TED

Brian leaves me in the office with Linds. I’ve been so busy getting used to being a father that I haven’t been listening to all the gossip. I knew Michael was trying to get custody of JR, and that Brian ended up getting a restraining order because Michael took my key and made a copy to get into the loft. I promised Brian, I didn’t know Michael took the key. I never used it, so I didn’t even notice it was missing. I remember Michael handing me my keys one day and saying I dropped them. I took them and walked off. I was at Woody’s with the gang and I remember Michael playing with my keys again, but I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Brian and I decided it must have been when Michael put the key back. I knew Mel and Linds were separated again, but didn’t know it was because Linds can’t seem to separate fact from fiction. She started talking and the more I listened, it was sounding like the train left the station and was headed for ‘the bitch is in crazy town.’

“Ted, you need to help me convince Brian that Justin and I would be better off in New York. Brian has been blocking me from helping Justin, and I know if you help me I can get Justin to listen. There are too many people distracting Justin from his work here. I think if Justin and I are living in the New York loft together, I'll be able to keep Brian away from us. Brian is keeping Justin from being able to work. If Brian is able to contact Justin, it will keep me from doing what Justin needs. I mean, Justin is blind to Brian’s manipulation, or as Brian calls it ‘love’. Look what Brian did, he married Justin to keep him from leaving. Then he convinces Justin they need to have kids. Justin would have stayed in New York if Brian hadn’t kept running after him. You know, I offered to move to New York to guide Justin, but Brian interfered. Now Justin is going to feel guilty about having to leave those kids behind while he and I live together. I'll have to make Justin see after I get him to focus on his art, the sacrifice will be worth it. I mean, I can offer to have a baby for him, so he can still be a father. I’ll raise it and do what Brian didn’t; give Justin the time to achieve his dreams, to have him become the next Michelangelo. I'm sure you can see my point. Justin can still see the girls but I think for a while it would be better for Brian to raise them and allow Justin to become famous. Brian can ask the family to help him raise the girls. They’re still young enough, they won’t notice Justin isn’t there.” Linds says all of this without even realizing how crazy she sounds. Linds needs some help to get back to planet earth.

She is staring at me and I tell her I should discuss it with Brian alone. I am almost afraid to turn my back on her. How the hell did Mel not see Linds doesn’t have all her cylinders firing? I don't think I was far off with my analogies, although she makes that Yolanda woman look sane. Linds tells me to do my best to make sure Brian sees her point. I think Brian needs to see if there is a psychotherapist available for her and her alone. I smile at her and walk out of the office to go tell Brian to call the asylum and tell them they lost their patient.

Cynthia is standing by the closed conference room door.

“Where is Brian?” I ask her.

“In the conference room with Justin,” Cynthia tells me.

“I NEED to talk to him about the lunatic in his office,” I tell her.

“They heard the psycho talking. Justin tried to get into the office. Brian had to pick him up and carry him into the conference room to stop him.” Cynthia tells me.

“Brian should have let Justin deal with her,” I tell her.

“He probably would have, if you hadn't been talking about Linds killing or kidnapping Justin.” Cynthia is shaking her head at me.

BRIAN

Justin arrived as I was asking Cynthia to keep him out of my office. I told him to let me deal with Linds. He told me fine but he was going to be there, it was about him. I agreed if he didn’t talk to her at all. I told him to think of the conversation we had about Michael hearing only what he wanted to hear. Justin agreed to sit quietly while I explained to ‘I want to be Ms Justin Taylor’ that I had already filled that position. We got to the door and we hear Linds planning Justin’s life. The conversation I had with Ted earlier started to sound spot on, as she kept talking about her plans. I don’t want Justin near her.

“Justin, I don’t want you in the same room with her,” I whispered to him.

“Brian, it's not like I’ll be alone in there with her,” Justin whispered back.

“I don’t care, that is not a rational person in that office. Are you listening to her? She's fucking crazy.” I whispered.

“You're not stopping me, it's time for me to tell Linds to fuck off,” Justin tells me.

I did the only thing I could think of, I picked him up and hauled his ass into the conference room. Justin struggled. Cynthia, the smart woman she is, opened the conference room door and closed it behind us. Justin hadn’t said a word until the door closed.

“Really Brian? I mean it’s not like I’m a grown man. I wasn’t going to go in there and start yelling ‘all crazy bitches need to leave’.” Justin tells me.

“Justin, I don’t think it would matter if you did. Linds would probably stab me and try to take you. Maybe she would just kill you for rejecting her. Who knows what the hell she is capable of.” I have all these insane thoughts going through my head.

“Brian, get a grip. What is she going to stab you with, your pen? Oh I know, she’ll grab one of the boards on your desk and beat you to death with the foam core. How about she subdues me with the sofa cushion and puts me in a mind trance. Where the hell did you get these ideas from? Have you been reading comics with your ‘best friend’?” Justin is really a smart ass.

“Ted might have mentioned that singer Selena, and brought up the idea about kidnapping, but tell me it didn’t seem impossible when you heard her.” I know I sound crazy, but he’s my life.

“Brian, you could overpower her. I’m not exactly weak either.” He needs to understand.

“Justin, I can’t have you in the same room with someone who is a threat to us. I know you wouldn’t run off with her. All she has is her idiotic ideas, but you're my reason for staying alive. I’ve had to live through you almost being killed twice. I can’t live through anybody trying to hurt you again. I’m not saying I think she would hurt you. It's just that she isn’t acting rationally. At least talk to Peter about this situation, he has experience with people who fixate on someone. Will you at least agree to do that much before we talk to Linds?” I ask Justin.

Justin agrees to call Peter on the conference line. After we explain to Peter what is going on, Peter tells Justin that it’s time to let him do his job.

“Justin, have someone tell Linds that I’m coming to talk to her. I’ll bring a security expert with me. I know it seems over the top, but Brian is right, you're not dealing with someone who is rational. I’d rather err on the side of caution, it’s better than us finding out Brian was right. I can be there in a couple of hours, tops.” Peter tells Justin.

I can see Justin wants to argue about us making this bigger than it is, but he agrees. Peter tells us that it would be better if he talks to her at Kinnetik. Peter also tells Justin that he shouldn’t be there. Maybe we are all overreacting, but I tell Justin he needs to think about the girls.

I tell Ted to have one of the security guys tell Linds that Peter called and wants to meet with her. Ted tells me he’ll do it. I tell him to tell Linds three hours instead of two. Ted asks why. I tell him so I can meet with Peter first. Justin says we and I tell him no.

LINDS

I was waiting for Ted to bring Brian with him. It seemed to take forever, but I had the time. Last night I was going to try to work things out with Mel, but when she suggested we end our marriage, I realized that she was right. I wouldn’t be able to take care of Justin if I stayed with Mel. Now Justin and I can be, I mean work, together. I’ll miss Gus and JR but I can make time for them later. Once Justin and I are ready to settle down in one place, we can send for the kids. By then Brian will have moved on. Maybe Michael will have managed to get back on Brian’s good side without Justin around. Not that I care what happens to Michael.

Ted finally comes back into the office and tells me that Peter called and wants to meet with me. I was going to tell Ted to tell Peter it’s too late, he could have talked when I called. I think Justin and I could let Peter talk, but in the end, I’ll tell Peter he is fired to his face.

“When will he be here?” I ask Ted.

“He’s catching a flight here now and will be here in three hours. Peter wanted to meet here if that’s okay with you.” Ted tells me.

“I can make that work, but you might want to tell Peter it probably won’t save his job,” I tell Ted.

“Can you get Justin to be here?” I ask Ted.

“Justin is working at his studio and told me to tell you he can’t be disturbed right now.” Ted must have gotten through to Brian.

“I need to go change and I’ll be back here to talk to Peter. If he arrives before me tell Cynthia to make him comfortable for me.” I like this better, I’ll fire Peter and be able to tell Justin I took care of it. That will show Justin how indispensable I am to him.

JUSTIN

It was a low blow, Brian using the girls to keep me from telling Ms Plans to kiss my bubble butt. Brian is being overprotective. Linds is acting like a lunatic but I don’t think she has completely gone off the deep end. I wanted to stay and listen to what Peter was going to discuss with Linds. I begged and cajoled Brian into letting me stay. I finally just dropped to my knees and blew him. Brian was more than willing to agree since I stopped and told him I wouldn’t finish unless he let me stay.

Peter borrowed a friend’s jet to get here faster. We waited for Linds to leave before we left to meet with Peter. Peter was waiting with, I assume, the security expert. He wasn’t what I expected, Brian said I watch too many movies. The guy, Max, is Brian’s size, I kind of expected him to be bigger. Max and Peter got in the car with us and Peter tells us Max is worried.

“Most stalkers start out with small things. They start with being a helpful friend, they integrate themselves into your life and relationships. A stalker will constantly encourage behavior to reach their goals. Let’s start with your first interaction, Peter said you showed her your sketches and then showed them to Brian. She told Brian he was coming to the show, which in turn made you want to do it more. Normally it wouldn’t seem that big a deal, but it can also be a way to get you on her side. It’s the ‘see I got you what you wanted, Brian’s attention’. When you ran away to New York, Linds did what?” Max asks us.

“She showed up at my loft and tried to convince me to go after Justin. She told me I should have kept him from running away.” Brian tells Max.

“She wanted Justin back and at the time she barely knew him. Don’t take this the wrong way, but don’t you think it’s strange that she would encourage your relationship with a seventeen-year-old?” Max asked Brian.

“At the time, I thought it was her being a concerned friend. I wasn’t exactly the easiest person to get along with, and I made Justin’s life hell.” Brian tells Max.

“Justin, when was the next time you and Linds interacted,” Max asks me.

“I don’t remember much during the time before I was assaulted by Chris Hobbs, I remember her coming to the hospital and she encouraged me to go to PIFA instead of Dartmouth. I had a hard time controlling my hand and was going to quit school. She came to the diner I worked at and took me to meet another artist who was paralyzed but was able to still paint. It got me to explore other ways to be an artist.” I tell him.

“It could be just her being helpful, but it could also be her way of seeing herself as getting you where she wanted you to be. Was there ever a time she tried to make you choose her over other people?” Max asked me.

“Not really. I mean when she and Mel were separated, I visited Mel one afternoon and Linds showed up. I meant to call her, but I hadn’t. She was surprised I hadn’t called her and I told her I didn’t have her new number. She implied that I could have asked Brian. Then later we met so she could see some of my work for an art show at the gallery. She told me that she knew people chose sides when a relationship ends and she could understand if I chose Mel over her. She then said that it would hurt her if I did. I told her I couldn’t choose, she said that was why she and Mel loved me.” I tell him.

“Did you ever feel she was pushing your life in a direction you didn’t want to go? Did she offer to come with you? When you married Brian and had children was she trying to stop you? Did she try to insert herself back into your life?” Max tells us those are the kind of things he looks at. He said if we say yes to those questions it could be one of two things. She could just be a busy body or she wanted control of my life.

I told Max that unfortunately, I could say yes to all those questions. I told him Linds can be overbearing but it never seemed star stalker crazy, until today. Max told me stalkers are crazy no matter how long it takes for them to get to the dangerous part. Damn it, now I’m starting to believe Brian and Max.

BRIAN

Part of me wants to say it’s all in how you interpret a situation, but I think about the fact that Linds took that article and used it to get Justin to go to New York. I could say it was just concern that Justin needed to see where his art could take him. It’s just that, when Justin blew off the article, she ran to me. What if the entire time, Linds was becoming a deranged stalker?