Endeavor
Chapter Nine: September

This was work but it was the awakening to what was to become a life's passion. - C.Davis

Cynthia sat in the chair at the head of the long conference table and addressed the employees, “Exhibition has brought on nineteen new clients since June and we are confident that our client list is going to continue to grow. Mr. Kinney, Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Taylor and I have discussed in detail what it would mean for Exhibition if we were to expand further. We feel it is necessary to expand if we are to have the means to provide our clients and any future clients the top-notch service we offer now.”

“What exactly will we be expanding?” Richard, who worked as a researcher, asked.

“Brian, Ted and Justin will give you more details on what their roles in the expansion will be, Richard. As you all know, my job as the Account Planner/Executive is to insure that all of the departments within Exhibition coordinate smoothly. If you’ll open up your folders, you will see that we have broken down our employee and department expansion into many new departments and job descriptions.”

Cynthia waited a moment for the staff to look at the first page of contents. “I will be creating an Account Planning Department which I will head. I will be hiring one assistant who will be assigned to every other department in the agency. Each Account Liaison will be responsible for insuring that the client’s needs are met within their specialized department. If you are interested in applying for one of these jobs, please let me know as soon as possible.” Cynthia nodded to Brian, indicating that he should continue the meeting.

Brian looked around at the employees and could tell they weren’t very happy. “We will try to promote and hire from within before we bring in new hires for most of the expansion. However, there will be some instances that we must search for individuals who are specifically trained and qualified for a certain job. This will most likely be the case for nearly every position in the new Media Department which Ted will be heading.”

“I’m willing to consider some of you for the positions, but I will be looking for certain work experience and schooling that I don’t believe any of you has,” Ted said honestly.

Brian grinned proudly at Ted for a moment, surprised yet pleasantly so, that his friend had come so far. Ted Schmidt was more confident than Brian ever would’ve thought he’d be. “Yes, Olivia,” Brian called on the woman when he saw her hand was slightly raised.

“I’ve only been here for two weeks; I work in production but also…”

“As a copywriter, yes,” Brian interrupted. “I know what Justin and I hired you for.”

Olivia blushed. “Well, I suppose it might not be in my best interest to admit this and it’s quite embarrassing to say. But other than knowing about my specific jobs and whom I report to, I honestly don’t know what the other departments are and where I will fit in. Could you explain that to me?”

“Justin,” Brian fielded the question.

“Olivia, don’t be embarrassed. Normally, I would’ve shown you around and explained things more thoroughly, but we’ve been so busy I haven’t had the chance.”

“Justin’s been here almost nine months and he still gets confused about the way we run things,” Brian teased.

Justin glared at Brian, even if it were a little bit true, he couldn’t believe that Brian would say that in front of the staff. He smiled as he looked back at Olivia. “I have an hour after lunch free today and I’ll give you the proper tour, all right?”

“Thank you, Mr. Taylor.”

“I designed the Exhibition expansion pamphlet so that it would make all of our transitions easier to understand. Each new department we are creating is in Green, the departments and positions we have now are in Blue and the positions we will be hiring for are listed in red.”

“Always an artist,” Brian said, causing everyone to laugh except Justin.

Justin rolled his eyes. “If you would flip to page eleven you will see that there is a shift in the Art Department. Once our expansion is underway I will have the title of “Creative Director” and I will be considering a replacement for the Art Director. We will also slowly end our outsourcing as much as possible, blending in new hires and using fewer freelancers.”

“I understand that many of you in the Art department were hired by Cade and have had difficulty showing proper respect to Justin. I am under the impression that your attitudes have been improving but you should be aware that any animosity you may feel toward him because he is a young man with fresh talent, ends this moment,” Brian stated.

The room went silent and Justin desperately wanted to hide under the table.

“The only persons Mr. Taylor has to prove himself to is me, Cynthia and our clients. I can tell you right now that he’s already done that and I have faith that he’ll continue to.” Brian got off on seeing the terrified looks on the employees' faces and the blush coloring Justin’s cheeks. “Because we will be doing a lot of hiring, it will not be that much of an inconvenience to replace you if need be. Justin?”

Justin sucked in a deep breath and tried to remember what else he needed to say. He figured that he might as well comment on what Brian had said. “I really do appreciate that lately we’ve been able to work as a team, but that wasn’t the case when I first began working here. I hope that you will have better attitudes to our new hires…”

“That will do a lot to make the transition go as smoothly as possible,” Brian added.

“We’re a team,” Justin said, “the best team.”

“We have a trophy to prove it,” Cynthia added, lightening the tension in the room.

Justin grinned proudly. “And if we want another one like that…”

“Then we need to remain a close-knit company,” Brian cut in. “Even if we have liaisons…”

“They can’t do all the work,” Justin added. “You have to make sure you schedule your time appropriately for each project.”

“Communicate well with all of the staff and if you have a problem that needs to be discussed…” Brian gestured for Justin to continue.

“We’d like for you to discuss it in private with myself, Ted, Cynthia or Brian.” Justin looked at Brian for the okay to close the meeting. “That concludes this meeting, we want to give you some time to go over the pamphlets and we’ll meet next week to discuss any questions you might have.”

“Unless there are any urgent ones anyone needs to ask us now?” Brian asked.

The employees all shook their heads or mumbled ‘no’.

Brian stood and addressed his staff, “You will receive an email by the end of the day about our next meeting. Justin, could you follow me back to my office before you head off to lunch? I want to discuss something with you.”

“Of course.” Justin readily rose from his chair and followed Brian out of the conference room.

Ted gave Cynthia a relieved expression, happy that none of the staff went postal as he expected.

“Ms. Prescott?”

“Yes, Patty?”

“Well, we know it’s not any of our business, but we’ve all been wondering for a while now…..”

“Yes?” Cynthia urged her to continue.

“Are Mr. Taylor and Mr. Kinney a couple?”

Ted laughed and gathered his things. “I’ll leave that one to you,” he said, leaving the room as quickly as possible.

Cynthia looked around at the staff who were all waiting on the edge of their seats for her answer. “Mr. Kinney and Mr. Taylor’s personal life is none of our business. It’d be wise to stay out of it.”

“Of course,” Patty said softly. “It’s just that I’m getting married soon, so are Mira and Samuel, and we’ve been wondering if we are to address invitations to them separately or together.”

Cynthia smiled and shook her head. “I can’t speak for Mr. Taylor but I can guarantee you that Brian will have Karen get you a nice gift from him, without you having to invite him to your wedding.”

“That’s not why we want to invite him,” Mira spoke up. “We think Mr. Kinney and Mr. Taylor are romantic and are so sweet together, you know?”

Cynthia was horrified. “No, I’m sorry I just don’t see it.”

“They are,” Samuel put in. “If my fiancé treated me with the care and attention they show one another, well, let’s just say that it wouldn’t have taken me so long to agree to marry him.”

Ted listened from out in the hallway and he knew that if people who didn’t even spend time with Brian and Justin outside of work were picking up on their chemistry, that it wouldn’t be long before they both finally did something about it. Or so he hoped.
 

*****

Brian passed the soccer ball to Gus and shouted, “Go for it, Gus!”

Gus dribbled the ball toward Justin, faked left as he got closer to him and slid right, kicking the ball into the net. “I won! I won!” Gus cheered.

Justin, red-faced and in need of a drink acted as though he actually cared about the game. “I can’t believe I lost,” he whined.

Brian picked Gus up and swung him around. “Justin didn’t have a chance against you, did he?” Brian asked.

“Nope,” Gus giggled. Once Brian set him down, he gave Justin a serious look and advised, “Justin, you need to practice more because I think you forgot how to play.”

Brian started laughing evilly and Justin gave him a murderous look. “I’ve never even played soccer before,” Justin defended.

Gus looked shocked. “Dad, you said he was a championship soccer player like you.”

“Brian!” Justin kicked Brian’s shin. “That was mean.”

Gus put his hands on his hips and shook his head at his father. “You told me not to go easy on him. I wouldn’t have made him fall so many times.”

Brian felt a tiny bit bad, but Justin’s red cheeks, dirty knees and the grass stains all over his clothes, including a huge spot on his ass, made the deception worth it.

Justin kicked Brian’s shin again, making Brian double over and wince. “You deserve that.”

“It’s true, Dad,” Gus said, “you really do.”

“Grab your ball, Gus. I think we’ve all had enough sun today.”

As they walked through the park toward the car, Justin was slowly trailing behind, glaring at Brian’s back the whole time. As they reached the picnic area, Justin wondered if his day could get any worse.

“Well isn’t this cozy,” he mumbled.

“Justin!” Eric stood up from the blanket and gave Justin an enthusiastic kiss. “This is a nice surprise.”

Brian eyed Sacha who was stretched out on the blanket, drinking a bottle of water. “How romantic,” he taunted, gesturing to the picnic basket and array of food.

“Come join our picnic, Brian,” Sacha offered and smiled at Gus. “Are you Brian’s son?”

“I sure am,” Gus said proudly. “We can’t have a picnic though, Dad’s taking us to the diner,” Gus piped in. “I don’t like any of that stuff.”

Justin laughed. “It’s fruit, cheese and crackers, Gus.”

“That cheese looks moldy,” Gus commented. “Eric, why do you always eat weird food?”

Brian laughed. “It’s not weird, Gus, it’s sophisticated,” he said sarcastically.

“Why don’t you stay with us?” Eric asked Justin, holding his hands. “I hardly ever see you now that school has started up again.”

Justin looked down at Sacha who pasted on a welcoming smile. He wasn’t an idiot, he was perfectly aware that Sacha had a thing for his partner. “Brian, do you mind?” Justin asked before passionately kissing Eric.

“That’s fine,” Brian said. “Just don’t forget dinner tonight at Debbie’s house.”

“I won’t,” Justin assured.

“But I wanted you to eat with us,” Gus said, confused as to why Eric and Justin were kissing the way they were. He wondered if Justin wanted to stay with Eric because his dad had been mean to him and was kissing Eric so much to make him mad.

“I know, buddy. But I’ll see you tonight at Debbie’s and we’ll eat dinner together. Besides, look at my clothes, I can’t exactly go inside somewhere and eat like this. I’ll have to go home and change later; you go and have fun with your dad.”

“All right,” Gus said, pouting. “Will you still draw with me at Grandma Deb’s house?”

“Definitely.” Justin gave Gus a hug. “I’ll make sure I bring my sketchbook and pencils okay?”

“Okay,” Gus mumbled.

“Come on, Sonny-boy,” Brian encouraged. “I’ll let you get an ice cream bar from the vendor before we go to the diner.”

“But I’ll spoil my lunch!” Gus gasped. “Mom will kill you.”

“Only if you tell her,” Brian remarked. He patted Justin’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Have fun hanging with the hippies. I think you’ll fit right in.”

Justin punched Brian in the chest; certain he’d leave a mark. “Yeah, thanks to you.”
 

*****

“Dad, you really made Justin angry,” Gus said from the passenger seat of the Jeep.

“I was just messing with him. He isn’t really mad. Justin and me tease each other all the time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“But… but he was kissing Eric.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Brian asked, pulling into a free parking space beside the diner.

“He wasn’t kissing him like you kiss Mom or Uncle Mikey.”

“That’s because they’re boyfriends, Gus.”

“But I thought you and Justin were gonna be boyfriends! And I never saw them kiss before. When did they fall in love?”

Brian was surprised at how confused and upset Gus was. “When you met Eric, didn’t Justin introduce him as his boyfriend or partner?”

“I don’t think so,” Gus said.

Brian sighed. “Well, they are boyfriends, buddy. Justin and I are only friends.”

“Are you sure you don’t love him?” Gus boldly asked.

Brian ignored that question because it wasn’t like he was going to tell Gus what he thought of ‘romantic love’. “I’m sure that Justin and I are friends, Gus.”
 

*****

Michael looked up from the comic book he was reading as the bell above the door to the shop chimed. “What are you doing here?”

Brian gave Michael a wiry smile as he walked over to the counter. “Can’t a guy visit his best friend on his day off work?” He gave Michael a chaste kiss and took off his sunglasses. “I went by your house first and Ben told me you were here.”

“Jacob called in so I’m waiting on Alex to show up,” Michael said. He refrained from commenting on Brian’s best friend remark, it was apparent to him that these days, Justin Taylor filled that position.

Brian grabbed the comic from Michael’s hands and flipped through it. “How many times are you going to read this?” he asked.

“Did you really drop by here to make fun of my Captain Astro obsession?”

Brian stuck his tongue out. “I was bored.”

“So where’s Justin?”

“How should I know?”

“Well, I think you’ve spent every Saturday with him for… well probably since he started working for you.”

“Whatever.”

“You’re always together.”

“We work together.” Brian put back on his sunglasses.

“Uhuh.” Michael quickly grabbed the glasses from Brian. “I know something is going on with you two. You like him.”

“As much as I like you,” Brian deadpanned.

“I hope not, or we might have a problem.”

“I’m getting really tired of having to remind people that Justin has a boyfriend,” Brian groaned.

“Really? Well who exactly have you had to tell that to besides yourself?”

“Fuck off, Michael.”

“Brian, if you like Justin, then you need to go after him.”

“I’m not in junior high, Mikey. I don’t need your advice on how to pick up guys.”

“I’m not telling you how to pick him up. I think you’ve already done that. I wish you could’ve seen you two at Mom’s last week. You guys have so much chemistry between you that you don’t even know what to do with it. And Ted said…”

“I’m going to fire him.”

“You’re not,” Michael stated, grinning. “Ted said that you two are strictly professional at the office.”

“What? You’ve all been talking about me?” Brian almost said ‘us’ but there was no ‘us’.

“Of course we have. You’re our friend and we want to see you happy. Now listen to me. Are you listening?”

Brian laughed dryly; it was usually him asking Mikey that. “Yeah, I’m listening.”

“Ted said you two were professional at the office and wouldn’t say anything else. I bet that’s because there he sees the same thing the rest of his see and he didn’t want to piss you off.”

Brian snorted. “Is this where I’m supposed to ask you what it is you all see?”

Michael rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to ask. You know what we see because you’re smart enough to see it for yourself.”

Brian took a deep breath before asking, “And if what you’re saying is true, what am I supposed to do about it?”

“What do you want to do about it?”

“I don’t know.”

“He never talks about Eric, Brian,” Michael said pointedly. “It isn’t normal, not for a guy that’s been with someone for eight fucking years.”

“And?”

“He talks about you. When I had lunch with him last week you were the main topic of conversation.”

“Aren’t I always?” Brian joked.

“With him. I had no idea exactly how much time you two spent together, Brian. Do you even realize that you spend more time with Justin than you spend fucking?”

“Maybe I should remedy that?” Brian suggested.

“Maybe you should put your money where your mouth is and actually do what you want for once,” Michael challenged.

Brian glared. “How in the fuck do you know what I want? I don’t…”

“You know what, or should I say WHO you want. Go after him.”

“I don’t go after anyone,” Brian protested. “You know my rules.”

“You’re Brian Kinney for fucks sake! You know as well as I do that rules were made to be broken.”

“He has a boyfriend… a partner that’s he’s been with for over eight years,” Brian protested. “What the fuck would he want with me, Mikey?”

“I don’t know Justin too well, but it seems to me like he’s comfortable. He doesn’t have to try to be with Eric, and I’m sure he knows that he’s going to have to try awful hard to be with you. If he thinks he even has a chance. Knowing you, you’ve spouted off your rules about love and relationships and unless you do something about it, he’ll probably stay with Eric because that’s the safe bet.”

“Thanks, Mikey. You sure know how to make a guy sound worthy,” Brian snapped.

“That’s the problem!” Michael yelled. “You don’t think you are worthy, Brian. But you’re wrong and I’m sure Justin thinks you are. But he’s probably too scared to go after you. He told me how freaked out he was just becoming friends with you because you’re his boss. I bet it scares the shit out of him to think about being in a relationship with his boss.”

“Fuck!” Brian pounded his hands on the counter and asked. “So, oh so wise, Mikey. What do I do?”

“I can’t tell you exactly what to do, Brian. But I suggest you accept the fact that you want something with Justin. You show him that you know you’re worth it, you’re worth taking a risk, that whatever you two might have is probably a hundred times better than that pseudo relationship he’s got with his boyfriend.”

“What if…” Brian felt vulnerable and there was no worse feeling for him. “What if he doesn’t have the balls to take the risk?”

“He does, you have to show him he does. And if I’m fucking wrong about him, than he’s the one that’s not worth it, Brian.”

Brian’s cell phone rang but he didn’t make a move to get it out of his pocket and answer it.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Michael asked.

Brian sighed and reluctantly answered the cell. “Hey.”

“Emmett and I are having lunch; I was going to see if you wanted to…”

“Can’t,” Brian cut Justin off. “I’m having lunch with Mikey. Later.” He flipped the phone closed and pocketed it.

“We’re having lunch?” Michael asked, confused. “Was that Justin on the phone?”

The bell of the shop rang and Alex walked in. “Hey, Michael.”

“Hey. Thanks for coming in a little early.”

Alex shrugged. “Not a problem. I need the extra money.”

After leaving instructions with Alex, Michael pulled Brian out of the shop and immediately grilled him. “What did Justin want?”

Brian ignored the question. “The diner?” he asked, jingling his car keys.

“That’s fine,” Michael grumbled. Once in the car he persisted in questioning Brian, “So what did Justin want?”

“Jesus Christ! I don’t have to tell you everything.”

Michael smiled to himself. “He really gets under your skin, huh?”

“Shut up,” Brian warned.

Michael allowed Brian a small reprieve as they drove to the diner. But as soon as he got out of the car, he asked again, “What did he want?”

“He wanted to meet for lunch,” Brian growled as they walked to the diner’s door. “But I told him I couldn’t. Now drop it.”

Michael shook his head at Brian’s stupidity but silently agreed not to say anything. As luck would have it, the moment they stepped into the diner and he saw who was sitting with Emmett, Ted and Blake, he couldn’t help himself. “Well, it looks like you’re gonna have lunch with him whether you want to or not,” he snickered.

Brian tried to remain emotionless as he caught Justin’s eye. Justin smiled at him, a big, open beautiful smile that he never gave anyone but him. Brian’s lips twitched until the feelings he was fighting overtook his sense and he smiled brightly too. He knew he was fucked and he intended to do something about it.
 

*****

Brian had been avoiding Justin. Again. With the exception of discussions they had to have which were work related; he hadn’t spoken to Justin in over a week.

Justin wasn’t too bothered by this. He’d become accustomed to Brian’s mood swings. Brian was extremely busy with hammering out the details for Exhibition’s expansion and Justin was sure that he’d come around and things would go back to normal soon.

Justin filled his ‘not hanging out with Brian time’ by spending a lot more time with Eric than he usually did. Eric and Sacha. Sacha, who had unknowingly spiced up his and Eric’s relationship. Justin couldn’t tell Eric that he didn’t like Eric hanging out with Sacha and he was confident that Sacha and Eric weren’t fucking around together. But he knew that given the chance, Sacha would most definitely take a shot with Eric if he could.

Justin felt Sacha’s jealousy every time the three of them hung out together, but he ignored it. Sacha was a really nice guy and didn’t flirt with Eric or try anything with him. Justin was pretty sure that Eric was oblivious to the torch Sacha carried for him. But Justin saw it, and it renewed his possessive side. He almost wanted to keep Sacha around all of the time because of this fact. Justin was an asshole. He knew he was, but he was too busy being glad that his relationship with Eric was finally starting to feel right once again to care.

Justin left Eric’s and immediately found himself entering the VIP room at Babylon. He hadn’t seen anyone he knew on the dance floor and none of the guys looked enticing so he guessed that the hot ones were already upstairs fucking. He walked around the space, his dick throbbing, begging for attention as he watched groups and couples kissing, sucking and fucking throughout the room. He didn’t make eye contact with anyone, wanting to find the perfect trick for the evening.

A small Spanish boy caught his attention. He was on his knees sucking…. Brian of course. Justin almost laughed but held it in. He saw Brian’s head rise from looking down at the trick and their eyes met. Justin shivered from the feral look and his dick wept pre-come into his briefs.

Brian pulled his cock out of the trick’s mouth and roughly turned him over the side of the sofa in front of him. He only diverted his gaze from Justin long enough to slip a condom on his cock and push into the willing ass.

Justin was sure that Brian was trying to make him jealous but that observation seemed so silly. Justin had watched Brian fuck a hundred guys and he had nothing to be jealous of. So what if Brian was fucking the guy with more passion than Justin had ever witnessed him give out. So what if Brian was kissing the back of the guy’s neck in a way that bordered on tenderness. It had nothing to do with him. So what if Brian seemed to be challenging him? He didn’t even know that they were playing a game, but he knew that it was a game and he could play too.

Justin cocked his head to the side for just a split second and nodded at a brunet with a great ass who’d just walked in. He gave him a lustful stare that the guy couldn’t ignore and in a second he had the trick bent over the opposite end of the sofa and was slamming his dick up his ass.
 

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