STAYING OR GOING CHAPTER 1

BRIAN

I’m sitting here with Ben, trying to keep one ear into the conversation but my eyes keep drifting towards the table in the corner. Watching Justin work has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. The way his forehead wrinkles in concentration or annoyance is the weirdest turn-on for me. It shows me just how he puts himself into every single thing he does, especially when he’s having sex with me. His raised voice, draws all of our attention.

“No Tory! Just no. I don’t give a damn what he says. He’s not your boss, I am. And the long and short of it is, there will be no new issue until he and I come to an agreement. Since that’s not going to happen, he either takes the offer for me to buy him out or I sue him for the rights. There is no fucking way I’m giving in to his temper tantrum. Fine, call Donovan, but keep me abreast of every single development and power play he attempts to try. Yeah, he’s supposed to, but we won’t be in the same place, thank God. Tell Donovan to give Mr. Evans the complete story that no doubt his client did not give. We should be boarding soon. I’ll be in touch.” He hangs up the phone, frustration pouring off of him in waves. It can only mean one thing…

“What has Michael done this time?”

Justin sighs. “Off the record, he’s trying to override me in getting another issue published. Tory just called me because the publisher called her, asking her to let me know. Thank goodness I hired her as my PA and agent and that the guys who run the publishing company don’t trust the twerp. Can you believe that he actually demanded that the issue be released tomorrow? He’s had the offer to buy him out in his hand for nearly two weeks, and instead of doing the right thing, he tries this shit!”

Offer? What offer? I feel like I am missing some key piece of information here. “Wait a minute… you offered to buy Michael out of Rage without talking to me? If I’m not mistaken, I own a piece of it, right?” He narrows his eyes and I can see the storm brewing in them. I know I have to head it off right now if I want answers. “Look Justin, this is business, not a personal attack. I have to know when this was decided and why, since it also affects my bottom line, not just yours or whatever is jointly ours.”

He shrugs. “I tried to talk to you about this and so many other things that will affect our finances, but you were never available. So like with the condo acquisition, I made an executive decision. I offered Michael twenty-five grand to buy him out but he’s digging in his heels.”

I’m surprised. I remember when we talked about this when it was decided that Justin wouldn’t do the next issue until it was changed. When I suggested we buy him out then, Justin said that he didn’t want to put a strain on Ben’s finances by dissolving the partnership with Michael. It would have required the Professor to hire a lawyer, since they couldn’t afford to keep one on retainer the way Justin and I do. The original attorney, who first drew up the contract, is no longer available, since she’s the judge who has us all sitting here in this airport. I know that Melanie would have referred Ben to someone if asked, who probably would have looked over the offer pro bono. So what changed Justin’s initial decision? “When did you make the offer?”

“Five days before your excursion to P-Town. I found out that Michael paid another artist to draw Rage, which is in direct violation of the contract between us. The creative control clause and the copyright law attached to my work was breached. I thought I would be merciful and not seek litigation, by offering to buy him out. It’s clear now that it was a mistake on my part to think he might want to be reasonable in avoiding a fine and possible jail time.”

“Does Ben know?”

“You would have to ask him, but I would suspect he does. Although Ben controls the wallet, he can’t sign for Michael, who my agreement was with.”

“Ben mentioned that you were trying to get in touch with me last week. Is that true? And was this part of the reason?”

Justin wet his lips, taking a sip of his drink immediately afterwards. Replacing the glass back onto the table, he nods. “It’s true that I had called several times last week. All of us did for some reason or another. It kept rolling over to voicemail for each of us. So we all decided to send text messages just to see if you would answer those. Still, no response.”

“Justin, I don’t know what to say, except that we didn’t receive any messages or phone calls. The times I called you, you didn’t pick up. By the fourth day, I just stopped trying. I figured if there was any type of emergency you would call me, until then, I would let you stay pissed.”

“And I was...I’ll admit that. But I discovered a funny feature on the Iphone that I never really paid attention to. You see, the fifth day, I got so pissed that I actually smashed my phone. Not the brightest action, I know, but at the time, it was the only option I had beyond driving to P-Town and fucking up your jeep. I’m talking real scorned lover type shit like busting the windows out, keying the car, slashing your tires and spray painting the fucker. But that being the WASP I still am at base, those actions were beneath me…”

“For which I will remain supremely grateful…”

“I mean, I’m a millionaire for fuck’s sake. No way I should be landing in jail for something as trivial as vandalism, right?”

“Right. Is there a point to your musings or should I be worried?”

His eyes twinkle in amusement before growing serious again. “There is a feature on the phone that you nor I have ever taken advantage of. My guess- and it is that, just a guess- is that you activated the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature, which prevented you from receiving any type of communication on your phone. It’s only a theory but it’s all I’ve got, unless you really were ignoring me.”

The despair on his face is heartbreaking. It’s taking me back to a place in our relationship that neither of us wants to remember but can’t forget. “Justin, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“You have before.”

“But that was then; this is now. We have too much riding on being in contact at all times, not just business but personal things as well.”

“I know. But Brian, if you were in my place, what would you think? If after the first night when you called and were told by my best friend that it wasn’t a really good time to speak to me but there you on the phone were hearing a load of raucous noise in the background, what would you have thought? If after all of the non-communicative silence of the past months, not the comfortable silence we’ve grown accustomed to, my phone suddenly keeps going to voicemail when you call, what would you think?”

Sadly, I can see his point, but I don’t want to. Things really have been strained between Justin and I in ways that still do not make any sense to me. Even during that unmentionable episode of our lives, we were still able to talk, even if it was about nonsense. We just got each other. When did that change? It’s like he and I are no longer able to read each other beyond knowing when one is hiding and the other is avoiding. I don’t want all that Justin and I have worked towards- both individually and collectively- to die a quick death without a fight.

“Let’s say your theory of the ‘DND’ feature on my phone is true, how would that explain Ted and Em’s phones not ringing or being answered either?”

“You all have the same phones, but honestly, I don’t know. Again, it’s just a theory which only came about after my temper tantrum. But I can prove the emails and text messages I sent to you last week since they were saved on the cloud. Did you know that’s another feature? Anyway, as soon as we land and I can set up the printer, I’ll print them out for you, Brian. I know I’m not crazy.”

His conviction in what he’s saying has me sold that he’s telling the truth. I can’t help but wonder what he’s said in the messages and emails, yet I dread finding out. Knowing Justin when he’s pissed, they wouldn’t have been ‘Sunshine’ at all. In fact, they would have been brutally honest, no minced words or sugar-coated double entendres to hide behind; nothing written would be open to interpretation. That’s the side of Justin Cole Taylor-Kinney that no one sees, although they have glimpses every now and then. But me... I get to see all facets of his personality, or I did until he became so closed off to me. But it’s both what I love and loathe about him.

“You guys all set?” Ted asks, coming over to make sure we were doing okay. I guess we weren’t the only ones engaged in our intense conversation. I hadn’t noticed until now just how quiet the first class lounge actually is.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Speaking of which… I guess we should go and get the new cellphones before Michael decides to put in an appearance.”

“You really think he’ll show up?”

“Ben controls everything; do you think he won’t?”

“But Michael doesn’t realize that. He would never bother to look at the fine print of any document.”

“True, but it doesn’t mean he’s stupid enough to chance losing his meal ticket until he’s found a replacement either.”

“What about David?”

“Don’t you mean what about me and Deb? We’re the ones who supported him when he moved back here. Although Debbie still might give handouts, I don’t. It was my money that paid the bulk of Michael’s expenses. Debbie mostly fed him, which is a hefty expense all its own.”

Ted nodded. “So Alex said that we would still be able to reach each other with your new phone?”

“Yeah, but it’s only to be for business. I’ll give you more details once I know and text you from the new number. Justin, are you ready?”

I watch him close out the last of the emails he’s been busy sending. I want to ask him about them but I know he’ll probably tell me on the plane. At least it will give us something uncontentious to talk about. We may disagree about business sometimes, but we always manage to compromise. We move across the floor to the other side of the lounge, where Alex is in conversation with the other counselors. Seeing us, he pauses before remembering why we are there.”

He smiles before handing us each a phone. “Once I give you these, I’ll have control over your current devices. Are you sure you don’t want to wait until we get to the island to hand them over?”

“Not me,” Justin says. “I’ve been taking care of things all morning so anything else can wait until we get there. I’ll just text Tory, Ted, and Emmett the new numbers.”

“Emmett?” I ask.

He rolls his eyes. “Yes. Emmett is doing the catering for the Honey’s Restaurant and Grill in less than a month. Since I’m handling the campaign for that, all changes have to go through me and that includes the menu. We’ve talked about this, remember?”

I vaguely remember that conversation since the owner of the restaurant was a former trick of mine who thought I would give him a repeat, this time in celebration. Co-owning Kinnetik with Justin Taylor-Kinney sure had its advantages. He took over the account, effectively squashing any further contact with him. Horace Neilsen had gotten the message very quickly that Justin was not to be toyed around with or pushed. “I didn’t realize that the launch was coming up so soon, that’s all.”

Justin snickered. “Still can’t believe you fucked a guy named Horace though. That realization must be absolutely HOR-rifying; just plain HOR-rendous…”

“Twat!” I yell, but there is no heat in it. It was classic Justin to remind me of why I refused to get names before and after I fucked. Had I known Horace’s name, we would have lost out on a ten million dollar account. Yes, it’s one of our smaller accounts these days, but money is money. “So now that you’ve had your grand old time at my expense, let’s get back to the matter at hand, shall we?”

“Sure. So as I’ve said, I can pull up whatever else needs to be pulled off of the phone via computer, so I have no problems handing it over now. Are all of the contacts you requested of Brian and I loaded already, Alex?”

“Surely Justin. Did you have any more to add now?”

“Not yet, but there are a few more accounts in the works. As long as Cynthia and Tory can reach me, I won’t worry too much.”

“Same goes for me, Alex. By the way, how are these registered?”

“Why do you ask?” Alex asks me and I just look at him, letting my question hang in the air. He chuckles when he finally gets it. “Oh they are registered under my name, and that includes Skype. I made sure that Cynthia and Ted have that information directly.”

“So there is no way Michael will find us on any network while on the island?”

“Unless he’s a closet computer hacker, no. Even if you’re using your laptops, the network is secure. Since each room and villa is given its own IP address but not labeled, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It will be as if you’re not there since he won’t be able to see you unless it’s on the off-chance that you are all in the main square at the same time.”

“Speak of the devil and he appears,” Justin says quietly, causing all of us to stop and listen. I can’t help but pinch the bridge of my nose at the obnoxious sound of Michael’s bleating.

The attendant is not letting Michael roam freely into the lounge. Ordinarily, anyone without a first class ticket wouldn’t be allowed in, but there is an exception because of our destination. Of course the only people other than Justin, who know that I upgraded our tickets to first class are Alex and Ted, who were doing the exact same thing. There was no way they were going to chance being stuck in business class with Michael and Ben. I can’t say that I blame them, since with Ben’s look in his direction alone, Michael should have turned into a block of ice by now. Nope! I’m very glad I had the forethought to upgrade the tickets, even if I would have done it just before boarding anyway.

“I better go take care of this.” Barry sighs and shakes his head. I swear I’ve seen death row inmates move faster when walking towards their lethal injection than he is in getting to Michael.

“Well quickly guys, before he spots us,” Alex urges. Justin and I hand over our phones, even as I remind him of his promise to print the emails and text messages up for me. At Alex’s puzzled look, I explain what Justin was saying about the missed messages from last week. He nods. “I think that’s a good idea. If possible, I’ll ask the other counselors to do the same for their clients. But the outcome of those findings, no matter how curious you become, is not your concern. I’m sure that by the time your sessions are finished, they will be anxious to reconnect. Who knows? The case of the mystery messages might be a good way to do so.”

Finally the commotion at the door is dying down but….

“BRIIIIIIAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!! Hey, I didn’t know you would be here. Where are you going? How come you haven’t called me to apologize yet? I waited all night for you to come to your senses! So why haven’t you called?” He stands there pouting with folded arms and tapping his foot.

Fuck! This is going to be a long trip…