The Worst Thing - Part 5 

 

Justin flipped through the layouts one more time, making sure everything was in order.  This was the big day.  His big test – the pitch – was in less than an hour.  And surprisingly, he wasn’t nervous.  Not in the least.  He had worked nonstop for the last two days, putting finishing touches on the presentation, making last minute corrections.  He focused on his job, not leaving time to think about anything or anyone else. 

 

“He’s THE guy, isn’t he?”

 

He turned around to see his assistant standing in the doorway.

 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” he practically growled. 

 

Rachel moved inside the office, closing the door behind her.  “Come on, Justin.  Vanguard agency.  Brian Kinney.  You.  It’s all connected.  YOU’RE all connected.  He’s the guy that hurt you so much, you had to run away from home.”

 

Justin glared at her.  “I did not run away from anything,” he snarled. 

 

“Of course you did.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.   This guy shows up in town and suddenly you’re this completely different person.  You smile more.  He calls you and you turn into a giggling schoolgirl.  Then the calls stop and you turn back into Mr. Asshole again.”

 

“Are you done?” he snapped, trying to keep his anger in check.  Who did she think she was?  She had no right talking or even thinking about his personal life.  And now of all times.  When he had to focus on the pitch.  When he had to make sure that thoughts of Brian never entered his mind. 

 

“I’m worried about you,” she said softly.

 

“Well, stop,” he said, picking the documents off his desk and heading for the door.  He had to get out of here before his resolve was completely shattered. 

 

“Stop?  I’m your friend.  I can’t just stop.”

 

“We are NOT friends, Rachel,” he said, turning to her.  “You’re my assistant and I am your boss.  And THIS is the END of the discussion.”  The minute the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them.  But he’d be damned if he showed it.  She had no idea what she was talking about.  Nor did he want her to have any idea about Brian.  Brian was history.  Brian was gone.  Out of his life.  Again.  For good.  That was it.  And he might have actually had the chance to begin getting over it if only SHE would drop it.

 

“I care about you,” she said in a last effort to try to get him to open up a little.

 

He shrugged.  “Well, that’s your problem.”  Before she had any chance to respond, the artist opened the door and left.

 

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

 

He had to hand it to Cooper.  The guy was very good at what he did.  He was very charismatic and could definitely deliver a line, to get a client to really listen to him.  Justin sat to the side, only speaking when the client had questions regarding the layout itself.  Everything else was all Cooper, as agreed. 

 

When the pitch was over and the rest of the team were gathering their things, Justin found himself standing next to Thomas Wilde, shaking the businessman’s hand.

 

“Very good job, Mr. Taylor, very good.  You are a talented young man,” the older man said.

 

Justin smiled politely.  “Thank you, sir.  Thank you for taking the time to see us.”  He started to pull away.  It was over.  The account was his.  But instead of celebrating, all he wanted to do was get out of here, go home, and get drunk.

 

“Mr. Kinney was right about you.”

 

That stopped him cold in his tracks.  “Excuse me?”  He stared at the other man, his heart pounding in his chest.

 

“He assured me that we’d be very lucky to have you heading up the campaign.”

 

“He said that?” Justin asked, making sure he heard correctly.

 

“Yes.  He came to see me earlier today to let me know that Vanguard wouldn’t be pitching.  He said that we would be hard-pressed to find a more talented artist to work on our campaign than you.  And I have to say, he was absolutely right,” the older man smiled at Justin.

 

The blonde felt frozen in time, unable to think, speak, or move.  Somehow he forced a smile out. 

 

Brian had dropped out of the race.  Because of him.  FOR him.  Giving Justin what he wanted.  What he thought he needed.  It wasn’t all about business after all.  Brian dropped out so that Justin would get the account and the promotion and everything else that would certainly come with it.  Brian did that FOR HIM.

 

That thought echoed in his mind over and over again.  And nothing else seemed to matter anymore.  Not the stupid account.  Not the promotion.  Not even the pain, loneliness, and anger that he had felt over the last seven years. 

 

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

 

“And I rescheduled the meeting with John Kauffman for one o’clock tomorrow,” Cynthia finished, closing her organizer.

 

“Ok, good,” Brian said, silently dismissing her, trying to get back to work.  Given that he had been gone for over two weeks, he had tons of catch-up work to do. 

 

“I need to speak with you,” Vance said, walking in without knocking.

 

Brian slowly leaned back in his chair and turned to look at his partner, knowing full well what was to come. 

 

“What the fuck happened in Chicago?” the other man demanded.

 

Brian shrugged his shoulders.  “I told you DDT would be a threat.  You didn’t believe me,” he said calmly, which only seemed to rile Vance up even more.

 

“You didn’t even make the pitch!” Vance shouted.  “We should have gotten the account.  We are better than DDT.  And YOU know it!”

 

Brian took a deep breath, trying to stay calm as the other man ranted.  When Vance seemed to run out of steam, Brian stood up and walked around the table, so that they were now standing face to face.  “I wasn’t about to embarrass the agency by presenting a less than stellar campaign to a big client.  You know what a word of mouth can do to a firm’s reputation.”

 

“Then YOU should have made sure that the campaign was stellar,” Vance growled before storming out of the office. 

 

Brian sighed when the door shut, and he was once again alone.  He felt completely lost.  Off his game.  Something he felt rarely if ever.  There was no way he was going to let the little twat do that to him.  No.  He just had to regroup.  Do some research.  There were a few big companies out there that were shopping around for a new firm to represent them and he knew that Vanguard would be a top choice for them.  He could get them.  He could get anybody he wanted to. 

 

He walked around the desk, pressing the intercom button.  “Cynthia, get in here, NOW!”

 

“And I thought I was tough on my assistant.”

 

Brian’s head shot up at the familiar voice, shock written all over his face.  “What the fuck are you doing here?”  Justin was the last person in the world he expected to see walking through the door of his office.

 

“Is this how you greet all your ex-boyfriends?” Justin asked with a smirk, as he strolled in and flopped into one of the chairs.

 

Getting over the initial shock, Brian composed himself.  Dropping a binder on the table, he sat down in his chair, staring at the blonde across from him.  “Come to collect your prize?”

 

Justin chuckled and shook his head.  “No.  Winning by default is not really winning.”

 

“Then what brings you to the Pitts?”  He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that question.  But Justin was here.  In Pittsburgh.  The place that the younger man made clear he wasn’t intending to come back to.

 

“Actually, I’m looking for a job,” Justin said matter-of-factly.

 

“A job?” Brian arched his eyebrow.  He wasn’t sure what he expected Justin to say, but THIS was definitely not one of the things on the list.  Well, if he actually had the list.  “What about DDT?”

 

“I quit,” the blonde said.

 

Brian sat up straight in his chair, not caring anymore about the shock written on his face.  “You what?”

 

“I quit,” Justin repeated.

 

“Why the fuck would you do something like that?”  Brian seemed to be more upset by the news than Justin was.  In fact Justin appeared to be completely unfazed by any of it.

 

The blonde shrugged.  “I just realized that it was time to move back home.  You know, be closer to my family,” he said, looking Brian in the eye.  “And friends,” he added, both of them understanding the meaning of that.  “So, how about it?”

 

Still recovering from the previous news, Brian looked at him confused.  “About what?”

 

“A job,” Justin said, that same all-knowing smirk still plastered on his face.

 

Brian couldn’t decide what to do first:  laugh at how absurd the idea of the two of them working together was, squeal in happiness that Justin was moving back, or panic over what Justin moving back meant.  He settled on his patented nonchalant answer.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we have any vacancies right now.”

 

Justin nodded.  “I understand.”  Brian watched the younger man stand up, straighten out an imaginary wrinkle on his pants, and turn toward the door.  “Although,” Justin said, turning around.  “Would you reconsider if I told you that I’d be bringing in a BIG account?”

 

That got Brian’s attention.  “How big?”

 

The smirk was back on Justin’s face.  “Wilde’s Department Store big.”

 

Brian’s eyes widened.  “You got the Wilde account.”  He couldn’t believe his ears.

 

“Duh.”  At that moment Justin looked like the seventeen-year old brat he knew so long ago.  “Who else do you think even stood a chance?”

 

“I know, but…” Brian was completely baffled. 

 

Justin smiled.  “Mr. Wilde kindly let me know that the only reason he would sign with DDT would be because of me.  But he also wanted a good idea man on board for the campaign.  So, when I assured him that I could deliver him the BEST idea man in the industry, he was more than happy to sign this.”  Justin tossed a folder on Brian’s desk.

 

Brian studied the younger man’s face.  Justin pointed with his gaze to the folder lying in front of him.  Moving his eyes off Justin’s for the first time since the blonde strolled into his office, Brian slowly opened the folder to find a signed contract.

 

“All that’s missing is your signature,” Justin said when Brian looked back up at him. 

 

Brian looked away, trying to sort out his thoughts, trying to understand exactly what just happened here.  Not only did Justin magically appear back in his life just when he thought he had lost him forever…again.  But he also delivered him their biggest account yet on a silver platter.

 

“You were up for a promotion at DDT, weren’t you?” he asked, returning his attention to the young artist.

 

“Yes,” Justin answered.

 

Brian nodded, making up his mind.  This was just what their firm needed.  “Come on, let’s go,” he said, getting up and heading out the door.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“I want the senior partner to meet our new head of the art department.”

 

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

 

Justin stumbled through the boxes that covered the floor to open the door when the doorbell rang. 

 

“Who is it?” he asked through the intercom.

 

“Your employer.” 

 

He smiled as he pressed the buzzer for the door downstairs, then moved to open the door for Brian.  A few minutes later the older man, wearing a dark grey coat waltzed in through it.

 

“Where the fuck are you?” Brian called out when he didn’t see Justin anywhere, as he navigated his way through the boxes and furniture scattered around the room.

 

“Over here.”  Justin came out of the kitchen, carrying yet another box. 

 

Brian turned around, taking in the way Justin looked in faded blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt.  Feeling his cock stirring inside his pants, he quickly moved away.  He didn’t come here for that.  Well, at least, not entirely for that.  Besides, every inch of the condo was covered with…something, so they would just have to wait until they got back to his loft before taking care of their needs.  Deciding that NOT staring at Justin’s tight bubble butt was best at the moment, he looked around the room.  “Jesus, this place looks like a tornado hit it.”

 

Justin put the box down carefully, before turning his attention to the ad exec.  “I know.  They finally delivered all of my things today.”

 

“That was fast,” Brian said, examining the furniture he got very familiar with in Justin’s condo in Chicago.

 

Justin shrugged.  “I promised them a hefty bonus if they did it quickly.”

 

Brian nodded in response.

 

Justin sat down on the floor near a tall window, relaxing for a moment.  He hated moving.  It felt like he’d never get unpacked.  The stuff just seemed to grow.  The more he got done, the more there was left to do.  “So, what are you doing here?” he asked, looking up at the taller man.

 

“I brought these,” Brian said, tossing a package to Justin.  The papers were the final offer from the firm.  Justin was officially an employee of Vanguard agency.  “And I thought I’d finally see your place,” he added, walking, or trying to, around the place.  It was big.  Almost as big as his loft.  The living room was smaller, but there was an extra room that Justin was going to use as his studio/office. 

 

Justin’s eyes were trained on Brian as the other man walked up to him, standing next to the window. 

 

“You had to have the view,” Brian said, turning to him.  A beautiful view of the river spread in front of them. 

 

Justin smiled at him, nodding.  “Absolutely.”

 

Brian chuckled at how excited Justin sounded.  Like a little kid.  And he loved it.  Loved seeing that look of complete happiness on Justin’s face.  He barely saw Justin in the last month.  With Justin busy taking care of things in Chicago: selling his condo and moving, on top of working on the Wilde account they both have been very busy.  But despite all that, when they were finally able to spend some time together, Justin seemed relaxed, completely at ease. A complete opposite from the way he was in Chicago. 

 

“So, what do you think?” Justin asked.

 

Brian turned around, spotting a corner of a couch that was not covered with boxes and sat down.  “It’s not bad,” he finally said.

 

“It’s going to look great when I’m done with it,” Justin said, enthusiastically, “IF I ever get done with it,” he added, frowning at all the mess.  “Every five minutes I have an urge to just burn all this crap and just buy new things.  No unpacking that way.”

 

Brian smiled.  “So, why don’t you?”

 

Justin shrugged.  “When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”

 

They both laughed as the artist stood up and started getting back to business. 

 

“Can you help me with that?” he asked, trying to move a big picture.

 

Brian stood up and, taking off his coat, moved on the other side of the big framed canvas.  He was about to pick it up when the image he saw drawn on the canvas made his breath catch in his throat.  It was an image of two men standing in front of a window.  And even though you couldn’t see the men’s faces, he knew it was them; standing in front of the window in Justin’s bedroom, looking out on lake Michigan. 

 

“When did you draw this?” he asked, finally finding his voice.

 

Justin looked at him, then lowered his eyes to the floor.  “A couple of years ago,” he said quietly.

 

Brian stared at him, stunned.  When Justin finally looked up at him, he understood.  Just like him, the young artist never got over…them.  The two of them being together.  All those years passed by and neither one of them forgot or stopped hoping that one day they’d have that again.  They’d be together again.  Brian had his dreams.  Justin had his art.  That’s how both of them survived.  How they were able to make it to this point in their lives when they were finally ready for…whatever.  He still wasn’t sure what it was that they were involved in.  They had yet to define their relationship or rules.  For now they were just enjoying being together.  Making up for lost time.  And Brian was fine with that.  For now.  Except there was one question that always bugged him.  Ever since he saw Justin standing in his office.

 

“What made you come back?” he asked.

 

Justin was startled by the question.  He’d been back for over a month now and they had not talked about any of it yet.  And frankly he wasn’t sure he was ready for that talk.  But now the question was hanging heavily in the air between them. 

 

“You let me go,” he said softly.  He knew now that the reason Brian “let him go” was not because the ad exec didn’t care.  It was because he did.  Brian loved him.  He knew he’d probably never hear the words, but it didn’t matter anymore.  What mattered was that Brian wanted what was best for Justin.  Brian wanted to give him the world.  And in a way he did.  Thanks to Brian, Justin was able to do anything he wanted to do.  And the artist was grateful for that.  He realized now that they both needed this time apart.  Yes, it was a long time, but they needed it.  To realize that what they wanted was right here, in front of their eyes.  That nothing aside from that mattered.  Not really.  Not to them.

 

The two of them stared into each other’s eyes, silent for a moment.  Neither sure of what to say.  They both understood what it meant.

 

Finally, Brian took a step forward, then another, stopping only inches from his lover.  Justin held his breath, waiting for Brian’s next move.  The ad exec cupped the blonde’s face with his hands, moving quickly to cover the younger man’s lips with his own.  The kiss wasn’t one of their usual passionate, burning, I-have-to-have-you right-now-or-I’ll-burst-into-flames kisses.  It was tender, gentle, and very brief.  But it said everything they needed to say at the moment. 

 

“So, is there a bedroom somewhere underneath all these boxes?” Brian asked quietly, pulling slightly away.

 

He was rewarded with a bright Sunshine smile and then found himself being dragged through the room into the bedroom.

 

The end.

 

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