Arms of Destiny

Chapter 9
 

“Well Brian, I must say that I am impressed. All your ideas are wonderful and I think the board will be pleased as well. I want to thank you for flying out here to handle this personally. I’m sure it was inconvenient for both of you, but after what happened the last time, I needed to see things for myself. I feel confident that we are on the same page with the new campaign and once the powers that be see your ideas, I’m sure we will be in business.” Mr. Grant said as he rose from his chair to shake Brian’s hand. He was happy that Just In Time was able to come up with some good concepts since he had gone out on a limb to hire the firm to begin with. When the last company screwed them with their less then stellar campaign, the board was concerned about which company they would go with. Mr. Grant recognized Brian’s name from his days at the Ryder Agency and knew that he would be an asset, and so far his instinct had been right on the money.

“Thank you Mr. Grant. I’m glad we could come up with what you seem to be looking for. Justin and I are going to be in town until Thursday night. Just give us a call after you meet with the board and we can set up a time to come back and finalize our plans. You have the number of the hotel where we are staying.” Brian replied as he shook Mr. Grant’s hand. He watched Justin shake hands with the man and couldn’t help but be proud of the way the boy conducted himself with such a business manner. It struck Brian how much Justin had grown up in the last four years.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Grant. I feel very confident that your board members will accept our concepts and I am looking forward to working closely with you on your new line.” Justin offered as he shook hands with their client. At first he wasn’t sure how he felt about being involved in the meeting, but now he was glad Mr. Grant had insisted. He wondered if Brian would let him become more involved in the customer relations aspect of the business. It was a natural high to sit in a conference room and help pitch ideas and Justin was eager to do it again.

“Well Justin, the pleasure was all mine. I must admit that when I first saw you I was a little concerned by your appearance. I wasn’t sure if you had enough experience to be able to contribute something to the campaign and I want to apologize for underestimating your ability. You are a prime example of why people shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. It will be a pleasure to work with you in the future. Brian is a lucky man to have you on his team.” Mr. Grant praised as he looked over at Brian.

“Luck has nothing to do with it, Mr. Grant. Just In Time only hires the best which is why Justin is on our payroll. Thanks again. We will be waiting to hear from you.” Brian replied, as he led Justin out of the conference room and towards the elevators. He couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and take a cold shower. Seeing Justin so confident and strong had caused a deep yearning in Brian and he needed to try to defuse some of the feelings he was experiencing.

“Did you mean what you said in there, Brian?” Justin asked as soon as the elevator doors slid shut. He couldn’t believe the praise he had just received from Brian. It caused a tingle in the pit of his stomach to think that Brian would consider him one of the best.

“What! That we would be waiting to hear from him? Of course I meant it. That’s what we are here for.” Brian replied casually, trying to avoid discussing his feelings on Justin’s performance.

“No, Brian. I meant the part about Just In Time only hiring the best. Did you mean it? Do you think my work is that good?” Justin asked tentatively. He knew he was fishing for a compliment, but he didn’t care. Brian was the best in the field and if he thought Justin was good it had to be true.

“Fishing for compliments, Sunshine? Yes. Your work is very good. If it wasn’t, Cynthia would never have hired you.” Brian said, as they reached the ground floor. He walked out of the building with Justin in tow and hailed a cab to take them back to the hotel without saying another word.

The ride to the hotel passed by in silence, neither man feeling the need for conversation. As soon as they entered the lobby, Justin noticed Brian trying to make a quick getaway and decided to just let him go. Brian knew where to find him if he wanted to talk. Justin was still anxious to find out what he could about Josh but knew that he needed to wait for Brian to open up to him. Once they made their way up to their floor they parted ways with mumbled goodbyes. No other words were spoken.

Brian paced his hotel room, trying to get a grip on his feelings. He knew Justin had grown up in the last four years but he had not been prepared for this more mature, confident man he was dealing with. The cold shower he took as soon as he made it back to his room did nothing for his semi hard-on caused by watching his Sunshine do business and that thought pissed Brian off. He needed to get past these feelings he was having for Justin. Their relationship or whatever it was is in the past. Justin was his employee and Brian needed to remember that. He was brought out of his thoughts by his cell phone ringing. Looking at the caller ID he saw that it was Cynthia again. He had forgotten to call her when he got back.

“I was just going to call you, Cyn. What’s up?” Brian asked, hoping she wouldn’t figure out that he had forgotten all about her.

“You are so full of shit, Brian. I already talked to Justin and he told me about the meeting.” She chuckled, wondering what caused him to forget to call her. She had decided to call Justin in hopes of getting a sense of what was happening between the two men. Justin seemed preoccupied and Brian seemed distant. She was curious as to what was going on.

“Well, if you already know what happened, then why are you calling me?” He asked, angered that Cynthia would call Justin instead of him.

“I just wanted to get your take on the situation. Justin said you seemed pleased with the meeting, but I wanted to get your opinion. Do you think the board will be happy with your ideas?” She asked, noticing the tension in Brian’s voice.

“Yeah. I am sure that everything will be ready to roll by the time we get back on Friday. Justin was brilliant with the way he handled Mr. Grant. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.” Brian assured her, once again thinking back to Justin’s performance.

“So what are you two going to do until it’s time to meet again? Got any plans for the evening?” Cynthia asked casually, not wanting to draw suspicion to her plans.

“No plans. Justin is free to do what he wants, just as I am. His time is his own until it’s time to go back to Playtime Toys.” Brian explained hoping Cynthia would drop the subject. He didn’t want to risk blabbing about what he would like to do with his free time. He was sure that the description would cause the woman to blush from head to toe.

“Brian. You can’t leave Justin on his own. He’s in a strange city. You know your way around Chicago. You should show him around a bit. Take him to one of those fancy restaurants that you always go to with clients. He’s fresh out of college and I’m sure he doesn’t have much experience traveling around strange cities. It’s the least you can do after he dropped everything to take the trip to begin with. I would have thought he would have refused considering he is moving this weekend. I’m sure he had plenty to keep him busy at home.” Cynthia said, trying not to push too hard. She wanted to push just enough.

“He’s moving?” Brian asked, wondering why Justin hadn’t mentioned it before. If he needed to stay home to get things together, Brian wouldn’t have talked him into going away with him.

“Don’t you ever talk to your employees about their lives? He found his own apartment on Saturday. He’s so excited to finally have his own place. I am surprised he didn’t tell you about it. He told everyone who would listen around here on Monday.” She explained, making sure Brian understood what she wasn’t saying. He needed to pay more attention to Justin if they were ever going to get back together.

“Maybe he did mention it. I don’t remember. Listen Cyn, I have to go. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.” Brian said, trying to cover up the fact that he didn’t know anything that was going on in Justin’s life.

“Okay Boss. I’ll talk to you in a day or so. Have fun.” Cynthia replied as she hung up the phone. She hoped that Brian picked up the subtle hints she dropped and tried talking to Justin. Otherwise, she would have to come up with another plan. When the idea first came to her to send the men away together, she was glad that Mr. Grant was so agreeable. It didn’t take much to convince him that he needed to have the Art Director present for the meeting, just a few well placed ideas and both men were off to the windy city. Now, all she had to do was hope Brian followed her advice and took Justin out for a night on the town. They were never going to get together if they didn’t spend any time together outside of the office.

Brian stared at the phone in his hand and thought about what Cynthia had said. Maybe he should take Justin out somewhere. He was sure the kid didn’t know anything about Chicago. Since he put aside his own plans of moving to help with the campaign, it was the least he could do. Before he had time to think about what he was doing, he walked out of his room and down the hall, stopping at Justin’s door. He took a deep breath and then knocked, waiting for Justin to answer.

Justin was laying on the bed thinking about Brian when he heard a knock at the door. Wondering who would be at his door, he went to answer it and was surprised to find Brian on the other side.

“Brian! What are you doing here?” Justin asked, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

“I…uh…just wondered if you had any plans for the night. I figured this was your first time in Chicago so I thought I’d show you the town.” Brian replied, suddenly feeling foolish for listening to Cynthia. When Justin didn’t respond right away, Brian decided to forget the whole thing. He was about to make up some excuse when Justin finally spoke.

“Uh…no. I don’t have any plans. You’re right. I’ve never been here before. Thanks for offering to show me around. Let me just get my jacket and we can go.” Justin said as soon as he found his voice. He was more then a little shocked by Brian’s offer, but pushed those thoughts aside. It wasn’t a date or anything like that. Brian just wanted to show Justin the city since he’d never been there before. As he grabbed his jacket, Justin made a promise to himself to somehow get pass the obsession he still had for Brian Kinney. They had to work together and it wouldn’t do him any good to try to read things into every move Brian made. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get past the obsession he had for the last five years since meeting the love of his life.

After grabbing a light bite to eat at the small café located in the lobby of the hotel they headed to Belmont Ave. Brian’s favorite club Spin was there and he figured it was a good place to start. It was one of the hottest clubs in the city and Brian loved the atmosphere it presented. It had video screens placed around the room and three bars spread out so everyone could enjoy themselves. It was definitely a gay bar although there were a lot of straight people floating around. Brian took in the energy that radiated off the dance floor and was thrown back in time to the days when he and Justin used to dance at Babylon. He shook off those thoughts and headed to the closest bar, pulling Justin with him. Even though he didn’t do the bar scene anymore, he wanted to make sure they had fun while they were here.

Justin looked around, trying to take in all there was to see. In some ways Spin reminded him of Babylon, but in other ways it seemed much classier then his old playground. He took the drink that Brian had offered him while wondering if drinking and dancing with Brian was such a good idea. He couldn’t get the older man out of his thoughts as it was, but decided to go with the flow and see what happened next.

“Well, what do you think?” Brian asked, curious by what Justin thought of the club. He could see wonder in the blue eyes and couldn’t read what was going through Justin’s mind.

“It’s nice. A lot nicer than Babylon. Have you been here often?” Justin asked as he watched the bumping and grinding on the dance floor. It made him want to forget his troubles and let loose. It had been so long since he was in a gay dance club and he decided to make the best of it. He downed the double beam Brian had handed him and ordered another one, wanting to loosen up a bit before making his way to the dance floor. Once he finished his second drink, he could feel his reserve begin to fade and was surprised to feel someone grab him from behind.

“Wanna dance, beautiful?” The stranger asked, rubbing up against Justin as he spoke.

“Fuck off! He’s with me!” Brian exclaimed, not liking the way the stranger put his hands on Justin.

Justin stood there in shock as he watched Brian scare off a potential dance partner. He was confused by the possessiveness he heard in Brian’s voice. Before he had time to react, he felt himself being led to the floor by Brian.

Neither man commented on what had just taken place, both becoming lost in the music. Their dance started out innocent enough but was soon replaced by their usual bump and grind routine as if the last four years never happened. Brian enjoyed the feel of his blond pressed up against his body and was sure that Justin could feel his hard-on through his jeans but he didn’t care. If they were to only have this one night, Brian wanted to make sure they enjoyed themselves. After a few numbers they made their way back to the bar for another round.

“Brian. This is great. Thanks for bringing me here. I haven’t been to a club since I left the Pitts all those years ago.” Justin said as he downed another beam. He had pushed away any nagging doubts he might have had, wanting to just enjoy the moment. He would worry about the consequences later.

“Other then last weekend, it’s been awhile for me too, Sunshine. You ready to hit the floor again?” Brian asked, wanting to be as close as he could to Justin while he could.

“Let’s go!” Justin exclaimed, dragging Brian back out to the center of the action.

They continued to dance and drink for the next couple hours, lost in the heat both were experiencing. Brian was the first one to suggest they head back to the hotel. He was feeling a pretty good buzz and knew he needed to get away from the club before things got out of hand. Again, the cab ride was made in silence while both men thought about the evening’s events. Once out of the cab, they made their way into the hotel and up to their floor without saying a word. As they got off the elevator, Brian realized he wasn’t ready for the evening to end. It had been so long since he had spent any time with Justin other than when they were at the office and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He walked Justin down to his room, trying to think of a reason for the night to continue.

“I guess this is your room.” Brian said, cursing himself for feeling like a school boy on his first date. ‘Real smooth Kinney’ he thought to himself.

“Yeah. This is it. Thanks for taking me out tonight. It sure beat sitting alone in a hotel room watching cable TV.” Justin joked, wishing the evening didn’t have to end. He was enjoying Brian’s company and wondered if he should try inviting the older man in for a drink. Neither one of them needed anymore alcohol. Maybe, he could offer to order up some coffee to sober them up a little. He looked up into the beautiful hazel eyes staring down at him and lost all thoughts.

“I guess I better get going back to my room.” Brian said, unable to come up with any excuse to stay longer.

“Do you want to come in for a bit? I could order up some coffee.” Justin offered while kicking himself. He couldn’t believe he actually invited Brian in for coffee. When was he going to learn to keep him mouth shut? Brian was probably anxious to leave him and go find a trick for the night.

“Coffee? Yeah, I think coffee would be good.” Brian replied, suddenly feeling relieved at the thought of being able to join Justin in his room.

“Okay…great. Let me just…” Justin stuttered as he fumbled with the room card. He couldn’t figure out why they did away with keys. He never had any luck with the whole card thing.

“Let me do that, Sunshine.” Brian replied as he stood behind Justin and took the card. He could feel the heat coming off the perfect body in front of him and couldn’t help but inhale the scent he missed so much over the years.

Justin loved the feel of Brian standing so close to him. Even though Justin knew he should get out of the way so Brian could see what he was doing, he made no attempt to get out of the way. Instead, he just stood there while Brian wrapped his arms around his body to reach the lock. Once the door was open, they walked into the room and sat down on separate beds. The room wasn’t very big to begin with, but with the tension bouncing between the two of them, it seemed even smaller.

“I guess I should call for that coffee now.” Justin said, picking up the phone to call room service, feeling uncomfortable in the confines of the room. Just the fact that they were each sitting on a bed was enough to make Justin hard.

“Why didn’t you say goodbye?” Brian asked, unable to hold back the question that had been running through his mind unanswered for four years.

Justin looked into Brian’s eyes and saw a mixture of pain and confusion reflected back at him. He took a deep breath as he put the phone back in its cradle, realizing it was going to be a long night.


End of part 9
8/25/03

Return to Arms of Destiny