BRIAN

Justin needed to see his grandparents and told me that I could take Gus to see our house; OUR house, not his. I wanted to meet them. They stood by him, and that meant that they were good in my book. It was just, as much as I knew he wanted me to like his sister, I just didn’t right now. I needed to know why he didn’t see what she was doing, using him so she didn’t have to deal with what she did. I’d given Gus the choice of coming with us or staying with Ted and Blake. He said he always wanted to see someone richer than the Petersons. I almost told him I was and likely so was Justin, but I understood he’d been to the sterile house where nothing was to be touched, and wanted to see what Justin’s grandparents were like.

When we landed in Philly, Justin had a car waiting for him. He mentioned we should rent a few different ones so we could see which one we liked, since we were going to need a kid mobile. At first I didn’t really like the casual way he viewed things, but for him it was just the way he was, it wasn’t an act. We were driving down a long lane, and reached the house after turning into an open gate.

“They’re expecting us,” Justin told me.

“My mom’s parents used to get snippy if they didn’t know we were coming,” Gus told him.

“Mine really don’t care, as long as we show up more than every couple of months. Nana says she went to the trouble of having my mom for grandchildren, so we owe her more than a phone call,” Justin told us, smiling.

“She sounds interesting,” Gus answered.

“She can be uptight, but only if she doesn’t like someone. My Pop, on the other hand, reminds me of your dad. He scares the hell out of people but only because he doesn’t show anyone the real guy unless he likes you,” Justin told Gus, but was likely preparing me.

“Dad’s not like that,” Gus informed him.

“Ask Cynthia or Ted,” Justin whispered.

We stopped in front of house a lot like the one Justin bought, only it looked like it had more property. A butler opened the door, and Gus looked at me, since the guy looked stiffer than his collar.

“Master Justin, good of you to visit. Your grandfather told me to inform you he’d like to see Mr Kinney alone,” He told him, formal as shit.

Justin smiled and grabbed the man in a big hug. “Stop scaring them, Len. Grandpa is interested in Kinnetik still,” Justin told me, ruffling Len’s hair.

“I swear, you have no sense of decorum,” Len said, smiling at him.

“I do, just didn’t really get it. I mean you used to run around playing with me, so I don’t see the point,” Justin told him. The guy was at least eighty.

“Someone had to stop you from your schemes,” He said, leading us in.

When we got to the back of the house, his grandmother was sitting next to his grandfather, folders spread out around them. They were arguing about what they were looking at, but when Justin came in they stopped and got up to greet him. Both were dressed down, not formal, the way Lindsay’s parents would be.

“They don’t act like mom’s parents,” Gus whispered to me.

Marshall walked over to where we were and held out his hand to me. After introductions, he turned and held out a hand to Gus. Gus shook it, telling him thank you for inviting him. It’s something Lindsay’s parents expected when Gus was present.

“Good manners. Have you taught Justin any?” Marshall joked to Gus.

“I think I’m going to have to teach him how to deal with kids first,” Gus said, giggling.

“I’m sure your father will help him, from what Justin said, your dad is one of the good ones,” Marshall told him. 

Which seemed to score a point for Justin with Gus. “My dad is one of the best,” Gus told him.

“Why not go over and meet my wife, Vivian. She’s been looking forward to meeting you since Justin mentioned bring you,” Marshall told Gus.

“Dad?” Gus asked.

“Go ahead, I’d like to get to know Marshall,” I told him.

“Sir, is it alright if Gus has a snack?” Len asked me, carrying sugar overload on a tray.

“If he wants it,” I told him, knowing he would.

“Holy Cow!” Gus yelled when Len came out.

“I guess Gus wants it,” Marshall told me, leading me to his study.

After sitting down and seeing him root through his desk, he grabbed a bottle out of a drawer. I almost smiled that a man who could afford pretty much anything, drank Beam.

“I got used to it during college. Most of the guys couldn’t afford top shelf,” He told me.

“No Ivy league?” I asked.

“Of course, but I never really liked the jackasses who went there, only to waste time until their parents handed over their inheritance. I could have lived the same way, but it’s a waste of life. Vivian would have dropped my ass, just because she wanted a man with ambition, not Daddy’s money. She had to fight tooth and nail for her family to see that being arm candy wasn’t what she wanted in life,” He told me.

“What do you want to know?” I asked, deciding not to beat around the bush.

“Nothing really. Justin told me what he thought about you and that’s all I needed to hear. Unless you’d reconsider having a partner. Justin told me you plan to go global eventually, but why not go ahead now, when I’d be willing to help?” He asked me.

“Kinnetik isn’t ready yet. When I do, I want the right people in place. Doing it now would require adding staff, and I don’t want to hire only to fill positions. The people that I hire have to bring something that shows me they are an asset, not just a body to fill positions. I also don’t want my current clients to feel like they aren’t important because we get overwhelmed with business. When I take it global, I want to know Kinnetik could finance it without a partner, even if I decide to take one on,” I told him.

“Justin said you were good, and that I wouldn’t be investing in a business, but you. When you decide you want a partner, let me know. I like that you see all the angles before you make a decision,” He told me.

“How did he end up being the person you sent in to assess the businesses?” I asked.

“You worked with him, what did you think?” He asked.

“He’s stubborn.” I answered.

“He’s also good at business, even though he doesn’t really love it. Craig didn’t recognize it, because if he did, he would have seen that it was a mistake treating Justin like he wasn’t good for anything but getting some pervert to invest by offering up Justin,” He told me.

“Not Molly though,” I responded.

“Ah, that bothers you. What has Justin told you about Molly?” He asked me.

“I really don’t want to talk about her. My opinion isn’t the best and I don’t want him to have to defend himself over what his sister, to me, uses him for,” I answered.

“Then listen, it’s not that Molly knows she’s doing it, because Justin’s always done things to protect her. He makes sure to keep Craig in line, and yes Molly depends on him for that, but it’s how Justin is. He wouldn’t be on the outside of his family if he did what they wanted. They only see dollar signs, not children. Justin was old enough to tell Craig off and leave, but Molly wasn’t, and they’ve never done anything that would be considered wrong, so there was nothing Justin could do, since they are good parents as far as anyone knows. He wouldn’t have had to help Molly if she’d come to us, but like I said, Molly looks to Justin.” He told me.

“Justin said Craig would have tried to jump in if he knew Justin was at Kinnetik because of you,” I told him.

“He knows that I don’t invest in companies unless I see a winner. When he found out that was what Justin was doing for me, I was honestly pleased to see him realize what he’d lost by driving Justin away. Craig started out with a couple electronics stores, but after marrying my daughter took the money that we already bestowed on her, and invested with his group of trust fund kids. Only none of them wanted to work hard, just have a way to play harder. Craig does well without running Molly’s career, but he likes the doors her life opened up for him, after Justin closed all the doors in his circle. So how do you feel about having my great grandchild?” He asked, gauging my reaction.

“The same way it feels to know my child is inside him. Fucking great,” I told him, making him laugh.

“He was right, you are one of a kind Kinney. Let’s go out and let Vivian try to convince you to let us spoil Gus,” He told me.

MICHAEL

Ben seemed almost upset about Justin and Brian. I didn’t like it, but then it’s not like I didn’t do the same thing for years to him with Brian. I made us dinner, which was normally what he did, but I wanted to cheer him up. I wasn’t a fan of tofu but he loves it. So I got Ma to make the lasagna, having a fight over using tofu instead of meat and the vegan cheese Lindsay told me about. Ma stared at the ingredients in the cheese and shook her head asking what the hell was wrong with milk, you don’t have to kill a cow to get it. I let her put some real cheese in the middle, figuring Ben wouldn’t inspect it and because I really missed cheese, burgers, and everything else Ben thought was bad for me.

He ate it, not even paying attention or complimenting me on my hard work. It was really bothering me the way he was taking this news, like he was jealous or something.

“What the hell, you kept saying he was just a friend, but the way you’re acting it’s like Brian stole your boyfriend!” 

“Jesus, this again, it’s not that. It’s that like you always talk about Brian never keeping secrets from you, Justin never did either. I feel like he’s pissed at me, but I’m not sure for what. I’m happy if he and Brian are, but it’s like you when Brian shuts you out,” He told me.

“Then worry about it when you can talk to him. I went to a lot of effort for you and you’ve spent all night moping around. Remember me, the guy you love,” I reminded him, getting up and leaning in to kiss him.

“Yeah, sorry. Thank you for dinner but I need to get some work done,” He told me, walking off.

I couldn’t believe this, I grabbed my coat and slammed out the front door. He didn’t even come after me as I waited outside for him. I called Emmett to see where he was and took the car just because Ben thinks we shouldn’t unless we need to, something about harmful fumes or something. Well I was fuming so I doubted driving the car would matter. 

Emmett was sitting in the corner eyeing some guy. Seriously, Emmett needed to stop avoiding the guy he really wanted, but then said Drew isn’t twenty-one, which I don’t get.

“Hey, so what’s got you all fired up tonight?” He asked.

“Ben is acting like the world came to an end. He says they’re just friends, but really, he's acting like Justin owes him an explanation for having a boyfriend. Do you really that bothers Ben?” I asked, not really expecting an answer to that.

“Honey, until you figured out that Ben deserved to be number one, you did the same thing. Even the other day, you sort of ignored Ben because Brian didn’t answer you. Think about it, and cut Ben some slack, it’s hard when your best friend finds someone they need more than you,” He told me.

“Ted will always need you and so will I,” I told him.

“When I find the right guy, it won’t be such a big deal. Although I’m still thrilled for Brian, we should do something to welcome Justin to the family,” He told me.

“Maybe that will get Ben to cheer up, a surprise party at the loft,” I told him, getting up and leaving, excited for something that might make Ben perk up.