Chapter 5



The alarm rang at six. Justin had agreed to stay with Brian all night, knowing how Brian had been affected by what had happened at the office the previous day. He had a nagging worry that Brian might decide not to go back. He hoped he was wrong because he knew that would be a huge step backwards for both of them. So he was there, hoping to convince Brian to go into work, if that became necessary.

When he heard the alarm, Justin forced his eye open. Two eyes would have taken too much effort. He really hated mornings. He threw his arm to the side. The bed was empty. Brian was already in his wheelchair heading for the bathroom.

"Do you need me to go with you?" Justin asked sleepily.

"Naw, but I have to do my exercises first," Brian said before he disappeared into the bathroom."

"Shit!" Justin grumbled knowing the noise from the clanging weights would keep him awake.

"I heard that," came from the bathroom.

"Fuck you!"

"I thought you got enough of that last night."

"Piss off!"

"I am as we speak."

"You're going to drive me insane."

"You mean if I haven't already," Brian chuckled. Justin could hear him peeing. "Why don't you go down to your place and get some more sleep," Brian suggested, knowing that a grumpy Justin was not a good thing. He might need the cheerful version after work again.

"Are you sure?" Justin asked sitting up in bed.

"I'm sure."

"You don't want me to drive in with you?"

"I can do it myself," Brian said testily.

"I know you can, but I thought you might like some company." Justin knew it was more about making sure that Brian got to the Ryder Agency than actually spending time together, especially at this ungodly hour of the morning.

"Go home," Brian ordered. "I'm going to work. You don't need to babysit me." The toilet flushed, effectively putting an end to any further discussion.

Justin sighed and pulled on some sweats. Getting a place together had to be a priority. He fucking hated getting up like this and scrambling down to his own loft. He wanted to sleep with Brian, he wanted to make love all night long, he wanted to snuggle up against his lover whenever he felt like it in the night, but he also wanted to be able to roll over and go back to sleep when Brian got up.

When Brian came out of the bathroom a minute or two later, the bedroom was empty. Justin had gone back to his own loft. "Good," Brian muttered as he wheeled down the ramp to start on his regimen of stretches and weights.

As much as Brian loved coming home to Justin and having him sleep at the loft, he didn't enjoy the grumpy guy that had to get up early in the morning because Brian was clanging around with his exercises. Brian also resented the way Justin watched him and insisted on going places with him. Brian knew it was because Justin was concerned about him, but that didn't make it any better. Whose partner drove with them to work and then took a cab home? Brian snorted. Who was Justin kidding? He was just making sure that Brian got there and didn't chicken out.

Brian continued to lift his weights, all the while thinking about what had happened the day before. It had been a good day until Kip Thomas ruined it. But then Justin and all his other friends, or rather his "family", had managed to restore his good humor. Brian had been prepared when he came home to say fuck it to the whole idea of going to the office. Who needed the aggravation? He could continue to work from home.

But then everyone had called. He could hear the concern in their voices. They wanted him to have a good experience at the office. They wanted him to succeed with this new step in his fucked up life. Brian smiled at the memory of the phone calls. They were so predictable, but they did make him feel better. And he was going to go to the office today. As much as he was dreading another encounter with Kip Thomas, he wasn't going to let that stop him.

Brian was smiling until his thoughts turned once again to his partner, his lover, his friend. They really did need to do something about their living arrangements before they drove each other crazy. Brian looked around. If only there was some way to close off the bedroom so that he wouldn't disturb Justin so early in the morning. That would solve their problems, at least temporarily.

A few more exercises and Brian was finished his complete set. He wiped his sweaty brow with a towel and headed for the shower. He wondered if Justin was sleeping. He hoped so. He wanted a happy Justin Taylor when he came home later that day.



*****



Brian wheeled off the elevator. Cynthia met him almost immediately with a cup of coffee. He traded his briefcase for the coffee mug. Carrying Brian's briefcase, Cynthia accompanied him into his office.

"It's still mine, I see," Brian said sarcastically looking around the space. Some part of him had wondered if Kip Thomas would sneak in during the night and take back his office. But the meager changes Brian had made were still in place.

"What does that mean?" Cynthia asked with a frown.

Brian realized that she probably didn't know about his encounter with Kip. "I met the new hotshot adman at the elevator yesterday," Brian informed her.

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"What did he do?" Cynthia asked concern showing on her face.

"He was … nasty."

"That fucking son of a bitch! I'll rip his balls off."

Brian laughed. "Christ, Justin and everyone else I know wants to kick his ass, and you're going to rip off his balls. Can we say 'eunuch'?"

"The family rallied behind you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad you have them back," Cynthia said sincerely.

"So am I," Brian admitted.

"What happened between you and Kip?"

"I really don't want to discuss it. Suffice it to say that I want to mop the floor with the fucker on whatever campaign we get next."

"You can do that with one hand tied behind your back," Cynthia said confidently.

Brian smiled. She was one great executive assistant. "It's not my hands that are the problem," Brian replied gesturing to indicate the wheelchair.

"That has nothing to do with your brains and advertising acumen. I stand by my statement."

"Thank you, Ms. Morgan," Brian chuckled.

"Let's get to work."



*****



Brian and Cynthia spent the day working in Brian's office. Brian found his desk to be the perfect height now. He decided he should get something nice for Jasper to show him how much he appreciated the adjustments to the desk. All he needed was some fucking idea of what one got as a token of appreciation for someone like Jasper.

At lunch time Cynthia went out to get them a sandwich. Brian still didn't feel ready for lunch at a restaurant, but he knew that day would have to come soon. Maybe the next day. While Cynthia was gone, Brian made a few phone calls to clients, letting them know they could reach him at the Ryder main offices now, and checking on how they were feeling about the state of their advertising. He got a potential addition to one account because of his call, and a lead that might net him a new account. He'd have to remember to call his clients every few months. He'd show Kip Thomas who could bring home the bacon at Ryder.

The strange thing was that he never saw Kip Thomas all day. He half expected the asshole to walk into his office and make some other derogatory remark, but there was no sign of him. Maybe he was out drumming up business so that he could stay ahead of Brian. Brian knew he couldn't make the rounds of potential clients the way he used to, but he could use the telephone as he had just discovered. He was in quite a good mood when Cynthia returned with their lunch.

"Any ideas for Jacobsen Bikes?" Cynthia asked when she walked into Brian's office. That was the account that they had spent most of the morning working on. They still hadn't come up with a good idea.

Brian shook his head, feeling his good mood slip away. "I don't know how to sell their fucking bikes," he griped.

"Maybe we need to get into the heads of the people that would buy these bikes," Cynthia suggested as she laid out their sandwiches and coffee.

"And how the fuck do we do that?"

"I used to date a guy who belonged to a cycling club. I think his bike cost several thou."

"And what would he say about Jacobsen's product?"

"That's just it," Cynthia said taking a nibble on her sandwich, "I don't think he'd say anything about it because he's never seen it. And neither have we."

"Fuck!" Brian reacted. "You're right. We need to get a bike sent over here so we know what we're actually trying to sell."

Cynthia nodded in agreement. "You call Jacobsen and get them to send over a bike by tomorrow. I'll call Gavin and see if he can stop by tomorrow and give us the bikers' viewpoint."

"This isn't just a ploy to see dear old Gavin again, is it?" Brian asked evilly.

"You want to swallow that sandwich, Kinney, or should I ram it down your throat?"

"No offense! I just had to ask."

"I'm calling Gavin because he knows bikes, and if he's still available for dating, that's a side benefit," Cynthia said smugly.

"I love the way your mind works," Brian chuckled.

"Backatcha!"

They each picked up their phone.



*****



After lunch Brian and Cynthia decided to leave the Jacobsen Bike account alone until they talked to Gavin and saw the actual bike. They would concentrate on something else. Brian had found that trying to force ideas rarely worked. His best ideas came from unexpected sources. As a result he sent Cynthia back to her desk to update the account information for the client he had called who wanted to expand his advertising. Cynthia would come up with costs and proposals of the areas they might use for advertising. While she was doing that he decided to call the prospective client that he had been tipped off about.

Brian was a little put off when the potential client, a Mr. Harrington of Acme Garden Tools, wanted him to come in for an interview. This was the first time Brian had been confronted by this request. He decided to be blunt.

"Is your company wheelchair accessible?"

"Why do you ask that?" the client had wanted to know.

"Because I'm in a wheelchair," Brian stated bluntly, even though it still hurt somewhere deep inside to say that. He waited for the reaction.

"Then maybe we should forget about this," the man said tersely.

"So you're not wheelchair accessible?"

"No, we're not."

"I see."

"I think we better give this a pass, Mr. Kinney."

"Would you be willing to come to my office?" Brian asked, hoping not to lose this account before he'd even had a chance to get it.

"I hardly think…"

"I guarantee you something interesting if you decide to come in here," Brian promised.

"You don't even know my company."

"I do my homework," Brian said. He had looked them up on line at their pathetic website. That would be the first thing he would suggest changing.

"Friday 10 a.m.?"

"Done."

"This better be good."

"Count on it." Brian hung up. Friday at ten should prove interesting.

Brian felt the need of Justin after that phone call. He was tempted to call his lover, but decided that maybe an e-mail was what would be best.

Hi BB,

Another interesting day in the land of Ad-ville. I hope you get the joke.

I may have a new client. He's coming here on Friday because his company isn't wheelchair accessible. I fucking hate asking about that.

We're still working on Jacobsen's Bikes and I'm picturing your naked ass perched on the seat of one of those primo bikes. I really must replace that image with something that we can use in an actual ad. LOL

Looking forward to a quiet dinner when I get home. Hope you'll be there.

PP

Brian read over the e-mail. It sounded a little sappy but it said what he meant. He hit send.

Cynthia stuck her head in his door. "I got the proposal drawn up that you wanted. Want to have a look?"

Brian nodded and motioned her in. He took the folder from her but set it on the desk. "We need to come up with something for a new client."

"You got an appointment with Harrington?"

"Well, let's say that he's coming here. We need to wow him."

"We have a lot of wowing to do in the next few days."

"Yeah."

"But we can do it," Cynthia said confidently.

"We're sure as fuck going to try. Did Gavin call back?"

"Yes, he can be here tomorrow afternoon around four if that's okay."

"Sounds good to me. The bike should be here by then."

"Good."

"I want you to look at Acme Gardening Tools' website. It's pathetic. We need to come up with a humdinger to knock Harrington's socks off when he arrives. I think major changes to the website is the way to go."

"Then let's get started."

Time flew by as Cynthia and Brian worked on the website. When they looked up it was almost six o'clock but they had made a website prototype that they were both extremely pleased with. Hopefully Mr. Harrington would feel the same way when he saw it.

"You should head on home," Brian told Cynthia.

"So should you. We both did a very productive day's work."

"True. Now get out of here. We can fine tune this over the next couple of days."

"You better be close on my heels when I leave or I'm coming back to get you," Cynthia laughed. In spite of her frivolous words she really wanted Brian to go home. His health was still fragile and she didn't want him overdoing it. They had both worked hard all day, and the day had been long. Brian needed to get home to his apartment and to his lover. Twelve hour work days were not in his immediate future. Those days were probably long gone. "Remember what I told you," Cynthia said as she went to the door of Brian's office. "I'm leaving and you should too."

"I just want to check my e-mails and I'm right behind you."

Cynthia smiled and walked out. She hoped there was an e-mail from Justin. She knew that was what Brian would be looking for. She wore a silly grin all the way to her office, as she thought about her boss and the young blond.

When Cynthia left the office, Brian clicked on his e-mails. His face lit up with a smile when he saw the one from Justin.

Hey PP,

Did you take lots of Advil to get through a day in the Land of Ad-ville? LOL You are so cute sometimes. Of course, I got the joke, and it was a pretty good one too.

That's great about a new client. You've only been back at this for two days. I'd say that's damn awesome! You have nothing to worry about where Kip Thomas is concerned. No one can hold a candle to my Pesky Pessimist.

I talked to Mom today. You were right about wheelchair accessible properties. She hasn't found any. But she's still looking. She hopes to line up a few places for us to view this weekend. Hope that's all right.

You better stop thinking about my naked ass at work, and get home here so you can have said naked ass all to yourself. I'm heading up to your loft around six. Dinner will be ready by seven.

Be there or be square!

BB

Brian snorted and laughed out loud at the last line. It was so corny it was funny once again. Brian shut down his computer and gathered up the papers he was going to take home with him. He shoved them in his briefcase and snapped it closed.

With a quick look around to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything, he headed for the elevator. His briefcase sat on his lap as he approached the bank of elevators that would take him down to his car.

Before he reached the elevators, he sensed someone else's presence. He turned his head to see a smiling Kip Thomas come down the hall from Sid's old office. He was swinging his briefcase at his side and looking very dapper in what appeared to be a new suit.

"Still here, Kinney?" Kip asked with a smirk. "I thought you cripples all left early. I hear stamina isn't so great when you sit in one of those things all day."

Brian glared at Kip refusing to be baited into making some inane comment as a comeback. As much as he wanted to tell Kip to fuck off, he decided he simply wouldn't talk to the asshole.

"What's the matter?" Kip asked with derision. "Cat got your tongue?"

Brian felt his blood start to boil. "I won't deign to respond to your juvenile attempts to antagonize me." Brian kept his voice level and cool. At least he thought he did.

"You ought to recognize juvenile since you passed through that phase of life at least … what? … twenty, thirty years ago."

"Son of a bitch!" Brian reacted unable to stop himself.

"Tsk, tsk, such language in the office place. I would have thought you'd know better." Kip pushed the elevator button and turned back to smirk at Brian. "These elevators are always so slow."

"Yeah, like some of the people who ride them," Brian said pointedly. He watched Kip's face turn to one of hatred. So, challenging Kip's wit and intelligence was the way to get to him. Brian filed that away for future reference.

The elevator door opened and Kip stepped in. "I'm sure you'll want to wait for the next elevator," Kip said as he pushed the button to close the door.

"Yeah, you never know what you can catch from the vermin who ride these things."

The door closed on Kip's angry face. Brian smiled as he pushed the button to get the other elevator. Kip Thomas really did have something to learn about how to make an exit.