melanie observed.
"Well, Justin, as George and I used to say, "Fuck 'em"," Emmett advised. "You earned this spot at Vangard, and you should not let some arrogant, narcissistic asshole that treated you like shit and took you for granted stand in your way. Honey, if you really want this position, take it. If Brian has a problem with it you can tell him to fuck off. Let him deal with the fact that he has to see you every day, and don't waste another moment worrying about him," he added in his typical dramatic fashion.
"Em, while I tend to agree with you, you have to admit Brian will be an absolute asshole to him. I'm sure once he finds out Justin is working there he'll make his life sheer hell. I can guarantee it. You've seen how moody he's been the past few months. He'll have Justin fired in no time," Ted argued.
"Well, I for one say let Brian Kinney suffer. He deserves to for once. If Justin is working for Vance, and Vance is the firm's general partner, I doubt Brian will have much success in firing Justin, and if he despises Brian as much as Brian has led us to believe, I doubt he would fire Justin based on his complaints. Besides, it's not as if Justin will be working "for" Brian, he'll merely be working at the same company. While it won't be easy, he's put up with Brian's shit before, he probably knows him better than any single one of us. Honey, if you really want to do this you have my support," Melanie offered.
"Thanks, Mel. Daphne and I have been discussing this nonstop for the past two days, and I just don't know if I could stand to see him every day. I really want to work there, but what if the feelings are still there?"
"Justin, Brian will always be with you, whether you're physically near him or not. He was such an important part of your life these last two years, and nothing will change that. You've accepted the fact that it would never work between the two of you, and now it's time to start taking care of yourself. You're a very talented person, and you should not let Brian stand in the way of your hopes and dreams. If you really want to accept this internship then I think you should," Ben advised.
"I think Ben's right, Justin," Daphne agreed. "However, if you are going to do this we need to come up with a "survival" plan for you. I think you can rest assured that Brian will not be easy to deal with, especially when he finds out."
"Oh, what the hell Justin, I also think you should take it. It will be so much fun to witness Brian's impending doom," Ted encouraged.
By the end of the evening, Melanie and Ted had looked over the offer and had concluded that it was perfectly acceptable. The family also decided that until Brian learned the truth they would not share this evening's information with Debbie, Vic, Michael, or Lindsay. It's not that they didn't want them to know, they just didn't want them to tell Brian. It was important that Justin got off to a good start at Vangard, and that Brian would have no advance warning. This would prevent him from having enough time to create one of his famous Kinney manipulations to sabotage Justin's first day of work.
Also, the following ground rules were established and listed out on a sheet of paper that Justin was instructed to keep in his desk at Vangard:
1. Stay out of Brian's way. Avoid areas he hangs around.
2. Pretend that you have never met Brian. Discussing him would not look good.
3. If Brian tries to interfere in your work, remind him that you do not work for him.
4. Always remember you are not here because of anything to do with Brian. You are here because you earned the privilege to be here. Inform Brian of this, if he needs reminding.
5. Do not kiss, fuck, touch, etc. Brian. Do not let him do any of these things to you.
6. Ignore any rude, sarcastic, or insulting comments he throws your way.
7. Always remember Brian is an arrogant, narcissistic asshole.
If ever Justin was having doubts or was feeling upset about the situation, he was supposed to review this list.
At the end of the evening, Justin thanked and hugged everyone for coming over. He was feeling much better now that he had discussed the situation with the family, and had come up with a "survival" plan. The one thing he didn't regret about meeting Brian was gaining such a wonderfully supportive family. He knew that with their support, he would make the most out of his internship at Vangard, and that he would not allow Brian to ruin it for him.
Monday, June 10th
6:00 p.m.
Justin & Daphne's Apartment
Daphne was cooking dinner when Justin walked into the apartment. She had been anxiously awaiting news of his first day, and now he was finally home to provide her with a full report.
"So, how was it?" she asked excitedly.
"Well, I'm alive," Justin smiled. "Actually it was amazing. I had the best day."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was great. I met Nick, who acts as my mentor and is the senior account manager I will be working for. He was really laid back, not at all like Brian. I also met Brendan Mitchell, who will be my "buddy." He's the graphic artist that handles all of Nick's accounts. I basically spent the entire day with him learning the ropes. Brendan is pretty cool for a straight guy. He helped me organize my desk, took me to lunch, and introduced me to everyone I will be working with," Justin explained.
"You have an official buddy? That seems kind of cool. What's his purpose?" Daphne curiously inquired.
"When someone new starts at the agency, they assign an employee who has been working for the firm a few years to show the new person around until they become familiar with the routine and how the agency functions," Justin answered.
"Wow, that sounds pretty decent. However, you know what I'm really dying to find out," Daphne gave him a knowing smile.
"And what might that be?" Justin drawled, playing it dumb.
"You know," Daphne came back. "So did you or didn't you?" she then questioned.
"I didn't," he answered with a smile.
"That's all you have to say?" Daphne asked, hoping for more details.
"Luckily he's out of town for the entire week," Justin elaborated. "Just think, I'll have one more week before I have to deal with his crap."
"That's great. By then you will already have adjusted to the firm, and will be busy working for Nick," Daphne said happily. "I'm beginning to think that maybe working at Vangard won't be such a bad thing."
"Yeah, maybe it won't be" Justin agreed, hoping this would be the case.
Monday, June 17th
Vangard
Brian returned to his office a week later in good spirits. His trip to Philadelphia had been very productive, and he had accomplished a great deal with Liberty Air. Hopefully this streak would continue throughout the upcoming week.
His first stop, after setting his Prada postman bag down in his office, was the break room to grab a bottle of water. As he was about to enter the room, he heard two administrative assistants giggling. He couldn't help but roll his eyes and wonder if they ever stopped gossiping. It seemed they were always chatting about some piece of office gossip or another. He was about to make a sarcastic comment when he suddenly found himself listening to their conversation.
"Speaking of hotties, Jen, have you heard about one of the new interns?"
"Which one?"
"The blond angel. You should see him. He is utterly gorgeous with that blond hair, and those baby blue eyes. What I wouldn't give to be five years younger."
"Damn, he sounds incredible. Did you find out his name?"
"No, I haven't had the chance to find out, but I'm dying to. Oh, and he has the cutest little ass!" the excited woman added.
Brian stood there transfixed as the words "blond angel, baby blue eyes, and cutest little ass" pierced the walls he had re-erected months ago. He felt overwhelmed as a memory of a certain blond angel came flooding back to him. He got hard just visualizing the angel that used to be his, before he fucked it all.... Brian immediately stopped that thought. He wouldn't let himself even believe that for a minute - it was Justin who broke the rules, Justin who fucked it all up. All he had done was push the kid off a fucking cliff. He needed to push the thoughts of the blond angel from his mind. Justin didn't matter to him anymore, he shouldn't; besides, he was better off with the fiddler. At least that's what Brian tried to tell himself on a daily basis, but the only problem was that sometimes it didn't always work.
Brian decided to pass on the water, not wanting to hear any more gossip about the "blond angel."
Later that day
Vangard
Brian had just finished a meeting on the fifteenth floor and decided to use the service center on the floor to send a quick fax before heading up to his office on seventeen.
As he stood at the fax machine about to dial the number, two girls entered the room. Brian glanced up and noticed they were rather young, and immediately concluded that they were interns. He prayed they wouldn't stare at him or giggle while he tried to send the fax.
While waiting to use the machine, one intern started to whisper something to the other, and upon hearing it, the other turned beet red and giggled. Brian hoped that they hadn't developed some type of ridiculous crush on him. The last thing he needed was two young female stalkers; he had, after all, just gotten rid of one a few months ago.
"Did you talk to him yet?" Brian heard the blonde murmur to her friend.
"I was too nervous. He is such a babe, though," she sighed as Brian felt a headache coming on.
"Oh, I know!" the blonde giggled. "Did you see those tight black pants he had on today?"
"They are amazing! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It's a shame he wasn't assigned to our intern group," the other lamented.
"I know what you mean. I would give anything to stare at those incredible blue eyes all day and..."
"Fuck!" Brian muttered as his fax suddenly jammed in the machine. The two interns turned and looked at him, shocked.
"Is there a problem?" he drawled, not about to apologize for his language.
"Uh, no," the blonde answered, a little flustered.
"Well, then, why don't you two little school girls get back to your chit-chat," Brian suggested sarcastically. Frustrated, he grabbed his mangled fax and stormed out of the room, leaving the two interns staring in disbelief at an empty doorway.
7:00 pm
Vangard
Brian had decided to call it an evening. After the fax incident, he had gotten a raging headache. He was sick of giggling women, interns, and those God-awful memories he had been having all day. Just when Brian was finally feeling that he was back to his old self, something had to remind him of Justin.
He walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the garage. Unfortunately, the elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor, and three women entered. At this point Brian didn't think his day could get any worse. More women. He didn't think he would be able to stomach it if they mentioned...
"Do you think he has a girlfriend?" one of the women whispered as Brian groaned inwardly. He was convinced he was being punished for one of his numerous sins.
"Well, I heard he lives with someone," came a hushed voice.
"Really? She must be gorgeous."
"She would have to be. He is utterly to die for with that perfect facial structure, and that blond hair some would kill for."
"Not to mention his cute little..." the woman suddenly stopped as she noticed Brian scowling.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Kinney?" one of the other women asked, hoping to put him off guard.
"Wrong?"
"It's just you seem a little tense," she offered.
"No, not at all," Brian said in his best aloof tone, as the elevator doors opened to his floor. He then stalked off the elevator, glad to be away from gossiping women. All Brian wanted to do was make it back to the loft, pour himself a Beam, and forget that the day had ever happened.
9:00 a.m.
The Following Morning
Vangard
Brian arrived at the office later than usual. He hadn't slept well. He had fallen asleep after downing several shots of Beam, but instead of falling into a deep slumber, a certain blond twink had haunted his dreams. Brian blamed the gossiping women he had been forced to endure the previous day for his restlessness. If they hadn't been singing that blond twat's praises he wouldn't have even thought about Justin. That in itself was a lie. The truth was Brian couldn't make it through an entire day without thinking about Justin. However, yesterday he had been on Brian's mind continuously.
Today all Brian wanted to do was stay in his office and focus on the latest advertising campaign for Brown Athletics. He didn't want to deal with any of Vance's bullshit, and he certainly did not want to hear one word about a certain intern. He decided to call Cynthia into his office to inform her of his plans.
"Let me guess. From the tone of your voice, you don't want to be interrupted today?" Cynthia stated as she strolled into his office.
"Precisely," Brian responded. "In addition, I don't want to deal with Vance or anyone else for that matter," he ordered.
"Sure, Brian. Anything else?"
"Yeah, if any giggling women come near my office, get rid of them. I had more than enough of that yesterday," he muttered.
"Giggling women?" Cynthia repeated, a bit surprised. She wondered what had caused him to be in such an irritable mood.
"It appears that several of the women here are too busy drooling over some "blond angel," rather than being productive. I've never seen a more pathetic sight in my life," Brian remarked as he noticed Cynthia turning red. "Don't tell me, you think he's "hot" also?" Brian couldn't believe that even his assistant was now bewitched.
"Well, uh, I honestly haven't seen him yet, but apparently he's the hottest thing to hit Vangard since Brian Kinney," she remarked. "If I were you, I would check out who the competition is," Cynthia advised.
"Why should I bother? I am the hottest thing to ever grace Vangard's door and always will be. Just because Vance hired some "cute" little breeder, doesn't mean I'm going to check him out." Brian retorted, appalled at Cynthia's suggestion.
"What makes you think he's straight?" she countered back.
"First, Vance wouldn't hire some twink as an intern. Second, he can't stand my lifestyle, and third, he's not about to hire this "angel" for me to fuck, because trust me, if he is as hot as you ladies think, I would fuck him," Brian declared.
"You do have a point, Brian. I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part," Cynthia mused.
"Enough about this twat. Remember what I said, no interruptions today."
That Afternoon
Nathan's Deli
"So, Justin, how have you enjoyed your first week and a half at Vangard?" Brendan, Justin's appointed buddy and now friend asked, while they ate lunch together.
"I love it," he said before taking another bite out of his sandwich.
"That's good to hear. You are doing really well so far," Brendan complimented.
"Thanks. I think it has really helped that I have used almost the exact same software to do my school work that is also used here at Vangard," Justin commented.
"It's helped you make a smooth transition," Brendan agreed. "I heard Nick asked you to help him set up for his meeting with GianCarlo Voltolini on Thursday," he then remarked.
"Yeah, I'm excited, but I really don't like the artwork that Natasha did for the proposal," Justin said, referring to another graphic artist that Nick worked with in the art department.
"Really? I thought it was decent, but not too spectacular. Nick seemed to really like it, though, and that's what's important in this business. Our job is to please the ad execs. Anyway, I don't think any artwork could help with Voltolini," Brendan indicated.
"How come?" Justin asked curiously.
"A few years ago when I was first starting with Ryder, the former owner, Voltolini came here shopping around. He apparently put Kinney through his paces, only to use all of his ideas with a competing firm. Supposedly his contract is up with the other firm, and he's back to his old tricks. Shopping around for the best ideas only to use them with another firm," Brendan explained to Justin.
"Wow, Kinney must have been pissed," Justin remarked, thinking of how furious Brian must have been over the incident.
"Oh he was pissed to say the least," Brendan laughed. "I swear the guy was going to rip Voltolini in two, but that's how Kinney is. I'm so glad I don't work on any of his accounts. He's a demanding prick to work for."
"I can believe it," Justin grinned, knowing Brian all too well.
"I take it you've had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting him?" Brendan inquired.
"Uh... N-no," Justin replied, suddenly remembering the family's rule that he had to pretend he had no past association with Brian.
"Good. If you happen to see him, hide. Trust me, you don't want to do anything to piss him off around here," Brendan advised.
"Does he come into the art department often?" Justin asked, hoping for some relevant information as to how Brian operated within the firm.
"God, no. He wouldn't lower himself by walking into the art department. I mean, he does occasionally, but that's only if he has an ulterior motive. Usually, he demands that the artists go up to his office to discuss anything. I think he likes to intimidate them that way," Brendan indicated.
"Well, hopefully I won't be seeing much of him since I won't be working on any of his accounts," Justin remarked, hoping this was the truth.
Thursday, June 20th
8:00 a.m.
The Diner
It was a typical Thursday morning on Liberty Avenue. The boys, Ted, Emmett, Michael, and Brian, were all sitting at their usual booth eating breakfast. Two of them were quite curious about a particular something, and were trying very hard to contain their curiosity. Finally, it reached the point at which one of them could no longer hold back.
"So, Brian," Ted began. "How are things in the wonderful world of advertising?"
"Fucking great," Brian replied with his usual sarcasm.
"Nothing out of the ordinary happening at Vangard?" Emmett inquired, trying to contain a knowing smile.
"Aside from the fact that every female in the place is mooning over some little blond twat, no, not really," Brian muttered.
"Is he hot?" Michael asked curiously, having no clue as to the real identity of the blond twat.
"I wouldn't know," Brian replied.
"You mean you haven't checked him out yet?" Ted asked in amazement. He couldn't believe that Justin had been at Vangard for almost two weeks and Brian had yet to see him.
"Why would I check out some straight kid?"
"Uh, maybe he's gay," Emmett offered.
"Sure. My homophobic prick partner would hire another queer," Brian retorted.
"Anything is possible," Ted remarked, trying to hold in the laughter.
"Why don't we just drop this subject," Brian irritably suggested. He had heard quite enough about the blond in the past three days. He didn't want to hear another word.
"Speaking of blonds, has anyone seen Justin recently?" Emmett asked surreptitiously as Ted kicked him under the table.
"Of course not," Michael replied. "He's too busy cheating on his fiddler."
"Yeah, I'm sure he's quite happy with his hubby," Brian murmured, trying not to give away any emotion.
"Uh, where have you two beautiful boys been?" Emmett inquired, rather surprised that they were unaware of the fact that Ethan was no longer in the picture.
"What do you mean?" Michael questioned.
"Well, obviously you two are out the loop when it comes to the gay grapevine. Our dear fiddler has been in Europe since the beginning of March," Emmett informed them.
"He's where?" Michael asked in a shocked voice.
"I believe what Em was trying to say is that Justin and Ethan have been split up since the end of February. From what I understand, his prince charming wasn't so charming after all. Justin left Ethan after he caught him cheating, and the fiddler has since left to pursue his career in Europe," Ted explained.
"Well, at least Boy Wonder now knows what it's like to be cheated on," Michael commented with a satisfied smile as Brian tried to absorb Ted's news.
"Michael, that's a terrible thing to say," Emmett protested, in an appalled voice.
"Well, after what he did to Brian he deserves it," Michael tried to defend himself as Brian felt his blood begin to boil.
Brian then turned to his best friend and said very forcefully, "Drop it." Michael looked quite shocked at the order while Ted and Emmett were merely surprised. It was obvious to them that Brian was still affected by Justin whether he admitted it or not.
Later that Afternoon
Vangard
Brian was sitting in his office attempting to review a proposal for one of his clients. However, his work kept being interrupted with thoughts of Justin. He had been shocked this morning by Emmett and Ted's revelation. Brian couldn't believe that no one, not even Lindsay, had told him that Justin had broken up with the fiddler. Yet, he did have to admit that any time Lindsay had tried to broach the subject of Justin, he had immediately shut her down. The others had probably assumed that Lindsay had been the one to inform him of the fiddler's demise.
Brian wasn't surprised Ethan had turned out to be a sleaze. He had always figured the guy's "romantic" nature and promises of monogamy were just a bunch of bullshit, but he had secretly hoped that the fiddler was genuine and would be able to make Justin happy. Obviously that was not what had occurred.
Brian also wondered why Justin hadn't tried to come back to him. Who better than himself for Justin to turn to when he had left his fiddler? Even stranger was the fact that while Justin had been single for the past four months, Brian had never seen him at Woody's or Babylon once. Why was the blond avoiding those places?
Brian couldn't help but worry as he continued to ponder the situation. He wondered where Justin was living, and how he was taking care of himself. As far as Brian knew, Justin had pretty much cut himself off from the family. He was unaware that he still kept in touch with everyone but Michael. He wondered who Justin was turning to for help, and if he was ok.
Brian was about to make a mental note to find out where Justin was living when Cynthia burst into his office.
"Haven't you heard of knocking?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You are not going to believe this!" she exclaimed.
"Believe what?" Brian tried to sound disinterested, but he could tell by how his assistant's behavior that she had discovered something big.
"Do you remember when you tried to land the account for that Italian restaurant, Grazie?"
"Yeah, it was a complete and total waste of time. The owner, GianCarlo Voltolini, was an absolute prick. He had no intention of signing with us and used my fucking ideas with John Smythe's firm," Brian answered, still quite bitter over losing the account.
"Well, he had a meeting this morning with Nick Stanton. It appears he was about to pull the same stunt on Stanton. However, the meeting took an interesting twist. It appears Nick's intern is the infamous "blond bombshell." Apparently the little intern was setting up the artwork for the layout when Voltolini asked him what he thought of it. Instead of keeping his mouth shut, as Stanton should have advised him to do, our ambitious toady told Voltolini he didn't care for the artwork. Voltolini then proceeded to ask him how he would change it, and the little intern spent the next half hour enthusiastically telling him how he would have drawn the layout. Stanton naturally was horrified, until Voltolini called the boy an artistic genius and praised him for having such a talented young man on staff. He insisted that the little intern draw up a preliminary sketch."
"You've got to be kidding me?" Brian sat at his desk stunned.
"Oh it gets better," Cynthia stated. "Stanton had the kid draw it up, and Voltolini loved it. He signed a two-year contract on the basis that the little intern does all the artwork on the account while he is here. He then demanded to see Vance, so that he could personally tell him how impressed he was by the blond."
"Fuck!" Brian swore, not at all pleased with what he was hearing.
"I'm not done yet. Voltolini then insisted that he treat his "genius" to lunch at Grazie to thank him for his expertise. Stanton and Vance of course accompanied, and from what I heard, the genius made quite an impression at lunch. It appears our little intern ordered his meal in perfect Italian, had quite the appetite, and wowed Voltolini with his knowledge of Italian art. By the end of the meal, Voltolini had invited the little intern to visit his vacation home in Italy on his next school break."
"This just gets better and better," Brian commented with heavy sarcasm. "Let me guess, Vance and Stanton now think their little advertising star is their new secret weapon."
"You're dead on," Cynthia confirmed.
"Unfucking believable. I spent six months trying to land that prick's account, and you mean to tell me some no talent twat, who's only here on a temporary basis, gets the account because he was stupid enough to tell Voltolini that the artwork sucked?" Brian shook his head in amazement.
"You're right, it is unfucking believable," Cynthia agreed.
"So, what's this little twat's name?" Brian inquired.
"You won't believe this, but I actually don't know what it is," Cynthia sheepishly admitted.
"You don't know?" Brian repeated in a surprised voice. He could usually count on Cynthia to be in the "know" when it came to the agency.
"Well, it's just that I haven't heard him mentioned by name before, and when I was told about today's events, Marie, Stanton's assistant, kept referring to him as Nick's intern. I didn't want to make us look like idiots because we don't know what his name is," Cynthia attempted to explain.
"You're right, we want to appear as if we know what is happening here," Brian agreed. "I think it's time I had a little chat with Vance about his new star, but first I need you to find out everything you can about him. I don't care if you have to steal his personnel file to accomplish this, but just get me the damn information," Brian ordered, furious about this latest turn of events. There was no way he would allow Vance to use this twat against him. He would have to find a way to eliminate this threat before he did any further damage.
Friday, June 21st
10 a.m.
Conference Room on the 15th floor
Vangard
Brian was in the middle of a meeting with a group of senior executives when he heard his cell phone ring. He had told Cynthia to call him on his cell if she obtained the information about the little toady while he was in his meeting. Brian looked at the display on his phone, and was delighted to see that it was Cynthia calling from inside of his office. Clearly, she had finally obtained the relevant information.
"Excuse me," Brian said to the group of seniors, "I need to take this." Brian stepped aside to answer his cell. "Yeah."
"Brian, it's me," came Cynthia's voice.
"You've found the information?" Brian inquired.
"Yeah, it's actually much worse than we...."
"I'll be up in five minutes," Brian interrupted as he gathered his files and hung up his cell. He turned to the group and said, "Gentlemen, I'm afraid something's come up. Why don't we reschedule for three o'clock this afternoon." He then left the baffled group and raced down the hallway, deciding that the internal stairs would be faster than the elevator.
As Brian hurried around a corner toward the stairway, he found himself colliding right into another body; the body of a blue eyed, blond angel that just happened to be his "little" intern. The impact alone was enough to send a familiar jolt right through him. Brian suddenly found himself looking up and staring into the eyes of...Justin.
At this point there was only one word that Brian could say, and that was, "Fuck!"
by Kim
Making it Through the Summer
Chapter 1
[Pt 2/2]
Wednesday Evening, May 8th
Justin & Daphne's Apartment
Justin stood in front of the group he had invited to his place for a family meeting. It was an unusual group to say the least. It isn't often one finds a room filled with an attorney, a college professor, an accountant/internet porn entrepreneur, an artistic blond twink, an African-American college student, and, last but not least, a disco-clothing couturier. Justin could tell the selected family members were dying to know why they had been summoned to his apartment, and had been sworn not to tell anyone where they were going. Before he explained the circumstances to them, he first needed to have a few items agreed upon.
"I know all of you are dying to know why I've invited you here tonight," Justin began. "However, before I begin, I first need to establish a few things." He reached in his pocket and took out a few dollar bills.
He approached Melanie first and handed her a bill. "Melanie, I am hiring you as my attorney tonight. I don't really need your legal services, but I would like you to invoke your attorney-client confidentiality privilege. If you accept, I would like anything I say tonight to remain in this room. That would mean not telling Lindsay. Do you think you could accept?" he asked, hoping that she would.
"For you, honey, of course I will," Melanie replied, taking the dollar from him. She had a feeling this somehow involved Brian. If it did, he would need her help, and sometimes Lindsay was not the most rational person when it came to the father of her child.
Justin then approached Ted with another bill. "Ted, I am hiring you as my accountant tonight. I don't really need your accounting services, but I would like you to invoke your accountant-client confidentiality privilege. If you accept, anything I tell you tonight cannot leave this room. This would mean not discussing this with anyone other than those assembled here tonight. Do you accept?" he asked, hoping Ted would be curious enough to accept.
"You know I will, since I'm dying to find out what all this secrecy is about," Ted smiled as he took the dollar from Justin.
Justin now approached Emmett. "Emmett, I know you are hopeless at keeping secrets, but you are one of my closest friends, and I really want to tell you. I also know Ted's not good at keeping secrets either and wouldn't be able to keep this from you. All I'm asking is that if you think there is no way you can keep tonight a secret to let me know now."
"Baby, for you I promise I will try my best not to tell a soul. Besides, as long as Ted and I both know, we can police each other. Isn't that right, Teddy?" Emmett smiled at his lover.
"Don't worry Justin, I'll make sure Em keeps his mouth shut," Ted assured.
"Thanks guys," Justin smiled. "Daphne already knows what this is about as does Ben," he explained. "Most of you know that I am responsible for my own tuition now that my dad refuses to pay it. I decided that this summer I would apply for an internship through PIFA, in hopes that I could save money from it for tuition. I also thought it would be a good way to gain job experience. Anyway, I hadn't had much luck until last week..."
"So, that's what the suit was for," Emmett realized.
"Yeah, I'm sorry if I was a little vague about it," Justin apologized, hoping Emmett wouldn't be too hurt.
"That's alright, sweetie. Now continue with your story."
"Last week I had an interview with a local firm. It's an amazing place, and I would be working there as a graphic artist. The art department is out of this world, and there are so many talented individuals there," Justin enthused, forgetting for a moment about the Brian issue. "I interviewed with the owner, and he is totally cool. He's not gay or anything, but he's from Britain. He said that I would be working for one of his senior managers designing artwork and layouts. Nick, he's the senior manager, is really nice, and seems like he would be very supportive, and Matt, the art department director, even graduated from PIFA."
"God, Justin, that sounds like a great opportunity," Melanie remarked, although she sensed he was withholding a very important detail.
"Trust me, it is," Justin smiled.
"Did you receive an offer yet?" Ted asked, wondering where this was headed.
"Yeah, I received a formal offer yesterday, and it is out of this world. It's more money than I ever imagined, and the owner may want to keep me on part time when I go back to school if I do an outstanding job," Justin smiled proudly, again forgetting about the Brian issue for a moment.
"Oh, sweetie, that's wonderful!" Emmett exclaimed as he jumped up to hug Justin.
"Honey, you're going to have me read it over before you sign anything, right?" Melanie asked, a little worried.
"Of course I will, Mel. I'll have you look at it in a minute."
"Justin, this sounds great so far, but if you called all of us over and swore us to secrecy, there must be a catch," Ted pointed out.
"Yeah, uh, unfortunately, there is... I... I don't even know how to say this..." he cringed, and then sat down on the futon between Ben and Daphne, putting his hands over his face. He was just so damn disappointed.
"Do you want me to tell them?" Ben gently asked, sensing his frustration, as Daphne put a supportive arm around Justin's shoulders.
"Could you?" he asked.
"Sure," Ben answered as he took Justin's hand and squeezed it.
"As you can see, this is an amazing opportunity for Justin. It would allow him to gain professional experience, and at the same time, challenge his creativity. However, there is one rather large problem standing in his way. The offer he received was from Vangard," Ben stated simply.
"Vangard?" Emmett repeated in a puzzled voice. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
"Em, Vangard is Brian's firm," Ted explained.
"Oh, my goodness. Princess, how terrible!" Emmett cried.
"It fucking figures. Just when you finally get a break, he has to somehow fuck it up," Melanie muttered.
"He was very rotten to me for the few days I worked there. Hell, I had to pretend I didn't even know him," Ted recalled, shaking his head. "I know it sounds tempting Justin, but trust me, you absolutely do not want to work with him. It would be a horrible disaster."
"Teddy, maybe we should think this through a little. I mean it's not like Brian had anything to do with this," Emmett remarked, trying to lighten the mood up a bit.
"He didn't, did he?" Melanie inquired, slightly suspicious.
"Fuck no. I'm positive he doesn't even know. His partner, Vance, was the one who made the offer. According to him, I wouldn't even be working for Brian. Apparently, he is not even involved with Vangard's intern program," Justin answered.
"Yeah, he probably got caught fucking an intern, and is no longer allowed near them," Ted snickered. He then asked seriously, "Uh, Vance doesn't know about your uh, how shall we say, "history" with Brian does he?"
"No, I highly doubt it. Vance is really very surprising, though. He's actually quite pleasant. I think Brian hates him because they are too much alike," Justin commented.
"So he's hot then?" Ted asked, somewhat curious since he had worked at the firm while it was still under Ryder's ownership.
"God no. He's bald, overweight, and way too old. Besides, he's straight!" Justin smiled. "What I meant was that he's intelligent, talented, and ambitious."
"This is quite the dilemma, isn't it?" Melanie observed.
"Well, Justin, as George and I used to say, "Fuck 'em"," Emmett advised. "You earned this spot at Vangard, and you should not let some arrogant, narcissistic asshole that treated you like shit and took you for granted stand in your way. Honey, if you really want this position, take it. If Brian has a problem with it you can tell him to fuck off. Let him deal with the fact that he has to see you every day, and don't waste another moment worrying about him," he added in his typical dramatic fashion.
"Em, while I tend to agree with you, you have to admit Brian will be an absolute asshole to him. I'm sure once he finds out Justin is working there he'll make his life sheer hell. I can guarantee it. You've seen how moody he's been the past few months. He'll have Justin fired in no time," Ted argued.
"Well, I for one say let Brian Kinney suffer. He deserves to for once. If Justin is working for Vance, and Vance is the firm's general partner, I doubt Brian will have much success in firing Justin, and if he despises Brian as much as Brian has led us to believe, I doubt he would fire Justin based on his complaints. Besides, it's not as if Justin will be working "for" Brian, he'll merely be working at the same company. While it won't be easy, he's put up with Brian's shit before, he probably knows him better than any single one of us. Honey, if you really want to do this you have my support," Melanie offered.
"Thanks, Mel. Daphne and I have been discussing this nonstop for the past two days, and I just don't know if I could stand to see him every day. I really want to work there, but what if the feelings are still there?"
"Justin, Brian will always be with you, whether you're physically near him or not. He was such an important part of your life these last two years, and nothing will change that. You've accepted the fact that it would never work between the two of you, and now it's time to start taking care of yourself. You're a very talented person, and you should not let Brian stand in the way of your hopes and dreams. If you really want to accept this internship then I think you should," Ben advised.
"I think Ben's right, Justin," Daphne agreed. "However, if you are going to do this we need to come up with a "survival" plan for you. I think you can rest assured that Brian will not be easy to deal with, especially when he finds out."
"Oh, what the hell Justin, I also think you should take it. It will be so much fun to witness Brian's impending doom," Ted encouraged.
By the end of the evening, Melanie and Ted had looked over the offer and had concluded that it was perfectly acceptable. The family also decided that until Brian learned the truth they would not share this evening's information with Debbie, Vic, Michael, or Lindsay. It's not that they didn't want them to know, they just didn't want them to tell Brian. It was important that Justin got off to a good start at Vangard, and that Brian would have no advance warning. This would prevent him from having enough time to create one of his famous Kinney manipulations to sabotage Justin's first day of work.
Also, the following ground rules were established and listed out on a sheet of paper that Justin was instructed to keep in his desk at Vangard:
1. Stay out of Brian's way. Avoid areas he hangs around.
2. Pretend that you have never met Brian. Discussing him would not look good.
3. If Brian tries to interfere in your work, remind him that you do not work for him.
4. Always remember you are not here because of anything to do with Brian. You are here because you earned the privilege to be here. Inform Brian of this, if he needs reminding.
5. Do not kiss, fuck, touch, etc. Brian. Do not let him do any of these things to you.
6. Ignore any rude, sarcastic, or insulting comments he throws your way.
7. Always remember Brian is an arrogant, narcissistic asshole.
If ever Justin was having doubts or was feeling upset about the situation, he was supposed to review this list.
At the end of the evening, Justin thanked and hugged everyone for coming over. He was feeling much better now that he had discussed the situation with the family, and had come up with a "survival" plan. The one thing he didn't regret about meeting Brian was gaining such a wonderfully supportive family. He knew that with their support, he would make the most out of his internship at Vangard, and that he would not allow Brian to ruin it for him.
Monday, June 10th
6:00 p.m.
Justin & Daphne's Apartment
Daphne was cooking dinner when Justin walked into the apartment. She had been anxiously awaiting news of his first day, and now he was finally home to provide her with a full report.
"So, how was it?" she asked excitedly.
"Well, I'm alive," Justin smiled. "Actually it was amazing. I had the best day."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was great. I met Nick, who acts as my mentor and is the senior account manager I will be working for. He was really laid back, not at all like Brian. I also met Brendan Mitchell, who will be my "buddy." He's the graphic artist that handles all of Nick's accounts. I basically spent the entire day with him learning the ropes. Brendan is pretty cool for a straight guy. He helped me organize my desk, took me to lunch, and introduced me to everyone I will be working with," Justin explained.
"You have an official buddy? That seems kind of cool. What's his purpose?" Daphne curiously inquired.
"When someone new starts at the agency, they assign an employee who has been working for the firm a few years to show the new person around until they become familiar with the routine and how the agency functions," Justin answered.
"Wow, that sounds pretty decent. However, you know what I'm really dying to find out," Daphne gave him a knowing smile.
"And what might that be?" Justin drawled, playing it dumb.
"You know," Daphne came back. "So did you or didn't you?" she then questioned.
"I didn't," he answered with a smile.
"That's all you have to say?" Daphne asked, hoping for more details.
"Luckily he's out of town for the entire week," Justin elaborated. "Just think, I'll have one more week before I have to deal with his crap."
"That's great. By then you will already have adjusted to the firm, and will be busy working for Nick," Daphne said happily. "I'm beginning to think that maybe working at Vangard won't be such a bad thing."
"Yeah, maybe it won't be" Justin agreed, hoping this would be the case.
Monday, June 17th
Vangard
Brian returned to his office a week later in good spirits. His trip to Philadelphia had been very productive, and he had accomplished a great deal with Liberty Air. Hopefully this streak would continue throughout the upcoming week.
His first stop, after setting his Prada postman bag down in his office, was the break room to grab a bottle of water. As he was about to enter the room, he heard two administrative assistants giggling. He couldn't help but roll his eyes and wonder if they ever stopped gossiping. It seemed they were always chatting about some piece of office gossip or another. He was about to make a sarcastic comment when he suddenly found himself listening to their conversation.
"Speaking of hotties, Jen, have you heard about one of the new interns?"
"Which one?"
"The blond angel. You should see him. He is utterly gorgeous with that blond hair, and those baby blue eyes. What I wouldn't give to be five years younger."
"Damn, he sounds incredible. Did you find out his name?"
"No, I haven't had the chance to find out, but I'm dying to. Oh, and he has the cutest little ass!" the excited woman added.
Brian stood there transfixed as the words "blond angel, baby blue eyes, and cutest little ass" pierced the walls he had re-erected months ago. He felt overwhelmed as a memory of a certain blond angel came flooding back to him. He got hard just visualizing the angel that used to be his, before he fucked it all.... Brian immediately stopped that thought. He wouldn't let himself even believe that for a minute - it was Justin who broke the rules, Justin who fucked it all up. All he had done was push the kid off a fucking cliff. He needed to push the thoughts of the blond angel from his mind. Justin didn't matter to him anymore, he shouldn't; besides, he was better off with the fiddler. At least that's what Brian tried to tell himself on a daily basis, but the only problem was that sometimes it didn't always work.
Brian decided to pass on the water, not wanting to hear any more gossip about the "blond angel."
Later that day
Vangard
Brian had just finished a meeting on the fifteenth floor and decided to use the service center on the floor to send a quick fax before heading up to his office on seventeen.
As he stood at the fax machine about to dial the number, two girls entered the room. Brian glanced up and noticed they were rather young, and immediately concluded that they were interns. He prayed they wouldn't stare at him or giggle while he tried to send the fax.
While waiting to use the machine, one intern started to whisper something to the other, and upon hearing it, the other turned beet red and giggled. Brian hoped that they hadn't developed some type of ridiculous crush on him. The last thing he needed was two young female stalkers; he had, after all, just gotten rid of one a few months ago.
"Did you talk to him yet?" Brian heard the blonde murmur to her friend.
"I was too nervous. He is such a babe, though," she sighed as Brian felt a headache coming on.
"Oh, I know!" the blonde giggled. "Did you see those tight black pants he had on today?"
"They are amazing! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It's a shame he wasn't assigned to our intern group," the other lamented.
"I know what you mean. I would give anything to stare at those incredible blue eyes all day and..."
"Fuck!" Brian muttered as his fax suddenly jammed in the machine. The two interns turned and looked at him, shocked.
"Is there a problem?" he drawled, not about to apologize for his language.
"Uh, no," the blonde answered, a little flustered.
"Well, then, why don't you two little school girls get back to your chit-chat," Brian suggested sarcastically. Frustrated, he grabbed his mangled fax and stormed out of the room, leaving the two interns staring in disbelief at an empty doorway.
7:00 pm
Vangard
Brian had decided to call it an evening. After the fax incident, he had gotten a raging headache. He was sick of giggling women, interns, and those God-awful memories he had been having all day. Just when Brian was finally feeling that he was back to his old self, something had to remind him of Justin.
He walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the garage. Unfortunately, the elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor, and three women entered. At this point Brian didn't think his day could get any worse. More women. He didn't think he would be able to stomach it if they mentioned...
"Do you think he has a girlfriend?" one of the women whispered as Brian groaned inwardly. He was convinced he was being punished for one of his numerous sins.
"Well, I heard he lives with someone," came a hushed voice.
"Really? She must be gorgeous."
"She would have to be. He is utterly to die for with that perfect facial structure, and that blond hair some would kill for."
"Not to mention his cute little..." the woman suddenly stopped as she noticed Brian scowling.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Kinney?" one of the other women asked, hoping to put him off guard.
"Wrong?"
"It's just you seem a little tense," she offered.
"No, not at all," Brian said in his best aloof tone, as the elevator doors opened to his floor. He then stalked off the elevator, glad to be away from gossiping women. All Brian wanted to do was make it back to the loft, pour himself a Beam, and forget that the day had ever happened.
9:00 a.m.
The Following Morning
Vangard
Brian arrived at the office later than usual. He hadn't slept well. He had fallen asleep after downing several shots of Beam, but instead of falling into a deep slumber, a certain blond twink had haunted his dreams. Brian blamed the gossiping women he had been forced to endure the previous day for his restlessness. If they hadn't been singing that blond twat's praises he wouldn't have even thought about Justin. That in itself was a lie. The truth was Brian couldn't make it through an entire day without thinking about Justin. However, yesterday he had been on Brian's mind continuously.
Today all Brian wanted to do was stay in his office and focus on the latest advertising campaign for Brown Athletics. He didn't want to deal with any of Vance's bullshit, and he certainly did not want to hear one word about a certain intern. He decided to call Cynthia into his office to inform her of his plans.
"Let me guess. From the tone of your voice, you don't want to be interrupted today?" Cynthia stated as she strolled into his office.
"Precisely," Brian responded. "In addition, I don't want to deal with Vance or anyone else for that matter," he ordered.
"Sure, Brian. Anything else?"
"Yeah, if any giggling women come near my office, get rid of them. I had more than enough of that yesterday," he muttered.
"Giggling women?" Cynthia repeated, a bit surprised. She wondered what had caused him to be in such an irritable mood.
"It appears that several of the women here are too busy drooling over some "blond angel," rather than being productive. I've never seen a more pathetic sight in my life," Brian remarked as he noticed Cynthia turning red. "Don't tell me, you think he's "hot" also?" Brian couldn't believe that even his assistant was now bewitched.
"Well, uh, I honestly haven't seen him yet, but apparently he's the hottest thing to hit Vangard since Brian Kinney," she remarked. "If I were you, I would check out who the competition is," Cynthia advised.
"Why should I bother? I am the hottest thing to ever grace Vangard's door and always will be. Just because Vance hired some "cute" little breeder, doesn't mean I'm going to check him out." Brian retorted, appalled at Cynthia's suggestion.
"What makes you think he's straight?" she countered back.
"First, Vance wouldn't hire some twink as an intern. Second, he can't stand my lifestyle, and third, he's not about to hire this "angel" for me to fuck, because trust me, if he is as hot as you ladies think, I would fuck him," Brian declared.
"You do have a point, Brian. I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part," Cynthia mused.
"Enough about this twat. Remember what I said, no interruptions today."
That Afternoon
Nathan's Deli
"So, Justin, how have you enjoyed your first week and a half at Vangard?" Brendan, Justin's appointed buddy and now friend asked, while they ate lunch together.
"I love it," he said before taking another bite out of his sandwich.
"That's good to hear. You are doing really well so far," Brendan complimented.
"Thanks. I think it has really helped that I have used almost the exact same software to do my school work that is also used here at Vangard," Justin commented.
"It's helped you make a smooth transition," Brendan agreed. "I heard Nick asked you to help him set up for his meeting with GianCarlo Voltolini on Thursday," he then remarked.
"Yeah, I'm excited, but I really don't like the artwork that Natasha did for the proposal," Justin said, referring to another graphic artist that Nick worked with in the art department.
"Really? I thought it was decent, but not too spectacular. Nick seemed to really like it, though, and that's what's important in this business. Our job is to please the ad execs. Anyway, I don't think any artwork could help with Voltolini," Brendan indicated.
"How come?" Justin asked curiously.
"A few years ago when I was first starting with Ryder, the former owner, Voltolini came here shopping around. He apparently put Kinney through his paces, only to use all of his ideas with a competing firm. Supposedly his contract is up with the other firm, and he's back to his old tricks. Shopping around for the best ideas only to use them with another firm," Brendan explained to Justin.
"Wow, Kinney must have been pissed," Justin remarked, thinking of how furious Brian must have been over the incident.
"Oh he was pissed to say the least," Brendan laughed. "I swear the guy was going to rip Voltolini in two, but that's how Kinney is. I'm so glad I don't work on any of his accounts. He's a demanding prick to work for."
"I can believe it," Justin grinned, knowing Brian all too well.
"I take it you've had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting him?" Brendan inquired.
"Uh... N-no," Justin replied, suddenly remembering the family's rule that he had to pretend he had no past association with Brian.
"Good. If you happen to see him, hide. Trust me, you don't want to do anything to piss him off around here," Brendan advised.
"Does he come into the art department often?" Justin asked, hoping for some relevant information as to how Brian operated within the firm.
"God, no. He wouldn't lower himself by walking into the art department. I mean, he does occasionally, but that's only if he has an ulterior motive. Usually, he demands that the artists go up to his office to discuss anything. I think he likes to intimidate them that way," Brendan indicated.
"Well, hopefully I won't be seeing much of him since I won't be working on any of his accounts," Justin remarked, hoping this was the truth.
Thursday, June 20th
8:00 a.m.
The Diner
It was a typical Thursday morning on Liberty Avenue. The boys, Ted, Emmett, Michael, and Brian, were all sitting at their usual booth eating breakfast. Two of them were quite curious about a particular something, and were trying very hard to contain their curiosity. Finally, it reached the point at which one of them could no longer hold back.
"So, Brian," Ted began. "How are things in the wonderful world of advertising?"
"Fucking great," Brian replied with his usual sarcasm.
"Nothing out of the ordinary happening at Vangard?" Emmett inquired, trying to contain a knowing smile.
"Aside from the fact that every female in the place is mooning over some little blond twat, no, not really," Brian muttered.
"Is he hot?" Michael asked curiously, having no clue as to the real identity of the blond twat.
"I wouldn't know," Brian replied.
"You mean you haven't checked him out yet?" Ted asked in amazement. He couldn't believe that Justin had been at Vangard for almost two weeks and Brian had yet to see him.
"Why would I check out some straight kid?"
"Uh, maybe he's gay," Emmett offered.
"Sure. My homophobic prick partner would hire another queer," Brian retorted.
"Anything is possible," Ted remarked, trying to hold in the laughter.
"Why don't we just drop this subject," Brian irritably suggested. He had heard quite enough about the blond in the past three days. He didn't want to hear another word.
"Speaking of blonds, has anyone seen Justin recently?" Emmett asked surreptitiously as Ted kicked him under the table.
"Of course not," Michael replied. "He's too busy cheating on his fiddler."
"Yeah, I'm sure he's quite happy with his hubby," Brian murmured, trying not to give away any emotion.
"Uh, where have you two beautiful boys been?" Emmett inquired, rather surprised that they were unaware of the fact that Ethan was no longer in the picture.
"What do you mean?" Michael questioned.
"Well, obviously you two are out the loop when it comes to the gay grapevine. Our dear fiddler has been in Europe since the beginning of March," Emmett informed them.
"He's where?" Michael asked in a shocked voice.
"I believe what Em was trying to say is that Justin and Ethan have been split up since the end of February. From what I understand, his prince charming wasn't so charming after all. Justin left Ethan after he caught him cheating, and the fiddler has since left to pursue his career in Europe," Ted explained.
"Well, at least Boy Wonder now knows what it's like to be cheated on," Michael commented with a satisfied smile as Brian tried to absorb Ted's news.
"Michael, that's a terrible thing to say," Emmett protested, in an appalled voice.
"Well, after what he did to Brian he deserves it," Michael tried to defend himself as Brian felt his blood begin to boil.
Brian then turned to his best friend and said very forcefully, "Drop it." Michael looked quite shocked at the order while Ted and Emmett were merely surprised. It was obvious to them that Brian was still affected by Justin whether he admitted it or not.
Later that Afternoon
Vangard
Brian was sitting in his office attempting to review a proposal for one of his clients. However, his work kept being interrupted with thoughts of Justin. He had been shocked this morning by Emmett and Ted's revelation. Brian couldn't believe that no one, not even Lindsay, had told him that Justin had broken up with the fiddler. Yet, he did have to admit that any time Lindsay had tried to broach the subject of Justin, he had immediately shut her down. The others had probably assumed that Lindsay had been the one to inform him of the fiddler's demise.
Brian wasn't surprised Ethan had turned out to be a sleaze. He had always figured the guy's "romantic" nature and promises of monogamy were just a bunch of bullshit, but he had secretly hoped that the fiddler was genuine and would be able to make Justin happy. Obviously that was not what had occurred.
Brian also wondered why Justin hadn't tried to come back to him. Who better than himself for Justin to turn to when he had left his fiddler? Even stranger was the fact that while Justin had been single for the past four months, Brian had never seen him at Woody's or Babylon once. Why was the blond avoiding those places?
Brian couldn't help but worry as he continued to ponder the situation. He wondered where Justin was living, and how he was taking care of himself. As far as Brian knew, Justin had pretty much cut himself off from the family. He was unaware that he still kept in touch with everyone but Michael. He wondered who Justin was turning to for help, and if he was ok.
Brian was about to make a mental note to find out where Justin was living when Cynthia burst into his office.
"Haven't you heard of knocking?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You are not going to believe this!" she exclaimed.
"Believe what?" Brian tried to sound disinterested, but he could tell by how his assistant's behavior that she had discovered something big.
"Do you remember when you tried to land the account for that Italian restaurant, Grazie?"
"Yeah, it was a complete and total waste of time. The owner, GianCarlo Voltolini, was an absolute prick. He had no intention of signing with us and used my fucking ideas with John Smythe's firm," Brian answered, still quite bitter over losing the account.
"Well, he had a meeting this morning with Nick Stanton. It appears he was about to pull the same stunt on Stanton. However, the meeting took an interesting twist. It appears Nick's intern is the infamous "blond bombshell." Apparently the little intern was setting up the artwork for the layout when Voltolini asked him what he thought of it. Instead of keeping his mouth shut, as Stanton should have advised him to do, our ambitious toady told Voltolini he didn't care for the artwork. Voltolini then proceeded to ask him how he would change it, and the little intern spent the next half hour enthusiastically telling him how he would have drawn the layout. Stanton naturally was horrified, until Voltolini called the boy an artistic genius and praised him for having such a talented young man on staff. He insisted that the little intern draw up a preliminary sketch."
"You've got to be kidding me?" Brian sat at his desk stunned.
"Oh it gets better," Cynthia stated. "Stanton had the kid draw it up, and Voltolini loved it. He signed a two-year contract on the basis that the little intern does all the artwork on the account while he is here. He then demanded to see Vance, so that he could personally tell him how impressed he was by the blond."
"Fuck!" Brian swore, not at all pleased with what he was hearing.
"I'm not done yet. Voltolini then insisted that he treat his "genius" to lunch at Grazie to thank him for his expertise. Stanton and Vance of course accompanied, and from what I heard, the genius made quite an impression at lunch. It appears our little intern ordered his meal in perfect Italian, had quite the appetite, and wowed Voltolini with his knowledge of Italian art. By the end of the meal, Voltolini had invited the little intern to visit his vacation home in Italy on his next school break."
"This just gets better and better," Brian commented with heavy sarcasm. "Let me guess, Vance and Stanton now think their little advertising star is their new secret weapon."
"You're dead on," Cynthia confirmed.
"Unfucking believable. I spent six months trying to land that prick's account, and you mean to tell me some no talent twat, who's only here on a temporary basis, gets the account because he was stupid enough to tell Voltolini that the artwork sucked?" Brian shook his head in amazement.
"You're right, it is unfucking believable," Cynthia agreed.
"So, what's this little twat's name?" Brian inquired.
"You won't believe this, but I actually don't know what it is," Cynthia sheepishly admitted.
"You don't know?" Brian repeated in a surprised voice. He could usually count on Cynthia to be in the "know" when it came to the agency.
"Well, it's just that I haven't heard him mentioned by name before, and when I was told about today's events, Marie, Stanton's assistant, kept referring to him as Nick's intern. I didn't want to make us look like idiots because we don't know what his name is," Cynthia attempted to explain.
"You're right, we want to appear as if we know what is happening here," Brian agreed. "I think it's time I had a little chat with Vance about his new star, but first I need you to find out everything you can about him. I don't care if you have to steal his personnel file to accomplish this, but just get me the damn information," Brian ordered, furious about this latest turn of events. There was no way he would allow Vance to use this twat against him. He would have to find a way to eliminate this threat before he did any further damage.
Friday, June 21st
10 a.m.
Conference Room on the 15th floor
Vangard
Brian was in the middle of a meeting with a group of senior executives when he heard his cell phone ring. He had told Cynthia to call him on his cell if she obtained the information about the little toady while he was in his meeting. Brian looked at the display on his phone, and was delighted to see that it was Cynthia calling from inside of his office. Clearly, she had finally obtained the relevant information.
"Excuse me," Brian said to the group of seniors, "I need to take this." Brian stepped aside to answer his cell. "Yeah."
"Brian, it's me," came Cynthia's voice.
"You've found the information?" Brian inquired.
"Yeah, it's actually much worse than we...."
"I'll be up in five minutes," Brian interrupted as he gathered his files and hung up his cell. He turned to the group and said, "Gentlemen, I'm afraid something's come up. Why don't we reschedule for three o'clock this afternoon." He then left the baffled group and raced down the hallway, deciding that the internal stairs would be faster than the elevator.
As Brian hurried around a corner toward the stairway, he found himself colliding right into another body; the body of a blue eyed, blond angel that just happened to be his "little" intern. The impact alone was enough to send a familiar jolt right through him. Brian suddenly found himself looking up and staring into the eyes of...Justin.
At this point there was only one word that Brian could say, and that was, "Fuck!"