JUSTIN

I opened my door to Daphne and her posse. I only let them in because she got me a peppermint Mocha and a giant danish. 

“Justin, I should have called when I decided to take the cab, but you really need to get out of the house. It’s just not healthy to talk to Rocky and Regina all day.” She tells me as she walks in with her girls.

“Yeah, I kind of agree, Justin if you would just spruce up a bit you could probably get a guy.” September tells me.

“I like the slippers.” Marie tells me, then follows behind the other two.

“I made sure Daphne understood what she did was wrong.” Alexia tells me, pulling me with her to the kitchen.

“Justin understands me, so stop apologizing for me.” Daphne tells her.

“As much as I want to sit with you, listening to how the world would be better if it was all women, I have to finish what I’ve spent all night doing.” I tell them.

Which I’ve learned just means going to my office while they talk in my kitchen. I tried to suggest they hang out at one of their places, but it seems they need a man to hear why we suck. Suck… No, I don’t have time to keep thinking about all the wonderful things I could have done last night. I finished filling in the last of the picture for Kinnetik and printed it out to put it on the boards that Cynthia sent in mass quantity. I keep telling her that I only need enough for ten to twelve boards but she told me that the King of Kinnetik likes what I do, so she’s sure I’ll need the rest. 

Daphne comes in but has learned not to look at any of my work unless I tell her she can.

“Hey, it’s Cynthia, she said she needed to talk to you.” She tells me, handing me the phone I tend to drop anywhere when I’m done with it.

“Justin, I have a favor to ask.” Cynthia tells me.

“I will not be working on anything else today, today is my sleep day.” I tell her.

“It’s not that. My partner wanted to see if you could come to the office and discuss signing with us exclusively. He’s willing to offer you eighty a year, plus bonuses.” She tells me.

“I’ve already told you that I’m not ready to sign my life away. I don’t need that much money and I like that I can refuse if I don’t want to work.” I tell her.

“He said a hundred if you refused.” She tells me.

“You can keep upping it, but like I said, I like that I don’t have to wear a suit and tie or want to stick a stake through my head when the work becomes tedious.” I tell her, looking at Kitty one slipper and Kitty two slipper, maybe it’s time to give them names?

“Will you at least come to the office and tell him, because he’ll keep bitching at me until he realizes that you're never going to agree?” She giggled while saying that.

“Just tell him I’m one of the insane people who think being poor is great.” I tell her.

“He will never understand that, he’s one of the people who believes there’s no honor in poverty.” She tells me.

I look around my office and well I’m not really one to talk since I’m the ultimate consumer. But hey, I can pretend to be starving. I prove that by taking a huge bite out of my danish.

“Tell him that if he wants me to continue working on anything, he needs to accept the way I want to work.” I tell her.

“I’ll let him know, you want to eat at your place tonight?” She asks me.

“Might as well, the squad showed up here.” I tell her.

“I’ll bring them their usual, but we are eating unhealthy tonight… hold on a sec.” She tells me.

I get up and go to my bedroom with my phone to my ear and look for something I haven’t worn all night to change into. I hear her arguing with someone but it’s kind of muffled so I put her on speaker and smile when I see that my favorite PJ pants are cleaned. I put them on and turn in the mirror to look at the back that has a pair of lips over my ass and reads ‘Kiss It’. Daphne really knows me well. I look at my slippers and decide they just don’t need their innocence ruined and pull out my Red Devil slippers. I turn to see Regina reclining on my pillow licking herself in places I don’t need to know about when that tongue tends to lick me. I look a Rocky who seems to have Cynthia talking to his ass. Picking up the phone I get a wipe, because I like ass, but I tend to like human ass.

“Hey, sorry I was changing, so I didn’t get the squad explaining hygiene to me today.” I tell her.

“Two hundred.” She says to me.

It would probably have been good to say something, but I was trying to not scream yes, when I don’t want a job. It took a few moments, but I managed to curb the asshole screaming in my head that only a dumbass would say no.

“Look, it’s very generous, but I’m not into the whole business thing.” I tell her, while trying to stomp the inner asshole who seems to want to point out all the things I could do with that kind of salary.

“We’ll talk about it when I come over, and if you really don’t want to do it, I’ll make sure he understands.” She tells me hanging up.

“You don’t hate Daddy for not saying yes do you?” I ask Rocky and Regina.

I worried when they both looked at me like I’m not the brightest human they could have been stuck with.

BRIAN

When Cynthia hung up she rolled her eyes at me standing over her. I guess staring at her like I question her ability to sell an idea, wasn’t something she could take seriously.

“Brian, he’s just not really into the high powered business world.” She tells me.

“Why are you eating dinner with him?” I ask, because this is something I didn’t know, Cynthia has friends?

“I do have a life outside of yours.” She tells me.

“Why?” I ask

“Because restricting myself to fawning over my gay boss really doesn’t lead to anything fun.” She tells me.

“I was asking why are you eating dinner with him.” I tell her slowly.

“Because we became friends when he worked on Campaigns and I offered dinner as a thanks for the work he did for us.” She tells me.

“You’d rather fawn over a gay artist instead?” I ask, but not really asking.

“How would you know if he was gay or not?” She asks me, which means once again I forget her attention to detail.

“You aren’t acting like it’s a date?” I try.

“Well since you seem so interested in my personal life, it’s not a date, but I’m also friends with his other female friends who like to go out looking for STRAIGHT MEN. It’s a ritual for us poor straight girls.” She tells me.

“Maybe he likes the attention from all you STRAIGHT GIRLS.” I tell her, only because she seems to looking at me like she’s trying to see through me.

“Brian, hey wanna get lunch?” Mikey says from behind me. It’s the first time I’m glad to hear his voice, because Cynthia seems to have forgotten that she wanted to know why I’m questioning her.

“I’m busy, but we can meet for dinner.” I offer, hoping I’ll be able to have a blond excuse for not showing.

“It’s cool, I brought stuff so we can eat while you work.” Mikey the puppy, tells me which then makes me think on kittens and then what I want to do to the owner of the kitten slippers. I managed to get my mind out of the gutter when Cynthia snorts at Mikey’s attempts to thwart me not wanting to spend time with him.

I walked into my office and left the door open, because I was hoping Mikey could get the clue I’m not into talking about all the magnificent exploits that are usually with the troll who managed to get in when all the hot guys left with hook ups. Now I’m just being mean, but it’s the truth.

“Hey, you never did say if the twink was any good last night.” Which means the door really didn’t matter, because Mikey doesn’t really get professional environments.

“Actually, how about you tell me why you're talking about tricking in front of my son?” I ask him.

“I didn’t realize he was downstairs and Mel and Lindsay invited all the guys over for dinner, it’s how we always talk.” He tells me.

“When he was a baby and couldn’t understand, then I could see you running your mouth, but he’s six and he questions things he doesn’t understand. If you can’t control what you say around Gus, then do Mel and Lindsay the favor of not coming to their home. That’s not a suggestion from me.” I warn him.

“When did you become Ward Cleaver?” He asks me.

“When my son was born. But since you weren’t around for that you might mistake that we think talking the way you did was appropriate.” I tell him.

“Look I’m sorry, but sometimes I don’t think, because really, our lives were never about the whole home and family thing.” He tells me and I know I’ve never acted this assholish.

“Brian, I have the numbers you want for the work the artist did for us.” Ted comes in and I can see he would rather just walk back out.

“Teddy, why not throw the business on the desk and help me convince Brian to give us the details on the trick, I should have thrown my hat in the ring, he looked like he could do my dick some justice.” Michael smirks, but I just don’t find it funny.

“Because I take my job seriously and don’t see any reason to discuss shit like that at my place of business.” Ted tells him.

“Sorry for offending your ears.” Michael tells him sarcastically.

“Mikey, why not take lunch to your mom, we really need to get to work.” I tell him.

“Ma can eat when she wants, why would she want me to bring her food?” He asks us, confused.

“Maybe the idea that you cared enough to think about her.” I couldn’t hold back the sarcasm in that statement.

Michael gets up and grabs the bag of grease and walks out, but of course stops to tell us our plans.

“So I expect my friends at Woody's tonight, and then Babylon as usual.” He tells us.

“Sorry, but Blake already made plans for us.” Ted tells him.

“Why not dump him? It’s not the kind of life you really want, trust me.” He tells us.

“It only took you six years to decide that?” Ted wasn’t really asking, but offering an insult. I would have high fived him, but Michael probably would have thought we were kidding.

After that Ted started giving me the number I needed to up my offer again. I wonder if Justin understands that the whoring he does is worth a fortune to any Ad company that could get exclusive rights. Ted waited till we were at our cars to ask me what’s probably been bothering him about my quest to get Justin under my roof.

“Brian, is there some reason you're chasing this artist?” Ted asks me.

“You said it last night, with a view like that, the outfit didn’t matter.” I tell him jumping in my car and taking off into the night.

I pulled up across from the house and sat there wondering what he was wearing. Smiling when he ran out after a cat, I wanted to say yes when he got down on his hands and knees to catch the cat hell bent on hiding from him. I blew a kiss and started my car.