(Liam's POV - Wed 16 April 2014)

This is one of those days. One of those days when, from the moment I open my eyes, I can feel that I should stay in bed because I already know that it is going to be a shitty day. There are no obvious reasons that it should be like this, but I can feel it and it annoys me. So for a good five minutes, I just lay in bed wondering if I should trust my sixth sense and laze at home but my seriousness and professionalism take the better of me and I finally get up. For one I don't want to leave Edna in the lurch when there is this huge document that we need to work on together; and secondly - almost more importantly - I would have to call Tony and find a good excuse for not going to the office and that would result in way too many troubles because I trust he would tell Joshua. The simple thought of having to justify my idleness to Joshua is like a huge kick in my ass that makes me jump out of bed.

After a quick shower, I set to prepare a copious breakfast. I have gotten used to cooking and eating healthily over the time and at the end of the day, this is one of the less difficult among Joshua's rules to comply with. Having healthy meals in the beginning was not so easy but spending a lot of time with Liz when I am at Joshua's place helped, and I learned a lot with her. She has given me several tips on how to cook simple things quickly and to organize myself with keeping a lot of things in stock in the freezer, so that it has now become a habit; just like working out. I no longer mind spending an hour in Joshua's gym when I'm at his place or running if I am at home. As Joshua told me a few months ago, it is just a question of habits and he was right.

Just as I am about to clear my dishes, a sleepy Shannon shows up in the kitchen, only wearing his pajama bottoms and yawning widely.

"Hey, you're already up, Chipmunk?" I ask while I get up and start moving to the sink, soon followed by Shan who sniffs the smell from the cheese and bacon omelet in the pan next to me.

"It's your fault," he grumbles, yawning once more and serving his share on a plate. "The smell of bacon reached my bed..."

"If you had shut your door, it wouldn't have woken you up..." I snort.

"True, but it's much better straight out of the pan than re-heated in the microwave..."

"I agree..."

"Hey... I was wondering..." he begins hesitantly. Shannon being hesitant is never a good sign. "Since your boss is travelling... could we go and see Captain America tonight? We could meet after your work downtown, go for a burger and then watch the movie?" he suggests charmingly. Fuck, I knew I should have pretended I was sick today.

"Err... I don't know, Shan," I reply, keeping my attention on the plate I am washing.

"Come on, Li... The movie is playing at 8:00 pm so we won't be back too late... please..." he begs me.

"I don't know... I might finish late in the office tonight..." I insist. I suddenly feel him in my back, his hands gripping the edge of the counter on each side of me and his head resting on my left shoulder.

"Please... Li... I swear there won't be any alcohol, just Mac Donald's burgers, some coke and a movie..." he whispers in his most innocent tone.

"We'll see..." I just say, turning off the tap and putting the dishes to dry on the counter. "I'll see how things go in the office and I'll let you know in the afternoon, okay?"

"Okay!" he cheers, slightly pulling away from my backside and... letting out awful fart. My friend just farted!

"Oh damn!!!! Shan!!!! You're gross!!!" I shout, pushing myself away from him and heading toward my bedroom.

"Oh soooooooorry!!!" he chants. "I'd forgotten that you're a princess and that you never fart..." he laughs out.

"I do, but certainly not in the kitchen and next to my best friend!" I reply, looking at him from a distance.

"You're right! I'm sure it's more fun when you're in bed with Joshua and then you shake the comforter..." he shrieks, doubled over with laughter and I can't help joining him in his laughter, just trying to picture the scene and thinking about how Joshua would react if I did. I most probably would end up with a plug up my ass!

Once I have managed to calm down, I hurry to finish dressing up for work, my mood somewhat lightened although I still need to find a good excuse to cancel our night out, and then I run downstairs and outside our building. Of course Tony is already here waiting for me, holding the door open.

"Hi Tony, sorry I'm late," I cheer, trying to suppress the remains of my giggles and causing him to frown at me.

"Good morning Liam, no problem..." he says curiously, but I ignore him and pull out my phone to reply to Joshua's texts from this morning.

Joshua is travelling again this week, to Texas and with Allan. Last week I had negotiated with him not to ask Tony to drive me while he was in New York but this time, it didn't work so here I am once again with a personal driver. It is not that I don't like being driven around, comfortably seated in a nice car, but one, I always feel like I am making Tony waste his time, two, I never minded taking the train, and three, it feels like I am being watched like a little kid when I could get a bit more freedom while Joshua is away. Like I said before, I really love Joshua's dominance and his authoritative character on me but it sometimes gets suffocating.

On Sunday morning though, after an excellent and very hot night at the Diamond, I was almost successful to convince him to let me take the train. For once, I had woken up before him and I decided that I should soften my man's temper with a morning blow job. Joshua was in such a good mood after this that I tried my luck after breakfast while we were watching TV in the family room. And he had almost agreed. But then... then CNN happened... CNN and their damned bad news... CNN that had nothing better to announce than for the third week in a row, another corpse was discovered that morning and they were now talking about a serial killer. What was even worse is that this one happened less than a mile away from the area I live in.

As the speaker unfolded the news in detail, I felt Joshua's body tense further and further. He was lying beside me, slightly propped up on his elbow, and when he looked down at me, I didn't need him to voice his thoughts. The sole darkness of his eyes and his expression were enough for me to understand, so I simply said: Okay, I got it... Tony will drive me... Well it seems like it wasn't enough for him and he added a few more rules. As long as they haven't found the murderer, I am strictly forbidden to go out without asking for his permission so that he can send Tony to watch over me. Like seriously...? I was so shocked by his firmness and the demand in itself that I didn't find anything to argue with and I just nodded.

So that explains why I need to find a good excuse to cancel our plans with Shannon because I certainly don't want to explain my friend that my boyfriend is an overprotective and paranoid control freak. Or maybe I can pray that the Police and the FBI finally get a hold of the guy within the next six or seven hours and then Joshua might let me go out with my friend... Hope well and have well...

The other condition imposed on by Joshua is that Tony drives me to the underground parking lot instead of dropping me off a street away from the Pierce building as usual, but that one I strictly refused. The close area around the building is entirely safe and Joshua yielded on this. Once at the beginning of North Canal Street, the Security Manager asks me to send him a text when I am ready to leave the office tonight, and I tell him that it shouldn't be before six before I hurry out of the car and walk toward the Pierce Building.

I meet Edna at the elevators and we silently reach the fifteenth floor together, where we quickly greet the few early workers on the open space and head to our respective offices. Edna and I are quite similar in a way. We are both rather shy - although she has been in the company for quite a few years now - and we like to work in silence which is great because it means that we are always comfortable with each other without speaking more than necessary. On my first day in the department, Edna and I immediately agreed on how we would share tasks. She kept all the travel arrangements of the team as well as most of the direct assistance to Allan while I took over all the work on documentations and the updating of files; it is obviously agreed that if one of us gets overloaded, the other will help and this is why today we are jointly working on this huge presentation that Allan needs for next week.

Working with the project team is proving much more interesting than I would have imagined. The age average of the guys is very young - 27 I think - and they are all super cool. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed and you often get to hear people laughing out, especially when Allan is not around. Last week some of them showed me what their jobs consist in and I was amazed to see the plans of the architects, the technical plans of the engineers and the sketches of the designers. This floor and the fourteenth - which is also dedicated to the Projects Team - really hold a nice and peaceful atmosphere and I now trust Joshua when he told me that I would enjoy myself there. Allan is pretty much like his friend, which means quite serious and demanding, but he is honest and fair and I already like working with him.

The only thing I have been missing is seeing Joshua all the time and being in direct contact with him, although... he has planned to travel quite a lot in the coming months so it wouldn't have changed much of a thing. He said he would try not to travel more than three days a week so that we can spend a few nights at his place; besides, I also trust to imagine some schemes to meet regularly in the office if he repeats what he did last Friday when we met at the coffee machine. When I got his text that asked me to be at the coffee machine that morning, I did expect him to show up but I didn't think he would use Allan as an excuse to go to the coffee room. Even if I am fully aware that Allan knows about our relationship, I still felt a bit embarrassed by the situation but after all, Joshua is the boss and I couldn't be found guilty for his plotting...

At noon and after nearly four hours focusing on my part of the presentation, I informed Edna that I was going to have lunch downstairs and we agreed that we would review our respective parts in the mid-afternoon. The canteen is quite empty when I join Elena and Ally at their round table, which has become another habit. They are watching pictures of little Sun on Ally's Ipad while eating their salads and I join in the fun.

Ally's baby is so cute and he has already changed so much in only a few months. There are plenty of pictures of the little boy in his crib, on a quilt, in his stroller... but there are many more of him with his daddy and mummy and they form such a beautiful family. Her husband's eyes display very intense emotions when he looks at his wife and his baby; they are just full of love and affection and I wonder if I will ever experience the same affection from someone. Not that I compare myself to Ally, but I guess that I would love to start a family at some point in my life... whether with or without Joshua... with, hopefully...

"Hello girlzzzzzzz," someone suddenly says next us, clearly insisting on the plural, and my body tenses when I recognize the voice and look up to see that Dominic is sneering at me. It is the first time I see him in a long while. It seems like his upcoming promotion is giving him more work and he rarely shows up in the canteen anymore. Not that I was missing him, though. I hear a loud sigh beside me, coming from Ally.

"Yeah, some things definitely never change... Some of them even get worse..." she grumbles in annoyance.

"Welcome back Ally, I've missed you too..." Dominic replies with a chuckle. "Congratulations on losing your balloon..."

"Congratulations on your promotion, Dominic. Such a shame it doesn't seem to serve you too well," she fights back.

"Coming from the CEO's real personal assistant, that's neither very elegant nor nice, Mrs. Davis..." Dominic exclaims with mock offense.

"I'm just being objective, Mr. Parson and you are welcome to go and complain to my Boss," Ally replies dryly. "I just wonder how you managed that..."

"I guess that my Boss has faith in me and that I deserved it. And anyway..." he adds, briefly averting his eyes to me, "I'm not really the gold digger of the company. That being said, have a wonderful afternoon, Ladiessss!" Without further comments, he turns around and heads out to the lifts. I almost sigh with relief that he has left, but when I notice that the girls are now staring at me with weird expressions, I can't help from blushing a little.

"What...?" I ask them innocently, trying to ignore Ally's narrowed and deciphering eyes.

"Come on Liam! You didn't even try to defend yourself!!!" Elena whisper-shouts at me.

"Haven't I asked you to stand up for yourself, sweetie? How can you let him call you lady or girl?" Ally outbids in a hushed voice.

"I don't even pay attention to his remarks anymore..." I mumble.

"Don't mumble, Liam!" Ally scolds me. "I thought you'd gotten over that habit and... wait... what did you say? What do you mean by anymore?"

"Has that already happened? You never told me!!!" Elena continues.

"Have you told Joshua?" Ally adds animatedly.

"Wow, wow, wow... calm down, girls... That's nothing serious, okay?" I break in. I certainly don't need the HR representative and the CEO (and incidentally my boyfriend)'s assistant to dig into my interpersonal issues with the stupid guys from Finance.

"Liam, if that kind of things ever happened in the past, you have to tell me," Elena insists firmly. "This is called harassment..."

"Big words already!" I snort, regaining my self-confidence. "Nothing happened, okay? It just happens that Dominic and I don't really appreciate each other and it doesn't go any further than this. Now if you excuse me, I have to go. Edna is waiting for me and we have a lot to do this afternoon," I say, standing up and cutting short the conversation. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Without waiting for their answer and leaving them flabbergasted, I hurry to the lifts and get back to my floor. Damn... I knew it would be a shitty day! First there was Shan's offer to go out when I can't, then there was this stupid asshole of Dominic and now I had to let it slip that Dominic has often been mean to me. What is it going to be next? And Elena mentioning harassment... I wouldn't call it like that... There have been a few uncalled-for innuendos and whispered remarks since I joined the company, but it hasn't happened that often and I have been smart enough to purely pass over them. Of course I don't like being in Dominic's presence and his words sometimes hurt me a little, but disregarding his remarks probably annoys him more than anything else. Now what worries me is his last reflection about being a gold-digger which was clearly addressed to me and that, thank God, Elena and Ally didn't seem to notice.

Honestly, I don't really care about the expression in itself, especially coming from him. I have my conscience to myself and I know that what interests me in Joshua much more than his wealth is the man himself. It wouldn't be honest to say that I don't like the comfort of his house and his cars or that I don't like it when he takes me to the most fabulous restaurants of the city or on a getaway to beautiful hotels, because I do appreciate that too. However, what stands out more than anything else is how I feel when I am with him. I just love the comfort and safety of his strong body; I love how funny he can be, but I also love his seriousness and cleverness; I love his dominance and how he can take me to cloud nine in the blink of an eye... So people could call me a gold-digger that I wouldn't care because I know that it goes way beyond this for me.

What really worries me is why Dominic would say that... Joshua and I have always been discreet about our relationship in the office. Except for Tony and Allan, nobody knows about us and being very close friends and partners to Joshua, these two would never disclose such information to other people, so I wonder how much Dominic knows. Hopefully his comment was just idle and pointless words, which wouldn't be that surprising from him. Maybe this is some kind of viral disease within the finance department... after all, their manager is not any better.

It actually reminds me of the last monthly business review I participated in two weeks ago just after Ally's return. Ally had resumed her place on Joshua's left and Spencer being absent, I had taken his seat, right across from Derek. Joshua started the meeting with a warm welcome back to his assistant and a very friendly and embarrassing thank you to me for all the great work I had done during Ally's maternity leave. If the majority of the leadership team agreed with Joshua and congratulated me on my new appointment as secondary assistant to Allan's department, Derek's dubious and dark expression didn't remain unnoticed, at least to me. Therefore, seeing how Derek and Dominic seem to get along, I am no longer disconcerted by their attitudes and even if they are not pleasant and rather hurtful, I just don't pay attention.

Brooding over my thoughts, I set back to work on my part of the presentation but the klutz that I am manage to spill my cup of coffee on my desk and I waste a good ten minutes mopping up the dark liquid all over the table. And this is all Tony's fault because I was trying to sit down on my chair while I was holding the cup in one hand and my phone in the other, replying to his text which said that he has a meeting until half past six and that he hoped I wouldn't mind staying a bit later in the office, proposing to send me someone else of his team if I really want to go home before. Damn shitty day... I am only grateful to myself for being such a maniac that my desk is always clear of anything that I don't need and that it didn't cause much damage to documents or electronic devices.

Just as I am about to join Edna in her office, still annoyed by this painful day, I get a text from Shannon ranting about the fact that I still haven't told him if we are going out or not tonight. Ahhh Shan... Honestly, this day has already been so fucked up! Would one more trouble make any difference? If I go out with Shan against Joshua's recommendations, one of them will most probably get upset but the other one will be happy. One is away and out of reach, while the other is right here waiting for a fun night out with me... Anyway, what do I incur disobeying to Joshua? An argument over the phone...? If I am lucky enough, I might even be able to avoid the punishment on Friday when he gets back if he is as tired and forgiving as he was last Friday when I talked back to him...

I have already lost one friend recently and I am not ready to lose another one by constantly ditching on him. So, adding all of today's events, I finally make the decision to accept Shan's offer and send him a quick text, only requesting that instead of going to the movies, I'd rather end up the evening at a pub with a nice drink. While we're at it and if I have to get into trouble, let's not do things by halves. The trickiest part will be to dodge Tony but I already have a plan for that.

And this is how I head to the lift at 5:30 sharp and join the mass of employees heading out of the building after an intense and efficient work session with Edna. That time of day is when most of my coworkers leave and I hope to remain unnoticed by the video surveillance, although there shouldn't be any risk that Tony is watching since he said he was going to be in a meeting until 6:30. I have also planned to send him a text a few minutes before half past six to let him know that I went back home on my own so that he doesn't wait for me endlessly and pointlessly. I am not that mean and at least, he won't get to waste time driving me back for once and Liz will be happy to have her man back home earlier than usual.

As I cross the large hall of the building among several other people, I smile at the fact that my plan goes without any hitches. I have a brief moment of doubt a few seconds out of the building when I think I hear a Mr. Reed!!!! in the far distance, but guess what? I don't dwell on it. Working with the project team is much more relaxed and when Allan is away, I have already taken the habit to dress in nice jeans and Doc Martens, like today. And since I left my laptop at work tonight, I am free to run more comfortably and this is exactly what I do, as if I was afraid to miss my train. A block later, I slow down my pace and walk happily, wandering around the streets of the Loop, willing to take my time since I am supposed to meet Shannon at 6:30 at the Mac Donald's on West Adams Street.

My phone goes off but I yank it back in my jeans' pocket when I see Tony's name on the screen. Fuck... So it might not have been a hallucination when I heard my name earlier and it was probably Markus, the security guy in the hall, which means... Jeez, I can't believe that Tony had one of his guys watching out for me!!! Doesn't he trust me? Well he was quite right, but still... that's the first time I do that to him! The vibrations in my pocket are getting insistent so I take a quick look at it out of curiosity, but I immediately reject the call and shove it back in when I see Joshua's name. Once again, if I have to be in trouble, I shall get to the bottom of things and I will deal with the consequences later on. In the meantime, I well intend to enjoy a good evening with my best friend.

After another half hour of wandering - and maybe hiding - in the shops, I finally meet my friend and exactly as expected, we enjoy a great evening together. We make pigs of ourselves with eating greasy burgers and fries, giggling at nothing and everything and we end up just around the corner in a pub where we have a couple of beers. It happens that one of his past sexual partners, Tommy, walks into the bar and joins us, obviously open for another night with my friend. Shannon never starves of jokes and funny anecdotes about his various professional experiences and with the help of our alcoholic beverages, we spend another hour laughing our asses off while the two in front of me get closer and closer.

"Li..." Shannon suddenly says. "I thought Joshua was in Texas at the moment..."

"He is..." I reply, calming my giggles at the same time as my body tenses at the thought of what I should expect when he comes back.

"Who's Joshua?" Tommy asks.

"My boyfriend," I answer before I turn back to Shannon who is sitting across from me, his eyes focused outside the window beside us. "Why do you ask?"

"Because of that car... I'm pretty sure that's the same plate... and it's been here for a long while now..." he says, discreetly pointing his chin behind me. I briefly turn around and freeze when I recognize Joshua's SUV, parked right in front of the pub. I don't know how Shannon would be able to remember the plate of the car and I can't see through the dark windows, but I have no doubt about whose car this is; I am pretty sure that Tony is here and that he must have seen me. I am so in fucking deep trouble... I remember that there is an alley next to the pub, but how much of a good idea would it be to try and find a back door? I don't think I have many options here...

"Must be his driver..." I whisper to Shannon.

"Cool! So we'll get a free ride home?" Shan laughs, still under the influence of his beer while I have fully recovered.

"Hey!!! I was gonna suggest that you'd come to my place..." Tommy teases him, but Shan looks at me uncertainly, probably wondering if I would mind going back home on my own.

"Shan... I think I'll go home... Stay with Tommy if you want...?" I finally propose.

"Are you sure?" Shan asks hesitantly, obviously interested in the thought of getting laid.

"Positive, I'll see you on Monday!" I cheer.

"Monday...?"

"Yeah... Joshua is flying back tomorrow night, so I'll probably go to his place and spend the week-end there..." I explain, knowing that there won't be much space to argue after my little act.

"Okay... see you on Monday then, Bunny..."

I leave a couple of twenties on the table to share the bill and slowly head to the exit of the bar. As soon as I set a foot outside, still wondering if I should make a run in the opposite direction from the black SUV, Tony gets out to open the back seat door and seeing his angry expression, I choose to keep a low profile and silently get in the car. Once I am inside, he slams the door shut and gets back behind the wheel before he pulls out in the light traffic. As much as I am curious to find out how he was able to know where I was exactly, I remain silent. I have never seen him so upset and angry before; his eyes are dark and throwing daggers when I dare peeking up in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, Tony," Joshua's voice suddenly echoes out the speakers and I almost squeal.

"We're on our way back, Joshua," Tony states very coldly.

"Thanks. Tell him to call me as soon as he is home." Joshua's voice is even colder...

"I think he got that. Good night."

"Good night, Tony and thanks again."

I soon realize that we are headed north of Chicago toward Northbrooks instead of east toward my place. I am tempted to protest but it would probably only worsen my case so I just remain quiet and sulk in my seat. Less than half an hour later, Tony parks in front of Joshua's house and opens the door for me. It seems like driving fast has somewhat smoothened his mood and he doesn't look so angry anymore.

"I'm sorry, Tony..." I apologize as I get out of the car.

"You should," he sighs.

"I meant to send you a text so you wouldn't wait for me in vain..." I try to explain in my defense.

"I would have driven you and your friend if you guys wanted to go out. Just ask next time. But I assume that you'll have enough to deal with Joshua's disappointment over the phone so I won't hold it against you," he finally says. "Have a good night. We'll be leaving at 7:30 tomorrow morning," he then informs me before he gets back in the car to go and park it in the garage.

With a sigh, I climb up the few steps to the entrance and get rid of my shoes and jacket in the closet. There is a note from Liz on the console for my attention, saying that breakfast will be ready at 6:45 tomorrow. Great... She must be angry at me too for having kept Tony out later than he would normally have if I hadn't gone out. I gather my courage and unlock the screen of my Iphone, ready to call Joshua; I ignore all the notifications for calls in absence and texts and dial his number. Of course, he answers immediately.

"You. Are. In. Fucking. Deep. Trouble!" he hammers, seething through his teeth and I can only imagine him pacing angrily in his hotel room. "You have no idea how I have been worrying for the past few hours. I want you at my place tomorrow evening. I won't be home until maybe one or two in the morning but I can promise that you and I will have a serious conversation on Friday. For now, go to bed. Good night."

Click. That's it. I can't even reproach him with not be clear or polite, because the message was definitely clear and he even wished me a good night. I am only sorry that he didn't let me apologize, but I guess that it will come after the lecture... and the punishment. I might as well hurry to bed and enjoy a soft bottom because I doubt that I'll be able to sit or lie on my back comfortably for a few days, unless I manage to get rid of all his paddles and crops... Pointless! He would simply use his hands until they would become too painful for him. Anyway, I doubt that I'll get much sleep tonight.

What was I saying again this morning? Oh yeah... it feels like a shitty day coming... next time, I should trust my sixth sense. Oh well, at least I got to spend a nice evening with my friend.

Published on 1 Nov 2016

Before you start snarling at my sweet Joshua, keep in mind that he still has a long day to calm down before he goes back home. Anyway, thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed this chapter; next one is named "The calm before the storm"...

Storm warning ahead!

A little side note on Twisted Moon: I haven't progressed much on the writing over the last two days (currently writing chapter 45), BUT I have drafted detailed plans of all the chapters until the big action starts with Noah, so that represents 60 chapters. I don't know how many chapters will be needed to cover the "action" and the aftermath, but I expect that story to be as long as this one, if not longer.

By the way, I am really impressed by the number of "excited" messages I have been getting about this story, even if I don't know what you guys are expecting from it... That's a bit stressful but I'll try my best to make it good enough.