


It's Only Polite to Share

by Predec2



Category: Queer as Folk
Genre: Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-19
Updated: 2011-03-26
Packaged: 2014-12-01 01:51:34
Rating: M
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,645
Publisher: www.fanfiction.net
Story URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6836905/1/
Author URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2160016/Predec2
Summary: Post EP 308 story.  One of Brian's clients sets his sights on a certain intern.





	1. One Good Fuck Deserves Another

_Kinnetik – Mid-morning _

Cynthia looked up from her desk and smiled politely as she recognized the familiar face of one of Brian's top clients. "Mr. Chamberlain," she greeted the handsome man. Maxwell Chamberlain was one of those men who generated appreciative stares no matter where he went – his family tree had gifted him with an excellent gene bank apparently, because the overall effect was striking: the 30-something businessman possessed a full, thick mop of wavy, jet-black hair, piercing blue eyes, and chiseled features that could have been straight out of GQ magazine. From the way his tailored, custom-made expensive suits always clung to his tall frame, also, it was obvious he took pride in keeping his body toned and trim.

By now Chamberlain was used to the stares from both men and women wherever he went, but he was strictly a cock man – had _always _known he was gay pretty much since he had reached puberty. His first sexual encounter had been with a somewhat shy, hesitant school classmate who he had jacked off inside a broom closet in the basement of their junior high. Once he had experienced the joys of ramming his cock down a cute boy's unexpectedly tight, virgin ass in high school, though, he had never looked back. He was a top and would _always _be a top. He had been born a top practically from the second he had popped out of his mother's womb. Of course with his darkly handsome looks, there were always willing tricks who wiggled their butts openly at him in invitation wherever he went, almost begging outright for a chance to have his 9-inch cock embedded inside them; being the generous person that he was, too, he was usually more than happy to comply with their wishes, as long as the piece of ass was a good one. Yes, life was good for him in the exotic automobile business, where he was a dealer of the most sought-after, rare, luxury models. Not only was he quite comfortable financially as a result, but he could have his pick of any man he wished.

Any man except the one he was about to meet with. He had set his sights on Brian Kinney from the first moment he had met the ad executive. He had noticed immediately how attractive the other man was – they were both startlingly alike in their passion and dedication for their work, their ambition, and their drive, and Kinney had been blessed with the sort of physical features he found quite striking. But they were _also_ both alpha males – unable to give in to the other man's desire to literally be the one on top. So after much flirtatious innuendo and a couple of blow jobs to satisfy their curiosity later, they had eventually settled into a more professional relationship, both unable to give in to being the bottom for each other's fantasies but agreeable to working together to obtain mutually desirable goals – to promote their respective businesses and increase their profitability.

Max, as he was known to his friends, had been doing business now with Kinnetik for approximately a year. In that time, Brian had managed to create some outrageous but also highly effective ad campaigns for his business, resulting in a 20% increase in sales during that time. For that, he was sincerely grateful. As he noticed the ad executive walking toward him, however, it was times like this where he fleetingly wished their relationship could have been more – Brian was wearing a dark gray Armani suit that accentuated his muscled features perfectly; the ash-gray shirt and pinstriped, blood-red and black tie set his bronze skin off dramatically as the other man walked up to him with a warm smile.

"Max," Brian greeted him with a firm handshake. "Great to see you," he stated. He nodded slightly to Cynthia to indicate she could go back to her work; the blond turned and walked a dozen feet or so back to her desk and sat down, quietly eyeing the two attractive men as they conversed. Despite being well aware of both being gay, that still didn't prevent her – or the several other women scattered around the large working area – from stealing admiring glances their way.

Brian's brows furrowed. "Did we have an appointment?" he asked puzzled.

Max shook his head and smiled ruefully. "No," he admitted. "But I was in the area and took a chance that you could see me for a few minutes. Are you available for some shop talk?"

"For you….always," Brian told him firmly, holding out his hand to indicate he should follow him back to his office. After all, the man had helped generate a tidy little profit for Kinnetik over the past year, so he wasn't about to turn the man away. "Coffee?" he asked him.

"God, no," Chamberlain told him. "By the time I've gotten to the office, I've already downed four mugs' worth. I've already shot my quota for the day, but thanks."

Brian nodded with a polite smile. "Okay, then, let's go to my office and you can tell me what's on your mind."

A few minutes later, Brian and his guest were comfortably ensconced in his office, the ad exec in his customary spot behind the long, sleek desk and his visitor reclining slightly backward in his leather chair facing him.

"So…..what's on your mind, Max?" Brian asked him curiously. He hadn't spoken to the other man for approximately four months now, not since the last print campaign he had developed for him. He was hoping after how lucrative the last one had proven for his business, the man was ready now for a new promotion.

His hopes sprung to fruition as Max smiled back at him to say, "Well, unless you've changed your _position_ in certain _other_ areas…I'm ready to launch a new advertising angle for my business."

Brian smiled; he knew _exactly_ what 'other' position the man was referring to; each time they saw each other Chamberlain did his damndest to get him to change his mind about letting him fuck him, but he wasn't going to budge. He wasn't anybody's bottom boy – well, _almost_ anybody. There was only one man he let have that privilege, and neither one of them was ever going to divulge that particular fact. He had never come out and told Justin he couldn't tell, but he also knew his lover never would.

He smiled slightly as he thought about his partner being down the hall at the moment, working his hot little bubble butt ass off as one of his interns in the Art and Graphics Department. Cynthia and Ted were the only ones who knew exactly what sort of relationship he and Justin had; to everyone else at Kinnetik, Justin was just another anonymous, albeit beautiful intern, there to complete his necessary requirements as part of his art program at PIFA. Brian knew both of his employees would keep their secret (if they valued their jobs), and so far he and Justin had done an admirable job of keeping their relationship strictly professional while they were at work. That didn't mean, of course, that they didn't have to occasionally satisfy their appetites from time to time – but that was what his obscenely large, private bathroom was for. Thank God for his insight when he had remodeled the former bath house into his new headquarters, because if he had to work all day with his lover and not be able to quench his insatiable urges when it came to that particular blond, he was sure he would go crazy with unfulfilled horniness for him. All Justin had to do was utter "Mr. Kinney" in that saucy tone of his, and blink those baby blues, and it made him instantly hard. He had to work diligently at making sure he excused himself promptly if he felt one of those 'urges' _rising_ to the surface, which Justin seemed to derive extreme pleasure in doing. _Little fucker_…_okay, well not so little_, he thought with a slight smile.

"Brian?" He was abruptly jolted back to the present situation, a little mortified that he had zoned out temporarily in front of a client. Justin had a way of doing that to him, though.

"I'm sorry," he apologized with a sheepish smile. "I had something on my mind. You were saying?"

Chamberlain nodded, unaware of just what Brian had been daydreaming about. "I was saying that I'm ready to take my business to a global scale. I'm ready to branch out into an international operation."

Brian smiled in delight; this new campaign could prove to be lucrative indeed. "Congratulations," he said smoothly. "That's great."

Max's eyes twinkled knowingly. "For _both _of us, Brian. If you come up with a kick-ass campaign for me and it proves to be worthwhile, I'll definitely make it worth _your_ while, too."

Brian nodded, trying to quell his excitement. This could very well be an extremely profitable endeavor for him if he provided Chamberlain with the right type of advertising. "You know I'll come through for you," Brian promised firmly as he placed his curved hand over his mouth thoughtfully, already trying to think of a proper campaign for this particular client.

"Ah, if you would only _come_ through for me in other ways, Brian," the man purred as he stared at the other man greedily; the man was still one of the most handsome men he had ever had the pleasure of meeting – and also the most unattainable. As Brian merely looked over at him in amusement, he sighed. "I know….I know, I'm wasting my time. It was worth a try, though. I just got in from Philly late last night and I've been horny as hell; haven't had a chance to leave my hotel room until today." He looked at Brian meaningfully, trying one last time. "Sure you couldn't help me out with my little problem?"

Brian twisted his mouth wryly and slowly shook his head. "Sorry, Chamberlain – you know my 'one fuck' policy; and don't go getting your hopes up," he hastened to add as a flicker of hope grew in the other man's eyes. "Sucking you off counts. Been there, done that. Time for both of us to move on."

Chamberlain grinned back at him in resignation. "Can't blame a guy for trying, Kinney." He folded his arms over his chest and said, "Well, if we can't mix business with pleasure, why don't I tell you what I have in mind business-wise?"

Brian smiled as he nodded. "I'm listening."

Fifteen minutes and several jotted notes later, Brian looked up from his legal pad and nodded. "I think I have a good idea what you're looking for, but I'm not very good at illustrating them. Before you go, why don't I bring in one of my art employees and they can do some preliminary sketches to get us started?"

Chamberlain nodded agreeably. "Yeah – that'd be a good idea; that way I can be sure we're both on the same wavelength here. I'm planning on throwing down a lot of cash to promote my new overseas office; I'd like to make sure you understand where I'm wanting to go with this."

Brian nodded as he picked up his office phone and pushed a button. He frowned as the phone rang a couple of times before he heard it answered. Normally when he called and they recognized who it was, it was picked up immediately for fear of pissing off their boss. "Mr. Kinney?" he heard a familiar, rich voice; his hormones instantly shot up at the sound.

"Taylor," he intoned, trying hard to keep his voice level, especially with a client listening in. "Where _is_ everybody?" he growled.

"It's noon," Justin responded in a sort of _duh_ tone. "They're all out to lunch; they left me in charge." His voice softened to a sultry whisper as he asked, "Why….did you need me to bring you some lunch, _Mr. Kinney?_" he asked, leaving no doubt just what sort of 'high protein' meal he would be glad to supply.

Brian felt the familiar reaction to his lover's voice as his pulse started to accelerate and his cock stirred with desire just at the thought of what those talented lips of his lover could do; _damn it,_ he cursed silently_._ He fidgeted almost painfully in his seat as he struggled to maintain a modicum of professionalism in both his demeanor and his voice as he said, "Uh, no….not now. I have a client here." He hesitated for a couple of seconds, debating what to do, but he felt he had no choice; he needed an artist and there was only one available. "Uh….I need you to come to my office to help with some advertising ideas I have for him," he said as authoritatively as he could muster. "I need you to bring your sketchpad and pencils with you."

"Oh," Justin said somewhat surprised; he was expecting – and looking forward – to a _different_ sort of encounter. "Sure….I'll be right there." He quickly hung up the phone and gathered his art supplies together to head up to Brian's office. Since he had begun his internship at Kinnetik a couple of weeks ago, this would be the first time he had actually had the chance to help Brian with a specific client. He felt his palms getting a little sweaty as he walked toward the spacious office; he fervently hoped he wouldn't do something to fuck it up. After the heartache he had caused Brian with the whole Ethan fiasco, he felt he owed it to Brian to help make things right between them and this might be one minor way he could help accomplish that.

Since they had been reunited, Justin felt his world was spinning right once more. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed his lover until he was back in his arms again, feeling their bodies moving so perfectly together and Brian's hands and lips caressing every inch of his body. God, how he had longed for his touch again. It was even better than he had remembered, and since they had been back together perhaps it was his imagination at work, but he could swear that Brian's actions toward him were more intense, more passionate, even more tender. It was almost as if Brian had realized what he had almost lost; Justin knew that _he_ definitely realized what he had jeopardized. Now that he and Brian were back together, he was determined to make sure every day that Brian knew just how thankful he was for having a second chance.

As he approached Brian's office, he noticed the door closed. This must be a pretty important client, Justin surmised, because he had found over the years that Brian normally had a subtle way of indicating which clients were the most crucial to his business. If they were merely small-time players, he would leave his office door at least cracked a little; if it was a client whose business was valuable to him, he kept the door firmly closed. It was as if he didn't want anything or anybody to disturb his train of thought as he met with the major players.

He knocked three times in quick succession on the door, hearing Brian's "come on" echoing in the large space as he opened it and peered inside.

Brian couldn't help smiling at his lover; Justin automatically caused that to happen every time he came within sight of him. Now that he and Justin were back together, he just couldn't help expressing his happiness at that fact. "Taylor," he said as professionally as he could, briefly drinking in the sight of his beautiful partner as he motioned for Justin to enter. Even though Justin had been spending quite a few nights at the loft lately so they could make up for lost time, he still made his official home at Daphne's. Brian was seriously considering asking Justin to move in with him permanently – he spent most of his time there now, anyway - but last night he had gone home at Daphne's request to help her with some biology homework that she was having difficulty understanding. The two men had reluctantly parted ways around 9:00 last night, and this was the first time today that Brian had had a chance to see him.

The blond was wearing a royal blue, rounded-neck sweater that seemed custom-made for him, although Brian knew he didn't own one stitch of clothing that wasn't plucked off a rack somewhere, and a pair of slate-gray dress slacks that were the perfect size for him. To Brian's chagrin, the pants perfectly highlighted Justin's best features, both coming and going; they curved delicately over his rounded ass in back, and were tight in the front in the groin area, showcasing his thick and surprisingly large cock that had somehow been affixed to such a relatively petite body.

Brian stole a glance over at his client, but he already knew what he would see in the other man's face. He realized he wasn't the _only_ one that noticed how fuckable a certain blond looked in the outfit he was wearing. His eyes narrowed as he watched Chamberlain's eyes widen in appreciation for the beauty walking in with his sketchpad and pencils.

He cringed inwardly; he should have waited until someone _else_ from the art department had returned from lunch. It was too late now, though. "Uh….Justin, this is Max Chamberlain, the owner of Elegant Autos," he told his lover as Chamberlain stood up. "Max, this is one of my summer art interns from PIFA, Justin Taylor."

Justin found his face flushing at the handsome man's intense gaze. He held out his hand in greeting. "Uh….it's nice to meet you, Mr. Chamberlain," he said politely with a small smile.

It was no match for the other man's smile, however, as he smiled back at Justin warmly. "It's my pleasure," he huskily replied, his eyes drinking in the sight of this compact, blond beauty standing in front of him. His hair was somewhat tousled and hung down to his collarbone, slightly shading the sapphire blue eyes staring back at him curiously under lush, golden eyelashes. Chamberlain couldn't help continuing to stare at the other man as he licked his lips appreciatively and slowly surveyed the entire package standing in front of him. Blond, slightly untamed hair, blue eyes, pert little button nose, full, kissable lips, slender but adequately muscled chest, long-fingered hands just right for caressing his body to perfection, a cock that was bulging from the tightness of his dress pants. _Perfect in every way….._he couldn't help thinking as he continued to smile back at the rather shy-appearing young man.

He immediately decided that it didn't matter if he could talk Brian into finally being fucked; his day had just gotten a lot more promising. He reached out to grasp the blond's extended hand to firmly grasp it, relishing in the softness and warmth that was found there. As he glanced down at their joined hands, he couldn't help thinking how talented those artist's hands might be in more areas than just drawing. He couldn't wait to find out what other skills this man had beyond artistic endeavors. This man _was_ a piece of art himself. "Please…call me Max," he drawled as he continued to stare brazenly at Justin.

Brian's pursed his lips together in aggravation. He knew that predatory look – fuck knows he had used that same look before with tricks when he saw something he wanted – and he didn't like it. Not one bit. He didn't care _how_ important Chamberlain was. "Uh…would you both take a seat so we can get started?" he told them curtly, his voice rising with irritation.

Justin noticed with embarrassment that the dark-haired man was still holding his hand; he awkwardly pulled it loose from the client's grasp and hurriedly took a seat in the chair next to Chamberlain's. He purposely kept his gaze on Brian as he smiled back at him reassuringly and placed his pad in his lap.

Chamberlain slowly took his own seat, stealing a glance over at Justin as he did. He knew there was a reason why he hadn't had a chance to scope out the sights of Pittsburgh since his flight had gotten in; the most wondrous sight of all was sitting right next to him. It was going to be his lucky day after all…

"Max…" Brian called out to the other man, but there was no response; it was as if he didn't exist at the moment. "_Max_," Brian said a little more sternly, getting more and more pissed off the longer the man turned to stare at his lover and ignore him. "Would you tell Justin what you told me about your ideas? He'll do some tentative sketches to help me with the storyboards later."

"Oh," Max finally acknowledged Brian, trying hard to disguise his smile of pleasure over his good fortune as he turned to address Justin; he marveled once more at the man's unusual shade of blue eyes and the full lips that were presently partly open; lips that he just knew would be perfect around his cock as he deftly sucked if off. He cleared his throat to try and concentrate, at least temporarily. "Yeah…well, I own a business that specializes in brokering interested buyers with exotic, collectible cars. I'm getting ready to branch out to an international operation, and I need a new campaign to advertise it." He finally turned to Brian to nod, "That's where Kinnetik comes in." He turned once more to look in Justin's expressive face to add, "Brian said you could do some initial sketches of my preferences so the campaign will accurately reflect my goals."

Justin nodded, swallowing the lump of uneasiness he felt as a result of the man's outright leering at him. Chamberlain was making no pretense to disguise his obvious lust for him – he could see it all over the man's face. He had been the object of other men's admiring glances before to recognize one when he saw it. "Uh…sure," he eventually managed to say. "Just let me know what you want and I'll write it down."

"You can start with your phone number," Chamberlain purred unexpectedly.

Justin's face blushed a deep shade of pink; he wasn't sure how to respond to such overt flirting from one of Brian's clients. He didn't want to tick off one of Brian's more important accounts, but he didn't want to encourage him, either. He was spared the need for a rejoinder, however, as Brian spoke up instead.

"Uh….can we stick to the business at hand here, Max? I have a lot of other business to take care of today."

Max shrugged. "Okay," he agreed grudgingly. That didn't mean he was giving up, however, at least not permanently. He scooted his chair over closer to Justin until they were almost touching thigh to thigh as he softly instructed, "Here's what I had in mind."

Justin's breath was coming out in nervous pants; the handsome black-haired man's presence was almost palpable even though he wasn't actually physically touching him. He bit his lip and tried hard to concentrate on his sketchpad as the man's breath lightly caressed his cheek and he began to describe the ideas he had for his new business campaign.

Justin's hands were shaking as he began to quickly sketch out some initial designs based on what the man was telling him; it was all he could do to concentrate on what he was doing. Between Chamberlain's sensual, husky voice and what he knew would be Brian's piercing eyes staring back at him if he was brave enough to find out, he had never felt more uncomfortable in his life. He felt like the middle point in a of tug-of-war game, with his body hanging precariously over the center of the muddy pit and about to fall in, face first.

He breathed a sigh of relief fifteen minutes later when Chamberlin finally finished giving him his thoughts on which direction he wanted to take his business and fell momentarily silent. Justin couldn't wait to escape from his temporary prison and return to the relatively safe confines of the art department, far away from this handsome but too-close-for-comfort client and even farther away from his lover's pointed stare as he hurriedly put the finishing touches on his drawings.

He held the pad out to the other man. "Is this kind of what you have in mind?" he asked a little nervously.

Chamberlain smiled slyly at him as he reached out to take the sketchpad from Justin and deliberately brushed his fingers against his; he could feel the blond shiver slightly under the unexpected contact and he smiled smugly at him as he glanced down to see the results of Justin's work.

He nodded, impressed with yet another of the man's 'talents.' "These are just what I had in mind," he told Brian, finally glancing over his way at the other man as if he was noticing the ad exec for the first time. "You got quite an asset here, Brian," he stated, looking over at Justin fixedly as he wondered what all his _other _talents entailed. "I'm very pleased," he added, continuing to stare at Justin as he addressed Brian.

Brian silently fumed as he watched Chamberlin lean in toward Justin, much closer than needed. He desperately wanted to call the man out for it, but if he did, his and Justin's attempts to maintain a professionally-looking cover among his employees and clients would be effectively blown. This man was an extremely lucrative client of his; only for that reason was he able to keep his true feelings from being verbalized. As he watched the other man practically devouring Justin with his eyes, though, it was all he could do not to stand up and throw the fucker out on his ass.

A very relieved and impatient Brian used the man's comments as a sign it was time for him to leave as he quickly rose from his chair to address the two men together. "Thank you, Mr. Taylor," he said formally, "you can go back to the art department now. I think we have all we need." His eyes bored into his lover's, leaving no room to misinterpret his instructions as he silently demanded his departure.

Justin nodded as he stood up to go, more than happy to follow Brian's directive. His country-club upbringing wouldn't allow him to leave, however, before first telling Chamberlain politely, "Nice meeting you." Before the other man had a chance to say anything or take his hand once more, he stole a quick glance at his sullen-looking partner before he quickly took his sketchpad and box of charcoals and rushed out of the room, breathing a deep sigh of relief once he finally made it out into the hallway. Not looking back, he made it back to the art department in record time, just as the rest of the department returned from lunch.

"Anything exciting happen while we were gone?" Jimmy, the art department head, asked him as they sauntered back in and sat down.

Justin swallowed a gulp of air and took a breath, trying hard to resume a normal breathing pattern. "Not really," he shakily responded at last, trying to maintain a nonchalant voice even though he felt like he had barely made it out of Brian's office with all his dignity intact. He let out another sigh of relief as the department head nodded in satisfaction and he turned to resume working on his assignments that were lying on the drafting table, glad to be back to more mundane and uncomplicated duties.

* * *

Chamberlain softly whistled as he watched the blond intern leave Brian's office; just as he thought – the man was an exquisite package, both front and back. "He's fucking adorable," the man declared appreciatively as Justin disappeared out of view.

Brian shook his head in aggravation at the other man as his blood boiled. He clenched the sides of his desk as he stood behind it, trying hard to calm down. "Do you mind if we stick to business, Chamberlain?" he growled. "I told you – I have a lot of work to do today. Are the sketches to your satisfaction or not?"

The other man finally turned to glance back at Brian. "Yeah," he said with a smirk. "_Very_ satisfactory."

Brian huffed out a bothered breath. "Good….then give me a few days and I'll give you a call when I have the storyboards and campaign ready." He began to walk out from behind his desk to help lead the other man out of his office; he couldn't get rid of the man fast enough now that their business was over.

"Just a minute, Kinney," Chamberlain told him, reaching out his hand in front of him as a signal for him to stop. "I need one more thing from you in order to agree to this deal."

Brian couldn't help rolling his eyes briefly; he could feel a distinct headache coming on, along with a sense of dread. "What?" he asked a little more shortly than he meant to, but this man was quickly wearing out his welcome, unlimited money potential or not.

Chamberlain smiled. "I want you to hook me up with that hot intern."


	2. There's a Meeting In the Men's Room

Brian's mouth hung open in a combination of disgust, anger, and yes, jealousy, although he would be the last person to admit that out loud to anyone. He couldn't quite say he was surprised by the man's gall, though; Chamberlain always _had_ had a reputation for speaking his mind and making his wishes known if it was something he desired. Normally, though, it had to do with the man's business, not wanting to fuck one of Brian's employees. And this wasn't just one of his employees, either – this was _Justin_, his partner.

He didn't get to where he was in life by being blind or stupid; he could tell right away from the moment Justin had walked into his office that the fucker wanted him – badly. He had been expecting the need to get out a box of tissues any second to help the guy wipe up the drool that was threatening to spill from the corner of his mouth as he lusted for his partner. _Well, dream on_, Chamberlain, he found himself thinking…_it's not going to happen in this__ lifetime_.

He glared at the arrogant man as if he were insulted. "What do I look like to you, Chamberlain? A fucking matchmaking service for queers? And how do you even know Taylor is gay?"

Chamberlain held onto the back of his chair and snorted incredulously. "Come on, Brian, you're not really going to stand there and tell me you let that hot piece of ass strut his stuff around your office and you haven't fucked him already to within an inch of his life? You already went out of your way to remind me about your 'one-fuck' policy, so if you've already sampled him, what are you getting all hot and bothered for, anyway? Share the wealth with the rest of us."

He smiled conspiratorially as his voice leveled off to a smooth baritone. "So tell me – is he as good a fuck as he looks? Because he's got a great-looking ass."

Brian couldn't believe the audacity of the man, hitting on his partner, for fuck's sake. Could Justin not go anywhere without being subjected to unwanted attention? Hadn't they just been down that road already? He wanted so badly to tell the man to just go fuck himself, but if he did, Chamberlain would not only take his lucrative business elsewhere, but he would also know there was more to him and Justin than just an employer-employee relationship. He tried hard to keep that sort of information under wraps. Sure, he fucked clients when they were hot enough and willing enough if it helped him get what he needed, but to confess to this man that he was partners with one of his own employees? He wasn't quite ready to reveal that just yet. But he _also_ had no intention of sharing this particular prize with any man.

"Look, Max, you know I'm the best at whatever I do," he responded enigmatically, purposely being vague about what exactly he was referring to. "But I don't play Cupid for clients. Now if you want to talk business, I'm listening. Otherwise, you'll have to excuse me."

Max shook his head in amazement. "I'm not talking a threesome here, Kinney," he said tartly. "I just want you to arrange for a little lunch meeting between me and that little blond artist; you can just tell him it's so we can tweak my ideas a little more. Surely you can convince Taylor to take a meeting with me for the sake of keeping one of your best clients happy." He stared pointedly into Brian's eyes. "I'd hate to let a little misunderstanding come between such a long-established, mutually beneficial business relationships such as ours…wouldn't you?"

Brian sighed in exasperation; the man's meaning was crystal clear. Either arrange for him and Justin to meet for lunch – no doubt somewhere 'private,' of course – or he would walk out along with the thousands of dollars in advertising business he would bring him.

He smiled as Chamberlain's pulse began to race at the notion of having that luscious piece of ass all to himself. If Taylor thought _Kinney_ was good at what he does, wait until he had a taste of his _own_ style. His hopes were dashed, however, at the other man's words which belied the smile on his face.

"Sure…..yeah….I'll hook you up with Justin," Brian promised him as he slowly walked around his desk and stood almost in his face; his eyes flashed as the sound of his voice increased in volume and Chamberlain's eyes became big as saucers as he stared into the large, almost-black orbs of fury. "I'll hook the two of you up as soon as Martha Stewart learns to grow a fucking_ dick_!" He abruptly grabbed Chamberlain by the upper arms and spun him around to face the door. "Now get your fucking ass – and your business – out of my _office!"_ He gave the man a push toward the open doorway for good measure.

Chamberlain stood there for a couple of seconds, in affronted shock at the man's violent outburst to what he thought was a perfectly reasonable request. What was the big deal over one blonde little bottom? Despite the other man's fury, he couldn't resist turning around for a couple of seconds to say, "Are you out of your fucking mind? You would lose all my business just for that one blond twink?"

Brian took a deep breath of angry air, trying desperately to contain his ire but quickly losing in his efforts. He deliberately kept his voice low as he responded in the man's face, "Yes, I would…..and he's not a 'blond twink, Chamberlain….he's my _partner_! Now get the hell OUT!"

Chamberlain's eyes widened at that revelation. "Partner? Are you fucking shitting me? You don't DO partners, Kinney! You do tricks! You've always done tricks! You have got to be kidding me!"

Brian shook his head; did the man have no fucking sense at _all_? "I'm going to give you two seconds to leave my office – and the premises – or I will have you _thrown out_! You got it?" he asked, his eyes boring into the other man. And he meant it – exactly two seconds – or he would personally escort him out bodily. With the way his adrenalin was kicking in, he knew he would have no trouble doing just that.

The other man held up his hands in apparent surrender. "Okay, okay." He shook his head in amazement. "I still can't believe you're giving up my business for him," he maintained as he slowly backed up from the other man's advance. "Your loss, Kinney," he added, just before he turned to finally leave Brian's office.

The brunet let out an angry huff as the man disappeared, his breathing harsh and ragged at the man's boldness and arrogance. He wasn't sharing Justin with _anyone_, and he didn't fucking care _how _much business he lost. "Damn fucking asshole," he muttered, as he restlessly brushed a hand through his hair and tousled it. He let out a deep breath through his mouth as his heart slowed to a more normal rhythm before turning back around to sit down behind his desk.

Before only a few seconds had passed, however, the need to speak to the man who was uppermost on his mind was too strong to ignore as he lifted the landline phone receiver and pressed a programmed code to wait for it to be picked up. He frowned as it rang three times before someone unexpectedly answered. "Brian?"

"Jimmy? I was looking for Taylor."

"He left for lunch a few minutes ago," he reported. "Did you need something?"

Brian sighed in frustration; he really needed to hear his partner's voice – badly. "No…..no, it can wait," he said, disconnecting the phone in disappointment without any further closing words. He reached over to flip his cell phone open and dialed Justin's cell number, growling softly to himself in disgust when it went directly to voicemail. He only had himself to blame, though – he had told his 'employees' that while they were on business time, they needed to keep their personal cell phones off. "Damn it, Justin – did you have to take me so literally?" he groused as he snapped the offending instrument closed.

He picked up his landline phone once more to dial his assistant. "Cynthia, have you seen Justin lately?"

"No, Brian," he was told. "I saw him come out of your office a while ago – that was the last time I saw him."

"Well, when he comes back from lunch, will you make sure he stops by my office first?" He was surprised Cynthia hadn't seen him when he left for lunch, but perhaps she hadn't been at her desk at the time.

"Sure," she said as Brian mumbled a hurried thanks and hung up. He sighed as he flipped his laptop open and tried to resume his concentration on the campaign he had been working on earlier when Chamberlain had interrupted him. "Fucking lot of good that did me," he muttered. "Thanks for nothing, you asshole."

* * *

Cynthia glanced up as Ted approached her. "Did you hear that shouting match just now?" he asked.

Cynthia nodded. "Everyone in the office must have heard it," she whispered up to him. "Brian was really pissed at Chamberlain for some reason, but I couldn't make out all of what they were saying. Any idea what got him so angry?"

Ted shook his head. "Only thing I know is that he was furious with him, and he's one of our best clients. I heard enough to hear Brian telling him to get the fuck out, but I never saw the man after that, did you?"

Cynthia shook his head. "He must have left, though, but I was gone for a little while. Brian just called me looking for Justin – probably wanted to vent with him, I imagine." She let out a whoosh of breath as she glanced down the hall towards her boss' office. "Whatever it was, it must have really struck a nerve for Brian to tell the guy to get the fuck out."

Ted nodded. "Yeah….I'll say." He smiled at her. "Can't wait to find out why."

Cynthia smiled. "Me, too – must have been one hell of a reason."

* * *

The _reason_ for Brian's tirade was finishing up washing his hands in the employee's men's room, his back to the doorway, when he heard a familiar voice speaking behind him. "Well…..we meet again. Must be my lucky day after all."

Justin rolled his eyes, recognizing that slick, conceited-sounding voice instantly. For Brian's sake, he plastered a polite smile on his face before he turned around to face Chamberlain. "Mr. Chamberlain," he said coolly, feeling decidedly like a piece of sirloin as the man slowly walked toward him. "Did you and Mr. Kinney finish up your meeting?"

Chamberlain's face twisted at the other man's attempt at being so professional. "Why so formal, Justin? The name's Max, remember? And why the Mr. Kinney shit? Is that any way to talk about your _partner_?"

Justin tried to keep the shock out of his eyes but failed miserably as he noticed the other man smirking in satisfaction at his reaction. He kept trying, though, to seem nonplussed for Brian's sake. How did the man find out, anyway? Brian would have never divulged that personal information to someone like this man. "I don't know what you're talking about – we're certainly not business partners; I'm just an intern here temporarily."

Chamberlain smiled as he licked his dry lips in amusement. "Cut the bullshit, Justin," he said just a little more sharply as his smile faded. "Kinney told me all about the two of you. Seems he didn't like my condition for continuing to do business with him."

"Excuse me?" Justin whispered, not enjoying standing so close to the other man. He glanced sideways for a second, hoping fervently that another employee would appear in the men's room so he would have an excuse to escape this other man's presence, but unfortunately they remained alone. "What condition?"

The man slowly walked toward him as Justin backed up until he felt his back against the cold marble of the elegant vanity behind him. He knew he was stuck. "I asked him to hook the two of us up, but it seems Kinney didn't want to share you with me," he was told. "That's so unlike him, Justin….I'm impressed," he admitted curtly. "But maybe you and I can still cut a deal privately," he whispered, his meaning crystal clear: either fuck with him or he would fuck with Brian's business.

Chamberlain continued to inch his way closer and closer as he finally stood close enough to place both hands on either side of the vanity, effectively pinning Justin in. He smiled; he knew there was no way the slender man could possibly break away from him now, not until he either got what he wanted or at least a small taste of it. Either way, he wasn't leaving totally empty-handed; now that he had the man up close and personal, his cock was stirring with desire and blatant lust; the man was positively captivating, and even with his blue eyes full of a mixture of fear and loathing for him, he was even more turned on. His own eyes slowly lowered to come to rest on Justin's full, lower lip, just begging to be kissed. "Come on, Justin….give it up for the cause, and I'll reconsider my deal with your partner. This can be just between the two of us – I won't kiss and tell," he whispered triumphantly, so close to getting what – and _who – _he wanted, he could almost taste it now as he lowered his head to take what he had been craving all morning.

* * *

Brian tried for a few minutes to go back to what he was studying before, but it was no use. He was too wired up after his disastrous meeting with Chamberlain; he definitely needed some good, old-fashioned special attention from the only man who could give it to him. Sighing, he rose from his chair and walked out of his office. He knew Justin's normal haunts at lunchtime; he would just go in search of his partner until he found him.

"Cynthia, I'm heading out to lunch," he told his assistant. She nodded, dying to know what had happened earlier, but knowing from the hard look on Brian's face that now was not the time.

* * *

Just as he left, though, Brian turned to say, "I hope Chamberlain wasn't a prick when he left earlier; I had to throw him out on his ass."

She frowned. "I didn't see him leave, Brian."

He mimicked her look of confusion as he verified, "You didn't? He should have left at least fifteen minutes ago. Have you been at your desk all this time?"

She shook her head regretfully. "No, I had to run down to the supply room for a couple of minutes. But I think Jeannie's been here the whole time," she said, referring to their front desk receptionist. She picked up her phone and punched in the main number to reach the younger college student who, like Justin, was a temporary intern working during the summer as a floater wherever she was needed.

Brian listened impatiently to Cynthia's side of the conversation, but couldn't ascertain enough of what was being said to figure out what the receptionist was telling his assistant. But when she hung up the phone, his body instantly went on alert at the concerned look on her face. "She said she's been at her desk for at least the past hour, and remembered Chamberlain when he came in." Cynthia didn't think it was a good time to interject that with the way the man looked, it wasn't hard for him to make a distinct impression on any women he encountered. "She told me that she didn't see him leave, though."

"Fuck!" Brian growled, warning bells instantly going off. "Cynthia – tell Malcolm to meet me in the Art Department!" he roared as he rushed back down the hallway as Cynthia picked up the phone to summon the employee that doubled as both a security guard and a maintenance tech.

_If you've so much as touched him, Chamberlain, you're fucking dead_, Brian silently promised as, his heart beating in rage as well as alarm, he went racing toward the Art Department. He burst through the closed door as several employees gasped at the unexpected intrusion; he noticed fleetingly that papers and pencils scattered onto the floor everywhere as he frantically looked around for his partner. "Justin! Where is he?" he demanded as he turned to Jimmy.

The man's eyebrows rose in bewilderment. "I _told_ you, Brian…he left for lunch a little while ago. He's not here?"

Brian rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. Justin wasn't here, but Chamberlain apparently was – somewhere. And it was a good bet he wasn't just taking a leisurely tour of his agency. Something didn't seem right. "Are you sure he's gone?" he pressed.

Jimmy frowned. "As far as I know…..Is something wrong, Brian?" He couldn't understand why Brian was making such a fuss over a simple college intern. The young man certainly possessed a lot of artistic talent, but why was he so special to him? "I can help you with whatever you need," he suggested, feeling just a little put out that he was being passed over for some temporary employee; after all, he _was _the head of the Art Department.

Brian shook his head. "Not with this," he said mysteriously. "If you see Justin, tell him to stay put – and don't let him out of your sight – you got it?" he demanded.

Jimmy stared at him, befuddled. "Okay…..whatever you say, Brian," he said just a little defensively. He knew, though, that Brian paid him well to do his job, and part of that job was doing what he asked, whether it made sense at the time or not. "I'll keep an eye out for him."

Brian nodded distractedly as he turned and rushed out of the hallway. He stopped, though, at a loss as to where to start looking. Kinnetik wasn't a big place, but where would Justin be if he wasn't in his office or in the Art Department? The copy room, perhaps? He knew he sometimes went there to complete some of his school projects or to do the preliminary work for the storyboards. It was a start – something told him the longer it took to find him, the worse things might be. He began to hurry toward the copy room in frantic search for his partner as Malcolm came rushing up to him from the other direction.

"Is there a problem, Brian?" the tall, burly bald-headed man asked. Malcolm had started as a janitor at Vanguard when Brian was employed there. He had been impressed at the time by the man's dedication to his work, however menial it might have been, and had found out he was taking night classes to become a security guard. When Brian had opened up his own agency, he had sought the man out and given him his first post-graduate job as part security guard, part maintenance tech. The man had paid him back for his generosity by being a fiercely loyal and also discreet employee, so much so that when he had periodically caught him and Justin having a little 'fun' in his office after hours, he had never said a word about it. As his heart began to hammer in his chest in anxiety, he couldn't think of a better person to have at his back.

"It's Justin…he's missing – and I think one of my _former_ clients may just be after him," he explained as Malcolm struggled to keep up with the long-legged man's pace as he continued to rush down the hall toward the copy room. "He didn't leave the agency about 30 minutes ago when I threw him out of my office and I haven't been able to find Justin. I have reason to believe he might be with him."

Malcolm nodded; he didn't have to ask what exactly Brian meant. By the man's worried look on his face, he knew it was personal – _extremely _personal. And he could _also _tell by his boss' look of fury that he was pissed – extremely pissed – as well as concerned about the young man's welfare. "We'll find him, Brian," he assured his boss, who nodded curtly in acknowledgment.

"You're damned right we're going to find him," Brian vowed. "And he'll be sorry when I do."


	3. Cat's Outta the Bag & He's Outta There!

"You don't want to do this," Justin warned shakily as the man's face began to descend toward him, his intention crystal clear.

"Oh, but I do," Chamberlain responded softly. "You're fucking hot, you know that?" he replied huskily, licking his lips in anticipation as his eyes lowered to hone in on his target. His eyes started to drift closed and his cock twitched in anticipation as he almost felt the full lips about to touch his….

Suddenly the wind was abruptly knocked out of him and his eyes flew open as he doubled over in agony, his hands instantly falling away from their grasp of the sink as pain shot through his groin from the knee that Justin had jabbed strongly into him. "I warned you, you fucker!" Justin yelled, his heart beating rapidly at his spontaneous reaction. Firmly obtaining the advantage now, he roughly shoved the other man back away from him, causing Chamberlain to fall painfully onto the hard, cold floor. "You're an asshole, you know that?" he snapped, his words of fury echoing off the curved, marbled walls of the men's room; his face flushed with disgust and his eyes flashed in resolve as he stared down at the wounded man. "A fucking, Class A, moronic _asshole_!"

Chamberlain peered over at him in shock, still reeling from the well-placed knee jab. "You son of a bitch!" he snarled as he leaned over in torment. He rose to his knees as he attempted to stand up, but Justin's thrust had been brief but effective; he fell back down as the pain flared up once more and the breath caught in his throat at the sensation.

"You're going to be sorry for that, you son of a bitch!" Chamberlain sputtered out; he could feel his cock swelling now for a _different _reason as he continued to struggle to an upright position.

"I don't think you're in any position to threaten me," Justin retorted. His breathing was coming out in short pants of nervous adrenalin as he realized the full impact of what he had done; obviously, he had effectively severed any hope now of Brian securing a new account with this man. He wasn't sorry, though – his need for self-preservation had kicked in, and it had been the only way to get out of his precarious situation. He just hoped that Brian would understand why he had to do what he did.

* * *

As they rushed toward the copy room and approached the men's room nearby, Brian strained to make out a couple of angry voices reverberating from the inside; his heart raced as he immediately recognized one of them as Justin's. "They're in there!" he shouted to Malcolm who was trotting along closely behind him. The man nodded as Brian ran toward the men's room. _Please let him be okay…..I'll rip your fucking balls off if you've touched him….. _

_

* * *

_

Justin glanced up in relief as he saw Brian suddenly come rushing in, a look of righteous wrath as well as concern on his face, his complexion red and angry.

Brian glanced over immediately into his partner's flushed face and feared the worst. "Are you all right?" he asked as he gently grasped Justin's upper arms, finding his voice unexpectedly choked up with emotion.

Justin nodded quickly in reassurance. "I'm fine," he assured him somewhat breathlessly. "Someone tried to get better acquainted and I wasn't in the mood."

Brian took just enough time to make sure Justin really _was_ okay before he turned toward the other man who was half-crouched, half-kneeling on the floor and unleashed his fury. "I'm going to fucking _kill _you, Chamberlain!" he shouted as made a move to tackle the now frightened man. To his extreme frustration, however, he found himself quickly subdued by a pair of burly arms that tightly wound themselves around his body and pinned him effectively in place.

"Brian!" Justin shouted at him in alarm as he realized his partner's intentions. "Don't! It'll just make it worse! He's not worth it!"

It hadn't taken Malcolm long to size up exactly what was happening and why his boss was so agitated. "He's right, Brian!" he commanded in an authoritative tone of voice. "I'll handle it – let me take care of him."

Not quite satisfied with his inability to tear the man limb from limb, Brian struggled violently against the other man's hold, but he proved to be too strong for him. "Let me go, Malcolm, or you're fucking _fired_!" he demanded as he fought against the muscular man.

But his employee wasn't buying it. He valued his job highly, but he also valued his loyalty to the man who had given it to him, and the last thing he wanted was for things to escalate to the point where Brian got into trouble over such a meaningless, despicable man. "I don't care," he stated firmly. "I'm not letting you go." He looked over at Justin for help, knowing only he would be able to talk some common sense into him and make him see reason. He wasn't quite sure exactly what their relationship was, but he could tell by the way his boss looked at the young blond and simply by the tender inflection in the man's voice when he said Justin's name that they weren't merely fuck buddies. And judging from his boss' violent reaction to what he had just walked in on, he knew for sure now that Brian cared deeply for this man. And he _also_ knew that his boss wouldn't hesitate to take matters into his own hands if he was given the opportunity to do so.

Justin walked up to his partner and held his hands on either side of Brian's face to get his attention. Brian looked intensely into the steadying blue eyes as Justin murmured soothingly, "Let it go, Brian. He's an asshole but he didn't hurt me." He smiled up at him to whisper, "He didn't get much of a chance to."

For the first time since he had walked in on Chamberlain kneeling in agony on the bathroom floor, the brunet's face relaxed just a bit at his partner's calming words. "I'm beginning to see that," he answered dryly, his lips curling under as he realized that he had apparently worried for nothing. It was obvious just who had gotten the upper hand here, and it wasn't Chamberlain. That still didn't mean he wouldn't _always_ worry when it came to this particular man, though. "He didn't touch you?" he asked, needing to make sure. He swallowed hard in relief as Justin shook his head firmly in confirmation.

He glared over with steely, dark-green eyes of hatred at the other man still kneeling on the floor, his hands clenching his cock and balls to try and quell some of the shooting pain he felt. "You can let me go, Malcolm," he told the other man, not taking his eyes off the idiot who had had the audacity to try and force himself on his partner.

The security guard looked at Justin for reassurance, who nodded in agreement. Malcolm wasn't sure, but somehow he knew this young intern knew Brian quite well and he silently understood that he could trust his judgment when it came to him. He slowly loosened his hold on his boss as thankfully Brian remained where he was and did not make any move to strike the other man, whose raspy breath spoke volumes about the pain he was still experiencing. "Get that fucker out of my sight before I change my mind," he growled as he stared daggers into the other man's eyes. "And if I ever see you come anywhere _near_ my business or especially Justin _again_, I WILL make good on my threat, Chamberlain – _believe it!_" he thundered emphatically.

The injured man opened his mouth with the apparent intention of making some snappy comeback when Malcolm turned to stare directly into his eyes. "I'd keep my big mouth shut if I were you," he cautioned him as he reached down to not-so-gently grasp the man by his shoulder to hoist him up.

Chamberlain gasped from the rough handling as he rose stiffly from his kneeling position to finally stand up. Malcolm placed his hands on the man's left shoulder to support him as he instructed, "Let's go – you're out of here - _permanently_."

"Uh, uh, uh," Malcolm clucked as the man again foolishly made a move as if he wanted to speak. "You're not too bright, are you? I said keep your big, fat, fucking mouth shut and maybe you'll get out of here with your balls only _injured_." He turned to wink once at Justin as he smiled and said, "Nice shot by the way," before the two men slowly hobbled out of the men's room, leaving the two partners by themselves at last.

As soon as they were alone, Brian swept his partner into his arms, holding onto him tightly as if he would never let him go. He would never tell Justin, but the whole episode had scared the shit out of him. Just thinking of the possibility that Chamberlain might have hurt the man he cared so deeply for made him almost sick to his stomach; he should have thrown the man out the minute he started leering at his partner in his office, especially if he had known he would have been lurking around later, just hoping for another chance to run into Justin.

Brian closed his eyes, drinking in the feel of having Justin back in his arms; now that the whole sordid tale was over, he could feel the slender body slightly trembling in response as he slowly rubbed circles over his back. He sighed in relief and held him for several seconds before he reluctantly pulled back to gaze into the intense, blue eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" he whispered, reaching up to feather the back of Justin's head, marveling as always at the softness there.

"I'm fine," Justin reassured him once more with a slight smile. "Although next time I think I'll pay a little more attention to who's coming in to take a piss while I'm washing my hands," he quipped, trying to make light of the situation now that the man had been unceremoniously escorted out.

Brian, however, wasn't able to dismiss the episode quite so easily. He looked down in embarrassment. "I should have followed the fucker out of my office when I threw him out earlier," he told Justin apologetically. "I figured he had left, until I found out otherwise. You were supposed to be at lunch," he gently scolded him.

"I was trying," Justin told him. "But this heavy-handed boss made me stay later than usual to help him out with a client and I got delayed."

Brian's mouth twisted into a rueful smile. "Remind me next time to tell the 'boss' not to delay you when you're feeling hunger pangs." He brushed his hand through his hair, the anger and fear still fresh in his mind. "I'd still like to fucking kill that asshole for what he almost did to you," he confessed.

Justin had to admit; while he was scared when Brian had threatened to do just that earlier, he was also secretly thrilled by Brian's possessive jealousy toward the other man. It helped to validate how deeply Brian felt for him and it made him exhilarated at the same time. "I know," he told him softly, reaching up to nuzzle his nose with his. "But I'm fine…and I'm _still_ haven't eaten, by the way," he said meaningfully.

Brian smiled warmly at him. "Well, I haven't had lunch yet, either; what do you say we go out and satisfy our hunger_ together_?"

Justin smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me." He began to disentangle himself from Brian's embrace only to be locked in even tighter against him in response. "Brian?" he murmured in question as he peered up into the warm, greenish-gold eyes.

"Not just yet; first things first," he murmured softly as he molded his lips firmly against Justin's unexpectedly, almost in an attempt to reassure himself that the man he loved was truly all right. The blond had just enough advance warning to let out a sigh of pleasure as Brian's tongue came out to gently sweep across his mouth, asking for silent invitation to enter before Justin obliged, wrapping his own arms around the taut, muscular back.

As they continued to kiss deeply, they were totally oblivious to the stares of several employees who had congregated in front of the men's room to peer in and find out what the shouting and commotion had been all about. As he passed the curious stares of his fellow employees earlier, Malcolm had simply told them everything was under control as he escorted a stiff-looking Maxwell Chamberlain out the door, never to return. They weren't content with that simple an explanation, however; word had spread rapidly that one of their newly-hired interns from the Art Department was missing and this other man was apparently responsible.

Cynthia and Ted smiled in amusement as they watched the two men continue to kiss, the sounds of pleasure occasionally escaping their lips as their hands roamed over each other's backs familiarly. It was a journey they knew Brian and Justin had taken numerous times before, and something told them everyone _else_ knew that now, too…...

"Well, I'll be damned," Jimmy couldn't help exclaiming as he walked up and saw what was going on; he clamped his hand over his mouth as he realized he must have been overheard, but it was too late. Brian finally broke off his kiss enough to turn his head to stare at the spectators watching their show in rapt fascination. He curled his lips under as Justin, also, turned his head so that they were facing their audience, cheek to cheek.

"What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen two queers kissing each other before?" he asked, raising one eyebrow in a silent challenge. "Show's over – now get back to work," he warned, just before he began to kiss Justin again. Silently, Brian's employees all turned to go, each stealing one more quick peek at the striking couple with the tousled hair and swollen lips before they did as they were told and trudged back down the hallway toward their desks; yes, they decided, it was just one more ordinary day in the somewhat unorthodox world that Brian Kinney had built.

Cynthia and Ted remained standing there a few moments longer, both with looks of amusement on their faces.

"What?" Brian retorted. "This is nothing new to either one of you," he pointed out.

The two exchanged a look between themselves before Cynthia pointed out, "No, but to the rest of _them_ it was."

"Well, not anymore," Brian told them as Justin gazed at him in surprise. "They'll just have to get used to Justin having regular fuck breaks built into his schedule from now on."

"Brian," Justin gently chided him, his face flushing in embarrassment. "Sorry, guys," he told them apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, Justin," Cynthia told him. "We're all in favor of anything that keeps our boss happy." And she could tell – he _did_ make him happy. Since her boss had reunited with Justin, he was like a totally different person. He was still as driven, passionate, and imaginative as he always had been, but he was different now – he was _happier_, she decided…..much happier.

"Well…..Since the excitement's over now, Boss, we'll let you two take care of your _lunch_," Ted told him, emphasizing the last word as he smirked. "Bon appétit," he wished them with a knowing smile as the two employees turned and left to go back to their desks.

As the two men turned to face each other, Justin smiled. "I can't believe you kissed me in front of everybody," he said, his voice a mixture of shyness, pleasure and awe. It was the same tone of voice he had used before when he had found out Brian had kissed him during the prom. "I thought you wanted to keep our relationship a secret."

Brian shrugged; suddenly that didn't seem quite so important now. In fact, he was wondering why he had made it such a secret at all. If any of his other employees didn't like the fact that he was involved with Justin, well then, fuck 'em. "To hell with what they think," he told Justin resolutely. "It's my company, and I can damn well do whatever – and _whoever_ – I want."

Justin huffed softly. "Well, I'd better not catch you 'doing' anyone else…._Mr. Kinney_."

Brian felt himself growing hard just by the impertinent tone of his partner's voice and he smiled. "Don't worry, _Taylor_…..something tells me you'll be more than enough for me to _do_ for some time to come." He placed his hands lightly on his partner's waist as he said, "And speaking of which….I think you owe me some lunch."

* * *

_A/N: That's the end! Thank you for all the reviews - I so adore a jealous Brian, don't you? I would love your parting thoughts. Thanks again for reading.:)_


	4. Epilogue:  Smackdown at the Auto Show

_A/N: I know - this was supposed to be finished! I just couldn't resist one more jab at Chamberlain, this time from Brian. Hope you don't mind indulging me.:)_

_

* * *

_

_Three Months Later – Fall_

"You know….I'm going to miss seeing you at work, Sunshine," Brian told his partner, his eyes twinkling like a little boy who had had the pleasure of spending an inordinate amount of time with his favorite toy. Actually, he decided, that wasn't far off. It had been a most pleasurable summer while his very own personal intern had been working for him. Now, though, all good things had to come to an end and all good little artists had to return to PIFA…

"You mean you're going to miss the _fringe benefits_," Justin pointed out more accurately as he smiled back at the brunet.

"Oh, is that what they call it now?" Brian responded, curling his lips under in amusement. "Well, I have a feeling I'm not the _only _who's going to miss them," he pointed out as Justin merely shrugged with a slight smile. "Just like Dixie, it was good to see the bath house rise once again." He sighed. "I guess at least the cleaning lady will be relieved to see you gone."

Justin smiled in agreement; the poor woman was constantly having to clean up after their rather enthusiastic 'breaks' twice a day, and that was in addition to lunch if they decided to 'eat in.'

"I have a feeling that Jimmy wasn't too fond of your use of "artistic license," Brian. "The poor guy was afraid to say so much as 'boo' to me for fear the Kinney wrath would descend upon him. I think the cleaning lady's not the _only_ one who'll be relieved to see me go."

Brian's expression took on a more serious note as he told his partner, "Don't let the guy fool you, Justin. The Art Department got twice as much done while you were there this summer. They're going to have their work cut out for them now that you're back in school. I'm going to have to ride their asses hard to get the same amount of work done."

Justin harrumphed as he smirked. "I better _not_ catching you 'riding anyone else's ass' except mine, _Mr. Kinney_," he huskily quipped as the brunet grinned back at him.

"Duly noted, Sunshine," he told his partner. "Speaking of _riding….._did you decide which one I should pick?"

Justin shook his head. "How about _none _of them?" he suggested hopefully, but he knew it was no use as he sighed in resignation. "I really wish you wouldn't do this, Brian."

The older man rolled his eyes. "We've already discussed this, Justin. You need a reliable means of transportation to go to school, and I need a brand new toy as a tax write-off. Works out perfectly."

Justin turned in his seat to stare defiantly at his partner. "Brian, you know how much I hate it when you spend so much money on me! You're already paying for my tuition….which I am paying you back for," he told his partner adamantly. "Now I'll have a car to pay back, too."

"It's just the old Jeep, Justin. I mean, how much could that thing be worth now? Most of it has depreciated by now." He smiled reassuringly into the fiery blue eyes as his voice softened slightly. "Just let me do this for you, all right? I don't always have time to take you to school and I don't want you to have to cart your portfolio back and forth on the bus. Stop being so ungrateful and just take the damn fucking thing, okay?"

Justin's heart warmed at Brian's tender tone of concern. How could he say no to that voice or that handsome face? "Okay," he grudgingly agreed at last. "But I'm going to pay the insurance on it from what I earned at Kinnetik."

Brian shook his head. "Fair enough, I guess," he decided. He peered through the windshield, noticing the exit ramp coming up for the downtown Convention Center where the Annual Auto Exposition was being held. The great part about attending the show was that by law, no salesman could actually sell you a car there, so they weren't very pushy when you expressed an interest in any particular vehicle. The beauty of it, though, was that you could sit in each luxury car to your heart's content and gauge your interest in it before you bought it; that is, if you could get the sticky-fingered kids out from behind the steering wheel first….

Justin knew that Brian would wend his way directly toward the expensive, upper-end models, but he supposed that was one of the perks of being such a successful ad agency owner. In fact, despite Max Chamberlain's withdrawal of his rather lucrative account a few months ago, Brian's company had barely experienced even so much of a hiccup as a result. Soon after the arrogant man was bodily escorted out of Kinnetik, an old college friend of Brian's had called him with a possible lead toward a new client. Less than a week later, his partner had a brand-new client signed up that more than made up for the gap in business that Chamberlain would have provided.

As he gazed over at his partner, whose eyes were lit up with excitement as they pulled up near the Convention Center, he couldn't help thinking how wonderful it had been to work with him this past summer. Maybe one day, after he had graduated, they could work together again. For now, though, he was more than content being with the man he loved at night and on the weekends.

"This is it!" Brian said, his eyes shining with enthusiasm as he pulled into a nearby parking space and turned the motor of the Jeep off. "Time to go find me some wheels!"

Justin laughed at his partner's eagerness. When Brian was around expensive gadgets, motorcycles, luxury automobiles, or designer furniture, he was like a kid in a candy store. As he looked at Brian's joyful-looking face, he decided he rather _liked_ this rarely-seen side of the other man.

"I'm coming, Speed Racer," he quipped as he disembarked from the car.

Brian frowned. "How do you know about _him_?" he asked in amazement. "That cartoon was on before you….ur, _WE_ were born."

Justin's face broke out into a wide smile. "Duh….animation," he said by virtue of explanation; it never mattered how old the cartoon was if it was drawn well. Brian smiled in understanding as he placed his hand on Justin's shoulder in a silent signal to hurry him along.

* * *

"Fuck!" Justin exclaimed as he stood next to a free-standing display showing the specs and price of a cherry-red Lamborghini that Brian was presently sitting in; his eyes grew big as saucers as he finally found the sticker price. "$225,700!" he cried out, stunned. "You're shitting me," he muttered in amazement. "What's in this car – a gold-plated steering wheel and diamond-studded seatbelts?" He shook his head; now he knew why it was called sticker _shock_ because he was feeling that emotion right now.

Brian pulled his long, lanky legs out from the low-sitting, outrageously-expensive mint on wheels and closed the door, eyeing the sleek exterior as he slowly walked around it. "Sweet ride," he practically purred as he smiled in appreciation. "I could definitely see me tooling around in _this_ one," he stated as Justin walked up next to him.

"If I was driving this car, I'd be afraid to even put the damned thing in drive," Justin told him, shaking his head. "Two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars," he mumbled again, still trying to come to terms with such an ungodly high amount.

Brian smiled at his reaction as he leaned in to whisper in Justin's ear, "That's okay, Sunshine. I'll drive it. You just sit in the passenger seat and look hot. That color would look very sexy on you."

Justin almost blushed the same shade as the car at Brian's huskily-spoken words. Brian chuckled softly at his reaction as he gently took Justin by the wrist and motioned with his head toward another vehicle nearby. "Come on, Speed Racer_,_" he whispered, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. "Let's go check out how a silver Maserati would look with your skin," he suggested. "I need to find out if you look better with cool or hot tones."

"Brian," Justin murmured in embarrassment as Brian grinned at him over his discomfiture. He wasn't used to shopping for cars based on how they looked against his skin tone. But then again, he had never quite met someone like his partner before, either. He had to smile at Brian's look of fascination with all the fancy car models. Something told him that based on how many such vehicles were displayed here and the inordinate amount of time that Brian was spending in each car, they would probably be spending a lot of time here today. He didn't really mind, though….any chance to spend extra time alone (well, relatively alone, anyway) with Brian was alright with him.

He laughed as Brian began to outdistance him. "Come on, Justin!" Brian chided him. "Chop chop!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," he grumbled good-naturedly as he struggled to keep up. "Go on – I'll catch up!" he called out, laughing as Brian nodded once and instantly took off at a run, almost as if he was afraid the car would disappear before he got there. _Kid in a candy store indeed_, Justin thought to himself, smiling. He slowed down to a more normal walk, realizing that Brian would be easy to find – he just had to look for the most expensive, silver car in the group at the back of the Convention Center and he would find Brian in it.

* * *

As Justin slowly threaded his way through the burgeoning crowd of visitors, his movements were being closely monitored by a man who was standing on one of the raised platforms that displayed a new line of luxury models being introduced into the United States in the fall; Maxwell Chamberlain had immediately recognized Justin as he passed nearby, the blond oblivious to his presence.

"Well, well, well…..Will you look who's here," he said in pleased surprise. He would know that fiery, sexy blond anywhere. It was the same hot intern he had set his sights on a few months ago – the same man who had made his rejection of him _painfully _clear. In fact, he could almost still feel the agonizing stab of pain that had shot through his groin after the blond had kneed him so violently in that restroom. He had not only been injured during that unpleasant episode, but he had also been totally humiliated as a result when Kinney's gorilla security guard had unceremoniously escorted him out.

"Looks like a little payback's in order," he murmured as he carefully tracked the blond with his eyes. "Like they say, good things come to those who wait," he snickered, as he jumped down from the platform and took off in hot pursuit of his target. "I'm not letting you go so easily this time, Taylor," he vowed as he hastily jostled his way through the crowd, elbowing anyone who stood in his way as those he pushed grumbled vocally at his rudeness. At the moment, though, he didn't care – he had an important matter to take care of.

* * *

Unaware that he was being followed, Justin slowly picked his way through the ever-increasing crowd, finally reaching the outskirts of the Maserati dealer's display of new vehicles. He quickly scanned the area, noticing only one silver-colored vehicle in the bunch. Unfortunately, Brian wasn't in it at the moment. He frowned, wondering where the luxury car enthusiast had gone. He looked around the area nearby, noticing there was both a Porsche and a Lexus dealership located not too far way. "Should have put a fucking bell on you, _Mr. Kinney_," he kidded as he sighed. Knowing Brian had to be in the exposition area somewhere, he began to do a quick scan of each luxury vehicle nearby, looking carefully for his partner.

Finally after ten minutes of no Brian, he finally sat down at one of the portable picnic tables set up next to the concession vendors. "You're just going to have to come find me," he muttered in resignation. At the pace Brian was going earlier, and with his long legs, he figured his partner could be way over on the other side of the expo center by now or even upstairs on the second level where the expensive motorcycles were kept. His stomach growled, reminding him that neither he nor Brian had eaten since morning. "Well, while you satisfy your appetite for cars, _Mr. Kinney_," he said softly with a smile, "I guess I'll just have to satisfy my own."

Standing up, he was about to walk over to one of the vendors when he decided to make a pit stop at the nearby bathroom first.

* * *

_How fitting,_ Chamberlain thought smugly as he watched Justin walking toward the men's room. "I guess what goes around, _comes_ around," he said to himself. He slowly made his way toward the entrance door, knowing now that there wasn't any particular hurry – he had the hot little intern right where he wanted him; or he would have soon –his cock would be buried deep inside that tight, luscious little ass of his….

* * *

From his perch on the walkway overlooking the main floor of the center, Brian quickly skimmed the vast space in search of his wayward blond; after being unsuccessful in finding him below, he had decided to come up to the upper level in hopes he could find his partner a little easier. "Okay, Sunshine…how am I supposed to see how hot you look in my new car if I can't find you?" he grumbled in disappointment as he cast his glance all around the sea of cars. He actually wanted to see Justin's reaction to the vehicle he had his eye on: a sleek, brand new, top-of-the-line candy-apple red Corvette. After much debate and after sitting in numerous luxury cars, he had decided to stick with his favorite. He figured he could still keep the old classic model he treasured for his normal ride into work, but when he wanted speed or wanted to open up on a country road somewhere, he would take his new, _convertible_ model out for a spin. He couldn't wait to see Justin's reaction. And Justin always did look hot in red, he thought, as he smiled.

He was just about to resort to asking if the P.A. system could call out Justin's name like some lost child when he spotted a familiar mop of blond hair down by one the concession areas. He snickered. "Figures," he said to himself. "I should have checked that area first." He watched as Justin veered at the last moment to head toward the bathroom instead.

He started to turn around to walk toward the escalator to intersect his wayward partner when another person caught his attention and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes narrowed in fury and his heart started pounding so furiously that it threatened to burst from his chest as he recognized Max Chamberlain making a steady but determined beeline for his partner. "Fuck!" he snarled loudly as he turned and began running as fast as he could toward the stairway, knowing it was closer to the bathroom than the escalator. He completely ignored the heated, angry glares of all the people he had to roughly push aside in his frantic attempt to reach Justin before someone else did. _I AM going to fucking kill you this time, you son of a bitch,_ he growled to himself as he took the steps two at a time…..

* * *

Alone in the back row of urinals in the men's room, Justin zipped up his pants and stuck his hands under the automatic faucet, pressing the soap dispenser a few times as he washed his hands briefly under the running water. He rather absentmindedly turned to press the hot air button nearby as the loud, noisy blower came on. Rubbing his hands briskly under the burst of air to dry them, the deafening noise effectively drowned out the sounds of approaching footsteps behind him.

He didn't have a chance to turn around before a pair of hands came out to grab him. One hand quickly plastered itself to his mouth to keep him from crying out while the other one wrapped itself possessively around his waist to effectively pin him in as an unwilling prisoner.

He struggled to turn around to see who his attacker was, but the other man was too strong for him. His eyes widened in dread, however, as he heard a familiar voice at his ear. "I've come to finish what we started, Taylor," Chamberlain whispered as he bucked slightly against Justin's ass to reveal his already hard cock pressing against him.

Justin tried to cry out so someone would hear him, but Chamberlain used his shoulder to push the hot-air dryer button to turn it back on again, drowning out his hopes of getting someone's attention nearby. He knew if he didn't do something soon, the man would no doubt drag him into a nearby stall and try to finish what he hadn't even been able to start before. He _had_ to get someone's attention, but there would be no knee to the groin _this _time….

He finally did the only thing he could think of – he managed to open his lips just enough to reach out with his teeth and bite down hard on the man's hand. Chamberlain yelped in pain and immediately yanked his hand back to suck on it with his mouth. His eyes filled with rage over this same man injuring him twice. "You asshole!" he growled. "You're going to pay for that!"

Justin opened his mouth to cry for help, but the other man was too fast for him; Chamberlain's wrapped his arm around Justin's head and over his mouth to effectively cut off his only chance to yell for someone. He began to drag Justin toward the closest bathroom stall when suddenly the blond felt the man roughly yanked away from him as he was freed from his bonds.

He turned in shock just in time to see Brian cock his arm back and deliver a resounding blow to the man's face, hitting him squarely in the nose as blood spurted from each nostril and from his cracked lip. "You fucker!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "I really AM going to fucking kill you this time!" Chamberlain shrunk back from the man's fury, noticing Brian's eyes were dark as purest coal as he lunged for him.

Justin was terrified that Brian really _would_ make good on his threat this time; he had never seen his partner as furious as he was at that moment. He suddenly noticed a slender, rather timid-looking, fearful man peering around the corner of the other row of stalls in curiosity and shouted, "Call the police! Do it!" he commanded as the two men began to grapple with each other over control.

He attempted to place himself in between both men but it was no use – he didn't know if it was Brian or Chamberlain, but one of them roughly shoved him out of the way. "Brian, no!" he shouted in alarm. "Don't do it! Let the police handle it!" He moved again to take Brian by the arms to try and pull him off, but he was like a piranha unleashed on steroids; he was not going to let go this time as his hands came up to clamp onto the man's neck and give it a tight squeeze.

Justin's heart pounded furiously as he watched the other man's face darkening and his eyes bulging with fear. "Brian, please!" he pleaded but it was to no avail; Brian was studiously ignoring him.

"Let him go," a deep, authoritative voice unexpectedly called from a few feet away, as Justin turned to see a uniformed security guard holding a gun at both men. "I said….let….him….go!"

Brian's face was red with rage, his eyes flashing with fury as he finally took a deep breath and released Chamberlain, who immediately slumped to the floor in a heap. As soon as Brian had complied with his order, the guard made a motion with his hand and two paramedics rushed in to squat at Chamberlain's side to examine him.

Justin was relieved after a few minutes to see the man stirring as he made a groaning noise a couple of times and finally opened his eyes. After a few seconds, the paramedics helped him to his feet, having to hold onto him when he swayed and threatened to fall as soon as they released their hold on him.

"You're under arrest," the guard told both men flatly.

"But it was his fault!" Justin cried out, pointing to Chamberlain. "He attacked me! It's the second time he's done it!" he revealed. "Brian was just trying to defend me!" he explained urgently.

"You can explain all of that down at the police station," the guard sternly told Justin. "Let's go."

But both partners first needed to make sure of something first. "Are you all right?" Justin asked softly, lightly placing his hand near a cut Brian apparently had just received to his lower lip; there was also an ugly red scar about an inch long right above his left eyelid.

Brian nodded. "Are you?" he asked softly, placing his hand on Justin's cheek as the blond nodded.

"I'm fine," he told his partner, gazing tenderly into his eyes. "Thanks to you."

Brian swallowed and took a deep breath, so relieved that Justin was apparently unharmed. "I saw him walking in here and knew you were inside. I tried to get to you before him, but I couldn't make it."

Chamberlain glared in disgust at the scene being played out before him; he knew that once more he had been thwarted in his attempt to capture the intriguing blond. He finally realized it was never going to happen – not as long as his personal bodyguard in the form of Brian Kinney was around. "Can we cut this tender little scene here and just get on with it?" he snarled nastily to the security guard.

A second guard walked in as backup for the first as both men took Brian and Chamberlain by the arm and led them out of the bathroom, Justin following closely behind them. Justin insisted on keeping his hand on Brian's shoulder as they were led through the crowd and toward the back exit door. Fifteen minutes later, both men were escorted inside Precinct 29 of the Pittsburgh Police Department.

"Come for a tour, Kinney?" a familiar voice asked from a few feet away as they walked in and were told to sit down in chairs on opposite sides of the room.

Brian grimaced at Carl Horvath. "Not quite," he said, rubbing his stiff jaw where Chamberlain had gotten in a lucky punch. "Two of us wanted the same thing at the car show and we had a fight over it," he quipped, looking over at Justin meaningfully. "I won, though," he added as Justin smiled back at him softly.

"You know this guy?" the security guard asked Carl, pointing to Brian.

The older man shook his head. "Yeah….you could say that. What's he in here for?"

"He and that other guy started a fight in one of the restrooms," the guard stated, pointing over to a nearby chair where Chamberlain was glaring over at Brian. "They were both throwing punches at each other and the taller guy tried to choke the other one. I couldn't sort out their stories so I told them they would have to both come down."

Carl nodded as he stared over at Justin. At least he knew the young man would tell him the truth – he sometimes wondered how the blond artist had ever gotten so deeply involved with Kinney, but at least he knew he would be straight with him. "I'll take care of this, Danny," he told the security guard who he obviously knew. "You can go ahead and head back."

The guard nodded as he turned to go. "Better keep an eye on those two," he warned as he stared at Brian and Chamberlain. "They're like water and oil." Carl nodded his thanks as the guard turned and walked out the precinct door.

Carl sighed as he turned to direct his question to Justin, who was apparently the only sane one in the bunch. "What happened, son?" he asked softly.

"Don't listen to him!" Chamberlain called out scornfully. "Those two are in cahoots together! He'll lie for Kinney every time!"

"Will you shut up!" Carl told the other man in irritation. "I wasn't talking to _you_." He glanced up as one of his officers entered the room. "Hopkins….take that suspect down to the holding cell for a while, okay?"

As Chamberlain sputtered his vehement protests, the muscular-looking policeman helped the injured man to his feet and half-walked, half-dragged him down the corridor, the man's shouts echoing as they eventually disappeared.

Carl let out an exhale of exasperated breath; it was going to be a long shift at the precinct today. "Okay, let's try this again, Justin….can you explain to me what happened?"

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the two men walked out of the precinct's door and down the steps after Justin had explained in detail how the other man had attacked him – twice. Carl assured the two partners that Chamberlain would be charged with assault and battery, a crime that could have him locked up for at least the next two years.

"Fucker got off easy," Brian muttered as he wrapped his arm protectively around Justin's slender waist. As they stepped down onto the sidewalk, he stopped Justin by halting his forward movement and gently turned Justin around to face him. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked again gently, his concern still evident in his voice. When he had seen Justin heading into the bathroom earlier at the center, and watched Chamberlain, all thoughts about new cars had quickly been replaced with much more important matters.

Justin reached up to softly brush some hair back from Brian's forehead. "I'm _fine_, Brian….really. I'm just relieved that he's going to be prosecuted this time for what he did."

"Well, he's still getting off way too easily," Brian groused, his voice deep with concern over what might have happened. "If I hadn't gotten there when I did….." He let the horrible thought remain uncompleted; the idea of Justin getting hurt was too raw and painful to even contemplate.

Justin smiled softly at him. "But you did, Brian. That's what's important. And I'm fine…..we're _both_ fine," he assured him, placing his hands on Brian's shoulders as he leaned up to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Ow," Brian cried out as their lips touched. His lip had been cut slightly from his altercation with the other man and it was still painful.

"Sorry," Justin said, opting to kiss Brian on the corner of his mouth instead. "I guess even heroes can be injured," he teased softly.

"That's me," Brian retorted. "Always getting my head in the way."

Justin chuckled. "Not all the time," he responded meaningfully as Brian smiled a little. He let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's all over," he admitted. "That guy really gave me the creeps."

"I could think of a lot of other words to describe that fucker, Sunshine," Brian growled; still livid that the man would have the audacity to force himself on his partner.

"Forget it, Brian; he's not even worth the breath it takes to say the guy's name." He smiled up at his partner. "I think we have some unfinished business to take care of, anyway."

A single manicured brow rose in question. "We do? Here – now – on the sidewalk?" he asked, tongue in cheek.

Justin swatted his arm lightly. "No, not that," he said as Brian grinned. "I think we have enough time to head back down to the expo center to see the rest of the luxury cars."

Brian looked down at him in disbelief. "You really want to go back there after what happened?"

Justin smiled. "Sure…..Chamberlain's not going anywhere. And besides, I need to make sure you don't buy a car that's going to clash with my skin tone."

Brian smirked. "That reminds me…..let me tell you about this convertible I saw….."


End file.
