Still the One

Chapter 9

March 2025

“Pierre!” Shane greeted his friend.  They were meeting in a small local pub, off the beaten path.

“Shane, good to see you,” Pierre said with a hug for his friend and business competitor.

“How is the family?”

“Good, and you?  No mister right in the picture?”  Pierre gave his friend a wink.

“We can’t all be lucky as you are in your choice of partner.”

“You are right.  I’m a lucky man.  I married a beautiful woman who will put up with all my silliness.  Now, tell me why we’re hiding in shadows to speak.  You and I have no secrets.”

“No we don’t, which is why I feel free to discuss business with you.  We’ve known each for a long time which is why I have to warn you.  There are rumors in the trade that you are contemplating partnering up with Max Jacobs.  Please be honest with me, Pierre.  There’s a lot at stake.  Are the rumors true?” Shane asked sincerely. 

Pierre searched his friend’s eyes for an ulterior motive.  “Yes, they are true.  The business is solid but I’ve grown tired of it and I have no one to leave it to.  I would have asked you but...are you interested?”

Shane paused before speaking.  That was an interesting proposal but he’d have to talk it over with Brian first.  “I never thought of merging with you but that’s not why I asked to meet.  I heard that you were considering selling out to Max Jacobs.  Has he made you an offer?”

“If this was anyone else but you asking I would have said none of your business, but we are friends.  Yes, he has made me a very generous offer.  He assures me that my people will have a place in his plans.  I’ve seen the results of his work; within a year profits have tripled.”

“True, but only for the short term.  Read this.”  Shane handed Pierre a file that contained all the research Gus, Ray and the Kinnetik Isles staff had accumulated on the business practices of one Max Jacobs.  The long term prospects for any of his takeover companies were pretty dim.  It was a miracle if the company lasted longer than five years.

“How has he been able to hide this?” Pierre asked.

“He flips the business quickly, before anyone realizes he’s no longer involved and his award winning staff have quit.  They move on leaving the most inexperienced trying to keep up.  Everyone is so busy trying to stay above water that no one takes a look at how they began to drown.”

“By that time it really doesn’t matter,” Pierre said, shaking his head.  “And you have uncovered this?”

“No, not by myself.  I’ve had a lot of talented help,” Shane said as he pointed to the file. 

“How did this all come about?” Pierre asked.  His mind was reeling from the implications.  Shane gave Pierre an abbreviated synopsis of how Max began to pursue Brian and Kinnetik.  “Your Mr. Kinney is a good man, yes?”

“Aye, a very good man.  He came along just when I was in a similar situation as you are facing now.  A small local firm with no long term prospects and no one to take over the business from me, no one who would run it with integrity.  I have no doubt that Brian’s children will one day inherit his business and follow Brian’s example.  His son is already showing much promise and the little girl...”  Shane laughed.  “You’ll have to meet her one day and then you’ll understand.”

“I always wondered why you allowed Kinney to take over.”

“Here, read this.  I did my research on one Brian Kinney.”  Shane handed Pierre another file, one that contained all the public records about Brian and Kinnetik.

“This is a very thick file.  May I take it to my hotel to read it in private?”

“Of course.  Keep it, perhaps you’ll find it useful.  We may yet become partners,” Shane commented with a wink. 

Pierre smiled.  “I value my staff; they’re like family.  It would pain me to see them harmed in any way.”

“I know that, which is why I had to speak to you.  Max Jacobs has no feelings for his people, he only sees them in terms of how much money they will earn him.  No, we must find a way to stop him, muddy his feeding ground before he ruins another business and more lives.”

“All right, mon ami, I hear you.  I must talk with my people but I will join your fight if I can.  At the very least I will turn down Max Jacobs.”

“Thank you, now let’s have a nice meal.”

“Oui!”

*****

“It’s never easy with you, is it?” Alex commented at the scowling Brian Kinney currently occupying a chair in Alex’s office.  “That’s a rhetorical question by the way.  But I should have known that anything involving Brian Kinney would not be a walk in the park.”  Alex scribbled something down in Brian’s file then pushed it away.  “Did you at least call Justin to let him know you’re alive and well?”  Brian nodded.  “Maybe we should try couples therapy.  I’ve had great success with that.”

Brian frowned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.  He had a bitch of a headache.

“Or maybe not.  You do realize that we’re not going to accomplish much with you frowning and me doing all the talking?”  Brian nodded and let out a sigh.  “Tell me what precipitated your move.”

“We were doing something real, something right out of an old Norman Rockwell painting.  We were putting together a large puzzle, we were having fun and it felt so normal.  I never felt something so right and so normal.  It was like all the pieces of my life had come together, the good times and the bad, and I had a family to share it all.  And that’s when I knew I had to share the wedding with my family, my whole family, because I could.  When I was younger I was in a rush to leave my so-called family because I never felt accepted by them.  So I asked Justin for a wedding that included our extended family.”

“Brian, you have a family that accepts you, even Joan had grown to accept you and you want to share that with those you love.  You want to share officially marrying the man you love above all else with your family.  Brian that’s the most normal thing in the world.  But I want to leave you with something to think about.”

Brian looked up at the good doctor.

“I know you’ve made some sacrifices along the way to make your relationship with Justin work.  We all have to compromise, a relationship isn’t all one way.  So now you’re faced with a very big decision and I believe once you make that decision your path will finally become clear.”

Alex paused to make sure he had Brian’s full attention.

“You have to decide what’s more important to you...” 

Brian stood, he knew what the Silver Fox was going to say.  “To marry him on his terms or risk not marrying him at all by sticking to my request,” Brian quietly stated.

“That’s right,” Alex agreed.  “And I’ll be here for you, Brian.  You can call me day or night.  I make no judgments and I don’t take sides, but you’re my patient as well as a friend.  I will support you in any way that I can.”

Brian again recognized the ending of their session.  And as usual he left with more questions than answers.  The one thing he was certain of was that he had to confront Justin before it was too late.  Alex was right, nothing, not even a wedding ring was worth losing Justin.  Brian hurried to the Jeep so that he could call Justin in private.

“Hey,” Brian heard Justin’s familiar greeting.

“Hey.  I’d like to talk.”

“Me too.  I’m at the diner.”

“You’re here?”

“Yeah, I had a sudden craving for a Liberty Avenue Diner burger with the works,” Justin said.  Brian heard the smile in Justin’s voice.

“I’m a few blocks away, order me a...”

“Turkey on whole wheat, hold the mayo and a coffee.  On it.  Later.”

“Later.”  Brian started up the Jeep.  As he put it into gear he realized his headache was gone and that he was smiling.  He hurried toward the diner.

The bell over the door jingled as Brian entered the diner already full with the lunch crowd.  Brian scanned the booths looking for Justin.  The blond head popped up, and upon seeing his mate, Justin smiled.  Brian smiled back; he couldn’t help it.  No matter how Brian felt, it was Justin that made life all worth it.  Would Brian be disappointed not having their family and close friends at the wedding?  Yes he would be, but he loved Justin more than anything.  Nothing in Brian’s world was more important than having him in it, his Sunshine.

Justin stood, his smile turned coy almost apologetic.  Brian rushed to him and with his finger he lifted Justin’s chin.  Ocean blue eyes searched the hazel ones before him.

“I’m sorry,” Justin began but was stopped by Brian’s kiss.

“No apologies, no regrets, Sunshine,” Brian stated when they broke for air.  “Just marry me.”

“I will, I want to marry you and I want our family there too.  I know there’s stuff going on with Kinnetik so I’ll talk to Emmett to help us, but I want this.  I want you for my lawfully wedded husband and I want the whole world to know it,” Justin said with a huge smile.

Brian lifted Justin and swung him around in a circle.  They laughed until they had tears in their eyes.  Someone shouted, “Get a room!” which only made them laugh harder.

“Can we get our lunch to go?” Brian asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.  Justin waggled his own eyebrows then turned to ask Lacy to pack up their lunch.  She stood there holding a bag ready to go.  Brian handed her a fistful of bills as Justin grabbed the bag.  They sprinted out the door then raced to the loft.

After safely stowing their lunch, the boys began to shed their clothes as they got closer and closer to the big loft bed, stealing kisses along the way.  Instinct, lust, and love took over as they dove into the bed making love first at a frantic pace and then slower taking their time to touch, caress, and taste each other. 

They continued to make love until their lunch became their dinner.

*****

Debbie sat in the small conference room at the high school where she met with Peter.  She flipped the corners of the pages in the folder she had brought with her.  She glanced around nervously.  Usually Peter was waiting for her when she arrived, but today he was nowhere in sight.  According to the clock on the wall he was five minutes late.

Debbie flipped open the folder.  She was banking on its contents to make a real connection with this lad.  She just hoped she had read the situation correctly.

Finally the door opened and Peter walked in.  He dropped his sketchbook on the table and sat at the other end from Debbie.  That wasn't a good sign.

"How are you today?" Debbie ventured to ask.

"How the fuck do I look?" Peter spat out.

"What happened?"

Peter shook his head and refused to answer.

Debbie waited a couple of minutes, but when nothing was forthcoming, she decided she would try to initiate a conversation.  "I brought you something," she said.

Peter scowled and didn't look interested.  Debbie picked up the folder she had brought and got up from the table.  She walked down the length of the table and dropped the folder beside Peter.  He raised his hand like he was about to sweep it off the table and onto the floor.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Debbie threatened.

"You can't do anything to me," Peter declared.  "They've all tried and they never got anywhere.  You won't get anywhere either."

"Good to know," Debbie said picking up the folder from the table.  She went back to her chair and retrieved her coat.  She started to put it on.

"You leaving?" Peter asked.

"What does it look like?"

"I never took you for a quitter."

"And I never took you for an insolent little twerp!"  Peter let out a chuckle.  "What?" Debbie asked.  She stopped putting on her coat.  They had started to talk even if it wasn't in the way she had hoped to get Peter talking.

"Nobody's ever called me a twerp," Peter said with a laugh.

"I can't imagine why they haven't," Debbie declared.

"I've been called a lot worse."

"By who?"

"I think that should be 'by whom?'" Peter said with a grin.

"Hey, I'm supposed to be helping you, not being corrected by you."

"You ... you have helped," Peter said softly.  "I was in a foul mood when I came in here."

"Yeah, I noticed," Debbie replied lifting an eyebrow.  "Care to tell me what caused the foul mood?"

Peter heaved a sigh.  "I have this history teacher.  He makes everything so boring, and I don't think he knows what he's talking about half the time.  He picks on me every day, and sends me to the office for the slightest thing."

"Do you like history?" Debbie asked, not taking the bait about criticizing the teacher.  Peter shrugged.  "I hated history when I was in school.  It was so boring."

"Exactly!  But it shouldn't be boring.  It should be about people, not wars."

Debbie stared at the young man.  That was some statement from somebody who wasn't a good student at all, probably not even good enough to be classified a bad student.  "Why do you say that?" Debbie finally asked.

"I've read lots of books about people in history.  It's interesting how they lived and what they did with their lives."

"Then maybe you should look at my folder," Debbie suggested.

"What does it have to do with history?"

"Open the folder and you'll see," Debbie said.  She slid the folder down the table.

Peter caught it and opened it.  A picture of Debbie's thatched cottage sat on top of the pile of papers.  "What's this?" Peter asked.

"My house."

"No shit!"  Peter studied the picture.  "It really is thatched."

"I told you that last time, but I didn't think you really believed me."

"Who makes a thatched house these days?"

"John Anderson."

"You mentioned him before.  Who is he?"

"He lives up the lane from me.  He's an architect and builder.  He designed and built my cottage."

"Hm," Peter said still studying the photo.  "So, what's the rest of this stuff?"

"I talked to John and he gave me copies of some of the other buildings he's done.  I thought you might like to look at them."

Peter flipped through a couple of the drawings and looked back up at Debbie.  "He likes old buildings?"

"He likes all buildings.  Cottages especially."

Just then the bell rang indicating their time was up.

"Would you like to take the folder with you and look at John's drawings?" Debbie asked.

"Could I?"

"Sure, I'll get it back from you next time."

"Thanks."  Peter stood up to leave.

"Peter, don't let that history teacher get to you."

Peter smiled.  "I'll try not to.  See you next time."

Debbie watched Peter walk out then let out a long breath.  After the rocky beginning she actually felt like they had made some progress.

*****

"So how did it go?" Carl asked as Debbie got in the car following her session with Peter.

"I was ready to walk out.  Peter came into the room in a bad mood and acted like a real jerk."

"You weren't in any danger, were you?" Carl asked.

Debbie smiled to herself.  Carl was worried about her.  That was good.  "I don't think Peter would hurt a fly.  One of his teachers has been on his case, and he was feeling the pressure."

"I hope you're right that he wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"It's fine, Carl.  He's basically a good kid."

"And you know this, how?"

"I feel it in my gut."

"Let's hope your gut is accurate."

"I'm sure it is, but I'll be careful."

"Good.  Did this Peter like the stuff John sent with you?"

"We didn't really get a chance to talk about it much.  I told Peter to take it home with him.  I think he's really interested."

"Did he take the folder?"

"Yeah."

"Then he's probably interested, or he would have left it behind."

Debbie nodded slowly.  "Unless he brings it back shredded," she felt compelled to add.

"He better not, or I may have to have a word or two with him," Carl threatened.

"I'm glad you still want to protect me," Debbie said rubbing Carl's arm.

"I will always protect you, sweetheart."

"You haven't called me that for a while."

"I think finding some independent things to do has improved our relationship," Carl observed.

"I agree.  How was your pool game?"

"I'm still better than Frank, but he's pretty close.  I have to be at the top of my game to beat him."

"Shouldn't you let him win once or twice?"

"Actually he's already won a couple."

"But, I thought you said you were better than him."

"Sometimes I am.  We're pretty equal," Carl chuckled.

"So you're really enjoying playing?"

"I am.  And you're enjoying working with this kid?"

"I am."

"Then it's all good."

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