CHAPTER SEVEN: RULE NUMBER TWO OF BEING AN ADULT: DON’T PLAY PLUG IF YOU’RE UNPREPARED TO BECOME THE SOCKET A TIME OR TWO

JULIAN:

“Oh to be a fly on the wall for the screech and whine sessions going on within the Peterson residence right now!” I say aloud, as I drive away blasting ‘Bodak Yellow’ by Cardi B. 

I can’t help the bubble of laughter which escapes me as I continue to slowly drive out of the affluent neighborhood. I know that I’m incurring looks from the residents of the neighborhood- one, because of the volume of my music, and two, because of the car itself. But I don’t give a fuck. To these narrow minded bigots, someone of my breeding shouldn’t drive a muscle car, or listen to rap music, especially with explicit lyrics. But fuck them!

See, that’s really why my dad requested that I be Justin’s attorney and personal assistant. Like him and Brian, I’ve always chosen which rules of society I adhere to, and the rest I’m able to turn on and off at will. With Stephanie watching Justin’s back within the new office of DPAA, that will leave me free to deal with all things concerning his personal life. I promised my father that I wouldn’t let Justin burn himself out, and I’ll do that. But most importantly, my job will be to protect Justin and Brian’s interests by cutting people who try to come against them too short to shit, not enough to piss, and then shoot them dead for stinking. 

Basically, it means, I get to let my inner-bitch come out to live, and not just to play occasionally. The reason why I became bored with prepping for trials and the like is because I live for the details, and for the thrill of not even letting a situation go to court. Presenting the facts in front of a judge is one thing, but the best feeling is when you know you have the upperhand and there’s nothing your opponent can do about it. It’s why I was incredibly fascinated, and then ultimately proud of Mel for winning against Morton Spitzer. Assholes like that need to be shown all they stand to lose before getting to court, and then if they don’t have the good sense to bow out, you annihilate them. 

It’s what’s going to make my next appointment that much more gratifying. Pulling into the garage of Ryder-Vanguard Advertising, I get a thrill knowing that the two men in the building are about to choke on their tongues upon seeing me again. Not too long ago, I applied for a job at Vanguard, thinking I’d move to Chicago for a new start. I’d just broken it off with my male lover, Tyson, and his sister, Erica, was beginning to get way too territorial and clingy for my liking. Before you ask, yes, I was with them both and they knew it. 

They were into it, so as far as I’m concerned, I was doing their parents a favor by cutting down on the sibling rivalry. My only stipulation to the arrangement was that they respect my space and realize that my career was important to me. At first, they were all for it since they were trying to make their own names within their chosen fields, Ty within the corporate sector, and Erica as an associate buyer for a well-known retail chain. We’d split date nights up to accomodate all three schedules, making the rule that unless there was a bonafide family emergency whomever I was with had my full attention. And things were working out fine, until Ty had broken it.

My first indication that he was about to act like a little preteen about things should have been the way he would drape himself all over his best friend whenever he just appeared wherever Ty and I were hanging out. The funny thing about John Cartwright, the best friend, is that we all know Ty would have never been able to survive a relationship with the man who is around the same age as Brian. Heir to a sizable fortune, Cartwright is one of the most controlling men I’d ever met. If the truth be told, he’s not even Ty’s best friend; just a family friend who agreed to take Ty under his wing and protect him from himself. Ty is a free spirit, which can sometimes land him in situations that he can’t get out of.

Anyway, the second indication that things were about to go south real fast was the night he arrived at my apartment with bruises all over him. Now of course my first inclination was to call the police and get someone over to take his statement so he could press charges. Erica, who was just waking up from being fucked to within an inch of her life, came out of the room looking as unaffected by the scene unfolding as I’d ever seen her. In fact, in the most chilling voice I’d ever heard her use, she asked if what he’d planned was working. When I looked between the both of them, it became all too clear that Ty had intentionally gone somewhere and gotten himself worked over real good as a way to test my loyalty to him.

I kicked them both out of my apartment that night and refused to speak to either of them for three weeks. It was my hope that within that time they would realize how ridiculous they were being. Yeah, the world is still waiting until that happens. Anyway, during the time of radio silence, Cartwright came to see me. He explained just what happened that night, and I couldn’t help but get angrier with each word he uttered. 

“Have you ever wondered why I’ve never taken Ty to my bed?”

“Other than the fact that I thought you were straight?”

“Everyone believes that I’m straight, and I intend to keep it that way until the man I can’t fully live without is ready to be mine in ALL the ways I need him to be. But that’s not what I asked you.” Cartwright told me, causing me to sit up a little straighter. There’s always been an attraction there; one which I’d always suppressed because I just thought there wasn’t any way to act upon them. So him and I talking right then let me know then that when and if I was ever ready, he was too. But instead of voicing that thought aloud, he continued, “The reason why I would NEVER take Tyson to my bed is because he’s too immature in all the ways that matter.”

“And yet you’re friends with him.”

“I care about him, as a fellow human being, but as for any deeper feelings, no. I agreed to keep an eye on him for that reason alone. And honestly, their parents have enough to worry about without having to deal with another of Ty’s follies.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Cartwright shook his head at my question, before saying, “Nothing that I can tell you myself, since it’s their story to tell. Suffice it to say that Ty needs a handler, not a partner. The same goes for Erica, although she’s a bit better off. Whereas he’s overly-emotional in all facets, she doesn’t seem to have any beyond greed and lust. My advice is to get out now, while you still have your own sanity.”

I took his words to heart, but couldn’t resist asking, “And you? What are you going to do?”

He smiled at me then. I couldn’t help but suppress the gasp that almost escaped me at seeing the genuine smile which graced his full lips just then. “Hold on for the ride… and the news that both of them are not going to inherit their parents’ fortunes. Those are going to go to me as payment for services rendered, since I’ve been considered their glorified babysitter for a long time now. Sure, they will receive a portion of the estate, but the businesses will be absorbed into my own upon Jefferson’s request. But I hope that’s not going to happen for a long time to come. Tyson, Senior, and Dorthea are great people; the world would become a much dimmer place without them. But in the meantime, I have more pressing matters to attend to.”

“Such as?”

“Waiting for you to grow up a bit more before I make some moves of my own.”

We parted ways then, but the thought and his parting words, stayed in my mind for a long time afterwards. At the time I applied at Vanguard for a job, I thought the best way to extricate myself from Ty and Erica Jefferson was to move out of state as soon as possible. But once I met Vance, I realized that even as he was denying me a job working for him, it just meant that my life wasn’t heading in that direction. Same went for Ryder, when I’d decided to stay in Pittsburgh. Both of them had cited my lack of experience when dealing with contracts as the reason, but I knew it was bullshit. 

It was because both of them knew just what family I came from, and just who my own father worked for. Well, it’s a mistake they are both about to reap in ways they couldn’t possibly have imagined, since I’m here in the official capacity as the Taylor-Kinneys’ secondary attorney. I’m almost tempted to squeal and clap my hands in anticipation of the looks on their faces when they realize it. Walking into the building, I ask the receptionist to see Stephanie Pierce first since I know she’s working out her two weeks alongside her husband, Murphy, who will be the Assistant Art Director within DPAA, before making the move to California permanently. She smiles wide the moment she lays eyes on me.

I smile back and say, “I suppose you were expecting me?”

“They’ve been up there squawking at each other for the last twenty minutes. Peterson called to advise them that you were coming. So your arrival was fortuitous, since I can honestly claim that I wasn’t at my desk to tell you they weren’t available.”

“And this is what they get for underestimating you as well as me,” I laugh, as we head to the elevator.

“Marty always has, but to find out that Gardner Vance is the same type of man just makes me boil inside. It’s why I’m willing to follow Brian to Cali.”

“And Justin?”

“I talked to my husband, and got the real scoop on that young man. Finding out that he was half of the creative genius behind the Liberty Air ads was one thing. But, to have confirmation of just how talented that young man is has been incredibly eye-opening. I own pieces that he redesigned and didn’t even realize it since Murph had bought them for me as gifts. It wasn’t until he showed me what Justin had done with the heirloom desk that my mother left me upon her death that I really understood just who I’ll be working for. The painting of my great-grandparents, then my grandparents, and of my parents now gracing the top surface of the desk is as clear as the original photographs of them. I can’t even imagine how many hours he worked to do those paintings,” she tells me, so obviously suppressing tears as she speaks about them.

“Justin is definitely going to go far in all of his businesses. He’s passionate, and he’s hungry for success just as Brian is. It makes me anxious to see what they are going to do next.”

“And just think, you’re going to have a front row seat as Justin’s attorney and personal assistant…”

“So will you, even though you’ll be working mostly within the confines of the office. Trust me, there’s no way you’ll be stuck within your career as you would be if you remained here. I mean, look at where Cynthia is now as opposed to when she first started.”

“That’s true. As Brian climbed, so did Cyn.”

“And it’s not going to be any different for you and Murph. If there’s one thing I’m learning about the Taylor-Kinneys, it’s that if they trust you, they trust you. And that means no matter who else they may bring into their inner circle, your position within their lives will never be threatened. All you can do is listen and learn from them, while making sure their professional and personal lives work. It’s something my father pointed out to me back when he first started working for Brian.”

“I’ve always wondered how he had time to party as hard as he does, and yet come in here and work like there’s no tomorrow. Now I know his secret.”

I laugh. “And believe it or not, Justin is the same way. So it’s going to be up to us to make sure that he doesn’t get too into his head that he doesn’t remember he has a husband who’s waiting for him at the end of his long days.”

“Forget Brian? In what world?” she gasps out, honestly not seeing how it’s possible. And I would probably have had the same reaction if I didn’t have the longest professional conversation of my life with my father.

“Believe it or not, it’s entirely possible since our boss shares the same type of work ethic Brian has. It doesn’t matter that he’s younger in age. Justin Taylor-Kinney has that same kind of determination; that same fire that Brian has to be successful. Perhaps it’s because of his father’s idiocy in thinking that Justin was his clone instead of his own person, but Justin’s been settling into his definition of success since ninth grade. There aren’t many adults who can say that about themselves, even if they’ve spent their entire lives trying to achieve a modicum of the power they think they have. And that especially goes for the two men within that office.”

Stephanie and I alight from the confines of the elevator, hearing the loud argument still occuring within the office. Vance is still berating Ryder for handing over those checks to Brian and Justin in light of their new positions.

“You should have withheld them! We could afford to have waited for them to take us to court, Marty!” Vance yells.

“They may have been able to wait us out, but not the other way around, Vance. Can’t you see that?! We’re already hemorrhaging clients! Adding the expense of an extensive hearing wouldn’t have been within the best interests of the company! You don’t think they came in here with a plan already mapped out on how to force our fucking hands?! Makes me wonder which of the two factions- us or them- was the more naive and arrogant during that accursed meeting.” Ryder responds, and all I can do is laugh since it appears that whereas Vance has been more successful within the advertising business, Martin Ryder is more knowledgeable about Brian and Justin Taylor-Kinney.

“We had the upper hand!”

“NO WE DID NOT!!” Marty thunders back, before lowering his voice. “Either way, Brian would have left and young Taylor would have followed through on all he’s threatened. I took the liberty of doing some research on him once they left the office. Do you know what’s going on in reference to Taylor Electronics?”

“No,” Vance states, while nabbing up the sheaf of papers Marty just forcefully placed in front of him. “What’s happened?”

“That account was just pulled from us within the last two hours, and do you know why? Because Justin Taylor-Kinney is actually the owner of the company.”

“Bullshit. Craig Taylor is.”

“Wrong! The company was put into Justin’s name some time ago to cover some bullshit Craig had going on.”

“But…”

Just as I’m about to go into the office to break up their ensuing pity party, my phone buzzes within my jacket's inside pocket. At first, I’m puzzled about how HE got my personal number. In fact, the last time he and I saw each other, he left me before I could give it to him. ‘When I want you, and feel you are ready for me, I’ll find you’ were the final words he whispered to me, before leaving the restaurant I was having a solitary lunch in. I can’t help the sudden jump in my heartrate wondering if he felt it was time to make those moves he mentioned now. 

Shaking my head, I realize that’s ridiculous considering the new position I just acquired. I’m almost sure he would have heard about it, even if it’s just been finalized a few hours ago. So without further delay, I slide the green button over on the touchscreen to accept the call. “Good Afternoon, John. What can I do you for?”

Both he and I chuckle, before he answers. “Free, but we’ll talk about that later.” 

“Okay, but just a word of advice…”

“Which is?”

“Don’t sell yourself so cheap. I’m known to put a man through his paces quite vigorously.”

“Hmm… I will give that some thought,” he advises seductively, and I can’t stop the tremble that races through me. 

Reining my suddenly-galloping libido in, I ask, “What’s up?”

“How fast can you get a prenup agreement and an iron-clad contract drawn up for me?”

What the fuck?!

JOHN 

I know I have stunned him by the stilting of his breath over the phone. I also know that he’s about to have a million questions that I can’t answer right this moment due to the woman sitting across the office while I complete this call. But my first order of business is to reassure him that this situation isn’t going to be the way, or for the reasons, he’s thinking.

“You still there?” I ask, already knowing that he is.

“I am,” Julian says softly, the sound caressing my nerve endings as if he’s here with me.

“Good. First, let me assure you that this is strictly a business arrangement with a definitive cut off date, although the woman I’m marrying won’t be aware of it.”

“What the hell does that mean exactly?”

“Just what I said. I’m doing this as a favor to her parents for several reasons, but mainly to break the bitch.”

“Well who is it?”

“Lindsay Peterson.”

“John, what the fuck?! Do you know what you’re doing?”

I almost want to bristle at his question, but I know by the tone of his voice his inquiry was out of concern. “I do. I take it you know what she’s trying to do.”

“In reference to my new boss and his husband…”

“Husband?”

I can hear the smile in his voice when he confirms it. “Yeah. Justin married Brian while they were away. I’m sure there is a major story there, but for now, they are putting it out that it was spur of the moment and they are going to stay together.”

“That’s good, and it makes what Nancy is asking me to do even more prevalent. Lindsay needs a bit of redirection…”

“And Nancy thought you would be the perfect person to do it?”

“Who else? Besides, you know how I feel about doing charitable works…”

“Well, it would appear that Lindsay certainly qualifies, but marriage?”

“It’s the only way to make a lasting impression on her, otherwise she will think this is all a game. It helps that I’m everything she thinks she would have been getting if Brian was a weaker man and had agreed to bow to her wishes. In this case, Nancy wants her to learn some very hard lessons about self-reliance and the like. So who better to teach her than a husband?”

I hear his sigh of resignation over the phone and all I want to do is touch him. For months now, I have been keeping my hands- and other more prominent parts- to myself where he’s concerned. I find Julian Gabriel desirable in every way imaginable. The funny thing is that I haven’t even kissed him yet, I swear I already know what he tastes like. But more telling than anything is that as much as I want to control everything in my life, he’s the exception. 

No. Instead I want to see him untamed in ALL the ways that matter.

But I can’t tell him that right now. I need him to draw up these contracts for me, knowing that he’s going to be as harsh as he can be simply because he isn’t going to like this. Yes, in this case, I’m not above using his emotions against him if the end result is that Lindsay Peterson is contained fully. Besides, with me front and center in her life, she won’t have time to cause trouble for Brian and Justin. I smile as his voice comes through the phone again.

“How soon do you need them, and how long do you want the terms in effect for?” he asks me, once again sounding resigned to it, even if he doesn’t agree with any of this.

“A period of a year, three months of which she will spend in rehab. I want that in writing, along with the fact that until she finds her own job, I’ll provide her with one-hundred and fifty-five dollars bi-weekly as an allowance until she finds gainful employment. I want it clear that I’m not going to be financially supporting a grown woman, so it would behoove her to find a full-time job with benefits in order for her avaricious nature to be soothed. As for the other terms and agreements, I’ll let you set them.”

“Me?” he asks, surprised.

“Sure, since I know that you will think of every possible avenue Lindsay is apt to try, especially in terms of your new client. I’m also sure that you will factor Brian and his son into the equation as well. Plus...”

I hear the slight hitch in his breath at the mention of my last word. “Plus? There’s more?”

I smile, letting my pleasure at him doing this shine through my voice. “Plus, I want to start as I mean to go on with you once this is over. I know that you will look out for OUR best interests while you are drawing up those contracts.” And there’s that slight hiccup again. God, I just want to kiss the breath out of him!

Julian clears his throat before responding, “Okay. Just let me hand off these court orders to Ryder and Vance for breach of contract, and I’ll have them to you within the hour. I take it Nancy is either there or on her way to you?”

“How did you know it was Nancy that requested this of me?”

Julian laughs then. “Between the Petersons, Ronald is the one without a backbone. I imagine, however, that Nancy has just reached her breaking point where Lindsay is concerned. We’ve all watched for years the way Lindsay’s been able to run Ronald ragged, catering to her at the expense of his marriage, even before she started trying to employ the same tricks with Brian. Nancy must be thinking that it’s time to teach Lindsay that there is only ONE Mrs. Peterson, and it isn’t her.”

I realize that he understands all of this, but I still have to know… “Are you okay with doing this? It’s a lot to ask of you, especially since...”

He’s silent for a few moments after I let my words trail off. His voice is quiet, though his words are no less potent. “I know what you want, John. And yes, I want it, too. So there are two ways we can do this.”

“And they are?”

“We already know this marriage you’re entering isn’t going to last forever. And whereas you may have to fuck Lindsay, it’s only going to be to solidify your marriage the first time, and just to scratch an itch any time afterwards…”

“True, but what are you saying?”

“That while you are doing this, I’m going to continue doing what I’m doing.”

“And what is that?” I can’t help the little shiver of dread I feel in the pit of my stomach at where my mind just took me.

His deep chuckle reaches through the phone to soothe the sudden ache in my heart. “Calm down, John. You and I both know that I’ll be incredibly busy getting settled in my new role as Justin’s attorney and p.a. But while you are dealing with setting the Petersons’ world to rights, we can still… date in a sense.”

“Date?”

I can see him shrug, even though he’s not within the same room with me. “Yes. We can get to know each other, beyond the lust both of us feel whenever we’re in the same room together. All I ask is that the witch is nowhere around when we’re talking or emailing… I don’t want us to have to watch whatever it is we converse about for fear that she’ll come across some information she can use against Justin in her continued quest for Brian. And if there’s a way to vid-chat a time or two…”

He lets that particular innuendo hang in the air, and once again I feel myself harden. I suck in a sharp breath as my mind starts bringing up image after image of all the things I can ask him to do as I act the voyeur through a monitor. I’m shaken out of my reverie due to the subtle throat-clearing going on across the room. I look back to meet the amused eyes of Nancy Peterson, before turning back to look out the big bay window overlooking my property. Clearing my throat, I decide to bring the conversation to a close.

“Yes, well we will definitely discuss that idea later.”

“Count on it.”

“I will. In the meantime, email me when you have the contracts done, okay?”

“No problem, and don’t worry. You’ll like the terms I come up with.”

“I know,” I say, and then hang up before I say everything I’m thinking in reference to that sexy ass Julian Gabriel at the moment.

“You’re in love with him,” comes the matter-of-fact voice of Nancy Peterson.

I don’t bother to deny it… but nor do I confirm it either. “So as you’ve undoubtedly overheard, the contracts will be back to me within an hour of Julian delivering the papers to RVA. What is Ron going to do?”

She smiles at my not-so-subtle change in subject, before answering my question. “Well, to begin with, at my urging, I have the check for Justin Taylor-Kinney. In fact, I told him to include a little more, not knowing who else Lindsay may have enlisted in her quest to be the Queen Bee. You know, you should have Mr. Gabriel include an out clause within that contract, in case this gets to be too much for either of you. I remember what it was like to be in love and how hard it is to nurture to full bloom.”

“I take it you’re not talking about Ronald?” I ask, seeing the wistful look on her face.

“No. Although I’ve grown extremely fond of him over the years, the love of my life was snatched away from me unexpectedly in favor of family loyalty many years ago. But in retrospect, it was for the best, since there’s no way I could’ve gone where he did at the time. Last I heard, he was still working as a U.S. Diplomat in Dubai. According to my sources, he married one of the local women, and they have been happy for many years now.” She lowers her eyes for a moment as if lost in a particularly painful memory, before lifting her eyes to meet mine again. “A word of advice if I may, John…”

“You can speak freely, Nancy. Regardless of what the business arrangement is between us, I think we’ve earned the right to speak our minds within this office.”

“Good. Well, my advice is that you don’t wait too long to let that young man know where you stand with him, especially not in favor of my fickle daughter. If you run the risk of losing him, break the contract. I’ll make sure it’s still financially honored, since as far as I’m concerned, any time you spend in Lindsay’s company should be compensated in the millions.”

“Jesus, Nancy. That’s kind of harsh to say about your own daughter, don’t you think?”

She shakes her head at me in response. “If it were anyone else, I might reconsider, but not Lindsay. No, I’m not a saint, John; you of all people know that. But even when I’m at my bitchiest, I would never have pulled the crap Lindsay has in reference to Justin. That young man already had enough against him, where if he wasn’t born with the advantages this set offers, could have ultimately destroyed him. And regardless that he’s more of an adult than she is, his age under the law STILL should have been a deterrent to her and her little minion. Lindsay doesn’t fight fair. She’s an opportunistic, manipulative little heifer, and it’s time that I stop her. However, I’m not willing to risk your happiness in order for that to happen. I’ll always have some tender feelings for you, you know?”

“I know, and I thank you for them even if they have to stay hidden between us for obvious reasons. It’s better that Ronald never find out why that is, and it serves both of our purposes right now in reference to Lindsay. No one needs to know that she was the real reason for the murder-suicide of my parents.” 

Nancy is only one of three people who know that it was Lindsay’s suggestion that my father was cheating which caused my mother to kill both him and herself. It still hurts, but I’ve come to accept why it happened, and ultimately forgive my mother for believing Lindsay’s lies. We can all thank Alex Wilder for that, since he knew and told me that the woman my father was actually seeing was a psychiatrist friend of theirs, and only to figure out how to tell Mom that he was sick with stage four prostate cancer. In retrospect, I guess I can understand why he didn’t tell her right away. My parents really did love each other madly, and him telling her of the cancer would have exacerbated her already-irrational fears that she was going to lose him the same way her father died.

“He wouldn’t have wanted to cause Mom undue stress, even though technology was a lot more advanced now than it was when her father was diagnosed,” I repeat what Dr. Mercer had told me the day of the funeral almost to myself, while addressing Nancy.

“That’s true, but it still didn’t give Lindsay the right to misinterpret the hug she saw the two of them share and then play a botched game of Run and Tell That to your mother. She was just being the malicious cunt that she is!”

“Nancy! Language,” I scold, even though I agree with her wholeheartedly. “I understand the sentiment, which is why I’m willing to do this for you.”

“And your fee for putting up with her of course.” She smiles at me, knowingly.

“Yes, well, there is that. But honestly, the chance to make the bitch miserable is just too tempting to pass up.”

“Now who should be scolded for their description of my daughter?” She laughs, and I join her.

“Touche, my dear. I guess sometimes there just isn’t any better way to describe the unseemly attributes of a person.”

“Trust me when I say you will think of more by the time this is all over,” she says, before adding, “I meant what I said, John. If at any time this arrangement becomes too much for either you or Julian…”

“I know, Nancy, I know. But if and when that happens, you’ll be the first to know. Now there are a couple of things I need from you prior to signing the contracts.”

“Which are?”

“First, I need you to acquire Lindsay’s cellphone.”

“That’s an interesting request.”

I nod. “I know, but I want a chip put in it and a tracking app downloaded. If I’m going to do this, I want to leave no stone unturned where she’s concerned.”

“But you do realize she could just opt to use another phone to make her calls from?”

“Of course, which is why the tracking app also works as a voice recorder, in addition to copying her address book.”

“Ah, I think I see where you’re going with this.”

“We both know that the first call she’s bound to make is to Novotny, or someone associated with the little turd.”

“Not Brian?”

“Not at first, especially since he hasn’t been answering her even before she hurt her son and ex-girlfriend. I doubt very seriously that he’s going to start answering her pleas and cries now. In fact, if we’re being completely honest, if I were Kinney in this, she would do well to stay as far away from me as possible as well. Hurting an adult is one thing, but a child… yeah, it almost makes me want to look up steps on how to poison her.”

“But you won’t do that,” Nancy advises hurriedly.

I smile at her sudden anxiousness. “No, I won’t. Fortunately for the both of us, I think the plan we’ve come up with will be much more effective as a punishment rather than having Lindsay meet the devil before her time.”

She laughs again, and for the next hour, Nancy and I go over our plan to make Lindsay Peterson pay. Of course, she and I will have several more meetings over the coming months while Lindsay is in rehab, but for now the groundwork is coming along nicely.

JULIAN

“Joe Cabello is on his way up from the Legal department. He was in the meeting so I figured he should be here for this as well, should Vance and Ryder think to delay the inevitable.”

“Great thinking! Hopefully, his presence will cut off the tantrum and tiara portion of this meeting.”

“Everything else okay?” Stephanie asks me, as soon as I put my phone back into my jacket pocket.

“Yeah. Everything is fine. I just have to hurry this along so that I can draw up a couple of ironclad contracts for a friend of mine.”

“Sounds like he’s more than just a mere friend,” she says, looking at me out of the corner of her eye. I know she’s fishing for information, but I can’t stop the smile from forming on my lips.

“Not yet… but I’m hoping.”

“Fuck that!” she exclaims, before lowering her voice again. “If what I heard just from my end was hoping, you both need to make it a reality asap.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than what you heard.”

“All relationships are in some form or another. But a word of advice, Julian…”

“Yeah?”

“Take time to enjoy the ride… Oh yeah, and RIDE that bologna pony for all you’re worth.”

We both snicker, even as I feel the redness staining my cheeks. “That’s the plan, eventually.”

“Why eventually?” Stephanie wondered aloud before remembering the other part of the conversation. “And why were the two of you talking about Lindsay Peterson?”

“I… I can’t tell you all of it, but suffice it to say that we’re both doing what we can for now to protect Justin from her continued interference. Anything else that crops up, we’ll have to deal with on the backend.” Joe Cabello arrives on the floor, just as the voices within the office start to escalate again, I narrow my eyes and smile wolfishly, before saying, “Let’s go.”

Stephanie moved ahead of both me and Joe, and threw open the office door. Letting out a loud whistle, which immediately caught their attention, she said, “This is Julian Gabriel.”

“I thought we told you we weren’t to be distrubed, Stephanie,” Vance said between gritted teeth, while eyeing me suspiciously. 

“Yes, well, I thought we could ALL use a break from the constant bickering happening within this office,” she answered him, wryly.

Instead of responding to her right away, he then narrows his eyes at Mr. Cabello. “And what are you doing up here, Cabello? Our meeting isn’t until later this afternoon.”

I can tell that Cabello is about to take umbrage with the pompous asshole’s tone, but he remains professional when he answers. “True, but I was asked to be present for this meeting.”

Apparently, Stephanie had the same thought, because she offers, “Can I offer you something to drink, Mr. Gabriel?”

“No, thank you, Ms. Pierce. My business with these gentlemen should be concluded within a few moments,” I assure her, covering the smile that threatened to burst forth. “And please, call me Julian.”

“A pleasure to officially make your acquaintance, Julian. Feel free to call me Stephanie.” Again, I’m hard-pressed not to laugh. She is certainly well-versed at playing the ingenue.

“What are YOU doing here?” Marty asks. “Look if you’re still looking for a job…” 

“Oh, he tried to get a job here, too? Was this before or after we began talks for me to take over?” Vance asks, while keeping his eyes on me. The funny thing is, that even without the new position with Justin, I still wouldn’t be intimidated by the bald man. I suspect the fact that I’m not easily cowed is one of the real reasons I didn’t get hired within Vanguard, other than Brian being my father’s client.

I smile before answering Vance. “It was after. At the time I had come to Vanguard, I was looking to relocate. Ryder was a last resort.”

Marty bristled at my speech, and I was hard-pressed not to laugh at his mottled complexion. If there is one thing he should have expected of me it’s that I was going to be brutally honest and direct when answering. In fact, this very fact is not news to him, since I told him that I’d decided to stay in Pittsburgh until the right opportunity came along. And now it has, in the form of these two men’s worst nightmare within their profession. “If I’m such a last resort, then again, what the fuck are you doing here?!”

“I’m actually here to represent the interests of one of my clients.” At their puzzled expressions, I continue, while allowing a smug smile to grace my lips. Folding my lips in for a moment, I continue, “It has come to his attention that one of your associates- and therefore you as well- are in direct violation of the non-disclosure agreement, which was included in the contract for continued use of Justin Taylor-Kinney’s artwork that you signed.” 

I smile as the implications hit home with each man. New beads of sweat crop up on Vance’s already-shining head, as they do on the bridge of Martin Ryder’s nose. But of course, they have to make me spell it out. “We have no idea who or what you are talking about. We only associate with trustworthy people here at RVA,” Vance insists.

“Be that as it may, you and your associates were warned not to disclose any part of the contract verbally to anyone who was not within the meeting…”

“And yet you know,” Marty spat.

“But of course I do, since I’m one of the attorneys on record.” I lay my briefcase down on the long table behind the door, and unlock it before continuing. “I have to admit that I’m surprised that men such as yourself didn’t read all the way through the contract, especially where all the businesses represented were listed. If you had, there’s no way you could have missed my name directly under my client’s. The reason I wasn’t here personally is because I was researching another business interest for my client, which I believe you were arguing about around the time I arrived on this floor. You should probably reconsider trading personal insults within the office; kinda sends the wrong message to potential clients.”

I nearly laugh aloud at the deer-in-headlight looks flashing across both of their faces, before both of them turn their glares onto Stephanie. “I have to wonder where you were when he arrived, Ms. Pierce. Why weren’t we informed?” Vance sneers.

Stephanie drew herself up to her full height, her gaze unwavering as she replied, “You pay me to work, not listen to the two of you bicker as a wife and mistress would.”

I had to suppress the urge to cackle aloud at that well-delivered setdown, because honestly, that’s exactly how Ryder and Vance sounded. In truth, I’ve heard catfights more civil than what Stephanie and I were listening to before John called.

Clearing my throat to refocus their collective attention on me, I state, “Now, out of professional courtesy, I took the liberty of printing out a copy of the contract. I highlighted the NDA clause you both signed, along with the other gentlemen who were in the impromptu meeting and acted as witnesses. These are yours to keep since the originally signed contracts have already been filed with the courts. I’m sure that by now you have received the digital copies within your personal emails, as well as the one for the company.”

They snatch the papers from my hand, but I hand the same to Mr. Cabello, who has an imperceptible smirk gracing his full lips. I get the feeling that he’s happy this has happened to them. As I stand silently while they peruse the details of the contract, I see the exact moment when Ryder and Vance realize just how fucked up they are… again. Ron Peterson’s loose lips are going to cost them yet another hundred-and fifty grand payable to Justin Taylor-Kinney. 

“This shit is completely UNFAIR! We have no control over what our investment banker does in his spare time, nor whom he talks to!” Ryder advises. “I’m not paying for it!”

I was about to advise what would happen if he didn’t, but Mr. Cabello beat me to it. “Yes, you are.” When they both looked at him in puzzlement and anger, he continued. “It states here that although your associate breached the contract, you’re still held responsible because of whom he disclosed the information to. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the reason you both began talking about merging agencies in the first place because of Mr. Peterson’s daughter, Lindsay, and her connection to Brian Kinney?”

“I…” Ryder stutters.

“We…” Vance then begins, only to be cut off by Mr. Cabello.

“Don’t even bother lying to me because I was here for every in-person meeting and phone conference. And the fact is that you relied on Lindsay Peterson, and a person named Michael Novotny, to keep tabs on Mr. Kinney- sorry, I mean Mr. Brian TAYLOR-Kinney- and therefore his husband as well. That means you are just as accountable for Ronald Peterson being able to get any, and all information he was privy to within that meeting. 

“Basically, you’re being held responsible for taking the advice of the harridan in the first place. And might I just go on record stating that I advised both of you in advance what would happen in following her suggestions. You two arrogant idiots were being used to strike out at Brian in an effort to control the man in the ONE area where Lindsay Peterson had absolutely no influence with him. It wasn’t enough that she had his son, who incidentally she was also trying to use to make Brian dance to her tune. But then you two Bozos allowed her to spew her venom in your ear, either directly or using her other Cunty Clown to do it for her!”

“Joe…” Ryder begins again, only to be cut off again by the irate corporate attorney.

“So now your arrogantly-deaf ears are, once again, costing you more money. And it is all rightfully due and payable to the same young man, who stood within this office and laid out in plain english what would happen should Ron Peterson run his BIG FUCKING MOUTH TO HIS DAUGHTER!” He took a calming breath, before eyeing both men. “Cut the damn checks right now. I don’t care if each of you pay seventy-five grand out of your own pockets, or use the company funds, but you will do it right now. Because if you try to take this to court, not only will I resign as Lead Counsel, but I will act as a witness for Justin Taylor-Kinney. And so help me God, I will tell them of every freaky, sneaky, underhanded plan you two came up with that ultimately resulted in this tragedy of a merger.”

Well damn! I couldn’t have said it all better myself. 

Needless to say that we all left out of there with Justin’s check in hand. Once we were on the elevator heading away from the bickering brats within the CEO office, I offered Joe a job in case he became tired of trying to bail Ryder and Vance out of their own folly. He said that he would think seriously about it, because after years of dealing with Ryder, he was already sick of that Bald Bug-eyed Bastard; seems to be the general consensus when dealing with Gardner Vance. Stephanie and I looked at each other and snickered as we made our way out of the building to catch a late lunch, before I have concentrate fully on drawing up those contracts for John. Somehow, neither of us have the feeling we’ll have to wait too long to receive the answer from Cabello. Good!