Page 155 of Begin Again, Part 1

At some point, Eden tuned her out and let her rattle off her big plans, zeroing in instead on what she hadn't said. "So, Mr Anderson isn't coming?"

She didn't realise she'd blurted out her thoughts until Clara turned to her with a perplexed frown. "Don't think so. He has a round-robin poker game with other CEOs and execs. I doubt he'll be there. He's made it to the semi-finals, and a hundred million is at stake. So yeah, our little drink fest is way below the Dragon's league. He plays with the big boys."

Of course, Eden thought, trying her best not to show her disappointment. "Okay, I'll meet you guys at Crush. But I don't even know why I'm tagging along since I don't drink."

"You're coming for the entertainment and amazing company," Clara said as she slipped out of the door.

Eden made a face, annoyed with herself for not trying hard enough to skip out on the outing. If Lucy was tagging along, she could certainly do without the company. Since Liam almost got rid of her, Matthew's assistant had been trying too hard to get in her good books, buying her chai lattes and lunch almost daily. The whole thing made Eden uncomfortable, but she hadn't figured out a way to tell her to stop, and that she was okay with not being friends.

Her mind still on the much-dreaded outing, Eden turned to her laptop and buried herself in her reports and business proposals for the rest of the afternoon. When 4:00 PM rolled around, her head was spinning from all the pie charts and graphs. Half an hour later, she grabbed her stuff and headed home, pausing briefly on the ground floor to chat with Ted and Jim. Gibby had kept her so busy over the past several weeks, she'd barely had time to check on them.

"How are things on the 36th floor?" Ted asked after their usual pleasantries.

"The big boss must be worried out of his mind, with all these trucks being jacked and set alight!" added Jim.

"I don't know what you mean," Eden confessed as she played with the strap of her laptop bag on her shoulder.

Both men were happy to fill her in since she didn't have her finger on the pulse. Over the past couple of weeks, while she pined for Liam, the world had gone to shit. A shadowy crew had gone on a rampage, targeting prominent logistics companies. Freight trucks were set on fire, drivers brutally attacked or killed, and millions worth of stock destroyed, resulting in crippling revenue losses. The attacks were a huge concern for the industry. Bigger than the last recession.

"We've been fortunate we haven't encountered any issues so far," said Jim.

Ted picked up the narrative. "But the big bosses are on high alert. They're constantly on the second floor with the security team, monitoring the situation with our trucks."

"I had no idea," Eden said, horrified at her own ignorance. She worked on the 36th floor, but she had no frigging clue what went on at Anderson Logistics. Liam's grim face over the past few weeks made sense now in the context of this new information.

"We should have lunch soon," Ted said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, our table is not the same without you." Jim nodded.

"Of course. My treat," Eden agreed as she waved goodbye. "And we'll go somewhere fancy, like Rise."

"It's a date," they called after her as she headed to the parking lot.

On her way home, Eden kept replaying her conversation with the guards. She didn't have to be a genius to figure out if someone was targeting shipping companies, it was only a matter of time before Anderson Logistics found itself in the crosshairs. She just hoped Liam would be out of harm's way.

After lunch the following day, Eden picked up her phone and called Brenda to remind her she'd be home late because of the team outing with the other assistants. The nanny was happy to watch Aiden after hours. They spent a few more minutes chatting about Brenda's planned outing to the rooftop flea market to get some fruit and vegetables. Eden had meant to take Aiden there herself, but her home improvements and playdates with Isaac and Zoe always seemed to eat into her weekends.

"Thanks, Brenda. Give Aiden a big smooch for me." Eden smiled and hung up. Now that she knew her son had an eventful afternoon planned, she could at least pretend to be excited about a drinking fest that didn't include his father.

When Eden left at 04:30 PM, the other ladies were still dolling themselves up in the restroom. They tried to get her to join them, but she declined, insisting on going ahead to reserve a booth for them.

Her Uber was already waiting at the entrance when she eventually made it out of the building. She'd decided not to drive into work because finding parking at Crush was always a nightmare. She was at the club in under ten minutes, and the hostess, dressed in a latex dominatrix catsuit, was nice enough to give her a VIP booth even though they hadn't booked one.

Eden had just sat down when José stopped by to take her order, and she was relieved to see he didn't have his bum cheeks out on display today. He was partially clothed, though, in tight-fitting pants, a leather harness over his toned chest, and a collar around his neck. From his outfit and the hostess', Eden figured Crush was hosting a BDSM theme night.

They spent a few minutes catching up like old friends, and José tried to bump Lydia's phone number from her. He wanted to collaborate with her friend on a makeup vlog.

"Let me confirm with her first," Eden told him as she reached inside her bag for her phone. She doubted her friend would even want to shoot a video with him, but she sent her a text in the group chat anyway.

"You have to help me. My idea can triple her fan base, and of course, get me out of here." José begged her again before returning to the bar. He was back in a flash with her sparkling water and a cocktail.

"I didn't order that." Eden pointed at the fancy glass garnished with a cute neon green cocktail umbrella.

"It's from him." José jerked his head at the lone man sitting at the deserted bar. The place was still half-empty, but in an hour or so, it would be hopping with the usual Friday night crowd.

The man lit a cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke in her direction, maintaining firm eye contact with her. It was hard to tell his age from up here, but Eden guessed he couldn't have been that much older than her. Even though she couldn't see his features clearly, she could swear she saw a small smirk on his lips when he dipped his head in a brief nod.

Mildly annoyed at his cocky assumption that she'd accept a drink from him, she barely acknowledged his presence, darting her gaze back at José. "I appreciate the gesture, but tell him I can buy my own drinks."

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