72 Hours, Day 2

Justin pressed the speed dial button on his cell phone once again. "Answer your phone Tony!" he begged the miniature receiver. Where the hell could Tony be? Of all the times to turn off his phone, this had to be the worst.

"Hello princess." Tony finally answered.

"Tony where have you been? Why didn't you answer your phone?" Justin's frantic voice came over the line.

Tony blotted the sweat from his brow. "I wasn't near my phone. I'm at the gym. Today is the first day of my cardiac rehab, remember? What's the matter princess?" he asked.

"He knows!" Justin blurted out.

"What?"

"Brian, he knows!" Justin tried again.

"Knows what?" Tony asked casually.

"He knows about us?" Justin said.

Tony draped his towel around his shoulders. "What about us?" he asked.

"He knows about the money, Tony." Justin said.

"What money? What are you talking about Justin?" Tony asked as he gathered his shower gear from his locker.

Justin tried one more time to make himself clear. "Brian knows about the thirty-five thousand dollars that you gave me," he said.

"From four years ago? Do you still have that?" Tony chuckled. "I assumed you used it to rent your apartment. Are you short this month? I'll have Kenneth transfer some funds to your account….."

"TONY, WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME!"

"I'm listening to you, princess. What is it?" Tony asked.

"Brian knows about the money. He thinks we never stopped seeing each other." Justin said.

"And?" Tony waited.

"AND he thinks you, and I were seeing each other all along." Justin continued. "Tony, Brian thinks I was cheating on him with you!"

"Well weren't you?" Tony asked.

"NO….I…I mean yes, but not all the time!" Justin whined.

"Justin, that was nearly five years ago." Tony reminded him. "You'll have to forgive me, but I fail to see the dilemma now."

"Well I don't, and neither does Brian." Justin insisted. "You didn't see him, Tony. Brian was furious when he found out about the money. Oh, what am I going to do? He thinks I betrayed him."

"Calm down, princess. Where is Brian now?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. He left here headed for work, but when I called his office Cynthia told me that Brian had cancelled his appointments for the day. He told her that he had an emergency, and wouldn't be in. I'm worried about him, Tony." Justin fretted.

"Oh, he'll be alright. Brian may be pissed now, but once he takes time to think about it he's not going to make a big deal out of something as trivial as a tryst you and I had four years ago. I'll tell you what, princess. You go put on that little blue robe of yours, and wait until Brian gets home. I guarantee you he'll forget about any past indiscretions you may have had. In the meantime I need to get showered, and dressed for my three o'clock meeting. I'll see you both at my place this evening." Tony said.

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By the end of the day Brian was a no-show not only at work, but at The Plaza as well. Numerous attempts to call him had gone unanswered. Michael hadn't seen him. Neither had Ted, or Emmett, or even the munchers. Justin was beside himself with guilt, and worry, while Tony's temper quietly grew along with the bruises on Justin's arm. Justin had tried to explain the circumstances that lead to the distinct imprints that Brian left on his porcelain skin, but Tony didn't want to hear it. It didn't matter how upset Brian was, he had no right to raise his hand to Justin, and Tony was going to make sure that Brian understood that in no uncertain terms the very next time he saw him.

"November second, vote no to Proposition 14!" A small group of activists were passing out pamphlets to the morning commuters. Tony brushed past them, and made his way through the front door of Kinnetics, and on to Cynthia's desk.

Brian's assistant immediately stood up to greet their number one client. "Good morning, Mr. Massey. I didn't know you were coming in this morning. Is Brian expecting you?" she asked.

Before Tony could answer, Brian stepped out of his office. "Mr. Massey, what a pleasant surprise. Cynthia, hold all of my calls. Mr. Massey, come this way please," he said.

Tony's forever smile was noticeably missing as he followed Brian back inside his office, and took a seat in the leather chair in front of Brian's desk. "What's with the formality?" Tony asked.

Brian rounded his desk, and took a seat. "I'm just giving my number one client the respect he deserves. What can I do for you this morning Mr. Massey?" he smiled.

Tony ignored the sarcasm. "Justin, and I waited for you at The Plaza all night. Where were you, Brian?" he asked.

"I needed a break, so I went out." Brian said.

"Out where?" Tony asked.

"Out fucking." Brian said.

Tony shifted in his seat, and crossed his long legs. "I thought we had given up the backrooms," he said.

"We? You mean me, don't you, Tony?" Brian corrected him. "Anthony Massey would never lower himself to copulating in a filthy backroom. You're the clean sheets type, right, Tony? By the way, has your little princess told you how many backrooms he's been in?"

So much for small talk. Tony decided to cut to the chase. "I wasn't fucking Justin behind your back, Brian, at least not all of the time you thought I was. The only times Justin came to me were when you were acting like a fool, much like you're doing now," he said.

Brian leaned back in his chair, and laughed. "I don't know who I'm more pissed off at, that sanctimonious little shit, you, or myself for falling for your bullshit," he said. "Son-of-a-bitch, I can understand how Justin could fall for your money, and your fairytale promises, and your 10 inch cock….."

"10.5," Tony corrected him.

"Who the fuck cares? I should have known better!" Brian snapped. "Did the two of you have fun laughing at me? Stupid Brian, being faithful to his little whore. Tell me, Tony, was he fucking you bareback too?"

"Oh get the fuck over it, Brian. That was over four years ago. And while we're on the subject of sanctimonious, let's not forget that Justin would have never come to me if you hadn't been acting like some over-the hill club lizard. It's your own fault that Justin fell in love with me." Tony reminded him.

"Well you can have him, your precious little princess. Justin is who you wanted in the first place. I've always been just an afterthought to you anyway. Now get out of my office." Brian ordered.

Tony uncrossed his legs, and leaned forward in his chair. "For all of your supercilious ways, and cocky attitude you're really the most vulnerable of the three of us," he said. "You need to be loved so desperately, but somewhere along the line you've accepted the idea that you don't deserve it. Is that what Kevin taught you, precious?"

Brian stood up from his chair. "I told you to get out. Leave now, or I'll have Cynthia call security," he warned.

"There's no need to call security, I'm leaving." Tony stood up. "Oh, before I go there's one more thing."

Brian never saw it coming. With blinding speed Tony delivered an open handed slap across Brian's jaw that sent him falling backward into a sitting position in his chair once again. The stunned man grabbed his face, and looked up at his assailant in disbelief.

"I don't give a damn how sorry you're feeling for yourself, or what kind of bad life you happen to be having. Don't you ever manhandle Justin again." Tony growled, then turned, and exited Brian's office.

NEXT WEEK: 72hrs, Day 3

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