CHAPTER SIX: SELF-SABOTAGE Part 1 

JUSTIN:

I keep thinking to myself, is there a loophole? From everything Brian, Brett, Connor, and I have been discussing, there doesn’t seem to be one. But something is niggling at the back of my mind that I just can’t put my finger on.

“So basically, we’ll be the outsourcing company for all of your pre-production needs. That’s not a problem…”

“Then what is, Justin?” Brett asks. “I’ve come to know you pretty well over the years so I know when that little blond hamster is working overtime. What is it?”

“Okay, here’s the thing. I have absolute faith in my staff here as it is, but I also know what it takes to work on pre-production. Now that’s not to say that I don’t think we can handle it amongst our other accounts; quite the contrary in fact. We only employ the best, both within Kinnetik and within JT Designs. However, I’m going to ask for a huge favor and I’m not sure that you will agree to it right away. It would mean an addition of seven million dollars to the current contract figures we are talking about.”

“Seven million dollars more? This had better be good, kid!” Connor exclaims even as I regard him steadily.

“It is, along with being both vital and necessary to see a return on your investment. And furthermore, I believe that you know firsthand just how un-kidlike I actually am.” I raise my eyebrow at him, daring him to disagree. When he remains silent, I continue. “The fact is that in order to meet your needs and that of our other clients, I am going to need to expand at a very rapid rate.”

“This is something that you and I have already talked about, Sunshine, and we agreed to do it at the beginning of the next quarter,” Brian reminds me.

“That’s true, Brian. But considering the current turnaround dates and deadlines we are up against even without the contract for Kell-Jam, we need to push up the timetable on the expansion. So here is what I am proposing: I want to create a department within my portion of the company that is solely dedicated to the motion picture side of things. I will still work both within the realm of Kinnetik, and personally on the accounts for Kell-Jam Studios, but to do so solely with the staffing I have now already in a time crunch, something is bound to suffer. That said, I want us to be able to offer the potential employees a first-rate opportunity to get in on the ground floor of your company.”

“Meaning?”

“In addition to working as a graphic artist on your projects, for every pre-production project they complete and based on your approval and ours, I want them to be given the option to collect their bonus up front or flip it into a stock option within your company. Brian and I find that people do their best work when they own even the smallest piece of what you’re building; when they feel as if they have a say and that it will be viably heard. That is part of what makes Brian and I so successful here at Kinnetik JTD. My theory is that in doing this, we will not only make Kell-Jam an even larger force to be reckoned with in terms of studios, but also it will make you one of the premiere companies to work for within the country. You make money, we make money, and they make money, so everyone is happy.”

“Sounds good, but where would we find the caliber of artist that you are?”

“First and foremost, I hold no illusions that this competition is a shoe-in for me. I know most of the contestants and have spent years admiring their work long before L.A. was a footnote in my life. That said, perhaps while I am competing with them, I may be able to judge which of them I can effectively work with.”

“Well that leaves Stacy Peete out,” Connor snickered.

“Indeed, it does. Even though she is talented in her own right, she is also lazy and and an unmitigated jackass. The biggest turn-off for me where she is concerned is that…”

“She reminds you of Lindsay,” Brian interjected. I nodded in acknowledgement.

“What’s her deal really?” Connor asked.

“Whose? Stacy’s or Lindsay’s?”

“Both, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t. Let me start with Stacy since she is the easiest to cover. Plain and simple, she has a God-complex. However, I see her as being incredibly insecure.”

“That arrogant harridan? I can’t imagine she has an insecure bone in her bony body, Justin.” Brett laughed at the thought.

“Hear me out. Take my attorney, Melanie, for a moment. A more self-assured, capable woman I have never known. Or at least, I thought that was the case when I first met her. She’s not only beautiful, and a pretty nice lady with a good heart, but she has an agile and brilliant mind where law is concerned. When I first met her she was driven, but still always felt the need to prove herself. No matter how many cases she won, there was this constant need to be better and to do better. Brian and I are often guilty of the same motivation, but we handle and process it differently.

“At first, Brian was a lot like Mel, but then being with me taught him that you can only do what you can do. Now that’s not to say that we ever stop striving; we don’t, but that’s just our way. It’s when we took our focus off of the bigger pictures that we fucked up. But over the years, we’ve stood by and watched Mel become more and more insecure about her world and her place in it. Instead of basking in the knowledge that she has always been capable and didn’t have to be a bitch all the time, she started to hide behind her self-imposed walls to protect herself. That’s what Stacy does. She thinks that by coming off as a bitch, people will respect her, when in most cases it’s the opposite. Most people don’t want to work with her, let alone answer to her. She doesn’t see that her chronic PMS-ing is actually sabotaging her.”

“What brings that about in a person?” Connor wondered aloud. He could see the merit of my assessment of Stacy Peete. Hell, he’d even experienced a degree of it when he was turned down for a role or two. But eventually he snapped out of his pity party and got back to working on himself. Today he’s one of the most successful men in Hollywood, but he never went out of his way to be an asshole to anyone just because he could, like she does.

“It’s a number of things. In all honesty, it’s primarily the people one surrounds themselves with. For me, the person that builds me up is Brian. I would like to think that I do the same for him. In our early days, it wasn’t like that for either of us, but we’ve grown and we’ve changed somewhere along the way. In Mel’s case, she had a wife who was never satisfied and took it out on her.”

“Lindsay?” Brett asks.

“Yeah, Lindsay. What can I say about her that won’t let my bitterness towards her come to the fore? Well not much, but what I can tell you is that she and I came from the same social set. Whereas I have ditched the societal norms, or more accurately, I only adhere to them when I have a reason to, Lindsay lives for them. She’s literally entangled in them in such a way that it affects everyone and everything around her. Plain and simple, she’s entitled, spoiled, and sucks the air out of a room.”

“Sunshine…”

“No, Brian. I won’t lie, and besides, I am being nice. I haven’t called her a bitch without a broom of her own; a confused shrew, or even a horse-humping thundercunt. I’ll keep all of those thoughts to myself.”

Brian snickered. “Your horns are showing.”

“I know. I’ll ask for my halo back later when I’m through,” I say wryly, causing the others to laugh.

“Speaking of Lindsay, Justin, I think you need to see this,” Cynthia said as she re-entered Brian’s office. She’d gone to check on the event list for the day while they were hashing out the details to the contract. “I nearly blew a damn gasket when I saw this.”

As Brian and I read the announcement, he closed his eyes. Wordlessly, he handed it over to Brett for his and Connor’s perusal. Brian asked, “Surely Sunshine, you don’t think…”

“Absolutely, Brian.”

“But that’s ridiculous!” Cynthia exclaimed. “So what do you guys want me to do?”

I sighed. “There’s not much you can do at this point. We all know she is going to enter the competition for no other reason than to annoy me.”

“She does have a tendency to push all of your buttons, Justin. It’s what she and Michael have in common.”

“Among other things,” I say, but then remember the other thing I meant to ask Cynthia to do. “Actually Cyn, can you call Mel and Miranda for me? And where’s Ted?”

“On his way back from getting you something to eat per the boss’ orders.”

I turn to look at Brian, loving the sheepish look on his face just now. “I didn’t leave you with much time to eat or have a full breakfast.”

“No you didn’t, but I’m certainly not complaining.” Before the conversation could turn heated between us, I tell him what I have been thinking all morning, but has just become clear right now. “I think it’s time to make the offer.”

“Now?”

“With Lindsay pulling this stunt, I’m thinking there’s no time like the present. Now that Mom owns the store and all of the contents in it, and after the way Ben spoke about him last night, I don’t see Michael lasting a week. Better to extend the offer now and he accept, than to have him hunting you down for a handout when his bullshit blows up in his face.”

“It’s kind of too late for that,” Ted says, as he comes in with several bags. “I just got a call from Ben. He’s finally had enough.”

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

BEN:

I come in through the front door, unsurprised when all conversation- or more accurately, arguing- ceases. “Wh- what are you doing home, Ben? Didn’t you have some kind of seminar to teach today?”

“No, that was yesterday, Michael.” Once again, I am reminded of how little attention he pays to anything other than Brian and Justin’s business. “Actually, there is something that I would like to tell you, Michael. Lindsay, can you excuse us for a moment?”

“Actually, Ben, Lindsay and I were in the middle of an important conversation. I’m sure that whatever we have to talk about can wait.”

“I don’t think it can. You see, Michael, I want you out of here. In fact, I’m going to be decent and let you know that the garbage men are on their way down the street. They are just a couple of blocks over.”

“So? What has that got to do with me?”

“Nothing, unless you don’t mind wearing those ratty jeans and Captain Asshole shirt for awhile until you can afford new clothes for yourself.”

“Wh- What are you babbling about?!”

“Not babbling at all. I’ll leave that activity to you and the prissy princess here. But you will do it outside of my house. You’re officially moved out. Now whether it’s with your belongings, which are currently outside at the curb waiting for the trashmen to take them to the local landfill, or not, is entirely up to you. Clock’s ticking, Michael. I would hurry if I were you.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!!!! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!”

“Can, will, and AM DONE, Michael! I’m sure between you and Lindsay, you can find a place to stay now that she and Mel are no longer together either. I would hurry though. The garbage truck is almost here by now.” I move over to the door and open it wide.

“This isn’t over,” he grits out as he rushes past me with Lindsay in tow.

She stops and looks at me with narrowed eyes. “I want you to know that you will pay for this.”

“I’ve been paying for it since I met him, which I suspect is how Mel feels about you right now.”

“I will get Melanie back to where she is supposed to be! But I’m looking forward to making her grovel before I agree to be with her again.”

“Well since that’s got about as much of a chance of happening as Michael growing up does, I’m going to suggest that you enter rehab. Apparently, you’ve been indulging in too many glass dicks, and not just the kind found in a sex shop. Have a good time chasing your tail, Lindsay, although I can’t see that it will be much of a chase after all.” I enjoy slamming the door in the face of her effronted gasp even as I turn the locks and deadbolt the door.

I spot his Captain Astro jacket and open the window, chucking it out onto the front lawn while watching him scurry back and forth to collect the fourteen bags at the curb before the truck officially gets to our… my house. Lindsay is just standing there with her arms folded, lecturing him about the mounds of useless trinkets that he really should get rid of while he yells at her for being an uncaring bitch. Well, birds of a feather and all, because that’s what he’s been as long as I can remember. The house phone rings as I continue to watch the Idiot Show happening outside the big bay window in my living room.

“Hello, Ben. Did you called me earlier?” Jen asks, and I’m reminded of Justin’s no-time-for-bullshit tone during his ‘office hours’.

“Yes, I did. I was wondering if you had an opening today so we could meet and talk.”

“Well actually, I’m going to be down at the building which is formerly known as Red Cape Comics if you want to come by there.”

“Formerly? What do you mean?”

“Oh you mean Michael hasn’t told you?”

“Told me what?”

“That Brian offloaded it to me this morning for nonpayment of the rent. You know what kind of businessmen he and Ted are, and the store just wasn’t profitable. So now I have a few decisions to make as to what to do with it once I have the contents therein appraised. I imagine we’ll be there for the remainder of the afternoon.”

I can’t help it… I laugh long and hard. Once I’m finally in semi-control of myself again, I tell her, “I’ll be there within the hour. I’m just going to speak to one of my neighbors about waiting for the locksmith for me.”

“Locksmith? Ben, is everything alright?”

“Better than alright, Jennifer. Everything here is just about perfect. See you in a bit.” As I hang up the phone, I realize the truth of my words. The fact that I’m no longer troubled about ending my marriage is very telling. In fact, for the first time in a long while, I feel happy. Happy and free! I head out the backdoor and cross over into my neighbor Malcolm’s yard. After getting confirmation that he would call the locksmith after the Pouty Pissant of Pittsburgh left (his words, not mine), I make my way to my car and drive off without the two of them noticing.

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

MICHAEL:

I can’t believe he did this! I mean, who the fuck does he think he is to do this to me?! After all I have done for him, this is how he repays me?! What is it with the ungrateful ass men in my life lately? Brian is acting like he doesn’t know me; Boy Wonder is acting like letting him work on Rage wasn’t a favor to him, and don’t even get me started on Ted and Emmett! Ted has gotten much too big for his britches since he started working for Brian, and Emmett just thinks he’s better than me. How or why does he even think that?! He’s a nothing and a nobody. The only friend I seem to have right now is a woman I can barely stand on a fucking good day… and today is certainly NOT that!

“So Michael, what are you going to do?”

“If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be standing here waiting for a cab with you,” I answer her.

“Well, I was thinking that perhaps you should appeal to Brian to let you stay at the loft until you find a new place or something. It’s not like you have a lot of money, and Brian has always been into helping the needy. I mean, he’s been friends with you for years. You can’t get more needy than that, right?”

“Fuck off, Lindsay! This is not the time for your bullshit.”

“Well it seems that you have time for all the bullshit in the world just now, doesn’t it? Oh I know! What about the apartment above your store?”

I look at her with narrowed eyes, knowing good and fucking well what she’s doing. Lindsay and Mel were still together when I signed the new loan agreement with Brian. I know that she knows what the contract agreement was. It said that if I missed three payments, per the contract, Brian was going to take the store from me. I didn’t think he was serious until I received the certified registered letter that I had to fucking sign for this morning before going out and meeting her skanky ass for breakfast. “That would be great if I actually had a store anymore, Assholette!”

“Oh, is that what that pink paper on the door of Red Cape Comics… oh sorry, your former business, said? Michael, you poor thing. Well, look at the bright side.”

“And just what is the fucking bright side to being homeless, jobless, and husband-less?”

“Well now you have more time to devote yourself to the important things, like getting Justin away from Brian. I mean, it’s just a thought. In the meantime, you should probably call a removal van or something. Don’t you still have that storage unit?”

FUCKING BITCH!

“No, Lindsay. Remember I had to let it go because some idiot let her rent go and I had to send the money up to Canada since Brian was out of the country? Or at least I thought so, until it came out that she was actually going on a trip to New York that her wife didn’t want to fund, since it involved going to see her former fuckbuddy Sam’s show. Ring any fucking bells?”

“Oh, yes. Sam and I had a marvelous weekend then. Thanks for that, by the way. You want details?”

“About as much as I want to be near you right now, so no!”

“Well, I guess that’s my cue. I’ll see you later.”

“Where the fuck are you going?!”

“To enter the competition.”

“I thought we agreed that this was a bad idea!” I yell at her.

“No, that was you agreeing. As for me, I’m looking at where all your wisdom, knowledge, and understanding has gotten you, and am deciding to do the exact opposite.”

I’m so sick of her digs at me right now. “Fine! Go show the world what an untalented hack you are. I’ll look forward to reading the blogs about it. And you’ve failed too, Lindsay! Don’t forget that!” I yell, as she continues walking away from me.

I feel around for my cell phone, but can’t find it. I have to call Ma. Maybe she could put me up until I have a chance to speak to Brian. I don’t see any reason why I can’t stay with him, and Boy Wonder can’t stay somewhere else. I mean, I met Brian first! I’ve always been there for him! He fucking owes me! And while I am happily ensconced within BRIAN’S loft, I will show him just how good we could be together if he would just finally let go of that fucking twink’s ass. Let me… Oh fuck! Both my phone and my keys are in the fucking house. And Ben’s damn car is GONE!!!