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CHAPTER 12: PAPERWORK


One week later…


MELANIE:


Well, a lot has happened in the last week. Lindsay is still not speaking to me, and honestly, I don’t care. I’m there for Gus, not her. I don’t know if that will change, but it definitely won’t if she doesn’t stop sulking and take her head out of her ass. I’m still sleeping in the guestroom and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon. It’s the only place I can find some semblance of peace since she’s taken to waiting in my home office with the lights off. It’s bad when you start to feel stalked in your own home. So, to show her it’s not really bothering me, I’ve taken to grabbing the necessary files for me to work on from the office when she leaves for work in the mornings. Any research I need to do for it I have my paralegal do while we’re at the office. Inconvenient? Absolutely, but if it means peace and quiet while I’m there, then whatever works!  


But moving right along… Hunter gave me the address of where Michael was staying, so as Brian’s attorney, I had the car towed back to Pittsburgh at Michael’s expense. I’ve learned that Hunter is the KING of practical jokes, and if the situation surrounding the matter was funny, we all would have been laughing. Hunter had brought Brian’s key to the Corvette back to Pittsburgh with him, along with Michael’s wallet. So he couldn’t have beat a hasty retreat back to Pittsburgh once he discovered Hunter missing, even if he wanted to. Which, if I’m honest, I suspect he doesn’t. It’s not that he suspects that we’ve found the records or anything, just that he knows we’re all pissed at him, and he doesn’t know where Hunter is. His only real hope of not getting smacked up is that one saving grace. He ended up calling Brian and confessing that he couldn’t find the car key, so Brian put me on the phone with him. We explained how we knew by telling him that Hunter called to let us know where it is, but as long as we have the car back, we’re really not interested in Michael’s whereabouts. He seemed relieved and angry by turns. I told him that it’s his life, and what he chose to do with from here on out is his business.


Of course, that led to him calling Mama Bear, after which we all told her the same thing. We also informed her that Hunter was missing, which took the wind out of her sails for about a minute. But it also put things into perspective for us on how she feels about anything regarding Michael. So it’s no surprise that she’s in my office now, playing another game of divide and conquer.


“So you’re not going to go looking for Michael?” she asks, in that demanding tone she has, full of expectation.


“Deb, he’s a grown man and should be able to look after himself. Because we’ve all heard from him, it would be silly, and in all honesty illegal, to waste the resources of law enforcement simply because his mother wants him home. Michael has not come back yet simply because he’s afraid of what will happen if he comes back without Hunter.”


“Who the fuck cares about Hunter?! This is my son and your friend we’re talking about!”


“We do! We ALL do!” I yell back at her. “What we don’t care about is a grown man-child, who calls you when we all finally stop listening to his excuses as to why he can’t grow the fuck up and be the man his age says he should be. Well, if you choose to keep cleaning up his shit for him, then none of us can stop you. But as for the rest of us, we’re done doing it! We have our own things going on, and none of that involves saving Michael from his self-destruction once again.”


“But…

“And for the record, Hunter has been here for more than a week, while Michael has been doing God knows what with whom.”


“What? What do you mean he’s here when Michael isn’t?! Michael’s been worried sick about him!”


“I’m sure he has, but not for the reasons you think.”


“What’s that supposed to mean?”


“Ask Michael, although I doubt he’ll tell you the truth. Hell, you wouldn’t believe the truth if it was wrapped in flashing neon lights, prancing around the stage in Shanda Leer’s wig. But ask your son anyway, and let’s just see what he tells you. Because Michael will only tell the part of the story that keeps him a little boy in your eyes, not truth of what he really is. And you’ll fall for it as you always do, so good luck with that. Also, tell him he owes me five-hundred dollars for having the car tuned up so that Brian could sell it.”


“He’s selling the car, so why should Michael pay you anything?”


“Because I’ll sue the thong off him if he doesn’t. Now leave!”


She left after I called security to have her escorted out, but she sure didn’t go quietly. No, she called Brian first, and when he didn’t pick up, she called Lindsay to talk sense into me.


“Mel, why did you threaten Michael? And what’s the meaning of you paying for repairs on Brian’s car without consulting me?”


“Well since I used my own money to do so, why would you feel that I should have consulted you? Did you consult me about the new dresses in Gus’ closet in a size six? I mean, Gus is a little young for dressing in drag, isn’t he?”


She flushes from my statement, knowing that she’s been caught. “That was a business expense…”


“Well so was this, as in, none of yours. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”


“No.”


“No?”


“No, as in we will discuss this now, not when you get ready!”


“I’ve already said everything I intend to on the matter, so unless you’d like to leave the same way Deb did, I suggest you go of your own accord.”


“Mel? You would really call security on your own wife?”


“When my wife actually shows up and stops acting like a pod person, perhaps I will think of you differently. In the meantime, this is your last chance to leave without making a scene. And we know how much you just love those…”


After she left, I immediately call Brian to let him know of the conversations with both Deb and Lindsay and what was possibly heading his way. We all agreed to keep the money he and Justin were gifted quiet for now in order to have a bit of calm before the proverbial storm breaks. “I’ll be over in about an hour with all of the paperwork.”


“All of it?” he asks, and I can’t help but smile at his anxiousness.


“Yeah, all of it. By the way, Vance is trying to play hardball.”


“I figured he would, we’ll talk about it when you get here. Besides, I have a surprise for you when you do.”


“Who the fuck are you and what have you done with Brian Kinney? No way, you’re giving me anything of value.”


“Aww, I’m hurt.”


“Bullshit!” I laugh, grateful that since I really opened my eyes to see the kind of man he is I no longer see Brian as a threat, but as my greatest ally. “But listen, let me get out of here. I’m scared but anxious to see what you have for me.”


“Come to the downstairs loft, instead of the top floor. We’re using it as office space until the building is ready.”


“Couldn’t handle the clutter, huh? You actually lasted longer than I expected. Shit, that means I owe Justin fifty bucks!”


“Which he will happily collect and I’ll help him spend. By the way, I finally told him about the accounts,” he says quietly.


“How’d he take it?”


“I’m still having trouble sitting down.”


“EWWWWWW!!!!! BRIAN!” I scream, as I hear him laughing before he hangs up.


I chuckle to myself. Yes indeed, my relationship with Brian Kinney has changed drastically, and I can’t help but be happy about that. I wonder what my relationship with Brian Taylor-Kinney will be like, I muse to myself as I grab all of the necessary paperwork and hurriedly place them in my briefcase.


As I’m on my way out, one of the partners in the firm, Harry Donaldson, calls me over. “Ah, Mel. I’m glad I caught you. Do you have time for a quick word?”


“I was just on my way to a client meeting, but I have a couple of minutes. What’s this about?”


I listen attentively, basically in shock at what he has to say. Brian is not the only one with a surprise.


TED:


My first week home…. where to start? To say it has been interesting would be the understatement of the year. First, there was the way the letters of amends were received. Let’s just say that the ones I thought would be received with a sneer, weren’t, and the ones I thought would be met with gracious acceptance, weren’t. Lindsay was indifferent, which I would have never expected of her with that mother of all creation vibe she usually has. But then it’s very rare that I ever see her without Mel present. So perhaps I was just seeing the real Lindsay at long last. As for Deb… well, I suppose she was just having a bad day because of the situation with Michael… Emmett explained it to me. And what he didn’t tell me Justin filled in. Still, I’m having a tough time reconciling the woman I’ve come to regard as a mother of sorts to the shrewish woman I’ve seen since I’ve come home. I think that’s the real reason why Brian wanted his new office moved down here.


Ah, I suppose I should explain how I ended up working with Brian and Justin on their new business venture. I’m still quite amazed that Brian was so quick to trust me after my foray into drug addiction. How that even came about was beyond amazing to me. It still is really. After I got home, I was literally all thumbs. I kept being assailed by the memories of what I’d done to myself, and most of all, to Emmett. Blake and I talked a lot about it. Strangely, it was comforting to talk to someone who knew the same people I did. I suppose that was surprising because usually it happens in reverse, where your counselor is basically someone completely anonymous to you and the people you know. Yet, Blake assured me that drug abuse is an illness, and I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to. That not even functional people are able to do it on their own, although many of them refuse to acknowledge that they are addicted in the first place. It put the reality of addiction into a perspective I’d never had before, and made me feel somewhat proud that I was actually getting help.


When I told him about my personal rock bottom, instead of sitting in judgement, he walked me through the retelling of the traumatic experience, and told me that on the days I feel like picking up again, remember what I had lost, and what I had just regained by being brave enough to tell my story. I didn’t understand what he meant until I spent just a mere hour in the condo by myself, and just had to get out. I roamed the streets for a long time, not paying attention to where I was going. I even bought some meth, although I still didn’t know why. And the shame of it is that I can’t say whether I would have taken it or not… if Emmett hadn’t found me.


Instead of berating me, he took me to his apartment, which was doubling as the place where he and Vic had been working. The building looked familiar to me, but at the time, I couldn’t place why. I just felt so out of touch with everything, and everyone. Stepping off the semi-rickety elevator onto the third floor, I was surprised to hear a raspy, but completely recognizable voice of someone very familiar exiting an apartment just across the hall. Emmett gripped my arm, keeping me in place. I suppose in retrospect that it was to keep me from bolting, which if I’m honest was my first inclination. It wasn’t long after that the owner of said voice, noticed me.


“Theodore. I would say it’s nice to see you, but then…”


“You don’t lie?” I answered, already preparing for the insult I knew would surely be coming.


“Well if you had let me finish, you would have known that the little soft-hearted twat, better known as Justin, was about to bribe me to accompany him to your place. You just cost me one of Sunshine’s best blow jobs,” he tells me, mournfully.


Before I even caught the words coming out of my mouth, I told him, “Well I’m sure he’ll make it up to you later.”


And once again, instead of the snark I was expecting, Brian did the thing I never would have guessed. He laughed and hugged me, and asked if I had everything I needed. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but then it dawned on me that my addiction changed everyone, for the better or the worse. It wasn’t just me who went through it, but everyone I considered family. I was even more in shock when Justin’s sunshine smile was directed at me… AT ME! He walked up and told me that now that I officially survived my walk on the wildside, it was time to get back to the business of being Ted, who was in fact his hero for doing what so many others couldn’t. It made me feel special, like I was worthy of the faith they were about to put in me again. And I was determined that I wouldn’t let them down.


As we all settled into Emmett’s apartment, which just happened to be in the same loft building that Brian and Justin lived in, they filled me in on all I had missed while I was away. The thing that struck me the most was that none of them- not a one- treated me as if I was a disappointment or untrustworthy… they didn’t make me feel like an outsider. I was still family to all three of the men sitting around the table having coffee and cookies, just as if it was any other day. And that’s when the big question was popped. Brian told me about the $300k he and Justin had received from an organization called Fly Free and that they were in the process of starting their own advertising agency. At first, I was feeling a little despondent, wondering what I was going to do for work since Jerk@Work went kaput along with Stockwell’s bid for mayor. After hearing all that Brian and Justin did to stop his campaign and ultimately get him indicted, I once again felt out of place for a moment. But then Justin’s voice interrupted my reverie which caused a new sensation… the world tilting.


“We’d like you to come and work for us, Ted. Of course, Brian can do the books, and with everything you’ve taught me over the years, there’s no doubt that we can handle the accounting portion of the business ourselves. But we would really like you to be a part of this. Bottom line, you need a job, and we need to know the ins and outs of tax breaks and such. We also need someone to help serve as our Human Resources Administrator alongside Cynthia when it’s time to hire more staff. Brian and I have talked about who we want where and the one thing we both agree on is that we’ve missed you, not only because you’re a kickass accountant, but because you’re family. And we want to help give you back your independence.”


To say that I was floored would be the understatement of the century. I was being handed my opportunity of a lifetime, regardless of my past. What was strange is that I never registered it as Brian and Justin offering me charity, they were offering me a chance to feel useful again. I honestly used to think that it was being an accountant that I hated, but I know differently now. It was the monotony of being a robotic peon at Wertschafter’s that I hated! But here were Brian and Justin giving me the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something that was sure to be a big fat fucking success. Before I could answer, Brian told me to take a few days to think about it; to evaluate if I was really ready for the workload starting a company would bring me. I liked that he was concerned in that usual Brian-esque way that very few knew about. Justin handed me their standard contract that they had Melanie draw up, and told me that the offer would stand as long as it took for me to tell them what they wanted to hear. I think that’s what really sealed it for me. The fact that Brian and Justin were willing to wait until I was comfortable being myself again showed their confidence in me, and did more towards helping me believe in myself than words could ever describe. I won’t let all of us down.


So here I am, a week after making what is shaping up to be the best decision I have ever made. Brian and Justin purchased the loft directly beneath theirs when it became available and are currently in the process of having stairs put in to connect the floors. I think it was an incredibly smart investment, especially since once the office space Jennifer found to be the headquarters of Kinnetik, Inc. is ready, they will officially have a duplex. I swear, those two men are so fucking smart, and being around them, watching them work is… well it’s just plain freaking awesome! They don’t allow me to apply Werscharfter’s ideas of playing it safe. And get this... they are even grooming me on what to look for to make the best campaigns. It’s like going to college all over again in a sense. Brian is the dean, Justin and Cynthia are the professors, and I am the student. And I LOVE it!


The knock at the door startles me, even though I know who it is. I haven’t seen her since I left rehab, although we’ve talked on the phone. Admittedly, I haven’t gone back to the house since my frosty reception from Lindsay, and Mel has been more than a little busy of late. I figured when it was time to get together, we would; she’s still one of my best friends, after all. I know now that nothing would ever change that even if she did break my heart with her brand of tough love. It was her words, which stayed with me while I was in rehab, and yes, at first they hurt. But as I sat there in both my group and private sessions, I began to really understand that Mel didn’t stop loving me because I made the mistake of taking Gus’ college fund money to attend a White Party. She loved me enough to tell me the truth about myself as she saw it. So I fought to regain the respect for me that I’d always seen in her eyes. I also fought to respect myself again, and to know that I am still deserving of her love and friendship. Between Brian paying my mortgage payments for the year, and Mel handling the legal aspects when the building’s owner was making moves to evict me, I owe them both so much. Because of them, I had a home to come back to. And thanks to Emmett’s friend Horatio, it looks nothing like the condo I’d lost myself in. It’s different; I’m different, and I’m so grateful for that!


I stand up from my desk as she enters, talking animatedly with her briefcase in hand. She hugs Justin, and surprisingly gives a punch to the arm of Brian in camaraderie. You could knock me over with a feather in surprise as I see absolutely none of the usual animosity between them. Oh, I know what they told me their relationship was like now, but to actually see it firsthand is another matter altogether. They may never be best friends, but the fact that they are friends at all is nothing short of a miracle! It’s then that Brian points me out to her, and suddenly my world freezes as she bursts into tears. Shoving her briefcase into his chest, she runs to me, catching me up in a hug which squeezes me and knocks the breath out of me at the same time. But I won’t complain, not one itty bit as we hold each other.


“I’ve missed you, Teddy,” she whispers as she soaks the shoulder of my shirt.


I chuckle. “I’ve missed you, too, but what’s all this? Pitbulls aren’t supposed to cry, and from what I hear you’ve been growling and biting the asses of all that oppose you.”


She laughs and wipes her face, but doesn’t let go of my hand. “I see the chatty Cathies have been telling tales, but they’re not wrong. Which is part of the reason I’m here. There is so much to tell you… actually so much to tell you all.”


“Should I leave?” Cynthia asks, already moving to grab her coat.


“No, not at all,” Mel says as she drags me over to the sitting area. “This involves you, too. But first, is there any coffee? I need a caffeine jolt to tell this.”


“Are you sure? Because you have not stopped bleating and blubbering since you came in here,” Brian says snarkily, causing us all to laugh.


“Can it, Kinney… or should I call you Taylor-Kinney now?”


“What are you talking about?” I ask. Apparently, this is either part of the story I missed, or one that had not yet been revealed.


“You mean they’re done?” Justin asks, excitedly.


“What? What’s done?” Both Cynthia and I look at each other puzzled.


“Yes, they are!” Mel smiles. “But Justin, I think Brian has something that he needs to tell you about the papers.”


Brian turns to Justin, pulling his lips in before speaking. “I- I know I should have asked all nice and proper-like before having them drawn up the way I have, but it’s something we talked about… joked about really, before everything went to shit between us. But things are better now, more solid than it’s ever been. So I guess what I’m asking is that we make it official. Let’s not just be the Taylor-Kinney Corporation on paper, but in name as well. I guess what I’m asking…”


“Yes, Brian. There’s no need to say anything else. It will be my pleasure- my great honor- to share your name. And don’t worry about being proper; when have we ever been what others deem appropriate? It just wouldn’t have been us, and I might have questioned your sanity or the validity of what we are going to do… what we are doing. So kiss me, you fool and seal the deal and later when the others have gone, we’ll make it even more official our way.”


Brian pulls Justin onto his lap and kisses the hell out of him, totally uncaring that we are sitting here. My mouth is agape as I watch them. It’s a gesture of both passion and love. Love? Well I suppose I always knew that Brian loved Justin. That young man has managed to do what no other man could, and took Brian off of the god-like pedestal we’d all placed him on. He knocked down the walls that surrounding the normally-aloof man, and exposed the human hidden inside. Oh Brian still has his asshole persona, and that’s not going to change, but it’s more directed towards outsiders now than toward the people who are closest to him. He’s still the same uncompromising and driven man, ever stalwart in his convictions. But to see, and know, the man beneath the myth, and to see the man who continuously brings him to the fore take a step that we all never thought we’d see Brian take… well, life continues to be surprising in the best of ways.


“Congrats, you two. I know you’re going to be very happy together,” I say, sincerity and other emotions causing my voice to shake a bit. I feel both awed and humbled to be included in this moment between two very private men.


“FINALLY!” Cynthia shouts. “Damn it, Brian, I’m so fucking proud of you.” When he looks at her with his eyebrow raised, she snickers. “Okay, and you’ll never see that much exuberance from me again. But I just want to go on record, Justin, that I told him years ago that if he didn’t nab your cutie-pie ass up, he would be a damn fool. But we know Brian… and he’s no fool.”


“Uh thanks, Cyn I think. Meet Cynthia Moore, my assistant and the queen of backhanded compliments,” Brian says.


“Well, I learned from the best,” she confirms, and smiles wider than I’ve ever seen her in the years since I’ve met her.


“Well as soon as you guys sign this mountain of papers, I can get them filed. In the meantime, I have some news of my own,” Mel says, and then takes a deep breath. “My firm decided not to offer me the partnership…”


“What? Why?” Justin barks, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so upset.


“Wait, Sunshine. Let her finish, before you go all mini Rage again,” he says, and I have to wonder what that statement was about. I’ll have to ask Emmett.


“There is more. Based on the work we’ve been doing for you regarding Vance and Michael, other corporations are catching wind of it. Although the particulars of the litigation is still confidential and protected, someone on the inside of the cases talked, and we are now being requested. Of course, this means that while mine and Janean’s caseloads are almost doubling, the others within the firm’s vaunted halls, are minimizing at a rapid rate. That includes all of the civil litigation cases that I’ve been working on beyond this. With a 91% strike rate between the two of us, people are not willing to take the risk of not having Jenean or I working for them. So the partners thought that Janean and I would be better served to be working within our own practice. They are willing to allow us to keep the cases already in progress, including yours, to get us started. They want the split to be amicable and not come off as if we’re being fired.”


“But in a sense, aren’t you?” Justin asks, a little calmer, but still ultimately pissed off.


“Yes, and no. For the good of the firm, Janean and I agreed that this is the best possible move, not only for them, but for us, too. Now, instead of having to give a portion of our fee to Donaldson and Salzman, we keep the lion’s share for ourselves. The only stipulation of the separation is that other than our current assistants and caseloads, we can’t take anyone else with us, or let them know where we’re going to be. It’s one thing if the other attorneys and paralegals choose to quit on their own, but another if we poach their staff for our own practice.”


“Okay, that makes sense, I guess,” Justin says, weighing out everything she said. “Oh shit! We have to call Mom. We have to get you and Janean up and running as soon as possible! You’ll need office space as soon as possible, and furniture and staff. You already have a client list, so getting a bank loan for an LLC shouldn’t be that difficult…”


He’s immediately off the sofa like a shot, grabbing pen and paper along with his cell phone, and issuing orders to Brian for more coffee all around, like his name is Jeeves. What’s amazing is that Brian just chuckles and gets up to do his bidding. It’s something that we’ve all come to expect when Justin gets going. And that’s exactly what I’ve come to love and respect about Justin. He may still have his problems with the after-bashing effects, but his brain has once again returned to the agile mind hidden beneath all that blond and angelic looks. The world is in for a big shock when Justin Taylor- uh, Taylor-Kinney, decides to really take ahold of it. “So, congratulations are definitely in order!


We settle in to make plans with Mel, and by the time Jennifer arrives, Mel’s firm is already on its way to being formed. Cynthia has already contacted the agencies she’s developed a relationship with to advise that once the business loan and building are secured, they are to fax her the resumes of all qualified applicants. Upon Mel’s request and with Janean’s blessing, Cynthia agreed to act as their Human Resources manager, until they can find an adequate employee of their own. It’s going to be my job to take care of the insurance and all other accounting-related work. As for real estate, Jennifer thought that it would be easiest to put in an offer for the recently vacated building right next to what’s going to be Kinnetik’s new home. Although the renovations on Kinnetik are almost finished, the new offices for Mel and Janean will need a bit of work as well. So with a silent conversation of their own, Brian and Justin offer Mel temporary use of some office space within Kinnetik until their own reno is completed. That way it won’t be a case of ‘hurry up and wait’ when it comes to opening for business.


With a solid plan in mind, Justin brings up the question each of us had, but were unwilling to voice and spoil the good mood. “What are you going to tell Lindsay?”


Mel thought about it. “Why tell her anything? Currently, it’s as if we’re living separate lives, and if it wasn’t for Gus, I would even be there. She’s become even more shrewish than she’s always been when her bid for attention is ignored, and I’ve been too busy to give into her demands. So she’s sulking and slamming around the house at every opportunity. My only worry is how this is affecting Gus. It makes me really happy that I’ve put off my own baby plans for the interim. Personally, I think she’s seeing someone else. I mean, if you’re not getting your needs met at home, you have to be getting them met somewhere, right?”


“And that doesn’t bother you?” Jennifer asks.


“Strangely, and probably the most telling, is that it doesn’t. It’s keeping her out of my face and business. I never thought things would get this bad this fast between us, but now that I think of it, it’s been brewing since about a week after the anniversary party. It’s almost like she’s looking for reasons to pick fights, and with me not giving them to her, she’s creating the drama. I’ve just made the conscious decision not to participate, that’s all.”


Jennifer nods. “It’s what Craig did after he kicked Justin out. Oh, I knew about the affairs, but figured as long as my children were taken care of, he could go and play plug-in-socket as much as he wanted. Justin coming out just added a new layer to the drama that was building. Once he decided that Justin was no longer his son, it made it easier for me to detach emotionally from him. Did it hurt to do? Sure. Mostly because I was worried about how Molly would process it. But once she started seeing little things for herself, like the way he treated Justin and me, her attitude about the divorce began to change. Somehow, I’ve raised two very well-rounded, well-adjusted free thinkers, and it made leaving that bigoted bastard easier.”


“Mel, you have your third-party adoption rights, and thanks to Justin, I still have mine. Lindsay can’t stop either of us from spending time with Gus, so why stay?”


“The first reason is that I own the house, and my name is still the only one on the mortgage. Sure, I can kick her out, but where would that leave Gus? Secondly, I kind of want her to leave on her own so that she doesn’t have any ready-made excuses about how big bad Mel bullied her. I refuse to let her play victim in all of this. Her parents won’t accept her back unless she agrees to swallow dick daily. But that means that her one tie to you, Brian, will have to be severed. They haven’t even accepted Gus, although he’s a child and has nothing to do with his gay parents’ choices. They definitely won’t want to acknowledge his existence while trying to marry her off to some unsuspecting schmuck. And yes I know, I was such a schmuck, so hold that thought Brian.” She laughs, and I’m glad to see this whole Lindsay situation hasn’t affected her attitude about life.


Sure she loved Lindsay, but I’ve watched helplessly as the WASP witch has molded my friend into a person I didn’t recognize at times. It was hard to stand idly by while Lindsay browbeat her, or used Brian as the metaphorical club to make the confident woman I always knew bend to her will. I’m glad that Mel has finally decided to mentally severe the tether that kept her bound to Lindsay, but I understand what she means about Gus. With Lindsay being the biological mother, unless she can be proven unfit, Brian and Mel will have to jump through hoops to see him. It’s definitely a situation that wouldn’t benefit anyone… other than Lindsay.


“So Ted, now that you’re back from your… hm, therapeutic vacation, does that mean you’ll be working with Mel and Janean to get to the bottom of the Michael madness?” Jennifer asks me. I have to love her delicateness and unwillingness to remind me that I was in rehab.


“Indeed it does, Jennifer. I just need the books and to be put in touch with the forensic accountant. I’ll know exactly what to look for.”


“If it helps any, I know that he bought a house using Debbie’s name. But…”


I shake my head in disbelief. “That little son of a bitch.” When they all look at me puzzled, I explain. “It wasn’t just Debbie’s name he used, but the money Brian gave her constantly to pay her mortgage over the years. It’s the only way he could ever save enough to buy a house or even a damn car. Working at the Big Q doesn’t yield hefty returns, but laying guilt trips on the man by using the woman who doesn’t know how to say no when her baby is in financial trouble… now that gives not only hefty returns, but also the fact that because it’s Debbie, the money wouldn’t be expected to be paid back. You’re going to have to sue them separately for the house, Brian.”


“But I don’t care about the money per se…” he protests, but I hold up my hand to stop him.


“It’s not about the money, Brian, but the principle of the loan. They obtained it under false pretenses, and not only that, I will testify to the conditions the loan was made. It wasn’t gifted, which is what they will try to say. It was loaned and should have accrued interest. You’re lucky that I have been your accountant since the very beginning and have kept strict records. It’s how I can prove that every single penny you gave them was earmarked. All I will need is a court-order to subpoena the record of mortgage payments on Deb’s house, which is what the money was supposed to be used for.”


“I’ll get right on that.” Melanie smiles at me.

 

“Welcome back, Teddy,” Brian says, and I feel myself tear up. He’s never called me that.

 

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