Page 56 of Begin Again, Part 1

White-hot fury pulsing through her veins, her voice shaking with anger, she warned him softly, "You are allowed to hate me for whatever reason. But what you are not allowed to do is make assumptions to suit your narrative. You know nothing about my sex life, so don't you ever make such an insinuation or bring it up in conversation again."

"Ms McBride!" Nostrils flared, eyes dark with fury, Liam barked at her. "How dare you speak to me in that tone! I'm your boss!"

Eden knew she should walk away if she still wanted her ridiculous salary, but his arrogance and self-righteous attitude incensed her. She jabbed him on his chest with her finger a few times, startling him. The coffee she'd made for him with love brimmed over and trickled through his fingers, scalding his hand. "No, Mr Anderson, being my boss does not give you the right to make unfounded claims about me. And if you were speaking to me in your capacity as my boss, your question should never have even come up. So, don't you ever pull the boss card on me! And no, he's not your son. Thank heavens for that!"

"Very well, Ms McBride, thank you for freeing me. You have no idea how the idea of being tied to you terrified me!" Liam sneered as he dumped the cup and saucer on the counter and grabbed a wad of paper towels. "If there's nothing else, I suggest you return to work."

Eden nodded and smoothed down her already crease-free black knee-length bandage dress, praying the angry tears brimming in her eyes wouldn't betray her and sneak out before she was out of his sight.

"I'll be at my desk if you need anything," she whispered as she grabbed her handbag from the counter and turned to leave, painfully aware of his eyes on her as she headed out of the break room.

In her middle of nowhere office, Eden slumped in her chair and buried her face in her hands, aware she was smudging her glasses, and she'd have to go through the trouble of cleaning them.

"Shit!" She groaned as she mussed her hair, not caring at all she was ruining Franco's masterpiece. She'd fucked up. That much was obvious. There was a real chance she'd broken every protocol in the company's code of conduct about personal space when she poked Liam on his chest and went nuclear on him. She wouldn't even be surprised if HR called her in to give her a warning. She should have shut her mouth and kept it in like her parents had taught her. She was an educated person. What had possessed her to use her hands, especially on Liam of all people? She'd truly lost her mind.

"Argh!" Eden sighed, wishing she could undo their fight. Now, she'd wasted a chance to tell Liam about Aiden because of her poor impulse control.

Still fretting about the looming warning from HR, Eden didn't look up when she heard Liam head to his office and slam the door shut or when he snapped the blinds in place to block her view of him, making his feelings for her known. If he didn't need her for his mysterious condition, she wouldn't even have the privilege of sitting in this chair.

Chapter

Nineteen

REASSIGNED

Determined to put her anger and hurt aside and feign amnesia over the incident in the break room, Eden took off her glasses and wiped them with the hem of her dress. When they were clean, she snapped them back on and was about to annoy Liam again and ask for access to her laptop when Clara and Gibby arrived and saved the day.

Clara granted her initial access and reminded her to change her password, while Gibby briefed her about Liam's schedule for the day. As part of her training, Eden had to sit in all his meetings for the day, coordinate his gym visit with his personal trainer, arrange his lunch, pick up his dry cleaning, and type up some reports and presentations.

She thought it was too many tasks for one day, but she didn't dare complain after her salary demands.

She was still going through Liam's schedule when the two men he was with at Crush last night stopped by her desk. They chatted with Gibby and Clara before turning their attention to her.

"You must be Eden, I'm Matthew Anderson, and this is Julian, my little brother."

Eden looked up from her screen long enough to shake their hands. It was nice to put faces to the names on their office doors.

"Liam's our first cousin, our dads..." Julian said, his voice trailing off, leaving Eden to connect the dots herself.

They were dark-haired with sapphire eyes, but she could see the resemblance—the chiselled jawline, high cheekbones, and Roman nose. They were both handsome devils, too, and as tall as Liam. But they were trouble she could do without.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." She threw them what she hoped was a winning smile and pointed at her screen. "But I have to finish this up."

"Of course." Julian nodded, his eyes sparkling with amusement, like he knew something Eden didn’t, and he wasn't planning to share. He reminded her of a spirited child who always got himself in trouble. He was the male version of Lydia. A very hot male version of her friend.

"See you later." Matthew gave her a small wave and pushed Julian into Liam's office. Unlike his brother, he had a calmness about him Eden found soothing, and it wasn't just from his deep, modulated voice.

"They are both second in command," Gibby explained when they were out of sight. "They make all the decisions in Liam's absence. Matthew is in charge of Marketing, PR and Comms. Julian heads up all the financial areas in the business."

"Okay," Eden nodded. "Should I be taking notes? I feel like I should be taking notes."

Gibby laughed. The sound, rich and warm, made her almost likeable. "Relax, you won't be writing a quiz at the end of the day."

"Breathe. You've got this." Clara assured her.

Eden bobbed her head. "Yes, I've got this."

But she didn't. She was swimming up panic-creek as she watched the emails in her inbox shoot up at an alarming rate.

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