Lois, thank you for the beta...you are the greatest!
Author’s Comment: Chapters 10 and 11 are happening simultaneously. They read awkwardly when combined. They would read awkwardly also if I posted them too many days apart, so I posted chapter 10 yesterday. Here is chapter 11 as promised.
Chapter 11 – Another Wake Up Call Thursday Morning at Bri-tin…(Day 39) “Good Morning, Lindsay,” Brian said easily into his cell phone, as he was pouring his morning coffee. Lindsay looked at the clock on her nightstand in Toronto. “Brian? What are you doing up this early? Don’t you sleep well when Justin’s not around?” Even the earliness of hour could not prevent her from teasing a little, after all Brian deserved it for waking her up. “Actually, no, but I don’t want to get into that with you,” Brian said nonchalantly. “What do you want, Brian? Oh no! Don’t tell me you’re canceling Gus’ trip? He’ll be so disappointed. You can’t do this to him; he’s just a little boy. He won’t understand.” “Will you stop jumping to conclusions? I’m not in the mood for your drama this morning, Lindsay. I haven’t even had my coffee yet. So get a grip. I just need you to pay attention.” “I’m sorry.” “I need you to listen. Are you listening?” “I’m listening,” Lindsay asserted. “I want to change the travel plans. I know we originally planned that I would fly into Toronto tonight and stay over. And then Gus and I would fly out in the morning for Cincinnati. But there’s a late flight out of Toronto this evening at about 9pm that gets into Cincinnati around 11:30pm. I was thinking that it would be easier on Gus to fly for that length of time while he’s sleepy. That way he’ll probably sleep through the entire flight. What do you think?” “I think that’s a good idea,” Lindsay agreed. “Ok. I’m on my way to New York for a business meeting. Cynthia arranged for a limo to pick me up in Toronto. That way it will be easy to pick up Gus and head back to the airport. You and Melanie can ride there too if you want. I’ll even spring for dinner if time permits. Then, the limo will take you back home afterwards. I’ll try to keep in touch with you during the day so that everything will go smoothly.” “Don’t worry, Brian. Between Melanie and me, we’ll make this work on our end,” Lindsay assured him with some excitement in her voice. “Gus is going to be so excited.” With that taken care of, Brian closed his cell phone and finished drinking his coffee. Brian poured himself a glass of guava juice. He was going to need all the help he could get for the grueling day ahead of him. But the way he saw it, at the end of the day, he would crawl into bed with an arm full of his favorite blond. Knowing how the day was going to end would make getting through the day a lot easier. Brian held that thought as he showered and dressed. He heard the horn of the limo blow outside. Brian checked himself in the mirror. Satisfied with what he saw, he picked up his suitcase and briefcase and headed out the door. Thomas and Teres waved goodbye from their window, and Brian returned their wave. Although the waves between them were now almost habit, Brian started to wonder with a laugh if Thomas and Teres ever slept. The ride back into Pittsburgh was quick since it was early morning, but Brian was very glad that he wasn’t the one driving. In fact, Brian had time on the trip from the house to the airport to review his notes for the meeting with The Pentland Group. Since the limo dropped him directly at the terminal, Brian didn’t have to waste time thinking about parking and shuttles and such. So he leisurely made his way to the gate with time to spare. Brian couldn’t believe how relaxed he felt. He was sure the thought of seeing Justin at the end of the day was responsible for his good mood. The flight itself was uneventful. Brian tried to consider The Pentland Group and wonder what it was about this company and its products that would make it important to both Rudolpho Silvestri and Leo Brown. Cross marketing was the new hot trend, but Kinnetik had been riding that wave for some time now. Once again, business seemed to have returned to the age of mergers and acquisitions, but as he had seen with Belluss Occhiali and Eyeconics, when mergers weren’t in the cards…companies would resort to joint ventures to pursue their mutual interests. On the flight, Brian’s agile mind kept running ‘what if’ scenarios. By the time the plane landed in New York, Brian felt he could handle any possibility that was thrown his way. Cynthia had arranged for a limo to pick Brian up at the airport. On the ride from the airport to the meeting with Andrew David, Brian continued to run through his mind additional scenarios of what possible agendas The Pentland Group could possibly have in mind. By the time he reached the office building, Brian was truly ready for anything. As Brian entered the building for his meeting, his driver made himself comfortable in the limo to wait for Brian’s return. Brian identified himself to the receptionist and was immediately escorted into a plush office where Andrew David was waiting. “Mr. Kinney, I’m Andrew David,” he said, extending his hand as Brian entered the office. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Rudolpho Silvestri simply hates advertising types. But he can’t stop singing your praises. That alone would be reason enough to want to meet you. Can I get you coffee, tea or anything?” “It’s Brian, and I’m pleased to meet you as well, Mr. David. No thank you, I’m fine.” “Have a seat. And it’s Andrew, please.” “Andrew. Judging from my conversation with Rudolpho Silvestri, I gather that you and he are old friends,” Brian began. “Let’s just say we travel in the same circles. We form alliances when it suits our purposes. Needless to say, we work together quite a bit,” Andrew said with slight laugh. “I see.” “Rudolpho is the only person I know who carries agreements and releases with him at all times. I should have known he was up to something when he suggested that we simply have drinks. The mind of Rudolpho Silvestri never sleeps.” “I have noticed that,” Brian confirmed with a smile. “But this time our purposes were aligned. I want to have Speedos included in the ads for Collezione Fiero. I especially want to be included in that commercial that you’ve created. I love the concept. That commercial, as Rudolpho described to me, would appeal to both our gay and straight market segments without offending either. Of course I want to see a preliminary cut. It’s such a fun concept…but still kind of edgy.” “My staff has already been looking over the entire Speedos line and thought that all of your products were impressive, but that several items would be a possible fit for the commercial.” “You’re the expert here. I already signed an agreement allowing Kinnetik to use as many or as few of our products as you desire for cross marketing purposes,” Andrew said, handing Brian the document. “It’s the standard industry agreement, I just didn’t want to waste any time.” “Thank you. That makes things simple.” “But The Pentland Group wants something in return,” Andrew said, pausing for effect. “Such as?” Brian asked hesitantly. “We want to increase our market share among the gay and lesbian communities. We see this as an even larger potential market than it already is for us today. At the moment, these customers buy our products with minimal advertising effort on our part. We would like to actually market directly to them, and possibly increase our market share even more...without offending our regular, athletic customer base. Rudolpho has pointed out that Kinnetik is the only firm that can handle this. Rudolpho has good instincts about these things.” “Well, I must admit that I’m flattered. But we’re mere mortals, and the things you’re suggesting, take time,” Brian cautioned. “You’re not looking for a miracle, what you want is sustainable growth.” “Absolutely. You get to set the pace. The results will obviously be measurable. We definitely want them to be sustainable.” Andrew agreed. “Are you up for it?” “This would indeed be most intriguing.” “We’ve already seen what you’ve done for Brown Athletics. We hope to be working with Leo Brown in the future. In the meantime, we want you to handle this and do the same for us.” “That seems reasonable.” “You should coordinate future details through Millicent. She’s the only one who knows everything. Our products are outstanding, but our corporate image is a bit stodgy. I take it you’ll fix that little problem as well,” Andrew said with a little laugh. “ Kinnetik is a boutique agency. You’re agile enough to handle change, and we definitely need to change without totally losing our corporate identity.” Andrew and Brian continued meeting for another couple of hours and drafted the basic contract terms. “We’ll do our best,” Brian said. Brian indicated that Cynthia or Ted would contact Millicent to work out any remaining the details necessary to get things moving forward, “We were hoping that your legal department and mine could hammer out the final details for let’s say a two-year agreement with an option to renew,” Andrew suggested. Then Andrew escorted Brian to lunch in the executive dining area, where Brian met with a few of the New York based executives of the firm. While they were having lunch, Brian thought about how glad he was that he and Justin would soon be moving to New York. The size of this account alone would require a local office to effectively work with their top management. At the end of the meeting, Brian and Andrew were both pleased with the progress of events. Brian faxed his contract notes back to Ted and indicated that Kinnetik’s legal department would handle the final contract. Andrew David and Brian Kinney warmly shook hands with each other and said goodbye. Brian greeted his driver as he entered the limo. On the ride to the airport, he called Kinnetik and talked to Cynthia and Ted, giving them further instructions of additional things that needed to be handled while he was away. Brian was now ready to leave New York City. It was now time to go to Toronto. Brian had finished earlier than he had planned.