EXPERIENTIA DOCET Quid pro quo "What for what" This Chapter 4 in the "EXPERIENTIA DOCET" series. Narrated by: Cynthia Morgan Featuring Brian Kinney, Justin Taylor, others Series Rated NC-17 and contains no warnings or spoilers. Summary: Cynthia thinks about the changes in her friend and boss’s life in recent weeks. September 2002 Disclaimer: no profit made… The Boys are not mine.. No matter how much I’d love to have them… * * * * * * * I don’t know what it is about my boss that just makes me want to grab a hold of him and strangle him. But whatever it is, it happens quite frequently. He can be so dense about the way life is, about the way he feels, that if something doesn’t go his way, he just shuts down and makes my life a living hell. Thankfully, I have learned over the many years that I have worked for him, how to deal with his Big Badness. Hell, I deserve a raise for dealing with him… hazardous pay or something. He is definitely something else. But I love him to death as well, even if he is a little dense. Brian can be so caring, and always makes sure that his friends and family have everything they need… well all but the one thing that he has never given to anyone…love. I guess that’s why I was so shocked when Mr. Taylor - Justin - came to the office, and later stormed out. I have never seen such a lost look in Brian’s eyes before than I did at that moment. Shocking… and I mean in the ‘hell has just frozen over, earth shattering’ type of shocking – that I honestly think that Brian has serious feelings for this guy. Now I know that he’s gay… like that’s ever been a secret with him, but I have also gotten enough clues to know that he just doesn’t so anything serious. So imagine my surprise when this man that I have never seen except on screen or in a picture has made my boss look so lost. I wonder what Brian is keeping from me. I didn’t even know that he had even talked to guy other than that brief encounter at the studio. So, the next day I almost throw in the towel and storm out of the office. He has been really fucking unbearable. More so than I have ever seen him before. At the start of the second day after the ‘meeting’ I was about ready to walk right in his office and tell him how it was. That’s when Justin’s assistant came in. I don’t know what he said to Brian, but the anger was gone. Truthfully, I almost wanted the anger back because what that man left in his wake was a depressed and quiet Brian Kinney. Now the gossip person that I am not, of course… is just dying to know what in the hell is going on. Within a week after the illustrious meeting, Brian is a little happier, and I mean happy – not that fake shit that he is known for – and he’s also a little nervous. Okay, now understand this – I have worked for this man for YEARS, and never have I known him to be nervous. Finally I’ve had enough. I walk into his office and stand right in front of his desk. “I know… I know… Yeah, I can do that… You sure, I mean no pressure… I just don’t want you to think that… Yeah… Yes… Alright, Jesus… Okay… At least you’re going to think about it, I guess that’s a sign… Really…” He finally realizes that I’m there, so he just holds up his finger to me telling me to wait. “So, I’ll talk to you later? Yeah… Alright… Yeah, later.” Brian hangs up the phone and I am just dying to know who the hell he was talking to, but I put that thought our of my mind and start with the what I came in here for. “What?” I sit down in the chair in front of his desk and lean forward so my arms are resting on my knees. “We’ve known each other for a long time, right?” “Yes,” he answers sounding annoyed with me. Frankly, I don’t care. He has been acting strange lately, and I know for a fact that it’s not PMS. “Want to tell me what’s going on here?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he tells me, and I know he’s lying. He’s now doing this whole avoidance thing and I’m not going to put up with it. I scoot a little closer to his desk and just stare at him, letting him know that I’m not buying it. He takes a deep breath and sighs. “Speak.” “Okay,” I begin. “I know something is going on, and it has to do with this Justin Taylor thing.” He only stares at me and doesn’t say anything. At least he’s not denying it. “The day he came in here, you were happy as can be before his little visit, then the moment he came tearing out of there, and that little scene outside… well you were an ass.” Brian only snorts at that remark. Yeah, so he’s an ass most of the time, but that’s not my point. “Then a couple of days later, his assistant comes in and you’re depressed. Now… well, I have no clue what you are now.” “Since you have it all figured out, why don’t you tell me,” he states, leaning back in his chair and raising his fingers to his lips. I really hate it when he does that. “Something’s going on between you and this Justin guy… What is it?” “Nothing,” he informs me. Yeah, like I believe him. I continue to look at him, letting him know that the shit in here is getting deep. “Nothing. Hell, trust me, nothing is going on right now with Justin and I. We’re talking.” “But there was something wasn’t there?” Finally I am starting to understand. “Christ… haven’t you learned? You slept with him, didn’t you? No, don’t answer that… I’m better off not knowing. So what now? What about the account?” Then the words that I NEVER thought I would hear come out of his mouth did. “Fuck the account.” “What! You’re kidding right?” Brian stands up and moves to the window, and I follow him with my eyes. I don’t believe that he just said those words to me. Somehow I know that this is not the end of the story. I sit back in the chair and wait for him to continue. Somehow I know that this will be an interesting story. “I like him,” he begins, and already I’m floored, but thankfully I keep my big mouth shut. “I enjoy his company, and … he’s fun to be with. I didn’t tell him that I was here to get him on board. He got mad, and that ‘scene’ outside was the result. But… we’re talking, which is more than I ever would’ve thought we would do.” Holy shit… Hell has frozen over, I just know it. Brian Kinney is falling in love. If I hadn’t heard him talk about this himself, I never would’ve believed it. “So what now?” “I don’t know, I really don’t know. I guess I’ll know when it happens,” he explained to me. I guess he could tell by the look on my face that I wasn’t satisfied with that answer, so he shook his head. “I haven’t give up trying to talk Justin into doing the ad, but it’s not a real priority for me right now. If I can make one work, then we’ll see about the other. I really don’t think that he has as much of a problem doing the ad as everyone is thinking his does. I just think that right now, he won’t do it because he feels hurt.” Brian came back to his desk and sat down. “Trust me… everything will work out in the end, and if need be, I’ll explain to Vance why we didn’t get the account.” I knew for some odd reason that he would come out on top, just like he always does. * * * * * * * The day has been going really slow, and of course Brian is once again in a foul mood. I don’t know what happened, but his semi-good mood from the day before has vanished in a blink of an eye. Go fucking figure. I don’t think that I will ever figure that man out. I open up the door leading to his office and see that he is on the phone. It seems like that is all he is doing nowadays. “I’m working on the situation as we speak,” Brian says pointing to the chair in front of the desk. He raises his finger to me, letting me know to remain silent. “You told me that you would have it handled by now,” his royal asshole’s voice comes across the speaker. Gardner Vance is a worthless man if I ever did meet one. “And I will have it taken care of. Some issues have come up, and we’re handling them,” Brian said rolling his eyes. I bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Yeah, issues… “If you can’t handle the situation there, Kinney, the maybe I need to send someone who can.” Brian stood up from his desk and began to walk around the room, clenching the stress ball in his hand. “You do that, but I’m telling you that it won’t work. The kid has stated that he does not want to do it. He is working long hours and doesn’t have a lot of time to be able to even work on it. So unless we can come up with a way to work things into his schedule, then I don’t see anyone getting him to do it. If you think you can do better then get your ass out here and try.” At that I definitely try not to laugh. I have been witness to a lot of arguments between the two men, and to say that Vance has ever had a chance at beating Brian would be a complete lie. “Now listen here, Kinney…” Oh shit… this will not be good. “No, now you listen. I have talked to Mr. Taylor and we are working on things. We are trying to see if it will be possible but I’m not holding my breath. If it turns out that we can’t get him, I’ll personally talk with Mr. Jacobs and explain the situation. But I can say that out of all the damn people trying to get this account I’ve been the only one who has had a conversation with the man. Now if you think that I’m not doing my fucking job, then you get out here and handle it,” Brian ends the conversation by pressing the disconnect button. “That fucking asshole. He sits in that office, thinking that this is all so easy, while I bust my ass trying to fix his fucking mistakes and perform the miracles that he tells people we can do.” I look over at Brian, who is pacing the damn office even more. His whole demeanor has worsened and I can only sit here and hope that he doesn’t try and take the shit out on me. Of course he knows better than that. “It’s called job security. Vance can’t keep the business running without you. He knows that and it pisses him off.” “Yeah, well… he better fucking pay attention to the shit I do, because if I have to put up with this shit for much longer, I’m out of there,” and for some reason I do believe him. I’ve always known that Brian could go out on his own and make a fortune. With all the accounts that he has gotten, I know a lot of them that will follow him to hell if need be. He’s damn good at his job. “I’m going to lunch. Clear my schedule for the rest of the day… I’m not coming back.” I nod and head out to reschedule his two o’clock appointment for another day, and watch as he storms out of the office. My mother always told me that you don’t mess with an Irishman, that they were quick tempered and irritating as hell… I didn’t understand what she meant; that was, until the day I came to work for Brian. He gives my mother’s warning a whole new meaning. * * * * * * * The next day Brian never even bothered to show up for work. I don’t know where he was; all he told me was that he was taking a personal day. But I can tell you, that on Friday as I was just finishing up my lunch, in came the one person I didn’t think I would see here ever again. “Is Mr. Kinney in,” Justin Taylor asked me and I stood and opened the door. I peaked in to make sure that Brian wasn’t busy or hadn’t slipped out when I wasn’t looking, and smiled slightly. “Mr. Taylor is here to see you.” I opened the door fully, and let Justin walk in. Now don’t ask me why I can only think of him as Justin, but after hearing my boss say Justin this and Justin that… well, it kinda grows on you. And he looks much too young to be a ‘Mr. Taylor’ anyway. I was about to head back to my desk when Brian told me that I needed to be in there to take notes… just in case. I began to wonder what that was all about, but I didn’t want to ask. Well not really. I sit down in the chair next to Justin and wait. “Well, how can I help you,” Brian asked. I guess they had some agreement that if they met again that it would be business only… well that’s what I got out of one of Brian’s moments this past week anyway. Justin just sits there looking very relaxed, unlike the look of Brian… now he looks a little nervous. I don’t know if it’s because of the personal part of their encounters, or if he is worried about the account. I like to think it’s the personal ones, because fuck the account if it will keep Brian a happy little beaver. Justin pulls out a piece of paper and places it on Brian’s desk, and I just sit back and wait. “I had a nice little talk with a man from the Dickerson agency. He gave me that to look at.” Okay, I’ll steal a phrase out of Brian’s book here – Fuck! Dickerson, Inc. has been riding our shirttails for years, and they are actually one of our stiffer competitions in Pittsburgh. To know that they are there trying to get this account as well, fuck! “And what did you think,” Brian asks him glancing over the document in front of him. “Well, the numbers aren’t too bad. Especially considering the size of the account,” Justin stated, leaning back slightly in his chair. “There are a couple of things that I wouldn’t mind changing, but it’s a good deal.” Brian leaned back in his own chair, and I was beginning to think that I was right in the middle of some Texas showdown. “So why are you bringing this to me,” he asked, and I wanted to know the answer to that one as well. Justin leaned forward a little and placed his arms on his legs. “Well, it’s simple, Mr. Kinney… I need some information before I make a decision. And maybe, just maybe I am willing to listen to what you have to offer.” Okay, that just floored me. The last time he was here he had basically told us all to go to hell… well us and this damn ad. Now he wants information about the ad and is willing to give us a chance. “What do you want to know?” “Why me? Who is this Mr. Jacobs that I’ve heard so much about in the past couple of days? What you have to offer, and I want to know if you’re willing to work with me on my own terms,” Justin added. He is in complete control of this meeting and I know that it just irritates Brian to no end. He loves to be in control, but here this kid, sorry young man, is telling Brian how it was going to be. Let me say I hope I’m around for the long haul with these two. I just know that if they make things work between them… it will be a very explosive ride. “Mr. Jacobs is the CEO of Regis Corporation, one of the largest… if not the largest company in Pittsburgh…” Brian begins to explain. I begin to shut him out, because frankly, you can only hear this shit so many times before it gets boring. I turn to look at Justin and just watch him out of the corner of my eye. I can tell that he’s taking all of this in with a slight interest. “As for the offer, and such… let me know your price, and I’ll get my partner on the phone and we can discuss it.” Justin seemed to sit for a minute deep in thought. “You say that he owns some of the clubs and such in Pittsburgh… country clubs?” Brian nodded and looked over at me. It was clear neither one of us knew where this train of thought was going. “Do you have a picture of him?” Brian pulled one out of the file, and handed it to Justin. It was a newspaper clipping of the country club. Justin started laughing and both Brian and I just looked at each other wondering what the hell was going on here. “I don’t believe this. Chris? Well I know now why he wants me to do this ad,” he laughed. “Care to explain to us lesser knowledgeable people why,” Brian asked looking at Justin like he had just lost his mind. “Long story… but suffice it to say, Chris has been like a second father to me. He hated my dad, thought that my mom should’ve married him instead… he wants to take one more dig at my father.” Hearing that, I have to try not to laugh myself. That’s why Mr. Jacobs is so adamant in his ‘need’ for Justin to be in the ad. Justin’s dad took away the woman he cared for. Old rivalry can be a bitch at times, can’t it? Once Justin was calm, he looked at Brian again. “Offer me something. My only requests are that it will be on my terms, my timeline… I have to work it around my schedule so I have to decide when and where. Also… If and that’s a big if… if I go with your company, I only want one person in charge of it. I won’t work with anyone else.” YES!!!! More job security! Okay, so I’m getting a head of myself here, but I know whom Justin would work only with, and that isn’t Gardner Vance. Not that I was worried that Vance might try to fuck with us, but I know that little weasel is just waiting for some reason to kick us out. He doesn’t like Brian and I know for a fact that Brian does not like Vance. It’s a wonderful partnership. Brian gets on the phone, and begins to talk to Vance about what they would be willing to offer. I am almost shocked when I hear the figures since I know for a fact that NO ONE who has worked for us on an ad has gotten that amount of money. No one. I write down everything that Brian is telling Vance… I’ll make sure that it all gets in there. I don’t care about what Vance says. After he hangs up the phone, he looks over at Justin and the two just share a look. Don’t ask me… I don’t know what they are saying, but it seems to me that an entire conversation is taking place and I don’t know what it is. “Cynthia will type it all up for your approval and we’ll have it to you by the end of the day if that is alright.” “Sounds good. Just give Blake a call and he’ll pick it up for me.” Justin stood from his chair and held out his hand. After shaking his hands, Justin turned to me and shook mine. Boy, would my friends back in Pittsburgh just kill me if they knew who had just held my hand. Okay so I can get like that at times, but at least… I hope I didn’t show it. “I have to get back to the studio. It was nice doing business with you.” “See you around,” Brian asked. And dare I say he sounded almost desperate… nah, we all know that Brian doesn’t do desperate… it must’ve been something else. Yeah, that’s it. “Call me,” Justin answered as he walked out the door. I stood as well and planted a smile on my face. “Well I’ll just get right on this.” “Don’t forget to ensure that Mr. Taylor’s demands are in there. I want to make sure that everything is covered.” Yeah, make sure that Vance can’t try and back out of it. I got it. “Send it to me when you’re finished.” “Of course,” I tell him as I myself head out of the office. If the looks that they had shared are any indication to what their ‘relationship’ could be like… I can’t wait to get a front row seat to this show. * * * * * * * TBC