The Worst Thing - Part 2

“Brian, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Vance repeated over the phone.

“Well, I do,” Brian said firmly.  “We had absolutely no information going into this.  Did you know that besides us and DDT there are two more New York firms going after them?”

“Nobody gives a shit about some mediocre firms,” Vance said arrogantly.

“DDT is the fifth in the country,” Brian countered.

“Yes, and we’re third.  So what?”

Brian sighed in aggravation.  His partner was the most frustrating man he ever had the displeasure of working with.  “Look, that doesn’t matter.  Wilde is not going to look at who AAF put on their front page.  He’s going to look at talent.  And believe me, they’ve got talent.”  THAT he knew first hand.  Nobody in his firm could even compare to Justin.  “And they’ve got the home court advantage.”

“I still don’t think moving half of the staff to Chicago is the answer,” Vance said.

Brian took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from lashing out at the other man.  Instead he decided to try a direct approach.  “Gardner, do you want this account?”

There was a pause on the other line.  “Yes.”

“Are you ready to do whatever it takes to get this account?”

“Yes,” Vance said in defeat.

“Then get me what I need.”  With that Brian hung up the phone, not waiting for a number of lame excuses that Vance was sure to throw at him.

~~~***~~~***~~~

“Justin, I don’t think you’re being fair,” Gordon Mason said after listening to Justin’s proposition.

Justin stopped pacing around the room and looked at his boss.  This was not going like he planned.  “I’m not trying to be.  I’m trying to get this account.”

“So are Cooper and the rest of this firm.”

The firm was too set in its ways to even think about changing how they did things.  But Justin was determined not to let that get in his way.  He always got what he wanted.  And at the moment what he wanted was Wilde’s Department Store account.  Realizing that his plan wasn’t working, he decided to take a different approach.  He sat down in a chair next to Mason and looked him straight in the eye.  “Cooper is a great ad-ex.  Great idea man.  But that’s all he is.  You need someone with imagination leading this account.  There are three other firms that are trying to get Wilde’s account.  And that’s all they’ve got as well…good idea men.  We need something different.”

Mason looked away, mulling it over.  “How can you be so sure that this is the right approach?”

Justin leaned back in his chair, pleased.  He had gotten Mason’s attention.  “Vanguard agency is the only threat right now and I KNOW how they work.  And believe me when I tell you, Cooper doesn’t stand a chance against Brian Kinney.  He’s the best at what he does.  We might as well throw the towel in now and not waste our time.”

Now it was Mason’s turn to pace around the room while Justin patiently waited for his decision.  Finally, the older man stopped and looked at Justin.  “Ok.  You got it.  You’re the main man on this account.  But I want you to include Cooper on all your meetings and discussions since he’s the one who’s going to be making the pitch.”

Justin smiled as he stood up, satisfied.  “Of course.”

“AND you’re reporting directly to me.”

Justin paused, understanding exactly what it meant.  It was a test.  If he could pull this off, getting the promotion would be only the beginning of bigger and better things to come.  He shook Mason’s hand with a smile.  “I understand.”

He was almost out the door when something crossed his mind.  “You’re a member of Cypress club, aren’t you?” he asked, turning back to his boss.

Mason looked at him, quizzically.  “Yes.  But I haven’t been there in ages.”

“I think maybe it’s time you started going again,” Justin said, standing next to the older man.  “Say, this Thursday?”

“What are you talking about?” 

“Mr. Thomas Wilde plays golf with his son every Thursday afternoon.  Then stays until about ten pm in the lounge drinking cognac and listening to jazz,” Justin explained.

Mason took a minute to think about it.  “Yes, I believe our wives are on the same committee.”  The two men shared a look and Justin smiled.  “The car will be waiting outside at seven-thirty sharp Thursday night,” the older man said.

“I’ll be there,” Justin nodded and promptly left the room.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Justin stared at the computer screen, willing his brain to cooperate. 

“Don’t you think it’s time to wrap it up for tonight?” Rachel asked standing in the doorway.

Justin turned around to look at her, feeling incredibly tired.  He rubbed his neck.  “Need to get it done.  But you go ahead.”

Instead of leaving, Rachel moved over to him and began rubbing his shoulders.  “Justin, it’s almost nine.  Go home.  Go to a club.  Just go.”

“You’re THAT sick of me?” he chuckled.

“You have no idea,” she responded.

He sighed, realizing that he had been a pain lately.  Or at least, more of one than usual.  “I just have to finish this up,” he said, sounding like a child bargaining with his mother for an extra five minutes of TV time.

“No, that’s it,” Rachel said, closing the folder on Justin’s desk and saving everything on the computer before Justin even had time to react.

“Rach, who is the boss here?” he asked, half jokingly.

She straightened up and, crossing her hands on her chest, stared at him.  Which he knew wasn’t a good sign.  He braced himself for what was to come.  “Justin, we have a lot of work ahead of us before you get this account.  And then even more work after that.  You wearing yourself out on the second day is not going to help matters.”

He reclined in his chair and stared back her.  He knew she was right.  But he wasn’t about to give in that easily.  She was his assistant, after all.

“Here,” he held up an interoffice envelope.  “Get this to Mason and you can go.”

He watched her sigh in exasperation and then leave the office.  When he was sure she was gone, he packed up and left as well.  Unwind.  Yes.  That was exactly what the doctor ordered.  He quickly drove home through the streets of downtown.  The first stop when he walked into his apartment was the fridge.  He took out the leftovers from the weekend and put them in the microwave as he headed to the bedroom.  Taking a quick shower and getting dressed, he once again made his way back into the kitchen and ate in silence. 

With his stomach all taken care off, he headed out to the best place he knew to clear his head.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Hot air hit his face as soon as Brian walked inside.  He looked around.  Madrigal was a lot like Babylon.  Big.  Loud.  And hundreds of sweaty hot men dancing and fucking in every corner. 

Brian made his way through the dance floor and toward the bar, scanning the crowd for a potential fuck in the meantime.  He loved knowing that even at thirty-eight he could still turn heads.  A lot of heads.  Men were sticking to him like flies.  Lack of choice had never been his problem. 

He was about to order a drink when his eyes settled on a blonde coming down the stairs.  Justin was wearing a dark blue sweater that stuck to him like second skin and black leather pants.  He looked incredibly hot.  Brian couldn’t take his eyes off of Justin as the younger man made his way through the crowd toward him. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Justin asked, leaning against the bar.

“Is that your standard greeting?” Brian scoffed.  He looked around and realized that all eyes were now on his former lover.  This was definitely Justin’s territory.  And from the way the blonde carried himself, he knew it too.

Justin glared at him, but offered no response.  Instead he ordered a double shot of JB.

“I figured since I’m in town, I might as well check out YOUR playground,” Brian said, trying to break the silence.

“And get a few toys for yourself in the meantime,” Justin added, putting his glass down and turning to him.

Brian smirked, “THAT is always an option.”

Justin sneered, but said nothing, focusing his attention on a few guys across the bar.

While Justin seemed to be completely nonchalant, Brian was getting exasperated.  This was the same man that could talk his ears off before.  Now getting two words out of him that weren’t drowned in sarcasm and bitterness was impossible.

“So, who’s good here?”  The ad exec asked, trying to get the blonde’s attention.

The blue eyes focused on him again, studying his face carefully.  “Like you said, Brian, this is MY playground,” Justin finally said.  “Go back to your own.”

Brian was stunned into silence.  It wasn’t even what Justin said.  It was the way he said it.  The iciness of his voice, his face.

Finally he found his voice again.  “What the fuck’s the matter with you?”

If Brian was trying to get some sort of reaction out of Justin, he failed miserably.  The artist just stared at him, his face expressionless.  “Nothing.  I’m fine.  In fact, I’m great.” Justin replied in monotone voice.  “You know what would make it even better?

Brian arched his eyebrow.

“You.  Gone.”

Brian stared at him as if Justin just punched him in the stomach.  He had no comeback for that.  No smart retort.  Nothing to say at all. 

“Hey there,” a brunette said to Justin.

Justin turned and looked the guy over, then sneered.  “I can do better.”  Shooting one last glance at Brian, he stalked off in search of new prey as Brian and the rejected trick watched him walk away.

Then the trick turned to Brian, putting a fake smile on again.  Brian just chuckled.  There was no way he was getting Justin’s rejects.  “I can definitely do better,” he said, heading into the backroom.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Thursday night rolled around and Justin found himself getting out of Mason’s car in front of the main entrance to Cypress Golf Club.  He took a deep breath in as the big heavy doors were opened in front of him.  He wasn’t nervous.  NOW was not the time to be nervous.  In face, he had done this before.  Going after a client.  He even did a couple of pitches himself, when the campaigns were graphic-driven.  But this was a whole other ball game.  This was the biggest account of his career.  And more importantly, it was HIS account now. 

He followed Mason and the hostess.  When the two of them were seated at a table, Justin searched the room.  “He’s here,” he said when his eyes settled on an older gentlemen across the room.  He was about to stand up when he noticed Wilde’s companion.  Justin felt like the wind was knocked out of him.  This was ridiculous.  He hasn’t seen or heard from Brian in four years and now Brian was everywhere.  It was like he couldn’t get away from him, no matter what.

“Justin?”  Mason’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He just nodded and followed his boss as the two of them crossed the room. 

“Thomas!  Gordon Mason,” Mason introduced himself, taking Wilde’s hand in his. 

“Oh, yes, of course, Gordon.  How have you been?” The older man stood up, shaking hands.

Justin could feel Brian’s gaze on him burning a hole in his face, as he tried to focus on the two older men. 

“Great.  Just great.  I’d like to introduce you to Justin Taylor.”

Justin shook the other man’s hand.  “It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Justin smiled.

“Likewise, young man, likewise.”  Thomas Wilde responded.  “Do you know Mr. Kinney?”

They all turned to Brian, but the two older men missed the look that passed between Brian and Justin.

“Yes.  Brian presented the award to me earlier this week,” Justin said, looking Brian straight in the eye.  “It’s nice to see you again.”  He held out his hand as the other man stood up.  It felt like a jolt of electricity went through him when their hands touched. 

“Yes, you too,” Brian said.

Justin quickly pulled his hand out of Brian’s, trying to steady his heartbeat while Brian said hello to Mason.

“Oh, yes, I heard about that.  Congratulations,” Wilde said. 

“Thank you,” Justin smiled.

“Gordon, you’ve got yourself one talented man here.”

Mason smiled proudly.  “I know that, Thomas.  I know.”

“Yes, you must be very proud of young Justin here,” Brian said, mockingly, earning a look from Justin.  But the other two men didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, please, join us,” Wilde said, pointing to extra two chairs around their table.

“Thank you,” Mason said as all four of them settled down.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Justin felt like the walls were closing in on him.  The other two men were completely oblivious to the tension between him and Brian, but he could feel it.  Every time he tried to speak he felt his throat constricting.  Almost two hours later he was exhausted.  He needed to get out of this place as soon as possible.  So, when Mr. Wilde asked Mason to join him in the cigar room while “the boys could go and salvage at least some of this evening”, promising Brian that no business would be discussed, Justin shook hands with all three men and practically ran out of the building. 

He was on his second cigarette while waiting for a cab when a black BMW stopped in front of him. 

“Need a ride?”  Brian asked, through half opened window. 

Justin knew that it was a mistake, but all he wanted at the moment was to get home.  He threw the cigarette on the ground and got in. 

They rode in silence, only speaking when Justin gave the next set of directions as Brian navigated his rented car through the streets. 

“You live here?”  Brian asked as he pulled up to a seventy-floor black building on Lake Shore Drive.

Justin knew that he was impressed and, unfortunately, there was only one thing left to do.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Justin stood by the living room window as Brian looked around the place. 

“Not bad,” Brian finally concluded, turning back to him.

“Thanks,” Justin said quietly.

“Your mom must have been soooooo proud,” Brian teased, walking over to him, causing Justin to smile.

“Yeah, she was happy,” he admitted.  “She visits a couple of times a year.”

“And Molly?”

“Mol stops by every month or so,” Justin replied.  When he saw the confused look on Brian’s face, he added.  “She goes to Northwestern.”

“Wow.  You two really won the lottery in the gene pool, didn’t you?”

Justin smiled again.

“I can imagine Emmett’s reaction when I tell him about this place,” Brian said, looking out the window. 

“Emmett’s seen it.”

Brian’s head snapped up at him and Justin was surprised by what he saw in Brian’s eyes.  Pain.

“He has?”

Justin nodded. “He and Vic and Deb have been here a few times since I got it.”

Justin watched Brian look out the window again, studying the other man’s features.  Not that he needed to.  No matter how much he tried over the past four years to forget Brian’s face, he couldn’t.  He’d drawn him so many times that every line was imbedded in Justin’s mind. 

“It’s quite a view,” Brian said, motioning to the lights on the lake from the boats and Navy Pier.

Justin turned and looked outside as well, willing his body to stop trembling when his arm brushed against Brian’s. 

“It’s the reason I got this place.”

“I’ll bet you’ve got dozens of sketches of it,” Brian said softly, his eyes fixed on Justin’s.

The next thing he knew, Brian’s lips were on his and he was drowning.  He hadn’t kissed this man in so long, but it was so familiar, so safe, and so incredibly intense.  He couldn’t get enough of the taste of Brian’s mouth in his own. 

But this was wrong.  This is what he tried to get away from.  It took every ounce of control in his body to put the palms of his hands on Brian’s chest and push him away.

“It’s time for you to go,” he said quietly, trying to get his breathing back to normal.

Panting as well, Brian just nodded and left, without another word. 

The sound of the door slamming felt like something cutting through his heart.  It hurt too much.  And he was so incredibly tired.  Not being able to make it to the couch, Justin slid down to the floor.  He hugged his knees to his chest, waiting for trembling to subside.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Brian stared out the window of his hotel room, a glass of Jim Beam in hand.  He knew it was a stupid thing to do.  Kissing Justin.  But he couldn’t not do it.  It had been so damn long since he felt Justin’s lips on his and having Justin so close weakened his resolve.  For that one brief moment the artist’s walls were down and the temptation was too much.  So, instead of thinking it over to death, Brian just went for it.  And for a few short minutes it felt good.  It felt incredible.  He was on fire just from one touch of Justin’s skin.  Nobody else had ever been able to do that to him. 

A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts.  Figuring it was Cynthia checking in, he put the drink on the table and moved to open the door for his assistant.  He was more than surprised to find a different blonde on the other side.  Before he could say anything, Justin’s mouth was devouring his.

Go to Part 3

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