A Cascade of Rueful Incidences
Chapter 1 - Courageous Client
Brian Kinney couldn’t help grinning. It was the time to call in his 10:30 client. Since the moment he found the name in his schedule for the day, he had come up with no plausible motive for the guy to book a meeting with him. It had bothered him quite a bit, but at last, he was going to find out.
“Cynthia, show him in, please,” he said into the intercom.
The door opened, and his assistant, Cynthia Marlowe, led in the client, with a polite smile but without a word.
“Kinney,” the client greeted him as he approached.
Still seated, Brian looked at the man for a moment before answering. “Vance. Quite a surprise, to see you in my office at Kinnetik.”
“I’m sure it is. Shall we skip the pleasantries?”
“Why not? I see no need to be pleasant, either. By all means, let’s go on right from where we stopped.” Even after eight years, Brian hadn’t forgotten their last meeting, and apparently, neither had his former employer. “Seat yourself. You’ve got some reason for coming here. Let’s hear it.”
Gardner Vance took a seat across the table from Brian and said in a gravel tone of voice, “I need one of your talents, Kinney. I need it bad enough to swallow my pride, so please, hear me out without a comment!”
Brian did.
*****
Thirty minutes later, Cynthia led Gardner Vance out of Kinnetik.
“Thank you, Mrs. Marlowe,” the man said as he stepped out. “I’m pretty sure that Kinney would appreciate it if you kept people out of his office for the next five minutes or so.”
Perplexed, Cynthia stared at the back of the quickly receding man. After a whole minute, she returned to her desk and heard, behind the firmly shut door, her boss roaring with laughter. That was scary.
Some minutes later, Brian told her to come into his office. The man was smiling, but she knew that smile. Whenever Brian was in that mood, there was a good reason to look for pitfalls and other sudden deaths if a person was stupid enough to approach him.
“What is it?” Cynthia asked, not one bit intimidated. A smile every bit as scary as Brian’s was decorating her face.
“Take a seat. We have a campaign to generate ideas for.”
“For Vangard?!” Cynthia said naming Vance’s firm. “That seems unlikely.”
“Not for Vanguard, not for one of his clients, and not an ad campaign,” Brian purred with a devilish twinkle in his beautiful eyes.
“Not an ad campaign? What the hell does he want?” Cynthia was getting goose bumps, from excitement.
Brian told her.
*****
A week later, well beyond the office hours, Cynthia and Brian were slouching in the small meeting room. The trash left from a long since eaten meal smelled on the table. Empty coffee cups added to the ripe atmosphere.
“I think we’ve got it,” Brian said with a satisfied smile. “We will get Vance what he wants.”
“I think you’re right, boss.” Cynthia took a deep breath. ”You give me the creeps sometimes, but you really have got the skill for a job like this. But, to execute the plans, you’ll need help. I won’t be able to give you that.”
“Unfortunately. You’d be the best person to help me if you were a man.”
“Well, since I’m not, who are you going to enlist? Ted?”
“Definitely. He’s one of us. But the two of us won’t be enough. We need someone younger than Ted.”
“And you,” Cynthia cooed.
“As I said: younger than Ted,” Brian answered with a tight, little smile. “Hunter would be of the appropriate age.”
“And Justin.”
“He would be a good choice, but he’s in New York; he may not have the time. And besides, his boyfriend might not take it well if he came here for me.”
“Call Justin anyway. He would be a great asset in this. And his Paul might find it more palatable if he also were enlisted.”
“I will suggest it,” Brian grinned. “Another great asset will be Ben. I’m sure I can persuade him to help us.”
“And Michael, of course.”
“He would never forgive me if we excluded him.”
“How ‘bout Carl? Wouldn’t a policeman be a nice touch?”
“Absolutely! But, with Carl we would get his dear, red-head of a wife.”
“You know her,” Cynthia laughed. “But, actually, I don’t think we will be able to pull this off without her. We need a mother, and who could be more credible than Debbie?”
“Incredible, more likely. It seems that my whole circle of friends will be involved in this. Is there a role for Emmet, too?”
“Of course there is! Who would be better suited for the role of the harmless little fairy?”
“Of course! How could I forget the fairy? Wait! We need his nephew, Nathan, too.”
“Nathan? Have I met a Nathan?”
“I don’t think you have. A lad of eighteen, looking like a fifteen year old. Nathan is a son of Emmett’s brother’s wife’s sister, and like Emmett, he doesn’t fit in with the family. The lad moved to Pittsburgh a couple of months ago.”
“Sounds perfect,” Cynthia agreed with a smile.
“But, now we need to twist the plans a bit,” Brian said with an impish grin. “If I’m going to have one woman in this, I can have two as well. You’re in.”
“Let’s twist them a bit more: Lyle would love to help, too. I’m sure about it.”
“Why not? Your dear Mr. Marlowe will be a great finishing touch.”
“The cherry on the top?”
“Considering the task at hand, that’s a bit thick even from you!” Brian laughed.
*****
Two days later, Cynthia led her husband Lyle and Brian’s friends from Pittsburgh to the conference room of Kinnetik. A video conference call to the two men in New York would be taken in a few minutes.
“Please, be seated,” Cynthia said smiling warmly to all the colorful people she had got to know so well during the years with her boss. “Brian will be here in… ah, there he is, now.”
“Thank you, for coming to this meeting on such a short notice,” Brian opened. “I’m sorry to have kept you in the dark about the subject matter, but it was just easier to tell you all at the same time. There are so many of you. Are you ready to take the call, Cynthia?” She nodded once and did just that. “Justin and Paul are going to join us, in a minute. I’ll start as soon as we have a connection to New York. Meanwhile, there is coffee, tea and sandwiches. Please, help yourselves.”
“Hi, Cynthia,” Justin greeted her from the big screen before she turned the camera towards the others in the room. “Hi, you all,” he said with his signature smile, waving.
Another blond man joined Justin and waved, too. Greetings were exchanged with great warmth and enthusiasm.
“We’re all set, I think,” Paul said at last.
“Well, then,” Brian took his place at the end of the big table. “A couple of weeks ago, Gardner Vance came to see me, here at Kinnetik.” A hush of surprise set over the audience. “Paul, Nathan,” Brian went on, “you might not know: the man was my boss before I founded my firm. We didn’t part on good terms. To my surprise, he now wants me to plan and execute a campaign for him. For reasons I’ll tell you shortly, I said yes. The plans are completed; now Cynthia, Ted and I are seeking people to help us make them real. We hope to enlist you all in the task.”
“What the hell are you planning, Brian?” Debbie exclaimed. “We are not exactly your type of models for ads.”
“Who said anything about ads?” Brian smirked. “Vance wants help with a personal problem.”
“He does?” Justin wondered. “What problem? I would’ve thought that you were the last person on earth he would go to for help. What the fuck is wrong with the man? And whatever it is, why would you agree to help?”
”Trust me: there is a reason, a good one,” Brian said in a very serious tone of voice. “It turns out Vance has a son from his first marriage. From the age six, the boy has been living with his mother and her new husband, but last summer, at fifteen, he was sent to live with Vance. The boy is gay, and the man is a homophobe. You do the math.
“Unfortunately, the boy never grew to accept his parents’ divorce. He still blames Vance for it, and consequently, he isn’t happy with the move or with his father. According to Vance, the boy is out of control and, out of spite, making forays into Liberty Avenue. Vance is scared for his safety. The boy doesn’t listen to him, he tells him lies, and he threatens to run away. In essence, Vance asked me to take care of his son where he cannot. You all know why I promised to do that.”
“Not for Vance,” Michael stated.
Ben nodded quietly. Justin swallowed. He was unable of looking at Brian; Paul looked at the man, visibly uncomfortable.
“By ‘taking care’ you don’t mean popping his cherry,” Debbie broke the tender moment. “You’ve got something else in mind. Out with it.”
Everyone chuckled. Carl shook his head but gathered his wife in his arms. Debbie blew her nose into the big, checked handkerchief he put in her hand.
Brian looked at them. Then, a thin smile on his lips, he told them all the plans. Cynthia and Ted helped him present the ideas; otherwise, the people took in his words, quiet as mice. When he finished the presentation, they sat for a moment in a shocked silence.
“God in Heaven, Brian!” Debbie gushed. “Of all the devious things you’ve done…”
“I’m on board, Brian. I’ll help you in any way I can.” Hunter found his voice quivering a bit, but he meant every word.
“Me too,” Justin said. Then he turned to Paul, “I have to. I hope you understand.”
“Of course, Sunshine,” Paul said with an understanding smile. “Count me in, too, Kinney.”
One by one, all the people in the meeting promised to help.
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