Beauty and the Geek- B/J AU part 3/6

[guavejuice]

Banner by Vonnie yvonnereid Thank you SO much!!!
Special thanks to kinwad

Author:guavejuice
Pairing:Brian/Justin
Brian's POV
Beta:Kim predec2 Can't thank you enough!!
This isn't a WIP.
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Disclaimer:I own nothing
Comments are love.

Part 3

~ Kinnetik, later that day ~

I check my wristwatch and notice another twenty minutes have passed since I last spoke to Cynthia and I still haven’t returned to my office. I call her again and literally breathe a sigh of relief when she tells me Ted was able to sign a lucrative deal with the new client, but most of all I am relieved to hear that the IT candidate has decided to leave after waiting for more than forty minutes. I turn to Lindsay to let her know I'm heading back to my office now, but she frowns at me instead.

"What?" I raise my eyebrow at her.

"You know damn well what," she says, lifting her face from her computer screen. "It wasn't very nice to leave that kid waiting there for so long just because you were freaked out he'd realize you'd been playing a stupid, childish joke on him.”

"He's not a kid…I think,” I snap in irritation, wondering if I was more aggravated with Lindsay – or with myself. I shrug, trying to make light of it. “That guy’s probably had a gazillion bad job interviews since he graduated, so what's one more?" I shrug, trying to look smug, but deep down I know Lindsay may have a point. I might have gone a bit too far this time. I don't even know why, but I actually feel like a complete jerk right now.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I hear Lindsay say as I peer over at her. “He wasn’t a kid; YOU were.”

I open my mouth to protest, but then I close it. I roll my eyes before sighing. "Okay, I'll have Cynthia contact the guy and reschedule the interview for tomorrow. It might be awkward, but I’ll figure something out," I tell Lindsay.
She looks at me sideways and grins. "Just be your usual, charming self," she responds wryly, bestowing a sweet smile on me.

I stick my tongue out at her. "You’d better start getting your department ready to start work on Kinnetik’s new account soon,” I warn her. This new client owns the largest insurance company in the east coast, which could mean big money. It also means that the guy no doubt is expecting a lot of work for what he will be paying us. “Don’t go too far with the gay friendly stuff, though. You know how I feel about those lovey dovey gay couple’s ads, don't you?” I quip with a grin of my own as she glares over at me in mock insult. “Talk to you later," I say before I leave. I laugh a few seconds later as I close the door, just in time to hear something thud against it. “Nice try!” I yell back at her.
“The next time I won’t miss!” she yells back, eyeing the mate to her shoe that was now lying against her office door. Grinning, she returns to her computer to get back to work.

_ _ _ _

-An hour later-


"Brian, I have Mr. Taylor on Line One for you," Cynthia lets me know. Okay… I guess there's nothing I can do now. I've got to take this call.

"Hello?" Fuck! His voice sounds so different, fresh…I'd almost say enticing. But I won't.
I swallow hard before I answer him; all of a sudden, I can't seem to find the right words. This IS stupid I know, but I can't help it.

"Hello? Mr. Kinney?" he asks again when I hesitate, bringing me out of my reverie.

"Be at my office tomorrow at 11 a.m.," I tell him, trying to sound as authoritative as I can before I promptly hang up, somewhat terrified that he might recognize my voice. I mean… we did exchange a few words earlier this morning in the lobby and then at the elevator. I wouldn’t put anything past that IT guy. He might have seemed frumpy and disoriented, but those are the ones who are normally the most perceptive – and the most intelligent.

I might have my work cut out for me if I want to come out on top with this situation, I thought. I smirk then as I realize what I had just said. Hell, I ALWAYS come ‘out on top.’ I decide then that I have nothing to worry about; after all, HE is the one looking for a job, not me. And if anyone had some ‘sucking up’ to do, it would be him. Satisfied with that image in my head, I peer down at my laptop before getting back to work, temporarily forgetting about the rescheduled interview for tomorrow. I had much more important matters to work on for the time being.

_ _ _ _

-Next day, Kinnetik-

"Taylor? Come in. Close the door," I command as he enters my office. It's 11 a.m., but the room is dark. I had closed the blinds earlier so no light could filter through the large glass windows or the glass half of my office door. The only source of light in the room is currently coming from the art deco style lamp on my desk, but that's barely enough illumination. He squints his eyes as he closes the door, trying to adjust to the darkness as he attempts to get a better view of me. I sink even further into my black leather chair, pushing the dark designer sunglasses further up onto my nose, and pulling my black fedora hat down lower on my forehead, feeling ridiculously like some detective from an old 30’s movie. I had to do it in order to fit the persona of the elusive Mr. Kinney who was a jerk and who rarely visited his office – but mostly to hopefully disguise the fact that this man and I had met before.

"I… I'm sorry you had to come all the way down here again, Mr. Kinney,” Taylor greets me; I can hear the anxiety in his voice. “I had no idea you were…" He then stops in mid-sentence as I peer over at him hopefully. FUCK! Did he really take the bait? I'm brilliant.

"Never mind that,” I reply gruffly, trying to stay in character. “Sit down…but let's make it short. I can't stand the light in here," I tell him in a coarse, curt voice. I think I can see him swallow hard in the dim light as I figuratively pat myself on the back for my performance. Fuck, I'm actually quite enjoying this shit, I can’t help thinking as I hold back a smile.

He's trying his best to get a more accurate look at me, but I keep leaning back into my chair. He stands there a few more minutes, absently brushing his hair from his face. A few stray curls fall back onto his small forehead, making him look a bit lost, but for some odd reason it makes me feel like standing up and brushing them back with my hand. I stifle that urge as I observe that he's wearing the same exact outfit he wore yesterday, complete with that horrible, dark red jacket that makes those nasty synthetic noises when he moves. Finally, he does as I ask and sits down in the chair opposite my desk.

"So…Uhh…I guess you’d like to see my resume?" he asks, placing a folder on my desk. I sit still, carefully reaching out to retrieve it and making sure not to reveal too much of myself. My eyes widen as I open the folder and begin to scan the information. Fuck! The guy scored 1500 on his SAT's. Well, he may not dress well, but I was right; he IS intelligent. My estimation of this geeky-looking man rises somewhat.

“1500 on your SATs,” I state out loud, trying not to sound too impressed by that fact. “Should that intimidate me?” I quip.

"S..sorry?" he answers, not quite sure what I am implying.

I lean back a little more in my chair, farther away from his prying eyes, but still close enough that I can just make out the rest of Taylor’s resume. “Massachusetts Institute of Technology? Not easy to get into that school,” I can’t help commenting. I observe him gripping his hands in his lap as he sits up straight and replies, “I had my work cut out for me there, but I worked hard and it paid off,” he explains.

I nod, thinking I like this guy’s attitude. He might fit well into my advertising agency. I place the resume back into the folder and slide it toward him. “Be here at 9:00 a.m. sharp on Monday,” I tell him brusquely. “And don’t fucking be late. I hate employees who are late. HR is on the 2nd floor.”

I watch as his mouth opens in astonishment as what I just said sinks in. “That’s it?” he asks incredulously as his face breaks out into a delighted smile, a smile so radiant that for just a moment I’m afraid it might lighten up the room so much it will betray me. For just that brief period, his smile makes him look like an entirely different person. “I’m hired?” he adds.

“What do you think?” I growl. “Isn’t that what I just said? Don’t make me regret hiring you. This interview is over.”

The young blond rises to his feet as he picks up his folder and grips it in his hands. He tentatively reaches out his hand with the intention of shaking mine, but I cross both arms over my chest and he drops it to his side instead.

"Thank you so much!" he exclaims; he pauses for just a second before he nervously clears his throat to buy some time. "Before I leave, may I ask you something?" he suddenly inquires, making me wonder if my so-called disguise wasn’t so effective after all.

I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. "Why not?" I answer back casually. Stay calm, stay calm, I keep repeating as I hold my breath.

"Before I came here I read a lot about you online, and…you seem to be totally different than what they wrote about you," he informs me.

Well, I have to admit this kid has balls to ask me that, I can’t help thinking. I peer up at him through my sunglasses to reply, "Do you always believe everything you read online?"

"No, not always,” he assures me. He bites his bottom lip for a few seconds as if he’s trying to bolster his self-confidence before he continues. “As a matter of fact, I do find it hard to believe that someone who's been described as such a generous and charitable person would be such a…" he stops in mid-sentence. He sighs. “I don’t know if I’m fucking up this job by saying this…but it's just that…I met one of your employees here yesterday and he told me all these things about how you really are. I didn’t really believe him…about you being such a secretive person and all…but now I can see that he was right.¨

“What…?” I respond, surprised by his boldness. This didn’t sound like some timid, geeky little mouse to ME.

He apparently doesn’t hear me – or chooses to ignore my reply – as he forges on. “Do you live alone, Mr. Kinney?” he unexpectedly asks me, throwing me off guard.

I answer without thinking. "Umm… no, actually I have a son. He comes to visit me on the weekends," FUCK! Why did I tell him that? I silently berate myself. I'm screwed! So much for my hidden identity game and the whole fucking thing.

“Oh,” he answers me, surprised. “That’s good.” I choose then to wisely remain silent as he finally understands that he’s being dismissed and rises from his seat to head toward the door. He turns around just as he’s about to open it to say, “Never mind what I said earlier; I didn’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business. Please…just ignore what I said,” he quickly pleads as reaches for the doorknob. He turns around one more time, however, to add, “Have a safe trip back to the country, Mr. Kinney. And thank you again for this opportunity. You won’t regret it,” he vows.

THE COUNTRY? What the fuck!!! Me and my big mouth. What was I thinking? I hate to think it… but I AM a big jerk. I made my bed, and now I have to lie in it, as the proverbial saying goes…emphasis on the ‘lie’ part. I groan inwardly, realizing this whole charade has to stop. The question is, though…how am I going to do that?

TBC…