Page 89 of Possession

Looked like she was barking up the wrong tree

Penny

Oof

That sucks

CJ

She just yelled at me to get off my phone

I think she forgot I’m not actually working today, I’m just waiting on Knuckles so I can watch him work on this Japanese piece

Pray for me

Ollie

Dear baby Jesus

Protect our friend CJ from the sex-deprived lesbian he works for

Amen

Mason

Amen

Kenneth

I think we might all be going to hell

16

Mondays had become Mason’s favorite day of the week.

He bobbed his head to the upbeat song playing in his headphones as he clicked through Tomas’s emails, sorting them into priority folders. Some he would answer as Tomas’s assistant, some he forwarded to the appropriate officer of the club, and others he flagged for Tomas to handle himself. He tried to make sure there were as few of those as possible, but sometimes the president of the club actually did need to handle things.

Because of Tomas’s still quite busy schedule, they prioritized Mondays as their one day a week they worked all day together in his office—at least until Church in the evening.

Which took place in the room behind Tomas’s office Mason hadn’t even known was there.

The first time Mason saw Tomas open the hidden door behind a bookshelf, he’d nearly passed out with excitement. Though it’d ebbed a little when Tomas had told him—with obvious reluctance—that officers were the only ones allowed to go into the room where they held Church. It was an old-school rule, but one that they all abided by.

It was still pretty fucking cool to have a secret door right there in plain sight.

Vinnie worked most Mondays and usually got home right around the same time Church was letting out, so it was his favorite day. His second favorite day—sometimes tied for first, depending on how bratty Vinnie was being—was Thursdays because Vinnie never scheduled himself for it, so the two of them got to hang out, just the two of them, like the old days. Then, in the evenings, they usually spent time with the Sub Club—going bowling, out to eat, or having a movie night—while Tomas went up to the Devil’s Garrote for food and a couple of beers with other club members.

Mason knew his life was blessed, and he was grateful for it every day, especially for the two amazing men who cared about him more than he’d ever thought was possible. But he also had friends who filled his life with so much happiness and laughter some days he thought he’d burst with it.

He also knew he was privileged in being able to help out Tomas in his office, thanks to the success of his Discreet Gazes channel, which was doing better than ever. In the last two months since he’d moved back to Michigan, he’d gained another fifty followers. Sometimes Vinnie still got quiet if he talked about money, but after the three of them talked about things, Vinnie had agreed to talk to someone about why he felt so uncomfortable with Mason’s successes. His therapist—Mason only knew she was a woman named Victoria—had already started to help Vinnie had confided in him the other day.

He was just finishing up on sorting the emails, sending a reply off to the nurse at the hospital the club worked with to keep an eye out for incoming patients who might need their help, when he felt a draft, and he glanced over just in time to see the club’s officers filing out through the secret doorway.

He tugged his earbuds out and smiled. They all either waved or said hello, but they didn’t stop. He knew most of them had people and places to get to. On her way past the desk, Viper winked at him and mouthed, “Good luck.”

He was frowning after her, trying to decide what that could possibly be about, when Tomas stepped into the office and swung the bookshelf back into place, camouflaging the doorway.

“Are you still working?” he asked with a gentle smile.

---