Page 58 of Begin Again, Part 1

"If you're done gawking at the view." Liam cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat. He'd rolled up his sleeves and threw his jacket over the headrest of his chair. His black tie, though, was still in place around his neck. "I need a detailed report on influencers not currently sponsored by logistics companies."

"But Gibby said I should—" Eden began, but the rest of her explanation died a slow death in her throat when she caught the annoyed glint in his eyes.

"Does Gibby pay your salary?" He demanded, drumming his fingers on the glass surface of his desk.

Eden shook her head and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Then what made you think I care about what Gibby said?"

"My apologies, Mr Anderson. I'll get on it right away," she said, summoning the brightest smile to suppress the spurt of anger surging up her tummy to her throat, threatening to cut off her air supply. She got it, he despised her, but there was no reason for him to talk down to her.

Liam pointed at the door, and she saw herself out.

"Oh, bring in refreshments and the day's newspapers," he called after her as she slipped out of his office.

Ten minutes later, Eden returned with a cart of refreshments, hot and cold, because Liam hadn't specified what he wanted—and a mountain of newspapers. She was surprised there were still so many in circulation when she picked them up from reception on the ground floor. With the world going paperless, she assumed all the major editorials were now hiding behind paywalls, and an innovative company like Anderson Logistics would have a premium subscription.

Clearly, the powers that be were still old school and preferred the smell of ink on freshly printed newspapers.

Julian and Matthew made small talk, asking her all kinds of questions while she served them their coffees and biscuits.

Eden answered them all with a smile and questions of her own.

By the time she turned to serve Liam his second cup of coffee for the day, she wasn't so anxious around the brothers. She liked them. They were nice.

What could have been an okay first day of work turned into a nightmare Eden would have a hard time forgetting for a long time, starting with her simple act of placing Liam's espresso and a side plate of biscuits on his desk.

He took a small bite of one of the chocolate cookies and spat it into the paper bin at his feet. Cursing under his breath, he pushed the plate away with so much force that it slid off the table and smashed to the ground, shattering into jagged pieces all over the floor.

Startled, Eden gasped at the mess, unable to register the last thirty seconds.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Liam bellowed at her, stunning her out of her inertia as he came around the desk.

Gibby and Clara were in the room in a heartbeat, and Julian and Matthew were on their feet, holding him back.

"What is wrong with you?" Liam thundered, his face dark with fury and eyes wide with something Eden could only describe as fear. "Can't you read?"

Shocked by his anger and humiliated beyond anything she'd ever experienced, Eden burst into tears.

"I'm sorry," she said, but she had no idea what she was apologising for until Gibby turned to her, her face taut, her lips stretched in a thin hard line.

"Didn't you read Mr Anderson's dietary requirements? I sent them through this morning, and I reminded you to check your emails."

Eden shook her head. She hadn't had a chance to do anything on her laptop other than look through Liam's schedule.

"Mr Anderson is allergic to nuts," Clara explained in her breathy voice. "The biscuits you served him have pecans."

"What?" Eden asked more to herself, dumbfounded he had the same allergy as his son, and horrified she could have killed him.

When she first learned about Aiden's nut allergy, she crawled the internet like a madwoman. Google, WebMD, and the thousands of anonymous internet doctors who'd never spent a day in med school, but knew everything about allergies, helped her make sense of everything. She knew there was a small chance Aiden had gotten his allergy from one of them. But since she wasn't in contact with Liam, she never thought much about it. Until now.

"Why must everything be repeated with you?" Mistaking her question as lack of processing power, Liam went savage on her. "Get her the hell out of here. I don't want to see her."

Gibby and Clara swept her out of the room and hid her in Clara's office.

"I'm sorry, I would never harm Mr Anderson. I had no idea he's allergic to nuts," Eden repeatedly apologised. "My son also has the same allergy, and I understand how dangerous even the tiniest bite can be."

"Let this be your first lesson," Gibby said in a sombre tone. "You have to be vigilant at all events Mr Anderson attends. You must triple-check the menu at all times, and if you have to taste his food, then that's what you do."

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