JUSTIN

Rachel was doing her usual, making my life run like clockwork. Brian asked why I didn't just give Rachel the job as my agent before I left London for Paris.

“It's just I like what she does now.” I told him.

“She shouldn’t be held back because you don't want to deal with a new assistant. Cynthia would have eventually started looking for another job if I left her being my assistant forever. Rachel knows even more than Stephen did about what you need. Give her a way to spread her wings.” He told me.

I thought about it the whole way here, and then called someone who was once the best assistant in the business. Cynthia could have demanded any amount from Brian and he would have found a way to give it to her. Hell, I would have paid to keep Brian from losing Cynthia, she made it so people didn't run screaming from Kinnetik when they didn’t deliver the way Brian wanted.

“How's the trip?” Cynthia asks.

“As expected, Rachel had everything ready before I got here.” I tell her.

“You found a gem in that one. Brian used to complain that you seem to always luck out on the people that work with you.” She tells me.

“Brian suggested that it was time to change what Rachel does for me. I'm flying without an agent, but with Rachel around to deal with everything it makes it easier.” I tell her.

“Justin, she’s been doing Stephen’s job since she became your assistant. The only thing she lacks is the title.” She tells me.

“I’ve been thinking about opening my own agency, there are so many artists who don’t get a chance. A lot of the time it’s because agencies look for people who are already riding the current trends, but there are others out there who will bring something that people will want, but because they aren’t following what is big right now they get shuffled back into the mix. I never let people decide for me, and my paintings do well because people like what they are seeing.” I tell her.

“You know Brian would love to help you with that, he wants Kinnetik to branch out further than advertising. Ted is working on turning accounting into a financial service, and adding a talent agency would help Kinnetik when we are looking for people for accounts. It doesn’t have to just be artists, but other people looking for agents to help them steer the waters.” She tells me.

“That’s bigger than I was thinking, but it would make sense not to just represent one art form. I just don’t know if being based in Pittsburgh would get many people to look to us for those needs.” I tell her.

“Justin, Brian’s in London for an account that came to us to represent them. Our reputation is what gets us accounts, not our address. I think a lot of people would be interested to see what Justin Taylor is up to, and would come to you just to find out. Then you show them what you are willing to do to see their dreams come to life. Rachel alone will give you a huge advantage, because she knows everyone you know and how to get them to give you what you want. It’s time to train a new assistant, yours outgrew her job.” She tells me.

“This is going to suck, she does everything and I didn’t even have to train her to do it. It’s going to be like the many assistants Brian went through, before you found Danny. Brian still has nightmares about the chick who wanted to be lunch for him.” I tell her.

“That was not my fault, he got tired of interviewing and just picked one, saying that one was like the others; soon to be fired. How he picked the one who was looking for the position of mistress and not assistant is anyone’s guess.” She giggles.

“I guess it’s time for me to actually let my Cynthia go onto better things. Hey, you wouldn’t be interested in the job would you, I’m willing to pay more than Brian.” I joke.

“Justin there were times when I would have done it for free, just to see the places you been. Then I found out from Rachel that most of my time would be spent trying to get you to remember you had more to do than paint. It started to sound too much like working and not the vacation I saw in my head.” She tells me.

“You know, all you ever had to do was call and I would have made Brian bring you. You and I could have actually seen the sites, not just the inside of every men’s clothing store.” I tell her.

“When you do a show in Greece, I’ll take you up on it. Just remember, when Rachel becomes your agent, she isn’t going to stop organizing your life, I never stopped making sure Brian’s life ran the way he wanted.” She tells me.

“Thanks, I’ve been running it around in my head since Brian made me face that I stuck Rachel in a role because I didn’t want my life to be complicated. Now I’m going to have to look for someone who can do what she did.” I tell her.

“Talk to Hunter, he’s at loose ends. Brian was going to offer him a job here, but I think Hunter would love to do what Rachel does, he spent so much time keeping Michael in line. You couldn’t be more demanding than Michael.” She tells me laughing.

“Michael isn’t that bad, and there are times Rachel could probably tell you I’m worse. I don’t think there is anything she hasn’t seen when it comes to Brian and I.” I tell her.

“Justin, there isn’t anything I haven’t seen, and yeah, she and I compare the antics of you two.” She tells me, making me blush at the things she’s walked in on over the years.

“On that note, bye.” I tell her, before she tells me anything I pretended she didn’t see.

Hunter was an idea, I know he went to college for business management, but it could be applied to what Rachel does. I went to find Rachel and offer her the job. She was helping to uncrate a few paintings when I asked her to stop so we could talk.

“Are you happy with just being my assistant, because if you aren’t, we should decide what you you see doing in the future.” I tell her.

“I like it better now that I don’t have to fight Stephen. I want to work for you, I like my job and my boss.” She tells me.

“Did you ever think you should be my agent and not Stephen?” I ask her.

“Yes, he didn’t understand that in the end, we work for you. I understand he wanted to keep you in the mix, but there’s also a point where your life couldn’t just be the next show or the next party. There has to be time for you to feed your muse, for you it’s being with Brian.” She tells me.

“I want you to take over for Stephen. I need to talk to Brian because I also want to possibly open up an agency that manages talent, so I’m not the only client you have.” I tell her.

“Who’s going to take care of you, if I have to deal with other people?” She asks.

“It’s time for me to look for a new assistant, Cynthia suggested Hunter, and it’s an idea, but the kid drives me insane some days.” I tell her.

“I’ll make sure he’s trained to do the job I did.” She tells me, excited.

I left her to finish getting everything done, and went to my room and started working on Rage. Brian told me he would call when he was free, so I was free to goof off. I grabbed my pad and started messing around with how to get Zephyr from a dig with Ken, to the planet Rage was on, when I kept hearing this buzzing sound. I looked around and caught my phone before it fell off the side table.

“Hey Linds.” I answered.

“I just found out that you and Brian left town already. I was hoping to catch you guys.” She tells me.

“We are going to be in London for a while. I figured I’d be here for the show in Paris since I was already here.” I tell her.

“I tried to get Brian but his phone is going to voicemail.” She tells me.

“He’s in meetings all day, so it’s going to be later before he will answer. Did you need something?” I ask her.

“Mel and I are going to move back to Pittsburgh, and I wanted to see if I could stay with you while I look for a place for us.” She tells me.

“We won’t be home, but Deb or Michael would love to have you.” I tell her.

“I’ll call them next. Brian told me that you let Stephen go.” She tells me.

“We wanted different things, he couldn’t understand not wanting to continue the way it’s been for the last four years.” I tell her.

“What are you going to do for an agent?” She asks.

“Rachel is taking over, she’s been doing it anyway.” I tell her.

“What are you going to do for an assistant?” She asks.

I already can see what Lindsay is thinking, and no, I want her to be my friend, and there is no way that will work if she works for me. It’s something that Stephen taught me, that you don’t hire someone who would be in constant conflict with what you want. Hunter wouldn’t think he knew better than I did.

“I have someone in mind, it will give him experience and something for his resume.” I tell her.

“I better go and call Michael to see if it’s okay to stay with them.” She tells me, and I can hear the hurt in her voice.

“Tell him he gets Jenny for any amount of time and he’ll let you stay forever. Tell Mel and Gus I said hi.” I tell her, hanging up.

I also wouldn’t want to see the fight that Rachel would have on her hands if Lindsay didn’t think Rachel was doing what Lindsay thought was the right thing.

BRIAN

I wanted to surprise Justin by being in Paris with him. Robert told me he hated being anywhere that he had to be away from Julie too. I almost rolled my eyes but he’s right, I hate when Justin and I are apart. On the way to the hotel I called Lindsay back, since she called three times already.

“I already talked to Justin, I didn’t know you two were out of town.” She tells me, sounding upset.

“We had business, like always. It’s nothing new, why are you upset?” I ask her.

“It's really dumb, but I talked to Justin and he told me about Rachel becoming his agent. Then when I asked about his assistant he told me he already had someone in mind. It hurt that he never thought of me.” She sighs.

“He wouldn’t want to put you in the position of his employee. You wouldn't be able to do your job because of your friendship.” I tell her.

“I can be professional.” She tells me.

“Not in the way Justin would need you to be. You've always thought you knew more than Justin, and as his assistant your job would be to listen to what he wants, not telling what you think he should be doing. He needs someone who can do what Rachel did, and separate his job from his personal life.” I tell her.

“You and Ted manage it.” She argues.

“How did you see raising Gus and Jenny if you had to put in the kind of hours Rachel does? It's not nine to five with weekends off, a lot of people call to arrange things at different hours because they aren’t in Pittsburgh or even the US. Rachel had to always be ready with Justin’s schedule, to make sure they didn’t cross bookings. It's not a job for someone who wants to be home with family.” I tell her.

“I know I couldn't do it, but it would have been nice to be asked.” She tells me.

“It's not about your feelings, it's about what he needs to do his job. Is that what you were calling for?” I ask.

“No, Mel and I decided to move back. I was going to see if I could stay with you guys but Justin said to ask Michael or Deb.” She tells me.

“It would be smarter to ask someone who's in town.” I tell her.

“I just didn't want to put them out, I could use the loft if it's okay?” She asks.

“Hunter was going to use it, he didn’t want his fiancé to have Mikey talking him to death.” I tell her, knowing I need to call Hunter so he knows the code.

“It guess Michael it is then.” She tells me, hanging up.

Just like Justin, I don't want Lindsay trying to change things in our house. Justin seems to think once she stayed we'd have problems convincing her to leave. I planned to have everyone over, but not until we made it our home. Lindsay can sometimes not understand that Justin and I know what we want.