Page 131 of Begin Again, Part 1

She tapped her foot impatiently while he scanned the messages.

"Come on! Don't tell me you've let that stupid rumour upset you," Liam said, returning her phone. "It's office gossip. It means nothing."

"It means nothing when you're the boss. Nobody dares to say anything bad about you," Eden whispered. "I'm not good at this job, and I try my best every day. But now, this rumour has set me back ten years. My credibility has been shattered, and my reputation ruined. I'm no longer Matthew's junior assistant. I'm just the new girl who got the job because she's sleeping with the big boss."

"Don't speak like that," Liam growled. "You know it's not true!"

"Isn't it?" she asked. "We both know why you hired me, and after last night can we honestly say it's not true? It was only a matter of time before we did. I suppose we have these rumours to thank. Now we can both come back to our senses."

"Eden," Liam said, but she held up her hands, refusing to hear him.

"Since you love sticking to company protocol so much, it's Ms McBride during office hours, and from now on, unless it's related to your sessions with Linda, let's not see each other."

She spun on her heel again, but Liam yelled after her before she could slip out of his office.

"Take that with you!" He pointed at the vase and the painting.

She half-turned, shaking her head. "While I appreciate the thought and gesture, they cost too much. I can't accept them."

"But it's my apology."

She gawked at him. He had her attention now. "For what exactly? You've done plenty, my head's spinning."

"For everything, starting with the incident with my dietary requirements."

"You mean when you lost your shit and threw a plate of cookies like a two-year-old, and reassigned me because you deemed me incompetent?" she asked.

"Yes, that! Eden, I admit that wasn't my best moment, and it hasn't sat well with me since." Liam exhaled loudly. "Our session with Linda as well. I shouldn't have said all that stuff. I was angry, and I wanted to hurt you. I know I've made so many mistakes, and I'm trying—"

She laughed, hurt and anger burning in her throat. "Those are costly mistakes, don't you think?"

"What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? I'm trying to make amends—"

"Trying to make amends? After a month? Shouldn't you have started with your apology first before you wooed me with your romantic dinner dates?" Eden demanded, disbelief shining bright in her eyes.

"You're right, I should have," Liam said. "And all I can say is my timing was a little off, and I didn't follow the right order of things, but Eden, I promise you my heart is in the right place—"

"I don't care about your heart!" she yelled. "Would it kill you to say the words? Would it kill you to say you're sorry?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!"

"No, a sincere apology should never be forced out of anyone," Eden said sadly.

They slipped into angry silence, glaring at each other, waiting to see who'd break first.

How? How did things turn to shit so quickly? And how did they even get here? Eden wondered as she stared at Liam, wishing there was a way out for them. He'd done a good job of mapping out their new beginning, and she'd spent the past two nights tossing and turning, mulling over his big plans. She'd secretly started to dream and hope that maybe there was a chance for them. If she agreed, their relationship might not be conventional, but they'd make it work somehow. But now...Now they were back to where they were a month ago, the distance between them wider than ever because too many odds were stacked against them. Laura. Her secret about Aiden. His Job. Her job. How the hell did they come back from it all? Could they even come back from it?

"I'm sorry. I should never have left my apology for so long," Liam said softly, his voice shaky. "I know my timing is terrible, and I'm truly sorry for delaying my apology and putting you through hell over the past month. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I can fix this if you give me a chance. I know I can."

Eden nodded sadly. Yeah, his timing sucked. But when it was all said and done, that was what everything boiled down to.

Timing.

It was becoming more apparent every day they could never get it right. Maybe they weren't meant to be together. Maybe they should quit now, while their hearts were still intact.

Liam's office phone rang. He glanced at it and looked at her again. "Don't go. We need to talk about last night. I am not giving up on us, Princess. You're allowed to be angry, hurt, and upset. But you're not allowed to give up on us. You can't give up on me."

Eden snorted. She was done talking. Done with him, really.

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