CHAPTER THREE: CONTRACTS

JUSTIN:

“Do you think she’s still up?” I ask him.

“It’s only ten o’clock so yeah, I do. If I know her, she’s up working. Can I tell you a secret?” he whispers in my ear conspiratorially.

“What?” I like this playful, mischievous Brian.

“I’m fucking glad that she decided to abandon her foray into motherhood right now.”

“Brian! What a mean thing to say!”

“Not at all, Sunshine. First, you know for yourself that with Lindz’s spending habits, Mel was working herself to the bone to make ends meet. Whatever she couldn’t cover, I did. Now that’s not to say that she wouldn’t make a fabulous mom. I have to admit- albeit grudgingly- that she’s a good mother to Gus. He absolutely lights up when she walks into a room, which is a testament to how much they love each other. But Mel is on the fast track to making partner. There’s no way she would be able to work as many hours as she does right now and be able to have a baby without complications. So the way I see it, motherhood can wait for another year or two. She might be a hag, but she’s not an old one yet.”

I laugh. Leave it to him to issue a backhanded compliment when it comes to talking about Melanie. I swear those two are entirely too much alike. She does the same to Brian all the time. “I see you’ve been thinking about this for awhile.”

“Mel and I talked about it. I know she and I have our differences, but somehow, when she needs to hear the unadulterated truth, the she-devil always darkens my door. I suspected then, and I suspect even now, that the whole baby idea was Lindsay’s.”

“I suppose when they asked you it was a dead giveaway,” I say wryly, then immediately regret my words. “Brian, I’m…”

“Don’t apologize. I know you didn’t mean it the way it sounded, especially in lieu of what you’ve told me you have noticed regarding Lindsay. I guess that I have been a bit willfully blind to Michael and Lindsay’s motivations.”

“Out of everyone else, those two always seem to snow you. Sorry to say that, but there it is.”

“And they call me the cynical one in this relationship…”

“Yeah, I suppose I am, but not without good reason. Michael is predictable in his reactions, but Lindsay’s will be more subtle. On the surface, she’ll be happy, extolling the virtues of relationships according to the world of Lindsay. But it’s the truth that lies beneath that worries me. Lindsay is a WASP, Brian. We’re taught to watch a situation closely and manipulate it to our own advantage when it has the most impact.”

“I sometimes forget you grew up in that sect.”

“Indeed, I did. It’s a world of double entendres and where very little is actually what it seems. Everything is hidden under the veneer of breeding and politeness. So much so that if you’re not careful, you don’t even notice the trap until it’s too late. It’s part of the reason I urged you not to sign over your rights to Gus. I can’t tell you how many times in my life I was treated more like a commodity to Craig, rather than his child. I’m not saying that Lindsay would do that to you, but signing over your rights would have given her that power.”

I can tell he’s thinking about what I’ve said, and even if he doesn’t comment now, he’ll be watching a bit more closely from now on. It’s then that I realize what my true value is to Brian. I’m his protector. It’s not that he overtly needs one, but it’s always the hidden scars that hurt the worst. Michael, Lindsay, and Debbie have the ability to hurt Brian far worse than most people, even beyond his sperm and egg donors. I’ve watched them bully him emotionally until they each have gotten their way. With Lindsay, it was holding his rights over his head when she needed money. She’d appeal to that provider gene embedded within him. With Deb, it’s constantly seeing Brian as responsible for Michael’s happiness and well-being, even though he’s supposed to be a grown fucking man and able to care for himself. With Michael, it’s that air of boy-next-door innocence, the childlike wonder he portrays, the pout and folded arms, or the whining until you do what he wants just for the sake of peace and quiet. Those are all the tools they use, and I won’t be surprised if there are tricks they have that we haven’t seen yet. Well that shit stops right now! He’s protected me time and time again… now, it’s my turn.

“So what did you want to talk to Mel about?”

I’m loathe to bring it up after everything we talked about, but Brian asked me for complete honesty so I suppose this is part of that. “I need to take a look at the Rage contract. I haven’t received a payment from Michael since before the party. I see the comic everywhere, even more so now than when we first started it. So I know there has to be some money from it. I know that I requested in the contract that the books and accounting be submitted at the end of every month to Ted, but…”

“Emmett said that he’s supposed to be discharged by the end of the week,” he tells me.

“That’s great news, but if I can help it, I don’t want to trouble him with this just yet. The thing is that if there is any money to be had, we could use it, Brian. I don’t care if it’s just twenty dollars, it belongs to me and it could buy groceries or something.”

“Sunshine…”

“No, Brian. Just no. If I can only buy a week’s worth of stuff to get us through until a better day comes, then that’s what I’m going to do.  We are partners and if there is any way that I can contribute than I can and will. But if he’s withholding money due me, I want it. Michael is not going to collect free money at our expense. In the meantime, the tips from the Diner help.”

“I would say so. All those double shifts you’ve been working for the last couple of months paid the lights, gas, and heating bills.”

“Exactly, and thank you for letting me pay them.”

“What are you thanking me for?” I just look at him, until he concedes the point. “Okay, so I’m a bit of a bastard when it comes to people taking care of me or my responsibilities.”

“You know, a wise man once told me that a man needs to know when to ask for help. I’ll go you one even better. A wise man also knows when to accept help when it’s offered. But this isn’t that. This is me pulling my weight for a change, so let me.”

He pulls me close and kisses the top of my head in acknowledgment. And you know what? That simple gesture makes me feel so fucking good. He’s finally heard me and understands my need to pay my own way whenever I can. In his mind, for whatever reason, he thinks I’m like Lindsay. Perhaps it’s because we were born into a life of privilege. But I’m also a man, and I never, ever aspired to be a kept boy or some glorified househusband. His simple acceptance makes me think that maybe this time we really can design the life we want together and that it’s not all some champagne wishes and pipe dreams.

Grabbing the house phone, he placed it on speaker as we waited for the call to connect. We were kissing and laughing and joking when Mel’s dulcet tones came over the line.

“Someone better be in jail or dead and stinking to call me at this hour of the night.”

“Why Smelly Melly, I didn’t know you cared,” Brian parried.

“What do you want? I’m in the middle of a couple of briefs.”

“Well from that tone, I can tell thankfully they’re not Lindsay’s.” He mock shuddered, causing me to laugh.

“Brian! Behave! Hi, Mel.”

“Hey, Baby! How are you?”

“I’m doing okay, although Brian and I have been talking about some things. We were wondering if you had the time to dispense some much needed legal advice.”

“Well, because you asked so nicely, by all means. Besides, this one brief is aggravating the fuck out of me. So fire away!”

“Okay, here goes,” Brian begins. “I want to know what my options are in suing Vance for Wrongful Termination. I’m also wondering about Reputational Damage.”

“Reputational Damage?” Both Mel and I ask at the same time.

“Yes. Remember that call I got from an office in Harrisburg offering me a tenth of what I was making at Vanguard and a demotion in position as a copywriter?” I nod my head. “Well, it was something that she said on the phone. She said that my reputation preceded me, and that I was now considered a high-risk candidate for a position in upper management. She offered the copywriter’s position with the stipulation that I not try to advance for two years.”

“That’s preposterous!” Mel exclaimed.

“That’s what I thought, too. It’s not so much that I thought I was too good for the position, even though I am. It’s that I worked damn fucking hard to get where I was, but it got me to thinking. How could my professional reputation and track record for award-winning campaigns be considered high-risk, outside of Stockwell’s shenanigans? And although it is national news, there’s nothing on paper, except where money is concerned, to connect Justin and I directly to getting him indicted. Since the people in Harrisburg wouldn’t have had access to my bank or credit card statements, that means Vance or someone from Vanguard opened their mouths and is trying to blackball me within the industry.”

“I see your point, Brian. The only problem is that we can’t prove he did it on hearsay alone. But I can tell you that you definitely have a case for the Wrongful Termination. Regardless of the fact that you undermined the campaign, what you did was on your own time as a private citizen. You did the job you were paid for during the day. As a private citizen, you have the right to peacefully protest. Your actions didn’t cause a riot and you didn’t end up in jail, although I’m sure Stockwell would have rather it been you than him. That said, and I’ll have to double check, but I’m sure your contract states that you as a partner had the right not to work with a client you were in direct conflict with. It didn’t specify what the conflict had to be. And even though you didn’t buy into the partnership directly, the fact that you signed a multi-billion dollar client and used the ten-percent bonus you would have received from that as payment to buy into the business, assured that you should have received that money back regardless of how you left Vanguard. He’s in direct violation of that edict. Also, I made sure that there wasn’t a non-competition clause included. He would have had to have you sign that directly as it was separate from the partnership contract, since you wouldn’t have deliberately done something to damage Vanguard, thereby fucking all your hard work to hell.”

“Did he?” I ask, fascinated by the actual terms of the agreement. When Brian and Mel took legal action Gardner was going to pay big.

“Yeah, right.” Mel huffed. “Brian had the man scared shitless by getting Leo Brown to sign. There’s no way he wanted to offend Brian without just cause.”

“But he had no problem ousting my ass,” Brian sneered.

“Unfairly. Don’t forget that he did it unfairly, Brian. Thanks to Ryder, he was just looking for a reason. You never were some mindless peon willing to just go along to get along. And although you negated everything you did for Stockwell once you pulled your head out of your ass, it still didn’t affect the work you did for your other accounts prior to or while working on his campaign. Vance used it as a reason to take away what was owed to you,” Mel says.

“So how soon can you have the paperwork prepared?”

“It’s already been done. I figured in a just world I would have been able to convince you to do this so I prepared it in the hopes that I could. But I know you Brian, and you needed to come to me, instead of my bullying you into it. I knew you would get there eventually, so it just needs filing.”

“Well for once in your life you were right. La-di-fucking-dah and hoorah. But on a serious note, Mel, thanks. And now for Sunshine’s problem. It appears that the check has not been in the mail in quite some time for Justin.”

“Well Michael’s been out of state, God knows where so…”

“No Mel, if it was a week, I could understand,” I tell her. “I could also understand if it was just a month or two.”

“So how long are we talking?”

“Not since before the Rage party.” The silence is deafening as both Mel and Brian process that piece of information.

“When was the last time, Justin?”

“Not since around the time I returned from Vermont. I don’t even know how the comic is doing now; it’s not exactly like Michael and I are regular speaking terms. But I would have thought that he’d at least let me know how our business is doing. Whenever I asked when he was at the Diner, he would either ignore the question or change the subject, which would result in another argument and smear campaign against me.”

“It’s a classic Michael move. We all know that.”

“Yeah, but the only thing is that I can’t ask Ted, who I know handles the books.”

“Em’s been keeping the store open for Michael at Ben’s request, so that he’d have a business to come back to. Perhaps he would know where to look,” Brian says. Like me, I think he’s a bit curious about the state of Rage, too.

Is it possible that he’s been cheating me? is the first question that goes through my mind. At first, I am shocked by the thought, but then can’t figure out why I should be. Trying to rationalize it with the advent of Hunter isn’t working simply because Hunter’s arrival in their lives happened between the second and third issues being written and released. That fact puts things in a much more sinister perspective.

Honestly, if Brian hadn’t asked me to, I would never have worked with Michael again. He’s an idiot, but as long as we kept things Rage-related, he was tolerable for an hour or two. But once I find out the nature of things, I’ve already decided that it’s no longer worth my time or effort to work with Michael. Now that we’re starting Kinnetik, I can bow out gracefully and still walk with the copyright to all of my artwork. It was the one stipulation in the contract that Brian and I insisted on. At the time, I couldn’t understand why I felt so strongly about it, since we were creating the comic together and things seemed almost friendly between Michael and I. But now, I’m glad I did.

“I’ll take a run by the shop tomorrow.”

“No, Sunshine, we’re going. You and Michael may be equal partners, but I’m a silent partner in the comic as well.”

“That’s right! You are! You’re the tie-breaker if we ever got deadlocked on an issue. I can’t believe I had forgotten about that.”

“As the person who financed it, I insisted. It’s times like this, I’m glad I did.” Brian looks at me meaningfully before speaking to Mel again. “I also insisted that there be a set of books for the comic store, and another set for Rage. Do you know who’s been taking over for Ted while he’s been away?”

“Michael said that he’s got an outside agency to look over the books while Ted is incapacitated.”

Brian looked dubious at that statement. “I highly doubt that, since Michael is notoriously cheap. Do you know how Ted received the accounting at least?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean did he get them electronically or just by paper.”

“Now that I don’t know, but I know that I submit my records to him in both ways. He uses Quickbooks to double check the figures. He always said that it’s more prudent to have both methods readily available, in case there’s a systems crash or the books get misplaced. I wouldn’t doubt that he’s advised Michael to do the same thing,” she tells us.

“And Michael isn’t stupid. Lazy yes, but if he involves the three things he loves, he’s all ears with tunnel vision,” I inform them.

“I understand exactly what you mean, Baby. If it involves money, comics, or Brian, Michael focuses more than Lindsay does in Saks. And that’s saying a whole lot, but I agree with you. Michael would have paid attention because it involves two of his passions, but still includes the third. How else would he know when he would have to go to Brian to borrow money for a bill he neglected in favor of a must-have item on Ebay?”

“You make me sound some sort of fucking prized bull,” Brian grits out.

“Sorry to inform you, Stud, but to them you are,” I soothe. “Mel, can you be at the shop by eleven in the morning? Aside from everything else, Brian and I are going to start our own agency. We need you to keep that quiet for now, but how long do you think it will be before Gardner Vance decides to pay Brian what he owes him or play hardball and take this to court?”

“Actually, I think he’d be a damn fool not to want to settle this out of court. In fact, Brian I need you at the office at nine, and then we can go to Red Cape Comics. There’s some papers for you to sign to get it filed with the courts, but also I am going to revise the figure you will be asking for.”

“He’ll probably agree to the figure as long as I sign an non-competition clause before he cuts the check,” Brian sighs.

“Which you will cheerfully tell him to shove up his urethra sideways,” Mel laughs as Brian and I wince. YIKES, she’s scary! “The beauty of this is that either way you win. He can’t ask you for anything in exchange for his cooperation, since it’s either settle privately or go to court and publicly admit trying to cheat you and sabotage you. Which do you think the bald bastard will choose?”

We said our goodbyes to Mel with the promise that we’ll be in her office on time in the morning. As I settle into his side in bed, I ask what he’s thinking.

“It’s like a mountain of what-ifs and an endless list of things-to-do.” He sighs into my hair. “What are you going to do if what you suspect about Michael is true?”

I gasp. “How did you…?”

“I’m as onto to you as you are finally back onto me, Sunshine. You might hope for the best, but I know you also expect the worst.”

“It’s just… Brian if he did, it’s going to come down to me or him. It’s going to tear the family apart. You’ve had Michael, and therefore Deb and Vic, for most of your life. I would never ask you to choose between us.”

“And it’s why you would be the first choice, Justin. You’ve always respected his place in my life, even if you didn’t like it. Michael has never given you the same courtesy.” He brings me even closer to him. “I hope we’re wrong, but I can’t shake this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we aren’t.”