Britin (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} _alicesprings) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} qaf_challenges,@ 2009-12-14 13:04:00 |
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THERE ARE PARTNERS, AND THEN THERE ARE PARTNERS
Title: There are Partners, and Then There are Partners
Written By:ahaw9913
Timeline: Post 513
Author's Notes: Thank you to my wonderful beta!
“Ted, would you just shut the fuck up about it!”
Brian stalked up the catwalk stairs, never raising his voice, despite the echoing of the now-empty club. He knew Ted would follow close enough to hear him. It’s one of the things he has learned over the years is just a Ted-thing, along with his focus and attention to detail. “I did what I needed to. It’s been reopened for years now. So all the fags have their home away from home back, and all the fag-haters have been proven ineffective to stop the groundswell of homo-whateverthefuck.”
“But no one said it has to stay mine, and right now what I need – more than I need Babylon and more money – is time. So either Babylon goes or Kinnetik does. And since you know better than anyone but me how much Kinnetik pulls in compared to Babylon, and since you have already forced me to ‘share’ my feelings about why I need to do this…,” Brian stopped halfway up the stairs, turned abruptly and bent down, stopping Ted’s forward momentum by literally getting in his face, “…I really need you to shut the fuck up and get to work on finding a buyer for Babylon. Or do you need me to get out the cattle prod and give you some incentive?”
Ted, unfazed by Brian’s threats of bodily harm, persisted. “But if you sell it, you lose control over it, and it can still be turned into a mini-mall.”
Brian turned away, boot heels ringing on the metal stairs, and continued, clearly irritated. “Well, what do you suggest, Theodore? The last couple of managers have been for shit, and Jeff is proving to be no better. I had to cancel my trip to New York this weekend because of his fuck-up. The money Babylon brings in is just not worth the hassle anymore. It was fine when Justin first went to New York; he was so busy getting his work shopped around it didn’t matter, but now that his time is more his own, I need more of mine to be as well.”
“You need your time to be his, too?” Brian sent a cutting look back over his shoulder at Ted’s teasing words, but didn’t comment. Meanwhile, Ted decided that with what he was about to suggest, now would not be the best time to continue to needle Brian. Instead, he took a deep breath and went for broke.
“What you need is a partner.”
“Fuck, Theodore!” Brian’s voice reflected his disbelief, as he opened the door to the small office, his eyes unconsciously drawn to the large vibrant canvas behind the desk. “That’s what got me into this situation in the first place.”
Ted rolled his eyes, but kept pace with Brian. “Not a life partner…a business partner.” Ted paused, and when there was no immediate laughter or objects hurtling towards him, he rushed to continue. “Someone who would be responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, and dealings with the club manager, allowing you to just collect money hand over fist and be at the beck and call of your honey…I mean spend your time as you would,” Ted hastened to correct, as Brian rounded his desk, where there were several potential projectiles.
However, Brian simply lifted a stack of mail, and began absently sorting it. “That sounds great, but if I can’t trust a club manager to not run my business into the ground, how the fuck am I supposed to trust a business partner, who would have even more control?” Three-quarters of the envelopes were tapped into a neat stack and held out to Ted with a smile.
“Easy,” Ted said, reaching out to take the envelopes, only to have them pulled away.
Ted sighed. This was something he had been planning to talk to Brian about for a while. He and Blake felt they were ready to take this step, and he was determined not to lose this opportunity to bring it up. He grabbed the envelopes.
“You take on a partner you already trust. Someone who knows the club and the business. Someone who knows the way you like things run. Someone like me.”
Brian looked up from the supply order he had picked up. “You? First of all, you must not have enough to do at Kinnetik if you have time to run a nightclub.…unless…you need an excuse to be away from the little woman at night?” Brian questioned in an odd tone, eyebrows raised. “And second, how the fuck can you afford to buy into Babylon? Do I need to schedule an audit to make sure I wouldn’t be paid with my own money?
“Ha, ha. Go ahead. Although we just had an audit. And you know exactly how well you pay me, so you know I can afford it. And to answer your thoughtful concern over the state of my matrimonial happiness, Blake and I are fine, thank you very much. It’s just that I have been wanting to do this, and while I have more than enough to keep me busy at Kinnetik, if you stepped up your timeline for making Cynthia VP, now that she’s finishing her MBA, and if she were to take over some of my responsibilities….” Ted dragged the thought out, hoping that Brian wouldn’t make him choose between his job at Kinnetik and this opportunity to own a share of Babylon.
“No. I can’t afford to lose you from Kinnetik,”
“But…”
“But…maybe we could work something out.” Brian relented relatively quickly. He was secretly relieved at the thought of Ted being part-owner of Babylon, and a little annoyed with himself for not having thought of it. Ted would be the perfect partner to have in the nightclub business; he didn’t drink, he didn’t fuck around, and he would watch Brian’s money like a hawk, as always.
“Well Theodore, it looks like I’m about to sell you half of my club and have to start realigning Kinnetik’s staff, so you better get your ass moving and get it done before I change my mind! Have the lawyers draw it up, and send it to me.”
Ted was thrilled. He’d known the idea was sound, but he knew his past was something that could be held against him. But, Brian had gone for it. He was going to be a partner in Babylon. Brian wanted him to have it drawn up. And sent. Sent?
“Send it to you? What do you mean send it to you? Where are you going? We still have to go over the books, fix that scheduling problem, decide what we are going to do about Kinnetik…and…and …and what about the meeting you have planned for tomorrow with the vendor…?”
“I’ve decided to let my new partner take care of all of that for me.” Brian stood up, rounded the desk, and clapped Ted on the shoulder before heading for the door. “Welcome to Babylon! I have a plane to catch!”
Title: There are Partners, and Then There are Partners
Written By:
ahaw9913Timeline: Post 513
Author's Notes: Thank you to my wonderful beta!
“Ted, would you just shut the fuck up about it!”
Brian stalked up the catwalk stairs, never raising his voice, despite the echoing of the now-empty club. He knew Ted would follow close enough to hear him. It’s one of the things he has learned over the years is just a Ted-thing, along with his focus and attention to detail. “I did what I needed to. It’s been reopened for years now. So all the fags have their home away from home back, and all the fag-haters have been proven ineffective to stop the groundswell of homo-whateverthefuck.”
“But no one said it has to stay mine, and right now what I need – more than I need Babylon and more money – is time. So either Babylon goes or Kinnetik does. And since you know better than anyone but me how much Kinnetik pulls in compared to Babylon, and since you have already forced me to ‘share’ my feelings about why I need to do this…,” Brian stopped halfway up the stairs, turned abruptly and bent down, stopping Ted’s forward momentum by literally getting in his face, “…I really need you to shut the fuck up and get to work on finding a buyer for Babylon. Or do you need me to get out the cattle prod and give you some incentive?”
Ted, unfazed by Brian’s threats of bodily harm, persisted. “But if you sell it, you lose control over it, and it can still be turned into a mini-mall.”
Brian turned away, boot heels ringing on the metal stairs, and continued, clearly irritated. “Well, what do you suggest, Theodore? The last couple of managers have been for shit, and Jeff is proving to be no better. I had to cancel my trip to New York this weekend because of his fuck-up. The money Babylon brings in is just not worth the hassle anymore. It was fine when Justin first went to New York; he was so busy getting his work shopped around it didn’t matter, but now that his time is more his own, I need more of mine to be as well.”
“You need your time to be his, too?” Brian sent a cutting look back over his shoulder at Ted’s teasing words, but didn’t comment. Meanwhile, Ted decided that with what he was about to suggest, now would not be the best time to continue to needle Brian. Instead, he took a deep breath and went for broke.
“What you need is a partner.”
“Fuck, Theodore!” Brian’s voice reflected his disbelief, as he opened the door to the small office, his eyes unconsciously drawn to the large vibrant canvas behind the desk. “That’s what got me into this situation in the first place.”
Ted rolled his eyes, but kept pace with Brian. “Not a life partner…a business partner.” Ted paused, and when there was no immediate laughter or objects hurtling towards him, he rushed to continue. “Someone who would be responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, and dealings with the club manager, allowing you to just collect money hand over fist and be at the beck and call of your honey…I mean spend your time as you would,” Ted hastened to correct, as Brian rounded his desk, where there were several potential projectiles.
However, Brian simply lifted a stack of mail, and began absently sorting it. “That sounds great, but if I can’t trust a club manager to not run my business into the ground, how the fuck am I supposed to trust a business partner, who would have even more control?” Three-quarters of the envelopes were tapped into a neat stack and held out to Ted with a smile.
“Easy,” Ted said, reaching out to take the envelopes, only to have them pulled away.
Ted sighed. This was something he had been planning to talk to Brian about for a while. He and Blake felt they were ready to take this step, and he was determined not to lose this opportunity to bring it up. He grabbed the envelopes.
“You take on a partner you already trust. Someone who knows the club and the business. Someone who knows the way you like things run. Someone like me.”
Brian looked up from the supply order he had picked up. “You? First of all, you must not have enough to do at Kinnetik if you have time to run a nightclub.…unless…you need an excuse to be away from the little woman at night?” Brian questioned in an odd tone, eyebrows raised. “And second, how the fuck can you afford to buy into Babylon? Do I need to schedule an audit to make sure I wouldn’t be paid with my own money?
“Ha, ha. Go ahead. Although we just had an audit. And you know exactly how well you pay me, so you know I can afford it. And to answer your thoughtful concern over the state of my matrimonial happiness, Blake and I are fine, thank you very much. It’s just that I have been wanting to do this, and while I have more than enough to keep me busy at Kinnetik, if you stepped up your timeline for making Cynthia VP, now that she’s finishing her MBA, and if she were to take over some of my responsibilities….” Ted dragged the thought out, hoping that Brian wouldn’t make him choose between his job at Kinnetik and this opportunity to own a share of Babylon.
“No. I can’t afford to lose you from Kinnetik,”
“But…”
“But…maybe we could work something out.” Brian relented relatively quickly. He was secretly relieved at the thought of Ted being part-owner of Babylon, and a little annoyed with himself for not having thought of it. Ted would be the perfect partner to have in the nightclub business; he didn’t drink, he didn’t fuck around, and he would watch Brian’s money like a hawk, as always.
“Well Theodore, it looks like I’m about to sell you half of my club and have to start realigning Kinnetik’s staff, so you better get your ass moving and get it done before I change my mind! Have the lawyers draw it up, and send it to me.”
Ted was thrilled. He’d known the idea was sound, but he knew his past was something that could be held against him. But, Brian had gone for it. He was going to be a partner in Babylon. Brian wanted him to have it drawn up. And sent. Sent?
“Send it to you? What do you mean send it to you? Where are you going? We still have to go over the books, fix that scheduling problem, decide what we are going to do about Kinnetik…and…and …and what about the meeting you have planned for tomorrow with the vendor…?”
“I’ve decided to let my new partner take care of all of that for me.” Brian stood up, rounded the desk, and clapped Ted on the shoulder before heading for the door. “Welcome to Babylon! I have a plane to catch!”