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Monday morning Justin got up and showered, excited to start his new job. He had checked the bus schedule to make sure he wouldn't be late. Dressing neatly in khakis and a light blue button down shirt, then grabbing his lunch, he headed off to get the bus. Once Justin got to Kinnetik he headed to Ted's office to check on what he'd be doing.

 

"Good morning, Ted. I was wondering if you knew where I should go this morning. I didn't want to bother Mr. Kinney, and he didn't tell me exactly what I'd be doing. Also, do you know how much the rent is on that apartment?" Justin questioned the quiet accountant. "I'm really hoping I can afford whatever it is, because I love the place and want to stay there." 

 

"First off, I'll have to check on the rent, but I wouldn't worry if I were you. I'm sure you'll be able to afford it without a problem. Second, I'll have to check with Brian because I also don't know exactly what he wants you to do today," Ted answered, immediately picking up the phone.

 

"Brian, Justin is here and needs to know where you want him... Okay, will do, Boss." Ted said, hanging up the phone.

 

"Justin, he needs you to come to his office. It sounds like you'll be making a coffee run as your first assignment. He can be a real bear before his first cup. So if he growls at you, don't take it personally. For some reason he can't stand the coffee they have in the break room here and likes the coffee from the corner store. Just a hint, don't forget the sugar," Ted told Justin with a smile.

 

Justin quickly headed to Brian's office. When he got closer, he could hear his boss on the phone, sounding very pissed off.

 

"Well they'd better be on my desk within the hour, or your whole department will be out looking for new jobs."

 

Justin moved faster, not wanting to incur the wrath that was directed at whoever was on the other end of that phone conversation. Knocking on the closed door, Justin heard the curt, "Come in," and entered the office quickly.

 

"Ted said you wanted to see me, Sir."

 

"Yes." Brian answered sharply, before looking up into the blue eyes of his newest employee and instantly relaxing. "Yes, Justin. Could you please go down to the corner and get me a very large black coffee with sugar?" Brian asked, reaching for his wallet.

 

"Yes, Mr Kinney, right away," Justin said, refusing to take the money "I've got this. I'll be right back."

 

Justin hurried to the corner and ordered the coffee. Remembering what Ted had said, Justin grabbed an extra handful of sugar packets on his way out. Making sure the top was on tightly, Justin rushed the hot coffee back to his boss. Immediately granted entrance when he knocked, Justin set the hot coffee down on the coaster on Brian's desk and reached into his pocket for the extra sugar packets, which he set down next to the cup.

 

"Ted told you not to forget sugar, right?" Brian asked, laughing.

 

"Well, he may have mentioned you like your coffee sweet, Sir," The blond answered with a smile.

 

Brian tasted the coffee, then took off the top and started pouring most of the packets of sugar into the cup, putting the leftovers in a container in his desk drawer. Justin's eyes just kept getting wider, watching all the sugar Brian was pouring into the cup. Brian saw Justin's face and smiled. "It's my one vice for something sweet. Coffee needs sugar,"

 

Justin's first day went well. He ran errands, did some filing, and generally helped out with anything that was needed. He had brought his lunch, which he ate in the small break room. Most of the staff ate lunch outside of the office. Justin didn't want to waste his money, so he didn't use it for any reason beyond necessities. Living on the streets had taught him to be careful with what he had. You just never knew how long a good thing would last.

 

Within a couple of days, Justin had settled into a routine. After work he would take the bus home and strip out of his work clothes to relax for an hour before fixing dinner. He found that nothing he could do within that hour would put him at ease more than sketching. Lately, he had been sketching his boss, loving to see the changing faces of the man. If things were running smoothly, he was as calm as a placid lake on the outside. But if you looked closely, you could still see that his mind was constantly thinking about the next thing needing to be done. If someone disregarded a direct order, the looks Mr Kinney gave could melt glass. Justin hoped that he would never be on the receiving end of one of those looks.

 

Most of Justin's first week continued in the same way, until Friday came. It was a day Justin would never forget. The morning had gone very well. His boss had won two new accounts and was in a great mood when he left with the second client to go to lunch. Later on he was returning phone calls in his office and had asked Justin to go get him a coffee.

 

As usual, Justin refused money and just headed out to get the coffee. It was his way of showing gratitude to the man who had taken a big chance on him. To Justin's mind, buying the man's numerous cups of coffee was the least that he could do, since Mr Kinney had not only given him a job, but a place to call home as well. Upon returning he heard what could only be described as bellowing coming from the boss' office. Justin looked at Cynthia, who was at her desk just outside his office.

 

"The Art Department totally screwed up the boards for the presentation next Monday. Are you sure you want to take that coffee to him?" Cynthia asked.

 

"He asked for it, and I certainly don't want him to get mad at me. So here goes, but wish me luck," Justin told Cynthia with a smile.

 

"Good luck, Justin," Cynthia told the blond. She had noticed that Brian did seem calmer when the young man was around. Maybe it was Justin's own calm, quiet demeanor that seemed to put Brian at ease instantly. She just hoped it would work now.

 

Taking a deep breath, Justin knocked on the door to the still ranting man's office.

 

"What the fuck do you want?" came the bellowed question from within.

 

With another hopeful glance in Cynthia's direction, Justin pushed the door open. "I have your coffee, Sir," Justin said quietly.

 

"Come in, Justin. I definitely need that now. I have to figure out what the fuck I can do with these boards. I just wish I knew how to do the fucking things myself. Apparently no one in this place can follow simple instructions," Brian shouted, staring at the boards laid out on the table in front of him.

 

Justin glanced at the boards. He had been straightening out the conference room after the meeting earlier in the week while Brian had been giving the head of the art department instructions on what he wanted on the boards. His boss had been very clear on what he wanted, and these boards didn't even come close to what he had asked for. No wonder the man was about to go nuclear!

 

Without even thinking, Justin said, "That's nowhere near what you asked for, Sir. The images, layout, and font are all wrong."

 

Brian's head whipped around at Justin's voice. "How?... What?... You know how to do this stuff?"

 

"Yes. It's what I was planning to do after high school, but... well... that was before... everything went bad," Justin answered sadly.

 

"I know it's almost quitting time but... do you think you could stay for an hour and see if you could show me how I can fix this claptrap? I'll pay you overtime for staying," Brian was desperate, and hoping that maybe this kid could do better than the idiots he was paying a fucking mint to do the work; work they apparently didn't know how to follow directions on.

 

"Of course I'll stay and help you, Mr Kinney. And no overtime pay is necessary. You have already done more than enough for me," Justin told his boss, thrilled to be able to help the man that had possibly saved his life.

 

Leading Justin to the computer in the corner, Brian pulled up the programs used for the artwork. Justin sat down and looked at the screen. The programs were the same ones his school had used two years ago. He knew how to use these very well, but he wondered why they didn't have the newest ones, which were much better.

 

"Mr Kinney, do you have a list of the specs for the boards handy? I remember most of what you told, Murph. But I want to make sure I have it all,"

 

As Brian headed to the Art Department for the specs, Justin started to frame out the boards with what he remembered Brian asking for. By the time Brian got back with the specs and looked at what Justin had already done, he was amazed. Handing him the list, Brian stood back while Justin looked over the paper and made a few adjustments and saved it. Sitting back, Justin looked at the screen and then turned to Brian.

 

"Would it be alright if I tried something, Sir?" Justin asked, looking at Brian who was standing there stunned. "I saved the first one already, so there won't be any risk to it,"

 

Shaking his head to clear it, Brian answered, "Sure, go right ahead,"

 

He couldn't believe the talent of this kid. The kid he had hired to get coffee and make copies. He definitely needed to make some changes. But damn, the kid always got his coffee order just right; he hated to give that up! Brian went to his desk to give Justin space to work and not hang over him.

 

A little while later Justin was standing in front of his desk with printouts of what he had done. "Here is the layout with your specs, Sir. And here is another idea I had, in case you would like to see it," Justin handed Brian several pages.

 

"Why did you print them out on paper instead of on the boards, Justin?"

 

"It seems kind of wasteful to print them on the boards if they aren't what you are going to use, Sir,"

 

"That does make sense. Thanks," Brian answered, spreading out the pages and looking at what Justin had done in a mere hour, while the art department had four days and still fucked the whole thing up.

 

Handing Justin the pages with his new design on them, Brian told the blond, "Can you print these up on the boards? Your new designs are better than my original ideas,"

 

"Yes, Sir. Right away, Sir," Justin happily told his boss, and went to print up the new boards.

 

"And Justin, call me Brian, like the rest of the Art Department,"

 

Justin turned so fast, he almost fell over, "Wha... what? What did you say?"

 

"I said you should call me Brian, like the rest of the Art Department," Brian repeated slowly.

 

"But... but, how? I don't have a degree, or... or... anything," Justin stammered.

 

"Number one, it's my company; I can do whatever the hell I want. And number two, you've shown me more talent in an hour than my whole art department has shown me in the past week. You're fucking brilliant, Justin! I'm not going to waste a talent like yours by having you make copies and fetching coffee. Although I may still need you to make the coffee runs, occasionally. At least with you my coffee is always right," Brian answered with a smile.

 

Once the completed boards were safely put away, Brian and Justin left the building. As Brian was locking up, Justin headed towards the bus stop.

 

"Goodnight... Brian. I'll see you on Monday," Justin called as he walked away.

 

"Hold up Justin, I'll drive you home. After all, we're going to the same place," Brian called to the blond.

 

"We're what?" Justin asked, totally confused.

 

"I live on the top floor, Justin. I own the building," Brian told the shocked looking man. "Surely, you must have heard the elevator going up and down?" 

 

"Well, of course I heard it. But I had no idea who else lived in the building,"

 

"Actually, we're the only ones who live in the building. I usually use the other apartments for visiting clients. It's easier than paying for hotels,"

 

"Then why...?" Justin started to ask, not sure exactly what to say.

 

"Because you needed a place, and there is plenty of room in the building. Plus, it's safe," Brian answered in a tone that told Justin to just drop it.

 

"Okay then. I just have one question though. How much is the rent going to be? I certainly hope my boss pays well enough for me to afford the apartment I want," Justin said with a smile.

 

"Don't worry. You'll be able to afford it," Brian answered with a smirk.

 

They walked to Brian's jeep silently, both concentrating on their own thoughts.

 

Once they got to the loft, Justin started to put in the door code. As he did, he tried not to smile. Brian saw the blond's face and smiled before saying, "Most of my friends used to have the keys to this door, and to my loft. I got tired of being walked in on like I lived in Macy's, so when I bought the building I changed it to a code. None of my other friends have been able to figure out what it is. Of course, Ted knows, but he likes his job so he pretends he doesn't. Even when I know they are all coming over, he will still just ring the bell. Other than Ted, no one else knows that I own the building,"

 

Walking inside, Justin heads to his door. Before he gets very far, Brian asks "Do you cook or do you order from somewhere? Because whatever food you have always smells amazing,"

 

Justin smiled. "I love to cook. I don't want to waste my money ordering in, when I can make pretty much anything myself. In fact, I was planning on making steak and salad tonight. If you want to join me, you're more than welcome to," Justin offered.

 

"That sounds great, if you're sure you wouldn't mind," Brian answered.

 

"Cooking two steaks is just as easy as cooking one. Come on in." Justin told him as he opened the door.

 

Stepping inside the apartment, Brian was happy to see that Justin was very neat. The apartment looked like someone lived there, but not in a messy or dirty way. There were sketchbooks and pencils on the desk and the coffee table, along with a folded hand towel on the kitchen counter.

 

"Brian, would you like a beer, wine, or something harder? I don't have a lot of stuff but I do have Beam, Chivas, and a bottle of Patron."

 

Brian's cell phone chose that moment to ring. Looking down at the screen, he groaned at the display. He decided to answer Justin, even as he pushed the green ‘talk' button. "Beam is more than fine. Just give me a minute to deal with this," Brian took a deep breath, before putting the phone up to his ear.

 

The excited voice on the other end was already going a mile a minute before Brian even said ‘hello.' "Hey, Brian. Ben and I have a free night! So meet us at Woody's, and then we'll dance the night away at Babylon. It'll be just like old times!"

 

Brian rolled his eyes, and shook his head. It was amazing to him that he was simply expected to drop everything for the chance to hang out with Michael. "Not tonight. Something's come up." The whine that followed Brian's declaration nearly split his eardrums.

 

"Aww, come on Brian! You can get your dick sucked anytime! In fact, you have done so at Woody's and Babylon countless times; I doubt tonight would be any different. So let's go! If I have to come over there..."

 

"Michael... listen to me. Are you listening?" He could see the creases in Michael's forehead and ever-present pout he had on his face, even through the phone. Years of familiarity had a way of making Brian sure of Michael's reactions when he wasn't getting his way. "I. am. busy. Now you and the Professor enjoy yourselves. As for me, I have other plans. Why not call Emmett and Ted and see what they are up to?"

 

"I already called and both are busy tonight. Come on, Brian! Don't disappoint me! How often do we get to spend time together these days? You're always working and I..."

 

"Am too busy being Mrs. Novotny-Bruckner to keep up with the rest of us, until you're ready to," Brian interrupted Michael mid-whine, knowing that the guilt-trip and tirade was well on its way to becoming legendary. "Well here's a news flash for you, Michael- some of us have better things to do than wait until you have a night out from Stepford Fag-ville to come relive your glory days on Liberty Avenue. That said, have a good time. Don't do anything I would do... on second thought, maybe you should. Bye now."

 

He hung up the phone and then thought better of it. Reaching for the red button, he held it until the mechanism shut down completely before tossing it carelessly inside his jacket pocket.

 

Justin stood there, looking at the man before him, with drink in hand. He wasn't sure what that was all about, and although curious, he wasn't going to ask. He figured that if Brian had wanted him to know, he would have offered an apology or explanation. Or at least, that's what he would have done in his former life of WASPdom. Handing Brian his drink, Justin said, "So how do you like your steak?"

 

Brian snickered at Justin's attempt to move the evening along. He could appreciate the young man's tact in not prying about his relationship- or lack thereof- with Michael. The fact was that he and Michael had grown apart, and Brian wasn't sure how to feel about that at the moment. It was better to just forget the whole encounter. "Medium-rare,"

 

"Okay. That can be arranged, although I like mine medium-well,"

 

"Why would you want to mess up a perfectly good cut of steak like that?" Brian scrunched his face up in mock-disgust, causing the younger man to laugh.

 

"It would be my luck to find someone into raw meat. But then again, I've heard you yelling for most of the week. So it would stand to reason that you like chewing ass,"

 

Brian laughed. "You have no idea, Youngster,"

 

The conversation from then on was easy. Brian had gone upstairs for a few moments to change out of his suit, and to leave his phone by his bedside. Although they had a good working relationship so far, he was determined to slake his curiosity about the enigma downstairs who was presently preparing dinner for the two of them. Justin Taylor was anything but average, which was something Brian discovered a fairly long time ago when the young man returned his wallet. Brian wanted to know a little bit more about him, mainly how he ended up homeless and why he didn't try for a higher position within Kinnetik when he applied for a job. It was obvious that Justin was skilled, so why did he limit- or content- himself with just being an errand boy?

 

Brian was looking for a segue into getting his questions answered, when Justin beat him to the punch by asking one of his own. "How did you start Kinnetik?" At Brian's raised eyebrow, Justin added, "It's just that you seem really young to have your own successful business. Most of the uber-successful people I have seen are older, like mid-forties or early fifties. But you... you can't be more than thirty-five and you have all this," Justin waved his hand haphazardly to encompass the apartment building, as well as Kinnetik.

 

"I had a major creative difference with my former employer, resulting in me being let go. Within my contract as a junior partner was a clause stating that he couldn't fire me, and that if he wanted me out, he would have to buy back my partnership."

 

"That was a smart move on your part."

 

"Yeah it was," Brian agreed, absorbing the praise. He wasn't sure why it mattered so much what the blond, former urchin, thought of him, but it did. "Anyway, I used the money as start-up for the company, and the rest I took out as a loan. After I landed my first major client, Remson Pharmaceuticals, I used a tenth of the contract fee to pay off the loan, then put the rest back into the business."

 

"That must have been one hell of a contract," Justin said in awe.

 

"It was five million dollars and has increased to seven million over the past three years. With the exception of the Art Department at the moment, I only hire the best people to work for me. So far that strategy is working,"

 

"I'll bet that your old boss- or partner- is sorry that he let you go now,"

 

Brian smiled. He couldn't help recalling just how sorry Gardner Vance is right now. "I would say that he is. I absorbed his company my second year in business. It turns out that once his clients found out that I was no longer with Vanguard, they jumped ship. We had a waiting list a mile long of people wanting to have Kinnetik do their advertising, primarily those who were already familiar with my work. I hired more staff and opened up two more offices to accommodate everyone that came to us from my old client lists. The Pittsburgh office handles key accounts as well as the new ones that come in. The other two offices are there as satellites, so that the clients within other cities have a branch of Kinnetik to go to for immediate fixes or changes to their campaigns. However, everything is still run by myself and the employees and the staff within the Pittsburgh office. We've been very fortunate."

 

"So where do I fit into this?" Justin couldn't help but ask. The one thing he didn't want to do was to put someone else out of a job. He just couldn't handle that happening, even at the expense of advancing himself.

 

"Well, if all goes according to plan with the presentation on Monday, and based on the level of talent that you displayed just within the hour of receiving instruction on the boards then adding in your own idea to make the campaign much better, I think I might save you for the more lucrative accounts which I handle personally,"

 

Justin nearly choked on his steak, hearing that. He shook his head. "Brian, you have a staff full of talented, hard-working people who deserve that chance more than I do,"

 

Brian put his utensils down as he stared intently at the blue-eyed blond, who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Justin... look at me," Brian commanded in a soft voice. At first, he wasn't sure that Justin would follow the instruction. But when he did, Brian could see all of the younger man's thoughts written in the eyes that glistened as he regarded him. Clearing his throat while absorbing the emotion on full-display, Brian said, "You have to know that you are worth this chance. In fact, you deserve it more than anyone I have working for me right now. None of them have ever had to work as hard just to eat. They tend to take this job as their due, and some have been taking my generosity for a weakness. That is something that I will never tolerate and it will be dealt with accordingly.

 

"You on the other hand, would have been perfectly content to keep running errands as long as you had a job, a roof over your head, and food to eat. You aren't greedy, nor are you lazy or taking anything for granted. I look at you and see what I would have become had I not worked my ass off to have both a sports scholarship and an academic one, which gave me five years of college tuition free. The reason it was five years was because I was on an accelerated Master's program. Therefore, I was the youngest student in my graduating class with a Master's in Advertising and a Bachelor's in International Business. I was just as driven as you are now. And you are as deserving of this as I was back then. So stop with the fucking false modesty. It won't get you anywhere. You're good. Own it! Celebrate it! And continue to prove it. Life's not worth living if you not take risk," he added in an old Chinese Master's voice, to give a little levity to the seriousness of his words.

 

Justin laughed. "Fine, Master Kung Pao Chicken. I'll take your advice and own my talent. Just don't fire anyone. Okay?"

 

Brian rolled his eyes. "I just said that you will be working with me directly. The other artists- and I use that term loosely based on what they did to those piss poor boards- still have other accounts that they are working on. Your job will be to fix what's wrong with them, if anything, while still working for me on the larger, more lucrative campaigns. Feel better?"

 

"I guess so. Thank you,"

 

"For what? Your talent did this; I'm just capitalizing on it,"

 

Justin smiled wide. "Something tells me that working directly for you will not be easy. I'll probably be begging to go back to running errands before next week is out."

 

"And I wouldn't let you! But don't worry, you're still going to be my official coffee maker, so you won't be missing out on the errand boy portion of your job too much. One more thing, Justin. Do you know of any special software you'll need, or is what we have sufficient?"

 

"Well, since you asked, the software you are using is at least three years old. There are some amazing new programs available that could be used to create even more outstanding artwork on the boards," Justin answered, happy that he had kept up with the newest software available by spending time relaxing at the library and just searching around on the computers there.

 

"And you are again proving that changing your position in the company is a great decision. No one in my Art Department ever suggested getting any new programs, and they are the ones who should know about the latest software available," Brian commented, earning him another one of Justin's incredible smiles.



Hours later, both men found that saying ‘Later' was kind of hard. It wasn't so much the attraction between them, but the fact that both had found an ease with each other that was rare, and uncomplicated. For those few hours, they had managed to forget that they were from two different worlds or that they hadn't known each other more than a week. It was just easy and natural; something neither one had an opportunity to feel at all in their individual lives. Brian gave Justin concepts and other verbal cues to a few of the newest campaigns he had been working on while Justin sketched them out, adding his own little flair here and there. They each received an inkling of what it would be like to work with the other on a regular basis, and neither one could say they were sorry for the new arrangement.

 

But more importantly, both could admit- if only to themselves- that an unusual friendship had just been created.

 

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