All About Justin
 

Chapter 7

 

Brian drove into Pittsburgh for the arranged meeting with Farringer. Hunter managed to convince Farringer to meet Brian at Kinnetik. Brian liked to be in a position of advantage, in more ways than one, but more importantly, his visit to his first branch was overdue.

He parked his Corvette in his usual space then casually strolled up to the front door of his agency. Brian smiled at the fading “Men Only” sign that he refused to remove. He loved the irony of it. Men, women and children passed through these doors practically every day and Brian was proud of them all. Clutching his briefcase, Brian entered his kingdom.

“Hi, Brian!” Cynthia cheerfully greeted her boss with an unexpected kiss to his cheek. He arched his brow then smiled fondly at his right hand woman and his most trusted partner in advertising and in Kinnetik.

“Hey, Boss!” Ted called out as he rounded a desk to say hello. His arms were overflowing with papers.

“Did the shredder explode?” Brian growled at Ted.

“What? Oh, humor. No, Bri, just helping Briggs make sense of these old accounts.”

“Why don’t you take them into one of the conference rooms? You’ll have room to spread out,” Brian suggested as he headed for his old office.

“Great idea, Boss,” Ted gushed.

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks, Schmidt,” Brian remarked as he shut his door. “Cynthia!” Brian bellowed after a few minutes.

“Right here, Brian,” she answered, cup of coffee in hand to give to her friend and colleague. Brian took a large appreciative sip as Cynthia made herself comfortable in one of the chairs. “What brings you here today?” Cynthia ventured when Brian was sufficiently caffeinated.

“I’d like to say a potential client, but that would be a lie.” Brian then told Cynthia about the circumstances surrounding his meeting with Robert Farringer.

“I remember that ad. We were both so young back then and you were so cocky. I was amazed when you came up with such a, a...”

“Straight?”

“I was going to say sweet ad. I was so disappointed that we couldn’t follow it through. And I was pissed when I saw your ideas credited to another firm. Doesn’t it anger you that he’s practically blackmailing you now?”

“It’s for a worthy cause.”

“I know, but hell, I’d give Hunter the money. Why are you being so nice? Wait a minute. Are you thinking of stealing his business back?”

“Would be poetic justice, wouldn’t it?”

“Who’s doing his PR now?” An evil grin came to Brian’s lips. “Oh no, you don’t mean?”

“Yup! Our old friend Gardner Vance.”

“That would be a kick in the pants,” Cynthia confirmed. She stood to go out onto the main floor. “I’ll show Mr. Farringer in myself,” she said with a smile. “I love my job!” Cynthia said as she left the office. Brian nodded as he heard his door close behind her.

 

*****
 

“Brian, Mr. Farringer is here,” Cynthia said rather formally as she showed Robert Farringer into Brian’s office. “Shall I bring in some coffee?”

“No thank you,” Farringer said quickly. He wasn’t quite sure of the reception he’d receive, so Farringer wanted to keep the meeting simple.

“We’re fine, Cynthia,” Brian said as he stood up to greet Farringer.

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Cynthia said as she excused herself from the room, leaving the door open just in case.

The two men eyed each other for a moment then Brian indicated Farringer should take a seat. He waited for Farringer to speak.

“You’re not the easiest man to get to see,” Farringer began.

“You seem to think I’m very easy,” Brian replied with a touch of snarkiness.

“I believed in the rumors.”

“And now you’ve come to set the record straight.”

“Yes. I want to apologize.”

“For believing the rumors back then, or stealing my ideas?”

“Both.”

“Apology accepted.”

“That’s it?” Farringer asked incredulously.

“That’s it.”

“If I were you, I don’t think I’d be this gracious.”

“You’re not me and I don’t have time to waste on holding a twenty year old grudge. I’ll be perfectly honest with you. Back then the rumors regarding my extracurricular activities were not mere rumor. Perhaps you were correct in your decision to not go with me and Ryder. You’re apparently a very successful man.”

“I sense a but.”

“No buts, what’s done is done. Are you still as successful as you were back then?”

Before Farringer had the chance to answer, through Brian’s office door burst a tiny blond whirlwind. He toddled in with his mother not far behind.

“Hey, little man!” Brian said as he quickly scooped his nephew up into his arms. Taylor gave his uncle a toothy grin then giggled loudly. “Where did you come from?”

“I’m so sorry, Brian. I was feeding Taylor his mid-morning snack in the school and he got away from me. Please forgive our interruption,” Molly said as she looked at Farringer.

“He’s a beautiful boy,” Farringer commented. “How old is he?”

“He’ll be a year old in April,” Molly replied as she took her son from Brian.

“I have a grandson his age; they grow up very fast,” Farringer added. Molly smiled her own sunny smile, as Brian chucked little Taylor under his chin then blew a raspberry on Taylor’s cheek making the baby giggle again.

“I’ll take him back to school,” Molly said as she and Taylor bid a hasty retreat.

“School?” Farringer asked as quiet returned to the office.

“My daughter was jealous that her older cousin went off to school everyday without her. They spent most of their time together when Briana was an infant. To get Bree to come to daycare here with me we decided to call our daycare a school. We hired school teachers to run it so the children get a little more than just story time. Our parents love it and so do the children. Bree didn’t want to leave when it was time for her to go to real school. The teachers have a little graduation ceremony each time one of our children is ready to move on.”

“Forgive my naiveté, I don’t wish to be rude, ruder than I already am, but what does a gay man know about daycare?”

“First of all, Mr. Farringer...”

“Robert.”

“Robert. I admire honesty and frankness. If you have a question then ask it. Now to answer your question, I have two children. My oldest is in college. Bree, who will be seven going on twenty-seven this year is in first grade. That little blond tornado is my nephew. We have many children in my family and in our Kinnetik family. Kinnetik prides itself on being on the cutting edge in many areas, including making accommodations to be family friendly. Most of the employees that started out with me when I first opened this branch are still with us. They have families.”

“You have other branches?”

“Yes. Harrisburg, L.A., New York, and we just acquired a small agency in London,” Brian said proudly. Farringer appeared impressed. “Would you like a tour of our facility?” Brian asked. He got the feeling that Farringer might just be interested in a new ad agency after all.

Farringer nodded then followed Brian out into the main office.

 

*****
 

“I’d take you in, but I believe it’s nap time,” Brian said in hushed tones as he spied the big clock on the wall of the Kinnetik school. The lights were dimmed in the large room. Robert Farringer was able to get a good look through the window of the door. The younger children were curled up on large soft mats, each with their own blanket. The babies were safely tucked in their cribs and the older children or ones who didn’t want a nap were quietly drawing at a table near the light.

“Amazing. I can’t get my own grandkids to settle down, yet your teachers have a dozen kids sleeping.”

“Only the best for Kinnetik.”

“I can see that. Mr. Kinney...”

“Brian.”

“Brian, the clinic will have its donation. It had it the minute your partner nearly bit my head off when he defended you.”

Brian snorted but couldn’t help the big smile that broke out on his face. “Yeah, well, blond tornadoes tend to run in my family. Thank you for your donation. The Jason Kemp clinic will make good use of every penny.”

“My company likes to ‘adopt’ worthy causes. I can’t think of any other cause more worthy than our children. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I lost one of my kids to the street.”

“Neither can I,” Brian said with all seriousness, as he held out his hand for Robert to shake.

As Brian showed Farringer out, Farringer paused at the faded Men Only sign. Brian smirked as he arched his brow.

“My contract with your competitor is up in a few months.”

“You thinking about taking a walk on the wild side?”

“I’d like to think I’m broadminded.”

“Then we’ll see you in a few months,” Brian said politely but with a smug tone that made Robert chuckle, as he walked down the front steps then toward his car.

“I love my job,” Brian murmured as he went back inside Kinnetik.

 

*****
 

“So, how did it go?” Justin asked as soon as Brian got out of his Corvette. Justin had been waiting and watching for the last hour for Brian to come home from Kinnetik and his meeting with Farringer.

“Not bad.”

“That means good, right?” Justin asked, as he walked with Brian into the house. “I thought you’d call.”

“There was nothing much to tell. It was all very civil.”

“Details, Brian, I want details.”

“Okay, okay. Can I at least take a whizz before I spill my guts?”

“Only if you hurry,” Justin told his husband, as Brian hurried away to the bathroom in their bedroom. Justin poured two cups of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. After several minutes Brian finally emerged from the bedroom dressed in his jeans and a black wifebeater. “You look good enough to eat,” Justin said with love, or maybe it was lust, in his eyes.

“Later,” Brian replied with a grin.

“Okay, so what happened? You didn’t hit him, did you?”

“When have you known me to hit anybody?” Brian asked with a smirk.

“Almost never, but sometimes you look like you want to, and you can be terrifying when you get like that.”

“Terrifying?” Justin nodded and Brian chuckled. “I think I like that.”

“You would,” Justin said with a grin. “Tell me what the fuck happened.”

“Farringer came in, apologized, I accepted it and we made nice.”

“That’s it?” Justin asked.

“Taylor escaped from school and joined us for a minute or two,” Brian added with a chuckle.

“Oh my God,” Justin laughed. “What did Farringer say?”

“He thought Taylor was a cute little guy, just like … all of us do. As a result, we got into a discussion of family friendly environments, and I gave him a tour of Kinnetik so he could see the school. Taylor makes a good icebreaker.”

“So there was a little more to the meeting than just a handshake,” Justin said taking a sip of his coffee.

“A little.”

“What else?”

“I think Farringer may be back at Kinnetik in a couple of months when his contract runs out with his current ad agency.”

“No shit!” Justin chuckled. “You got a new client out of this.”

“Kind of looks that way … and I haven’t told you the best part,” Brian smirked.

“What?”

“Guess who the ad agency is that he’s currently with.”

Justin thought for a second then a big smile blossomed across his face. “Vangard!” Brian nodded. “Talk about poetic justice.”

“Just a tad.”

 

*****
 

“Have you got your invitations to take to school?” Justin asked his daughter.

“Yes, Daddy,” Bree replied as she spooned some porridge, fixed just like Hudson made it, into her mouth.

“Where are they?”

“In my backpack.”

“And you know who you’re giving them too?” Justin quizzed her.

“Yep. Ashley and JR and Brenda and Hannah and Winona,” Bree rhymed off.

“That’s good,” Justin chuckled, “but I don’t think you want to take JR’s invitation to school with you. We could mail it, or Dada could take it into Pittsburgh the next time he goes.”

“Can we mail it?” Bree asked. “JR likes getting real mail.”

“Especially such beautiful mail,” Justin said as he fished the invitations out of Bree’s backpack. He found JR’s with her name beautifully printed on the envelope and Bree’s signature rainbow colored along the bottom. “What did you and Dada make for JR?”

Brian, who was pretending to read the paper and drink his coffee, was listening to all this. He smirked to himself. He thought JR’s invitation had turned out to be the very best of all the ones he had helped Bree make.

Justin opened the envelope and pulled out the card. It showed a sweet young girl sitting on a swing in a beautiful garden. Like the original invitation Justin had helped Bree make for Ashley, the center of the invitation folded out on each side to reveal the time and date and other information for the sleepover. It was all neatly printed in gold.

“This is perfect,” Justin said. “JR will love it.”

Brian smiled to himself, but didn’t say anything.

“Dada makes good cards,” Bree said smiling at her other father, and batting her lashes at him.

“Thanks, Squirt,” Brian said and smiled back at her.

“You do wonderful work,” Justin said leaning down to kiss Brian’s lips.

Brian looked up into Justin’s eyes. “You don’t have to flatter me.”

“I’m not. This is beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Brian whispered softly.

“JR will love it. You’ll have to tell her that you helped Bree make it.”

“Maybe.”

“Brian…?”

“I’ll tell her, Daddy,” Bree volunteered.

“Thanks, sweetheart. JR said she could come for that weekend?” Justin asked to be sure.

“Yep,” Bree replied.

“Thank the gods,” Brian whispered. He was counting on JR to entertain and help look after the other little girls.

“So, you’ll hand out your invitations when you get to school?” Justin asked. Bree nodded.

“Let’s go, Squirt,” Brian said standing up. “Your Daddy needs to get back to his painting.”

Bree ran to get her coat.

“Thanks for helping her make those invitations,” Justin said to his husband.

“You don’t need to thank me. We had fun. And I got to be creative. Besides, we’re a team.” Brian kissed Justin’s cheek and followed Bree out of the kitchen. Justin just stood there and smiled.

 

*****
 

“Bye, Dada,” Bree called as she ran to meet her friends. Brian got back into the SUV and watched Bree pull the invitations out of her backpack. There were lots of squeals and smiles from the little band of girls that surrounded his daughter.

He couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm as he put the car in gear. The invitations were obviously a big success. As Brian backed out of his parking space, he saw Winona standing next to the school building, watching the other girls with a funny look on her face. He wondered if she understood that Bree might not want to invite her to the party. She looked so alone. Brian shook his head and reminded himself to ask his daughter about Winona’s reaction when she got her invitation.

“This is so perfect,” Hannah cooed as she opened and reopened her invitation. “I love it, Bree!”

“Mine is so beautiful,” Ashley said with reverence.

“I love mine too,” Brenda chimed in.

The girls started comparing their invitations and looking at all the special features they contained. While they were gushing and chattering away, Bree looked up to see Winona standing by the school watching them with sad eyes. At that moment she was glad she had an invitation for the older girl. Clutching it in her hand, she left her friends and ran over to Winona.

“Hi, Winona,” Bree said, putting her hand holding the invitation behind her back so Winona couldn’t see it.

“Hi,” Winona said softly.

Bree could hear the sadness in her voice. “Here,” Bree said holding out the invitation to her sometimes friend.

“You’re inviting me?” Winona asked, her eyes lighting up and a smile radiating from her face.

Bree was so happy she had decided to invite Winona, when she saw the look on the girl’s face. “Sure,” Bree answered.

Winona pulled her invitation out of the envelope. It was a garden of flowers with a beautiful pink rose much larger in the middle of the other flowers. The rose opened to reveal the information inside.

“This is beautiful, Bree,” Winona whispered.

“I’m glad you like it. My Dada helped me make yours. Each one is different,” Bree explained.

“Your Dada?”

“Yep.”

“I love it,” Winona said sincerely. “I bet it’s better than the other ones,” she added, suddenly realizing that she was sounding rather sappy.

“They’re all very good,” Bree said with a frown. “Nobody’s is better.”

“Mine’s the best,” Winona repeated her declaration.

Bree sighed. “Whatever,” she said rather annoyed. “If you can come to the sleepover after you show your mother, let me know.”

“I’ll be there.” There was no hesitation in Winona’s voice.

Bree began to wonder once more if Winona would spoil the party for the rest of them. “Winona, please be nice to my other friends?” Bree asked.

“I’m always nice. My mother tells me that all the time.”

“Okaaay,” Bree sighed. “Let me know if you can come.” Before Winona could say something else to annoy her, Bree ran back to her other friends.

Winona stared at the beautiful invitation before carefully sliding it back into its envelope. Just then the bell rang for them to go into the school. As Bree and the other girls ran past her, Winona clutched the invitation to her chest. She smiled and felt so happy that she had been invited. She had been so afraid she was going to be left out … again.

Bree glanced back at Winona as she waited for her friends to enter the school. She was happy to see the radiant smile on Winona’s face. It reminded her a bit of her Daddy’s smile. That was one of her most favorite things in the whole world.
 

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