| And So Moving Forward (Part I), Chapter 4 - Meanwhile At Bri-tin |
[Apr. 24th, 2008|01:38 pm] |
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Title: And So Moving Forward, Part I (A Sequel to Between Now And Then)
Rating: Adults Only
Characters: Brian, Justin, and other canon characters
Genre: Fanfiction, Drama
Warnings: Some Angst
Timeline: Future - About 1 year after episode 513
Summary
Now more than one year after the events in episode 513, Brian and Justin have formed a legal union, and home is technically Bri-tin. However, this story picks up after the explosive dinner at Debbie’s in Between Now And Then as Brian and Justin move on with their lives. The dates in the story follow the existing timeline of the Talisman Series.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended
Lois and Shadownyc…thanks for the beta…you’re the greatest!
Previous Chapters
Chapter 4 – Meanwhile At Britin
Monday Afternoon…(Day 50)
Shortly after the video conferencing session with Kinnetik and the phone call from Brian, Justin was peacefully working in his studio when the phone rang.
“Justin, it’s Catherine Mann,” she said sharply. “You do remember me, your hard working agent?”
“Of course, I remember you Catherine. I just try not to annoy you unnecessarily,” Justin reminded her.
“Justin, I saw your picture in the paper yesterday. In fact, all of New York saw your picture in the paper,” she said, and then paused for effect. “By the way, your partner is quite handsome.”
“Thank you, and did you notice that the article talked about the upcoming show in Cincinnati and also the one at the Thornton?”
“Justin, I realize that you’re now legally partnered to an advertising genius, but please leave the details of your career to me,” Catherine teased. “Now, why didn’t you warn me about this when you were here last week?”
“This wasn’t something that I’d planned in advance but just neglected to mention. Brian and I made the decision, and then, we saw no reason to wait. Catherine, this was a personal decision, I don’t understand why you’re so upset?” Justin innocently asked.
“You get all this extra press that I have to manage. You realize that anything that you do from now on, personally or professionally is going to have significant press coverage, so you can forget about quietly trying new things,” Catherine couldn’t resist saying mockingly. “Those days are clearly over. You just entered the big leagues. And, there are rumors circulating around town, that Brian is opening a New York office. Is that also true?”
“Brian’s been in and out of New York for months, and no one seemed to pay any attention to him. Why are they so interested now?”
“Now, Brian is partnered to a rising young artist. Oh yes, and from what I hear, Brian snagged an international account that the top agencies here and abroad were after. Both of you are on everyone’s radar. So behave yourselves. And, don’t forget to keep your agent informed,” Catherine insisted with a smile. “By the way, you’ve been invited to be part of the emerging artist exhibit in Chicago.”
“I have? That’s wonderful. Don’t tell me that I’ve been invited to participate in the Chicago exhibit because someone saw my picture in the A&E section of the paper?”
“I doubt if the news has traveled that far. You’ve got to admit, your name was on everyone’s lips before this major change in your legal status,” Catherine tried to remind him.
“You’re probably right,” Justin finally agreed. “I guess you and I do need to go over my schedule too.
Remember that I’m going to Milan for the summer,” he casually reminded her.
“You don’t even know if your submission will be accepted in Milan. Aren’t you being a bit premature with your summer plans?” Catherine challenged. She knew that Justin was an amazing artist, but competition was always stiff for the international shows. She didn’t’ want him to be disappointed.
“We decided to go to Milan for the international showcase, whether I’m accepted or not. So, if you can fit Chicago in between The Thornton and Milan, I think I can handle it. I’ve always wanted to do a showcase in Chicago.”
“Just be sure that you have time to paint, now that you’ve become this media darling.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“When will you be back in town? We need to talk about Chicago and several more galleries are interested in your work.”
“I have to finish the painting for Milan and ship it out on Friday. Is it possible that we could wait until Friday afternoon or Monday morning to meet?”
“Sure, Monday will be fine. Do I get to see what you’re submitting to Milan?”
“We’ll see. I really don’t like to show my work in advance, if you’ll remember,” Justin reminded her. “I’ll talk to you when I get back in town.”
“That’s fine. And, congratulations Justin, that’s a great picture, by the way.”
“I must admit that I’m pretty happy. You’ll probably notice it in my work,” Justin added before saying goodbye.
Justin couldn’t help smiling to himself as he hung up the phone after talking with Catherine. He couldn’t help thinking that it must have been a slow news weekend in New York for the Art & Entertainment section to have utilized its precious page-space for an announcement about his new legal union with Brian.
Justin also realized that if Catherine Mann had seen the article, then Spyder probably had seen it too, so Justin took a moment to check his voice mails. He scrolled through all the voice mails from Debbie, Michael, and Lindsay. Justin did find the one voice mail from Spyder indicating that he’d returned from his trip and was now back in New York. There was nothing unusual in the message from Spyder except some cryptic comment that Justin and Brian needed to do a better job of scheduling the visits of their out-of-town houseguests. But, this was just Spyder being Spyder, nothing unusual there.
Still, something told Justin that calling Spyder was probably a good idea. They needed to talk about the graphics for Barrister, Wilkins & Evans anyway. So Justin called him.
“Well, it’s about time you called,” Spyder said, as his way of simply answering the phone.
“What happened to hello?” Justin had to ask, even though he knew it was pointless.
“Is there something that you would like to tell me, Taylor, which would justify a normal greeting?”
“I gather from your attitude that you saw the A & E section of yesterday’s paper.”
“It was brought to my attention as soon as I got back into town. I saw you and Brian before I left. You could have told me, your trusted business partner and loyal assistant, what you were planning.”
“I wasn’t planning anything. As long as Brian and I are together that’s really all I care about, but we talked things over and decided to do this. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to paint again, since my right hand may never recover from signing all those papers, but we’re pretty happy about things.”
“So, that means that you will stay put in New York now…where you belong, I might add?”
“Once I get back there, that will probably be the case. I have a lot of painting to do in a very short period of time. It will be embarrassing if I don’t have any paintings to exhibit at all those shows.”
“Ah yes. Well, we can’t let that happen. That could truly be a problem. Might I ask where you are now?”
“I’m in Pittsburgh. Well, really I’m at the house in West Virginia. And before you ask, we should be back in the city sometime tomorrow, so we can have breakfast on Wednesday. How does that sound? I might even spring for a mocha latte.”
“You’re too late. I already have a better offer. I already have a breakfast date for Wednesday. Not only was I promised a mocha latte, but I was told that there was breakfast and a Limousine ride in it for me.”
“I see that you’ve talked to Brian,” Justin said with a laugh.
“Your partner does know how to push all the right buttons. I must say that I like the way he does business.”
“How was your trip?”
“I’m considering the movie. It might be interesting. I couldn’t care less if they make a movie of my book. I wrote it so long ago that I’d almost forgotten it.”
“That’s a good attitude. Did you see your family while you were out there?”
“Not see, but I did talk to them.”
“That’s a start.”
“That’s the end of that discussion.”
“Okay. I won’t press.”
“Thank you,” Spyder said. “Now, have you had a chance to look at the notes that I sent you on the website changes for Barrister, Wilkins & Evans?”
“Are you kidding? With the weekend that we had here…not a chance, but I will take a look, so we can talk about things when I see you. I do have to send off my submission to Milan by the end of the week, and I have to meet with my agent at the beginning of next week. But other than that I’m going to be painting, but I should have some time to do whatever it is that you need. I really can’t afford to let my business partner down.”
“At least I know that you’ll be locked in your studio, so I can find you if I need you. This is going to be a decided improvement over your being trapped in these small towns that you’re suddenly so partial to. This is really good news!”
“Are you done?”
“I think so. I’ll see you on Wednesday. I’ll watch for your arrival. You realize that you and Brian are now media darlings. I hope the paparazzi aren’t waiting at the coffee shop with flash cameras and all.”
“Spyder, I really think that the paparazzi have more important things to focus on than Brian and me. After all, there are lots of real stars in New York City.”
“And the rest of those mere mortals had better enjoy things while they can, because with you and Brian staking your claim, you’re obviously going to own the city,” Spyder said with a laugh.
“I can see that I’m going to have to go on line and order those books that you wrote while you were living in Europe because it’s obvious that your writer’s persona is coming to the fore, and I can see that I need to be particularly ready.”
“No…no…don’t do that. I don’t want you to know all the old things about me,” Spyder protested. “I want you to take me at face value. After all, in addition to being your business partner...I’m also your new assistant. I don’t want my reputation damaged by my misspent youth,” he continued. “Plus, I just love the perks associated with my new job,” he added.
Justin just shook his head at the last statement because he knew that arguing with Spyder was useless. He would simply leave Spyder to his delusions until they all had breakfast together.
“I’ll see you on Wednesday,” Justin reiterated.
“Sounds like a plan,” Spyder quipped back, before they said their final goodbyes.
Once again, Justin resumed working on his painting. Even though he was smiling from the two phone conversations that he’d just had, Justin knew it was time to get back to work.
Next Chapter
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