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Michael was inside the locked shop, smiling as people were lining up early for the signing. He let himself worry a little when he still couldn’t get a hold of Brian or anyone else. He expected his mother or Will to be there, but they both left messages that they were taking the night off. He’d called Ted and Emmett, leaving messages about wanting them to help run the shop while Justin Cole signed the merchandise the kids waiting outside could only get autographed if they bought it from his store. He planned to be at the door, collecting anything that they brought with them to be signed and explaining that they were required to purchase his items. If the guys didn’t help him, it would be a nightmare to control everyone. Michael looked at his watch, and with two hours left before the signing he’d scheduled, decided to open the doors and let them in. He would explain they only had an hour to purchase something if they wanted it signed, and if they didn’t purchase anything they wouldn’t get a chance to talk to Justin Cole.

 

As the kids got up and crowded the door to his shop, Michael made the announcement.

 

“The only items that will be signed are items you purchase here. I’ll be closing again in an hour in order to arrange the tables for the signing. When we reopen, if you haven’t purchased what you want to be signed, I’ll have to turn you away for the people who bought something. Also, the bigger the purchase also means the closer you get to the front of the line.” Michael told them.

 

“So we have to buy it here, and even though my friends and I got here first it doesn’t matter. That’s bullshit.” A kid scowled.

 

“Only if you don’t outspend the rest,” Michael told him.

 

A few kids left, but the rest wanted to meet the author, so they started buying out the Rage items, which Michael didn’t stock up on for this, assuming the author would bring more things that Michael would tell him he’d pass out while collecting money for them. As far as Michael was concerned, Justin Cole would owe him a fee for letting him use his shop. He started inflating the prices on the final items, telling them that he would also make sure they could stick around after the signing and talk to the author personally. Michael thought that if only Brian and Ted could see this they’d see Michael wasn’t playing, the way they were always bitching at him about. He’d show them the receipts, that made a regular month look like pocket money, and wait as each one apologized for ever doubting him. Now if only Brian would deliver on his promise. Well, what Michael had decided was a promise.

 

An hour before the time Michael had posted the signing for, he started to worry when no one showed up. As time drew closer he started mass calling. Not just Brian, but Emmett, Ted, Blake, and Deb. No one answered him. Watching the clock get closer and closer to the scheduled time only had him sweating and panicking, because the people outside kept starring in the shop, only seeing Michael standing there. Michael didn’t know what to do when ten minutes passed after the scheduled time and there was no one around but the people getting angry outside. After another twenty minutes, the fans were banging on the door, telling Michael to open it. Michael realized how pissed they’d be after he made them spend money for the privilege of being first. He called everyone again, still only getting voicemails, and wishing he’d told Brian to give him Justin’s contact information. Which gave Michael an idea. He opened the door looking let down and waited until the line stood in front of him and did what he did best.

 

“I guess Justin Cole didn’t care enough to be here,” Michael said, sounding let down for the fans.

 

For a minute it seemed like they believed Michael’s lie. But then, they all wanted refunds. And when Michael tried to tell them all sales were final, it was a madhouse. The kids started destroying everything, one opened Michael’s ancient register and handed out the money people spent, tearing up receipts. Michael ended up hiding in a closet when they turned on him for wasting their time. Michael pulled out his cell phone, planning to call the police to get everyone out of his store, but had drained the battery calling everyone when Justin Cole didn’t show up. An hour later, everything was quiet and Michael finally opened the door, blowing out a breath when no one was standing there waiting for him. He ventured out in the front and couldn’t believe what he saw, everything was trashed, including all the collectibles he kept, not willing to sell them. When the police arrived it was to tell Michael he could claim it on insurance but since he wasn’t able to say who did what, there was nothing they could do but file a report for him. Michael called the insurance company, only to find out they wouldn’t be able to replace the collectibles since he never insured them, and his deductible would leave them only paying barely enough to replace a quarter of the items in his shop. He cursed Ted for not making him take out the bigger policy that he told him he should get, but at the time he’d wanted a Captain Astro one of a kind lair. After the cops left, Michael locked up the shop, going to find out why Brian let this happen to him.

 

******************************

 

Lindsay was sitting in her new home, with a man old enough to be her grandfather. She’d managed to get Randolph to put a diamond on her finger. One that not only would her sister but her mother be envious of her having. Randolph fought off his family, who all thought Lindsay was a gold digging whore and declared she was the woman of his dreams. What they didn’t understand was that while Lindsay might not love Randolph, she planned to be everything he wanted her to be. He gave her what no one ever did, putting her first in every way. She didn’t even bat an eyelash at the prenup the family made Randolph agree to since he set aside a nice sum for her. She even told him the lie about her past, not really worried because Randolph adored her. Randolph planned to bring Lindsay back to Pittsburgh in style, along with the lawyers who would get Gus back for her. Lindsay wanted Brian to have to beg her for a minute of her time. And planned to make him regret tossing her out pregnant. She cried on Randolph’s shoulder about leaving Gus but assured him she made sure the child was being taken care of. She lied through her teeth about the guy she left Gus with, making him sound like a hero for helping her. 

 

Her first mistake was when Randolph wanted to talk to Justin about the situation. Lindsay tried to stall him, saying Justin wasn’t home, but then admitted she really hadn’t bothered to stay in contact with him. Which was something Randolph found upsetting because even though his family was at odds over Lindsay, they were still close. Lindsay managed to come up with a reason, saying she wanted to protect Gus by leading Brian away from him. For days Randolph said nothing about it, but eventually, he contacted his son and asked him to look into this Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor. What he got back only made him question his hasty choice of marrying Lindsay. It wasn’t Brian Kinney that had him questioning anything, it was Justin Taylor. Who Lindsay described as a down on his luck, barely making it, student. Saying that he only took Gus because she was paying for everything. She did get the part about him loving Gus correct. Since the fortune Justin Cole Taylor inherited had been put aside for the child that he had gone to great lengths to declare as his child. He waited to read about Brian Kinney because he knew once he did, the woman he thought he married would become the woman his son and daughter tried to warn him about. While Brian’s past was colorful, it was nothing any single man hadn’t done, gay or straight. He was a leader in Advertising, owning his own firm, and apparently now the legal father of Gus Taylor-Kinney. Randolph knew he needed to convince Lindsay to do right by the child. He wasn’t fooled that what they had was anything more than a convenient arrangement for Lindsay. He wasn’t looking for love, just companionship in his old age. Lindsay gave him that, even with all her pretty little lies. He picked up the phone, wanting to do what was right for the child that Lindsay had abandoned. 

 

Brian left Justin and Gus at home to tie up anything he needed to before they left for Chicago. As he drove he realized that he no longer felt home here, and the thought of starting in a new place with his son and Justin was the reason. He smiled when Cynthia was standing in the lobby, happier than he’d ever seen her, and when she saw him she looked at him strangely.

 

“Something is different about you,” Cynthia told him.

 

“I found my son.” He told her.

 

“How? When? Why didn’t you call me?” Cynthia asked, grabbing Brian in a hug. Not caring if he wanted her touching him.

 

“Strange as it sounds, Mikey led me to him.” He told her, as they headed toward his office.

 

“At least he’s useful for something. Which is something I’ve spent years trying to figure out. Sit down and tell me.” Cynthia told him, excited for him.

 

Brian sat, watching Cynthia being excited about his search being over, and wondered why he never really thought of her as anything but his right hand. In truth, she was the friend who stood up to him, fought next to him, and never once acted like everything in his life was her business. It wasn’t like she didn’t know everything, but she didn’t push him unless she believed it was something he needed, and when she did was usually right.

 

Brian told her all about Justin and Gus, and she watched her boss become softer as he talked about both of them. When he told her his plans to start setting up an office in Chicago, she planned to make sure nothing got in the way of the happiness Brian seemed to have found. Not only in the son he’d spent years searching for, but in the man who managed to catch the heart of Brian Kinney. 

 

Cynthia barely contained her surprise when Jessica came in with coffee for both of them and smiled at Brian. Not a tear in sight or the running from the room that Cynthia had witnessed in all their dealings. Jessica left after giving Brian his messages, with a confidence Cynthia had yet to see in her.

 

“Marry the guy.” Cynthia joked as the phone rang.

 

“Mr Kinney, line two wouldn’t say who it was but only that it was important,” Jessica said, opening the door.

 

Cynthia sat there watching Brian’s smile leave his lips and be replaced with a frown as he let the person talk to him. Brian hung up looking worried, something that alarmed Cynthia because Brian wasn’t one to worry, but to do something to deal with his problems. She didn’t get to ask him what was going on because the door burst open and Jessica came flying in, yelling for the idiot to stop. Something only Cynthia had ever been capable of doing and decided to show Jessica just how it was done.

 

“OUT. We have a business to run and none of it concerns you and your petty little problems.” Cynthia said, standing in front of Brian’s desk, blocking Michael.

 

“My fucking store was robbed,” Michael told her.

 

“Then call 911, because that’s how it works,” Brian said, surprising Cynthia at his harsh tone.

 

“You promised to bring the author, and because you didn’t, I got robbed,” Michael whined, in the tone Cynthia compared to nails on a chalkboard.

 

“No. Once again, you thought Mikey wants it and Brian would be at your beck and call. Well, you finally got what you deserve, for expecting Brian to drop his life for you.” Deb said, walking in. Cynthia wondered if she was still asleep, or if she had woken up in the wrong universe.

 

“Maaa... He promised me, and now I’ve lost everything.” Mikey whined to her.

 

“You were going to anyway. You haven’t spent a minute in your shop, taking off and hanging flyers like the author would just magically drop out of the sky. I checked with the publisher, who isn’t happy with what you did, or with the article in the newspaper that made it sound like the author let his fans down. Since, according to her, Justin Cole never even agreed to what you promised the people outside the store. I can’t believe you actually made them pay in order to meet the author!” Deb shouted.

 

“I made them buy merchandise. And then they stole my collectibles, the ones I looked for years for and put them in the shop so people could see that I had them!” Michael told her.

 

Deb shook her head at Brian, who was about to comment about said collectibles and the reason Mikey said he kept buying them, which was to profit from them.

 

“Actually I sold them two days ago and paid off all your bills. In fact, you still have enough left to pay the deductible for the shop and start again. Only this time you’re going to be the one running it, not Brian or his bank account. I’ve already talked to Ted, and between us, we are going to show you exactly how to work, not play.” Deb told him, yanking him by the ear out of Brian’s office.

 

Ted walked in barely awake, moving aside as Deb took Michael out the door. He went straight to the sofa and laid down, looking as tired as Brian was after the marathon Justin and he decided to have after putting Gus to bed.

 

“So, I’m going to be busy. I told Deb I’d help her. And you want everything set up for Chicago, which, just to let you know, I managed to scout a few places out after calling Jen in to help. I called a few clients who live close to Chicago and they told me to let you know they have some other businesses that will be happy to use us now that we’re no longer only in Pittsburgh. Now it’s someone else’s turn while I take a nap.” Ted told him.

 

“When do I tell my husband we’ll be moving?” Cynthia asked, not waiting for an answer but calling Jen to look at houses for her.

 

“Blake said he wouldn’t mind living between both cities,” Ted told him.

 

“I’m just planning a small office for now,” Brian told them.

 

“Tell that to the clients who are waiting for Kinnetik, Chicago. I’m serious. After you mentioned it, I called some people just to see what we had to look forward to in a new place. What I got was people asking when you planned to have the office up and running. They want you, and guess what else... the publisher for Rage and a lot of best selling comics called this morning to ask for a meeting.” Ted told him, excited.

 

Brian ignored Ted and dialed Justin. He might love the man, but he didn’t want people handing him things. Brian held the phone to his ear and realized what he just thought. When Justin answered it took him a minute to remember he needed to tell Justin something else.

 

“Brian, are you there?” Justin asked.

 

“Sorry. Did you tell your publisher about me?” Brian asked.

 

“No. Why would I? I don’t normally share my personal life with anyone.” Justin told him.

 

“She wants to use my firm,” Brian told him.

 

“Okay, but it’s not really my area. I draw the shit, she does all the other stuff.” Justin told him.

 

“Nevermind. It’s been a long morning without you and Gus. I got a call from Lindsay’s new husband. He wants to meet with you and me alone. He said he had questions before he was willing to explain why he wanted to meet us.” Brian told him.

 

“Do you think she’s trying to get Gus?” Justin asked.

 

“I don’t know, but we don’t have to talk to him. Although it’s easier to know what we’re dealing with if we know who we’re dealing with. He sounded more worried about Gus than Lindsay.” Brian told him.

 

“When?” Justin asked.

 

“He said he could be here by tomorrow and that he wouldn’t bring Lindsay with him. He wants to hear your side of what happened.” Brian told him.

 

“Do you know who he is?” Justin asked.

 

“Randolph Williams. But other than that, no.” Brian told Justin.

 

“Who?” Ted asked.

 

“Randolph Williams,” Brian told him.

 

“She struck oil. And I do mean oil.” Ted told him.

 

“How do you know?” Brian asked.

 

“It was on the news, the entertainment section, which Blake watches, which means I watch too. The bride’s name wasn’t published, just that Randolph Sr married a trophy wife and the family wasn’t happy about it. He went out of his way to keep the wife’s name out of it. Something he’s famous for, not liking the press.” Ted told him.

 

Brian told Justin he’d call back later. Then called Reese to ask him why he didn’t know about it, but instead got Emmett. Looking at the number, he knew he dialed Reese.

 

“Put Reese on the phone,” Brian ordered Emmett.

 

“Um, why would I do that?” Emmett asked, not wanting to admit he once again threw out all his morals, such as they were, for an eight pack.

 

“Because you answered HIS phone,” Brian informed him.

 

“Shit. Just don’t fuck with him over this.” Emmett told him.

 

“What?” Reese asked, sounding not too happy to be interrupted.

 

“I got a call from Lindsay’s husband, and would like to know who is coming to dinner tomorrow night,” Brian told him.

 

“Give me the name and I’ll give you the answer. Later.” Reese told him.

 

“Randolph Williams, from…” Brian looked at Ted.

 

“Texas,” Ted told him, which Brian repeated to Reese.

 

“I’ll call and have my guys get the information,” Reese told him.

 

“I’m going to make sure Justin is okay, and you’re going to forget the nap and call Mel,” Brian told him, not even bothering to grab anything but his keys.

 

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