Brian was working in his office when Cynthia buzzed to tell him that Robin Morrison from Newsweek had just arrived.  He was tempted to make her wait and show her who was in charge, but he decided that he would rather try to get on her good side and maybe influence how she portrayed things in the article.  He told Cynthia to send her in.

 

A minute later the door to his office opened and a petite red-haired whirlwind blew in.  He wondered if she knew Debbie.

 

"Robin Morrison," the woman said shaking his hand and smiling a smile that could melt steel.

 

"Brian Kinney, pleased to meet you."

"Nice office," she said looking around and giving him the once over.  "I see we have a mayor in Armani."

"Is that a problem?" Brian asked not liking the scrutiny.

 

"Not at all, just an observation," she said with a smile.  "At least you have good taste which is more than I can say for some other mayors that I have met."

Brian remained silent studying her.  He realized there was a man standing in the doorway with Cynthia.  He looked at the man who came forward once Brian realized he was there.

 

"Hi," he said.  "I'm Demetri, the photographer for this story."

 

"Nice to meet you," Brian said extending his hand, his gaydar pinging like crazy.

 

Robin had been watching them.  "So," she said, "shall we get started?"

"What do you want to do first?" Brian asked.

 

"How about some pictures of you behind your desk looking very official?"

"Sure."

Brian sat down and picked up a report.  He rested his forearms on the edge of his desk and started to read.  He heard the shutter of Demetri's camera clicking as he took some shots.

 

"Do you always read in that stiff position?" Demetri asked smiling suggestively at Brian.

 

"No," Brian replied, "sometimes I read like this."  He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk.  He read some more of the report as Demetri clicked away.

 

After a few minutes Robin said, "Okay, enough already!  I know he's photogenic, but I'd like to find out if he can string a sentence together."

Demetri stopped taking photos and started putting his camera away.

 

Brian stared at Robin.  "I don't like being talked about like I'm not here, and the implication of your words was …"

 

"Derogative?"  Robin completed the sentence for him.  "I'm sorry.  It's just that sometimes Demetri gets carried away when he's photographing … gay men.  He drives me crazy."  Demetri made a face at her.  "But I love his work.  There is no one better," she cooed.  Demetri grinned at her.

"How lovely for both of you," Brian said sarcastically totally put off by this display.

 

Robin snorted at Brian's comment.  "Maybe you can string a sentence together," she said eyeing him up and down.

 

"You fucking better believe it, and if you can't conduct this … interview in a more civil and professional manner, you can get the fuck out of my office."

"My, my, my, somebody has a temper."

"You haven't seen anything yet.  I don't need this interview and I'm beginning to wonder why the hell I agreed to do it."  Brian's temper was reaching the boiling point.

 

"Demetri," Robin said, "get us settled at the hotel while I interview Mr. Kinney.  If I want more pictures this afternoon I'll call you there."

 

Demetri picked up his bag, gave a little glance toward Brian and left the office without another word.

"Could we start this all over again?" Robin asked.  "I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"That's for damn sure.  What the hell was that all about?" Brian asked not willing to forgive without an explanation.

 

Robin sighed.  "First let me apologize.  I admit that was unprofessional.  You see, Demetri and I always work together and we tease and torment each other all the time.  I often forget that nobody else knows that.  I didn't mean to be rude to you, but Demetri is gay and he was cruising you big time."

"You noticed?" Brian asked with a smirk.

 

"I'm sure you did too.  He's about as subtle as a Brahma bull.  Sometimes he drives me nuts."

 

"Point taken.  Okay, let's start over."

"Great," Robin said with a smile.  "Can I ask you some questions now?"

"Shoot."

 

"You were in advertising before you got into politics.  Why did you make the switch?"

"You must have read about my infamous past in preparation for this article.  Are you just going to rehash old news?"

"You don't like wasting time, do you?" Robin asked.

 

"Not if I can help it."

"Okay, so you masterminded the downfall of Jim Stockwell who was your client at the time.  Again I ask why?"

"Because he was a sleazy bastard who hates gays.  He targeted that community, directly, and in every backhanded way he could.  He actually fired me the first time when he found out I was gay."

"And he hired you back?"

 

"Yeah," Brian said thinking about why he had gone back.  "He was being labeled a homophobe and his numbers were dropping.  He asked me to come back and help him.  I had him make a statement to the press about how his main advisor, namely me, was gay.  I told him to confront the accusations and say that he welcomed dissent."

"Kind of like the way you confronted the allegations about you when you were running for mayor?"

"Something like that," Brian said making a mental note that this woman was no dodo.  She knew the score.  "I believe in facing things head on, in using the truth 'as an assault weapon' as Stockwell once told me."

"That's a good line."

"Thanks, and I didn't even think that one up myself."

 

"You've been attacked and harassed since you were elected.  How has that affected you?"

Brian looked thoughtful.  He wondered how much he should reveal.  Then he decided that he would do what he had just told her and be brutally honest.  "I almost resigned … twice."

"Twice?  Why didn't you?"

"The first time the attackers pissed me off and Justin and I decided we weren't going to let them win.  The second time, when I was run over, I had had enough.  I went to City Hall to tell council that I was resigning.  Justin and one of the councilmen, Frank Jankowski, had put out the word about what I was going to do, and council talked me out of it."

 

"They did?  Isn't that pretty unusual?"

Brian didn't know how to answer that.  "I guess maybe it is.  I really don't know much about politics so it never really occurred to me that it was unusual.  I was just so taken aback that they cared enough to try to convince me to stay."

 

"Why were you so surprised?"

"I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms."

"Did that bug you?"

 

"Of course it did, but I expected it, for a lot of reasons."

"Because you're gay?" she asked. 

 

"Yes, but also because I'm a political neophyte.  I have no experience.  I knew I would have to prove myself."

"Well it sounds like you have."

"I've hardly started."

 

Robin stared at him.  This man didn't seem to take anything for granted.  "You mentioned Justin a couple of times.  He's your partner.  How has he fared in all this?"

"It's been a roller coaster ride for both of us.  But he's a rock.  He's always there when I need him and he pushes me to make the right decision."

"He sounds very important to you, to your life."

"He is," Brian said simply.

 

"Care to tell me about him?" she asked.

 

"I'd rather not.  You can meet him if you want and draw your own conclusions."

 

"I'd … like that," she said with her megawatt smile.

 

"Would you like to meet us for dinner?" Brian asked.

 

"Am I being dismissed already?" she asked.

 

Brian knew she was smart.  "I do have work to do, you know.  I am the mayor," he teased.

 

"Point taken," she said throwing his own words back at him.  "Tell me where you want to have dinner and Demetri and I will meet you there."

They made the arrangements and Robin left.  Brian sat down at his desk.  He wasn't the least bit sure how that had gone.  He was having trouble reading where Robin Morrison was coming from.  He knew she was smart.  He wondered if there was a hidden agenda she was following.  Maybe he could find out at dinner tonight.

                                                               -----

 

Justin walked through the door of the restaurant, Brian close behind him.  He scanned the room but he didn't really know who he was looking for.  Brian pointed him to the right and they started to make their way to one side of the room.  Justin was a little nervous about meeting this reporter.  He hoped he wouldn't let Brian down or say something too inane.

 

"Robin, Demetri," he heard Brian saying. "This is Justin."

 

Justin stared at the red haired woman and said, "Hello."  He shook the hand of the man who was quite nice looking and was certainly cruising him big time.  They got seated and ordered a drink.  Justin was glad they came to a restaurant where he was known.  He hated it when he still got carded.

 

"So, Justin," Robin said, "have you and Brian been together long?"

"Almost two years," Justin said and left it at that.

 

"Why do I think there's more to that than you're telling me?" she asked.

 

"Shall we order?" Brian jumped in.

They got that out of the way and the waiter brought their salads.  Demetri had his eyes glued to Justin most of the time.  Brian couldn't believe his blatant interest.

 

"So, Justin, have you recovered from the effects of the bashing?" Robin asked.  She saw Brian and Justin both flinch.  "I'm sorry," she said quickly.  "Shouldn't I have brought that up?"

"It's not the easiest topic for us to discuss," Brian stated, clearly telling them that if Justin didn't want to talk about it, he didn't have to.

 

"It's all right, Brian," Justin said regaining his equilibrium.  "I'm pretty much back to normal.  I had a lot of trouble with my right hand, my drawing hand, and it's still not a hundred percent.  But I survived."

 

"You look great.  I'm sure Demetri would like to take some pictures of you," Robin said.

 

"Sure, I guess," Justin agreed.  He knew Demetri was interested in him and made a mental note to make sure Brian was present when those pictures were taken.

 

"Did you have any other problems after the … incident?"

"I had some nightmares, post traumatic stress.  They're mostly gone now."

"That's good.  What happened to the guy who bashed you?"

"He got community service."  Justin was tempted to mention the incident with Chris during the campaign but he didn't see what that would accomplish.

 

"That's awful," Demetri stated.

 

"It wasn't reported as a hate crime, so it was considered a simple assault," Justin added ruefully.

 

"Another example of how gays get less than fair treatment," Robin offered.

 

"Yeah," Brian said.  He had remained silent letting Justin show his intelligence and understanding of the significance of the events.

 

"Could we get some pictures of you two in your home?" Robin asked.  "I'm sure the readers would like to see where you live."

"Don't you mean that they want to see the den of iniquity where the fags practise their immoral activities?" Brian asked with more than a little acid in his voice.

 

"Some will want to see exactly that, but I doubt your home is any kind of den," Robin said.

 

"We can go there after dinner, if you want," Justin volunteered.

 

"That would be great," Robin said noting that it was Justin who suggested that and not Brian.

 

Their dinners arrived and they ate mostly in silence with a little bit of small talk thrown in.  Robin insisted on paying for dinner.  It was on her expense account.  They left for the loft, Robin and Demetri following the Corvette in their rental car.

 

"What's wrong?" Justin asked noting Brian's continued silence.

 

"I don't really want these people in our home."

 

"But you must have known they were going to ask?"

"I thought this fucking article was about me being mayor."

"It is, but it's also about you as a gay man and me as your partner."

Brian glanced over at Justin.  He knew he was right but that didn't mean he liked having these people invade his home.  He sighed.

 

"You … we have a great home.  It could be in Architectural Digest.  Everyone will be really impressed," Justin said trying to put a positive spin on this.

 

"Yeah, but then they will know where we fuck and eat and fuck."

"Is that what you're worried about?  I'm sure Robin isn't going to caption the pictures that way," Justin said with a chuckle.

 

"I like my privacy," Brian said stubbornly.

 

"I know you do but you can't have it both ways.  If you agree to the article some loss of privacy goes with it."

Brian glared at him.  "Sometimes you are so fucking annoying, especially when you're right." 

 

Justin chuckled.  They pulled up in front of the loft and met Robin and Demetri on the front step.  Demetri had his camera all unpacked and ready.  He smiled broadly at Justin.  Justin did his best to ignore the man.  They rode up in the elevator with Robin asking about renovations of old buildings in Pittsburgh.  Brian told her about the old hotel to be turned into accommodation for homeless people.  She seemed impressed.

 

"What a great space!" Robin said looking around.  "Demetri, get a few shots of the empty loft and then we'll get some with Brian and Justin."

 

Demetri began clicking away.  Justin offered them drinks and they got settled on the sofa.  Robin told Demetri to get some pictures of the two men together.

 

"So who cooks or do you share responsibilities?" Robin asked.

 

"That would be me," Justin stated.  "Brian's not a cook."

"I'm not surprised," Robin said with a laugh.

"And why is that?" Brian asked defensively.

 

"I just don't see you in your Armani suit cooking anything."

"I don't wear Armani when I'm home," Brian stated.

 

"No, he wears Prada," Justin teased.  Brian swatted his arm.  "I'm just kidding," Justin admitted.

 

"What do you wear to relax?" Robin wanted to know.

 

"What difference does that make?" Brian asked wondering why anyone would want that information.

 

"Readers like personal tidbits.  It makes the person more real to them."

"Oh," Brian said uncertainly.  "I wear jeans and T-shirts to relax."

"And no shoes," Justin volunteered.

 

"You don't like shoes?" Robin asked.

 

"Not if I don't have to wear them.  Unfortunately here in Pittsburgh they are a necessity for most of the year."

"You'd rather be on a beach somewhere?" Robin pursued.

 

"Maybe," Brian replied.  "I like tropical heat, but my life's here in Pittsburgh right now."

"Very politically correct," Robin observed.

 

"Don't say that to me," Brian cautioned.

 

"I can see I've hit a nerve."

"I don't like that fucking expression!  It implies that the person speaking doesn't really mean what they say, that they're covering up their real feelings about something."

"And aren't you?"

"No, I say what I mean.  There was a time I couldn't wait to get to New York, to the big time as I saw it, but things have changed.  My life is here, at least for the foreseeable future."

"Okay," Robin replied.  "I'll try never to use that phrase around you.  Demetri, have you got enough pictures here?"

 

"I guess," Demetri replied looking rather longingly at Justin.

 

"Then let's go.  I'll be at your office at nine tomorrow morning.  I want to interview some people there and follow your day as mayor."

"Sure," Brian agreed not enjoying this any better as time went on.

 

Brian showed the two out and locked the loft door behind them.  He turned to face Justin.  "I'm surprised Demetri didn't ask you to show him the bedroom and how to use it," Brian said tongue in cheek.

 

"Stop it, you," Justin said.  "You know I'm not interested in him."

 

"He's sure interested in you."

 

"Come to bed and make me forget all about him," Justin said and took Brian's hand.


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