Chapter 42:  How Do You Know You’re In Love?

“Welcome back to work, Boss,” Ted greeted his employer and friend with a wide smile and warm reception when Brian walked back inside Kinnetic Enterprises that morning.  “And, how’s the newlywed doing and how’s the other Mr. Taylor-Kinney doing?”

“So far so good, Ted.  The honeymoon was just divine.  Got a minute!  Walk inside my office with me now.”

“And, I would think the honeymoon was just divine, Boss,” Ted complimented as he walked inside Brian’s office with him.  “I see you are glowing.  Looks like a good honeymoon can work wonders for a person.”

“Really?” Brian’s mouth gaped just then and he thought Ted was bullshitting him but he then got a quick glance inside a wall mirror and to his surprise he discovered Ted wasn’t lying.  He was indeed glowing.

“Let’s get to work, Ted.  There’s a lot I need to catch back up on.”

“Way ahead of you, Boss.”  Ted already had a dozen of so documents and reports in his hand to bring Brian up to snuff on.  So the two men sat down and went diligently about the tasks.

“I really think these particular numbers need to be revisited, Ted.”  Brian told his CFO after they had went to several documents that were just fine but that particular one seem to need to be polish up a bit.

“Sure, if you prefer, Bri.  But I’m sure I didn’t make a mistakes or overlook even the minor of details.”

“You never do… do you?”  Brian had to admit he’s never known his CFO ever to make a mistake.  “I’ll tell you what.  Let’s just leave this one unsigned and I’ll take it home with me this evening, and look it over again with a clearer head, and we’ll meet again some time tomorrow and discuss it in greater detail.”

“Sounds good to me, Boss.”

“The rest of these things are just fabulous.  Now I’ll sign off on all the others.  And, I have to say, Ted.  You did an excellent job as Acting CEO while I was away.  Thanks for that.  I highly commend your impeccable performance.  I’ll go get the seal out of the safe now,” Brian then announced. 

Brian then got up from his seat with his favorite pen in his hand, and he headed over to the safe.  Concealing the safe was a painting that Justin had done of his dream house (which look amazingly like Britin). 

Justin had given that picture to Brian during their first marriage… in particularly their first Christmas together.  And it’s been hanging there on the wall hiding Brian’s safe ever since.  Before Brian put Justin’s picture there, there used to be a painting of a horse there (a gift Michael had given Brian when they used to date).

Brian got the picture down and sat it on the floor and leant it against the wall while he got the safe open.  But before he got the seal out, he located a long manila envelope in there.   Smiling heartily to himself, he opened the envelope and examined it contents. 

Inside the envelope was a architectural blueprint plan, photos of a development area that looked like a dirt farm and construction men at work, and a piece of paper that was a property deed.  Brian pulled the deed out and looked it over and then with his favorite pen he wrote across the top of the page the word ‘Britin’. 

Still smiling heartily to himself, Brian then softly ran his smooth lips over the deed (literally kissing it) and then returned it to the envelope.  He then reached inside his pocket and retrieved his key ring and removed Britin’s keys and dropped those inside the envelope too.  Brian then sealed the envelope closed again, and put it back securely inside the safe, grabbed the seal and rejoined Ted at his desk where they resumed their conference and started applying the seal to many of the documents. 

Unknowingly Brian was still smiling to himself as he signed the documents and Ted and he were applying the seal to all of them.

“Hmm,” Ted commented.  “Must have been some honeymoon after all.”

“Huh?”

“You’re sitting here smiling to yourself like a fool, Bri.”

“Fuck you!”  Brian playfully snapped at Ted.

And, Ted started to say something just as sarcastic back to his employer but Brian’s cell rang just about then.  “Finish stamping the seal to the rest of them by yourself, Ted.  This is an important call I got to take it.”

“Sure, Bri,” Ted said as he went duly about carrying out Brian’s instructions.

“Harry,” Brian greeted his caller and then he paused and listened, while Ted looked on curiously because the CFO was not familiar with any business associates named Harry.  

“That’s really good to hear, Harry.  But I still like to drop by today, regardless that I was just there yesterday.  In addition, I was just about to call my pilots and arrange for the jet to...” Paused.  “What?  Are you sure?  But I really wanted to meet up with you and…” Brian paused in mid-sentence and listened quietly for a moment.  “Are you sure?”  He then asked.  “I was looking forward to seeing you and…” Brian paused and listened for a moment and then resumed talking.  “But how is…?”   Again he appeared to be cut off again and ceased talking and then resumed again.  “Okay… sure… I’ll wait, but…” A slight pause again and then Brian smiled really brightly then.  “Sweetheart… yeah… yes… huh-huh.” 

Ted watched as the already glowing facial expression on his boss seemed to shine even more radiantly, followed that time by yet another very long pause and then a burst of gleeful laughter.  That made the CFO even more curious than ever then.  “Yeah, I’m madly in love you too, sweetheart… bye for now.  I’ll see you really soon though… love you.  Bye.”  Brian then closed his phone and put it down on the desk.

“Oh?” Ted duly noted Brian expressing his love to the caller, and that amazed him.  He finished sealing the last document then and turned his undivided attention to his boss. 

“Who’s Harry?”  Ted couldn’t fight back the urge to ask.  “I don’t recall any clients named Harry?  But since when does Brian Kinney tells his clients that he loves them.  That wasn’t any client… was it?  So who was that?”

But Ted had already started playfully teasing before his boss could even answer him.  “Ewwww, cheating on sweet, little old Justin already?”  He wisecracked and then got quite serious.  “Wait a goddamn cotton-picking minute.  Isn’t Harry the name of your old boy friend… the first one?”  And, Ted grimaced.  “And, did I just hear you right… did you REALLY just tell him that you’re in love him?”

“You’re right… Harry isn’t a client; and he isn’t my old boy friend either,” Brian’s brows intensely rose as he reprimanded and immediately sat Ted straight.  “Not that any of this is any of your damn business, but the old boy friend’s name was Cary not Harry.”

“Oh yeah… right,” Ted’s face grew intense.  “I remember now… the ex-boyfriend’s name sure was Cary.  But you don’t have to snap at me, Bri.  It was an honest mistake.  So, who is this Harry guy?”

“Honest mistake or not… that isn’t any of your business anyway, Theodore.  I don’t pay you to butt your two cents into any of my affairs other than my financial affairs.  And as far as you hearing me say I love you to someone, don’t jump to any conclusions, for things aren’t always what they seem.  So, if there isn’t any more business between us, you can scurry along out of here, Theodore!”   Brian commanded with a smile but yet he was authoritative.

“Scurrying on out of here, Boss,” Ted good humorously announced as he got up from his chair and smiled goofy at Brian [for he highly doubts his boss is really having any extramarital affairs]; and then he asked before he intended to leave.  “Boss?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you in love with me too?”  Ted playfully teased.

“Get the hell out of my office, Theodore, before I fire your ass on the spot.”  Brian jokingly cursed him but kept a stern and serious expression on his countenance that would make the average person wonder but Ted’s familiar with his boss’s devious sense of humor.

“Umm, sure, Boss,” Ted started heading towards the door again that leads out of Brian’s office but he nervously turned around and looked bewildered at Brian.

“What the fuck is it?”  Brian looked at his CFO crossly but Ted knew he wasn’t the least bit mad at him.

“Mind if I sit back down, and ask you something, Brian?”

“Huh?  What kind of question is that, Ted?  I’m your boss, you can ask me about any business matter on your mind.  You ought to know that.”

“But that’s just it, Brian.  It’s not a business question I want to ask.”

“Are you purposely trying to make me puke, Theodore.  Please tell me that you weren’t seriously asking me if I’m in love with you!  Are you trying to get yourself fired?  Seems to me, Ted, that you’ve been rather sentimental with me every since I asked you to be my best man.  That wasn’t supposed to go through your head… you know.  And, you weren’t even my first choice.”

“I think I know ALL that, Brian.”  And then Ted just stood there and looked like he wasn’t going anywhere unless Brian called security to get him out of there, or lift him up by his collar on his own and drag him out of his office.

“Okay, Theodore,” Brian gave in.  “Have a seat and ask your little bitty-witty pathetic question.  What is your question, Theodore?  Go for it.  You can ask me any personal question you want but no guarantee that I will answer it,” Brian mocked.  “And, ask me straight.  You know how I hate for someone to beat around the damn bush?”

“Well then in that case,” Ted said as he sat back down, but he looked terribly nervous though.  “How do someone know that they are in love?”  He sprung it on Brian just like that.

“In love with whom?”  Brian asked.  “You have better not be telling me that you are in love with me, Theodore.”

“I couldn’t be in-love with someone like you in a million years, Brian.  Believe me when I say, that I have no idea what your husband Justin sees in you.”

“Thanks for that… I think.”  Brian rolled his eyes at Ted but breathed instant relief though.

“Well, Bri?”

“Well, what?  What was your question again, Theodore?”

“What was the first thing that let you know that you were in love with Justin?”

“Who said that I am in love with Justin?”

Ted didn’t even try to dignify that smart-aleck remark with an answer.  He just sat there staring at Brian and figured he’ll get the message after a while.

“You seriously want me to answer you, Ted… don’t you?”  Brian callously smirked followed by a faint chuckle; and when Ted didn’t verbally respond, he then said, “Oh, you are serious.”

“Yah.”

“Whoaaa!  That’s a pretty loaded question, Theodore.  You couldn’t just keep your inquiry simple and impersonal, and perhaps asked me what’s my favorite color was or dick size even – but you had to ask, instead, the ultimate biggie, didn’t you?  Really had to go there, huh?  And, what would make you even think that I would know the answer to that question?”

“Oh, come on, Brian!  You married Justin twice… you MUST be in love with him!”

“People don’t always marry for love, Ted,” Brian raised his brows.  “Great sex isn’t such a bad reason to tie the knot.”

“I’m sure you can get great sex anytime and from anywhere.  You don’t have to marry anyone to get that.  You at least didn’t have to marry Justin to fuck him.  You two were doing that on the regular even while you were divorced.  And, I can’t see a man like yourself marrying for any reason other than love, Brian – regardless of what you might want others to think.   And, anyone that knows you personally, at least know that you married Justin for love the first time.  You were a much different man back then.   You weren’t bitter like you are now.”

Brian pondered a few seconds on what Ted had said.  It kind of shocked him that Ted or anyone else would see him as a bitter man.  He certainly didn’t see himself that way and it had to make him wonder about how many other people probably sees him in the same light that his CFO sees him.

“Are you okay?”  Ted asked concernedly when he saw the sudden change in Brian’s demeanor.  For the first time since his boss had entered the office that morning the smile left his face.  “I didn’t mean to overstep any bounds with that analysis.”

“You didn’t.” Brian assured him.  “I’m not a bitter man, Ted.  I think.”

Brian and Ted were quiet for a while just then until Brian resumed talking again.

“Well,” Brian finally got pass Ted’s brutally honest comment and then he said, “I guess I can answer that question for you and just consider you practice for the day when Gus will probably ask me this very same question.  However, I’ve been hoping that he’d put that question to either one of his mommies rather than ask me.  Never even incurred to me that one day an employee of mines might ask me that question instead.  Haven’t you ever been in love before, Ted?”

“I’m probably a late bloomer or something, Brian.  No, I’ve never been in love before.”

“Oh, no!  Really?  You’re kidding me… right… there must have been at least one boy in school?   You know, like the boy on the football team that almost everyone had a crunch on?  It must have been someone, Ted?  No disrespect but you are no spring chick, you know.  Therefore, I would have thought you would have had, at least, one love interest by now?’  Brian’s aware that Ted is three years older than him.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Boss, but not even one.”

Brian sardonically raised his brows but didn’t apologize any.

“And, yes I had my share of crunches in high school, college and beyond; but none of those crunches returned the sentiment, if you know what I mean.”

“No, I can’t honestly say that I do know what you mean.  All my crunches always returned the sentiment… returned more than that even.”

“Thanks again, Boss, for cheering me up so like that.  But are you going to answer the question or what?”

“What question was that, Theodore?”  Brian continued to stall.

“How did you first know that you were in love with Justin?  It’s not an essay question, Brian.”

“For ME it is, Ted.”  Brian then paused a second before he continued.  He isn’t used to talking to anyone about things so personal and intimate. 

“I knew I was, because the moment I first looked at Justin it was different from anything I’ve experienced prior.  As you already know, I had other boyfriends, Ted.  There was Michael and my first boyfriend Cary who I mentioned to your earlier and there was also my second boy friend named Dan.  Including Justin, I had four boy friends over a span of four years.”

“That’s a lot of boy friends over such a short amount of time, Bri,” Ted concluded.

“Always the conscientious accountant, Theodore.  Always keeping score… aren’t you?”

“Well, how come you had so many boyfriends in that little amount of time?”  Ted was curious to know.

“Eh,” Brian somewhat grunted, “I guess relationships aren’t easy, Ted.  And, you know that old saying:  you don’t really know a person until you lived with them?” 

Ted simply nodded in affirmation.

“Well, my first boyfriend, Cary, had a lot of bad habits I didn’t learn about until I moved in with him.  Habits I couldn’t stomach… nasty habits.”

“Nasty habits like what?“

“Eating his boogers (for starters),” Brian answered.  “And, when he didn’t eat them he’ll leave them all over the place inside our apartment.  And, he only washed and put on clean clothes on those days he was leaving the house.  Other words, I had to smell his stench whenever he had the day off work or on those weekends we didn‘t go anywhere.  And, that was just a few of his idiosyncrasies.

“And, then there was my second boyfriend, Dan.   And, I didn’t care to waste the time with him that I wasted with Cary, so I moved in with him pretty quickly.  I wanted to know right away if I could stomach him.   And, that was short lived because he had his share of bad habits as well, and he was just too fussy.  All we did was argue all the time.  I got instantly fed up with the bickering back and forth, told him to kiss my ass and then I packed my shit and walked out.”

“Is that when Michael came into your life?”

“Well, actually Michael’s been in my life for a helluva long time.  I’ve known him since he was twelve and I was fourteen.  Only we were platonic friends most of the time.  Michael, his mom and his uncle were a surrogate family to me.  They replaced my real family in more ways than one.”

“Oh?  Then how did you and he end up being lovers?”

“That happened by pure accident.  I never meant for it to happen.  Michael always had a schoolboy’s crush on me.  However, I loved him like a little brother, so at first I never took Michael’s infatuation with me serious.  We only became lovers during a time I felt there was no one special for me, and I really messed up, one day by fucking Michael.”

“How did that happen?”

“It happened rather gradually.  I hadn’t planned it, wanted it or even thought it might ever happen.  I guess, we sort of built up to it.   After the break up with Dan, I threw myself into my work and started making my first million.   I was so engrossed in my business ambition that I had abandoned the boy friend thing altogether and I didn’t have time to play the field even.  But Michael was there with me all the time then.  And, I guess he was there when I was at my horniest and he kind of caught me off guard as well as high as hell and we fucked.”  A strange quietness came over Brian that moment.

“And then…” Ted coaxed him on. 

“And then,” Brian continued, “After Michael and I had fucked (that first time) I just didn’t have the heart not to take it to the next level, so I sort of settled for Michael.  I knew for a long time he was in love with me but the feeling wasn’t mutual, but I at least loved in him on some kind of level.  So, for a while I thought that might be enough.”

“But obviously it wasn’t,” Ted easily deduced.  “Did you meet Justin while you were still in a relationship with Michael?”

“No,” Brian answered.  “I met Justin after Michael and I had broken up.  And, after Michael and I had broken up, Michael moved away with his new lover David Cameron.  He was a man that Michael had met while still with me, and at that time David had more money than me.  So, Michael cheated on me with David and he opted for the highest bidder.  However, when that relationship fell apart Michael moved back to the Pitts but by then I had already met Justin and was married to him.”

“How did you meet?  And, earlier you said you knew you loved him because your meeting was different from anything else you’ve experienced prior to that time.  What was so different?”

Brian chuckled at the memory.  “A helluva lot was different, Ted.  For one, I was twenty-four by then and worth a whooping fifty million.  And, I had been run through the mill with Michael and the other two boyfriends, so when I met Justin I at least hoped I was more the wiser.  Do you realized Michael had the nerve to sue me for palimony?”

“Of course, Brian.  I knew that.  I do your taxes every year.”

“Yeah, right.  You would have known.  Well, anyway, after Michael had cheated on me with David, we broke up and he hit me with that palimony suit.  I was never in love with Michael, so as far as being scorned by a lover it didn’t hurt too much in that capacity.  But still it hurt pretty damn badly on another level.  Before that happened, I had regarded Michael as my best friend, and there was almost nothing I wouldn’t do for him.  But what Michael had done to me was nothing a true best friend would do.”

“Sorry.”

“Sorry’s bullshit, Ted.”  Brian then continued with his story.  “Before there was the intimate relationships with Michael, or any boyfriend actually, I was rather promiscuous.   I lost my virginity at age fourteen and throughout high school I fucked every hot guy who dared look my way… I even got into the pants of some boys who claimed to be bona-fide heteroes.  I only started having boyfriends when I was twenty.  But then I met Justin.”

“And, finally, Brian.  What was that like?  You said earlier that it was different from any other meeting… how was it different?”

Brian chuckled at the sweet memory.  “That’s the thing, Ted.  Words just can’t describe it – not really, but I’ll try.

“I met Justin inside a movie theatre.  A black and white classic was airing that night – a Marlon Brando movie.  And, since tasteless fags on Liberty can’t appreciate such a classic, I had the entire theatre to myself when I first walked in and sat down.  I thought I was alone in the theatre the entire time, until I got up to get some popcorn and a diet coke. 

“So, when I got up to go to the refreshment stand that’s when I noticed Justin sitting in the row behind me.   Seemed like he appeared out of nowhere.  That first look into Justin’s face, and it seemed my entire world changed that instant.  I thought I was looking into the face of an angel.” 

“What?  Are you serious?  Do you mean love at first sight, Brian?  I thought it only happened like that inside movies and romance novels…” 

“Well, we were inside the movies,” Brian humored.

“You know what I mean, Brian.  And, I never dreamed something like that would happened to a man of your caliber…  you don’t seem like the type.”

“Whether or not I’m that type or not.  That is how it happened to me!”  Brian snapped at him.

“Okay, okay.  I get it!  Don’t have to get so testy again.”

“I know exactly what you mean, Theodore, about that kind of thing only happening in romance novels and movies; because up until that moment, I too thought that way.  Every time before then when I met a man I liked, I wanted to fuck him on the spot and always did.  However, it was different with Justin.  He seemed so pure and innocent to me.  I later learned he was just two months shy of his nineteenth birthday, but he actually looked fifteen to me that day.  I had actually pegged him for a virgin.  But he had had at least one serious boy friend – Ian.  You’ve might have met him at the wedding.”

“Do you mean – Ethan Gold?  Yes, I met him at both weddings actually.  As well as purchased some of his music albums during that brief period he was famous.  But… umm, are you telling me that the first time you saw Justin, you didn’t want to fuck him?”

“Of course I wanted to fuck him, Ted.  But there was a new experience even beyond that.  I wanted to make love to him.  And, I wanted it to be perfect for him… perfect for the both of us.  So, I refrained from trying to fuck him right away.  Normally, I would have fucked him right there in the theatre… but I didn’t.  We actually sat and watched the entire movie.  And although we showed up for the three p.m. matinee, we sat there talking through the rest of the showings.  And, we didn’t leave until the theatre closed at twelve a.m. the next morning.”

“How long did you wait before you made love the first time?”

“Just long enough for both of us to be HIV tested and share our results.”

“What?”  Ted laughed.  “You‘re kidding me… right?  Are you trying to tell me that Justin and you did it raw… bare back… your first time together?”

“Yes, but not only that.  It was the first time Justin and I did it raw period.  We never had that experience with anyone else before.  And, I know I’ve never done it raw with anyone else but with Justin after that first time.  In fact, we had always fucked raw – even when we done it together after the divorce.  But a brief period before we got remarried, we both started hanging out a Babylon and had been with other people, so we started using condoms together for the first time.”

“Wow!  It must have been ages since I’ve bare backed with someone,” Ted reminisced.  “The last time I done it raw, I got such a scare from the STD clinic that I’m not sure if I’ll ever risk doing it again regardless who my partner is and how much I trust him.” 

“Well, nice to hear that you aren’t a virgin after all, Theodore.  I was starting to wonder.”

“Hey, you know I got mine at that stag party.  I’m not a virgin, Brian, but still I never been in love before.”

“Yah.  Good to hear that you got laid at my bachelor’s party.  It was the real plan for throwing that bash… wasn’t it?  Glad it worked out for you, Ted; and that I could be of assistance.  How many bosses do that for their employees?”

“Not many, Brian… not many.”

“Yeah, you can say that again.  However, fucking Justin without a condom was one of several things that let me know I was in love.   But, being in love is not so easy, Ted; especially after you had three failed relationships such as I did.  So, I was being cautious with Justin back then.”

“Cautious in what way?”

“Well, I was concerned about several things and particularly so, after the number Michael had done on me.”  Brian realized just then that that was the beginning of his trust issues.  “At the time he had left me, David Cameron’s Ponzi scheme was in full swing; so, he had a lot more money than me.  So, not only did I feel betrayed by Michael because he had sued me but also because he left me for the higher bidder.  However, just before I met Justin, I was about to venture out into new directions and convert my advertising company into a conglomerate of unrelated businesses.  And, I knew when I did that I was going to have more riches than I ever dreamt of, and I was concerned that…”

“Someone, even Justin, might latch onto you just to get close to your money,” Ted concluded Brian’s sentence.

“That was definitely a concern, Ted.  I thought I learned a lesson when Michael, the person I had trusted most in the world (at that time) turned on me.”

“And, a pretty legitimate concern you had there, Brian.  However, I guess you know now, that you didn’t have to be concern about Justin after all.  It’s pretty obvious now that he’s not out for your money.” Ted just naturally assumed since Brian’s married Justin again that he’s feels that way.  It would have never occurred to him that Brian still doubts Justin’s sincerity.  “So, what did you do?”

“Well, I wasn’t about to make the same mistake with Justin that I made with my prior boyfriends.  So, I took it slow with him.  Therefore, I wasn’t quick to move Justin in with me; and, I was very careful not to let him know that I was wealthy.”

“How did you pull that off?”  Ted was awfully curious.

And, Brian didn’t want to tell Ted that he hadn’t pulled it off and that Justin had deceived him into believing he had.  He definitely didn’t want to tell him about that deception, so he just told his CFO how he had tried to pull it off.  

“I told Justin that I didn’t have a good paying job; and to make it look more convincing I took an apartment inside a run down part of town.  In addition, I took Justin out on cheap dates.  So, I tried to give him the impression that I was poor but still we had this incredibly great loving relationship, so he moved in with me eventually and we shared that dump together. 

“After sharing a life of poverty with him, I had little doubt he loved me.  So, after we lived together in that filthy apartment for a while, I asked him to marry me.   He said yes and shortly after that I had to reveal to him that I was rich.   How else was I going to pull off an elaborate wedding and return to the lifestyle I was used to?  Also, I realized when we get married I wouldn’t be able to continue to hide things about myself from my husband and he would be bounded to find out everything about me eventually.  And, I was so love-struck that it never even occurred to me to get a prenup regardless of the fact Michael had nearly sued the pants off my ass.”

“OMG; I would have loved to have been a fly on that wall when you told him.  How did he react learning he was about to marry a multi-quadrillionaire?”  Ted enthusiastically asked.

“Happy, of course.  Wouldn’t that be anyone’s reaction?” Brian responded somewhat solemnly; and Ted noticed which prompted his next question.

“What broke up Justin and your first marriage?”

“Eh,” Brian wasn’t about to answer that question in any detailed capacity, so he did what he often do when someone backs him up into a tight spot – he talked around it.  “Let’s just say, Theodore, that relationships aren’t easy.  They require a lot of work.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Now tell me what really prompted you to ask about Justin and me… are you trying to get your claws into someone?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.  You DO know it can happen for you?”

“Well, Brian, I actually like being single.”

“Really, Ted?  Doesn’t sound like it.  Not many people who like being single ask married people the questions you just asked me.”

“Hey, you just said I’m over-the-hill.  Who would even want me, Brian?”

“I never said you are over-the-hill.  If you are, then so am I.  You’re only about three years older than me.  I just said that you’re no spring chicken… and neither am I anymore.  But still we both are smoking HOT.  Well, at least I am… and you are kind of rather good-looking.”

“What?  You think I’m good-looking, Brian?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you about that, Ted.  You pretty swell looking.  You’re certainly not as HOT as Justin and me; but I can see you turning a head or two.  But only if…”

“Only if what?”

“Don’t get your feathers ruffled, Ted.  I was just going to say you might have a better love life, if you displayed a little bit more confidence.  Take some of that confidence you exemplify inside your work and let it pour over into your love life, you will see a big difference.  You already got the good looks and you have a helluva great job, if I don‘t say so myself.  But that brings us to another thing.  Make sure the other guy has more money than you.”

“Huh?”

“I think you know what I mean, Ted.”  

Brian’s phone rang then and it was Harold again.  “Hi,” Brian greeted him.  “Hold on a second,” he told him and then he readdressed Ted.  “Is there anything else?”  He asked his CFO.

“No, that concludes our meeting, Boss.”  Ted then gathered up all his paperwork and got up from his seat and just before he headed for the door, he turned and said to Brian,  “Thanks for having that talk with me, Boss.  Actually, I wasn’t sure if you would.”

“Usually I wouldn’t, Theodore.  I guess you just caught me off guard and in a helluva good mood.  However, don’t expect that it might ever happen again though.   Now get out of here and take care of all those documents I sealed and signed off on; and later.”

“Later, Boss,” Ted then hurried out of Brian’s office and he resumed his phone call. 

“Harry...”

And, Brian stayed on the phone with Harold until someone knocked on his door.  He then ended his call and invited the V.P. of Kinnetic Publishing to sit and meet with him.