Page 141 of Begin Again, Part 1

"I know you won't like what I have to say, but the only real plan—"

Liam thought if someone told him to apologise one more time, he'd scream. Willow did tell him to throw himself at Eden's feet and beg for mercy, and he did scream. Internally. "I apologised, but she said it's not sincere."

"Well, make it sincere, then!" Willow said and clicked off, leaving him fuming.

Liam hurled the phone across the room and watched it hit the bookcase and fall to the floor with a clanking thud. Never again, he seethed as he fluffed up his pillows and threw the blanket over his face. He should never have allowed Eden to get under his skin. It was his damn fault for letting his guard down. From here on, he'd respect her wishes and stay away from her. Linda would oversee all their interactions.

He was done, he vowed again as he turned onto his side and closed his eyes, praying for sleep.

A pair of gorgeous, slanted russet eyes, misty with tears behind dark-framed glasses, was the last thing he saw before he slipped into a beer induced coma hours later.

Sometime before 4:00 AM the following morning, Liam woke up surprisingly calm and clearheaded for someone who'd spent a restless night on an uncomfortable office couch.

He picked up his phone from the floor, grimacing at the spiderweb cracks covering the screen. The Apple logo blinked a few times when the screen came on, before the battery complained about being empty.

Liam couldn't be bothered. He had too many problems on his plate. A multi-million rand deal wasn't going to sign itself, and he couldn't push it off again.

He called Gibby from his office phone. His assistant was wide awake, no doubt buzzing from her second cup of coffee. She promised to bring him a change of clothing and a new phone before his first meeting at 8:00 AM.

By the time she arrived almost two hours later, Liam was clean-shaven, freshly showered, and already on his seventh report.

"Good morning, Mr Anderson," Gibby effused as she carefully placed his suit bag and shoes on the couch. She strutted over and placed his shiny new phone, an Americano and a salmon bagel on his desk.

She glanced at the pillows and blanket on the sofa and scrunched up her nose in disgust at the beer cans littering the floor. "Slept here last night?"

Liam nodded and sipped his coffee while he looked through his schedule. He had two hours to prepare for his first meeting.

Gibby hovered around him, dying to have her moment so she could share some sage advice. He ignored her and flipped through his eighth report. Thirty minutes later, when he placed it at the bottom of his never-ending stack, his assistant was still there, and his office was back to its usual pristine state, all evidence of his bender last night, gone.

"What is it, Gibby?" Liam asked, well aware he'd regret giving in to his curiosity. He always did. Eden was a shining example of that.

She clasped her hands and tapped her foot. "The assistants' chat, sir. I think you should shut it down. The comments carried on after Ms McBride signed the warning."

Liam nodded, picked up the phone, and called the head of communications. "Shut down all the group chats. Any communication from now on will be on email."

Sam tried to argue and negotiate, but he wouldn't back down.

"I warned you before when Nancy splashed Ms McBride's photos all over the general chat. If people can't behave themselves, all the nice things will be taken away!"

Sam protested. "But Mr Anderson. Only the assistants' chat violated company policy. I don't think it's fair to punish everyone."

"I don't recall asking for your opinion." Liam ignored her pleas and moved along swiftly. "We'll revisit this in a month or two. But for now, shut them all down."

Next, he called the head of HR. "Where are we with the warnings?"

Zara stammered. "What warnings, sir?"

Liam closed his eyes and inhaled sharply, sorely tempted to smash the handset on his desk. She was testing his already thin patience.

"Zara," he said, his voice dangerously low, belying the fury burning hot in his belly. "Since you've forgotten how to do your job, I'll give you a quick refresher. Issue final written warnings to all the trolls in the assistants' chat. Rose Walker should be summarily dismissed, and all her release documents processed by close of business today."

"On what grounds, sir?"

"Do I need to read the HR manual to you?"

There was a long pause on Zara's end.

Unbothered by her silence, Liam said, "I don't have it in front of me, but I think it's page 39, clause 24.1.7—Interpersonal communication and respect in the workplace. For the trolls, I suggest you focus specifically on bullying. Gross violation of privacy should apply to Rose Walker for secretly photographing an innocent moment and taking it out of context with the sole intent of damaging Ms McBride's reputation. Do I need to carry on?"

---