(Joshua's POV - Mon. 31 March 2014)

"Have we covered everything?" I ask Allan as he strikes the last line of our agenda for today.

"I guess so. We've reviewed all the subjects... I think we've got a pretty good one there in Houston. This is going to be the hell of a project but it should work..." he says, reclining in his chair.

"If you can get the negotiations where we want them, yes, that should be good. If you need my support with the client, just let me know and I can meet him at some point."

"I have your proxy, so that shouldn't be a problem. But if he wants to meet you in person, then we can schedule to go back there maybe next week or the week after next? That's a huge building and I wouldn't be surprised that he wants to meet the CEO... plus that's our first contract with them, so it might be good..." Allan suggests. I usually like to meet new important customers in person, but this time, the timing was just not good and Allan is absolutely capable of dealing with pre-negotiations.

"Next week, I need to fly to New York and Philadelphia already, but week after next could work. And while we are in Houston, I'd like to visit some other customers and the other building site we have on going there."

"We should also go to Dallas and meet Jefferson while we are in Texas. Their office complex is almost complete and we could maybe try and start negotiating their next construction. I heard they are going to implement a new division in Canada in two or three years, that would be another good opportunity for us."

"Okay, let's do that. We can do Wednesday to Friday that week. I'll get Ally and Edna or Liam to work this out tomorrow," I propose.

"Perfect! Oh yeah, that's right! Ally's coming back tomorrow..." he exclaims with a smug smile.

"Keep your smart comments to yourself," I groan, making him smile even wider.

"Don't worry, Edna and I are going to take care of your little twink..." he laughs.

"Screw you, Brightman!"

"I love it when you call me Brightman... Pierce!" he chants, putting his right hand over his heart. "Jokes aside, I'm sure he'll be fine with us. He seems to be a bright guy and I know that he'll be a great help to Edna too. The meeting we had last week went well and Edna is quite relieved to finally get some help. The Project Managers have been more and more demanding to her lately and she'll be more than happy to share her work with Liam. When is he transferring to my department by the way?"

"At the end of the week, I guess or maybe on Monday next week. I'd like him to hand over with Ally first if you don't mind."

"Or you want to have him around you for a few more days..." he smirks.

"Get out! You'd better not miss your plane! And Jones will be here soon...." I growl, standing up from my chair.

"Good luck with him... I was thinking about what you told me last week... it would be better to have our external auditors to perform the audit I think. If there's anything dubious in the accounts, an external point of view will be better than an internal one..." Allan suggests.

"That's what I was thinking too. First I'll see what explanations he's got for me and then I'll decide. Don't tell him anything yet, he'll probably not like to have his service audited out of the usual annual schedule."

"No problem... I'll let you deal with this. I'll see you on Friday so that we can catch up on my business visits."

After Allan has left, I actually still have a few minutes before Derek shows up, so I get back to my desk and work on some emails, or try to. My thoughts are somewhat encumbered by the affair with Jeremy. What I haven't told Liam is that the guys and I also believe that his sudden departure is quite shady. Gary is too shocked at the moment to even realize what is going on. Aaron and Mark spent quite some time with him over the week-end, trying to cheer him up a bit, but he is just down in the doldrums for now and that's understandable. He just alternates between phases of lucidity and phases of delirium.

I can't believe he left... Something must have gone wrong... This has become Gary's tune over the week-end in his moments of relative sanity. He feels terribly guilty for their small argument on Tuesday evening but doesn't believe that it would have made him run away; besides, the problem was solved. We do have the letter and we are pretty sure that it was written by Jeremy, but it still sounds odd. Gary's constant tune has convinced us to start investigating and Tony is already in contact with one of his detective friends. This is probably going to be a slow process and we can't be sure that we will ever find him since he could already be far away and in another country, but the one thing that we want to make sure of is that he left on his own accord and that this is what he really wanted. It doesn't mean that we will get him back, but at least we would get a confirmation that he really meant to go away.

I was rather impressed by Liam's reaction though. I was expecting him to react very badly and burst into a fit of anger or sadness but he was rather calm. My boy is much stronger than I would have thought. And yet, he didn't fool me. I saw the rage and disappointment in his eyes but I think he was able to internalize his emotions quite well. However, I know that Jeremy's departure has affected him more than he wanted to show off on Friday and even on Saturday. Now that I know him better, I am fully aware of how it was difficult for him to tie bonds with other people. Before I met him, the only person he used to trust was his friend Shannon and I saw how difficult it was for him to open up to other people, unless they went to him. Nevertheless, he managed pretty well with the other Subs at the club and he has tied friendships with quite a few guys there, but Jeremy was really the one he liked the most and I am afraid that this deceit might bring up some confidence issues again.

His self-doubting issues actually did show up in the end and by Saturday late afternoon, Liam was begging me to bring him back to his place. He eventually expressed himself and admitted that he was sincerely upset with Jeremy's departure. He said that he needed to reassure himself about his friendship with Shannon. I tried to convince him that things were different with him and that losing a friend didn't mean that he would lose more of them and especially not a long-time friend like Shannon. He insisted though, arguing that he needed to spend the rest of the week-end with him and in the end I gave in because I couldn't stand to see him so miserable and I drove him back to his place. The thing is that, at this precise moment, he needed some reassurance that I couldn't provide him with.

Letting him go proved to be the right decision because when he showed up in the office this morning, much earlier than usual, he was feeling much better. He went straight to my office, wearing a happy grin and thanked me again for letting him spend the rest of the week-end with his friend. They didn't do much other than watching TV and talking but it obviously did him some good and I earned a long and passionate kiss in return. Too bad I had a conference call starting at 7:30 or it would have ended on the couch in my office...

Argh... this is definitely not a good time to think about this... A nervous Derek finally shows up, apologizing all he can for being late. He knows how strict I am on punctuality but for once I won't hold it against him as I myself got lost in my thoughts before he arrived. For a good half hour, he shows me new versions of the P&L tables and they look slightly better than what they did last week, but something still disturbs me in his explanations. He mostly pins the blame on the taxes and also the rates of some raw materials that have increased but somehow his explanations remain vague and I also notice how he seems to try to convince himself of his arguments as much as he tries to convince me. The light film of perspiration at his temples finishes persuading me that I really need to order an extra audit, about which I don't tell him just yet, but I'll make sure to start this as soon as possible.

"Now... I will also review all the tenders we have issued recently to make sure everything matches..." Derek concludes, recovering his self-confidence at my absence of further questioning. May he enjoy. For now.

"That would be good indeed. Is there anything else?" I ask, thinking that there might be something else he would like to discuss.

"No, it's all good," he says, gathering his notes and standing up. As he heads toward the door, he turns on his heels and adds bluntly: "Oh by the way... I fired Francis Brandy this morning, my AP Manager." Hmm... I knew there would be something else. I narrow my eyes at him in question. Francis has always sounded like a good guy to me; very cold and moody, but efficient.

"Why is that?" I ask. Not that I would really care normally, but I am still curious. Each of the leadership team members are obviously free to deal with their respective employees as they see fit, as long as it is in due respect. Of course I can't supervise each and every employee of the company and it is part of their job to recruit or fire people they manage in their departments, but I am a bit surprised by this information.

"Well, to make it short, there have been quite a few mistakes recently that I needed to make up for. Besides, Dominic has had to review some things for him with regards to the P&L tables; a lot of figures were incorrect, so I decided to fire him."

"Really...? Brandy always seemed to be quite serious in his work," I argue.

"Not as much as you'd think..." he chuckles.

"Well, that's your problem anyway. Make sure you launch a recruitment to replace him as soon as possible. Firing him during month end was maybe not the best of times," I comment.

"That's no problem. Dominic is actually willing to take over the job," he proposes.

"Dominic...? Are you sure about that?" I ask a bit harshly. To me, this guy spends a bit too much time in the corridors and at the coffee machines and not enough at his desk, but then again, I am not on their floor all the time so I can't really judge the guy and as long as the work is done on time, I don't really care about who does what.

"Positive... We'll see this week if he is able to manage both the AP and the AR teams and if he proves good enough, I might just give him a decent increase and let him cover both jobs. That will make us save costs on another manager."

"Up to you..." I just reply and let him go out.

* * *

I spend the whole afternoon in more conference calls and quick meetings. I also call my usual contact at our external audit firm to request an appointment as soon as possible but the guy in unfortunately out of office at the moment and his secretary proposes me to see him on Monday morning next week before I fly to New York on Tuesday.

Since Liam spent the rest of last week-end at his place, we agreed that he would stay at my place tonight so he is still there when I finally hang up from my last call after 7:00 pm. He said he didn't mind staying late because he wanted to update all of Ally's files and clear up as much as possible before she returns. I am happy that Ally returns tomorrow but I am going to miss ogling my sweet boy through the window walls, either unnoticed to him when they are frozen or openly when I let them clear. I quickly send him a Lync message to come and see me when he is ready and I watch him smile when he reads it. The little creep takes his time on purpose, wearing a smug face, but less than five minutes later, Liam pops his head in, smiling at how reclined I am in my armchair, arms folded across my chest, and my desk already cleared of everything. Of course he knows that I have been luring at him for the past few minutes.

"Admit you're going to miss that..." he says with en impish smile, walking in.

"Miss what...?" I ask with mock innocence.

"You know what I'm talking about... Spying me..."

"I wasn't spying you..." I kind of lie. "I was just enjoying the sight..."

"Sure..." he chuckles as he takes a sit across from me.

"So...? What do you think about your... almost seven months here?" I ask seriously, leaning back up and lacing my fingers on my desk.

"You already know what I think..." he replies in a small voice, blushing and casting his eyes down.

"I'm serious Liam. I want to know your honest opinion, professionally speaking of course."

"It was... extremely instructive..." he says with a smile. "I can't say that it was always easy, but I really loved it... I found everything I was expecting in the job and even more. And I sincerely thank you for offering me such an opportunity, because I really learned a lot with you. If I had stayed with... Mr. Jones... I'm not sure I would have come to like this job so much..."

"You wouldn't have stayed with Derek for so long anyway. It would have been for only two months," I argue.

"True... but I really enjoyed working with you... thank you!" he concludes.

"Thank you, Liam! Thank you for replacing Ally without so much of a notice beforehand. You did a very good job and I am sincerely proud of you."

"Is this the boss talking?"

"That's definitely the boss talking," I chuckle. He already knows that the boyfriend would say the same. "To be honest, I never had any doubt on your skills, but you never ceased to amaze me over the past few months. You actually exceeded my expectations. You're extremely willing, perfectly organized and the most important thing is that you have developed a lot of self-confidence and this is really good. I'm glad that you're going to work with Allan and I'm sure that he will help you to expand your abilities even further."

"Wow... thanks..." he breathes out, allowing me to witness one of these deep blushes that have become rarer.

"That was sincere," I reply with a grin and standing up. "Wait here for a minute," I then say before I swiftly go to the fridge in the meeting room and get a small bottle of Champagne. There shouldn't be many people left in the building now, but I still lock the door when I get back to my office and withdraw two high glasses from one of my drawers that I put on my desk and in front of Liam.

"Are you celebrating our last day of work together?" he asks softly as I uncork the bottle.

"Hmm... We could say that, though technically, you'll still be working for me..." I reply. Liam stands up so that we clink our glasses and begin to sip the delicious sparkling wine.

"I'm pretty sure I read something about alcohol being forbidden in the office..." he whispers smugly.

"Yep, but we're past office hours and I'm the boss, so..." I pull on his tie and lean down a little to kiss his sweet lips, "I can do whatever I want," I murmur against his mouth.

"Does that include kissing your employees?" he smirks after another kiss.

"Only one of them actually..." I take both our glasses and put them back on the table before I cup his face and pull him for another long and deeper kiss, feeling my cock harden as his small hands run all over my chest. "I want to be inside of you..." I whisper when I finally allow us to catch our breath.

"Please do so..." he pants and within a few seconds, he finds himself stripped off his pants and briefs and laying on my desk, his knees bent up and his shoes resting on the edge of the table. I take a step back and smile as I admire his half naked body, his shaved member proudly erected, while I slowly pull out my own erection through the zipper of my pants.

"You're so... sexy," I breathe out with a smile as I grab the little bottle of lube I had put in my pocket earlier and pour some of the substance on my fingers.

"Not..." he chuckles, pointing his chin at his shoe-covered feet, but it soon turns into a loud moan when two of my fingers penetrate him. He throws his head back and closes his eyes as I begin to scissor him, stretching his little hole. Liam has gotten quite accustomed to it now and he soon relaxes his muscles, allowing me to slip a third finger, moaning some more.

"Yes... Definitely sexy..." I reaffirm, taking a hold of his cock and stroking it at the same pace as my fingers work his entrance.

"Please... get in..." he begs a minute later, writhing on the desk.

"Your wish is my command, Pet," I reply and I smear more lube on my cock before I pull him closer to the edge of the table for a better access, throw his feet over my shoulders and position myself at his entrance. "Yeah... you're so fucking sexy..."

"Didn't know you had a fetish with shoes..." he jokes as I rest my hands on each side of his torso, slightly bending over him.

"I don't..." I reply, wriggling my eyebrows, before I roughly thrust my hips forward and penetrate him balls deep at once, hitting his prostate right away and making him gasp in pleasure and probably a little surprise and pain. I wait a long minute for him to adjust before I start moving out and back in, focusing on his light-blue eyes while he bites his lower lip to stifle his moans and grabs the edge of the desk to keep himself steady. After a few minutes of thrusting, I stop moving and unbutton his shirt, parting both sides to reveal his beautiful chest, then I lean back up and grab the back of his knees to resume the thrusts at a different angle. "Jerk yourself off, Pet..." I command, adding more pressure on the back of his thighs. Liam reaches between his legs and shyly wraps his fingers around his cock. "Yes, Baby, stroke yourself..."

Starting at a slow pace, Liam lets his hand rub up and down his erection, quickly reaching a rhythm that matches that of my hips pounding into him. I know that these moments will rarefy in the future, so I enjoy every second of it and make it last longer than I had planned, slowing down our pace and picking up again. However, all good things come to an end and when our moans and groans amplify and I see that Liam won't be able to hold his orgasm for much longer, I whisper him my permission to cum and we both climax in perfect synch. Yes, I am definitely going to miss these moments.

* * *

The following morning, and after a quiet evening and night at home, Liam and I get in the office pretty early and before anyone else which is easier because Tony can park directly in the underground and we don't have to drop him off in a nearby street. This entire masquerade is pretty annoying but we can't let people see that we get in the office together, so we try our best to keep it discreet. Until now, it hasn't been too difficult since we were working on the same floor, but now that Ally is coming back and that Liam will move to the fifteenth floor, it might become another story. It will be trickier to steal him some kisses or to fuck him in a corner. I might even want him a little more often at home.

When I walk into my office, I make sure that I haven't forgotten anything and that all traces of our frolics have disappeared since we left in quite a hurry yesterday evening. The bottle of lube is well hidden inside my drawer and I sigh in relief. It woke me up with a start last night as I couldn't remember if I had put it back there and wondered if I had left it on the desk. Not that I was intending to be late in the office this morning, but the cleaning staff who come late at night didn't need to find this on my desk either.

Just a little before 8:00 am and while I am concentrated on an important file, some high-pitched squeals filter through my slightly-opened door and I understand that Ally has arrived. Raising my eyes from my screen, I can't help smiling at how both my blond heads are hugging like old-time friends who haven't met in years, brushing each other's backs and grinning wildly. I stand up and walk to the door, deciding to scare them a little.

"Hey!" I shout, making Liam jump up as he tries to disentangle himself from Ally's grip. "This is not a playground here! Some people are working!" Ally turns around and her mischievous eyes flick between my serious face and a flushed Liam.

"Good morning... Joshua," she says, trying to read through my expression because she knows that I am trying to tease her. "I missed you too..." she smirks at me and I can't keep my serious expression anymore. I close the distance and go to hug her tightly, winking at my red-faced boy.

"I missed you too, Ally" I say. "Ahhh it's easier without Sun between us!!" I joke at the absence of her round belly.

"Oh dear... it hasn't completely disappeared yet, but I'm getting there! That makes me think... I need you to pass me the contact details of your personal coach! I could use him to get rid of the last traces of my pregnancy!!! That would be great!" she cheers, true to her usual chatterbox self.

"Sure, sure... Then you'll be happy to know that I am about to agree for the setting up of a gym on the third floor..."

"Finally!!! Better late than never!" she screams, raising her hands.

"Hey, don't start complaining already..." I shut her. "How is Sun doing?"

"Great! He's doing great and he loves his nanny, so it's all good! How about you two?" she then asks, bringing back the blush on Liam's face which makes her narrow her eyes. Come on, Baby... Don't give us away already...

"All good as well," I hurriedly say, trying to captivate her attention back to me. I think Liam will feel easier if I'm not around while they talk to each other. "Liam did a great job in your absence, but he'll tell you better than I do, right Liam?"

"Yes Sir..." he says softly.

"I need to finish some stuff before my next call, so I'll let the two of you make yourself at ease and catch up. Ally, can we talk at 11:00?"

"Sure..." she says, and before she can try and decipher further my expression, I turn around and head back to my office, shutting the door.

I get back to the file I was working on but it is not that easy to concentrate with these two who are apparently alternating between catching up on important matters and fits of laughter. Liam and I had a conversation yesterday evening to discuss on how things should be around Ally and we both agreed that she shouldn't be in the confidence of our relationship; at least not for the moment. I told Liam that Ally knows a lot about my private life, including my very private life. Of course, being my personal assistant for so many years, I couldn't hide this from her and not only because she is nosy, but also because she often gets to be in contact with my friends and even my Subs. I have also sometimes asked her to make flight or hotel reservations which implied giving her some names that often changed. I am fully aware that she will find out at some point, but I don't want to tell her just yet.

At 11:00 sharp, Ally knocks on my door and walks in, shutting the door behind her and taking a seat across from my desk with her notebook and pen in hand. For a long hour, we catch up on what has happened over the last seven months in the company, I tell her about the most important projects undergoing, about the new division and Scott that are quite promising, the new Compliance Manager, Devon, whose work seems to be encouraging despite the weird character and finally I mention my current issues with Derek and the finance department. I didn't bother Liam with this matter as he wouldn't have to work on this once he has moved to Allan's department, but Ally will need to know. We also catch up on more personal things: my mother whose calls I keep rejecting, Tony and Liz, my friends - though there hasn't been any change there, and finally her family and how she really loves being a mother.

"However, as much as I love taking care of Sun, I'm glad to be back in the office now that his health is much better..." she finally admits. "Diapers, bottles, cuddles and smiles are great and I really loved every single day I spent with him at home, but... I've really missed my job and being active. Sun is great and I adore playing with him, but he still sleeps a lot and I easily get bored at home... So... it's good to be back!"

"I'm not surprised... I can't really imagine you as a housewife, cleaning the house or spending hours on the couch watching TV or knitting..." I chuckle.

"You know... housewives don't only clean or watch TV, Joshua... They also have outdoor activities, they see their friends, they do plenty of stuff..." she argues.

"Yeah... so not you!"

"That's true... so not me..." she agrees dreamily. "How about you? How have you been?" Argh... I know where she is headed; I can see it in her mischievous eyes.

"I've been fine... very busy as you can imagine," I reply with an honest smile.

"Is there a new Devin?" she asks bluntly, making me chuckle. True that Devin was the last Sub she heard of.

"There's no new Devin at the moment," I reply after a few seconds, not really lying because Liam absolutely doesn't compare to Devin. Liam is very different than any of my previous Subs and more than that.

"Really...?" she insists, narrowing her eyes and wrinkling her nose.

"Really," I state firmly, glancing at my savior in the person of Elena. She has just arrived and is now speaking with Liam who is putting on his jacket before they go to lunch. "I think someone's waiting for you..." I say, pointing my chin behind her. She quickly turns around to see her friend Elena before she gets her attention back to me.

"Alright... we'll talk later, I guess?" she asks with a knowing look.

"Sure. Enjoy lunch!" I smirk at her, cutting our conversation.

Oh dear... I am sincerely happy to have Ally back but I already know that things will get much more complicated. At least until Liam moves to Allan's floor.

Published on 27 Oct 2016

Wow, on the last update, the number of unique readers beat its record for this story, between the new ones and those of you who follow each update. Thank you so much for reading this story and I hope you're still enjoying it :)