{ #1 } I Was Shooting For The Moon, I Hit Two Stars (MxMxM || 18+)

Chapter 30 - Panic Attack

(Mark's POV - Sat. 25 October 2014)

"Ugh let's go now before you get on their nerves," I hear Liam whisper to Shannon before they exit Aaron's meeting room to go prep.

Good point, Liam! If he keeps it going, I might forbid him to go to the Black Moon tonight!

"Jeez! I bet you never get bored with him!" Aaron chuckles once the boys have left. "Isn't the palm of your hand too sore?"

"Nope," I reply, rolling my eyes. "In fact, he has behaved really well recently, and I haven't had to punish him once in the last month and a half," I add proudly.

"That's because you're too soft," Camden comments seriously. "You should be firmer and learn to discipline him harder."

"I'm not soft, Cam. He's been really good, and I don't need whips, a cat o' nine or whatever instrument of torture you use to punish him!" I argue.

"Still, you look exhausted..." Joshua adds.

"Agreed! Is it Shannon tiring you that much?" Aaron enquires.

"Nah... Honestly, he's great! He's just hyperactive and still has a hard time channeling his energy, but I usually handle this very well," I explain. "Let's just say that the last 24 hours have been a bit stressful."

I tell them about what happened yesterday evening while Shannon and I were enjoying a nice dinner for my birthday, then the consequences it had today.

"You reacted like a great boss, Mark," Joshua praises me, then Camden and Aaron entirely agree.

"Yeah, but I can't believe I had never met the young Alex before... Or noticed that Sanchez was such a bastard!" I grumble.

"Don't work yourself up. You can't know all your staff..." Josh argues.

"Bullshit! It's not like I manage five or ten thousand people like you! Le Marais has like thirty employees, so I should know them all!"

"Yeah, that's true, but it seems like the chef hid him well," Aaron says in a comforting attempt. "Why don't you try and spend more time there?"

"That's what I intend to do in the future. Instead of doing my experiments in the small kitchen, I'll do them in the main one. It's big enough for me to arrange a small workplace there, and it'll allow me to spend more time with the staff."

"And with this Alex guy if he gets to work as a cook helper..." Camden teases with heavy sarcasm.

"What do you mean?" I grunt.

"Nothing..." he replies, but I can see how his gray eyes darken.

"Whatever, it's been quite exhausting. And I haven't mentioned how I fucked up with Shannon, by the way..." I then trail off, trying to ignore how Aaron's eyebrows furrow into a scowl. "He'd bought one of those vibrating eggs with a remote control and of course, we had to try it yesterday evening... I had just switched it on when things happened in the kitchen... Poor boy, I left him with the vibrator on for more than ten minutes."

The guys' reaction isn't the one I expected. Instead of blaming me for being a bad Dom, they just burst out laughing, leaving me perplexed for a good two minutes.

"Ten minutes are nothing!!" Joshua says. "Last time I used one on Liam, he got it for thirty minutes nonstop!"

"I'm not talking about the lapse of time, Josh! It's more about the... gesture. I let myself get distracted when I should have cared for my Sub!"

"Perhaps I should punish you for that indeed..." Aaron comments seriously. "How about I shove one of these eggs up your ass and leave it on during the show?"