Lois, thank you for the beta...you are the greatest!
Author’s Comments: Thanks for your patience. Sorry for the long absence. But now it’s time to pick up the story with Brian and Justin in NYC. I should warn you that the next series of chapters are all taking place on the same day. So as usual, I will be posting frequently for the sake of pacing. Here we go…
Chapter 25 – Welcome To My Web
The Next Morning in NYC…(Day 43)
“Ouch!” Brian complained as he bumped into the wall of the shower again. “Tell me again, why we’re here in this tiny shower instead of one of the roomy ones at any number of possible luxury hotels in this city?”
“Because…” Justin answered, allowing his wet ass to brush against Brian’s cock.
“Then again…” Brian smiled, taking hold of Justin’s waist.
After a few well-practiced maneuvers in tight spaces, Brian and Justin finally emerged from their morning shower thoroughly fucked and ready to face the day.
“Where’s our meeting?” Brian asked, as he was getting dressed. “Surely you’re not taking me into his lair.”
“As it turns out, Spyder asked me to meet him at your favorite coffee shop a few blocks from here. That way you’ll be happy too because your day will start with your morning latte. You and Spyder have a lot in common.”
“How is that?”
“You were both geeks in high school, and neither of you can really start your day without a latte,” Justin said with that certain laugh.
“Are you done, Sunshine?”
“With a name like Spyder, should I be prepared for studs…leather…with a hint of tattoos?”
Justin totally ignored the last question with a simple roll of his eyes.
“Aside from Spyder and your meeting with the client, what else is on your schedule for today?” Brian asked, expertly knowing when to change the subject.
“After Spyder and I finish, then I guess I’ll head to my studio. I really want to get started on those paintings.”
“So you’ll be in your studio this afternoon?”
“Unless there’s some unusual problem with this client.”
“Why don’t I call you later,” Brian suggested, “Maybe I’ll get a chance to feed you again before I leave,” he teased.
“Ok. Sure.”
When they were finally ready to leave the apartment, with Brian dressed impeccably in Armani and Justin in simple slacks and sweater, Justin casually asked, “Do you have your keys? You know you’re going to need them to get back in here.”
“Yes dear,” Brian answered in a singsong fashion, “Do you have your cell phone?” he asked in reply and waited for Justin to answer with a nod. “Good! Now, are you going to leave it on for a change?” he persisted with his gentle nagging.
“Brian!”
“Just checking…”
They left Justin’s loft and got into the waiting limo for the short ride to the coffee shop.
“I don’t know why we just didn’t walk,” Justin mumbled.
“Because I had already prescheduled the limo so I could move about all day today. However, I’m willing to have the nice driver take me to the coffee shop, and we’ll patiently wait for you to walk there and join us,” Brian offered, “How does that sound?”
“Never mind,” Justin finally said with a sigh as he settled back comfortably into his seat.
Brian smiled victoriously.
Justin was right. It was only a few blocks. So before they knew it, they had arrived at their destination.
As expected, a few heads turned when the limo parked at the curb; Brian and Justin exited the car and entered the coffee shop nonchalantly. They both moved with the accustomed ease of persons very used to the convenience of limos.
“I see that you reserved our usual table,” Justin said as he approached a certain table with Brian in tow. He stood there and waited to be acknowledged by the person, who was pretending to be deeply engrossed in his morning paper.
“You know how I love this particular corner…you can see everything, but no one can touch you,” Spyder said, without looking up. “But I noticed that, as always, you still love to make an entrance. A limo…really Taylor?”
“Don’t blame me. I tried to get Brian to simply walk here. It’s only a few blocks, but obviously, I lost…”
“Obviously…” Spyder commented with a smile.
“I see the moniker Spyder is well deserved,” Brian commented with a smile, daring to move closer to the table. “May I?” he asked before daring to take a seat.
Feeling that his space had been invaded, Spyder lowered his paper to face the intruder.
Brian came face to face with a 32 year old, raven-haired stranger with smoldering good looks and piercing dark eyes. Spyder sat there with the calm assurance of someone who knew exactly who he was and was very sure of his place in the world.
“Welcome to my web said the spider to the fly,” Spyder smirked, motioning to a seat for Brian and leaving Justin to fend for himself.
Brian took the offered seat with ease. Justin let out a quiet sigh and shook his head, while Spyder took a moment to size up Brian. Then Spyder continued, “Taylor, I see that you brought me a tender morsel. My gratitude to you will know no bounds.”
“You obviously have no idea who you’re dealing with,” Brian commented in that certain tone with one raised eyebrow for emphasis.
“Oh I’ve heard the myth. It’s so good to finally meet the legend. Especially since I’ve had occasion to meet a few of the walking wounded,” Spyder persisted with a laugh. “Seriously Brian, your reputation precedes you,” he said quickly extending his hand, “I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you. Evidently, I’ve been out of town whenever you’ve been visiting the city before. I’m glad that wasn’t the case this time.”
“Dr. Spencer Michael Warrington…I’ve heard a lot about you too. They say that you’re a silver-tongued devil…accomplished in your own right. Legend has it that you simply vanished. I have admired your work. I’m sure there’s a novel in the offing as to why you’re designing websites with Justin.”
“I see someone has been doing their research as well...I’m flattered.”
“Ok, now that you two have met, I want both of you to behave yourselves,” Justin ordered.
Brian and Spyder simply smiled knowingly at each other. Obviously both had heard this tone before.
“In answer to that question you’re dying to ask,” Brian said with a laugh, “All the time!”
“How do you put up with it?”
“He’s so worth it.”
Spyder merely nodded. “Then I guess, I should simply thank you for getting my business partner back to civilization.” Then he looked directly at Justin and asked, “And have we gotten the back woods out of our system yet?”
“I’m going back to West Virginia to paint over the weekend. So whatever you need from me has to be done by then, or it will have to wait until next week.”
“All the time,” Brian commented again with a smile.
“So since I’ve been on my best behavior, how about that mocha latte that you promised me? And have I atoned enough for you to spring for a muffin too?”
“Possibly.”
“Here, look at these while Brian and I talk,” Spyder continued.
“This is our potential client?” Justin asked, hiding the company stuff from Brian.
“Just keep thinking pretty pictures…leave the technical stuff to me.”
“As always.”
The waitress came and took their order while they continued to talk easily.
”What I don’t understand is why they would need us. We both know for a fact that they have a full staff to handle this sort of thing.”
“From what I can tell, they think they need something special that their existing staff can’t handle. They need an upgrade to our original designs. That’s why we’re meeting with them.”
“What’s going on?” Brian asked.
“This is the first client that Spyder and I worked on together.” Justin pointed out. “They decided that they needed a full time staff to keep things going after we did the initial designs. So why do they need us now?”
“They think they need a new segment to the site.”
“But you made the original site upgradeable. I don’t see what they could possibly need.”
“I only said that we would be willing to talk to them,” Spyder quickly pointed out, “I haven’t agreed to handle this project. I’m fully aware of your upcoming shows, but if this is something that we can do quickly, then why not?”
“Well, whatever it is that they think they need would probably take us less time than it would take their in house staff, or they wouldn’t have called you in the first place,” Justin suggested.
“That was my thinking too,” Spyder agreed.
“I gather you two are planning to negotiate for a premium for your usual hefty fees, after all the client must be desperate to be bringing you back,” Brian suggested with a smile.
“Oh yes, there is that too,” Spyder smirked, appearing to be calculating.
“Before you two spend our fee, maybe we should investigate what the job really is first,” Justin said, shaking his head and wondering why he ever agreed to have coffee with both Brian and Spyder.
Brian continued to watch Spyder and Justin as they continued to chat. In the back of his mind, Brian began to wonder how Spyder was going to take the news that this would probably be his last project with Justin. Spyder and Justin had worked together for several months now, and in spite of his bravado, Brian sensed that Spyder was extremely fond of Justin and would definitely miss working with him. No, Spyder was not going to take that news well when it was delivered, but that was an issue for another time.
When they were all finally ready to leave the coffee shop, Brian insisted that they join him in the limo so he could drop Justin and Spyder at their meeting. They tried to protest, but once again Brian won the argument.
Justin and Spyder casually talked over the notes one more time in the limo, while Brian watched the two at work. It was interesting to see the working dynamic between the two business partners, who definitely played well off of each other’s skills.
Eventually, the limo finally stopped, and the driver got out to open the door at the stated address that Spyder had given him.
“Brian, thanks for the lift, I could easily get used to traveling like this again,” Spyder said with a smile, “It’s going to be hard to go back to riding the subway after this.”
“Please, pay no attention to him,” Justin smirked.
“Brian, I’m looking forward to seeing you again,” Spyder said, leaning back in the limo.
“Anything is possible, I suppose. But you know…my reputation and all…” Brian tried to remind him.
“Keep working on it, Brian,” Spyder retorted, still leaning into the car.
“Be sure your phone is turned on,” Brian reminded Justin, as he was about to leave the car.
Justin simply smiled at the comment, fully understanding the implied Kinney-speak in that statement that Brian was going to miss him during the day.
“Later,” Justin said, turning back to give Brian a gentle kiss of goodbye.
Spyder and Justin watched Brian’s limo pull off into the midtown traffic.
“I like him. You two are good together. And both of you are going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Spyder said with a laugh, as they were entering the building. “I’m so glad that I’ll have a front row seat.”
“Are you done?” Justin asked with mock exasperation.
“I’ve only just begun,” Spyder retorted, “But I’m willing to take a break while we meet with our client. As usual, after that, all bets are probably off.”