CHAPTER 41: FORWARD THINKING and ROOT CONVERSATIONS

JARED:

“Thorne, we may have a problem,” my assistant says as she comes into my office. Much like Brian’s Cynthia, and Justin’s Daphne, Karen Jenkins will not hesitate to kick my ass. It’s what makes her one of my most trusted employees, and one of the few friends a man in my position can afford.

“What seems to be the issue, Jinx?”

“Other than the fact that one of our most trusted graphics organizers had suddenly dropped off the face of the earth, is that the little reclusive bastard turned up! Here look at this...” She just barely suppresses the urge to slam the small stack of papers on my desk before taking the seat in front of it. “What the hell are we going to do? We have deadlines that need to be met or revamped!”

“Calm down, Jinx…”

“Calm down?! How you can sit there so fucking calm is the question I’m asking myself right now, Thorne!”

As I look over the papers, I see exactly why she’s panicking. I can’t believe the list of crimes our former employee is facing. “First things first, we need to prepare a press release in case this goes National.”

“What makes you think it will? He lives off the coast in North Carolina somewhere.” At my smirk and continued silence, she finally asks, “What aren’t you telling me?”

“I hired Kinnetik is the first thing. Secondly, I’m sure this will go National because of who Brian and Justin are.”

“And just who are they?”

“Off the record for now, they are the men who brought down Jim Stockwell…”

“The former police chief, Stockwell?” She whistles. “But what does that have to do with fucking Freeman and Kinnetik?”

“Only that he’s been stalking Brian Kinney for a number of years, even from North Carolina, and with the help of a former friend.”

“But Brian… oh my God. Brian and Justin Taylor-Kinney are the owners of Kinnetik Enterprises, aren’t they?”

“Indeed they are. In fact, Josiah and I were over at the Taylor-Kinney’s loft when a lot of shit hit it the fan.”

“What happened?”

“I can’t go into all of the details right now. Suffice it to say that Lance Freeman’s contract with us needs to be terminated immediately though. So I need you to get Legal on that right away. Thankfully, even without the police report, which you have yet to explain how you got, by the way…”

She sighs. “I sent a messenger to collect them from him this morning since he failed to call in and establish a time to do so. According to him, when he arrived, the police were crawling all over the house. So, by mentioning your name, and the nature of his being there, Charlie was able to get the flash drive with the incomplete assignments and the preliminary police report as a basis for why Lance Freeman will not be able to continue on as an employee. I spoke to a representative from Holden Beach P.D. directly and it turns out that they haven’t even finished gathering all of the evidence from his home yet, even though he’s still in Allegheny County Lock-up.”  

I nod, knowing that when all of the investigation is completed, what I don’t know now she will tell me then. “Anyway, we have grounds for immediate termination of employment because this will be the fourth, fifth, and sixth deadlines he will have missed in the last two months. As we both know, the job performance of our employees is a key factor in determining the success of Thorne Industries. The first three times, we were willing to cut him some slack, understanding that life happens. But based on these dates, he was too busy entertaining to do what we’ve been paying him to do.”

“That’s all fine and good since I never liked the fucker in the first place, but that doesn’t explain what we are going to do until Kinnetik officially takes over the advertising.”

“You know, with the way you nag, it makes me glad that I am seeing Josiah. I could never deal with you as a wife,” I tell her as I pick up the phone and dial what is becoming a very familiar number.

“Lucky for you, I’m not Lucy of the Nympho Libido. Still can’t believe that she thought offering you her fun bags and bubble ass to play with was the way to keep her job.” She shakes her head, and I chuckle. It really was a good thing that Jinx walked into the office along with our corporate attorney, Adam Wright, while I was trying to fend her off. “I can’t tell you how many times a week since she was hired that I thought of bumping into her with a safety pin to deflate her balloon tits.”

I laugh outright then. “It’s why you’re doing double-duty now as the Chief of Operations and my assistant. I can’t trust anyone else to make sure my life continues to run smoothly.” I tell her as I put the receiver down and place the call on speaker.

“Kinnetik. This is Daphne.”

“Hello, Daph. It’s Jared. I was hoping to catch Justin. We have a slight problem. Is he around?”

“He just came back from lunch, and has gone in search of his worse half.”

I laugh. “I believe your bias is showing, young lady.”

“Nah. I love Brian, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to kick his ass sometimes. Justin on the other hand has spent years annoying me so I guess I’m just immune to it.” She laughs.

“Will you ask him to call me immediately when he gets back? It’s about how the upcoming cases will affect our working relationship.”

“You might as well tell me so I can head off any explosions,” she wheedles. As I debate the wisdom of it, I realize just how many times Jinx has fulfilled such a role for me.

“Alright, Daph. The thing is one of our employees has been incarcerated and from all accounts will remain so indefinitely. Consequently, he’s left some graphics work unfinished. I was wondering if Justin could take a look at it and work on it exclusively. Brian and Justin are already reworking one campaign to show the board the reason why I hired a technically-new advertising agency. My thinking is that with the deadlines so close together, we could use this one, and push the clothing line campaign back by a month.”

“Does the entire concept need to be reworked, or just the artwork?”

I look over at Jinx, who by now would have taken a look at the flash drive with the dumbass’ work on it. “Hello, Daphne. This is Jinx, Thorne’s assistant. The work that Lance Freeman did was mediocre compared to what we had come to expect from him…”

“Wait a minute, but did you say Lance Freeman? As in the asshole sitting in jail due to being friends with the other idiot by the name of Novotny?”

“One and the same, Daph.” I sigh. “Do you think Brian and Justin will have a problem working on this? I know how both men are about picking up someone else’s work and trying to make heads-or-tails out of it.”

“I would have to talk to them, but my first thought is no, they won’t have a problem. In fact, if I know Justin, and I do, he’s going to want to do the whole thing again.”

“It makes sense from what I know of him. Alright, let me know. If you can’t get in touch with me directly, let Jinx know, and she’ll get the verdict to me right away. Tell Justin he has carte blanche on whatever doesn’t work. I’ll have Jinx send the files.”

“But there’s no guarantee he’s going to agree to it… either of them.”

“True, but they still need to see what the current campaign would have looked like.”

“Fair enough. I’m fairly certain that I’ll have an answer for you within a couple of hours.”

“Will do,” I say before disconnecting the call. As I gather up the police report again, I can feel the glittering green gaze coming from my assistant’s eyes. “What?”

“You know the whole story don’t you?”

“Just about, but there are still some things that are not public knowledge.”

“Well, I’ll just get us some coffee and then we’ll talk about what you do know.”

And from the tone of her voice, I can tell that it’s going to be a long afternoon. She’s like a dog with a bone when she wants information, and in that moment, I wonder if Brian and Justin have my problem in dealing with a very mouthy, opinionated assistant, who can be a veritable ass. Yep, that’s my own best friend and work-wife indeed!

BRIAN:

After the talk with Joan, I left the office. I just needed to get away for awhile where I could have time to absorb all I had learned without the hoopla of having a million questions thrown at me. It wasn’t so much that I wouldn’t want to answer them; more like I wouldn’t know how to if I tried. So after a while of being alone while still surrounded by the crowd at the Diner, I went in search of two people who I knew would at least give me their most honest opinions without taking my feelings into consideration too much.

I find Ben and Hunter in the one place I knew they would be. It seems that more and more they can be found out just hanging out with James and Glenda Filmore. They have become to Hunter, and ultimately Ben, what Deb and Vic used to be for me… a safe haven even when the home you have seems to be anything but. The first thing that strikes me is the laughter I hear through the wide open front door, right before I see a flash of lean teen darting out followed closely by an older lady in an apron waving a serving spoon. I can’t help but laugh as she chases him around the cars before heading back to the steps where I am waiting.

“Darn boy, just can’t seem to keep his fingers out of my cake batter,” she complains, but she’s also smiling which lets us all know she isn’t really angry.

“It’s not my fault that you make the best lemon pound cake I’ve ever tasted, Nana,” Hunter tells her.

“Yes, well. I can’t really fault you there.”

“But if you give me the recipe…” he tries to wheedle.

“Not a chance. If I do that then you won’t have a reason to come around as often,” she teases before turning to me. “Well what are you standing there like a smiling statue for, Brian? My cheek hasn’t been warmed yet, you handsome devil!”

I snatch her up just as I have every time I’ve seen her since I met her, and kiss her cheek. As always, she places a gentle pat to mine, and I just absorb the warmth from her. Honestly, it feels so different than even what I was used to receiving from Deb, and then later Jenn, once she and I became close. This woman just exudes love and unconditional caring in a way that scared me at first, but now I relish it. She reminds me of Justin that way.

“Hey, Brian,” Hunter finally feels safe enough to make it back over to us. I ruffle his hair as he asks, “What brings you by? I would have thought you would be buried knee deep in accounts by now.”

“I am, but… I needed a break from the morning I’ve had.”

“What happened?” Glenda asks, but then looking at me closely, she says, “Come on, my little darlings. The pineapple coffee cake should be just about ready to cut now.”

I groan, knowing that I will be spending another hour on the treadmill later. The first time I tasted that particular confection, I lost all self-control and ate four huge squares of it. It was so moist and sweet and the little chunks of fruit… yeah, treadmill... RIGHT! Ben just looks at me in sympathy as he leaves the kitchen. If I know him, and by the way he's dressed, he's going to run off whichever of Glenda's pound-packing confections he's already had today. As I sit at the table she places a huge chunk of my addiction in front of me with a fork and an unsweetened cup of coffee. It’s the only time I can drink my coffee completely black without half a cup of sugar in it.

“So out with it now, Sugar. What’s got you looking so down and out?” Glenda asks me.

I turn to Hunter before answering. “My mom was by my office this morning.”

“And I take it this was a bad thing?” Glenda asks.

“Hell yeah it is!” Hunter exclaims before asking me, “What did that old battleaxe want?”

“To tell me that she’s sober and that she wants us to try to be friends.”

“Did you tell her to sit and spin?”

“Hunter!” Glenda admonished, shaking her head. “Be cool, Dude. I think I know why Brian is here so I’ll ask the question for him. If this was your own mom, even without knowing all you know about her now, would you give her a chance?” He looks at her the same way as I feel right now. “You’re both the children of addicts, Hunter. The only difference really is that your experiences with yours are fresher than Brian’s.”

“My mom beat and pimped me…”

“Mine beat and seemed to hate me because my existence denied her the life she wanted with someone other than good ol' boy, Jack Kinney,” I tell him, giving both of us some common ground to start with.

He seems to think about that for a moment, and Glenda’s question. “I guess some part of me would have wanted to at least give her the chance to get to know me if she was sober. But she would have had to be in her right mind for awhile- I'm talking YEARS- before I gave her that chance.”

“Both of you have to know that addiction in and of itself makes people very selfish. They can’t see past their own pain, except to pick up the next drink or drug that they are addicted to. Now that’s not saying that they are right, because they are not, but you have to acknowledge that their illness was not your fault. Nothing you could have done would have taken the taste of their vice from them. It’s something I had to learn when my second oldest was out there strung out.”

“I thought all of your kids were stand-up kind of people,” Hunter tells her.

“They were and are. Even within his addiction, Mark remembered his upbringing. But none of that matters when that drug gets ahold of your mind, body, and soul. It’s a sickness of the heart which caused his addiction in the first place, darlings. But what they never realize is that they are never alone in their addictions; their families and true friends suffer through it as well.”

“But the physical abuse…” I begin to argue.

“Oh honey, abuse is abuse be it the bruises you can see, or the broken heart only you can feel. Yes, they make a conscious decision to obey their addictions, but you yourself know what it’s like to try to give it up. Even if you are the most strong-willed person to ever walk the face of the planet, you’re still going to face the temptation to overindulge when things get rotten. If you think about it, we’re all addicted to something. It’s how we cope as human beings, only some substances and activities are far more harmful than others.”

“So basically it’s my decision on how I choose to cope with this new Joan?”

“It always was. The fact that she’s willing to try to make amends should count for something, shouldn’t it?”

“How did you and Mark move on?”

“I can’t exactly answer that. It’s different for everyone. Only it took me realizing that he had far more to forgive himself for than I could ever begrudge him. If you, as the family member, felt shame and disappointment in them, well Honey, what do you think they must feel now that they are in their right minds again?”

Her answer made me think of Ted, and the conversation about his recovery that he almost refuses to have. I know what caused him to hit rock-bottom, although I’ve never spoken about it to him or anyone else, not even Justin. It's his story to tell, but perhaps it’s time I do that. I mean, I had to make the same decisions twice- once on my thirtieth birthday and again after Justin came to live with me for a time after the bashing. I had to make a conscious effort to give up drinking and drugging so hard after I began spinning out of control again after Justin left and again after the Munchers’ party when I punched Michael. It’s like a ghost that never goes away. Maybe that’s the way to at least giving Joan a window of opportunity into my life again.

Changing the subject, I ask Hunter, “How’s the hunt for an online school coming?”

“Okay, I think. I’ve picked one and it seems really good. With luck and doubling up on the course load through the summer, I should be able to graduate on time.”

“You should talk to Justin…”

“Why?”

“You’ll have to take a college entrance exam. You could probably apply to take the SAT at the local high school. Nerd boy got 1500 on his, so since it’s been in more recent years than the rest of us, Justin and Daphne would be great to tutor you should you need it.”

“You think they would?” He asks excitedly, before playing it cool again. “I mean, with you all starting to kick Kinnetik into high-gear, wouldn’t they be too busy?”

“We’re all never too busy to watch you succeed, kid. Besides, with everything else coming up, it’ll give you something productive to focus on amid the chaos. That’s what always worked for me, and you see where I am now?”

I could tell he got the message that I was trying to give him. Schoolwork in a lot of ways brought order to my life when little or nothing else could. It brings me to my thoughts about Deb insisting that I help Michael with his. She may have meant it for one thing, such as giving Michael what he wanted, but ultimately it prepared me for college and my work in my chosen profession. Looking at it that way, I should probably send her a thank you. Considering the way my life is turning out, while he’s going to prison for taking the easy way out instead of working legally for what he wanted, I suppose it all worked out for the betterment of me.

“I want you to come work for me,” I tell Hunter.

“Uh… what?”

I snicker. “Very articulate, Dork Boy. But yes, you heard right. I want you to come work for Kinnetik. As you know we have two buildings, so we need a messenger to go between the three departments of the company. Sure I could hire a messenger service, but I would rather pay you. So how about it?”

“Okay but what’s in it for me?”

I smile wide then. The littlest hustler would make a helluva negotiator if he was so inclined. “Well since I know that you are possibly going to seek emancipation, having a full-time job with benefits will go a long way to seeing that happen with the courts. And you’ll still have time to complete your education, where most kids in your position aren’t able to.”

“Hell Yeah!” He cheers.

“So that’s a yes, then?” I pretend boredom, but the truth is I probably would have given my arm for this kind of opportunity, where I no longer had to depend on Jack and Joan at his age.

“It is.”

“Good. I’ll talk to Ted and Mel when I get back to the office. Speaking of which…” I stand up, pulling Glenda in for hug and a kiss to her cheek. When I pull back, she’s smiling and holding up a bag.

“You’re a good man, Brian Kinney. Don’t let anybody tell you different,” she tells me as she hands me my own addiction of Pineapple Coffee cake. “Let Justin have a piece, okay?”

She winks and I laugh. “Only if he’s a good boy. Hunter, I’ll see you at KE tomorrow morning at ten. Don’t be late.”

I took my leave of the house, feeling a lot better than when I walked in. I suppose that’s the magic of Glenda and James’ house, and it makes me want the same for mine and Justin’s someday. Maybe it’s time to talk to Mel about making those baby plans happen sooner rather than later. I’m finding that I can’t wait for a lot of things lately… and this new chapter of my life is definitely one of them.