CHAPTER 50: CLASH OF THE WASP Part 3: A HOLE IN ONE or SHOULD THAT BE AN ACE IN THE HOLE? LINDSAY CAN’T DECIDE!

LINDSAY:

I can’t believe it! Brian’s finally here. He’s come to see me! Oh sure, Melanie’s with him, which makes this more of a business visit, but still… he’s here! FINALLY, I will have a chance to reconnect with him. And now that I’m pregnant, surely he won’t let me languish away in prison? I’ll just tell him that I was pregnant before I got arrested. I mean, there’s no way to prove I wasn’t, right? No one but Chase and Tara knows of my affair with the two of them, and they’re not talking, because they want to keep their jobs. Besides, I’ve been telling everyone that this baby belongs to Brian Kinney, and since they know about Gus, it makes sense that he would be the father.

Which leads me to the other thing I’ve been telling people. I’ve been keeping my ears open within the halls for any information I could glean on what’s going on beyond these walls, especially since James Stockwell was transferred to this facility weeks ago. Using Brian’s name has given me a measure of protection, but it’s the laughter I always incur when I mention him being my husband. As far as I know, there’s no one from my part of Gay P.A. in here except me, so there was no one to dispute the truth of my words… at least prior to a week ago there wasn’t. There was a major write up in the New York Times business section about the hostile takeover of Vanguard Advertising by Kinnetik Enterprises. I was so proud of Brian. He’d done what he’d set out to do, and finally owns his own agency.

Or so I thought... until I saw the picture of that little blond usuper sitting in my place by Brian’s side. The article also specified that Brian’s last name was now fucking Taylor-Kinney as was Justin’s. I went back to my cell and destroyed everything I could get my fucking hands on. But I also came up with a plan to save face in front of these people there was a good chance I’d be spending years with instead of mere months.

I told them the tragic story of my marriage to Brian, and how the little blond whore honed in on my territory, ruining my happy home. I painted Justin as the ultimate homewrecker, one who used me in all my naive ways to get closer to my husband and son. As I was making every disparaging comment about Justin I could think of, I decided to include Mel, as well. I knew I was being recorded and that all of what I was saying could be used to discredit both Mel and Justin as witnesses at my trial. Instead of being considered unbiased witnesses for the prosecution, my court-appointed attorney said that he would request both of them be treated as hostile witnesses with an axe to grind and having malicious motives for me to stay behind bars. So it was a surprise to me when the warden herself came to undo the recording device from my shirt personally.

“I thought I was supposed to have this on at all times, except when I slept,” I say, trying to keep the glee from my voice. Not having the mic on has let me get away with my nocturnal activities; it will be good not to have to watch what I say so carefully while talking to Brian and Mel.

“I thought you might want to have a private conversation with your husband and his attorney.”

“Oh, that’s right. I’d forgotten that Mel is now Brian’s personal attorney.”

“Yes, they’ve requested to see you at the same time as they have an appointment directly following your visit. In fact, they also requested to have your meeting in a private room, as their next appointment is within that part of the building and so they wouldn’t have to go through the detectors again.”

“Are they aware that Jim Stockwell is within this facility?” I ask, wondering if they were going to see him while they were here.

“Not that I’m aware of. Why would that be of concern?”

“It’s just that Brian and his whore are the reason Stockwell’s facing federal charges.”

“Hmm… I hadn’t heard that. If that’s true, it’s not public knowledge as of yet. Should you even be discussing it? You could jeopardize their safety. You never know who the former police chief had in his pocket.”

Little does she know that it’s what I’m counting on, but not in terms of Brian. I want Justin removed the way he should have been after the bashing. As far as those in the know are concerned, I had my father and Samuel Hobbs pull strings to get the boy off for doing what I asked him to. I just wanted Justin’s influence removed from Brian so that he would once again put Gus and I first. But the plan backfired, no thanks to Michael’s idiocy. After all the help I’d given him in the past to entrap Brian, the least he could have done was make sure Ethan was enough of a man to keep Justin occupied.

“How long will the visit be today?” I ask in place of an answer to her question.

“They requested an open appointment but it can’t be any more than two hours.”

That could work, but… “Why so long?”

“They aren’t sure when or if the DA trying your case will let them come back again,” she answers, and although her answer is monotone and straightforward, there’s something else. Well at least I think there is, but I can’t be sure.

I fluff my hair in the mirror and make sure that I’m coiffed perfectly. Although I want to incur sympathy for my current plight, I still want Melanie to feel jealous looking at me. My skin is glowing the same way it did when I carried Gus. I pinch my cheeks to give them just a smidge more color and pull my lips in, biting them gently to give them that kiss-swollen look. “Okay, I’m ready to go.”

“It’s about time. I was wondering if you were going to require a full hour to primp and posture in front of your mirror.”

I’m tempted to suggest that she take more time to do the same in front of her own mirror, but I know that this woman has the power to cancel my visit altogether, and I really want to see Brian in person. Thankfully, I’ve had access to the internet everyday I’ve been here, even though I can’t email anyone. But if I hadn’t, I might have forgotten what he looks like. Oh, who am I kidding! Brian Kinney- I refuse to acknowledge him as anything other than his birth last name- is a truly unforgettable man. His looks, elegant grace, and style belong on the arm of someone like me, not that mere child he’s playing house with. But as soon as I tell him about my little surprise in the belly, he’ll come around to my way of thinking.

We arrive at the room, and as the Warden gives last minute instructions to the guard that will be stationed outside, I take note of my new surroundings for the afternoon. I actually like this room a lot better to conduct my meetings in. The common room is okay, but oft times distracting with the low hum of voices, constantly blathering on about whatever bullshit they talk about. A few times, I’ve had to throw dirty looks at the other prisoners because one of their guests were too loud for my liking. And then when the children of the prisoners come… I mean, seriously, WHY would you want to bring a child to see their criminal parent?!

The door opens again, and the first person through it is… MEL?!?!?! I look at her, at once knowing that my eyes are shocked and envious. That bitch has never looked that fucking great in all the years I’ve known her. All I’ve ever seen her in is black or dark blue or some shit. Granted, I always told her that in her profession she should always try to blend in, but this…. this is NOT the woman I have spent the last ten years of my life cultivating to my exact specifications!

“Hello, Lindsay. I trust you’re well,” she says as she places her fucking Louis Vuitton briefcase on the table, which is the same brand as her fucking shoes. And is that a fucking Emporio Armani she's wearing?!!! BITCH! BITCH! BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Good morning, Melanie. This is a new look for you, isn’t it?” I narrow my eyes at her, waiting for her answer.

“Indeed it is. I have my bosses to thank for getting me out of the doldrum attire. I mean, if you’re going to work your own private practice, plus be the lead corporate attorney for a soon-to-be multi-billion dollar company, you should look the part, right?”

“You… you’ve gone into private practice?”

“Yes, and most of my clients came along with me. But it’s my high-profile clients that I’m most excited about right now.”

“High-profile? Like who?” I don't believe that shit for one moment. Mel was always about fighting for the underdog, shunning anything corporate America whenever I'd brought it up. But now she doesn't mind? Please!

“Well I can’t name all of the specifics, but I’ll start with a few that you know. There’s, of course, Brian and Justin, but also Jennifer Alwin and her entire family, and also Jared Thorne is using me on a private case of his.”

I feel like the bottom of the earth just dropped from under my feet. The Alwins and Jared Thorne of Thorne Industries?! How the fuck did this happen?! I mean, I always knew that Mel was a competent attorney, but nowhere good enough to really play in the big leagues like the kind of money the Alwins and Thorne Industries will bring her.

“Whoa Lindsay, you should sit down before you fall down,” Brian says as he comes in to sit beside Melanie.

“Bri-Brian…”

“That’s me. So I heard from the warden that you’re pregnant,” he says.

“She wasn’t supposed to tell you that, but yes it’s true. And you’re the...”

“She may not have been supposed to tell me, but considering you are about to commit slander again, only this time to my face, I think she did the right thing. Let’s get this straight right now, Lindsay, so that there will never be any confusion within your brain again. Melanie and I have a son named Augustus Marcus Taylor-Kinney. The official adoption papers for Justin to become Gus’s third parent have already been filed, since he and I are- for all intents and purposes- married with a Legal Domestic Partnership. You, Lindsay Peterson, are only on record as the egg-donor.”

“So you just think you can erase me out of Gus’ life?! In fact, you should have brought him to see his MOTHER!! I want the fucking name of your trick removed from MY son’s birth certificate. He is not now, nor will he ever be a fucking Taylor!”

“Temper, temper, Lindsay. You should watch that before the real father of the baby you’re carrying has you denied visitors altogether. Besides, last we all checked, you aren't anyone's mother. I believe that will go for the poor child you're carrying as well.You're about as fit to be a mother, as Craig is to be a father, or better yet, Michael,” that fucking little ingrate snickers from the corner.

I’ve been ignoring his presence since he came in, but that softly-worded warning has me wanting to bite his fucking head off. What the fuck is he doing here anyway?! “Brian, you may not be the baby’s bio dad, but you and I can still raise him or her the way we should be doing with Gus,” I say, trying to reason with him so he can see the bigger picture. I pull my hair from behind my ear, letting it fall forward as I stare at the table until I feel the tears prickle at the back of my eyes.

Again, that fucking snicker from the corner of the room, but Brian’s response catches my attention. “I’ll think about it, if you answer a few questions that Mel and I have about the packets.”

“I thought everything was pretty straightforward,” I say, trying to think what other questions they could possibly have.

“Well the major one, is what you have to gain by ratting your co-conspirators out,” Melanie says, in a way that makes me think she knows about… NO!! She couldn’t have found out about THAT! Fucking stupid…

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mel. I told you when I gave you the information of where to find the packets. I felt bad for what they were trying to do to Brian.”

“So bad that you couldn’t manage to come clean before you all got caught?” Brian rhetorically asks, and I’m taken aback by the venom in his voice. “So let’s start with the most basic of questions. When did this all start? Because I’ll tell you right now, your part in this didn’t just start with Claire.”

“Yes, Lindsay. Please tell Brian and Melanie when your association with my father really began, or would you like me to do it?” The little bastard sits down at the table, and it’s when I see the look in his eyes and the small smirk on his lips that I know that I’m fucked.

JUSTIN:

I decided to step in now, because if not, she would just keep trying to badger Brian into accepting her child, and then using said child to gain sympathy and a get out of jail free card. Not fucking happening!

“Justin, what a surprise. How are you? Still working at the diner?”

“No. I’m co-owner of Kinnetik, Lindsay. And soon to be the sole owner of a few other business ventures your buddy Michael had going.”

“And how is Michael?” She asks. “Haven’t seen him lately.”

“That’s because he’s in jail for embezzlement, grand larceny, and filing a false report… well those are the charges so far, at least. And before you ask, Lance Freeman, Claire Townsend, and my father are all in jail as well. So now we can get down to the business of your alliances.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she says as she turns her nose up in the air.

“I think my uncle and your sister might believe differently,” I say, and relish the gasp that escapes her. “You see, although it was a long time ago, I distinctly remember attending your sister’s sweet 16 party. I also happen to know that you were going to Penn State on the merit of my uncle, who you tried to falsely accuse of raping you, leaving out the fact that you tried to entrap him with a pregnancy, much like you tried to do with Brian on the one occasion he slept with you in college.”

“I did no such thing!”

“Charles Alwin,” I say, and watch the color drain from her face. “You remember my uncle Charles don’t you, Lindsay?”

“You’re an… You’re an Alwin?”

I smile brightly at her. “Indeed I am. My mother is Jennifer Alwin-Taylor. My grandparents were Justin Cole and Janice Marie Alwin nee Haywood.”

“If you remember that night, then you must also remember my date.”

“Of course, I do. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen then when he was 24, and he still is. Only we didn’t meet again until years later under a streetlight outside of what has become our personal playground. And look at how time and fate intervened that I would still end up with him. So I’m going to guess that my father noticed the way I kept staring at Brian from across the room instead of paying the attention he wanted me to pay to Hannah Brubaker. Am I right?”

“You mean…” Melanie began to ask, but I hastily answered not wanting to give Lindsay a chance to spin this into some sinister stalking scenario. It wasn't like that at all.

“Yes, I saw Brian Kinney at a party when I was a mere tyke of twelve. Ironic that I would meet the same man five years later when I wasn’t even looking for him or to remember him. Do you know when I remembered that I’d seen Brian before?” I address Brian and Melanie, while Lindsay still looks on, fuming at all of her secrets being aired. “It was at the same time that I met Lindsay’s parents at that bogus party she tried to throw for Gus’ christening when she’d invited her parents. Ron had asked me how my mother was doing since the divorce, and then proceeded to tell me how surprised he was to find me in the company of the very first man I’d ever stopped dead in my tracks to look at. It was that moment that my father realized that his only son, who he had such high hopes for, was gay. What I wasn’t able to figure out until just a day ago was why he would talk to you, Lindsay. But then compared to my mother’s lineage, my father’s and yours would be contemporaries.”

“Contemporaries?” Mel asks me.

“Yes. Within the WASP hierarchy they would seem about three steps above common.”

“But so would you have been, Justin,” Lindsay gloats. And I feel it is my absolute duty to shoot this bitch down once and for all.

“No, because although my mother married down, she still kept her status among the born elite. Your family, just as my father’s was, were considered new money. So again, who’s common? But back to the matter at hand, so we’ve established your connection to my father, who really was your first lover before he took up with Brian’s sister. Definitely a step down, but a pussy doesn’t have a face, just as a stiff dick doesn’t have a conscience.”

“Must you be so crude?!”

I smile at her to piss her off further. “I can afford to be, and will be even moreso when I collect my inheritance back from both you and Claire.”

Brian, Mel, and Lindsay all gasp, which makes me snicker, especially Lindsay’s. She always did think that I was just some dumb blond; guess it never occurred to her that I was actually rich, too. She should have suspected it though, I mean she was doing my father, after all. “How did you…” she begins but I cut her off.

“Know? Well there’s the forty thousand that Claire has hidden in her house which Craig gave her. And then there is also the money you were trying to set Mel up with, which was in reality part of the hush money, and payment for services rendered when you tried to set up Uncle Charles on Craig’s behalf. Charles was the one who stood between Craig and the upper eschelons of society, which was done mostly protect the Alwin family name and coffers from greedy boor. But that 'Lindsay, shut up and fuck' money was also mine, by the way. You see, the more you all tried to fuck me and Brian over, you ended up double crossing your allies. There is also the money that Lance was holding for you, which belongs to both me and Molly, which will also be getting confiscated as soon as the order is given.”

“So I guess there’s really no reason to visit again, is there?” Brian asks me.

“Not really, unless you just want to waste time taunting her.”

“Justin how did you find all of this out?” Melanie asks.

“I just followed the money, and also Mom and Daphne were around then. So what I didn’t know, Mom and Daphne had the info. But the thing that brought it all home for me was the wonderful visit I had with Lynette Smalls yesterday. I went over there at a very good time, too. Hey Lindsay, did you know that your sister is expecting twins? Yesterday was her baby shower. I gave her two pairs of Cartier studs from us, Brian. They are having girls. Ron and Nancy are just over the moon.”

“Is that why you left for about two hours after we got home?” Mel asks.

“Yes. Mom was going anyway so I decided to just meet her there.”

“EXCUSE ME!!! But what the fuck?! Why are you lying, Justin?! Lynette can’t have children.” Lindsay screeches.

“It wasn’t Lynette that couldn’t, but her former husband, duh…” I turn away from her stunned expression. “Are we finished here? I’m pretty sure that if Linton has any other questions, he can ask them of her directly. Who knows he may even be able to offer her a deal or something.”

“Linton?” Lindsay laughs. “You imbecile, they didn’t record me today. All of your innuendos and falsehoods will be considered mere conjecture!”

“Oh, by the way, Lindsay. Smile for the camera,” I say, waving at the mirror.

“Being with Brian has made your brain-damaged ass need rehab!”

Instead of getting angry, I lean in closer to her. “Like my tie pin, Lindsay?” It’s then that she goes pale. “It’s a mic, and right now, you’re on candid camera, bitch. Have a good life!”

As we’re leaving, Brian turns to Mel and begins the one conversation that I know is going to send that conniving cunt still sitting stunned at the table around the bend. “Mel, did you make the appointment at the clinic yet?”

“Ah, Melanie, are you sick?” Lindsay smirks in her direction. It’s true, misery loves company.

But Melanie is as feisty as ever. “No, not yet. But I will be in probably a month or two. I’m getting my checkup so that when Brian and Justin decide to give me their mixed sample, I’ll get inseminated. Have a nice life, Lindsay. I’m sure we will!”

And yeah, as expected that last parting shot Mel delivered has the guard rushing into the room to subdue Lindsay. Our work here is done and it only took an hour!