Chapter 8

“I can't believe you would ever do this to him. How could you? Do you have any idea how much he loves you? How much he's hurting right now because of what you're doing to him? You are an asshole, Brian! The worst kind of asshole out there,” Emmett yelled before he made his way over to the door of Brian's office. As he was ready to leave, he turned around once more for his parting shot, only to be interrupted by Brian's cold, harsh voice.

“Yeah, what's new, Emmett? He knew what he was getting into from the beginning and now it's over. He's in New York, where he should focus on his career and not cry over a past that is not going to be his future. I will not be his future.”

“I hope you'll end up alone and lonely without friends and love in your life. That's what you deserve after treating him like shit. And I can assure you, he will get over you and he will find the one person that completes him and can give him things you never could and would and he will be happy. Happier than he has ever been with you. Don't bother calling me, Brian. You're dead to me!” 

With that Emmett left and Brian was finally alone in his office. He frowned when he heard Ted's voice call out Emmett's name, but when he heard nothing else, he stopped listening and sunk into his office chair. This day was quickly turning into a day from hell.

Ten minutes ago Emmett had shown up and had started ripping into him right away about his behaviour towards Justin and had hardly given him a chance to open his mouth and defend himself. Not that there was much he could say to defend himself. Instead he had opted for supporting Emmett's point of view that he was the asshole everyone assumed he was. Maybe Emmett would get back info about their conversation to Justin and Justin would finally get a hint that they were over.

He wondered if Emmett had meant it when he had said that Brian was dead to him. Brian frowned, wondering how he would feel about that if it was true. Maybe Emmett was just really angry and needed some time to calm down.

Then again Brian couldn't help but wonder if maybe that wouldn't a bad thing. Emmett had always been more Justin's friend than his and Emmett just loved his 'baby'. Brian wondered how Emmett would react once he found out the real reason for Brian's behaviour. He didn't think Emmett would be able to keep it a secret. He would probably tell Justin as soon as he knew because he would feel like his 'baby' deserved to know the truth. Maybe it was better for everyone involved if Emmett considered Brian dead to him. That way Justin wouldn't find out the truth from the tall queen. 

Brian was interrupted in his thoughts when Ted entered his office. Brian sighed once more, wondering if his CFO would be the next on the list of people to rip into him. 

“Now is not a good time, Theodore,” Brian just muttered, burying his face in a folder on his desk.

“Are you okay, Brian?” Ted asked and for a second Brian almost felt as if there was something like concern in his CFO's voice.

“Is it any of your concern?” Brian snapped, then returned to reading the file.

“I know that we've had our differences and disagreements recently, but... I am still your friend, Brian and the fact is, you're pregnant and excuse me for worrying if my pregnant friend is okay or not after he has just been yelled at for ten minutes non-stop.”

“You heard?” Brian rubbed his hand over his forehead in frustration. When had his place of business turned into a circus with daily entertainment for all employees in the form of him having arguments with someone?

“It was hard not to. Emmett can be really loud if he wants to,” Ted smiled carefully when he said that. 

“Who else heard?”

“Most people are on lunch break, so I think you're safe. But... I think you need to talk to Cynthia. She knows that something is going on and I think you need to let her know the truth. She's growing suspicious of all these visits that end in huge yelling matches and... she knows something is off between you and Justin,” Ted ended.

“So she can yell at me, too?” Brian raised an eyebrow at the man opposite his desk. If Ted thought for a moment that Cynthia would be okay with what Brian was doing, he was wrong. Cynthia had always liked Justin, she had always liked them together and had been a staunch supporter of their relationship.

“You can't keep this a secret from her forever. She's your COO. She will have to know sooner or later. Plans will need to be made for when the baby is born and you need her to keep the company running while you're not here,” Ted said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, yeah...,” Brian sighed, slamming the file on his desk closed. “I know you're right, but...”

“Think of it like ripping off a bandaid. The faster you get it over with, the sooner it will be done,” Ted supplied helpfully and Brian only nodded at him.

“Fine...,” Brian sighed once more, before checking something on his computer. “Can you schedule a meeting for 4pm with her? And don't think for a second that you're going to get out of that meeting. You'll be there, too,” Brian glared at Ted.

“Wouldn't dream of being anywhere else, boss,” Ted smirked before leaving Brian's office. 

Brian felt his stomach sink when he heard Ted talk to a person he didn't want to see and really didn't feel like dealing with only minutes after Emmett had yelled at him.

“Jennifer, what a surprise,” Brian could hear his CFO's voice and couldn't help but snicker when he heard the nervousness in that voice.

“Ted, hello. Is Brian in his office?”

“Yes, he is, but... I think he's really busy right now,” Ted replied evasively and Brian could hear Jennifer's voice soon after.

“Don't worry, this won't take long.”

A few seconds later he saw the door to his office open and saw Jennifer enter. She determinedly walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair opposite it without waiting for an invitation.

“Is this a new habit of yours? Making yourself comfortable without invitation?” Brian snarked at her, not hiding his displeasure about her visit.

“I am not here to argue with you, Brian,” she said coldly, making it clear that she meant business.

“Then why are you here?” Brian asked her, his voice sounding cold and indifferent to his own ears.

“I know what you're doing, Brian and I know that you're doing it at a large cost to yourself. You're sacrificing your own happiness, so Justin can have the career he deserves. You love him enough to sacrifice your own dreams, so he can have his. I might not agree with what you're doing, but I can see the simple truth: You love him,” she started and Brian felt uncomfortable with how easily she could look through him.

“You love him more than you love yourself and you feel like sacrificing your own happiness is what you have to do to ensure his. That is very noble, if bullshit. Justin wouldn't want you to do this.” When she saw that Brian was about to interrupt her, she raised her hand, effectively stopping him from saying anything. “Let me finish, please.”

When Brian nodded his assent, she went on.

“He wouldn't want you to do this and when he finds out the truth behind your behaviour, he'll hate you. He will never forgive you, but I guess that's a risk you're willing to take and I also realise that nothing I will or could say will change your mind, so I am not here to argue with you again or try doing that again.”

At Brian's surprised look, she couldn't help but chuckle. “Believe me, I know how stubborn you can be and I know when fighting is futile, so I am not going to waste my time and my words on trying to convince you of how wrong you are.” She cleared her throat before she went on. “I won't tell Justin about your pregnancy. I will keep your secret,” she started, but stopped at the confused look on the face of her almost son-in-law.

“I will allow you to go on with your plan, no matter how foolhardy it is,” she continued after several seconds of silence between them. “However... I have one condition.”

Brian raised an eyebrow at the woman sitting opposite him, wondering what her condition might be.  

“And what could that be?” He drawled, not wanting to let her see how intrigued he was by what she was saying.

“I want a relationship with my grandchild,” she said calmly, looking him straight in the eyes. She hadn't expected Brian to burst out laughing at her request, to be honest, that was the last thing she had expected. 

“Is that funny to you?” She asked, the annoyance clear to hear in her voice.

“You really are something else, you know that?” Brian was still laughing, trying to calm down. 

“You might find it strange, but I can actually understand your reasoning for not wanting to let Justin know about the pregnancy. Better than you think. I still don't agree, but I can see where you're coming from and... I can also see what price you're paying to do this, but... I am not willing to pay the same price and sacrifice my relationship with my grandchild out of some wrong sense of family obligation or loyalty.”

“Family obligation? That's what you call your relationship with Justin?” Brian's eyes had gone from amused to an angry glare.

“Oh, don't even try playing that blame game with me, Brian. You know that I love Justin more than anything. You know the things I have sacrificed for his happiness. The things I have sacrificed so he could be happy with you,” she said pointedly.

“Your membership to the country club? Your nice mansion in a good part of town? Jennifer, I never knew you were that shallow,” Brian drawled.

“I never cared about any of those. Don't you dare judge me without knowing what you're talking about.”

“Then why not explain to me what you're talking about?”

“How do you think it made me feel that he preferred living with you instead of me after he came out of the hospital? God, you don't know how quickly he wanted to get out of the house so he could get back to you. You don't know how much it hurt that I couldn't help my son when all I wanted to do was hold him and protect him and be there for him. But it wasn't me he wanted... no, it was you. He didn't need me and didn't want me to help him, but you. And I let go of him because I knew that if I ever wanted to see my son be the person he was again, I needed to let you take over because I couldn't be what he needed at that moment. So I let him go and let him be with you, but don't... don't for a second think that I wasn't sacrificing a part of myself there,” she angrily exclaimed, glaring at Brian.

“Jennifer, I...,” Brian started, but didn't quite know how to continue. He had always known how much she loved her son, he had always known how much she had tried to do right by him and Molly and if he was honest with himself, he had also known that somewhere along the line she had to have let go of a part of herself that defined her life. After all she had only ever been a wife and mother until her divorce from Craig. And letting someone else take over in taking care of her son when all she had ever been was a wife and mother had to have felt like giving up a part of herself, had to have felt like giving up a part of her identity. “I can imagine how hard that was for you, but... you did the right thing,” Brian ended.

“I know, but we both know that just because something is right doesn't always make it easy.”

Brian nodded at that, because really, she was right. There was no contradicting her on that.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked her after several minutes of silence in which they both hung onto their own thoughts. 

“I understand why you think you have to do this, Brian. I really do. And I understand how much it must hurt you as well, and... you might be able to give up Justin for the sake of your child... call me weak, but I am not ready to give up my grandchild to prove a point to Justin,” she said in a voice hardly above a whisper. “I want a relationship with my grandchild, Brian. I never... I never really saw myself as a grandmother to Justin's children after he told us that he was gay, I... I know there are ways and I know you have Gus, but... I don't know, I have never really dared to imagine that he would have children one day and now, now there will be a child of his and... I won't let go of being that child's grandmother just to prove to him how much I love him.”

Jennifer looked at Brian from determined eyes before she continued. “I will keep your secret, I will go along with it for the sake of Justin's life and career if you will allow me a relationship with my grandchild. That is my condition.”

“Why did you change your mind? What happened to 'He has a right to know about his baby'?” Brian asked her, his voice sounding more curious than anything.

“I still think he does, but... like I said, I can see your reasoning. I do understand why you're doing this,” Jennifer explained. “I can see why you want him to have the career he deserves, I want him to have it too. His talent is too precious to not be recognised. And... I agree that he's too young to settle like this,” Jennifer sighed. “Craig and I married too young and had children too young. I have never worked, but immediately got pregnant after college and all throughout our marriage I was dependent on whatever crumbs Craig would throw my way. Justin couldn't live like that, he's too stubborn and too independent for a life like that. He... he needs to find his place in life before he can have a family. I don't want him to end in the same situation I did. So yes, I think he has a right to know about this baby, but at the same time, I agree with you that he's not ready for a family. Not now.”

Jennifer buried her face in her hands. “God, I am an awful mother. What mother would say something like that?”

Brian got up from his chair and walked around his desk, kneeling next to Jennifer. He rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “A mother that truly loves her son,” Brian said quietly. “There was never any doubt about that, Jennifer. He's always known and... so have I.”

Brian grabbed the chair next to Jennifer's and pulled it closer, sitting down in it, his hand still on her shoulder. For a moment he frowned at the image and wondered what had come over him. Why was he comforting Justin's mother? Why was he at her side instead of snarking at her? God, those pregnacy hormones were driving him crazy. Because, Brian knew it had to be the hormones. There was no other explanation for what he was about to do.

“I would be honoured if you would be our child's grandmother. Between you and Debbie, this child will be smothered in grandmotherly love.”

“Debbie knows?” Jennifer asked quietly, raising her eyes to meet Brian's. When Brian only nodded in reply, she nodded as well. “I am glad.”

“She's already planning on buying toys, clothes and diapers until this child is 25!” Brian groused and Jennifer could only chuckle at the expression on his face. 

“Between the two of us you should be covered for life then.”

“I guess there are worse things in life,” Brian shrugged.

“Thank you, Brian,” Jennifer said sincerely. “I really appreciate this.”

“No, thank you. I know how hard this is for you and... thank you,” Brian said, meeting her gaze face on. He had a feeling that they had come to a silent understanding. They might not agree about his course of action where Justin was concerned, but at least they had found some common ground on which to make sure that Jennifer could have a relationship with her grandchild and on which Brian could make sure that his child would have both his or her grandmothers in their life while Justin got the life and career he deserved. The career he had always dreamed of and had worked so hard for in recent months.