“No, Sir. I just came upstairs with our coffee and was going to do that.”
“Sorry. I thought I timed it better than that.” Of course I keep him posted on Elliot’s daily schedule, the private version that includes the little things like morning routines. It’s a way to keep Leo looped in and not feeling excluded.
“Hold on, Sir. I’ll let you wake him up.”
I can’t tell if that’s a sigh, or Leo’s choked up, but I choose to give him his dignity right now. “Thank you, baby boy.”
“Let me put it in speaker mode.” I do, and carry the phone over to our bed. There, I slip in, smiling as Elliot naturally cuddles against me. I wrap my arms around him, kissing his forehead. “Good morning, boy.”
Elliot makes his usual series of adorable, grunty snorts, followed by a soft moan. “Good morning, Sir.”
“Good morning, pet.”
His eyes pop open. “Master?”
I hold up the phone. “Let him tell you what’s going on.” I hand Elliot the phone and kiss him. “Coffee’s there.” I point to his nightstand before I climb out of bed and try to reclaim lost time. Yeah, I’d love to sit there talking to Leo on the phone, but I can’t. Elliot thrives on routine, and we’re too busy right now to let him stumble all over himself.
We’re now behind schedule and getting more behind by the minute. I’ll have to send Elliot out the door with the detail while I head to the store for Leo. I think in this case I can get away with asking for a driver, since I have to staff POTUS, too. I’ll tell the truth, that I had to go to the store for Leo and talk to him in person about her routine.
Besides, the detail all knows Leo, either from working with him before, or now. No one will begrudge me this or raise a stink about it. It’s not like we abuse the privilege, or treat them like our personal taxi service.
I grab my coffee and head to the closet to get Elliot’s clothes laid out. Last night I was so tired I decided to leave that task for this morning. At least today I can wear a necktie to be matchies with Elliot, because we won’t be together for most of the day.
He’s still talking to Leo when I go to retrieve my clothes from the other room and mess up my bed.
In my wildest fantasies? When Elliot’s out of office we have a home of our own, and a closet large enough to hold all our damn clothes, so I don’t have to walk to another room to get mine.
I won’t cook Elliot breakfast this morning. Instead, I’ll nuke a couple of the frozen quiche muffins that I keep on hand for a quick meal on the run.
Like today.
That way, I know he’s got decent food in his stomach.
Fortunately, I’d planned for him to do his workout this evening, not this morning, so that can still happen later.
I return to the master bedroom and lay everything out. “I need to get the pet bathed and dressed, Sir,” I call out.
Okay, so Elliot’s wearing a sweet, happy smile right now. I can chill on the irritation over the schedule borking, I suppose. I feel badly that Leo’s in pain, but he’s made Elliot’s morning by getting to talk to him like this, without worries of anyone overhearing besides me.
It must suck to live locked in by such fear.
“Sorry, for dumping all of this on you today, baby boy,” Leo says. “Please kiss the pet for me.”
“Yes, Sir. Will do.”
“And pet?”
Elliot perks up. He’s sitting up and sipping his coffee. “Yes, Master?”
“Kiss the boy for me, please. Don’t give him a hard time this morning.”
Our gazes lock. “I’ll kiss him for you, Master. And I promise not to give him a hard time, although I don’t promise to not leave him hard.”
He chuckles. “Good boy. Love you both.”
“Love you,” we say in unison.
“I’ll text you the list,” Leo adds. Then he ends the call.
