Page 60 of Begin Again, Part 1

"—And I am offended by your accusation!" Julian was still ranting about his manners or lack of. "I don't chew with my mouth open!"

"We all know your manners are as impeccable as your taste in women, Jules!" Matthew stood up and stretched, stopping them before they veered off-topic. He stared outside the window at the teeming city as people moved around, and life carried on, uninterrupted. Turning to Liam, he asked, "who said I want another assistant? I'm happy with Lucy."

"She'll help you with the influencers. Let her bring her friend on board," Liam replied, well aware he wasn't answering the question.

"You should have fired her." Julian set his empty cup and side plate down and linked his hands over his taut stomach, a pleased smile on his face, like he'd just finished a three-course meal at a five-star restaurant.

Liam snorted in his seat, irritated that the espresso Eden had made for him was still on his desk, annoyed that he was tempted to drink it even more.

"If you find her so incompetent over one little incident, you should have cut her loose." Matthew siding with Julian was a rare occurrence. The two hardly saw eye to eye.

Liam brushed his hair away from his forehead and stared at the marble ceiling, thinking over his cousins' words. If Eden wasn't crucial to his therapy, he would have fired her. He wouldn't even have gone through the financial hell of getting her back. Moving her to Matthew's area was the best solution until he figured out how to navigate his intense feelings for her. No woman had ever ticked him off the way Eden did. But she was also the only woman whose touch set him on fire. Their exchange in the break room, brief and brutal as it was, had sent his body into overdrive. He craved her with an intensity that terrified him. Had they not been in a public space where anyone could have walked in at any time, the walls of that kitchen would have had plenty to say. His desire, though, still didn't change his feelings for her. And for the life of him, he couldn't understand how one person could create so much conflict in him.

Liam took the offending espresso to the window and looked through the slats of the blinds to check if she was okay. He growled under his breath when he saw one of the developers from the R&D area sniffing around her desk. His irritation increased tenfold at her delight over the flowers.

I can give her flowers ten times better than that silly bouquet, he thought as he sipped his coffee and closed his eyes, appreciating the rich aroma.

But would she accept flowers from him when he was so harsh to her? Justifiably so, but still harsh. Yet, Eden had remained graceful and had even had the decency to apologise.

Why then was he so mean to her? Why couldn't he accept her apology? And why did his heart hurt so much when he saw her cry?

"I have no problem taking Eden," Matthew said, breaking through his thoughts. "But let's be clear, you can't have her back once she's mine."

Liam considered his announcement for a moment, his scowl deepening as he drained his cup.

"I mean as my assistant," Matthew explained quickly.

Liam still didn't like his explanation, but he shrugged and carried on glaring through the blinds, absently toying with the cup in his hand.

The developer had just left when a stream of admirers from Julian's area and the legal team flowed in, all bearing gifts—chocolates, more flowers, jars of sweets, and a teddy bear.

"Come on! Don't these people have work to do?"

His displeasure at the scene playing out in front of him prompted his cousins to join him. For a few minutes, they all watched the long line of suitors trip all over Eden.

"We're paying everyone way too much if they can afford all this shit," Liam said, irritated at the circus beyond the pane. "She's twenty-six. What does she need a teddy bear for?"

"Jealous much?" Julian smirked.

"Me? Jealous?" Liam scoffed. "What's that?"

"Well, if you won't treat her right, one of those capable and generous men will," Matthew taunted him.

"Shut up. Eden's not even my type." Liam groaned.

"She's your only type." Julian laughed, slapping him on his back. "And she has many options. The way I see it, you need her more than she needs you."

"Both of you, get out!" He glared at the brothers and pointed at the door.

Matthew left first, sending Eden's suitors scampering when he paused at her desk.

For the first time in his life, Liam felt something close to what he could only assume was jealousy, because he'd never felt anything like the uncomfortable knot in his heart when Eden smiled at his cousin as he helped her with her laptop and gifts. The only time she ever smiled at him was at Crush the night she used him as a rebound, and he didn't realise how much he wanted to see that smile again until now.

"Well, looks like the problem's taken care of." Julian squeezed his shoulder as they watched Eden follow Matthew down the hall.

Was she always this pretty? Liam wondered, fascinated by her curls, and how they gently bounced in sync with her short steps. He loved her hair long. But something about this new hairdo made her all the more attractive. It could be the dress, too, he thought. It was sexy yet work-appropriate, clinging to all the right places, to all the curves he wanted to touch and hold close to him.

"I don't know why I have such an extreme reaction to her. Everything about her drives me insane, and not in a good way," Liam admitted as he drew the blinds and returned to his seat.

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