Which Way the Wind Blows

Chapter 31

Chris sat stiffly in the seat in front of the vice president’s desk with his hands folded in his lap. He’d been called into human resources as soon as he got in that morning and he hadn’t even had a chance to put his things at his desk. They lay on the floor at his feet while he tried to discern the reason behind the cold glare he was receiving from the room’s only other occupant, a middle-aged man dressed in an expensive suit. He had a bad feeling that Quentin’s arrival was only the precipitation to another battle with his vindictive family.

“I received a call from your former supervisor this morning, Wainsworth,” the older man finally said. “It was … interesting.”

“I’m sure it was,” Chris replied coolly, knowing that the manner in which he handled this meeting would have a large effect on its actual outcome.

He wasn’t stupid, and he knew that if he was going to be fired it would have been done already. This man, Chester Hollings, was testing him … seeing what he was made of. If Chris gave any indication that he could be cowed under pressure, he would get his walking papers. But his work up until now had been exemplary and he’d helped Monique woo not just a few clients to the fold, but several others the firm had thought it didn’t even have a chance with. He was a valuable commodity to them right now, and his father’s interference was only reinforcing that fact. Pity the man underestimated his youngest son enough to overlook that possibility.

“He says you were dismissed abruptly,” Hollings went on.

“Mm. Did he happen to mention why?” Chris schooled his features to reflect an indifference he was far from feeling. But appearance was all he needed, his past experience taught hi. If his adversary didn’t see him flinch, he would be fine.

“No.” Hollings quirked up a graying eyebrow at him in interest. “I thought you’d like to shed some light on it, though.”

Chris sighed inwardly but remained cool and remote outwardly. Here’s where the road became bumpy. If he admitted the whole story, he could appear as weak. If he said nothing, Hollings would take it as a silent admission of guilt. He had to be very careful about his next move.

“The reasons behind my … departure are largely personal, Mr. Hollings,” he said. “But I can tell you that they now suffer from my absence and are likely rethinking their … rather rash decision.”

“I see,” the elder man nodded sagely. “Can tell me how it is that they’re … suffering?”

At that question, Chris let a smug smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He knew the other man would interpret it conspiratorially. “You know the Freeberg account Monique and I landed late last week?”

Hollings nodded.

“I was working on it at my last firm before I … left,” Chris said, looking down at his fingernails in boredom. “My former supervisor thought the campaign I was developing was too … effeminate for the company’s image. After I left and came out here, I called one of my old contacts to test the waters and see how they were doing.” He looked up and directly into the older man’s eyes unflinchingly. “When he said the new adman he was working with didn’t seem to grasp the idea he was going for, I asked if he didn’t mind having a New York firm take a stab at it.” He leaned back and smirked. “And the rest is history. Kind of interesting, the timing of my former employer’s call to you … isn’t it?”

Holling’s face broke into a huge shit-eating grin. “I thought it might be something along those lines, Wainsworth.”

Chris grinned back at him, not al all sure if he liked how easy it was to don some of his old ways when he was cornered. Still, when you’re dealing with a rat, you had to think like one.

Chris: 2; Daddy: A big fat zero!

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“Hey, want to go get lunch with me?” Warren asked as he barged right into Jake’s office.

“When don’t I?” the blonde grinned back at him before taking off his suit jacket and following him to the elevator. “How was the meeting this morning, by the way?”

“Went fine, I think,” Warren shrugged. “We have a new interface to integrate, though.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

They stepped into the hot summer sun and sighed as the heat, both glad they left their jackets behind. Deciding on a Thai place, they walked in and were seated in the back next to a table with two women, who were talking exitedly. One of the voices sounded familiar and Warren looked over in surprise.

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“What’s going on?” Monique asked as Chris walked in with purpose. Joe was seated in a chair with his sketches, waiting patiently.

“Oh, nothing,” he quipped. “My brother’s in town stalking me … oh and my father just tried to get me fired again. Just a typical day, really.”

“What?” she cried. “When?”

“Just now.”

“What happened?” Joe asked.

Chris relayed the whole story in clipped tones as he threw his briefcase down, ripped off his jacket and loosened his tie.

“At least it didn’t work,” Joe said quietly.

“Yet,” Chris sighed. “This shit has to stop. He looked over at his phone then pressed the speaker button and dialed quickly. “It has to stop now.”

“Wainsworth Enterprises,” a crisp young voice sang.

“Put my father on,” Chris barked without preamble.

“Quentin?” the girl asked.

“No,” he grunted. “The other one.”

“Chris?” the girl asked uncertainly.

“Put him on.”

“He’s with some…”

“Put the bastard on now, Rachel,” he said. “I’m sorry to be rude, but it’s urgent.”

“Of-of course,” she stammered.

Joe and Monique watched in rapt fascination as the normally calm and soft-spoken Chris morphed into an aggressive and pissed off version of his former self.

“Christopher,” a superior-sounding man broke the silence from the speakerphone. “I trust you find yourself … unemployed again?”

“You trust wrong,” Chris said coldly. “And you underestimate me, father. But that’s nothing new.”

“I don’t know what you mean!” the disembodied voice sniffed.

“You never do. Get this through your stubborn head, old man: I’m not coming back. Ever.”

“Your place is here.”

“My place is wherever I want to make it. My friends are whoever I want them to be. My significant other … who is yet to be found … will be whomever I want him to be.” Chris smirked at the phone. “And rest assured it will be a he. Not only because I prefer it that way, but because it pisses you off.”

The long-suffering sigh heard from the phone only caused Chris’ smirk to deepen. “I won’t be deterred that easily, Christopher.”

“Neither will I,” the blonde replied. “Any further interference with my life will cause me to launch Plan B.”

“Plan B?”

“Oh, yeah. I love Plan B!” Chris taunted. “You will, too, Daddy! Listen to this! I’ll call every major newspaper in Seattle, plus the New York Times, just to keep it national, and give them in-depth interviews of my exploits.”

“I … I …” The old man sounded like he was having a coronary.

“And then, just to keep things interesting, I’ll supply them with pictures of me … and my exploits.” Chris grinned at Joe who shook his head in amusement. “I even know this slamming popular photographer who’ll give me a great deal!”

“Christopher!” the man shrieked.

“Yes, father,” he replied angelically.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would,” he hissed evilly. “You have no idea how far I’ll go to keep you out of my life.”

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“Victoria?”

The ebony-haired beauty looked over at him and didn’t even bother to hide the scowl that immediately replaced the smile she’d been sporting only a moment before.

“Hello, Warren,” she said icily and stared him down.

“Um, hi.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere else?” her tablemate said softly to her.

Warren looked over at the brunette in curiosity but decided not to aggravate the awkward situation anymore than it already was.

“Uh, no,” he said. “You two were here first. We can find another place.”

“What?” Jake demanded.

“No, it’s fine,” Victoria waved them off. “I’d suggest moving tables but the restaurant is filled. Still, we can be adults about this.”

“I don’t get it,” the woman who spoke earlier said.

“Elaine, meet my roommate’s ex.”

“Oh,” the brunette nodded in understanding then turned a sharp look in Warren’s direction. “Not a cool move, bud.”

“Like it’s your business,” Jake snapped in his friend’s defense.

“Never said it was.” Elaine looked Jake over critically then cast a knowing glance at Victoria, who furrowed her brow in confusion before light dawned in her green orbs.

“I hardly think it’s that,” she said to her friend cryptically, rolling her eyes.

“It looks that way to me,” Elaine shrugged.

“What looks what way?” Jake demanded, looking genuinely pissed now.

Warren didn’t know why the situation with Chris offended his new friend so much, but since he needed all the support he could get, he didn’t bother asking him.

“Just pipe down and order your lunch, blondie,” Elaine grinned. “Try the Rad Nar.”

Jake fumed silently as he opened his menu to look it over. Warren cocked his head to the side to study for a moment before turning his gaze back to Victoria, who still scowled at him.

“I know I need to apologize to him,” he sighed at her. “But I need help in arranging that.”

“Well, don’t look at me for that,” she sniffed. “Lauren already promised Mindy she’d ask him about meeting with you. But not until she’s sure he’s ready.”

“What kind of wimp are we talking about here?” Jake huffed.

“No one asked you,” Victoria turned a fulminating glance his way.

“Yeah, well if it hadn’t have been for you, they might not have had a problem to begin with,” he shot back.

“And wouldn’t that have been a shame for you?” Elaine replied for her.

The blonde turned back to her with anger-filled eyes. Elaine merely chuckled and sipped on her ice water.

“Elaine,” Victoria turned to her friend in exasperation.

“Hey, I call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

“Back at you,” Jake hissed looking back and forth between the two women meaningfully and stopping at Elaine.

“Touché,” she shrugged, her cheeks tinged a slight pinkish color.

Victoria’s eyes opened wide as she regarded her friend in shock, her own face coloring slightly. “Uh …”

“Yeah, I know,” Jake said in a bored tone. “Sucks to be straight.”

“Who said I’m straight?” the black-haired woman shot at him angrily.

“You just looked …” he trailed off, suddenly looking unsure of himself.

“I was surprised, given how she and I met,” Victoria clarified. “But that’s all I was.”

Elaine was the one who looked surprised now, though not at all unhappily.

“I … uh … see,” Jake said softly, looking away in embarrassment.

Victoria looked pointedly at Warren and waited.

“I … didn’t believe you,” Warren murmured.

“I know you didn’t,” she said haughtily. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. You and I don’t need to see each other … ever again.”

“But Chris …”

“Your apology can wait,” she ground out. “He has enough to worry about right now with his bastard brother in town.”

“His brother’s here?”

“Did you think the Wainsworths would leave him alone?” she scoffed. “Not likely. As far as I know, he’s bracing for another round with them.”

“What do you mean another round?”

“What part is unclear to you, Warren?” she leaned forward and speared him with a hard look. “They really did get him fired from his last job and had him evicted from his home. They didn’t do it to get rid of him though.” She shook her head and sighed. Elaine gave her a sympathetic smile before Victoria continued. “Wealthy parents tend to think of their children as more of an investment than progeny. Chris was threatening to give them unfavorable returns. They wanted him to have nowhere to go so that he would be forced to return to his parents’ home. They probably feel that if they get him back under control, they can force him into the mold they chose for him.”

“Your parents are doing that to you?”

“They already tried,” she laughed and Elaine joined her. “You should have heard my boss take my mother to task.”

“She told her if she ever called the company to complain again our lawyers would take legal action,” Elaine added. “Oh, the outraged sputtering on the speakerphone!”

“It was priceless,” Victoria smirked. “Wish I could have seen her face.”

“I’m sure it looked like she was having a stroke.”

“Mm.”

Warren listened to the exchange, still shocked that Victoria really was bi. He hadn’t believed her when she first suggested it. Hell, she was still living with Chris. Could he really have been so off the mark? He caught Jake’s eye and they exchanged dumbfounded glances as the waiter came over and they ordered their food.