Brian arrived back home Friday evening. He didn’t expect to find Evan home, but he was at the kitchen island.
Something smelled really good, and Brian wondered if Evan had taken up cooking classes without his knowledge.
Evan looked up from the laptop, gasping. “You’re back!”
Brian rolled his eyes. “My bad. Honey, I’m home!” He shouted in a high-pitched voice. “You’re cooking?”
“Ah, that’s a new recipe Debbie made. She sent some to us.”
“For a second, I thought you’d started cooking.”
“Don’t be silly! I’ll probably burn down the entire building.”
Brian shook his head. Despite his dislike for cooking, he missed Justin's home cooked meals. Justin used to surprise him with a new dish every other day.
“How was the trip? I saw Brown praised the mock-ups the team made while there.”
“Yes, everything went well. All we need is a photoshoot for the new campaign. I’m thinking of talking to Jimmy to see if he’ll let us use his gym for a day or two.”
“The one on Liberty Avenue?” Evan asked.
“Yes. I’ve been going there for so long, they should allow me to use the equipment for free.” Brian laughed. “Remind me to call the modeling agency on Monday.”
“Or maybe we can use the guys who go to the gym and get their honest feedback regarding how the clothes feel.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“We also need to find a gym where women go, because some of the gear is for women, too.”
“True. We’ll research—”
“Already found a couple gyms downtown, and they’re willing to meet with us next week.”
“Damn, you move fast, Steele.” Brian rolled his suitcase into the bedroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Do you want wine or beer to go with the pasta?”
“Whatever.”
Brian closed himself in the bathroom. He placed his phone on the sink, and noticed a new message.
There was a picture of a red car followed by several question marks.
Brian stared at the photo, trying to identify what type of Ford Justin had sent him.
Is that a Taurus? I need to check the specs to let you know if it’s good. Or maybe you can tell me.
It says the engine is ecoboost v6 3.5 L, all wheel drive, 6 speed automatic
Decent. HP?
Uh… what
horse power, Justin.
I think it says 365. That’s good, right?
Yes, send me a link and I’ll get back to you after a little research.
Brian was impressed with the car Justin had chosen. Justin had decided he needed a car if they were going to use Britin as their hideout.
While showering, Brian tried to piece together a plan strong enough for what he planned on doing. Evan was likely to guess Brian was tricking discreetly somewhere, and hopefully he wouldn’t make a big show out of it. At work, Brian was going to treat Justin like any other employee. He really hoped he could do it. As for the times they saw each other outside work or Britin, they had to keep their distance and act like old friends.
After dinner, where Brian caught Evan up with all the details from the trip regarding their new campaign for Brown, Brian went to bed with his laptop.
He started a thorough research for the 2013 Ford Taurus, then checked out the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Avalon. The Toyota was closer to the Taurus Justin had showed him in the specs range.
Because he didn’t have anything better to do, and he really wanted Justin to choose a good car, he pulled up an Excel worksheet and created a table with the three cars and their engine, safety, comfort, and prices.
“You want to trade in the ‘Vette?” Evan’s question pulled Brian from the diagram he was creating.
“Just checking something.”
“If you want a new car, I recommend the Mercedes.”
Brian scowled. He had never liked the German limousines, and if he ever sold the Vette, he would go back to a Jeep. Besides, he doubted Justin would like a Mercedes or BMW.
With Evan focused on his phone, Brian continued with the table, then sent it to Justin in an email.
From: Brian Kinney
To: Justin Taylor
Fri, Apr 27, 9:47 PM
Here you go!
Let me know what you decide.
Brian
Some time later, Justin replied, impressed with the research, saying he would weigh his options and decide.
#
On Monday, Brian was stuck in meetings and on calls most of the day. Around four in the afternoon, Evan took off to meet with the gym owners downtown, but Brian stayed behind. He was looking over the designs for Brown’s campaign when there was a knock on his door.
“Yes?” He called, without looking up.
He had liked them when Justin had first showed them to him, but now something was off and he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.
“Do you have a moment?” Justin was hanging on the door handle, his eyes worried.
“Come in. Shut the door.”
Justin slumped on the sofa, kneading his fingers on his lap.
“What’s wrong?” Brian asked, turning his attention to the distressed man across the room.
“You better hear this from me.” Justin’s eyes glanced to the door then back at Brian. “We don’t have much time. The thing is, I got in this argument with Kyle.”
Brian knew that his Art Director wasn’t the most tempered man, but he had never been in a conflict with a co-worker. “What about?”
“Brown’s campaign. I was looking over the latest version of the boards. I don’t like the dark brown background. I was thinking of something between pine and seaweed.” Justin noticed Brian couldn’t tell what color he meant, but he went on. “And I think the person we’re going to portray on the bicycle should be a woman wearing the headband. There. I said my piece.”
“I’m trying to visualize the color. It’s a muddy green?”
“Kinda. Let me show you on your lapt—”
The door of Brian's office opened to reveal a red-faced Kyle. “Just amazing! You came running to the boss to whine that I’m against your idiotic ideas.”
Brian stood up, handing Justin his laptop to show him the color. “Kyle, we’ve had this conversation. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and some are pretty damn good ideas.”
“Brian, he wants to change the background color! We’ve always used the mocha brown for Brown Athletics. Now this…this kid…a former painter…comes out of nowhere and decides to change something that has been working since the first time you signed with Brown!” Kyle turned to Justin. “No wonder you’re a former painter. I can only imagine wha—”
“ENOUGH!” Brian shouted so loud Kyle shut his mouth, and Justin startled from his quest for the correct color.
“Here’s the shade of green I had in mind.” Justin turned the laptop so Brian could see. He tried not to be affected by how hot Brian was when he was defending him.
“I like it.” Brian met his eyes. “Show me a parallel of the two colors for background and I’ll decide whether or not it’s a completely waste of energy.”
“This means hours spent doing something useless while we could move forward with this,” Kyle muttered, annoyed.
“It’s my job to do this. No one else will work overtime, besides me,” Justin snapped.
Kyle simply glared, not having a witty reply.
“Now kiss and make up, then get back to work,” Brian told them, amused. “Oh, and the other idea…I’ll see how it works when we have the photoshoot.”
Justin beamed, heading out of Brian's office.
“Seriously, Mr. Kinney. Where did you find this stubborn kid?”
“He’s not a kid, Kyle. He’s thirty years old, so, old enough to stand up for what he believes in and not take any shit from bullies like you.”
“So I’m a bully now?”
Brian leaned against his desk, folding his arms across his chest. “I’ve noticed you didn’t like Justin from the moment I introduced him to the team.” He met Kyle’s eyes, who seemed ready to retort. “You know why you don’t like Justin? Because he’s better than you, and you’re scared he’ll take your job one day.”
“That’s…”
“The reality. Now get back to work and stop wasting my time with first grade problems.”
Kyle shuffled out of Brian's office, berated.
Not fifteen minutes later, Justin sent Brian one of the story boards with his color choice as the background. Brian loved it instantly, and realized that was the thing he didn’t like about the pictures.
It was a little after six in the evening when Brian decided to call it a day and head home. He was at the front door when he heard footsteps behind him. Everyone should have left an hour ago.
He turned to see Justin walking to him. He was focused on his phone, but stopped right before he could collide with Brian.
“Shit! What are you doing still here?” Justin asked, slightly nervous.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Brian said, teasingly.
“I didn’t joke about staying overtime to finish the boards.”
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Brian said softly, catching Justin's right hand. “You’re tense.”
“I’m fine.” Justin snatched his hand back. “I promise,” he added, when Brian stared at him in concern.
“Can I drive you somewhere?”
Justin chuckled. “I was headed to the Ford dealership. I want to take that car for a test drive.”
“It’s a pretty nice car. What made you choose it?”
“It’s red.”
Brian stopped outside the building, waiting for Justin to say he was joking. When Justin lifted a brow, confused, Brian started laughing.
“Are you serious? You chose it based on the color?”
“And it’s pretty,” Justin added, seriously.
“Lucky you have me for the technical part.”
“Why do you think I asked you? I know you like cars. Daphne told me the gas will kill me.”
“She’s not lying, but if you want that car, I recommend it.”
#
The test drive cemented Justin’s love for the Ford Taurus. After an hour of taking the car for a spin, he signed the papers.
Since Justin wanted it in red, he had to wait a couple of days for them to bring one to Pittsburgh, but he didn’t mind.
“I thought your favorite color was green,” Brian said, once they were back in the Corvette.
“I’ve always liked red for cars. And I thought you liked black, but now I know why the ‘Vette is dark green,” Justin teased.
“We weren’t even together anymore when I got it.”
“Details.” Justin waved a hand about, before putting on his seatbelt.
Brian glanced at Justin, noticing how at ease he was. In a rush decision, he took the route leading outside the city.
“Check the glove compartment and tell me if there is a set of keys with a tiny dildo key chain.”
Justin shot him an amused look, but did as told. He came up with the keys, staring at them blankly. “Do you own a castle, or something?” He rolled the large keys over in his hand, noticing how heavy they were.
“Take one, and don’t lose it. Besides, I thought you were smart enough to guess to what they belong to.”
Justin stopped trying to take one of the keys off the chain. His hands trembled as he met Brian's eyes.
“Britin,” he gasped. “Wait! We’re going there now?”
“If you want.” Brian shrugged, already taking the interstate.
“I promised Daphne I’d have movie night with her, but I guess she’ll understand.”
“I know you hate lying to her, but…” Brian reached out for Justin's hand, linking their fingers.
“Don’t worry. What about you?” Justin worried his bottom lip between his teeth.
“I’ll call Evan when we get there.” Brian focused on the road, but he could tell Justin was tense. “I had a talk with him this weekend. I told him that I won’t give up tricking for our fake marriage.”
“Okay?”
“He didn’t seem to mind, only reminded me to be careful. He said he’s been thinking of going to the Baths, but I told him no. The city’s attorney would have places like that watched.”
“Damn.” Justin rubbed his temple, squeezing Brian's hand. “I wish there was another way.”
“You and me both.”