CHAPTER 25: A VISIT TO MOTHER’S and BECOMING KINNETIK

TED

When Vic called me on Monday afternoon, I was in a really deep conversation with Dale. It is so good to have him around again. I told him about Blake, and my unresolved feelings regarding him. He told me that he was going through something similar about his last sub, Ivan. They still love each other, but Dale wanted more than he could give at the moment, and Ivan didn’t want to hurt him so he moved on. I guess that’s the story of many of us in terms of failed relationships. So between Dale and I, we spent a lot of time comforting each other, but even more time talking and reestablishing our friendship. Sure Mr. Leather and Little Fish have been playing, but they are taking a backseat to just simple Dale and Ted, which is something I need right now.

So when Vic’s call came in, although a shock to both of us, Dale was literally jazzed about it. I joked and told him that he would have made an excellent cop if he wasn’t as cerebral as he is about numbers. For his part, he nodded and laughed and told me that we’d play Good Cop, Bad Cock later. I just shook my head at his corniness, but that was Dale. He’s a lot like Brian in that he can find the sexual innuendo in everything said. I think I spend more time with him laughing than I ever have in my life, and yeah, it really feels fucking good. Based on the information Vic was giving us, Dale told me that he would be right back and to change into a tee and some black jeans.

That was another thing that was changing… the way I dressed in my off hours away from the office. He told me that although I was always going to be an accountant, there was no reason I had to look like one at all times. So we spent Saturday after the meeting, shopping. Thankfully, he isn’t as bad as Brian in that respect. Justin told me that he would take me to his and Brian’s tailor on Friday, and honestly, I can’t tell you what a relief that was. Yes, Justin can be as exacting as Brian, but he’s also reasonable and hates shopping as much as I do. Dale said that he would tag along just in case King Kinney decided to play stalker and follow us around. Should be an interesting experience.

Dale arrived back at my condo, dressed basically as a bouncer would at Babylon, leaning against a black and silver Ford F-350 as tall as he is. Yes! Yes, indeed! The sight made Willy stand up and take notice. You would have to be a corpse not to appreciate a physique like Dale has, all bulging muscles, with a tiny waist, and legs that would even make tree trunks jealous. I won’t even talk about his ass… yeah, should move along from that particular thought IMMEDIATELY, otherwise I will revert back to when I was fifteen and discovered my dick was for more than just peeing! Anyway, it turns out the truck was the absolute perfect choice for our excursion to Sycamore Lane.

After arriving and having a brief talk with the nextdoor neighbor, Myrtle, Dale and I parked around the back, nearer to the cellar door. Apparently, Vic spoke to her right after he whisked Deb away and told her to be on the lookout for us. So far, Michael hasn’t made an appearance, and hasn’t been around since the morning of the meeting. I can only hope it stays that way while we’re here. Entering the code to disarm the alarm Vic had put on the house awhile ago, Dale and I found the crates Vic told us about. They were stacked in neat rows of four high and ten deep. Thankfully they were near the door because they resembled the types of boxes that always carry explosives in the movies, all all were labeled “FRAGILE” just as Vic said they would be.

“We need to hurry and get these out of here, but I also think we need to call Mel, Janean, and Jules,” Dale told me.

I chuckle. “I never would have pegged Jules for a comic geek and gamer. But with seriousness of her job, I suppose I can see the need for her to spend her weekends escaping reality.”

“Just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover, right?”

Dale began hefting boxes two at a time like they were bags of feathers. For every one box I carried, he was running back to get two more. The man wasn’t even winded, while I felt like my damn lungs were exploding with the effort! By the time we- read HE- loaded the last box, I was drenched and in desperate need of a shower and a long nap. Dale laughed.

“That’s it, Little Fish. We start going to the gym next week.”

“You, me, and a gym? Oh HELL NO! I’m too young to die!”

He laughed harder. “Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you for the first few days. After that, we’ll see. In the meantime though, let’s get out of here and call a meeting of the producers to the remake of “Get Shorty”, starring two pissed off lawyers, and a gamer who plays no games when it comes to numbers. Besides, my ‘Spidey Senses are telling me that there is some walking bullshit traveling our way in a hurry.”

No sooner than we drove off, we saw Michael marching up the street, looking like he’d stepped in something foul. Part of me wanted Dale to turn the truck around so that I could gloat that Michael was one step closer to getting caught with his ass hanging out. I’m not normally a spiteful person, but with the crap Michael has been doing, especially what he did to Hunter, my need for revenge against him burns hot. Perhaps it’s remembering what Dr. Crystal and his gang of junkies did to me with my impaired permission that wishes with all my heart that someone had saved me the way Hunter was eventually able to save himself. I don’t know, except that for someone to do that to a kid- someone he was beginning to see as a father- it burns me up inside.

Trust is a very fragile thing, and all of that young man’s life there has been one adult or another destroying his, beginning with his own mother and ending with Michael. It’s not to be borne! Thankfully, Ben realized what he was doing to Hunter in his anger at Michael and stopped before Hunter disappeared again. I’ve taken a liking to him that I never expected to have. I think it’s the way that you always know what you’re getting with him. There is no artifice or games when Hunter really feels the need to tell you what’s on his mind.

We headed straight for Melanie’s house after leaving Deb’s, and by the time we got there, we’d found out that Michael had been arrested. I laughed as I received the news. Apparently, Vic never gave Michael the code to the alarm on Deb’s house. So since the deadbolts were on the front and back doors, the idiot decided to literally break into the house using the kitchen window, and tripped off the silent alarm which is linked directly to the police station. It didn’t help that he was caught red-handed coming out of the house with a steel lock box, which clearly did not belong to him since it was marked ‘DEB’ in big bold letters with pictures of rainbows and pansies.

According to Melanie, when the box was opened it contained the wills for both Deb and Vic, along with some more account ledgers. But not only that, it contained some documents that Michael had given Debbie to hold for him. In short, more missing pieces to our elaborate puzzle. Currently, he’s still in a holding cell, and has been there for the last day. We’re not sure when he’ll be released, but either way, he’s not getting that box back without Deb’s express permission.

Which is funny since she’s his reason that the whole break-in happened in the first place. Worried about her indeed! More likely that he's worried about what she knows and will tell! But... I wonder where she ran off to? We’re all a little relieved that none of us have heard from her as of yet.

However, the thing that’s most concerning is that we haven’t!

MICHAEL:

Why the fuck am I still in here? AND WHERE THE FUCK IS MA?! She’s going to have a shit load of explaining to do when I finally catch up to her!

When I was first arrested, I called her to tell her to come bail me out. You know what she said? Not what the hell I was expecting that’s for sure! Instead she had the gall to ask me what I was doing going into her house when she clearly wasn’t at home. I told her that it was MY HOUSE, and that I could go wherever the fuck I wanted.

Then I told her that she needs to give me the alarm codes. AND WHEN THE FUCK DID SHE GET AN ALARM ANYWAY?! It’s not like there is anything in there valuable enough to steal, right? Unfortunately, I said those things aloud, because she asked me if there wasn’t then why am I sitting in jail pending a breaking and entering charge. Before I could retort, she hung up.

Can you believe that?! My mother actually hung up on ME!!!

So now I’m still here waiting for Lance to come and bail me out. He was the only one left for me to call since Lindsay is in jail and Claire is who knows where spreading her joy around. All I do know is that there is going to be hell to pay when I finally get out of here. In the meantime, the clock is ticking towards the time when my shit will end up on the street courtesy of Jennifer fucking Taylor. Oh, how the hell could all my carefully constructed plans go so wrong?!

There’s only ONE answer to that and his name is Justin Taylor. Well Justin, you’re the very first one I’m coming after… or make that Brian, because I already know that to get to you, I have to go through him. His betrayal is the one that hurts the most, so it’s fitting that he should suffer because of YOU! And then we’ll finally see you in the gutter where you belong!

As new plans of revenge start to form, I laugh quietly to myself. I’m going to hit them in the one place it will hurt them the most. And the best part is that they will forget all about the deadline Boy Wonder gave me. They’ll be too busy dealing with something much more monumental to them than money!

BRIAN:

It took two days, but finally all the pieces are starting to come together. After the meeting, Mother Taylor, Justin, Mel, and I are going over to what is about to become Gardner’s former estate to have a look around. Since technically I am now his landlord, I’ll be perfectly within my rights to do a walk-through before I take possession. I don’t trust Vance as far as the sweat on his shiny bald head, and I wouldn’t put it past him to damage the property as much as possible before we’re scheduled to move in. He’s already spent the last few days trying to find allies among the staff, but surprisingly he hasn’t… well except for the Doublemint twins, also known as Bob and Brad.

Out of all the people we let go, they continue to be a problem. But as long as they do it away from Kinnetik, I don’t give a shit. However, if they keep it up, they just might meet The Minis, which is what Cynthia and I have taken to calling Justin and Daphne, a lot sooner than they think. I have to admit that if they think I’m a tyrant, they haven’t seen anything yet when it comes to Justin. He may be smooth and subtle, but his jabs go straight for the jugular to inflict the most damage.

It’s both fascinating and horrifying to watch.

Mother Taylor gloatingly gave me a play-by-play of what happened within the rental office on Monday afternoon, where Michael was yet again throwing a tantrum. She also told me that he looked like he shit his pants when Justin calmly told him that he and I were joined more than any legally married couple. I wish Justin had let me come in; I would have loved to have seen that eternally constipated look become one of forced diarrhea. But in retrospect, Justin was right. Michael would have tried to use my presence as a shield to keep from hearing and accepting that the ‘Brian and Mikey Show’ has been cancelled- reruns and all.

It’s kinda funny that even though he’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, I really don’t miss him… much. Perhaps I miss who I thought he was when I first met him before he started having his big dreams about us being together. Same goes for Lindsay. No, who I miss the most is Deb. Whether she did right by me or not, she was still a mother to me when I needed her.

But I have to be honest and say that though it hurts a lot, Jennifer more than makes up for the loss. Deb may have been the mother I needed in my youth, but Jenn is the mother I need and want in my adulthood. It almost makes me a little jealous of Justin, because he’s had her all of his life. But then again, if I did, I may not have become the man I am now. So I can honestly say that Jenn has entered my life the way she was meant to, how she was meant to; that as long as she stays, the rest of what I’ve been through in reference to parental figures will always pale in comparison to her continued presence.

And that sentiment has me checking for my dick, because…

“Either you have a hard-on, or you just had a really lesbianic thought and feel the need to play with yourself,” Justin says as he enters the office. He wiggles his eyebrows, and smirking while eyeing my crotch. “I can assure you, Mr. Kinney, your dick is as impressive as always.”

“Nice to know you’re paying attention.”

‘Always, Brian. Always.” He leans over to kiss me. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Finally putting this company to rights. I still can’t believe we own it all.”

“Yes, we do. You’re not feeling like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew at this time, are you?”

“Not at all, Sunshine. In fact, thanks to you and Melanie, we now have the staffing we need. It would have taken us months, or maybe even a year, to get to where we are right now if we had to do all of this from scratch.”

“We still are in a sense, Brian,” he says, settling more comfortably into the chair in front of the desk. “Yes, these people know Brian Kinney, the partner. But they don’t quite know the owner yet…”

“Co-owner” I correct and he smiles.

“Fine, co-owner. And they don’t know me at all. Sure, you’ve already built up a reputation amongst the staff, but me… well, I was just an intern when I was here the last time. I’m a little concerned that it will take firing some people before they get the message that I’m their boss.”

I can tell this is really bothering him. The funny thing is that he’s more than capable of taking charge, in ways these folks couldn’t even imagine. He’s been trained for this since birth, even if he never intended to act on it. In a lot of ways, it’s the only thing Craig Taylor was ever useful for. Not only did he give Justin a quality education at that wretched school, but he also taught Justin personally with the expectation that he would follow in his footsteps one day. Neither one of them would have imagined that even without an Ivy League education, Justin is about to not only exceed Craig’s lofty expectations, he’s about to blow them apart.

“You know I have every faith in you, don’t you Sunshine?” I put my arms around him, and am happy when he leans into me.

“I know, and I have faith in you, too. I just want the transition to be smooth.”

“And it will be, even if you’re forced to make an example out of people who don’t want to fall in line with the new program. But then again, that shouldn’t be a problem since we vetted everyone we kept. Sure, one or two ignorant apples might have snuck in under the wire, but if that’s the case, we’ll handle them. I will never side with them against you since I know that you would have done everything within your power to keep them before you boot them out. You might be tough, Justin, but you’re also fair.”

“I learned from the Master.” He chuckles, and tightens his arms around me, burying his face in my neck.

I would like nothing more than to make him feel better in a way that would have him sprawled on his back across my desk, but the knock on the door prevents that. Daphne and Cynthia don’t even wait for us to say ‘enter’ before they are marching towards us, palm pilots in hand.

“Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but it’s time,” Daphne says, handing Justin his electronic schedule as Cynthia does the same to me.

“Immediately after the meeting and before you’re scheduled to go with Jennifer to Sewickley, I confirmed a phone conference that I think you and Justin should really take.”

“I thought I told you no meetings beyond this one today,” I say, a little annoyed but not enough to offend her. Cynthia is known for pinching when I get on her nerves too bad, just like Daph is known for punching.

“I know, but take a look at who the client is…” she says a little breathlessly. I do a double take at her. The last time Cyn sounded this excited was back when she and I were going after Leo Brown. So I take a look down at the time slot.

As my eyes widen, I can’t help but to utter, "You’re shitting me, right?”

“Not at all, and what’s amazing is that they were informed that Vance no longer owns Vanguard but Kinnetik does, and they still wanted the meeting.”

“Who is Jared Thorne and why is he such a big deal?” Daphne asks.

“Only one of the biggest business tycoons in the United States. Although he keeps a very low profile, he owns at least 200 companies under his corporation’s umbrella,” Justin answers. I have to say that I’m impressed with his preliminary knowledge.

"So what does he want with us?” I turn to Cynthia.

“The word is that he’s looking for a company to take over all of the advertising both national and international. Currently, each company beneath the umbrella has been responsible for marketing their own products, but it has gotten a bit unmanageable in-house with so many people thinking they know what’s best for the company. So he’s decided to look for an outside agency to not only fix what they’ve messed up over the years, but to create new concepts altogether while those in-house become the liaisons to whatever company he chooses, but he gets the final say. Jared Thorne is not one of those high-and-mighty types who don’t know what’s going on within his own conglomerate. He’s in on every meeting whether in person or online. In fact, he’s a lot like the two of you except on a much grander scale thus far.”

“Brian, this is… Fuck! This is bigger than we even imagined it could be. How do we handle this?” Justin asks, and I can see he’s already making plans on how to pitch this so we get the account. I swear this man is a fucking machine sometimes!

“Hold your horses, all of you. First, let’s just take the meeting and see what he says. Then we decide if we’re able to accommodate him. He’s still willing to talk to us, knowing that Gardner is out of the picture. That has to mean something.” I look each one of them in the eye, and yes, I can see the excitement. But I also see a bit of trepidation there. GOOD! Because if they weren’t just a little bit scared, I would think something was absolutely wrong. “We need to bring Ted up to speed on this development and have him start crunching numbers. We need to know IF we get the account, how much of our profit would be eaten up in new hires. I would also like either Mel or Janean, along with Harold, in the meeting.”

“So basically if the profit gets eaten up, including bonuses for those working on the accounts, we’re not taking it?” Daphne asks.

“Exactly. What good is it going to be for us working like dogs, only to not see a true and full return on our investment? True, he’ll be giving us the money, but we’d be fools if we are taking it while basically donating our time, talents, and efforts to make his dreams become a reality. The most valuable lesson you will ever learn in this business is to know your worth. Your intellectual property; meaning your ideas, thoughts, and vision, are even more valuable than the money someone pays you for them. Without the concept and a host of inspiration and vision, an ad campaign can’t flourish and come to fruition. If that doesn’t happen, where does the product, and the company, end up?”

“In the gutter,” she answers.

“Correct, and none of us in this room are gutter-dwellers. None of the people working for us should be, otherwise they have no place here. No amount of money is worth lowering the quality of the work. That said, a well-paid staff is also a fucking hardworking one. That’s the point that needs to be driven home to Jared Thorne.”   

We all file out of the office, each lost in our own thoughts. This could indeed be a huge beginning for Kinnetik, but at what cost? I wonder if we’re growing too fast for our own good, but it’s a thought that I will never voice aloud. To give voice to such a sentiment would be dooming us to failure, and that’s not an option for us. Justin and I don’t dwell in mediocrity.

Even when we were completely broke just a short while ago, we expected that we’d give life our best effort each day. That determination is what kept Justin going back to the Diner day after day, taking on extra shifts and enduring whatever he needed to so that we would have what we needed. It’s what kept me looking for employment even on the days when I was ready to throw up my hands and say forget it. It’s what Justin does for me, and in turn, I do for him. We push, we strive, and we thrive.

And we’ll expect nothing less from the people around us; the people we employ. I guess it’s just something that we will have to watch carefully and adjust accordingly. But in the meantime, we’ll be setting the trends and not riding any of the current waves. I remember telling Kellie McQuaid that once, when Justin uttered that orange was the new blue. It was a far out of the box concept within the advertising world at the time, but once the ads came out, all of a sudden you couldn’t look anywhere without seeing a variation of that color.

So with that thought at the forefront of my mind, we move into the large meeting room to establish a whole new company, set apart from an industry which is quickly becoming seen as stagnating. It’s time to kick things up a notch, and it’s time for the other companies to either stand up and be counted or sit the fuck down. It’s time to give all those naysayers and those who sided with Gardner Vance against me the metaphorical black eye; time to show them just what they missed. More importantly though, it’s time to prove to those who doubted Justin and I, even ourselves, just how fucking great we are together.

It’s time to become Kinnetik.