Downloads : 
Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad
Chapter 62
Once Justin was dressed he went down to the study and called their attorney, Larry Buchanan. Justin gave him the rundown on what Claire had disclosed to Peter and how Peter wanted to share that information with the police or District Attorney. Larry suggested a first step would be to get Peter’s statement written down. Justin mentioned he and Peter would be at Kinnetik the next morning and Larry said he could have a paralegal come over there to take Peter’s statement.
Larry said that Anabel had an update on the custody case so he transferred Justin to her. Anabel let him know that the paperwork for permanent custody of John and Peter was ready to be submitted. Since they lived in Washington Township that would be where the case would be heard. All that was needed was Justin and Brian’s signature.
Justin explained that Brian was out of town but would be back home on Friday morning. Anabel suggested sending one of the notaries to the house to get their signatures and deliver the signed documents to the Washington County courthouse.
Justin asked what effect Claire’s arrest would have on the custody process. Anabel actually laughed before she said that Claire seemed to be doing everything she could to insure that Brian and Justin custody request was approved. Justin told her about the plans for Peter to give a statement on his visit with his mother. Anabel said she would be sure to get a copy of that as it would be another plus for the custody case.
When Justin was done with the phone call he headed towards the kitchen. He got to the entrance hall just as Steve Jurich was leaving.
Steve told Justin how great John was doing and he was sure John would ace the placement test on Friday. Justin thanked Steve for his work with John and told him that he and Brian were very proud of John’s hard work. John stood off to the side his face bright red with embarrassment.
When Steve left John asked to talk to Justin and they stepped into the dining room.
John pulled a paper he had printed off the internet out of his notebook and handed it to Justin. “You and Uncle Brian asked I wanted for my birthday. I never knew much about cooking before we came here. Neither Mother nor Grandmother spent much time in the kitchen. It is kind of fascinating to watch Alice and all the things she makes. I found this three day cooking class being offered at the high school in Washington. The last session is the week after summer soccer ends.”
A mildly surprised Justin looked over the paper while John talked. “If this is what you want for your birthday it is okay with me. The only problem I see is the classes are held the week I will be in California overseeing the setup of my show. We’ll have to check with Alice and Charlie and be sure they can provide you with transportation.”
John smiled. “Thanks. I called Grandmom Jen about dinner on Monday. She and Tucker and Molly are all going to come. I would still like to invite Grandmother unless you think that would bother Uncle Brian too much.”
Justin couldn’t help a slight frown from forming. “I’ll have check with Uncle Brian before you ask her. Why do you want to invite her?”
John took a minute to reply. “I want her to see Peter and I are really happy here. I want her to see what it is like for people to care about each other and be nice to each other. For people to act like a real family. I’m not sure she even knows what being a real family means.”
“You realize that she may not even come. Brian and I are not among her favorite people.”
“Well if she doesn’t come that will be her loss.”
Justin told John that he would discuss it with Brian when they talked on the phone that night.
Gus and Charlie arrived back from the farm. Gus was very excited about seeing the baby cow. He was amazed at how large the baby was much to the amusement of Justin and John.
While Gus was relating his story Alice answered the phone. She let Justin know that Roxanne O’Brien wanted to talk to him. Roxanne wanted to try another play date for Kevin and Gus since their last one got cut short.
Justin said the next day would be perfect as he had a 10 AM meeting at Kinnetik and after that a tour of the Bloom building and a meeting at the gallery. Justin told her that Peter was going with him and his plan had been to take Gus along as well.
Roxanne said that she would pick up John and Gus after breakfast and take them back to her house. She would take John and Patrick to soccer practice and take the younger boys to the playground at the park until practice was over. After practice they would all go back the O’Briens’ until Justin let her know he was home.
Gus was extremely excited to know he was going to spend the day with Kevin and that John was going along with him. Peter appeared in the kitchen from wherever he had been and Alice served lunch.
After lunch Justin and Gus drove John to soccer practice and came home to spend time in the studio. Alice felt obliged to warn Justin about not overworking his left arm. He laughed and told her he would let Brian know she was monitoring his behavior. Justin also assured her he just had some planning to do for his last PPG mural and would not overwork.
Gus wanted to paint a picture of the cow and her baby so Justin sketched the basic picture. He set up Gus’s easel and laid out watercolors for him before he got to work on his own project.
That night once Justin had Gus settled in bed he went into the master bedroom and called Brian’s cell. Brian told him he had just gotten in from his dinner with Leo Brown. Franklin Pharmaceuticals had signed the contract with Kinnetik so Brian was very pleased about beating out a New York and Philadelphia ad agency.
Justin made Brian laugh about Gus’s amazement with the big cow baby. He could almost feel Brian smile through the phone when he talked about Gus painting a picture of cow mom & baby. Justin also let Brian know that Alice had cautioned him about doing too much in the studio.
Brian responded. “I think I may have to give Alice a bonus in her next paycheck.”
Justin laughed and told Brian about John’s surprising birthday gift request which amused him.
“So Brian now that you are in a really good mood I have something to ask you. You have to promise not to hang up on me.”
Brian reluctantly agreed.
Justin took a deep breath. “John asked if he can invite your mother to his family birthday dinner on Monday.
"NO!”
Justin sighed. “Remember your promise. This seems really important to John. I’ll be honest and say I’m not sure why it is so important. I think that possibly he is hoping to win over his grandmother to the boys living with us. I think he is afraid she will make trouble with us getting custody.”
“NO!”
“Don’t forget it is Joan who will be in enemy territory. Alice and my mother will be loaded for bear. If your mother gets out of line I’m pretty sure they will drag her out back and beat the shit out of her.”
Brian laughed at the image. “It might be worth having Joan in our home to see that happen. Those two are scary enough on their own but together they would be terrifying. Alice has the muscles from working on the farm but I think Mother Taylor would fight dirty to win. I see her scratching and biting. Do we have time to create a mud pit in the yard?”
“No mud pit in our yard. I can see you dragging me out there for dirty sex.”
Brian chuckled. “We don’t need mud for dirty sex Sunshine.”
“Meanwhile what about our own little guess who’s coming to dinner?”
“Way to kill the mood. I doubt Joan will agree to come so John can invite her if he wants but it does not make me happy.”
Justin grinned. “I’m sure I can make you happy even if your mother does wind up coming here for dinner. What are you wearing?”
A very satisfying round of phone sex followed. After hanging up Justin got cleaned up, unlocked the bedroom door and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Justin was surprised to wake up the next morning when the alarm went off with a warm little body nestled against his back. Justin turned and a smiling Gus wished him good morning.
“So little man when did you sneak into my bed?”
“I’m not sure. I woke up last night and I thought you might be missing Daddy so I came in here and got into bed with you.”
Justin laughed. “We have to hurry and get ready this morning. How about you get dressed while I shave and get a shower.”
Gus happily ran off to get ready for his day with Kevin, Patrick and John.
When Justin was dressed he headed into Gus’s bedroom. Gus was sitting in his bean bag chair reading a book. Justin coated all Gus’s exposed surfaces with sunblock and packed a bag with a change of clothes. Gus chose a couple books to take with him and once they were in the bag Gus and his Papa went down to the kitchen.
Peter and John were already eating breakfast. Alice had a fresh baked coffee cake on the counter with a bowl of cut up fresh fruit.
Gus asked for scrambled eggs and Justin asked for friend eggs. Justin poured his coffee and juice for Gus and himself.
When John went upstairs to get dressed Justin reminded him to bring a change of clothes and said they would fit in the bag he has packed for Gus.
John rolled his eyes but said OK. Justin and Gus finished their fruit and Alice brought their plates with eggs, bacon and a slice of coffee cake. When Gus was done Justin told him that Kevin’s mom would be here soon so Gus needed to go to the bathroom and to be sure to wash his hands when he was done.
When John came downstairs Justin took him into the dining room and told him that Brian agreed to inviting his grandmother for his birthday dinner. John seemed just a little surprised and pretty happy.
Roxanne arrived and after John and Gus left with her; Justin and Peter headed to Pittsburgh. Justin was glad that he didn’t have to do this every morning. He much preferred pulling the pillow over his face and wandering downstairs when he felt like it.
Peter was very excited to be included in the business day with Justin. He kept up a steady stream of conversation on the drive to Kinnetik. Justin smiled to himself since he remembered Brian complaining that Justin talked incessantly when they first got together.
Peter loved it when Justin swiped his employee badge to open the garage gate and when they went into the lobby the receptionist greeted them with “Good morning Mr Taylor”.
Outside Brian’s office Carole gave them both a big hello and told Justin she would let Patti and Cynthia know he had arrived. Justin swiped his badge to open the office door and he and Peter went inside.
Justin smiled at Peter who was examining the art work on the walls. “Hey buddy how about you go to the employee lounge and read your book. Carole will let me know when the paralegal is here to talk with you. After this meeting I have to see Ted and after that we can head to the diner for an early lunch.”
Peter happily agreed and made himself comfortable in the lounge. He had read a couple pages of his book when Ted came into the lounge to refill his coffee mug. “Hi Peter. I guess you came with Justin.”
“Yup. He is having a meeting in Uncle Brian’s office and then he said he was coming to talk to you before we have lunch at the diner. After lunch we are going to his art gallery.”
Ted smiled. “How would you like to come to my office and review the Bloom building budget with me? I need to go over the latest numbers for the renovations so Justin has them for his meeting.”
Peter got to his feet quickly. “That sounds interesting thanks.”
Meanwhile Justin, Patti and Cynthia were discussing the prospect for art director. Justin spoke up. “I think that this time we need to look for someone with actual creative experience. We went for administrative skills with Hal and that did not work out well at all.”
Cynthia nodded. “I agree. Did you and Brian discuss these resumes?”
Justin chuckled. “Brian was in a mood. We did not have a lot of discussion about Kinnetik.”
Cynthia smiled. “I thought maybe his mood would improve at home.”
Justin just smirked and shook his head.
Patti looked a little uncomfortable. Justin raised his eyebrows at her. “I know Patti, we are verging on being politically incorrect but that is what happens when one of the people in the discussion is having sex with the boss.”
Patti put up her hand. “That remark put us over the line.” Cynthia and Justin both laughed and Patti did manage to smile.
Cynthia brought them back to the meeting topic. “I really like Greg O’Brien’s resume. Have you discussed the job with him at all?”
Justin shook his head. “No I didn’t even really know what he did for a living until Roxanne brought up the changes to his job. Mostly conversations with the O’Briens concern soccer or the boys. John and Gus are spending today with her and her sons.”
Patti looked concerned. “Do you think it would be awkward for someone you and Bran know socially to suddenly become an employee?”
Justin thought for a moment. “It has worked fine with Ted. We are not really friends with Roxanne and Greg. John and Patrick have become friends and Gus has been hanging out with their younger son.”
Cynthia nodded. “Brian has never had a problem differentiating between business and personal relationships. With the Franklin deal being signed the art department is going to be busier than ever. Brian said he thinks Jason may be exclusively working on Franklin stuff at least for a while. I like Greg’s resume and the resume from Tim Merlot. I think we should have those two in for an interview.”
In Ted’s office Peter was fascinated with Ted’s spreadsheet which showed the original estimates on the renovations for the Bloom building. Ted explained that he likes a big job like this to be broken into smaller tasks. As the task are completed he enters the actual cost and the spreadsheet formulas show the dollar variance between estimate and actual cost and the percentage over or under estimate.
Peter had some questions which Ted was happy to answer. Very few people were as fascinated by numbers as Ted so he was excited by Peter’s interest.
Ted explained were the estimates came from. “Jennifer works with contractors to decide what renovation are needed and how much those renovations will cost. She is excellent at being sure that there are few surprises. Jennifer makes sure things are included in the estimate even if it is only a possibility they will be needed. Jennifer and I have worked together on quite a few project for KT Properties and we have only gone over budget a couple times.”
In Brian’s office they had decided to have Patti set up the interviews with the two men. Cynthia, Brian and Justin would all meet with the prospects.
Carole buzzed to let Justin know the paralegal had arrived from Harris, Grave & Painton. Cynthia and Patti left for their office while Justin greeted the paralegal and asked her to wait in the office while he got Peter. Carole let him know that Ted had let her know Peter was with him.
When Justin got to Ted’s office he stopped and smiled as he watched Ted teach an excited Peter how to create formulas in Excel spreadsheets. “Sorry to interrupt but Peter has someone waiting for him in Brian’s office.”
Ted smiled as Peter thanked him for showing him all the “neat stuff”. Justin rolled his eyes at the thought that number crunching was neat. He was just grateful that they had Ted to take care of all the accounting stuff that made his head hurt just to think about.
Peter was quiet as they walked back to the office. Just before they went into the office Peter took Justin’s hand. “You’re going to stay in the room with me aren’t you?”
Justin squeezed the boy’s hand. “Don’t worry buddy I’ll be right there with you. Just be honest and tell what your mother had to say when you visited her.”
They went into the office and sat side by side on the sofa. Half an hour later the deposition was over.J ustin was impressed by how cool, calm and collected Peter remained. The paralegal was also impressed.
“Peter I have to tell you that you are an excellent witness. You always considered the question before you answered. You did a great job. I did contact the DA’s office about the possibility of a deposition. I can tell you that I doubt this case will go to trial. Unless Ms Kinney is a fool she will take a plea bargain. The evidence against her was overwhelming even before this.”
Peter looked concern. “Does that mean my mother won’t be punished for what she did?”
The paralegal shook his head. “No, not at all. She will definitely have to serve some time in jail.”
Peter looked relieved and Justin thanked the paralegal for coming to office to take Peter’s testimony.
Peter and Justin returned to Ted’s office. Ted had a budget summary for Justin to take to his meeting at the gallery. Only half kidding Ted told Justin to ask Peter if anyone had any finance questions at the meeting.
Justin had texted Emmett to let him know he & Peter were having lunch at the diner and hoped Emmett could join them.
Justin was happy to see Emmett already settled in a booth when he and Peter entered the diner. Debbie ran over and gave first Justin and then Peter her usual bone crushing hug. Justin did manage to murmur “My arm.” To get Debbie to release him.
“I’m sorry Sunshine I hope I didn’t hurt you.”
“I’m fine Deb but I still have to be a little careful with my left arm until the wound heals completely.”
Peter slid into the booth while Emmett got up to give Justin a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Oh Baby I was so happy to get your text. I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I know. I’m sorry Em but Gus takes up a lot of my time. We love having him stay with us but it does kind of tie me down during the day.”
“Where is he today?”
“He is on a play date with Roxanne O’Brien and her son Kevin. You met Patrick O’Brien at the Fourth of July picnic. He is John’s friend from the soccer team.”
Emmett nodded and turned his attention to Peter. “How are you Peter? Having fun spending the day with Uncle Justin?”
Peter smiled. “Yes I love spending time with Uncle Justin. We were at Kinnetik and Ted explained the renovation spreadsheets for the Bloom building to me. It was really interesting and he started to show me how to create spreadsheets and create formulas. Ted really knows a lot of stuff.”
Emmett got a big smile. “Oh my god honey. Teddy must love you! As soon as he starts talking about any of that stuff to us our eyes glaze over. If you express an interest in opera he’s liable to kidnap you.”
As soon as the words left his mouth Emmett looked horrified. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that. Oh Baby I can’t believe I made a joke about kidnapping. I’m an idiot.”
Justin smiled at his friend. “Em! Calm down I know you were joking, no problem.”
Emmett reached across the table and took Justin’s hand. “Thanks but it was still a stupid thing to say. Sorry to you too Peter.”
Peter just shrugged. “I know you were just kidding.”
Debbie came over to take their orders.
Once she left Emmett settled back into his seat. “I’m happy we could have lunch. I was going to call you. You know Debbie has been helping mind JR this week. One day when Lindsay picked JR up I mentioned the gallery grand opening party to her. She said she wasn’t sure there was a budget for catering the party. Lindsay thought she would just handle the refreshments herself.”
Justin laughed. “Well I am sure there is plenty of budget for the grand opening. Don’t even think about doing it on the cheap. I want plenty of crab cakes and shrimp and champagne and whatever wonderful thing you can come up with.”
Emmett looked relieved. “Baby you know it can be really nice without you having to spend a fortune.”
Justin looked very serious. “Emmett there is PLENTY of money available for the grand opening. Lindsay has no idea what she is talking about. Keep in mind that I own the gallery and Lindsay works for me. My opinions are the only ones that matter. Feel free to tell Lindsay to check with me if she has any questions.”
Peter looked up with a wicked smile. “John and I think that Lindsay is kind of a bitch. If she gives you a hard time just call Grandmom Jen. Lindsay is afraid of her.”
Emmett and Justin almost fell on the floor laughing. Justin was finally able to say. “You shouldn’t say bitch but when the shoe fits I guess I can’t fault you.”
Debbie came over to deliver their food. “You guys are having a good time.”
Emmett smiled. “We are just making plans for the big gallery grand opening party.”
Debbie looked confused. “I thought Lindsay told us that she was just going to handle that herself.”
Justin smiled. “She should have checked with her boss before she said anything like that.”
“Oh does Sidney Bloom still want Emmett to handle it.”
Justin shrugged. “I haven’t talked to Sidney about it. Deb, I own the controlling interest in the Bloom Gallery. I am both Sidney and Lindsay’s boss. It really isn’t important what they think about the grand opening. My decision is for Emmett to handle it.”
Debbie chuckled. “I’ve always said you had big balls Sunshine.”
Peter concentrated on his lunch while Justin and Emmett gossiped and laughed.
When they were almost done lunch Michael came into the diner and walked over to their booth.
“Hi Em. Hey Boy Wonder where’s Brian today. What brings you into the big city?”
“Brian is out of town on business. He’s in Chicago today. He’ll be back tomorrow morning. Peter and I were over at Kinnetik and now we’re going over to the Bloom building.”
“Oh yeah Lindsay said you were coming in so she could update you on her plans for the gallery.”
Justin nodded. “I’ll be interested on hearing what plan Lindsay has to tell me about. I’ll have to see if I can okay them or not.”
“What do you mean okay her plans. Lindsay is the gallery manager.”
“And Michael I am the gallery owner. In case you weren’t sure owner outranks manager.”
“Well I guess we’ll have to see what Brian has to say about Lindsay’s plans.”
Peter laughed out loud and for the first time Michael looked at him. “Michael you are completely clueless if you think that Uncle Brian would ever side with anyone against Uncle Justin. Plus Uncle Brian is busy enough at Kinnetik without getting involved in Uncle Justin’s art gallery.”
Michael had such a shoked expression on his face that both Justin and Emmett started to laugh as Michael went over and took a seat at the counter.
When they had all finished lunch Justin paid the bill and left a hundred dollar bill under Emmett’s plate. A wide eyed Peter watched Justin tuck the money under the plate.
When they got outside and said good bye to Emmett Peter asked Justin. “Why did you leave that money on the table?"
Justin smiled. “Debbie works really hard and she has been really, really good to both Brian and I over the years. She won’t ever take money directly from us so we play this little game and leave money for her at the diner.”
Peter just nodded and smiled. Everything he learned about his uncles made him like them more.
When Justin parked in the Bloom building lot he and Peter both looked at each other and smiled before getting out of the car. This time there was no masked gunman waiting for them.
Justin was impressed by the renovation to the building. Even though the finishing touches were not done Justin could tell the apartments were going to be amazing. Prior to the renovations the only entrance to the apartments was from the parking lot. Now there was a bright entrance lobby that could be accessed from the parking lot or the street and an elevator had been added.
A state of the art system allowed apartments tenants to talk with and see any visitor at either door before allowing them access to the lobby. There was also a door from the office area of the gallery that opened into the lobby.
After seeing the apartments Sidney showed Justin and Peter around the renovated first floor. Justin was pleased to see how happy Sidney appeared to be about all the changes and upgrades that had been completed.
“Sidney you seem to be pleased by all the renovations.”
Sidney smiled. “It has been amazing to see the changes. In fact I’ve talked to your mother about renting one of the apartments. Jennifer has been out to my house which unfortunately has the same ugly 70’s kitchen as the apartments had. She is getting estimates on doing some updates at my house to get it ready to put on the market. I have to tell you that your mother is fabulous at her job.”
Justin smiled. “She is a pretty fabulous mother as well.”
Peter joined in. “And a fabulous grandmother.”
Justin did want to get one thing straightened out before their meeting. “Sidney do you have a problem with Emmett Honeycutt catering our grand opening party?”
“No of course not. Your July fourth party was amazing and it is your decision. I would have let you know if I had any issues with your decision.”
“Thanks. I just had lunch with Emmett and he told me that Lindsay told him she didn’t think we had the budget to use him.”
Sidney was amazed. “I can’t imagine where Lindsay got that idea. I have never mentioned any budget issues with her. You know my reservations about hiring Lindsay. I think you and I have to be careful to keep the lines of communication open between us.”
Justin looked over at Peter who rolled his eyes. “She’s a bitch.”
Justin and Sidney both laughed as Peter just shrugged and the three of them went into the conference room adjoining Sidney’s office.
Sidney used the announcement feature of the new phone system to ask Lindsay and Patti to come to the conference room.
Patti came in first. Justin introduced himself and Peter to her. Lindsay came in a moment later carrying several folder and a pad of paper.
Lindsay looked over at Peter. “Don’t you think Peter would be more comfortable waiting somewhere else? I’m sure this meeting will just bore him.
”
Before Justin could say anything Sidney spoke up. “Peter has attended several meeting with Justin and me. He has his book with him so if he gets bored he can read.”
Sidney asked Patti to take minutes of the meeting. Justin spoke first.
“As you can probably tell the renovations are still going on upstairs but we are still just a little ahead of schedule. Hopefully with the new sound proofing there isn’t too much noise to disturb you.”
Lindsay shrugged but Patti said there was really very little noise now that the new apartment flooring was completed.
Justin smiled at Patti and continued. “Now that the work is done on this level the regular cleaning service will start coming in every night. Someone here at the gallery needs to be sure the service has an updated gallery schedule so they know when the shows are opening and closing. The cleaning service knows they’ll have to send extra people before a show opens and after it closes.”
Lindsay opened one of her folders and spoke up. “I have been looking into cleaning services and I have a couple estimates here.”
Justin shook his head. “Sorry you spent time doing that Linds. We will be using the same service as Kinnetik. They also clean our house and entrances and hallways at quite a few of our properties.”
“Well I think it is a mistake not to get estimates from other cleaning companies. We may get a better price for cleaning the gallery.”
Sidney joined the discussion. “Lindsay as I told you and Patti the other day there are things we may share with the other companies that Justin and Brian own. The Bloom Gallery is now part of a larger organization.”
Lindsay wasn’t done. “I suppose they are going to clean the apartment lobby and the upstairs hall. Is the gallery going to be charged for that work?”
Justin shrugged and Peter spoke up. “Ted explained a bunch of stuff to me this morning. He showed me his spread sheet for the cleaning company. It is all broken down by location. He already had a line for the Bloom Gallery and another for the Bloom building. Ted is very detailed.”
Sidney chuckled. “Thanks Peter. See Lindsay this is why it is a good thing Peter is at the meeting.”
Justin smiled at his nephew before continuing. “I had lunch with Emmett and we discussed some ideas for the grand opening. Someone here will need to be his contact for specifics.”
Lindsay opened another folder. "I have looked in to companies who provide canapés and we could buy our own liquor and hire some students to bartend.”
Sidney looked across the table at her a frown on his face. “No.”
“I think we could save quite a lot of money. Patti has some experience…”
Sidney tapped his pen on the table. “I said No!”
Justin looked at Sidney before he continued. “I have selected 10 pencil sketches and the art department at Kinnetik is going to make 25 copies of each. They will be numbered and come with a guarantee that no more prints will ever be made of that pencil sketch. For the night of the grand opening I will initial and date any prints purchased that night.”
Patti said she thought that was a great idea.
Lindsay raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you think that is a little crass or overly commercial?”
Justin shook his head. “I don’t think so. The gallery is in business to make money. We aren’t a museum. Sidney and I discussed the idea of selling prints of my sketches. If they don’t sell we will only be out the cost of the prints.”
Lindsay eyebrows went even higher. “You mean Kinnetik is going to charge us for these prints.”
“Of course Lindsay. It is a very small charge but it wouldn’t be fair to have Kinnetik pay for the paper and the employee time and not get reimbursed.”
“I just thought since we are using their lawyer and cleaning service we were getting to use their art department as well.”
Justin took a deep breath. “Well you are wrong about that.”
Patti was looking a little embarrassed. “Justin when do you think we can get the paintings you are going to display during our first show.”
“My San Francisco show is in two weeks and whatever doesn’t sell there will get shipped here to the gallery. I have a few things at my studio we can include if necessary. I thought we could intersperse my pieces with our guest artist.”
Lindsay spoke up. “I thought we would put whatever you had to display at the end of the show.”
Justin shook his head again. “I don’t want people hurrying through the artist’s pieces to get a look at mine. I want mine placed all through the display.”
Lindsay eyebrows went up again. “But don’t you…”
Justin interrupted. “Black.”
Lindsay was quiet for a moment. “What does that mean?”
“I just wanted to see if you said white. You have had an objection to everything I’ve said.”
Lindsay shrugged her shoulder and threw her hair back. “I didn’t realize we weren’t allowed to offer our opinions.”
Sidney stood up. “Lindsay you have offered opinions on things that are really not your concern. I’m not sure why you did research on cleaning services and catering companies. I certainly never asked you to do that. In future please concern yourself with the tasks and responsibilities you are given.
We value your opinion but you need to keep in mind that Justin is the boss. You, me and Patti work for him. When Justin decides he wants things done a certain way that is the way they will be. If that is a problem for you perhaps this job is not going to work out for you.”
A stunned Lindsay apologized and the meeting continued with much less commenting from Lindsay.
After the meeting Justin and Sidney met in Sidney’s office along with Peter.
Sidney sat at his desk. “Well I guess we can all agree with Peter’s earlier statement about Lindsay.”
Justin laughed. “I think she is just trying to establish her role. Things will smooth out as we move along.”
Sidney rolled his eyes and Peter laughed. They discussed a few other things before Peter and Justin left the office.
Justin went over to Lindsay cubicle. “Hi Linds.”
“Hello. What can I do for you sir.”
Peter grunted but Justin ignored him along with Lindsay tone of voice. “I thought maybe you, Melanie and JR would like to come to dinner tomorrow. After dinner Gus can go back home with you. He’s anxious to see his new room at the loft.”
“I’ll have to check with Melanie. I’ll let you know.”
“Great. I’ll talk to you later.”
Lindsay turned back to her work. Peter grunted again and Justin gave him a quick punch in the arm. They went out to the car.
Peter fastened his seat belt and turned towards Justin. “It may not be nice to say but she is a bitch.”
They sat there and laughed for a couple minutes before starting for home.
