CHAPTER 9  

Monday morning at Kinnetik was busy. There were no client meetings scheduled, so Brian was determined to get to the bottom of everything TODAY. Charles Hogan, as head of the Ad Department, and Murph, as head of the Art Department, were both called on Sunday and asked to prepare performance evaluations for the people in their respective departments. They were not given any information on who was specifically being looked at, or why this was happening. Brian didn't want anything clouding the reviews. He wanted their honest opinions on the employees.

Cynthia and Daphne were setting up for the meetings about to take place. Because it was a meeting with the Department Heads, pastries and coffee were set out to make the atmosphere a little less formal, for their benefit. Daphne had suggested that. She figured that the group of men and women knew that on an ordinary day, being invited into the vaunted sanctuary of the CEO was not necessarily looked at as a ‘good' thing. Having a little fortification would get them all of the information they would need, without causing undue stress.

When Brian and Justin walked into the Executive office, they both looked stunned. Justin, as usual, headed to his office to wash his hands before stopping by the table for one of the proffered treats.

Humming softly after tasting the fluffy croissant he had doused in butter, he asked, "Whose idea was this?"

Brian seconded the sentiment asking, "Who decided to turn my office into restaurant central? Justin, finish the one you have in your hand before heading for the cinnamon rolls, would you?"

Justin and Cynthia chuckled, but heard Daphne respond, "I did, Brian. In WASPland, we've learned that it is always better to feed the innocent first before slaughtering the guilty. You'll get a much more accurate depiction of what you need to know about Kip and Laura if you make the participants of this inquisition less nervous."

"I agree with her, Brian," Cynthia piped up. "If we treat this as a simple conversation, instead of specifically stating that we are gathering key evidence to fire Kip and Laura, you'll find that Charles and Murph will be on board with you. I mention them specifically, because this affects their departments the most. I can give my review of Kip Thomas for you right now, although I know that it won't be on the official record. He's a no-talent hack. You've unwittingly fixed more accounts of his than anyone else's. I also had Ted look into the man's background a little more. It appears that a friend of his was working for Carnegie Mellon at the time of his application here. Kip paid him to lie and say that he graduated with a degree, and he also forged the transcripts that were presented to us. When Kip stopped supplying him money after said friend was fired from CMU, the transcripts were reverted back to the original ones, showing that Kip had obtained a ‘D' in one of the required courses for a degree and dropped out, instead of taking the class over. That lie alone is grounds for dismissal,"

Daphne took up the tale from there. "There were also several instances of sexual harassment lawsuits, which never panned out for some reason or another. I know this because after what Molly told us on Saturday, I called a former classmate of mine and Justin's to find out how Kip's family had risen so high in the country club ranks so fast. According to September Sutton, Kip's money was made in the form of payouts to keep all of the lawsuits quiet. They were from big name corporations who couldn't afford the public fallout. Luckily, you aren't the type to fuck your employees, unless they are blond-haired, blue-eyed, come with an amazing ass, and that you have been friends with for a good little while," She finished the last statement with a wink, causing everyone within the room to snicker.

"Yeah, I can see your point Little Miss," Brian said as he rolled his eyes. "So what we have is a sniveling, lawsuit-throwing snake. Although he's still going to be terminated, I still want to hear Charles' opinion on Kip's job performance. I know it's for shit, but I need to know where the man's loyalty lies. I had seen them out at Babylon numerous times together before Justin came to work here. Now, whether they were ‘together' or not, I'm not sure of. But I think this meeting will answer that specific question, even without it being directly asked. I will get rid of anyone necessary. This is my company and I will not have disloyal employees,"

"Do you think we should do them together?" Justin asked.

Cynthia laughed. "That question can be taken so many ways, I won't even comment,"

Justin blushed. "I mean, should we do Charles and Murph's interviews together? I personally think that if Charles is looking to lie for Kip, Murph will be able to refute it,"

Brian thought a moment, but it was Daphne who responded. "It's actually not a bad idea, Jus. Besides the food and the informal atmosphere, having someone else there without any personal stake in the outcome will also help get to the bottom of things,"

Justin handed Brian a cup of coffee. "That's what I was thinking. Since we all purport to have the same goal of excellence within the company, Charles should be more than forthcoming with the truth of Kip's evaluation,"

"You don't mention Murph's integrity. Why?" Brian asked, just as Ted, along with his secretary and her assistants walked in.

"My reasoning is simple, Irish. I know for a fact that Murph can't stand Laura. But like you, he is fair in his judgement of people and their work. He'll answer your questions honestly and directly, but without the express intent of putting her out of a job,"

Daphne agreed. "I've heard him tell her on more than one occasion to do the job you were paying her to do, or find employment elsewhere. She tends to think that she is better than everyone else and could do a much better job of running your company than you can. Laura tries to employ intimidation tactics on everyone around her. She even tried it with me, thinking that I was the new errand runner that replaced Justin. I had no problem telling her where to go and how fast to get there... professionally, of course,"

"Oh, of course," Brian snickered. He was well-acquainted with Justin's version of ‘Go to Hell and get fucked', having seen him in action during the meeting with Lindsay. Although cool and professional, his eyes glared at her. Daphne, being raised within that privileged world, surely would have acquired the same skills.

"I assure you, Brian, that if I could have tripped her, or knocked her two front teeth out and still retained my job, I would have. However, I found the use of tried and true entitlement methods proved much more useful. It also helps that my parents are of the upper echelon within the WASP nest, along with Justin's- a place where Laura is steadily trying to fuck her way into. The fact that she has seen me around the halls with Harriet Bartier works quite well in effectively putting the bitch in her place, and letting her know exactly who she is dealing with,"

Brian watched as Daphne's usual liquid brown eyes became hard as flint when she said that last part, and couldn't stop the small tremor that raced up his spine. He had an instant understanding that she was even angrier than Brian or Justin at Laura, and it was because of what the bitch had done to her best friend. Why couldn't he have a best friend like that? But as he thought about it, he realized he did. They came in the form of Justin, Ted, Cynthia, Daphne, and now Harriet Bartier, who had just come into the room with Jennifer Taylor in tow.

Both women had on their battlegear: Donna Karan and Anne Klein suits, with matching clutches and shoes in Red and Black equipped with pearls around their throats and on their ears. Each lady adorned a diamond ring that would make even Elizabeth Taylor envious. They were wealth and dignity personified. Brian suddenly almost felt bad for Kip and Laura to have to face these two dames of Pittsburgh's high society.

Justin whistled low as he came to stand with Brian. "Locked and loaded, huh Moms?"

Jennifer chuckled. "Well, you know what you've been taught, Justin... always, ALWAYS, hold the upper hand and look the part while doing it. By the way, nice suit Honey. Is that Boss?"

"None other, Mother," Justin smirked before giving his mom a smile which lit up the entire room.

When Jennifer smiled back, Brian couldn't help but remark, "Fuck! Now I see where he gets it,"

"Justin's beauty and brains were certainly inherited from his mother," Harriet said. "Was there ever any doubt?"

Brian shook his head, still dumbfounded by how much mother and son resembled each other. Pure ‘Sunshine' didn't even come close to describing them.

Ted cleared his throat. "I think we'd better get started, Brian. Mindy and her crew are set up behind the screen over there. Daphne and Cynthia, the ladies wanted me to thank you for thinking of them. They have agreed to an alternate break schedule so that they all can enjoy the refreshments while also resting their fingers."

"You ladies have thought of everything," Justin said, appreciating the two women who really kept him and Brian on track.

"I smell WASP training at work," Harriet said, taking her seat at the side of the table with her coffee in hand. "It's always nice to see the inbred manners of finishing school firsthand,"

"It helps to have had good examples to follow," Daphne said as she nodded at the two women, and took her own seat.   

Everyone was just getting situated around the table. It was decided that Brian and Justin would sit at the opposite ends of the table, with Cynthia and Daphne sitting with their respective bosses. Jennifer and Harriet thought they would sit together near the middle of the table, but on opposite sides as if having tea at the country club. Ted would be nearest those being interviewed, sitting with Kinnetik's in house attorney, Mark Gruber. The two of them would be going over each individual's contract and giving Brian and Justin a brief overview of the stipulations within each as such.

Charles and Murph arrived right on schedule. After being offered to partake of the refreshments, which they did, each sat in the allotted chairs at the center of the conference-sized oblong table.

Brian greeted each of the men before he began. "As you know this is a performance review of each member of your teams; the goal being to weed out those amongst your staff who are not performing up to par. Due to Kinnetik's growing clientele, we can't afford to keep those who aren't pulling their fair share of the weight. Nor can we continue to abide those who are being contrary to the overall goal of Kinnetik, which is not only to make money, but to provide the client with a full-service, individualized campaign based on their company's needs. I've asked one of our more lucrative clients to sit in on the meeting, so that she can see firsthand how serious and committed we are about obtaining the best in our business in order to provide the best service for our clients. As you know, I believe in operating in excellence and I expect the same of everyone associated with me, and this company. So far this year, we have picked up thirty-two new clients. I would like to bring in new staff, but only after we get rid of the dead weight."

"I think we should start with the Ad and Marketing departments, which you and I are in charge of Charles," Cynthia said. "I have decided to forego my opinion at this time, based on the fact that I don't work with each of the individuals on a day-to-day basis, except to answer their questions pertaining to HR and to run their ideas by Brian to see if they are worth developing. That said, I think you would be the best person to answer Brian's questions, since you run the departmental meetings and are able to see what each Ad Exec is capable of. All I ask is that when we are finished here, your part in this evaluation remain confidential and that you remember who you answer to should that mandate not be followed. Rest assured that as Brian's second in command, I have his full support to fire your ass."

Ted, as well as the rest of the occupants of the room, had to cover their mouths or turn their heads to hide their smiles. Cynthia looked like an unassuming angel, most of the time. But if anyone tried to double-cross Brian Kinney, she turned into an avenging angel and wasn't afraid to make the perpetrator's life a living hell. Ted often said that if the Devil -meaning Brian- wore Prada, his second in command could be called ‘Satan in Stilettos.' Like Brian, Cynthia was not a person to play head games with.

"Do either of you have the preliminary evaluation forms we asked you to fill out?" Ted asked, then further explained. "We would like to compare what you have written to the data collected on each of your staff."

Both men handed Ted the forms, even while Charles asked Cynthia, "Why the speech? You and I have no problems,"

"No, we don't, and I would like to keep it that way. I just want to make it clear to you that while you are the departmental supervisor, I am still your manager. I may not work with you all, but I still know what happens within the department. So the best thing you can do for all of us, especially yourself, is to be completely honest in this meeting. Your job depends on it, regardless of the semi-informal setting. The same goes for you, Murph. I trust you have no loyalties, unless it's to yourself and Brian?" Cynthia always had a no-bullshit approach that was largely appreciated by Brian and Ted. Allowing her to conduct the initial interviews was definitely in the best interest of Kinnetik.

"No, Cynthia. I came over with you and Brian, so my first loyalty will always be to me and Kinnetik. Surely you know that?"

"I do, Murph. But I also have to allow that people change, and so do their goals. It's always been my job to watch Brian's back, and I take that position very seriously,"

"Well, now that we have cleared this up, we have a lot to cover. So let's hear about the departments," Brian said, grateful that at the very least, Murph was still with him and what he was trying to do. He wasn't sure about Charles. But like Justin and Daphne had alluded, they would all know of his agenda by the end of this meeting. Either way, Kip was going to be terminated; it was just a matter of whether Charles would join him on the unemployment line. "Charles, as Cynthia said, we'll start with you,"

Ted moved down the list and compared what Charles had said about each one of the employees, asking for confirmation here and there to see if Charles remembered what he had written down. When it came to Kalpernius Thomas though, he noticed a few discrepancies and called Cynthia's attention to them. "You might want to take a look at this, Cyn, before you ask your next questions,"

Cynthia took the proffered sheet of paper, handing it to Brian before speaking. "Charles, how well do you know Kip? Not within the office, but outside of it?"

"I've known him since our first year in CMU,"

"I didn't ask how long you've known him- although that information is appreciated- but how well you know him,"

"I can't say that I know him all that well. I mean, we've met up at Babylon a few times over the years. But outside of that, we don't really socialize all that much,"

"And how would you view his work?"

"He gets a little overzealous at times, but he has potential," He watched as Daphne got up from the conference table, and went into Justin's office. She was adorable in her pantsuit. As a bisexual man, he couldn't help but notice how attractive she was, and decided that he might approach her later about getting together.

"Potential? Does that mean you would recommend him for another job, as in let's say...yours, perhaps?"

Charles looked puzzled for a moment, wondering why Cynthia was being such a bitch. They had bumped heads occasionally, where she pulled rank, but nothing to warrant the accusations shooting from her eyes. "I don't know what you are implying, Cynthia. But I assure you, that whereas I would not say that Kip is able to do my job, or is even close to that, with the right guidance he might make a good Ad man,"

"Let me cut to the chase then, Charles. Are you aware that you are listed as Kip's emergency contact in the event that something should happen to him? You are also listed as his beneficiary on his company matched pension and insurance,"

"No, I wasn't aware of that,"

"Then that means that he or someone he knows forged your signature. Is that what you are saying?" As Charles fidgeted in his chair, Cynthia continued, "Here's what we know already as fact. Kip lied on his transcripts- had them forged actually- in order to obtain a job here. You have been seen cavorting with him during your off hours, which is not so much of a problem as you lying about it. In addition to that, he is also listed on your own documents. So what does this all spell out to you?"

"I'll go clean out my desk,"

Daphne came back into the room, just in time to hear the last of Charles' sentence. "There's no need to, Mr. Hogan. If you would be so kind as to see the security man on your way out, he'll have your personal belongings waiting for you and will escort you from the building,"

"What? What is the meaning of this? You can't fire me in this manner!"

"Actually no, Daphne cannot fire you. But I did warn you at the beginning of the meeting that I could," Cynthia said. "So if you need the words to know that your employment with Kinnetik Enterprises is terminated here they are: You're Fired! Ted, please hand Charles his severance packet. Just so we're clear, Charles. You will find a very generous severance package that Brian has authorized. You will retain your medical benefits for the rest of the year, or until you find a new job. Your severance pay will be a third of what's left of your salary, which is still pretty good and should at least, keep you on top of your mortgage payments for the next three months if you spend it wisely.

Although we are terminating your employment, we will be happy to give you a recommendation to work elsewhere. Be assured that, had you not lied, you would still have a job, as this has nothing to do with your own performance. However, we cannot and will not keep people whose integrity will have to be called into question. Good luck in all of your endeavors." Cynthia folded her hands and nodded to the security guard, who had come quietly into the office, signaling that Charles Hogan's time at Kinnetik was indeed finished.

"Come with me, Mr. Hogan. I have your things. I will need your ID badge, Sir. I also must advise you that your database and all access to Kinnetik-linked programs are being recoded so your former passcodes will not work," Frank, the Head of Security advised the still-stunned man.

After the door was closed behind them, all of the occupants within the office took a moment to collect themselves. Letting Charles Hogan go was not an easy thing to do, or witness. He was genuinely well-liked and respected among the Kinnetik staff from the Executives to the janitor. It was the reason his severance package was so good. But if they were going to maintain a level of excellence, this particular cut had to happen.

Justin was the first to speak. "I think before we do anything else, Kip needs to be dealt with,"

"I agree with that," Daphne said. "There is obviously some personal history between them. For all we know, Charles could have sent Kip a text, warning him of what this meeting is about,"

"I'm all for it," Brian said. "But I would like to make a switch in how this is handled a bit. Murph I would like you to stay, since what will come out of this will possibly affect one of your employees as well. As for terminating Kip, I want to handle this personally,"

"Are you sure, Brian?" Ted asked, wondering why the sudden change in hierarchy at the last minute. Brian usually reserved that particular job for himself only in the case of a campaign fuck up of magnanimous proportions. Other than that, it was left up to Cynthia or himself to take care of the rest.

"Yeah, I am. This should definitely come from me, so that Kip understands that there will be no lawsuits at the end of this. He will not do to me what he has done to seven other major corporations throughout his ‘career'," Brian stated firmly.

Ted nodded his head then, understanding why Brian had decided to take the hands-on approach with this particular termination. Kip Thomas was notorious for saying that he was promised certain things, in exchange for sexual favors. Since Brian made it a point not to engage in any flirty or otherwise suspect behavior- Justin Taylor notwithstanding- Brian could not be accused of any wrongdoings in that quarter. Furthermore, the fact that this is happening in front of a Board, so to speak, will prevent the young man from trying to spout any claims to contradict what actually happened within Brian's office.

"Cynthia, would you go and get Kip from the employee lounge please? No doubt that wherever you spot Laura Wright, he will not be far away. I swear for a gay man, it's disgusting how he is always sniffing her ass," Brian groused.

"Thank you, Brian, for a visual that I did not need or ask for,"  She left the office, grumbling about bosses with no boundaries, decency, or filters.

"Irish, look at me," Justin spoke softly over the table to him. When he met the sympathetic blue eyes, he was amazed to see understanding in them. Justin was always so good at reading him, where others seemed to fail. "This is not your fault and it wasn't an err of misjudgment on your part. So stop it, and let's get all the rest of this over with, okay?"

"I'm fine, Azure. I promise. It's just... overwhelming for me right now,"

"Of course it is, but that's what happens when it's time to achieve the next level. At least, that's what you've been telling me,"

"That's true. So let's get Kip out of here, so that you can deal with that bottom-feeding bitch. Then I think we can all call it quits for the day," Justin smiled his brightest smile at him, and knew they were both thinking the same thing.

There were interrupted by a brief knock on the door. A rather tall, slender and attractive dark-haired man entered the room. The small smirk graced his lips as he could feel every eye at the table regarding him. All but his mother nodded in appreciation; she just smiled brightly at him. He couldn't help but grin at her as she scolded him lightly for being late. The sparkle in his blue eyes said just how seriously he took her reprimand.

"Sorry, Mom, but you know how Dad is,"

Harriet laughed up into her son's face. "Let me guess, Glenn. Your father is having one of his legendary temper tantrums because I won't follow his mandates, hmm? Well he'll probably be about to have a coronary by the time you and I leave here this afternoon."

"You're actually doing it?"

"You bet your tall ass, I am. Harlan went entirely too far. So I guess this also lets you off the hook as far as marrying his mistress,"

Glenn smiled widely then. "The only reason I ever would have married that whore was to avenge you, Mother. The trick doesn't fall too far from the tramp, I guess. Well that's especially true in Laura's case in regards to her own mother. Some people are just born whores... she's certainly one of them," He turned to look at the other occupants in the room. "Jen and Justin, it's nice to see you both- especially together in the same space- again. Daphne..."

Daphne shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Glenn, how are you?"

"Still puzzled as to how I ended up with Laura in the first place. Care to answer that one?" He asked her, his voice suddenly harsh.

Daphne narrowed her eyes at the man before her. "As you can see, this is not the time or place to have this particular discussion. I am working and you are here to deal with your fiancee. So whatever beef you and I have, grill it up and eat it, because you and I are not dealing with this TODAY... and maybe not ever,"

Glenn leaned over to look the diminutive woman with the enormous personality and lightning-quick temper in her eyes. He was satisfied as he watched her swallow hard, even as she stood her ground toe-to-toe with him. He smiled his most charming smile at her and lowered his voice, although everyone could still hear their conversation clearly. "Rest assured that when this is over, Ms. Chanders, you and I will have an all-too-important conversation about secret romances, leaving people behind and giving no indication of returning, and of a marriage proposal that could have saved us the shit we're witnessing right now. But most of all, we're going to talk about how to begin again without the interference of Daniel Chanders and Harlan Bartier. Are we clear?"

Before she could even form the words to answer, she found herself lifted up as her lips were claimed, until a low hum escaped from her throat. Glenn set her back on her feet, relishing the dazed expression in her eyes, before speaking again. "I'll take the response to that kiss as a ‘yes'," Then he sauntered over to sit behind the partitions in the far corner of the room, feeling every eye on his progression.

"Out of curiosity, my dear, but why didn't you take Glenn up on his offer? You know that I thoroughly approved of you, and it's obvious that his feelings haven't changed," Harriet couldn't help but wonder what it was that she missed about all of the animosity and passion displayed.

"My father threatened to have him arrested, because although we are only six years apart in age, he was still an adult according to the law. It's no secret that my parents wanted me to go to med school, and if I was with Glenn, there was no way for them to force me to do it. Their plan still backfired though, since Justin had gone missing at the time, and my focus was on graduating in order to get the hell out of their house, by any means necessary,"

"You know you could have come to me," Harriet sighed. She genuinely did like Justin and Daphne.

"I know Harriet, and that's where Harlan and his harlot stepped in,"

Before Harriet could find out the details, Cynthia returned with the lying little toady in tow. Brian took a look at the man who had worked for him for quite a while, and yet had managed to fool them all. Talk about a false sense of security! But it was more than about that in this case. Although Kip providing false information to obtain employment would be overt cause of his severance from Kinnetik, the fact that this obsequious little shit had aligned himself with Laura Wright was just abhorrent to him. Kip had been here longer than Laura, and knew how Kinnetik operated; knew what would be tolerated and what would not. Again, he was thankful for Cynthia and Ted's forethought to keep him from ever being alone with the walking sexual-harassment-head case, who was preparing to take a seat next to Jennifer Taylor.

"Stand," Brian commanded. "You won't be here long enough to even make yourself comfortable. I have a few questions for you,"

Kip's eyes widened. Y... yes, Sir?"

"How long did you think you would be able to get away with it?" Brian asked, glaring at Kip.

"Get away with what, Brian?" Kip asked, trying to sound confused.

"It's Mr. Kinney to you, Kalpernius," The way Brian sneered the man's name caused Kip to cringe. Good, Brian thought. He's going to cringe a whole lot fucking more! "And since you are trying to act as if you have no idea what I am talking about, how about you just come clean with every underhanded thing you have done since you began working here. Begin with what you did to get hired,"

"I really don't know what you are talking about, Mr. Kinney," Kip said, his voice trembling underneath its grave and sickly tone. The permanently hoarse sound made Brian almost want to offer him a throat lozenge.

Brian couldn't help the passing thought, which slipped out. "Your throat sounds like you've been giving too much head to get ahead, Kip. Is that what your intent was when you decided to apply here?" Brian kept a straight face, looking straight at the man before him, and mindfully ignoring the gasps and snickers surrounding them. "I find it complete and utter bullshit that you were able to think you could get away with shit work for so long and expect no one to delve into the history of why you've left so many other Fortune 500 companies,"

"My employment with those companies wasn't supposed to be a matter of public record,"

"They became ‘public record' when you applied here, and I began to search for grounds to terminate you,"

"Please, Mr. Kinney. Don't fire me. I can't afford to lose my job. My mom and sister are depending on me for their living. I'll do anything you want,"

Brian smirked. It was what he needed to hear from the whining man. "Tell me why you and Laura Wright have been whispering personal business and innuendos among the staff about the Executive Artistic Liaison, when you knew that it could damage his career within the industry,"

"Will it save my job?" Kip knew better than to deny that he was guilty of helping spread the rumors. Apparently, Brian knew a lot more than what anyone thought. It was then that he looked at the other occupants around the table, noting with chagrin that Harriet Bartier was there, along with Jennifer Taylor. He knew that no matter what he said or did at this moment, his position within the country club set- not that he had much to begin with- was well and truly over.

"We'll see if what you have to tell us is worth your job," Daphne started to say something, but Brian shot her a stern look. With a mutinous expression clouding her countenance, she settled back into her chair and let Brian continue his inquisition. "Well, let's have your side of things,"

Deciding to be completely honest in the hopes that it would make a huge impact on Brian's decision, Kip began his tale. "Laura came to me right after the first meeting with Murph. She was angry because the Bartier account- an account that she and I had worked on together- was being given to someone else. As you are well aware, the bonus for that account alone is worth seventy-five grand, which would have been shared equally between the two of us. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement, but it was nothing compared to Laura's reaction. At first, I advised her to leave it alone- there would always be other accounts to win. But this was more than that to her. A week after Justin met with the Art Department to show them the latest software, Laura came rushing up to me to tell me what she had overheard outside while she was having a cigarette,"

"And what was it that she heard?" Brian asked, clearly losing patience but realizing that he needed to hear everything. Kip's voice was making him sick and he was ready to rush things along so that the man would kindly stop making his ears bleed.

"Two of your friends were out there about to enter the building. I asked her how she knew they were your friends and she said that they were always in and out, or hovering around outside, calling the front desk to either make an appointment or to see if you were in a meeting within the office. They would also call to badger the receptionist when she would tell them that you were out of the office or out of town, constantly demanding a phone number where you could be reached immediately on some type of faux emergency," He shrugged before continuing. "Anyway, according to Laura, the short dark-haired one said that Justin was the hustler he'd stopped from trying to steal your wallet a while back. The tall blonde woman had said that she hoped you knew better than to have a hustler anywhere near Kinnetik, because he would try to solicit your clients. In short, Laura had found the tool she needed to discredit Justin and demanded that I help, since by the time this was over, she planned to have his job and I would be her assistant."

"So Laura planned all of this by herself. But what was your part in it?"

Kip adopted a smug look. "I was to find out everything I could about Justin Taylor's background, once we figured out that he was Craig Taylor's son from the WASP set, and the one that Laura had been looking for, as she was asked to do by him. I had overheard Daphne and Mrs Bartier the morning she had come to visit Justin. Daphne extended Justin's dinner invitation to Mrs Bartier, and told her that she looked forward to catching up with Jennifer and Molly. They talked a little bit about Craig Taylor, but mostly the conversation was about Laura's fiance Glenn and his father, Harlan. Mrs Bartier asked Daphne if she considered calling her parents... and that was the end of the conversation from my end, since they went outside. I went to tell Laura what I had overheard, and she gleefully told me that she had pretended to be on a phone call when she was outside the break room where Anne and Chuck were sitting, waiting for Jessica to return with their coffees,"

"Thank you for all of that information, Kip. I really do appreciate it," Brian said. He turned towards the partition. "Mindy, is that affidavit typed up?"

Instead of answering, the short gray-haired woman came from behind the little section of the office, smiling into Kip's eyes. She never did like the man much. He always reminded her of a sick squirrel. She felt the same about her boss' friend Michael, only comparing him and his voice to a sickly weasel. As far as she was concerned, the two men were cut from the same opportunistic cloth and she couldn't wait for both of them to get their comeuppance. "Here you go, Brian, all ready to be signed and notarized. Mark, you did remember to bring your stamp right?"

The attorney looked at her and gave a small smile. "Yes, Mom," She was his second mom, having been raised from an infant in a same-sex home. Although Mark was straight, he fought hard for equal rights within the gay population. After hearing Justin's story, he began to look into some other things on the young man's behalf. This situation with Laura Wright was coming up at a perfect time, and would help make the cases for the lawsuits Brian had asked him to file that morning.

"Good boy," Mindy cheerfully. Turning back to Kip, she stated, "Now, Mr Thomas, I need you to sign here and here. This is just a statement that you have told us the truth about the agreement between you and Ms Wrong... oops, I mean Ms Wright. Mark will notarize it for you as soon as you are done,"

Kip hurriedly grabbed his pen from his front lapel pocket, not bothering to check the documents for accuracy, before signing in the two places she specified. Ted then spoke, as well.

"Mr Thomas, I also need you to sign here and here. This is another affidavit, stating that you were privy to hearsay spouted by the person whose mouth defamed the character of Justin Taylor," Kip again signed in the places indicated. Ted smiled. "Thank you. Brian, the floor is all yours, again,"

"Thank you Mindy, Mark, and Theodore. Kalpernius Thomas, it is my absolute pleasure to tell you that you are FIRED! Not only because you denigrated a member of the Executive Staff here at Kinnetik, but because you falsified information upon hiring, which, in and of itself, is grounds for termination. Frank will escort you to the front desk where your belongings are waiting. Let this be a lesson to you: ALWAYS read the fine print of any contract you sign. Now get the fuck out of my office,"

Kip stood there in shock for a moment, absorbing all of what Brian had said to him. He couldn't believe that he was being fired. "But wait! You said that if I told you what you wanted to know, that you wouldn't fire me! I'll fucking sue you!"

"On what grounds? The fact that you don't listen very well? I never said that I wouldn't fire you. In fact, you just signed a transcript stating that you were aware of everything that was said in this meeting. What I did say was for you to tell us what you know and we would see if it was enough to save your job. It isn't. I don't get into bed with people I don't trust, and I don't work with them either. You're dismissed."

"Oh one more thing, Kalpernius," Harriet said. "As a legacy member of the Silver Springs Country Club and Spa, your membership, and therefore your mother's and sister's memberships as well, have been revoked. As you are well aware, the fee for the year is non-refundable. Her possessions, if she has any at the club as well as yours and Myra's, will arrive at your home within the hour. Have a nice life," She turned her head from him and proceeded to began a conversation with Brian as if the young dejected man was a nonentity. She was sure that the same obscurity they had tried to inflict on Justin Taylor would now come full-force to bite them in the ass. "Next monkey with the too-long tail... Laura. How should we handle the harridan?"