When they walked in, Brian had instructed Cynthia to keep an eye on Johnson. Brian didn't want that "hetero tool" interrupting his initial "pitch." So Cynthia had positioned herself between Brian and Justin and the tool. If he approached the boys, she would head him off at the pass, giving Brian as much time alone with Justin as possible. She loved seeing her boss in action. He drew people in so perfectly. He invaded Justin's personal space, established a physical connection, made a lot of eye contact, and complimented his work, probably in that bright, but darkly sexy drawl of his. If Justin hadn't already been in awe of him, he certainly would have been after the first few minutes.
But then, after Brian, she imagined, asked Justin about his naked guy painting, Brian's demeanor and expression had changed. He was tense and surprised, and, for a moment, Cynthia thought he was gonna make a break for it. What on earth could Justin be saying to Brian to make his game face slip so drastically? In contrast, Justin's expression was happy, almost beatific. She glanced back at Johnson for a moment, sighed, and then drew nearer to Brian and Justin. Whatever the consequences, she just had to know what they were talking about.
Brian asked, as evenly as he could manage, "So where are you from?" Part of him hoped that Justin would say he was from Duluth or Des Moines, but only part of him. Brian tried to ignore what the other part of him was saying.
"Pittsburgh."
Cynthia's eyes widened. Had Brian already "met" Justin ("met" being a nice euphemism for the only way they could have encountered each other before, probably in some back room). She couldn't help but smile. In her head, she cursed her boss for having all the luck, for having destiny and fate on his side, but she did so good naturedly.
Brian nodded his head slowly. In the case of anyone else, he would've offered the boy a job and left things there. But Justin was irresistible. The fact that Brian had already had him did nothing to quell his desire to have him again, tonight. Strangely, that just made Brian want him all the more, for he remembered their first encounter, though, of course, at first, he'd had no clue that Justin was that boy from so long ago. Angry father or no, that night, Brian wouldn't have left, except that Mikey had found him and dragged him off to the hospital to see his son. Later, at the hospital, when Lindsay had asked him his opinion of the name Gus, his first thought had been that it was silly. But Brian had heard angry dad call the boy he'd fucked Jus. Remembering that had put a soft smile on his lips. Suddenly Gus had seemed like the perfect name for his son, and he'd told Lindsay so, though it earned him a growl and a frown from Mel.
As Justin had informed Brian (when Brian had suggested that they have a drink at his loft), he couldn't leave for a few hours, so Brian taunted Johnson a little and then spent the rest of the time studying Justin's other paintings. He'd sent Cynthia home shortly after he'd realized who Justin was.
An hour after Brian's "pitch," Johnson had approached Justin. Justin had seen Johnson (a tall blond in a grey suit with pronounced dimples and a plastic smile, who looked like his name should be Brock) and Brian exchanging not-so-friendly glances earlier and had seen them talking shortly after Brian left Justin to impress the other attendees. So when Johnson started complimenting Justin's artwork, he shot Johnson an annoyed look and declared, "I'm with Brian, so don't even bother." He'd assumed that Johnson was trying to pick him up. He and Brian were clearly rivals. Johnson was stunned. He tried to ignore Justin's statement and press his "suit," but when Justin glared at him as though he were dung on the bottom of his shoe, he backed off. As he left the show, he muttered, "Fucking Kinney."