Page 31 of Begin Again, Part 1

"Liam?"

"What?" He grunted, forcing his attention back to the woman who couldn't even hold it for a second.

"Argh!" Laura exhaled hard. "I said I need a dress for tonight."

"Sure, buy one. You’ve got the card."

He could argue she already had ten thousand dresses, but he knew when to pick his battles. A dress was hardly something to start a war over.

In a few days, he'd be waging war against a more deserving opponent. He couldn't wait.

Chapter

Eleven

ORIENTATION DAY

Orientation day was scheduled for 9:00 AM on Monday. But as usual, Eden was early. Now that she was familiar with the place, she had a spring in her step as she strolled inside the building, stopping to chat with the security guards at the entrance.

Ted and Jim were affable. In ten minutes, they'd already exchanged names, shook hands, and shared the company's well-kept secret: all the food Eden should avoid from the staff canteen. It was a shockingly long list, leaving her deeply disappointed.

"Is there anything they can cook?" she asked with a laugh. Jim shook his head, his large face wobbling with distaste.

She headed to the reception when two lost-looking interview candidates interrupted their chat. After making a quick phone call, one of the five Sandys asked her to take a seat. Mrs Gibson was somewhere in the building, sorting out her access. She'd be with her shortly.

Eden sat in the waiting area and paged through the dozen Business Insider magazines scattered on the coffee table. They were all snoozefests. The only thing worth looking at was the man on the cover. As she traced a finger over Liam's face, she wondered if Aiden would still look like him when he was older, or if his features would change and resemble hers more.

She checked the time on her phone. 9:30 AM. She still had another half-hour to go, so she called Brenda.

"Everything's fine, Eden, don't worry about us. Have a great first day at work."

"What's Aiden doing? Can I talk to him quick?"

"Sure, hold on a second," Brenda said, returning with Aiden seconds later.

Eden cooed at him for a few minutes, tears brimming in her eyes. "Bye, baby. Mommy loves you!"

"Mommy, Bye-bye!" Aiden babbled before Brenda took the phone from him, promising to call if she needed anything.

Eden spent the next ten minutes gazing at the waterfall behind the receptionists. They still hadn't warmed to her. Annoyed at their cold treatment, she went to play with her new toy, and tried to access the 36th floor, but her attempts were blocked again.

A low, gravelly voice interrupted her little game. "Ms McBride?"

Eden hadn't heard it in two years, but she would have remembered it even if a hundred years had passed. She stood up straight, fixed her outfit, and turned around slowly.

Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she gazed into Liam's gorgeous denim eyes. For a terrifying moment, she was convinced she'd pass out on the spot. Surprisingly, she didn't. Even when her wobbly legs threatened to give out on her. Her pulse racing at an unhealthy pace, her new white blouse sticking to her sweaty back like a second skin, Eden forced herself to plaster the biggest, brightest smile on her face. "Hello."

She fluffed up her hair, silently praying she didn't look like the hot mess she was when they first met.

Liam had a blank look on his face. No hint of recognition at all. "You must be the new assistant."

The harsh realisation that he didn't remember her left Eden floored, rendering her speechless. She felt like someone had pumped their fists into her gut in quick successive blows. For two years, Liam was all she thought about. How could she not when she had a miniature version of him living with her? But he forgot her the moment she ran from his house.

In that wild minute of trying to process and make sense of everything, Eden didn't know if she should laugh or cry, and she couldn't help being mad at Sienna for sending her CV to Anderson Logistics. But she couldn't place the blame squarely on her bestie's door. Like a stubborn idiot, she foolishly believed she could avoid running into the one man her heart desperately called out to, the one man she had no right to miss because he was off-limits.

"Ms McBride?" Liam tilted his head slightly, his eyebrows arched.

"Yes, I'm the new assistant." She forced the words out of her suddenly dry mouth. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr—?"

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