Fiction :: A-List(ed)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

[PART ONE]

The Following Week

[Friday - Day of Party at Robert's]

A-List Magazine

Manhattan, New York

"Yes, yes, no Uncle Ricky we haven't forgotten about your visit. Sean and I are going out to a party later tonight, but, we'll be back by the time you and Aunty Jen arrive. But incase we're not, you have the spare keys and Sean made up his room for you guys...Oh yes, he's totally fine crashing on the couch...ok, love you too. We'll see you later bye..."

Hanging up my cell, I sigh contently, stuffing it in the pocket of my stripped jacket which matches the fitted knee length skirt and white undershirt I'm wearing.

"Ok, I have his coffee, bagel and cream cheese, A-List book, reminder of board meeting memo for this month's issue..." Trailing off, I cast my vision south, admiring the little display I made on Justin's desk for him.

I actually came into work earlier than usual today because Sean and I were up early this morning preparing the apartment for our Uncle and step-aunt. They're visiting for the weekend so we wanted to make sure that their visit was a pleasant one. Uncle Ricky is actually my dad's brother. They were really close so when dad and mom died he took it extremely hard. But, at least he was there for Sean and me so I love that man like my second father.

Sighing in thought, I lift my head, casting my vision outside of Justin's large office windows which have a perfect view of Manhattan. Staring in awe, I take in all the skyscraper buildings and bright blue sky with hardly any clouds.

I can't believe that this is my life now. It's still surreal to me, but, I love it. And even if I don't end up staying at A-List, I know now that I have Justin who I believe will do everything in his power for us to stay together.

Justin...

There was a time when I could barely stand the sound of his name. But that's long in the past for me.

Who knew I'd end up falling for an heir?

I mean, when I first came into A-List looking for a job straight out of university, who thought I'd be here right now a few months later?

I sure didn't. It almost feels like everything is moving so fast, but it's really not so much. This is our lifestyle. Every day is like a race in this city but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Still, a getaway is a nice idea and Justin was right; that running away bit he came up with is mighty appealing but I'll never give him the pleasure of knowing I agree so he can tease me.

Oh and Sean? Well, let's just say he's still freaking out over Justin and me. He took the news really well, but I think he freaked out with excitement more than I did. And, he was adamant on having Justin over so he could see us actually together for his own self which Justin obliged to. Of course, Sean flipped out even more and up to today, he's not over it yet. He's gushing more than I am, contently teasing me about how Justin and I are so cute together. It's annoying, but he's my brother so...good ole Sean...

Jumping in fright when I feel a pair strong arms wrap around my waist from behind, I smile before resting back against the person's tall frame, his warmth and scent engulfing my senses, making me dizzy with want.

"Something smells delicious...and I'm not talking about that bagel you placed on my desk." Justin whispers in my ear, his lips grazing my earlobe delicately.

This is crazy. We haven't even had sex or anything and I'm so wound up. I don't know how much more of this torture I can take before I totally cave and beg him to just have his way with me, not caring about where we are or who sees...

"Morning..." I force out, trying to suppress a moan and he chuckles.

"Good morning to you too beautiful."

He releases his hold on me so I can turn around to face him and I smile, looking up at him, his oceanic blues swallowing my browns in an intense gaze.

I lean up to kiss him but freeze mid-action, my eyes adjusting to the change in lighting and I pucker my brows in bewilderment.

"Is it darker in here?" I inquire before leaning to the side to see around Justin who has a humorous expression on his face. "Oh my god Justin, you closed the blinds?" I ask in shock.

This is the first time he's ever closed the blinds...ever...and...swallowing hard, I reestablish eye contact with him, feeling my knees go weak when he darts out his tongue to lick his lips slowly, sensually before leisurely unpinning his jacket buttons.

"I'm feeling kind of...nocturnal today. I didn't get much sleep last night. I was up late with Rob, working on the anniversary preparations." He shrugs innocently, gradually, torturously undoing each button on his jacket until he has it completely open, allowing me to see his long-sleeved light blue undershirt which I'm sure is by some designer. That's all he wears...designer clothes. But, he looks so damn fine in them that I'm thinking about tracking down each designer and thanking them personally.

Ok, I've totally lost it...get it together Tai. Breathe. Relax. It's all good.

"Uh..." Is all I manage to get out, stumped for words as he leans down to place a soft kiss on my cheek, stifling his chuckles before his towering stature moves around me to head to his chair so he can spread out his jacket over the armrest.

"So, you did all of this for me huh?" Justin inquires and I whip around to stare at him, giving him a small jovial smile as he surveys his desk closely. "This is sweet Tai. Considering I didn't have a chance to catch breakfast; thanks." Justin finally looks up at me, grinning widely before gripping his favorite blue coffee mug with the A-List logo at the front in white, taking a big gulp of the steamy liquid.

Flinching, he pulls away, glaring at the liquid in the mug oddly before lifting his head to stare at me, giving me a questionable glare.

"Tai?" Justin asks in a sing-song voice, walking back over to me and I'm frozen in place, holding back my giggles as I relish in the sight of him. "This is hot chocolate." He points out, clearly stunned and I nod.

"With milk." I add in, blushing at the double meaning behind my statement even if he's totally clueless.

"Are you trying to...insinuate something?" Justin asks suspiciously, a crafty smile forming on his adorable face.

Ugh god, I can't take much more of this.

"No, just thought you'd like a change." I shrug feigning innocence but he doesn't buy it. A soft laugh escapes him as he places the mug back down on the coaster.

"Uh huh." He drawls, moving to stand in front of me with his back to his desk. Sitting at the edge of the finely crafted furniture, he parts his legs slightly before stretching out his hands to grip my waist, pulling me into his embrace.

I let out a relaxed sigh as our fronts fuse together, my hands snaking up his firm chest to wrap around his neck.

"So tell me, what made you decide that it was ok to switch my coffee with hot chocolate? You know how I get cranky if I don't have caffeine in my system by mid-morning." He sniggers, his orbs darting to my lips and back up to my eyes.

"Caffeine's bad for you." I counter.

"True, but, hot chocolate has a lot of sugar...that's diabetes waiting to happen." He retorts playfully and I pout.

"Sweet is good." I say lamely causing him to erupt in laughter, the vibrations of his laugh sending shivers through my body.

"You're too cute Tai. Ok, you win. Sweet is definitely good." He caves and I beam at him. "You're sweet..." He appends and my smile slowly falls as my want for him gradually continues to build.

"Shut up." I whisper but he ignores me, his vision cast south, his eyes trained on where my breasts are resting snuggly against his chest.

My fingers slowly find their way to his hair, twisting the soft brown curls on his head and he shuts his eyes briefly, taking in a sharp breath.

"Tai, stop, we're at work ..." Justin forces out in a strangled murmur, his hands squeezing my sides gently as he pulls me a little closer.

"We're not doing anything." I reply, my hands traveling south. I watch as my fingertips trace tiny patterns over his brows, his full long eyelashes, his nose and down to his lips.

"Shit..." Justin grunts, his eyes popping wide open to glare me. I can see the lust and desire in his blues as his lips part open slightly and he bites down softly on my fingers. "Stop." He pleads in a muffled deep tone and I pull my hand away, ignoring the tingling sensations in my fingertips that travel all the way up my arm and through my body.

"Ok." I give in, watching as he blinks slowly, really taking in the sight of me. When I realize that he's simply gawking at me with no intention of speaking, I continue on..."Well, I left a memo for you right there on your desk. But, since you're here...you and Robert have a meeting with your dad and the A-List employees in the boardroom in a few minutes for the next magazine issue so..." But the rest of my words are cut off when Justin relents, eliciting a low growl before he connects his soft lips to mine in a delicate kiss that starts off shy and hesitant until we both get carried away...

His hold around me tightens, his arms wrapping around my waist to keep me in place and I shudder under his touch as he slowly, skillfully kisses me, deeply and fervently.

My head starts spinning as I cling onto him, knowing that somewhere in the back of my mind we shouldn't be doing this here.

But that does nothing to deter me or Justin because the next thing I know, he's spinning us around before he effortlessly hoists me off the floor to sit on the edge of his desk as he nestles himself between my legs, his kisses wild and demanding now as he grips my thigh with one of his hands.

Feeling my heart beating rapidly behind my ribcage, I try to catch my breath, the heat between us too much to endure as I fight to keep my self control. As much as I'd love for him to fuck me right here, right now we can't...

Breaking our kiss to take in some much needed air, Justin gasps slightly, trying to regain his composure before placing soft kisses along my chin and down my neck.

"Justin..." I whisper, needing more of him, wanting to feel more of him but I fight against it.

"Tai, you have no idea what you're doing to me...but, we, we can't do this right now, not here, not like this..." He chokes out, swallowing hard, still keeping his grip on me and hugging me against his solid frame.

And I sigh, nodding in agreement.

And just like that we're interrupted...a loud knock sounding on the door before it's followed by Robert's voice.

"Justin!?" Robert calls out and Justin heaves a sigh, reluctantly pulling away from me to answer his brother.

"What Rob?" He spits.

"We're heading to the board meeting now. So, you better get there before dad does; you know he likes the two of us to be there before he comes in. I'm heading there now, I'll see you. And leave a note for Tai when she comes in so she'll know to meet us there." Robert says from behind the door and I fight back a giggle causing Justin to look at me with a smug smile on his face.

"Ok, I'm coming!" Justin shouts back with a wave of his hand even if Robert obviously can't see him.

Then I hear Robert's retreating footsteps and I look over at Justin, giving him a bright smile before wiping my lipstick off his lips.

"Why didn't he just come in?" I ask out of curiosity. "You didn't lock the door did you?" I inquire and he shakes his head ‘no.'

"Rob never comes in unless he has to." Justin shrugs. "I was sure he was going to swing the door open and gasp in shock when he saw us but, he usually just shouts whatever to me from behind the door once I answer before he disappears again. That's Rob for you...always on the move." Justin chuckles, but there's slight bitterness behind his tone and I scowl at him, not understanding it.

"Oh...well then we were lucky huh?" I try to cheer him up and he shrugs, helping me down so I can stand before he rounds his desk to grab his jacket and fix his attire.

I do the same, making sure I'm presentable so we can leave.

"I wouldn't say that quite yet. We still have my dad to deal with. But, come on, let's get to the meeting. I don't want my father to get his panties all in a bunch if I'm late." Justin voices with a serious expression and I giggle, causing him to break out into a large smile before I grab the A-List book and he grabs his bagel and coffee mug then leads us out of his office...

*****

Later

[In The Boardroom]

"Well, it looks like everything is in order. We have the model photos from the previous photo shoot Justin and Robert were working on and everything is a go with the printers and publishers. The book seems to be in order; I see here you all made a few changes, but it's fine, it can work..." Randall rattles out as he seats at the head of the desk in the boardroom with Justin and Robert on either side of him. He looks sharp as always in his suit, and I watch intently as some of his motions almost mirror Justin's own gestures.

He carefully scans through the big A-List book as all of the employees, including myself, sit quietly, holding our breath for his next course of action.

Shutting the book, Randall looks up, giving both of his sons nods of approval before his crystal blues scan the room, taking in the many faces who are looking at him, some fretful, some bored, some indecisive. Then he gets to me, and he pauses, holding my gaze a little longer than necessary, giving me an astute smile, and I look away feeling uneasy, noticing Justin shift in his seat before clearing his throat loudly to grasp his father's attention.

And it works.

Without missing a beat, Randall sighs then moves to stand with Robert and Justin following suit.

Justin's blues quickly flit to me, giving me an apologetic stare and I nod lightly, acknowledging him before Randall speaks up again.

"This concludes our meeting. Good job everyone and we'll see this issue on the stands by next week. I'll let you all get back to your tasks and have a good weekend. You're free to leave. Excuse me." With that said, Randall pushes back his chair to leave, pausing briefly to call out to Robert. "Robert, I'd like to have a brief word with you in my office when you're done."

I note the look on Robert's face when his father tells him this. It's one of frustration and apprehension before he brushes it off, giving his father a quick nod in understanding before Randall leaves, disappearing out of the boardroom.

That was...peculiar.

It's not long before the other employees slowly begin heading out and I wave to Chris, Maura and Gem before they make their exit, letting them know I'll see them later tonight at Robert's.

When they're gone, I finally stand to leave as well, but stop midway when I hear Justin speaking softly to Robert in the corner of the room.

"What does dad want to see you for? What's going on?" Justin hisses lowly and I frown, wishing I wasn't seating so close to them.

Luckily, they're too busy with each other to notice me, so I quickly turn to leave but not before I catch Robert's reply which peaks my interest and curiosity, justifying my suspicions that something is indeed going on with him.

"It's nothing you should worry yourself about Justin...well...you know...come on, it's dad. Forget about it. I'll handle it. It's fine. I mean, it's whatever right?" Robert says coolly but judging by the grunt Justin releases in response, I'd say he doesn't agree.

"Just...don't be stupid Rob. Don't let dad manipulate you...he's a pro at that." Justin replies in a hushed tone and that's the last thing I hear before I quietly slip out of the boardroom with the few remaining employees.

*****

Later

[In Randall's Office]

"I heard you're throwing a party tonight at your place. Taking over your brother's old habits I see." Randall voiced when Robert entered his office.

Sighing, Robert shut the door behind him and slowly strutted up to his father's desk. "What do you want dad?"

"What I want is a progress report." Randall smirked before pulling out a cigar and lighting it.

"A progress report?" Robert asked incredulously. "On what?"

"What do you think? Justin and Tai. I paid close attention to them in that board meeting, stealing glances at each other when they thought no one was looking. I saw. Justin was distracted. I'm sure you noticed that too." Randall voiced while puffing out smoke and Robert groaned, folding his arms across his chest, glaring at his father intently.

"So what?"

"She's distracting him." Randall reiterated in a harsh tone and Robert laughed bitterly.

"And I should care why?" Robert spat but Randall's expression didn't hitch. His eyes were icy cold and his stare was ruthless.

"Watch your mouth with me boy. You should care. I thought you'd be wooing miss Bennett by now but it seems that Justin beat you to it. They're together now." Randall shrugged uncaringly with an evil laugh.

He knew his sons well. If he could get under Robert's skin enough, he'd cave. They always caved. They were weak. He needed to teach them a lesson in this business. Weaklings never won.

"Look dad, I tried ok? Tai's not interested. She's smitten with Justin. Just let them be. Besides, I sort of have my eye on someone else and..." But Randall interrupted him.

"I don't care. You do what I say and that's final. This is your last chance Robert. At your party tonight, I expect results. Do not think about walking back into this building unless you have good news for me." Randall chided, causing Robert to gasp in shock.

"What!?" Robert squeaked out. "Come on dad! Be reasonable. You can't be fucking serious." Robert snapped, ignoring his father's glare.

"Do not swear at me boy."

"Fuck that dad! Fuck this. You're being a real asshole. You're only concerned about your fucking company. Do you even care at all about Justin and me? About what we want? How we feel? What's wrong with you!?" Robert asked, his eyes wide, filled with confusion and hurt. How could his father be like this? What went wrong for him to turn into such a monster?

Chuckling lowly, Randall casually placed his cigar in the ashtray on his desk before he stood to face his son, unaffected by his words.

"You think you're a big man who can talk to me in whatever manner you please huh?" Randall began, his voice laced with malice. Leaning over the desk, he eyed Robert closely, knowing that he was at his breaking point. "Would you like to see my revised will Robert? I have three versions of my will. Did you know that? The last one I did was made especially for you if you crossed me. How would you feel to know that you stood to gain nothing from this business after putting in all of your blood, sweat and tears? How would you feel if Justin got everything, knowing damn well that this is not what he wants and he'd maybe sell the company anyway to sail off with his new squeeze while you were left behind, trying to pick up the pieces of your broken dreams and life? How would that make you feel Robert if I turned your own brother against you with just a snap of my finger?"

Swallowing hard, Robert fought the urge that was building in him to jump across that desk and punch his father.

This was not happening to him. His father was not blackmailing him. No. No that couldn't be. This man, this man wasn't his father. Robert didn't know who he was, but it was clear that they lost their father a long time ago.

"Dad...no. I don't want this. I'm not doing it...don't make me do this." Robert pleaded, his voice hoarse and cracking as he fought back tears.

He wasn't stifling sobs over the fact that his father just threatened his future. No; he was fighting to not give his father the satisfaction of seeing him cry because he was hurt.

Robert was hurt...the very wounds Randall inflicted digging through his body and piercing the very core of his heart and soul. He was crushed. He was angry. He was confused. But most of all, he was slowly filling with hate...hate for a man he once loved and only wished would return even an ounce of the love he expressed. His own father. His own flesh and blood...a monster.

"I see that you're speechless." Randall shrugged, regaining his seat. "You're weak Robert. Weak. How do you expect to make this business work if you and your brother are so weak and easily distracted? This is a cut-throat business. Either you have what it takes or you don't. Clearly you don't have what it takes. And this is your dream. That's too bad. If you can prove to me that you can do this one thing I've asked of you, then I'll reconsider. I'm sure you wouldn't want me to take matters into my own hands. Because I will. And neither you nor Justin can quit so easily since you're under contracts and could stand to lose everything. Then how would you pay for those penthouses you live in? Where would the income come from for you all to take care of yourselves? How would you put food on your table, clothes on your back, and a roof over your head? Your mothers? Both of them left you all with me. I raised you all. Your mothers were never around. You may not like it, but I do these things for you all. And you're still two ungrateful spoilt bastards."

Robert clenched his fists tightly, biting down harshly on his bottom lip to keep his composure.

When Randall realized that Robert had nothing more to say, he smiled triumphantly.

"Nella saw Justin and Tai at his mother's restaurant just the other day. So you know Nella was furious of course when she saw them, not like I cared. I'm sure Tai doesn't know that it's his mother's place or that it's one of his favorite places. I'm sure he didn't tell her that. But that doesn't matter, because in all of the years that restaurant has been there, and out of all the meaningless flings Justin had, he never once, not once stepped foot inside of that restaurant with any of his women, including Nella. It was something special to Justin, something sacred. Maybe a way for him to stay close to his mother, but he didn't share it with anyone. And then, here comes along Tai. And where does he bring her? To that southern restaurant." Shaking his head in disappointment, Randall rested back in his seat, giving his son a bored look.

Robert was frozen in place, unable to even form coherent thoughts or sentences since he was so livid. He just stood there looking practically lifeless.

"Nella's pregnant." Randall hissed angrily, practically in disbelief. "But I'm sure you all already knew that." There was no word to describe the amount of anger that was inside of him, slowly building. But he kept his cool, looking almost unaffected from the outside. "Your party tonight Robert, don't disappoint me like your brother. You may leave now." And just like that, Randall waved his son away, completely ignoring him as he proceeded to attend to the documents on his desk, resuming his work.

Giving his father one last long, hard look, Robert quietly turned around and left his father's office, slamming the large doors shut on his way out, the loud noise bouncing off the walls, causing a few employees to look his way; but he ignored them, heading straight for his office before he exploded and caused a scene...

*****

Hours Later

[In The Fashion Closet]

"What should I wear Gem?" I ask in puzzlement as I continue browsing the racks of clothes in the A-List fashion closet.

"Whatever you feel like. You have the closet at your disposal." She snickers, walking up to where I'm standing pondering over a Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent dress.

"All of these clothes are so elegant and flashy. Do I really need any of this? I mean it's just Robert's party."

"It was just a suggestion Taiana." Justin says softly, coming to stand next to me and Gem looks between the two of us, a sly smile forming on her face and I shoot her a warning glare. "I told you, if you wanted to you could pick something out in the closet but anything you decide to wear will look good on you." Justin voices honestly and I smile, trying to hide it because I know Gem is just waiting to say something.

"Tai-ana?" Gem questions with a cheeky grin on her face and I groan. I warned Justin about calling me by that name.

"It's my full name Gem but could you not broadcast it please? I'm trusting you." I plead and she quickly nods.

"Of course." She assures and I heave a sigh.

"Ok, well in that case, I'll pull something out of my closet. I have Sean to help me so...no worries." I say while turning to face Justin who has an amused expression on his face.

"Ok." He grins, leaning down to place a small peck on my lips.

Then Gem begins coughing loudly and annoyingly and we both turn to face her, Justin with a cute smirk on his face and me with a pained expression on mine. She's going to tease me forever the next time we're alone.

"I didn't see anything!" She quickly blurts out with a raise of her hand, turning to walk away from us.

Chuckling, Justin grips my hand, pulling me away from the rack of clothes so we can walk up to the front where Gem's workstation is located.

"Thanks Gem. Tai told me you all talked some time back." Justin utters and she nods with a smile.

"That's what friends are for. Just please, try to be more careful you two? You still have your dad to worry about Justin." She points out and he scowls at her, giving my hand a soft squeeze of reassurance before he lets me go.

"Yeah, well, I'll deal with him when the time is right. But in the mean time, it's the end of the workday and we should leave to get ready for Robert's later. I'll pick you and Sean up?" Justin asks, diverting his attention to me.

"That sounds like a plan." I respond and he shakes his head.

"Ok you lovebirds...I'll see you all later tonight." Gem giggles, waving us off. "Now please leave. You all are distracting me. I need to finish the stitches on this dress for A-List's models before I leave." She explains while walking up to the mannequin that's wearing the dress she's currently working on.

Justin and I bid her farewell before leaving the fashion closet together so we can get back up to our work quarters and grab our things to leave for the weekend.

As we make it back to our section, we tell Sharron ‘hi' who's at her desk packing up to leave as well. When she sees us, she smiles, calling out to us, stopping us.

Justin is the first to make it over to her and I slowly follow behind, leaning against the white counter at the front of the receptionist desk.

"What's going on Sharron?" Justin asks brightly and she shrugs, slipping her jacket over her shoulders.

"Just getting ready to head home. And I'll see you all later at Robert's." She states and Justin nods.

"Ok, well, have a safe trip and all." He smiles and I giggle, causing Sharron to glare at me strangely.

"Right, well what I called you over for, was that Robert just left a few minutes ago, but he seemed pretty angry. I mean, he slammed the A-List book down on my desk and told me to give it to you when I saw you since you still have to write up ‘the letter from the editor,' so here you go..." Pulling out the book, Sharron hands it to Justin and Justin takes it from her with worry lacing his features. "He also said he'd see us later." She adds in.

"Did he say what was wrong?" Justin asks out of concern and Sharron simply shakes her head ‘no.'

"Whatever it was, it was enough to visibly piss him off because you know Robert is the cool, calm and collected type." She divulges and she's right. I wonder what's wrong with him.

"Wow, yeah, you're right." Justin agrees, drifting in thought. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing too bad else he'd tell me about it. He always does. I wouldn't worry. It's maybe just one of those days for him. We all have them." Justin dismisses and Sharron agrees.

"Probably. Well, I'm heading out, so I'll see you all later; bye." She says, getting ready to depart.

"Ok, thanks Sharron and bye." Justin responds then makes a signal to me for us to continue on our way.

I quietly follow behind him, my mind riling with all the possibilities of what could possibly make Robert so upset.

I can't seem to come up with anything except his dad.

I know this may sound horrible, and I should probably think more of Randall, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was the reason for Robert's sour mood.

Ugh, that man...he needs to be careful with how he handles his sons because what goes around comes back around.

"So I have an idea." Justin voices as we make it to his office, interrupting my thoughts.

"What's that?" I question as he turns around to look at me with a bashful smile on his face.

"How about we hang out for a bit before I bring you home to prepare for later? Then I'll come back and pick you and Sean up when you're ready and we'll all head to the party." He suggests.

"I'm all up for ‘us time'." I giggle and he chuckles in return.

"Sweet." He beams, excusing himself to grab his things so we can leave and I do the same, releasing a pleasurable sigh as I stare out at Manhattan through the large glass walls of A-List, getting lost in the moment...

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