(Liam's POV - Thur. 15 May 2014)

This document I am working on is requiring a bit too much concentration for my tired mind; I stifle a yawn and yet I am still smiling. I am smiling like an idiot because I am just too happy at the moment. My life is taking a nice turn, at least sentimentally speaking, and I owe it all to the man I love. I can hardly believe that less than a week ago I was struggling with my mind and emotions, fighting against my desire to make up things with Joshua for the simple reason that I thought he would never be able to return my feelings; I was ready to ruin everything by trying my luck with another Dominant, and today, I am just the happiest I could ever be. I believe that my life could even reach perfection if only for a few things that upset me.

One is Shannon. The main reason why I wanted to spend the night at home on Monday evening was because I needed some time on my own to call my friend and let him know that I was back with Joshua without having the latter around spying on my conversation. I have come to know that Joshua has great stalking abilities, so there was no point giving him more opportunities than he already gets. And in a way, I am glad I followed my instincts because my conversation with Shannon didn't really go as planned. Contrary to what I was expecting, Shan didn't exactly jump for joy when I broke the news but I have to admit that he had his point.

When he left Chicago almost three weeks ago, I wasn't really at the best of my form or buoyantly cheerful and even if I tried my best to hide my emotions at that time, my best friend was able to read through me much better than I would have thought. Shan had guessed how bad things had gone between Joshua and me, and it sincerely worried him, especially after he left for Southern Illinois. Now I get all this unceasing questioning through his numerous texts every day. So when I told him that Joshua and I were in the process of making up, he wasn't too happy about it; he said that he was afraid that I would suffer even more and for the slightest moment I almost agreed with him. I did trust that Joshua was sincere on Sunday when he opened his heart to me and it made me fall back hard for him. But what if things changed again? Damn! It would kill me and Shan was right on that point: I would suffer much more than I already did, but I couldn't allow myself to think about such things. I needed to trust Joshua. And I did.

As a matter of fact, Tuesday evening only strengthened my convictions that I should have faith in Joshua. The evening was a real surprised and even if I know that Liz arranged everything, I also know that he asked her to. By the time we ended dinner, I was so eager to get my Dominant back that I was ready for anything. I was as much eager to please him in every possible way - including jumping back straight into our lifestyle - as he was to prove his love for me in the most passionate way. The love we made that night was the most beautiful; it was even sweeter than our very first time; Joshua lulled me with such affection and words of tenderness that I ended up thanking him for choosing the bed and the romantic love over the playroom. Sweet love was exactly what we needed first and it amazed me how natural it became for him to say the warm three little words in so little time. I was able to feel the sincerity in his words and it really warmed my heart.

And yet, it was nothing compared to what I experienced last night. Over the past few weeks before we had our breaking-up argument, the collar-thing had been nagging me; I had understood that it wasn't something Joshua did with his Subs and it had made me feel like just another of his Subs, only contributing to my uneasiness toward our mutual feelings when all I wanted was to be different from the other ones. So, as much as I truly enjoyed our nice dinner at the Everest, what happened next was even better and stronger. I was surprised that we would go to the Black Diamond on a week day so soon into our reconciliation, and I wasn't expecting anything like this.

It took me quite a while to understand what was going on. When I couldn't see Joshua amidst his friends on the couch, I first thought that he was running late but when I noticed him on stage, my next thought was Oh God, he wants us to play a scene already!! That was so unusual because he likes to prepare things in advance and we hadn't rehearsed anything. For God's sake, we hadn't even used the playroom yet! I could hear my friends Ed, Mick, Tony and Eric giggle beside me and Ed even had to push me toward the stage, but once there, facing my beautiful man, bare chest and in his leather pants, all sorts of worry fled my mind and the Submissive in me just responded positively to the kneeling command from my Dominant. Joshua's speech still resounds in my head and probably will forever and as the memories flash back through my mind, the same emotions as last night fill me. My heart constricted with love because I knew that this ceremony meant much more to him than an I love you.

It was almost as if he were proposing me to marry him and I understood what a big step it was for him after what he had told me before. From this moment, the slightest doubt I may have had about his love for me was blown away at once. I comprehended that he really loves me and it definitely erased my doubts about our future together. Now I know for sure that I want to spend the rest of my life beside my Dominant and lover.

"Hey daydreamer... Are you up for a coffee?" Ally's voice startles me as she walks into my office with a smug expression on her face. "I should have taken a picture... That blissful smile was just priceless!" she chuckles, making me blush. "Would you tell me what you were thinking about?"

"No way..." I mutter, willing the heat on my face to fade away.

"Oh no problem... I have my own idea about it anyway... Let's go get a coffee..." she proposes and I hesitate for a few seconds. For one, she is right; I have been daydreaming quite a lot this morning and my work hasn't progressed much. Secondly, seeing her mischievous look at the moment, I bet she will tease me some more. "Come on, Liam, just a few minutes... Don't force me to grab you by this beautiful necklace that's shining on the side of your neck... or maybe only He is allowed to do that?" she adds in a murmur.

Damn! I thought I had concealed it well but when I palm the collar of my shirt, I can feel the little links of the chain and push them back under my shirt. Without a word, I stand up and follow Ally to the coffee room where she silently runs two cups of coffee while I just stand by her side. Before I know it, Ally slightly pulls on the collar of my shirt to get a better view on the necklace and whistles admiringly, before I gently brush her hand away.

"Argh! Ally!!" I whisper-shout at her, only making her laugh harder.

"Wow... he did things well..." she whispers back.

"How do you know it's Joshua...?" I mumble. Stupid question, pretty much... Ally does know about Joshua and me. Elena knows as well.

"How do you know I was speaking about Joshua? I never mentioned his name," she replies mischievously. Damn witch!! I can't believe I fell into her trap! "Come on Liam..." she sighs, rolling her eyes. "I already told you that I know about his lifestyle and I know enough about BDSM to understand what this necklace means. I'm really happy for you, Buddy..."

"Thanks..." I reply shyly, looking at my warm mug of coffee.

"You deserve it so much, Liam. I must confess that I had some reserves about your relationship with Joshua. I was a bit worried that you'd be a little too... vulnerable for him, but I have to admit that you turned out to be much stronger than I would have thought," she says very softly.

"Thanks, Ally... I'm sorry I lied to you..."

"Don't, Liam. It was only fair and I wouldn't tell you this if Joshua hadn't officially put me in the confidence. You've changed him, Liam... it's impressive! Now I know that he will take the greatest care of you," she concludes with a warm smile.

"Thanks Ally... I hope he's in a better mood now..." I chuckle in my turn, knowing that her boss has been quite difficult recently.

"There's some improvement, but I think that things will get better in a few days..." she replies thoughtfully and I don't insist because this has probably to do with work.

We finish our coffee talking about her little Sun and I go back to work, just making sure that my collar is well hidden beneath my shirt this time. I am actually quite proud of it and it could easily pass off as a simple necklace. It is actually a chain made of platinum links, each of them being of a fair size, though not too thick, with a little plate at the centre where my man's name has been engraved. The chain is adjustable in length and it is tied by a discreet little padlock at the back, of which Joshua has kept the key. The plate doesn't say Joshua's property, but anyone familiar with our lifestyle could understand what this necklace means - especially when it is tied to it minimum length because it really looks like a collar then. Josh and I have agreed to stop hiding about our normal relationship, not about our lifestyle though, so I'd rather keep it concealed beneath my clothes. This is far too private and I don't need more gossip than what we already have at work.

That makes me wonder if I will ever be able to tell Shan about it. In a way it would make things so easier. If I told him all the things that Joshua said to me on Wednesday evening and explained him what the collar means to Joshua in particular, Shan would understand how much Josh loves me and it would reassure him. However, I am so scared about how he might judge me and my lifestyle. I dread to see disgust and then rejection in his eyes. I wouldn't be able to go through the loss of another friend, and certainly not that of my best friend.

I didn't think about Shan too much on Wednesday evening during the ceremony and didn't really miss him there since he is not part of the lifestyle, and yet, although most of my closest friends at the club attended the short ceremony, I deeply felt that someone was missing, and that someone is Jeremy. I wish he had been here to witness my collaring...

The evening passed by very quickly though; after Joshua's speech, I threw myself into his arms, unable to withhold my tears anymore; of course I accepted his offer and sealed it with a deep kiss. Joshua then offered a round of Champagne to all the guests of the evening - and I did notice how he smirked at Stefan when they clinked their glasses, making me feel a bit shameful about my behavior on last Saturday... - and we were out of the club.

Since Tony was waiting for us, rather than having our fun at the club, Joshua and I went back home and spent the rest of the evening -and part of the night - in his private room where we had the sex I had been waiting for, the sex where I fully submit to my Master and obey each of his commands. In spite of the late hour, I was too excited by all the emotions and we continued to talk for a while in bed, mostly about the collar and about our future. Joshua repeated how serious it was for him - as if he had offered me an engagement ring - but we didn't talk about marriage yet. I am not ready for that step just yet, but I can consider it more easily. Yes, I can definitely consider marrying Joshua one day... and why not adopt kids... in a few years.

"Liam, do you have any plans for lunch?" Allan suddenly says, almost making me jump on my armchair. Damn! What's with everybody startling me today?

"Apart from a quick lunch and more work,... no... I don't have anything planned..." I reply, not quite sure about the meaning of his question considering that he is shrugging into his jacket.

"Perfect, then hurry up! Put on your jacket and follow me," he orders, making me frown at him. "I'm inviting you out for lunch; there are things I'd like to discuss with you; but before that, I want to take you somewhere," he vaguely explains to answer my silent question but he only manages to confuse me a little more.

Oh well, he is my boss after all and I guess I shouldn't argue his orders, so I comply with his request and follow him to the elevators. I thought we were going to go to his car, but we stop at the ground floor and I follow him outside of the building where we head eastward. Our walk lasts for about ten minutes, during which Allan explains me the purpose of our little visit. Pierce Construction have recently got a contract with a company to build them new headquarters further inside the Loop and we are going to visit their current facilities. The building is quite old but offers a good location and five stories with nice volumes of space. The visit doesn't last long but Allan asks me to register each storey and when we settle down at a table for two in a little restaurant nearby the office, he leans back into his chair and offers me one of those smug looks that I have gotten used to.

"What would you do with such a building if you were to renovate it?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows. His question somewhat catches me off guard. I think this over for a short moment before I expose him my opinion, not quite sure about what he is expecting of me. I guess I should play it honestly.

"Well... the location is great and the building must have looked good... a hundred years ago... The volumes are nice and it could have been interesting to pull down a few walls, but..." I hesitate, not coming up with valid arguments to renovate the shitty old building.

"But?" he encourages me, his face brightening all of a sudden. Damn! Is he delighted that I'm failing to answer his question?

"But that building is far too old," I sigh. "I mean... if it had been a good construction when it was built, we could have done something, but here... The problem is that there are huge cracks on the outside surface. I also noticed on the ground floor that a small part of the floor in a corner was breaking from the wall. Honestly I doubt it would be worth trying to renovate it. It would involve far too much shell and I actually think it's quite dangerous as it is... I believe that in this case, a demolition would be better," I conclude. Allan remains stone-faced for a few long seconds and I almost start panicking for disappointing him, but at the same time, this is not my job. "Sorry... I'm no expert, I guess I got it all wrong..." I eventually mumble. His next reaction leaves me flabbergasted as he bursts out laughing.

"Liam, you are just impressive! You have passed this little test with flying colors, boy! Joshua told me about the very accurate views you had about that building you visited with him last December in New York. He was impressed by your sense of observation and you just confirmed his opinion. You already know that we are seriously considering developing a renovation branch in the company and I am pretty sure that you would do a great job there. This won't happen until a couple of years anyway and of course, this means that you will have to go back to school at some point and study more about management and maybe design and architecture, but now, I am persuaded that it shouldn't take you too long..." he explains cheerfully, making me sigh with relief. "Today was a little test actually. As you have already understood, not all buildings are worth renovating and in some cases, it is simpler and more cost efficient to demolish and rebuild. And this is precisely what I wanted you to say. The trick was not to absolutely want to renovate this building and to just say that it wasn't worth it. You perfectly noticed its flaws and how used it is. Of course you're not an expert yet! An expert wouldn't even have thought twice about it and that's why you hesitated but it's only normal. You've done a great job here, Liam."

"Hmm thanks... what was this test for exactly?"

"As I already told you, you have great opportunities within Pierce Corporation, many more than you would imagine and it has absolutely nothing to do with your private relationship with a certain CEO, believe me. I trust Joshua on your imagination skills, but I wanted to see how you would react with a different case and I'm really glad that you picked up on the little trick," Allan explains quite seriously before he pauses for a moment, eating on his steak and potatoes while I do the same and think over what he just said. I am actually quite proud about the results of this little unexpected test and even if I don't know where this is going to lead me, I am rather eager to find out about it.

Allan and I spend the rest of our lunch time talking about work before we head back to the office. The afternoon passes in a blur for me as I am finally able to concentrate on my work, even if my thoughts sometimes drift away toward my future with Joshua and within his company. Josh said we would leave at 6:00 pm tonight and that we would meet in the underground parking, so a few minutes before six, I pack up and make my way to the lift. Edna left a bit earlier and Allan is not at his desk, but then I remember that he was having a meeting with Joshua until six. I am tempted to go back to my desk and wait until Allan gets back which would be my signal that their meeting is over, but then I decide that I will wait in the parking since Allan might as well stop by other floors once he is done with the boss.

Not willing to meet other people who might go to their cars, I hide in a little indent corner and begin to play on my Iphone. I am fully aware of how silly it is to hide from people, especially since this morning again Joshua and I arrived together and several persons saw us. I am just not completely comfortable with showing off our relationship at work, mostly because I already know that this has already resulted into some gossips and I hate being at the centre of attention. To be honest, I am glad that I had lunch with Allan today and didn't need to go to the canteen on the first floor and feel the stares in my back like I did yesterday. Ally and Elena tried to reassure me, saying that it wouldn't last, but I still don't like it.

About ten minutes later, I hear the doors of the elevator slide open and I am about to come out of my hiding but then I realize that this is neither Joshua nor Tony. The male nasal voice that seems to be talking over the phone is too familiar and if there is one person that I would rather avoid, it's him. Even if I can't see the man from where I stand, I am pretty sure that it is Dominic so I remain neatly concealed in my spot while I listen to his conversation which sounds quite heated.

"No! I don't want you to come over here!" Dominic yells. "Wait a second..." I can tell that he has stopped walking as the sound of his nervous walk disappears for a few seconds and I am afraid he might have heard or seen me so I hold my breath and pray for my slender body to keep well hidden. "We can't meet in the office!" he resumes shouting, probably reassured that there is not a soul in the parking. "You have no reasons to show up here!" There is a very brief pause again before he continues. "I already told you yesterday that we need to slow down and that we'd get back to you as soon as possible!" Brief pause again as Dominic's voice slightly fades since he must be getting closer to his car. Indeed I hear the beep of a remote key and a door opening. "No! It's too risky right now! The Boss said we have to put everything on h..."

I don't get to hear the rest of his conversation as he slips inside his car and slams the door shut. For a couple of minutes, I dimly hear echoes of his noisy rant, muffled by the windows of his car, but I can't understand another word he says. A huge sigh of relief escapes me when the car finally starts and leaves the parking with a screech. I don't know what Dominic's worries are about but I am glad that he doesn't know I witnessed his argument. I wonder if I should tell Joshua about it. I never told him about how Dominic, and to a certain extent Derek, treated me because I believe that I can deal with this on my own, but that sounded a bit more serious and seemed to be work related. He did mention someone coming to the office and he also spoke about the Boss. Was he talking about Joshua? I don't think that Dominic usually deals directly with Josh and yet, he is the one we usually refer to as the boss. Is it serious enough to me that I should repeat what I just heard?

Talking about Joshua... What the hell is he doing? It is almost 6:15 now and I am starting to worry a little. Joshua is never late and neither is Tony. However, none of them have shown up yet. I check my phone and see that I don't have any message from either of them, which is rather weird, so I decide to go and check up on them. And just as I walk out of the indent corner, still lost in my thoughts, my small and rather frail body slams into a huge one, making me scream in surprise and almost fall back. If it weren't for the firm hand that grips my arm, I would have fallen back on my butt...

Published on 30 Dec 2016

Sorry if I take more time answering your messages and comments at the moment; my job is just crazy right now, working 10 to 14 hours a day. Hope things will calm down soon... but thanks anyway ❤️