Lois, thank you for the beta...you are the greatest!
Chapter 35 – More Surprises Wednesday…(Day 31) “Why are you in my office Theodore? Uninvited I might add!” Brian said, reluctantly looking up from the computer screen. “How long did you say that Justin is going to be in New York?” Ted immediately asked. “And your point is?” “Now that Justin is back in New York, things will return to normal, huh? You’re going back to being difficult and demanding?” “Meaning you should anticipate a pink slip at any moment?” Brian insisted, once again returning to his work on the computer and trying to ignore Ted’s presence in his office. “Yeah. That’s pretty much what I figured. I was just checking,” Ted said with a laugh, immediately taking a seat in the chair at Brian’s desk. Brian looked up with his usual expression of annoyance. “Theodore, what exactly did you want?” “I just wanted to let you know that we received the signed contract for the Eyeconics/Belluss Occhiali Joint Venture. Everything has been green-lighted. We’re about to be very busy.” “That’s really good news,” Cynthia commented, entering Brian’s office without knocking to join the ongoing conversation. “When is Justin coming back?” “That was my question,” Ted chimed in. “But for some reason, Brian is ignoring me.” “Did you want something in particular Cynthia, or are you, like Theodore, here to be annoying?” Brian asked, now giving up totally on whatever he was working on. He saved the file and then leaned back in his chair. Cynthia thought for a moment and realized that being lumped in with Ted was not a good sign…so she quickly got to the reason for her intrusion. “The courier just dropped off this package for Justin. It’s from Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, should I send it to him in New York or should we hold it here until his return?” she asked and then waited for an answer. Brian pondered for a moment. “Why don’t you give him a call or send him an email and ask HIM?” Brian suggested, trying to scowl so they would get the hint and leave his office. “Sure, I’ll take care of it,” Cynthia acknowledged with a sigh. “Now if that’s all, will you two get out of my office so I can get back to work.” Brian spoke a bit louder to emphasize the point. To his surprise, nobody made a move to leave his office. Brian let out a deep sigh of exasperation. “Is there anything else?” “Well actually there is,” Ted said hesitantly. “Well?” “There was a note with the contract.” “What did it say?” Ted began to repeat the contents of the note verbatim. “The Pentland Group is willing to give us the licensing agreements we’ll need to for the Collezione Fiero Campaign. Also you should expect a call from Andrew David of the Pentland Group to work out the details with you.” “What licensing agreements for the campaign? Why would they be going to calling us? What’s going on?” Brian let out another sigh. “Who was the note from?” “Rudolpho Silvestri.” Ted clarified with a sinister laugh. “Say no more!” Brian said with growing frustration. “Well, that explains the phone message I just got,” Cynthia added, providing additional information. “What phone message?” Brian asked, continuing to feel like he had lost all control of events. “I have a message from a Millicent Henry of the Pentland Group. She indicated that Andrew David would be in New York next week. It seems Mr. David wants to meet to discuss their ad strategy with you. Here’s his number. It seems that you were highly recommended.” “You’re kidding?” Brian questioned with complete surprise. “No, I’m serious.” Cynthia confirmed. “Bri, what’s going on?” Ted asked in complete amazement. “That’s what I would like to know. The Pentland Group is the international holding company for such brands as Speedos and Lacoste. They consolidated under one group to facilitate marketing of their products. The group is based in London. They are huge. What do they want with us?” “There’s only one way to find out?” Cynthia said with a smirk, handing Brian the note. “And Justin is coming back when?” “You leave Justin out of this!” “But…” “This is not a point of discussion. Now, will both of you remove yourselves from my office. I have work to do,” Brian huffed. Having been finally made to feel unwelcome, Cynthia and Ted hurriedly exited Brian’s office, but they never quite made it back to their respective offices. On the way, Ted and Cynthia stopped to discuss a point of strategy and to think what to do next, when Murph from the art department approached their conversation. “Hi Murph,” Cynthia said, “What can I do for you?” “I need to see Brian,” Murph explained. “This isn’t a really good time. Brian is really not in a good mood. He just booted us out of his office. Is there something I can help you with?” Cynthia asked. “I know that Justin is in New York, do you happen to know when he’ll be back?” Murph asked. “Why are you looking for Justin?” Ted asked, with mild curiosity. “No reason,” Murph sheepishly answered. “What is it?” Cynthia began to press. “You can tell us.” “I can’t explain it. The energy in the art department just feels different when Justin is around…even if he only drops in…everybody produces better. The whole department is more creative. The last few days have been miserable. It’s like a dark cloud is hanging over everything.” Murph explained solemnly. “Hasn’t he only been gone two days?” Ted teasingly asked. “I’m sure Justin will be glad to know he’s missed,” Ted continued with a laugh. “But I would be careful if I were you…Brian tends to be a bit jealous where Justin concerned.” “Will you stop it? You’re just trying to cause trouble so Brian will pick on someone else, and you think that if that happens that you’ll get a free pass,” Murph said with a laugh. “But, I’ve already talked to Brian about this.” “You have? What did he say?” Ted inquired, never one to want to miss any juicy details of office gossip. “Nothing really. You know how Brian is…he listens but he doesn’t say much. So, do you know when Justin will be back?” Murph asked with a sigh, returning to his original question. “He’s only supposed to be gone a few days…a week at the most. He’s meeting with his agent.” Ted explained. “He should be back by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.” “It will keep that long. No problem. I’ll just wait until he gets back.” Murph said, still pondering the new information. “Murph, if you need something, just send him a email. Calling him is probably a waste of time, but he does seem answer his emails promptly,” Ted explained. “Maybe I’ll do that. Well, let me get back to my desk,” Murph said, turning and walking away sadly. “You’ll let me know if you hear anything?” Cynthia and Ted nodded then looked knowingly at each other. “So the art department misses Justin,” Cynthia commented with a laugh. “Well, what do you know?” “Murph looks kind of lost. This isn’t like him. With the signed contract for the Belluss Occhiali/Eyeconics joint venture, everyone is about to be very busy. I sure hope Justin gets back quickly. Otherwise, things could get really tense around here,” Ted pointed out, realizing that his life could potentially be really miserable. After a moment’s reflection, Ted remembered a disturbing thought. “Wait a minute, Justin is preparing for three major shows. He’s going to be really busy when he gets back. This changes everything. Now, I really just don’t know what’s going to happen.” “Let me try to reach Justin on his cell to let him know about his package from Milan,” Cynthia said, moving around to the other side of her desk. “I’ll try to see how things are going in New York. It never hurts to ask.” “Be sure to tell him we got the signed contract on the joint venture,” Ted reminded her with a smile. “He’ll want to know about that, especially after all his hard work.” Ted paused for a minute. “You might also mention that Murph is looking for him.” “Oh yeah! I was definitely planning on doing all that,” Cynthia said with a grin. *** Later Wednesday Afternoon…(Day 31) Brian was alone in his office, when his cell phone rang. He quickly noticed the caller ID as he answered, “Hey.” “Hey.” “How are your meetings going?” Brian immediately asked. “Several galleries are interested in carrying my paintings,” Justin responded. “That’s wonderful! So getting the agent actually paid off, huh?” Brian asked. “So it seems. Although, she’s not exactly thrilled with me at the moment, and she doesn’t understand some of my career choices.” “You got to admit you do take some getting used to! Just give her time. Better yet, just have her call me. I’ll fill her in. She’ll get quickly up to speed on the Justin Taylor care and feeding manual,” Brian quipped. “Brian!” “What seems to be the problem?” “She thinks I should wait on Milan…wait until I have conquered New York first.” “What do you think?” “You and I talked about this. Nothing may come of it. But, I just feel like I should go for it anyway.” “I already told you I envision my image hanging there. So if you want to go for it, that’s precisely what you should do. I told you everything would work out.” “Yeah, but you’re not on the gallery committee reviewing my application.” “Will you stop worrying? Did Cynthia tell you got a package from Milan?” “Yeah. I’ll probably be back tomorrow night, so I told her to just keep it there for me.” “Email me your flight information and I’ll pick you up.” “It’s probably easier if I just take a limo to the loft. It will probably be quite late, and I’m not really sure about the time…I have to wait for a delivery.” “Don’t tell me that you ordered art supplies to be delivered to you in New York?” Brian asked, starting to be concerned that Justin might have considered cutting short his stay in Pittsburgh. “No, I’ve been meaning to get a futon for my studio here. It’s supposed to be delivered tomorrow towards the end of the day. If I don’t take care of this now, it will be months before I finally get one,” Justin quietly explained. “I really can’t put this off any longer.” “What’s the rush?” Brian innocently asked. “Well, someone we know, now likes to have phone sex while I’m in my studio.” “Oh!” “Yes, so you see the problem? The studio floor is really uncomfortable.” “In that case, I think staying to be sure that your studio is properly furnished seems like a most excellent idea. Did you order a comfortable one?” Brian teased. “Yeah, but anything would be better than the floor.” “I’ll bet,” Brian said with a laugh. “Did Cynthia make our reservations for Cincinnati?” “All handled! We still have to solve the problem of a present for Nicky.” “I’m working on that. I have a few ideas,” Justin hinted. Justin could hear additional voices in the background of the conversation, so he knew something was happening. Brian came back on the line and explained, “Well Cynthia just came into my office. She’s standing here glaring at me…something about a meeting. So I better get going.” “Ok, I’ll talk to you later.” “Later.” *** Later Wednesday afternoon…(Day 31) Brian reluctant dialed the private number for Signor Silvestri and patiently waited for the call to be answered. “Hullo,” said the voice of Rudolpho Silvestri. “Rudolpho, it’s Brian Kinney of…” “Brian, how nice to hear from you. How’s Justin?” “Let’s leave Justin out of this. What have you been up to?” “Me?” “Please don’t play innocent. It doesn’t become you,” Brian insisted. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. You know, my English is not very good?” “Well, Justin isn’t here to coddle you in Italian so I suggest that you get your act together and talk to me in English. I’m rather upset with you.” “Oh dear, you’re upset with me! That can’t be good. I knew I should have gone ahead with my plans to add the clause to the contract that would have made Justin the Account Executive, but Susan and Kellie assured me that you would probably easier to deal with. If you’re upset with me already, I knew I should have trusted my original instincts,” Rudolpho said with a laugh. “Rudolpho, don’t try to change the subject! You promised Justin and me that you wouldn’t interfere in the campaign. Don’t you remember?” “Yes Brian! Of course, I remember. But, I just arrived in Zurich. How am I interfering?” “Rudolpho, the ink is just barely dry on the contract, and already you’ve been busy.” “Brian, how can I interfere when I’m an ocean away?” Rudolpho was quick to point out, figuring this cleared him of anything that Brian could be upset about. “Does the name Andrew David ring a bell?” “It’s a rather common name, you want to help me out with a little more information,” Rudolpho asked, feigning complete ignorance and stalling for time. “Andrew David of the Pentland Group, London. Does this help your memory? He left me a message. Strange it’s the same name you mentioned in your note.” “Oh yes. That Andrew David. I sent you a signed release so that you could talk to him, and he already signed a non disclosure agreement, so…have you talked with him yet?” “He and I have a meeting scheduled for next week.” “Perfect. I didn’t want you to have to waste time any time. He and I met for drinks before I left…” “How do you get releases and non disclosure agreements signed over cocktails? What to you do, carry them in your coat pocket?” Rudolpho laughed. “It was just a chance meeting, more or less. Why are you so upset? Have you seen the new Speedo bathing suit line? No, of course you haven’t! I’ll email you the file. Anyway, I thought Andrew’s bathing suits would be perfect for our commercials.” “So…” “Pentland is interested in cross merchandizing with us. By the way, have you seen the Speedos website? Take a look! Can you image what their website will be like when Justin finishes with it? I thought it would be important to consider all this before you went too far in our campaign,” Rudolpho rattled on nonstop. Then, hearing the silence on the other end of the line he asked, “Brian, are you still there? You’re awfully quiet.” “Just out of curiosity, what does ‘I won’t get involved…you and Justin will have complete creative control’ mean to you? Hmmmmm?” “I don’t know why you’re upset. Susan and I discussed this. She agreed it was a wonderful idea.” “You discussed this with Susan?” “Of course, she’s my partner. I wouldn’t do anything without talking to her...at least not anymore…I gave her the signed agreements and everything. Hasn’t she talked to you?” “No. I haven’t talked to her. When did you do talk to her… after everything was agreed to?” Brian pointedly asked. “ Never mind! Don’t even bother to answer that.” “Anyway, Andrew didn’t need to hear about you from me. He’s been talking to Leo Brown, and somehow your name came up. So be prepared for anything when you meet with him. He has his own agenda, “ Rudolpho said with a smile. “Rudolpho!” “You know, I think I’m suffering from jetlag. I must say buonanotte. Don’t worry, Brian. I promise, I won’t do anything else until I talk to you first. I promise! You have my word!” “I wish I could believe that,” Brian quietly sighed. Brian hung up his phone, but continued to stare at it as if it was an offending member. Brian placed his thumb against his forehead…for he knew he had a headache developing. “Cynthia, have you talked with anyone from Eyeconics lately?” he bellowed into the phone. Cynthia decided to walk into his office to answer the question while Brian continued to hold the phone in his hand waiting for her response. “Susan just called while you were on the phone, and she faxed over copies of two signed agreements. She said she would be sending the originals over by courier. She mentioned something about Rudolpho Silvestri having tentatively secured the rights to use Speedos in their ads. She was really excited about it.” Cynthia rattled on nonstop. Then, she took a look at Brian and paused before she said, “You know, Boss, you don’t look well.” “Justin tried to warn me! He told me that dealing with Rudolpho Silvestri was going to be trouble! I should have listened to him,” Brian muttered to himself, while searching in the drawer for a bottle of aspirin. Cynthia tried not to laugh as she overheard Brian’s mutterings. Then she added, “You know, I’ve been doing some research. If we were to land Pentland Group along with everything else...” Brian interrupted her before she had a chance to finish her thought. “Cynthia!” “Yes, Boss.” “Don’t you have something else better to do then annoy me?” Cynthia stopped talking and handed the faxed agreements to Brian. “Sorry. I’ll be at my desk if you need anything.” Cynthia said, finally leaving the office while Brian was still muttering as he continued reading over the documents. *** “Theodore, can you come in here?” Brian uttered into the phone in his hand. A few minutes later, Ted appeared and made himself comfortable across the desk from him. “Sure, Bri. What’s up?” Ted asked. “Here!” Brian said, shoving the signed documents across the desk. “What are these?” “Signor Silvestri’s definition of not getting involved. It seems the Pentland Group is probably going to be interested in having their bathing suits featured in Collezione Fiero ads. I say probably because I won’t know for sure until I talk to Andrew David next week.” “That’s wonderful! Another international account!” Ted said with some excitement. “Yeah. Right!” “This means we might need to think about the possibility of opening another office…” Ted nonchalantly suggested. “I don’t want even want to think about that!” Brian groaned. “Don’t worry Bri, I’m on it.” “Not a word about this to anyone or you’re fired.” Brian insisted sternly. “Got it!” Ted said, leaving the office. When Ted got back to this desk, he smiled to himself and thought, ‘Things are really about to get interesting!’