Part 5



Brian was sitting at his desk, staring blankly out the window, not really seeing the skyline behind him.  He had been sitting there for more than an hour when Cynthia came in and cleared her throat.  Brian didn’t move.  Cynthia shook her head.  Brian’s head hadn’t been in the game for a few months now and it was beginning to concern her.  He’d been even worse since Justin had gone back to Pittsburgh three days before.  They were already struggling to compete with the larger, more established agencies in town; they couldn’t afford for their biggest asset to lose his focus.



“Brian,” Cynthia called out and he swiveled around to meet her gaze.  “This has got to stop.  You haven’t gone through any of the proposals I left on your desk.  You’ve been moping for months.  This is almost as bad as when you first left Pittsburgh.”



Brian groaned and rubbed his face with both hands, “Yeah, but at least then I had the excuse that I was just getting settled into a new job.  There’s no excuse for this now.”



“Talk to me,” Cynthia said.



“There’s so much…” Brian said.  “I think I’m doing this all wrong.”



“What, the business?” Cynthia asked.



Brian huffed.  “All of it.  The business, my kid, Justin…  I feel like I’m screwing it all up and I have no idea how to fix it.”



“Talk it through, maybe we can brainstorm,” Cynthia said as she sat in the chair across the desk from her friend and employer.  “Let’s start with Justin.”



Brian took a deep breath.  “I’ve turned him into me.  Some of that is good; he needed to toughen up a little.  But he’s just as cavalier with his sex life as I am.  That’s not right.  Justin was made for settling down and lasting love.”



“You want to give him that,” Cynthia guessed.



“I can’t give him that,” Brian said with frustration.  “Even if I could give up the tricks and make a go of monogamy, I live in New York and he lives in Pittsburgh.  His work is there.  His family is there.  He hates New York.”



Cynthia nodded.  “Okay.  Let’s leave that for now while I think it over and move on.  What about Gus?”



“I miss him,” Brian said with a defeated shrug.  “He was never supposed to be anything more than a sperm donation, but somehow… he means everything now.  And seeing him once every few months for a day or two just sucks.”



“Have you talked to Lindsay about longer visits?” Cynthia asked.  “Maybe now that he’s getting older, he could come here for some of his school breaks.”



“If Mel lets him,” Brian said.  “When I signed over custody, I lost any right to ask for anything.”



“Well, I would start by asking,” Cynthia said.  “And then I would look into what legal option I had if they weren’t willing to work something out.  The only lawyer you have ever talked to about this is Melanie and she’s a bit biased against you.”



“Yeah, I guess I could at least make some inquiries,” Brian said, getting a little more animated.



Cynthia leaned back in her seat and sighed.  “Now, the business.”



Brian grimaced.  “I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall.  Kinnetik is the mom and pop corner store and we’re trying to compete with Walmart and Target on either side of us.  We’re getting lost among the giants.  Our best feature is our innovative and unique approach and individualized service, but none of the clients can see that.  All they see is that we’re not as big as the other guys and we haven’t been here for a hundred years.  Our overhead is killing our profit margin and we aren’t recouping our initial investment.  But you already know all this.”



“I do,” Cynthia agreed.  “I was just waiting for you to get your head out of your ass and get ready to do something about it.”



Brian glared at her, but it morphed into a chuckle.  “Alright, tell me what we’re doing wrong.”



“You said we’re getting lost among the giants,” Cynthia said.  “So why don’t we move to where the giants aren’t.  You said we’re unique, so set us apart from all the others by literally setting us apart.  Go to a smaller market, where our overhead won’t kill us.  Supplement our national campaigns with smaller regional campaigns.  With technology and some creative networking, we can still attract the big boys without being in their back yard.”



“Move away from New York?” Brian asked with some skepticism.  “It sounds more like giving up.”



“It’s not giving up,” Cynthia said.  She handed the file she had been holding to Brian.  “It’s a strategic repositioning of your assets.  Look at the research I’ve been doing.  The market for boutique firms is growing exponentially as technology expands the potential marketplace.  If we can offer a complete package—television, print, and internet based advertising—and do it innovatively, the clients will come to us.  And I think we both know a certain regional market that has been stagnating since we left.”



Brian, who had been glancing at the research Cynthia had done, sat up now and grinned.  “That would solve a few problems, wouldn’t it?  You see, this is why I made you COO.”



“To give you a map and a flashlight so you can find your way out of your ass?” Cynthia chuckled.  “Good to know I’m appreciated.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Brian scheduled three weeks in Pittsburgh around the holidays.  Normally he would only spend a few days, but things were different this year.  This year, Brian had work to do.  Brian told Justin that he wouldn’t need a ride from the airport. He had arranged for a rental car.  He would need one to get around to all the places he needed to be.  Brian grinned as he pulled the rented Mercedes up outside the loft.  Minutes later, he was face to face with Justin.



“Brian,” Justin breathed and then he was in Brian’s arms and they were kissing.



It wasn’t until the next morning that they got around to actually talking.  “I have appointments scheduled this afternoon and for the rest of the week.”



“Work?” Justin asked.  “You have a client in Pittsburgh?”



“Not yet,” Brian said cryptically.  Justin let it go, but he was very curious.



The two weeks before Christmas were filled with meetings with the real estate agent to look at properties and interviews with potential employees to replace key personnel who had confirmed that they would not be making the move away from New York.  Surprisingly, there were more going with them than not.  Cynthia was sure that it was because they could see that Kinnetik was going to go far in the next few years.  Brian just scoffed and said it was because they hadn’t yet been exposed to the horror that was Pittsburgh.



Brian was able to hire a new Director of Technology and New Media who was putting together a team capable of creating and maintaining internet and social network advertising as well as introducing web-conferencing and other new media tools that would enable them to keep in constant contact with a client anywhere in the world.  He also filled three art positions, hiring students fresh out of PIFA looking for their first real job.



The meetings with the real estate agent had been a complete bust—the woman had no idea what creative and different meant—so Brian made a call to Justin’s mom.  Jennifer was not altogether happy that Brian was keeping this a secret from Justin, but she was willing to help.  She took him to a few places that had potential, but weren’t quite right.  It wasn’t until she brought him to the old baths on Liberty Ave that Brian’s face lit up.



“This is more like it,” Brian said.



“The baths closed down a few years ago,” Jennifer said.  “They were shut down by the police after one too many raids.  Public sex and illicit drugs, if I recall correctly.  Anyway, with the two floors of apartments and the empty dance studio above and the space down here, I thought it could work.  It will definitely need some serious cleaning and refurbishment.”



Brian chuckled as he watched Jennifer sidestep a pile of used condoms that had probably been there for years.  “This is the place. How soon can we get the deed and start fixing it up?”



“It has been on the market for three years,” Jennifer said.  “I’m pretty sure we can set our own terms on this one.  Second week in January would be the earliest we could get a crew in here.  It takes that long to process the sale.  You’ll have to discuss the renovation with the contractor, but I can get you the name of a really good one.”



“Let’s get this started then,” Brian said.



By Christmas Eve, the paperwork was filed, the seller had agreed to let them begin construction before the sale was finalized, and the contractor was scheduled to start work on Wednesday, the day after Christmas.  Brian had promised a large bonus if the crew could get the first floor ready for business by February 1st.   They would stagger the move, bringing one department at a time until all the renovations were complete.  With the promise of a second bonus if the entire project was finished by the end of February, Brian was confident that the move would go as planned.



“What have you been up to, Brian Kinney?” Justin asked when Brian finally arrived back at the loft just in time to change for dinner.  They were going to Debbie’s for dinner tonight, and then tomorrow they would go to see Gus for a few hours and then have a late dinner with Jennifer and Molly afterward.



“I can’t tell you,” Brian said.  “It’s a surprise.”



“Well, it is Christmas Eve,” Justin cajoled as he rubbed up against Brian provocatively.  “You could tell me and call it a Christmas present.”



Brian looked teasingly at his lover.  “So I can take back the other gifts I bought for you?”



Justin pouted and let Brian get dressed.  “Not likely.”



Brian smirked and kept his silence.  Once they were in the car and on their way to dinner, however, Brian turned towards Liberty Avenue instead of towards Debbie’s.  Justin didn’t seem to notice as he chattered on about what gifts he had gotten for Debbie and Gus, and wondering aloud whether they would like them.  He didn’t really stop until Brian pulled the car to a stop in front of the old bathhouse and parked.



“Brian?  What are we doing here?” Justin’s confusion was clear on his face.



“We’re taking a tour,” Brian said.  “Come on.”



Justin followed Brian into the rundown building reluctantly.  It was already dark out and there were few streetlights on this part of Liberty.  Once inside, however, Brian knew just where to find the light switch and soon the space was dimly lit.



“This here is going to be the reception area,” Brian said.  “We’ll take down these walls and open it up.  And we’ll keep the curved glass block wall here.”  He grabbed Justin’s hand and pulled him further into the disgusting space.  “And this area will be the executive offices.  These walls will be replaced with more glass brick to match the style out front and to give more light to the space.  And back here,” Brian said as he dragged Justin to what had once been the core of the orgiastic structure.  “This is going to be my office.”



“Your office?” Justin asked.  “Wait.  Kinnetik is moving here?  Into the old bathhouse?”



“Yep,” Brian said with his sexiest grin.  “I’m strategically repositioning my assets for a greater return on my investments.”



“You’re moving Kinnetik to Pittsburgh so that the company can grow?” Justin asked.  “How does that work?”



“We’re dying in the city,” Brian said. “Even with my talent and great contacts, the overhead and the competition with agencies that have been dominating the market for decades has been too much to fight.  We saw some success, but not enough to really build the company into what I know it can be.  So Cynthia did some research.  Not only does Pittsburgh offer access to a fairly large regional market, with advances in technology we can still pitch the national campaigns from right here with out all the overhead.  And we’re only a commuter flight from both New York and Chicago.  This way we set ourselves apart from the crowd, making Kinnetik more memorable.”



Justin took all of that in as he looked around the dingy space and noticed more glass block windows that led to the outside.  At least Brian would get some sunlight in this room.



“And there’s another reason we’re moving back,” Brian said softly.



Justin looked at Brian and knew that he was going to say something profound that would change both their lives forever.  He couldn’t let that happen.  Not right now.  He wasn’t ready for that.



“What about the rest of the company?” Justin asked quickly.  “Where will they be?”



Brian blinked at the abrupt change in direction but let it go.  “There are three floors above this; art, copy, IT, finance, legal… all that will be upstairs.  The contractor is going to incorporate some of the same design elements from down here in those spaces, but this will be the area that clients see.”



“It sounds really great,” Justin said and then turned bewildered eyes on Brian.  “I… I’m not sure what to think about all this Brian.”



Brian gave a self-deprecating chuckle and turned to stare at the street light shining through the glass block window.  “I guess it may not be as exciting for you as it is for me.”



“No, Brian, that’s not…” Justin took a step towards Brian but stopped himself before he could reach out to the other man.  “I would love to have you here all the time.  I would love being able to see you and spend time with you and… It’s just…”



Brian turned back towards Justin and lessened the gap between them by another step.  “It’s just that I hurt you and you don’t know how to trust that I won’t do that again.”



“Yeah,” Justin said and he took another step, this time he was close enough to reach out and touch Brian’s face.  “I can’t just walk into this blindly and pray that it will all work out.  I’m not 17 any more.”



Brian stroked Justin’s cheek and then reached for the nape of his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace.  “So we take our time and we talk about it.  But Justin, I can’t just walk away from you again.”