Chapter 8 - Time to Get to Work.

Brian’s nose was being tickled by something. His groggy brain thought it must be an insect so he brushed at the annoyance, but the ticklish feeling came right back. Cracking his eyes open the tiniest sliver he saw a blur of yellow. Now at least a quarter awake, he tried to shift his body, trying to move away from whatever was bugging him, only he couldn’t move his left arm because there was a heavy weight on it. That got his immediate attention - what the fuck was in his bed? He sat up abruptly, thankfully dislodging whatever it was, and practically bolted out of bed.  

The heavy lump, completely covered by the duvet, made a soft noise halfway between a purr and a moan and then moved. The movement caused the duvet to slide down the bed slightly, revealing a bare foot and half an elbow. Brian let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, finally remembering exactly why there was a foot and half an elbow in his bed this morning. The image brought an amused smile to his lips - it had been so long since he’d allowed a trick, or anyone else for that matter, to stay overnight, that he’d completely forgotten what it was like to wake up next to another warm body.    

He glanced at the clock, noting that it was still very early - He wouldn’t normally be out of bed before 7:00 am. But, thinking about that warm, blond-haired lump, also got him thinking about what the hell he was going to do with the boy today. Shit. He hadn’t really thought that far ahead, had he? Coffee. He needed coffee. Coffee would help. Coffee first, then think of a solution.  

Twenty minutes later and halfway through his first cup of coffee, the gears and motors in his brain finally meshed and Brian Kinney became, once again, capable of rational thought. First order of business: Something for Justin to DO. Preferably something that would keep him occupied not just for today but for the foreseeable future.  

The first logical thought was to send him back to school. There were a few problems with that idea, though. First, he didn’t know exactly where that was. He could probably figure out the name and location of the school pretty easily though, if he wanted to. The second and third issues with this idea, though, made him hesitate.  

The second problem was Justin’s father. Brian was sure that if he sent the boy back to his old school, that asshole Craig would find out and he didn’t know where that would lead. He’d only talked to the man twice on the phone and already hated him with a passion. Brian’s past experiences with bigoted fathers, particularly his own, made him very leery of doing anything that might put Justin back within his father’s reach.  

The third problem, though, was the one that firmly decided Brian against the school option - the Prom attacker. The police said they hadn’t found the guy that Brian thought he’d disabled. That meant that the guy got away clean. From what the police had said to him the other night at the hospital, he got the feeling they weren’t making this case a priority, which meant that whoever had it in for Justin was still out there. Brian had spent a lot of time trying to remember anything he could about the kid with the bat - he thought that he’d seen the kid somewhere at the hotel before the garage incident, he just couldn’t recall exactly where. He was sure, though, that the attacker had been at that Prom and therefore was probably also from the same school. And no way was Brian going to send Justin back to anyplace where the guy who almost killed him was still likely to be found. School was definitely out.

Unfortunately, no other ideas came to Brian right away, so he decided to head over to his computer and check his email. Before he even had time to switch the box on, he caught sight of the Columbus Sportswear file, still sitting out on the desk. He opened the file and looked at the revised ad layout Justin had sketched the prior day and nodded his head.

-Brilliant as always, Kinney! Looks like it’s take your adopted trick to work day! *Ha Ha*

The perfect solution: Justin could come work for him at Kinnetik. Brian’s company was just starting out and they really could use the help. So far it was just him, Cynthia, Ted and one part-time graphic artist. They’d been contracting out any large jobs to students and local artists. But, looking at the work Justin put out in just a few hours, without anything other than paper and a pencil, made him think that with the right tools Justin could really do something amazing. Justin had said he wanted to be an artist, so Brian would put him to work as one!   

If it didn’t work out, Brian thought that Justin could at least help around the office with administrative stuff. Plus, he would be where Brian could keep an eye on him - the kid had just had his brain cut open four days ago, for fuck sake. But the hospital instructions didn’t say that Justin had to stay in bed or anything, just that he should take it easy - the all important ‘no strenuous activity’ clause. Brian didn’t think sitting at a desk drawing all day constituted anything strenuous and if Justin got tired, he could lie down on the couch in the conference room.  

Now that he had a plan, Brian felt energized and he set about immediately to get everything put in place to make this work. By the time the alarm went off at 7:00 am, he had everything arranged.  

-Time to get this party started. Shit, I hope this works.

“Rise and shine, sleepy head,” Brian sang, pulling the duvet off the bed lump and setting a cup of hot coffee on the nightstand next to Justin.  

Justin was apparently NOT a morning person. The boy actually growled at Brian, tugging ineffectively at the duvet while rolling over so that he faced away from the grinning man. The sight of a completely naked, bed-headed, blond twink rolling in his sheets was counterproductive to Brian’s plans, though. Brian decided to release his hold on the duvet so the lump could recover itself. Brian then sat down on the edge of the bed and uncovered the blond head just enough to allow him access to the sleepy, warm lips.

“Justin, come on and wakey, wakey,” Brian laughed down at the boy, then bent over and planted a good morning kiss on the slightly parted lips, eliciting a smile from the blond beauty.  

“Brian,” purred the former bed lump as he stretched and then yawned like a cat just waking from a nap in the sunshine. “Mmmmm. Good morning. Are you sure we really have to get up?” the warm, cozy blond pleaded.

“As much as you are tempting me to crawl right back in there with you, Justin, we have an appointment this morning. So, you are going to have to give me a rain check. Now, come on, get a shower and I’ll change that bandage for you.”

One of Justin’s warm, long-fingered hands crept out from under the covers, stroking Brian’s thigh. “Are you sure?” came the teasing response as the naughty hand hooked itself over the waistband of the sweats Brian was wearing and began to tug.  

“Argh. You really are trying to kill me, aren’t you,” Brian groaned, but nonetheless unhooked the wandering hand, bringing it to his lips for a brief kiss and then gently dropping it as he rose from the bed. Brian then headed back towards the kitchen, with a shouted, “up!”

With a less than helpful Justin slowing down the process at every possible stage, it took more than forty-five minutes to get the two of them up, showered, dressed and out the door. It didn’t help much that he was having to fend off the youth’s rather blatant sexual advances every five minutes, while Brian fought to keep his own desires firmly under control. But finally, Brian herded his young ward out the door and down to the car, intending to somehow get a quick bite to eat at the Diner, as usual, and still make it to the office by 8:30.  

As they got into the Jeep, Justin was prattling on about how hungry he was and what he was planning on ordering for breakfast. As he contemplated the sheer size of the breakfast the youth was describing, the thought that Debbie would love having someone around who ordered more than toast and coffee for a change, popped into his head. That thought was followed immediately by the expected, ‘Oh, shit’ moment when Brian realized that Debbie didn’t know anything about Justin and would definitely cause problems and ask awkward questions if they just walked into the Diner together.  

Thinking quickly, Brian handed Justin his cell phone, reciting the Diner’s number from memory and directing the boy to call in his breakfast order ‘to go’. They could just as easily eat when they got to Brian’s office and it would keep the ever-inquisitive Debbie at bay for a little while.  He would have to call Debbie later and explain things to her when Justin wasn’t around.  

Brian drove around in circles for a few minutes before heading to the Diner, just to make sure that Deb would have time to get the order ready and he wouldn’t be forced to stay and gab with her any longer than needed. When they did arrive, Brian pulled the Jeep up and double parked in front of the Diner, leaving Justin in the car, and dashed through the front door, drawing more than the usual attention due to his uncharacteristicly rapid pace.  

“Hey, Deb. Is my order ready?” Brian thought he’d try for the uncaring, nonchallant approach and hope Debbie was too busy to comment on the change from his normal routine.

“Brian. Good morning,” the larger-than-life red headed woman belted out. “Why are you in such a hurry this morning, huh?” Debbie rarely waited for people to answer her questions, though, and as was typical, she moved right on to the next topic without bothering. “So, you feeding an army today, or what? Mr. Dry Wheat Toast ordering scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, country biscuits, and orange juice - I nearly flipped my wig when I took the order. Ha!”  

“I have a breakfast meeting. That usually entails having breakfast foods available, right?” Kinney snarked.

“Whatever, Brian. Don’t bite my head off - it’s too early! Here you go!” Debbie handed him the large carrying tray with bags and cups of liquid and Brian handed her a few bills. 

“Keep the change. Later!” Brian sighed in relief at the relatively smooth transaction, as he backed out the door and turned toward Justin and the waiting Jeep.

“Morning, Bri! Where’s the fire, Honey? Aren’t you gonna come in and join us?” Brian heard the dulcet, Southern-accented tones of Emmett Honeycutt, who was standing directly behind him, now holding open the door for his friend.  

-Damn! I just can’t catch a break this morning. I gotta find another place to have breakfast.

“Sorry, Honeycutt. We’re double parked. Can’t stay,” Brian shot back at the tall, lanky queen, moving for the Jeep as fast as he could.

“Don’t call me Honeycutt,” Em reminded Brian for the hundredth time. That was when Emmett noticed the cute, young blond with the uncertain smile waiting in Brian’s Jeep. Not his usual type, Emmett thought as he hollered a quick, “See you later, Bri!” to the already departing duo.

Brian sighed with relief when he finally drove up to Kinnetik’s main (okay, only) office five minutes later. He grabbed the carry tray of food and ushered Justin in through the front doors and straight back to his office, pausing only briefly to greet Cynthia on the way. He started unpacking the food while Justin wandered around curiously examining everything.

“You still haven’t told me what I’m doing here this morning, Brian,” Justin began, heading back to the now ready meal on the corner of the conference table. As he sat, he added, “nothing here looks familiar at all. Have I ever been here before?”

“No, you haven’t visited before,” Brian responded, sitting at the table as well, reaching for one of the coffees and stealing a strip of bacon away from Justin. “But then, this IS your first day of work, so there wasn’t really any reason for you to be here before.”  

“Huh?” Justin dropped his fork and turned to stare at the smirking brunet leaning back in the chair next to him. “My first day of work?”

“Yep. You said you wanted to be an artist and you weren’t happy being a kept man anymore, so here you go. You are now the newest member of the Kinnetik Art Department.” Brian’s smile was almost as big as Justin’s when he saw how happy his little surprise made the boy.

“Brian, you’re unbelievable! Thank you,” Justin raved and sprung out of his chair to wrap his arms around the older man’s neck while depositing a flurry of grateful kisses on Brian’s lips, cheeks and hair. 

A few seconds later, though, Justin’s happy expression faded a bit and he asked, “What if I can’t do this? Are you sure that I won’t screw everything up? I don’t think I’ve ever worked in a job like this, have I?”

“You’ll do fine, Justin,” Brian tried to reassure the insecure young man. “You already helped me on the Columbus Sportswear boards and did a great job.” Brian grabbed Justin’s hands in his, calming the worried man, and looked into his earnest eyes. “You ARE an artist, Justin. You have a lot of talent. Believe me, I want you here. I need your talent”

Thankfully, Ted knocked at the door and, waiting only briefly before sticking his head inside, effectively cut off any further sentimental drivel Brian might have been tempted to utter.  

“Perfect timing, Theodore,” Brian looked up at his CFO. “Have you got all the paperwork?”

“Morning, Brian. Hi, Justin. I’ve got everything right here,” Ted stated briskly. 

Brian had called Ted first thing that morning and explained about wanting to employ the injured young artist, asking that all the administrative documents be ready when they arrived. Of course Ted already knew a little bit about Justin’s situation, since Brian had spoken with him about getting the boy on the company insurance a few days ago. Brian had also asked that Ted keep his secret about the nature of his and Justin’s relationship, telling him that the boy’s doctors had advised against telling him anything yet - which was sorta true, Brian thought. Ted, always the loyal friend and employee, readily agreed to Brian’s requests. So he was ready this morning as soon as he heard the two men had arrived.  

Ted walked over to the couch on the far wall and laid the manila file he was carrying on the nearby glass coffee table. He spread out several papers in front of him as Brian led Justin over.  

“I need to go talk with Cynthia while you guys are doing this, okay,” Brian said, giving Justin a reassuring smile as he turned towards the door. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“Okay,” began Ted. “First, this is the standard employment contract, you can read it first if you need to but it’s fairly vanilla. When you’re ready, just sign on the last page here where I’ve flagged it.” Ted handed the first document to Justin and was already going through the file looking for the next, when Justin stopped him.

“It’s ‘Kinney’,” the boy said, bluntly. Ted looked at him, obviously confused, so Justin pointed to the signature page, adding, “there’s a typo here. My last name is Kinney. Not, Taylor.”

Ted’s face went completely blank for a minute before he recovered enough to stammer out, “s . . . sorry. Brian didn’t tell me you were going by Kinney. I . . . I’ll just redo that one and get it to you later.”

“No problem,” Justin replied affably.  

When Brian returned several minutes later, Ted hastily gathered up the documents from the table and advised the young artist, “I’ll take care of the rest of this and get back to you later.” Then, as he passed Brian, he quietly asked, “Got a minute, Bri?”

“Sure, Ted. Finish your breakfast, Justin. This should only take a sec and then I’ll show you around.”

“We’ve got problems, Boss,” Ted said as soon as the door was closed. “First of all, he said his name was ‘Kinney’? Also, he doesn’t know his social security number or a lot of the other data I need.”

“Shit. I forgot about that,” Brian frowned. “There was a mix up at the hospital and my last name got put on his charts. So, when he woke up he just assumed that was his name. I haven’t tried to explain it to him yet.” Brian started to pace - he always thought better when he was moving. “Just do up the employment contract under Kinney for now. We can always redo it later. As for the other stuff,” Brian opened his wallet and pulled out Justin’s driver’s license, handing it to Ted, “here’s his other info - but for now use my address not his parents house. I don’t know about the social, though. Can’t you get that some other way?”

“Maybe. I’ll work on it, Bri, and I’ll let you know if I need anything more,” Ted added as he headed back towards his own office, shaking his head as he went.

Brian took a deep breath, wiped the worry off his face and returned to his office. “Ready to get started?” he asked when Justin looked up at him with that huge, blindingly bright smile.