Page 64 of Mayhem
“Hey, Angel.”
“Hi, baby,” she responded.
“How was your day?” Paetyn questioned, leaning back in his seat.
“It was good. I made an Instagram page for the shop, uploaded some photos of the space and my work, and made appointments to meet with sign makers at the beginning of next week. How was yours?”
“It’s been okay. I’m working on some desserts to add to the menus for Father’s Day.”
“Have you chosen any yet?” Erin asked.
“A few. I need about four more.”
“Well, I won’t keep you from it. I was calling to see if you were free Friday or if you’d be at one of the restaurants.”
“I don’t have any plans.”
“Do you want to go out with me? We can spend the day together if that works for you. Just the two of us.”
“Of course, Angel.”
“I’ll text you tomorrow when I know what time.”
“Sounds good, baby.”
They spoke for a few more minutes before hanging up, and Paetyn returned to choosing desserts. It took him another forty-five minutes to decide, but when he did, he sent the selected items to the correct restaurants.
Paetyn went to the kitchen to check on his back-of-house staff. He’d told them to get him if they got overwhelmed, but it seemed they had everything under control. He didn’t like hovering in the kitchen at his restaurants for long periods. He found that if the staff were newer, they tended to get nervous around him. Even if they’d been there a while, their subconscious would mess with them and cause them to mess up on simple dishes.
He left the kitchen and stepped into the dining area. Many patrons turned their attention to him, smiled, and waved, some attempting to flag him over. Paetyn decided to make his rounds to the tables, checking on the guests and staying only a few minutes at each one to not keep them from their meal but to give those attempting to get his attention the face time they wanted.
It was after one thirty in the morning when Paetyn made it home. He’d stayed for a bit to help the kitchen close down. He went to his bedroom and into the bathroom. As the shower heated, he removed his clothes, put them into the hamper, and placed his shoes by the door so he wouldn’t leave them on his way out.
He entered the shower and stepped under the water spray, running his hand through his hair before grabbing his shampoo. He washed and conditioned his hair before grabbing his towel and body wash.
When he finished his shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed another one, running it over his hair. He took his shoes and went into his bedroom. After putting his shoes away, he retrieved a pair of boxers and stepped into them. He moisturized, placed both towels into the hamper, and got into bed.
He sat with his back against the headboard as he scrolled through the emails confirming that his general managers and chefs received his containing the desserts and recipes he wanted them to use.
Paetyn looked through his schedule for later in the day. His was never as jam-packed as Cruz’s, and he tended to have more freedom and leeway to get what he needed done. It was one of the perks of his career path and having a competent staff.
Once he had reviewed it, he put his phone on the charger, turned off his bedside lamp, and lay down in bed.
His mind drifted to his date with Erin. He was curious to know what she had planned, but he figured he’d enjoy whatever it was because he’d be with her. He was happy she was comfortable enough in their relationship to want to plan something for them to do.
Paetyn turned onto his side, closed his eyes, falling asleep a few minutes later.
Erin searched for different things she could do with each of her men during their day out. It was the first time she would spend one-on-one time with them, and she was excited. Shedidn’t mind when they all went out together, but she didn’t feel like she was at a point where she could divide her attention evenly without having to think about it. She wouldn’t have to worry about that this weekend.
She wanted to spend the day with each of them. She knew that Saturday would be better for Cruz because she didn’t want him to leave work early for what she planned. Paetyn was also a bit freer with his schedule, so she’d wanted to spend Friday with him. Chayse was meeting her at the shop Sunday to take more pictures for her, but she’d been prepared to reschedule with her friend if Sunday worked better for either of her boyfriends.
Noon was her ideal start time. She wanted them to do a few things together, ending with dinner. However, she didn’t want the day to seem rushed if she planned the first thing she wanted to do later than that. Erin also didn’t want to do the same thing with them besides dinner.
She didn’t want to do anything too generic and wanted to choose things she thought they’d both enjoy. It took her a couple of hours, but she was able to determine what she would do on each of her dates, except for the restaurant they’d go to. Aside from Paetyn’s and the few she’d been to while visiting before she moved, she wasn’t too familiar with others. She hadn’t gotten around to trying any new ones. She figured she would let them choose.
Erin set her laptop on the coffee table, grabbed the remote, and turned the television on. It was eight thirty, and she was free for the rest of the evening, so she decided to find a movie to watch.
She was an hour into the action movie she’d settled on when her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she picked it up.
